PROLOGUE~

Dear Princess Celestia,

I realize it's been a long time since I've corresponded with you. I can only imagine how much you must miss having a student as wonderful as myself. I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you, dearPrincess that, I, you're most talented student, have become the most renowned and skilled unicorn in all of Equestria.

I'm certain that by now word must have reached you of my many accomplishments, so I won't bore you with all the silly details of how I have wowed crowds in every city I have graced with my fantastic and amazing show, the stunning feats of magic I have performed that would simply boggle the minds of lesser unicorns, and of course how I vanquished the Ursa Minor threatening the nowhereburg of Ponyville just a few months ago. You surely have heard all of these stories, and more. I must add, however, that battling and defeating that Ursa Minor was a feat that came at my own great personal expense. I lost my carriage and all my belongings-including my treasured hat and cape- but such is the life of a pony as heroic and self-sacrificing as myself.

While I am staying here in Mon Cantermari, looking for a new stage coach, I thought it was only fair that I write to my dear former teacher about my travels. While I know you have heard rumors of my greatness, it surely must have been endlessly troubling to you to have not heard about my triumphs from me personally.

Well, worry no more, dear Celestia, all the rumors and hype are true!

I will be eagerly awaiting your return letter; no doubt filled with admiration and at least a little humility at having been so wrong about Trixie and her destiny!

Your beloved former student,

The Great and Powerful Trixie

Trixie rolled the scroll and scrawled the address on the outside, along with her current return address. She hated having a return address. She hated staying still and stagnating in this awful little inn, in the terrible sea-side town of Mon Cantermari. More than anything, she hated having to beg for charity. She had rewritten that letter dozens of times, choosing every word carefully. She didn't want to sound –to be - desperate or pathetic, but she knew deep down that know matter how she had worded it, begging was exactly what she was doing. It was desperate. It waspathetic. It made her queasy to think about it.

She shook her head slowly and took a breath before sliding the scroll into the mailbox.

The response came sooner than expected, less than two days later, when the heavy knocking of a glided horseshoe on the flimsy door startled her out of the idle magic tricks she was had taken to practicing to amuse herself and fill the long empty stretches of time spent in her dismal one room flat. With her concentration broken, the vase on her night table exploded in a cloud of sparkling purple-blue smoke, leaving a confused looking frog in its place.

"Ugh! Trixie told you she would have the money for the room at the end of the week!" the magician shouted as she swung the door open violently, cracking the plaster on the wall.

"A letter from Canterlot Palace," stated the Royal Guard standing in the doorway. He passed the scroll emblazoned with the Royal Seal to Trixie. She kept it levitating in front of her face for a moment before finally unfurling it.

My Dear Student, Trixie,

It has brought me so much happiness and relief to have finally received a letter from you after all this time. Your wonderful dramatic flair always made your letters such a delight to read. I'm happy to see you haven't lost this quirk that I had always admired so much in you.

You are very correct in your assumptions. It pains me daily to feel as though I failed you as a mentor and your presence around the palace is deeply missed. You were always such a joy, albeit a challenge to teach.

I have also heard much about your travels through various sources. Your choice to leave me has not meant I lost interest in you. You certainly have built quite the reputation for yourself. Your defeat of the Ursa Minor is a tale in which I took particular interest. In fact, your letter was timed perfectly, as I have been trying to contact you since I first heard of the incident. I have already prepared for you to be brought by Royal Escort to Ponyville. I am sure the residents must be eager to see their town's savior again, and my current student residing in Ponyville has graciously agreed to open her home to you while I make arrangements to provide you a new carriage and provisions to continue in your travels.

I do hope that given your new temporary residence you will find the time to write to me more frequently.

Your Teacher,
Princess Celestia