Trixie took a deep breath and opened the door.
The small room was filled with more music than furniture. The old yellow mare in the bed squinted her eyes and took a few seconds to recognize the newcomer. Trixie herself had a hard time recognizing her own grandmother. Has she always been so old and scrawny? When was the last time that they had seen each other? Too long. Just a few years after quitting the School for Gifted Unicorns. But in her mind, she would always be the grandma who played puppet shows while her parents were too busy arguing with each other.
"Hello grandma." said Trixie.
"Trixie? Oh, I'm so happy to see you!"
The young mare sat on a stool and looked around. She couldn't even find a spot where to hang her hat, so she just put it on the bed. A sense of emptiness filled the place, diminished only by the lovely song playing on the gramophone. She was so used to her clutter-filled wagon that she felt uneasy staying in that room.
Her grandmother slowly shifted on her flank and groaned trying to reach the bedside table where stood the gramophone. Trixie used her magic to stop the loud music.
"You've always been good with magic," said the old earth pony, shifting back to a more comfortable position to talk.
"It's just basic levitation spell." Trixie rolled her eyes. "How are you? What happened?"
"Oh, it's nothing honey."
"You fainted for no reason, I wouldn't call it nothing." said Trixie.
"It's the cold it is. Wears you down all day, that's all. Doctor says I should make less efforts, and I'll be fine."
That wasn't what the doctor told Trixie. It will only be worse from now on. I suggest you spend more time with her, he said.
"Really, hon, you shouldn't have come. You have more important things to do than waste your precious time with your old boring grandmother. What if they need you in Canterlot?"
"It's fine. I'm sure they don't need Trix… they don’t need me."
"What if there's an emergency? What if there is a monster attack? They can barely handle any problem without you."
"Grandma I, uhm..." Trixie sighed. " I put a defensive spell." The old mare smiled. She seemed to caress her with her eyes.
"You've always been so brilliant, Trixie. Ever since you were a little filly. I knew you had a thing for magic. Your parents didn’t want to send you to Unicorn School, but I insisted so much, everyday, that eventually they gave up. I can be pretty stubborn sometimes, eh?” she chuckled. “Look at you now. Best student in Canterlot and royal defender of Equestria. If I hadn’t insisted, you’d be wasting your magic watering flowers just like your mother.”
Both smiles vanished for a moment. Trixie quit the school after only two years. She never told her. That’s when the lies started. They would come up so easily back then. How easy the exams were, how Celestia praised her, how she’d been able to create new spells. Why was it so hard now?
“Princess Celestia must be proud of you. One day you will learn how to raise the moon just as she does. It's your destiny, I know it."
"You mean the sun? Princess Luna raises the moon." said Trixie.
"Who?"
"Princess Luna. You know who Princess Luna is, right?" she asked.
"Of course I do, silly. I know how many princesses there are. I just got confused that's all." Somehow Trixie didn't feel reassured.
They both stood in awkward silence for a moment. She had to tell her. Tell the truth. Before she could find the courage to speak, grandma broke the silence.
“Tell me about your last adventure. With the changelings. Why didn’t you send a letter? You always send a letter when you have an exciting adventure and defeat a dangerous monster. I always look forward to reading them. Imagine how surprised I was when I heard the news at the market.”
Had it been one year before, Trixie would have loved to tell how she saved Equestria from Queen Chrysalis. She would have drown her grandmother with a stream of excited tales of peril and heroism. Not this time. For maybe the first time in her life, Trixie felt uneasy about showing off. Boasting had a bitter taste in her throat when it came from the truth.
“I didn’t defeat Queen Chrysalis alone, grandma. I only played a small part.”
“If you’re not facing a dragon alone it’s not worth telling now, eh?” the old mare’s chuckle turned into a cough. She drank from the floating glass of water Trixie brought her.
“I… I’ve never defeated a dragon.”
“Of course you did. What are you talking about? That time in Las Pegasus! You wrote all the details in your letter. ”
“Grandma I, uhm…” Why were words so hard to pull out? The old mare seemed confused. It was time Trixie found the courage to tell the truth.
“I have to tell you something. I lied. I never did those things I wrote in the letters. " She couldn't bare to look at her.
"What do you mean?"
As she turned her head, Trixie saw the fear creeping on grandma's face. Fear, and disappointment. Thousands of lies crushing down at once. And suddenly the doctor's words filled her head. Who knows? It may take months, maybe years.
"Er... it wasn't a dragon. It was a manticore,” said Trixie. She saw a smile come back on grandma’s face, but it had a bittersweet taste for Trixie.
"What's the difference? You should be proud, Trixie. You've kept your promise, do you remember? "
She did. Promise me, Trixie. She could still hear her grandma’s voice, the day she was accepted at the School for Gifted Unicorns. Promise me you’ll become a great and powerful unicorn.
"Yes, grandma,” said Trixie. “I promised. And here I am. The great and powerful Trixie."