> The Redemption of a Showstopper
>  by Nazoult98
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Day in the Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1
A Day in the Life

It was a bright and sunny day in Los Pegasus. The birds were chirping in the sky. But, tucked in an alleyway between two casinos, things were not so happy. That alleyway contained the traveling house of a very unhappy person. Inside, an alarm clock started ringing. A young woman sat up in bed and turned it off. She was twenty years of age and was wearing a purple pajama shirt and pants, both of which were covered in white stars. Around her cyan horn she had washed out, light blue hair; in fact it almost looked white, and it curled towards the left side. “Why does it always have to be so sunny and cheerful?” She asked herself before getting out of bed. She walked into the kitchen, which was very small, and rummaged through the cupboards. “Nothing to eat,” she said before heading back into her bedroom. She got changed into a cyan button-up shirt and dress pants. Walking into her tiny living room she grabbed her signature witch hat and cape, which were purple with blue and white stars. “All right,” She said to herself as her purple eyes flashed, “Trixie is ready.”
Trixie exited her traveling house and locked the door. “Trixie should probably start with breakfast,” Trixie said to herself walking out to the sidewalk. She walked over to a small diner across the street. Trixie had only been to Los Pegasus once, but it wasn’t to perform. Luckily for her news if what had happened in Ponyville hadn’t spread to Los Pegasus yet. She sat down at the booth and glanced over the menu. A young woman of about nineteen walked up to her.
“Are you ready to order, Ma’am?” She asked. 
“Yes,” Trixie replied, “Trixie would like some strawberry pancakes and a medium coffee.” 
“Yes, Ma’am,” said the waitress walking away. A few moments later she returned with Trixie’s order. Trixie ate in silence, thinking about her last show in Hoofington. 
“Trixie didn’t make much last week, in fact Trixie never makes much,” She thought to herself depressed. She drained the last of her coffee and put five bits on the table, three bits for the meal and two bits as a tip for the waitress.
She walked towards the theater downtown. She wanted to look at it before she had to perform there that night. Before walking in she looked up at the marquee. It said ‘Tonight the Great & Powerful Trixie performs followed by a concert by DJ Pon-3’.
“It’s never a good sign when The Great & Powerful Trixie headlines,” she muttered to herself, “Trixie bets DJ Pon-3 is just going to mock her like everyone else.” She walked inside and looked around. It was one the biggest theaters in Equestria, second only to the one in Canterlot of course. She walked up on stage and looked over the rows of seats. “Here Trixie goes again,” She thought to herself, “Mom, wish your Trixie luck.”
“Come one, come all, Come and witness the amazing magic of The Great and Powerful Trixie,” came her booming voice later that night signaling the start of her show. She appeared on the stage in a flash of lightening. “Good evening Los Pegasus,” she said her voice booming above the applause, “Trixie welcomes you to her one of a kind magic show. For her first trick, Trixie will make this apple disappear.” As she said this she brought out an apple and put a cloth over it. A few seconds later she pulled off the cloth and the apple had disappeared. A thunderous applause burst out from the audience. “Thank you, thank you,” she said, “For Trixie’s next trick…”
“Finally for Trixie’s last trick,” said Trixie about an hour later, “Let the fireworks ignite.” Not long after she said that fireworks went off behind the audience. The applause that followed left Trixie speechless. Suddenly, someone burst into the theater. 
“Stop applauding her!” the man boomed, “She caused an Ursa Minor to attack Ponyville. She also single-handedly seized control of everyone in Ponyville.” 
“Please, Celestia, this can’t be happening,” Trixie thought as all her applause turned to boos in the blink of an eye, “Trixie wanted to put this all behind her.” She was crying at this point, and then she ran out of the theater.

> The Unexpected Help
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2
The Unexpected Help

The alarm went off the next morning, and once again Trixie sat up in bed and turned it off. She thought about what had transpired the night before, and as she did she had started crying again. After she had run out of the theater, she had run all the way back to her traveling home. Once she had got home, she had locked the door behind her and threw herself in bed. She remembered how she had cried herself to sleep, not bothering to change into her pajamas. A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Trixie got out of bed and went to the door. She hesitated a moment. “Trixie doesn’t ever get visitors,” she thought to herself. The knock came again, it seemed insistent that she open the door. She opened the door and saw a woman who was older than her by two or three years standing there. She was wearing a white tank top with a black vest and tight, black leather pants. She had a white horn on her head, which stood out from her messy, dark blue hair; and her eyes were hidden behind dark purple glasses. 
“Are you Trixie Lulamoon?” she asked. 
“Yes,” Trixie replied confused, “Trixie is The Great and Powerful Trixie, why?” 
“You forgot your money from your show,” the woman replied handing over a pouch of bits. 
“Trixie doesn’t understand,” Trixie replied, “Trixie didn’t make any money last night.” 
“Come with me,” the woman replied, “I’ll treat you to breakfast.”
After they had sat down in the diner, they were approached by the same waitress who had approached Trixie the day before. “I’m sorry,” the waitress said her words directed at Trixie, “You’re no longer welcome here.” The woman’s easy going attitude quickly turned into one of seriousness as she turned to the waitress. 
“You’re just going to deny her service after last night,” she said fiercely, “Those could have been lies for all you know. You will serve her or I will have you fired quicker than I can drop my bass onstage.” 
“Yes Ma’am,” the waitress replied trembling, “So what would you two like to order?” The woman gestured to Trixie. 
“Trixie would like some eggs over easy and a medium coffee,” Trixie answered. 
“I’ll take a large omelet, an order of hay bacon strips, and a large coffee,” the woman said the seriousness gone from her voice. 
“Y-yes Madams,” said the waitress before scurrying away. 
“Who are you?” Trixie asked curious. 
“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself,” the woman replied, “The name’s Vinyl Scratch, otherwise known as DJ Pon-3.” 
“So, why are you so nice to Trixie?" Trixie asked still confused. 
“Because you seem nice,” Vinyl replied, “Besides, what happened to you last night was unfair and uncalled for.” 
“And where did the money come from?” Trixie asked although she was pretty sure she knew the answer. 
"It's the money from your show," Vinyl replied, "At least it's what you deserve for your show last night. It did come out of what I made last night." 
"You don't believe what that guy said last night?" Trixie asked. 
"That was probably just some drunken guy who managed to get in," Vinyl replied, "I think he was just making crap up." 
"Actually," Trixie began not believing she was going to say this, "The enslaving of Ponyville was true. But, it was only because Trixie was corrupted by the Alicorn Amulet. The Ursa Minor wasn't Trixie's fault. Snips and Snails brought it to town after Trixie bragged about defeating one even though she actually hadn't." 
"I see," Vinyl said the sunlight flashing off her glasses, "I'll say this once. Everyone makes mistakes, even me. But, you're willing to admit your mistakes. Best of all, you want to make up for them. That makes it apparent to me that you're a good person. So, I'll tell you what. From now on, we're friends." Trixie almost choked on her coffee. 
"You want to be friends with Trixie?" she asked surprised. 
"That's what I said," Vinyl replied, "Now why don't you grab what you need from home, and you can stay with me for a while."
They arrived at Vinyl's house about half an hour later. "Tavi, I'm home," Vinyl announced as she walked in the door. A woman about Vinyl's age walked down the stairs. She had black hair and didn't have a horn. Her outfit gave off a classical vibe, it consisted of a grey button up shirt with a pink bow tie and grey dress pants. Her piercing, purple eyes went from Vinyl to Trixie and back again. 
"Vinyl," she began, "You didn't tell me you were bringing company home." 
"Sorry Tavi," Vinyl apologized as she took off her glasses revealing her red eyes, "She's a new friend and she needs somewhere to stay." 
"Are you also planning to take her back to Ponyville with us?" Tavi asked. 
"I was thinking about it," Vinyl replied. Tavi sighed and turned to Trixie. 
"I'm Octavia," she introduced herself, "What's your name?" 
"Trixie," Trixie answered, "Trixie won't burden you will she?" 
"It should be fine," Octavia replied, "I hope you don't mind that Vinyl will probably wake you up in the morning with her dubstep." 
"Trixie will be fine with that," Trixie replied, "She hopes it won't be too much trouble if she took a shower." 
"The bathroom's upstairs and the first door to the right," Vinyl said. Trixie started up the stairs, passing by Octavia. "By the way," Vinyl called up the stairs, "Your room is the second door from the bathroom. You can leave your clothes in there and they will be put in the laundry. You can use the bathrobe until then."
Trixie came out of the bathroom about an hour later. She turned down the hall and walked towards her room. "Mommy," a voice called in her head, "Mommy, please, don't leave me." She knew that voice, it was hers. She entered her room and sat on the bed. 
"It's your fault your mother's dead," her father's gruff voice rang in her head, "She would still be alive if it weren't for you." 
"Are you okay?" A voice said snapping her back to reality. Octavia was standing in the doorway. 
"Trixie's fine," Trixie lied, "It's just a headache." She didn't want to lie to Octavia, but she didn't want them to know just yet. 
"Are those all your clothes?" Octavia asked, "All I saw were those two pairs." 
"Yeah," Trixie answered, "Trixie never made enough money to buy more." 
"How about I take you clothes shopping tomorrow?" Octavia asked, "Would you like that?" 
"Sure," Trixie replied, "But, why are you being so nice to Trixie?" 
"Vinyl told me what happened last night," Octavia answered, "She can be a real sweetheart, that's why I fell in love with her." 
"Wait," Trixie interrupted, "Are you two going out?" 
"Of course," Octavia replied, "Both of us are bisexual. But, that's neither here or there. You should come downstairs, dinner's ready."
Trixie had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the smell of dinner hit her. She walked into the dining room and saw Vinyl sitting in a chair with her feet on the table. "It smells good, doesn't it?" Vinyl asked when Trixie entered, "Trust me; no one can cook like Octavia. Plus, she plays a mean cello." 
"Vinyl," Octavia said entering the room, "You're sweet, but I wish you wouldn't put your feet on the table." 
"Come on Tavi, I'm just chillin'," Vinyl said as Octavia pushed her feet off the table, "Besides, I saw you at my last concert. You looked like you were enjoying yourself." 
"That's beside the point," Octavia replied, "It doesn't change the fact that you need to improve your table manners." 
"You love my manners in bed though," Vinyl said causing Octavia to blush, "How's your cello practice going? You ready for your concert in Canterlot next week?" 
"I know the piece by heart," Octavia replied, "What about your new album?" 
"It's nearly finished," Vinyl answered, "But, it's missing something. It needs something like..." Vinyl stopped talking abruptly, almost like something had just dawned on her. "Trixie," Vinyl finally said making Trixie jump, "How would you like to be on my new album?" Trixie seemed to be unable to speak for a minute or two. 
"What do you have in mind for Trixie?" She asked surprised by the sudden question. 
"I think you and I should record a song together the day after tomorrow," Vinyl answered, "I can run it by Neon Lights tomorrow." 
"Trixie doesn't know," Trixie replied. 
"Don't worry," Vinyl replied, "You can think it over. Just let me know before I head over to the studio tomorrow. For now, why don't we eat dinner?"

> Past Troubles, Present Haunting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3
Past Troubles, Present Haunting

"Trixie," a voice called out behind her, "My Great and Powerful Trixie, are you alright?" Trixie turned around and met the purple eyes of a familiar face. 
"Mother?" Trixie asked, "Mother is that you?" 
"You're okay now," her mother said panting, "I know you will be. After all, you're my Great and Powerful Trixie." 
"Mother, what happened to you?" Trixie asked about ready to cry. Her mother was trapped underneath a wooden beam. Her light blue hair was messy and covered with soot, and her face had a pained expression. Blood was streaming from her mouth and ran down her face. 
"I need you to be strong for me Trixie," she said, "Stay strong for mommy, okay?" 
"Mommy," Trixie cried out, the tears flowing down her face like a river, "Mommy, please, don't leave me. I don't want you to go." 
"I have to sweetie," her mother replied as the life drained from her eyes, "I don't want to sweetie, but I have to. But, I need you to be strong. You have to remember, no matter what anyone says that you're Mommy's Great and Powerful Trixie, and Mommy loves you." Trixie started towards her mother but was stopped by a wall of flame that sprang up between them. 
"Mommy," Trixie cried, "Please, come back Mommy." The smoke was too thick at this point, and Trixie couldn't breathe. Suddenly, everything went black.
Trixie bolted upright in bed, tears streamed down her cheeks and her pajamas were soaked in sweat. She looked over to the clock. "It happened again," Trixie said as she saw that the clock read 2:00 in the morning. She climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a few minutes before she noticed Octavia standing in the doorway wearing a grey nightgown. 
"Did you have a bad dream?" She asked looking concerned. 
"Something like that," Trixie replied, "Trixie's been having them since she was little. They come and go; Trixie has them some nights and some nights they leave her alone." 
"If you need someone to talk to," Octavia began, "I'm willing to listen. I already know about what happened in Ponyville, but I don't think that's it." 
"Did Trixie wake you?" Trixie asked feeling bad. 
"Yes," Octavia answered, "But that was only because I was worried about you. I thought something terrible had happened to you." 
"Thanks," Trixie replied, "But, Trixie doesn't think she can tell you about it yet." 
"Take your time," Octavia said, "But, remember, I'm willing to listen when you're ready to talk." Octavia walked back to her room leaving Trixie standing there. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and went back to her own room.
She finally came out of her room four hours later. As she walked downstairs she kept thinking back to what Octavia had said earlier that morning. She entered the dining room and sat at the table. "What happened to the happy Trixie that was here last night?" Vinyl said interrupting her thoughts. 
"Good morning Vinyl," Trixie replied. 
"It doesn't seem like you're having one," Vinyl commented. 
"She just had a bad night," Octavia said entering with two cups of coffee, "She'll feel better after she spends time with her friends today." 		
"Thanks Octavia," Trixie said grabbing the coffee Octavia had set in front of her, "Trixie thinks that she will feel better after going shopping with you." 
"You just need to know that we care about you," Octavia said, "You're our friend, after all." 
"Trixie knows," Trixie said perking up a little, "Trixie's glad she has you guys as her friends." 
"Look Octavia, happy Trixie is back," Vinyl said with a smile. 
"I hope you like the coffee," Octavia said, "Vinyl told me how you take it." 
"Thank you, Octavia," Trixie said.
"So," Octavia began as her and Trixie were walking down the street an hour later, "I was thinking that you needed some casual clothes." 
"Yeah," Trixie said absently. 
"And then, I thought we could go to this nice little Italian place for lunch," Octavia continued excitedly. 
"Yeah," Trixie repeated. 
"Are you even listening?" Octavia asked, "You seem spacey." 
"Yeah," Trixie said again. Octavia stopped walking and turned around. 
"Trixie," she began, "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" 
"It's nothing," Trixie said unconvincingly. 
"I know when you're lying to me," Octavia replied, "It's plain to see something's bugging you." 
"Trixie said she was fine," Trixie shot back. She stared into Octavia's face for a moment then looked down. "Trixie's sorry," she said quietly, "She's just trying to sort things out. She'd tell you what's wrong but she's not ready yet." 
"Okay," Octavia said putting her hand on Trixie's shoulder, "Let's just enjoy today, alright?" 
"Sure," Trixie replied looking up.
"It's your fault," her dad's voice rang in her head again, "I don't know why your mother thought it was a good idea to bring you to work with her but now she's dead." 
"Dad, please, it's not my fault," Trixie said crying, "I don't know what happened but it's not my fault." 
"Sure," Her dad said stepping into view, "I suppose she just ended up dead." Her dad had messy black hair and beard. He was wearing his usual attire, a tank top and shorts, and his black eyes were filled with malice. 
"Please, Dad, that's not nice," Trixie said her voice full of fear, "Can't we be happy again? It's what Mom would have wanted." 
"Who said you get to decide what your mother would have wanted?" Her dad asked smacking her, "You should have died with her. I can't believe that damn firefighter saved you." 
"Why are you being so mean, Dad?" Trixie asked, "What did I do to deserve this?" 
"You let your mother die," her dad answered, "Now get me another beer." 
"Why would I do that?" Trixie asked, "You've been mean to me ever since you've started drinking them non-stop." 
"I said get me a damn beer," her father replied smacking her again, "Ten year-olds shouldn’t question their parents. You can go to your room; I'll get the damn thing myself. If you come out before I tell you, then that fire would have been the least of your worries."
"Trixie," a voice said snapping her back to reality, "Trixie, are you alright?" She looked up and saw Octavia looking at her with a worried look on her face. "You looked like you spaced out there for a minute," Octavia said concerned. 
"Sorry," Trixie replied, "Trixie didn't mean to worry you." She looked around and remembered that they had just sat down to lunch. 
"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked approaching them. 
"Yes," Octavia replied, "I'll have the Shrimp Scampi and an iced tea." 
"Trixie will have the lasagna and an iced tea," Trixie said pushing the menu away from her. 
"I'm really starting to worry about you," Octavia said as soon as the waiter had left, "You had just sat down before you started holding your head. You looked like you were in pain." 
"Yeah," Trixie replied, "Trixie's sorry about that. Trixie just had a headache, it's fine now." 
"Look," Octavia said in a caring voice, "I know you said you'll tell me when you're ready, but it's getting really bad and I'm getting really worried. I think we should head straight home after this, before it gets worse. We got you a lot of clothes anyway." 
"Thanks," Trixie said smiling, "Trixie's glad she has a friend like you."
“Get up,” Octavia said shaking Trixie awake the next morning, “We need you to get up and get ready. We’re getting ready to leave for Canterlot.” 						
“Canterlot,” Trixie repeated half-asleep, “What’s going on in Canterlot?” 
“Octavia and I have a show in Canterlot tomorrow,” Vinyl’s voice replied from the hall, “But, we’re getting a head start and leaving early.” Trixie sat up in bed and looked out the window. The sun hadn’t come up yet and it was still dark. She looked down at the clock on the bedside table. 
“3:00 in the morning,” Trixie read aloud, “Trixie knows you want to leave early, but why this early?” 
“It’s about a two hour drive to Canterlot,” Octavia answered, “Besides; we wanted you to be able to explore Canterlot before our performances. It was Vinyl’s idea and a rather good one too. Now, I’m going to leave so you can get changed. You better be packed up and ready to go in an hour.” With that, Octavia got up and left the room, closing the door on the way out.
An hour later, they were going down the highway in Octavia’s grey SUV with Trixie’s traveling house hooked up to the back. Octavia was driving while Vinyl was leaning back in the passenger’s seat. Behind Octavia, mostly because there was no room behind Vinyl, Trixie was sitting in the middle set of seats. Piled up behind her was all the music equipment that Vinyl and Octavia had taken. “Trixie is ready to tell you what’s been troubling her,” Trixie spoke up breaking the silence that had filled the van since they left. 
“Are you sure?” Octavia asked, “I don’t want you to feel pressured to tell me.” 
“Trixie’s sure,” Trixie answered, “She’s been thinking it over, and she has decided she’s ready.” 
“If you’re sure,” Octavia said, “What’s been bothering you lately?” 
“Trixie’s past has come back to haunt her,” Trixie answered a grim tone in her voice. 
“Do you mean stuff like painful flashbacks?” Vinyl asked. 
“Yes,” Trixie answered, “Trixie thinks you’ll learn things about her you weren’t prepared for.” 
“Well,” Octavia began, “If you don’t want to tell us, you don’t have to.” 
“Trixie has made up her mind,” Trixie replied, “Trixie will start her tale with when she was born.”

> The Fall of Two Moons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4
The Fall of Two Moons

Trixie was born in Canterlot to a happily married couple. Their names were Lucy and Victor Lulamoon. Victor was an aspiring writer. He lived at home and always wore a white tank top and dark blue shorts. Everyday he would sit in front of his computer and try to write new and exciting stories. There was only one problem; he wasn’t making a living at his writing. Most of the money coming into the household came from his wife Lucy. Lucy was a stage magician under the name of “The Full Moon”. She was a very talented magician and always came home with enough money for her family to live on. She had a white horn which was always surrounded by her tidy, light blue hair. She always wore nothing but white clothes. Lucy and Victor loved Trixie very much and they always hoped that nothing could come between them.
Trixie had shown an interest in magic from a very young age. She would always smile when her mother performed her magical feats. Lucy would always bring Trixie to her magic shows. “I want to be magician just like you,” Trixie would always say to her mother. 
Every time she said this Lucy would smile and say, “I know you will. After all, you’re my Great and Powerful Trixie.” Lucy started teaching her daughter the ins and outs of magic when she was five years of age. Trixie always learned her lessons fast and would often try to impress her father with her magic. Her father never paid attention, however. He was always to busy trying to think up his stories that he never made any time for his family. Because of this, Trixie grew extremely close to her mother. An event would happen, however, that would shake her to the core and the only two bonds she had would be severed.
It was still dark out as Trixie got out of bed that morning. “There,” she said to herself, “No one knows I’m up yet.” She looked over at the clock. It was five o’ clock in the morning and her alarm wasn’t supposed to ring for another hour. She reached over and turned the alarm off. She quickly made her bed and tip-toed out of her room, quietly closing the door behind her. She could hear her father’s snores in the hallway as she crept over to the stairs. She stood there in the darkness for a moment looking down the stairs. She made sure no lights were on downstairs before she made her descent. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard a faint cracking sound. She walked towards where the noise had come from and found herself standing in the kitchen doorway. Her mother was in the kitchen, standing in front of the stove, and her back was turned to the doorway. 
“You’re up early, Trixie,” Her mother said without turning around, “Were you hoping to sneak a peek at your cake?” 
“How did you know?” Trixie asked disappointed. She walked in and sat down at the table. 
“You went to bed awfully early last night,” Her mother replied, “You never go to bed that early, unless you’re trying to snoop around for your presents or anything else special we’re hiding.” 
“And you’re always up before me,” Trixie said pouting, “It’s not fair.” 
“Happy tenth birthday, kiddo,” her mother said turning towards her. The creaking of a door came from upstairs. A few moments later, her father had entered the kitchen. “Dear,” her mother said to him, “Do you know what today is?” 
“Friday,” he answered as he poured himself a cup of coffee. 
“Isn’t there something special about today?” she asked him. 
“Not that I can recall,” He said. 
“Do you remember what happened ten years ago from today?” She asked. 
“No,” he replied. 
“It’s my birthday,” Trixie said teleporting in front of him. He stood there as if in thought for a moment or two. 
“So it is,” he replied. He looked at her for another moment or two, then patted her on the head and walked out of the room.
“Why’s Dad always so distant from me?” Trixie asked at dinner that night. It was just her and her mother sitting at the table. Her dad had taken his dinner to his study. He had said something about trying to finish his new book. 
“I don’t know,” her mother answered, “But, I think it has something to do with his work. He focuses on trying to churn out the next big story, and it seems like he forgets he has a daughter.” 
“Isn’t there anything you can do?” Trixie asked. 
“I’ve tried,” was the reply, “But, nothing I do seems to work.” Trixie sat in silence for a moment. “I have a surprise for you,” her mother said quickly, “I know you like watching my shows. I also happen to have one tonight. So, I thought you might want to see what goes on backstage at one of my shows.” Trixie perked up. 
“You’re not kidding, are you?” She asked. 
“No, not at all,” her mother replied, “You always tell me you want to be a magician like me, and it’s not a school night; so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem.” Trixie jumped out of her seat and hugged her mother. “Now put your dishes in the sink,” her mother said getting up, “We need to leave for the theater in twenty minutes.”
Trixie was sitting in her mother’s dressing room about thirty minutes later. Her dressing room was small, but it was arranged to make it as comfortable as it possibly could. Trixie had chosen to sit in the chair near the door while her mother was sitting in front of the mirror getting ready for her show. “Are you excited?” Her mother asked as she straightened her bow tie. 
“Yeah,” Trixie answered, “I can’t believe you’re letting me see what goes on backstage.” 
“You’re my Great and Powerful Trixie,” her mother replied, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.” There was a knock on the door followed by a voice. 
“Five minutes to show time Mrs. Lulamoon.” 
“Let’s head backstage,” her mother said getting up. They exited the dressing room and Trixie followed her mother backstage. 
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a booming voice announced, “Put you hands together, it’s time for The Full Moon to rise.” Her mother kissed her on the forehead and walked onstage. Trixie stood in awe as she watched the people working to make her mother’s show happen. She was watching someone on the catwalks when she heard a crackling above her. She thought nothing of it and kept her attention fixed on the guy on the catwalk. The catwalk guy looked towards her and his face filled with panic. Next thing she knew, something or someone had pushed her forward and there was a crash behind her.
"Trixie," a voice called out behind her, "My Great and Powerful Trixie, are you alright?" Trixie turned around and met the purple eyes of a familiar face as the smell of smoke filled her nostrils. 
"Mother?" Trixie asked, "Mother is that you?" 
"You're okay now," her mother said panting, "I know you will be. After all, you're my Great and Powerful Trixie." 
"Mother, what happened to you?" Trixie asked about ready to cry. Her mother was trapped underneath a wooden beam and a fire was spreading behind her. Her light blue hair was messy and covered with soot, and her face had a pained expression. Blood was streaming from her mouth and ran down her face. 
"I need you to be strong for me Trixie," she said, "Stay strong for mommy, okay?" 
"Mommy," Trixie cried out, the tears flowing down her face like a river, "Mommy, please, don't leave me. I don't want you to go." 
"I have to sweetie," her mother replied as the life drained from her eyes, "I don't want to sweetie, but I have to. But, I need you to be strong. You have to remember, no matter what anyone says that you're Mommy's Great and Powerful Trixie, and Mommy loves you." Trixie started towards her mother but was stopped by a wall of flame that sprang up between them. 
"Mommy," Trixie cried, "Please, come back Mommy." The smoke was too thick at this point, and Trixie couldn't breathe. Suddenly, everything went black.
Trixie woke up in the hospital a week later. She sat up in the hospital bed and looked around. “Excuse me,” she said stopping a doctor as he walked by, “How long have I been in here?” 
“About a week,” the doctor answered approaching her, “A firefighter brought you in here.” 
“Has anyone come to visit me in the past week?” she asked. 
“No,” the doctor replied, “I found it strange, but no one has come to see you. I asked one of the residents to notify your family. But, your mother was found dead in the theater under a wooden beam and your father said he was too busy to come see you.” 
“I see,” Trixie replied, “It’s alright, his book is probably more important.” 
“It’s a sad thing to see,” the doctor said suddenly, “I mean, it’s sad to see a child lose one of her parents at such a young age.” 
“How much longer do I have to stay here?” 
“You can leave now,” the doctor replied, “If you’re ready to, that is.”
“Dad,” Trixie called as she entered the house an hour later, “Dad, are you here?” She looked around the living room and noticed there was a huge pile of beer cans next to her father’s recliner. She turned towards the stairs and saw a trail of beer cans leading upstairs. She followed the trail and ended up in front of the door to her father’s study. “Dad,” she said opening the door, “Dad, are you in here?” Her dad was sitting in front of the computer, asleep. She looked around the study. Beer cans covered the floor, except near the trash can where a pile of crumpled up pages sat, the room smelled of urine and her dad looked like he hadn’t changed his clothes during the week. Trixie sighed. “Welcome back,” she muttered to herself. She left the room and went downstairs. She sighed again as she noticed that even though the house looked the same, it didn’t feel the same. Trixie spent the whole afternoon cleaning her Dad’s mess of beer cans. Once that was done she went back upstairs, entered her room, and sat on her bed. 
“Trixie,” her dad called downstairs as she came in the door two weeks later, “Can you come here a minute?” Trixie sighed as she started up the stairs. 
“Yes Dad,” she said as she entered his study. 
“You just get home from school?” her father asked. Trixie just nodded. “I want you to do your homework, your chores, and take a shower,” he said turning back to the computer. After she had done what her father had asked she entered her room and sat on her bed. As she sat there, a crash came from her father’s study. 
“Are you okay?” she asked knocking on the door. 
"It's your fault," her dad's voice shouted, "I don't know why your mother thought it was a good idea to bring you to work with her but now she's dead." 
"Dad, please, it's not my fault," Trixie said crying, "I don't know what happened but it's not my fault." 
"Sure," Her dad said opening the door, "I suppose she just ended up dead." His black eyes were filled with malice and she could see the bookcase was overturned behind him. 
"Please, Dad, that's not nice," Trixie said her voice full of fear, "Can't we be happy again? It's what Mom would have wanted." 
"Who said you get to decide what your mother would have wanted?" Her dad asked smacking her, "You should have died with her. I can't believe that damn firefighter saved you." 
"Why are you being so mean, Dad?" Trixie asked, "What did I do to deserve this?" 
"You let your mother die," her dad answered, "Now get me another beer." 
"Why would I do that?" Trixie asked, "You've been mean to me ever since you've started drinking them non-stop." 
"I said get me a damn beer," her father replied smacking her again, "Ten year-olds shouldn’t question their parents. You can go to your room; I'll get the damn thing myself. If you come out before I tell you, then that fire would have been the least of your worries."
Trixie sat down on her bed as the tears started rolling down her cheeks, wave after wave. “Why did this have to happen to me?” She thought, “Ever since I came back from the hospital, all he’s ever done was treat me like crap. He orders me around, hits me whenever something goes wrong, and drinks beer in his study. I wish I never came home.” Just then, a thought crossed her mind. “That’s what I’ll do,” she whispered to herself as a fire ignited in her eyes. She stood up and walked over to her bedroom door. She stood there waiting, until she heard her father’s cursing in the hallway followed by the slamming of his study door. She hesitated, unsure about going through with it or not. This only lasted for a moment before her new resolve filled her again. She opened her door quietly and stepped out into the hall. At this point, her instinct had taken over her and before she knew it she was at the bottom of the stairs. In the next moment, she was outside. She paused, thinking about where she should go. There was a slamming of a door inside and she had to act fast. She took off down the street, she still didn’t know where she was going but she never looked back.

> The Blue Moon and the Crimson Sunset
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5
The Blue Moon and the Crimson Sunset

For the next six years, Trixie found herself living on the streets. The only money she had to her name was whatever she could scrape together from odd jobs she did here and there. She felt alone as if the world was closing in around her. The only thing that kept her going was a faint hope that things would get better. Of course, things never seemed to do so. That was until that one faithful in her junior year at Celestia's High School for Gifted Unicorns. It was the day a sunset changed her life.
It was a hot summer morning and the first day of school. Trixie stood in front of the main gate to the school as the summer sun beat down on her. Her legs shook as she looked at all the students having fun on the front lawn. She hoped that she could be that happy one day, but she knew it was probably just a fool's dream. Gathering all the courage she could muster, she entered school grounds and made a dash towards the front doors. Hoping no one saw her, she entered the building. She looked around in awe at the magnificent interior of the school. She had seen it before, but the sight always amazed her. The marble floors shined from their fresh polishing and the chandeliers on the ceiling were breathtaking. She ran her hand against the cool stone wall. She was so focused on the interior of the school that she didn't see a student walk up to her. She did notice, however, when the student bumped her into the wall causing the books to fall from her hands. "Watch where you're going next time," the student said with a sneer, "I guess 'Great and Powerful' doesn't mean 'careful and observant.'" With that, the student walked away. Trixie sank to her knees as tears filled her eyes as they turned towards the floor. 
"That was mean," a disembodied voice said as a pair of hands came into view to help pick up her books, "Don't they know that's just a good way to piss people off?" Trixie looked up to see who was talking to her. She found herself looking straight into the aqua blue eyes of a girl her age. The girl had red and yellow hair with her yellow horn sticking out and wore a yellow t-shirt printed with the image of a red sun and an orange miniskirt. "My name's Sunset Shimmer," she said noticing Trixie looking at her, "What's your name?" 
"Trixie," Trixie replied standing up, "Thank you for helping Trixie."
"I can't believe you actually talk like that," Sunset Shimmer was saying as they were walking to class, "I always thought they were making it up." 		
"Do Trixie’s mannerisms bug you?" Trixie asked. 
"No," Sunset Shimmer said turning to Trixie, "I think it's kinda cute." Trixie looked away in embarrassment. 
"You're just flattering Trixie," Trixie said. 
“No I mean it,” Sunset Shimmer said with a smile, “In fact; I would like it if we were friends.” 
“Trixie would like that,” she replied. 
“Great,” Sunset Shimmer said, “Why don’t you come over to my place this weekend?” 
“Sure,” Trixie replied.
Trixie went over to Sunset Shimmer’s that weekend. It was a big house, it had twenty rooms, but Trixie felt comfortable as long as she was with Sunset Shimmer. They stayed up all night talking, joking, and telling stories. Trixie had never felt this close to someone in all her life, except maybe her mother. Sunset Shimmer was the only person who had been nice to her since her mother died. Trixie thought this would go on forever. That changed on one faithful day in November during her senior year.
“Hi,” Trixie said walking up to Sunset Shimmer, “How did you sleep last night?” Sunset Shimmer was looking into locker, it seemed she was looking for something, but she didn’t reply to Trixie. “Sunset,” Trixie said worried, “Is everything all right?” 
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Sunset Shimmer replied slamming her locker closed. 
“It just seems like you’re out of it,” Trixie replied, “I mean, you didn’t reply to my first question.” 
“Can you just shut up so I can think?” Sunset Shimmer snapped at her, “I have too much crap to deal with right now.” Tears came to Trixie’s eyes after this comment and she ran off crying. “Dammit,” Sunset Shimmer said as she turned and started walking down the hall.
Trixie only later found out through the school newspaper that Sunset Shimmer had been accepted for personal tutoring by Princess Celestia. After that Trixie remained isolated from the world, she didn’t speak to anyone. “Trixie has always wanted to be a stage performer like her late mother,” Trixie remembered declaring to Sunset Shimmer. 
Sunset Shimmer had replied, “Can I see a magic show?” Trixie remembered the applause she had gotten from Sunset Shimmer when she was done. 
“Why does this always happen to Trixie?” She asked as she began to cry.

> A Bad Girl and a Seamstress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6
A Bad Girl and a Seamstress

“After that Trixie graduated and went to Ponyville,” Trixie finished, “You know the rest from there.” After Trixie finished silence filled the van again. 
“I’m so sorry,” Octavia finally said, “I didn’t know.” 
“It’s okay,” Trixie replied, “Trixie felt comfortable enough to tell you.” 
“I know,” Octavia said, “But it’s still a sad story. Don’t you agree Vinyl?” Vinyl said nothing, but her sobs could be heard clear as day. “Vinyl,” Octavia began, “You’re crying.” 
“No I’m not,” Vinyl said quickly, “I just have something in my eye.” 
“But,” Octavia began to object, “You’re clearly…” 
“We’re here.” Vinyl interrupted. Sure enough coming up on the left was the Canterlot Inn. 
“You win this time Vinyl,” Octavia said, “But, I know what I saw.”
A loud ringing interrupted Trixie’s dreams the next morning. She sat up and looked around her small room at the inn trying to find the source of the shrill sound. Her gaze finally fell on the telephone sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. She picked it up and put it to her ear. “Hello,” she said groggily. 
“Hello,” said the voice on the other end of the line, it had an air of regality to it, “Am I speaking to Ms. Lulamoon?” 
“Yes,” Trixie answered, “This is Trixie.” 
“We received a call from you last night asking to see the Princess,” The voice continued, “We’ve given your case to the Princess for her to go over. She has agreed to see you. Your hearing will be tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. and it will be overseen by all four princesses.” 
“Did you say ‘by all four princesses’?” Trixie asked confused. 
“Yes,” the voice replied, “The four Princesses: Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight; will oversee your hearing. Is there a problem?” 
“None at all,” Trixie answered quickly, “She will see you tomorrow at 1:00 P.M.” 
“See you then,” the voice said before hanging up.
“Why did you need to set up a hearing with the Princess anyway?” Vinyl asked over breakfast. 
“Trixie did some horrible things last time she was at Ponyville,” Trixie replied, “She can’t just simply walk into Ponyville. That is where the Princess comes in. If Trixie gets permission from the Princess they would have to let her walk into town to complete her quest for redemption.” 						
“Yes,” Octavia began as she stirred her tea, “But, it sounds like you’ll have to convince all four Princesses that you’re worthy of redemption.” 
“Trixie admits that she didn’t expect to have all four Princesses there,” Trixie replied, “In fact she didn’t know Twilight was a princess.” 
“What made you want redemption anyway?” Vinyl asked. 
“Trixie never wanted this to happen to her in the first place,” Trixie answered, “All Trixie wanted was to be a magician like her mother. Unfortunately, she was treated like a show-off when she went to Ponyville the first time. By the time Trixie left Ponyville the first time she had no friends and felt extremely isolated and lonely. Trixie admits when she returned to Ponyville she took it too far and it didn’t help her at all.” 
“You’re DJ Pon-3 are you not?” asked a voice behind them.
They all turned around and saw a pegasus in a cyan tank top and jeans, her rose red eyes staring at Vinyl. Her cyan wings were poking out through her black jacket and her untidy rainbow hair glowed in the sun. “Yeah,” Vinyl answered, “I’m Vinyl Scratch, who are you?” 
“I’m Rainbow Dash,” she replied, “I’m a huge fan of yours. Can I get you autograph?” 
“Sure,” said Vinyl taking out a pen and paper. Rainbow Dash looked from Vinyl to Octavia, who was sitting next to her, until it finally landed on Trixie. 
“What are you doing here Trixie?” Rainbow asked her words dripping with venom, “Why are you hanging out with a pony as popular as Vinyl? She’s too cool for you.” Vinyl cleared her throat causing Rainbow Dash to look back at her. 
“Look Rainbow,” she began, “You look pretty smart, so I’ll only say this once and you should be able to understand it.” Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to think as Vinyl stood up. “Consider this a warning,” Vinyl continued, “Don’t you ever tell me who is cool enough to hang out with me. Trixie is a nice and considerate person despite the mistakes she’s made and she’s also my friend. If you have a problem with her you have a problem with me, do I make myself clear?” 
Rainbow Dash let out an audible whimper before answering, “Yes Ma’am, it won’t happen again Ma’am.” 
“Good,” said Vinyl sitting back down, “Then, we won’t have a problem. Say you’re sorry to her before you go.” With that Vinyl handed her the autograph. 
Rainbow Dash turned towards Trixie and said a quick “Sorry” before taking off.
The rest of the day was spent preparing for Trixie’s hearing. This included: Trixie going to the store to get some more nice clothes for her, mock hearings, and a shower. Things were quiet until the time came for the three of them to go to Vinyl’s concert. The three of them left around 8:00 PM and got there about 9. Once they got there Vinyl handed them front row tickets and backstage passes. About halfway through the concert, a familiar voice caught Trixie’s attention. “Hello Trixie,” it said causing her to spin around. She found herself face to face with Sunset Shimmer. 
“Sunset Shimmer,” Trixie said in surprise, “Trixie hasn’t seen you since high school. What are you doing here?” 
“Rainbow Dash brought me here,” she replied, “She said ‘If you haven’t seen DJ Pon-3 perform, then you’re missing out’, so I thought I would give her a try. What have you been doing since high school?” 
“Trixie has been trying to be a stage performer,” Trixie said as a melancholic expression came over her face, “Unfortunately, her first performance in Ponyville didn’t go over well and since then she has become all but a social pariah.” 
“I had heard about that,” Sunset Shimmer replied, “There was something about an Ursa Minor and you trying to take over Ponyville.” 
“The Ursa wasn’t Trixie’s fault,” Trixie said quickly, “But, Trixie does admit to trying to take over Ponyville. She’s been trying to make amends since then though.” 
“I know you can get your redemption,” Sunset Shimmer reassured her, “After all, if I could get a chance at redemption after becoming a raging she-demon, you will.”  
“What do you mean?” Trixie asked confused. 
“Remember that day I snapped at you back in high school?” Sunset Shimmer began, “I was under a lot of pressure because earlier that day Celestia had told me that she had wanted me to have special classes under her as her disciple. Unfortunately, I found out later that I couldn’t handle the stress of those responsibilities, and I had turned my back on my classes and Princess Celestia. I ran away to another dimension, but I couldn’t stay away, after the first thirty moons I returned to Equestria to see what was new. I soon found out that Celestia had a new disciple, Twilight Sparkle. So, in a fit of jealous rage, I stole her crown and took it back to the other dimension. Twilight followed me, however, and the night of the Fall Formal; I used her crown and turned into a raging she-demon with an army of teenage zombies. Twilight defeated me and taught me the magic of friendship, and then she brought me back to Equestria.” 
“Trixie had heard about the crown theft during one of her trips to Canterlot,” Trixie replied. Why did you do it?” 
“My studies included dimensional travel, it’s one of the higher levels of study,” Sunset Shimmer answered, “I used what I learned to figure out that the portal would be open that night.” 
“Is DJ Pon-3 amazing or what?” Rainbow Dash asked approaching Sunset Shimmer. 
“Yes, she is,” Sunset Shimmer answered turning towards her, “I was just talking to Trixie, and she’s an old friend from high school. I think you owe her an apology for treating her the way you did the first time she came into Ponyville.” 
“Why’s that?” Rainbow asked, “She was nothing but a show-off, we put her in her place.” 
“She was just trying to be a stage magician,” Sunset shot back, “I’ve told you this a thousand times at least.” 
“Whatever,” Rainbow replied, “DJ Pon-3 is done playing we should get going.” 
“Alright, fine,” Sunset said before turning to Trixie, “I’ll see you later.”
Trixie’s stomach was in knots as she woke up early the next morning. She got up and walked over to the bathroom to splash water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she thought about that grisly scene that took place all those years ago, the one she mentioned during the trip to Canterlot and the one she didn’t. She could still see those flames licking her old house with their forked tongues. The image of her father’s burnt body flashed in her mind. “Why?” She asked herself as she splashed more water onto her face, “Why did I have to leave?” A knock on the door snapped her from her thoughts. “Yes,” Trixie called out trying to regain her composure. 
“Are you ready to go?” Octavia’s voice asked through the door. Trixie quickly took one last look at her reflection in the mirror before getting dressed and leaving the room.
“We hereby call the hearing of Trixie Lulamoon to order,” a voice called out as Trixie stepped into a dark room. 
“Lights,” A female voice commanded. As the lights came on Trixie found herself in the middle of a round room. In front of her sat the four alicorns in large chair with desks in front of them. On the far left sat Cadance in her pink dress with a heart necklace. Her purple eyes gave off an air of gentle kindness. Her long hair, in stripes of yellow, fuchsia, and dark purple; barely hid her long pink horn, which her crown sat behind. Next to her sat Luna in her dark purple dress shirt and miniskirt. She had on a black choker with a white crescent moon design. Her black crown sat behind her dark purple horn amidst her hair, which resembled the night sky with stars dotted about. She gazed down at Trixie with her teal eyes, which had a hint of softness in them. Next to her sat Celestia with a regal white dress with a sun embroidered on the hem line. She was wearing a gold necklace with a purple gemstone in the middle. Her matching crown sat behind her white horn in the middle of her hair; which was also striped but with the colors of: light purple, light blue light pink, blue-green. The air given off by the gaze of her light pink eyes felt sterner than the two before her, the gaze almost resembled the one given off by a mother scolding her child. Finally, on the far right sat Twilight Sparkle. The newest princess was wearing a light purple dress shirt with matching dress pants. Her hair, which was a shade of purple that almost resembled black and was accented by a dark purple and a pink stripe, was adorned by a gold crown with a purple, star shaped gem. Trixie gulped as she once again began to get nervous.
“Trixie Lulamoon,” Celestia said in the same booming voice from before, “You have asked to come before us to ask for permission to enter Ponyville to try to get redemption because you committed a horrible act last time you were there. Is this correct?” 
“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie answered her voice shaking. 
“Please state your case,” Cadance said gently. 
“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie began, “Trixie first entered Ponyville as a traveling stage magician. She had hoped to give the fair citizens of Ponyville a magic show and to hopefully get some money to live off of until her next show. Unfortunately, Trixie was treated as a show-off. Matters got worse when one of her stories of fiction prompted two young ponies to bring an Ursa Minor to town.” 
“What do you mean by ‘stories of fiction’?” Luna asked interrupting her. 
“They’re stories meant only as part of the show and have no real truth to them,” Trixie replied, “Anyway, the citizens of Ponyville blamed Trixie for bringing the Ursa Minor to town, causing her to leave town.” 
“So far,” Celestia began, “This doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong, but from what I recall there was a second visit to Ponyville. I will strike the Ursa Minor incident from your record, but please, continue.” 
“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie said before continuing, “After Trixie left Ponyville she went from town-to-town to try to perform for other ponies. But, almost all the other towns knew about the Ursa Minor incident. Because of this, Trixie hung up her hat and cape and got a job on the rock farm owned by Pinkie Pie’s father. While working on this rock farm, Trixie heard about the Alicorn Amulet. This amulet was said to bring power to the user. Driven by revenge, Trixie bought the Alicorn Amulet and was soon corrupted by it. Soon after, Trixie returned to Ponyville and challenged Twilight to a magic duel. Trixie won and exiled Twilight from Ponyville, she then took over Ponyville as its Mayor. She even imprisoned Mayor Mare and treated Twilight friends like slaves. Twilight returned and challenged her to another magic duel. Twilight won and got Trixie to take off the Alicorn Amulet. Trixie was then released from the corruption about an hour later. Trixie never wanted any of this to happen, she just wanted to be a stage magician like her late mother.” At this Trixie began to cry. 
“Don’t cry,” Cadance said gently, “We’re going to go discuss our verdict and we’ll be right back, okay?” 
“Okay,” Trixie replied between sobs. And with that they vanished.
They reappeared a few moments later, a look of stern seriousness plastered on each of their faces. “We, the Royal Council, have discussed your case,” Celestia began, “And we have reached a verdict. We royally decree that the unicorn, Trixie Lulamoon, shall be allowed her redemption, as the only crimes she has committed against ponykind were under the corrupted influence of the Alicorn Amulet.” 
“Your redemption shall be a quest,” Twilight said as Celestia went quiet, “You will go on a quest to find this Alicorn Amulet which has since been lost. I did some more research on the Alicorn Amulet after you left Ponyville the second time and I found that the reason you were corrupted was that it can only fully be wielded by an alicorn, hence the name, as they are the only ones powerful enough to resist its corruption if they so desired to.” 
“Twilight and her friends will help you on this quest,” Cadence said at this point, “It will give them the opportunity to get to know the real Trixie. Hopefully, in time, they will forgive you too.” 
“You will leave with them for Ponyville tomorrow,” Luna chimed in, “Now; you may go and get your rest for tomorrow.”
Trixie was walking along the main street of Canterlot no more than ten minutes later. She walked along thinking of the second chance she had been given. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see a white unicorn turning the corner, until she smacked right into her. Next thing she knew she was sitting on the sidewalk and her butt was sore. She looked at the unicorn across from her and saw the pain in her dark blue eyes. Her dark purple hair was unusually well kept as it flowed around her white horn that stuck out like a diamond in the middle of a stream. The unicorn looked around frantically at the fabric that had fallen out of her bag as she let out an, “Oh no.” She looked down at her beautiful white dress and whimpered as she noticed she had gotten dirt on it. 
“Sorry,” Trixie said as she got up before extending her hand to the unicorn, “Are you okay?” 
“I think so,” she replied taking Trixie’s hand and pulling herself up, “But my beautiful dress is ruined.” She took a long look at Trixie until she finally realized who had helped her. “Is that you Trixie?” She asked, “You look a little different. I mean, you seem to carry yourself a little bit better than when I saw you here last.” 
“Trixie’s just happy she can finally make things right,” Trixie said before what the unicorn said struck her, “Wait, what did you mean by ‘when I saw you here last’?” 
“I meant I saw you last time I was here designing a dress for Sapphire Shores. When I saw you, you looked like you would never be happy again, but you look so happy but I guess a shot at your redemption would do it. Wait, You do remember me don’t you?” 
“Yeah,” Trixie replied, “You’re Rarity; Trixie turned your hair green.” 
“That’s right,” Rarity said as she began to pick up her fabrics, “So your hearing went well? I heard you had a hearing today from Twilight.” 
“Yes, in fact, it went better than expected,” Trixie replied, “Trixie is sorry for what she did in Ponyville. She hopes you know that.” 
“Oh, I do,” Rarity said looking up at her, “I’m sorry I didn’t remember that you were just doing your job.” 
“It’s okay,” Trixie said kneeling down to help her, “I’m just glad I can start making things better with you girls. Trixie never wanted what happened in Ponyville to happen.”

> Back to Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7
Back to Ponyville

The sound of sirens pierced Trixie’s ears as she found herself standing in front of the burnt remains of her old house. “Darn shame,” said one of the police officers next to her, “First, he loses his wife in a stage accident, and then his daughter runs away when he becomes abusive.” 
“He felt bad about chasing his daughter away, of course,” said the other police officer, “And while she’s away at Celestia’s High School for Gifted Unicorns, he’s making a ruckus every night about how he wants to change what he’s done. Finally he snapped and burned himself alive along with the house.” 
“Shame she had to see it though,” said the first police officer gesturing towards Trixie, “It will probably scar her for life, poor thing.” Trixie walked over to were the burnt body of her father lay. 
“Trixie’s sorry,” She said as tears welled up in her eyes and she sank to her knees. 
“You had to leave,” her Dad said before turning his head towards her, “You had to leave me. I just couldn’t take it, could I? Obviously, I couldn’t, seeing as how I’m burnt to a crisp and dead as a doornail. It’s your fault I’m like this; all you had to do was stay.” 
“Ma’am,” said one of the police officers approaching her, “We’re going have to take him away now.”

A sharp knocking sound pulled Trixie out of dreamland and back to reality. She sat up and looked over at the clock. “It’s six in the morning,” She muttered, “Who’s knocking on Trixie’s door at six in the morning?” She got out of bed and walked over to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a light blue eye staring back at her. 
“Hello in there,” an energetic voice called through the door, “I’m supposed to pick you up so we can leave for Ponyville.” Trixie opened the door and standing there was a girl her age wearing a pink button-up shirt and skirt, the latter of which had the image of three balloons in a triangle. The top balloon was yellow with a blue string and the bottom two were blue with yellow strings. Her dark pink hair was unnaturally puffy, like cotton candy, and she had a hyperactivity to her that made her seem like she had drank too much coffee. “Are you ready?” she asked before looking Trixie over, “Guess you’re not, by seeing as how you’re still in your pajamas. But, I guess that’s okay, I did stop by out of the blue. So, why don’t you get changed, gather your stuff, and say your goodbyes, and then we can leave for Ponyville.”

Trixie got changed into her usual outfit, gathered up her stuff, said her hug-filled, heartwarming goodbyes to Octavia and Vinyl, and then after attaching her traveling house to the back of the girl’s bright pink car found herself in the passenger’s seat of said car heading towards Ponyville. “I’m Pinkie Pie,” the girl said after a long silence, “But, I’m sure you already knew that, because I’m sure you remember me from your two visits to Ponyville. You do remember me, right?” 
“Of course,” Trixie answered, “Trixie’s sorry about what she did.” 
“It’s alright,” Pinkie said, “Seeing as how you just wanted to be a stage magician, I’m sorry we jumped to conclusions and assumed you were just showing off. I actually feel kind of bad for us ruining your career. If I would have only known before that you were trying to follow in your mother’s footsteps. I mean I didn’t know that until I read the story so far.” 
“Do you think Trixie met Sunset Shimmer too soon?” Trixie asked. 
“I don’t think so,” Pinkie answered, “Sure some people might think it was out of the blue. But, I think it was really nice of her to help you out. I mean who wouldn’t want someone like that as a friend.” A moment of silence followed her words as if she was thinking about what to say. Finally Pinkie asked, “So was your first performance really in Ponyville?” 
“Yes,” Trixie replied sorrowfully, “Trixie hyped it up and made everyone think she had been performing for a while. She knew she had to start somewhere, and Trixie thought Ponyville would be a good place to start. But, before she knew it her career was over before it began. Trixie means, why else would every other town react to how you thought of her and made her a social pariah. The only reason they’d react that way was if they hadn’t seen her perform before.” 
“I guess that makes sense,” Pinkie said thoughtfully, “After all, I never saw it that way before. Because if the other towns had seen you perform before we did we couldn’t have influenced them to change their opinions about you.”

Thirty minutes passed in silence before Pinkie asked “Did you hear about Flash Sentry?” 
“No,” Trixie replied, “What about him?” 
“He’s been arrested,” Pinkie answered, “It happened after Twilight discovered the book that connected her to Sunset Shimmer; basically, the book allowed Twilight to go to the alternate world after the portal closed and the sirens decided to show up. Anyway, Twilight was going through it and noticed there were conversations between Sunset Shimmer and this world’s Flash Sentry. It turned out our Flash Sentry was a spy who was feeding Sunset information. He told Sunset that Twilight was in Canterlot the night Sunset stole her crown. Apparently, the portal opens once every two and a half years. See, each moon is a month in its most basic form and Luna said that the portal opened every thirty moons, so that’s thirty months or two and a half years.” 
“Let Trixie guess,” Trixie began, “The portal had opened more than once since Sunset ran away to the alternate world, hadn’t it?” 
“Exactly,” Pinkie replied, “One of those times it opened Sunset came through to make amends with Celestia but found out she already had another disciple. Sunset then tricked Flash to help her steal Twilight’s Element of Harmony. After all she had learned about them during her studies with the Princess. All Sunset had to do then was to steal the Fall Formal Crown and hold onto it until Twilight returned to Canterlot with the crown. It was pure luck that it happened to be when the portal had opened.” 
“Did he confess?” Trixie asked. 
“Him and Sunset both,” Pinkie answered, “They both confessed after Twilight found the entries.”

About an hour later Pinkie Pie’s car pulled up in front of Sugar Cube Corner. After unloading Trixie’s luggage from the car, Pinkie walked up to the front door and unlocked it with a key that resembled a candy cane with red stripes adorning its shiny, white metal. “You’ll be staying here with me,” Pinkie said pushing open the door. Trixie followed her inside and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs they reached Pinkie’s room. “Go ahead and put your stuff anywhere,” Pinkie said smiling at Trixie, “Just make yourself comfortable.” Trixie walked over to the wardrobe and put her suitcases next to it. “We’re going to Twilight’s after this,” Pinkie said as Trixie started unpacking, “She said something about discussing something with everypony, but I think we should be able to get breakfast first. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?” 
“Well you did come by Trixie’s hotel room and woke her up,” Trixie said looking over at her, “So, she hasn’t had breakfast yet.” 
“I’ll go make my special pancakes then,” Pinkie said getting up, “Come down when you’re done unpacking.” With that Pinkie left the room.

Trixie came downstairs about an hour later and wandered into the dining room. Pinkie had just finished cooking and was putting two plates of pancakes on the table as Trixie walked in. “You’re just in time,” Pinkie said without looking up, “You get to try my famous confetti pancakes.” 					
“Confetti pancakes?” Trixie asked confused. 
“Yeah,” Pinkie replied before noticing the look of confusion on Trixie’s face, “Don’t worry there’s not actually confetti in the pancakes. I just call them that because I throw sprinkles into the pancake batter and they come out all colorful.” The confusion left her face as she went and sat down at the table. 
“Why do you think the Princesses want us to find the Alicorn Amulet?” Trixie asked trying to make casual conversation. 
“Don’t know,” Pinkie answered, “But if the Princesses want us to find it, they have a reason, and any reason the Princesses have must be important.”

They arrived at Twilight’s castle thirty minutes later. A guard led them through the halls to the Throne room where five other ponies were sitting on their thrones waiting for them. To the left from where the had entered sat a light pink haired pegasus. She was wearing a yellow sweater with a pink skirt and her blue-green eyes just couldn’t seem to meet Trixie’s. Next to her sat Rainbow Dash. Her rainbow hair seemed messier than usual and she looked like she really didn’t want to be there. Next to Rainbow Dash sat a kid of about ten years of age. He was wearing a purple shirt and green shorts and a mess of green hair sat upon his head. He glanced at Trixie with his green eyes before turning to the chair right next to his, where Twilight was sitting, and whispered something in her ear causing her to look at Trixie with her purple eyes. On Twilight’s other side sat an orange haired earth pony with light green eyes. She was wearing an orange shirt and blue jeans. Cowboy boots graced her feet and a brown cowboy hat sat upon her head. Next to her sat Rarity. Rarity was wearing another white dress, but she now was wearing a purple gemstone necklace with it. Next to Rarity was an empty throne. On the back of the throne was an engraving of three balloons in a pyramid, the top one was yellow with a blue string and the bottom two were blue with a yellow string. At this point Pinkie left Trixie’s side and sat in the throne.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” Twilight began, “You’re here because Princess Celestia has given you a chance to make amends for taking over Ponyville while under the influence of an ancient magical artifact.” 
“Don’t forget bringing an Ursa Minor to town,” Rainbow Dash interjected. 
“Dashie,” the pink haired pegasus said turning towards Rainbow Dash, “That was actually Snips and Snails fault, wasn’t it?” 
“Fluttershy’s right,” Twilight added, “Snips and Snails brought the Ursa to town, not Trixie.” 
“Stop defending her,” Rainbow Dash shot back, “It’s all a ruse to get you to let your guard down. You believe me, right Applejack?” As she asked this she turned to the country pony. 
“I think we should give her a chance,” Applejack replied, “After all, if Twilight believes in her, I do too.” 
“I agree,” Rarity said, “We should trust Twilight’s judgment. Besides, she didn’t seem that bad. I should know, I bumped into her in Canterlot, literally.” 
“I ran into her too,” Rainbow Dash said her anger rising, “She was sitting with DJ Pon-3 at a café in Canterlot.” 
“Didn’t DJ Pon-3 defend her too?” Pinkie asked standing up, “You trust DJ Pon-3 right?” 
“Yes,” Rainbow answered, “And I trust Twilight too. But, I don’t trust Trixie. I still say she’s up to something.” At this point all the ponies started arguing with Rainbow Dash, except: Fluttershy, who was sinking down into her throne; Twilight, who looked like she was getting more and more irritated; and the kid, who hid behind his chair like he knew what was coming. 
“Enough,” Twilight shouted effectively ceasing the girls’ arguing. She let herself calm down a little before turning to the kid’s chair. “Spike, you can come out now,” she said before turning towards the girls as Spike came out from behind his chair. “Now,” she began, “Thanks to Rainbow Dash, I think we should spend a week getting to know the real Trixie.” 
“What do you mean, Darling?” Rarity asked confused. 
“Over the next week we will each spend a day with Trixie,” Twilight replied, “On the seventh day we will set out to Zecora’s to find out where she had the Alicorn Amulet hidden away.” 
“How are we going to decide the order, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked. 
“We’ll draw straws,” Twilight answered, we’ll decide the order based on the length of the straws. The pony with the shortest straw will go first, the next shortest will go second, and so on.”

> A Flying Ace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8
A Flying Ace

Trixie hid a yawn as she stood outside the door to Fluttershy’s Cottage. It was six in the morning and the sun was beginning to peek up over the horizon. She knocked on the door again. She had promised Fluttershy to be there before dawn, but Fluttershy hadn’t been answering her door and Trixie was beginning to contemplate whether or not she had time to grab a coffee. Trixie sighed and looked around.  She was about to give up, but before she did, she heard some faint singing coming from behind the house. She walked around to the back side of the house and saw Fluttershy putting food out for the animals with her back to her.  Trixie walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.  Fluttershy jumped; dropping the bag of food she was holding which caused it to spill everywhere. “Sorry,” Trixie apologized, “Trixie didn’t mean to startle you.” Fluttershy recovered and regained her composure before turning towards Trixie. “It’s okay,” Fluttershy said her voice barely above a whisper, “I figured I’d start without you and I guess I lost track of time.” “What song were you singing?” Trixie asked picking up the bag Fluttershy dropped. “Just something I used to sing to Scootaloo,” Fluttershy answered, “I didn’t know you could hear me.” “That’s actually how Trixie found out you were back here,” Trixie replied, “So, is Trixie helping to feed the animals?” “To start with,” Fluttershy answered, “We’ll see what else needs done afterwards.”

It was about a quarter to 10 by the time they finished feeding the animals. “That should do it,” Fluttershy said as she finished feeding the chickens, “Have you finished feeding the bunnies?” “Yes,” Trixie answered, “Trixie didn’t realize you had so many animals.” “I just can’t help myself,” Fluttershy replied, “I find myself keeping more and more animals as I help them.” “You’re just really kind,” Trixie said looking over to the Everfree Forest, “Is that where most of them come from?” “I don’t know,” Fluttershy replied shrugging, “If it is, I’m glad I’m helping them.” Not long after Fluttershy said that, a loud squawk came from the Everfree Forest. “Oh no,” Fluttershy said quietly, “It sounds like an animal is in trouble.” “We should help it then,” Trixie said starting off towards Everfree Forest.

It was dark in the Everfree Forest, which was weird considering it was a sunny day outside the forest. Trixie figured it was mostly because the trees seemed to block out the sun. Fluttershy had a tight grip on her arm as they walked through the forest. “It never gets any easier,” Fluttershy said her voice barely audible, “I’m still scared of this forest.” “It’s okay,” Trixie replied, “Trixie doesn’t mind.” They finally reached a clearing with the sunlight poking through the trees. The noise seemed to be getting louder, but they could also hear something else. Amidst the squawking they could hear a faint growling noise. Fluttershy tried to say something behind her, but Trixie couldn’t make out what it was. “What is it Fluttershy?” Trixie asked. “Please let it be a joke,” Fluttershy squeaked. The squawking was getting closer, unfortunately so was the growling. A creature entered the clearing. It looked like a cross between a chicken and a snake, and it was running from something. “It’s a cockatrice,” Fluttershy whispered, “And, it looks like it’s only a baby.” Finally, the creature chasing the cockatrice entered the clearing as the stench of rotting wood permeated the forest air. It looked like a wolf, but it was entirely made out of wood. It had glowing greenish-yellow eyes under its eyebrows which were made out of leaves. The cockatrice hid behind Fluttershy at the sight of this new creature. “Oh my Celestia,” Fluttershy said as fear seeped into her voice, “It’s a timberwolf.”

The timberwolf stared at them for a moment or two. Trixie stared back; she had never seen a timberwolf before. She had heard about them on multiple occasions, of course, but she had never actually seen them. It didn’t take long before Fluttershy was hiding behind a tree, watching from a distance. Trixie glanced over at her; she was holding the cockatrice firmly in her arms. Trixie glanced back towards the timberwolf and noticed it was moving side to side. Finally the timberwolf stopped and growled. After a second or two, it lunged. Trixie sidestepped and the timberwolf soared past her. It turned towards her and lunged again. Trixie tried to sidestep it again, but she wasn’t so lucky. It had lunged lower and faster this time, so it had caught her off guard and bit her left leg. It pulled and Trixie fell back, hitting her head hard against the ground.  She kicked it hard in the head with her free leg, but it didn’t let go. She kicked it again and still it didn’t let go. She pointed her hand towards its head and fired off a magic blast. The magic blast took off its head and it fell apart, the pieces disappearing into green smoke. “Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked approaching her. “Trixie’s fine,” Trixie answered holding her left leg, “It just got Trixie’s leg.”

Trixie tried to stand up, but fell to her knees as pain shot through her leg. “Are you going to be able to walk?” Fluttershy asked still afraid of the forest. “Trixie doesn’t think so,” Trixie answered. A howling ripped through the air like a shockwave. “Oh no,” Fluttershy squeaked, “The rest of the pack is coming.” “We’re not going to make it with Trixie’s leg the way it is,” Trixie said still kneeling, “Even if you were to help Trixie walk, we’d be too slow to beat them to the entrance of the forest.” “So, what do we do?” Fluttershy asked fearfully. “Trixie doesn’t know,” Trixie answered again, “You could run and leave Trixie here.” “I c-can’t,” Fluttershy replied, “I couldn’t leave you here.” “You might not have a choice,” Trixie said sitting down on the forest floor, “If you don’t run soon, they’ll get you too.” “I’m not leaving a friend behind,” Fluttershy almost shouted, “If you’re not going to be able to move, then I’m not going anywhere.” Trixie fell silent. “We can find a way out of here,” Fluttershy said determined. The sound of growling drew nearer. “We better think of something soon, or we’re done for,” Trixie remarked.

"So, this is where you've been Fluttershy," a voice echoed through the trees drowning out the growling from the Timberwolves. "Discord?" Fluttershy questioned thin air, "Where are you?" "Sitting back at your cottage, Fluttershy" the voice cut through the air again. "But," Fluttershy began, "How do you know where I am if you're back at the cottage?" "I'm Discord," the voice rang out, "I'm the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, remember?" "Point taken," Fluttershy said meekly, "Can you help us out here?" The voice said nothing in response, but a snapping sound resonated throughout the trees. Right before their eyes the trees melted away into nothingness and everything went white.

When Trixie came to she was staring at a wood ceiling and there was something soft under her. She looked around and noticed she was in a house made of wood and there was a red door on the opposite side of the room. On the right side of the red door was a green set of drawers and above that was a birdhouse. On the right of the drawers was a little staircase leading up to a little hole in the wall. Under the stairs was a bag of animal food. On the left side of the red door was a window with blue shutters and yellow diamonds on them. Under the window was a small pet bed full of pillows and above the window was an oil lamp hanging from a post near the ceiling. To the left of the window was a birdcage with a small set of stairs running up to its door. Next to that, on the left, was a fireplace. On the left of the fire place was a small blue table. There were to other doors leading out of the room as well as a set of stairs leading up right next to one of them. Next to the staircase was another small table with a set of shelves to the right of it. Next to the shelves was a floor lamp which was right next to her. Looking over to the other doorway, she noticed there was a green armchair sitting next to it. Next to the chair was a third small table, this time it was brown. On this table was a framed picture of Fluttershy, a man she didn't reconize, and a little white bunny Fluttershy was holding. The man had messy white hair and bushy, white eyebrows adorning his face above his red eyes. His face looked a little bit older than Fluttershy's and he was sporting a small, white beard. He was wearing a brown button-up shirt that was missing its sleeves and a pair of khaki pants. Trixie was sitting on a couch between the small table with the picture and the floor lamp. She looked down and saw the floor was green and had two rugs. One of them was under the couch she was on and it was pink. The second one was near the pet bed across the room and it was red. 

Trixie felt something curl up against her injured leg. She looked down at her legs and noticed that the pant leg on her injured leg was rolled up and it was neatly bandaged up. Snuggled up against her bandage was the cockatrice she had saved in the forest. She reached down and petted it. Just then the man from the picture entered the room. He was carrying a tray with three cups and a stack of cookies on it. The man looked over at her before calling upstairs. "Fluttershy," he called, "You might want to hurry up with your bath. Your guest is awake." He turned back towards Trixie and walked over towards her. He set the plate down on the table with the picture and sat down in the armchair next to it. "So, how are are you feeling?" He asked staring at her intently. "Fine," Trixie answered, "Why?" "Oh," he said as if he realized something, "Where are my manners? My name is Discord, and I'm the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Can I offer you some tea?" As he offered he pointed to the cups on the tray. Trixie just nodded, which caused a grin to spread on Discord's face. He snapped his fingers and the cup sprang to life. It had grown legs and walked off the tray. It walked to the edge of the table and paused for a bit before it jumped from the table to the arm of the couch. Carefully It jumped off the arm of the couch and onto Trixie's good leg. From there, it walked up her leg to her waist and sat there allowing Trixie to pick it up. Once Discord saw she had picked it up he resumed talking. "Now then," he continued, "I'm guessing that was your first time being teleported." "How did you know that?" Trixie asked taking a sip of tea. "It's simple," Discord answered with a smirk, "The first teleportation is always the hardest. Most people faint during their first time, I know Fluttershy did." At this he laughed to himself as if he was remembering something funny. "He seems to have taken a real liking to you," Discord resumed talking as he picked up a cup of tea, "I've personally only seen animals do that to Fluttershy." "Well," Trixie began, "Trixie did save him from timberwolves." "That's true," Discord replied with a smirk, "But, I also saved you from the timberwolves. Don't worry, you don't have to thank me. I would thank Fluttershy though, she took care of the rest." "When was that picture taken?" Trixie asked pointing towards the picture on the table. "That was taken on a picnic after Tirek was defeated," Discord answered without even looking at the picture, "That was a couple of months ago." Discord had finished his tea and had started eating the teacup. He paused halfway through and looked at Trixie. "There is something I wanted to ask you," he began putting the half-eaten teacup down, "What are you hiding?"

Trixie almost choked on her tea. She looked up at Discord as her hands shook uncontrollably. "What are you talking about?" she asked trying to sound convincing but she knew she failed. "You kept muttering something about fire and something about it was your fault as you slept," Discord answered bringing his face to be inches from hers, "So, I'm going to ask one more time. What are you hiding?" Trixie's heart was pounding in her chest and her hands were sweating uncontrollably. Next thing she knew the teacup slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor. "Well, what is it?" Discord continued to interrogate her, "Are you going to tell me?" The intensity in his glare was getting too intense for her to handle. "Discord," Fluttershy's voice came from the top of the stairs, "What broke down there?"

"Just one of the teacups," Discord called up the stairs, "Don't worry, I'll clean it up." He snapped his fingers and the teacup Trixie had dropped had disappeared . Footsteps decended down the stairs and a minute later Fluttershy was at the foot of them. "I'm so glad you're up," Fluttershy said to Trixie as she walked over to her, "How are you feeling?" "Fine," Trixie answered, "How long has Trixie been out?" "Just a couple of hours," Fluttershy answered, "I passed out the first time I teleported too. So, don't feel bad." "Thanks," Trixie replied, "For everything, I mean." "It was no problem at all,"  Fluttershy replied gently touching Trixie's injured leg, "Was Discord giving you problems?" "Just asking about something she muttered in her sleep," Discord butted in, "I have to make sure she hasn't done anything too bad." "What was she muttering about?" Fluttershy asked curiously. "She said something about a fire that was her fault," Discord answered grimly. "Is there something you want to say about it?" Fluttershy asked Trixie turning to her. Fluttershy was wearing a gentle smile on her face, not the face of someone interrogating someone else. Fluttershy's countenance and demeanor made it easier for Trixie to relax. She told them the story she had told Vinyl and Octavia.

"Oh, is that all?" Discord asked hiding a yawn behind his hand. "Discord," Fluttershy said in a soft voice, "It's been really bothering her. Try to be a little more sensitive." "You're right," Discord replied, "I'm sorry." Discord got up and started stretching. "It's getting late," Fluttershy said looking out the window, "Will you be okay getting home?" "Trixie's not sure," Trixie answered, "Do you think Trixie's okay to walk?" "I think you should be," Fluttershy replied looking at Trixie's injured leg, "What do you think Discord?" There was no reply. Fluttershy looked around and noticed Discord was no longer in the room. "He must have headed up to bed," Fluttershy said as she turned back to Trixie. Trixie tried to stand up, unlike last time there wasn't a wave of pain as she did. Fluttershy glanced behind her at the sleeping cockatrice. "Why don't you take him with you?" Fluttershy asked pointing at the cockatrice as he slept on the couch, "He seems to be really close to you since you saved him. And, I can't imagine how lonely it must be to be living alone in a traveling house." Trixie stared at the cockatrice and felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Trixie scooped the sleeping cockatrice off the couch and held him close. "Come on Ace," she muttered, "Let's go home.