Strange that it started and ended with a letter. Trixie could still remember the glee with which she'd received the letter that had decided her future. She'd found the scroll in the mail, noticed the royal seal, and squealed as she bounded back to the house to read it. She'd lived with her loving parents back then, in a real house that wasn't on four wheels. And the joy with which she'd beheld the contents of the letter was so great that she'd had to actually take a few deep breaths before she could hold the paper steadily in front of her in a pale purple field of her levitation magic.

Dear Miss Trixie Lulamoon,

It is with great pleasure that I invite you to attend Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. You have shown great promise with magic in the entrance exam, and I know that attending the school will help to further your education and help you to enhance your skills with magic. You are brilliant young unicorn and it would please me greatly to see you rise to fame and glory. Please come to the school at 9.00am on Monday morning for your first class, and bring some scrolls and quills. You will be given a full list of required materials such as books on your first day. Once again, congratulations on passing the entrance exam.

Your wise and benevolent leader, Princess Celestia.

Even now, Trixie could hear echoes of her excited squealing in the deepest corners of her mind. Those days had been so happy, so innocent. She'd actually believed for a while that she'd truly be famous and bring much glory and wealth to her family. She hadn't known at first that the fees for attending the school were so high that her parents had to work extra hard just to keep her in school. Hadn't known that the hours of being home alone were all so she could stay enrolled in the school. Most of all, she hadn't known that she'd meet a certain purple unicorn.

Twilight Sparkle.