Chapter 6
A Bad Girl and a Seamstress
“After that Trixie graduated and went to Ponyville,” Trixie finished, “You know the rest from there.” After Trixie finished silence filled the van again.
“I’m so sorry,” Octavia finally said, “I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay,” Trixie replied, “Trixie felt comfortable enough to tell you.”
“I know,” Octavia said, “But it’s still a sad story. Don’t you agree Vinyl?” Vinyl said nothing, but her sobs could be heard clear as day. “Vinyl,” Octavia began, “You’re crying.”
“No I’m not,” Vinyl said quickly, “I just have something in my eye.”
“But,” Octavia began to object, “You’re clearly…”
“We’re here.” Vinyl interrupted. Sure enough coming up on the left was the Canterlot Inn.
“You win this time Vinyl,” Octavia said, “But, I know what I saw.”
A loud ringing interrupted Trixie’s dreams the next morning. She sat up and looked around her small room at the inn trying to find the source of the shrill sound. Her gaze finally fell on the telephone sitting on the nightstand beside the bed. She picked it up and put it to her ear. “Hello,” she said groggily.
“Hello,” said the voice on the other end of the line, it had an air of regality to it, “Am I speaking to Ms. Lulamoon?”
“Yes,” Trixie answered, “This is Trixie.”
“We received a call from you last night asking to see the Princess,” The voice continued, “We’ve given your case to the Princess for her to go over. She has agreed to see you. Your hearing will be tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. and it will be overseen by all four princesses.”
“Did you say ‘by all four princesses’?” Trixie asked confused.
“Yes,” the voice replied, “The four Princesses: Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight; will oversee your hearing. Is there a problem?”
“None at all,” Trixie answered quickly, “She will see you tomorrow at 1:00 P.M.”
“See you then,” the voice said before hanging up.
“Why did you need to set up a hearing with the Princess anyway?” Vinyl asked over breakfast.
“Trixie did some horrible things last time she was at Ponyville,” Trixie replied, “She can’t just simply walk into Ponyville. That is where the Princess comes in. If Trixie gets permission from the Princess they would have to let her walk into town to complete her quest for redemption.”
“Yes,” Octavia began as she stirred her tea, “But, it sounds like you’ll have to convince all four Princesses that you’re worthy of redemption.”
“Trixie admits that she didn’t expect to have all four Princesses there,” Trixie replied, “In fact she didn’t know Twilight was a princess.”
“What made you want redemption anyway?” Vinyl asked.
“Trixie never wanted this to happen to her in the first place,” Trixie answered, “All Trixie wanted was to be a magician like her mother. Unfortunately, she was treated like a show-off when she went to Ponyville the first time. By the time Trixie left Ponyville the first time she had no friends and felt extremely isolated and lonely. Trixie admits when she returned to Ponyville she took it too far and it didn’t help her at all.”
“You’re DJ Pon-3 are you not?” asked a voice behind them.
They all turned around and saw a pegasus in a cyan tank top and jeans, her rose red eyes staring at Vinyl. Her cyan wings were poking out through her black jacket and her untidy rainbow hair glowed in the sun. “Yeah,” Vinyl answered, “I’m Vinyl Scratch, who are you?”
“I’m Rainbow Dash,” she replied, “I’m a huge fan of yours. Can I get you autograph?”
“Sure,” said Vinyl taking out a pen and paper. Rainbow Dash looked from Vinyl to Octavia, who was sitting next to her, until it finally landed on Trixie.
“What are you doing here Trixie?” Rainbow asked her words dripping with venom, “Why are you hanging out with a pony as popular as Vinyl? She’s too cool for you.” Vinyl cleared her throat causing Rainbow Dash to look back at her.
“Look Rainbow,” she began, “You look pretty smart, so I’ll only say this once and you should be able to understand it.” Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to think as Vinyl stood up. “Consider this a warning,” Vinyl continued, “Don’t you ever tell me who is cool enough to hang out with me. Trixie is a nice and considerate person despite the mistakes she’s made and she’s also my friend. If you have a problem with her you have a problem with me, do I make myself clear?”
Rainbow Dash let out an audible whimper before answering, “Yes Ma’am, it won’t happen again Ma’am.”
“Good,” said Vinyl sitting back down, “Then, we won’t have a problem. Say you’re sorry to her before you go.” With that Vinyl handed her the autograph.
Rainbow Dash turned towards Trixie and said a quick “Sorry” before taking off.
The rest of the day was spent preparing for Trixie’s hearing. This included: Trixie going to the store to get some more nice clothes for her, mock hearings, and a shower. Things were quiet until the time came for the three of them to go to Vinyl’s concert. The three of them left around 8:00 PM and got there about 9. Once they got there Vinyl handed them front row tickets and backstage passes. About halfway through the concert, a familiar voice caught Trixie’s attention. “Hello Trixie,” it said causing her to spin around. She found herself face to face with Sunset Shimmer.
“Sunset Shimmer,” Trixie said in surprise, “Trixie hasn’t seen you since high school. What are you doing here?”
“Rainbow Dash brought me here,” she replied, “She said ‘If you haven’t seen DJ Pon-3 perform, then you’re missing out’, so I thought I would give her a try. What have you been doing since high school?”
“Trixie has been trying to be a stage performer,” Trixie said as a melancholic expression came over her face, “Unfortunately, her first performance in Ponyville didn’t go over well and since then she has become all but a social pariah.”
“I had heard about that,” Sunset Shimmer replied, “There was something about an Ursa Minor and you trying to take over Ponyville.”
“The Ursa wasn’t Trixie’s fault,” Trixie said quickly, “But, Trixie does admit to trying to take over Ponyville. She’s been trying to make amends since then though.”
“I know you can get your redemption,” Sunset Shimmer reassured her, “After all, if I could get a chance at redemption after becoming a raging she-demon, you will.”
“What do you mean?” Trixie asked confused.
“Remember that day I snapped at you back in high school?” Sunset Shimmer began, “I was under a lot of pressure because earlier that day Celestia had told me that she had wanted me to have special classes under her as her disciple. Unfortunately, I found out later that I couldn’t handle the stress of those responsibilities, and I had turned my back on my classes and Princess Celestia. I ran away to another dimension, but I couldn’t stay away, after the first thirty moons I returned to Equestria to see what was new. I soon found out that Celestia had a new disciple, Twilight Sparkle. So, in a fit of jealous rage, I stole her crown and took it back to the other dimension. Twilight followed me, however, and the night of the Fall Formal; I used her crown and turned into a raging she-demon with an army of teenage zombies. Twilight defeated me and taught me the magic of friendship, and then she brought me back to Equestria.”
“Trixie had heard about the crown theft during one of her trips to Canterlot,” Trixie replied. Why did you do it?”
“My studies included dimensional travel, it’s one of the higher levels of study,” Sunset Shimmer answered, “I used what I learned to figure out that the portal would be open that night.”
“Is DJ Pon-3 amazing or what?” Rainbow Dash asked approaching Sunset Shimmer.
“Yes, she is,” Sunset Shimmer answered turning towards her, “I was just talking to Trixie, and she’s an old friend from high school. I think you owe her an apology for treating her the way you did the first time she came into Ponyville.”
“Why’s that?” Rainbow asked, “She was nothing but a show-off, we put her in her place.”
“She was just trying to be a stage magician,” Sunset shot back, “I’ve told you this a thousand times at least.”
“Whatever,” Rainbow replied, “DJ Pon-3 is done playing we should get going.”
“Alright, fine,” Sunset said before turning to Trixie, “I’ll see you later.”
Trixie’s stomach was in knots as she woke up early the next morning. She got up and walked over to the bathroom to splash water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she thought about that grisly scene that took place all those years ago, the one she mentioned during the trip to Canterlot and the one she didn’t. She could still see those flames licking her old house with their forked tongues. The image of her father’s burnt body flashed in her mind. “Why?” She asked herself as she splashed more water onto her face, “Why did I have to leave?” A knock on the door snapped her from her thoughts. “Yes,” Trixie called out trying to regain her composure.
“Are you ready to go?” Octavia’s voice asked through the door. Trixie quickly took one last look at her reflection in the mirror before getting dressed and leaving the room.
“We hereby call the hearing of Trixie Lulamoon to order,” a voice called out as Trixie stepped into a dark room.
“Lights,” A female voice commanded. As the lights came on Trixie found herself in the middle of a round room. In front of her sat the four alicorns in large chair with desks in front of them. On the far left sat Cadance in her pink dress with a heart necklace. Her purple eyes gave off an air of gentle kindness. Her long hair, in stripes of yellow, fuchsia, and dark purple; barely hid her long pink horn, which her crown sat behind. Next to her sat Luna in her dark purple dress shirt and miniskirt. She had on a black choker with a white crescent moon design. Her black crown sat behind her dark purple horn amidst her hair, which resembled the night sky with stars dotted about. She gazed down at Trixie with her teal eyes, which had a hint of softness in them. Next to her sat Celestia with a regal white dress with a sun embroidered on the hem line. She was wearing a gold necklace with a purple gemstone in the middle. Her matching crown sat behind her white horn in the middle of her hair; which was also striped but with the colors of: light purple, light blue light pink, blue-green. The air given off by the gaze of her light pink eyes felt sterner than the two before her, the gaze almost resembled the one given off by a mother scolding her child. Finally, on the far right sat Twilight Sparkle. The newest princess was wearing a light purple dress shirt with matching dress pants. Her hair, which was a shade of purple that almost resembled black and was accented by a dark purple and a pink stripe, was adorned by a gold crown with a purple, star shaped gem. Trixie gulped as she once again began to get nervous.
“Trixie Lulamoon,” Celestia said in the same booming voice from before, “You have asked to come before us to ask for permission to enter Ponyville to try to get redemption because you committed a horrible act last time you were there. Is this correct?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie answered her voice shaking.
“Please state your case,” Cadance said gently.
“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie began, “Trixie first entered Ponyville as a traveling stage magician. She had hoped to give the fair citizens of Ponyville a magic show and to hopefully get some money to live off of until her next show. Unfortunately, Trixie was treated as a show-off. Matters got worse when one of her stories of fiction prompted two young ponies to bring an Ursa Minor to town.”
“What do you mean by ‘stories of fiction’?” Luna asked interrupting her.
“They’re stories meant only as part of the show and have no real truth to them,” Trixie replied, “Anyway, the citizens of Ponyville blamed Trixie for bringing the Ursa Minor to town, causing her to leave town.”
“So far,” Celestia began, “This doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong, but from what I recall there was a second visit to Ponyville. I will strike the Ursa Minor incident from your record, but please, continue.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Trixie said before continuing, “After Trixie left Ponyville she went from town-to-town to try to perform for other ponies. But, almost all the other towns knew about the Ursa Minor incident. Because of this, Trixie hung up her hat and cape and got a job on the rock farm owned by Pinkie Pie’s father. While working on this rock farm, Trixie heard about the Alicorn Amulet. This amulet was said to bring power to the user. Driven by revenge, Trixie bought the Alicorn Amulet and was soon corrupted by it. Soon after, Trixie returned to Ponyville and challenged Twilight to a magic duel. Trixie won and exiled Twilight from Ponyville, she then took over Ponyville as its Mayor. She even imprisoned Mayor Mare and treated Twilight friends like slaves. Twilight returned and challenged her to another magic duel. Twilight won and got Trixie to take off the Alicorn Amulet. Trixie was then released from the corruption about an hour later. Trixie never wanted any of this to happen, she just wanted to be a stage magician like her late mother.” At this Trixie began to cry.
“Don’t cry,” Cadance said gently, “We’re going to go discuss our verdict and we’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” Trixie replied between sobs. And with that they vanished.
They reappeared a few moments later, a look of stern seriousness plastered on each of their faces. “We, the Royal Council, have discussed your case,” Celestia began, “And we have reached a verdict. We royally decree that the unicorn, Trixie Lulamoon, shall be allowed her redemption, as the only crimes she has committed against ponykind were under the corrupted influence of the Alicorn Amulet.”
“Your redemption shall be a quest,” Twilight said as Celestia went quiet, “You will go on a quest to find this Alicorn Amulet which has since been lost. I did some more research on the Alicorn Amulet after you left Ponyville the second time and I found that the reason you were corrupted was that it can only fully be wielded by an alicorn, hence the name, as they are the only ones powerful enough to resist its corruption if they so desired to.”
“Twilight and her friends will help you on this quest,” Cadence said at this point, “It will give them the opportunity to get to know the real Trixie. Hopefully, in time, they will forgive you too.”
“You will leave with them for Ponyville tomorrow,” Luna chimed in, “Now; you may go and get your rest for tomorrow.”
Trixie was walking along the main street of Canterlot no more than ten minutes later. She walked along thinking of the second chance she had been given. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see a white unicorn turning the corner, until she smacked right into her. Next thing she knew she was sitting on the sidewalk and her butt was sore. She looked at the unicorn across from her and saw the pain in her dark blue eyes. Her dark purple hair was unusually well kept as it flowed around her white horn that stuck out like a diamond in the middle of a stream. The unicorn looked around frantically at the fabric that had fallen out of her bag as she let out an, “Oh no.” She looked down at her beautiful white dress and whimpered as she noticed she had gotten dirt on it.
“Sorry,” Trixie said as she got up before extending her hand to the unicorn, “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” she replied taking Trixie’s hand and pulling herself up, “But my beautiful dress is ruined.” She took a long look at Trixie until she finally realized who had helped her. “Is that you Trixie?” She asked, “You look a little different. I mean, you seem to carry yourself a little bit better than when I saw you here last.”
“Trixie’s just happy she can finally make things right,” Trixie said before what the unicorn said struck her, “Wait, what did you mean by ‘when I saw you here last’?”
“I meant I saw you last time I was here designing a dress for Sapphire Shores. When I saw you, you looked like you would never be happy again, but you look so happy but I guess a shot at your redemption would do it. Wait, You do remember me don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Trixie replied, “You’re Rarity; Trixie turned your hair green.”
“That’s right,” Rarity said as she began to pick up her fabrics, “So your hearing went well? I heard you had a hearing today from Twilight.”
“Yes, in fact, it went better than expected,” Trixie replied, “Trixie is sorry for what she did in Ponyville. She hopes you know that.”
“Oh, I do,” Rarity said looking up at her, “I’m sorry I didn’t remember that you were just doing your job.”
“It’s okay,” Trixie said kneeling down to help her, “I’m just glad I can start making things better with you girls. Trixie never wanted what happened in Ponyville to happen.”