//------------------------------// // Prelude: Mock Chance // Story: Rewind // by LunarShadow //------------------------------// Prelude: Mock Chance  Trixie scowled. From her vantage point on the top of the hill, her violet eyes roved from one end of the town to the tree that marked the Ponyville library, her destination. The tree was home to the one pony that had ever bested her: Twilight Sparkle. She was the pony that had shamed The Great and Powerful Trixie, the pony who had erased her name from the show business.         A mare as great and powerful as Trixie lets no pony best her and get away with it! Trixie reviewed the plan in her head. First, she would cast an invisibility spell to sneak into town unnoticed. Second, she would approach the library, knock, and quickly drop her spell. It wouldn’t fool a unicorn as gifted as Twilight anyways. Third, she would, under the guise of friendship, ask for Twilight’s forgiveness. If all went according to plan, she would be invited in. Once inside, she would find a way to distract Twilight. While Twilight was distracted she could enact her revenge. She may be able to best me in magic, but she’s gullible. Her trust in friendship will be her downfall. Trixie cackled in glee. Oh Trixie! You are truly the Great and Powerful! Her plan was perfect. Shrouding herself in the invisibility spell, she set off down the path to Ponyville.         As planned, no one noticed Trixie. In fact, Trixie didn’t see a single pony out and about. I could drop my invisibility spell, but I am no foal. The plan will proceed exactly as planned. She passed all the familiar sights from her last visit: Carousel Boutique, Sugar Cube Corner, the mayor’s office, the town square fountain. Squinting her eyes, she even thought she could see where her wagon had been demolished. Trixie had to admit that the ponies had done well in their repairs of the damage done by the Ursa Minor. She frowned at herself and shook her head. I’m not here to admire their handiwork. Determined not to let her lust for vengeance soften, she quickly shifted her focus back to the task at hand. As Trixie rounded the corner of the street, her eyes fell on the sign beside the library door. Her gaze shifted to the door. Time to enact phase two of my beautiful plan. She approached the door and knocked. As the door opened she remembered to drop the invisibility spell and feigning cordiality, put on her best smile.         “You don’t have to knock, silly. This is a pu-” Twilight stopped, her eyes filled with shock. “Tri-Trixie, what a surprise! I wasn’t expecting visitors.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are you back here for?”         Trying her best to look humbled, Trixie hung her head. “Trix-I mean, I came to ask for your forgiveness for the shameful behavior of my last visit. I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to redeem myself.”         Twilight didn’t respond right away. Instead she scrutinized Trixie. She noted that Trixie’s mane and coat were slightly darker than she remembered. Her cloak and hat were starting to fray at the edges. It appeared that Trixie had fallen on hard times. Finally, deeming Trixie no threat, Twilight cautiously opened the door the rest of the way open. “Fine, you can come in and we can talk about this. It would be rude of me otherwise. Though I’m not sure I totally trust you after your last visit.”         Breathing a sigh of relief, Trixie mopped her brow and followed Twilight into the library. Instead, she ran face first into Twilight’s flank. Oof. “Twilight, one usually considers it rude to stop in front of a pony like that.” Trixie rubbed her head and shot a glare at Twilight, who didn’t respond. Trixie skirted around her into the library.   Trixie turned to look at Twilight and gasped. Twilight had not moved at all. Trixie waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face. Trixie then poked Twilight when she didn’t respond, but even the poke failed to bring action.. Twilight’s eye’s were in a half blink, her mouth in a slight frown as if suspended in time. Even her mane was frozen, hanging in stasis on its own accord.         Confused, Trixie poked and prodded Twilight. Did I do this? Trixie nearly panicked. Hiding a frozen body would be impossible. This isn’t what I planned.         A sudden, deep laughter from behind her caused her to spin around. Peering into the gloomy depths of the library, Trixie strained to see who had laughed. Wait, the library was well-lit just a few seconds ago. Looking down, Trixie could see a fog starting to roll in. Her eyes darted around for the source of the frightening laugh. Her brow started to sweat and her knees began to shake. Finally she screamed as she hit her nerves end.“Who’s there? What is the meaning of this?”         The laughter drifted from the fog again. Trixie swung her head in the direction of the laughter and almost collided with a hooded pony, who was partially shrouded in the mist. Trixie recoiled in surprise. They stood for a second, examining each other. The fog swirled silently around them, settling down before either pony spoke.         The mysterious pony finally stepped back, a silly grin on his face. “What have we here? A prankster perhaps?” Trixie opened her mouth to speak, but the pony raised a hoof to cut her off. “Or, perhaps a pony looking for some... friendship?”  Trixie was at a loss for words, so instead she vigorously nodded. “Silly Trixie, you can’t fool me. My entire job is to seek out those trying to exact revenge.” The grin faded from the pony’s face.          “You see, my job is to try to prevent revenge. Revenge makes chaos and Princess Celestia doesn’t like that. However, since Equestria is so large, the Princess can’t take care of every little misdeed herself. She needs helpers, like myself, to maintain this utopia.” The mysterious pony paused and ran his hoof over the spines of some books on a nearby shelf before continuing. “ Normally, I just prod a pony bent on revenge in a different direction and avert the disaster. However, every once in a while, it’s fun to take a more active role. Relieves the boredom it does.”         Trixie trembled as the mysterious pony walked around the room, feeling the books and stirring up fog with his hooves in a bored gesture. “And you think I need the help of a pony like you to right my own problems?”         “Well, yes. You see, your case is... puzzling. Most ponies are easy to help. Most want to kill or cause grievous harm to another pony when enacting their revenge. I send them a little reminder of the regrettable consequences or an interruption of sorts, and most chicken out. You, however, only planned as far as getting to your target. After that, it gets murky. If I were to, say, place you here with a knife, you wouldn’t know what to do. You only have a notion of how important getting this revenge is to you.”         Now that she thought about it, Trixie could see where this mysterious pony was coming from. I never really did have a plan once I gained Twilight’s trust. What would I have done? I know I couldn’t bring myself to kill her. Trixie looked the pony straight in the eyes. “That still doesn’t tell me why you’re here. You could have just as easily sent me a reminder that I didn’t have a full plan.”         “True,” replied the pony, “but, I have an experiment of sorts that I’d like to try. Your case provides the excellent opportunity to try this experiment. So, I’ve decided to help you.         “How?”         “By giving you more elaborate prod. A new idea that I’m trying, you could say. I’m going to send you back to a mock version of the day you ruined your reputation. This time, however, I want you to try to keep your reputation in good standing with all the ponies of Ponyville throughout your stay.”         The mysterious pony suddenly flipped back his hood, revealing that he was not a normal pony, but rather an ethereal blue unicorn. Even his mane was a transparent blue. What Trixie found most striking about the unicorn was his bright, yellow eyes and the way he walked. Every time he took a step, traces of magic flowed off his mane, drifting to the ground before disappearing. She watched the sparks of magic trail behind him as he walked around the room yet again. Before Trixie could comprehend who her mysterious visitor was, he turned back to look at her and a gust of wind flowed through her mane, gently causing it to dance in the wind. So many questions came to the front of Trixie’s mind, but she was robbed of all power to ask them.. “Wait! How... when... what... what do you hope to accomplish by sending me back?”         “To nudge you in the right direction, of course,” the unicorn replied as the fog surrounded him, slowly causing him to fade from sight. “Remember, nothing you see will be real, and nothing you do will affect reality.”         Questions still raced around Trixie’s mind like a barrage of meteors across the night sky.. She reached out a hoof to grab the unicorn, but her hooves slid right through. She could feel herself sliding back, pushed by a fierce wind. She gritted her teeth and covered her eyes, trying to see the unicorn, but he was quickly fading into the fog. “Wait!” ---         The first thing Trixie was aware of was the chill air slowly crawling up her back. She shivered despite her show cloak and hat.She found herself quickly pulling her cloak tighter around herself in an attempt to combat the cold. When she opened her eyes, the blinding rays of an early morning sun caused her to immediately throw up her hooves to shield herself, dropping her cloak. Immediately the cold air seeped back into her.         When her eyes finally adjusted to the bright light she lowered her hooves, pulled the cloak back around herself, and took stock of her surroundings. She appeared to be on a country road just outside Ponyville. For miles to either side of her were rolling hills of tall, green grass. In front of her was the road leading to Ponyville.         All right Trixie, you can do this. She took a big breath, slowly let it out to calm her nerves, and set out towards the town square. Her heavy wagon rattled and bumped over every notch in the rough road, just like she remembered.         When she arrived in the town square, nopony paid her any attention. She proceeded to set up her stage. After setting it up with all its nifty little firework dispensers she quickly darted behind the curtain to wait for an audience to gather. Everything seemed identical to the real event, and like before, an audience gathered.         Trixie felt obligated to try and mimic her original dialogue as best as possible, but unable to remember her words from so many months ago, she had to improvise. “Welcome, ponies, to the greatest magic show in all of Equestria! Watch and be wowed as The Great and Powerful Trixie performs feats of magic better than any magic ever seen!” She teleported out onto the stage in an impressive display. She waited for the admiration of the audience, but none came. To her shock, a rotten tomato flew from the audience, hitting her square on the horn. The juices ran into her eyes, stinging them. Tears welled up and she had to grit her teeth to keep from crying. Leaning low, peering through her watering eyes, Trixie growled, “Alright, who’s the insolent foal who threw that?” --- Oops, came a voice in Trixie’s head. Even as she watched all the ponies froze mid-action, as if stopped in time. The familiar fog rolled back in. The unicorn strode out of the fog and stopped by Trixie’s side. He had a look of confusion on his face. “Now where did I go wrong?”         Trixie glared at the unicorn. “I know that isn’t how the show started before. You messed it up on purpose, didn’t you?”         The unicorn ignored Trixie. Instead, he mumbled to himself, “Hmm... I see. This isn’t a perfect system yet, but I think I got it.” Seeming to notice Trixie for the first time, the unicorn spoke to her. “I never said that this would be exactly the same as you remember it.” Before Trixie could object, the fog had blown away again, and she found herself reacquainted with the hill overlooking Ponyville she had been on. ---         Trixie glanced around. As far as she could tell she was at the same starting point as before. Instead of taking the time to look at her surroundings she immediately set off for the town square. The same ponies paid her no attention. She set up as fast as possible, then darted behind the curtain, taking a few seconds to wait for a crowd to gather. When she was sure she had an audience, she began. “Welcome ponies to the greatest magic show in all of Equestria! Watch and be wowed as The Great and Powerful Trixie performs feats of magic greater than any magic ever seen!” Again, she teleported to the center of the stage. Not knowing what to expect this time she decided to add a bit before any tomatos were thrown. “Thank you all for coming to see The Great and Powerful Trixie.” With a flourish she set off fireworks. She expected the usual ooo’s and aww’s, but this time she heard something very unusual, applause, it came from everypony. She spun around, half expecting another pony to be showing off, then realized, I forgot the firework dispensers! She turned back to the audience and blushed.They’re really impressed by plain old fireworks? Well then. Caught in the moment, Trixie set off more fireworks. Reds, yellows, and blues burst in puff-balls, ribbons, and other various shapes. Before she could stop herself she yelled out her challenge: “Come one, come all! Test your talents against The Great and Powerful Trixie’s! What you see before you is only a taste of my true power.” Immediately, a pony from the audience called out. “Oh, ya! That may have been impressive, but what makes you think that you’re any better then one of us? After all, we do have our different talents.” Trixie glanced around. “Who else here has as impressive repertoire of feats as I?” Her horn flared and a burst of multi-coloured sparks flew into the air. They slowly rearranged themselves, taking the form of a blue colored bear and a mare, much smaller then the bear. The mare waved a wand and Trixie started her well rehearsed story of her encounter with the Ursa Major. Half way through, a stallion jumped up on stage. The stallion turned to face the audience, pointing to Trixie at the same time. “Do you guys honestly believe that this... this... show mare could actually beat something that is rumored that not even the Princess will take on head to head? This mare is a fake I say! A fake!” Trixie grabbed the pony in her telekinesis and shoved him off stage. “Perhaps, but I assure you, I have more stories to tell, better stories. In fact, I can do more elaborate pictures too.” Concentrating intensely, Trixie flared her horn. This time, rather then sparks, the translucent image of a mare walking down a path floated high above the audience. The stallion that had called Trixie a fake, stared, dumbfounded. Trixie launched into her tale. “One day, I was walking down a long and lonesome road. It was a road normally well traveled by ponies, but that day, it was strangely barren of any pony. Anyways, I was walking along, when in the middle of the road there appeared a gliverex.” “Hey, wait a minute!” A cyan pegasus flew straight at Trixie, coming to a halt right in front of her. “Is there even a creature called a gliverex?” The pegasus, who Trixie now remembered as Rainbow Dash, shoved her face snout to snout with Trixie. “I don’t think so.” Trixie pulled back in disgust. “You silly foal, of course there’s such thing as a gliverex. Look it up in any good reference book. I may exaggerate some of my feats, but I know my facts. Now, back off before I force you off stage.” Before Rainbow Dash could fly back to the audience, Twilight Sparkle jumped up and walked straight over to Trixie. “No, Rainbow Dash is right. There is no such thing as a gliverex.” The audience gasped. “I should know. Back at the academy, I took several courses on mythical beasts, and never once did my book, or the professor mention such a beast.” Trixie growled at Twilight and shoved her off the stage like she had shoved the stallion. Before anypony could react, a light orange mare jumped up and bit onto Rainbow Dash’s tail. Rainbow Dash started to struggle fiercely with the other mare. “Let go Applejack! No pony treats my friends like that!” With an extra hard tug, Rainbow Dash broke free of Applejack’s grip and flew at Trixie. Trixie stepped back. Is she really going to attack me? Trixie closed her eyes and turned her head, ready to receive the blow. It never came. When she opened her eyes, she jumped back in fright. Rainbow Dash’s hoof was inches from her face; frozen in time. Once again, fog rolled in, covering the scene. The unicorn walked out of the fog, his cape making interesting swirls in the fog. “No, no, no. You’re supposed to make a good impression on the locals. Not get them to attack you!” Trixie shrugged. “How was I supposed to know Rainbow Dash would try to hit me?” “Think, think about your performance. You started off well, but then you challenged them. At least this time you didn’t embarrass them by making fools out of them. Then you went and boasted of things obviously not true. Though, I have to admit, those would make good stories if you work on them a bit. Lastly, before I pulled you out, you assaulted one of the towns most important ponies, not to mention the one who called you out before. The unicorn paused and walked around Trixie, examining her. “You know, I’ll say this again, but I think those stories could be really good. A little work, such as using a hero instead of yourself, and those stories could wow audiences everywhere. That was a nice bit of conjuring you did there with the second story. Perhaps you should focus on your strengths? Say, magically showing, as well as telling your stories?         Trixie turned her head to follow the unicorn as he walked around her. “Perhaps you’re right. If you’ll send me back again, maybe I’ll focus on the stories. I... I do have a story that could wow the audience. All right, send me back.” “ Okay, but this is it. Three strikes and you’re out.” The unicorn gently tapped Trixie on the shoulder with his horn. “Now, you get one more chance. Fail at this and I might have to send a stronger prod to deter your need for vengeance.” The unicorn spun around and trotted back into the gloom. The gray fog blew away, taking with it the unicorn. --- For the third time that day, Trixie found herself on the hill overlooking Ponyville. She sighed, and immediately began to work her way to the town square. When she arrived at the town square Trixie paused. Perhaps a change of scenery will help. She turned back towards the entrance of Ponyville and set off. At the outskirts of town, she set up her stage. This time, she made sure to leave the stage as empty as possible to make room for the pictures she would conjure. As Trixie finished setting up, she sent a burst of magic flying high into the sky. The flare turned into a colourful display of herself. Underneath the picture, the words: The Master of Storytellers, Trixie, invites all to come and listen as she tells stories of great heroism! The words hung in the air instead of fading. Quickly, ponies began to pour from the Ponyville entrance. Trixie smiled at how easy it was to get the attention of ponies. “Welcome,” Trixie shouted as the last of the ponies gathered around her. “Today, you shall see story telling like you’ve never seen before! Today, I shall not only tell you the story, but conjure images that will wow you all.” Trixie closed her eyes and concentrated. When Trixie opened her eyes, the image of a small town, set up much like Ponyville, had appeared, floating high above the audience. “Today, I will tell the tale of how a mare of outstanding magical ability vanquished one of the mightiest of all beasts, The Ursa Major!” In the town, the audience could see ponies going about normal, everyday business. “The day started out normal,” began Trixie. “But, for one mare, it wasn’t a normal day.” A purple unicorn trotted up as the town faded and was replaced by a library. “You see, this mare had been to a magic show that day. In the show, the show master had bragged about being able to vanquish an Ursa Major. Being the smart mare that she was, she had immediately gone to the library and begun researching Ursa Majors. She didn’t believe the show master, and she had noticed the strange behavior of two colts. She could easily see them doing something as foalish as going off to find an Ursa for the show master. While she knew it would be unlikely that they would find one, she thought it best to be prepared to fend one off.” While Trixie spoke, the mare walked about her library, pulling down various books. The mare flipped through a couple and threw them over her shoulder to land sprawled on the ground. Finally, the mare seemed content with one of the books she had pulled off the shelves. She went over to a stand, plopped the book down, and began to read. The scene faded and was replaced, once again, with the town. In front of the audience, a very real looking Ursa Major formed. The audience drew back in fright, gasping. Some pony shouted out, “Run! It’s an Ursa,” before drawing back sheepishly at his mistake. Immediately, the Ursa began to rampage through the town conjured up by Trixie. It flattened buildings, it smashed trees, and it roared at fleeing ponies. Trixie teleported to the edge of the stage and leaned forward. “Indeed, the mare had been right. The two colts foalishly went out into a nearby forest in search of an Ursa. Against all odds, they found one. Of course, it was much bigger then they expected, and they took off running, leading it straight to the town.” While Trixie spoke, the Ursa stopped rampaging as a stallion, in a deep green show pony’s cloak and hat, adorned with the traditional stars of a magician, stepped out from his carriage and boldly faced the Ursa. “The two colts went straight to the stage master. They had figured that he, if anypony at all, would be able to vanquish the Ursa. However, this wasn’t to be. No matter what the stage master tried, the Ursa always managed to avoid him. In fact, the Ursa came close to smacking the stage master. Luckily for him, the mare had finished her studies and had run up behind the Ursa, ready to take it on.” The mare appeared in the scene, behind the Ursa. The audience ooed and awwed as the mare proceeded to fight the Ursa. Bolts of yellow and red flashed on stage. The Ursa swiped at the mare, but she nimbly dodged. She threw some more bolts at the Ursa, and it retaliated with some more swipes. Finally, with one final grandiose spell, the mare sent the Ursa flying back. Slowly, it faded. The ponies of the town crowded around the mare, cheering. In the background, the stage master sulked away, fading into the shadows. Trixie’s audience cheered and stomped their hooves as the story concluded. Trixie took a bow, basking in the applause. “Thank you, thank you! Before she could turn and leave, two young unicorn colts galloped up and introduced themselves as Snips and Snails. “Oh Master Storyteller Trixie, is it really possible to vanquish an Ursa Major?” Trixie smiled at the two eager unicorns. “Of course it is. I myself-” The audience leaned forward in anticipation. Trixie quickly covered her mouth with her hooves. Her eyes wide with sudden alarm. “I didn’t mean-” She didn’t bother to finish, choosing to run into her wagon instead. She slammed the door. Calm down Trixie. You can still salvage this. No one will remember in the morning. She slid down onto her flank and groaned. Though, with my luck I’ve already ruined my chance. Trixie got up and walked across the small wagon floor, she slid into her bed and closed her eyes. ---         The sound of rapid banging and the repeated calling of her name woke Trixie up. Irritably, she swung her hooves onto the floor and walked over to the door. While walking to the door she noted her reflection in a mirror. Her mane was a mess, but she had no time to deal with it now. She sighed, she would deal with it after she dealt with the annoying visitors.         She cracked open the door. Outside she could see Snips and Snails, their eyes filled with terror. “What is it that you insolent foals need?” “Trixie, Trixie! We need your help. We have a big problem.” The whole town lurched. The entrance gate to Ponyville was suddenly and violently forced from the ground, flying into the wall of Sugar Cube Corner. Snips cowered back and whispered, “A very big problem.” Trixie stared at the advancing Ursa. She shook her head and took a deep breath. Okay Trixie. Just give it a try. You can vanquish the Ursa Minor. You saw what worked last time. Trixie gulped nervously and focused all her magic. Instead of a gentle breeze like she had planned, a harsh wind sprang up. Rather than soothing music from reeds, a harsh, screeching tone assaulted the ears of everypony. Angered by the sudden, screeching tone, the Ursa Minor turned, stood up on its hind legs, and roared. It brought its paw smashing down on top of a house. Splinters flew everywhere; including into the Ursa Minor’s paw. In anger, it swiped again at the house. The house walls came crashing down, sending more fragments of wood spinning off into the night. Turning around, the Ursa Minor looked for the source of the noise. All it saw was the bright glow of Trixie’s horn. It charged, coming to a stop inches from Trixie’s face. It roared as loudly as it could.          The combination of the roar and flying spittle broke Trixie’s concentration. Her nerves reached their end and she curled up into a ball, waiting for the Ursa Minor to do what it would with her. Pictures of the Ursa biting her or mutilating her filled Trixie’s mind. Please Twilight. Any time now would be great, she desperately thought. Her eyes swiftly darted from one end of the town square to the other. She spotted, from the direction of the library, Twilight, galloping towards the Ursa Minor as fast as she could. Trixie’s eyes filled with hope. Yes! I’m saved!  Twilight slid to a halt behind the Ursa Minor. Squeezing her eyes shut in intense concentration; she began to work her magic. Rather than a harsh wind, like Trixie’s, Twilight summoned a gentle breeze. Beautiful, soothing music drifted with the wind. The Ursa immediately fell onto all four paws. Its eyes glazed over, as if it was falling asleep. It wobbled, threatening to fall over and squash some nearby houses. Looking into the distance, Trixie could only watch in awe and envy as the Ponyville water tower disconnected itself from its base, emptied itself of water, and gracefully soared through the barn full of cows, and landed, full of milk, into the paws of the Ursa Minor. As a final touch, Twilight picked up the Ursa and sent it floating back into the Everfree Forest. Finally, the Ursa Minor vanished from view, blissfully asleep. Twilight sunk to the ground, exhausted. The ponies around her gaped in wonderment at this feat of magic. Her friends cheered and crowded around her, congratulating her. This is your big chance Trixie. Just go up to Twilight and compliment her on her skills. Trixie hesitated however. She couldn’t help but also help but feel a tad jealous. Trixie felt that she should have been the one to vanquish the Ursa. She had seen it done before. Why wasn’t I able to replicate Twilight’s tricks? I’ve seen them before and they didn’t look that hard. While ponies crowded Twilight, praising her magic skill, Trixie slowly shuffled away a look of anger in her eyes. As she walked she noticed a fog rolling in to cover her hooves. The town disappeared and Trixie found herself back in the dark library.         “So, what did you learn?” The gentle voice of the unicorn drifted from the fog. Trixie turned and there he was. He was sitting right next to her on the ground. Trixie looked around. The library hadn’t changed a bit. Twilight was still frozen in time in the doorway and the candles were just as dark as it had been when she had first entered the library.         Trixie sighed. “I learned a few things I guess. I learned not to take an audience for granted, bragging can get you in trouble, I should stick to what I do best, story telling, and old habits die hard. Oh, and I suppose I learned that I will be able to change, even if it takes a long time.”         The unicorn prodded Trixie. “And? Do you still seek revenge on Twilight?”         “I don’t know. Part of me does and the other part says to just walk away.”         “Very well.” The unicorn stood up and shook off some creeping fog. “I’ll see to it that something comes up to deter you... just in case you still want that revenge.” He turned and walked into the gloom. The fog was dragged with him, leaving Trixie in the darkened, empty library.         “Umm... Trixie? Why did you put out all the candles?” The voice behind her caused Trixie to spin around. Twilight stood in the door, a perplexed look on her face.         Before Trixie could respond, there was a loud thump from upstairs. The thump was followed by a cry of surprise. It was followed seconds later by the noise of hooves coming down the stairs. “Sorry Twili-” Rainbow Dash stopped mid-sentence as she saw the other pony in the room. She growled as she recognized Trixie from her previous visit. “Trixie... I told you, if you ever showed-”         Trixie held up a hoof to stop Rainbow Dash. “Never mind, I was just on my way out anyways. Trixie knows when she isn’t wanted.” Trixie shot a glare at Rainbow Dash, turned hoof, and trotted out of the library. ---         Two ponies sat on a roof across from the library. The first turned to the unicorn. “Do you think she could change?”         The unicorn silently watched the scenes on the streets below. He listened to the exchange of words between Trixie and Rainbow Dash, ignoring the first pony for the moment. As Trixie walked out, a look of scorn on her face, the unicorn turned to the hooded pony next to him. “Yes, she has proved capable of it just now, merely by walking away from a situation that she would have normally stayed in and argued. Give her time Princess and maybe someday she can earn redemption.” The Princess stood up and spread her wings. Lightly, she jumped from the roof and took flight. “If I can repent, so can she.” Her last words lingered in the air above the unicorn.