Chapter 6: Redemption

Twilight Sparkle was grasping Trixie's hooves as she laid in bed; all her casts but the one on her horn has been unwrapped. Trixie looked at Twilight nervously, she didn't think she could do it, but she knew Twilight had faith in her.

"Are you ready, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know…" Trixie said nervously, "Remember the last time?"

"I believe in you, Trixie" Twilight said encouragingly.

Trixie took a deep breath and said, "Okay… I'm ready…"

"Alright! One… Two… Three!"

Twilight pulled Trixie out of bed. Trixie softly landed on her hoofs. Her legs shook as she tried to stand, but she eventually stopped them.

"You did it, Trixie! You're standing again!" Twilight said happily.

"I… I did it!" Trixie said excitedly.

"Okay, now try walking." Twilight said.

"Okay, here I go…" Trixie said nervously.

Trixie pulled out her front hoof and stepped on the ground with her hind hoof following. Her legs started shaking again and she was about to fall, but she quickly recovered and went forward with the other hooves. She slowly started walking away, but then got faster and faster. Finally, she was walking around the room at a normal pace. Suddenly, she started trotting around happily, as she finally regained her ability to move, only to fall flat on her face. Twilight immediately raced over to help her up.

"I did it." Trixie said.

"Um… why don't you wait a little bit to recover before you start trotting around…" Twilight said.

"Okay." Trixie said.

"Hey! Why don't I take you around town? Everypony would be thrilled to see you walking!"

Trixie agreed and followed Twilight outside.

Trixie cringed at seeing the sun for the first time in weeks. Her eyes eventually adjusted, though, as Twilight gave her a tour of Ponyville. They walked around the town as friendly faces greeted them. Trixie never felt so safe in her life. Then, Rarity approached them.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Trixie, dear!" Rarity said with a friendly face, "It's so nice to see you out and about!"

"Well, it wasn't easy getting out of bed." Trixie said.

"I should know." Twilight said.

"Well, we have a surprise for you, Trixie!" Rarity said, "Come on!"

"A surprise?" Trixie said.

"You'll see." Twilight said with a smile.

Rarity led Trixie and Twilight away.

Trixie followed Rarity and Twilight to Sweet Apple Acres where they met Applejack bucking trees. When she saw the three, she immediately stopped and walked up to them.

"I brought her, Applejack." Rarity said.

"That's great!" Applejack said, "Let's get started, then."

"Um… what is this all about, exactly?" Trixie said suspiciously.

"You'll find out." Twilight said with a smile.

She whipped out a piece of cloth with her magic and blindfolded Trixie.

"Hey! What's going on?" Trixie said.

"It's a surprise, Trixie!" said Twilight, "Don't worry, I'll guide you."

Trixie was hesitant at first, but she had grown to trust Twilight, so she allowed her to pull Trixie to wherever she was leading her. Eventually they stopped her and she waited a few seconds.

"Okay, Trixie, you can take it off now." Twilight said.

Trixie did as she instructed and took off the blindfold. She was greeted by a thunderous "SURPRISE!" Trixie could believe her eyes, every pony in Ponyville was inside the barn in Sweet Apple Acres and sitting right before her was her caravan, fully rebuilt good as new.

"Wha- My… did you…" Trixe couldn't find the words to convey her feelings.

"We all chipped in to rebuilt your caravan for you!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I tell ya, though, it wasn't easy." Applejack said.

"Well… what do you think?" Twilight said.

Trixie was so touched by seeing this that she started crying on the spot. This sent everyone in alarm. Twilight raced up to Trixie.

"What's wrong, Trixie? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Nobody's ever been this nice to me before…" Trixie said through her tears, "I'm so… happy…"

Twilight smiled and hugged Trixie.

"You have friends here, Trixie. We'll always be there for you." Twilight said.

Trixie looked at everyone with a smile. She was so happy that they were good to her, even after all that she had been through.

Later on back at Twilight's house, Trixie was getting ready to leave Ponyville. She had on her hat and cape and had her rose with her. Twilight and Spike watched as she got ready.

"Do you really have to go?" Spike said.

"Yes, I do, Spike. I'm a travelling entertainer, after all." Trixie responded, "But, I promise I'll come back to visit sometime."

"So, what do you plan on doing, exactly?" Twilight asked curiously.

"I'm probably going to end up starting from scratch. It won't be easy with my ruined reputation, but I'll manage it somehow." Trixie said.

"Well, good luck, Trixie." Twilight said.

"Thank you!" Trixie said as she went out the door.

As she walked outside, it suddenly started storming without warning. Rainbow Dash came swooping in as all the ponies fled indoors.

"Rainbow, what's going on?" Twilight said coming outside.

"Sorry, everypony! We had a surprise schedule today!" she said, "We have a lot of catching up on the weather, so it's going to be like this for the rest of the day."

Rainbow flew on home as Trixie started to get soaked from the rain. She looked at Twilight and Spike with a shrug.

"Hey, Trixie, why don't you stay here for one more night?" Twilight suggested.

Trixie thought for a moment and said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to stick around until the storm lets up."

Trixie walked back inside to take shelter from the storm.

Trixie and Twilight sat at the table, Twilight was reading a book while Trixie was staring at her rose. Raindrops were pattering on the walls outside, it was dead quiet. Trixie rubbed the cast on her horn in anxiety.

"It'll heal eventually." Twilight said, "You'll be able to use magic again soon."

Trixie stopped rubbing her cast and looked at her rose in guilt.

"I guess you've found out how pathetic I am, Twilight. I'm not as Great and Powerful as I said a while back…" Trixie said.

Twilight closed her book and said, "What are you talking about?"

"You know how I said I vanquished an Ursa Major. I couldn't even vanquish a baby…" Trixie said.

"Actually, Trixie, you're really good at magic." Twilight said.

"You're just trying to make me feel better." Trixie said with a dismissive smile.

"No, I'm serious! You actually displayed really skillful magic back there."

"Are you saying that I could vanquish an Ursa Major?" Trixie perked up.

"Well… maybe not an Ursa Major," Twilight continued, "But you could have stood a chance against that Ursa Minor. You were just a little scared, that's all."

"Twilight, why are you so nice to me?" Trixie asked curiously, "I mean, I ridiculed your friends! I almost destroyed Ponyville! I practically embarrassed you!"

"First of all, Trixie, you didn't do any permanent harm to my friends. They recovered and forgave you, right?" Twilight said with a smile, "Secondly, the Ursa Minor wasn't your fault. Snips and Snails were just being stupid as usual. Finally, you did not embarrass me, I just didn't want my friends to think of me as a show off. You haven't done anything wrong, Trixie; you've learned your lesson, so all is well."

"That's what you think… She's still hasn't forgiven me…" Trixie said to herself quietly.

"She?" Twilight said.

Trixie then stared at Twilight nervously. But, she figured that she had to tell Twilight the truth, she did owe her that much, after all. Besides, she has grown to really trust Twilight, so she decided to tell her.

"Twilight… you want to know what happened to me, right?" Trixie said shyly.

"You already told me, you had an accident and you fell off the cliff!" Twilight said with a smile.

"Actually… that's not exactly true." Trixie confessed.

"Oh, really? What happened then?" Twilight said with interest.

"I… Somepony dropped me off the cliff." Trixie said.

"What? Who would do that to you?" Twilight perked up.

"I was walking down a path when two ponies came to me and dragged me into the woods," Trixie continued, "There I saw… her. Flourish Twinkle. She attacked me and dropped me off hoping to kill me."

"What? Why on Equestria would she want to kill you?" Twilight said in curiosity.

"She had every right to." Trixie said in sorrow, "She was one of the three unicorns who used to pick on me at school."

"Oh, now I understand."

"No, you don't. Flourish was the one who picked on me the least, she held back. It only took me up until now to realize that. When I ran away from home, I never saw her again in years. But, one day in Manehattan, I saw her again. She tried to reason with me, she tried to get me to remember who I was, but I couldn't forget how she and her friends used to treat me. I was so angry at her, so I attacked her; I attacked her and I couldn't stop. No matter how hard she begged, I continued on. Eventually I stopped and let her get out of my sight…"

"You… hurt her?" Twilight said in shock.

"I did more that hurt her, Twilight." Trixie continued, "I broke her! She was committed to an asylum because of me! She went completely insane all because of me! What I did to her haunted me every day. I knew she could never forgive me. Maybe I shouldn't be here… maybe I deserve to be dead. She was right, Equestria doesn't need me."

"No, Trixie! No pony in Equestria isn't needed. Everypony is special in their own way." Twilight said trying to comfort Trixie. Trixie looked down at the floor in guilt, "Trixie, what you did was wrong. Anypony can see that, but it doesn't matter! You've changed, Trixie. You need to learn from the past and make up for it in the future. And who knows, maybe, just maybe, Flourish can forgive you someday, too!"

Trixie looked up and saw Twilight with a smile. Trixie couldn't help but smile back. She felt so relieved to get the truth off her chest. She knew that forgiveness from Flourish was totally far-fetched, but it comforted her that Twilight still sees Trixie as a friend despite her dark past.

The rain continued on through the next day; it wasn't until the evening until it finally stopped. When it did, Trixie packed up her caravan to leave town as the sun was starting to set. All the ponies in Ponyville came to see her off.

"Hey, Trixie! You come back to visit us, alright?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I promise." Trixie said with a smile, "I really appreciate you all doing this for me, I really do! Thank you so much for everything!"

"Aw, don't worry 'bout it, sugah-cube." Applejack said with a smile, "We jus' did what was right."

"You're always welcome here, darling." Rarity agreed, "So, if things get rough, you can always come back here."

"We'll be waiting for you with friendly hooves." Twilight finished for Rarity.

"I'll never forget what you did for me." Trixie said happily, "I'll come back and visit, goodbye!"

Trixie turned around and left as every pony in Ponyville waved her farewell, she never felt so happy that they awaited her return. She left with a satisfied smile.

As the sun sank under the horizon, Trixie walked along a dark path. She wished she could still use magic, but she had to adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, she heard a faint thud on her caravan. She turned around and saw perched atop her caravan her evil self wearing her hat and cape, gazing at her with those cold eyes.

"Leaving so soon?" she said.

"I'm not going to speak to you ever again." Trixie said trying to ignore her.

"So you're just going to run away? Run away from your own darkness?" her evil self said, "You truly are a coward."

"Why won't you just go away?" Trixie said in an irritated tone.

Suddenly, her evil twin spontaneously appeared before her and said, "Now, what good will that ever do you? Hm? Face it, Trixie, you need me. Without me, you have no direction."

"I don't need you! All you do is cause trouble for me!" Trixie said angrily.

"Oh? Feisty, are we? Good. Let your hatred build up! It makes me even stronger!"

Trixie ignored her and continued on.

"You can try to ignore me, Trixie. But I will always follow you and haunt you until the day you die!" the evil Trixie said.

"I won't do as you say! I'm doing things my way now!" Trixie snapped.

"You don't understand, do you, my dear? You don't have a choice!"

Enough was enough! Trixie freed herself from the caravan and tackled the dark Trixie, but she vanished and Trixie fell on the ground.

"Are you angry?" said the Trixie appearing behind her, "Do you hate me? Do you want to end me? Your anger will feed me and I will grow more powerful!"

"No! I won't listen to you! I'm through doing what you say! Now it's my time to rebuild my reputation and become the greatest magic user to ever live, the RIGHT way!"

"That will not happen!" the evil mare as she was enshrouded by darkness.

The dark mare's form twisted and grew in colossal size. Her shape became grossly deformed until she changed into a horribly disfigured Ursa Major. The dark Ursa gazed at her with hollow eyes with a mouth that seemed to lead into black emptiness as her form dripped onto the ground like melting ice. Trixie looked up in fear at the horrible beast as it lunged at her. Trixie dashed out of the way.

"My presence frightens you! You fear me! You are but a scared little child against the world!" the beast said in a distorted voice, "You are nothing without me! That's why you need me! Only the pain and misery of others will heal the wounds that THEY inflicted upon you, and I am the key to making that come true!"

"No! I won't hurt anybody anymore!" Trixie yelled.

Suddenly, the beastly bear snatched Trixie off the ground and crushed her within her grasp.

"Were you not listening before? I am the darkness that has built up inside you!" she roared, "I will devour you and control you until you are but a hollow puppet, a slave to my demands! It will all be easier if you just accept it!"

"No! I refuse to let you control me!" Trixie yelled.

"Insect!" the bear yelled as she smashed Trixie on the ground, "You're transformation will be slow and painful! Just know me as your master and obey me! It will all be over quickly!"

Trixie struggled to get up, but was too weak to.

"You have no reason to resist, Trixie." The Ursa Major said, "Nobody wants you! You are an outcast to society. You have no friends or family, and the world seeks to end your life. By submitting to me, you will show them how powerful you are! Face it, Trixie, you are alone! ALL ALONE!"

"You're… you're right… I am alone…" Trixie sobbed, "Nobody want to be with me. I'm just a lonely coward!"

"That's not true, Trixie. You're not alone." Said a familiar calm voice.

A hoof extended to Trixie and she looked up and saw Twilight Sparkle with a friendly smile.

"Twilight?"

"When we said we'd be there for you, we meant it." Twilight said.

Trixie looked around and saw that Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were all standing right beside her.

"You… you're all here… for me?" Trixie said.

"Of course we are, silly!" Pinkie Pie said, "We're friends, duh!"

"Yeah! We'll always stick with you no matter what!" Rainbow Dash said.

"We heard so much ruckus going on over hear that we had to find out what was going on." Rarity said.

"We're gonna teach that big ol' ugly thing a lesson it will never forget!" Applejack said.

"You… You really are all here for me!" Trixie said happily.

Twilight helped her up as Trixie turned around to face the Ursa Major. As her evil twin emerged from the head of the beast, she glared down at all of them.

"Don't fool yourself, Trixie." She said, "This is all but an illusion. They'll turn against you eventually and plot your downfall."

"I don't know who you are or why you look like Trixie, but we would never do that to her!" Twilight shouted.

"Yeah, you weird twisted thing!" Rainbow said, "Even though she showed us up a few months ago, I forgive her!"

"We all forgive her." Rarity said.

"No one treats my friends with cruelty and hatred, not even me." Fluttershy said.

"I'm not alone anymore!" Trixie proudly proclaimed to the dark bear, "I have my friends, there right here with me! They'll be there for me, and I'll be there for them, too! That's why I don't need you!"

"Very well, then." The evil Trixie said as she sunk into the Ursa's head, "Your 'friends' will perish an unimaginable fate. You will suffer in their deaths and will do my bidding, forevermore!"

"No! I'll destroy you before you do that!" Trixie said with fiery courage.

Trixie tried to use her magic. She didn't care if her horn hadn't healed yet, she had to try. The presence of her friends gave her enormous amounts of courage as they all stood beside her to take on the fearsome beast. Suddenly, the cast on her horn burst open and Trixie's fully healed horn glowed with irradiant energy. Trixie let loose a powerful flash of light that engulfed the terrible monster. As her dark self screamed out in agony, the light consumed her and obliterated her until she was no more. Exhausted by the massive amount of energy, Trixie passed out.

Hours later, a pony passed by the group of unconscious ponies lying around in the middle of the path and stared at them. Trixie woke up and looked around and saw that her friends were waking up as well.

"Whoa! Man! What just happened?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Was that you, Trixie? I didn't know you had it in you!" Twilight said.

"Neither did I." Trixie responded.

"Woo-hoo! That was fun! Do it again, Trixie! Do it again!" Pinkie Pie said bouncing up and down.

"Well, done, Trixie. You've been through so much." Said a voice.

Trixie saw all the ponies gasp and then bow down in respect. Trixie turned around and saw Princess Celestia staring at her with a smile. Trixie immediately jumped up and bowed down and said "Your majesty!"

Princess Celestia approached Twilight Sparkle and said "My dearest student! It's been too long."

Twilight got up and said "It's always an honor to see you, Princess."

"Is this the pony you've been writing to me about?" Celestia said.

Twilight nodded and said, "Yes! That is Trixie."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie, as I understand?" the Princess said approaching Trixie.

"Yes, your highness! Well… not really great and powerful anymore…" Trixie said.

"Don't be so modest, Trixie." The Princess laughed, "You've fought through so much to get this far in life. You always had a strong will, and you never gave up. I think you deserve such a fitting title."

"Yeah! You deserve it this time!" said Rainbow Dash flying up in front of Trixie, "'Cause you actually beat an Ursa Major this time!"

"That was not an Ursa Major." Princess Celestia said.

"It wasn't?" Applejack said, "Then, what was it?"

"This is a little hard to explain… but… that was me." Trixie said. Everyone looked at her in confusion, "It was all the darkness consumed inside me and taken physical form. She was all my hate, sadness, and fears combined into one. At first, I thought she wanted to help me… but, now I know she just wanted become a part of me and control me."

"So, that was your evil self?" Twilight said.

"You could say that." Princess Celestia said, "My sister befell the same fate as you did, Trixie. But you conquered your fears and faced up against it. With the help of your friends, you've overcome your darkness and destroyed it completely. Now, you are free."

Trixie smiled as Princess Celestia turned around.

"It's about that time again…" she muttered to herself.

Princess Celestia's horn glowed with brilliant beauty as the sun rose in the horizon.

"This day is for you, Trixie." She said to Trixie, "This is your day, a new day for you. Though your past contains all the experience that you have ever learned, it is all behind you now. This is the first day of your new future, Trixie. Use it to be who you want to become, blaze your own trail in life and make yourself a bright future."

"Princess… I…" Trixie looked back and saw all her friends smiling; Twilight Sparkle nodded with encouragement. Trixie looked at the Princess with a smile and said "Thank you!"

"Make the most of it." Twilight said.

Trixie smiled at her friends and went to her caravan and began pulling it down the path. Princess Celestia approached Twilight and said, "Well, Twilight? Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact." Twilight said, "I learned that you should always be a friend to those in need, even if they've wronged you in the past. Sometimes, the best way of making friends is to be a friend yourself. And in doing so, you could change someone's life for the better."

As Trixie walked along the path, she stopped in the middle and got out her rose. She stared at it with a smile. Then, she went to the side of the road and planted it in the ground. She used her magic to put life into it and then walked away with a bright and happy attitude. The rose blossomed and eventually became the most beautiful garden in Equestria.

The

End