A Restless Night's Sleep

A Restless Night's Sleep


As she neared the town of Ponyville fatigue had finally caught up with her, mostly thanks to her dragging her new caravan at full speed down the side of a mountain without stopping on an empty stomach. She had tired herself out leaving her in the middle of the road just outside Ponyville. Her panting heavy and sweat dripping from her mane, she decided to stop and rest for what remained of the night and for once hoped she wouldn't gather too much attention.

"There's no way I'd be able to perform if a crowd forms here, not to mention a few certain ponies that might be holding a bit of a grudge..." She thought out loud to herself before letting out a sigh and unhitching herself from her caravan. "Guess I'll deal with whatever happens tomorrow." She entered the caravan and laid down on the bed inside, nice and comfortable just like a good room at the Canterlot Inn. Trixie's eyes weighed heavy and she found herself humming a lullaby she heard as a young filly, "Hush now quiet now it's time to...*yawn* lay your sleepy head..." Her eyes closed slowly and she fell asleep peacefully.

****

"Trixie, wake up! It's time to get ready for your big day!"

The blue unicorn woke up and found herself in her bedroom, and Celestia's sun beaming in her eyes thanks to her mother drawing the curtains from the window.

"Aww, c'mon mom, can't I sleep in? It's just an entrance exam, pretty sure I can handle it."

"No, now come downstairs for your breakfast. Your father and I made you something special." She said with a wink as she left.

Trixie was curious about what they had made, mostly because as far as she remembered her father never cooked anything. She couldn't help but giggle as she imagined a kitchen splattered with eggs and toast or whatever they were cooking.

After combing her mane and brushing her teeth, Trixie climbed down the stairs and entered the dining room where she was greeted by a loud "Surprise!" from her two best friends and father, her mother coming from the kitchen with not only a cake but a couple of wrapped packages.

"Umm, it's not my birthday is it?" Trixie asked with a confused look.

"Nah, but it's very important anyway hun." Her father said with a proud smile. "I just love setting surprises you know, and since I know you'll ace the entrance exam to Celestia's private school I thought we'd celebrate a little early."

Trixie smirked and held herself with a air of elegance, "Well of course I will, but still it seems a bit inappropriate to celebrate Trixie's excellence before she's had a chance to show it."

A young yellow earth pony filly with a light blue mane sighed and shook her head, "She's doing that thing again where she says her own name while talking about herself."

A young light brown pegasus colt with a white mane nudged the earth pony, "C'mon, she's probably just nervous."

Trixie nodded and sighed, "It's true, Trixie is nervous about her exam. Though she probably wouldn't be this nervous if it weren't for somepony throwing her a surprise party."

She glared at her father who just shrugged it off and sighed. "Yeah, my bad on that one sweetie. Still, have some cake and check out what I made you for your presents."

"You made me something? You're a magician, dad, not a guy that makes things."

"I make things all the time, just most of the time they're illusions. It's part of my Great and Wonderful  magic act, but I've always been able to sew a little something together when I need it. Definitely helps when I was on the road and my costumes got torn."

Trixie gulped and took a look at the presents on the table near the cake, one was clearly a hat box while the other was a rectangular shape, no way of telling what exactly would be in either though. She took them both down using levitation magic and set them down next to her.

"Lazy, couldn't just get up close to them, eh?" The pegasus teased playfully.

"Of course not Blitz, if these presents are trapped, and I wouldn't put it past my dad to do that, then I'd fall and hurt something."

Her parents just laughed softly to themselves as they watched their little unicorn tear open the presents and her father smiled proudly as he heard a gasp from the little filly.

"Wow, dad this is...wow."

"I told you I could sew, not that hard compared to being a magician, and I know you've been wanting to be my assistant for a while."

Trixie giggled and nodded, "Yeah, so does this mean I can?"

"Sure kiddo, after completing your school work at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, I'll take you out on the road with me."

Trixie cheered and put on the purple hat and cloak, both adorned by stars and the neck of the cloak joined by a shining gemstone. She posed proudly and raised a hoof, as if addressing a crowd, and as if by magic a crowd appeared and Trixie was up on a stage in the middle of Canterlot's park, slightly older than before. "Welcome one and all to The Great and Powerful Trixie's magical debut in Canterlot!"

A loud cheer could be heard throughout the area, many of her schoolmates had come to see their friend's exhibition. They knew she was the head of the class in many areas, but Illusion magic was her specialty. A purple unicorn who was in the park earlier watching from afar with a book out in front of her.

"Now, feast your eyes on the Wonderful magic Trixie has in store for you all!" She created a bouquet of flowers from thin air and tossed them out to the crowd with her magic, as the flowers reached the middle of the crowd they burst into a plume of colorful fire that slowly became a multicolored dragon and flew high into the sky and exploding in a marvelous display of technique and grace.

Trixie's show after that was amazing, though she didn't quite remember all of it for some reason. It all seemed to go by so fast, but the show had been done and she was resting in the park behind the stage, head pounding from using so much magic. The purple unicorn from earlier came over from her reading spot and rested next to Trixie.

"Hmm? If you wouldn't mind, Trixie has a bit of a headache right now..."

"Oh, sorry. Just wanted to come and say your display was fantastic. So many illusions I hadn't seen before, not even in the Princess' private collection of books. Though I have been neglecting Illusion magic recently..."

"Wait wait wait, you're the Princess' own student?"

"Uhh, yeah..."

"What are you doing here then? Doesn't Celestia have something for you to study?"

"I am, she's asked me to study this book about the elements of harmony in the park today." She motioned to the book in her saddlebag.

"Really? I'm sure she has a reason, can't say I know what though." Trixie smiled at the purple unicorn. "Mind if I ask, what's your name? You're semi famous around the school, but my head's hurting too much to really remember."

"Oh, uhh well... My name is, Twilight Sparkle. I'm going to guess that your name isn't really The Great and Powerful Trixie is it?"

"Not yet, just Trixie for now. But I'm working toward earning that title."

"I think your name's just fine as it is, Trixie's a nice name." Twilight said with a bit of a blush.

"Thanks, but the title would still help. I'm going to be a traveling magician you see, just like my dad." Trixie smiled and looked up at the sky, slowly turning orange from the lowering sun. "Looks like it's getting late, probably should head home."

"Yeah, mind if I stay with you? My room's being renovated, since I accidentally blew up a few crystals while practicing my scrying." Twilight dug at the ground a bit and looked down after saying that.

"Sure, my roommate's gone for the week so I've got a spare bed in my dorm room."

"Why do you have a dorm room?"

"Because, I couldn't stand being woken up by my mom and dad all the time, and my dad's a bit of a prankster."

Twilight nodded and smiled, "Lead the way, Great and Poweful Trixie." Trixie giggled and nudged her new friend, after which they both got up and started walking down the road toward the school. The scenery changed slowly, the school and road melting and morphing into the middle of town at night. Trixie was with her earth pony and pegasus friends, Carrie and Blitz.

"This will be the best prank ever!" Carrie stifled her giggling as she waited for the target.

"Who's the unlucky filly this time sis?" Blitz asked as he readied the balloon launcher and water balloons from the air.

"Some unicorn from Trixie's school. All I know is she's purple, two toned hair and usually seen with a book, and she's being sent by someone in the school to pick up an order from the Barns and Noble bookstore. Weird name for a store by the way."

"Two toned hair and usually seen with a book, oh no. That's Twilight, you can't prank her!" Trixie snapped at Carrie quietly.

"Twilight who? Your new little filly friend?" Carrie teased.

Trixie blushed and grew angry at her for that, "I am not a filly fooler Carrie, and she's just a friend."

"Hey you two alright?" Blitz asked, barely able to hear the two argue.

"Don't worry about it Blitzy, just keep doing what you're doing." Carrie said, waving her hoof in a dismissive fashion at the pegasus.

"I can see the target, whenever you give the signal I'll launch the balloons."

Trixie scowled at Carrie, "Don't do this Carrie, if you do I will never speak to you again."

Carrie sighed and nodded, "Alright, I won't do it. For you, Trixie."

"Do it for Trixie?" Blitz called down and shrugged. "Alright then." Blitz took aim and let the balloons fly, and his jaw dropped as he saw something awe inspiring. A huge purple glow was flowing from the unicorn he had fired at, and all the balloons had stopped in mid air, turned around and seemed to be heading straight for them. "This can't be good..."

"Blitz you idiot!" Trixie yelled quietly at him as she jumped out from the hiding area, using her own levitation powers to stop the balloons in their tracks and forcing them to break.

Twilight stared in confusion, the pony she thought was her friend seemed to be on the same side as the one who had attacked her. Her head hurt and she cried out, glowing and levitating along with many other items littering the street. "How could you, Trixie? I thought you were my friend!" Twilight called out as she picked up the trio of ponies and forced them against a wall of a building.

"I was- I mean I am, Twi. I didn't know it was you they were going to prank..." Trixie tried to explain.

"Prank? Those things looked like they were going to hurt me!"

"Only a little, otherwise they were just water balloons."

"Only water balloons?" Twilight calmed down, the glow vanishing as she set the trio of ponies down. All of whom were shaking from the scene they had witnessed. Twilight had tears in her eyes and fell to the ground.

"I'm so so so so sorry! I just lost control of my powers for a bit there..."

"That's how much power she has? Yikes, that girl's a time bomb." Blitz exclaimed before covering his mouth with a hoof. "That came out wrong."

"It's alright Twi, you just need to learn to control your powers better." Trixie tried to comfort the weeping unicorn.

"You don't understand, my powers have been under control until now... before I had a friend and before I thought you betrayed me I was in perfect control."

"Obviously not, otherwise you wouldn't have had that outburst." Commented Carrie.

Trixie shot her a look before getting up and hugging Twilight, "I'm so sorry Twilight, you deserve better friends than me." Trixie cried and ran off, leaving her friends behind with Twilight.

The scene once again changed, it had been a few years since that day and The Great and Powerful Trixie had claimed her title after proving it to everypony. There was a bit of a sting in her heart concerning Canterlot, but she couldn't remember the exact details of why she ran in the first place. Just that she'd left a few notes with her parents and her friends explaining everything, she wished she had kept a copy or at least something to remember now. But she had other plans at the moment, and couldn't let her mind wander too much.

She was just about to perform at a little town outside Canterlot, being a bit homesick and wanting to slip by without letting too many ponies know other than those inside the town of course. The town of Ponyville, she had been inside it once just to scout out the area. For being so close to the capitol of Equestria the ponies were a lot different, she saw a pink maned yellow pegasus caring for animals, a curly maned, pink pony helping a  blueish gray, yellow maned pegasus deliver baked goods of all sorts.

From what she could tell, this was a very friendly town, probably one that hasn't seen much in the ways of magic other than the mundane tasks that every unicorn can do. Perfect for her to show off her awesome powers and make a good amount of money. She chose an area close to the town hall, but far off enough that nopony would be unable to pass by her caravan once she had moved it into the city.

As the night came, Trixie moved her caravan slowly and quietly into the city. Making sure to have the correct side facing outwards. She was certain nopony noticed her moving it which made it all the better because once somepony notices the caravan surely they will gather a crowd just wondering where it came from. The air of mystery is all it takes sometimes.

Day broke as she woke from her rest, there were voices outside the caravan. Many voices, all wondering about the mysterious caravan without anyone really getting close to it, just as planned. Trixie gathered her gear and started the countdown until the caravan would fold out into a stage. But then, there was a rumble and the caravan's side just fell off instead of turning into a stage, and there was the purple unicorn she hadn't seen in years.

"Oh, hey. Twilight, it's been a while..." Trixie laughed nervously as the purple unicorn levitated her and the caravan.

"Yes, and I've gotten much more powerful since then, you on the other hoof seem to have lost power." A weirdly malicious tone was in Twilight's voice.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Trixie wondered aloud.

"Not much really, just that I can finally have my revenge for all those years ago when you attacked me!"

"That wasn't me that was my friends!"

"Ah yes, friends you say. Friends you didn't stop, friends you protected from me!" Trixie felt a magical grip around her throat as twilight's voice darkened further and the once normal looking unicorn grew taller than Celestia herself.

"I tried!"

"You failed, and you betrayed my friendship. You will pay for that..." The grip around trixie's throat tightened, her caravan being obliterated as the world crumbled around her being replaced by purple energy and darkness until there was nothingness all around.

****

Trixie awoke from her nightmare with a shriek, back in her new caravan parked outside Ponyville. Panting and sweating, making sure everything was alright and her suspicions were correct. It was all just a dream, terrible but still only a dream.

"Maybe I should wait, just a little longer until I'm certain she won't blow up. Then again, she looked more interested in not showing her powers last time so maybe she's really nice." She sighed and laid back down on the bed, dawn barely breaking over the horizon.

"I wish I really did know that filly like in my dreams, at most I think we were class mates..." Trixie yawned and sighed. "Stupid dream..." She closed her eyes and felt herself start to drift off again, until the sun hit her eyes, and without curtains to draw on the inside of the caravan she couldn't help but stay awake. "Guess there's no sleeping in today either, oh well. It's a big day, just hope I'm ready for it."

Trixie brushed her mane and donned her new hat and cloak, undeterred by her nightmares to seek out the unicorn that caught her interest. "I may not be the most powerful, but I am the greatest unicorn in Equestria. I will at least get a date with that filly." Trixie stood tall, ready to go out and into the town where she had just came from, the town where her old caravan, outfit and magical devices were all smashed and she had been made a fool of, a town that probably wouldn't want her back. She paid no mind to any of that and started out, ready to face anything or anypony in her way, she felt almost ready to take on an Ursa Major for real this time if only to spend some time with her special pony.

To be continued...