The day was bright and sunny in Ponyville. There was no rains scheduled for a while, so everypony was getting their fill of the Summer sun and breeze. Fillies and colts ran around, playing their games together, while the older ponies were shopping or chatting with each other.

There was one Pegasus who was making her way to the town library. She stayed to the side of the dirt road, not wanting to be in the way of the others who were walking along. Her pace was slow, and her long, pink mane covered her face for the most part. She made sure she could see directly in front of her, and her destination, a large tree with windows, a balcony, and a door.

Upon reaching the front door, it took her a moment to raise her hoof, and even longer to convince herself to tap it against the wood. But as she went to knock, the door swung open, causing the Pegasus to shriek a bit, and hover back a few feet.

A lavender coated Unicorn was on the other side of the door, and was shocked to see somepony at her front door. But she quickly dismissed the shock, and smiled. "Hello, Fluttershy. Didn't mean to startle you like that. Did you need something?" Twilight beamed, relieved to see it was one of her friends.

Fluttershy turned her head to the side, scratching the ground twice with her forehoof. "Well, it's not important, and i can see you're busy..." she turned her eyes just enough to make eye contact.

Twilight giggled. Fluttershy hated to impose, and it was always sort of cute. "Nonsense. Even if i have a schedule, i can always make time for my friends when they need me."

The yellow Pegasus tensed just a bit. She couldn't help but feel like she was delaying Twilight from an important errand. "Well...okay." She raised her head to look directly at Twilight. "You remember Trixie from the other day, right?"

She paused at that. Twilight was expecting some little problem Fluttershy needed help with. "Yes? What about her?" The Unicorn grew interested now, so she leaned forward and listened intently.

"Well...um, you see..." Fluttershy took a moment to grasp what she was trying to say. She never liked addressing concerns or problems with her friends. "Do you think even a pony like her would be able to make friends?" Her voice quieted as she finished her sentance.

Her purple friend took a moment to soak in the question. Trixie was a very selfish and arrogant pony. But, then again, Twilight herself was selfish and impatient once, not wanting to deal with anypony else. "Well..." she had to pause again, not certain how to word her answer. "I suppose so. But if she never had the chance for somepony to offer her friendship, than it would be more difficult for her to accept it." She brought a hoof to her chin, pondering over it. "Then again, I was sort of like her before i met you guys. If i can do it, then it's possible she could too."

Fluttershy instantly perked up, eyes widening with a sense of warmth. It wouldn't make sense to anypony else, but that put Fluttershy at ease inside. She smiled and let out a sigh. "Thanks Twilight. It's good to hear that. Well, i'll be going now." Without another word, she took off, flapping her wings quickly to gain altitude.

Twilight was deep in thought, however, and didn't notice her takeoff. "No problem, Flutter-" She paused her thoughts to look at her friend, who had vanished from her front door. The Unicorn was going to ask why she was so curious about befriending Trixie, but shrugged it off, seeing as it wasn't her business, and continued on with the first thing on her schedule: groceries.

Fluttershy continued her peaceful glide over the town, retaking the sun's rays into her coat. Not even the air currents she flew on were cold. But even while intoxicated by this sense of pure comfort, she couldn't help but think back to just a few nights ago:

A blue Unicorn, unconcious on the dirt road. Thanks to Harry the Bear, Fluttershy managed to get the poor mare home quickly. She could tell the pony was in pain. Her eyes were darting back and forth under her eyelids, and tears leaked from the bottom of her eyes.

Fluttershy remembered when she awoke. Trixie put on a brave face, to show that she was fine, only to be found sobbing on the bridge just outside her home. She had wrapped her leg around her head, and nuzzled against Trixie's cheek, whispering softly "it's okay." multiple times. It was such a strange feeling, but it was what Fluttershy did best.

Who knew that Trixie would have been so quick to leave? Fluttershy even went to the remains of Trixie's caravan, just so she could sneak her outfit back for her. But she couldn't blame the Unicorn, after being humiliated like she was.

The yellow Pegasus looked upward, higher into the sky. "I hope you're happy where you are, Trixie."


The Unicorn's lungs burned from how long she had been running. Her legs were growing weak, and the thicket of bushes and tree branches were leaving many scratches after slapping into her, adding to her already bad wounds on her rear leg.

She managed to risk a look behind her, still seeing those bright green eyes darting between the trees after her. There was at least 5 pairs of them, all keeping up with her.

Looking back to the forest ahead of her, the mare quickly ducked under a low tree branch. Oh you've really done it now, Trixie. Why couldn't you just stay with Fluttershy and leave things be? She thought to herself.


*4 days earlier*

It felt odd to walk away from the cottage. Trixie felt like it was a second home to her. But deep down, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay. Deep inside her, the Unicorn felt a strong sense of anger and humiliation. Whether she wanted to or not, Trixie had to leave society. Nopony in Ponyville would show her any respect after yesterday's ordeal, and soon that lack of respect would spread across Equestria. Her showbusiness days were over, despite how recently she had acquired her fame.

Her fans would call her actual magic into question, and most likely not even show up to a show, even if an auditorium scheduled her. It was all over. Everything she spent years working for, gone. There was no family for her to return to in Canterlot, and she certainly didn't know anypony personally.

She soon found herself standing at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Trixie's knees involuntarily started to shake, and a lump formed in her throat, causing her to swallow. The forest was a dangerous place, everypony knew that. But it was going to be the only place that will accept Trixie, is what she told herself.

The Unicorn caught herself crying. She let the tears flow, just so they wouldn't build up and cause her to have a breakdown again. Deciding it was best to just keep moving, Trixie began trotting into the forest, planning to make a decent shelter before the sun began to set.

After a bit of walking, Trixie realized that she was not going to find any suitable places by staying on the path, so she delved into the thicker brush on the side. She walked and walked, but couldn't find any clearings or rivers. She couldn't even hear a single creature as she walked past the giant trees and flowers.

After an hour or so, she began to hear a steady white noise. Upon continuing her trek through the bushes, she entered an area where the trees and brush stopped, and a large river stretched both to the left and right of her.

Trixie spent little time drinking, and hurriedly grabbed many giant leaves from a nearby bush with her magic, twisting them together and between 2 nearby trees. She used her front hooves to push a pile of leaves together. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she only ate breakfast today. Now hungry, Trixie laid herself on the leaves and hastily fell asleep.


The blue Unicorn filly ran quickly to catch up to her mother on the mountaintop. Her mom took her all the way to the top of Canterlot Mountain, where there was actually a flat clearing.

Finally reaching the top, the filly collapsed onto the grass, and rolled over, facing the starry night sky. Her mother, a darker shade of blue, with a smooth, light purple, mane, rolled onto the ground so she was next to her daughter. The two laughed and smiled to each other.

They waited for the filly to catch her breath, then sat up on the grass. The little filly rubbed against her mother, and she rested her head on her daughter. They hadn't spent alone time like this in a while, with the Unicorn's daughter in school most of the day, and with her at the Castle from afternoon till night time.

"Mommy?" The mare turned and looked into her daughter's beautiful purple eyes. She smiled to the young filly. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Will i ever be a powerful mage like you?" She asked. Her mother was one of the Royal Mages who served with Princess Celestia. She never knew what they did, but the filly knew that only super-powerful Unicorns could be a Royal Mage, and her mommy was one of them.

The question made her think. It was a big question coming from someone her age. "Well, everypony is different. So you might be more powerful than me." She nuzzled her daughter. "But you would have to be really lucky to be stronger than me."

Her daughter laughed, but then seemed to grow sad. "Do you really think i can do it, mommy?"

Her mother realized that her daughter was being serious. Thinking for a moment, she wrapped her leg around her filly, pulled her close, and looked at the night sky, starting her song. "Look at the stars..." She sang softly. "And look how they shine for you, and everything you do." They both stared at the yellow stars. Continuing her song. "You're skin, just skin and bones. But you'll turn to something beautful. Do you know, that i love you so? Yes, i love you so."

The filly rubbed against her mother more. Her singing was so nice, and it started making her feel sleepy.

"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do..." The Unicorn finished her song, just as she noticed her daughter leaning against her, asleep. She giggled a bit, and quickly put her daughter on her back, trying not to disturb her. "Goodnight, Trixie, my little star..."


She awoke with a painful crick in her neck. Never had she slept so uncomfortable before. But not much could be expected from waking up on a mossy tree root. Lousy forest. This is why Trixie always preferred the city, and their stages. The blue Unicorn thought to herself as she twisted her neck, creating a loud SNAP. She shook her head a little, and started to continue complaining, when a noise disturbed her. It sounded like a large animal was nearby.

After looking around and seeing nothing, Trixie cautiously walked over to the river. After getting her fill, she turned and gave one last look for any hidden monsters. Seeing nothing, she decided to follow the riverbank downstream.

She went down about a mile, before deciding to eat some moist grass that nearly came up to her belly. She would have suffered, lowering herself to such standards, if there wasn't a bundle of daisies in the middle of the grass blades. With her stomach satisfied, Trixie continued onward, following the stream until sundown. She quickly set up an encampment like last night. This time, she ripped off a few nearby branches and made a fire with some of her magic.

Only now did she decide to reflect. Why did she have that dream? Trixie hadn't thought about her mother in over a year now. Not like that, anyway. That was one of the best memories she had of her mother: singing to her on the mountaintop. As she stared into the fire, Trixie felt a bit of water trailing down her face. She didn't even bother wiping the tear, getting rather irritated instead.

The Unicorn waited for the fire to start dying before pulling leaves into a pile, this time making sure not to sleep on a root.


Trixie didn't dream that night. She followed the river again the third day, but decided to cross it around midday. After getting a drink, and bathing for the first time since going to Ponyville, she travelled back into the brush.

She could hardly focus where she was walking today. Last night had brought doubts on herself. She didn't need anypony else. Trixie was always able to take care of herself before. Why would she need to change that now?

That dream made her start doubting her own actions. Was it really best to leave? Couldn't you have tried to start over in Ponyville? These thoughts all clouded her mind, making her wander randomly through the thick brush.

By the time she reached a nice little clearing, it was not only close to sundown, but the branches swatting her had left a few scratches over her sides and on her legs. Trixie had tried to keep her face safe, but even that was struck at least once.

Luckily, there was a small pond she could drink and wash in. The clearing was against a rock wall, which had some very comfortable-looking grass. After snacking on some nearby grass and flowers (which Trixie was still unhappy about eating), Trixie curled up on the grass near the rock. It was almost like a cave, where the wall's top reached over where she slept, so Trixie didn't have to worry about the rain.

"Maybe this could be Trixie's temporary home." She said aloud. It felt good to speak with confidence again. She had been rather quite to herself the past few days. She soon fell asleep.


Her ear twitched as she heard noises around her clearing. She lifted her head up slowly, noticing that there were multiple large creatures in the clearing, emerging from the forest. They were a bit taller than the average pony, but about twice as long. Their eyes glowed a bright green, and they seemed to be smelling the ground.

One of them turned towards Trixie, following a scent. Upon his growl, the 3 others all turned and uttered an identical growl.

The Unicorn stood up slowly, growing tense as she realized that their "fur" was actually wood-like, covered in twigs. She glared as the name Timberwolves came across her mind. Vicious wolves that lived in the Everfree.

The wolves circled around, cornering Trixie into the little cave. She darted her eyes back and forth, lighting her horn. Using a strong burst of magic, Trixie summoned a lightning bolt to zap the one on the far right. It wasn't as large as an Ursa Minor, so it did do some damage. The Timber Wolf yelped and collapsed to the ground, it's muscles all tense now.

The other three dived for the Unicorn, before she could move a muscle. They all collided into each other, and passed straight through Trixie, slamming into the rock wall.

Meanwhile, Trixie had to turn her invisibility spell off, and release the spell that was making the illusion of her. Just those 2 tricks were tiring, but she managed to get a head start on ditching the wolves. After just a few seconds, she heard a loud howl from behind, followed by others from her right side. Oh sweet Celestia, there's more! Trixie thought to herself.

She decided to run slightly left, away from the second source of howling. Not much later did she start to hear branches being broken and bushes being ran through behind her. Trixie turned to see a Timber Wolf nearly upon her, raking his paw at the running pony. It's razor-sharp claws barely grazed Trixie, but left 2 painful slash marks on her rear left leg.

Angrily, Trixie lit her horn, and pulled some vines from the tree above to snag on the wolf, effectively tripping him. Her victory only lasted a moment, however, noticing that many others were right behind it...


Oh you've really done it now, Trixie. Why couldn't you just stay with Fluttershy and leave things be? She thought to herself. No, thinking like that won't do anything. I can't shake these wolves, no matter what illusions i make.

Trixie had tried making copies of herself to run in different directions, but these were creatures of smell, and weren't fooled so easily. Each spell would only wear her out more and more, making running for her life hard to do.

Finally, she could run no further, and tripped over her own hooves, rolling into the dirt of the forest floor. As she winced from the pain in her leg, having been cut open, Trixie waited for the beasts to catch up.

She couldn't help but hink back to being a filly in Canterlot. How she would always come home from school, and would wait eagerly for her mom to come back from work, her weeks of practice before her first show, and of course her visit to Ponyville. It was her fault. She should've stayed with Fluttershy. They may have even become good friends. But Trixie felt that she didn't belong with anypony after the way she treated those poor mares.

I guess Trixie...I get what i deserve, she thought to herself, waiting for the end.

...But it never came. Her ears perked up, and she didn't hear anything. The Unicorn cautiously lifted her head to see nothing but an empty forest. "W-where did the wolves go?" Trixie said aloud.

"They were right on your rear..." A thick voice came from her right side. Trixie turned quickly to see a...strange white pony with black stripes, and adorned in many golden rings over her neck and hooves. "But i assure you, i have chased those wolves from here." The mystery mare was looking down at Trixie, with a strange smile.

Trixie looked to the ground. "I've been saved twice now...I can't do anything on my own after all." Sure, the relief of being alive was nice, but feeling completely helpless was just something Trixie hated.

The stranger knelt down besides her. "Now, now. Don't beat yourself around. Even i needed a brew to chase away a hound. Now come, it's still not safe here. Those Timber Wolves are most likely still near."

That didn't really make Trixie feel better. But she still tried to stand up, nearly falling back down from the pain in both her hind legs.

"Hmm..." the striped pony looked at her legs. "A gash on the left, and a sprain on the right. Let us go to my home, and we'll wrap those up tight." She nudged Trixie to start moving.

The Unicorn limped very slowly, but at a decent pace. She didn't even argue at this point. There was too many things going through her mind for her to care. She was numb to the outside world after her flash of regret, and could only wonder: Why was i saved?


With my second chapter up, i feel like i'll actually write this :'D i'm so proud of myself. If this is any better, i'd love to hear it in the comments