Third Pony
Trixie finally stopped her hurried departure from Coltsdale and released herself from her caravan's harness. She sat on a fallen tree trunk by the side of the dusty road and rubbed the spot on her hip where the last rock had struck her. She sighed and frowned when she looked back at her caravan. The paint was just drying on the words 'LIAR' and 'FRAUD' where they had been hastily slapped on.
This had been the latest in the series of small towns that she had been forced out of. She sat with her shoulders slumped as the sting of the harsh words that were yelled at her when she stopped in the towns returned. Liar, fraud... monster. That hurt worse than the rocks. Tears began running down her cheeks from the memories of angry ponies that should have been enjoying her show but booed her and threw rocks at her instead. Her head hung low as she began sobbing into her hooves.
What happened to the days when she was cheered by crowds and her return was looked forward to? The town foals would watch in awe of her illusions and magical abilities and their parents would vie to have her over for dinner. Now, she couldn't be run out of town fast enough as even the young ones threw dirt clods at her.
She sat up and wiped her eyes with her cape. Alright, if they didn't want her show, then she wouldn't give them one. She was officially retiring from magic shows. That left her with only one problem; where was she going to earn the bits she needed to live on? She lost all of her possessions when the Ursa Minor smashed her original caravan and she had to work whatever jobs she could to get by. The memory of working on the rock farm flooded her mind. Would she be forced back to that?
The memories of why she was in her current predicament resurfaced against her will. Her bravado and blustering had caught up to her in Ponyville and she was exposed for her limited magic. She had heard rumours about the Alicorn Amulet and about how it would increase the power of any unicorn that wore it. This is what she needed to prove that she was equal to if not better than Twilight Sparkle. She spent weeks in researching the history of the amulet and its travels around Equestria. She finally tracked it down to a dusty old curio shop in a rundown portion of Baltimare. It came with a hefty price tag.
With the limited amount of magic she had, getting a job that paid anything was nearly impossible. Early on, it embarrassed her to have to beg for food. She'd gone from town to town working whatever jobs she could get. She stashed away every bit she could, even if it meant skipping meals. It was during a trip between jobs that brought her to an odd farm. It was a rock farm. She was parched from the long, dusty road she had been walking and stopped at the farmhouse to plead for a drink of water. Fatigue, malnourishment and dehydration caught up with her and she fainted on the porch.
The rock farm family took her in and nursed her back to health. Trixie felt indebted to them and would do anything for them. The head of the family told her that they could use another hoof on the farm and they hired her. They treated her well but worked her hard but no harder than they themselves worked. The long days of back breaking labour from dawn to dusk was only offset by her mission. She was saving every bit she could get a hold of in order to get her hooves on the Alicorn Amulet.
Every demeaning job she did kept her focused on why she was working. She was going to show the town and that... that Twilight Sparkle! They were the ones who caused Trixie's life to fall apart. It was because of them that Trixie's name was dragged through the mud like an old rag. She would return to Ponyville and prove that her magic was as powerful as Twilight's. That was all she meant to do. The Alicorn Amulet had other plans.
From the moment she put the amulet on, it began whispering into her mind that she was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria; that she needed to challenge that small town librarian to a magic duel. It slowly stroked her ego and began turning her plans to prove herself equal to Twilight into a plot for revenge.
Her every thought became laced with hatred of Twilight Sparkle and how she would revenge herself against her. But not just against her but the whole town that had made a laughingstock of her! She would show them all! She would prove she IS the most powerful unicorn in Equestria!
Trixie showed up in Ponyville and began abusing the townsponies and Twilight's friends to draw her out. She challenged Twilight to a magic duel but she wouldn't duel her until Trixie began abusing her dragon assistant. The duel was brief and Twilight lost. Trixie had thrown her from town and installed a shield to keep her out.
The more she used the amulet, the more sadistic she became. This town wasn't big enough for Trixie. When she was finished with this little hick town, she would set her eyes on Canterlot and real power.
Then Twilight returned with a stronger amulet from beyond the Everfree. They duelled again but Twilight was preforming magic that Trixie couldn't duplicate even with her amulet. She stole the amulet from Twilight and replaced hers with it. Because it was fake the corruption of the Alicorn amulet began to fade and Trixie could see what had happened to her while under it influence.
The minutes after she removed the amulet, she could see what she had done and was so ashamed of it. The horror of how she had been controlled by the amulet made her skin crawl and her stomach knot up. All she wanted to do was show she had more magical power than Twilight. She didn't want to hurt anypony. The amulet had taken control of her mind and fed her a need for revenge and hatred. She was afraid that Twilight and the town would turn on her and beat her then have her imprisoned. But Twilight offered her a hoof up and showed mercy to her. Trixie even used her fireworks illusion to end the entertainment with the Saddle Arabian delegation that was in Ponyville.
She had been torn by conflicting thoughts: apologise and have Twilight teach her how to increase her magical ability or run. She offered a weak apology then ran. She would never be able to show her face in Ponyville again but the damage to her reputation was already spreading.
She was in need of a stage show caravan so she bought one from a salvage dealer and repaired it as best as she could. She worked whatever jobs she could get for bits to buy supplies and props to stock for her shows. A few distant towns that had favoured her in the past enjoyed her shows but as word spread from Ponyville, more and more towns began shunning her. Eventually, they just ran her off as she came into town.
In her travels, Trixie heard that Twilight had become an alicorn. An alicorn and a princess. Just great! All the hard work that she did to try to achieve her goal and silver platter Twilight becomes an alicorn princess. It just wasn't fair! But then reality reared its ugly head. She sighed as realised Twilight was more talented than her. Her special talent in life is magic. She was the embodiment of magic. How did Trixie ever think she had a chance?
If that's the way the world feels about it, fine! She would keep to herself and shun it back. The nearby Whitetail Woods would be an excellent place to disappear from the ponies of Equestria. She would live off the land by her wits. She wiped her eyes again then hitched herself to her caravan and began walking on a road that lead into the forest. She kept taking the less travelled roads until she stopped in a clearing at the end of a weed choked path. 'Doesn't look like anypony has been here in a while. This is where I'll live.' She unhitched herself and began settling in for a long stay.
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First Pony
I think I've gone far enough. I don't think any of them followed me. I need to get out of this harness and see what damage that last rock that was thrown at me did. This tree trunk will make a nice seat. It didn't cut me but it's sore. A little rubbing should make it feel better. Coltsdale was one of the towns that always liked my shows. Now they hate me, too. Oh great! Some pony painted LIAR and FRAUD on my caravan. I'll have to get the paint back out.
How many towns have I been forced to run from? They don't know how much it hurts to have them curse me and yell at me. Liar, fraud... monster. That's what hurts the most. Great, now I'm crying. Ponies in those towns used to enjoy my shows but now they boo at me and throw rocks at me. This is a great place for me to be crying my eyes out.
What happened to the days when crowds of ponies cheered for me and my return was looked forward to? The foals would watch me in awe of my magical skills and their parents would compete to have me over for dinner. Now they can't run me out of town fast enough and even their young ones throw dirt clods at me.
I don't have any tissues so I guess I'll have to use my cape to wipe my eyes. Alright! If they don't want my shows then I won't give them any. I am officially retired from giving magic shows. That only leaves me with one problem. Where am I going to earn the bits I'll need to live on? I lost everything I had when the Ursa smashed my original caravan and had to take whatever jobs I could get to survive. The rock farm was back breaking labour from dawn to dusk. Is that what I'll have to return to?
I wish I didn't remember why I'm where I am, now. All that boasting and blustering I did caught up to me in Ponyville and I had to admit I couldn't use much magic. Those rumours of the Alicorn Amulet's ability to increase a unicorn's magic made it what I needed to prove myself equal to if not better than Twilight Sparkle. I spent all those weeks researching the history of that... thing and its travels around Equestria. I finally found it in that dusty old curio shop in that bad neighbourhood of Baltimare. The price I ultimately paid was too high.
My limited magical abilities made it hard for me to get a job that paid anything. I didn't think I would live past the shame of having to beg for food. I took whatever jobs I found as I wandered from town to town. I stashed away every bit I could even if I had to skip meals. I was between jobs when I came across that odd rock farm. I was so thirsty from that dusty road that I stopped at the farmhouse to plea for a drink. The fatigue, malnourishment, and dehydration caused me to faint on their porch.
If that family hadn't taken me in and brought me back to health... I might not even be here. I owe them my life. They needed another farmhoof and offered me a job. They treated me good but worked me as hard as they worked. Those long days of backbreaking labour from dawn to night helped keep me focused on getting the bits for that amulet.
All of those demeaning jobs kept my mind on what I was after. I was going to show those ponies and that... that Twilight Sparkle! They were the reason my life fell apart and my name was dragged through the mud. I was going to return to Ponyville and prove my magic was as powerful as Twilight's. That was all I meant to do but that... amulet had other plans.
From the moment I put that... thing on, it started whispering into my mind that I was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. It said I needed to challenge that small town librarian to a magic duel and prove myself her superior. It played to my ego and changed my plans to show myself as Twilight's equal into a plot for revenge.
It laced my every thought of Twilight Sparkle with hatred and how I would revenge myself against her. But not just her but that whole town that had made a laughingstock of me! I would show all of them! I would prove to them that I AM the most powerful unicorn in Equestria!
To draw Twilight out, I began abusing the townsponies and her friends. I challenged her to duel but she wouldn't until I began abusing her assistant. The duel was short and she lost. I threw her out of town and sealed it in a shield to keep her out.
The more I used the amulet, the more sadistic I became. That town wasn't big enough for me. When I was finished with that little hick town, I was going to set my eyes on Canterlot and real power.
But Twilight returned with a stronger amulet from beyond the Everfree. I duelled her again but she was preforming magic that I couldn't duplicate even with my amulet. I stole her amulet and replaced mine with it. Because her amulet was fake, the corruption of the Alicorn amulet began to fade and I could see what had happened to me while under its influence.
In the minutes after I removed the amulet, I could see what I had done and was so ashamed of it. The horror of how I had been controlled by the amulet made my skin crawl and stomach knot up. All I wanted to do was show I had more magical power than Twilight, I didn't want to hurt anypony. The amulet took control of my mind and fed me on a need for revenge and hatred. I was afraid that Twilight and the town would turn on me and beat me then have me imprisoned. But she offered me a hoof up and showed me mercy. I even used my fireworks illusion to end the entertainment with the Saddle Arabian delegation that was in Ponyville to try to pay her back.
After, I was torn by conflicting thoughts: apologise and have Twilight teach me how to increase my magical ability or run. I offered her a weak apology then ran. I'll never be able to show my face in Ponyville again but the damage to my reputation was already spreading.
I needed a stage show caravan but all I could afford was one from a salvage dealer. I repaired it as best as I could. I worked whatever jobs I could for bits to buy supplies and props to stock for my shows. A few distant towns that had favoured me in the past enjoyed my shows but as word spread from Ponyville, more and more towns began shunning me. They just started running me off as I came into town.
In my travels, I heard that Twilight had become an alicorn. An alicorn and a princess. Just great! All the hard work that I did to try to achieve my goal and silver platter Twilight becomes an alicorn princess. It's just not fair! Oh well. I realise, now, that Twilight is more talented than me. Her special talent in life is magic. She's the embodiment of magic. How did I ever think I had a chance?
If that's the way the world feels about it, fine! I'll keep to myself and shun it back. This is the Whitetail Woods. It will make an excellent place to disappear from the ponies of Equestria. I can live off the land by my wits. Okay, wipe your eyes again then hitch up to the caravan and began walking on a road that leads into the forest. Just kept taking the less travelled roads. This weed choked path hasn't been used in a long time. The path ended in this little clearing. Doesn't look like anypony has been here in a while. This is where I'll live. Park the caravan over here and unhitch myself and begin settling in for a long stay.