Chapter 13: The Great and Powerful Do-over
With the morning sun shining in her eyes, Trixie woke up with a long yawn. Trying to move around she noticed a warm presence right next to her. She crooked her head to see Twilight Sparkle sleeping soundly right beside her. It certainly surprised her seeing her once hated enemy this close to her, but rather than feel annoyed or disgusted she felt happy being in the mare’s presence. It reminded her of last night and the utter kindness she had given her in her darkest moment.
Smiling, she slowly got up as to not disturb the Alicorn and yawned once more. As she stretched her legs she decided to head off towards the kitchen with the intent of making some breakfast. When she got there she looked in the refrigerator and found a carton of eggs. With an idea in her head she then searched for a bowl and a whisk from the cabinet, and then she levitated the eggs, milk, and butter onto the counter. Trixie hummed a catchy tune as she cracked some eggs in the bowl and stirred it along with the milk. Meanwhile she set the stove to the appropriate temperature a placed the pan on it with a small block of butter. Minutes later the scrambled eggs she was making was just about done when a small groan caught her attention. “Good Morning to you Twilight.”
Twilight stifled a yawn as she looked over at Trixie and grinned. “And a good morning to you too Trixie,” She said wiping the crust from her eyes. As she got closer her nose twitched as she sniffed the air and licked her lips in anticipation. “Are you making eggs?”
“Why of course. I present to you my great and powerful scrambled eggs, and it would be an honor if you would have a taste.” Trixie levitated two plates of eggs along with a pair of forks and place them on opposite sides of the table. She pulled out two chairs for the both of them and sat at her own.
Twilight happily sat at her chair and thanked Trixie for the sudden hospitality. With a flick of her horn she grabbed her fork and took a small piece of the eggs and ate a whole mouthful. Her eyes and ears perked up as the taste assaulted her buds giving her a rush of deliciousness. “Wow! These taste so amazing. I never knew you were this good at cooking.”
Trixie giggled. “Why of course, when you’re a traveling magician one must always know their way around the kitchen. Mother taught me all the trades she knew, so if you want I could cook us a meal that shall blow you away.”
“Really now,” Twilight asked in a sly remark. “Well I personally would love to see that later.”
“In that case, brace yourself for a delicacy fit for royalty. A dinner only the Great and Powerful Trixie can prepare for the Princess of Friendship!” The two laughed heavily at Trixie’s own theatrics. When the two calmed down they continued to enjoy their breakfast in peace. After she finished her meals, Trixie spoke out. “So you really like them right?”
“Of course I do. I never had eggs this delicious before.”
Trixie sighed happily. “That’s a relief to hear. After all my thank you present shouldn’t be anything less but grand.”
“Thank you present?” Twilight asked as she swallowed her last piece of eggs. “Thank you for what?”
“For what happened last night. I really did appreciate everything you said last night. This is simply my way of saying thanks.”
“Oh…well you’re welcome. But really I was just doing what any friend would do in that situation.”
Trixie sighed. “Of course but it’s just…I don’t know.”
Noticing the hesitation in her voice, Twilight got out her chair and went up to her guest. “Trixie is there anything else you want to tell me? Because no matter what it is, I’m all ears.”
Trixie got out of her chair as she walked towards a nearby wall. On it she could see many pictures of the violet mare either with her friends and the Princess. “This may be weird, but I find it hard to believe that I can’t for the life of me seem to hate you anymore.”
Confused Twilight took a few steps towards Trixie. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry if that came off as insensitive, but after last night I kept reminding myself that you ruined my life. I tried to keep in that feeling of detest towards you, but I just can’t. It’s just hard to think that after all these years of wanting to do nothing more than to defeat you at my game, that I don’t want to no more.”
Twilight frowned. “Did you really felt that way ever since I started attending the School with you?”
Trixie sighed as she stared at the pictures. “I’ve always felt like I was in your shadow, I wanted to become Equestria’s most powerful Unicorn and have my name placed in the history books. I was born from a father who was once a successful actor tragically taken away at the peak of his prime. And a mother who defined what it meant to be a showmare. They were both the greatest inspirations in my life, so you can tell I made high expectations for myself. I convinced myself that nopony was going to be better than me. But you showed up with your magic that clearly surpassed mine and gave me the reality check I never wanted; that there was somepony better than me. I now know that you never intended to do that at all but just the idea of a Unicorn being better than me just frustrated me to no end.
“It led to this ever growing anger towards you that just grew every time I saw that…annoying innocent smile of yours. And when mother died…that anger grew into hatred. But the more I think about it; maybe I was angrier at the world than at you.”
Twilight listened intently on Trixie’s speech. ‘Hard to believe she felt this way for all these years.’
Trixie faced Twilight. “I was angry that you were chosen to become Celestia’s student. I was angry when you showed me up all those times before. I was especially angry that everything just seemed to be given to a pony that had everything she wanted, while I was losing everything in front of my eyes. That makes sense right?”
Twilight took a moment to come up with a response. “I think I do. You believed that things were going to go your way, but destiny had other plans for you, for the both of us. But what do you mean I got everything I ever wanted?”
“Well I don’t mean to be rude…but you always seemed to have the typical “chosen one” status. I mean, your parents are both renowned authors and astrologists, your brother is captain of the royal guard and married to the Princess of Love who was also your foal-sitter, and you were the student of Celestia herself. It’s like you were raised to have this role.”
Twilight blushed at the thought. “Well…I…I would never say that! Besides it took me hard work and the support from my friends to get where I was today!”
“And look where it got you. Now you have five amazing friends, an ever-so loyal dragon assistant, and the Element of Magic. If that’s not enough you went on to become the newest Princess of Equestria with her own castle! With me, I trained my entire life to become the most powerful magician in all of Equestria. And during that time my parents died, I developed hatred for a mare that’s two years younger than me, used a magical amulet that corrupted me into a cruel tyrant, and now my career is in shambles and I’m taking refuge in your home.”
Twilight caught something in her throat as the bluntness of Trixie’s words left her speechless. “Well…um…when you put it that way…I’m not sure what else to say but…I’m sorry?”
Trixie laughed as she found Twilight’s confused state humorous. “No need to apologize anymore. Because for the first time since mother passed, my mind feels so refreshed. All those thoughts from before about you and your friends are just gone. And I honestly never felt better, all thanks to you Twilight.”
Twilight smiled with a slight blush. “You’re welcome Trixie, but I think you’re giving me a little too much credit.”
“Don’t be so modest Twilight. I’m done being that rude and boastful magician from before. The Great and Powerful Trixie wants to make the comeback she needs. Besides, I’m fine admitting that you’re the better magic wielder and maybe I’ll never be more powerful than you.”
“Well…I wouldn’t say that since…”
“Please stop,” Trixie said lifting her hoof silencing the Alicorn. “I’m fine being second best now. You’re obviously the superior mare, and sometimes you just need to accept that others will always be better than you. But admitting that is my first step in becoming better, to become the greatest magician by my own standards. It’ll be hard but I’ll use my own powers to achieve whatever goals I may choose.”
Twilight almost said something in response, but decided to give her a proud smile. “I’m glad you feel that way now. And I mean what I said; I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back on your hooves. Of course, this means that we’ll have a lot of practice and studying ahead of us.”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The two smiled at each other in agreement until a loud bang was heard throughout the kitchen and a small baby Dragon scurried his way towards them. “I smelled scrambled eggs upstairs,” Spike announced with his mouth watering. “please tell me there’s more!”
The surprised mares couldn’t help but laugh as Trixie got up to make more.
---
1 Month Later…
“Alright Trixie, one more time.”
Trixie looked upon Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash who were all smiling in support. She took a deep breath as her horned glowed brightly. Four rings that were connected together levitated in front of her as she focused her magic onto it. The rings abruptly spun around in a chaotic yet steady manner, as small sparks of magic flew in every direction. Then after a full ten seconds all four rings separated completely. The magician huffed as she lifted her head proudly. “TA-DA!”
“That was amazing Trixie!” Twilight exclaimed clapping her hooves. “Even better than the last four attempts.”
“I agree darling.” Rarity said next. “That was quite the spectacle.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Yeah, not gonna lie, you were pretty awesome.”
“Thank you all so much.” She said with a bow. “But I think we should stop here, all this work is tiring me out.”
“And that’s what I’m here for ladies.” Spike called out as he came into the room with a cart of snacks. “Made some daisy sandwiches for you guys right here.”
“Thank you very much Spikey-Wikey,” Rarity said as she took one of sandwiches. “these look quite delicious.”
“Yes Spike they are quite amazing.” Trixie said next as she took a bite out of her meal. “And I must say that you’re getting better at cooking each day.”
Spike chuckled as he grabbed a sandwich of his own. During the last month, Trixie has been taking her magic lessons from Twilight learning many new spells she had yet to master on her own while also teaching her roommates’ trades of her own like cooking. She also started to form a better bond between the two, especially Twilight as she shared stories of her past adventures with her friends while Trixie shared stories of her mother and her time out on the road.
“So Trix,” Rainbow Dash started as she finished her food. “how’s the whole magic training thing going for ya?”
“They’ve been doing quite well Rainbow. Honestly I can’t thank Twilight enough for teaching me spells I never thought I learned. The possibilities of I could using these during my performances are endless.”
Twilight smiled. “I’m glad to hear about that Trixie. Because me and the others have been talking, and we all think that’s it’s about time you start your comeback tour and put on your first performance.”
“My first performance?” Trixie asked with a hint of nervousness. “Uh…you sure you don’t think I need um… a few more weeks or so under your tutelage?
“Darling we all know that performing again after all this time in hiatus. But you can’t stay here and away from the stage forever.”
“I know Rarity, but it’s been so long since I’ve even stepped foot on a stage in front of a crowd. I don’t know if I could go back.”
“Oh c’mon Trixie!” Rainbow groaned in annoyance. “Since when did you get so nervous about performing on stage?”
Twilight nodded. “Rainbow Dash is right. With all the lessons you’ve been learning you shouldn’t anything to worry about.”
“You’re right…and I want nothing more but to make my come back. But do you honestly think that I can do this?”
Spike laughed in a cheerful manner. “You kidding, of course we know you can do it. And you got nothing to worry about because the others and I are gonna get everything ready for your performance.”
Trixie stared at the others in confusion until Twilight spoke up. “I’ve already started planning your show. Rarity can provide the costume and make-up, Rainbow, Spike and Fluttershy can spread the word, Pinkie can provide the decorations and stage set-up, and Applejack can serve the food. As for me, I’ll make sure that every little detail is organized and setup properly.”
“You’d all do that for me?”
Rarity smiled. “Of course darling. We’ll make sure that your performance in Ponyville is you’re best one yet.”
“Ponyville?!” Trixie exclaimed in a jumpy state. “Doesn’t that sound a little too extreme? I mean I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but Ponyville is still against me and what I’ve done before. If they come to my show they’ll no doubt come with they’re rotten tomatoes ready.”
Trixie hung her head in despair as the thought of what could happen started to make her sweat. But she suddenly started to calm down as Twilight’s hoof was wrapped around her neck. “I know you’re afraid of performing again especially in Ponyville. But it’s time to stop worrying and start performing once more. We know you can do it, you know you can do it, and your friends are here to support you all the way.”
Trixie couldn’t help but look upon the faces of the ponies and dragon before her. They all had the expression that said ‘we’re going to help you.’ It made her forget the previous doubts she had and replace them with determination and hope. With a deep breath and with much bravado she exclaimed: “Where do we begin?
---
Twilight felt like she had her work cut out for her. It took a long time for her to get the Mayor’s approval for the show, and an even longer time setting everything up. But with a reasonable time set up they all had a week and a half to prepare.
Applejack and Big Macintosh immediately went to building the stage as posters were plastered all over Ponyville. Even Snips, Snails and the Crusaders helped by spreading the word to their fellow students. Things were definitely on the right track. Except for one missing component.
“Trixie…do you have a moment.”
The blue magician was in the middle of going over her routine when the Alicorn stepped into her room. “Oh Twilight, you’re just in time. I wanted to ask you if you think I should come in with a huge explosion of fireworks, or with a flurry of lightning. Although now that I think of it, fireworks with lightning have proved to be a remarkable combination before.”
“Well about your show…I wanted to talk to you about something. Mainly a certain guest I wanted to invite.”
“Oh…is somepony you want to invite. Well my show is open to ponies of all types, and if you want to do a personal invite they can come in for free.”
“Well that’s the thing…how would you feel if I invite Princess Celestia to the show?”
Trixie paused for a moment as she processed the question asked of her. But to the surprise of the Alicorn, she started to laugh hysterically. “Ha ha ha oh Twilight, I never took you as a comedian! To say that we should invite the Princess herself to my show, that’s so hilarious!” Trixie continued to chuckle as she wiped a small tear from her eye. Looking back at Twilight she noticed the stoic look on her face and shuddered. “Wait…no you can’t be serious!”
“Think about it Trixie, this is the perfect opportunity for you and the Princess to see each other after all this time.”
“And the perfect opportunity for the Princess to send me to the dungeon after using a forbidden amulet to rule over Ponyville. No doubt she heard about it and been searching for me ever since.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think that would happen?”
“Of course she will!” Trixie yelled raising her voice. “She’ll realize who I am and lock me up for my crimes, why else would royalty like her come and see some has-been’s show. Or is this all so Little Miss Perfect can impress her teacher with her accomplishments?”
“What?! You know I would never do that to you!”
Trixie sighed as she shook her head. “I know Twilight, and I’m sorry for accusing you of that. I’m just…worried that nopony likes me anymore. You may not think it, but this show will either make or break my career. And if the hostile denizens Ponyville are coming, I don’t think the Princess is going to make it better.”
“You’re over exaggerating.”
“Am I really?”
“…Okay maybe a little. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have faith for yourself.”
Trixie groaned. “You were never the one to take things at face value were you? Always the courageous and optimistic heroine that never gives up while I’m the lonely little magician that could right?”
“Well one of us has to be, because you know darn well that I would never give on you. I’ll be right here to support you no matter what. And if Ponyville or the Princess or everypony in Equestria is against you, then I’ll just have to be the only one with you.”
Trixie stood there with her mouth agape not able to process everything Twilight just said. Despite her impressions from before, she never thought she would ever say something so endearing or heartfelt. A few months ago she would’ve never thought this in a million years, but she felt blessed to have met Twilight all those years ago. With a smile she happily hugged the Alicorn who gave one in return. “Thank you Twilight. Like it or not, it seems like you always know what’s best for me. I just hope my magic is good enough.”
“Trust me Trixie, knowing Celestia she would be ecstatic to see you again.”
---
After a long and tiring day of meetings with boring delegates and listening to pointless complaints, Princess Celestia relaxed the night away in her bedchambers. She definitely enjoyed these moments where she can clear her thoughts, especially ever since her sister came back to take over the night. While the past month has been rather uneventful, dull even, she came to appreciate the nights where she can take it easy without worrying about the fate of her kingdom. Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted her peace, and with a huff she got up from her haunches. “Come in!”
The door opened slowly and in came Princess Luna, her duties for the night placed on hold. “Greetings Sister, are you feeling well?”
Celestia smiled at the sight of her sister. “I’ve been quite fine tonight. I’m just glad that Equestria hasn’t been on the edge of destruction since Twilight received her castle.”
“Yes it has. Although it has been quite dull ever since. Besides minor rumors and the petty obstructions here and there, chaos has been quite rare. I would like for some action now and then though.”
“Well we wouldn’t be doing a good job if bad guys like Tirek or any other powerful villain came waltzing into our Kingdom on a weekly basis.”
“At least the weekends would’ve been more exciting.”
The two sisters laughed at Luna’s humor, until suddenly a green glow flashed behind them catching their attention. Turning her head, Celestia immediately knew that it was a scroll from her former student. “A scroll from Twilight?
“It has been a while since we’ve received one, what does it say?”
Celestia unwrapped the scroll which contained a colorful poster which featured a blue silhouette of a Unicorn and extravagant fireworks and sparks flying around. The bottom of the poster had a date and time along with the title: The Return of the Great and Powerful Trixie!
“T-Trixie?!” Celestia exclaimed her eyes widening, surprised to see the name once more after so many years. Curiosity getting the best of her, she immediately read the scroll.
Dear Princess Celestia,
You and a guest are hereby invited to the magical spectacle that is the Performance of the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon! Inside are two tickets and a poster that explains everything you need to know. We’ll be looking forward to your arrival.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
P.S. If you’re wondering, Trixie has been living in my castle for the past few months and during this time she’s been greatly improving on her magic. And while I don’t want to say any more than that; you should know that seeing you in the audience will make her very happy!
A small trail of tears fell down Celestia’s eyes as the memories of her old friend came to her. “Silver Wand…” Celestia silently said with sorrow. “It looks like your daughters all grown up now…”
Luna looked at her sister with a mix of confusion and concern. “Sister…I’m not familiar with this Trixie as you are. Is she somepony you used to know?”
“You’ll know in a moment but please tell me right now, do we have anything important to do this weekend?”
“Well…we do have a scheduled meeting with some company managers about the economy of Canterlot.”
“Then whatever it is I want it moved to another time. Tell them that something personal came up…”