//------------------------------// // Trixie visits Canterlot! // Story: The New and Reborn Trixie // by Yukito //------------------------------// Trixie looked around the room that she was trapped inside of. The windows had all been nailed shut, and the door was locked by various padlocks. She stood up slowly, and noticed that she was chained to a post. Her magic was being suppressed by an anti-magic ring on her horn, so there was no hope of freeing herself that way. She started choking on the smoke above her, and crouched down low, remembering that in a fire, one should stay close to the floor, to minimise smoke inhalation. She noticed a body lying next to her, with blood pouring down from a large wound on the top of its head. She didn’t recognise the stallion, but he felt familiar. She couldn’t identify any key features about him, since he was nothing more than a shillouette. She was close enough to rummage through the dead stallion’s pockets, where she found a key to her shackles. The key to the anti-magic ring was nowhere to be found, however, so her magic was still out of commission. Once her shackles were undone, she heard a loud bang behind her. She spun around quickly to see that the door to the burning room had been blasted open. Standing at the entrance was a familiar figure. ‘Father!’, Trixie exclaimed in her head. She was happy to see her father at the doorway, but just before she could say anything, her father said something that made her spirits sink. “She appears to be dead.” She stared with wide-eyes at the figure of her father, looking just past her and towards the body behind her. She must have been too small to see when she was crouching down. There was a post in front of her, and it must have been obscuring her father’s vision. Before she could correct him, he continued. “Just as planned. Now we can get the insurance for this place, right, brother?” She watched as her father took off down the hallway, and wanted to chase after him. But her body was frozen. If she had heard right, that would mean that…‘Father an uncle…Tried to kill me?’ Tears started to run down the young filly’s face, and she suddenly forgot about her dangerous situation. She just let out a loud scream, and started to cry in the middle of the room, the roaring of the flames blocking out her loud wailing. She heard a whistle in front of her, but simply ignored it. That is, until she heard the sound of the ceiling give way. She looked up just in time to see the ceiling collapse, but before it could hit her, a light shot forth from the door, catching the ceiling, and giving her time to escape. Once she made her way outside the room, she saw two ponies – on Earth Pony, and one Pegasus – dressed in Royal Guard uniforms. They both approached the young filly, and started to ask her some questions. But the questions were being drowned out by the sounds of Trixie crying. Her own family had tried to kill her. Her own uncle, who she trusted more than anyone else. She looked back at the room that she was just in, and wondered if she should have just stayed there. Trixie had been staring at the ceiling for about an hour now. She woke up in her bed, in the basement of Twilight’s library. After mentioning to Twilight that she wanted to be alone at night when she started to have nightmares, Twilight set up a bed in the basement for Trixie to use. Trixie had spent the last three days silently helping the citizens of Ponyville with their jobs. Apple bucking, baking, delivering letters, anything to keep her mind off her memories. She had been having nightmares at night, and wasn’t able to get much sleep. And her mind was plagued with terrible memories from her childhood. Whether they be memories of her father, who seemed to shun her very existence, or of her uncle, who tried to kill her for some unknown reason, or even of school. She couldn’t remember what exactly was wrong with her life at school, but whenever she tried to remember, her mind would start to rebel, giving her painful headaches, as if to tell her not to remember. She remembered something that Twilight had told the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had wished their Cutie Marks would just appear, regardless of what they were: “Be careful what you wish for”. This must be what she meant. Trixie wished for her memories to return, so that she could find her old friends, and introduce them to her new ones here in Ponyville. Then, they would have a party at Sugarcube Corner. But, if this was all she had to look forward to of her old life, she would much rather forget everything all over again. She finally sat up when Spike entered the basement and told her that they would be leaving soon. Today was the trip to Canterlot that Twilight and Spike had been looking forward to. They were going with their friends to go sightseeing, this they all had some time off from their jobs, and had never really been all around Canterlot before. At least not as a group. Of course, Trixie had been invited too. Trixie agreed to go because she didn’t want to be apart from Twilight, but ever since her memories had started to return, she just wanted to be alone. She finally gave in and agreed to go, just to get Twilight to leave her alone for a bit. She wandered over to the dresser that Twilight had placed in the basement for Trixie to use, and noticed how much of a mess she looked. She honestly didn’t care how she looked right now, since she had more important things on her mind, but her magic seemed to act on its own, lifting a brush and brushing her mane. Somewhere inside her, she couldn’t stand the thought of going outside looking like she had just suffered a nasty shock. She looked further down the mirror, and stood on her hind legs. “How did I get these?” She asked herself, though it wasn’t the first time. When she was the innocent Trixie from a few days ago, she didn’t seem to take much notice of them. Even when Twilight insisted that she wear the vest to cover them up. Now, she could understand why. The scars along her body were horrifying, and sent chills down her spine just from looking at them. The worst feeling she got from them was the thought that there was something out there that could actually do something like this. And that she was in a situation where this happened. They weren’t burn marks, so she didn’t get them from the fire. They looked more like claw marks. ‘How close was I to being some beast’s lunch, I wonder?’ She slipped the vest on to cover the marks, not wanting to look at them anymore, and looked over at where her hat and cloak lay. She didn’t feel like dressing up today, so she just ignored them, and made her way upstairs. She saw Twilight levitating a checklist, checking off items to make sure that they were packed. “Soap? Check. First aid kit? Check. Net? Check.” Trixie raised an eyebrow at the last item. Why would they need a net? As far as she was aware, their schedule said nothing about fishing or butterfly catching. “Double check the checklist? Check.” That one was odd too, but Trixie knew of Twilight’s odd habit of double checking her checklists, and even making that an item to check off on her checklist. So she gave it no thought. She was trying to think of possible reason for bringing a net along…And it was a big one, too. She wondered if she should ask. But she didn’t feel like talking much. She was still thinking about her dream, and wasn’t in much of a talkative mood. But at this rate, she’d go crazy trying to figure out what the deal with the net is. She finally decided to just try asking Twilight why she was bringing a net. “Twilight?” Twilight responded with a simple “mhm?”, whilst helping Spike with his luggage, which was having a hard time fitting into his small bag. It was mostly snacks…Actually, it was almost entirely snacks, with the occasional ruby or sapphire in there. “What’s with the net?” “The Princess asked me to bring it along.” Twilight responded, levitating a bunch of snacks and setting them down on the table. Spike was complaining, but Twilight had to be strict. “No, Spike. You’ve got plenty in there already. If you have too many, your teeth will go bad, and you’ll have to see a dentist. And I don’t know any dentists who are qualified to work on Dragons.” She turned to Trixie. “I don’t know why, but she wanted me to bring a net enchanted with my magic…” Trixie looked over at Twilight’s saddlebags, where the net lay inside. “Enchanted with magic? How do you mean?” “There’s just a little of my magic in there, ready to be shaped into whatever later.” Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof. “But, I do wonder what the Princess is planning, asking me to bring this net with me…Ah!” She turned around and looked at the clock, and then quickly levitated her saddlebags onto her back. “We can’t stand around here talking! We have to go, or we’ll be late!” Before either could say anything, Spike looked over to Trixie, who was smiling devilishly. He could have sworn they still had plenty of time, and now he knew what was going on. “You set the clock forward, didn’t you?” Trixie’s face immediately reverted to the most innocent face she could manage. “Spike, I’m shocked. To think you’d accuse me, your dear friend, of something like that.” She saw that the baby Dragon wasn’t buying it, and just dropped the façade. “Well, she wouldn’t leave me alone last night, so I just wanted some time to myself this morning.” Spike didn’t say anything, but instead turned his attention to the snacks on the table. He watched Trixie lie down on a nearby cushion and close her eyes, and decided to sneak over to the table, and see how many snacks her could fit into his bag. Twilight sat by herself at the train station with an annoyed look on her face, reading through one of the books that she had brought with her. When she arrived at the station, and realised that nopony else was there, she checked the clock hanging on the wall, and realised that she still had half an hour left before the train arrived. She wanted to go back and give Trixie and/or Spike – since she wasn’t sure which one of them had pulled the trick on her – but she decided to just sit down and read through her book while she waited for them. Hopefully, her annoyance would have died down by the time they arrived. That did not happen. When she saw Trixie and Spike approach her, she immediately turned her head and glared at them. “Oh, there you are. I’ve been waiting for THIRTY MINUTES!” Trixie and Spike looked away and whistled innocently, as if they had nothing to do with it. Trixie then noticed Applejack and Rainbow Dash approaching, and tried to shift the topic. “Hello Applejack, Rainbow Dash! You two looking forward to the trip today?” Twilight wanted to give Trixie a piece of her mind, but decided to let it slide, not wanting to ruin the day by getting into a fight just before leaving. Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached the three who were already at the station. “Howdy Trixie, Spike, Twilight.” She tilted her cap at each one as she greeted them. “You bet I’m excited ‘bout this trip! I hear the grub in Canterlot’s the best around, but I’ve never actually tasted it before. Well, ‘cept from that one doughnut shop.” “Isn’t that ‘cause everything in Canterlot’s so…High-class? Not to mention expensive.” Rainbow Dash said. “Well, yeah…” Applejack said. “But hey! If I can learn a thing or two from the food they have there, we could increase apple product sales greatly! We may even be able to expand sales to Canterlot! Successfully, this time.” She frowned when she remembered her less than satisfactory attempts to sell her food at the Grand Galloping Gala. The group of four ponies and one baby Dragon turned their heads when they heard the sound of a train approaching them. They saw the train that would soon take them to Canterlot stopping at the station, and saw a few ponies leaving the train. “Oh no!” Twilight exclaimed as she rose to her hooves suddenly. “Where’re the others? Aren’t they here yet?” “We’re hereeeeee!” Rarity sang as she approached the group alongside Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Everyone noticed Rarity was dressed in a very high-class dress, though they weren’t the least bit surprised by this. Except for Trixie, who looked at her with a curious look on her face. “What? We’re going to Canterlot. What if we run into Fancypants? I have to look my best.” “Fancypants?” Trixie asked. “Her boyfriend.” Rainbow Dash said, nudging Rarity on the side with her hoof. Rarity batted away the hoof and glared at Rainbow Dash. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s a friend, and a business partner.” She and her friends moved towards the train to board it. “Of course, that isn’t to say that if something were to happen between us, that I would be against it.” She said, giggling with excitement at the thought of Fancypants proposing to her. Applejack and Trixie walked side-by-side as they boarded the train. “So, Trixie. This your first time on a train?” Trixie looked at Applejack with an un-amused look. “I don’t know. I can’t remember ever riding one, so I guess so.” Applejack smiled at Trixie and patted her hoof on her back. “Well then enjoy the ride! I bet you’ll forget all yer problems by the time we get there!” “Oh really?” Trixie said, not at all convinced. “I highly doubt a train ride can be that much fun.” “Twilight! This train is so awesome!” Trixie said, running through the cabin and skidding to a stop at where the group was sitting. She had a huge smile on her face that made her look completely different from the Trixie from this morning. “You have to come see the dining room! The view is amazing, and the food is so good!” Twilight and her friends looked at each other with grins on their faces, and each were struggling to hold back their laughter. Trixie was like an excited little filly on her very first train trip, and they were happy to see her spirits lifted so high. “Maybe later, Trixie. It’s not even lunchtime yet.” She said, causing Trixie to frown. “Why don’t you go check out the rest of the cars? I hear the games room is-” She didn’t have to continue. At the sound of a games room, Trixie sped off down the cabin, easger to see what else the train had to offer. “Guess she just needed a distraction to take her mind off of things.” Applejack said and she watched Trixie leave the cabin. “Indeed. It’s good to see her energetic once more. I was beginning to worry about the poor dear.” Rarity said as she flipped a page in the newspaper that she was reading. A certain article caught her eye, and she spread the paper onto the table to show it to her friends. “My word! Look at this! “Kaito Stallion’s next target: The Royal Amethysts!”” Her friends all gasped and looked closer at the paper, checking to make sure that she had read it correctly. The Royal Amethysts were two necklaces crafted from amethyst gemstones, and worn by the previous Queen of Equestria, before the Royal sisters took the throne. Neither necklace was very valuable these days, but their historical value was huge. They sat in the Grand Canterlot Museum, with some of the heaviest security ever created. Twilight looked at the picture with complete shock. She knew that Kaito Stallion was no ordinary thief, but to go for something this big was just insane. The train made a stop at Canterlot station, and the group began to leave the train one by one. It took a bit of effort from both Twilight and Rainbow Dash combined to separate Trixie from the games room’s arcade machines. She was on a roll and didn’t want to leave. Finally, they managed to get her to leave the train, though she wasn’t too happy with having to leave her high score behind. Once everyone in the group was present and accounted for, they began to make their way into the city, only to be stopped by the appearance of a large white Alicorn, with a long, flowing mane and tail. Twilight’s face took on a huge smile, and she ran towards her mentor to greet her. “Princess Celestia!” “Twilight Sparkle. It’s good to see you again.” She looked at her pupil’s friends, and regarded each one with a slight nod. She turned to the one Unicorn she had never met before, and stared at her for a while. Something about this blue Unicorn felt familiar to her, but she wasn’t sure what. “Hello. You must be Trixie. I’ve heard a lot about you from Twilight’s letters, and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” Trixie bowed to the Princess and faced the ground, trying to show the upmost respect for her. “It’s an honour, Princess.” “Please, don’t be so formal. Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine.” She said as she raised the bowing pony’s face with her hoof. “I understand you have lost your memories, correct? Well, Canterlot is a big city. Hopefully, you’ll find somepony you recognise.” Trixie frowned at the thought of that. The only memories of her past were unpleasant ones, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet anyone she once knew at this point. Even so, she was comforted by the Princess’ soothing voice, and appreciated that she was trying to cheer her up. “Princess, is it true that Kaito Stallion’s planning to steal the Royal Amethysts?” Twilight asked, turning the Princess’ attention away from Trixie and towards the librarian. “Yes, unfortunately.” Celestia sighed. “But, this time, we’re going to get him. For sure.” She said, smiling at her subjects in front of her. “In fact, that’s why I’m here. We’re in a bit of a hurry to set things up, and I wanted to collect that item I asked you to prepare immediately.” Twilight thought for a second, and then remembered the net in her bag. “Here it is! Although, I didn’t have enough time to enchant it…Sorry.” She said, looking up at her mentor with a pleading look on her face. Celestia took the net, and smiled at her student. “It’s ok, Twilight. Although, the enchantment is pretty important…Do you think you could spare a few hours to do it now?” Twilight looked at her friends, who all smiled at her and gave their approval. “Sorry, guys. I’ll meet up with you at Canterlot Central Park later, ok?” “Yeah, no sweat Twi! We’ll just go look around for a bit until then!” Rainbow Dash said. “You go do what ya need to do, Twilight.” Applejack said. Twilight and Celestia made their way towards the Palace, leaving the rest of the group at the station. After the two were out of view, the group decided to follow a different street, where a bunch of shops were lined next to each other. Pinkie Pie in particular was very excited about sightseeing, and was bouncing off ahead of the group. “Pinkie Pie, wait up!” Rarity yelled after her as the group ran to catch up. Trixie was looking around at the familiar surroundings, and didn’t see the stallion in front of her until she bumped into him. “Sorry!” She yelled back as she continued running after her friends. The stallion – a tall white Unicorn dressed in a black suit and wearing a pair of shades over his eyes, with a long, messy green mane and tail – turned around and looked at the mare who had just bumped into him. He grinned as he watched her run off, and then turned back around and walked down the street, in the opposite direction of Trixie. “Well well…The world’s just full of surprises.” Trixie sipped at her coffee bit by bit, whilst her friends around her talked about the day they’d had so far, and showing off the various things they’d bought. Trixie was unfortunately not enjoying herself as much as she thought she would. The entire day, she kept seeing familiar sights and faces, but she was unable to remember exactly why they were so familiar, and trying to remember only resulted in a very painful headache forming. Fluttershy took notice of this, and tried to cheer her up. “Um, Trixie, if you’re not feeling well…I could, I mean, if that’s ok with you…I could take you to the hotel we’ll be staying at, so you can get some rest…” Trixie looked over to Fluttershy. “No, thanks. I don’t want to ruin your day. I’m ok, really.” She lied. Truthfully, she just wanted to lie down and sleep the day away. But she knew how much Fluttershy was looking forward to meeting the animals at the park, and she didn’t want to ruin Fluttershy’s plans. Pinkie Pie reached over to Trixie and used her hooves to shape a smile onto Trixie’s face. After staying like that for a few seconds, Rarity had to ask: “Pinkie Pie, darling, what are you doing?” “Trixie didn’t look very happy! I wanted to help turn her frown upside down!” Pinkie exclaimed as she smiled widely at Trixie. Eventually, she pulled her hooves away, and Trixie’s happy smile quickly turned into a look of un-amusement. “Please don’t worry about me. I just forgot how to smile, but I’m sure I’ll remember soon enough.” She noticed that her friends were all looking at her with looks of concern and sympathy. She sighed and rose to her hooves. “I’m going to the restroom. Please excuse me.” Trixie washed her hooves in one of the restroom sinks, and stared at her face in the mirror. She felt sick. Her headache was getting worse, and she her stomach was killing her. She saw movement in the corner of her eye, and turned around to see Twilight Sparkle standing there. Trixie looked at her with surprise. “Twilight? Why are you here? I thought we were meeting at the park later.” Twilight walked over to Trixie and placed a hoof to her forehead. “Ok. You seem fine.” Twilight sighed with relief, and then began explaining herself to Twilight. “I finished early, and saw you guys sitting in this café, so I decided to come over to you. But then the others said that you weren’t feeling well, so I came to check on you.” Trixie stared blankly for a few seconds, and then sighed and pushed Twilight’s hoof out of the way. “That’s just like you, always butting into another pony’s business.” She then realised something, and began correcting herself in her head. ‘No, that’s not right…She doesn’t care about others…But, she’s always trying to help others with their problems…AH!’ Trixie held her head with her hooves. Her mind was in chaos. Half was telling her that Twilight was a nosey pony who she could trust, whilst the other half was telling her that she was somepony she should stay away from…Somepony who didn’t care about how others felt. “Trixie? What’s wrong?” Trixie fell to floor, and started groaning in pain. “Trixie!” Twilight tried to move Trixie’s hooves out of the way so that she could get a better look at her. “What’s wrong? Are you ok? Trixie!” Trixie’s headache started to ease off, and she looked up at Twilight, who was looking down at Trixie with great worry. “I…I used to live here…In Canterlot…But, whenever I try to remember anything…AH!” She felt another shockwave of pain surging through her head. “Trixie! Stop it! If remembering is too painful, then you don’t have to force yourself.” Twilight held Trixie in her hooves, trying to calm her down. “You don’t have to force yourself to remember everything at once. Just focus on your life now, and let your memories catch up to you at their own pace.” Trixie looked up at Twilight, and felt her headache start to subside. “Why? Why are you…Going through all of this trouble to help me?” She felt a tear run down her face, but ignored it. “Do I really need a reason to help somepony in trouble?” Twilight responded, as if it were obvious to anyone. “You’re my friend, Trixie. And I don’t want to see you be hurt. Please, at the very least, try to smile and open up more. Ok?” Trixie stared at Twilight with her mouth and eyes wide open. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been for the past three days. She had been fretting over her memories, and despairing over the possibilities of who she used to be, that she didn’t even realise…“I don’t need remember who I once was…I have friends in Ponyville…Friends who will accept me for who I am, and who I can be happy with…” She didn’t realise that she was speaking her thoughts out loud. Twilight nodded, and moved away from Trixie slightly, who was now much more calm than just a few moments earlier. “Would you…Like to go back to the hotel?” Trixie thought for a few seconds, and then smiled at Twilight, rising up to her hooves. “No. I’m feeling better now. Thank you.” She walked past Twilight and began to leave the restroom. “C’mon! Everypony’s probably waiting for us!” Twilight smiled and followed Trixie, happy to see that she was now feeling better. Trixie stared at the ceiling above her. She could hear the loud snoring of her roommates, Twilight and Rarity, and was having a hard time getting to sleep because of it. ‘I don’t have to feel all alone. That was the old Trixie. The me who was abandoned by my family. But now…I have friends, who will always be there for me, no matter what. I should be grateful for that, and show them that I’m happy, so that they don’t have to worry…’ A thought crossed her mind, and she sat up, looking towards the desk that Twilight had used to write to Celestia earlier that day. ‘I wonder if that would make a good friendship letter?’ Black Cat looked up at the hotel in front of him, watching one window in particular. He watched as the light from inside shut off, and then looked down at a pocket watch that he was carrying. He opened it up, revealing a photo of himself and a blue Unicorn, both smiling into a camera, with a beautiful field of flowers behind them. “Trixie…So you’re back in Canterlot.” He closed the pocket watch, and began to walk away from the hotel. “I wonder…How should I deal with you, my daughter?”