The Life and Times of Trixie

Part 1: Trixie's Childhood

Trixie was a powdery blue unicorn with a white mane. She was born and raised in the big city of Canterlot; the capital of Equestria and home of its princess. Canterlot was a royal place filled with high esteemed unicorns who mainly learned the art of magic. Trixie, however, lived close to the boundaries of the magical city, so she didn't really know many high esteemed unicorns.

Trixie didn't have many friends and she didn't come from a very pleasant home; she lived with a single mother who did not make much money. She had always wished her mother would pay more attention to her, but she was always put work before her and would never do anything with her. Trixie had learned to accept this fact and try to have big dreams of her future. The only friend that she had was Bunny. Bunny was just a worn out, stitched up stuffed doll that she had made herself. She made him as a project in preschool the year before. Even though he was a lifeless object, to Trixie, he was alive enough.

Our story begins on a playground at the schoolhouse during a cloudless spring afternoon. The red wooden schoolhouse was not at all very big as only ten to fifteen fillies attended. Aside from the bathroom, it only had one room. The playground behind it was almost bigger than the schoolhouse itself. Young fillies were sliding down the giant slide, climbing on the jungle gym, and swinging on a long swing set that stretched from one end of the playground to the other. Right next to it was a small sandbox where five year old Trixie was playing by herself with her doll. She was busy with a toy bucket and shovel surrounding herself with mounds of dirt.

"Look, Bunny!" she said to her doll with a smile as she dropped the shovel in the sand, "Look at all the castles! We must be in a magical land of princesses!" She looked at her doll with eyes of wonder, "I wish I was a princess…"

It was then that three other unicorns trotted over to little Trixie. They looked down at her, giggling at each other. The white unicorn stood in the middle, she had a blonde mane and purple eyes; she went by Regal Romance. To her right was a pink unicorn with a blonde mane and blue eyes, she went by Flourish Twinkle. To the white unicorn's left was a green unicorn with a purple mane and yellow eyes, she went by Nimble Flash.

Regal looked at her with an unpleasant smirk as the two unicorns next to her snickered in amusement as the young and naïve Trixie welcomed them with a smile.

"Look at the widdle baby!" said Regal, "She thinks she's on the beach!"

"Well… actually, I'm pretending I'm in a land with castles." Trixie corrected her.

"Oh, wow! That's so dorky!" said Flourish with a snicker.

"Yeah! Everypony knows there's only one castle in Equestria!" said Nimble, "And that's where the princess herself lives!"

Trixie innocently looked up and said, "Do you want to play with me?"

"With you?" the astonished white unicorn said, "As if! Dork!"

"I'll let you play with Bunny." Trixie said showing them her well-loved doll.

"That is the ugliest doll I've ever seen!" Nimble said in disgust.

"Yeah! It belongs in the trash!" said Regal.

The girls giggled to each other and the heartbroken Trixie sat in the sand looking at her doll in shame. Suddenly, the teacher blew her whistle.

"Alright, children, recess is over! Everypony inside!" she shouted.

"Come on, girls, let's go." Said the white unicorn.

"Loser!" Nimble said.

As the other unicorns in the playground all gathered inside; Trixie sat in the sand staring at her worn down doll with a frown. She gave the doll a hug and softly said, "I think you're special."

"Trixie! Come on! Recess is over! You can play with your doll later!" the teacher called.

The blue unicorn slowly got up and placed the bunny on her back and slowly joined the other unicorns inside the schoolhouse.

That evening at Trixie's home, little Trixie and her mother were sitting at the table eating their dinner.

Their home was not very big. It seemed as if it was only large enough to barely the two that already live inside of it. As soon as one were to walk into the door, they would see the kitchen, dining room table, couch, television, and laundry room were all crammed together in one small room. There was also a small hallway that had both rooms on either side.

Trixie's bunny doll sat on her lap at the table. Her mother sat across from her, using her magic to eat the food off her plate. Trixie frowned at the plate of grass placed before her in dead silence. Finally, Trixie looked up at her mother and said, "Mommy…"

"What is it, hon?" Her mother replied, her fork full of grass levitating in front of her.

"Where's daddy?" Trixie asked.

Trixie's mother sighed and placed the fork on her plate and said, "I don't know, Trixie. It's been years since I last saw him."

The disappointed foal frowned at her plate once again. Without looking up, she asked quietly, "Does daddy love me?"

"I… don't think he knows you exist, honey…" her mother replied.

Distraught by this information, Trixie felt choked up inside. Without saying anything further, she ate her food and slipped into her room with her bunny doll on her back.

Trixie's room was rather small; it had the usual things that a bedroom would have: dresser, desk, closet, an almost empty toy box, and a small, slightly comfortable bed. Her walls decorated with many drawings that she drew (albeit poorly). There was nothing fancy about this bedroom, only the bare essentials.

The depressed filly kissed her beloved doll goodnight and slipped into slumber.

It was Christmas in Equestria! All the decorations were up all over Canterlot, it was snowing outside, and every pony was happy. Even Trixie was quite excited over the Christmas season; for she had been planning something very special all season. At school, she wore a big smile on her face as she trotted around the classroom carrying baskets on both of her sides. She walked to the three unicorns who were standing around a desk chatting with each other.

"Hey, guys!" Trixie said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Regal rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Merry Christmas!" she said happily.

"Um… thanks?" Nimble replied with a confused look on her face.

Trixie giggled as she pulled out three cards out of the basket and gave each unicorn one.

"I'm having a Christmas party at my house tonight! Wanna come?" she asked.

"Oh… I don't know…" said Flourish rubbing the back of her neck, "I might have plans."

"Yeah… we might be busy tonight." said Nimble.

"Oh, please!" Trixie begged bouncing up and down, "It's going to be a lot of fun! I promise!"

"Er… we'll see about it…" said Flourish.

"Okay!" Trixie said with excitement.

Trixie trotted away happily to invite more classmates to her party. Regal and Nimble glared at each other with disgust; Flourish, on the other hand, watched as the happy unicorn bounced around giving her classmates invitations. She looked at her invitation with sorrow.

"We've got better things to do than hang out with her!" said Regal tossing her card away in disgust.

"Well… she does seem kind of excited about it." Flourish said, "Why don't we at least stop by."

"You wanna go to a dork party?" Nimble said with a look of shock on her face, "What's wrong with you, Flourish?"

"It's just a suggestion…" said Flourish nervously.

"Well, it's not a very good one!" Regal said snatching the invitation away from the pink unicorn and throwing it away, "Besides, you're coming to my Christmas party, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" Flourish surrendered, "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay, Flourish. You wouldn't've had a lot of fun at her party anyway." Regal said as she snatched away Nimble's invitation and threw it away.

"I just hope someone goes to her party… she seems awful lonely…" Flourish silently said to herself.

Later on that night, Trixie finished setting up decorations for the party. She had cookies and games set up and a banner that said "Merry Christmas". The highlight of the room was a small Christmas tree that sat in the corner of the room. It had a few lights strung around it, half of which were broken, and a few ornaments that hung from the branches. Bunny sat on the table wearing a small birthday cap. As soon as she finished setting up, the excited unicorn sat down on the chair waiting for other ponies to show up to her party.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Hours passed and she still waited.

Trixie slouched down in her chair with Bunny cuddled up in her arms. She was completely bored of sitting in the same spot. Suddenly, she perked up as she saw the knob to the front door turn. Trixie's excitement immediately returned as she bounced out of her chair and happily hopped over to the door. The door opened up and it was tired her mother coming home from work. Despite this letdown, Trixie was still quite excited.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" she said happily bouncing up and down with excitement, "You're just in time for my Christmas Party! I made cookies and games and-"

"Oh, Trixie…" her mother interrupted, "I can't. I had a very rough day at work. Mommy just wants to lie on the couch and relax."

Trixie frowned as she watched her mother went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of vodka, then collapsed on the couch.

"Trixie, please clean this mess up." Her mother said.

Heartbroken and dismayed, Trixie did as her mother said and cleaned up. She took down the banner, put away the games, and threw away the cookies. Then, she quietly dragged her bunny doll into her room and went to bed. She tucked in her bunny doll next to her and quietly whispered, "Merry Christmas, Trixie…"

The next year, Trixie, now six, was sitting at her classroom desk. She was watching the three unicorns chatting to each other. She noticed something on Regal's flank. It was a picture of a needle and thread. It didn't take long to realize that it was her cutie mark! Then, she looked at the other two unicorns and saw they had cutie marks, too! In fact, she noticed most of the class had cutie marks as well.

"I know!" Regal said showing off her cutie mark with pride, "I was just sewing it back together, and I found out how fun it was! I started sewing some more and more and then, there it was!"

"Oh wow, Regal!" said Flourish happy for her friend, "Same with me! I just couldn't get enough of cooking! I just love it so much!"

Trixie looked down and her flank and saw nothing was there. She frowned at her flank in shame wishing she knew what her special talent was. As she was thinking about it, the three unicorns walked up to her; presumably so that Regal could show off her cutie mark to her.

"Hey, dork, what're you up to?" said Nimble with a snide grin.

"Oh… I'm just… sitting…" Trixie said, placing her hooves to her side hoping to cover up her flank.

"Do you have a cutie mark?" said Flourish with a smile.

"Oh… why would you ask that?" Trixie said with a nervous smile, "Did you get your cutie marks?"

"We sure did!" said Regal boastfully showing off her flank, "What's yours?"

"Oh… it's not all that special…" Trixie responded pressing her hooves against her side praying they couldn't see it.

"So, you have your cutie mark?" Nimble asked suspiciously.

"Why… of course! I mean… who doesn't have their cutie mark at this age?" Trixie nervously replied and laughed uncomfortably.

"Then show us!" said Nimble.

They started reaching for her hooves. Trixie was so frightened by being shunned by her peers again that she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind: "TOY MAKING!" This caused the three unicorns to back off a bit.

"Toy making?" Flourish said astonishingly.

"Um… yes! Toy making!" Trixie continued her little lie, "I'm good at making toys."

"You're not good at that!" Nimble responded bluntly, "That bunny doll that you always carry around is horrible! And YOU made that!"

"Well…" Trixie said pretending to shift her focus to something on the floor, "I've been practicing since then…"

"Then show us your cutie mark!" Regal demanded.

"You don't wanna do that. It's not very good looking." Trixie said hoping they'd go away.

"Girls!" Regal commanded.

Suddenly, Nimble and Flourish went on both sides of her and started pulling her hooves away. The outnumbered unicorn tried with all her might to keep her hooves at her side. Unfortunately, Nimble proved stronger and eventually pulled her hoof above her head and had clear view of Trixie's nonexistent cutie mark.

"Hey! She ain't got no cutie mark!" Nimble shouted so that all the room could hear.

"Really?" Regal said rushing closer to have a look, "Oh wow! Not only are you a dork, but you're a dork with no talent! You're a blank flank!" She then started laughing at her.

"Uh… I think that's enough, Regal…" Flourish said putting her hoof on Regal's back, "Not everypony has their cutie mark at this age."

Ignoring Flourish's protests, Regal spun around and shouted, "Hey, everypony! Trixie's a blank flank!"

Everyone in the classroom then started to huddle around Trixie to see her blank flank. Some of them chatted to each other, while others laughed. Trixie felt very uncomfortable as they all mocked and ridiculed her; she had never felt so humiliated in her life! She wanted to cry, but she knew that if she did, it would make everything worse. She bit her lip trying to fight the tears. Thankfully, the teacher walked into the classroom with a stack of books floating beside her. With her entrance, all the fillies quieted down and began to retreat to their desks.

"Okay, children, take your seats!" she proclaimed walking in, placing a stack of books on the table, "Today, we'll be learning more addition!" She wrote down a problem on the board, "Now, as a review from yesterday, who can give me the answer to this?"

Trixie immediately raise her shaking hoof and the teacher pointed at her and said "Yes, Trixie?"

"Can… I… use… the… bathroom…" Trixie said still trying to fight the tears.

"Oh, alright, go ahead." The teacher replied.

Trixie immediately ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror and let it all out. She sobbed uncontrollably and couldn't seem to stop. She didn't know if anybody outside could hear her, but at this point, she didn't care. After she was done crying for several minutes, she left the bathroom and slowly sat down on her desk to listen to what the teacher had to say.

A few hours later, the teacher was discussing a poem written on the board giving a lesson. Most of the students were bored with class and wanted the day to finish up so they could go home and play.

"And this is one of many poems that rhyme ABAB. I want you all to write me a poem that has this rhyme scheme. Remember it must be school appropriate! AB… AB…" she looked up at the clock and said, "Oh my! Look at the time! Class dismissed!"

All the ponies jumped out of their desks with joy and rushed out the door.

"I want those poems tomorrow morning! Don't forget!" The teacher called as a sea of cheering fillies rushed before her.

As soon as they were all gone, she gave a deep sigh and started erasing the board humming to herself. She turned around and saw Trixie still sitting at her desk with a glum look on her face.

"Oh, Trixie!" she said in surprise, "Are you still here?"

Trixie didn't answer. The teacher pulled up a stool and patted the top of it and said, "Come here, have a seat."

Trixie slipped out of her desk and slowly walked to the front of the class. She obediently climbed on top of the stool and sat down.

"What's the matter, Trixie?" the teacher asked.

Trixie didn't answer. Instead, she just shuffled her hoofs on the stool and whimpered.

"Does it have to do with you crying in the bathroom this morning?" the teacher asked.

"You heard that?" Trixie said quietly.

"Yes, dear, we all heard it." The teacher replied.

Now, Trixie was a little embarrassed. She looked down on the floor.

"Did those girls make fun of you again?" the teacher asked. It was as if she knew what happened.

"Mm-hm…" Trixie nodded shamefully.

"What what was it this time?" the teacher said with a melancholy sigh.

Trixie sat there quietly for a few moments, but then turned to her teacher and asked, "Am I special?"

"Oh, of course, sweetie, everypony is special in their own way!" the teacher responded with a smile, "That's how we get our cutie marks." Then, it finally hit her, "You don't have your cutie mark, do you?"

Trixie only replied by showing her teacher her blank flank. The teacher looked at it and smiled.

"Trixie…" the teacher said placing a hoof on the embarrassed filly's back, "It's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes, cutie marks come a little later in life. Someday, yours will come, too. You just need to try hard to find your special talent."

"I do?" Trixie said looking at her teacher with teary eyes.

"Yes… feel better?" said the teacher.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Trixie said a little more encouraged.

"Good. Now go on home, alright?" said the teacher.

Trixie nodded with a smile and trotted on home. She knew she had to find her cutie mark fast.

For the next few months, Trixie started doing different things to find her cutie mark. She tried all sorts of things: cooking, cleaning, sewing, sports, carpeting, fashion, and many other things. Though some ponies may have said that she couldn't do it, she was very determined to find her special talent.

One night, she was sitting outside of her house. It was a cloudless, starry night and the moon was shining in the sky. Trixie looked up at the moon and decided to try magic. She took a deep breath and focused all her will. She focused and focuses and focused. Her horn started to light up with energy. An image popped up into her mind as to what she could be doing. She tried and tried and tried. Her horn glowed brightly. Then, there was a loud "POOF" that almost frightened the young foal! Trixie looked up and saw a rose floating before her, glistening in the moonlight. She looked at the rose in awe; it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She knew right then and there that she made that rose appear.

She smiled and looked down at her flank; she was shocked to see what she found. It was her cutie mark! It was an image of a wand creating sparkles in the shape of a crescent moon. Trixie was so excited! She finally found her special talent!

Trixie raced inside the house taking the rose with her. She ran up to her mother who was lying on the couch with a bottle of vodka in her hooves.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look!" Trixie said excitedly bouncing up and down.

"What is it, Trixie?" Her mother said curious as to what her daughter was excited about.

"I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark! Look!" Trixie said showing her the cutie mark.

Trixie's mother sat there in silence with an astonished look on her face.

"How did you get that?" she asked.

"I made a rose appear!" Trixie said showing off the flower to her mother.

"So, your special talent is magic?" Trixie's mother said.

"Uh-huh!" Trixie said with a smile.

"Trixie…" her mother smiled, "Good job. I'm… proud of you."

Trixie then stopped bouncing and dropped the rose. She stared at her mother in disbelief as her mother never said that to her before. She felt tears flood down her face, she was so happy to have finally made her mother proud. It was the first time she ever felt love from her own mother.

"M-Mommy…" Trixie said through her tears.

"What is it, honey?" Her mother asked.

"I… I love you…" Trixie said.

Trixie's mother smiled. Trixie then climbed up on the couch and cuddled up with her mother. It was a very happy night for her; Trixie was so proud of herself. Not only did she find her special talent, but she made her mother proud at last.

For the rest of the year, Trixie spent countless hours trying to perfect her magic and experiment with new spells. She got books from the library and read them every night. Whenever she got discouraged, she would look at her rose as a reminder of what she could do.

Trixie never gave up at learning new spells. She kept honing her magic skills with fierce determination. She knew that she had to be the best magic user she could be.

One winter day, she learned that a magic academy, known as Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, was accepting applications in the summer of that year. So, the seven year old filly tried even harder to accomplish this new goal and practiced every day.

The long awaited day finally came and Trixie felt she was ready to take the entrance exam. She packed a light bag for the trip: a toothbrush, a comb, even her rose. She debated as to whether she should bring Bunny along with her, but ultimately decided to leave him behind and take care of herself. As she was about to walk out the door, her mother approached her.

"Trixie? Where are you going?" her confused mother asked.

Trixie realized that she had forgotten to tell her mother about the academy and guessed that now was the best time.

"I'm going to the magic academy, Mom." She said with a confident smile, "I've been practicing for months now… and… I think I'm ready to do it!"

"Trixie! You can't go!" her mother said in surprise.

"Why not?" Trixie's smile vanished and was replaced with shock and dismay.

"Because it's not for you." Trixie's mother explained, "I don't want you to get hurt out there. The world is a cruel place, Trixie! You're way too young to go out on your own!"

"I don't believe it!" Trixie said in frustration, "Why can't you support me? You're my mom! This is what I want to do! And… and you can't even say 'good luck'?"

"Don't use that tone at me, young lady!"

"No! I'm sick of this! You never did anything for me!" Trixie retaliated; it was as if all her built up frustration about her mother had finally come out all at once, "I tried everything I could to be with you; to be a good daughter! You never helped me with any of my problems! You never even said you loved me! I don't even think you care about me! I'm going to that academy whether you like it or not! And I'm going to succeed! I'm going to be the greatest magic user ever!"

"Trixie! Enough! Please! You don't understand!" Trixie's mother pleaded, "I do love you! I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"I HATE YOU!" Trixie belted out in anger, "And someday, I'm gonna do something that'll make you proud! I SWEAR!"

Trixie turned around and stormed out the door slamming it behind her. She stomped away from her home never once looking back. She went for miles and miles; but every step she took she got slower and slower. She felt that she had hurt her poor mother.

Finally she stopped, for she could no longer hold back her tears; she huddled up into a corner and cried. She wished that she never said the things she said to her mother. She cried for a few hours before realizing that she shouldn't give up. She had to get into the academy to prove to her mother that she was talented with magic. Trixie dried her tears and continued on.

Trixie continued on until she finally made it to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She gave herself a deep breath.

"Okay, Trixie… this is it. This is what you've been practicing for!" She said to herself confidently.

She looked at the building and nervously walked inside. The lobby was filled with fillies her age; most of which were sitting with their parents. Trixie put on a bold face and trotted up to the desk where a yellow unicorn with a green mane was signing in names. The yellow unicorn looked down at Trixie with a smile.

"Hello, there, little one." She said with a friendly voice, "Are you here to apply to the academy?"

"Yes, ma'am." Trixie responded trying to hide her nervousness.

"Okay, what's your name?" the unicorn asked.

"Trixie, ma'am." she responded politely.

"Okay, Trixie. Why don't you sit over there with the others and wait until your name is called. We're going to test you to see if your magic skills are good enough."

Trixie did as the unicorn said and sat in the waiting room. She looked around and saw all the fillies waiting with their parents; which caused her to think about her mother. Did she do the right thing? Was her mother waiting for her? Was it too late to go back?

Trixie sat and waited for a few hours when another filly unicorn approached her. She was a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with pink highlight and had a nervous smile on her face. Trixie was quite curious as to why this filly approached her.

"Hi! Are you here to take the entrance exam?" the purple unicorn asked.

"Uh… yes… I am…" Trixie said.

"Me, too!" she said happily.

The purple unicorn examined the blue unicorn. She seemed to be rather curious about her, which Trixie found rather odd; no one had ever been so interested in her before.

"What's wrong?" the purple unicorn asked.

"I… I'm just a bit nervous." Trixie responded honestly

"Don't be nervous!" the purple unicorn said with an encouraging smile, "You can do it! You have your cutie mark!"

Trixie looked down and noticed that the purple unicorn didn't have her cutie mark yet. Trixie found it a bit strange that a pony would apply for the academy without a cutie mark. Trixie felt a little sorry for her; yet, she didn't seem very nervous.

A yellow unicorn then came out from a room with a clipboard floating in front of her.

"Trixie?" she called out.

Trixie nervously looked at the floor and quietly said, "That's me…"

"Go on! Break a leg!" the purple unicorn said.

Trixie gave her an acknowledged smile and trotted into the room.

Trixie stood up front in a classroom where four unicorns were sitting in the desks looking her over. She gave them a nervous smile.

"Trixie, I presume?" said one unicorn.

"Uh… yes, ma'am." Trixie said nervously.

"All right, you shall begin the entrance exam." Said another unicorn.

Then, a pony came in with a big cart and pushed it in front of Trixie. On the cart lay a big egg nestled in the hay. She looked over it nervously.

"We want you to use your magic to hatch the egg." Said a unicorn.

Trixie gulped and nodded as the four unicorns raised their clipboards to write down their observations.

"Well, Miss Trixie, go on. Hatch the egg!" A unicorn said impatiently.

Trixie looked at the egg and gave herself a deep breath. Then, she gave the egg a determined stare. She tried to use her magic, she tried with all her might; sadly the egg didn't even move. She tried again even harder; her horn glowed brightly as she used every bit of energy she had, but still no luck. The unicorns looked at Trixie with boredom. Trixie tried to hatch that egg for an hour; trying every magic trick she knew.

Eventually, Trixie collapsed on the floor in fatigue. She was so worn out she couldn't even perform a simple levitation spell. She looked up at the egg in defeat as the unicorns wrote down their observations and went over them with each other. They talked to each other for a minute before walking down to Trixie and helped her up.

"I'm sorry, Miss Trixie." Said one unicorn, "You gave it your all, but it seems you're not what we're looking for."

"But… but…" Trixie pleaded, "Give me another chance! I can do it!"

"Listen, Miss Trixie… you're not very good at magic." Said another unicorn.

"But… my special talent is magic; I just need more time!" Trixie begged.

"I'm sorry, Miss Trixie, but we must kindly ask you to leave. Have a nice day." Said a unicorn.

Trixie was so destroyed at this; she really wasn't that good at magic? Distraught by this revelation, Trixie slowly walked out of the room with a frown; she didn't even acknowledge the purple unicorn who asked her how it went. She shamefully left the academy and never looked back.

As Trixie wandered through the streets of Canterlot, she couldn't help but think what was to become of her now. She refused to go back home, not after that fight she had with her mother. She refused to go back defeated and decided instead to fend for herself.

Trixie looked up at the sky and saw that not only was it getting dark, but the weather squad was sending rain clouds above the city. Droplets started to drip on her one by one. Trixie continued to walk on until it started pouring heavily, in which she rushed to a nearby alleyway to find shelter. She took cover under a sheet of newspapers. As the poor soul shivered in the cold, wet rain, she couldn't help but cry: she ran away from home, had her dreams crushed before her, and has nowhere left to go.

This marked an early end to Trixie's childhood. For the next couple of years of her life would be nothing but toil and hardships. The helpless filly tried to remain strong, but couldn't help but regret leaving her home.

To be continued…