It had been five years since she had run away from Ponyville. The incident with the Ursa Major- no, Ursa Minor had been a blow to Trixie's reputation. She was frightened at first, afraid she would fade into obscurity because her image had been tarnished. She wanted to be remembered; to become a legend. That was why she ran away.
She had to contain the damage before it had spread too much. She normally wouldn't call herself a doctor, but she feels she successfully curbed any and all rumors that she was The Weak and Powerless Trixie. But... it was hard and she felt extremely lucky. She couldn't have done it without her charisma, magical skill, and showmareship either. She was stubborn. She probably still is.
Sure, it was temporarily halted by her time in a rock farm and her time as the despot of Ponyville, not to mention that it had taken her months to scrounge up enough money to buy a new cart, but it was worth it. Everything she did was worth it. She was back on track to greatness, and soon everypony would remember her. ...Eventually.
In a way, she would have to thank that one purple unicorn who showed her up and, a few years later, tricked her into taking off the amulet. Trixie was taught a very important lesson the day the Ursa came: To be more careful. But if she couldn't tell stories of herself anymore, what stories could she tell? She had thought about it long and hard when she was digging up rocks at the rock farm.
A knock on her cart door, or her home door, snapped her out of her nostalgic thoughts. "Trix, you're on in three!"
Trixie stopped admiring herself in her mirror and cantered over to the door, her pink magic grasping it and opening it. There, she saw a silver pegasus with an unkempt mane and orange eyes. His name was Foot Note, he was the ticket to her success. His cutie mark was a piece of paper with a magnifying glass over it, signifying his occupation as a lawyer.
But with all cutie marks, there was leeway. Just because his cutie mark meant that he was good at finding inconsistencies doesn't mean he can only use those skills in court. Whenever Trixie weaved a story, Foot Note was always there to make it more believable. That's why she didn't run into any more trouble. That's why she never bothered to change the type of stories she told.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is thankful for your generous warning, Foot Note," she responded.
"Anytime," Foot Note responded back. Trixie decided to mentally prepare herself. She mentally went over what story he would tell and what magic would accompany it.
She had decided to tell her Marecago crowd the tale of herself saving her family from a group of manticore. Sure, it wasn't as grandiose as she wanted it to be, but it was till believable. Trixie worried it might be a bit boring, so she had to be sure that she peppered her story with as many enticing and dazzling illusions as possible.
She put on her cape and hat. They weren't exactly the same as the ones she had left in Ponyville. She lost her original ones, but that didn't mean she couldn't buy any more. The hat and cape had always been an essential part of her shows. For her first shows after the incident in that backwater town, she felt like something was missing when performing. Of course, she knew what she was missing as the hat and cape were the first things she had bought when she had enough money.
Five years, and she was back to where she had been before. Just as long as absolutely nothing went wrong with her career ever again, she estimated it'd be as little as twenty years before she could ever hope to perform in Canterlot. That's the future she hoped to attain, but now was time to face the crowd. Her crowd! Showtime!
It had been five years since she had run away from Ponyville. The incident with the Ursa Major- no, Ursa Minor had been a blow to Trixie's reputation. No... It was a blow to her life. She had been embarrassed and cast out of Ponyville forever. She had run away, leaving everything behind her: Her cape and hat, her cart, her home, her reputation, her pride, everything that had meant something to her.
She had nothing else but her own body and voice now. Every day was a struggle to her. She was lucky to even eat a decent meal. Most days, she had to steal in order to eat, and even then, it wasn't even that much. Besides, stealing felt like it was beginning to become impossible for her.
She had lived in the alleyways of Hoofington now. News of her lies had spread everywhere by now. There was no hope for her anymore. Her lifelong dream of becoming famous was no longer attainable. Laying down in the grungy backstreets, she looked up at the sky. The stars shone brightly. They were taunting her.
You will never become one of us, they seemed to say.
She glared up at the stars in a jealous fit. "Stop it..." No one responded. She continued glaring as her eyes squinted, hoping she could intimidate the night sky into disappearing. She breathed in deeply and suppressed a whimper from escaping. "I said stop it!" Her voice was strained, trying to hold in everything.
But what was the point? She failed. She truly believed that she was the best and had hope of making it through life satisfied and forever remembered. What she got was just a hard, cruel dose of reality. She was neither great nor powerful. Looking back, all she was was a washed-up annoying bragger with a few cheap tricks. She never deserved anything. Even her parents would be ashamed.
Trixie made some sort of choking noise as everything she tried holding in burst loose as tears made the world go fuzzy for her. The broken unicorn let herself cry under the clear, night sky. No one was waiting for her.
It had been five years since she had run away from Ponyville. The incident with the Ursa Major- no, Ursa Minor had been a blow to Trixie's reputation. No... It was a blow to her life. She had been embarrassed and cast out of Ponyville forever. She had run away, leaving everything behind her: Her cape and hat, her cart, her home, her reputation, her pride, everything that had meant something to her.
Ha! It was to laugh! They ate it all up. Poor Trixie was wandering around homeless, broken, and weak. Pathetic Trixie! Sympathetic Trixie! She who lost it all! The only thing really pathetic about her is the image she wanted for herself.
If Trixie learned anything the day that Ursa came rampaging around, it's that something bad can always be made into something that works. Years after her home was destroyed? She knew her reputation would never recover. She just settled for the next best thing. She had the skills for faking to be pathetic, too. Just because her career as a showmare ended didn't mean she lost her ability to lie and be charismatic and manipulative. Ponies were just as much putty around her hooves back then as they are now.
She smirked as she wormed her way out of her cardboard box. It was very uncomfortable, but it had to do. She had enough money now to buy at least two mansions, but doing so would be bad for her image. She also had to endure soup kitchens and people giving out various items of leftover food. It was still all worth it.
She shook her head as to why she didn't think of this sooner. Back as a showmare, she barely got enough money as she wanted. She had just expected everyone to just believe she was the best on the planet. Arrogance always gets unrewarded while sympathy and pity get far, far more.
So she chose to be weak and pathetic. Trixie floated up a piece of mirror she found a few years back when she first fled to Manehattan. It was cracked and grimy, perfect for such a "broken" mare as herself. Through the grime and crack, she saw herself staring back. Her hair was trimmed to the length of how she always had it, yet it was dirty and messy, as was her coat. She had too much of a belly for somepony who was supposedly starving, but a quick illusion spell rendered her appearance emaciated.
After she was done looking over her appearance, she put the mirror back and levitated out a bag of popcorn, which she got while disguising herself as another pony, which she was able to do thanks to those disguise kits she bought, which she got by, you guessed it, begging until she had enough money. The popcorn was buttery, perfect for her liking. With her daily popcorn munching finished, she hid it away and took on a tired appearance. It was time to trick everyone into giving her food and money yet again.
As Trixie stepped back into her cart, the cheers and applause of her delighted audience still lingered. Her limbs were exhausted as was her voice. She loved the feeling. It meant that she could be proud of herself. It meant success. As long as the exhaustion was there after each show, she could continue to do what she loves. She breathed out a content sigh and meandered over to a hidden switch. The stage she had been on before collapsed back into the outer walls of her cart and Trixie flopped onto her bed, smiling.
Just then, there was an excited knock on her door. "You may enter," Trixie ordered.
Foot Note came walking in with a grin on his face. It was clear he had good things to say to the showmare. "Trix, that show was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Well, except for that little bit with the arrows and rocks. Seriously, nopony's that accurate enough to do that."
Trixie's smile quickly turned to a frown. "Nopony except for The Great and Powerful Trixie!" she corrected.
Foot Note just sighed and shook his head, stretching a wing out, walking over to her, and pressing it against her. "Trix, we talked about this. The last time you defeated an Ursa Major was the day your life ended."
Trixie huffed in frustration. "Trixie's crowd is of forty. She had more before that small incident. It stands to reason that large stories make for large crowd."
"Small incident?" Foot Note fired back. "You went for almost a year without a job. And you took over Ponyville."
This caused Trixie to glare at Foot Note, attempting to cause him to backpedal. Her plan failed, so she switched to plan B. "What is Trixie supposed to do then? Trixie demands a sufficient answer."
"We wait. You'll get larger and larger crowds, bigger and better gigs," Foot Note said.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie does not do 'gigs'. She performs a delicate balance of storytelling, magical spell, and illusion," Trixie corrected.
"Yes, you'll get better those, also." This did nothing to convince Trixie, and Foot Note knew it. "Look, you hired me to keep you grounded. You want to keep you job, so as long as you keep your stories just as grounded, there won't be anymore Overlord Trixie. You'll eventually make it to the big top and go down in history."
"The words 'big top' imply that Trixie is part of a circus act."
Foot Note rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Just keep things simple."
"But the more extravagant the tale, the greater the anticipation and enjoyment!" Trixie said, trying to rebut the silver pegasi's point.
"Solar Flare, you can be stubborn at times. I'm putting my hoof down with this: No."
"But-"
"No. Get some rest, Trixie. You have a show the day after tomorrow. And change that arrow thing into something more believable," Hoof Note finalized. He turned around and left the cart, leaving Trixie to her lonesome.
She closed her eyes and huffed in longing frustration. She had an urge to fire Hoof Note right then and there, but she knew he was right. She knew she needed him. She didn't wish she needed him. She was being held back. Something was urging her to do as she did before the Ursa Minor incident; to tell wild stories of ultimate power. Not simple stories against minor nuisances. Trixie opened her eyes and numbly stared at the ceiling. Repeating over and over in her head that she needs to be patient and allow time for her reputation to build up even more than it already is, the showmare still wanted to be able to cut loose and let her creativity flow.
And the only way to do that was to actually have the power to back up her claims.
"So... Trixie has ascertained her destiny without fail... She must gather a way to back up her claims!" With renewed vigor, she leaped off of her bed and exited her cart, slamming through the door. She thought she heard Hoof Note ask her something, but now was not the time for his holding back. She had power to find.
Usually, going somewhere without a plan or set location was a bad idea, because when one gets halfway to nowhere, they still have no idea where they should go. Trixie, however, was not one of these people at the moment. She wanted power without corruption in order to let her creativity to flow. She needed where she needed to go. And with her destination set in stone, she galloped as quickly as she could to the book store.
"Trixie demands to know why exactly you have decided not to ensure an adequate number of available books of advanced magic for many an other to be able to buy!?" Trixie sported a snarl, hooves up on the counter, forcing the storekeeper to lean back.
"Sorry, we had an order from the local school."
Trixie didn't want to have any of this. She would get what she was looking for, but she might need to convince the storekeeper. "It would do you well for business to allow Trixie a single book from the order,"
"But-"
"After all, you are in the presence of greatness! The very mare that stands before you, gracing your eyes with her very presence! To disappoint her is to disappoint all her crowd!"
"But-"
"Why, if you choose not to please Trixie's satisfactions, who knows when your next sale may be? 'Twould be the unwarranted suicide of your career!"
"Trixie, I-"
"Just think about it! Naught one single sale, all because you had incurred the wrath of the most dazzling unicorn in existence! You would lose everything! Now, be a good little fan and allow her ownership of but a single book.
"I've been trying to tell you. We can't. The order was shipped an hour or two ago."
Trixie's face fell flat as her ears lowered under her head. Her eyes were holding a disappointed gaze at the now-nervous shopkeeper. "You are useless." With that insult fired, she got off of the counter and turned, heading for the exit of the book store.
"Wait! Ma'am! We have other books for you! Perhaps you'd enjoy Basic Thaumasymbology?" The suggestion was unheeded as the only response the book shopkeeper got was Trixie slamming the door closed as she exited.
Trixie huffed, a little insulted. Basic Thaumasymbology? Does Trixie look a fool? She knows as well as anypony else that card-based magic such as that is severely outdated, Trixie mused to herself, She was taught in school that Thaumasymbology was a magic based on tarot cards, and was quickly left in the dust the moment Draconequi started appearing in Equestria. The only thing tarot cards were good for now were precognitive fortune telling. Trixie already possessed far more power than Thaumasymbology allowed. Nearly everyone was more powerful than somepony who would use card magic.
Trixie stood in front of the library doors, seething. This travesty against her was unbelievable. On the doors was a sign. A sign that she wish she could set on fire with her gaze alone,
"Closed for the night"
She was too late to enter. She wanted to enter anyways. She grasped the handle of the door with her pink magic and tugged. It didn't open. It didn't open when she tried again using her hoof. Obviously, she needed to resort to more extreme measures to be able to enter the library and finally gain what should rightfully be hers.
Even though nobody was watching, she gestured theatrically with her hoof, causing a thin, sturdy rod to appear. If the door was locked, she would pick it open.
Unfortunately, Trixie didn't know how to pick locks. She was just fiddling around with the thin stick for minutes on end. And that's when she thought she heard someone call something out. She paused and looked back from what she was doing only to see an armored guard.
"Just what do you think you're doing?"
Trixie stood there, releasing the offending thin stick from her magical grasp. It barely made any noise, yet the silence was prevalent enough that both ponies heard it. A few seconds more passed before the guard walked over to the thin stick and picked it up with a hoof.
This was Trixie's chance to lie her way out of this. She was certainly good with it. "Alas, Trixie had fended off a certain thief, caught in the act by the most vigilant unicorn in Equestria!" Before the guard was able to continue, Trixie talked on. "Unfortunately, Trixie was attempting to repair the damage done by the heinous thief and she managed to pry out the offending contraption which the thief most likely used to attempt to damage the lock of the library!" Trixie put on her best smile as she prodded her own chest.
The guard was hardly satisfied with that answer. He huffed. "Ma'am, I'm going to need to take you in for questioning."
Trixie silently cursed in her mind. All this lust for power was throwing her off her game a little. Otherwise, that lie would have convinced the guard to leave her alone. She should've paid more attention to her surroundings. However, Trixie didn't want to be dragged along somewhere she believed was a waste of her time.
So she would deny the request. "Alas, The Great and Powerful Trixie has no time. She really must away herself back to her cart so that she may retire for the night!" She made to walk around the guard, but he stepped in her way,
"Ma'am, I highly recommend that you cooperate, please."
"Trixie has no time. She needs to get back to her cart now, lest her manager makes her lose her job. Again."
A spark pf recognition flickered across the guard's eyes at that moment. "Oh. So you're that one showpony faker who went evil that one time."
That was one of the wrong things to say, Trixie's glare intensified as if she was emotionally stabbed in her heart with ice, when in reality, she was only annoyed at others remembering her that way. "You dare!?" She went on the metaphorical attack, stepping forward and pushing the guard back. "Trixie demands to know why exactly you besmirch her name so! Why, did you not see how grand her performance was this afternoon!?"
The guard had no time to respond as Trixie continued, "You are being graced with the presence of the most dazzling, most powerful, and greatest equine to ever live!" It took all but a millisecond for Trixie to realize what she just said and winced. Foot Note would not like her bragging that big. "...I... you... Trixie demands you to remember proper respect in the future!" she said, deciding to tear herself away from the situation before things got any worse for her. She reared up and stomped her front hooves on the ground while she summoned a puff of smoke and glitter large enough to conceal herself.
It wouldn't last for what she wanted to do. She immediately jumped out of the puff of smoke and ran around the guard, making her escape. Confusion and shock plagued the guard for a few seconds before he managed to turn around and locate the fleeing unicorn. He called out and scrambled after her, to which Trixie turned displeased with these series of events. She confirmed with a quick glance that the guard was still following her. She groaned as she quickly thought up an escape plan.
When the time was right, she turned a corner and was out of sight from the guard. Now, she had only seconds to spare. She quickly summoned up a rope and tied one end to a chimney on the building's roof and grasped it with her hooves and teeth. With all the strength a unicorn could gain hauling around a cart large enough to house her and all she needed for her magic shows, she climbed up as fast as she could, quickly wrapping a lower leg around the rope so it was pulled up with her.
Just as she made it to an appropriate height, she looked down and saw the guard emerge from behind the corner and smirked when the guard skidded to a halt and looked around. They never looked up. Nobody did. Was there ever any doubt?
Trixie became aware of the fact that her heart rate and breathing were quickened, most likely by a small self-dose of adrenaline. But there was a little more of that. She imagined a crowd cheering for her daring escape from a brutal, corrupt guard that was sent out to attack her by some megalomaniacal dragon bent on ruling the world. She silently mouthed out words of praise and thanks to invisible fans, reveling in her own fanta-
"Where could she have gone...? It's Trixie, so she most likely just sent an illusion this way... She could still be corrupted by that one amulet. We have to lock her up until she's okay again," The guard mused to himself. Trixie, meanwhile, was savagely ripped out of her fantasy. She just stared at the guard until he disappeared from sight.
Locked up.
She was locked up. Or she felt like it. She had always felt like it. Her stories were great, but she was locked up away from the fame she wanted. The Ursa Minor destroyed her home and ruined her career, locking her up in a job she had hated. The amulet had given her power, yet she was locked up in its corruptive influences. She had regained her job, but was locked up in believable fantasy, Was she forever to be trapped?
She sighed as she carefully lowered herself to the ground and dispelled the rope with her magic, This was all just a reminder that she had wanted enough power to break out of whatever she was trapped in. She didn't want to be out and about right now, so she had just decided to return home. She took a step towards the corner of the building and stopped. She turned around and decided to weave through the alleyways and less-traveled paths in order to avoid confrontation with the guards.
The fact was there, stabbing into her brain that she had failed for her quest for non-corruptive power. She would forever be trapped. Yes, master Foot Note, I will make all my stories boring and uncreative, Trixie bitterly thought. My fame will be forever remembered as being the most boring showpony to have ever lived,
Trixie continued to weave through the not-so-labyrinthine alleyways, stewing in her morose and frustrated thoughts. So focused on those two things, she didn't even notice anything else until her whole world turned sideways and she grunted, hitting the ground. She raised herself in a daze and looked around for the offending object that caused her to careen and crash into the ground. She should be allowed to seethe in bitter thoughts without getting attacked by anything!
She immediately located what had crashed into her. There was some small fear that it was a guard, but that thought was dispelled by the fact that it was a pony covered head to hoof to tail in a pure white cloak. The figure was similarly dazed and a plethora of books were scattered around it. Trixie's eyes narrowed suspiciously as the figure rubbed his or her head. Before she could say anything, the figure froze for a few seconds before it jumped up and quickly collected the books scattered around it. It then flung a large bag of bits at Trixie and spoke a single sentence. "You never saw me."
In a hurry, the white-clad figure ran off as Trixie's gaze dumbly followed until it disappeared. Her gaze lingered in the same spot before she manages to pry it away and towards the large bag. It was tied closed with a string. Curiosity peaked up within her as she opened the bag... and then shot down by disappointment when all she saw inside was a plethora of bits. Trixie promptly dropped it and kicked it away with a hoof. She has no need for gifts like this. All the money she gets will be earned or suitably traded with something else. She would never lower herself to be some haggard beggar or ruthless conmare. Her performances were all she needed! She got enough money through commission and sometimes admittance when money was tight.
Trixie was about to continue her merry way toward her cart before she spotted a single book, left behind. She approached it with caution to read the title. Except there was no title. There was nothing written on the spine of the book, either. Curiosity coming to the front yet again, she opened the book. On the inside cover, there was some text as if it had been stamped along with multiple sources of somewhat sloppy hoofwriting by different people.
Property of The Royal Canterlot Library Forbidden Archive
THIS BOOK IS NOT TO LEAVE THE ARCHIVE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
MagiRune Matrix Spells
~~Marutrix Spells~~
Line Craft, no. For the last time, we're not naming it that.
...Trixie has never heard anything about whatever MagiRune whateveritsis was. Furthering her desire to sate her curiosity, Trixie flipped open to a random page, glanced at it for a single second, then promptly went crosseyed. She closed her eyes and shook her head, clearing out any cobwebs that might have been hanging around. When she opened them again, at least her eyes didn't cross again. Trixie's mouth gaped open a little and one of her eyebrows raised. She didn't know what she was looking at. Well, she knew, but she didn't know. A cacophony of strange symbols and runes were crammed into a number of intricately-designed circles. Some of the circles were overlapping each other and some were connected to each other by lines similarly crammed full of strange markings.
This had to be what they were talking about when the book described MagiRune Matrix Spells. To say it was hard to figure out was an understatement. It was unnecessarily complicated and thoroughly baffling. She didn't even know what this specific MagiRune Matrix spell was for until she flipped to the previous page,
Theoretical MagiRune Matrix Spell to allow the moon to allow automatic orbit
Trixie's eyes widened in realization when her brain caught up to the fact that she had just read those words. A couple more page flips and she saw various diagrams and runes being explained and what they meant and how they affected other runes, This had definitely confirmed her assumptions.
Trixie finally had the power to be free. The very same grin appeared on Trixie's face as when she had purchased The Alicorn Amulet. A grin of excitement and promise. This time, there would be no corruption. Trixie was so sure of that fact. She quickly slammed the book shut and instinctively tried to put it in one of her cape pockets, but found out she wasn't wearing it. She decided instead to carry it along with her magic. She resumed her trek to her cart. Instead of the sullen, grumpy cantering, she was gallantly striding with a bouncy gait and giggling to herself.
Sure, she was taking a book of forbidden magic, but none of what she had seen so far was like any story she read., Forbidden magic usually carried the connotations of said magic being evil or too destructive or too harmful. This, on the other hand, was just too complicated. Yet Trixie was sure she would eventually figure it out. Why wouldn't she? She was the most amazing unicorn in Equestria!
Soon enough, she burst out of the back alleys and spotted her cart, rushing toward it. She spotted a familiar pony, Foot Note. Something was a tiny bit strange as he seemed to be a little worried over something. Who needs to be worried when you have something magnificent?
"Hark, Foot Note! Trixie returns!"
Upon utterance of her words, Foot Note's head perked up and swiveled toward Trixie, his eyes wide.
"Trixie! There you are!" Relief and happiness combined with anger were etched into Foot Note's face. "Where were you!? I told the guards you gust disappeared! Do you realize you could've damaged your PR over suddenly bolting away like that? What were you doing?"
Ugh... This was not what Trixie wanted to deal with right now. She quickly dismissed his worries with an announcement. "Never you worry, for I found an object of true power! One that will ascend me even past the stars, to eternity!"
Foot Note opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, only to catch in his eyesight a plain book with no title. He closed and opened his mouth a couple of times like a fish before he finally sighed and shook his head in frustration. "You kill me sometimes, Trix. Fine, I'll look in here." He grabbed the book and opened it to the inside cover.
"...Canterlot Archives- Trix, are you crazy!? Where in Equestria did you get this?" Foot Note was completely baffled.
Trixie was displeased. "It matters not. She demands you to reread what the specific description of the book is, as written there on the inside cover!"
Foot Note raised an eyebrow as he did as instructed and inquired, "...Yeah, and what does this mumbo jumbo have to do with you furthering your career?"
With a huff, Trixie ripped the book from Foot Note's hooves and quickly skimmed it for that one spell about the moon. She quickly found the page showing the description and showed it to Foot Note.
Theoretical MagiRune Matrix Spell to allow the moon to allow automatic orbit
Trixie bounced in anticipation, a wide smile on her face. "Don't you see!? Moving the moon requires the power of an Alicorn Princess such as Princess Luna or Princess Celestia, but with this, Trixie shall be able to accomplish such a fact herself!" She flipped a page over to the MagiRune Matrix spell itself. "See!? All this allows it!"
Foot Note blunk a couple of times and then tilted his head. "Eh?"
Trixie could only smirk as she upped her theatrical attitude. "Indeed, my enthusiastic manager, it does indeed appear to be impossible to comprehend! Lines and mysterious, unidentified symbols dotting every which where and intricate circles set up in specific patterns, all seeming incomprehensible! But...!" Trixie turned the page. "Yes! It shows you the description for such a befuddling task! As such, it stands to reason that Trixie should be able to accomplish each and every single MagiRune Matrix Spell that is within this very book of absolute power!"
Once again, Trixie could feel the rush of pleasing an adoring audience.
"Uh... That's great and all, but I doubt you really have the time." And once again, her mood was bought crashing down as Foot Note explained himself. "I mean, I don't understand any of this. Sure, I know you may be eventually able to understand this, but you still have stories to create and refine. Not to mention bathing, eating, grooming, sleeping, and your stargazing hobby. I don't really see you figuring out one of these things anytime soon."
Trixie narrowed her eyes, taking that as a challenge. "Just you wait! Whilst Trixie shall rise to beyond the pinnacle of fame, you shall ever remain as just a footnote to Trixie's history!" With that, she slammed the book shut once more and rushed into her cart, slamming the door shut.
"Wait, Trix, you have to-..." Foot Note's pathetic attempt to stop Trixie was futile. He remained there, staring at the doorway to the cart for a while. He sighed and turned around after he was done. "She'll realize that she needs to take things slowly. That book can't be that easy to understand..." he muttered, slowly trotting his way over to his temporary hotel room so he could sleep.
Trixie could already start to feel the beginnings of a headache coming on, but she didn't care. This was too good an opportunity to waste. She needed to know all that she could. And so she read on and on.
Magic existed in each pony, regardless of whether or not they were a unicorn, earth pony, or pegasus. Trixie was taught in school that Pegasi used magic to manipulate the weather and earth ponies used magic to manipulate plants and soil. However, Unicorn Magic was more satisfyingly logical. A simple telekinesis spell has simple clauses: The weight of whatever is held, how tight the grip is, what direction it's tilted in, how fast its torque allows it to rotate, how much force is put into moving an object, and how much force is put into movement. Each of those clauses follow a simple line until it reaches a gate. The gate allows the clause to continue. Force and torque are not mutually exclusive, but force and direction are. Each gate allows clauses to combine and be active, and there are further gates until a magic spell is condensed into a single point: The horn.
This, however, was vastly different. There were no gates. Only one vastly, complicated picture comprised of a wide variety of different functions. As Trixie examined the runes' meanings, there were various runes that represented but not limited to: Detection of mana output, detection of atmosphere, detection of other runes, detection of proximity of other runes, detection of rune placement, detection of line and circle placement, modifiers to lines, modifiers to circles, modifiers to other runes... It was just a decipherable jumble of detection, modification, force, intent, direction, and safety. To change even a basic part of the spell was to change 3/4ths of the MagiRune Matrix spell. Whereas unicorn magic was "easy and usable if you know what you're doing", this was "safe and perfect or not at all", even if activation upon perfection was extremely simple.
Trixie thought back to what Foot Note said. That's great and all, but I doubt you really have the time. Trixie was slowly realizing this to be true. She frowned. She bad barely remembered any runes and it would take her years for her to translate any of the spells she currently uses for her magic performances into a MagiRune Matric spell. Even the placement, angle, arc, length and thickness of the connecting lines had to be perfect in order for the spell to work.
Trixie needed a different strategy, Panicking slightly, Trixie flipped through the book page by page, searching for a suitable spell that would be beneficial to her performances. One that would truly dazzle! She saw a time travel spell and promptly denied it. Her stories needed to be in real-time. She saw a spell to shrink and enlarge objects, but she could already do that with what she knows now.
"Let's see... No, no... no... Definitely not that. ...Maybe for that... Maybe for this... Ooh, there's a sun spell to go with the moon spell... Wait, how would they dare etch on the sun?" Trixie looked up, pausing from her reverie for a moment before reminding herself that she needs to look for a suitable spell for her performances. "Hmm... No... no, no, no, no... That one's another maybe..."
Trixie continued flipping through the pages and was coming close to running out. There would probably three or so spells left considering the amount of work describing how each symbol is used and where it's placed and what orientation it goes in. Eesh...
She gulped a gently-forming lump in her throat. She needed to find a suitable spell soon or she was fewmet out of luck. She gently grasped the page she was looking at with her pink magic and took a few deep breaths. "Come on, Trixie knows you have something good in here for her..." She turned the page.
Alternate Chronouniversal Self-displacement retrieval
Trixie nearly went cross eyed at the mere description alone. Just... just what exactly was this spell about? She quicklu flipped a page and stared at the MagiRune Matrix spell for all but four seconds before flipping the page again and reading what each symbol meant. With each symbol read, her mind grew more and more excited at the possibility.
The more runes she read, the more she figured out the true meaning of the description of this spell. She would be able to pull other versions of herself from alternate universes. Why didn't they just say that in the first place?
Trixie flipped back a page and examined the MagiRune Matrix spell in all its glory. As of now, she had a replacement for her illusions. Fully living, breathing, moving copies able to be touched. And what's better is that they would be of herself, meaning that they would be able to fully cooperate to the point where it would seem as if they were all sharing the same thoughts. A nod of finality signaled Trixie's decision to use this spell. She grabbed a bit from her belongings and wedged it in the pages opened, then closing the book.
She put on her cape and hat and grabbed a quill, a few bottles of ink, and a piece of paper and rushed out of her cart, slamming the door shut. She was close. She was so close. She needed to find a nice, open space for this. Around 10 minutes of searching for such a place had lead her to the park. She galloped over to the basketball court and set everything down except the paper. The paper, she used her enlarging spell on until it was of suitable size.
She the opened the book to the saved page, not caring about the bit that just dropped on the ground. She took the quill with her magic and dipped it in the ink. She stepped over to the paper and examined the MagiRune Matrix spell, beginning to carefully copy it. There was no time for imagination sequences where she would imagine a cheering audience. This spell needed to be perfect. Safe and perfect or not at all.
Safe and perfect or not at all.
That creed repeated in her head over and over. There was no room for any mistakes. This wouldn't be her not knowing that two imbecilic foals dragged a dangerous creature over to a city full of innocent, vulnerable people. This wouldn't be her inability to convince hecklers to spread the news that she was unable to defeat an Ursa Minor. This wouldn't be about her dismissal of a dangerous artifact that would warp her mind. No... This was about perfection. Safe and perfect or not at all.
She painsteakingly and cautiously made each rune, each circle, each line was correctly copied from book to enlarged page. Each time she ran out of ink, she dipped the quill back in the inkwell. The scritchings of the quill and the sound of her own breath were the only things keeping her company. She didn't even send her time looking up at the starry sky, admiring The Princess of the Night's handiwork, like she usually did. She wouldn't stop until-
She heard a strange noise and immediately froze, her ears perked up. The same noise sounded again a few seconds later. She looked down at the noise's source. Something was wrong.
Something was wrong. There was water on the page. But...
Trixie looked up. There weren't any clouds in the sky. How...?
The drip sounded again, prompting Trixie to whop her head down again. Was this the result of her own work!? For it to all be ruined by mysterious rain!? Trixie started panicking and raised a hoof to her head, releasing a groan. The groan was cut off halfway when he realized that her hoof felt a tiny bit wet.
...It was sweat. Trixie was concentrating so much, she didn't know she was sweating. She immediately took her hat off and rubbed the sweat off with the brim of her hat. But was that enough? Trixie glanced down at the wet spot of the paper and frowned. She was so close... She didn't want all of her hard work ruined...
A lump formed in her throat. She wanted to salvage this. She truly did. She was so close to becoming greater. She gulped as she did something very dangerous to her progress. She needed to grasp the water and only the water. Not the paper, not the ink, only the water. She gulped again as her pink magical aura spread across the sweat spot. Trixie couldn't help but wince as she hoped she wasn't being stupid. She lifted and...
...The ink and paper were perfectly fine. The shock of how lucky she was nearly made her drop the sweat from her magical grasp. No, her work wouldn't be ruined again. She grasped her cape and wiped it across her face, relieving any sweat that may have possibly built up there while she was removing the offending water from the incomplete MagiRune Matrix spell. With a careless fling, Trixie made the water clear over the paper and onto the grass.
It was then when Trixie breathed a huge sigh of relief. All her hard work was not ruined. It remained to be completed, and Trixie got to back to work on filling in what was missing. She toiled on and on, stopping momentarily here and there to make sure she wasn't dripping any sweat.
And finally... Finally... after an hour or so of work, she was finished. She looked over the MagiRune Matrix spell to make sure it was perfect. But it wasn't finalized just yet. The ink had to dry. She couldn't help but grin excitedly at her work. She imagined this to be the part of her performance where she was inching toward the climax of her story, everyone on the edges of their seat in anticipation. She had her imaginary audience wrapped around her hoof. It was all hers to control, and she relished in the rush of a feeling.
After everything was said and done, it was time to recite the climax! She swaggered over to the activation section of the MagiRune Matrix spell and theatrically lowered a hoof onto it. "And thus... Trixie shall... Activate!"
"..."
Nothing had happened. Safe and perfect or not at all. Which meant that something was wrong. She had looked over the MagiRune Matrix spell once before... Had she done something wrong?
After fully looking it over once again, she didn't see any errors. Was one of the runes in the picture wrong? Trixie began panicking again and she rummaged through the web of information she was presented in the pages following the MagiRune Matrix spell image. All this hard work, possibly ruined again! People were going to be hurt if she couldn't do anything to fix what was wrong.
Trixie flipped another page and came upon a page not filled with regular rune explanations. Trixie didn't have the patience to read all through it, so she skimmed it, catching one vital part. It said that two 30 digit numbers were required for each squares overlapping the tips of the top and bottom parts of the location part. It didn't say which specific numbers required, only that two for both were required.
Trixie sighed in relief again. There were so many close calls. Trixie felt a little emotionally exhausted as she proceeded to write four 30 digit numbers altogether, two in each box, at random. She then went back over to the activation part and set a hoof on it, taking in a deep breath.
This was it. The moment of truth. She would, for sure, be successful this time. No more screw-ups.
"Activate."
Trixie's eyes widened as the whole MagiRune Matrix spell lit up with an eerie blue light. It got brighter and brighter until a swirl of white and blue energy tornadoed in a circle. Trixie flinched and covered her eyes from the brightness. A droning hum made its way to Trixie. She instinctively backed away a little from the ominous noise. It was probably a good thing, since two somewhat loud cracks of energy cascaded into her eardrums, causing her to flinch each time. Shortly after, the humming and light and tornado of energy quickly dissipated into nothing. When Trixie was finally able to see without hindrance, she saw herself.
Herselves, rather. Two of them. Trixie could feel the rush of pride as an imaginary audience cheered loudly for her. She set her hoof on her sapphire gem and took a theatrical bow. "Was there ever any doubt?"
