Several Years Earlier
“Next up is…Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie, would you please come in?”
From the waiting room Trixie could hear the sounds of a rather bored-sounding mare calling for her from the next room. Normally she would have been a bit more concerned about it, but right now her little-filly heart was pounding with excitement as she leaped off her chair and galloped towards the door. Never in her life did she think she would have actually gotten a chance to take the entrance exam for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Smile beaming, she stood in the center of the room, staring up at the older ponies assembled to judge her. Over by the side of the room she could see her parents watching her, smiling and waving at her in encouragement.
Not that she felt like she needed it of course. After all, she was Trixie; a silly little exam wasn’t going to stop her from proving she was the most magical unicorn that ever lived…or at least that she was going to become that unicorn.
One of the stallions, dressed in a green plaid shirt and sporting a black bow tie, looked up from his clipboard at her. Her stomach felt like there were a hundred butterflies fluttering inside, but she felt like she could take on anything that they could throw at her.
“Alright now Trixie, are you ready to start?” said the yellow mare with a poofy purple mane. Trixie gave a confident nod in response.
A moment later another stallion entered the room with a cart that had an egg of some sort nested in it. Tilting her head, she looked back up at the judges. She wanted to ask just what exactly did they want her to do with this egg, but the look of boredom on their faces was starting to scare her. Was this something she was already supposed to know what to do? Glancing back at the egg, she saw that there was a little sign on the cart; it had two arrows on it with the egg broken in half and a dragon drawn. So what, they wanted her to hatch a dragon egg? Was that even possible?
Still, Trixie was not going to let these judges, who were already looked as if they would rather be elsewhere, get the best of her. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated all she could on the egg. Based on that picture, she figured she needed to wiggle it or something to make it hatch. With all her effort she strained to get her magic out, but yet it felt like there was something blocking it. She could feel her magic flowing in her, and her horn even sparked a few times, but it just wasn’t working.
Taking a break, she looked at the egg again and found it hadn’t even moved an inch. Fearfully, she looked back up at the judges, who seemed more interested in the clocks than anything else. Looking at the egg again, Trixie tried to think what had gone wrong. She was concentrating on her target, she was imagining the egg wiggling, and she was drawing forth the magic from inside her. Maybe she just wasn’t working on hard enough? Or maybe dragon eggs blocked magic? No, that couldn’t be it; why make a filly show off their magic on something that could have magic used on it?
For the next minute or so Trixie did everything she could to get the egg to move even an inch, jumping around every which way she could in hopes that maybe it was just an angle issue or something. There had to be something that worked!
“Trixie?”
Trixie ignored the voice of a stallion and kept at the egg, trying to get something, anything to work.
“Trixie”
Again she ignored the stallion’s voice eyes closed as she started to cry. Why wasn’t her magic working? Why couldn’t she make the stupid egg move?
“Trixie!”
-----
The Present Day
“Please, just give me one more minute! I can do this!” Trixie said with a pleading whimper as she felt somepony shaking her gently, the oh so familiar to her sounds of a creaking, wooden cart in the background. Brought back to reality from her dream, Trixie slowly opened her eyes to find herself looking at the concerned face of Time Turner.
“Are you alright? You sounded like you were having a nightmare,” he asked as he took his hooves off of her. Trixie, her eyes still partially closed from the adjustment to the sunlight and mind still groggy from sleep, pushed him back.
“Don’t worry I’m fine. It was just a dream after all,” she replied curtly as she sat up. At this moment she didn’t feel like telling him it was more than just a dream; it was a memory. It had been years since she had thought about that day when she failed the exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. For a young filly who dreamed of magic, such a blow was absolutely devastating. She had thought that she had gotten over that failure, but the events of the last few days had gotten her thinking about how she got to where she was now. Speaking of wondering where she was…
“So where in Equestria are we now Time Turner? You better have not decided to make a detour while I was napping again,” she asked.
“Ohhh, come on now, you know you loved Neighagra Falls,” Time Turner said with a grin as he laid down on the bottom of the cart. Relaxed and carefree as ever it seemed.
“I so enjoyed having to stop you from trying to ride down the falls in a barrel,” Trixie replied with a roll of her eyes, “But really, are we still heading…”
“Towards The Big Top Circus, formerly known as the Harness and Hay-Bale Circus until the duo was replaced due to investor concerns after a mysterious fire partially destroyed the circus?” Time Turner asked, head nodding a way that just reeked of smugness, “Why of course we are. After all, you said you wanted to go there. Although I do wonder why you want to go so badly. I thought you wanted to go home?”
“Because…”
“And we have arrived at your destination,” the stallion pulling the cart said, interrupting Trixie, as the cart jolted to a stop.
Turning around, Trixie was met with the sprawling site of the circus in the valley below. Wagons and carts of every shape, size, and color were all over the area, with a small cluster of them signifying the living area for the performers. The rest of the wagons were surrounded by ponies, all probably watching whatever acts were being performed. There were also plenty of stalls around the area, filled with carnival food and games. The big draw of the scene, of course, was the giant red and white circus tent right in the center of things; the big top. And of course there was the sound of the fairground organ very quickly digging itself into her mind; she always found that peppy little tune a little annoying*. Her lack of amusement at the thought was soon doubled as she heard Time Turner humming it behind her until a polite cough from her got him to stop.
“Well, I can see why you wanted to come here so badly. This seems like quite the top-notch circus. I feel like I’m having fun just looking at it,” Time Turner said as he began to disembark from the cart.
“Yeah, this place was always considered one of the best,” Trixie said as she followed suit, remembering to levitate some bits towards the driver to pay for the ride while Time Turner took in the sights.
“But I’m guessing you wanted to come here for more than candied apples and clowns, right?”
“It’s just like I said; I wanted to come home and, well…”
Trixie stayed silent for a moment as she let the implication run through Time Turner’s mind. Seeing the look of confusion to the sudden burst of understanding, and the slight “Oooooooh,” sound gave her a satisfied grin.
“So you grew up in the circus?” Time Turner asked, apparently amazed that the fun and games behind him had been her childhood home…sort of.
“For all practical purposes, yes,” she said as she started walking down hill towards the circus.
“I mean I grew up in a normal home when I was really little, but then I came here. It’s where I learned my magic, made my first friends, and…”
Trixie got quiet for a moment, remembering some of the other events that had happened to her when she lived here, the events that led to her having to leave. While she knew she would probably tell Time Turner about it someday, right now she didn’t feel like talking to him about it. First, she had to sort out her own feelings.
“And you know, other parts of growing up and what not,” she said with a smile, hoping to diffuse any suspicion that Time Turner had about her hiding something. It probably didn’t work, seeing as he was still kind of looking at her oddly, but as he didn’t say anything she figured he was ignoring it for now and moving on.
“So you grew up in a circus eh? But why, of all places, would you come here to learn magic? Surely someone of your talent would have gotten into Celestia’s…”
Trixie just glared at Time Turner, who once again got that face of realization before shutting up. She already had that memory drudged up once; she didn’t feel like revisiting it again…but her glare broke and she gave out a heavy sigh. Even if she couldn’t tell him everything, he deserved to hear part of it.
“Yes, I failed to get into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. But after I failed…”
-----
Several Years Earlier
Trixie sat in the chair at the little café, the fur around her eyes wet with tears after having to be dragged out of the exam room after her failure. As it had gotten late and the ride home would be long, her parents had decided to stop by and get something to eat first. They said she could have anything she wanted to try and cheer her up, but right now she didn’t want anything to eat at all. All she wanted to do was sit in that chairs of her and pout, to be left alone by everypony else. She didn’t deserve to get special treated or anything anyways; she failed her exam. She was just a loser, and losers weren’t supposed to get special treats.
Her depressed state aside, however, she still appreciated that her parents had brought her to this little café. Apparently there was a magician performing tonight, and while right now she felt like she hated the word magic, at the same time she felt oddly comforted by the idea of watching someone else. Just for this one moment she could be the judge, not the pony being judged. Yeah, that’s what she could do; she could just point out all the things this magician did wrong and make him fail an exam to. Was it petty? Probably, but she didn’t care right now. She just wanted to be mean to somepony else and make her feel a little better about herself.
At that moment the lights went down to signify the start of the show. Trixie asked if she could sit up front. Her parents, still treading lightly around her, said yes.She made her way to the front of the crowd and sat down right in front of the stage. Getting comfortable, she got ready to start booing at the mare or stallion when all of a sudden there was this giant flash of light that almost blinded her poor filly eyes. Once she was able to see again, her jaw dropped in awe as she watched the show in front of her. The giant flash of light had broken into dozens of streams of light, twisting and turning in the air in every color of the rainbow she could think of. It was if she was watching a fireworks show and a ballet all at once. All the whizzing about of the light started to get faster and faster, and the lights closer and closer, until finally they became another flash of light.
“Good evening mares and gentlecoats. Tonight you are all about to go on a journey into realms you never dreamed of, to see feats never before seen by pony eyes, and to experience the unknown. And for all of this I, Sleigh O’Hooves, shall be your guide. So welcome to the show.”
The light dissipated, and in its place stood a stallion, dressed in a black tuxedo with two long coattails and a matching black top hat. He had a brilliant white coat that contrasted rather nicely with his attire. On his flank was his cutie mark; a simple black-stick and white tip magic wand imposed over playing cards.
By this point any sense of wanting to boo or tell off the stallion was gone, replaced instead with sheer wonderment at the performance. She had read all the magic books, and while she didn’t quite grasp or remember everything, she knew the mechanics well enough. Not once in those books did she even think that she could ever do something like this stallion had just done. While the streams of light might have been gone from the stage, she felt as if they were still there, twirling around in her mind’s eye as her actual eyes began sparkling.
“For my first trick, I am going to need an assistant,” he said, hooves everywhere going up but none more rapid than Trixie’s. As if sensing her enthusiasm, the stallion’s attention landed directly on her.
“How about you my dear? Would you like to come onstage and help me with some tricks?” he said with a smile that made her instantly forget about the bored, dreary face of the exam proctors.
“Oh yes yes yes yes yes!” Trixie said as she ran around to the stairs and onto the stage
-----
The Present
“And so what happened next?” Time Turner asked, so enthralled in the story that the apparently didn’t realize they had made their way into the circus.
“I ended up assisting him throughout the entire night. Turns out my parents had asked him about it before the show, thinking that maybe getting to help him out might cheer me up,” Trixie replied, smiling rather sincerely as her mind lingered on the good memory from that night.
“Well it sounds like they had the right idea alright, what with you ending up running around saying yes a million times over. You sounded like an absolutely adorable filly,” Time Turner said with a laugh.
“Oh shut up,” Trixie said, blushing a little at the comment in embarrassment, “But yeah, I was pretty excited that night. But if you think I was adorable then, you should have seen me at the end of the show with my brand new cutie mark,” Trixie said, giving her own small laugh at the idea. Her poor parents weren’t able to get a wink of sleep the entire ride home that night as she kept them up with all her talk about becoming a show pony and going to Las Pegasus and becoming a famous magician.
“So how exactly did you end up living at the circus then?” Time Turner asked. It was fair enough; her story really hadn’t answered that question yet.
“Well, it turned out that Sleight O’Hooves was part of the Harness and Hay-Bale Circus; he was just performing that night to make some extra money during the off season. I guess my enthusiasm made an impression on him because a few days later he visited my house and offered to take me on as an apprentice,” Trixie replied.
“I take it your parents didn’t really have the choice of saying no now did they?” Time Turner said with a sly smile on his face.
“Why of course not; I wasn’t going to let something as silly as parental permission stop me from taking that kind of opportunity, especially if Celestia’s School didn’t want me. So they really had no choice but to let me go, at least during the touring season,” Trixie responded, her chest puffed out and a smug smile on her face showing she had pride in forcing her parents to obey her whims.
“So then, since we’re here then, why don’t we stop by and visit your old master then? “ Time Turner asked, stopping in his path as he pointed at a sign advertising ‘The Magnificent Sleight O’Hooves.’ Based on the times on the board, he wasn’t in show right now and was probably in his trailer.
“I-I don’t know if that’s the best idea right now. I mean, he’s probably busy and…” Trixie said, glancing around for something else to point out and distract Time Turner. It had been ages since she had seen him, and she still felt shame for having run away from him and everything else at the circus that night. But maybe after all this time she could finally face him, the mentor she had let down…
“Nonsense Trixie. I bet it’s been years since you’ve seen him, and I can also bet you everything in my bag that he’ll put aside anything to see you again after all this time,” Time Turner said, pointing a hoof at her to emphasis his point. Trixie saw that he had his serious face on, staring at her in one of those ‘you got to do this right now’ kind of looks. There was no point arguing with him when he was in this state, so she was forced to relent. Besides, Sleight may be the only pony in the world right now she felt would be able to help her clear her mind of all its trouble. After all, he had helped her gain her cutie mark, and as her mentor he had been the closest thing to a true friend she had in her entire life.
“Fine, we’ll go and say hi.”
----
Several Minutes Later
“Hello, Mr. O’Hooves? You have a visitor,” Time Turner said as he knocked on the door to the trailer. Trixie had found she was too nervous to do so, and he gladly took up the task himself. After a moment of silence the sound of a lock being undone was heard. Taking a deep breath, Trixie watched as the door opened and the face of her master, wrinkled a little but still the one she remembered, appeared.
“Yes, who is…..Trixie?!” he said, eyes widened in surprise as his voice started to break upon saying her name. There was an awkward second between her looking at him starting to tear up a little and her actually responding.
“H-hello Sleight…” she said. Time Turner, she was surprised to find, was quiet during this entire moment between her and her former master. Apparently he did have a bit more tact than she gave him credit for. As the silence continued, however, he finally spoke up.
“So then Mr. O’Hooves, do you mind if we come in? The name is Time Turner by the way, friend of Trixie’s.”
Trixie watched as O’Hooves looked over at him and then back at her. She was scared for a moment as it seemed as if he was debating the subject. Was it possible that after all this time he did not wish to see her? Her fears were not completely removed when he finally agreed, but upon taking up the stairs and into his trailer, nostalgic memories soon replaced the fear.
Everywhere she looked she saw his props and tools, and she could remember helping him and learning how each and every one of them worked. The box for sawing ponies in half, cards spilled all over the place, metal rings, a couple of smoke bombs on the desk, fireworks. While she had been unsure about it before now, she was starting to accept the idea that Time Turner was right about coming to see Sleight O’Hooves again.
“My dear Trixie, it is good to see you again,” he said, bringing her attention back to him, a smile on his face that quivered a little as if he was troubled. But that was okay, right? He might have just been nervous after talking with his pupil after all these years, especially one who had run away one night and never returned.
She started to walk up towards him, still not completely sure of how to proceed. But her heart was pounding with adrenaline, and surrounded by all these memories, she wanted to simply just run to him and give him a hug and just get everything over with.
“I-I’ve missed you…and I’m sorry,” she replied, tears starting to form as she started lifting a hoof to hug him. Even if Time Turner was standing behind her with a smile on his face, meaning this was going to be a major embarrassment for her, she was ready to talk with O’Hooves about why she had left that night. Before she could say anything, however…
“And I’m sorry too...”
Wait, what did he have to be sorry for? He hadn’t done anything wrong; she was the one at fault.
“But you need to leave now,” he said, the warm smile gone and instead replaced with a cold glare. She backed off, still holding back tears but feeling like her heart had just stopped.
“Bu-but why?” she asked, hoping that maybe she was mistaking his reaction; maybe he had to get ready for a show. He had always been rather serious about no one interrupting him when he was getting ready for a show. That had to be it, not after all this time. He wouldn’t just…
“Because this place isn’t your home anymore,” he said as coldly as his last statement, “You have no reason to be here so get out.”
Her mouth opened for a moment as if to say something, but then she decided not to. If he wanted her to leave, then that was fine with her. So what if she had looked up to him as a mentor, or that watching his show had inspired her cutie mark in magic? He was just some two-bit magic act in a cheap circus. She could move on, no problem. She already did it once so why couldn’t she just do it again?
“F-fine, if that’s the way you feel then I…then I…goodbye!”
With that Trixie ran out of the trailer, ignoring the cry of Time Turner to come back. His obnoxious goofiness wasn’t going to help her right now. She had hoped that seeing Sleight would give her a chance to sort things out, to finally deal with her past like she should have done. But instead he had rejected her, rejected her like everypony else once they saw how weak she was. All she had right now in her mind were these thoughts, whether true or not didn’t matter to her. It fit what she was feeling right now, the same feeling she had on the roads of Ponyville and on the night she ran away from home; despair.