"Twilight? Twilight?" Spike called, shaking Twilight's unconscious body fervently.
"Ugh… " Twilight said softly, "Wait, SPIKE?!" she said, she jumped up from the ground and threw her hooves around him, spinning him around in a hug.
"Woah! Not so fast Twilight I'm gonna be sick…" Spike said, putting a claw to his mouth as his little dragon cheeks turned green.
Somewhere behind them Rarity screamed.
"What is it? What's wrong?!" Twilight asked, she turned to see Rarity hugging her own tail.
"My tail! Oh how I've missed my own tail!" she said.
It was then Twilight realized they had become themselves again. She smiled and flexed out her wings, never having been more excited to see them in her life.
"WINGS!" Rainbow Dash cried. She took to the sky so quickly it caused the trees around them to shake.
"YIPEE! I'M ME!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing around happily.
Twilight and her friends rejoiced amongst themselves having finally been able to break that spell. Twilight noticed Trixie sitting alone not too far away, looking down at her hooves with a smile.
"O-oh, Twilight…" she said, falling over as she tried to get out of Twilight's way. Trixie looked absolutely petrified of Twilight and winced when she got closer.
"Trixie it's okay." Twilight said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I think I owe you this." Twilight threw her hooves around Trixie in a hug. Trixie didn't know how to handle that sudden move but slowly returned the embrace.
"Awwwww." Pinkie Pie said wiping the tears from her eyes.
"But I… I don't understand. I thought you'd all still hate me." Trixie said softly.
"You're the element of forgiveness, remember?" Applejack said with a smile.
"Well yeah but… I mean… what does that mean anyway?" Trixie asked.
"It means we're friends!" Pinkie Pie said happily
"And that we forgive you." Fluttershy added.
"You forgive me? After everything I did you actually… can forgive me?" Trixie asked in awe.
"Can you forgive me?" Twilight asked.
"What do you mean?" Trixie said.
"Back at the castle, I know you were trying to do the right thing. You wouldn't have given Astelle that amulet if I hadn't provoked you. I didn't believe you because I had harbored so much hate for you. It blinded my judgment and I almost cost me and my friends our lives." Twilight said sadly.
"Well, I guess I don't blame you. I…" Trixie started. "I always thought if I were the best at something ponies would want to be around me. Ponies would want to have a… a friend who was talented and special. You didn't beat me that first night just with magic, you beat me because you had such great friends and I had no pony. I never had a friend and I just got so angry…" Trixie trailed off. "But when Astelle gave me all that power it scared me. I realized that even if I was the most powerful pony in Equestria that I still wouldn't be loved. I think I'd much rather be a loser than an evil overlord that every pony hates."
"You're not a loser, Trixie." Fluttershy said softly.
"Do you really think I could… be your friend?" Trixie asked nervously.
Twilight and her friends laughed and nodded, several of them hugging Trixie happily.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. I'm so sorry for everything I've done." Trixie said, pulling herself away from her new friends. She dropped to the ground in front of the two pony sisters, awaiting their judgement and punishment.
"Wait, where's Cadance? And Shining Armor?" Fluttershy asked worried.
"They're fine. Shining Armor appeared in the castle with us once Astelle's magic had been destroyed." Celestia said.
"Her magic was destroyed, that's why we're back to normal!" Twilight said aloud.
"Wait a minute; she did end up destroying magic after all: her own!" Applejack said.
"Ironyyyyyy" Pinkie Pie sang as she bounced.
"Yes," Princess Celestia said with a giggle. "Anything that she had recently affected was returned to normal."
"Recently?" Rarity asked in confusion.
"The damage done by Astelle's magic from long ago still remains. The Everfree forest will still be wild and untamed and the animals, for the most part, will remain without speech." Princess Luna said.
"But, we destroyed her magic! Shouldn't EVERYTHING be fixed after that?" Rainbow Dash said, still flying as she spoke.
"There are some wounds that cannot be healed by magic. What might have started out as a spell has become something deeper. Astelle's magic in such places as the Everfree forest has become a part of the earth. It's no longer an influence of magic, it's simply a part of it." Celestia said.
"Can we fix it?" Twilight asked.
"Perhaps, but only time can tell. Come, there is much we must do. And Trixie…" Celestia started.
Trixie looked up at Celestia in fear.
"You have my thanks and my forgiveness as well." She finished.
Princess Luna nodded in agreement. Trixie let out a short breath of air in relief and her eyes watered; she finally got what she had wanted all along: friends.
Epilogue
Trixie was standing in the hallway of the Canterlot castle. She was looking up at a brand-new stained glass depicting their glorious defeat of Astelle. Astelle herself was never found, but Celestia reassured every pony that she would be unable to wield her magic ever again. The Elements of Harmony had to be returned to the tree, which sprang back to life once the elements had been safely encased in its newly-formed branches; including the new element that was in the shape of a star wand. The magic from the tree helped to make things right in Equestria. The dragons that had wandered into Equestria had left for their real homes, the animals returned to the ponies who loved them, and the ponies could take back control of the earth and sky.
"I thought I might find you in here." Twilight Sparkle said, rounding the corner to see Trixie. "Every pony is looking for you, you know."
"I just… wanted to think somewhere alone. You ponies sure talk a lot, how can you stand it?" Trixie asked.
Twilight smiled and shook her head, "That's what friends do. They talk, they laugh, they have fun together."
"Yeah, I'm starting to get that." Trixie said with a soft smile. "Are you worried that we'll see her again?"
"I don't think we will." Twilight anwered. "Celestia has every pony keeping an extra eye out for her but she's too smart to be lingering in places she would get caught. The reaction from the spell has given her exactly what she wanted: mortality."
"Do you think ultimately all she wanted was forgiveness too? And not only to be forgiven but to forgive Celestia and Starswirl?" Trixie asked.
"Maybe. I don't think she was ready for that though. She'd harbored those feelings for centuries; no amount of magic was going to make them disappear overnight." Twilight said.
"Then how come it was so easy for you to do it? I did terrible things to you ponies and now you act like nothing ever happened between us." Trixie said.
"You /want/ us to treat you differently?" Twilight asked jokingly.
"I just don't want it to be a lie." Trixie said, effectively erasing Twilight's smile.
"It's not." Twilight said reassuringly. "Can't you see the power that forgiveness has had on Equestria?"
"On Equestria?" Trixie asked sarcastically.
"Yes!" Twilight exclaimed. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are closer than they've ever been, Discord actually has FRIENDS outside of… well… Fluttershy, there's never been more harmony than there is now."
"And I… helped bring that to be?" Trixie asked.
"You ARE the element of forgiveness, Trixie. You made it possible." Twilight said.
"So I guess that makes me the Great and Forgivable Trixie!" Trixie said.
Twilight rolled her eyes and put a hoof to her head, shaking it and laughing.
"Or maybe the Forgiveness Element Powered Trixie… no, that's too much. The Forgive-iest Trixie! The Magnificent Forgiveness Pony in all of Equestria!" Trixie said. She and Twilight walked out of the hallway together to meet the others, Twilight laughing as she continued on her list of ridiculous new names.
The End.
Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words and your support! This was one of the best pieces of fiction I've ever written and it has been a lot of fun! The only updates that this story will have from now on will be announcements of the release of episodes on Youtube. Speaking of which, episode three's production is complete and I am waiting on a few last-minute art submissions and vocals before I can upload it. This will NOT be the last time I visit the Princess Trixie Sparkle universe so you can expect to see some sequels probably detailing Trixie's life as the newest element of harmony. One of the first things I want to do is to finish Astelle's story (my other fan fic). It's been a lot of fun to really explore her character. I can answer any and all questions now if anyone has any ^^ -Magpiepony
