//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: For Those You Truly Care // Story: Return Of The Showmare // by Horizon Spark //------------------------------// Chapter 10: For Those You Truly Care Evenings in Canterlot were always a relaxing and serene time for everypony walking through the streets. With the sun on the horizon to make room for the moon, it made for a beautiful setting for simply taking it easy and thinking about plans for tonight or tomorrow. It was especially great for a magician with clouded thoughts. Silver Wand was on her porch enjoying a small cup of green tea, or at least tried to enjoy despite recent events. She was called to the school for Trixie’s actions during lunchtime that actually got her suspended from school for the rest of the week. Like any parent would be, she was angry, especially when she learned that this was caused by her using a spell she was strictly forbidden to use. Needless to say Silver had no choice but to discipline her child with a stern talk, and a punishment that was yet to be determined. But when she sent her to her room, Trixie wasn’t crying about her mother’s words or making some sort of desperate argument, but she was just walked slowly to her room. She never had a problem disciplining her child, but it pained her to see Trixie look so empty. And at this time of her life, it broke her heart. One month ago she was diagnosed with a terminal disease, and would soon die. She felt devastated, knowing that she was going to leave her daughter forever, never seeing the future successful magician at her prime. She couldn’t help but shed a few tears that night, but despite it all she knew that the show must go on. She had to whatever it took to make her happy, to make sure she was ready for the real world. And not even death was going to bring her down. So she did everything she could do, teaching her everything she knew, practicing all the spells she needed, and overall spending all her remaining time with her. And despite her constant tiredness and other setback, they were the best moments of her life. Thinking about what she’d done made her cry tears of utter bliss. “My little apprentice, you have no idea how much you mean to me.” Chugging the rest of her tea, she immediately made a dash to Trixie’s room. Walking slowly when she got close enough, she opened the door carefully. “Trixie honey, can I please come in?” A quiet groan was the only response she got. “I’m coming in okay?” Not waiting for an answer, Silver opened the door to see a large lump beneath the covers. She sighed as she sat on the bed next to Trixie. “Do you wanna talk about what happened today?” Another small groan. “Trixie, I’m not angry about what happened, all is forgiven. I just want to know why you did is all I need to know. So please tell me what happened.” “It was her fault,” Trixie quietly mumbled. “What was that?” “I SAID IT WAS HER FAULT!” Trixie suddenly yelled surprising the silver coated mare. “She took everything from me. My friends, my fans, and my fame. I just wanted to show everypony how great I am, that I could’ve been the Princess’s student.” “What are you…?” Silver sighed as she realized what she was talking about. She then got reminded of a conversation she had with Celestia weeks ago. “So you’re really not going to have her as your personal student?” “I’m sorry Silver, but I made my decision. Twilight needs help to learn how to control her magic, and while you may not see it, but Trixie is beyond needing my help. I assure you, she’ll be fine.” “Heh, so that’s it huh. First you tell me that nothing, not even your magic can cure this illness, and now you’re not even going to take my own daughter under your wings when I’m gone? Some friend you are.” “I’m so sorry. You’ve been an amazing friend unlike any I’ve had in my long lifetime, and I would never do this to spite you. But…I…I…” “Hey, don’t worry about it, I know you can’t just take in a student just because of some dying magician’s last wish. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Just make sure Trixie stays safe and out of trouble. Can you at least do that for me Tia?” “Anything for a friend Silver.” “Oh, and tell Twilight Sparkle I said ‘good luck’. “Now Trixie,” Silver started. “I understand that you want to become better than Twilight Sparkle, but going against my word and endangering students, all for one pony is unacceptable. Ever thought about being friends?” “She’s a freak mother,” Trixie said getting out of the covers. “I’ll never be friends with her.” “That’s not a nice thing to say.” “I DON’T CARE MOTHER! I hate her, I hate everything about her! She took Minuette, Lemonhearts, Twinkleshine, and all my friends and adoring fans away from me.” “Trixie I…” “Everypony loves her so much, that they all forgot about me, I’m supposed to be the most powerful pony in Equestria, and I’m supposed to be Princess Celestia’s personal student, not her me! I need to show everypony that I’m the greatest Unicorn of all of Equestria just like you mother, and that means becoming better than that insignificant freak Twi…” “ENOGH TRIXIE LULAMOON!” Silver Wand bellowed in a deep voice, knocking back the ranting filly. Trixie cowered at the state of her mother, never seeing her so angry before, her mane flowing and her eyes glowing brightly as she stared at her. After a moment Silver calmed down as she closed her eyes and sighed. Trixie started to look down as guilt from what she said started to sink in. “Desperate ponies willing to hurt to achieve their dreams, aren’t ready for them. “ Trixie looked up to see her mother lying next to her with a solemn look. “What?” “You want to become the greatest magician in all of Equestria so badly, that you’re willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means hurting others or yourself. Is this true?” Trixie nodded hesitantly. “And that’s why you need to take it slow my apprentice. Your dreams will come, but you need to have patience. You don’t have to compete with some unicorn, or compare yourself to me, because you are you, and you will become Equestria’s greatest magician someday.” Trixie started to smile at her mother, feeling her words take away all doubt she had before. “Thank you mother, I really needed that.” Silver smiled as she nuzzled her daughter with her warm cheek. “You remind me of myself when I was young. Ambitious, proud, wanting to prove to ponies that I could be great too.” “You were?” “That’s right my apprentice.” Silver smiled as she took a trip down memory lane. “Growing up, I was inspired by the magic of Celestia and other powerful unicorns that I decided to become like them. My magic at the time however, was weaker than other Unicorns at my age, couldn’t even perform something as simple as levitation without struggling. “I still remember some of the horrible stuff the other ponies would say about me and my dreams. They would tell me how I would never reach my goals, that my magic was far too weak to become like the others. They even told me that I was just wasting my time, that my ambitions would always be simple ambitions. You want to know what I did?” Trixie silently nodded, her eyes filled with curiosity. “I simply just kept going. I used what they said to me as motivation to push myself forward. I didn’t need to beat ponies at magic, or use dangerous spells just to prove that I can. I just stuck to my guns and slowly my magic got better and better Soon enough, I could perform advanced spells without even thinking about it, and when I finally performed my first ever show to those who doubted me, not only did I get a standing ovation, but I got my cutie mark!” Trixie’s eyes widened as everything her mother said sunk in. “Just like how I got my mark.” She couldn’t help but smile as a tear threatened to run down her cheek. “That sounds so amazing!” “And the best part was how if I never had just ignored them, if I hadn’t remember what my real dream was, then I would’ve never become the great magician I am today. I would’ve never met your wonderful father, and I would not be tickling such a beautiful daughter right now.” Silver then proceeded to use her magic to zap Trixie with a tickling spell, which made her glow with silver aura and laugh uncontrollably. “Please…uncle!” After a full minute, Trixie was able to rest from her fit of laughter as she hugged her mother tightly. “I feel so much better mother, thank you.” “Now do you understand Trixie? Just always remember that your dream isn’t to become better than Ms. Sparkle, but to become the greatest magician YOU can be.” “I…I will mother.” Trixie said quietly. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I won’t give up. I’ll make Equestria know the name Trixie Lulamoon, all for you!” “Well that is a very humble statement, but I doubt you’ll make it far without this.” Silver then used her magic to make a wrapped up present appear out of thin air and gave it to Trixie. “I was going to give it to you for your graduation, but you can go ahead and open it now if you want.” With a toothy grin, Trixie ripped into the wrapping almost viciously. When she finally opened the lid, she couldn’t believe her eyes, a purple magician’s hat covered with silver and gold colored stars, along with a matching cape. “What…are these?” “I made them myself, it’s your own outfit for when you make your proper debut on the big stage! You like it?” “I LOVE IT!” Trixie yelled out in excitement. She grabbed the outfit and made a dash towards the mirror. “This looks so cool, and I love the purple and it even looks like your outfit.” “Indeed it does. Of course no magician is complete without a proper stage name, and lucky for you I already thought of the perfect one.” As she got up from the bed she made her way to Trixie as she levitate the cape onto Trixie and the hat right above her head. “From here on out I dub thee ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie!’ May you forever be known, not only as the daughter of The Amazing Silver Wand, but as the ultimate magician in Equestria!” With a flourish of her hooves, she slowly placed the hat on Trixie, which flopped over her head, being too big for her. “Um…well…you’ll grow into it.” Still wearing her outfit Trixie leaped up to her mother gave her a hug that nearly knocked Silver over. “Thank you, thank you, thank you mother! I can’t wait to wear it to my first show!” “I know you’ll make me proud my apprentice. But for now, I bet you’re really hungry now. How about I whip us up something delicious for us?” “Sounds great.” As the two made it for the kitchen, another thought came to the blue filly’s mind. “Mother?” “Yes Trixie?” “Am I grounded?” Silver couldn’t help but give a slight giggle at her daughter’s question. “Well I think you’ve learned your lesson so no. But I better see all your homework done before you go back.” “Yes mother. Can I ask you something else?” “What is it?” “After dinner, can I sleep with you, just for tonight?” “Of course you can my apprentice, since you have no school, it wouldn’t hurt to take an early rest.” “Thank you mother. I…um…are you crying.” “I’m sorry Trixie, I’m just so happy to have a daughter like you.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So as we learned in class, the Ponyville Dam is used to store the majority of the water supply in the town.” Cheerilee and her class were at the Ponyville Dam for their field trip. It wasn’t normal for the school to take these, but she thought more trips would be a great influence for her students. And a good excuse to get out of the classroom every so often. The whole class attended the trip, except Diamond Tiara who said she had ‘more important matters’ to attend to. And among the students who were glad to be here, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were rather ecstatic to be here. Especially when Applebloom and Sweetie Belle heard that Scootaloo had a great idea to earn Cutie Marks. “Now class,” Cheerilee said to get her students attention. “if you’ll all follow me, we’ll see how all this water is generating power for our homes.” She led the whole class to the inside of the building, but unbeknownst to them three fillies stayed behind. “So Scoots, what ya said about a good way to earn our marks.” Applebloom stated. “I mean lookin’ at it, it don’t seem like we got a lot of options here.” “Applebloom’s right,” Sweetie Belle said next. “I mean if the Dam is nice and all, but I can’t help but think this is a really bad idea.” Scootaloo smiled smugly. “And that’s where you’re both wrong girls, because I got a great idea. Check it out.” She led them to one side of the dam, where they got a sight of all the water being stored. “This is the perfect spot to get our cutie marks in bungee jumping!” The other two looked at each other in confusion, then looked back at Scootaloo who was smiling wide. “Seriously?” Applebloom said with a raised eyebrow. “What are you talking about, this is perfect for us, all we need is some long rope, and we’ll be on our way to cutie mark city. Which reminds me, did ya managed to get rope this morning Bloom.” Applebloom got out of her saddlebag, a long rope she managed to get from her home. Showing it to Scootaloo, she started to frown even more. “I don’t know much ‘bout bungee jumpin’, but I’m pretty sure we’ll need somethin’ longer.” “We’ll worry about the details later. Right now we should see how we’re gonna pull this off. Come on girls, let’s go check out the view.” “I don’t know,” Sweetie asked. “we shouldn’t be too close to the end.” “Relax girls, we got this.” --- “Come on girls, we must hurry!” Rarity followed by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack, ran as fast as she could to the Ponyville Dam. Normally she would detest the idea of physical activity right after a spa treatment, but deep inside her she knew something bad was going to happen to her sister. “Come on Rares!” Rainbow yelled to get her attention. “So the Squirt and her friends did something bad, no big deal. I went against my parents all the time, and they’d usually just ground me for a week.” Applejack snorted. “I’m thinkin’ Applebloom’s getting’ more than just a slap on the wrist when I see her again.” “Oh, please don’t be too mad at her, surely she’s really sorry about this.” Fluttershy interjected. “I do apologies about this darlings, but I just can’t shake this terrible feeling away. Besides I explicitly told Sweetie that under no circumstances could she not attend this trip. And I’ll see it that we get her back so she could accept her punishment for disobeying me.” “Well I just think you’re making too much outta this Rares. I mean what could really happen to them anyways?” “Girls wait up!” The four looked to see Twilight flying as fast as she could to catch up with her friends. “Twilight too?” Rainbow spouted. “And Pinkie makes six!” Pinkie Pie said as she jumped out of seemingly nowhere. “Pinkie and I saw you all running and we thought something was up. Where are you all heading towards?” Rainbow groaned. “This is getting ridiculous. What we should be doing is finding out where Trixie went off.” “Wait, what happened to Trixie?” Twilight asked with concern. “She don’ left when Rarity came in saying the CMC went off to the dam against ma word. Said somethin’ about ‘fixing a mistake she made’ or some malarkey like that.” “Did something happen, where is she now?” “We’ll explain later darling, right now we must…” “AAAHHHH!” A trio of high-pitched screams emanated throughout Ponyville, freezing the six ponies in their tracks. “SWEETIE BELLE!” Rarity yelled out in fear. ”Quick girls we have to find them immediately!” “Don’t worry Rarity I got this.” Twilight’s horn glowed brightly as she began to teleport everypony to the dam. --- “Finally, about time I made it here.” The blue magician stood on the outskirts of the Ponyville dam. It took her a while since not only did she had to get directions to this place, but her teleportation was not up to point up nowadays, and it took a few tries to get it right. “Okay then now all I got to do is find out where those three and get them out if here.” She looked around for the three fillies to see where they could be, but to no avail. She sighed as she thought about what the other’s would think if they found out that she could’ve prevent all of this. They would’ve blamed her if something bad happened to them. “AAAHHHH!” She then heard the loudest scream she had ever heard in her life. She instinctively galloped to the direction to the scream to see what happened, afraid to see what she would see. But when she finally saw what was going on, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Sweetie Belle hanging of the edge as Scootaloo and Applebloom desperately tried to get her out. “HELP US! GET ME OUT OF HERE!” “I TOLD YA’LL THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!” “JUST GET HER OUT BLOOM!” Trixie looked at the sight in horror, seeing that the three fillies were dangling right over the water reservoir, and could get seriously injured if they fell. Or worse. “I will not let this happen!” Trixie started to gallop to their direction, if her past experiences taught her anything, it was that when a magician is on stage, fear is the one thing they never show. Suddenly, a bright flash from the other side of the dam almost blinded Trixie. She looked to see that it was Twilight and her friends who used teleportation to reach here instantly. “No,” Trixie growled. “what are they doing here?” “Sweetie Belle! Your big sister is here, where are you?” Rarity called out. “RARITY, HELP US!” Trixie could see the others looking at the direction the voice came from. Rarity nearly fainted. “Don’t worry darling! Your big sister is coming!” “I’ll handle this girls!” Rainbow exclaimed as she darted after the fillies. “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I can’t let you do this.” Thinking fast, Trixie used her magic to blast Rainbow with a spell, bounding her wings with chains and locks. She silently thanked Twilight for letting her get some more study time. “And now for these three.” “WHOA!” Rainbow yelled as she plummeted to the ground. Twilight immediately used her magic to gently levitate the blue Pegasus towards her. “Are you alright Rainbow?” “I’m fine, but what the heck was that? Where did all this junk come from?” She asked as she struggled to get out of her small prison. “Hey guys, lookie over there!” Pinkie said pointing upward. “What’s Trixie doing up there?” The six looked to see Trixie running towards the dam as fast as she could. “Trixie!” The magician could hear the six mares calling out to her, telling her to come down, that it’s dangerous. But she ignored them as she started to reach her destination, now at the top of the dam. She could see that the three fillies were just barely hanging on, but were moments away from slipping off into the water. Taking a deep breath, she dashed right towards them as her horn glowed brighter than before. Right before the fillies were about to take a dive, they all vanished along with Trixie in an instant. --- Trixie huffed heavily as she laid flatly on the floor. She just managed to teleport herself and the three fillies inside the dam, but at the cost of her stamina. She haven’t been proficient at her teleportation as of late, and was glad that she was able to get it right this time. “Hey look guys,” a high-pitched voice called out. “we’re safe! We’re all safe!” “Ah can’t believe it, Trixie don and saved us.” “That’s good to know Bloom, but can you get off me now?” “Oh, sorry Scoots.” She said as she got off her Pegasus friend. “You alright?” “I doesn’t matter, I should’ve known that wouldn’t work.” “Hey!” Sweetie Belle said in response. “What do you mean you should’ve known? I told you both this was a bad idea.” “Don’t bring me in ta this!” Applebloom exclaimed. “In fact, you don agreed ta lookin’ over the fence too y’know.” “Well at least I didn’t say we should bungee jump like this dodo.” “Who you calling dodo?” “YOU LITTLE BRATS!” The three fillies suddenly turned to see a very furious Trixie staring dead in their eyes with blinding rage. “Of all the foolish, asinine, idiotic feats of stupidity I’ve seen fillies done, WHY WOULD YOU DO ANY OF THIS!” She stated to menacingly approach the three as they started to huddle together in fear. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves. First you go against your sister, then you take advantage of Fluttershy tricking her into signing some paper, then you nearly get yourselves killed! What do you all have to say for yourself?” The crusaders started to get tears in their eyes as the weight of what they had done fell on them. “We’re so sorry Miss Trixie.” They said in unison. Trixie rubbed her temples and took a deep breath as she calmed down. “Why were you doing all of this for anyways? A dare made by some bully? Lost a bit over the fence?” Sweetie Belle was first to talk. “We were just looking for a way to get our cutie marks. So I got the paper signed so I could go to the dam.” “And I thought it would be cool to get our cutie marks in bungee jumping.” Scootaloo spouted out next. “So you did all of this just so you can earn your cutie marks? So you can know what sort of destiny you have?” “Uh…yeah.” Applebloom said, still shaken. Trixie took a moment to get her thoughts together. These fillies just risked their lives so they could find out what their purpose in life is. She couldn’t help but think about how idiotic that sounded. However, at the same time it reminded her about a certain blue filly from long ago and how she acted. “Desperate ponies willing to hurt to achieve their dreams, aren’t ready for them.“ “What was that?” Scootaloo asked hearing the monotone voice from the magician. “Look, if getting a cutie mark means that you have to risk your lives or the lives of others, then you shouldn’t bother to get them at all. You just need to wait for them, not force them upon yourselves.” Trixie spoke in a caring voice that made the fillies listen intently. “What The Great and Powerful Trixie is trying to say is that you can’t take some easy road to attain what you want, you need to be patient and not give up. It may not come today but it will come eventually. Got it?” The three looked at each other with concerned eyes, as they all thought about what she had said. They were silent until Sweetie Belle started to walk up to Trixie. “You’re right Miss Trixie. We can’t just keep doing this without even thinking about it. We just gotta keep doing what we just got to take it slow, right girls?” “That’s right girls!” Applebloom spouted. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna get our cutie marks one day. But to get them we’re gonna stop with all these extreme measures and stuff.” “Yeah, I guess we should do all that.” Scootaloo said nervously. “Sorry we caused so much trouble.” “Just as long as you know what you need to do, I’ll pardon this endeavor.” Trixie said with a smile, until she looked down on them with another furious glare. “But if Trixie hears another act of trickery from you, she will not be so forgiving! Understand?” Three nodded quickly in response. “Yes ma’am. Won’t happen again ma’am.” Trixie started to smile as her words reached the three children. Just then she heard the sound of a large door opening along with the stomping of serval hooves. “There ya girls are.” Applejack said as she quickly approached the four. “Ya’ll got a lot of explainin’ to do.” “And you Sweetie Belle,” Rarity yelled with anger in her eyes. “I won’t even begin to tell you how much trouble you’re in right now. Expect the harshest punishment I could possibly give when we get home!” “That goes the same for you squirt.” Rainbow nodded with her hooves crossed. “Not gonna lie kid, but I’m very disappointed in you guys.” The Crusaders looked down in shame as they walked toward their respective sisters. “We’re sorry.” Trixie nudged the three fillies with her magic. She gave them an encouraging smile, and they each gave one back. “Do not be too harsh on them, these children will learn from this.” She then noticed that Twilight was suddenly next to her with a big smile. “So you’re here too Sparkle?” Twilight nodded. “Are you okay? The girls and I saw everything.” Trixie huffed. “Well then you’ve must’ve gotten a front row seat to Trixie’s heroic feat, as she easily saved three fillies from certain death with one swift motion. Something you wouldn’t had done without much trouble.” “Well I will agree that you did an amazing job. Your magic been improving since you first came to Ponyville.” Trixie felt a little flustered. “Uh...well …of course, Trixie is a fast learner.” “Speaking of fast,” Trixie turned to see a very irritated Rainbow Dash. “What the heck was up with the chains? I was just about to do some awesome hero work until you bounded my wings.” Twilight looked at Trixie with concern. “She’s right. “Rarity mentioned how you came here saying that you wanted to fix a mistake you made. What did you do Trixie?” Trixie looked around to see the concerned faces of the six ponies nervously, before lowering her head. “It was Trixie’s fault that these fillies got in this mess. She overheard that they planned on using Fluttershy to get Sweetie Belle’s slip signed. She thought about stopping them but Trixie due to her overconfidence she thought that their plan would fail, but she was wrong. “So when I heard that they actually did went to the dam, I knew I had to do something, and by herself. I didn’t want any of you to fix a mistake I made or get angry at me, because you’ve all been nice enough to not run me out of town. I wanted to make up for what’ve done when I last came here, and by saving these fillies without any help, she thought that it would be a good first step.” Trixie felt embarrassed about confessing all this to these ponies, especially to her sworn enemy. So much so that a tear threatened to fall down her check. She then felt a warm hoof fall on her shoulder, then looked up to see Applejack with a comforting beam. “Well seein’ how great ya been doing lately, I can honestly say that you’re good in ma book Sugarcube.” “Your endeavors towards being a better pony have been well met darling.” Rarity spoke out. “I agree, you been a very nice pony.” Fluttershy Said next. “Yeperooni, Trixie, You are so awesome, you should’ve seen all the cool stuff you did up there.” Pinkie chirped excitedly. Rainbow rubbed her hooves together as she came up to Trixie. “Gotta admit, that was really cool what you did. Oh, and sorry about getting all mad at you back at the farm. Now I see that you’re actually a pretty awesome mare.” Trixie started to smile at the compliments she didn’t expect getting today. “Well Trixie,” Twilight said. “by the looks of it, things are gonna be just fine for you.” Looking at the ponies around her, Trixie smiled more as she felt a warm feeling resonate inside her. “For once, I full-heartedly agree with you.”