//------------------------------// // One thousand years latter // Story: And the show went on // by Magenta Cat //------------------------------// Equestria. One thousand years later. Personal diary of Trixie Lulamoon, the Fifth. -It’s not like I could choose my name. My father called me Starbright Shine, he said I was his little star. My mother, on the other side, gave me another name and a family tittle. Both made a target out of me.- *punch* A smaller than usual filly, with an azure coat, fell to the ground. When she tried to look up at who punched her, her silver mane obstructed her vision. “And that’s for trying to get into our classes,” an orange with blue mane filly said to her target while massaging her right hove. It was a heavy hit. “Let’s make that a lesson, ‘Trixie’, you’re not at our level.” “Why can’t you understand it ? Your grades don’t matter, we’re better than you,” a silver colt wit amaranth mane added. The azure filly was finally getting back on her four hooves when a green filly with golden mane knelt next to her. “And if you keep trying, we will push you down. Harder.” She pushed the azure filly back to the ground. By this point she didn’t dare to rise again. Satisfied with their work, the three bullies walked away. “If you really are as good as you claim to be, why were you named after the most pathetic pony in history?” The orange and blue filly shouted at her from the distance. -That was my first encounter with my family’s ‘fame’, and I’m being very liberal with the term. As a child, I knew that ‘Trixie Lulamoon’ was a family name, unused for generations. I didn’t know why. I learned fast. Bellatrix Silverlight Lulamoon and Blueblood was my (repetitively) great grandmother by my mother’s side. She lived a thousand years ago, aspiring to become the ‘Greatest equine who ever lived’. The keyword there is ‘aspiring’. Although she seemed to be on par with the Elements of her time, to the point that only Princess Twilight could surpass her, she also antagonized the Elements of our time. She didn’t seem to be different from Discord or Nightmare Moon, if the registers are to be believed, but there’s no known record of Trixie reforming like the former two. Trixie was an enemy of the Elements of Harmony who had to be defeated by Princess Twilight two times. Although only those two confrontations are documented, there’s no sign of her in any other place, so it’s commonly assumed that she never achieved anything else and died without becoming that ‘Great and Powerful’ pony she claimed to be. And I was given her damn name. Why?- “Why did you give me that name?!” Starbright shouted at her mother. Bronze Compass, a.k.a. Trixie the Fourth, was soft yellow pegasus with scarlet mane. She was sitting in her study, patiently listening at her daughter’s rant. “Trixie Lulamoon was an enemy of the Elements, she even fought the Princess!” The little filly was exasperated. “Her name became synonym of failure. Even the family didn’t use it for almost a thousand of years--“ “Until I took it back to the family and named myself ‘Trixie the Fourth’.” Compass suddenly interrupter her daughter. The younger pony hesitated at first, but she quickly continued. “Yeah, exactly!” Her hooves were trembling. “Why did you do that?!” She wanted to keep ranting, but she wanted the truth first. There would be time for more shouting after getting her answers. “What good could come from doing that?” “Trixie was our ancestor, Starbright, and we are her descendants, regardless of how blessed or cursed that makes us.” Trixie the Fourth rose from her seat, but only to kneel before her daughter, looking up at her. “Is up to us... to you and me, to retake our family’s name and make it something to be proud of.” Golden Compass put a hove over Starbright’s shoulder. She was smiling. “I already made my try, but now it’s your turn, your time. Soon, the world will know how a great pony you are; The greatest and most powerful in Ponyville’s Institute.” Starbright Shine looked back at her mother, astonished and confused by her last two words. “Hold on,” she tried to figure it out. “Ponyville’s Institute? What do you...” “Today I received a letter from Princess Twilight.” Trixie the Fourth rose back to her hooves. “Tell me, Trixie the Fifth, what do you know of her majesty’s school?” -After that day, I’ve been working real hard to prove myself to the Princess’ royal eyes. Sciences, magic, sports even arts. It has been a tough time, four of the toughest years of my life, but the effort has been worth it. I have the respect of my teachers and the admiration of my classmates. I also no longer hide the Trixie Lulamoon name, I embrace it. It isn’t a motive of shame anymore. It’s mine, and it means what I want it to mean. But. Yeah, there’s always a ‘but’ in everything. I may be in control of my life, but there’s still something that doesn’t fits. I didn’t even know, but her majesty gave me a very sounding lead that I may have it wrong when it comes to my family lineage.- “Starbright Shine?” Princess Twilight called at the mare’s door in the student’s rooms. “Can I come in?” Trixie the Fifth almost lost it. Princess Twilight Sparkle? Calling at her door? And asking for permission? She ran as fast as she could for the door, all the three steps from the bed, and opened with all the grace of a snow dragon... a drunken snow dragon. “P-P-Princess Twilight?!” the recently graduated mare bowed before her ruler. “What can miss Trixie the Fifth make for your majesty?” “Oh, I see you are using your ancestor’s name.” Twilight observed while entering the small room. Since Trixie the Fifth was packing, there were only boxes, scattered around a single bed. “Oh, I do it in the hope I can, someday, redeem Trixie Lulamoon’s sins against you.” Trixie the Fifth lowered her sight in front of the Princess. “Redeem her sins?” Twilight asked, confused by the words of choice. “I’m sorry, my little pony, but I don’t understand.” “Why, of course. The first Trixie was only problems for you and the other Elements. Since she was our ancestor, my mother and I took the responsibility to atone for her mistakes.” Trixie the Fifth was having problem on keeping her voice steady. After all, she was talking to the very pony to whom her ancestor wronged in the first place. “My my. Did Trixie’s image really twisted this much over the years?” Trixie the Fifth raised her gaze to see how her Princess was shaking her head from left to right and back. Watching back, Twilight Sparkle, not the immortal ruler of Equestria, but the scholar pony decided to shed some light over the matter. “Sit down, Trixie the Fifth, you need to hear the truth, for you bear the name of a very special pony.” It happens that the Trixie Lulamoon name is not the legacy of failure and mediocrity that a thousand years of rumors has made it look like.