//------------------------------//
// Gearing up 
// Story: With Great Power 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

                As luck would have it Rarity and the crowd focused entirely on Sweet Apple Acres itself but never though to guard the mailbox. In all the chaos Derpy was able to slip in undetected, retrieve the mail, and take off.

The letter came as a shock to everyone, even Trixie.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is just so bad." Twilight said pacing nervously back and forth. She had already tried to calm down but the news had her so stressed that she couldn't concentrate on it.

Trixie was thrilled "This is too rich." she said "At long last the mighty Twilight Sparkle has hit her breaking point."

"Oh I am funny to you?!" Twilight asked "Well why don't you come over here and I'll be funny to your face!"

"Twily please calm down." Shining Armor said, he'd been in tougher situtations as Captain of the Royal Guard but he knew he couldn't solve this problem without help.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" Twilight asked "My friend has just gone completly crazy and has started an angry mob for crying out loud! How can you possibly expect me to calm down?!"

"He's got a point there Twilight." Spike said "You're no help to anyone like this."

"Not you too Spike!" Twilight said.

"Hey I'm just telling it like it is." Spike said.

"Twily please focus." Shining Armor said "Remember that trick Cadence taught you."

"I'm too stressed to think straight!" Twilight said "No thanks to Trixie!"

"Oh sure blame Trixie for your problems." Trixie said sarcastically "It's not like The Great and Powerful Trixie hasn't gotten enough on her plate already."

"Then why the hay have you been driving me crazy all this time?!" Twilight asked.

"Because you make it too easy Twilight." Trixie said "And here The Great and Powerful Trixie thought you were made a Princess for a reason."

"Leave Twily alone." Shining Armor said "I don't care what happened between the two of you, it's in the past. So please put your differences aside and start acting like the reponsible mares you're suppose to be!"

Twilight and Spike were shocked. They'd only seen this side of Shining Armor once before, during his wedding when he was about to marry Queen Chrysalis disguised as Cadence.

"Twilght focus yourself and calm down." Shining Armor said "We need to come up with a plan and you're the best mare for the job. But we can't do that if you run around like a chicken with its head chopped off."

Shining Armor's words proved to be very powerful to Twilight, and she was finally able to remember the deep breathing trick from Cadence. Slowly she took a deep breath and then let it out and repeated this until she had calmed down completly.

Shining Armor turned to Trixie "As for you I ask that you stop constantly making life miserable for Twilight. I didn't want to believe that what she said was true, I thought that you were actually a nice pony on the inside."

"Well it looks like you thought wrong." Trixie said "And for the record Trixie does not recall asking for your pity."

"If you're going to be that way then you can just leave." Shining Armor said "For right now Twilight needs a chance to think and you're not going to help matters."

"You think Trixie is incapable of being silent?" Trixie asked "If she has to The Great and Powerful Trixie can say nothing."

"Then please do so starting now." Shining Armor said "And I suggest you keep quiet until Twilight comes up with a plan."

Trixie was silent and allowed Twilight to think. But coming up with a plan that didn't involve all out war proved to be harder then expected for Twilight. Every time she came up with a new plan she ended up discarding it a short time later saying "No that will never work." or "That will only make things worse."

Several minutes passed and the atmosphere became tense. "Come on Twilight if anyone can think of a way out of this mess you can." Spike said "Believe in yourself, like you always have. I know you'll find an answer."

Another minute passed without Twilight saying anything. Then suddenly Twilight shouted "That's it! That's what we need to do!"

"So what's your plan?" Shining Armor asked.

"Well first things first." Twilight said "Spike reluctantly I think it's for the best if you stay here. I don't think you'll want to see the way Rarity is acting right now."

"Well if you say so." Spike said glumly "I wish there was something I could do to help."

"I know this isn't easy for you Spike." Twilight said "And it's the same thing with me." She then turned to Shining Armor and Trixie "The two of us are going to head to town and try to talk some sense into Rarity."

"But why do you need both of us?" Shining Armor asked.

"Couldn't you and your brother deal with this on your own?" Trixie asked.

"Unfortunately no." Twilight said "As much as it pains me to say this you play an important part in ensuring this plan's sucess."

"What sort of role could you possbily expect The Great and Powerful Trixie to play?" Trixie asked.

"We going to make a grand entrance then I'm going to fire off a warning blast that will hopefully frigthen away most of Rarity's supporters." Twilight said "Shining Armor will then cast a shield spell to ensure that Rarity can't escape and bring reinforcements."

"You make it sound like we're going to war." Shining Armor said.

"Well I thought this was the best way to explain our roles." Twilight said "Anyway Trixie in addition to helping with the entrance you're going to serve as a distraction, you'll draw the remaining supporters away from Shining Armor so he can keep up the magic barrier. Once Rarity is all alone I'll close in on her and make sure she sees the error of her ways."

"And you really think that will work Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie asked.

"Hey if you've got a better idea I'm all ears!" Twilight said. Trixie said nothing. "I take it there are no other objections?" Twilight asked. Shining Armor and Spike shook their heads. "Good." Twilight said.

"Well then let's not waste any time and move out!" Shining Armor said.

"You two can go ahead and tangle with Rarity to your heart's contet Trixie is staying right here." Trixie said.

"Oh really?" Twilight asked "And who made you boss?"

"No one, Trixie is her own boss." Trixie said "But let me know how your plan turns out."

"Trixie how can you act so insensitive?!" Twilight asked "Do you not care about anypony besides yourself?!"

"Sorry Twilight Sparkle." Trixie said "But The Great and Powerful Trixie learned a very harsh lesson early on in her life, and that is to trust no one. The only pony you can ever trust is yourself. That's how the world works."

"Trixie Rarity is part of your new family for Celestia's sake!" Twilight said "Do you not care about what she's doing?! Are you going to just stand by and let her do what she wants?!"

"Maybe Trixie does and and maybe Trixie doesn't." Trixie said "But it's none of your concern."

"But Trixie!" Twilight pleaded. Shining Armor put a hoof in front of her.

"Just forget it Twily." Shining Armor said "It's obvious she doesn't want to help us. She's her own mare and she can make her own decisions, even if they're the wrong ones."

"Nice to see that somepony agrees with Trixie for a change." Trixie said "Now you two had best be on your way. Let Trixie know how it went."

"We will." Shining Armor said "But I hope you realzie you had a chance to make a name for yourself. You had a chance to be the big dang hero. You had a chance to do the right thing. And you chose not to do it. All I can say at this point is I hope you're very pleased with yourself. Before long all of Equestria will likely know you as Trixie the Coward, She Who Ran Away." He and Twilight headed for the train station, determined not to waste anymore time on what they deemed to be a lost cause.

"Go ahead and do what you want." Trixie said "Don't think you can make Trixie feel sorry for herself."

"Well if I had more time I'd gladly ask you how you can look in the mirror each morning and call yourself a living being." Shining Armor said harshly "But I won't hold my breath."

Not long after Shining Armor and Twilight had left the words from earlier as well as from the last few minutes floated in her head. She kept trying to shrug them off, trying to convince herself that she didn't have a problem, that everyone else did. But it was no use, the harsh words reached deep inside of her and for the first time in a long while Trixie felt something she had never felt before. "So this is what it feels like to care for others." she thought to herself. She knew at once what she had to do and set off.

"Hey where are you going?" Spike asked.

"To do what must be done." Trixie said.