//------------------------------//
// Past Troubles, Present Haunting 
// Story: The Redemption of a Showstopper 
// by Nazoult98 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 3
Past Troubles, Present Haunting

"Trixie," a voice called out behind her, "My Great and Powerful Trixie, are you alright?" Trixie turned around and met the purple eyes of a familiar face. 
"Mother?" Trixie asked, "Mother is that you?" 
"You're okay now," her mother said panting, "I know you will be. After all, you're my Great and Powerful Trixie." 
"Mother, what happened to you?" Trixie asked about ready to cry. Her mother was trapped underneath a wooden beam. Her light blue hair was messy and covered with soot, and her face had a pained expression. Blood was streaming from her mouth and ran down her face. 
"I need you to be strong for me Trixie," she said, "Stay strong for mommy, okay?" 
"Mommy," Trixie cried out, the tears flowing down her face like a river, "Mommy, please, don't leave me. I don't want you to go." 
"I have to sweetie," her mother replied as the life drained from her eyes, "I don't want to sweetie, but I have to. But, I need you to be strong. You have to remember, no matter what anyone says that you're Mommy's Great and Powerful Trixie, and Mommy loves you." Trixie started towards her mother but was stopped by a wall of flame that sprang up between them. 
"Mommy," Trixie cried, "Please, come back Mommy." The smoke was too thick at this point, and Trixie couldn't breathe. Suddenly, everything went black.
Trixie bolted upright in bed, tears streamed down her cheeks and her pajamas were soaked in sweat. She looked over to the clock. "It happened again," Trixie said as she saw that the clock read 2:00 in the morning. She climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a few minutes before she noticed Octavia standing in the doorway wearing a grey nightgown. 
"Did you have a bad dream?" She asked looking concerned. 
"Something like that," Trixie replied, "Trixie's been having them since she was little. They come and go; Trixie has them some nights and some nights they leave her alone." 
"If you need someone to talk to," Octavia began, "I'm willing to listen. I already know about what happened in Ponyville, but I don't think that's it." 
"Did Trixie wake you?" Trixie asked feeling bad. 
"Yes," Octavia answered, "But that was only because I was worried about you. I thought something terrible had happened to you." 
"Thanks," Trixie replied, "But, Trixie doesn't think she can tell you about it yet." 
"Take your time," Octavia said, "But, remember, I'm willing to listen when you're ready to talk." Octavia walked back to her room leaving Trixie standing there. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and went back to her own room.
She finally came out of her room four hours later. As she walked downstairs she kept thinking back to what Octavia had said earlier that morning. She entered the dining room and sat at the table. "What happened to the happy Trixie that was here last night?" Vinyl said interrupting her thoughts. 
"Good morning Vinyl," Trixie replied. 
"It doesn't seem like you're having one," Vinyl commented. 
"She just had a bad night," Octavia said entering with two cups of coffee, "She'll feel better after she spends time with her friends today." 		
"Thanks Octavia," Trixie said grabbing the coffee Octavia had set in front of her, "Trixie thinks that she will feel better after going shopping with you." 
"You just need to know that we care about you," Octavia said, "You're our friend, after all." 
"Trixie knows," Trixie said perking up a little, "Trixie's glad she has you guys as her friends." 
"Look Octavia, happy Trixie is back," Vinyl said with a smile. 
"I hope you like the coffee," Octavia said, "Vinyl told me how you take it." 
"Thank you, Octavia," Trixie said.
"So," Octavia began as her and Trixie were walking down the street an hour later, "I was thinking that you needed some casual clothes." 
"Yeah," Trixie said absently. 
"And then, I thought we could go to this nice little Italian place for lunch," Octavia continued excitedly. 
"Yeah," Trixie repeated. 
"Are you even listening?" Octavia asked, "You seem spacey." 
"Yeah," Trixie said again. Octavia stopped walking and turned around. 
"Trixie," she began, "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" 
"It's nothing," Trixie said unconvincingly. 
"I know when you're lying to me," Octavia replied, "It's plain to see something's bugging you." 
"Trixie said she was fine," Trixie shot back. She stared into Octavia's face for a moment then looked down. "Trixie's sorry," she said quietly, "She's just trying to sort things out. She'd tell you what's wrong but she's not ready yet." 
"Okay," Octavia said putting her hand on Trixie's shoulder, "Let's just enjoy today, alright?" 
"Sure," Trixie replied looking up.
"It's your fault," her dad's voice rang in her head again, "I don't know why your mother thought it was a good idea to bring you to work with her but now she's dead." 
"Dad, please, it's not my fault," Trixie said crying, "I don't know what happened but it's not my fault." 
"Sure," Her dad said stepping into view, "I suppose she just ended up dead." Her dad had messy black hair and beard. He was wearing his usual attire, a tank top and shorts, and his black eyes were filled with malice. 
"Please, Dad, that's not nice," Trixie said her voice full of fear, "Can't we be happy again? It's what Mom would have wanted." 
"Who said you get to decide what your mother would have wanted?" Her dad asked smacking her, "You should have died with her. I can't believe that damn firefighter saved you." 
"Why are you being so mean, Dad?" Trixie asked, "What did I do to deserve this?" 
"You let your mother die," her dad answered, "Now get me another beer." 
"Why would I do that?" Trixie asked, "You've been mean to me ever since you've started drinking them non-stop." 
"I said get me a damn beer," her father replied smacking her again, "Ten year-olds shouldn’t question their parents. You can go to your room; I'll get the damn thing myself. If you come out before I tell you, then that fire would have been the least of your worries."
"Trixie," a voice said snapping her back to reality, "Trixie, are you alright?" She looked up and saw Octavia looking at her with a worried look on her face. "You looked like you spaced out there for a minute," Octavia said concerned. 
"Sorry," Trixie replied, "Trixie didn't mean to worry you." She looked around and remembered that they had just sat down to lunch. 
"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked approaching them. 
"Yes," Octavia replied, "I'll have the Shrimp Scampi and an iced tea." 
"Trixie will have the lasagna and an iced tea," Trixie said pushing the menu away from her. 
"I'm really starting to worry about you," Octavia said as soon as the waiter had left, "You had just sat down before you started holding your head. You looked like you were in pain." 
"Yeah," Trixie replied, "Trixie's sorry about that. Trixie just had a headache, it's fine now." 
"Look," Octavia said in a caring voice, "I know you said you'll tell me when you're ready, but it's getting really bad and I'm getting really worried. I think we should head straight home after this, before it gets worse. We got you a lot of clothes anyway." 
"Thanks," Trixie said smiling, "Trixie's glad she has a friend like you."
“Get up,” Octavia said shaking Trixie awake the next morning, “We need you to get up and get ready. We’re getting ready to leave for Canterlot.” 						
“Canterlot,” Trixie repeated half-asleep, “What’s going on in Canterlot?” 
“Octavia and I have a show in Canterlot tomorrow,” Vinyl’s voice replied from the hall, “But, we’re getting a head start and leaving early.” Trixie sat up in bed and looked out the window. The sun hadn’t come up yet and it was still dark. She looked down at the clock on the bedside table. 
“3:00 in the morning,” Trixie read aloud, “Trixie knows you want to leave early, but why this early?” 
“It’s about a two hour drive to Canterlot,” Octavia answered, “Besides; we wanted you to be able to explore Canterlot before our performances. It was Vinyl’s idea and a rather good one too. Now, I’m going to leave so you can get changed. You better be packed up and ready to go in an hour.” With that, Octavia got up and left the room, closing the door on the way out.
An hour later, they were going down the highway in Octavia’s grey SUV with Trixie’s traveling house hooked up to the back. Octavia was driving while Vinyl was leaning back in the passenger’s seat. Behind Octavia, mostly because there was no room behind Vinyl, Trixie was sitting in the middle set of seats. Piled up behind her was all the music equipment that Vinyl and Octavia had taken. “Trixie is ready to tell you what’s been troubling her,” Trixie spoke up breaking the silence that had filled the van since they left. 
“Are you sure?” Octavia asked, “I don’t want you to feel pressured to tell me.” 
“Trixie’s sure,” Trixie answered, “She’s been thinking it over, and she has decided she’s ready.” 
“If you’re sure,” Octavia said, “What’s been bothering you lately?” 
“Trixie’s past has come back to haunt her,” Trixie answered a grim tone in her voice. 
“Do you mean stuff like painful flashbacks?” Vinyl asked. 
“Yes,” Trixie answered, “Trixie thinks you’ll learn things about her you weren’t prepared for.” 
“Well,” Octavia began, “If you don’t want to tell us, you don’t have to.” 
“Trixie has made up her mind,” Trixie replied, “Trixie will start her tale with when she was born.”