Children depressed Trixie.

She was working at her new job. Two weeks ago, she was hired as a cashier at Party Pony. Fillies and colts would frequently rush to the store after they got out of school, getting all kinds of toys for pranks and parties.

She was so disappointed with herself. Children easily irritated, annoyed, and frustrated her, with their immaturity, mischievousness and uncontained energy, making all kinds of loud noises, whether they'd laugh or scream or cry. But she knew that they were just growing up, and didn't know any better. They were acting as they naturally would, and couldn't help it. Trixie pitied them for being so oblivious to their eventual futures; the hardships that adulthood would bring, crushing fantastical optimism and naivety, tearing all their impossible dreams asunder.

On top of an occupation that necessitated constant exposure to ones who made her so gloomy, another somber realization had recently crept into the unicorn's life. She had bloomed late in terms of puberty, long ago knowing about it from Myrtle explaining it, but found that there was something missing from what her sister described. She'd heard so much about some kind of attraction forming, whether it be towards mares or stallions or possibly even non-ponies, but Trixie felt... Nothing. There was no such force or group that compelled any form of desire from her, not even anything her imagination could conceive, whether they were real or not.

She could not want the company of a partner. She could not fall in love.

In spite of how much they tormented her, these new aspects of her life had given her one bittersweet gift in return; a small consolation, a defense against at least one form of eventually feeling further pain through disappointment.

It was in Trixie promising to herself that she would never become a mother.

This was easy enough, since she couldn't ever see herself being impregnated, but she was very sure she wouldn't adopt, either. Knowing how she couldn't stand to be around children for too long, and how she couldn't bring herself to find a partner to help raise them, helped her know for sure that she would stay away from maternal endeavors. Trixie did not want to be responsible for destroying a child's dreams by building them up, only for reality and the world to tear them down, or for her to snap at them not by their fault, but her own insecurities, where she would instead supposed to be giving them unconditional love and acceptance.

In the midst of all her depression, the unicorn slowly discovered that she had formed a habit to distract herself from her pain and sorrow, and to pass the time when she was bored. She had formed it unconsciously at first, but as she became aware of it, she was disturbed by it, and yet chose not to stop it. She would read the thoughts of random strangers and passerby, whether they were customers at her workplace, or those she saw as she walked through Canterlot. It got to the point where any small detail she noticed could trigger her curiosity and warrant "a quick peek" at their current thoughts.

Trixie knew it was bad. She swore to herself that she would quit, or that she would at least try to cut down on it significantly. And yet, she never did. It had become an addiction. It was the only thing that would constantly allow her to forget how much she hated herself and how miserable she felt, and so she depended on it like water.

Alas, like everything else in her life so far, this would not last. The unicorn hoped that she would put a stop to it from realizing just how wrong it was, or that it wouldn't change her problems. But this was not so. It was because she discovered that it only brought her back to the very thing she was trying to escape in the first place. Almost every pony whose mind she read was miserable, just like her.

Others would have scoffed at this. They would have considered these ponies to be so selfish, when they had all the food, water, shelter, and necessities they could possibly ever hope to have, living in nigh complete physical comfort and practically guaranteed safety day in and day out, worrying about trivial matters instead of serious, life or death situations.

But not Trixie.

The more she reflected on it all, the more she realized something. If most of the ponies in presumably the greatest city in the greatest country on the planet were so miserable, maybe it's not that they had things too good and complained for nothing. Maybe it was that misery was simply everywhere, regardless of how "good" anyone had it.

And that brought her back to a thought that infuriated her. The very idea of it made her blood boil. Something that she remembered from years and years ago in Jennet; a very small, innocent mention of trivia that held little significance to her at the time, and now haunted her every day.

Depression was once considered a sin.

Trixie wondered how this could possibly be. Why would it be sinful to react naturally to pain and unhappiness? How could one be thrust into such unfair, unforgiving circumstances, and automatically be expected to simply accept and live with them without any complaining? In this light, it seemed like no wonder to her that so many lives were so full of misery on a constant basis. Living by those standards was insane, unbearable, and unacceptable. Truly, there had to be something more than this, or so she felt.

The constant downward spiral of her worrying thoughts gradually drove the young mare deeper into a pit of despair with each new sunrise and sunset. After she arrived home from work, taking an hour to unwind from her daily stressors and let some fraction of calm contentment seep in, she stared at herself in the mirror, deep in thought.

Her job seemed almost masochistic, selling materials intended to bring joy while she constantly felt the exact opposite. Yet, she was surrounded by them from day to day, as if they were tormenting her, mocking her, posing the question as to why she herself couldn't be so easily cheered up as her customers seemingly were.

This was the most recent addition to a lifelong collection of disappointing discoveries about herself stacked into a mental pile. First, she killed her mother unintentionally, then she was a "dirty Luna lover", then she couldn't get her magic right, then she killed her father, then she discovered she was asexual, and now she spent most of her days working at a job she had no business doing.

Sadly looking at herself, Trixie felt like an anthropomorphic gift box, metaphorically tearing herself open to find the presents inside. Beneath all the styrofoam packing peanuts and tissue paper were one tasteless gag gift after another, and every day was April Foal's Day.

She couldn't continue on like this. Something had to break the stream of endless misery. Something, anything, that allowed her to refresh herself from this constant sorrow, however temporary or ineffective that relief might be. Something at all was better than nothing.

So, on her next weekend off, Trixie went camping.

She hoped to recapture that wonderful feeling she had doing this with her father in her fillyhood, or her sister several months ago, thinking it would be better on her own with no minds around tempting her to read them. Peace and quiet, all to herself. Only, that's not how it turned out at all. It felt worse than ever. Even the s'mores completely lacked flavor to her. She was truly and completely morose.

The young mare went on a walk within the forest, hoping that the beautiful sights of nature would help her finally find the serenity she sought, but again, it only worsened. Just as she was ready to head back, she was startled and frozen by a hideous sight. Faster than she could react, two creatures darted out from behind nearby foliage; an exhausted, terrified rabbit, and a snarling, starving fox. Before they could leave her eyesight, the fox finally pinned it's prey down, immediately tearing into it as it shrieked with it's last remaining breaths.

It was so horrible. Trixie wanted to look away, but somehow, she couldn't. Watching the famished fox gorge on the poor creature whose corpse was frozen in it's fearful last expression painted a lasting image in her mind. It stayed with her as she returned to her tent, as if desperately pleading with her thoughts to pay it her mind. Finally, it culminated in the form of a question.

Just what exactly was Trixie?

Did she exist merely to suffer for the benefit of others, like the rabbit?

Or was she only able to live off the suffering of others, like the fox?

The question haunted her. No matter how much she thought of it, she was unable to come up with an answer.

'I know that no one likes me. No one wants me to be here. But it wasn't up to me, and there's nothing I can do about it. Still, since I am here, can't I at least enjoy my life? Will I ever find even the slightest hint of peace?'

It was time to return home.

Trixie finished packing away all of her things, and started to walk back to Canterlot.

In mere minutes, she would finally be completely out of the forest. As her weary hooves continued to tread, the unicorn started to feel a strange, familiar sensation. She couldn't quite recognize it at first, feeling it only very faintly. Whatever it was, it was something she hadn't experienced for years. As the sensation grew stronger, closer, she voluntarily blinked a few times, making sure she wasn't just having some extremely lucid dream.

Finally, she heard something that confirmed her suspicions.

"Trixie! I can't believe it!"

Immediately, a surge of nostalgia hit her like an adrenaline shot. She recognized that voice. It was Gilda's voice.

She turned around, and sure enough, there was her best, oldest friend, running towards her for a hug. Trixie smiled from ear to ear, rearing up on her hind legs and extending her forehooves to embrace her. Even though she anticipated it, she was still staggered by the impact, the wind knocked out of her as Gilda laughed joyously, both of them squeezing each other tight.

"Oh my goodness, I missed you so much, Trixie..."

Trixie nuzzled her face against Gilda's "Me too, Gilda..."

Both of them had tears in their eyes as they slowly pulled away.

Gilda wiped hers away with a talon. "Gosh, it's... How long has it been?... Eight years, now?... Damn it, Trixie, it's been so long... I'm so sorry that I couldn't get in touch with you sooner..."

"It's okay, Gilda... I'm just glad I got to see you again at all..."

The griffon suddenly looked distraught, falling to her knees before Trixie, clutching one of her forehooves with both talons. "You have to understand -- it's not like I didn't want to see you, there was just this --" she sighed, closing her eyes, trying to figure out how to explain her situation.

"... Gustave and I went to Prance with Arluin and everything, just like I told you, but... You see... I was still in my father's custody, and when he heard that I was making friends with you and Rainbow Dash, he got really mad and didn't let me see any of you any more, not even my cousin and uncle... I tried to write to you, but he'd never let me send any letters... He kept me until I was legally allowed to leave on my own, which was only just recently... Oh, Trixie, I just hope you can forgive me..."

"Of course I do... I completely understand... That's the sort of thing I had to put up with because of Myrtle for years..."

"Oh, you have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that," Gilda sighed happily. "I was so worried you'd be mad, or upset, or... Or think I didn't care about you, or something... It was never anything bad about you..."

"I was pretty worried, too," said the unicorn. "I didn't know if maybe something bad happened to you... It has, with your father, but... I'm just glad to see you safe. To see you here."

Gilda stood back up on all four of her legs. She gently stroked Trixie's mane with her talon, still reeling from the pleasant surprise of finally seeing her dearest friend once again. "What brings you out here to the forest near Canterlot, anyhow?"

"Oh, I live in Canterlot now... I moved here about a year ago... I had the weekend off, so I wanted to go camping, and, um, I was just about to go back home, actually..."

"That's extremely cool!" Gilda exclaimed. "Gustave and I thought this was a good camping place, too... It's a shame we didn't run into you sooner. We could have had s'mores together! Still... I'm very glad we met again. We're staying in Canterlot, too, because Gustave got a job as a chef at one of the hotels in town. You should come see us! Let's find out where both of us are staying so we can start hanging out again!"

The young mare nodded happily. "I would really like that..."

"That's the spirit!" the griffon chimed, patting her on the back. "... How have these years been treating you, anyhow, old friend?..."

Trixie bit her lip. She knew it would be a long story.

"I can't believe it," Gilda murmured after Trixie finished explaining herself. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Freaking Myrtle... Once a jerk, always a jerk. I bet she's still uptight with stallions, too. I swear, her gravestone is going to read 'returned unopened'."

Trixie snickered.

Gilda frowned. "Still, that's, horrible... She had no right to do that to you. Why don't you let Gustave and I help you? That way, you can get a real job -- something you really enjoy -- and can get back on track instead of being forced into this... Junk..."

Trixie lowered her ears, looking away as she stirred a forehoof in the dirt. "Oh, I couldn't do that... You've already done a lot and given so much for me, when I've given you nothing in return..."

"Please, I insist," Gilda affirmed. "At the very least, you can move in with me and Gustave. That way, you won't have to worry about paying bills for a while."

The unicorn hesitated, then shrugged. "... All right. Sure."

"So, Gustave and I talked about it, and, if you want, you don't even have to work while you're living with us. You can quit that job that's bothering you so much."

The young mare tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "What makes you say that?"

Gilda shrugged. "Well, like I said before, I'd rather see you working a job you really love doing. Aside from that just being something nice, you're feeling totally miserable, and you deserve so much better than most of what life's given to you. I know I said karma would take care of you, but... Well, I'll admit, it's being really slow. Maybe it's why we crossed paths again. Maybe this could be your chance at all of that turmoil finally paying off."

Trixie pondered this. "Well, what do you think I should be?"

Her friend laughed. "This isn't about me, Trix. It's about you. But, since you asked, I'll give you a suggestion that I think would happen to line up with what you like, at least, I'm sure it would if I know you as well as I think I do. You should be an entertainer for a living. Putting on shows for money. You're really good at it, and you really like it, so, why not? It could be the perfect job for you!"

The unicorn sighed unsurely. "I don't know... I'll... I'll think about it, I guess..."

Gilda nodded. "Take your time. We're always going to be here for you." She looked around at Trixie's newly unpacked belongings, and a particular item caught her eye. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to it with a talon.

Trixie's eyes followed it, seeing she referred to the ivory crescent moon carving. "Oh, that? It's... I don't know, really. Just some old thing I found in my old house in Jennet before I lived here. I think it belonged to my Mom."

Gilda put a talon to her beak, thinking. "Do you mind if I borrow that, Trixie?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

Trixie was making her way back to Gilda's after yet another shift from Party Pony. It was tempting to take her up on her additional offer of quitting her job in order to find a better one -- she hated working there, after all. But, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to. She worried she would be burdensome and taking advantage of Gilda's hospitality if she did. Wasn't it enough that she was already letting her live with her and Gustave rent free? The unicorn didn't want to be completely unproductive, and give no contributions at all.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of a commotion coming from a nearby alleyway. It piqued her curiosity, and she decided to investigate, on the off chance that somepony might be in trouble so she could alert the Canterlot guards to help them. Thankfully, no one seemed to be in any kind of danger, but the sight was unpleasant nonetheless. A bunch of greedy stallions were all huddled in a circle, gambling their savings away. She shook her head in pity; it was beneath her to take such needless risks.

Trixie was about to continue on to Gilda's house, but something else about the situation in the alley caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes, trying to pick up on particular details to clarify she was seeing what she thought she saw. Most of the stallions were losing an awful lot of bits... But they seemed rather happy in spite of doing so.

Something wasn't right.

Suspicious, the young mare slowly and quietly closed in, careful to remain hidden. She spotted the two winning stallions who were apparently simultaneously charming and outwitting their competitors; an identical pair of unicorn twin brothers, dressed in small hats, striped shirts and bowties. They could only be told apart by one sporting a mustache and a different hair and mane style, along with their cutie marks. Puzzled, she started to read their minds, and was immediately repulsed by what she found. Scowling in anger and disgust, she hid away in the shade, waiting until the game was over and the stallions left.

Just as the two thought they were in the clear, going on their merry way with bags of bits in tow, the young mare started to follow them. As one was preoccupied with lugging the winnings into the traveling carriage and tying them up, Trixie startled the other one, pulling him aside.

She poked an accusatory forehoof into his chest. "You probably think you're really clever, don't you? Fooling those other ponies with loaded dice, while you used a spell to make them ignore it and like you? All you did was cast it in a small enough radius to encompass everyone playing, for just long enough until it was all over, until they were already home and they realized far too late what happened. Did you really think that nopony would catch you doing it?"

The stallion chuckled darkly, unimpressed. "My, my, a moral mare, are you? Sure, you caught me, but it was their own fault for falling for it. A sucker's born every minute, and there's no law against taking advantage of that." He gasped and raised a forehoof to his mouth, feigning mock surprise. "But, you couldn't have been able to tell that I did that unless you had some form of magical guile of your own, could you? Perhaps, mind reading?"

Trixie paused. She opened her mouth to reply, and then sighed in defeat; she couldn't bring herself to lie to him, but it had nothing to do with magic. No one had ever caught her in the middle of her misdeeds or called her out on them before.

"So, you're really not that righteous yourself, are you?" the smug stallion continued. "Well, that's quite a predicament if I do say so myself. Let us go and we can forget all this, or turn us in to prison and come with us? I'm afraid there's just nothing you can do that will completely satisfy that poor little conscience of yours, is there?"

The young mare hesitated for a few moments, and then walked away, growling out of frustration. Just before she left the alley, she turned back to him. "I'm still right."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that, darling! Whatever helps you sleep at night!" the swindling stallion gloated before he laughed pompously. With that, he left with his brother, getting away with his misdeeds without a scratch.

Trixie had never felt so angry.

'He's so arrogant... So self-righteous... I hate him! He reminds me of Myrtle... I could never live with myself if I ever became so egotistical, so manipulative, so selfish. I promise I'll never become like that.'

The unicorn sighed despondently as she started to unlock the door. She stepped into Gilda and Gustave's home, weakly forcing a half-hearted smile as she saw her best friend in the living room. She was glad to see her, but the usual woes of her work and her recent encounter in Canterlot's alleyways drained all of the joy out of her for now.

As much as the young mare tried to hide it, Gilda was able to tell. She somberly smiled back, sympathetic to her plight. "Hard day, huh?"

Trixie sighed as she lowered her head, freeing her honest emotions by frowning. "As always, lately."

The griffon got up from her seat on the couch, approaching her friend to gently pat her back with a talon. "You're going to be okay. Just take it easy. Gustave's just out getting some last minute things for dinner, and we've already taken care of everything else for the day. We're having your favorite -- Fettuccine Alfredo."

The pony was able to sincerely have a small smile again, looking forward to this minor comfort. "That'll be nice."

"That's the spirit," Gilda chimed encouragingly. "So just kick back and take a load off. For the rest of today, you're not a wage slave anymore. You're at home, where you can relax and do whatever you want."

Trixie hugged her, closing her eyes. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for all of this, Gilda."

"You won't have to," her best friend replied. She suddenly perked, and slowly pulled away. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you; I had that crescent moon thing of yours checked out... I knew there was something special about it, because I saw something like it at an enchanted goods store before. Apparently, it's something that unicorns and magic users are able to communicate to each other with, like, recording a message through a secret language that can only be interpreted through magic..."

The unicorn's eyes beamed, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's pretty cool, isn't it? Very interesting stuff," Gilda added. She looked back down from Trixie to the object. "This one is very personalized... Not just in its appearance, but its function, as well. Those who can use advanced magic in its field are able to lock the messages they leave on it so that only certain people can hear them... That way, like, someone could send a confidential message to a princess or a guard or something. The unicorn I took it to said that the message on here is meant for one pony only. If this thing belonged to your mom, well..." her eyes returned to the pony. "Maybe it's meant for you, Trixie."

Her heart skipped a beat.

'My mother, leaving behind something on this for me?... I... I... What could she want to say? I-I've only ever read the books she wrote, or heard stories about her from Dad and Myrtle...'

"Whoa... Whoa," she answered in response to the idea, overwhelmed. "That... That -- that's crazy... I mean... She..."

The griffon's sweet, sympathetic smile increased. "Trixie... Listen... If you want to check this out, alone... I can go somewhere for a little bit. It's totally okay."

The young mare felt herself start to shake with emotion, tears spilling over her eyelids. "I-... I think I might need that... I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to apologize," Gilda reassured her. "I'd want the same thing if I was in your hooves."

"Thank you for understanding," Trixie sighed with relief.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes... I promise..."

Gilda nodded, slowly heading for the door. "I'll see you in a little while."

Trixie's forehooves continually trembled as they gently set the crescent moon down onto her pillow. Her heartbeats felt like thunderbolts. Using some basic spells, she was able to decipher that the carving was indeed enchanted, with a message from her mother meant exclusively for her. She gasped in disbelief, starting to hyperventilate as she backed away, taking a few moments to recover from this startling discovery. All at once, the thoughts racing through her mind were wrought with equal portions of eagerness and apprehension, unsure of what could possibly be waiting for her within the item.

Whenever she started to use her horn to decipher the message, she immediately frightened herself into stopping. Each attempt was further apart in time from the last, to the point that somewhere in the back of her mind she was sure it had been at least several minutes since she tried at all. As much as Trixie wanted to finally hear her mother's voice, she didn't think she could take it if she ended up disapproving of her at all. The young mare had already suffered too many heartaches regarding her family, and didn't care to add any more onto them.

She sighed in defeat, turning away, only to pause. Even as she was trying to leave, she couldn't bring herself to abandon the object. Looking back at it again, she tried to tell herself that she would just wait to hear the message on it when she was feeling emotionally stable enough to handle whatever her mother could have to say. However, even then, her hooves would not budge any further. Her curiosity was too strong, her longing too desperate, to let her walk away without at least trying to hear what was in store for her.

After another long moment of hesitation, Trixie slowly took several deep breaths, gradually calming down, or at least enough to address this pressing matter. Tears were already forming in her eyelids again as she trembled, slowly walking closer to the moon on her pillow, staring at it intently. On far too many nights throughout her life, she lay awake wondering what it would have been like if her mother was alive. The young mare had hoped that her every effort to be a kind, decent pony would have made her proud. She clenched her teeth and squinted her eyes shut, pushing the required spell out of her horn to face her fears and oblige the enchanted trinket.

Within seconds, the crescent moon came to life, glowing and humming with a palpable aura enveloping Trixie's room in a comforting warmth. She blinked, her mouth agape in astonishment, feeling goose bumps prickle beneath her coat upon the realization that this somehow truly evoked the soul of Euthalia Lulamoon.

Then, a soothing, maternal voice spoke from the trinket.

"Hello, Beatrix... This is your mother, Euthalia... If you're listening to this, then I... I haven't made it, and you have. I just wanted to apologize for being unable to be there for you, and for leaving you alone here in this world... You probably won't even find this until you're at least close to being a mare. I love your father and your sister, and I know that they would have cared for us, but, I wasn't sure how they would react to what happened, so I placed a second enchantment on this to divert their attention from it.

"Hopefully, I'm sure, they won't blame you for our fate, and they'll treat you like what you are; a part of our family. You'll need all the support you can get, what with where we come from, and how the rest of Equestria sees our people. The point is... I wanted to leave this behind for you so that you could know that I care for you. As long as anyone knows you are a Lunar loyalist from Jennet, you'll have a very difficult time in this life. Even if they don't, you'll find that the very suggestion of anyone being like that is often met with hostility.

"They just cannot see that we are all the same. It doesn't matter where we come from, or who we align ourselves with. And it is ridiculous to judge and forsake someone just because of their heritage, or for things that are out of their control... I don't want you to feel like you have to justify your existence, Beatrix. You don't need to earn the right to breathe, or even to simply find peace of mind in this life. Those are things that all of us inherently deserve, not privileges that must be won as rewards.

"Even though all of this is very painful... I want you to understand that it doesn't mean you can't find a life that you'd like to have. Even amongst our own, you'll probably be told that no one who has ever come from Jennet has ever amounted to anything, condemned to an existence full of poverty and suffering. Don't listen to them. You could be the first one to prove them wrong.

"If you can do just one thing for me, Beatrix, please... Promise me that you will love yourself. Even if no one else does -- especially if no one else does. Because I swear, sweetheart, if I could be there with you, I would give you the love you need every day to my last breath. So, even if you find that you don't like yourself that much, try to do it any ways, so you can help me give you the love that I always meant to show you... Please...

"I know that you can do great things, Beatrix. I've begged Luna on countless nights to give me some kind of sign so that I could know for sure that you would be safe. She's given me dreams showing me parts of your future... And I'm so proud of you. I love you so much, and the honorable, humble, moral mare you will or have become. I hope that you will always remember that, and pursue whatever it is you find that brings you joy in life. No matter what that entails, I know that it's something I would approve of. May Luna watch over you as I've always longed to for all of your days."

With that, the crescent moon became quiet, it's permeating glow dying down until it turned back to a seemingly ordinary object again.

Trixie buried her face in her hooves, sobbing quietly. Her fears were alleviated, previously worrying that her mother might have condemned her as her sister had, or regretted her existence like her father. A satisfying wave of acceptance and inspiration washed over her in the form of an epiphany.

She knew now what she had to do.

"Are you sure she's all right?" Gustave asked out of concern, stirring the ingredients of their soon-to-be dinner.

"Yeah. I just knocked on her door and asked if she was okay, and she said she was fine and just needed to be alone a little longer... That was, like, an hour ago."

The two griffon cousins were startled into jumping as Trixie's door flung open just as Gilda finished speaking.

They assumed she was upset, only to be further bewildered upon seeing a big smile on the unicorn's face.

"I'm ready."

The griffons blinked, frozen in place.

"Ready for what?" Gilda replied, laughing out of surprise.

"I'm ready to take you up on your offer. I'm ready to become an entertainer for a living."

Gilda immediately shared Trixie's smile. "Yes!" She leapt out of her seat, almost tackling the unicorn to the ground as she embraced her in a hug. "This is going to be so awesome! I promise you won't regret it, Trix! We'll get started right away!"

Gustave cleared his throat, smiling sheepishly.

Gilda blinked at him. "... Oh. First we'll eat dinner, then we'll get started right away!"

He rolled his eyes.

His cousin winced. "... Maybe we'll get started tomorrow."

"So, how do you want to do this?" Gilda asked.

Trixie stared intently at the trinket that once belonged to her mother. "I want to make sure that I'll be prepared when I go on stage. We can practice like we did before... But I want there to be more to it. To be really, really sure. Of course, there's my magic, but I want to be able to account for when something unexpected comes along, and it doesn't work the way I'd like it to. To be better at more than just magic."

Gilda inquisitively put a talon to her beak. "... Like... What?..."

The unicorn closed her eyes. "Something... Like..."

Minutes into their sparring session, Trixie was already tired. She tripped, falling onto her back, and Gilda quickly helped her back up. The unicorn coughed a few times, panting heavily. "Is this really necessary? I don't exactly see myself fighting anyone in my shows, or at least I'd like not to..."

Gilda chuckled. "Believe it or not, Trix, there's more to martial arts than kicking butt. It'll help you with all sorts of stuff. Just wait and see. Now, come on. Try again."

Trixie hesitated, and then quickly stood on just her hind legs once more, using her forelegs to throw a few more punches in Gilda's direction. She dodged them all, returning with a few blows of her own, which her friend narrowly avoided in kind.

Gilda laughed. "There you go, now you're getting it! Keep going!"

The young mare obeyed, pressing on her attack, waiting until the griffon tried to retaliate. She dodged and blocked until she found an opening, catching Gilda off guard and managing to trip her. Trixie caught her in her forearms before she could hit the ground, not wanting her to get hurt. After safely placing Gilda back on her own feet, she stretched, groaning.

"I need to take a break... All this is making me sore..."

"Go ahead, then. You earned it, because that was some good work."

Trixie sat down, levitating a bottle of water to her and starting to drink from it as Gilda sat behind her.

"You said Rainbow Dash taught you this, didn't you?"

"Yeah, she did!"

Trixie's ears perked in curiosity. She had a vague memory of Rainbow Dash, but never actually met her in person; all she knew was what Gilda told her about her. It had been so long since she heard anything about the pegasus.

"What's she like, again?"

"Well... She's really awesome. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of her, and isn't afraid of anything. She acts like she owns the world, and like there's nothing she can't do... Because, in a way, she's right."

"Just three more drops."

"Thank you, Gustave."

Trixie carefully levitated the vial in her focus, painstakingly adding the specified amount of ingredients within to the concoction she was working on. The brew shifted colors, twisting from a lush green to a bright, sunny yellow.

The unicorn marveled at all of the other potions in the room, astonished that she was able to create them all with the griffon's help. She expected alchemy to be much more difficult for her than it turned out to be; perhaps she was subconsciously recalling traces of different class subjects from her attendance at Celestia's school.

The potential mixtures they discovered together, as well as what purposes they could potentially serve in a performance, astounded her with their seemingly nonexistent limits. There were elixirs that could turn the consumer invisible, increase sensory perception, even one that could temporarily change a pony into a pegasus, unicorn, or earth pony. Trixie entertained the thought of using some of them to serve as substitutes for spells that she wasn't as adept at just yet.

After Trixie's newest potion was stirred and allowed to sit for a few minutes, Gustave picked it up, closely inspecting it. He then took a small wooden block in his other talon and poured some of the liquid on one side. Within seconds, the newly coated part of the block changed from a brown wood into solid gold.

The griffon smiled in approval. "Very good, Trixie. A fine Midas potion."

She smiled. "Thank you."

She could feel the blood rushing to her head.

The young mare was suspended upside down, bound in a straitjacket wrapped in chains. Gilda clicked on the stopwatch, and her friend got to work. She was unable to use her magic in this scenario thanks to an enchanted nullifier she wore on her horn. Trixie struggled at first, taking her sweet time, but eventually undid her constraints, slipping free and gracefully landing back on the ground.

Gilda smiled, and clapped.

Gustave looked from the blackboard to the unicorn, teaching her lessons about psychology. "What does this entail, again?"

Trixie cleared her throat. "People tend to mistake one sensation for another if they have similar symptoms and experience these sensations simultaneously. This is why romantic couples tend to love going to see horror shows, because fear and arousal become one. Both cause shallow breathing, a rapid heartbeat, and lightheadedness."

Gustave smiled. "Very good! Now, what is bicycle leadership?"

"That's where one bends under those perceived as stronger than them, and steps on those perceived as weaker than them. It can go from a boss to a worker, a worker to their spouse, a spouse to their child, and a child to their pet."

Trixie looked down from the diving board next to the tightrope, her legs quivering.

"Are you really sure this is such a good idea?" she yelled, her shaky voice echoing through the abandoned circus tent.

"You're going to be fine! You know I'll catch you if you fall!" Gilda shouted back up to her from the ground. "Just do it like we practiced! Everything's going to be okay!"

The unicorn sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm doing this..." she murmured under her breath. As far as she knew, her unconscious magic link could save her from anything lethal, but that didn't make the prospect of falling from so high any less frightening. She sucked in a deep breath, resting her forehooves on the trapeze bar right in front of her.

'One... Two... Three...'

Her hind legs pushed her into the air, starting to swing towards the second trapeze in the middle of the room.

"Whoa... Whoa!!!"

She felt her mane and tail whip backwards as she sailed through the air, the trapeze rope carrying her to the next. As she got closer and felt the rope coming to a stop, threatening to swing backwards, she grunted as she hoisted her hind legs up, hooking them around the second bar. With that, she released the first, swinging forward once more, on to the third at the other end of the tent.

Trixie smiled, starting to feel exhilarated by the thrilling rush. "Woo!" she yelled, starting to laugh. Gilda smiled, clapping her talons in approval.

The unicorn wrapped her forelegs around the third and final trapeze bar, setting her hind legs free. She panted breathlessly, struggling to get onto the platform, only to find that she was too late, stuck hanging in place. She frowned, and Gilda started to wonder if she needed help, until Trixie started shifting her weight back and forth, creating a momentum to swing through the air. Her hind legs briefly rested on the support beam beneath the platform, using it to spring off towards the second trapeze in the middle of the tent once more.

Gilda, deeply impressed, whistled loudly in praise. Trixie smiled at her, only to look back and see she was just about to reach the next bar. She tried to grab onto it, but instead, she slipped.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, no!!!"

She lost her grip on the bar and fell, screaming as she rapidly plummeted towards the ground.

The griffon exclaimed in alarm, immediately taking to her wings and rocketing through the air. She flapped them as quickly as possible, her sharp eagle eyes honing in on her dearest friend with perfect precision. Her talons reached out to grab her, and the two girls collided into each other.

"Oof!" They exclaimed in unison, recoiling from the impact. They started to fall, causing both of them to scream, but Gilda started to flap her wings again while Trixie used her levitation to help push them further up into the air at the same time. The griffon adjusted to a steady flying pace, merely keeping them hovering in the air. They sighed in relief, and smiled at each other.

"Told you I would catch you," Gilda remarked.

Trixie hugged her with her forehooves. "I knew you would."

After a moment, Gilda said "Ready to go back up there and try again?"

The unicorn scoffed, gently pushing her with a forehoof. "Gee, give me a second to get ready!"

Gilda winced. "I was just kidding," she explained.

Trixie snickered. "So was I."

They laughed together, and Gilda flew her back up to the platform for another attempt.

The unicorn struck a triumphant pose.

"And now, feast your eyes on the radiant abilities of Trixie as she takes you on a journey directly into your wildest dreams!"

Her voice never felt so different, so foreign. It was so full of certainty, and commanded the attention of all who would hear it. It might have been just an act, but it felt very real.

Gustave clapped, smiling in approval. "Excellent! Very good!"

Trixie returned to her normal standing posture, blushing modestly as she allowed the facade to fade away. She was sure that channeling what little she knew of Rainbow Dash in her role would pay off, and it had, as Gustave's reaction just proved. It was also important to the unicorn to remain distant from the fantasy, not wanting to get a big ego because of it, which is why she referred to herself in the third person.

The griffon nodded. "And that brings me to my final lesson about acting... They key ingredient to a perfect performance is to go out and live life. Keep going through trials and tribulations, the good times and the bad. Reach for the stars, express your most innermost feelings, try every opportunity that comes your way, get your heart broken... The more you become a mare of the world, the more you'll be able to bring to the stage; walking all corners of life, able to become every character you can conceive... The emotional authenticity will carry out throughout your performance."

Trixie listened intently, taking Gustave's advice to heart. She never realized it before, but all those years she spent in Jennet trapped in misery now had a productive output; to empathize with the misery her spectators would see her to escape, allowing her to become a guide into an imaginary land of liberation from pain and sorrow. The unicorn would savor this gift, and treasure it deeply within her heart. Finally, her cutie mark, The Wand Of Peace, made all the sense in the world.

Gilda crossed items off a checklist, reading them aloud. "Martial arts, alchemy, escape artistry, psychology, acrobatics, and acting... All that, and magic, too," she added, deeply impressed with Trixie's progress. She grinned, pulling the unicorn into a hug and playfully tousling her mane. "I can already tell everyone's just going to love getting to see Trixie The Magician!"

The young mare blushed. "I told you, I'd rather be called Trixie The Illusionist. It's modest and honest, just like what my father liked about me."

"Oh, come on! Illusions aren't the only magical skills you have! In fact, magic isn't the only skill you have! The past few weeks have proved that more than anything!"

Trixie smiled sheepishly. "If you say so..."

Gilda beamed, suddenly remembering something. "Speaking of which... Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you."

She obeyed her, caught off guard, wondering what could possibly be in store. A few moments later, she heard something heavy placed directly in front of her. When she looked to see what it was, Trixie gasped. On a stand directly in front of her was a solid purple hat and cape, befitting a magician. It looked exactly like the one she had when she was a filly, except this one was accustomed to fit her now that she was a mare.

"If you're going to be Trixie The Magician, you might as well look the part!"

Tears welled up in Trixie's eyelids, deeply touched. "... Where did you get this?..."

Gilda shrugged. "I sent Rainbow Dash some reference pictures of your old outfit, and a decent amount of bits. She used them to commission a seamstress she knows in Ponyville to make it, and had her send it back here in Canterlot to me."

The unicorn immediately grabbed the clothes, hugging them close to her. "Thank you so much for this... It means so much to me..." She then embraced Gilda. "All my life, you've been such a good friend to me... I promise I'll make it up to you, one day..."

The griffon smiled, patting her best friend on the back. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again; your friendship is enough of a reward for me."

It was finally going to happen. Trixie was going to make her debut performance as a paid entertainer.

The event was small enough, but she was still beyond nervous. It had been so many years since she ever did anything like this -- since she'd ever dream of doing anything like this. Gilda and Gustave had so generously shoed her in to open for a play at the hotel they worked for. It was a dinner and a show act, and she was replacing a comedienne who got sick at the last moment and had to cancel her appearance, giving her fifteen minutes on stage before the other show started.

Trixie didn't know why she was so worried; the actual event wasn't for a few days, but with how nervous she felt, it might as well start in five minutes. Once again, she lost herself in her thoughts as she stared into a mirror, this time donning the brand new hat and cape Gilda had given her, evoking nostalgic memories of her fillyhood.

The unicorn knew she needed something to calm her down. Something to reassure her that this would all be fine. She was so used to always having her goals torn away from her that it was scary to think that something this good could happen, because it could very well be another disappointment, a failure, a lost cause.

One of the things she felt like the needed to keep in mind this would work as desired was to remain humble. She was sure she wasn't actually as great as her stage presence would make her out to be. She was merely playing a role, like Gustave taught her to. The act, the disguise, the mask, was an exaggeration of her ideal version of herself. A role like the pony she always saw herself as in her dreams...

That gave her an idea.

Blinking, she started to concentrate on the mirror. A spell started to emerge from her horn, slowly making it's way in front of her. Within moments, Trixie's reflection took on a life of it's own, wearing a warm, inviting smile as opposed to the uncertain disposition her real counterpart was fraught with. The actual unicorn recoiled in surprise, only half-expecting the spell to actually work. She reached a forehoof out onto the mirror, and the one on the other side used her other foreleg as opposed to the same one, as if to subconsciously confirm to her that the spell succeeded.

"... Hello..." She whispered, still astonished and in disbelief.

The reflection chuckled. "Hello to you, too, Trixie."

She blinked, shaking her head a few times. "... All my life, you were exactly what I wanted to be... Now, I really need to be... Well, just like you... Or, at least, I need to seem like it..." she sighed. "I just don't know what to do... I feel so scared... I... I'm thinking about just calling all this off, and giving up on the show..."

"How would you feel if you went on stage?"

"... Well... I'd enjoy it... It's what I'd love to do more than anything... To do what I enjoy, what makes me happy, as well as try to make others feel happy, too... But, if I messed up, and did badly, I'd be embarrassed, and I'd regret doing it..."

"How would you feel if you wouldn't go on stage?"

"I'd definitely stop worrying... It'd take a lot of pressure off of me, and I'd feel a lot more relaxed... But... I'd probably feel sad that I missed out on the chance to do it... I think... I think I'd really regret not doing it..."

The reflection raised her eyebrows. "Well, then, one choice seems to have more benefits than the other, doesn't it? Surely, it would be better than to try and fail, rather than not try at all." She leaned in closer. "Your father always loved how you would try your best, and mean well. So, do what you do best, and try."

Trixie smiled, feeling encouraged. She sighed. "... I just wish I could be as good as you..."

Her counterpart shook her head. "The only reason I'm as good as I am is because I come from you." Then, she reached out onto the other side of the mirror, and embraced her real self in a hug. With that, she disappeared back onto her own side, and the spell wore off.

Trixie felt ready.

The night had arrived.

She could hear the hotel guests conversing from behind the other side of the curtain. Over there, it was so big; from her side, it seemed so small. Just her shrouded in the shadow of a curtain, on a dark stage, waiting to appear. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her mouth was dry. Her legs quivered.

'Just remember, fifteen minutes. It's only fifteen minutes. You'll do fine. Just... Relax.'

With that, Trixie closed her eyes. She focused, conjuring a bouquet of Jennet Orchids, smelling them for the emotional empowerment they always gave her.

'The difference between fiction and reality... Is that fiction makes sense.

I've never heard of stories where sadness perpetually surrounds the world.

Or where good ponies who worked so hard and sacrificed so much all their lives weren't repaid for it.

I can't be the only one who's sick of the way things are.

I'm not the first who dreamed of going somewhere better than all of this.

So, I'll go there, and take all of them with me.

I'll make their dreams come true.'

That was enough. The unicorn finally mustered the conviction to go through with her debut appearance. She was already here on time; now, she just needed to follow through with her promise. She felt and saw the spotlight on the middle of the curtain.

Then, she heard a drum roll, and the announcer's voice. "Ladies and gentlecolts, please give a warm welcome to... Trixie The Magician!"

Clapping filled the room, and the curtains pulled apart, bathing Trixie in the spotlight.

"Good evening, one and all! Trixie is very pleased with being here tonight for her very first show, and is grateful to you all for being her first au --" she coughed. She blinked.

"... Her first audi--" another cough.

She rolled her eyes. "Her first audien--" a coughing fit.

Now, Trixie was irritated. "One moment, please..." she cleared her throat, and started to walk to one end of the stage, the spotlight following her. Once there, she stood on her hind legs with one crossed over the other, a foreleg leaning against the wall. Her other foreleg reached towards her face. The young mare tilted her head back, opened her mouth up wide, and stuck her hoof inside. A moment later, she slowly pulled out a flaming sword, producing a collective "whoa!" from the audience.

Once it was all the way out, Trixie held the sword in front of her. She simply blew on it once, entirely extinguishing the flame, revealing the blade to be completely bloodless. The unicorn raised an eyebrow, bewildered. "Trixie doesn't recall having this for dinner."

The audience laughed.

Trixie belched, releasing a gust of flame which disappeared a moment later. "Please, excuse Trixie!"

They laughed harder, and clapped.

After the sword vanished, the performer began to stretch, cracking her joints, releasing a relieved sigh. "That feels so much better! Trixie thinks that blasted sword is what was giving her so many aches and pains all day long!" Rubbing her neck with a forehoof, she surveyed the audience, and then pointed directly at a middle-aged stallion in the center of one of the front rows.

"You there! You're having back problems as well, aren't you?"

The stallion was bewildered as to how she could know this. "Yeah!"

"Would you like Trixie to help you with them?"

He nodded quickly. "That'd really be nice!"

With that, she teleported him onto the stage. "Trixie would opt to give you a full body massage, but she's afraid she's too short on time for that, so, instead, she'll just have to improvise!" She promptly casted another spell onto him, turning him into a balloon. Immediately, she picked it up, exhaling into it enough for it to start to inflate. She then used her hooves in quick, deft movements, forming him into a balloon replica of a pony. After that, Trixie cast a spell on the balloon, completely turning him back into his normal self.

"Trixie must ask, how do you feel?"

The stallion seemed dazed, but incredibly soothed. "Wonderful! I feel as loose as a wet noodle!"

The unicorn smiled radiantly. "Trixie is glad to hear it!" She promptly teleported him back into his seat.

After looking throughout the audience, she added, "It seems the fillies and colts were particularly interested in that last display! Why, Trixie feels she must give them souvenirs to remember her by!"

She started casting a multitude of spells. Quickly, one by one, each child in the audience received a balloon, each one being their respective favorite color and favorite animal, animated into acting like the creature in question with a "come to life" spell. The young mare noted their excitement and appreciation of these surprise gifts, causing her to share their joy.

Moving on to her next trick, Trixie respectfully bowed to the audience. "In all seriousness, Trixie sincerely appreciates your attendance, and granting her the honor of performing her first show for you all. Thank you for spending the time and money to come see her tonight."

She conjured a small pot of soil and a watering can, and started to use the latter to water the former. "She's aware that bits don't grow on trees..." Moments later, to her apparent surprise, a small tree quickly sprang out of the soil, with golden coins dangling on it's branches. "... Or, perhaps they do after all!" Delighted, she quickly plucked one from a branch with her levitation, excitedly bringing it to her mouth and biting down on the flat end. She recoiled in apparent pain, spitting the bit out and pouting grumpily. "Curses. It's fool's gold!"

More laughter was gained from the audience.

The tree and watering can disappeared. "Although she now has a toothache, and apparently had a sword for dinner, Trixie is still hungry. She apologizes for doing so in the middle of a show, but she must nourish herself!"

Then, Trixie conjured three apples, starting to juggle them in mid-air with her forehooves. Every few moments, she would take a bite of one, gradually eating further and further away at them. Once she was about halfway done with each apple, the unicorn conjured a fourth. She accidentally threw it far too high, causing it to splat onto the ceiling.

Trixie winced. "Oops!" Her spectators chuckled.

The unicorn looked between the apples she juggled, deciding her next course of action. "It would be rather simple for Trixie to merely levitate the apple back down from the ceiling, but she mustn't be lazy! She can't pack on too many pounds, after all!" With that, she used her levitation to keep the other three apples suspended in mid-air. Then, she used a spell to transform her cape into a purple pair of wings, drawing sounds of amazement from the audience. Trixie used them to fly up to the ceiling and physically scrape the apple off in her hoof.

Using her magic to make the apple whole again, she used her newfound wings to gently land back on the stage, turning them back into her cape and juggling the apples once more. Soon, she conjured two more apples, successfully managing to juggle them all and eat them until they were apple cores. Once she was finished with them, Trixie grimaced, trying to figure out a good way to be rid of them.

"It seems there's not a garbage can anywhere in sight... However will Trixie properly dispose of these?"

With a momentary hesitation, she beamed. Soon, one by one, she turned each apple core into a rubber ball, bouncing them on the ground in addition to juggling. Once all six were changed, she individually cast every ball onto the ground in front of her, causing them to bounce across the stage towards the other side. Once all were in mid-air, they exploded into fireworks from left to right, spelling out "TRIXIE". Deeply impressed, the spectators applauded.

Smiling, the performer bowed respectfully before them. "Trixie thanks you again for all of your support! It has taken her a long time to master the skills required to reach a sufficient caliber to entertain fine ponies such as yourselves! Her journey has been lonely... But she was never alone!"

The unicorn then cast a spell on her own shadow, causing it to come to life, peeling itself off of the ground and separating from Trixie, standing right next to her in plain sight. She shook hooves with her own shadow while they both waved to the audience as they clapped.

"And whenever we got extremely bored, we would call in our other counterpart!" She conjured a mirror nearby, and cast a spell on it, animating her reflection once more and causing it to step out of the mirror.

Suddenly, the shadow swiped Trixie's hat off of her head and ran off with it. Trixie feigned irritation. "Hey! Give that back!" She chased after the silhouette, only for it to toss the hat to the reflection on the other side of the stage. They would continue passing it to each other whenever she got close to one of them.

"Trixie is serious! She demands that you return her hat at once!"

The two counterparts shrugged. The reflection seemingly started to cast a spell all on her own, levitating their three hats into the air, and then lifting Trixie's cape off of her and stuffing it inside one of them. The hats quickly descended onto the stage, hiding the cape under one, rapidly sweeping around the floor in various circles around one another to confuse the showmare as she attempted to find it.

The audience was in hysterics.

Trixie's first show was days ago. Ever since then, she couldn't stop smiling.

Before it ever happened, the unicorn would have guessed pursuing her passion was a pipe dream. Finding out that it was not only possible, but easier than she could ever have expected, was almost scary in how surprisingly good it felt to realize.

All day long, she practically skipped as she walked and hummed melodies to herself, practically carefree as she went about comparably mundane errands in spite of her cheery demeanor.

Once she returned home, she quickly scanned her surroundings, confused to see her best friend gone; usually, the griffon was very adamant about letting her know in advance if she would be occupied with something.

The young mare looked to Gustave. "Where's Gilda?"

He beamed in surprise. "Oh, she must have forgotten to tell you," he chimed. "She went out to rent some storage downtown. She actually has a surprise waiting for you there."

Following Gustave's directions had sent Trixie on a half hour walk. She wasn't familiar with this part of Canterlot, and after getting lost a few times and asking passerby for additional guidance, she finally found where he was referring to.

The pony's curiosity was piqued as soon as she noticed that Gilda rented what seemed to be a small warehouse. Whatever it was intended for was apparently too large or numerous to fit in a regular storage garage, but not enough for common warehouses or other larger structures. Just what did she have in there?

Trixie grimaced, unsure how she felt about this particular surprise. She rapped on the door with her hoof. "Gilda?"

"Oh, damn! Trixie! I wasn't expecting you so soon! Hang on just a minute..."

The griffon's voice seemed distant, as if she were at the other end of the room inside. The unicorn slowly reached to open the door, only to be startled as her friend rushed to do so first. She barely jumped backwards in time to keep from getting hit by it swinging towards her.

Gilda noticed, causing her to laugh awkwardly. "Sorry about that!"

"What's going on in there?"

The griffon grinned. "Well, since we're finally getting the ball rolling on spreading your name across Equestria like the star you are, I thought we might go ahead and, well... Keep moving forward!"

She moved out of the doorway, allowing Trixie room to step inside. The unicorn was further surprised to find that the inside was almost completely empty except for a moderately sized wooden assembly in the middle of the room. She took a moment to examine its structure, raising her eyebrows at the first conclusion she reached.

"Is that...?"

"Our traveling caravan, a work in progress!" Gilda exclaimed. "I even found a way for it to double as a stage, so we won't have to pay extra when we rent venues... It'll be kind of a pain in the flank to build it that way, though. Still, we can just keep working here in Canterlot and the closest cities nearby until this is done."

Trixie smiled, then laughed. She looked to her closest friend, shaking her head. "You're not going to just up and give me a present whenever I make any accomplishments, are you?"

"As long as you keep being awesome, I will!"

"Just try not to overdo it, please. I don't want a medal for the next time I manage to throw stuff into the trash can from across the room."

Gilda chuckled, then shrugged. "If you're really that worried, then maybe we can help each other build it together? It'd save us the cost of hiring labor, it'll give us a regular workout, some nice one-on-one bonding time..."

The unicorn hesitated, unsure of how well she would be able to manage this, then decided it couldn't be too bad compared to her experiences in Jennet's mines. "Sure. Why not? I bet it'll be fun."

"If we're going to keep doing this, we need to find something to make you stand out as an entertainer," Gustave explained. "You're good, but, quite frankly, there's a lot of illusionists and magicians out there. You'll need something very special to set you apart from them. Something aside from all the other skills you've gathered."

Trixie tapped her muzzle with her hoof a few times, mulling over the griffon's suggestion. "You mean, like, a staple? A signature? Something that could become our show's trademark?"

"That's exactly what I mean," he concurred. "But, you needn't be in any hurry to find one. It's just something to think about for the long term. In the meantime, we can still carry on very well like this for quite a while."

The unicorn nodded. "Yes, I see... I appreciate the advice. I'll get around to it when I can."

Gilda playfully grabbed her in a harmless headlock, tousling her mane in a gentle noogie. "Don't worry about it too much, Trixie. It's all going to be smooth sailing from here."

Even though her griffon companions were always reassuring her, the showmare was still concerned about how to find her act's niche. She merely sat on a bench in Canterlot's marketplace district, pondering this dilemma. Things had been going good for her, but she wanted to ensure the future of her career; after all, she did have an unfortunate knack for letting things go wrong throughout her life, or so she believed. The unicorn was even a little concerned about how soon Gilda decided to work on their caravan, wondering how she could be so sure they would make it far enough to need one. For all she knew, they might be stuck working in Canterlot and the surrounding area, or have their show career eventually dry up.

Although it was something Trixie had been ashamed of for quite some time, repeatedly vowing to herself she would stop only to turn back on it every time, she once again scanned the minds of random passerby. She tried to coax her uneasy conscience by reminding herself that this was out of noble intentions; her only motive here was to use the advantage to help determine what would be a welcome exclusive feature in her shows.

'After all,' she thought, 'Gilda once told me mind reading was okay for this sort of thing... Isn't it?...'

However, like before, she was put off by how surprisingly depressed and miserable so many other ponies were. Trixie never failed to be astounded by the similarity in nature or depth of the emotions of complete strangers with her own, feeling sorrowful that so many of them experienced familiar things she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. For so long in her life, there were times where she was so sure she was the only one who experienced the degree of self-doubt and insecurity that she did, believing them to be totally justified and accurate, only for her to find that many others held those same convictions about themselves. They would fairly and objectively keep everyone else's circumstances in mind when making judgment calls about them, only to be completely merciless and biased against themselves.

It almost brought tears to her eyes, to realize how severely they underestimated their own positive qualities, talents and potential.

'... It's how I've always felt, before I got a chance to find out for sure... Maybe if they all got a chance to be in a talent show, like I did...'

Suddenly, she had an epiphany.

Gilda and Gustave jumped as Trixie burst through the front door.

"I found it," she proclaimed loudly, panting breathlessly from galloping so fast.

"... Found what?" Gustave murmured, still startled by her sudden appearance.

"The distinguishing element of our show," the unicorn sighed, exasperated. She paused for a moment to catch her breath, then headed to the kitchen sink, getting herself a glass of water.

Gilda beamed in interest, eager to hear the news. "What is it?"

Trixie finished drinking down a few gulps, then wiped her muzzle with her forehoof. "I was sitting in the Canterlot marketplace, just watching everyone walk past me and paying attention to them... I realized how sad so many of them looked, like they felt so insignificant, so unwanted... There's so much more to them than they realize..."

Gustave was perplexed. "How does this relate to your idea?"

The unicorn smiled, feeling refreshed after swallowing more water. "That's how I felt about myself for so long, before both of you helped me see that I'm fortunately good at something I enjoy doing," she elaborated. "Before Gilda encouraged me to try out for the talent show in Jennet, and then later to perform at that hotel... I was thinking, maybe we could help others do the same, in our own way..."

The griffons perked in interest.

"What I think I'll do, is... I'll use my magic to scan the audience for those who carry insecurities and self-doubt, the same way that I always have. Then, I'll identify their most passionate talent, and invite them up on stage as a volunteer. After that, I'd conjure whatever is necessary for them to demonstrate said talent, while adding a little magical flair to make it even more exciting. That way, they can discover how wonderful they truly are, and show it to the rest of the audience as well."

Gilda's mouth was agape in awe, astonished by this idea. "... Wow, Trix, that's... That's really cool... How in the world did you come up with this?..."

"... By... By realizing that magic is in everyone, everywhere. All you have to do is look hard enough for it. You taught me that."

Her friend blushed at the compliment, while Gustave nodded.

"This is wonderful, Trixie. But, we shouldn't be eager to push this out there. Let's build up some more rapport between your audiences and supporters before we try it. The latter might be hesitant to back a newer performer who wants to do something this radically unique. They'll want an established history first. A consistency in quality. It'd be better to wait because you could net in more tickets and seats that way anyhow."

She silently concurred. All of this started to soothe the showmare's nerves, whittling down her anxieties surrounding her future. For the time being, it seemed to her like she had everything important under control and in order.

The weeks started to blur together. Where her days were once wrought with constant woe, they were now full of an optimistic bliss she had never previously known. For the first time in her entire life, using her magic started to feel completely effortless.

Trixie spent at least one day every week performing another show. The days in between were usually spent practicing and preparing, until she impressed her hosts so much that they allowed her more days to perform each week, and she gradually included new additions into her shows.

All the while, Trixie and Gilda regularly revisited the storage room where they built their traveling caravan. The unicorn swore to herself that this time alone with Gilda was just as good as, if not better than, entertaining entire audiences. Spending hours with no one but her best friend without a care in the world, laughing and talking as they persevered to create the instrument to furthering their career. She felt just as accomplished as she was saddened when they finally finished it, since it was over.

The two fatigued best friends stepped back, marveling at the fruits of their labor. Before them stood a moderately sized wagon painted with bright, vibrant colors of red and yellow, with a brass pole jutting out on the front end of the roof, hanging a purple sign with Trixie's cutie mark painted onto it.

"Amazing," Gilda sighed, satisfied with the end result.

"Yeah... It looks great..." Trixie added, astonished that she could ever help make something like this.

The griffon's smile grew wider out of excitement. She gently nudged Trixie with an elbow. "So, you want to try it out?"

The showmare chuckled. "As long as you're sure it's not going to fall apart..."

"Trust me, it'll be fine. Come on, do it -- it'll be cool."

Trixie shrugged, feeling slightly nervous, yet she ultimately obliged her friend regardless. She briefly took a deep breath, and then cast a spell on the caravan, causing the walls to unfold apart until the entire vehicle transformed into a stage. A purple curtain shielded the majority of space reserved for personal belongings, effectively serving as a backstage area, while the rest of the foreground consisted of trumpets along with additional decorations, including another purple sign directly above the curtain with Trixie's cutie mark on it.

Gilda laughed and clapped happily, shaking her head in disbelief. "This is too awesome!"

The showmare blushed. "It's only so awesome because you did all the best parts," she murmured.

The griffon pulled her close in a hug. "Don't sell yourself short, Trix! Both of us made this." She smiled at their collaborative accomplishment once more, nostalgic tears forming in her eyelids. "... All those years ago, in Jennet, when you told me how you always had dreams about me, where we'd travel Equestria together spreading joy... I started having those dreams, too. This is what I saw ourselves traveling in... It's a representation of our friendship, and how it will never go away, no matter how far apart we are."

Trixie shared her smile, finding the personal significance in their work she proclaimed to be heartwarming.

Gilda released Trixie. "Now that we've seen it go through the transitions correctly, there's just one other thing we've got to try..."

The unicorn perked. "Oh, right! I almost forgot!" She quickly focused, casting yet another spell on the caravan, this time causing it to fold back from a stage into a wagon again. The two friends promptly approached it, getting inside. They walked to the door near the caravan's front end, with an open window for both of them to see out of. Trixie chuckled as she noticed that the rest of what she could see before her almost looked like an oversized sled. She then remembered just what it was she was about to do, causing her to bite her lip and lower her ears nervously.

Gilda tried to put on a reassuring smile, but she shared the young mare's apprehension. Both of them knew she still could use a little extra practice with wheels. "You can do this," she murmured.

"I can?"

"You can?"

They both looked at each other in confusion, and then shared a small chuckle. They focused back on the path before them, and Trixie's horn started to glow.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for just a moment, letting the spell pass from her horn. The wheels on the caravan slowly came to life, starting to roll forward.

Gilda sighed in relief. "Great going, Trixie!" She then looked forward, perking in alarm when she realized their exit out of the storage room was still closed. "T-Trixie!!! Open the door!!!"

The unicorn gasped, trying to stop the wheels first, only to make them go faster. Both of the girls shrieked, and in her fit of panic, the showmare forced them to a sudden stop, abruptly throwing both of them against the vehicle's door and knocking the wind out of them. She hissed as a nosebleed made itself apparent from her magical strain.

Both of them fell backwards onto the floor, panting breathlessly.

"... Hng... Take... Two..." Gilda deadpanned.

Trixie snickered, coughing.

They helped each other back onto their feet, then faced the path before them once more, brushing themselves off from falling down.

"Okay... Here we go..." Trixie mumbled, laughing nervously.

This time, she made sure to open the way out first. Next, she was just about to cast a spell on the wheels again, only to freeze when she noticed Gilda tense up. Both of them looked at each other, then took a deep breath.

'One... Two... Three.'

The spell left her horn, and the wheels slowly and gently rolled forward. Both girls released a huge sigh of relief. Trixie managed to close the storage door behind them once they were in the clear, managing to turn the caravan onto the roads of Canterlot, making their way back to Gilda's house.

The two friends looked at each other again, and started laughing, finding the humor in their previous predicament. They calmed down as Trixie continued to drive, becoming reinvigorated by the sense of wonder in finally riding the vehicle they worked together for so long to create.

"I can't believe this is finally done... It's... It's so nice..." Trixie said.

Gilda nodded in agreement. "Oh! Speaking of which... I was talking to Gustave earlier today, and he said that he thinks the time has come for you to try your idea."

The unicorn was full of bliss upon hearing this news. She tried not to think about it too much before, not wanting to become too eager or impatient, but this had rekindled the anticipation she felt towards trying an act full of volunteer tricks, being just as much a magic show as it was a talent show.

Her caravan was ready. Her act was ready. She was ready.

Things had been going greater than they ever had in Trixie's life before, and they could only get better.

The place was the same, but tonight was going to be different.

Her face hurt from smiling so hard. Trixie lie in wait behind the curtain, eager to greet her audience in Canterlot as she had on so many previous occasions, but this time she had so many wonderful surprises waiting. Finally, she could let them realize their full potential instead of only watching her. Finally, she could help others the way that she always wanted to.

Once again, she felt the bright warmth of the spotlight from behind the curtain. Her ears perked as she quietly gasped, preparing to finally unveil what she waited so long to introduce. Quickly, the showmare conjured a bouquet of Jennet Orchids, savoring their scent just long enough before the curtains started to move, immediately letting them disappear.

She froze in place as the curtains continued to expose her, staring out into a sea of ponies who were waiting for her to appear.

Her expression slowly shifted into a more mysterious, almost mischievous smile, as if she knew a secret that her spectators didn't.

"Ladies and gentlecolts... Thank you for coming to see Trixie The Magician tonight. She appreciates your patronage, and seeks to respond in kind. She knows that you all have come in pursuit of something... In pursuit of escape... Or in pursuit of attainment."

Suddenly, she cast a spell, producing a beam of light that shot upwards and formed a large circle at the end of it. The circle then started to rapidly produce many other beams, one at a time, each of them pointing to the heart of each audience member and following them wherever they went. They gasped out of surprise.

"What is it you could want to escape?..." Trixie mused.

The circle on stage, and all the beams protruding from it, turned green. Within the circle, eerie, ghostly sounds could be heard, projecting the image of phantoms, spiders, snakes, and bats.

"Is it fear you're fleeing from? A fear of what? A fear of failure? A fear of disappointment? There are many things in this life and this world that strike fear into our hearts... But surprisingly, many of them don't actually threaten our lives at all, at least in a physical sense. No, we have tormentors of the soul; broken dreams, shattered relationships, endless struggles... All of which we constantly try to avoid, lest we give in to their horrors."

The lights then turned red. The images within the circle shifted to the shadows of angry, confrontational ponies, wielding swords and bows and arrows, with flames and angered screams and growls accompanying them.

"Is it anger that's poisoning you? A raging beast within yourselves you seek to quell? We spend our days stewing in impotence over so many perpetual blights that mar our quality of life with injustice and unfairness. We desire to see that wrongs are punished, that everyone is treated with respect, that they only get whatever they deserve... But, all too often, nothing ever turns out the way that it should, and we're left caged and deprived, unable to satiate the craving to set things right."

Then, the illumination became tinged with blue. The visions were full of silhouettes looking down sorrowfully, accompanied by the sounds of crying, morosely looking over depressing imagery such as tombstones and unfinished works of art.

"Is it sadness that weighs your heart down? Do you find it difficult to make it through the day, every day? Do you see despair everywhere that you go, unable to enjoy anything you do or anything that happens to you, feeling that life is never going to be good enough? Have you slowly been losing every last bit of your hope with each teardrop? Too often, we hide our sorrows, trapped alone with them, allowing them to bury us in their burdens."

The beams and circle turned back to a neutral, empty, silent white, as the showmare paused and scanned them all.

"... But... What is it you could seek to attain here?..."

Then, the lights became a magnificent gold. The circle was filled with the sights and sounds of friends and families laughing, children playing, and many different images of success. They evoked warm, nostalgic feelings for all who witnessed them, as if coaxing them into a soft, reassuring lull.

"Why, happiness, of course... Happiness is what makes life worth living, isn't it? Peace, joy, contentment, satisfaction, harmony... Those ever so elusive things that we always seek, always managing to catch them in temporary bits and pieces, but never actually getting the whole thing, leaving us always wanting more... Leaving it all forever imperfect. Forever incomplete. How painful, to never truly capture it all..."

She allowed the illusions to slowly disappear.

"Well... Trixie promises you all... The only thing you're going to find here tonight is harmony. Leave your burdens at the door, because from here on out... Trixie will take you on an unforgettable journey into your own dreams."

"It's a wonderful idea! A genius idea!" Gustave continued to ramble to seemingly no end, showering every compliment on the topic he could fathom. Even he was surprised by how effective Trixie's new routine was. Her first attempt at enacting her volunteer talent show idea on stage was a very sweet and complete success.

"I never realized it before, but now that I think of it, that hat of yours is brilliant. It's so thick that it normally hides the light of your magical aura. As long as you keep it on, no one would be able to tell whether you were casting spells or relying on non-magical skills."

Trixie perked, surprised she hadn't thought of that for her hat before. She made a mental note to keep that in the back of her mind for when she rehearsed. "I have to be honest, Gustave, I never imagined I'd ever have so many bits... When I lived in Jennet, the idea of earning that much sounded like a pipe dream."

Gustave chuckled. He briefly went to check on how much they earned, and then recoiled, completely blown away. "You might want to get used to it, Trixie. The tickets for your show next week are already sold out."

Her eyes widened. "Really?!?"

"I'm not kidding. Come see for yourself."

Trixie's next show was in Baltimare, and she was welcoming her first volunteer on stage.

"Trixie has received a vision indicating that you're an archer... Would she be correct?"

The stallion froze in shock. "Why, I am... How did you know that?"

The unicorn shook her head softly. "Never mind that... Would you be willing to demonstrate your favorite talent for us all?" she smiled warmly, promptly conjuring a bow along with a quiver full of arrows.

"Um... Sure..." he said, bewildered at first, but pleasantly surprised as he put the quiver on his back and held the bow in his forehooves. "But... What am I supposed to hit?"

The showmare giggled. "Why, Trixie wouldn't ask you to perform such a feat without providing targets, of course!"

Next, she cast a spell that caused a circular target to appear on the opposite side of the stage as them. It was big enough for the audience to see, and safely out of their way, but small enough to pose a moderate challenge to the volunteering stallion, given the distance that they had from it.

"You may begin whenever you feel ready," the young mare said.

The archer nodded with a smile, taking a brief moment to inspect the target, shortly before taking an arrow out of the quiver with one forehoof while the other held the bow outstretched. He pulled back, drawing the bow, waiting just another instant to make sure his aim was true, and then released, letting the arrow fly. It sailed through the air at a hurtling speed, hitting the target with such force that the arrowhead impaled it, jutting out of the opposite side.

Trixie perked, deeply impressed as she levitated the target towards them, turning it to face the audience so they could see that the archer had indeed hit the bullseye directly in the middle.

They released a collective exclamation of astonished surprise, and unanimously applauded.

The stallion smiled, taking a bow, before he paused, confused again, looking back at Trixie. "Didn't you say you would conjure targets? As in plural?"

"Indeed, Trixie did... And so, she shall!"

With another burst of magic from her horn, Trixie created several other smaller targets. This time, they were moving throughout the air thanks to the showmare utilizing her levitation magic; once again, she made sure none of the targets occupied an area that would endanger the spectators.

The archer was briefly frozen in surprise, but he quickly took to action, drawing one arrow at a time from the quiver he was provided with, shooting down each of the targets one by one with incredible speed.

Once he finished shooting them all, Trixie herself briefly clapped.

"That was very impressive! You shot them all in under twenty seconds!" she then levitated each of the targets in the air and turned them towards the audience. "And you hit the bullseye on each one!" she was correct, causing the audience's reaction to increase in volume compared to their previous expression upon noticing this.

The bow, arrows, quiver and targets disappeared, and Trixie took one of the stallion's forehooves in her own, raising his foreleg victoriously.

"Please, give a round of applause to our very talented Mister Sharp Sights!"

The spectators stomped their hooves so hard that their collective efforts almost seemingly threatened to shake the theater to it's very foundations.

Sharp Sights smiled, bowing, feeling so much better about himself now that the audience validated the impressive nature of his skills. He always wished his favorite hobby would pay off someday, not realizing that it was going to happen right then.

Trixie waved to Gilda and Gustave. "I'll see you back at the caravan in time for dinner!"

"Okay!" Gilda said.

"Don't make us wait!" Gustave joked.

The unicorn chuckled, starting to walk down the street. She made her way down a few alleys and shortcuts, trying to find a bakery in Baltimare that she heard was very good. She simply minded her own business, humming happily to herself, her mind still a daze over how much ridiculously better her life had gotten.

Just as she finally saw the bakery in question, one of Baltimare's citizens on the road adjacent to it recognized her. "Oh, my goodness! It's Trixie The Magician!"

Immediately, several other passerby noticed, producing a collective gasp as they marveled at the celebrity in their presence.

They hurriedly galloped in a stampede towards her, clamoring out of excitement to the point that their speech was unintelligible due to all of them trying to talk at once.

Trixie was scared at first, thinking of trying to run away, but started to relax when she noticed they were gradually slowing down to come to a stop in front of her. While being the center of attention ironically always made her nervous, she was slowly getting more and more used to it with each performance, even if she was more bashful than she cared to admit.

She softly laughed to herself at the irony. 'If I were standing somewhere years ago in Jennet, a lot of ponies wouldn't even give me the time of the day. Now, it seems like anyone and everyone wants to get to know me... It all feels so insane.'

Many of the ecstatic fans were toting notebooks or other significant belongings with pens, wanting Trixie to give them her autograph. She started to feel pressured and nervous, tapping her chin with a forehoof as she tried to decide what to sign first, then she got an idea. Her hoof shot straight into the air, and all of the fans immediately went silent, anticipating what she was about to say or do.

"Would you all like to see a magic trick?"

"YES!" they cried in unison.

She looked to one of the closest fans in the crowd, seeing a teenage mare about her age, possibly even older. "You there," she said, pointing her hoof to her, "could you please be Trixie's volunteer?"

The mare squealed with exuberance. "Oh, yes!!!"

Trixie smiled as she approached her. "Now, please let Trixie see that pen and paper you've got there..."

She all too readily handed it over, and Trixie paused for a moment, clearing her throat as she prepared her horn. She used her levitation to autograph it with "Trixie The Magician"...

... Right as she did that, every other item the crowd had that they wanted to have signed were all autographed simultaneously, thanks to Trixie's spell. They released a collective "whoa!" in astonishment, and stomped their hooves in applause.

Trixie bowed. "Thank you all very much, but now Trixie has to be on her way!" she waved to them, and they did the same to her as she started to depart. She smiled as she overheard them even off in the distance, ranting and raving about her impressive display of magic just then, and the shows that they saw her in.

'Years ago, in Jennet, it would have been impossible for me to perform spells like that... Now, it's easy. It gets easier every day, even. I wonder how far this is going to go?'

Trixie was cooperating with her second volunteer during a show in Fillydelphia.

The swordsmare was using a wooden sword, while four other wooden ones were being wielded by pony-shaped mannequins being controlled by Trixie's levitation, previously conjured by one of her spells.

Even though they were all attacking her simultaneously, the volunteering mare was more than a match for them, eventually striking them with such force that the plastic limbs and heads started falling off of them. She dodged, blocked and countered every single swing and strike, remaining completely untouched as she gradually subdued them all.

Trixie smiled, levitating one of the wooden swords to herself and wielding it in her forehooves. "Are you ready for Trixie?" she asked with a tone of playful mock competitiveness.

The swordsmare smirked, motioning her to "come hither" with her empty forehoof. "Bring it."

The unicorn chuckled to herself; even when she was just letting the volunteers have the spotlight, she was having so much fun, and it felt so good to help them feel better about themselves by quite literally putting their worth on display. Even so, she wasn't going to go too easy on this particular volunteer; sword fighting was included in her martial arts lessons with Gilda, after all.

The galloped to the middle of the stage, swords in tow, simultaneously swinging and causing their weapons to collide. The audience cheered, quickly finding that Trixie's skills with blades were rather impressive as well. She took her time to draw out the performance, weaving together an impressive, graceful and intricate choreography, looking so natural and evenly balanced that one would almost think she conspired with her volunteer for it to be this way.

Alas, just as Trixie was about to give up for her sake, the swordsmare caught her off guard, disarming her in a rather impressive manner and feigning holding the blade against her throat; what would be a killing blow, if the sword were real, and Trixie was an ordinary unicorn. Even Trixie was surprised, but she raised her forelegs in surrender as she was already going to, feigning a humorous, nervous smile.

The spectators laughed. The swordsmare smiled, and let the wooden sword fall and disappear. She insistently took Trixie's forehoof in her own and shook it respectfully, finding her to be an impressive and honorable sparring partner. The unicorn returned her smile, and then lifted their joined forehooves.

"Please, give a round of applause to Silver Song!"

The ponies cheered and stomped their hooves.

"So, you're the sensation sweeping the nation, and you've only started doing your shows -- officially, professionally -- about half a year ago, now?"

"Yes, that's correct," Trixie told the journalist stallion interviewing her.

He raised his eyebrows and nodded, impressed.

Trixie blinked, suddenly realizing how strange that sounded. How, indeed, did she get so successful so quickly? It seemed as if lately, things were going ridiculously well for her -- maybe a little too well. Was this finally her getting some form of good luck, or karma delivering what she apparently deserved, like Gilda told her long ago? Either way, she pushed it in the back of her mind for now.

The journalist tilted his head upon noticing she seemed somewhat youthful. "And, uh, how old are you?"

"Well, I... I'm sixteen," she said with an awkward smile, feeling self-conscious for reasons she was unsure of. There was also something compelling her to try to be her true self instead of her stage role during the interview, but the cause for that was unclear as well.

"Very interesting," said the stallion. "I'm telling you, this is quite the success story... I can't even leave my house anymore without running into someone who at least mentions your show in passing. You've got a really good thing going with it, with that whole part where you bring up lots of volunteers and have them put on a sort of... Magically enhanced talent show," he elaborated. "I can see why it sells so well. Makes the audience feel really good about themselves, and it's a lot of fun to watch, because it's so unpredictable."

"That's the whole point," Trixie chimed. "... Well, the improving others' confidence part, I mean. That's what it's about."

"How sweet," the interviewer commented. "So, everyone's wanting to know more about Trixie The Magician... What can you tell us? Is there something you like to do in your free time? Do you have a special somepony?"

She blushed, feeling more awkward than before. She shifted around in her seat uncomfortably, never recalling another time where there was so much pressure around finding a romantic partner, when she long ago discovered she couldn't harbor any such attractions.

"No, I don't have a special somepony," she explained. "I don't really feel the need for one, honestly," she added, feeling a little brave, before she quickly threw in a hasty "right now," not wanting to seem too strange, especially because of her rising fame. "But, I'm just a normal pony, just like everyone else... I don't do anything too crazy when I'm not working. The closest thing I can think of is just practicing between shows, and that's it. On any given day I just like to do things like go for walks, spend time with my friends, go somewhere to get a hay smoothie..."

"A hay smoothie?"

"Yeah. With extra hay," she added, not sure why the particular beverage caught the stallion's attention in such a manner.

He laughed. "Well, how specific!" The stallion looked to his coworkers. "There you have it, ladies and gentlecolts! If Trixie ever shows up in your town and orders a hay smoothie, make sure it's with extra hay!"

She blushed, laughing along with them.

Yet another audience in Canterlot finished applauding for the moment as Trixie's second volunteer returned to his seat.

Trixie nodded, taking a moment to recover from using so much magic as she regained her bearings. "Trixie would like to allow some time for a short intermission, so that she and her volunteers may relax and refresh... But first..." Her forehoof pointed to a stallion in the audience, a secondary spotlight suddenly resting on him.

"You there... You have a red handkerchief in the left pocket of your saddlebags, do you not?"

The stallion shook his head, surprised that she was wrong during a feat in her shows for once. "It's blue," he corrected her.

"Would you please be willing to humor Trixie and check anyhow?"

He shrugged, seeing no harm in it, and obliged her, only to be surprised when his teeth withdrew a red handkerchief from the pocket.

"This isn't mine!" he exclaimed, startled.

Trixie smiled. "Would you care to please return it to the nice lady in the fourth row?" she said, a third spotlight turning on and focusing on the mare in question. She held up the stallion's blue handkerchief, equally surprised.

The audience, wowed, applauded again. The two ponies whom Trixie directed attention to approached each other, exchanging the handkerchiefs to return them to their respective owners as they blushed. They would have been strangers, had they not met on one other encounter where they shared a spark of mutual attraction and wanted to pursue it, but one of them realized they were late for work and fled before they had the chance. Both had lamented that they probably blew their only chance with the other...

... Until now, when Trixie "randomly" reunited them.

They turned their attention back to the showmare on stage, who gave them a knowing wink.

They chuckled, realizing she was playing matchmaker, and waved to her out of gratitude.

"I'm telling you, we could sell hundreds and hundreds of these!"

Trixie recoiled in bewilderment. Gustave had let her know that a stallion who owned a toy company came by to make a deal with her, wanting the celebrity showmare to be the newest addition in his stuffed pony doll line, "Care Mares". He'd even gone as far as to have his employees make a prototype of a "Trixie The Magician" doll, bringing it with him to demonstrate for her.

She mostly found it strange and offputting because, for some reason, seeing a doll of herself of all ponies oddly reminded her of her fillyhood doll, Special. She twitched and cringed upon recalling how, if Special was a real filly like she'd pretend, she would have starved to death during the year that Myrtle forbade her from happiness. Trixie's mixed emotions were also influenced by how children depressed her, her promise to never be a mother, and how she missed out on so many things she should have had in her fillyhood, but never got the chance to experience.

The stallion was practically begging her to sell them her likeness for the doll. "If you said yes now, we could get a whole line of them out in time for Hearth's Warming Eve! Think of how many fillies and colts would never stop bugging their parents until they got their hooves on one of these! It'd be the holiday gift of the year, and would go on for so much longer!"

Trixie sighed, deciding to concede. After all, Gustave told her that it was a good idea for her to get sponsored as long as there weren't too many restrictions, and he encouraged her to accept this particular business proposition, saying it was lenient and lucrative. She nodded, and used her levitation magic to sign his contract in pen.

He released a high, shrill shout of joy, starting to happily jump in circles.

The young mare tried to imagine how having a doll in her likeness could bring a soothing calm to children everywhere. She smiled, deciding that perhaps it was a good idea after all.

During one of many returns to Baltimare, Trixie had her fourth volunteer on stage, a musclebound stallion.

He was a professional bodybuilder, and as such the showmare sought to help him display his weightlifting talents before the audience. He grunted as he strained, using his tail to lift a bar normally meant for benchpressing exercises while his forelegs curled two dumbbells. Every few reps, Trixie would gradually add more pounds onto the weights, causing the audience to release exclaims of awe as she would constantly remind them how much he was lifting at the moment.

Eventually, Trixie allowed the bar on his tail to disappear, and transformed the dumbbells into a single bar much like the one his tail previously occupied. She then conjured a bench behind him and levitated the bar out of his reach, allowing him to sit back on it, effectively acting as his spotter as she levitated the bar back into his hooves as soon as he was ready. The audience's cheers increased in volume and fervor as they continued, all the way up to when they were done, with the stallion doing twenty benchpressing reps with three hundred pounds on the bar.

As the weights and bar disappeared, the showmare conjured a bottle of fresh water and a towel, mercifully levitating them towards her volunteer to help him cool off from the workout.

"Everyone, please give a wonderful round of applause to Mountain Strong!"

"Trixie, have you seen this?"

"Hmm?"

The unicorn looked up from her nearly-finished meal to Gustave. His face was glowing with astonished disbelief, staring at a very formal, decorative-looking parchment clutched between his talons.

"What's that?"

"It's an invitation," Gustave explained. "Fancy Pants saw one of your latest shows in Canterlot, and he was so impressed with you that he wants to personally hire you to provide the entertainment at one of his dinner parties."

Trixie's ear twitched, and she looked confused. "Who's... Fancy Pants, again?"

"One of Canterlot's richest and most respected socialites... He's the one that everyone there tries to impress. It's considered a huge honor for him to take any form of positive interest in you... The fact that he'd like for you to provide your show at a private event of his speaks volumes. We've come so far, and to think we once started from the humblest of places..."

She raised an eyebrow. "I take it this means you'd like me to go there?"

Gustave's eyes veered away as he blushed, but he quickly smiled and nodded, finding the prospect of getting to serve food at such an event to be irresistible.

The unicorn sighed, uncomfortable with the potential stress the environment could put on her. Aside from the theaters she had become accustomed to, she never quite felt at home in an extremely uptight place, at least, not if she was going to try to perform there.

"If you really want to go that badly, I guess we can... I just think I should get to meet Mister... Pants, first," she decided.

Gilda snickered. "Mister Pants... It sounds funny when you say it like that..."

Trixie chuckled, smiling at her. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess it does..."

Trixie was having yet another show in Fillydelphia, and her fourth volunteer was on stage.

"So, how exactly is this going to work?" the participating mare asked, feeling uncertain.

"Very simply, exactly," the showmare reassured her. She used spells from her horn to conjure a canvas before the mare, complete with a paint brush and a palette with paint on it. "What Trixie would like for you to do is to think of an image you'd like to paint on that canvas. But, first..." she conjured a piece of paper, and then multiplied it numerous times, using transportation to distribute each individual piece to each audience member. "... A souvenir for the audience once you're finished."

The painter complied, closing her eyes and focusing for a few moments, projecting a painting inside of her mind to try to recreate on the canvas provided by the showmare.

"I have one," she announced.

"Very good!" Trixie praised her. She promptly levitated the paint brush and palette to the volunteer.

The painter grabbed them in her forehooves, but then looked at the paint on the palette in confusion. "There's only one paint color available here."

"Indeed. But fear not, for Trixie has enchanted the paint to change colors to what you require as you imagine it."

Instinctively thinking of other hues, the artist flinched in surprise when the paint immediately morphed into whatever color she pictured. "Th-that's amazing!"

"But that's not all there is. You'll not only be able to paint your imagined picture on the canvas for the audience, but completely finish it in one minute as soon as you start. You may begin whenever you're ready."

The artist was hesitant, still somewhat skeptical, but nevertheless compelled to indulge in Trixie's claims. She dipped her brush into the paint and lightly pressed it to the canvas, stroking in graceful shapes. To her surprise, the rest of the picture began to gradually fill in as she intended it, accompanying her progress. It was Trixie magically assisting her, both speeding up her efforts and completing the parts she wouldn't be able to do in time. The audience gasped in awe, not only at their cooperation, but at the papers in front of them filling up with the same image all on their own.

Once the minute was up, the painting was finished. It was a gorgeous sunset at the beach, the clouds in the sky brightened with pink, the ocean a dreamy purplish blue, the sand a low, dimmed tan, with rich, green and brown trees off in the distance.

Trixie smiled warmly at the volunteer. "Is this not exactly what you imagined in your mind before painting it?"

The painter's mouth was agape in shock. "W-why... I-it is!"

The spectators went wild with applause.

The showmare nodded happily. "Give it up for Soul Portrait!"

"I'm Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts," The pegasus introduced herself.

Trixie's eyes widened. "O-oh, I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't recognize you sooner! I-I just --"

"Didn't recognize me without the uniform on?" Spitfire laughed. "It's fine, the same thing happens to everyone. Those Wonderbolt outfits cover most of our bodies, so of course that's the case."

Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her ears. "So... What brings you to see... Me?..."

The pegasus smirked. "Well, Soarin and I saw a couple of your shows a few times during our off time... I've gotta say, you really have what it takes to put on quite a show. Those crowds you're starting to draw are almost as impressive as the ones we get at our flying demonstrations. Anyhow, word got out among your promoters that you'd been looking to do a charity show, so we thought we'd offer you a shot at working with us, since we'd like the same thing. There's a benefit for fillies and colts with terminal illnesses that could have your name all over it," she said, extending her foreleg for a hoofshake.

The unicorn was taken aback. 'The Wonderbolts want to do a show with me? This is insanity!'

She hesitated, worried about not being up to scale compared to the flying team, or being unable to live up to their expectations, and then shook Spitfire's hoof.

The pegasus was delighted. "You're not going to regret this, Trixie. We're going to make a hell of a team."

It was Trixie's first show in Las Pegasus, and her biggest, most successful one yet. The audience had never been larger.

She took a bow, preparing to wrap up the show.

"Trixie thanks you all for spending your evening coming here to see her... She is aware that many of you are coming to celebrate personal special occasions, and she is honored to provide entertainment for them. Alas, she cannot bear to part ways with you without first granting you parting gifts... And so, here comes the grand finale!"

With that, the young showmare suddenly wrapped her forehooves around the corners of her cape, pulling them inward towards herself, until the whole front of her body except for her head were covered from the audience. She closed her eyes, casting a spell, and moments later stood up on her hind legs and allowed the cape to fall back down her sides. To their surprise, the spectators noticed that a decorated gift box was now apparently wedged bloodlessly inside of Trixie's chest, her skin and coat perfectly forming an outline of the very top, which jutted out.

The unicorn grinned, removing the top of the gift box, revealing an empty, black abyss, as if her body housed an entire dark room that was bigger on the inside than it seemed from outside.

"To Honey Sprinkles and Cobalt Charmer, congratulations on getting married!"

Suddenly, she levitated a brand new, packaged coffee maker to the newlyweds in the audience, causing them to gasp out of surprise. They graciously accepted the gift, smiling at Trixie and clapping for her.

"To Thunder Chaser, congratulations for graduating from college!"

The young stallion in the audience happily received a skateboard from Trixie.

"To Brave Boulder, congratulations on your retirement!"

The elderly stallion was overjoyed to be given a guitar.

"To Sunny Chaser, happy birthday!"

The young mare was enthralled by Trixie granting her the newest Daring Do book.

The unicorn continued to give out gifts to several audience members, all while thanking them for coming to see her on whichever occasion they were celebrating by seeing her. Although she could only give out so many presents to so many ponies, especially with how large her crowd was and with how much little time she had left, even the ones who didn't get one from her found this new trick to be very entertaining. The ones she did manage to grant gifts to were surprised and thankful that she somehow knew what they would have liked to get.

Once she was finished, Trixie took a bow.

"With that, Trixie must bid you goodnight... But as you leave, she has a favor to ask of you. If you ever feel as if you doubt yourself, just always remember; magic is in everyone, everywhere... You just have to look hard enough."

Las Pegasus was luxurious.

Instead of opting to stay in the carriage, which the trio were perfectly content with doing on a regular basis, Trixie, Gilda and Gustave took advantage of the opportunity to spend a night in one of the city's finest hotels.

Each of them had booked their own rooms, not far from one another. They were still exhausted from their latest and most successful performance yet, although the wonderful reception the audience gave helped refresh their spirits quicker.

Yet, in spite of this, the showmare felt strangely saddened. A part of her was deeply enjoying all of the rapidly climbing successes she earned, while another was gradually weighed down by lament over a long period of time. It didn't even make sense until she finally realized why she felt that way on that evening.

The longer she spent with Gilda and Gustave, traveling and performing, the longer Gilda seemed to disappear at random for no apparent reason on a regular basis, the frequency and duration of her absences increasing every time. Trixie couldn't help but liken it to how Myrtle behaved when she read their father's journal without telling her. Did she somehow upset her oldest friend in a way that was causing them to slowly drift apart as well?

Her mind desperately searched for what she could have done to make this happen. Gilda had given her so much when she gave so little in return for as long as she knew her. They were constantly working together to ensure Trixie's dreams and happiness, while Gilda completely ignored her own. She wasn't even sure what it was the griffon wanted out of life, except for their friendship, apparently. The unicorn recalled asking her about these things whenever she noticed each disappearance, only for Gilda to give some mundane excuse as to where she was and deny that anything was wrong. She never seemed to harbor any hard feelings towards Trixie, both in her behavior and in what her friend could pick up off of her stray thoughts in their mental connection.

But somehow, it never bothered the showmare as badly as it was now. If everything was going so well for all of them, then why was Gilda leaving all the time for some reason, now more than ever? Surely, they would have to talk about it sometime soon.

Alas, she tired of worrying about it for the time being, especially when she'd rather spend her time enjoying the wonderful room she got to stay in for the night. So, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind for the moment, succeeding in continuing to distract herself by taking a long, hot shower, soothing her nerves. Feeling thoroughly refreshed and revitalized when she was finally done, she decided to find further aversion by reading the day's newspaper, only to be put off by something she found within.

It was an article about the two unscrupulous stallions she encountered so long ago in Canterlot, the Flim Flam Brothers. The twins had a traveling business just like her, and just so happened to be in Las Pegasus recently as well. Only, they'd somehow gotten in a bad wagon accident, destroying their merchandise and injuring them both. Their horns were included, exactly half of each horn's length broken off, just short of reaching the point where their magic would be permanently nullified. Their magic would eventually work again once their horns fully healed and grew back, but until then they were, magically speaking, useless.

The news itself wasn't what bothered Trixie, but rather her own reaction to it. She laughed when she first read it.

Not out of surprise. Not out of amusement at the irony of their fate given their previous behavior. She was glad that they got hurt, as she felt they deserved to.

This disturbed her. One part of her was sickened by her reaction, finding the accident to be horrible no matter who it happened to, the other part feeling completely justified in sadistically enjoying the stallions' suffering.

The young mare tried to decipher whether there were any other thoughts that provoked this paradox within her. Almost immediately, she thought of her sister. While in some ways she always pitied Myrtle's obvious unhappiness, she also resented her for all the years she spent tormenting her for things that weren't her fault at all, and for destroying their sisterhood after they finally repaired it for once.

The unicorn was unable to help but smirk and chuckle at the thought of Myrtle still being as miserable as she always was -- more so by her discovery in Heavy-Heart's journal and her lifelong loneliness. After all, would she not deserve it after what she did to Trixie for all of her life?

Once again, the showmare was shaken, split between sadistic justification and shameful sympathy. She froze, frowning, deeply disturbed by this newfound dichotomy.

'... I'd never really want anyone to get hurt... Would I?...'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door.

"It's Gilda," a familiar voice spoke from the other side.

Trixie sighed in relief. She smiled, quickly approaching the door and opening it to see her oldest friend, only to frown when she noticed that the griffon looked distraught.

"What's wrong?" said the pony.

"Nothing, it's just... Can I come in for a minute? I need to talk to you about something. It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Of course." Trixie opened the door and stepped out of the way, letting her in and closing it behind her.

The griffon sat down on the edge of Trixie's bed, her talons restlessly twiddling together. She looked away remorsefully. "Look... I just want you to understand, what I'm about to say, and what I'm going to do, isn't anything mean-spirited, or because of you. It's just... Gustave and I have been talking, and we've decided that we're ready to go back to Prance so that he can keep working on his dream of opening a restaurant, and I can help him do that," she explained. "We wouldn't even be thinking about this unless we were sure that you'd do okay on your own... Not just with your shows, but, you know..."

Her eyes rested on the young mare. "You can understand that, right? I mean... It's not like you were holding us back, or that we don't enjoy all of this... It's just that this is very important to Gustave, the same way that your shows are important to all of us, and, well, he wants to start putting time towards that. We... He wants to leave in two months, and I convinced him that now would be a good time to tell you about it, so that you would be ready and know what to expect..."

Gilda sighed, her talons reaching out to gently grasp Trixie's forehooves, as if trying to reassure both of them. "Oh, Trix, you're not upset about this, are you? We can stay longer if you need us to... We just don't want you to feel hurt or abandoned or betrayed..."

The unicorn's ears lowered, her eyes veering away momentarily before returning to meet Gilda's. "I can't lie, I'm a little sad, but... I completely get it. It's fine. You've done more for me than I can even begin to express -- more than I could ever ask for, or hope to repay -- and it wouldn't be fair of me to forbid you from this. You two deserve to get to do the things you want to, whether or not I'm involved."

The griffon, relieved, started to relax, sympathetic to Trixie's plight. "Thank you so much for being so understanding... I'll do whatever I can to make this up to you while we're still with you. We can just take it easy until it's time for us to go, and have as much fun as we can... We might as well stay in Las Pegasus for a while, or, at least, until we can't be here anymore if that's the case."

Trixie chuckled. "That could be a good idea."

Gilda smiled widely, patting Trixie on the back before embracing her in a hug. "Look at how far we've made it... Karma's finally started to smile on you, Trix, and it's only going to get better from here on out. There's no one else who deserves this as much as you do... And no one else I'd rather have these adventures with."

The showmare was filled with warmth, holding her friend tightly. "I'm glad it was you that I went on them with, too."

They slowly pulled away from one another. "Goodnight, Gilda."

"Goodnight, Trixie."

"Yambf," they both said in unison. The girls chuckled at their synchronization, waving goodbye to one another as the griffon walked away, until she was out of sight, and the unicorn closed her door.

Trixie walked to her bed, her smile slowly disappearing, sadness tinging her emotional state into a bittersweet mood.

'So, that's why Gilda's always been gone and feeding me all these excuses... She must have been trying to help Gustave get ready for this while waiting for the right time to break the news to me... I'm going to miss them so much... But, at least they'll get to pursue their dreams without me weighing them down. And I'm not doing too badly myself... It's... It's going to be okay.'

'Gilda and Gustave left for Prance two months ago.

Of course, I miss them. We made the most of the rest of our time together, at least. As much as I enjoyed that, I couldn't help but be painfully reminded of the last time I saw Gilda before we met again in Canterlot, so many years ago back in Jennet. Is this what our lives are always going to be like? Disappearing and reappearing over and over again? Hopefully someday this will not be the case. I'd see them every day if I could help it.

Still, at least there is no love lost between us. Our friendship is stronger than ever. No matter how far apart we are physically, we're always close to one another in spirit. I told Gilda I'd only ever be able to have fond thoughts of her. That still rings true.

At first, when they left, I was so nervous. So scared. I wasn't sure how I was going to carry on without them. Gilda told me they could have stayed longer if I wanted them to, but I didn't dare to ask, refusing to hold them back from their own dreams any longer. I don't know if I'll ever be able to help them as much as they've helped me, but... I'm sure as hell going to try.

But, I just pressed on, as Gilda always encouraged me to. And... Everything's been going just fine. It's all been so much easier than I feared it would be. I've just had to do a little extra here and there to take on the tasks they used to help me with, and my show is still exactly how it needs to be. Before I know it, I'm going to go all over Equestria with my act, the same way I did when they were with me.

It feels so good to know that I can do this on my own. I thought their departure might cripple me and take all the power from my shows, but it's actually one of the best things that ever happened to me. I've proved to myself that I'm as capable as I've always wanted to be by being given a chance to shine all on my own, without any help.

And this has made me realize that, in time, I'll at least have a decent gift of thanks to give to them. The bits and the fame keep coming for me, but I won't allow myself to be tarnished by them, nor will I keep them all to myself. One day, I'll be so well off that I can literally repay them by giving them enough bits for Gustave to open his own restaurant franchise, and I'll have the means necessary to help Gilda fulfill whatever dreams she has, whenever I can discover them.

Would it make up for what they've done for me? No. But, it would be enough to show them how much I appreciate their help, and how much I love them.

Knowing that helps me rest easy. Gilda was right. Karma is finally rewarding all of my efforts and intentions. I can't help but think about how proud my parents would be if they could see me now. I look forward to seeing what Luna thinks of such a faithful follower of hers once she finally returns to Equestria however many years from now. Sometime soon, for sure; Celestia told me it would happen while I'm still quite young. I eagerly await that day, whenever it comes.

But the biggest relief that's so mercifully graced my life has been an epiphany. Something I always knew, but never truly understood until now.

I never asked to be born.

It happened without me ever getting a chance to choose whether or not I wanted it to happen, let alone have any control over it. If I did, and knew that my birth would mean the death of my mother, I would never have gone through with it. Knowing that, I no longer blame myself for all the things that weren't my fault. It's given me the sweet freedom and peace I used to only be able to dream about having.

To top it all off, I've finally fallen in love with someone.

Myself.

The pain, the shame, the guilt, the heartbreak, the failures, the sorrow... They're all gone. All my life, I've lived shrouded in a lie, seeing myself as some unforgivable beast who was worth nothing and deserved nothing, who would never make anything out of herself. Only now do I see how wrong I was. Only now do I see that karma was correct to reward me after everything I've always struggled to do. And yet, in spite of all this, I'm still modest and humble, just as my parents always wanted me to be.

Before all of this happened, I used to require casting a spell to see the pony I've always dreamed of becoming, the pony who I wanted to be more than anything. Now, all I have to do is look in the mirror.

I'm Trixie The Magician. I'm strong, brave, and worthy. I've earned all of this happiness, and I deserve to keep it. And nothing, not even Princess Celestia, can ever take that away from me.' Next Chapter: 4. Hope The Shining Star Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 35 Minutes