Previous Chapters
Close
Chapter 11,392 words
Chapter 21,948 words
Chapter 32,513 words
Chapter 41,979 words
Chapter 51,489 words
Chapter 61,863 words
Chapter 72,243 words
Chapter 82,997 words
Chapter 92,281 words
Chapter 103,447 words
Chapter 115,242 words

Chapter 11

Trixie was happier than she had ever been, since the circus everything just seemed to go her way. She used her refurnishing spell to fix the Apples' leaky roof, she found she was able to use magic on hay piles if she focused on the individual pieces, Applejack was teaching her how to buck for apples (took some getting used to), she seemed to be getting closer friendship wise to Twilight and her pony pals, but best of all she had been spending the majority of her time with Big Macintosh.

She had impressed him, not in the magical abilities department, but in the fact that she was willing to risk her life to save Apple Bloom and her friends. When he wasn't working the orchid or lending a helping hoof in Ponyville he was by Trixie's side, and she loved every minute of it.

This morning she had decided to attribute to the farm by cooking the family some grass pancakes; so far she was on her tenth attempt at making a batch that wasn't burnt. Granny Smith was there too, helping by taste testing and supervising.

She levitated her latest pancakes on to a plate, she knew this patch was perfect, they had to be.

"Looks like you finally got it right, now move your caboose and bring'em over here for taste testing."

Trixie picked up the plate feeling confident, there was no way how this batch wouldn't be met with approval.

"I'm glad you're learning to cook now. It'll pay off when you become my grandson's wife."

"WIFE?!"

*CRASH!*

Trixie had her plate shattered on the ground and the majority of the grass pancakes either ended up on her face or through her horn.

"Aw ponyfeathers, and you were so close too."

Trixie timidly took off the pancakes and picked herself up. "Do you really think he'd make me his wife?"

"Well I'm not saying it's going to happen tomorrow. But if the two of you keep down the path your walking together, then maybe someday. You two do make such a cute couple after all."

Trixie blushed awkwardly, she needed a subject change.

"I'll go get a broom."

The sound of the gate opening cut her off, they had a visitor, she looked at Granny Smith her face asking her what to do.

"You see to our visitor, I'll clean up here. And when you come back maybe I'll teach you how to make one of my famous apple pies."

Trixie nodded to her and headed out to meet their new guest. It was quite a surprise to her to see the ringmaster from the circus she had been to the other day. He seemed happy to see her too.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie I presume? You may not remember me but…"

"Oh I remember you." She snipped, cutting him off. "You're the ringmaster of that circus where my friends almost got eaten!"

Trixie was a little ticked at him. What kind of ringmaster introduced an animal to the audience without taming it first?

"Yes and might I say, the way you defeated that Hydra was magnificent. It was amazing! It was stupefying!"

"Stop kissing my flank and get to the point! I'm still kind of irritated you never bothered to break that creature in before introducing it to the audience!"

The ringmaster took off his top hat solemnly. "That was an accident that was never meant to happen. And on behalf of everypony there I thank you for handling that situation." He put his top hat back on and smiled. "But let's be honest here, you enjoyed showing off in front of the audience didn't you?"

Trixie raised an eyebrow curiously. "What're you getting at?"

"I'm going to get straight to the point if I may, I would like you to join my circus as our main attraction."

Some of Trixie's old I'm-so-much-better-than-you ego seemed to flare up again as she threw back her head in laughter. "You want Trixie to join your circus? Sorry but Trixie is perfectly happy not joining your band miscreants."

"Are you sure about that? Can you honestly say that you would never want anything more than to just live out the rest of your days doing apple labor with a bunch of hics?"

She furrowed her brow. "What're you getting at?"

"Look at that cutie mark, you're out of place here. That is a cutie mark for magic, it's your special talent! You're wasting both your time and your gift by being here."

Trixie felt like a rock just landed in her gut, she supposed it didn't really make a lot of sense for a unicorn with a special talent for magic to be working on an apple orchard. She hated to admit this, even to herself, but he was making sense.

"And to top it off you're a show pony, you live for the applause, we both know it."

She bit her bottom lip, he was right, she adored the audience when it applauded for her.

"Your place is on stage, not on a farm. You join my circus and I'll make you the main act, you could be big again. Buck, what am I saying? You could be bigger than you ever were before!"

Trixie felt some small twinge of guilt starting to build up. His offer was starting to sound pretty tempting.

"I mean you can't honestly say you're happy here on this muddy old apple farm can you? These folks are nice but they can't understand you like we can, any bonds that you've made here, they can't last."

A mixture of shame and sadness entered her heart as she began to ponder the thought that what if he was right; what if she did end up losing everything? Her life did seem a little too good to be true. If it did end up collapsing in on itself then Trixie would be hurt even worse than the last time, but if she beat it to the punch and cut her bonds now she could probably numb the pain.

Either way he had planted a seed of doubt in her new happy life.

"Now do you really want to spend the rest of your life blending in to the crowd on this backwater farm, or do you want to step in to the spotlight and become a household name which shines all across Equestria?"

Trixie didn't answer, she was afraid to, new thoughts were entering her head. And she didn't like them.

"I'll tell you what, me and Hector will be back later today with a cart and if you decide to take us up on our generous offer we'll take you home. If not, then you will never see us again."

She hung her head sadly, deep down, she knew her answer.
--
Trixie finished packing her suitcase, which was filled mainly with a few items and the remainder of the zap apple jam Big Macintosh had given her, and headed out the door.

On the way out, however, she discovered Granny Smith asleep in her rocking chair and Applejack with Big Macintosh ready to come in after a hard morning's work.

Applejack spotted Trixie's suitcase with a frown. "You goin' someplace?"

She took a deep breath and held her nose up. "It would appear as though the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't need your charity after all. The circus from yesterday has offered Trixie the star role and she has decided to take it!"

"And you think this would make you happier?" asked Applejack.

"Well of course! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! There is nopony as amazing as myself, we all know that Trixie is destined for greater things than manual labor on a muddy old apple farm!"

She closed her eyes and struck a pose. "For there is nopony in all of Equestria like the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

She peeked one eye open to see what kind of reaction Big Macintosh had only to see he had on that poker face she had seen before. She hated it when he got like that, she could never tell what was going on in his mind.

Applejack was another story though, she was portraying everything she had expected Big Macintosh to show. Her face was twisted with a mixture of hurt, betrayal, shame, and anger.

"Is this what you want?" Big Macintosh asked plainly.

The question caught Trixie off guard, she nearly stumbled, she had expecting him to act any number of ways but concern for her happiness was not one of them.

"O-Of course it is! Trixie belongs in the center ring, not on some smelly orchard."

Applejack's frown got bigger.

"Upset 'Hayseed'?" The sound of hooves hitting the dirt road signified that Trixie's ride had arrived. "Don't be. We both knew this was the eventual outcome of my staying here."

Trixie turned around, ignoring Applejack's watering eyes as she walked to her carriage.

"Fine then! Go on and get! You never really belonged here anyways!" Applejack glared at the carriage as carried Trixie away from Sweet Apple Acres.

When it was finally gone from sight she stomped the ground angrily. "Crab apples!" she swore as she turned around leaving to get back to work.

Big Macintosh turned to Granny Smith, his face still the same. "Granny?"

Granny Smith awoke from her nap with a start but gave a loving smile when she saw it was her grandson who needed her.

"What is it grandson?"

"Ah'm gonna need you to fix up mah harness again."
--
Inside the carriage Trixie sighed, this was going to be harder than she thought.

"Wilbur! You did not tell Hector our new star was such a cute pony." said Hector.

"What?" Trixie queried. Was this guy really hitting on her?

"Hey! Hector! Keep your eyes on the road, I don't need you scaring the poor thing off."

"It won't be scary if she enjoys it. Right Madame Trixie?"

Trixie had been lost in her own thoughts when Hector tried his latest advance on her so she didn't hear it. "Whatever. Hey Wilbur, would you mind making a couple of stops before we hit the big top?"
--
Trixie knocked on the door just like all the other times Spike was the one who answered it, he actually seemed like he was happy to see her.

"Hi Trixie! Glad you stopped by, Twilight…"

"Bring Sparkle to me NOW, dragon!" Trixie snapped.

Spike frowned, slightly hurt with how quick she was with him, but did as she told him to.

Trixie levitated herself magically up to the top of the carriage, if she was going to be believable then she needed to act like the old Trixie. Aka, brag like there was no tomorrow.

Twilight came out like Trixie expected, but she was surprised to see Trixie on the roof of a carriage.

"Trixie? What's going on?"

Trixie floated her checked out library books over to Twilight magically.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is returning her books for Trixie no longer has any need for them."

"But these aren't due for another two days, why not keep them a little longer?" It was then Twilight spotted Trixie's suitcase inside the carriage. "Trixie, what's going on?"

"Trixie has been recruited by the circus to be their main attraction," she stood up on two legs and threw her front hoof out striking a pose. "For they acknowledge that there is no pony more magnificent than the GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"

"That is some attractive flare she has." Hector admired.

"Shut up!" Trixie snapped maintaining her pose.

"But I don't understand! I thought you were happy here, I thought you were becoming a better pony! What about that warm life you were after?"

"Please, such a goal is trivial to the Great and Powerful Trixie, making the best of a bad situation. Why would Trixie ever want a mundane ordinary life when Trixie could be a star?"

"And that's why you're doing this?" Twilight's tone held both skeptism and hurt. "You want to just give it all up, the friends, the home, the pony you were becoming?"

Trixie jumped off the top of the carriage, her eyes a little nervous. Twilight was starting to lay in to her.

"But of course, this is what Trixie wants. Why wouldn't it be what Trixie wants? It's what Trixie deserves. The limelight is where Trixie belongs."

She turned around and hopped in to the carriage.

"And what about Big Macintosh?"

Trixie flinched. She had been caught off guard yet again, she struggled to find an answer.

"…I…he…" She gave herself a quick shake of the head and put on a bold face. "It wouldn't have worked out. He's too humdrum for Trixie's taste anyways!"

She closed the door to the carriage behind herself making sure her back was facing Twilight.

"Just answer me this, Trixie. Are you saying all of this to me, or to yourself?"

Trixie shrunk slightly, not unlike Fluttershy, Twilight was on to her. "WILBUR!" Trixie roared. "Let's get going! Trixie still has more ponies to see!"

As the carriage rode off Twilight sighed and walked back inside her library where inside she was greeted by Pinkie Pie with a basket of invitations on her head.

"Twilight, I got those invitations ready for you." chirped Pinkie Pie.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to throw one of those away, Pinkie. Trixie isn't coming."

Pinkie Pie had a look of heart break as her ears flopped down. "But-But I thought you said you wanted all of us to come to your slumber party."

"Yes, but Trixie doesn't want to come, she doesn't even want to stay in Ponyville."

Pinkie Pie frowned, hanging her head sadly. "Oh…but…I thought…"

"I thought that too, Pinkie. But, it's what she wants."

"Figures," Spike said as he closed the door. "And I was just starting to like her."
--
Rarity hummed happily as she lost herself in her work. She enjoyed creating outfits for her friends and this was no exception, she was currently working on a gift for Trixie.

A new cape, but unlike her old one, the one Rarity was working on was a shade of blue which matched the pony it was designed for.

"Hmm…" Rarity went over her latest work with a critical eye. "Needs more…glitter."

A knock on her door made her put her work to a halt putting the cape back on the manikin.

She opened the door to find Trixie with a very serious look on her face. Rarity found it a bit odd but she pushed the questioning thoughts away and pulled Trixie inside the boutique with an excitement which could match a little school girl's.

"Trixie, darling, so glad you stopped by. I was just putting the finishing touches on a little gift I've made for you. I know how much you've been missing your cape so I threw a new one together and I must say I think it far surpasses your old one in fashion."

Rarity magically levitated the cape over to her. "Try it on and let me know what you think."

Trixie took the cape and let it fall to the floor. Rarity watched this with confused and hurt emotions.

"Trixie won't be needing your 'gift'. Trixie is the new star of the circus, and will have everything she will ever need. It is unlikely Trixie will ever be seeing Ponyville or you for that matter ever again. I just thought you should know is all!"

Without even letting Rarity get a word in, Trixie held up her nose and walked outside back to the carriage. Rarity followed but was unsure of what to say, everything was happening so fast.

"Goodbye!"

Rarity watched Trixie's carriage in concern as it rode away from her.

"If you're sure that's what you want…"
--

Trixie frowned as she sat in her carriage, Rarity wasn't really going to give her that cape free of charge was she? No! Of course not, of course she wouldn't, that'd be bad business sense!

*KNOCK!**KNOCK!**KNOCK!*

Trixie was snapped out of her thoughts to see Rainbow Dash out the door window flying next to the carriage. Trixie was surprised to see the pegasus but did her best to hide it.

"Trixie, what in the hay is going on? Pinkie Pie told me you're ditching town!"

Trixie sat up straight but said nothing as she held nose up dignified.

"You're just going to turn your back on everything you've done, everypony you've made friends with since you came here?!"

Trixie remained silent.

"You're not even going to say anything?!"

Rainbow Dash had been so busy flying alongside the carriage so wasn't seeing where she was going and crashed in to a tree. The carriage never stopped, even as Rainbow Dash glared after it as she picked herself up.

"Well fine then! Who needs you anyways?! All a rival like you would have done is slow me down!"

She stomped the ground angrily before flying off.
--

Trixie heaved a heavy sigh, she had lucked out giving Rainbow Dash the silent treatment, but Fluttershy was probably going to be the hardest of all.

She knocked on the door and Fluttershy opened it a small crack.

"Oh! Hello Trixie, what brings you by here today?" Fluttershy smiled as she stepped out.

Trixie put on a brave face and puffed her chest out in an attempt to look dignified. "The Great and Powerful Trixie just thought you should know that she is joining the circus and will no longer be in Ponyville. Just thought you should know in case you should go looking for Trixie."

Fluttershy's ears flopped down sadly. "But…I thought you were happy here."

Trixie turned her back to Fluttershy, it was easier to say this stuff when she wasn't looking her in the eye. She had big, sad eyes that made lying to her face difficult.

"Happy? HA! Please, as if the Great and Powerful Trixie would ever TRULY be happy being surround with such ordinary ponies. My time here was just something I had to put up with until Trixie got back on her hooves is all."

"Trixie please, you were trying to do right by everypony and I honestly believed you changing in to a better pony." Fluttershy placed her hoof on Trixie's shoulder. "Remember that day in the forest with the baby Ursa? You showed me a glimpse of the pony you were trying to become. I liked that pony, you can still be that pony, don't let her slip away. Let me help you, I'm your friend Trixie."

Trixie threw off Fluttershy's hoof and sharply turned around. "I am NOT your friend! That day in the forest all I wanted was answers to my questions and you gave them to me!"

She walked back to carriage in an angry huff. She used her magic to open the door and hopped in. "Trixie neither wants your friendship…"

She closed the door behind her and the carriage starts. "Nor deserves it." She wipes away a small tear.

Normally Fluttershy would have been in tears over a friend not only shouting at her that she wasn't her friend, but that she didn't want to be either. But Fluttershy knew when something was lashing out because it was afraid or hurt, whether it was an animal or a pony.

Fluttershy frowned. "This isn't right. I know it, and deep down I think she knows it too."
--
Trixie sighed, it had all but killed her to do that to them. But it was better for them to hate her, if they hated her then they wouldn't try to convince her to come back. If they hated her then they wouldn't WANT her to come back. 'It was for the best', this was the phrase she kept repeating in her head, it helped her believe it and it kept her from crying over the fact that she had hurt her friends.

When the carriage had stopped for the last time Trixie knew that she had arrived at the circus.

She put on her best stage face and opened her door.
--

Applejack was not having an easy time, after telling Apple Bloom Trixie left to join the circus the poor little filly wouldn't stop crying.

"But Ah don't understand!" she choked. "Ah thought Trixie liked us! Ah thought she was happy here!"

Applejack hugged her little sister, comforting her the best she could.

"Ah know it hurts Applebloom, but in life you discover that some ponies…"

Applejack lost her train of thought as she saw Big Macintosh walk off the farm with an umbrella attached to his harness.

"Now where is he goin? It aint even raining!"

Trixie was a in a bitter mood to say the least, ever since the carriage had stopped Hector had kept pestering her for dates. At first she had been polite and kindly turned him down, but he just wouldn't stop. He already hit on her about twelve times, he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, and Trixie was starting to get angry with him.

"For the last time Hector," Trixie growled. "I will not go out with you! You're a brainless juggernaut who can't take a hint!"

"But why?! Why won't go out with me?! I'm amazing!!" complained Hector.

Trixie pointed behind him and shouted. "Look! An idiot!"

Hector turned around to where Trixie was pointing shouting "Where?!"

When he turned back, Trixie was gone.

Trixie walked out of the big top tent grumbling to herself. "Stupid rasenfrasen Hector, a brainless poser, that's what he is!"

As bad as Trixie's mood was it was about to get worse. One of the clowns rode over to her on a unicycle honking a horn.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not in the mood for games right now, so she politely asks that you go away and leave her alone for now."

The clown responded by honking his horn in her face.

"Listen! You're supposed to be a clown! Not a mime! Just tell Trixie what you want!"

Instead of actually saying something the clown honked his horn even louder than last time.

Out of aggravation and frustration Trixie magically levitated the clown off of his unicycle, but Trixie made sure she wouldn't do anything she'd regret so she just put him on the ground out of her way.

Unfortunately she didn't see one of the balls that the clown was juggling was right in her way. She yelped as she slipped on the ball sending it flying in to the air as she fell on her back.

The ball hit the sword swallower in the back of the head making him lose grip on his fake sword he was practicing on, sending it flying in to the air hitting an elephant in the hind quarters.

In a blind panic the elephant started to stampede knocking over everything in it's path. This included the dunking tank dumping the pony inside it and all of it's water out in to the fairgrounds where it covered the tattoo pony Trixie had seen yesterday.

Trixie was frantic, the elephant wasn't stopping and she didn't know what to do. That was when Hector appeared again, this time with a rope.

"Fear not, pretty pony, for I, the Amazing Hector will stop this rampaging elephant and earn your affections."

Hector made a lasso out of the rope and swung it at the elephant, wrapping itself around the tail.

Hector raised his eyebrows at her suggestive before being yanked away by the elephant, the elephant continued it's stampede with Hector trailing behind until they left the circus campsite completely.

So Trixie was left standing in the middle of the chaotic mess just as the ringleader Wilbur stepped out of his wagon.

"What happened?!" he nearly shouted.

Trixie gave him an awkward grin as she said. "Um…it was the elephant?"

"Elephant?" Wilbur repeated. "I'm talking about Joshua!"

He ran past Trixie over to the tattooed pony behind her who was sitting in a puddle looking like he was about to cry. The tattoos actually seemed to be running off his body and in to the puddle.

"Oh Josh, not your tattoos. Those took hours to paint on."

"They weren't real tattoos?" Trixie asked.

"Of course they weren't!" Wilbur snapped. "What kind of sane pony would willingly put tattoos on every single inch of his body?!"

Trixie opened her mouth to answer but Wilbur cut her off. "I want to see you in my wagon immediately!"

"What do you mean I'm fired?!" Trixie roared.

"You heard me, sister! This whole mess was all your fault! Not only did you give collateral damage to my circus, you also lost me both my Strong Pony and one of my elephants, but you ruined Josh's tattoos to boot!"

"None of that was my fault! If the stupid clown would just learn to pick up after himself and maybe stop confusing himself with a mime then maybe all of this could have been avoided!"

"Save it! If I had known you would have cost my circus so much money I never would have sought you out! Trixie, I never want to see you around my circus ever again! Consider your contract with us terminated, now get out of my circus!"

"You can't just promise to make me the star of the circus and then fire me in the same day!" Trixie snapped.

"I can when you've destroyed my other acts!" Wilbur snapped back. "Listen, I don't care where you go, I don't care what you do, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!"

"I don't HAVE a home!" roared Trixie. "You made sure of that when your recruited me! I don't even have friends anymore because YOU convinced me it was better to leave them than to get hurt by them!"

"Tell it to somepony who gives a care!"

Trixie was, once again, walking in the rain. Which she actually found fit her mood exactly; she never would have thought it possible, but now she had even less then on the night Big Macintosh found her.

Normally when somepony would get fired, they would think about how their employer could do such a thing, but all Trixie could think about was how she mistreated her friends. She knew that they had come to genuinely like her, but when she was confronted by the idea of their friendship simply dieing…she took the coward's way out. She could make all the excuses she wanted, like 'it was only a matter of time before she left anyways' or 'she needed a better environment for her magic' but the fact was she ran away from the idea of such pain.

She laid down the prickly wet grass, the hill she was on looked remarkably like the one where she first met Big Macintosh. A puddle started to form beneath her and she stared sadly in to her reflection.

"What was I thinking? I had friends, a home…" her heart felt twisted as she began to think about the Earth pony who had been so kind to her. A tear fell from her eye landing in a puddle, it's ripples temporarily taking on the form of Big Macintosh. "And maybe even a very special somepony who cared about me… and I just threw all of that away because I was afraid I couldn't keep it!"

She sobbed deeply, her tears falling in to the puddle beneath her alongside the rain. The rain itself was relentless, heavy and fast, falling like tiny little pins against her body. Suddenly it just seemed to stop, the sound of the rain hitting some kind of solid surface caught her attention. She looked up to find Big Macintosh staring down at her, just like before.

She wiped away a tear from her now puffy eyes and did her best to choke down her sadness. "What're you doing here?" it wasn't working. "Come to laugh? Or give me your 'I-told-you-so's? The circus already booted me out so you probably want to rub it in my face don't you?"

"Nnnope!" he answered simply. "Ah've come to ask if you're ready to come home."

"What?" Trixie sniffled. "But I was so mean, I hurt everypony I've come to know. I insulted your home, your sister, and her friends. How can you just forgive me so easily?"

"They don't call me Big Macintosh just because of my size you know; Ah don't believe in holding grudges. Now Ah don't know what happened for them to kick you out in this in to this bad weather but what Ah do know is this…You ate with us, you worked with us, and you laughed with us, and in my book that makes you family. So let me ask you more time," he leaned in close and gave her a sympathetic smile "are you ready to come home?"

Trixie's eyes watered to the point of overflowing. "Yes!" she sobbed.
--

The next morning, Trixie was seated at the Apple Family breakfast table with not just the Apple Family, but with Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie too. All enjoying a large breakfast consisting of muffins and many apple related meals.

She was surprised how forgiving they had all been, it was a trait that apparently flourished here in Ponyville. They seemed happy just to have her back with them, even if a part of Trixie felt like she didn't deserve it.

"I still can't believe how forgiving you all are." said Trixie.

Rainbow Dash flew backwards on her back eating a muffin with an air of her laid back attitude. "Yeah well I knew you were faking all along. You're a decent magician Trixie, but you're a lousy actress."

"Ah'm just glad to have the New Kind Trixie back instead of that old show off braggy pants you were trying to play off as." Said Applejack as she slapped Trixie on the back.

"Oh yes, you've become such a nice pony." smiled Fluttershy.

"You can't fool us with your meanie Mcmeaner pants act. You're stuck with us for life!" beamed Pinkie Pie.

"And you must come by my boutique for your new cape, darling."

"I think this will make quite the letter to the Princess. Want to help Trixie?" offered Twilight.

"Thanks Twilight," Trixie's gaze wandered over to Big Macintosh who had his full and was getting ready to get to work. "But I'm going to be a little preoccupied with something." she said with a blushing smile.

She got up and started to follow Big Macintosh out the door, ignoring the giggling Twilight behind her.

"Big Macintosh!" Cried Trixie as she caught up with him. "I just wanted to thank you, for helping me pick up the pieces…again. I think I finally understand the warm life you were talking about. And…"

Trixie started to blush furiously without warning as she thought about what she was about to say.

"Um…" Trixie timidly stared down at her hooves as she kicked a small pebble shyly. "The great and powerful Trixie…um…likes your shade of red."

"Eeyup." was his answer. Trixie looked up at him to get a more descriptive answer to her 'confession' only to have him give her a quick peck on the lips.

He gave her a bad boy smile and said "You can call me Big Mac."

The End.

Author's Note:

And that's the end. I hate that it ended on an Odd number but I still enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoyed it too

3,244 views

178

Previous Chapters