Chapter 1:
Of Humility And Other Inconveniences
Trixie's normally brisk pace had slowed to a crawl, and though she tried to maintain her usual dignified posture she could feel herself shrinking inward with each step. It seemed that every time she put one hoof in front of the other, she left behind a portion of her famous (some would say infamous) confidence. For all intents and purposes it appeared that the Great and Powerful Trixie was afraid of visiting the boorish (some would say friendly) town of Ponyville. Why she wasn't eager to bless the simple community with her unique and amazing entertainment would have puzzled most, if a certain career ending story hadn't been circulated throughout the whole of Equestria. Trixie cringed at the memory.
She had been in Ponyville once before to entertain the citizens, and had maybe got a little carried away in the presentation of her abilities. Everything would have been fine if it weren't for two young colts who decided to try and prove her boasts by luring an Ursa Major into the town. Of course she had never actually faced one before so when she was called to defend the town she had no idea what to do. So one of the locals stepped up and took care of the creature by lulling it to sleep. And if that wasn't bad enough, the beast hadn't even been an Ursa Major, but a baby Ursa Minor. After having lost everything in the debacle, including her home, she was forced to make a magnificent, but hasty, retreat. She had spent the last year recovering from the incident.
Up until then Trixie had been famous. When it came to entertaining others there was nopony better at it than her. She could captivate an audience with a few words. Enthrall the little ones with a few spells. She was rightfully proud of what she could do, and so she couldn't bring herself to contradict the belief that the stories she told were true. As a result her ego had become inflated, and she became increasingly isolated from others. She had initially wanted to be accepted by others, but she found herself separated from them by her other great need: recognition. She loved being on the proverbial, and often literal, pedestal, but like all ironies, the satisfaction of one need starved the other. It was lonely at the top. And though she was surrounded by adoring fans, she was alone. Then the incident at Ponyville changed all that.
Having been run out of Ponyville with absolutely nothing she was confronted with how alone she really was. All that she owned was destroyed, her reputation was tarnished, and she was alone and vulnerable out near one of the local forests in the country. She had nowhere to go, and nopony to turn to. The Great and Powerful Trixie no longer existed. To the mares credit she didn't breakdown and cry but trudged on. Then the storm hit. The freak cloudburst was unscheduled and unusually strong. Within moments the rain had soaked her to the bone, and the thunder had shredded her already raw nerves. She finally leaned against a tree and broke. She sat there weeping, pouring her heart out with the rain, till she eventually fell asleep. It was when she woke when she saw him.
At the thought of the Alicorn she turned to check on her companion and felt renewed resolve. He was a massive pony swathed in a tattered gray-brown cloak. As far as she knew the cloaks only purpose was to hide his scars, but he cherished the garment like a treasure. He knew her better than anypony and he was still there, quiet but constant. His presence reassured her and reminded her why she was doing this. He was also chivalrous enough to pull their home. Needing to accommodate both of them the wooden carriage had proven too heavy for her to move, so he pulled it. How he managed was beyond her because his two right legs could barely support him some days. Still he soldiered on. The only evidence that his limp was affecting him was the light sheen of sweat making his fiery coat and blood-red tail shimmer slightly.
"Delaying your return only lengthens your anguish, child." The Alicorn quietly stated. The deep, gravely voice almost made Trixie jump. In fact she wanted to beg for forgiveness for the implied disapproval, but the feeling was fleeting. It had gone the moment it had formed.
"How do you always do that?", she asked. He always seemed to read her mind, and the simple authority native to his voice made her wonder if he couldn't. But he always gave the same answer, "Magicians don't reveal their secrets". This time though he just looked expectantly at her.
Trixie stopped and sat down. The stallion came up on her right and did the same. He seemed grateful for the rest. The silver gleam coming from under his hood watched her, and the intensity of it almost caused her to shiver. In spite of this, and with a small sigh, she took a moment to examine his statement. "If it's frighting now it will be worse tomorrow, right?" He didn't respond. "When I get there they can either accept me or reject me. My...imagination will only torture me until I know for certain how they will react, and the only way to know is to face them. Otherwise I'm just heaping pain on top of possible pain. In the end I might be fretting over nothing?" She glanced over at the hooded figure and noticed that his gaze radiated joy and pride.
"I love watching your mind work." The slight warmth in his voice was comforting. After a few moments of comfortable silence he got up and continued walking. "Now, for the other side of the coin," he prompted.
With a groan Trixie followed after him. "I also don't want to go back because this is where my lie was found out. Where my arrogance was aptly rewarded. Where I was, how did you put it, 'completely ruined'. Apologizing will be a humbling, and hard, act for me. I don't like being wrong, or at least being caught in the wrong."
"No one does, child," the Alicorn reassured. "In the end an apology is not about you, but about them." As Trixie looked at his face she could see kindness and certainty there. They would accept her back, he at least was sure of it.
The fear would not release her heart though. "But after everything that I've done. All the damage I caused , why would they...?"
"Because you are mortal, and fallible, just like the rest of us," he said, his gentle voice acquiring firmness.
And like that her worry melted away. She looked out at the brilliant day, breathed in the clean air, and felt her confidence return. It was going to be difficult but she could do it. Resuming her original pace she proceeded to pester the Alicorn with "questions" about all the mistakes that all the "perfect" pony's might have made.
It goes without saying that Fluttershy was nervous. Earlier in the week the Mayor had told the town that the Great and Powerful Trixie would be returning to Ponyville to perform for the residents...again. Apparently she had forwarded an apology in a letter that stated her hope of entertaining them in the near future. This was nerve wracking enough. After all a general "redress of wrongs", as the letter put it, might not be accepted by everypony, and the inevitable tension would make Fluttershy more high-strung than usual. No, the part that really agitated her was that Trixie was asking to winter here in town. Getting to know somepony new was always a somewhat uncomfortable experience. Especially when it might exacerbate the afore mentioned problem. The only solace that the yellow pagasus had in the past week was her animals and friends. Without them she would have never come out of the house, let alone have been standing here with the town-ponies waiting for Trixie's arrival.
Fluttershy felt Angel-bunny move to her head in an attempt to see over the various bodies the mare had put between herself and the front of the crowd. Normally this would have offered some comfort but with so many ponies pressed so close together she found that she was getting a little claustrophobic. Everypony was in the Town Square waiting for Trixie's arrival, and to see exactly what would happen. The constant murmuring of the crowd revealed their impatience and only made the poor pegasus more anxious to have this over with. It was just to much noise for the gentle soul to endure. The constant tapping of Angel's foot on her crown wasn't helping either. So she decided on doing something about it.
"Angel-bunny," she said as loudly as she dare. He might have heard something because he started to look around. So she spoke a tad louder. "Angel-bunny." Now the rabbit was franticly searching the crowd. Oh, I must not be loud enough, Fluttershy thought. "Angel-bunny!" At this quiet outburst two ponies next to her turned their heads in her direction. She shrunk inward, pink as her mane, as she mumbled a quick apology. "Oh, um, I'm sorry for disturbing you." She glanced up and Angel was finally watching her. "Angel-bunny, could you please stop taping my head? I'm starting to get a headache. That is, if you don't mind," She ended with a whisper. Angel simply frowned at her and pointed in the direction she was retreating from. "That's alright Angel. I can see perfectly fine from right here," she said with a smile. Angel face-palmed.
Suddenly it all the talking stopped. For a moment Fluttershy was grateful for the silence. Then it started to thicken and she saw that Angel was stone still, pointing at the road. She found herself discreetly trying to peek between the different ponies striving to see what was going on. Upon finding an appropriate gap she was amazed by what she saw. Trixie stood in front of them wearing her trademark hat and cape covered in stars. The light-blue unicorn seem unaltered by the events of the previous visit, and Fluttershy was unsure if that was a good sign. But it was the huge pony beside Trixie that had her attention. He was obviously a stallion. How she knew she had no idea but she knew. The colors of his coat seemed to dance like flame, and every time his tail flicked at anything she was surprised that speckles of crimson weren't decorating the ground. He was wrapped in a dirty brown hooded cloak along with black, leather greaves strapped to his legs. One silver orb looked out from the left side of the hood scanning the assembly. She could feel it move through them like a fire. Then it landed on her. She knew he was looking straight at her, and she couldn't look away or breathe. She felt like she was being cut open, or x-rayed, or that something penetrating was happening to her. When he finally continued on she felt like she had been measured to the inch, and weighed to the ounce.
Trixie had apparently noticed how quiet it was and looked back at her associate. Frowning she whispered something to him. He turned to look at her and his expression was considerably lightened by a genuine laugh. At the questioning look she gave him he simply smiled and nodded his head toward the ponies. She took the hint and moved closer to them. It was then that Fluttershy noticed that Trixie was fidgeting. She came to within a few feet of them and stood there, carefully examining her hooves. Then she looked at the large group, took a steadying breath, and started to speak.
"As most of you know, when I was last here I behaved badly. I was rude and insulting, arrogant and boastful. I even indirectly caused some damage to your homes. I know that an apology is long since overdue, and that it is almost meaningless as a result. I'll make one anyway. I'm sorry. I treated you poorly and I should never have done that. Could you forgive me?"
Fluttershy already knew what the answer would likely be, but the Mayor waited to give it. In the quiet Trixie had lowered her head again and started to rub her foreleg. The stallion just stood there stoically, a hint of pride shining in his eye. The kind pegasus felt for the poor unicorn. It must have been hard being made to wait in uncertainty for anything, let alone forgiveness. Then the Mayor stepped out causing Trixie to raise her head. When she spoke the whole town was listening.
"We, the citizens of Ponyville, accept your apology, Trixie Lulamoon. You are welcome to spend as much time here as you need." Most of the town cheered this reply, almost deafening Fluttershy. Trixie appeared deeply grateful for this, and though Fluttershy couldn't be sure, Trixie may have even blinked back tears.
After clearing her throat Trixie loudly announced, "Well, I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, will soon be prefor..." BOOM! The sound caused everypony to go wide eyed in surprise, and Fluttershy to leap a couple feet in the air, as confetti rained down in, well, sheets. Fluttershy felt them all turn to the source of the explosion and saw her friend Pinkie Pie bouncing around her "Party Cannon", oblivious to the stares.
Everypony could hear Pinkie's excited, and constant, chatter. "YAY, we're going to have a PARTY. It's going to have magic and lights, and magic lights, and cake, and ice cream, and candy, and we'll have fun, fun, fun, and we'll meet new friends, and...GASP..." Before Fluttershy could blink the Party Pony was in front of Trixie, with Trixie's head in her hooves, not even stopping to breathe. "…You could meet all my friends. We already know your name, and you know most of ours, but I never got to introduce you to everypony, or show you around the town. I know you'll love it and you can bring your friend and I can introduce him to everyp..." Pinkie was yanked down and dragged back by Applejack, the yellow pegasus's and pink pony's mutual friend.
"Simmer down there, Sugar Cube. Yer scaring the both of them out of their skins." Applejack said through a mouthful of tail. When Pinkie was far enough away Applejack spit out her tail and continued, "Pinkie here tends to get excited by the idea of a party. One whiff and she's off like a jack-rabbit bolt'n from a timber-wolf."
Fluttershy saw another of her friends, Rarity, step in and reassure Trixie, "Don't mind Pinkie Pie, dear. I understand that she can be a little overwhelming. She is an excellent friend though. Always trying to celebrate our achievements. Before we do anything though, Pinkie is right. If you're going to be staying here we might as well become properly acquainted." Rarity then raised her head, seemingly trying to find the rest of the gang. As she was doing this, Fluttershy observed that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were both hanging back.
She would have wondered at this except she just then perceived that the crowd was moving, or more percisly, that she was moving. That was impossible though because she was sitting down. The timid pony looked behind her and saw Angel-bunny pushing her toward her friends. In a attempt to stop she dug her hooves into the ground, but only succeed in making four grooves. She was soon apologizing to everypony as they tried to get out of her way. It wasn't long before she found herself in the midst of her buddies, and the center of attention because of her pet's antics. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had joined them by this time, completing their troop.
After a quick moment of querying looks and straightening herself up, Fluttershy heard Twilight begin the introductions. With pride in her voice she started, "You've already met our friend, Pinkie Pie, also known as the..."
"...Element of Laughter." a deep voice stated with absolute certainty. "Beside her is Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Beside her is Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. To her right is Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. Then there is Rarity, the Element of Generosity. Finally you are Twilight Sparkle, the uniting Element of Magic, and Celestia's prize pupil." Fluttershy was staring at the blaze colored pony with wide eyes and a slack jaw, to shocked to even shy away. The other five mares were equally flabbergasted. He had relocated to stand to the right, or Fluttershy's left, of Trixie, just as stoic as before.
By the time she had regained her wits, Fluttershy noticed that it was Trixie's this time who was proud. Twilight finally spoke up and asked the stallion the important question. "Who are you?"
He stood there for a moment as if tasting his answer. "I am called Sanguine, the Great and Powerful Trixie's assistant."
