//------------------------------//
// Life Happens 
// Story: The Turn 
// by Ninjeneer 
//------------------------------//

Life Happens
by: Travis Kingsley
“Well that went well” Twilight thought to herself as she strolled down Horseshoe Lane, Princess Celestia’s castle in the background. She had a look of satisfaction on her face, and the feeling to match in her heart.  The young unicorn mare had just finished delivering a report on her studies of the magic of friendship to the Princess in person, and had spent several days in studies with the Princess, a rare honor. They had a bond similar to that of sisters despite being both so different in lifestyle and age.  In fact, just before leaving Twilight remembers what the Princess said.  “I think I have learned as much from you Twilight Sparkle, as you have from me. I’ve very much enjoyed our time together and hope to hear from you soon. Have a safe journey!”  Twilight sighed happily as she realized just how much the Princess appreciated her. Not in boastful or proud way, but it’s always nice to know you’re appreciated. She certainly appreciated everything Celestia had done, and continues to do for her.
“Ahhh! Here it is!” She said out loud as her destination came into sight. “Canterlot’s finest!”
It was a quaint little cafe, called the Bluebird. And was known by the locals to have some of the finest cuisine short of the royal table.  Twilight had been craving one of their Hazey-Day sandwiches as they called them, a fun little name-play on the plate’s main ingredients, daisies and alfalfa hay. And while she could get similar foliage in Ponyville, these were her hometown treat, and she got one as often as her trips to Canterlot allowed.
She was quickly lead outside to her table by the waiter, a sorrel young stallion with a golden mane and tail, and a dashing black bow-tie. While this wasn’t the ritz, it was a very nice cafe, and maintained a quiet air of dignity and grace.
“Here we are Miss” the stallion said in a quiet but full voice as he slid the chair out for the young mare “How may I serve you today?”
“I’ll have a Hazey-Day, a cup of sweet tea with two sugar cubes, and a cupcake for dessert!” she says happily, not even bothering to check the menu.
“Might I ask which cupcake you would prefer? Or would you just like the bakers choice?” the stallion asked politely.
“Hmmm...surprise me!”
“Very well Miss, I’ll have your order out shortly.” the stallion smiled, and bowed ever so slight, then bustles off to get her order filled.
“I do wish Spike was here, it’s not the same without him. Just the same, it is nice to have some quiet time by myself. It’s nice just to be a girl sometimes” she though, partly out loud.
“Twilight?”
She shook herself from her thoughts.
“Twilight? That was your name, am I right?” the voice said confidently, but there was a touch of humility and sadness in it as well.
“Yes? I’m Twilight Sparkle” she says puzzled as she turned around to face the speaker. 
Who she sees isn’t at all what she would have expected, had she had the presence of mind and the given time required to form an expectation. She saw a dark blue unicorn mare with a light blue mane and tail. She wore a small blue and silver necklace and a thin silver tiara.
“I’m sorry” said Twilight “you look familiar, but I can’t place you. Do I know you?”
“You could say that” said the mare “I once visited Ponyville for a few days, but I honestly don’t expect you to remember me.” she said with a sigh “I treated you and your friends rather poorly...”
The confusion Twilight felt as she started piecing things together must have shown through on her face as she thought, for after a brief pause, the mare continued.
“I’m Trixie.”
It was all starting to make sense to Twilight now, her eyes widened as she flashed back to the mayhem caused on those few days, Snips and Snails, the event with the Ursa....It was all coming back, how hard she had worked on that magic, and how that was a turning point in her studies. Breaking from simple magic from her books, into much more complex and more advanced magic.
“I’m Trixie Filly, of the Fillydelphia Filly family line. Not that the name means much anymore...” Trixie trailed off in sadness. “I’ve disgraced my family in my hunger for fame, I’ve practically been outcast, and have been wandering and searching for quite some time now...” her eyes dropped to the floor with her voice following suit.
“I remember you now” Twilight says, trying to force some cheer into her voice, but she couldn’t completely disguise the frustration that had come flooding back.
“I owe you an apology Miss Sparkle, for how I treated you, your friends, and your town. I know I could never repay you for saving me, or for setting me straight, and I don’t expect you to like me or even forgive me, but I at least hope that you’ll hear me out?”
Twilight nods knowingly.
“Thank you... May I join you?”
“Of course!” Twilight responded, gesturing for her to take the empty seat at her table for two.	
“Where do I even start?! Well...I guess I’ll start where you last saw me. Running away from Ponyville and from the mess I’d caused, just like I always did back then... I may have put on a good face, or rather an arrogant one, but I was terrified! There’s no way I could match your power in magic and I was terrified that you would come after me for causing such a mess and nearly destroying your town. I couldn’t defend myself if you happened to come at me, there was no way! So I did the only thing I’d ever known... I ran...”
“I ran as fast and as far as I could until I was sure you and your town’s ponies weren’t following me. Then I hid in some brush a little off the road...and cried...”
“I laid there sobbing for hours in frustration at the mess I’d made of my life. My recent failure in Ponyville was only the icing on the cake, my life was miserable no matter how good I covered it up. No one loved me, no one liked me, and only a few even tolerated me, save an occasional gullible colt... I was a fake, a fraud, and nearly everyone I crossed paths with knew it, but it was the only thing I’d ever know. Magic, or rather illusion with a little magic to help, was my only talent in life.” She trailed off in thought, reflecting on her life.
“Anyway!” She sprang back up a little “right then and there I decided I couldn’t keep living like that. True my talent was for magic, but I was using it all wrong! True magic, your magic Twilight, helps people! It fixes things and solves problems! I wasn’t sure what I should do, but I knew there had to be something better. I fell asleep crying in that brush, but was slowly coming to a plan.”
“When I woke up the next morning, I felt much better. Just knowing that I was done being such a phony was a great relief, and it felt as if my saddle had been loosened and my blinders pulled off! I didn’t know where I would go or even what I would do, but it felt great to be free! Free from my past, from my old self, from a prison of my own creation... I continued on to the next town, who’s name I don’t recall, and from there made my plans. I traded my hat and cape in at a costume shop and had just enough bits for some second hand bags and a few things for the road. I had made up my mind, I was going to Canterlot! If I was going to start over, I had to do it right, you know? My talent was, or rather is magic, and where better to study magic than in the city with some of the best magic schools and universities in all of Equestria!”
“I was here just a few days later with quite literally nothing but the clothes on my back, but as I said earlier I was free! And that freedom was exhilarating! I breathed in the air as I approached the city and could almost smell the magic in the air! I got a job as a waitress within a few days and found a small apartment to live in shortly after. I saved up every penny I could, and had enough to enroll in magic school within a few months. There was so much I didn’t know about magic, but I ate it up, neigh, I absorbed it like a sponge and excelled in all my studies! I’m still nowhere near as good as you are, but I’m certainly a much better pony now because of it...and I’m only here thanks to you and your friends...” She trailed off, with a sad smile.
“Wow!” Twilight exclaimed “I had no idea! I’m so glad things are working out for you! I really did feel sorry for you then, and wanted to help you, but I didn’t know how...and I didn’t want to be, well, I didn’t want to be a show-off.”
“Twilight dear, you helped me more than you will ever know. And I owe my life to you for it. I feel just awful about how I behaved before and wish I could repay you somehow. Can you ever forgive me?” Asked the humbled Trixie.
“Of course I forgive you!” Twilight said “now, would you like something?”
“Thank you Twilight, but what did you mean...? Oh!” Trixie just noticed the food Twilight had ordered was arriving, and the same handsome young stallion was waiting to take her order should she desire. “Of course” she said with a smile. “I’ll just have a lemonade and a raspberry muffin please.”
“Of course Miss. I will have that right out to you” again he smiled, bowed slightly, and cantered off to see to the mare’s order.
“You know” said Twilight with a grin “I should thank you too.”
An expression of curiosity and doubt came over Trixie’s face.
“If you hadn’t come into town with all your boasting about your great and powerful magic, I may have never advanced as much as I did in my own magic. You see, when I was reading up on the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, I had to look in a book I had never read before. A book on advanced magic, that I considered to be well above my level at the time.”
The young stallion arrived with Trixie’s drink and muffin. “Can I get you ladies anything else?” He asked.
“Not right now, thank you very much.” The two respond.
“If you do need anything else, please don’t hesitate to ask me” he again bowed, and cantered off.
“He seemed nice” Trixie said to Twilight with a wink.
“Yes he did.” Responded Twilight, oblivious to the suggestion Trixie had just made. She continued on  “Anyway, as I was saying, that magic was too advanced for me, but I was curious, as I normally am, so I studied it and practiced it as best I could before Spike came bursting into my study, informing me of the current situation. I had no other choice but to try the magic, as advanced as it was. It was either that, or watch as the town was destroyed. I’m sure you remember how it all played out from there.”
Trixie nodded as she munched away happily at her muffin.
“After the Ursa was tucked in safely in it’s cave and the mess in town cleaned up, I went back to my library, naturally, and went to sleep. But the next morning during breakfast it occurred to me just how powerful that magic was, and that I had used it! I rushed back to the book, still on it’s stand, and began studying the other spells in it. Much more powerful spells than I had done before. It had spells for levitation, transformation, an advanced version of the teleportation spell I had discovered by accident earlier, and so much more! I poured over that book and took in everything it had to offer! The mess you had caused, or rather the mess that Snips and Snails had caused, forced me to realize my own potential and forced me to pursue it way sooner than I would have on my own. I still considered myself a beginner at that time but...”
“Wow!” Trixie interrupted “you considered yourself a beginner?! I can’t begin to  imagine how skilled you are now if you were only a beginner at that time!”
“Oh please don’t say that, I’m still not that good” Twilight said, turning red with embarrassment from Trixie’s compliment. “But I have learned a lot since then about magic, and about friendship and having friends. And to be honest, I think I’ve gained another friend today.” She smiles at Trixie. “If she’s willing, that is. What do you say?”
Trixie smilied. “Of course Twilight! I’d be most honored to call you my friend.” Her smile quickly growing into a grin. “I just wish I could have been your friend back then, and not caused such a ruckus...” the grin faded into a wistful smile.
“Please Trixie, all is forgiven! It turned out alright in the end.” Twilight said with a smile.
“Thank you Twilight. Thank you for everything.” Trixie said with a smile “now I do hate to leave like this, but I have an appointment I must be getting to. I’m tutoring beginning magic now!” She said proudly.
“Good for you!” Twilight said “I should be on my way as well. Its been great here in Canterlot as always, but I miss my friends and my home in Ponyville. Besides, I’m sure Pinkie will have a welcome back party for me, and I’d hate to be late to my own party!” She said nonchalantly, “but I really hope you will visit Ponyville soon. I’ll let the mayor know how you’ve changed, and I’m sure everypony will welcome you with open arms.”
“Thanks you so much! I will do my best to visit soon, and...to apologize in person for the mess I caused...” Trixie’s face drooped for just a moment, but then sprang back up. “well, I better be off! Goodbye Miss Sparkle, and I’m certain I will see you soon.”
“Bye Trixie! I look forward to your visit!”
And with that, Trixie quickly paid her bill and headed off toward to university.  Twilight followed suit, taking one last sip of tea before paying her own bill (leaving a nice tip), thanking the waiter and heading off toward Ponyville and her friends.
“Well, just when you think the day can’t get better!” she exclaimed to herself happily... she nodded as she let this thought sink in, resting on it for a while, absorbing all that had happened today. “I think this will be my next letter to the Princess.” she thinks, half out loud. “What a great day...”