Set after the events of Boast Busters. Trixie learns that she is not so Great and Powerful.
After the events of Boast Busters, word travelled fast about what happened in Ponyville. No one is willing to watch Trixie's performances, and she is out if money. Now she follows the road to wherever she ends up next. Sometimes the road leads right back to where you started.
It had been several weeks since The Great and Powerful Trixie had fled from Ponyville. Trixie wasn't entirely sure how much time had actually passed. For all she knew, it have been several months. But the citizens of Ponyville knew it was several weeks. In fact, it had been 7 weeks and 3 days since Trixie had come into town, spreading her lies, and causing and Ursa Major (oops, sorry. Ursa Minor) to destroy half of the town. They had only finished repairing the damage a week ago.
It had been 7 weeks and 3 days since Trixie's last performance. Upon arriving at the next town (Saddle Town, or something. The details don't matter), nopony would give Trixie the time of day. They just glared at her. When she asked somepony why they were staring daggers into her, she learned that they knew about what happened in Ponyville. As did the next town. And the one after that. And the one after that.
By now, Trixie's bits were gone. Despite her best efforts to squeeze every last bit, fate had other ideas: a small tear developing in her coinpurse, that went unnoticed until all the coins spilled out, without her noticing. She had nothing left. She had no money. No cloak and hat. No carriage. And no food in her stomach. She did what she could to get by. She looked for wild berries, rooted through garbage cans, and even begged on street corners. Her attempts were rarely successful.
Now Trixie wasn't Great or Powerful. She was now the Starving and Weak Trixie. It had been weeks since she had last eaten a real meal. She was skinny from lack of food. Her ribs could be clearly seen under her once glorious coat. He coat was caked with mud, and she was covered in gashes. Her mane was in a rat's nest. It no longer had the healthy shine it once did. It was filled with knots, and dirt. The Starving and Weak Trixie had seen better days.
Trixie now lived her days, traveling the roads, and doing the occasional odd job here and there. And by odd job, I mean unmentionable acts, that would haunt Trixie for the rest of her life. She felt so disgusted with herself that she would stoop down to those levels just for a little money or food. Often, she would get stiffed. She let them do things to her, and she was left with nothing to show for it. Sometimes, she prayed to Celestia just for release from all of it. Just to fall asleep under a park bench for the night, and to never wake up. But, Celestia left her prayers unanswered. Trixie was unworthy of being granted her sweet release from her pain, torment, and her (ever increasing) regrets.
Funny thing about roads. You can follow them and reach new places, or they can lead you right back to where you started. Like a children's board game. Except Trixie would not be collecting her 200 bits for making it back to Ponyville. The damn road lead her right back to the place where all of her troubles began. Trixie looked around the small town. Everything was back to the way it was. It was as if she had never been there.
She looked at the clock tower in the center of town. It was well past 3 am. Then she heard a crack of thunder, and the rain came down. Hard. Trixie was soaked the second it started. Trixie trudged through the town. If she hadn't been so boastful this wouldn't be happening right now. If she hadn't made an ass of herself in front of everypony. If she hadn't been so foolish.
Trixie wandered aimlessly through the rain. She was now on a bridge. She looked over it. It was about 20 feet to the bottom. 'Should be deep enough', Trixie thought to herself. Climbing up onto the rails, she looked down into the water. Luna's full moon reflected into it. This was it. This was the end. Trixie began thinking about her life, before she took it. She thought of her parents. Dad walked out on mom. Mom didn't take the stress well, so she drowned her sorrows in whiskey. Choked on her own vomit while she was in a drunken stupor.
She thought of the caretaker at the orphanage. Wretched bitch. She worked the foals all day, gave them little to eat, and beat them when they showed weakness. They were forbidden from sleeping until all the chores were done. They usually didn't get done until early in the morning. They were then woken an hour later to do even more chores. She hated every memory of that place.
She thought of her teachers at school. They despised their jobs. They took all of their anger out on the students. If they hated teaching, the students hated learning even more. A wrong answer often resulted in a black eye. Thankfully, one of the teachers cracked a burned the whole damn school to the ground.
Lastly, she thought of Twilight Sparkle. Twilight had never shown her any hate, despite the fact she probably did. She showed kindness and respect to Trixie, despite the fact that Trixie did not deserve it. Twilight had not showed off her skills in hopes of bestong Trixie. Only when the town was in danger did she show her true skill. Twilight was the best and worst thing to ever happen to Trixie.
A few tears escaped Trixie's eyes, but would not have been noticed if anypony had been watching, as they were washed away by the rain. Twilight Sparkle was the best thing to happen to Trixie. Trixie was telling herself to jump, yet the imaginary Twilight in her head told her not to. To get off of the bridge, and find some place dry to sleep.
Twilight was right. Trixie slowly lowered herself off of the railing, and back onto the solid ground. Looking around, Trixie spotted a bench. Galloping over to it, she laid down under it, and quickly fell asleep. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie said, closing her eyes. She allowed herself a small smile. This was the first time in a long time she had smiled. And she had a certain lavender mare to thank for it. That night, Trixie's dreams were filled with only one pony: Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight Sparkle walked through Ponyville's park. The rainstorm from last night had left the while place muddy and wet. As to be expected, nopony was here. The whole place was a mess, and it was a Tuesday, so all the children were in school, instead of playing in the puddles. Why was Twilight here? Because her schedule said to go for a walk through the park, and last night's impromptu storm wasn't going to stop her. Besides, she spent far too much time in the library, and needed do something other than study.
Twilight was taking her time on her walk. Enjoying the light drizzle of rain on her coat, picking up the occasional piece of trash that she found. Twilight thoroughly enjoyed walking in the rain. It gave her time to herself to think, and rain always had a refreshing smell to it.
As she walked, something caught her eye. Something out of place. There was a pony sleeping under a bench. Perhaps Berry Punch got drunk again, forgot where she lived, and decided to sleep under a bench. Like she did at least 3 times a week. But that wasn't Berry. She was shades of purple, while this pony had a blue coat, and a silver mane. There was something oddly familiar about this pony. Twilight just couldn't put her hoof on it. As she got closer she recognized the pony. Except last time she saw her, she didn't look like she was dying.
"T-Trixie?" Twilight asked, tentatively, giving the unicorn a soft poke. Trixie stirred a little. That's a good sign. "Trixie." Twilight said in a stern voice. "Give Trixie 5 more minutes. She's tired." Trixie mumbled in her sleep. "Trixie!" Twilight shouted, trying to wake the sleeping mare. Trixie quickly sat up, banging her head against the bottom of the bench. "Rubbing her head with a filthy hoof she spoke. "Trixie is up! What do you need of-" She stopped suddenly, now aware of who she was talking to. "Oh. T-T-Twilight Sparkle. I didn't realize it was you." Trixie said, blushing. "What can I do for you?"
Twilight looked at her sternly. "Well, you could tell me what happened to you. No offense, but you look absolutely terrible. And why are you sleeping under a bench? Didn't you notice the storm last night?"
"W-well," Trixie stammered. "Trixie arrived kind of late into town, and it started to rain, and..." Then Trixie broke down in tears. Twilight tightly embraced her. Trixie had been treated rather unfairly during her last visit here. She deserved at least some kindness. Especially since she looked as if she had fallen on hard times. "Trixie has had the worst couple of weeks! I lost my money, haven't eaten a decent meal in a long time, and done some rather... Unmentionable things." Trixie sobbed into Twilight's shoulder. "I considered ending it last night! You might not have found me under a bench today. You might have found my body someplace else!" Trixie was just letting her emotions flow. Finally, for the first time that Trixie could remember, she was getting her feelings off of her chest, and somepony was listening. And caring for her well being.
"Trixie," Twilight spoke up. "I'm taking you to the hospital. I won't take no for an answer. I'm worried about your condition. Now, get up, and follow me."
...
About an hour later Trixie was sitting in a Doctor's office, next to Twilight. Trixie absolutely hated these places. They just made her feel so... Weak. As soon as they walked in, Trixie was immediately taken in for treatment. She didn't realize she had looked that bad. They had run all kinds of tests on her, and now they were patiently awaiting the results.
The nurse walked in, carrying a clipboard in her mouth. "Well, Miss Trixie, you should make a full recovery as long as you start eating again, and give those scratches time to heal." The nurse looked up at Trixie and smiled. "And your chlamydia will go away after you take these for about 2 weeks." The nurse said, giving Trixie a bottle of pills. Trixie quickly took the bottle, blushing.
"Just sign these papers, and you're free to go." The nurse handed her the clipboard and a pen. Trixie hastily scribbled her name down onto the paper. Her and Twilight got up and left the office.
"So, Trixie, do you have any place to stay while in Ponyville?" Twilight asked. "No, actually Trixie does not." Trixie said, staring down at her hooves. "Please, why don't you stay with me while you recover." Twilight said, looking over at the battered unicorn. "Trixie could not ask that of you. You have already done so much for me, and I don't want to impose on you. You cared about Trixie. You took her to the hospital." 'You convinced her not to jump off a bridge.' She thought to herself. "Please, I insist. Besides, I have plenty of room, and I know you would enjoy sleeping in a bed rather than under a park bench." Twilight said, smiling. What was it about that smile that made Trixie feel so damn weak? "Alright, if you insist." Trixie said, smiling back at Twilight. "Great! Just follow me. It's not far." Twilight said enthusiastically. Trixie smiled. For the first time she had a friend. As they headed towards the library, the sky cleared, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. Things were beginning to look up for Trixie.
"Well, this is the place." Twilight said, holding open the library's door for Trixie. "Sorry if it's a little messy." She added, blushing sheepishly. "Not to worry." Trixie said. "It's not THAT messy." That was a blatant lie. There were books, maps, star maps, and a half eaten daisy sandwich all over the library. "It usually isn't this messy. This only happens when I go on a study binge." Twilight insisted.
"Twi? You home? Lunch is ready!" A voice called from the kitchen. Trixie recognized the voice, but couldn't put her hoof on it. Appearing from the kitchen appearred a small dragon, carrying a large pot of soup. Oh, that's right: the voice belonged to the dragon. What was his name again? Spine? Upon seeing Trixie, the dragon froze in his place, glaring at Trixie. "What are YOU doing here?!" He asked, malice dripping from his voice.
"Spike!" Twilight scolded. "That is no way to treat a guest! Besides, Trixie is a changed pony. Apologize to her." Spike stared at Twilight for a moment. Had she just invited that liar into their home? Had she just insisted that that egotistical maniac had changed? Had she actually yelled at him? The last thought stung the most. He hated disappointing her. He hated it when she was angry with him. She wasn't often angry with him, but when she was he always felt tremendous guilt.
Spike carefully set the pot of soup down on the table. He looked at Trixie. She was an absolute mess. She was thin, she was filthy, and she looked... Different. Like she had changed from the pony she had been when he last saw her. Perhaps she had actually changed. Guilt flooded through every nerve in Spike's body. "I-I'm sorry, Trixie. I shouldn't have behaved like that." Spike apologized.
Twilight smiled. Her Number One Assisstant had learned his lesson. All three of them sat around the kitchen table, while Spike poured carrot soup into three bowls. After all had been served, they began eating. For the first time in weeks Trixie actually had an actual meal. Not the wild berries she scrounged up, or the garbage she dug up. Real food. She happily ate the soup. After going so long without food she had actually stopped noticing the stomach cramps. Now she remembered what it actually felt like to have food in her body.
After their bowls were empty. Twilight asked where Trixie had been during her last few weeks. "W-w-well, Trix- I mean I, have been traveling around Equestria looking for work. But no matter where I went, they had all heard about what happened here. I couldn't find work anywhere. So I just wandered. Doing the occasional... Err... Favor for ponies I met. Eventually I ended up back here. The you found me, and here we are."
Twilight looked down at the table. "I had no idea that by beating you things would have ended up so badly. I'm so sorry." Tears slid down Twilight's cheeks, as she stared into her empty bowl. Trixie wrapped a hoof around Twilight. "No, Twilight. I am the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have made a fool of myself. Without you, I never would have seen the error in my ways. Thank you."
Twilight wrapped Trixie into a warm embrace. "I'm glad you learned a lesson through all this. The Princess may be interested in hearing about this one." Twilight said, holding Trixie.
Trixie couldn't believe what she had just heard. Twilight knew the Princess?! AND sent letters to her?! "Y-you know the Princess!? You can't be serious!" Twilight chuckled. "I'm her personal student. I came here to study the Magic of Friendship." Trixie was dumbfounded. Twilight Sparkle was Princess Celestia's personal student!?
Trixie could only sit there, with her jaw agape. Twilight laughed at the sight. "Well that is most certainly the most interesting reaction I've ever gotten. C'mon, let's go get you cleaned up." Twilight said, rising from the table. Spike immeatiatly began clearing the table. Twilight and Trixie climbed the stairs, and headed towards the bathroom. "Feel free to use whatever you like. In the mean time, I'll be getting he guest bed ready." Twilight closed the door on her way out.
Turning the knobs on the tub, she slowly lowered herself into the steaming water. Her joints ached after weeks of walking and getting little sleep. She began to rub the dirt and grime out of her mane and coat. After a few minutes of this, and feeling sufficiently clean, she got out of the tub. The water had turned gray, and her fur was now several shades lighter. She had forgotten that this was her actual color. Draining the tub, she left the bathroom.
Walking down the hallway, she looked into one of the rooms and saw Twilight preparing a bed. "Hello, Trixie. I'm almost done here. You'll be able to take a nap once I'm done." Twilight quickly finished putting sheets on the bed before scrambling out of the room. Trixie lowered herself into the warm bed. It had been far too long since she had actually used one of these. So soft. So warm. Trixie's tired joints screamed in pleassure. It wasn't long before the azure mare was fast asleep. While she slept, a certain lavender unicorn remained in her dreams.