For Her Mistakes

by Onomonopia

Unwanted Guest

After securing her fee for helping out the former mayor of the town, Trixie decided that it was time for her to do something she really enjoyed doing: shopping. It was a way for her to relax and feel happy--with one exception. Due to her reputation, she often found that going out in broad daylight without any disguise often caused the town to panic. But she was in a rush this morning and decided that she didn't care what the town did, as long as she got to shop for her supplies. Since most of the 'early birds' were scared off by her appearance earlier, she hoped that she would be able to make it through the stores without causing another panic, even if she didn't trust her luck. So as she walked into the mostly empty marketplace, she braced herself for what was to come.

'At least I will be able to meet all the happy citizens,' she thought to herself with a sarcastic smile as she walked up to the first vendor, waiting patiently as the pony moved some boxes while never noticing Trixie. Trixie had noticed that this apple stand had the Applejack seal of approval on it, so the apples were probably good. "Excuse me, I wish to purchase some of your fruit. Sooner would be better than later if you don't mind."

"Alright dear, I'll be with you in a moment," the mare said with a slight accent as she stood back up and turned around to face Trixie...only to have all the color drain from her face the moment she saw who her customer was. Trixie raised an eyebrow when the pony began to show signs of panicking, such as backing as far away from Trixie as she could. "You're...you're..." she stammered with wide eyes that told Trixie she was about to scream.

"I am a pony that requires at least fifteen apples without any commotion," Trixie said quickly while she used her magic to shut the mare's mouth before she could get the scream out. The terrified mare tried to whimper through her magic-sealed mouth, then looked at Trixie, silently praying to Faust that she would survive this. Trixie then reached into her newly acquired bag of bits and placed a hoofful on the counter before levitating the appropriate amount of apples over to her. She placed the apples in a bag she had with her and then turned back to the still terrified mare. "Alright, on the count of three, I am going to release you. One, two..." Before Trixie said three, she shot away from the vendor while de-activating her spell at the same time. She had barely made it around a building before she heard the mare scream, causing Trixie to growl to herself as she walked to the next stand.

'Let's hope I can get through the next item on my list without having all the guards in the town trying to arrest me,' she thought to herself with a frown as she walked up to a wagon wheel repair stand, narrowing her eyes when she saw the wheels all laying around the stand. She had always distrusted wheels, ever since one had given out on her during one of her expeditions and toppled her wagon right off a cliff. She had not enjoyed having to float to the bottom of that cliff to levitate what remained of her home back up a sheer rock face. She knocked twice on the vendor's counter to gain his attention, rolling her eyes as the stallion turned around and gave her the same reaction that the previous pony had.

"You're-"

"Yes, I am, so let's just skip this whole panic thing and get to me buying what I need," Trixie said calmly to quickly cut him off before he could start, looking at the repair supplies that hung on the wall behind him. "I'll take a spare axel and half a dozen spare spokes. Can you get those for me without screaming--or do I have to seal your mouth as well?" Trixie smirked to herself as the stallion shut his mouth and gathered what she needed at an impressive speed, dumping her items in front of her before he backed up against the rear wall. Trixie rolled her eyes again and reached for her bits, but the stallion held out a shaking hoof.

"T-there's no need to pay, I-it's on the house," he said in a tone that told her he was about to break down. Trixie raised an eyebrow in response.

"Are you certain? I can more than pay for-"

"There's really no need," he said quickly before realizing that he had just cut her off. He gave out a squeak and ran out of his shop, leaving Trixie alone with the empty shop. She watched him run off into the distance before she smirked to herself and picked up her items with a small laugh.

"Nice to see that someponies are still generous," she joked to herself as she walked by all the other vendors on the way back to her wagon, pretending not to notice that they all hid behind their counters as she walked by--or the glares they gave to the back of her head once she had passed. "And who am I to argue with free goods?" She quickly spun around with an evil smile to look back at the vendors who were glaring at her, laughing out loud as most of them screamed and closed up their shops. She shook her head as she turned back to where she had parked her wagon, her spirits slightly lifted. A mostly quiet walk led her back to the pub where she had parked the wagon outside, noticing as she got closer that the bouncer whom she had paid to keep an eye on it was still there. When she got closer, she noticed that he seemed to have stayed by the wagon all night, without moving or sleep. He flinched as he saw her approach and backed away from the wagon quickly.

"Thank you for your help. You're free to go now," Trixie said with a smile. The pony did a quick bow and shot off into the bar, slamming the door and turning the sign to closed. She chuckled and placed her items on the ground, pulling the key to her wagon out of her coat and placing it in the lock. The door open with a snap as she placed the key back in her coat before turning to her items...to notice that her apples were now missing. She raised both her eyebrows in surprise as she looked up to see a small pony running off with her apples. "I don't believe it. Somepony is robbing me? Me? This day just gets better and better." She narrowed her eyes and flooded magic through her horn, casting a spell that allowed her to move at much faster speeds than most pegasi. So with one kick of her back hoof, she shot up to and past the pony who had robbed her, skidding to a stop in front of it. The pony let out a cry and fell over, the bag falling on top of it. Trixie picked up the bag to reveal...a small foal.

"Please don't hurt me!" the colt cried as he placed his hooves over his head and curled up into the fetal position, while Trixie looked down at him with a bit of confusion, not sure how to proceed

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you...yet," Trixie said coldly as she picked up the colt with magic and levitated him in front of her. The first things she noticed about him was that he seemed half-starved to death, with his ribs visible against his midnight black coat. She also noticed a number of bruises on his body, her eyes narrowing slightly when she noticed that they all looked like hoof marks. Finally, there was the look of sheer terror in his eyes, a terror that told her that he had been in this situation before and he knew what was coming. Her heart got the better of her and she walked with him over to her wagon, where she dropped him at its base before sitting down in front of him.

"I would ask you the obvious question, why are you stealing from me, but your rib cage answers that question for you," Trixie said bluntly. The colt looked down at his ribs before hiding behind his long, brown mane in embarrassment. "So I'll ask another question instead. Why are you stealing in the first place and where are your parents or guardian?" Trixie touched upon a sore subject, and she knew it when the colt let out a sniffle and pulled his legs up.

"I stole from you because I need food," he said, and this time Trixie noticed the weakness in his voice as he spoke. "I don't like to do it, but with Blackjack's goons having taken over the town, I needed to find a way to survive both hunger and him, so I steal things for him."

"I take it nopony's told you that Blackjack has been arrested and brought in for his crimes this morning?" Trixie said, suppressing a smile of her own when she saw the smile spread on the colt's face.

"He finally got what he deserved then," the colt said with a smile, which quickly turned into a frown when he remembered the next part of Trixie's question. "As for my family, they...didn't want me anymore."

"Excuse me?"

"I come...used to come from a family of great importance, ponies who were considered by many to be the greatest spellcasters in all of Equestria," he said sadly as he moved his mane to show a hidden unicorn horn beneath the mess. "So my parents expected me to be as great or even greater spellcasters than they were. But I can't do the magic they wanted me to do. I can barely fire off a few sparks. So when my parents found out about this-"

"-they cast you out into the world with no remorse whatsoever, and left you to fend for yourself," Trixie finished in a cold whisper, memories that she wished would stay buried in her memory rising to the surface to scar her once again. The colt nodded sadly as he looked up at her in confusion.

"Yeah, how'd you know, miss..."

"Let's just say I know another pony who's had a family similar to yours," she said through gritted teeth, suppressing the memories with an effort. Then in a calmer voice, she answered the colt's question. "My name is...Trixie." She mentally braced herself for the screaming that she came with her name, but much to her surprise, the colt offered his hoof in a friendly way with a smile.

"Okay, Miss Trixie, my name is Starshine! Nice to meet ya." Trixie looked from the extended hoof to the foal's smiling face in disbelief, wondering where was the reaction she was used to.

"Um, do you not know who I am?" she asked slowly as she took the colt's hoof and shook it gently.

"Nope. Why, should I?" he asked her with a slight tilt of his head. Trixie stared dumbly at the foal, putting the pieces together in her mind. If the foal had been kicked out of his home, close to the same age as she had been, then it was likely that nopony had told him about what had been going on in the world. His parents were also only concerned with teaching him magic, so they probably didn't care about what rumors were going around. And since he had been living on the streets, there would be little chance that he had heard about her. "Um, Miss Trixie?"

"No. There is nopony out there who cares for me," she said quickly, figuring it was best that he didn't know. Trixie looked up at the sun and realized that it had grown later in the morning faster than she had wanted, as she wanted to leave at dawn. "It was nice to meet you Starshine, but I need to go now. It's best that I don't stay in a spot for too long," she said as she stood up, answering what she knew would be his next question. She remembered her apples bag and levitated it back to her as she walked up to the wagon door, looking back at Starshine as she did so. "I recommend that you head back to your home or wherever you reside. I sense a storm coming from the south. I can drop you off at your home if you want."

"You're standing on my home," he said with a frown as he indicated the street with his head, causing a twinge to go through Trixie's heart, but she quickly steeled herself. Ponies in the past who became associated with her tended to get hurt...or fight giant bats.

"I don't really have a family to head back to or a place to stay." Then she realized that Starshine was giving her 'puppy dog' eyes...eye, since his mane covered one of his eyes. She also found that her will was quickly being broken by the colt when he asked, "Can I come with you? Just for a while?" She sighed and closed her eyes, hating herself.

"...Fine, you can come with me--for now," she said with a growl as she gave into her heart's command, opening the door for the foal, whose eyes lit up like the stars. "But that is only until we find you a real family--" Trixie opened her eyes to realize that the foal was gone. She looked inside her wagon to see that he was already inside and had managed to open her trunk where she kept her belongings. "And, he is already looking through my things. I'd blame his parents, but...no, I'll still blame them." She climbed inside the wagon herself and grabbed him with her magic, levitating Starshine over to her once again. "Don't you know it is rude to go through another pony's things without their permission?"

"It is?" he asked in complete innocence, causing Trixie to sigh as she placed a hoof on her face. She gently dropped him to the ground where he ran back over to the chest and pulled out a purple hat with stars covering it. "This hat is awesome! Where did you get it?"

"I made it myself," Trixie said as she sat down on a sofa and removed her cloak, emptying its pockets onto the table in front of her. Starshine walked over to her with the hat in-between his teeth.

"Why did you make it?"

"It was for my old job. I was a stage performer and I would travel from town to town to show ponies the magic and skill of the great and powerful Trixie," she replied with sarcasm in her voice as she fired off a spell in the room, which had the effect of slamming the door and causing the wagon to shake.

"What did you do?" Starshine asked as he ran to one of the windows, his jaw dropping when he realized that the were moving. "How did you-?"

"It is a simple spell that unicorns use to move carts when they are not strong enough to push them," Trixie explained as she walked over to a safe and opened it, throwing the bits inside before slamming it shut. "This is a more advanced version where the wagon can sense obstacles and avoid them, as well as staying on the path that I wish for it to travel without my interference."

"That's incredible," Starshine said as he looked around the room, slowly becoming more and more confused as he saw not only the couch that Trixie was sitting along with the table, but also a fairly large bed in the back along with what looked like a bath that rested in the corner of the room. "Um, how did-"

"It's a dimensional enlargement spell, that I used to increase the capacity of my wagon so that it can accommodate me in the manner that I wish," Trixie explained quickly, trying to read the magazine she had gotten for herself. When Starshine remained silent, she sighed and looked up at him from the magazine. "The room is bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside. That better?"

"Kinda, but how did you do that?" he asked as he sat down in front of Trixie. "From what my parents taught me about spells, that would require Alicorn-level spell power."

"That is correct," Trixie said with a smug smile as she placed her front hooves behind her head, her smile widening when she saw the realization dawn on Starshine's face. "Yes, my current magical prowess is said to match or surpass that of an alicorn."

"No way! Then, that makes you better than Princess Twilight?" Starshine asked in excitement, not knowing that by speaking that name he had given Trixie a flashback, back to when her whole life had been about revenge upon whom she believed had wronged her. Starshine tilted his head slightly when Trixie didn't respond and gently pushed her leg, snapping her out of her trance.

"Um, yes. I guess, I technically am...more skilled than Twilight at magic, but I do not know if that makes me better than her overall," Trixie said quickly, cursing herself for letting her memories slip like that. Starshine looked at Trixie with a new sense of awe, then rushed back over to her chest and rummaged around in it again, before racing back over to Trixie with a golden mask in his teeth.

"So, what's this then? I've never seen a mask like this before," Starshine asked again as Trixie slowly picked the mask up, struggling to prevent the memories from bursting through her mental dam again.

"This mask...belonged to my mother," Trixie said softly," holding the mask in front of her as she studied it, and the reflection it held of her within it. The mask was not made for ponies, which made sense since it had belonged to a human. "This is all that is left of her now."

"Did your mother die? I'm sorry," Starshine said gently. "What kind of pony was she?"

"Heh, she was a psychotic killer that wanted to rule all of Equestria for herself and enslave all of the ponies living in it," Trixie said with a sad smirk as she floated the mask back over to her chest and placed it inside, making sure to close and lock the chest this time. "But enough about my past. If you wish to travel with me, then you are going to need a bath. I can only hold my nose for so long." As she said this she lifted up the colt with her magic and levitated him over to the tub despite his protest, casting a second spell to turn one of the faucets to get the water flowing.

"Come on, into the water," Trixie said as she dropped Starshine into the water, shielding herself from the splash as the colt surfaced, his wet mane covering his face completely. She chuckled as he pulled his mane out of his face, revealing a massive frown.

"Why did you do that? I've been fine with living on the streets without bath, so why do I need one now?" he asked as he crossed his arms while Trixie floated the soap over to him. "I can do it myself," he muttered as he snatched the soap out of her magic.

"Then I take it you can finish by yourself," Trixie said as she walked away from him and headed to the front of the wagon, where a table sat by a large window. She sat down at the table to study the old parchment that lay on it. She had obtained the map in a trade with a wandering gypsy for a considerable amount of bits, but it was more than worth its weight in gold.

"What'cha got there?" Starshine asked as he walked over to Trixie, drying off his mane with a towel as he looked over the map. "Why do you have this map?"

"This map is one of the last remaining maps that holds the location of all the temples that Star-Swirl the Bearded created when he hid his greatest treasures," Trixie explained as she pulled up another seat for Starshine. She conjured a band to keep his mane out of his eyes as well. He struggled a bit as she pulled his mane back into a ponytail until she could cut it herself. "The only other one is in Canterlot, and I'm not exactly welcome in that place."

"Why?"

"Story for another time. See this mark on the map?" Trixie asked as she lit up an area on the map that was located on its edge . "That is where we are heading, the Temple of Ages. This is supposedly the last known location of Star-Swirl and is also where he kept his greatest invention of magic."

"And you want to find it?"

"Of course. While I may not be able to visit any of the libraries in towns or cities, that doesn't mean that I still can't sate my desire to learn more about magic," Trixie said with a smile while she rolled up the map, placing it on a shelf that Starshine noticed was filled with other old looking parchments and papers. "It should only be another day or two before we reach it, since according to the map there is only one more town before we get to its general location. Argh, hold on, I need to work some more of my magic." Trixie stood up and walked to the front door, throwing it open with a growl when she saw that the wagon had gone off track.

"It does this every once in a while," she said as she fired up her magic once again, fixing the wagon's path and placing it back on the road that was filled with weeds. While she was looking out the door, Trixie also noticed that the trees around these parts seemed different from the ones closer to Canterlot. These ones felt...more natural to her. "That's just weird," she muttered to herself as she went back inside, sitting down next to Starshine again. "...yes, is there something you want to ask?" Starshine backed up a bit and looked down at the floor, not knowing that Trixie's ability to read ponies was second to only one other.

"I...I wanted to ask if you...would you teach me some of your magic," he said quietly, avoiding her gaze while she looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, since you're so skilled, I thought that maybe you would be able to teach me even when the best tutor's couldn't." Trixie wasn't sure what to say to the foal, since she had never even had another pony to talk to in ten years, let alone teach. But if there was one thing that her crazy mother had taught her that she valued, it was that knowledge should be passed on, not kept for oneself.

"Alright, I will teach you to the best of my abilities," Trixie said in agreement, causing the colt to shout with joy. Trixie sat down on the floor and motioned for Starshine to join her as she levitated over a dummy for the colt to practice on. "Now then, the only way for me to judge your abilities is for me to see them first hoof. I take it you have been taught a simple ignition spell? Good, then light this dummy up." Starshine nodded his head and closed his eyes, focusing all of his magic into his horn, which began to glow a crimson red. Trixie then felt a burst of heat hit her, but it wasn't coming from the perfectly fine dummy. Instead...

"And now, my bed is on fire," Trixie said with no emotion as she turned around to face her bed, which had been set ablaze by the young colt's magic. While Starshine rapidly apologized for what he did, Trixie cast a simple extinguish spell and put the fires out, smiling to herself at her still unburnt bed. "Good thing I fireproofed everything in this wagon or else it would have burnt down just now...or every other time I set it ablaze."

"You've set your own home on fire as well?" Starshine asked.

"Yup, multiple times. Just because I'm skilled at magic doesn't make me immune to mistakes, especially since I practice much more advanced spells than you," Trixie said as she looked out the window, realizing that the sun was starting to set over the mountains, although it was hard to tell due to all the storm clouds overhead. "And just like that it's almost nightfall. I'd better stop the wagon for tonight." A quick wave of her horn caused the wagon to move to the side of the road and come to a stop just as the rain began to pour down. Trixie threw up the barrier around her wagon that she always slept with and opened her trunk again, this time pulling out a sleeping bag and a pillow.

"Alright, this is where you will sleep until I get you a proper bed," she said as she dropped the sleeping bag and pillow on the couch. "If you need me for anything, feel free to wake me up, but only if it's an emergency. Understood?" Starshine nodded and Trixie headed to her bed with a sigh, feeling tired from the long day's events.

"Um, Trixie?" Starshine asked quietly, causing Trixie to stop in her tracks. "Thanks for doing all this. Do you mind if I ask you why, though?"

"Because you remind me of somepony that I know," she responded quickly as she plopped down on her bed and wrapped the covers around herself, seemingly falling asleep within seconds. Starshine looked towards her one last time, before he too sat down on the couch and wormed into his sleeping bag. The lights went off on their own and for a few minutes the room was quiet. Then, Starshine started to snore slightly, which told Trixie that he was asleep. She rolled over on her bed and cast a quick spell that caused her roof to be transparent, allowing her to gaze at the massive thunderstorm that was forming overhead.

'What am I doing?' she thought to herself, as lightning clashed with rain above the wagon, the two elements battling it out to determine which of the two of them was supreme. 'I have no idea how to take care of a foal, and I can blame my parents for that. But what's worse, is that my job is very dangerous and very lonely. I should have dropped him off at an orphanage where he would have been safe. Why did I agree to take him with me?'

'Because you like to help more than you could know.' Trixie shot up in bed as lightning flashed across the sky, her eyes scanning the room for whoever had spoken. It wasn't a voice she knew, but it sounded powerful. But instead of some intruder, all she saw was the young Starshine standing at the edge of her bed with eyes on the sky, wincing every time thunder shook the heavens.

"Yes Starshine, what can I do for you?" Trixie asked as her eyes continued to look around in the darkness, her horn giving off an azure light as she scanned the room with her magic.

"Um, I was just wondering if I could...sleep with you?" he asked cautiously before diving under the covers as another bolt shook the wagon. "I don't like lightning," he said in a terrified tone as he poked his head out from under the covers, only to duck back under them again when another roar of thunder struck.

"Why are you afraid of lightning?" Trixie asked as all her scans came up negative, telling her that the only life in the room was her and Starshine.

"It almost hit me once, back when I lived on the streets," he said as he curled up with one of her pillows that he had dragged back under the covers. "Please?"

"Ugh. Fine, but if you wake me, you'll sleep outside," Trixie said as she turned over and threw a miniature barrier over herself so that he couldn't disturb her. After a few minutes, Starshine started to snore again, leaving Trixie alone with her thoughts. She had been alone for so long, that she had almost forgotten what it was like to actually talk to another pony in a way that didn't require her to flatten them a few seconds later. And then, there was the fact that Starshine was abandoned, just like she had been. Was in pure coincidence that had brought them together, or was it fate? Trixie shook her head and decided that it didn't matter. All that she was concerned about right now was finding the temple and a field big enough for her to teach Starshine how to perform magic. So with a tired yawn, she closed her eyes and did her best not to dream.

Comments

[snipesalot0]

MOTHABUCKIN D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Very cute, can't wait to see more of this dynamic duo.

[Jlargent]

"It's a dimensional enlargement spell, that I used to increase the capacity of my wagon so that it can accommodate me in the manner that I wish,"

Trixie owns a TARDIS? So she's what? A Time Lady?

[Scarheart]

So...Trixie is the Gray Wizard going throughout the world and trying to right wrongs to make up for her murky past...

[Kenshinryuu]

Is Starshine actually Starswirl reincarnated and he just can't tap into his massive potential???? I like Trixie taking him in, good feels.

[CraftAids]

I liked this chapter far better then the last, in spite of how little I care about the colt right now. There was far less fluff.
It occurs to me that this is the time I've read a character you made up yourself. He seems kind of personality-less right now, but that's ok since he has only been around for a chapter.

[FleetlordAvatar]

3747441 BEHOLD THE GREAT AND POWERFUL DOCTOR!

[Schroedingers_Katze]

And with this development, I hereby dub this fanfiction "Lone Mare and Foal"!

Seriously, thats a nice surprise, seeing old Trix here showing that she is not totaly dead in her emotions.

[Quasar4000]

How many years does this take place?

[Onomonopia]

3757351
Same as Runs in the Family, 10 after dark knight