And the winner (by a nose) is... · 9:11pm Jun 3rd, 2018
Trixie's Return
After my first story involving her I'd had a redemption arc in mind for Trixie. Of course, in order to be redeemed I needed a story where Trixie could realize and start to overcome her biggest flaw: That massive ego of hers (I ask everyone to keep in mind that I came up with a lot of this prior to Trixie becoming such a prominent character in later seasons.).
So the story would've begun much like Magic Duel did. A cloaked figure rummages around a magic shop before trying to convince the shady shopkeeper to sell them the Alicorn Amulet. The difference is this time, when the shop manager agrees, he gets clapped in irons and the cloaked figure reveals himself to be Shining Armor!
Yes, it turns out Spike and Twilight are in Canterlot visiting their family when (through a combination of Spike's journalistic instinct and Twilight's smarts) they managed to trip over this shop and figured out it was selling dangerous and illegal magical artifacts! Thanks to their reporting it to Shining the sting operation is a success and the Alicorn Amulet (among other treasures) is on its way to be locked up in the castle vault as the duo get thanks from the guards for helping to oust this place.
Trixie meanwhile is watching from nearby and seething. She'd been casing the shop for months and saving up to by the amulet herself and now Spike knocked the legs out of her plans without even knowing about them! She's beyond furious but can't do much but leave before somepony notices her. As she marches down the mountain from Canterlot she fumes over how much she hates Spike and how he's always ruining everything for her. During all this she's failing to watch where she's going, leading to her and her cart walking off a steep slope sending her careening over a cliff!
Trixie survives, though her show cart is ruined of course, having landed on a ledge just below the cliff. Making things worse it starts to rain, and she moves into a nearby cave for shelter. In here she finds the key that really kicks off the story: A strange, glowing crystal with a shadowy shape inside. When she investigates it further, it begins to talk to her! The thing in the crystal explains it was imprisoned here long ago and promises Trixie a wish if she releases it from its prison. Trixie is wary and strongly considering her chances with the rain outside when the imprisoned thing mentions that it can help her get the revenge she so desperately wants.
That sells Trixie, and she uses her magic and the prisoner's instructions to destroy the crystal. A book falls out, a very strange one that proves to be the source of the voice and introduces itself as the "Grim Maleficarum". Now Trixie is wondering how a book can help her get even with Spike, when it reveals that it's a book of exceptionally powerful magic and offers her a better option that simple revenge: The chance to make it so Spike never wronged her in the first place.
Intrigued once more, Trixie listens as Grim explains that he contains a time travel spell. One that would send Trixie back just long enough to make one minor change to the past and alter her future (Once again, this idea was composed way before Starlight Glimmer was a thing on the show). Trixie already knows exactly when and where she wants to go and only wonders what Grim gets out of helping her, aside from being freed. Grim just explains that helping is it's own reward to him and opens up to show Trixie the spell she wants.
Trixie casts it and finds herself outside Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Looking in through the window she realizes the spell worked, as she can see a much younger Spike making his way to the school newspaper's office with the article he wrote. Just as he's getting close, though, Trixie sees her and Twilight's past selves arrive on the scene. Little Trixie and Spike start to scuffle over the scroll, causing it to get dropped as Trixie pins Spike.
At this point, modern Trixie intervenes. Rather than letting Twilight pick up the scroll and send it off like she's supposed to, Trixie levitates the scroll out the window before it's noticed and tucks it away in her hat. As the time spell activates to drag her back to her own time, she can't help but chuckle as she hears Spike panicking over where the scroll is and her past self mocking him for how much trouble he's about to get in...
The return trip is way less pleasant than the trip to the past was, but when it ends Trixie finds herself waking up. In an actual bed instead of her wagon's cot. She quickly realizes that she's in a lavish bedroom in the tower she lived in when she first became Celestia's student. The spell worked, and history has now changed so she was never expelled!
Trixie is naturally ecstatic over this as she begins prancing around her room looking at all the wonderful furniture, photographs of herself at important social events, gifts and letters from her parents talking about how proud she makes them, etc. Icing on the cake is Twilight coming in, wearing a collar and tag decorated with Trixie's cutie mark. Trixie is so pleased she completely ignores the breakfast Twilight was bringing up for her and heads outside to see what else this new world can offer her.
Tooling around the school campus just further cements the world is exactly as Trixie hoped it would be. Everypony recognizes her, stops to say hello or offer her complements, she even scores a free smoothie when she stops for a snack at one of the campus eateries. While enjoying the perks she also overhears a couple ponies talking about a party that Moondancer will be holding that night, and butts in to invite herself along. Before she can get a yes or no from the (now exceedingly worried) ponies that were talking about it, however, Prince Blueblood shows up. Turns out he'd stopped by the tower to look for her because he wanted to invite her to a party he's hosting that night for the Canterlot elite! Trixie accepts in a heartbeat, swooning over how her new reality feels like a dream.
A dream that comes crashing to a halt when Blueblood mentions how, with Trixie there, Canterlot's celebration for the One-Thousandth Summer Sun Celebration will be something to remember.
So back at the tower Twilight has just finished sorting the bookshelves when Trixie busts in and starts tearing the place apart. After ripping literally every book off the walls she finds what she was looking for: A wall calendar. Upon checking the date she starts panicking even more as she realizes that the spell worked but it dropped her back off several months earlier than her native time. She's arrived the day before Nightmare Moon's return!
Still in a tizzy, Trixie refuses to answer Twilight's questions about what's going on and just orders her to get some paper and take a message to Celestia. As Twilight runs off to complete the order Trixie keeps panicking over the fact that Nightmare Moon is coming and she's the only one that knows about it.
Then she realizes that Nightmare Moon is coming and she knows exactly how to stop her. Trixie is much calmer when Twilight comes back, and starts to dictate her message.
At this point Celestia would start reading the letter. Though she's a bit confused at Trixie's sudden interest in attending the celebration in Ponyville, and even more so about why Trixie feels that she needs a bodyguard for it, Celestia isn't about to complain as it gives her the excuse to send Trixie off to where she needs to be without needing to step in directly (and disappoint Blueblood) herself. So she gives Trixie permission to attend and even names her the official overseer for the celebration.
Reading over Celestia's response Trixie is quite pleased with herself. Thanks to her future knowledge she's certain that it will be easy to find the other ponies that are supposed to attune to the Elements of Harmony and get them to help her, then stop Nightmare Moon right when she shows up! She's even more eager to get going when Captain Shining Armor shows up to double-check that she requested a bodyguard for the day. Oh, Shining isn't the bodyguard though. He's assigned a new recruit, but one that (in his own words) will not let them down.
At which point a distressingly familiar purple unicorn with a green mane, dressed in the armor of a trainee royal guard, comes running up.
"G-Guard Recruit Spike Flail, reporting for duty sir!"
[To be continued in Part 2]
Okay. I wasn't seeing that ending. I want to hear what happens in part 2 now.
Ooh, that ending. Trixie, methinks you should've been careful what you wished for!