Fluttersized 2: Barro Vs. Trixieby BarrobroadcasterChaptersA little ideaSomething Barro this way BroadcastsBig ShotBig DeliveryThe Great, Big and PowerfulBig FansBig SavingsMorgan FreemanBig, Flashy Special EffectsWhat You've All Been Waiting ForA little ideaIt was late at night by the time Trixie arrived in the outskirts of Canterlot.The sun had gone down, street lamps and light from buildings provided the only illumination the to city. What she'd overheard on the train had not been an exaggeration; the city had been destroyed by two giant pegasi fighting. The train station was still intact but the streets that led into town were covered in debris. City workers, even the royal guards were trying to clear the rubble off the roads and paths. Trixie gritted her teeth and stamped the ground. With the city in ruins, she had no way of returning home to her apartment. She didn't even know if the building it was in was still standing for her to return to. Trixie turned away from the roads leading into town. It would likely be hours before the crew cleared the debris and she didn't want to spend all night waiting. Trixie's eyes were on the pavement as she walked along the outskirts of the city, deep in thought. If she had the Alicorn Amulet, she could remove all that rubble in no time. The rubble that Twilight Sparkle's friends had made of Canterlot. She tried not to let such thoughts get the better of her. Since interacting with Twilight and her friends, Trixie had tried to change her attitude. It wasn't always easy though and she had a long road ahead of her. Like the road home, it was also clutterd with debris. When a giant-sized Fluttershy arrived in Ponyville, Trixie had at first tried to protect the town. Then when it was revealed that it was Twilight Sparkle's magical experiment that had gigantified her friend, Trixie had tried to help return her to normal. But all that she'd managed to do was cause more trouble and in the end, Fluttershy had flown off. Twilight and her friends had apparently pursued Fluttershy by balloon to Canterlot where some other kind of fight had ensued, apparently between Fluttershy and ANOTHER giant-sized pegasus. Trixie hadn't been included in the trip to Canterlot. It had taken her this long just to get Canterlot by train. Now, she returned to the aftermath of a catastrophe and was just concerned with getting home after the day's events. She sighed heavily. Something caught Trixie's eye in the grass on the side of the road. She didn't know what it was at first, it looked like a piece of furniture or a piano of some kind. She approached it, curious. The light from the street lamp illuminated one corner of it. Its surface was a pale white criss-crossed by lines. Dark symbols adorned the spaces between the lines and ran along the length of the surface. Wind blew and the top of it ruffled in the breeze. It was a book, a giant notebook. Using her magic, Trixie pulled the book under the light of the neares streetlamp. Why would somepony write in a giant notebook? Wouldn't that make writing more difficult? Or... or was this some kind of notebook for a giant pegasus? Trixie looked around. She was alone. Maybe the Megasi weren't caused by Twilight Sparkle's spell mishap. Maybe they were real creatures, flying around, threatening to stomp all of Equestria into oblivion under giant hooves! Trixie tried calm herself. She took a few deep breaths and turned the book over. On the front was a title and underneath it was a name: Fluttersized written by Barro What kind of notebook was this? She thought to herself. The name "Barro" seemed somehow familiar to her but she couldn't put a hoof on where she'd heard it before. Curiosity continued to get the better of her. She opened the book and started reading in the light of the streetlamp. Some sort of giant, orange globs were stuck between the pages. Whoever was writing this must've been eating something at the time. Fluttershy... that was the name of Twilight Sparkle's friend, the one who'd become gigantified. In fact, the story seemed to follow the events of what had happened from Fluttershy's perspective. Yes, she was sure of it. Somepony had recorded the events of how Fluttershy had become a giant in this notebook! Trixie turned the page. Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle's name appeared at the top. Figures she'd get all the glory. Trixie was eager though to find her own name. Yes, there it was, the great and powerful Trixie had recieved recognition! Some kind of orange globules cheese stuck the pages together. Whoever wrote this must've been eating at the time. Despite the cheese, Trixie was able to read the notebook clearly. It was all there, every word. It was just then that Trixie got an idea. These events, events she'd been a part of DID make a good story. She could write her own, sell it, publish it, make money! Who wouldn't want to know the truth about how all this devestation happened? But Trixie wasn't a writer; she was a magician. And somepony had already written something about these events, right in front of her. A mischievious grin dawned on the unicorn's face. All she had to do was replace one name... with her own. Whoever this "Barro" character was, he should be more careful with his belongings. Now, how was she supposed to get this notebook home? She thought about using the sizing spell and then quickly decided against it; that spell had caused enough trouble for one day. Despite her confidence in her own abilities, she didn't want to be responsible if something just happened to go wrong. Better safe than sorry, she reasoned. Using all of her magic, she levitated the notebook and onto her own back. It was heavy, her legs shook under its weight. But she held it up and started walking into Canterlot, careful that she wasn't seen by anypony or at least noticed too much. Everypony was still busy trying to clear the roads, find their own ways home and pick up the broken pieces of their lives. Trixie had just found one piece that could be the key to improving her life quite substantially. She trotted along the road, sweating under the weight of the book but still pleased. This was too BIG of an opportunity to waste. Something Barro this way BroadcastsSomething wasn't right. Barro spent at least a minute staring up at the ceiling. Something just did not feel right about the world. He sat up, scootched over to the edge of the bed and sat there for another minute, unable to shake the feeling that something was... just wrong. He got up, stood on two legs. His eyes slowly drifted down to the floor to his... feet? Feet, yes, that's what they were called wasn't it? Both of his legs were covered by cloth, some sort of pants. He looked at his... hands next? Flexing each finger, he then tried balling up both into fists. He then ran a hand through his mane, it covered a great deal less than it had just yesterday. Or, what he thought was yesterday. He walked out of his bedroom slowly, the feeling of unease he had when he woke up stayed with him. Barro placed a hand on the wall, to steady both his body and his mind. He was disoriented, this was all wrong. He was supposed to have hooves, not hands or feet. He was a pony or at least he was a pony last night. And now he'd woken up to find he was... something else entirely. He breathed, tried to calm himself. Carefully, Barro walked down the stairs on his two legs. Had there always been stairs here? Entering the kitchen, he saw his friend and roomate Michael Hay. He, too, looked different to Barro. Pale-skinned with yellow hair, Michael sat at the kitchen table eating cereal. "Mornin' Cran. Up early for a change?" Michael regarded Barro as he entered the kitchen. "You excited to go to Berrycon?" Barro put both hands on the table to steady himself. "What did you call me?" he asked. "Cranbarro," Michael said, looking up at him mid-bite. "Why? You don't like your Berryname shortened?" "Berryname... what? And what happened to your mane?" "Mane? What do you mean? Is my hair not yellow enough or something?" Barro walked over to his friend and took a seat next to him. "Michael, what's my name?" "Cranbarro... it's been that since I met you," Michale replied, his voice sounding confused. Barro shook his head. "No, it's just Barro. My name isn't Cran-anything." "That's your berryname, Cranbarro. Remember?" Michael said, trying to help his friend. "No... no I don't. I don't remember any of this. This house, these... hands," Barro looked around, frustrated and confused. "Do you remember me? Michael Sorbet, famous director of Transforms'mores?" Barro was no less confused by Michael's words. "Cranbarro, Michael Sorbet... TransformS'MORES? What is with these names?" "The movies I worked on? You know, the ones that everyberry thinks are too 'effects-driven'," Michael said, folding his ARMS. "EveryBERRY?" Barro shouted, shocked by the term. " Michael, it's everyPONY," he tried to correct, almost pleading with his friend that what he said was a mistake. Michael just leaned back and laughed. "Why would anyberry say that? There's a lot of berribro terms but I don't think I've ever heard the phrase 'anypony' before." "Michael, we're notsupposed to be 'berribros', we're supposed to be bronies. We're ponies. This isn't right, nothing about this is right," Barro said, standing. He looked at himself in the reflection of the sink. He remembered a dark-brown mane... what he saw was cranberry-red short hair. His nose twitched and noticed the scent of cranberries... coming from his hair. "Calm down, Cran-man," Michael said, walking over and holding Barro's shoulders, trying to comfort and stabilize his friend. "Take a deep breath. Just like Strawberry Shortcake says at the end of the Season 3 Finale: Everything is gonna be okay!" Barro turned his head over to his friend slowly, a closed-mouth look of pure horror on his face with just a hint of shock and sadness. A knock at the door drew both of their attention to the back of the kitchen. "Everyberry ready to go to Berrycon?" a familiar voice asked. Michael 'Sorbet' walked over and opened the door. A tall, dark figure in a cloak stepped through. A gray-skinned man with twisted eyes and jetblack hair that moved like smoke as he stood in the doorway checked his watch. "Who... who are you?!" Barro asked the figure, backing up to the sink in shock. The tall, gray man raised an eyebrow. "Cranbarro, it's King Sherbert. I'm here for my regularly scheduled screentime. I'm supposed to get some each episode, remember? Now, where did I put that gak...?" he said, turning around. That was too much. Barro snapped. His knees buckled, he braced himself on the kitchen countertop and screamed, "Noooooooooooooooooo!!!" Suddenly, the world became dark. Barro woke up, his breathing and heartrate rapid. He sat up in bed and looked around his room. Quickly, he checked his limbs. He was relieved to see flat-surfaced, white appendages staring back at him in the dimness of the early morning. He brushed his mane with the back of his right hoof and exhaled a deep breath. Everything was the way it should be. The pictures on his dresser, the models of the starships U.S.S Enterpony and the Marelennium Falcon and his pet Siberian Sand Lobster "Rudy" were all just as they should've been. It had all just been a dream. Thank goodness. He walked out of his bedroom, happy to hear the sound of his hooves on the floor and to feel the cold surface beneath him. No stairs either, he stepped out of the small hallway to see his roommate, Michael Hay, laying on the couch playing 3DS. "Morning Mike!" Barro said with a smile on his face. "How are you feeling today?" "Hey," Michael said, his attention not breaking from the game he held. "You seem happy this morning." "Yes, yes I am. Had this crazy dream last night..." Michael still didn't look up from his game. "That nightmare where everypony's a biped again?" "Yeah," Barro said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a breakfast bar. The breakfast bar, a small bar of mixed oates, nuts, grains and fruits, they were cheap, low-calorie meal-substitutes for those too busy or too lazy to sit down and actually eat a balanced breakfast. Of suspicious nutrition and ficticious deliciousness, it was nevertheless better than eating nothing in the mornings. "Except I think King Sombra was in it. And he got regular screentime." "Geh," Michael responded. "What a horrible thought. You should probably stop leaving the internet on when you go to sleep." "That might be a good idea," Barro said, eating what passed for his breakfast. "We going to go get your notebook today?" "Uh, sure. You think you and me can carry it back here ourselves?" Barro asked. Michael scoffed at the notion of physical labor. "Yeah, we could do that. Or, because it's studio property, we could say transporting it was work-related. And therefore, we could get the studio stagecoach and go get it," Michael suggested, closing the handheld game system and sitting up. "You can't just take liberties with studio equipment whenever you want to, Michael," Barro said, raising an eyebrow at Michael's plans to use something belonging to their bosses in a less-than-responsible manner. Michael smiled slyly back at him. "I'm Michael Hay, remember? How can anypony say no?" "The same way they said no to Cloverfilled," Barro replied, dampening Michael's confidence by bringing up his past project that the studio had decided NOT to invest in. Like others, Barro thought that it was probably a good idea. Michael though had been disheartened by the event. "But you know, there's still a lot of destruction left over from yesterday. We could get the crew together and help get the roads clear again, document everypony working to rebuild the city." Michael's head sunk low. Cleaning up the city was an important job but not one he was enthusiastic about. "And we'll use the stagecoach to grab my notebook while we're out," Barro said, consoling his friend. "Let's get going now before they mistake my notebook for debris." The two of them headed out, locking the door to their apartment behind them as they left. Big ShotBy some odd grace, the buildings that made up Unicorneversal Studios where Michael and Barro currently worked were unscathed by the recent mayhem. Not only that, the path from Barro's apartment to the studio was unobstructed, another grace. The two made it to the studio quickly in the early hours of the Canterlot morning. An indigo-colored pony sat in front of the gates to the studio entrance, his head held in his hooves. He let out a sigh and his two bat-like wings flexed. "En-gee! What's up?" Barro called to the half-pony, half-thestral as he and Michael approached. "Hey guys," Night Glider said, sounding defeated. "What's wrong, Night? What're you doing out here?" Barro asked his friend. Night sighed again. "I didn't get the part." he said. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." "What was the part of?" Michael asked. "Aw, I was trying out for Appletar 2. Was going for a lead role," Night explained, standing up. "Half the town is wrecked, production's been delayed across the board and they still won't consider me." "That sucks, En-gee. Did they tell you why at least?" Barro asked. "As a matter of fact, they did. Said they weren't looking for an original character," Night answered. "That's messed up," Michael stated flatly. "Neighmes Cameron's an OC himself. I bet so is ninety-nine percent of the staff. It's a crossover for harmony's sake. You should be able to get in no problem." "You'll find a story to get into soon enough, Night," Barro said, consoling him. "I might be able to find you a part in the next Transformares," Michael offered. "Um, thanks Mike," Night Glider sounded less than eager about starring in one of Michael's movies. "I'll uh,... thanks." "Don't mention it," Michael smiled. Barro picked up on Night's lack of enthusiasm but decided not to say anything. Michael's movies had a reputation: despite being very popular, grossing millions of bits all over Equestria, the greater cinema community didn't think much of them. Criticisized for being overly effects-driven, having shallow stories, many plotholes, lackluster acting and direction , despite being a hit at the box office, Michael Hay's films weren't well-recieved by critics and recieved mixed reviews from the audience. Michael found out very quickly that being popular and being liked were two very different things. His producers and the executives at the studio had still yet to respect him. In fact, his style of directing made ponies hesitant to work for or with him or invest in any of his projects. While he considered his ideas 'revolutionary', those around him called him 'unorthodox'. Barro had settled for looking at Michael as 'unconventional' and had done his best to support his friend since being kidnapped by him in the Author's Notes section of the first story. Michael showed his ID badge to the security gaurd and the three of them walked through the gates into the studios. Enormous, hangar-sized buildings occupied space to their immediate left. To their right and directly ahead of them were smaller buildings, studio offices, storage spaces and other buildings were packed tightly together. Normally, the studio would be busy with activity, it being a weekday but with much of Canterlot in ruin, the studio lot was empty as the three ponies walked through the lot to the offices. "I've got a few different projects I'm hoping to get started on very soon," Michael said. "I as they passed a large cardboard advertisement for Transformares. "Right now, we're going to requisition one of the studio's stagecoaches to get Barro's notebook. We've got something in it that the execs are going to want to see," Michael smirked. "Yeah, let's just make sure we keep track of the studio equipment this time. We shouldn't have even left that notebook out overnight," Barro said. Mike's determination was undeterred. "We return everything we borrow, Barro." Barro frowned at the casual use of his name being rhymed and his friend's exaggeration. "Okay, MOST everything," Michael corrected. "And it'll just be a quick trip there and back anyway. We'll get the book shrunk, get some footage of the town in shambles and be back before lunch." The three approached one of the office buildings. Strangely enough, it opened for them and another pony held it open as another exited. "...set right now but we can start preproduction right away," a purple pony in a business suit said as he opened the door for a familiar blue unicorn. Half a dozen other ponies were behind them, they all wore business suits, some were speaking into blue hooves-free devices attatched to their ears. A meeting must've just got out, this was normal but still a tad unexpected. Michael singled out the purple pony holding the door. "Scale! Hey!," he said as he walked over to the crowd. They assembled in front of the office building, still talking amongst themselves about princess only knows what. The blue unicorn, a mare wearing a magician's hat and cape stood with her head held eye and eyes pretentiously shut as they formed behind her. If she was listening to somepony talking to her in all the commotion, Michael, Barro and Night didn't know. "Oh, Michael, hi," the pony said. "Wasn't expecting you this early," "Yeah, I know. Me and my new writer need to borrow a 'coach for a little while, do some scene-scouting." True Scale, a mid-level producer and manager at the studio, tried to say something as the talkative crowd of ponies exited. "Excuse me but you're in the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie's way so please, move aside," the blue mare said as she walked away. Barro noticed something peculiar under the mare's collar that made him stop and turn as the unicorn tried to walk past. "Hey, wait a minute," Barro stopped her. "What? What is it? Can the great and powerful Trixie help you?" "Yeah, you can; that's my notebook around your neck," Barro said, gesturing towards the journal. "Preposterous! How dare you claim that Trixie's book is your own," Trixie said, recoiling at the remark. Several of the ponies behind them stopped talking and others only talked softer, their attention now on the altercation between the unicorn and colt. "Your book? Where did you find that? That's MY notebook, I just wrote in it yesterday," Barro pointed at the book, getting annoyed. "This is Trixie's notebook, as you can see the name clearly on the front," Trixie declared, levitating it out in front of herself for all to see. Fluttersized written by Barro an original screenplay from The Great and Powerful Trixie "Wow," Michael said. "Barro, isn't "Fluttersized" the title of your story? Hers has the same title!" Barro practically facehooved. "That's because it IS mine Michael." Michael raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you wrote it with the Great and Powerful Trixie? You... you haven't been seeing another director behind my back have you?" Now Barro actually facehooved. "Michael, that's MY notebook. She crossed my name out and wrote her own. You can even tell where she drew a line through-" "Silence!" Trixie said, returning the book under her collar. "This is my original screenplay idea and I've already submitted it to Unicorneversal Studios for recognition." "And it's already been approved for production," a voice said from behind them. Stepping out from the crowd was another blue unicorn, this one in a business suit, glasses and cap. His coat was a light blue but a different shade than Trixie's with a dark blue mane and matching beard. Barro noticed both Michael and Night's mouths hung slightly agape as he approached them. "An original screenplay based on true events written and starring a pony who first-hand experienced every breathtaking moment. How could we say no?" the colt said with a smile. "Ne... Neighmes Cameron," Michael said, studdering. "Oh, Michael. I didn't see you there. I'm sorry the studio rejected your project... uh, Cloverfed was it?" Michael gritted his teeth in annoyance. "It's Cloverfilled," he corrected. "I'm sure it is Michael. It's been nice catching up but we've got to get going," Neighmes Cameron said, starting to walk away with Trixie. "Wait just a minute," Barro halted the two of them. "Mr. Cameron, that's not her story; it's mine. I wrote it and I didn't submit it to the studio as a screenplay." Trixie turned around swiftly, almost snarling in rage. "For the last time Mr. Broadcaster, this is NOT your book, this is Trixie's! This is Trixie's movie idea as Trixie witnessed the events herself!!" she practically screamed. Everypony backed away from her ever so slightly, the crowd, just a tiny bit terrified of unicorn. A silence broke over the crowd as Trixie huffed angrily. Trixie's eyes looked at the crowd and noticed some of the frightened expressions. To break the silence, Trixie shouted, "Trixie!" one last time, making everypony take another cautionary step away from her. "Wait a minute," Barro said. "How did you know my last name?" "If I might point out," Neighmes Cameron interrupted, stepping forward. "This notebook happens to be studio property, including what's written in it. Unless you have any proof that's what written is yours, then I'm afraid you have no claim here." Trixie nodded in agreement, so did several of the crowd of the producers, even the ones using hooves-free devices. Barro opened his mouth to say something. "I... I... uh..." was all he managed, an outstretched hoof raised in denial, slowly he sat it back on the pavement again, unable to find the words. "Hey," Michael spoke up. "That's Barro's notebook and that's his screenplay, I know that for a fact and we're not just going to let-" "Really Michael?" Neighmes interrupted. "How many times have you lost studio equipment?" Michael was stunned into silence, several of the producers casted harsh gazes at him. "Now if you'll excuse us, we really must be going. We'll talk later Michael, Mr. Broadcaster," Neighmes Cameron said, walking away at Trixie's side. The crowd of producer ponies followed, picking up conversation again until their voices became an incoherent drone that slowly drifted off the studio lot like a storm cloud. Michael, Barro and Night stood there in silence, watching as they exited the studio gates. "Buckin' hay," Michael said, breaking the silence. "There goes our screenplay." "Our screenplay? What's that supposed to mean?" Barro inquired at his friend's choice of words. "Oh, uh,-" "You were planning on submitting my story, weren't you?" "Well, I-" It was Barro's turn to be mad. "I don't want that story submitted, Michael. I agreed to help you with Cloverfilled, not any of my stories." Michael backed away from the angry stallion. "But... but they rejected my idea and I was thinking if it was about a REAL story that happened we'd have a better chance and-" "You were going to submit my story as a screenplay! I told you I didn't want it getting that kind of recognition!" "But, it's really good and-" Michael continued to try to justify himself but was just not able to reach Barro. "That doesn't mean it's meant to be a movie, Michael!" "But why not?" Michael genuinely asked. Barro put a hoof to his face and closed his eyes. "It's likeTransformares, it's cliche enough already, if it becomes a movie than that's just the same thing on screen. And we don't need a repeat of Transformares. I'm betting that's why the producers declined on Cloverfilled." Again, Michael was stunned speechless. He realized now that he was jumping the gun; he hadn't considered what Barro said, he figured he'd want his story to be made into a feature-length film. Directed by Michael Hay. I mean, who wouldn't? But he hadn't considered what his friend wanted before he thought about it. "You're no better than Trixie, Michael," Barro said, looking down. That cut Michael deep. "If I might say something," Night spoke up before any more harsh words could be exchanged. "Did either of you notice what was around her neck?" "Yeah, my notebook and her cloak. What, has being out in the dark so often damaged your eyesight?" Barro asked, still angered. "Hey," Night took offense to that. "Don't take your frustration out on me, now did you see what was on her neck or not?" the halfling said. He understood Barro's anger but that didn't give him the right to talk to him like that. Still, Night was smart enough to know Barro didn't mean it. "I'm sorry," Barro took a deep breath and apologized. "I had a nightmare last night then I woke up and this happened..." "It's okay, Barro. Seems we all haven't been having much luck." Night said, recalling his own rejection. "But on her collar, did you see that thing she was wearing?" Night asked. "I think I saw some kind of pendant or something. What about it?" "That wasn't just a pendant. That was the Alicorn Amulet," Night Glider stated. "What's an 'Alicorn Amulet?" Michael asked, putting a hoof to his chin. No doubt, he was already thinking of how he could use it in a film of some kind. "It's an artifact of incredible magical power. Grants the wearer all sorts of abilities, the highest-level stuff. But it also corrupts whoever wears it, making them do malicious and evil things," Night explained. "Trixie used it along time ago, conquered all of Ponyville in the process." "So, what, she's actually evil now?" Barro asked. "Evil, powerful and with an ego to match," Night answered. Michael's hoof remained at his chin. "Powerful, corrupt and stealing ideas from ponies. She's exactly like... every other producer who ever lived." he surmised. "If Trixie has the Amulet, she could do a lot worse to this city than another giant pegasi," Night said, his voice conveying the grave implications of the situation. "We have to get that thing away from her then," Barro said. "And your story back," Michael added. Barro gared at him again. "Hey, I said 'story' not screenplay!" Michael pleaded. "How are we going to get it back though?" Night asked. "I think I have an idea," Barro said. "We're going to need to requisition some studio equipment Michael." Big DeliveryTrixie arrived home late that evening after going over a production schedule with director Cameron. Everything was happening so quickly, it was fantastic. She'd arrived at the studio with the story early in the morning, pitched it, producers had been called in and soon they'd been talking about casting for the roles. It couldn't have gone better. Until the actual author of the story showed up. She felt bad about stealing the story... part of her did. But the city had been in chaos, that could've been anypony's notebook with anypony's original story based on eyewitness testimony and in-depth character analysis of the events that occured only just yesterday inside. Right? Right... so, she was simply taking advantage of the situation. Besides, Trixie had been there, too and she was even in the story itself. So she felt she had a right to claim the notebook. Trixie entered her bedroom and took off her hat and cloak, the Alicorn Amulet still attatched. Before she'd left for Canterlot yesterday, she'd decided to take a little memento with her: the Alicorn Amulet. While it had caused problems for her in the past, she was confident she was now able to use it without being controlled by its power. She'd had to use it to return the notebook to normal size, she'd be hesitant to use it but eventually decided it was worth it. Now, she felt no discomfort in weilding the device freely or removing it when she didn't need it. Twilight Sparkle had been wrong; Trixie was in control, she wouldn't lose herself to the gem again. But what if she already had? Using her magic, she levitated the notebook in front of her, turned on a light and opened it to the first page. Dried cheese was still stuck to the surface, she scowled at it in disgust. Barro definitely didn't take care of this notebook, more evidence that she deserved it more than him. She scraped the pieces of dairy off with her hoof, doing her best to remove as much of the substance as she could from the pages. Satisfied with the amount she'd taken off, Trixie reread the story. She soon noticed though that some of the cheese was stuck to her hoof. Curiosity got the better of her for a split second, she sniffed the goo on her leg and even tasted it. "BLEAGH!" How could Trixie have just allowed herself to do that?! The small amount of day-old disgusting notebook cheese she just swallowed soon felt like an immense stone in her stomach. She wiped the rest of her hoof on her bedsheets in disgust, disgust at the cheese not herself. She closed the notebook and levitated it to a place on her nightstand, turned off her light and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep as quickly as possible and forget what she'd just done. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched. "She ate the cheese," Michael said, hanging alongside Barro on the outside window of Trixie's apartment. "I can't believe she actually did that! Did you see that? She ate the chee-" "Keep. Your. Voice. DOWN," Barro ordered, lest they alert Trixie or anypony else to what they were doing. Barro's plan was simple: sneak in to Trixie's apartment, steal back the notebook and the Alicorn Amulet, replace them with fakes from the studio and get the buck out before anypony noticed. All too easy, like something out of Double-Oates Seven. "One question," Night Glider said over earpiece. "I can fly and see very well in the dark. Hence, the name 'Night Glider'. Why am I the one delivering the pizza?" "Because she didn't get a good look at you back at the studio. Out of all of us, you're the least likely to get her attention," Barro explained. So it was actually a good thing Night hadn't made a scene at the studio like Barro and Michael had. The two of them were going to use glass-cutting kit that they got from the studio to get into Trixie's apartment without making a sound. Meanwhile, Night Glider would distract the Great and Powerful bitch at the door disguised as a delivery colt. Classic. Trixie's apartment was on the second floor of a large complex in downtown Canterlot. Barro and Michael hung from grappling cables that the studio used for rock-climbing scenes. Barro took a deep breath and gave Night Glider the signal. Night Glider got into position in the hallway outside Trixie's apartment and took a moment to adjust his disguise. He was careful to fold his wings back and press them tightly against his sides: while halflings and thestrals weren't that uncommon, they were still rare enough to warrant suspicion and lasting impression. He took a deep breath and raised a hoof to knock on the door. Trixie's eyes shot open. Three heavy rappings at her door roused her from her comfort in bed and drew her attention. Who exactly could it be at this time of night? Slowly, she got up and out of bed and trotted out of her bedroom and to the door. As she approached, the visitor knocked again. Her stomach groaned with pain as she walked through her living room. "Trixie's coming!" she yelled angrily through the door. Unlocking it quickly, she opened it to see a delivery pony standing in her doorway. "What is it that is interrupting the Great and Powerful Trixie's Great and Necessary beauty sleep?!" "Uhh, one medium Beet Lover's pizza with extra haybacon?" Night Glider said. "That'll be tree-fiddy." Trixie looked down at the rectangular box the colt presented to her. "Trixie ain't givin' you no tree-fiddy! Trixie didn't even order a pizza? Who would order pizza to be delivered this late at night?!" she demanded. Night's mind worked fast. "Umm, well, I just make the deliveries ma'am. I didn't ask why you ordered it but I wouldn't mind a tip-" "Trixie just told you," the disgruntled mare said through gritted teeth. "Trixie didn't order a pizza so clearly you have the wrong address!" she yelled, starting to close the door. Night hadn't gotten word from Barro meaning they hadn't finished yet. So he had to stall her. "This, uh, this isn't B-12?" he said, reading the number on Trixie's apartment. Trixie opened the door slightly. "This is B-12 but Trixie DID NOT ORDER ANYTHING!" This is where Night's acting skills payed off. "What apartment complex is this because the order definitely specified for a B-12 and-" The halfling began a long series of questions, asking for directions and the whereabouts of half a dozen places nearby. His professionality and the way he phrased the questions was just enough to keep Trixie going but not enough to annoy her so much as to have her slam the door in his face. Meanwhile, Barro and Michael were finally done cutting through the glass of Trixie's window. Barro crept through Trixie's apartment with all the stealth skills of Solid Steed himself or at least what he hoped was stealth. Holding a flashlight in his mouth, he searched for the notebook and the Amulet. He spotted his notebook on a nightstand and the cursed pendant on top of a dresser. Carefully, he swapped both with the copies from the studio's prop department. Confident that he'd done the job, he turned back to the window. "Wow, this place is nice. Her apartment's got so much more space than yours," Michael said, holding a camera and filming Trixie's bedroom. "What are you doing?!" Barro asked in an angry whisper. Michael shrugged. "Stock-footage?" Barro gestured for Michael to get rid of the camera through gritted teeth. Of course, the director didn't listen. Suddenly, the camera made a beeping noise. "Shit," Michael cursed. "Battery's running low." The beeping rang out through the apartment, it was just loud enough for Trixie to hear. The blue unicorn slowly turned to see Michael through the doorway to her bedroom. "Who-what are you doing in Trixie's apartment?!! Theives!!" Trixie shouted. Night quickly opened the pizza box. "TRIXIE!!" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Why are you-" Trixie started to say before Night shoved the pizza in Trixie's face. Hot cheese, toppings and tomato sauce splattered all over her head and mane, obscuring her vision and shocking her. "It's on the house!" Night yelled before bolting down the hallway. "Run! Run!" Michael said. Barro and Michael clambered out through the hole they made in the window, grabbed the grappling cables they'd used to get into the apartment and slid down to the ground. In seconds, they were on the ground, galloping away from the apartment. "You got everything?!" Night Glider asked, flying down and joining them as they fled down the street. "My notebook and the Amulet, I got 'em both!" Barro replied, ecstatic that the plan was successful. "You know, if writing doesn't work out, you could always make a living being a burglar," Michael commented. "Like the way you were going to steal my story and make it into a movie?" Barro asked back. Michael's head dipped down as he ran. "Hey, at least you got some nice shots of some random mare's apartment," Barro said, sarcastic. "What are we going to do with your story and the Amulet?" Night Glider asked. "We're going to do what should've been done with both of them a long time ago," Barro replied. "You're going to put them in a giant warehouse full of crates like at the end of Riders of The Lost Ark?" Night asked, referencing the popular Daring Do movie. "Ha," Barro laughed. "No... no. I'm going to destroy them." Michael's gaze dropped down to the ground as the trio galloped into the night. The Great, Big and PowerfulSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Big FansSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Big SavingsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Morgan FreemanSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Big, Flashy Special EffectsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.What You've All Been Waiting ForSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
A little ideaIt was late at night by the time Trixie arrived in the outskirts of Canterlot.The sun had gone down, street lamps and light from buildings provided the only illumination the to city. What she'd overheard on the train had not been an exaggeration; the city had been destroyed by two giant pegasi fighting. The train station was still intact but the streets that led into town were covered in debris. City workers, even the royal guards were trying to clear the rubble off the roads and paths. Trixie gritted her teeth and stamped the ground. With the city in ruins, she had no way of returning home to her apartment. She didn't even know if the building it was in was still standing for her to return to. Trixie turned away from the roads leading into town. It would likely be hours before the crew cleared the debris and she didn't want to spend all night waiting. Trixie's eyes were on the pavement as she walked along the outskirts of the city, deep in thought. If she had the Alicorn Amulet, she could remove all that rubble in no time. The rubble that Twilight Sparkle's friends had made of Canterlot. She tried not to let such thoughts get the better of her. Since interacting with Twilight and her friends, Trixie had tried to change her attitude. It wasn't always easy though and she had a long road ahead of her. Like the road home, it was also clutterd with debris. When a giant-sized Fluttershy arrived in Ponyville, Trixie had at first tried to protect the town. Then when it was revealed that it was Twilight Sparkle's magical experiment that had gigantified her friend, Trixie had tried to help return her to normal. But all that she'd managed to do was cause more trouble and in the end, Fluttershy had flown off. Twilight and her friends had apparently pursued Fluttershy by balloon to Canterlot where some other kind of fight had ensued, apparently between Fluttershy and ANOTHER giant-sized pegasus. Trixie hadn't been included in the trip to Canterlot. It had taken her this long just to get Canterlot by train. Now, she returned to the aftermath of a catastrophe and was just concerned with getting home after the day's events. She sighed heavily. Something caught Trixie's eye in the grass on the side of the road. She didn't know what it was at first, it looked like a piece of furniture or a piano of some kind. She approached it, curious. The light from the street lamp illuminated one corner of it. Its surface was a pale white criss-crossed by lines. Dark symbols adorned the spaces between the lines and ran along the length of the surface. Wind blew and the top of it ruffled in the breeze. It was a book, a giant notebook. Using her magic, Trixie pulled the book under the light of the neares streetlamp. Why would somepony write in a giant notebook? Wouldn't that make writing more difficult? Or... or was this some kind of notebook for a giant pegasus? Trixie looked around. She was alone. Maybe the Megasi weren't caused by Twilight Sparkle's spell mishap. Maybe they were real creatures, flying around, threatening to stomp all of Equestria into oblivion under giant hooves! Trixie tried calm herself. She took a few deep breaths and turned the book over. On the front was a title and underneath it was a name: Fluttersized written by Barro What kind of notebook was this? She thought to herself. The name "Barro" seemed somehow familiar to her but she couldn't put a hoof on where she'd heard it before. Curiosity continued to get the better of her. She opened the book and started reading in the light of the streetlamp. Some sort of giant, orange globs were stuck between the pages. Whoever was writing this must've been eating something at the time. Fluttershy... that was the name of Twilight Sparkle's friend, the one who'd become gigantified. In fact, the story seemed to follow the events of what had happened from Fluttershy's perspective. Yes, she was sure of it. Somepony had recorded the events of how Fluttershy had become a giant in this notebook! Trixie turned the page. Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle's name appeared at the top. Figures she'd get all the glory. Trixie was eager though to find her own name. Yes, there it was, the great and powerful Trixie had recieved recognition! Some kind of orange globules cheese stuck the pages together. Whoever wrote this must've been eating at the time. Despite the cheese, Trixie was able to read the notebook clearly. It was all there, every word. It was just then that Trixie got an idea. These events, events she'd been a part of DID make a good story. She could write her own, sell it, publish it, make money! Who wouldn't want to know the truth about how all this devestation happened? But Trixie wasn't a writer; she was a magician. And somepony had already written something about these events, right in front of her. A mischievious grin dawned on the unicorn's face. All she had to do was replace one name... with her own. Whoever this "Barro" character was, he should be more careful with his belongings. Now, how was she supposed to get this notebook home? She thought about using the sizing spell and then quickly decided against it; that spell had caused enough trouble for one day. Despite her confidence in her own abilities, she didn't want to be responsible if something just happened to go wrong. Better safe than sorry, she reasoned. Using all of her magic, she levitated the notebook and onto her own back. It was heavy, her legs shook under its weight. But she held it up and started walking into Canterlot, careful that she wasn't seen by anypony or at least noticed too much. Everypony was still busy trying to clear the roads, find their own ways home and pick up the broken pieces of their lives. Trixie had just found one piece that could be the key to improving her life quite substantially. She trotted along the road, sweating under the weight of the book but still pleased. This was too BIG of an opportunity to waste.
Something Barro this way BroadcastsSomething wasn't right. Barro spent at least a minute staring up at the ceiling. Something just did not feel right about the world. He sat up, scootched over to the edge of the bed and sat there for another minute, unable to shake the feeling that something was... just wrong. He got up, stood on two legs. His eyes slowly drifted down to the floor to his... feet? Feet, yes, that's what they were called wasn't it? Both of his legs were covered by cloth, some sort of pants. He looked at his... hands next? Flexing each finger, he then tried balling up both into fists. He then ran a hand through his mane, it covered a great deal less than it had just yesterday. Or, what he thought was yesterday. He walked out of his bedroom slowly, the feeling of unease he had when he woke up stayed with him. Barro placed a hand on the wall, to steady both his body and his mind. He was disoriented, this was all wrong. He was supposed to have hooves, not hands or feet. He was a pony or at least he was a pony last night. And now he'd woken up to find he was... something else entirely. He breathed, tried to calm himself. Carefully, Barro walked down the stairs on his two legs. Had there always been stairs here? Entering the kitchen, he saw his friend and roomate Michael Hay. He, too, looked different to Barro. Pale-skinned with yellow hair, Michael sat at the kitchen table eating cereal. "Mornin' Cran. Up early for a change?" Michael regarded Barro as he entered the kitchen. "You excited to go to Berrycon?" Barro put both hands on the table to steady himself. "What did you call me?" he asked. "Cranbarro," Michael said, looking up at him mid-bite. "Why? You don't like your Berryname shortened?" "Berryname... what? And what happened to your mane?" "Mane? What do you mean? Is my hair not yellow enough or something?" Barro walked over to his friend and took a seat next to him. "Michael, what's my name?" "Cranbarro... it's been that since I met you," Michale replied, his voice sounding confused. Barro shook his head. "No, it's just Barro. My name isn't Cran-anything." "That's your berryname, Cranbarro. Remember?" Michael said, trying to help his friend. "No... no I don't. I don't remember any of this. This house, these... hands," Barro looked around, frustrated and confused. "Do you remember me? Michael Sorbet, famous director of Transforms'mores?" Barro was no less confused by Michael's words. "Cranbarro, Michael Sorbet... TransformS'MORES? What is with these names?" "The movies I worked on? You know, the ones that everyberry thinks are too 'effects-driven'," Michael said, folding his ARMS. "EveryBERRY?" Barro shouted, shocked by the term. " Michael, it's everyPONY," he tried to correct, almost pleading with his friend that what he said was a mistake. Michael just leaned back and laughed. "Why would anyberry say that? There's a lot of berribro terms but I don't think I've ever heard the phrase 'anypony' before." "Michael, we're notsupposed to be 'berribros', we're supposed to be bronies. We're ponies. This isn't right, nothing about this is right," Barro said, standing. He looked at himself in the reflection of the sink. He remembered a dark-brown mane... what he saw was cranberry-red short hair. His nose twitched and noticed the scent of cranberries... coming from his hair. "Calm down, Cran-man," Michael said, walking over and holding Barro's shoulders, trying to comfort and stabilize his friend. "Take a deep breath. Just like Strawberry Shortcake says at the end of the Season 3 Finale: Everything is gonna be okay!" Barro turned his head over to his friend slowly, a closed-mouth look of pure horror on his face with just a hint of shock and sadness. A knock at the door drew both of their attention to the back of the kitchen. "Everyberry ready to go to Berrycon?" a familiar voice asked. Michael 'Sorbet' walked over and opened the door. A tall, dark figure in a cloak stepped through. A gray-skinned man with twisted eyes and jetblack hair that moved like smoke as he stood in the doorway checked his watch. "Who... who are you?!" Barro asked the figure, backing up to the sink in shock. The tall, gray man raised an eyebrow. "Cranbarro, it's King Sherbert. I'm here for my regularly scheduled screentime. I'm supposed to get some each episode, remember? Now, where did I put that gak...?" he said, turning around. That was too much. Barro snapped. His knees buckled, he braced himself on the kitchen countertop and screamed, "Noooooooooooooooooo!!!" Suddenly, the world became dark. Barro woke up, his breathing and heartrate rapid. He sat up in bed and looked around his room. Quickly, he checked his limbs. He was relieved to see flat-surfaced, white appendages staring back at him in the dimness of the early morning. He brushed his mane with the back of his right hoof and exhaled a deep breath. Everything was the way it should be. The pictures on his dresser, the models of the starships U.S.S Enterpony and the Marelennium Falcon and his pet Siberian Sand Lobster "Rudy" were all just as they should've been. It had all just been a dream. Thank goodness. He walked out of his bedroom, happy to hear the sound of his hooves on the floor and to feel the cold surface beneath him. No stairs either, he stepped out of the small hallway to see his roommate, Michael Hay, laying on the couch playing 3DS. "Morning Mike!" Barro said with a smile on his face. "How are you feeling today?" "Hey," Michael said, his attention not breaking from the game he held. "You seem happy this morning." "Yes, yes I am. Had this crazy dream last night..." Michael still didn't look up from his game. "That nightmare where everypony's a biped again?" "Yeah," Barro said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a breakfast bar. The breakfast bar, a small bar of mixed oates, nuts, grains and fruits, they were cheap, low-calorie meal-substitutes for those too busy or too lazy to sit down and actually eat a balanced breakfast. Of suspicious nutrition and ficticious deliciousness, it was nevertheless better than eating nothing in the mornings. "Except I think King Sombra was in it. And he got regular screentime." "Geh," Michael responded. "What a horrible thought. You should probably stop leaving the internet on when you go to sleep." "That might be a good idea," Barro said, eating what passed for his breakfast. "We going to go get your notebook today?" "Uh, sure. You think you and me can carry it back here ourselves?" Barro asked. Michael scoffed at the notion of physical labor. "Yeah, we could do that. Or, because it's studio property, we could say transporting it was work-related. And therefore, we could get the studio stagecoach and go get it," Michael suggested, closing the handheld game system and sitting up. "You can't just take liberties with studio equipment whenever you want to, Michael," Barro said, raising an eyebrow at Michael's plans to use something belonging to their bosses in a less-than-responsible manner. Michael smiled slyly back at him. "I'm Michael Hay, remember? How can anypony say no?" "The same way they said no to Cloverfilled," Barro replied, dampening Michael's confidence by bringing up his past project that the studio had decided NOT to invest in. Like others, Barro thought that it was probably a good idea. Michael though had been disheartened by the event. "But you know, there's still a lot of destruction left over from yesterday. We could get the crew together and help get the roads clear again, document everypony working to rebuild the city." Michael's head sunk low. Cleaning up the city was an important job but not one he was enthusiastic about. "And we'll use the stagecoach to grab my notebook while we're out," Barro said, consoling his friend. "Let's get going now before they mistake my notebook for debris." The two of them headed out, locking the door to their apartment behind them as they left.
Big ShotBy some odd grace, the buildings that made up Unicorneversal Studios where Michael and Barro currently worked were unscathed by the recent mayhem. Not only that, the path from Barro's apartment to the studio was unobstructed, another grace. The two made it to the studio quickly in the early hours of the Canterlot morning. An indigo-colored pony sat in front of the gates to the studio entrance, his head held in his hooves. He let out a sigh and his two bat-like wings flexed. "En-gee! What's up?" Barro called to the half-pony, half-thestral as he and Michael approached. "Hey guys," Night Glider said, sounding defeated. "What's wrong, Night? What're you doing out here?" Barro asked his friend. Night sighed again. "I didn't get the part." he said. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." "What was the part of?" Michael asked. "Aw, I was trying out for Appletar 2. Was going for a lead role," Night explained, standing up. "Half the town is wrecked, production's been delayed across the board and they still won't consider me." "That sucks, En-gee. Did they tell you why at least?" Barro asked. "As a matter of fact, they did. Said they weren't looking for an original character," Night answered. "That's messed up," Michael stated flatly. "Neighmes Cameron's an OC himself. I bet so is ninety-nine percent of the staff. It's a crossover for harmony's sake. You should be able to get in no problem." "You'll find a story to get into soon enough, Night," Barro said, consoling him. "I might be able to find you a part in the next Transformares," Michael offered. "Um, thanks Mike," Night Glider sounded less than eager about starring in one of Michael's movies. "I'll uh,... thanks." "Don't mention it," Michael smiled. Barro picked up on Night's lack of enthusiasm but decided not to say anything. Michael's movies had a reputation: despite being very popular, grossing millions of bits all over Equestria, the greater cinema community didn't think much of them. Criticisized for being overly effects-driven, having shallow stories, many plotholes, lackluster acting and direction , despite being a hit at the box office, Michael Hay's films weren't well-recieved by critics and recieved mixed reviews from the audience. Michael found out very quickly that being popular and being liked were two very different things. His producers and the executives at the studio had still yet to respect him. In fact, his style of directing made ponies hesitant to work for or with him or invest in any of his projects. While he considered his ideas 'revolutionary', those around him called him 'unorthodox'. Barro had settled for looking at Michael as 'unconventional' and had done his best to support his friend since being kidnapped by him in the Author's Notes section of the first story. Michael showed his ID badge to the security gaurd and the three of them walked through the gates into the studios. Enormous, hangar-sized buildings occupied space to their immediate left. To their right and directly ahead of them were smaller buildings, studio offices, storage spaces and other buildings were packed tightly together. Normally, the studio would be busy with activity, it being a weekday but with much of Canterlot in ruin, the studio lot was empty as the three ponies walked through the lot to the offices. "I've got a few different projects I'm hoping to get started on very soon," Michael said. "I as they passed a large cardboard advertisement for Transformares. "Right now, we're going to requisition one of the studio's stagecoaches to get Barro's notebook. We've got something in it that the execs are going to want to see," Michael smirked. "Yeah, let's just make sure we keep track of the studio equipment this time. We shouldn't have even left that notebook out overnight," Barro said. Mike's determination was undeterred. "We return everything we borrow, Barro." Barro frowned at the casual use of his name being rhymed and his friend's exaggeration. "Okay, MOST everything," Michael corrected. "And it'll just be a quick trip there and back anyway. We'll get the book shrunk, get some footage of the town in shambles and be back before lunch." The three approached one of the office buildings. Strangely enough, it opened for them and another pony held it open as another exited. "...set right now but we can start preproduction right away," a purple pony in a business suit said as he opened the door for a familiar blue unicorn. Half a dozen other ponies were behind them, they all wore business suits, some were speaking into blue hooves-free devices attatched to their ears. A meeting must've just got out, this was normal but still a tad unexpected. Michael singled out the purple pony holding the door. "Scale! Hey!," he said as he walked over to the crowd. They assembled in front of the office building, still talking amongst themselves about princess only knows what. The blue unicorn, a mare wearing a magician's hat and cape stood with her head held eye and eyes pretentiously shut as they formed behind her. If she was listening to somepony talking to her in all the commotion, Michael, Barro and Night didn't know. "Oh, Michael, hi," the pony said. "Wasn't expecting you this early," "Yeah, I know. Me and my new writer need to borrow a 'coach for a little while, do some scene-scouting." True Scale, a mid-level producer and manager at the studio, tried to say something as the talkative crowd of ponies exited. "Excuse me but you're in the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie's way so please, move aside," the blue mare said as she walked away. Barro noticed something peculiar under the mare's collar that made him stop and turn as the unicorn tried to walk past. "Hey, wait a minute," Barro stopped her. "What? What is it? Can the great and powerful Trixie help you?" "Yeah, you can; that's my notebook around your neck," Barro said, gesturing towards the journal. "Preposterous! How dare you claim that Trixie's book is your own," Trixie said, recoiling at the remark. Several of the ponies behind them stopped talking and others only talked softer, their attention now on the altercation between the unicorn and colt. "Your book? Where did you find that? That's MY notebook, I just wrote in it yesterday," Barro pointed at the book, getting annoyed. "This is Trixie's notebook, as you can see the name clearly on the front," Trixie declared, levitating it out in front of herself for all to see. Fluttersized written by Barro an original screenplay from The Great and Powerful Trixie "Wow," Michael said. "Barro, isn't "Fluttersized" the title of your story? Hers has the same title!" Barro practically facehooved. "That's because it IS mine Michael." Michael raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you wrote it with the Great and Powerful Trixie? You... you haven't been seeing another director behind my back have you?" Now Barro actually facehooved. "Michael, that's MY notebook. She crossed my name out and wrote her own. You can even tell where she drew a line through-" "Silence!" Trixie said, returning the book under her collar. "This is my original screenplay idea and I've already submitted it to Unicorneversal Studios for recognition." "And it's already been approved for production," a voice said from behind them. Stepping out from the crowd was another blue unicorn, this one in a business suit, glasses and cap. His coat was a light blue but a different shade than Trixie's with a dark blue mane and matching beard. Barro noticed both Michael and Night's mouths hung slightly agape as he approached them. "An original screenplay based on true events written and starring a pony who first-hand experienced every breathtaking moment. How could we say no?" the colt said with a smile. "Ne... Neighmes Cameron," Michael said, studdering. "Oh, Michael. I didn't see you there. I'm sorry the studio rejected your project... uh, Cloverfed was it?" Michael gritted his teeth in annoyance. "It's Cloverfilled," he corrected. "I'm sure it is Michael. It's been nice catching up but we've got to get going," Neighmes Cameron said, starting to walk away with Trixie. "Wait just a minute," Barro halted the two of them. "Mr. Cameron, that's not her story; it's mine. I wrote it and I didn't submit it to the studio as a screenplay." Trixie turned around swiftly, almost snarling in rage. "For the last time Mr. Broadcaster, this is NOT your book, this is Trixie's! This is Trixie's movie idea as Trixie witnessed the events herself!!" she practically screamed. Everypony backed away from her ever so slightly, the crowd, just a tiny bit terrified of unicorn. A silence broke over the crowd as Trixie huffed angrily. Trixie's eyes looked at the crowd and noticed some of the frightened expressions. To break the silence, Trixie shouted, "Trixie!" one last time, making everypony take another cautionary step away from her. "Wait a minute," Barro said. "How did you know my last name?" "If I might point out," Neighmes Cameron interrupted, stepping forward. "This notebook happens to be studio property, including what's written in it. Unless you have any proof that's what written is yours, then I'm afraid you have no claim here." Trixie nodded in agreement, so did several of the crowd of the producers, even the ones using hooves-free devices. Barro opened his mouth to say something. "I... I... uh..." was all he managed, an outstretched hoof raised in denial, slowly he sat it back on the pavement again, unable to find the words. "Hey," Michael spoke up. "That's Barro's notebook and that's his screenplay, I know that for a fact and we're not just going to let-" "Really Michael?" Neighmes interrupted. "How many times have you lost studio equipment?" Michael was stunned into silence, several of the producers casted harsh gazes at him. "Now if you'll excuse us, we really must be going. We'll talk later Michael, Mr. Broadcaster," Neighmes Cameron said, walking away at Trixie's side. The crowd of producer ponies followed, picking up conversation again until their voices became an incoherent drone that slowly drifted off the studio lot like a storm cloud. Michael, Barro and Night stood there in silence, watching as they exited the studio gates. "Buckin' hay," Michael said, breaking the silence. "There goes our screenplay." "Our screenplay? What's that supposed to mean?" Barro inquired at his friend's choice of words. "Oh, uh,-" "You were planning on submitting my story, weren't you?" "Well, I-" It was Barro's turn to be mad. "I don't want that story submitted, Michael. I agreed to help you with Cloverfilled, not any of my stories." Michael backed away from the angry stallion. "But... but they rejected my idea and I was thinking if it was about a REAL story that happened we'd have a better chance and-" "You were going to submit my story as a screenplay! I told you I didn't want it getting that kind of recognition!" "But, it's really good and-" Michael continued to try to justify himself but was just not able to reach Barro. "That doesn't mean it's meant to be a movie, Michael!" "But why not?" Michael genuinely asked. Barro put a hoof to his face and closed his eyes. "It's likeTransformares, it's cliche enough already, if it becomes a movie than that's just the same thing on screen. And we don't need a repeat of Transformares. I'm betting that's why the producers declined on Cloverfilled." Again, Michael was stunned speechless. He realized now that he was jumping the gun; he hadn't considered what Barro said, he figured he'd want his story to be made into a feature-length film. Directed by Michael Hay. I mean, who wouldn't? But he hadn't considered what his friend wanted before he thought about it. "You're no better than Trixie, Michael," Barro said, looking down. That cut Michael deep. "If I might say something," Night spoke up before any more harsh words could be exchanged. "Did either of you notice what was around her neck?" "Yeah, my notebook and her cloak. What, has being out in the dark so often damaged your eyesight?" Barro asked, still angered. "Hey," Night took offense to that. "Don't take your frustration out on me, now did you see what was on her neck or not?" the halfling said. He understood Barro's anger but that didn't give him the right to talk to him like that. Still, Night was smart enough to know Barro didn't mean it. "I'm sorry," Barro took a deep breath and apologized. "I had a nightmare last night then I woke up and this happened..." "It's okay, Barro. Seems we all haven't been having much luck." Night said, recalling his own rejection. "But on her collar, did you see that thing she was wearing?" Night asked. "I think I saw some kind of pendant or something. What about it?" "That wasn't just a pendant. That was the Alicorn Amulet," Night Glider stated. "What's an 'Alicorn Amulet?" Michael asked, putting a hoof to his chin. No doubt, he was already thinking of how he could use it in a film of some kind. "It's an artifact of incredible magical power. Grants the wearer all sorts of abilities, the highest-level stuff. But it also corrupts whoever wears it, making them do malicious and evil things," Night explained. "Trixie used it along time ago, conquered all of Ponyville in the process." "So, what, she's actually evil now?" Barro asked. "Evil, powerful and with an ego to match," Night answered. Michael's hoof remained at his chin. "Powerful, corrupt and stealing ideas from ponies. She's exactly like... every other producer who ever lived." he surmised. "If Trixie has the Amulet, she could do a lot worse to this city than another giant pegasi," Night said, his voice conveying the grave implications of the situation. "We have to get that thing away from her then," Barro said. "And your story back," Michael added. Barro gared at him again. "Hey, I said 'story' not screenplay!" Michael pleaded. "How are we going to get it back though?" Night asked. "I think I have an idea," Barro said. "We're going to need to requisition some studio equipment Michael."
Big DeliveryTrixie arrived home late that evening after going over a production schedule with director Cameron. Everything was happening so quickly, it was fantastic. She'd arrived at the studio with the story early in the morning, pitched it, producers had been called in and soon they'd been talking about casting for the roles. It couldn't have gone better. Until the actual author of the story showed up. She felt bad about stealing the story... part of her did. But the city had been in chaos, that could've been anypony's notebook with anypony's original story based on eyewitness testimony and in-depth character analysis of the events that occured only just yesterday inside. Right? Right... so, she was simply taking advantage of the situation. Besides, Trixie had been there, too and she was even in the story itself. So she felt she had a right to claim the notebook. Trixie entered her bedroom and took off her hat and cloak, the Alicorn Amulet still attatched. Before she'd left for Canterlot yesterday, she'd decided to take a little memento with her: the Alicorn Amulet. While it had caused problems for her in the past, she was confident she was now able to use it without being controlled by its power. She'd had to use it to return the notebook to normal size, she'd be hesitant to use it but eventually decided it was worth it. Now, she felt no discomfort in weilding the device freely or removing it when she didn't need it. Twilight Sparkle had been wrong; Trixie was in control, she wouldn't lose herself to the gem again. But what if she already had? Using her magic, she levitated the notebook in front of her, turned on a light and opened it to the first page. Dried cheese was still stuck to the surface, she scowled at it in disgust. Barro definitely didn't take care of this notebook, more evidence that she deserved it more than him. She scraped the pieces of dairy off with her hoof, doing her best to remove as much of the substance as she could from the pages. Satisfied with the amount she'd taken off, Trixie reread the story. She soon noticed though that some of the cheese was stuck to her hoof. Curiosity got the better of her for a split second, she sniffed the goo on her leg and even tasted it. "BLEAGH!" How could Trixie have just allowed herself to do that?! The small amount of day-old disgusting notebook cheese she just swallowed soon felt like an immense stone in her stomach. She wiped the rest of her hoof on her bedsheets in disgust, disgust at the cheese not herself. She closed the notebook and levitated it to a place on her nightstand, turned off her light and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep as quickly as possible and forget what she'd just done. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched. "She ate the cheese," Michael said, hanging alongside Barro on the outside window of Trixie's apartment. "I can't believe she actually did that! Did you see that? She ate the chee-" "Keep. Your. Voice. DOWN," Barro ordered, lest they alert Trixie or anypony else to what they were doing. Barro's plan was simple: sneak in to Trixie's apartment, steal back the notebook and the Alicorn Amulet, replace them with fakes from the studio and get the buck out before anypony noticed. All too easy, like something out of Double-Oates Seven. "One question," Night Glider said over earpiece. "I can fly and see very well in the dark. Hence, the name 'Night Glider'. Why am I the one delivering the pizza?" "Because she didn't get a good look at you back at the studio. Out of all of us, you're the least likely to get her attention," Barro explained. So it was actually a good thing Night hadn't made a scene at the studio like Barro and Michael had. The two of them were going to use glass-cutting kit that they got from the studio to get into Trixie's apartment without making a sound. Meanwhile, Night Glider would distract the Great and Powerful bitch at the door disguised as a delivery colt. Classic. Trixie's apartment was on the second floor of a large complex in downtown Canterlot. Barro and Michael hung from grappling cables that the studio used for rock-climbing scenes. Barro took a deep breath and gave Night Glider the signal. Night Glider got into position in the hallway outside Trixie's apartment and took a moment to adjust his disguise. He was careful to fold his wings back and press them tightly against his sides: while halflings and thestrals weren't that uncommon, they were still rare enough to warrant suspicion and lasting impression. He took a deep breath and raised a hoof to knock on the door. Trixie's eyes shot open. Three heavy rappings at her door roused her from her comfort in bed and drew her attention. Who exactly could it be at this time of night? Slowly, she got up and out of bed and trotted out of her bedroom and to the door. As she approached, the visitor knocked again. Her stomach groaned with pain as she walked through her living room. "Trixie's coming!" she yelled angrily through the door. Unlocking it quickly, she opened it to see a delivery pony standing in her doorway. "What is it that is interrupting the Great and Powerful Trixie's Great and Necessary beauty sleep?!" "Uhh, one medium Beet Lover's pizza with extra haybacon?" Night Glider said. "That'll be tree-fiddy." Trixie looked down at the rectangular box the colt presented to her. "Trixie ain't givin' you no tree-fiddy! Trixie didn't even order a pizza? Who would order pizza to be delivered this late at night?!" she demanded. Night's mind worked fast. "Umm, well, I just make the deliveries ma'am. I didn't ask why you ordered it but I wouldn't mind a tip-" "Trixie just told you," the disgruntled mare said through gritted teeth. "Trixie didn't order a pizza so clearly you have the wrong address!" she yelled, starting to close the door. Night hadn't gotten word from Barro meaning they hadn't finished yet. So he had to stall her. "This, uh, this isn't B-12?" he said, reading the number on Trixie's apartment. Trixie opened the door slightly. "This is B-12 but Trixie DID NOT ORDER ANYTHING!" This is where Night's acting skills payed off. "What apartment complex is this because the order definitely specified for a B-12 and-" The halfling began a long series of questions, asking for directions and the whereabouts of half a dozen places nearby. His professionality and the way he phrased the questions was just enough to keep Trixie going but not enough to annoy her so much as to have her slam the door in his face. Meanwhile, Barro and Michael were finally done cutting through the glass of Trixie's window. Barro crept through Trixie's apartment with all the stealth skills of Solid Steed himself or at least what he hoped was stealth. Holding a flashlight in his mouth, he searched for the notebook and the Amulet. He spotted his notebook on a nightstand and the cursed pendant on top of a dresser. Carefully, he swapped both with the copies from the studio's prop department. Confident that he'd done the job, he turned back to the window. "Wow, this place is nice. Her apartment's got so much more space than yours," Michael said, holding a camera and filming Trixie's bedroom. "What are you doing?!" Barro asked in an angry whisper. Michael shrugged. "Stock-footage?" Barro gestured for Michael to get rid of the camera through gritted teeth. Of course, the director didn't listen. Suddenly, the camera made a beeping noise. "Shit," Michael cursed. "Battery's running low." The beeping rang out through the apartment, it was just loud enough for Trixie to hear. The blue unicorn slowly turned to see Michael through the doorway to her bedroom. "Who-what are you doing in Trixie's apartment?!! Theives!!" Trixie shouted. Night quickly opened the pizza box. "TRIXIE!!" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Why are you-" Trixie started to say before Night shoved the pizza in Trixie's face. Hot cheese, toppings and tomato sauce splattered all over her head and mane, obscuring her vision and shocking her. "It's on the house!" Night yelled before bolting down the hallway. "Run! Run!" Michael said. Barro and Michael clambered out through the hole they made in the window, grabbed the grappling cables they'd used to get into the apartment and slid down to the ground. In seconds, they were on the ground, galloping away from the apartment. "You got everything?!" Night Glider asked, flying down and joining them as they fled down the street. "My notebook and the Amulet, I got 'em both!" Barro replied, ecstatic that the plan was successful. "You know, if writing doesn't work out, you could always make a living being a burglar," Michael commented. "Like the way you were going to steal my story and make it into a movie?" Barro asked back. Michael's head dipped down as he ran. "Hey, at least you got some nice shots of some random mare's apartment," Barro said, sarcastic. "What are we going to do with your story and the Amulet?" Night Glider asked. "We're going to do what should've been done with both of them a long time ago," Barro replied. "You're going to put them in a giant warehouse full of crates like at the end of Riders of The Lost Ark?" Night asked, referencing the popular Daring Do movie. "Ha," Barro laughed. "No... no. I'm going to destroy them." Michael's gaze dropped down to the ground as the trio galloped into the night.
The Great, Big and PowerfulSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Big, Flashy Special EffectsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
What You've All Been Waiting ForSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
