////
To Break those who are Great
////
Trixie rested quietly at the table in the library, just having finished the soup Rarity had made for her. Everypony gathered around the same table was truly mystified at her massive change in attitude, and were now incredibly anxious to find out just what had happened to her between the night she first came to Ponyville, and today, so many years later.
“Thank you all,” Trixie said softly, her gaze still upon the table, and her expression somewhere between happiness and sadness, “I appreciate your generosity.”
“It’s no problem,” Twilight smiled, always happy to make somepony smile, “Do you need a place to spend the night? You can stay here as long as you need to.”
“I’m not sure if that’d be the best choice,” Trixie answered, looking up to Twilight with a slightly pained look on her face, “The world can use a unicorn like me in a lot of places.”
“That sounds like the Trixie we used to know!” Dash laughed, before seeing from the mare’s expression that she had misinterpreted what she had said.
“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy snapped, upset that her friend was being so insensitive with the clearly distressed mare.
“It’s alright,” Trixie said, shaking her head softly with a small smile, “I simply meant, that my magical abilities are adept. And with them, I’ve been able to help hundreds of ponies out of some real trouble.”
“Are you serious?” Spike asked, tilting his head at the rather similar story to one she had told them so long ago, “The same way you helped the ponies of Hoovington, when they ran in to their Ursa Major problem?”
Trixie shook her head instantly, and determinedly.
“Those tales were nothing more than lies I crafted, in an effort to make myself look bigger to you all,” Trixie said, her expression hardening, “I was a fool.”
Silence fell across the room, as none of them wanted to verbally agree with her, when they all thought her story was completely accurate.
“I suppose I’ve raised enough questions to leave you all in a bit of suspense, haven’t I?” She asked, looking back and forth between the nine of them, “Well… then maybe it’s time I shed some light on what you all did for me, the night I almost destroyed this town.”
Trixie looked up to the group in front of her uneasily, still struggling with the memoires of what she had been through, unsure if she were truly ready to share them with this group of ponies that had occupied her mind so much for the past few years.
“It started, well… just after I left Ponyville.”
////
Three Years Ago
///
Trixie walked away from Ponyville, slowly dragging her cart away from the town that had narrowly escaped complete destruction at the paws of an actual Ursa Major. Apparently the two young boys that had been so enamored with her when she first arrived had somehow found the monstrosity in the Everfree Forest, and brought it back to town with them, expecting her to be able to defeat it.
But, she simply wasn’t able to.
If it hadn’t been for the brilliantly gifted ponies of Ponyville, in both magic, and courage, hundreds of ponies could have been seriously hurt—or even killed.
And somehow, miraculously, the rampaging beast was stopped in s tracks by the new Princess of Equestria, Luna. She had flown in at the last possible moment, and lifted the monster away from the town. Saving everypony from her mistake.
She grumbled to herself quietly as she looked over her shoulder once again in the direction of the town that was now far out of her view.
“Those ponies are lucky,” She said somewhat bitterly, feeling far too many emotions to articulate them to herself, “I-If Trixie hadn’t stopped that Ursa Major, that show-off Twilight would have been killed!”
Grimacing, she shook lightly as any fragment of anger melted away from her mind. The truth was, she had stared death in the face, and it was affecting her more than she would ever admit to anypony.
The last few nights, she had been having trouble sleeping. Either shaking uncontrollably in bed, or having terrible nightmares that would rouse her from any form of unconsciousness multiple times in the night. It was one of the most taxing moments in her entire life, and she truly lost at how she would ever work past such a near brush with death.
Arriving at a small, rather run-down building, just on the outskirts of a nearby town, Trixie spotted a bench on the outside of the building, and instantly decided that she needed a break from all her walking. Her legs were on fire all the time now, after all the running she had done to get away from Ponyville in the last two days.
Stepping away from her small wagon, Trixie, somewhat crassly, climbed on to the bench, and laid down on her back, bathing herself in Celestia’s soft sunlight.
She hummed and closed her eyes, allowing a small smile to grow across her face, “Trixie could get used to this.”
But, without realizing just how tired she was, Trixie instantly dozed off, leaving her turmoil behind her for a couple of hours.
////
“Excuse me miss!”
Trixie was roused by the small voice, but not enough to be completely brought back to the waking world.
“Trixie is sleeping,” She grumbled, waving the young pony off with her hoof, “You may wake her in a few hours…”
“But you’ll get all wet!” The girls voice giggled, “You could at least come inside if you’d like to take a nap!”
Trixie opened her right eye and glanced at the pony next to her. What was she talking about, with her ‘come inside’s and her ‘you’ll get wet’s.
Then it all ran back to her mind, she was relaxing on that bench… and she was much too tired to remember the rest of her experience.
“You have a nice cart there,” She said, as Trixie looked her over, “Way nicer than the one I use when I go in to town.”
Trixie sat up quickly, deciding that she had most likely outstayed her welcome in this young girls’ home.
“Trixie apologizes,” She said getting herself off of her seat, and planting herself on the ground next to the smaller, pale yellow unicorn next to her, “I hope your parents weren’t too upset when they saw… me.”
The girl shook her head quickly, sending her blonde mane from side to side on her head, “No parents, miss. Just me.”
“A bit young to be on your own, aren’t you?” Trixie asked, knowing the feeling of leaving parents behind herself, “Although, Trixie does understand the need to do such things. How old are you?”
“Just sixteen,” She said happily, walking over to the cart she had parked in front of Trixie’s, and levitating a few pieces of produce out of the inside, as a few droplets of rain started landing on her back.
“Well, Trixie must commend you on living on your own like this,” Trixie said, feeling a small amount of respect for the girl, “And your name?”
“Aurora,” She answered politely, walking inside her house, and sheltering her food from the rain, “And you’re Trixie, right?”
“How did—oh, right.” Trixie laughed at her own stupidity. She spoke of herself in the third-person so often, that she often forgot how many times she would say her name in a simply conversation, “Trixie assumes you’ve heard of her.”
“I… can’t say that I have,” Aurora said passingly, as she returned to her wagon, and lifted her small sack of bits from the interior, “Are you famous or something?”
“Well, Trixie doesn’t like to boast, but she’s one of the greatest magicians in Equestria!” Trixie announced proudly, starting to feel the moisture from the rain sink through her cloak, “Some have even called me Great and Powerful.”
“That’s amazing!” Aurora said, her eyes wide in disbelief, “But, if you’re so amazing, why are you sleeping outside on my bench?”
“W-well!” Trixie stammered, her face lighting up, “Trixie was going to relax! But… she was tired, and lost track of time!”
The girl giggled, “Well, why don’t you come inside then? It’s going to really start raining soon!”
“Oh, no.” Trixie shook her head, wanting to continue on her journey away from Ponyville as quickly as possible, “Trixie is very busy, being so magically gifted, you see—“
“Oh hush!” She said, walking over to Trixie and tapping her hooves against hers, “Your coat is a mess, and your hooves are all cracked from your trip! Just spend a couple of hours here, and I’ll fix you right up!”
“Well, Trixie really doesn’t—“
“I’m not taking no for an answer!” She laughed, walking around the blue mare and pressing her head to her rump, as she started pushing Trixie toward her front door, “Come on in, and make yourself at home!”
Trixie looked back and forth nervously, before finally giving in and letting this mare take care of her for a little bit. It only made sense that after hearing just how gifted Trixie was, that Aurora would feel obligated to pamper her a little bit.
“If you insist…” Trixie finally exhaled, standing herself up, and walking in through the front door herself, “But Trixie must be gone before nightfall.”
“Of course!” Aurora chirped, letting out a small cough as she followed behind the mare, “You’ll be out of here before you know it!”
////
A few hours had passed, and Trixie had to say. She felt amazing.
Aurora had immediately drawn Trixie a wonderfully warm bubble bath, made her a delicious salad, and then filed, and cleaned up her hooves, to the point that they shined. All while silently listening to the many stories The Great and Powerful Trixie had to tell her.
“And then, Trixie turned her hair green!” Trixie laughed from her back, fondly remembering her victory over those ponies in Ponyville. Well, most of them anyway.
“Was she laughing?” The mare asked, with the file still in her mouth, “I’ll bet that hair was hilarious!”
“It was hilarious!” Trixie agreed, deciding to leave out the part where Rarity ran away in tears, and the part about Twilight beating her… and when the Ursa Major attacked them, “Most ponies simply relish in the chance to compete with Trixie.”
Dropping the file on the ground, Aurora blew across the final hoof, and smiled at her completed work, “Well, that’s all! You’re ready to go! I hope I did a good job!”
“Trixie is pleased.” She smiled, as she looked out the window, and realized how unaware she had been at the time that had passed since she arrived in Aurora’s home, “Hmm, Trixie didn’t even see the sun set…”
“Time flies when you’re having fun!” Aurora said, having lost track of time herself, “But, you’re welcome to spend the night if you’d like! I’d love to hear more about you!”
Trixie looked out the window once again, and then back to the mare, studying her face for a moment.
“You don’t normally entertain guests, do you?” Trixie asked, noting the lack of upkeep in the house, and the almost pleading look on the mare’s face, “This place isn’t quite—“
“In shape?” Aurora asked, knowing this fact all too well herself, “I know… My dad used to take care of the place before… well, he got sick and… died.”
Trixie felt her chest tighten at the mention of the girls’ father.
“I- I must apologize!” Trixie said instantly, throwing away her usual tone for one of genuine remorse, “I didn’t mean to bring up anything you were uncomfortable with.”
“Don’t worry,” Aurora said, brushing her mane away from her eyes, “You didn’t know. Besides, he taught me how to treat ponies! So it’s like he’s here with us right now.”
Trixie was in awe at the smile this pony held while speaking about her passed away father, she must have held an inner strength far beyond most other ponies.
“Well… Trixie knows a thing or two about repairing a house,” Trixie said, confident in her repertoire of skills, “She could help you with a few chores, in exchange for what you’ve done so far.”
“Oh, I could never ask you to—“
“Trixie won’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” She said proudly, standing up from where she had been lying, “You have earned her favor.”
The girl blushed at the insistent attitude Trixie was giving her, but she was more than happy to have some company for the night, and tomorrow. The truth was, she had been miserably lonely since her father passed away, and nopony in town paid her much more attention than they would to any other shopkeeper. So, this was her first real interaction with anypony in months.
“Well… if you insist—“
“Trixie insists.” She said determinedly, a confident smile growing on her lips, “By the time Trixie leaves this house tomorrow, you won’t even recognize it!”
////
Three Years later
////
Twilight gave Trixie an odd look. The mare had only just begun telling them her story, but she was already trembling, and getting to the point where she was unable to form a coherent sentence. Her breathing had become ragged, she was starting to shake uncontrollably, and her eyes were glued to the ground.
“Trixie, are you alright?” Alex asked, as she looked up to him, no longer able to hide the wreck she was from them, as she showed them her eyes, which were welled with tears.
“I- I’m not ready to… to tell you all this story,” She managed, between short and audible breaths through her nose, “I’m real-ly sorry.”
“Don’t worry at all,” Fluttershy said softly, approaching the troubled mare, and placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder, “You don’t need to say anything you don’t want to.”
“Why don’t I take you to my guest room?” Twilight asked, standing up and joining Fluttershy next to Trixie, “You can spend the night, and however much longer you need.”
Trixie nodded rapidly, using her front hooves to clumsily wipe the tears from her cheeks, “Thank you all. I’ll… I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“Of course,” Spike said softly, giving her a sympathetic look.
“If you need anything at all, please let me know,” Rarity added, “Spike and I would be happy to oblige you.”
“Same from us.” Rainbow Dash joined, looking to Alex, and then back to Trixie.
Trixie had no words for the kindness of these ponies. They were generous with somepony who had caused so much trouble in their lives. It was just like Aurora…
The tears were flowing without pause now, as Trixie lost herself in the painful memories of her past.
“Come on.” Twilight said quietly, gently turning her in the direction of the bedroom, and walking across the library with her.
They all waited in silence until Twilight closed the door to the guest bedroom.
“It sounds like she’s been through quite a lot,” Rarity said worriedly, glancing to the bedroom door with a look of pity.
“Ah’ reckon.” Applejack nodded, as she stood up herself, “Ah’d wager somethin’ happened to her friend.”
Even though it almost seemed abundantly clear what could have happened, none of them wanted to guess and what it could have possibly been.