A small blue unicorn filly galloped through the door, slamming it behind her with a kick while tears ran over her cheeks. “All of them can go straight to Tartarus!” Trixie cried out, shaking on her hooves. Her words echoed through the small hovel. She shook off her starry, purple hat and flung it at a wall.
“Trixie?” A snow white pegasus with a blue mane, and a top-hat cutie mark, looked up from her sewing, startled. School should not have ended for a few more hours. “What's wrong, my little pony? Aw, come here.” She turned towards her filly and sank through her hind legs, spreading the front pair out towards Trixie invitingly.
Already dashing halfway across the room, Trixie buried herself into the embrace with such force, she could hear a grunt above her. “S-sorry...” She whimpered in a muffled voice, hiding her face by nuzzling against the fur. Soft caresses along her back seemed to brush away more of the trembling with each stroke.
Sly Nightsky looked down at the gently shaking Trixie, wrapped up in her forelegs, patiently waiting for the soft sobbing to stop while comforting her. “Shh It's okay... Did something go wrong at school?” Trixie opened her mouth to answer, but stopped as each thing she thought of saying brought on a quivering on her lips. Instead, she merely nodded in response.
Upon getting no answer, Sly sighed. Pulling teeth to find out what happened not a pleasant prospect. Suddenly, she perked up and showed a small grin while looking up to the ceiling. “Were they jealous of your nice hat?” she asked in a gentle tone, raising one hoof up to stroke Trixie's mane, but all she got in response was Trixie shaking her head. “Were they jealous of Trixie's cute face? Oh I know, maybe Trixie's pretty mane?” She felt Trixie squirm in her grasp. “Trixie's amazing eyes? Trixie's graceful tail? That beautiful coat of Trixie?”
“S-stop it geez!” Trixie's face burned red while she pushed away from her mother with her forelegs, but not managing to escape. Trixie and Sly each raised and lowered their gaze respectively, their eyes meeting in silence for a few moments “...You don't really have to stop you know...”
“How about you tell me what is wrong first?” Her mother shot back.
Trixie took a deep breath. “...They are all better than me.” Breaking eye contact, Trixie stared down at the floor. “They did not like my show at all... They did every spell better.” Her voice quivered as she spoke. “They said I didn't even know real magic, that it was all just tricks. 'Trixie's only Trickery!' ”
Sly pulled Trixie close again, scowling at the wall behind her. “W-well what do they know? I know you have the best magic!” The pegasus fidgeted with her hooves. “I don't understand what the difference is, it’s all magic, right? Who says real magic only comes from a horn.” She gave a glance over towards the bookshelf full of "magic books" she'd used to teach the little unicorn.
“Everyone else?” Trixie offered quietly, snuggling against Sly's chest. She'd been so excited when changing schools by the thought of having a whole new class to impress with her magic. She never imagined the difference in skill was so startling.
“... I'm sorry Trixie... I don't know any unicorn magic... But I'm sure that you can learn some from your classmates.” Sly went silent while she rested a lingering look at the crumpled up large hat by the door. “... You should take better care of that...”
Blinking slowly, Trixie groaned painfully as she opened her eyes, staring up at the wooden ceiling again. “That... does not look like Trixie's Wagon.” The throbbing headache made it difficult to focus for very long, but she caught another look at the room she was in. Why is Trixie in here?
Faint memories of being tormented by some ponies that just would not let her be spurred Trixie on to scoot to the edge of the bed and roll out onto her hooves. “Trixie can’t stay here. Who knows what they will—Waah!” Her knees gave way under her own weight, sending her hurtling to the floor with a thud.
Dazed from the fall, Trixie looked down at her legs, scared to see whatever they had done to her. In a panic, Trixie’s mind ran the gambit from anything like a curse or poison to surgical. She was relieved to find nothing was wrong with her legs, but it also puzzled her. What am I doing on the ground then if I’m fine?
Her ears perked up as she heard a creaking noise; her head snapped towards the open doorway, revealing the yellow, now not-so-fuzzy, pegasus. Ah. That's right, Trixie saw her before... I think. Staring up at her, Trixie found the other merely stared right back at her without saying a word. Deciding to break the silence herself then, Trixie spoke up. “Why is Trixie here? What have you done to The Great and Powerful Trixie!? Trixie will not be lenient if you do not release her immediately!” Wincing from her own shouting, Trixie decided maybe she'd tone it down next time, but she felt it was important to come out strong.
It certainly seemed to have done the trick as she watched her jailer give a surprisingly adorable cry and hurriedly retreat behind the door-post, whimpering. Trixie still has it!... It never worked that well before, though. Now that she thought about it, she had never heard of a jailer that would cover before a downed pony that merely raised her voice. “What is your name? Tell The Great and Powerful Trixie,” she demanded impatiently.
Fluttershy flinched as Trixie addressed her again “Um... I'm Fluttershy.”
“What was that?” Trixie blinked and rose a hoof to one of her ears, checking if they had fallen off halfway through.
“Um... My name is Fluttershy.” Letting her bangs fall in front of her face, the yellow pony hid even more of herself.
“Didn't quite catch that.” Trixie was fairly sure at this point it was not her hearing that was at fault. All she got back from Fluttershy this time was a squeaking sound.
Letting out a sigh, she raised a hoof up to press against her forehead, trying to ward off the oncoming headache of talking to the shy mare, only to find she'd set off a burning of a thousand suns where she touched. She hissed at the pain. Pulling her hoof back quickly, the pain subsided somewhat again, but her mood was even worse now. “Argh! What is wrong with you?! You were talking to Trixie before asking Trixie those inane questions! Ahhhh.” Closing her eyes tightly, Trixie had managed to rekindle her headache once again.
Trixie was surprised when she felt something soft press against her left side. It shuffled below her stomach, then lifted, helping Trixie to her feet and guiding her somewhere. Soon feeling the blankets against her fur again, She opened her eyes to find Fluttershy beside her, still looking terrified, but definitely the one that had helped her.
“I..I'm Fluttershy.”