Trixie walked up to the alicorn. "You're Princess Slesta, right?" she asked, unable to pronounce the mare's name.
Celestia smiled a sad smile in amusement. "Yes, my dear."
"Why. . . why're you here? Where's Mama?"
"Yes, please," came Vanity, who was now on her hooves. Serendipity rose as well. "Do you know where our mother is?"
The princess's visage was grim. "I am terribly sorry." Celestia hated doing this, especially when it involved foals as young as the ones standing before her. Being the sole ruler of Equestria was hard enough, but this was without a doubt the hardest and most painful part of her job. "Girls, your mother isn't with us anymore."
There had been a fire in the gallery where Meadowlark had been attending the art show. The cause of the fire was still unknown and investigations were currently underway. Most ponies had escaped with only minor injuries. A few, though, hadn't been quite so lucky. Meadowlark had been one of the ones trapped inside. According to witnesses, she had initially made it out but had gone back in to rescue a young colt who had been there with his mother. Once the colt was out, she went back to help more of the trapped victims. She had given her life to save three others that evening.
Vanity and Trixie both weeped together, collapsing into one another and falling to the floor.
Serendipity did her best to comfort them, grief gnawing at her too, though she knew she couldn't show it for the fillies's sakes. Meadowlark had been friends with her mother, Kite Runner, for years, and was practically a second mother to her. She had even been there the day Serendipity had gotten her cutie mark--three green flowers. Serendipity had been ecstatic; she had always loved flowers. Now her heart grew heavy as it filled with grief.
After a few minutes of sobbing, Vanity sniffled and turned to Princess Celestia who was still standing solemnly in their doorway. "So. . . what's gonna happen to us?" she managed, her voice raspy.
"Both of your mother's parents passed away only a few years ago. The only ponies left for you to stay with are your father's sister, Bright Rose, and her husband, Storm Song," replied Celestia delicately. She was aware of the situation with the girls' father and was unsure how they would react to this news.
"But-but. . . I don' wanna live with other ponies!" cried Trixie, tears pouring from her violet eyes. "I want Mama!"
"I know, dear. We are all sorry for the loss of your mother. She was a talented artist and will be missed."
Trixie looked up at her sister. "Can't you. . . can't you bring her back? With a spell?" Vanity's magic had always been able to fix any problems that troubled Trixie. If a toy broke, Vanity could fix it. If her cup of apple juice spilled, Vanity could fix it. If there was no toilet paper left and Trixie was trapped, Vanity could fix that too.
Vanity blinked in surprise, her gaze softening. "N-no, Trixie," she replied shakily. "I can't. I'm not that good of a unicorn."
Trixie turned to the alicorn in desperation. "But you can bring Mama back, right?" she asked Celestia in a tiny voice.
Princess Celestia looked down at the unicorn filly, her eyes filled with sadness. "I'm afraid not even I can do that."
"But you're the princess!" cried Trixie, another wave of tears welling up.
"Not even princesses can reverse death, my little pony."
"So, what do we do now?" asked Vanity.
"We'll be heading over to your aunt and uncle's home at once, so you need to go pack your things."
Serendipity looked down at the fillies. "Come on, girls. I'll help you get your stuff together. We don't want to keep the princess waiting."
---
After about thirty minutes of packing, the Celestia's chariot was soaring high above the clouds of Equestria. Vanity looked down at the ground below in awe, her deep blue mane billowing in the wind, marveling at every aspect. "Look over there, Trixie! I think that's a herd of buffalo! Or. . . maybe it's just a patch of trees."
Trixie didn't hear her. The usually talkative pony was being exceptionally quiet for once. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. "Um, Miss Princess?" she questioned Celestia.
Celestia looked down at her, a semblance of a smile appearing upon her face. "Yes, young one?"
"Where're we going?"
"Your aunt and uncle live out in Tallahayseed," she replied.
"Huh?"
"Tallahayseed," Celestia repeated, amused.
"Oh." Trixie went quiet again. "Where's that?"
"Not too far from here."
"How much farther?"
"About five minutes or so by chariot."
"What're they like?"
"Your aunt and uncle?"
"Yeah. Are they nice? 'Cause I don' wanna live with meanies."
Celestia chuckled. "I cannot say I know them personally, but I have heard good things about them."
"What do they do?" asked Trixie, eager for more information. "Do they paint like Mama?"
Celestia shook her head. "No, they do not." Trixie's expression fell at this. She had always loved her mother's paintings. "But your uncle is quite the talented pianist," she supplied.
Trixie's smile reappeared. A musician! Trixie had always loved music. She even liked to sing a bit herself, though never in front of anypony. She was far to shy and embarassed to let anypony hear her. Still, she was content to singing quietly to herself and nopony else. "And what about my aunt? What does she do?"
"Bright Rose makes dresses."
"Dresses?" Trixie loved dresses too. She liked to look at how pretty they were and imagine herself in them, as a grownup. Maybe her aunt could make lots of dresses for her! The idea of this thrilled her. Wow, a pianist and a dressmaker! Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
Trixie looked up at Celestia. "Um, Miss Princess?"
"Yes?"
"How come you got wings and a horn? I thought ponies could only have one or the other, or none like Serendipity."
"I'm an alicorn," replied Celestia.
"What's that?"
"It means I was born with both a horn and wings."
"Can you use them?"
"Yes, I can."
"So then why do you fly around in a chariot if you can just fly yourself?!" questioned Trixie loudly. "Seems kinda silly to me."
Celestia chuckled. "You know, I really don't know why. It's just traditional, I suppose."
"So, how come you're an alicorn? How did you get to be different from every other pony?"
"I was just born this way," she answered.
"So you're, like, extra-special?" asked Trixie.
"I am no more special than you or any other pony," was Celestia's response. "We may all appear to be the same on the outside, but we are all different and special in our own unique way. The hard part is finding out just what makes you special. I got lucky and was born this way, so I've always known what makes me different. But you? You still get to experience the magic and excitement of figuring yourself out, something I never really got to do."
"Really?" Trixie smiled.
"Yes, really."
"Are we landing? Trixie, we're landing!" Vanity cried out in excitement. Trixie ran over to her sister and peered over the side of the chariot, doing her best to balance on her back legs. Indeed, it appeared that the were landing. The two fillies watched as the trees beneath them grew bigger and bigger until they were practically right on top of them.
Finally, the flying chariot landed, and the two fillies hopped out. In front of them was a large and lavish white manor, much bigger than their previous humble home. "Wow," murmured both fillies in awe.
From the grand house emerged two unicorns. The first was a light grey stallion with a black mane and a piano cutie mark. The other was a white mare with a rose red mane and a spool of thread for her cutie mark. They greeted the arrivals with warm smiles and soft eyes. "Welcome to your new home," said the mare, her leaf-green eyes bright and friendly. "I'm Bright Rose, and this is Storm Song."
"Why don't you get your things and come along inside?" suggested the stallion named Storm Song.
Vanity ran over to the pair and, using magic, brought her bags of belongings with her. Trixie, however, hid behind Celestia, her white-blue mane covering her face. Trixie was fairly shy when it came to meeting new ponies, and her new guardians were no exception. "Come on, Trixie!" called her sister.
Trixie looked up at the alicorn nervously. Celestia smiled softly. "Go on."
Taking a deep breath, Trixie went to get her bags. However, without the aid of magic, moving them proved to be a difficult task. After a few pitiful attempts had pulling and pushing the luggage, she gave up and pawed at the ground in frustration. Why couldn't she be as talented as her sister? Suddenly, the bags levitated up into the air. Trixie blinked her violet eyes in surprise. Was she using magic? A chuckle from above told her that the answer was no. Princess Celestia walked with Trixie and her things over to the others, hardly exerting any magic at all to make the bags float.
---
Celestia had just left, and Trixie and Vanity were being shown to their rooms by Bright Rose. "But. . . Vanny and I always sleep together," Trixie told her softly, her eyes fearful. She had never been able to sleep alone by herself, for she was afraid of the dark. Having somepony there was enough to help her sleep soundly through the night.
Bright Rose looked down at Trixie. The warmth in her emerald eyes was gone, replaced by something else. "Well, it's about time you grow up. Big ponies sleep in their own rooms," she replied shortly, much to Trixie's dismay. However, she said nothing more, not wanting to get on her aunt's bad side right from the get-go.
The door in front of them swung open, revealing a spacious, beautifully furnished room. Trixie, her eyes aglow, started to enter the room, but she was blocked by a white foreleg. Confused, she looked up to see Bright Rose frowning down at her. "This isn't your room," she told her. "This is Vanity's room."
Vanity gasped, sapphire eyes huge. "Really?" Bright Rose smiled at her and nodded cheerfully. A large grin spread across Vanity's face. "Wow! Thank you so much!" She quickly ran off into her new bedroom, bags floating in behind her, and shut the door.
Trixie looked up eagerly at Bright Rose. "So, where's my room?" If that had been her sister's room, she couldn't wait to see hers.
Bright Rose grimaced. "Follow me." She headed further down the hall at a quick trot, leaving Trixie to struggle with her bags. By the time she managed to catch up to her aunt, the Trixie was exhausted. Bright Rose looked on with impatience. "It's about time," she snapped, causing Trixie's expression to fall. The door before her swung open. "This is where you'll be staying."
Trixie, her energy renewed, sprinted over to the door, tripping over her own hooves in the process, only to be utterly shocked and disappointed at the sight in front of her. The room didn't have the same layout as Vanity's room. In fact, it wasn't even remotely close to her sister's room. It was a tiny, cramped-looking space that was near bare save for a small cot and a nightstand.
"Let me make something abundantly clear to you." Trixie turned to look at Bright Rose. Her leafy eyes were coated in a layer of December frost; any warmth that had been in them before had long since been extinguished. "You are not welcome here. My husband and I both share the same ideals your father had, and we are only taking you in due to the fact that Princess Celestia herself was involved. A unicorn is just as worthless as an earth pony or a pegasus if she cannot use magic." And with that, she trotted away.
Young Trixie was left standing alone in the hallway with her few belongings, a tears stinging her eyes. She had not known what Bright Rose had meant by "share her father's ideals", but one thing had been made all to clear--she was not wanted by these ponies, and it didn't seem like anything could change their minds about that. Trixie hung her head low and sobbed for the second time that day. Things were going to be a lot different now.