The Power of Pride

by artimus

Memories & Regrets

Trixie, The Great and Powerful, awoke behind the library. Looking around her, she saw piles of sand scattered around her. She took a minute to remember what had happened, finally recalling that she had been attempting to grind rocks down to powder, which she had been successful at, and manipulating the remaining grains, which hadn't worked so well. The concentration and focus it took to even manipulate two of such an incredibly tiny, discreet particle had been immensely difficult. Before she knew it, her magic had drained completely at the attempts and, combined with the fatigue from the earlier fight, she had lapsed into unconsciousness.

It was evening, the sun setting behind the trees and lighting the sky a burning orange. Celestia was hard at work while Trixie rested. The blue unicorn stood up, yawning and stretching. Fortunately, she felt a little better than she usually did after training. At least maintaining her confident attitude would be easy enough. Trixie circled around the tree. She brought her trademark cocky smile to her face, propping her face up as she opened the door with her magic. She had expected to find Twilight at her desk working as usual. Instead, Twilight stood in the center of the room, her face twisted into a dark stare. That look of anger made Trixie's stomach turn in both fear and guilt. However, she didn't let it show. "Trixie sees you're taking a break, Twilight Sparkle! You'll never become as Great or Powerful as her that way!"

Twilight's face remained unchanged. Instead of responding, Twilight levitated an item from the desk, though the dull evening light gave Trixie a hard time recognizing it as a piece of her cape. As she brought it further toward Trixie, the knot in her stomach tightened. No, how…How did she find that? There was no hiding her fear from Twilight now as she unconsciously bit her lip, her brow betraying her, letting Twilight know that she at least partly understood the gravity of this revelation. Still, she attempted to play dumb. "What is that thing, Twilight Sparkle and why are you shoving it in Trixie's muzzle like this?"

"I think you know what this is, but let's confirm that together, shall we?" Twilight uttered coldly as she moved the cloth down Trixie's body, stopping at her flank. A bead of sweat fell down the top of Trixie's head as Twilight again found the hole in Trixie's cape. She forcefully shoved the piece onto the hole. "Oh look, it fits." Twilight spoke, unsurprised. "But what doesn't fit is how you made it here from Winniana in such a short amount of time. How did you manage that, Trixie?" She refused to refer to Trixie with such a respectful moniker as 'miss,' finding no more humor in it.

Still, Trixie feigned ignorance. "Trixie couldn't possibly have, you know that as well as she does! Now cease these infernal accusations!" This was met with a sigh.

"Oh, you could have. Please don't make me explain what happened to you myself."

"Well, Trixie is afraid you'll have to! For once, you're far above her head!" Trixie bit her lip harder. She knew she had been found out, but Trixie had become more fearful at being faced with the truth of what had occurred. Please don't, you can't know what I've done! You can't!

"Trying to make a fool of me won't help you, Trixie. And I'm not speaking above your head." The purple pony disappeared with a flash, causing a startled gasp from Trixie. Her voice reappeared behind Trixie as the magician turned quickly. She was met with Twilight's face uncomfortably close to hers. "And I thinking you know where I'm going."

"N…No…" Trixie begged, "Please, it's not true."

"I can't travel particularly far with my teleportation. I just haven't had the practice. Surprisingly enough, I haven't found a real reason to spend the time getting better with it. But you, being such a nomad…" It was Twilight's time to flourish as she pointed a hoof at Trixie's chest, pushing her backwards, toward the center of the library. Twilight kicked the door closed behind with her a slam and locking it with her magic.

"Please…not so loud, you…you wouldn't want to wake Spike!" Trixie tried to calm Twilight in any way possible.

"No, I won't. He's spending the night at Rarity's tonight. It's only you and me. As I was saying, you have a reason to know long-range teleportation. What’s more impressive to a crowd than promising a rare flower from the next city over and returning mere minutes later?" Twilight had pushed the other into the wall, but wasn't relenting. Trixie nearly attempted to climb the wall to get away. Feeling trapped, her eyes began to water, but she blinked the tears out of existence.

"No, Trixie is not…She can't do that!"

"Sure, Winniana is a few days away, but with a good amount of magic and a few hours, a skilled pony like you could've performed the task fairly easily."

"…You think Trixie is…skilled?" Trixie meekly asked, half-flattered, but halfway just trying to change the subject.
Her attempts were only met with anger. "Trixie!" Twilight stood on her back legs, pushing her hooves toward the wall behind Trixie, pinning her against it, leaning in closer. "You've been keeping secrets from me and you've been lying to me. I know about your secret training, I know about the Ursa Minor attack, and I know that you are the one responsible for it. So stop lying to me and tell me why! Why did you lead that Ursa Minor to attack that city? Did they cast you out, too? Were you jealous of another unicorn? Why?" Twilight made no effort to hide her emotions as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. She felt betrayed by Trixie. While she didn't think Trixie had become more humble, she didn't believe that Trixie could do something so terrible. She had defended Trixie and was only rewarded with half-truths and outright lies.

Twilight was just beginning to let her tears build, but Trixie was already shedding them, mostly out of fear, but partly out of guilt. She knew that Twilight was right. No more…I can't lie to her anymore…I need to…to stop hurting her. "You're right, Twilight…" Trixie finally admitted, casting her eyes downward, letting her shoulder slump. She couldn't look the hurt pony in the eye while she confessed her guilt. "It was me, I'm the reason that town was destroyed."

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Trixie had spent the last months continuing her travels. After being kicked out of Ponyville and abandoning her stage, Trixie had needed to work without her materials. Just surviving without her makeshift home was hard as she had spent more than her fair share of nights being rained on with the nearly-nonexistent cover of a tree failing to protect her as she tried to sleep. Trixie still moved from town to town, performing for the ponies of Equestria. But it never felt quite the same since the disaster in Ponyville. She lost her passion somehow, no longer able to boast her talents with any less than a pinch of self-loathing at each brag. Somehow, the ponies loved her. Well, not her, but her far out stories and tricks had entertained them enough to give Trixie enough bits to survive.

After another successful performance, Trixie collected her bits and thought of the one thing she had been thinking about since being run out of Ponyville all that time ago: Twilight Sparkle. After she defeated that Ursa Minor, Trixie had to admit that Twilight had done something even the Great and Powerful Trixie had failed to. She defeated that great beast without any help at all. Meanwhile, Trixie could barely give it a burn. Since then, Trixie spent every day without a performance hard at work. She practiced her weight-lifting, her focus, and her weather control with great vigilance. All of this led to greater crowds and more money. At one point, Trixie even stayed an extra night in one town to play in their theatre.
Still, no matter the praise that was paid to her, no matter how many ponies gathered to see her, and no matter how many towns she would walk into to be met with excitement from ponies who heard from the neighboring areas about the Great and Powerful Trixie, she felt unfulfilled, never able to rid herself of that guilt that accompanied each boast, each trick, and each cheer.

Trixie left the town at 9:00 PM. All of the hotels were filled from travelers coming to see her show. Between leaving then and hiding in a dark alley and trying to sleep, Trixie decided to move on to the next town. After travelling for a few hours, Trixie felt her legs becoming weary. Coming across a cave, she lit her horn to explore and make sure it was clear before lying down for the night. However, she didn't get far before she found herself face to face with a sleeping giant. She recognized it immediately, quickly slamming her hooves to her mouth to stop her screaming. It was an Ursa Minor! Trixie let the light out to prevent it from waking. Turning around, Trixie crept away quietly.

Nearing the edge of the cave, though, Trixie felt a different pang. This time, it was her pride. Trixie had let Twilight Sparkle defeat that Ursa Minor before, but since then Trixie had trained diligently. She had grown much stronger since then. That pony…I'm better than she is! I know it! Anything she can do, I can do better and if she can send an Ursa Minor back to sleep, I can easily do the same! Fueled by her bitterness, Trixie turned back toward the slumbering beast. She breathed in slowly, standing on her hind legs as she prepared herself.

"Ursa Minor, prepare to be vanquished by the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She screamed loudly. A few seconds later with no response, Trixie prepared to yell again when the cave shook with a vicious roar. I…I think I did it! Trixie thought with a touch of nervousness. She stepped back away from the cave, waiting for it to emerge. The blue beast came out from the cave with an angry look, looking around for the creature that woke looked just how Trixie recognized it in the moonlight, its yellow eyes and red pupils searching for its target. Its coat was a bright blue, covered in stars, with the brightest and largest appearing on its forehead. Spotting Trixie, it roared again. The fear from her first encounter with one of these beasts came rushing back, but Trixie pushed it back. I can do this! Anything Twilight Sparkle can do…

Trixie began by 'shooting' the bear. She had practiced with clay pots and rocks before and felt that she had become stronger and more accurate from the practice. However, the invisible projectiles seemed to have no effect at all! The Ursa Minor scratched where she had fired before raising its claw. Trixie brought her shields up instinctively, but to no avail as the monster's claw crashed through it, sending Trixie into a nearby tree. Dazed, Trixie hit the ground, but stood back up as quickly as she could manage. With great effort, Trixie lifted a nearby boulder, slamming it into the Ursa Minor. It roared and stumbled back in pain as the rock broke apart into hundreds of pieces. Trixie tried to grab one of the new pieces, but they didn't move! As she tried harder, her vision began to fade. Her power was running out. The Ursa Minor regained its strength, heading toward her. She tried to summon a storm, a stronger one, but if picking up a rock was impossible, the storm wasn't happening. Trixie couldn't even gather a cloud the size she had back in Ponyville. The Ursa Minor raised its claw again as Trixie panicked. Her horn illuminated as she used the last reserves of her strength to vanish, but she only made it a few feet. The flash attracted the Ursa Minor's attention in the woods ahead of it as he gave chase. Trixie ran as quickly as she could in her weakened state. The beast ran through the forest easily, knocking over trees. It came closer, saliva dripping from its frothing mouth!

Finally, Trixie spotted something. Something made of brick. A house! She was near a town! A newfound motivation caught her as she ran faster. It wasn't long before she found herself on the streets of a new city. She recognized the town as Winniana, having played for them months before. Fortunately, at such a late hour, Trixie didn't see any pony in town. The Minor was still on her tail. She travelled down alley after alley, hoping to lose it and after a few side streets, she did. Trixie let out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived as she heard a roar, crash and a scream. Now the Ursa Minor turned its anger on the town! But what could Trixie do? She ran. She ran as away from the town as she could.

Hours later, she recovered her strength. She had to find somewhere to hide, but any pony would finger the newcomer once they heard about this attack. Once they realized a Minor wouldn't attack a town for no reason. She collapses onto her haunches as she planned out her next move. She felt a draft across her flank, despite her cloak. Looking down, she saw a rather large hole in her cloak. It must have torn when that creature hit me! Blast! Never mind it; I need to find somewhere to stay!

Once again, a lavender unicorn popped into her head. She gritted her teeth in anger. Oh, not now, I can't think of her anymore! I…no, wait…

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"Trixie realized that you, Twilight Sparkle, were some pony that might give her some place to hide. In all of Equestria, you're the closest thing Trixie has to a friend…" Trixie wiped away a tear. They had been falling heavily as she recanted her story. "So, once she…" Trixie choked, the story's impact affecting her more and more, "once I recovered my strength, I did just what you thought." Trixie looked at Twilight, who had unpinned Trixie from the wall and stepped back several feet. She expected a look of anger and rage from Twilight for what she had done. Instead, she found concern in the unicorn's eyes.

"Oh, Trixie. Why did you have to try to take on that creature by yourself? You…You could have died! You nearly did!" Twilight's fear for Trixie's safety led her to forget about the consequences of her mistake if just for a minute. The tears that had welled in her eyes finally fell at the daunting prospect of Trixie's death at the hands of the creature or indeed any creature. Seeing Twilight's sorrow inspired Trixie to move toward Twilight tentatively. She began to carefully reach out a hoof to comfort her, but was surprised to feel Twilight pull Trixie into a hug, bringing them both down onto their haunches as she silently held the blue magician. Trixie could feel Twilight's body tremble, but calm down as Trixie returned Twilight's affection. Finally, after what felt like hours, though still not long enough for Trixie, Twilight pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Twilight…I'm sorry but to hide wasn't the only reason I came to you." Trixie spoke uneasily. "I spent so much time training, but I still couldn't match your skills. I was still utterly conquered by that Ursa Minor. So, when I thought of you, I also knew that I could learn from you. But my foolish pride wouldn't let me, so I thought of a way to study your magical talents without letting you know I wanted your help. That's why I told you I wanted to teach you. But when I saw you surpass every expectation I had already, being able to lift that boulder and still be ready for more, destroying those plates for hours like it was child's play…It made me realize how much more powerful you are than me. So, I kept training without your knowledge.

"Trixie, you used me to help you grow stronger? You know you could've asked, there's no shame in asking a friend for help."

"I know, but…friend?" Trixie eyed Twilight curiously. "But…"

"Trixie, after the time we spent together, I thought we were friends. Maybe not the best of friends, but nonetheless…but knowing this…I thought I could trust you. Trixie, you know losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend."
Trixie's eyes drifted down toward the floor. She had earned her rival and object of admiration's friendship without even realizing it, and she'd already lost it. "Twilight, I'm so sorry…"

Twilight stood, turning her back on Trixie, who remained sitting on the ground. "You know I'm actually already a student. I never told you, but I'm Princess Celestia's star pupil," Twilight said, a hint of pride in her voice. This news was an incredible shock to Trixie.

"W-What? If the Princess made you her student, then she must have had a reason. Then, you had all that magical talent from the beginning? I never had any chance…"

"It's true that I started out strong. In fact, when Princess Celestia made me her student, it was because the baby dragon I hatched grew tall enough to punch a hole in the castle! She made me her pupil to help me develop my powers under her own guidance. She felt that my potential was strong enough to be nurtured so carefully. So, I became her student. But that's not the only reason I'm strong today. I studied really hard because I love magic. I love researching it, its history, performing it, I love everything about it."

Trixie interrupted Twilight's thoughts. "But I studied magic mostly to become recognized and famous. You did it for love, I just wanted glory," she said morosely, shame covering her words.

"That's not the only reason. I could never have accessed my full potential without some pony to guide me. Without Princess Celestia or my friends, I'd probably have just been another filly in school, unaware of what I could really do." Twilight finally turned around to Trixie, a smile across her face. "Sometimes we need a friend to help us, even some pony who thinks they're the queen of Equesria!"

"Twilight…" Trixie moved her gaze up to Twilight's eyes. They shone brightly with confidence and generosity, a look Trixie could never have pulled off before.

"Go back to Winniana tomorrow and help the ponies there rebuild. Apologize to every pony there and take responsibility. Then, you will come back here and apologize to the ponies of Ponyville. If you do all this and they accept your words, then you'll have earned back my trust. And earning a ponies trust is the fastest way to earn a friend."

Trixie experienced a full spectrum of emotions, but not one was of offense, as she may have experienced long ago at being told to take responsibility for her actions. She beamed, standing back up on her hooves. "Thank you, Twilight. I'll do everything I can to make up for what I did. Then, I'll be back once I've earned the chance to prove myself." Twilight watched Trixie gallop downstairs, where she remained for the rest of the night.

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The next morning Trixie had packed what she had brought and was on her way out. Twilight stood by the door, waiting for the unicorn. "Do the best you can, Trixie. And be careful this time." Twilight teased.

"I will be," Trixie smiled back. "And thank you for everything. I'll…miss you, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie thought she noticed Twilight's face flush for a second.

"Now, go on. I'll see you when you get back." Trixie moved out the door, beginning her trip back to Winniana. She stopped to prepare her teleportation spell, but before she could, she heard Twilight again. "And when you come back and we're friends again…," Twilight’s voice drifted off as a blush came to her face. Realizing her pause, she cleared her throat, “Well, just come back, ok?” Trixie nodded understandingly and turned away from her. Trixie’s smile was wider than ever before as she vanished in a blue flash.

Comments

[OmniFox]

For once Pinkie didn't pop out and say FOREVER!

[artimus]

575101

Haha! Two things I was hoping people would notice: The Return of the Joker reference and not having Pinkie Pie say 'forever.'

[x6tr2ni]

More!!!

[Phaoray]

Hope to see more of this when you can, it is a pretty good story and i'd like to see how it turns out. :)

[artimus]

575415

Eep! Um, okay...

[EP-PayPhone]

It was nice to re-read this. There hasn't been many good Trixie stories lately.

[artimus]

581442
Ouch, sorry about that. Went back and changed it. Hopefully that doesn't screw with continuity for THIS story. I'll recheck the rest later.

[CommanderX5]

I like Twilight explanation why she became so strong with her magic, it really suits her, though I still think that Twilight raw power should just be very high and not improve much from Trixie training, if anything would improve, it would be ability to use magic for combat and reflex, after all Twilight did not even considered to have a target practice, if Trixie training helped in anything, it would not be in Twilight power, but in ability to use that power in practice ( after all Twilight already was expert in short range teleportation, her telekinesis was incredibly strong, and I bet Shinning Armor teaches how to create strong barrier ).

[Emperor]

Huh, so it was Trixie's fault again. Of course, I can't really forgive her for that, since she deliberately woke the bear up to fight if off, then knowingly lead it into town, and Twilight just...forgives her.