//------------------------------//
// Reflection 
// Story: Life Goes On 
// by hattafan2593 
//------------------------------//

Trixie stared dully into the bathroom mirror. Normally she would be preening and primping herself while telling herself how great and powerful she was. But lately, she wasn't feeling so great and powerful. She felt....she didn't know what she felt.

After Trixie's heartfelt apology to Sunset Shimmer a week ago, she had been doing a lot of thinking about the former bully. She, like everyone else at Canterlot High, had not believed for a second that Shimmer had truly changed after the Fall Formal. She recalled the feeling of smug vindication as she watched the girl wilt under the hateful glares of their peers. How good it felt to know that the she-demon was being put in her place, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Even after the Battle of the Bands, Trixie remained unconvinced she had changed. When Anon-A-Miss showed up, she wasn't at all surprised when Shimmer was made the prime suspect. A leopard never truly changed their spots. 

But then she learned the truth. She had learned that Shimmer had been framed, and she had felt.....what? Guilty? Yes, that was the word. She wanted to dispel the unwanted feeling by apologizing, even preparing to grovel if she had to. She had been completely shocked when Shimmer had just accepted her apology just like that. The Sunset Shimmer she knew would've made her beg for forgiveness, for some kind of favor to make it up to her......and then she remembered to the dull, lifeless monotone in Sunset's voice as she had told Trixie to leave her alone.

Trixie felt a sense of unease as she recalled an incident during gym class three days ago....






As soon as Sunset walked into the locker room, everyone went silent. This had been going on since school started back up, no one daring to say anything to or about her. 

She placed her bag on the bench and began to undress, an unusual sight, since Sunset usually changed in one of the shower stalls. The other girls just stared at each other and went back to their business.

But as Sunset pulled off her shirt, Trixie saw something that made her realize just why Shimmer always changed in private. There on her back, right between her shoulder blades, were two large scars. Trixie looked lower and saw a smaller one peaking out from the top of her underwear.

"Need something, Trixie?" Sunset suddenly asked, standing up to pull on her shorts.

Trixie blushed, realizing Sunset could see her staring through the mirror she was in front of. "Umm...Trixie was just.....wondering.....are those scars?"

She saw Sunset roll her eyes, and she couldn't blame her; it was a dumb question. "Yep." She said as she pulled on her sneakers. "Had them a while."

Trixie suddenly had a disturbing thought. She knew she should just let it go but she had to know. "So uhh.....where did you get them?"

Sunset stood up and turned to face Trixie with an exasperated look. It was a look that said, "Really? Are you really that stupid?"

Trixie's eyes wondered to Sunset's forehead, which had a large band-aid on it. From an accident involving a mirror, she'd heard. She wondered if it had a scar under it...

"Where do you think I got them?" Sunset asked, looking at Trixie pointedly. She then pulled a T-shirt over her head and walked out. 

Trixie stood there in shock as it began to click. She idly looked over to where Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie wore similar expressions to hers. Apparently Sunset's friends didn't know about the scars either.







Months. Sunset Shimmer had had those scars for months. 

Trixie didn't recall much of the night of the Fall Formal, but she knew that Sunset had apparently literally transformed into a raging she-demon. And apparently, after she had been changed back, she had bled so much from where her wings and tail had been that they had left scars.

Had Trixie learned about this months prior, she would've laughed, saying that it served her right. Now though.....

"Ahem." 

Trixie was pulled out of her thoughts by her friend and fellow band member, Lavender Lace, who was glaring impatiently in the doorway. 

"Look, I know you like to gawk at yourself in the mirror, but we'd like to eat lunch sometime today."

"Oh. Right." Shaking her head of her thoughts, Trixie turned from the mirror and walked out the door.






The rest of the day had not helped Trixie with her thoughts. As she and her friends made their way across the soccer field  to watch Flash Sentry and his band practice, Fuchsia Blush apparently having a crush on the drummer, her eyes fell in the direction where she knew the amphitheater was, and where she knew there was a huge trap door that led to underneath the stage.

Unlike the Fall Formal, Trixie remembered everything from the Battle of the Bands. Every moment, every emotion....and everything she had been willing to do to win.

A sick thought crossed her mind. "Hey Lavender? Humor Trixie for a moment?"

"Hmm?"

"The trap door on the amphitheater stage......how deep is it?"

Lavender scrunched her face up in confusion but still answered, "About....twelve feet? Give or take? Why?" 

Trixie's eyes turned to pinpricks. She was a girl of many talents, one of which being mathematics, and she had quickly calculated the height of the drop and the average weight and height of the Rainbooms, as well as the speed they were falling, to figure out whether someone could be seriously injured....or worse.

Trixie's stomach lurched as her lunch splattered all over the ground. 

"Trixie! These are new shoes!"

"Oh my God! Are you okay?!"

If Trixie had heard them she gave no heed as she suddenly bolted off the field.

As the two girls exchanged confused looks, Flash came running up, having seen the whole thing.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he asked concerned. 

"I don't know!" Lavender shrugged. "One minute she's asking about the trap-door in the amphitheater, the next she's puking her guts out and running like Satan was chasing her!"

"The trap door? Why? Is she planning on hiding a body?" Flash joked. 

"I don't think so." Fuchsia said solemnly. "I think...I think it had something to do with what we did during the Battle of the Bands."

"Ah." Flash said, understanding. While it had been made clear afterward that the Rainbooms had not dropped out of the contest, everyone had just assumed it was the Dazzlings' doing. Apparently that was not the case.

"I'll go talk to her."  He turned and took off, signaling to his band mates that he'd be back soon.








It didn't take long for him to find her. She was crouched near the base of a tree, her head buried in her arms and knees.

"Go away." she said as she heard him approach. 

"Your friends are worried about you, Trixie." Flash said, sitting down on the grass. He made sure to keep a fair distance so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Trixie snapped her head up, her face wet with tears. "Trixie is an attempted murderess, that's what's wrong!"

"What are you talking about?" Flash asked, concerned.

Trixie stood up and started pacing furiously. "During the finals of the Battle of the Bands, I trapped the Rainbooms underneath the stage. The trap door is twelve feet, Sentry! It's a miracle they didn't break any limbs! And what if they had landed on their necks?" She yanked her hair in frustration. "And afterwards.....afterwards, Trixie wasn't going to let them out! She was just going to leave them there!" She gave a dry sob. "Trixie didn't think! She didn't care! All she cared about was winning some silly school contest!"

"I was so stupid!" Trixie kicked the tree violently. "I should've known the Dazzlings were manipulating me! I'm a performer! I should've seen their act a mile away! But I was too focused on winning!"

She dropped to her knees, wiping her eyes. "And the worst thing is....what if the Rainbooms hadn't gotten out? We would all be the Dazzlings' slaves right now.....and it would be all Trixie's fault."

Flash, who was willing to let Trixie vent and get it all out, decided to interrupt. "Hang on. I'll admit, trapping the Rainbooms? Pretty dick move. But you can't blame yourself for what the Dazzlings did. That's on them, not you." He shrugged. "Besides, you're not the only one who was acting like an ass during that whole fiasco."

"But your actions weren't potentially fatal, were they?" Trixie pointed out.

Flash paused, then asked, "This isn't just about the Battle of the Bands, is it?"

Trixie sighed, then turned her head away. "I don't like Sunset Shimmer."

Flash merely raised an eyebrow. "Really? Couldn't tell."

"No! I mean....." she paused, trying to get her thoughts in order. "I don't like her, but....I don't hate her."

Flash gestured for her to continue. 

Trixie sighed, "After the Fall Formal, Trixie didn't believe Sunset had changed. She still didn't believe after the Battle of the Bands. She thought Sunset was merely saving her own skin, trying to hog the spotlight."

Flash just gave her a strange look. "That's a bit of a stretch, even for you, Trixie."

Trixie deflated. "I know. Trixie...I was just looking for an excuse to stay mad at her." She moved her legs so she could sit properly on the ground. "When Anon-A-Miss showed up, Trixie felt vindicated, knowing that she had been right. But then the truth came out...it just showed that I was no better than I thought she was."

Flash furrowed his brows. "Trixie, were you one of the students who submitted secrets to Anon-A-Miss?"

"Of course not!" Trixie shouted, looking indignant. "The Great and Powerful Trrrixie is far too mature for such childish antics!" She deflated again. "Or so I thought. I stilled laughed at all the posts, at how stupid everyone was acting, but then I got angry when it was my secret posted." 

She laughed bitterly. "You know she confronted me? She thought that I was Anon-A-Miss. Sure I played it off but..."

"But?" Flash inquired.

"But I couldn't help but think.....what if she was innocent? And if she was....she really thought I would do something like that." Her eyes fell to her lap. "I know I can be a bit of a braggart, but....I never thought I was a bad person."

Flash rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not exactly a saint, either. I was her boyfriend. I knew her better than anybody. I knew she couldn't have done it, even if she hadn't changed. I saw her life fall to pieces and I did nothing about it." 

Trixie fiddled with her fingers. "How did you get over it?"

"I didn't" Flash admitted. "But there's nothing more I can do. All I could do was apologize, move forward, and try not to screw up again."

Trixie just stared at him. "You're really bad at this."

Flash's gaze fell to the ground. "I know."

Trixie cracked a smile. "Thanks anyway."

"Excuse me." The two turned to see Flash's band mates, one of whom was smirking, as well as Lavender and Fuchsia. "I hope we're not interrupting anything."

Trixie, deciding to save face, stood up and dusted herself off, replying haughtily, "Please. As if the Great the Powerful Trrrixie would waste her time with this bohemian train-wreck." She turned to Flash, smirking. "No offense."

Playing along, Flash dramatically raised his arm to his forehead, the other clutching his chest. "Oh, my poor broken heart! How shall I ever go on?"

The group made their way back to the soccer field, laughing and joking the whole way.