//------------------------------//
// The Recovery 
// Story: Trixie's Return 
// by LightningBass94 
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    Trixie stumbled into the small town she had come to know all too well, better than she wanted to. She was tired, she was thirsty, and she was so so hungry. It took all she had to keep going. She needed to get to the library. She wiped sweat off her brow. The early morning sun beat down on her. This Summer was taking it's toll on her. She had to carry both her capes on her back, her classic purple star-spangled show-mare cape, and a simple black, hooded cloak underneath. Despite the bad place she'd been in when she bought it, she thought it looked rather quite fetching. She hadn't enough bits to buy food, but when she could, she bought small trinkets. Most were props for her tricks, some fireworks, but some were actually illusionary magic enhancers, safer than the acursed Alicorn Amulet.

As she made her way to a fountain in the middle of town, she stopped to look at her reflection in the water. She frowned at the mare looking back at her. She didn't look Great and Powerful at all. Her mane was mangled and matted with mud, small twigs stuck in it from night after night sleeping on the ground and in various forests. Her face was covered in dirt. She looked gaunt from hunger and sleep deprivation. Her cloaks were dirty and dusty looking. She took the time to dunk her head in the refreshingly cool water and wash herself off a bit. As she looked up and began to make her way toward the library, she was surprised to see a large crowd had begun to gather itself around her. She grinned at them all sheepishly, "Trixie greets you, Ponyvillians," She greeted as humbly as she could muster, "If you all would just allow Trixie to pass, she just-"

She was cut off by a familiar cyan pegasus hovering above the crowd to get a better look at the magician. "Trixie!" She yelled, making her way to the center of the crowd, "What are you doing here, you sorry excuse for a showmare!" Rainbow dash looked angry, She was hovering just a hoof above the gound in an upright, bipedal position, her arms crossed across her chest. She looked disgusted with Trixie just being in her presence, and she was. She had never forgiven the magician for what she had done to the town, as well as the extra work she had created for the weather team by putting up that dome.

Trixie just raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile in response. "I'm not actually ready to tell anyone what I'm here for, at the moment," She answered, "I need to talk to-"

"Uh-uh!" Rainbow interrupted, "You're going to tell me what you're here for, and you're gonna' tell me now!"

Trixie sighed, "Listen, what was your name again?" She thought for a moment, "Rainbow Crash?" It was an honest mistake, but it was responded to by a hard smack across the face. Trixie's eyes widened. What had just happened? Her brow furrowed in a defiant expression as she looked back to the pegasus. She spat at the ground below her adversary, noting the blood. She must've bitten her cheek. All reason left her and she stopped trying to be friendly. "Oh, that's right!" She sarcastically called, remembering her first visit, "Trixie changed your name to LOSER!" She pushed rainbow with that last word and was greeted with another hoof to the face. The two mares traded blows for several minutes before Rainbow tackled Trixie to the ground. She bit into the powder blue mare's shoulder. The two barraged each other with punches until Trixie landed a blow to the side of Rainbow's head. The pegasus bit down harder, grinding her teeth a little. There was a flash of magical light.

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Trixie shot up in bed, panting heavily from the nightmare/ memory. She winced in pain from the sudden movement. It was late afternoon. Trixie sighed and got out of the bed. She stretched a little, still sore. As a loud yawn escaped her lips, she reminisced. It had been a week already. Most of her bruises had disappeared with the exception of the one on her shoulder. She looked under the bandages on her chest at a small scar left from her operation. It was healing fast, magically fast. Thank Celestia the doctor was a unicorn! She looked around the room. The other bed was empty, made to perfection. Twilight had no doubt been up for hours by then. She noticed that even Spike's bed was empty, though not made at all, much like her own. She cantered over to the vanity. She smiled at how much better she looked. She had gained the appropriate weight and she looked properly groomed. She levitated a small hairbrush from her black cloak, hanging next to the other from nails in the wall. She brushed through her mane for awhile before her stomach growled. "The Great and Powerful Trixie!" She thought to herself, "Needs some peanutbutter crackers."

She grinned and left the room. She pranced down the stairs to see Twilight bent over a book at her desk, feverishly scribbling notes with a quill. She giggled quietly and moved into the kitchen, happy to see a purple dragon spreading peanutbutter on some salted crackers. "Ah! You're awake!" He smiled at the unicorn as she sat in the booth next to the table.

"Spike, you know Trixie all too well. Thank you." The dragon passed her the tray with a glass of milk on the side. He sat next to her and shared the food. Spike had been doing most of the post-op care for her, and the two became good friends after her initial apology to Spike. The poor dragon held a grudge against her for what she had done to Twilight. He had been lost without her for all that time; however, he gladly accepted her sincere apology.

"I figured you'd be waking up soon, so I started making lunch," He explained, food in his mouth. Trixie grimaced at that a bit, but decided not to say anything. "I guess since you're up now, Twilight had something important to tell you." He said it almost as an after-thought.

She remembered how the alicorn had been completely oblivious to her presence earlier and chuckled a bit. "Trixie will let Twilight come to her. She got up and stretched, feeling full. She cantered into the den and sat on a small, red cushion. She wrapped a particular book in a lavendar aura and brought it to her face. She was extremely grateful that Twilight had given her free reign of the library's selection of books. For the past couple of days, she had been reading, "Advanced Illusion Spells for the Highest Level Unicorns," Twilight was beside her now. "Do you understand it?"

Trixie rolled her eyes and responded, "Of course Trixie understands it. She's not a dolt!" She sighed and relaxed, "Behold!" She stood and concentrated for a couple seconds, her entire body enveloped in a lavendar aura before it disappeared, along with the rest of her. Twilight's eye's widened. Trixie had preformed the high level spell while injured and without any magic enhancers. "Voila!" Trixie bopped the princess's nose jokingly with an invisible hoof before dispelling. She could only hold the spell for a minute, but she wasn't about to let Twilight know that.

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "Wow Trixie," She smiled. She was used to the mare's slightly abrasive attitude by now, "That's amazing!" She was grinning widely now. "I learned a new spell too! Take off your bandages." Trixie blushed a bit at Twilight's forwardness before realizing this had to do with the spell. Twilight was too inadept at such matters to make such suggestions. She hesitated for a second, dreading the scar, but complied nonetheless. When the last of the bandages hit the floor, Twilight began concentrating hard, her horn glowing a bright purple. Suddenly, the scar began disappearing as if it was a zipper that had just been zipped up. Twilight released the spell and panted a bit, feeling drained. Trixie was speechless, thankful, but speechless. She looked at the alicorn with wide eyes. She hadn't noticed, but the bruise on her shoulder was gone too. She was completely recovered.