A Great and Powerful Tragedy
"That was magnificent!" Princess Celestia exclaimed. "Young filly, how would you like to be my personal student here at the school?"
Trixie Lulumoon, only a young filly, and already her parents prepare to enroll her into the most prestigious magic school in all of Equestria: Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Without question, this is the most exciting moment in Trixie's entire life! Not only displaying the magical talent worthy enough to be accepted to attend the school, but Principal Celestia herself, asking Trixie of all ponies to be her personal student, her eyes grow wide with glee, and her smile extends so largely that it breaks records.
"YES! YES!! YES!!!" Trixie screamed, jumping joyfully.
Princess Celestia smiles at the overjoyed filly as she hops around the room.
"I am so glad to hear you agree, Trixie," Celestia responded. "You're a talented young filly, and I look forward to your training. Now, if you don't mind waiting outside the door, I must spectate the last student for the day."
Trixie proceeds outside the door when a nervous purple filly enters the room just after Trixie leaves. As the words' Next student please!' bellows outside the hall, Trixie reflects on the journey which leads her to today.
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Since the day Trixie was born, there was without argument she's the most beautiful, most mystical unicorn in all of Equestria. Since Day One, Trixie was gifted with powerful magic beyond pony understanding. She loved everything that has to do with magic: The wonder, the excitement, the unpredictability… and especially the fans! Since casting her very first charm, her parents could see how talented the filly was for her age. So much so they were her biggest fans in Equestria.
Before Trixie could even walk, she used magic for all the simple tasks of life. Lifting her binky or controlling her dolls, her parents made quite a show of her magic. Showing their child off as a trophy for the adoration of all their friends, neighbors, and close associates. As if Trixie was like nothing no pony was ever seen before, not from a pony with such raw magic as Trixie herself.
As soon as Trixie was old enough to attend school, she was the kind of mare to make friends easily. They'd always find any means to push her magic to the limit, and Trixie, in turn, always discovered new things to do. Before her adoring fans, as they cheered and hollered, she'd lift them high in the air, turning water into ice, and even growing flowers out of a single seed in a matter of seconds. Then, one day, after multiple requests for Trixie to perform magic, one of her friends shouted:
"THREE CHEERS FOR THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"
And wouldn't you know it? Trixie admired the sound of that; so much so, she stopped calling herself as simply 'Trixie'. But from that day forward, she referred to herself as 'The Great and Powerful Trixie, the pony who saw herself as a celebrity. Every day she'd come home from school, with tales for her parents over how 'wonderful' the day was, how 'grateful' she was to have such an adoring public, and how much she 'loved her mom and dad. For Trixie was the type of pony, who had everything she could ever wish for…
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As Trixie ponders over her memories, the smile starts to droop down her face because she can still recall that one gloomy day, the day of the greatest change of her lifetime.
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It was a day like any other. Trixie woke up, ate her favorite breakfast, and brushed her teeth. There Trixie gazed upon the mirror, ready to greet the school with her signature 'Great and Powerful' talents. It was then her parents approached her with a special present. A box wrapped in shiny wrapping paper resembling a starry night sky, and it was handed just for her only.
"What's this for mommy?" Trixie asked curiously.
"It's an extraordinary gift," Her mother smiled. "For a very special girl!"
Trixie smiled as she ripped open the package. Once the box was fully unwrapped, the wrapping paper scattered everywhere, she reached into the box… and pulled out a wand, a cape, and even a wizard's hat.
"No magician is complete, not until they have the best look and gear!" Trixie's mom said.
Her mother helps her daughter into her new set of clothes. Then, after a few seconds of admiring herself in the mirror, twirling around as her cape flowing in the wind, Trixie turned to her mother and rushed toward her with the biggest hug she can give her.
"THANK YOU, MOMMY!" Trixie shouted. "You're the best! I love you!!"
"And I love you, my little magician!"
Then soon as her mother gave Trixie her lunch, she was on her way for what would seem to be another typical school… or so she thought.
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It was during recess hour, as usual, Trixie's friends bombarded her with requests for magical feats beyond compared. As usual, Trixie followed her friend's pleas and performed the tricks, smiling and laughing because they were so much fun to put together. Of course, she hoped they'd say something nice about the new outfit she tried on, but for whatever reason, they didn't seem interested. And at the time, Trixie didn't make much of it.
But it was during part of her routine when she cast a growth spell on a sunflower seed, a loud yellow bellowed amidst her crowd of friends.
"She's already done that before!"
One gasp later, with eyes widening to the size of saucers, Trixie's smile disappeared as the rest of the crowd grew restless. And all of a sudden, the cheers of adoration turned to jeers and shouts. All at once, ponies were throwing out shouts before the confused magician:
"Is that all you can do?!"
"This is boring!!!"
"Where's the excitement?!?! Where's the Great and Powerful part?!?!"
On the contrary, Trixie didn't even know what she was doing wrong. It seemed like she was performing wonderfully as usual. These were her 'friends' she performed for. After all, she couldn't expect them to understand there were still some spells she didn't know yet. But then, for some strange reason, one-by-one, her friends started to walk away.
"Let's go see that Swirly pony; I hear she comes from a long line of professional jugglers!"
Trixie started to panic in an instance, a rise in anxiety she had never felt before. She could not afford to lose her audience now, much less any of her friends. She began to grow very desperate.
"Wait!" Trixie exclaimed. "The Great and Powerful Trixie can juggle too!"
Her friends stopped and turned back toward Trixie, never minding that she had a panicked look on her face. She knew she was lying through her teeth, but if there's one thing her parents taught her when it comes to performing magic, it's all about 'improvisation'.
"I was saving this act for the grand finale… but I can show it to you now!" Trixie nodded rapidly.
Magically concocting three colorful balls, high above the unicorn's head, she proceeded to juggle. She managed to juggle the red ball into the air, but her new hat blocked her sight, and the other two balls (One yellow and one blue) fell onto her head with a loud…
*CLUNK! CLUNK!*
All at once, her friends started to point and laugh at her, before turning away completely so that Swirly pony could perform for them. And as Trixie adjusted the hat from her eyes, she found herself completely all alone.
"Wait! The Great an… I mean… please don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! Please!"
Trixie tried to chase after her friends, but one misstep, along with the red ball, and Trixie fell head over heels and landed right on her flank. Her eyes are watering; tears streamed down the little filly's face like two waterfalls. She sat upon that very ground, crying out of pain and abandonment, but not a single pony stayed… nor even tried to comfort or help her on her feet. It was then that the reality hit Trixie's face like a splash of cold water:
For all her magical feats of prestidigitation… for all the times she came off to every pony as 'The Great and Powerful'… at the end of the day, much like her acts Trixie was a phony. She wasn't a pony with friends who adore her. She was just a scared little filly, crying for help, only to slowly accept that she will always be alone… forever.
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A mournful sigh escapes Trixie's lips, as she lifts her hooves over her hat and lifts it down from her head. As her mane drops down her head, Trixie stares upon her hat she clutches within her grip. A very special present from her mother holds high meaning for her, carrying long-lasting memories… the good and the bad. As she clutches the hat towards her chest, as Princess Celestia completes her observation of the final signee of the day, Trixie reflects one more time of how she came here today…
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Depressed… that was the one emotion Trixie carried with her when school ended. Of course, her parents were quick to notice. They tried 'everything' to cheer her up, even supplying her with more gifts than a filly can have. Only to find that for all their efforts and all the money they poured in, it was no use. Even when they'd ask her to perform her tricks if only just for them, she just stayed in her room. Not even an offer to meet another Unicorn Magician, one of her biggest idols in Equestria, could drive Trixie to release the magic locked away inside her. Her parents had never felt so helpless till now, believing they've run out of options to mend such a broken filly.
But that alone would not last very long, as her father opened the morning paper and stumbled upon a huge article:
"Princess Celestia is seeking talented unicorns for School for Gifted Unicorns. All fillies and gentle colts are invited to display their talent for testing! Those accepted will be trained by the finest unicorns in all Equestria!
To say that Trixie's parents were ecstatic was a major understatement. They knew somehow that this opportunity would be just what was needed to brighten their daughter's day! Finally, a bright light illuminate the darkness deep within her heart.
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Anxiously waiting outside the testing area, Trixie tells herself, 'You've already passed! What're you worried about?'. Out of all the unicorns, at least Trixie will be trained by Princess Celestia herself. Trixie trots about the room to shake the nervous jitters away; the happiness in her tiny frame compels her to move about. She can hardly stand still, like the world itself can end. But till then, out of every day in her life, this one marks Trixie's happiest, proudest moment, and she knows her parents will be overjoyed at the results.
Suddenly, the doors of the testing room open, and Princess Celestia stands before her, with the purple filly at her side. Trixie notices that the filly now sports a cutie mark, a purple star, a mark along the flanks not seen before. But Trixie pays no heed to the other filly. But instead, she approaches Celestia, who bestows a nervous glance toward the unicorn. Then, at a few feet spread apart from each other, the joyful filly stops just before the Princess of the Sun.
“My dear Trixie,” Celestia began. "This… has never happened before…"
Celestia's face grows sad, as she nudges the purple filly to wait outside. The moment the filly leaves, Trixie looks upon the princess with great confusion.
"Trixie, you are a very gifted unicorn!" She said. "And of course, you'll be accepted into the school. But… I only offer one to be my personal student…"
As Celestia talks, the heart beating in Trixie's chest suddenly stops. Slowly she figures it out, as tears start to form in her eyes.
"I regret to inform you that I have never seen such raw magical talent from that filly there. Not in all my days since my sister. I hate to be the one to tell you this, Trixie but… I'm afraid you won't be my personal student. She will."
Celestia points to the purple filly waiting from afar. Tears stream down Trixie's face, as she silently tells herself, 'No… no… no…". And Celestia, greatly saddened to see the disappointed unicorn, does her very best to comfort the disappointed filly.
"Trixie, you are a very gifted unicorn," Celestia said. "I know you'll do wonders in my school, even if not as my personal student. If you can only understand—"
"NO! NO!" Trixie interrupted, deeply distraught. "NOOOOOOO!!!!"
And just like that, Trixie races out of the room, weeping heavily before Celestia can stop her. Trixie runs so fast, she zooms past her parents, who expecting to see her smiling alongside Celestia, instead watch as she runs past them crying. Not even her parents can stop her, not so long as Trixie keeps running. And she carries herself as far from the world as possible. Out of the castle, out of Canterlot, deep into the Everfree Forest, where she finally collapses on the ground sobbing.
Never till now does Trixie feel so melancholy, so utterly alone. And it is at this moment where Trixie succumbs to her fate. Alone… forever…
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Several years later…
Trixie Lulumoon, now a full-grown adult, spends the rest of her days living inside the Everfree Forest. Fending for herself, surviving on what she can salvage, all of it entirely on her own. She alone is Trixie's only friend. Only the stars and moon at night serve as her guide and direction. Her cutie mark, a moon, and star, she receives when she uses magic to survive at night. And as of now, this mare no longer goes by just 'Trixie' or even using her own last name anymore.
Now she is 'The Great and Powerful Trixie, to the point she refers to herself in the third person… all the time. It's her birthday today, and there's not a pony for miles wishing her a happy one or even offering any presents. She lives off the land alone since that fateful day at school. Over the years, she's grown, fed off it and everything it stands for. But, it is on this very day she determines that things are going to be different.
Today, 'The Great and Powerful' Trixie vows to re-enter society a stronger, more powerful unicorn. To show Celestia she is better than her or any unicorn. She deems her personal student. To prove to every pony who is truly the 'best' when it comes to magic… maybe earn herself the right to have friends again. No… 'not' friends… an audience whose devotion rests entirely on her and her alone.
Putting out her fire pit, 'The Great and Powerful' Trixie begins the long journey towards a new town. There she hopes to find herself in a place where she feels most welcome.
"Finally! A place where Trixie will have friends," She said to herself. "A place where Trixie will be accepted, happy once again, and the rise of 'The Great and Powerful' TRRRRRRRRRIXIE begins!"
She smiles to herself as she trots along, as she passes the nearby sign which reads:
"You are now entering Ponyville!"