A unicorn mare with a blue coat and lovely hair of pale blue mixed with white walked out of her cabin and immediately shielded her eyes with her foreleg. A quick conjuration spell later and the sweltering summer sun had been blocked by a summoned storm cloud. The unicorn glanced up and grinned. "The Great and Powerful Trixie prevails yet again."

It had taken her much longer than she would have liked, but Trixie had finally completed a new traveling wagon for her magic show. The last one had been destroyed during a disastrous visit to Ponyville. Trixie was a magician who performed a spectacular traveling magic show under the stage name The Great and Powerful Trixie. On that fateful day when she was performing in Ponyville, some of the local rubes had began heckling her immediately. After they interrupted her show (one was even asinine enough to get up on stage), Trixie challenged them all to show how skilled she was. She swiftly upstaged her hecklers thanks to her amazing magical talent, and all was well until later that night.

One of Trixie's acts was to conjure up a fireworks display to accompany her tale of a battle against an Ursa Major, a giant celestial bear creature. The story was just something that Trixie remembered her grandfather telling her about, but it was that story that led to the loss of her wagon and humiliation in Ponyville. After some goading by another one of Trixie's hecklers, some Ponyville colts ventured out into the Everfree Forest and found what they believed to be an Ursa Major, which they led back to Ponyvlle. It was in reality just a baby, an Ursa Minor, and it began trashing the town, and Trixie's wagon, in its confusion. Despite her talent, Trixie was unable to stop the Ursa Minor. Fortunately a resident of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle, had been researching them thanks to having watched Trixie's act earlier in the day, and was able to soothe the beast and safely bring it back to its home.

Undaunted by her humiliation, Trixie had seen the bright side of that calamity and had worked to improve her own magical prowess as well as her wagon. She initially tried to conjure up a new wagon from a pile of wood, but she could never get the spell right, much to her chagrin. She eventually had to resort to building a new one mostly by hoof; every nail she had to pound in was a constant reminder of her magical failings. After all, if her grandpa could conjure up a magical mansion as part of his act, surely Trixie could have been able to create a mere wagon, and the fact that she could not was quite upsetting, but she persevered.

Once her wagon was complete, Trixie wanted to return to Ponyville for her first triumphant return to show business and show those rubes what she was really capable of. Especially after some little brat named Gabby Gums ran a piece in a local rag and exposed Trixie's secrets, but at least it meant ponies were still talking about her.

Trixie dipped a paintbrush in magically-imbued paint and put on the final touch to her wagon - her magic wand cutie mark, which glowed gently from the magical paint. She set down the brush and stepped back, using her magic to move the cloud she had conjured out of the way so she could see the wagon in the sunlight. She smiled and picked up a smoothie made with extra hay, just the way she liked it, and took a long sip as she admired the fruits of her labor.

Trixie jumped and nearly dumped the smoothie all over herself as a voice behind her whispered, "I sense a soul in search of answers."

Trixie looked over her shoulder but no one was there. She frowned. "Hello?"

A terrifying crunching noise drew her attention forwards and her jaw dropped as she watched her wagon get torn asunder by a stream of fiery lightning. Trixie's smoothie fell to the ground as she stared in disbelief. All of her work, ruined!

A pink unicorn in purple robes, horn glowing with a green magical aura, slowly floated down from Trixie's cloud and landed in front of her. The unicorn's coat was a pretty pink, her perfectly groomed, long and flowing mane and tail were dark red. Her eyes were an eerie green - there was something otherworldly about them, something not quite normal. Even still, she would have been considered beautiful by almost any stallion.

Trixie looked at the unicorn in shock. The unicorn merely smiled back. Trixie finally stuttered, "Wh-why the hay did you just do that? This has to be a joke!"

The unicorn nodded at the wagon. "Fix it."

Trixie shook her head in amazement. "That took me months to build!"

The unicorn smiled. "Fix it."

Trixie glared at the unicorn. "Didn't you hear me? I said it took months! Why did you do this? I don't even know who you are!"

The unicorn laughed. "I am Fizzle Hooves, Grandmaster of Sorcery, Archmage of Travincolt. However, if you prove yourself worthy, Trixie, you may simply call me, 'master.'"

Trixie frowned and tilted her head. "I don't understand. You want me to be your apprentice?"

Fizzle Hooves nodded, then pointed towards the wagon.

Trixie shook her head. "But..."

Fizzle Hooves gently touched her hoof to Trixie's horn. "Fix it. The greatest power is often the shortest lived. Let your magic flow through you, you haven't even tried yet. Focus on the wagon and bend reality to your will."

Trixie gave an exasperated sigh then closed her eyes and concentrated on her unicorn magic, imagining the pile of debris reassembling into her wagon as she angrily thought, Grr! This spell never works!

Trixie opened her eyes and grinned at the sound of wood and metal crashing together. The debris had formed into a crude facsimile of the wagon.

Fizzle Hooves shook her head. "Interesting, but not quite there. Do you even realize your potential? Again."

Trixie took a deep breath and focused once more. She was straining to get the pieces to reform but couldn't quite get them to cooperate. Fizzle Hooves touched her horn to Trixie's and Trixie felt a surge of intense power. The wagon immediately popped back into its original state with a loud sizzle of magical energy. Trixie laughed triumphantly and ran over to inspect the wagon.

Fizzle Hooves watched the young unicorn and licked her lips, her gaze lingering on the magic wand cutie mark on Trixie's flank. She whispered to herself, "Perfect..."

Fizzle Hooves sauntered over and patted Trixie on the flank. "Congratulations, Trixie. I am pleased."

"I get to be a real wizard?" Trixie eagerly asked.

"If you are prepared," Fizzle Hooves said with a grin.

"I am!" Trixie exclaimed.

Fizzle Hooves' horn began to glow and with a burst of energy, herself, Trixie, and the wagon had been teleported, appearing inside the grand hall of Fizzle Hooves' tower at Travincolt, one of the cities of the ancient unicorn mage clans.

Trixie gazed in wonder at her new surroundings. She could feel the magic resonating from the marble tower and her lips spread in a delighted smile. The grand hall was lit by glowing orbs of magical energy and beautiful tapestries lined the walls. Upon the tapestries Trixie beheld scenes of unicorn wizards battling a variety of monsters. In the distance, Trixie could see a great library. An enchanted broomstick merrily bobbed by, sweeping on its own, and Trixie watched it with wonder.

Trixie took a step forward and gasped as a magical stair appeared under her hoof. She glanced back at Fizzle Hooves, who smiled and nodded at her. Trixie moved slowly at first, then began bounding up the magical steps as they lead her up into a tower. Trixie soon arrived at the top of the tower and began to admire the scenery. The mage tower had been built alongside a cliff overlooking a large lake and she watched as waves crashed against the rocky shores below.

"This is like paradise," Trixie cooed in contentment.

In a shimmer of green magic, Fizzle Hooves appeared by her side. Fizzle Hooves' horn began to glow and a matching purple robe appeared on Trixie's body.

"Welcome to your new home, my young apprentice," Fizzle Hooves declared. "The Travincolt mage clan has a rich history, and it will be quite an adventure for you to learn all of our arcane secrets, that I can assure you."

For Trixie, this was a dream come true. She had received adequate training in magic from her parents, but they were just magicians like herself, not mages or wizards. It had been a lifelong dream for Trixie to be properly trained in magic. She knew she could do it, her talent was magic itself, or so she thought, but the opportunity had never come. Until now.

Trixie looked down at her new robes and smiled broadly. "This. Is. Awesome!"

Fizzle Hooves smirked and narrowed her eyes as she focused on casting a spell. An enormous boulder, shrouded with Fizzle Hooves' green magical aura, appeared over the pair and zoomed towards the lake.  Fizzle Hooves let the conjured boulder drop and nodded in satisfaction at the spout of water the boulder produced as it splashed into the lake. "Your training in the ways of magic shall begin on the morrow, Trixie."

Trixie smiled merrily, her dreams of revenge upon Ponyville quickly becoming but a distant memory as she thought about her new life as a master of magic. She thought to herself, Yes!