Element of Forgivenessby MasterZeroChaptersThe Annoyed and Flabbergasted TrixieThe Fair and Forgiving TwilightThe Lying and Exaggerating TrixieThe Generous and Fashionable RarityThe Annoyed and Flabbergasted Trixie"Yes, mam. No, mam. Yes, mam. I understand, mam. Okay, mam. Yes, mam, I heard you the first time, mam. No, mam, I'm not back talking you. Okay, mam. Goodbye, mam." The light red stallion sighed, before rubbing his head with his hooves. "I need a nap..." He placed a hoof on a nearby intercom and spoke into it. "Will Trixie please enter my office?" Giggles McJoyheart waited in his office for several minutes, staring at his mahogany desk, before staring at his pink, soft hooves. He sighed and pressed on the intercom again. "Will the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie please enter my office, before I fire her?" Said Trixie must have been waiting right outside the door, because it suddenly launched open and she stepped out, basking in the ever amazing perfection that was herself. Truly her perfect perfectness was more perfect than even the perfectest of perfectionists. "Trixie, take a seat." "How may the Great and Powerful Trixie be of service to you, Giggles?" The cyan pony inquired, taking a seat as she sipped on the straw of her drink. "Trixie..." Giggles growled. "Apologies, apologies. Trixie forgot you do not enjoy being referred to by your first name." "Just Mister Mc will suffice, Trixie." "Of course, Mister Mc," she nodded, keeping her holier-than-thou attitude and tone. "I just got a call from Miss Ching." "Ah. Yes. Ka Ching. Trixie remembers her." The pony mentally fumed as she remembered yesterday's party. "Well, she just called. Can you guess what she said?" "That she wishes to pay me double for my amazing and stupendous services?" Trixie smiled, placing a hoof on her chest. "No. She's complaining about how you made her son cry. Something about, electrocuting his flank?" "That little snob was yelling at me throughout the entire performance! Obviously, his parents are doing a poor job of raising him," she declared, keeping her chin up. "The customer is always right, Trixie. Miss Ching is making me give her a refund because you electrocuted her son." "It was a small one." "That money is coming out of your paycheck." "WHAT?! You can't do that! Not again!" The room suddenly shook as the pink stallion slammed his hoof onto the desk. Trixie did not bow down though. Her arrogance wouldn't let her as she glared at her boss as he yelled. "This is the third time one of your customers have asked for a refund, Trixie! If you don't do something about your attitude, then you're out of here!" "Trixie is doing her best, with the tiny budget YOU have given her, Giggles!" "I am running a business, not a charity. I have already increased your budget, and I won't do it again." "Trixie requires the best equipment possible to do her best work, and Trixie will not perform for those that do not show her proper respect!" The pony got off her seat and turned with an angry grunt, before she began walking to the exit. "Trixie, wait," Giggles sighed, rubbing his head once more. "I'm sorry. I know the customers are always right thing is a load. They're not always right. But this is a repeating occurrence. I can't keep you if you keep costing me money. I gave you this job because I pitied you-" "Funny. Trixie doesn't remember it like that," she commented, examining her hoof. "AND because there's something about you I really like." "My skill? Charm? Showmanship?" She smiled, striking a new, Great and Powerful pose with each word. "No, your hammyness," he corrected, before glaring at her. "But I can only do so much. This is a business. I still need money, and so do you. I hope we don't have a talk about this again." Trixie let out an long, exasperated sigh and nodded her head. Giggles nodded back, before he excused the blue unicorn to leave. He sighed and looked for his stash of apple cider, mumbling to himself about "Kids these days..." Trixie quietly walked down the streets of Baltimare, in a huff over her recent meeting with her boss. Ever since her humiliating humiliation at the hands of one TWILIGHT SPARKLE, the Great and Powerful Trixie had led herself to Baltimare. Now, here she was, performing for birthday parties and weddings, lacking her trademark hat and cape. She growled and stomped her hooves into the ground as she stopped in line for some food. Perhaps some sweets would get her mind off her outrage. "E-excuse me?" Trixie sighed, rolling her eyes to the source of the voice. No doubt a loyal fan pleading for an autograph. Or an annoyed customer demanding payment for damages. If it was the former, she would shoo them away. If it was the latter, she would shoo them away. With a lightning bolt. "Do you know where we can find the Petunia Hotel?" A pink maned, yellow pegasus asked, looking to the ground and back at Trixie. The unicorn rolled her eyes once more before raising her hoof and pointing down the street. "Go down that way and take a left, then right on the third exit. Can't miss it." "Oh, umm...Thank you...Trixie?" She raised a brow as she realized who she was talking to. "Does the Great and Powerful Trixie know you?" "Fluttershy! There you are! We've been-Trixie?" A group of ponies walked over. An orange earth pony, a blue pegasus, a pink earth pony, and a white unicorn. But it was their leader that made Trixie's eyes widen, before they narrowed in hatred. "Twilight Sparkle. What are you and your, lowly friends doing here?" She asked, turning her head and pretending to not even notice the six. "Well, look who's exactly the same as when we last saw her," The blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash, mumbled. "Trixie...Um...We're here for the 'Unicorn Competition.' Have you heard about it?" Twilight sheepishly asked, smiling as her other, lowly friends grimaced at the sight of the Great and Powerful unicorn. Well, save for the pink one. She was being annoyingly perky about it all. Look at her...So smug. Trying to act so coy. I know what you're thinking Twilight Sparkle! "Of course, the Great and Powerful Trixie heard. She has been deemed ineligible though, for being sooo Great and Powerful!" That was an outright lie, of course. Trixie wanted to join the competition, but could not due to the entrance fee being more than she could afford in such a short time. Of course, Twilight and her band of misfits couldn't be allowed to know that. "What a load of flying feathers," the blue pegasus mumbled, before being poked by Twilight. "Well, that's...spectacular! Really! Um...So, how are you?" "Look, Twilight. I don't know what game you're playing, but I don't want to hear it! Go and take part in your little competition, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not care! Now be gone! The Great and Powerful Trixie just wants her food." "Sorry, everypony! Sold out! Come again tomorrow!" The baker yelled. The line of ponies groaned as they began to disperse. Trixie could have sworn one of her eyes twitched as her anger broke. Before the the blue unicorn could give the baker a stern scolding over refusing the services of the Great and Powerful Trixie, Twilight's voice rang out. "Pinkie, can I see the food you baked?" "Okai-dokei-loki, Twilight!" The pink pony produced her saddle out of nowhere (where did that come from?), and the purple unicorn opened it with her magic. She took out a cupcake and a muffin from it, before bringing them over to the Great and Powerful Trixie, who held them with her own magic. "You're giving her our food?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Calm down, Rainbow. These were meant for me. Here, Trixie." The sweets were released into Trixie's telekinetic hold, as Twilight looked at her Great and Powerfulness. "Trixie, I know last time we met things didn't go...well. I don't want any bad blood between us, though. You don't have to if you don't want to, but we'll be at the Petunia Hotel. If you can, could you come over so we can talk?" "The Great and Powerful Trixie...shall think about it." "Great. You do that," the purple unicorn nodded, nervously smiling. "Come on, girls. Let's get to the hotel. See ya, Trixie!" No one, save for Pinkie Pie gave such a cheer goodbye. The most she got were glares, perhaps a mumble or two. She slowly took a bite out of the cupcake, her eyes widening in joy at the taste of the sweet delicacy. It was the best thing she had eaten in a while. "Curse you, Twilight Sparkle. I know what you are planning. You are trying to lure the Great and Powerful Trixie into a trap with your delicious sweets! Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall show you she is not outwitted by anypony! With Celestia as my witness, I shall arrive at Petunia Hotel, and we shall see what you have to say!" She declared, raising a hoof into the air as she nibbled on her cupcake. The Fair and Forgiving TwilightThe Great and Powerful Trixie looked at the Petunia hotel, and grimaced. The place was far more classy than that of her little apartment, no doubt this placed was picked and paid for by the so called Fashionista, Ribby. Or Reggy. Maybe Randall. Trixie couldn't care less what the white unicorn's name was. She sighed as she walked into the hotel, seeing various colts and mares walking by, before she saw the secretary at a nearby desk. A brown colt, with a black mane. She walked over, cutting in front of an elderly mare as she stood tall and proud. "Excuse me. I am looking for one, Twilight Sparkle. What is her room number?" "Um, mam, you-" "Yes, yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie is amazing, but please, focus and do your job. Twilight Sparkle. She should have five friends with her." The poor pony sighed, realizing this mare was going to be stubborn and difficult. Best thing to do was to get rid of this Great and Powerful pain as quickly as possible. "Twilight Sparkle, room 406. That's on the fourth floor." "Thank you. Here you go, my dear gentlecolt, for your services," the blue mare smiled, using her custom spell to conjure up a picture for the stallion. It landed on the pony's desk as she left. "You are no doubt honored to meet me. You are welcome, (insert name here). - The Great and Powerful Trixie. You may XXX this picture's hooves." Along with a picture of her Great and Powerfulness. "I don't get paid enough for this," he mumbled, throwing said picture into the trash bin behind him. "Next!" Trixie could feel her hooves becoming heavier with each step. Here she was, about to arrive at her archenemy's hotel room, no doubt walking into some sort of trap. Perhaps a ninja minotaur would strike. Or an Ursa Minor would attack, and Twilight would laugh at the irony of it all. Wait, was that irony? Or just a cruel callback? Trixie does not care! She will not show cowardice against her foe! She will charge horn first into whatever trap she may have awaiting her and prove herself able to outsmart and overpower the purple wench. The Great and Powerful Trixie had been so distracted by her own thoughts of riding a flying Ursa Major through Twilight's home, she found herself colliding into a certain unicorn. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Trixie?" Twilight realized, before using her magic to help her fellow pony up. "You came? You came!" Behind Twilight was her ever present gang of lowly followers. No doubt the blue pegasus one was laughing at her. The others did a better job at hiding it, but Trixie could tell what they were thinking. Their small, insignificant minds were like peas. They may have been able to hide their pea minds from others, but the Great and Powerful Trixie could see their pea-ness! She could see their pea-ness with ease! "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived! Now then, Twilight Sparkle, what is it that you wish to converse about? The Great and Powerful Trixie's time is more valuable than even Princess Celestia's golden horseshoes." "Is it okay if we talk about it over breakfast? We were actually about to go get some food at the restaurant downstairs," Twilight offered. "Oh, very well. The Great and Powerful Trixie shall accompany you." "Joy," Rainbow Dash mumbled. "Hey there, everypony. What can I get for you lovely mares?" Their waitress smiled at the group, and one by one they made their order. The last two to order would were Pinkie Pie and Trixie. "One coconut cream pie, please!" "Does she not realize we're eating breakfast?" Trixie asked aloud. "Oh, she's just being Pinkie Pie. You'll get used to it," Twilight explained. "That would require spending more of Trixie's time with you. That is something Trixie will not do," the unicorn mumbled, before giving one last look through her menu sheet. To her utter displeasure, everything on the menu was far beyond her usual breakfast. Even a simple drink was too much for the poor Great and Powerful Trixie. There was only one last thing to do. Lie like a mad pony. "Trixie had a big...brinner. She does not require anything." "Brinner?" Twilight repeated. "Yes, brinner. Between breakfast and dinner. Trixie would not expect you of lower pay to know what such a thing is. It is only eaten by the most rich of rich ponies, with only the best supplies possible. Trixie can only afford it because her skills as a stage magician is so loved and sought after," she laughed, smiling proudly. "...Oh! Brinner! I get what you're talking about," Twilight suddenly smiled. "I believe I've read about it in a few of my books. Starswirl the Bearded would have them all the time with his apprentice, Clover the Clever." "He did?" The other ponies stared at the purple unicorn in surprise. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound right," Rainbow Dash said. "Do not question Starswirl the Bearded!" Trixie shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at the pegasus, silencing her momentarily. "So, Trixie, I take it you are quite wealthy then?" The white unicorn, Rarry, Trixie believed, asked. "Oh yes. I actually own a mansion in downtown Baltimare. Several in fact." "Probably to store that massive ego of yours." She heard, but she could not find the source. Most likely the blue pegasus, or the yellow one, who was trying to act so coy and shy. "Now then, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie hopes you did not call her away from her busy schedule to simply eat." "No, Trixie, what I wanted to discuss was something a bit more important than pie." "Must be super duper important than!" The annoying, pink pony known as Pinkie gasped. "Is Trixie working with Nightmare Moon?! Is she going to try to overthrow Celestia and bring about the Lunar Republic? Is Gilda in on it? Should I turn the Party Cannon to Mech mode?!" The hyperactive pink earth pony was stared at by half the restaurant as Rainbow Dash sighed and rubbed her head. "Pinkie Pie, you're so random." "No, Pinkie. I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I've been hoping to meet Trixie again to talk to her about this. I didn't plan on all of us meeting her here, but it doesn't matter. I need to ask this. Trixie, will you accept my friendship?" Trixie was expecting a lot of things. She expected land sharks. Ninjas. Shark ninjas. Minotaur ninjas. Ursa Minors and Majors. Even a musical number. But this? She was silent, and her shock would have to be translated by another pony. That pony being, one rainbow maned pegasus. "Uh...Hello? Equestria to Twilight! Did you forget how she magic'd us?" "Humiliated us?" The orange pony added, glaring at Trixie. "Insulted us?" Reggie the white unicorn added. "No, I haven't, but you three have forgotten. When Trixie first came to town, she was arrogant and boastful, I won't deny that, but then Rainbow Dash started booing her. You three were rude, and we should have just left the show rather than have you three try to upstage her. How many times has Rainbow Dash been annoyingly arrogant? And Applejack, you have been boastful, even overconfident, plenty of times. Remember the apples incident? Or the Iron Pony competition you and Rainbow Dash had? And Rarity, the incident at Cloudsdale speaks for itself." "So what, we're the bad ponies now?!" Rainbow Dash huffed, glaring at the unicorn. "No! Not exactly! Oh, this sounded so much smarter in my head. Like I said earlier, Trixie was loud, boastful, and to be perfectly honest, obnoxious." "Hey!" In another part of the restaurant, the waitress received the coconut cream pie from the chef. "Order up, one delicious coconut cream pie that will in no way be used as a classic, in the face gag!" "But we've all made mistakes, and we're still friends. We have all had moments of weakness, but we are still friends. Who says we can't forgive other ponies for their moments of fear and arrogance, and try to see the best in them?" Twilight once again faced Trixie, and held out a hoof. "Trixie, if you won't accept my friendship, at least accept my apologies. I don't care who's fault it was. We all made mistakes." "Hmph. Trixie accepts your apology, Twilight," the unicorn replied, turning her head and raising her nose. She looked at Twilight for a second, before quickly, and quietly tapping her hoof against her fellow unicorn's. "Thank you. Now, I would like it if you apologized to us." Trixie gasped and her eyes widened, as she placed a hoof on her chest. "Apologize?! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not apologize! Do butterflies apologize for eating nectar? Do beavers apologize for building dams? The Great and Powerful Trixie does not apologize for being GREAT AND POWERFUL!" To emphasize her point, the blue unicorn thrust a hoof into the air. "Okay, here's that non-comedic, completely unimportant pie for you gi-" The plate the pie was placed on was suddenly punched by Trixie's hoof, sending the pie flying into the air, and down upon the blue unicorn, splattering all over her head. "Huh. Ya know this always happens whenever someone tries ordering a pie from here. Weird." "Mmm! Yummy," Pinkie smiled, getting a dab of pie on her hoof and licking it clean. The other ponies couldn't help but chuckle and giggle at the sight of their pie covered acquaintance. Under the cream and crust though bubbled an angry and upset unicorn, who was about ready to scream at the six. She was stopped though as she felt most of the pie vanish from her face. "Are you okay, Trixie?" Twilight asked, a look of true concern on her face. "Don't act so innocent, Twilight Sp-" Trixie stopped as she felt a hoof hold her. She turned to see the cowpony, Applejack, using a napkin to clean up the spots Twilight missed. "Hold still," she ordered, wiping her horn, mane, and neck. When she was done, Applejack handed the napkin to the waitress before placing her hat on the table. She sighed and her green eyes locked onto the blue unicorn. "...Ah'm sorry too," Applejack mumbled, looking away. "Ah'm sorry for trying to upstage ya, even if you were acting mighty arrogant and snub." "...You are truly sorry?" Trixie questioned, raising a brow. "I'm not! This is stupid. She was a jerk when we met her!" Rainbow Dash declared. "Rainbow Dash! It is important we keep to the moral high ground. Twilight is right. We made a simple mistake. Trixie. I am sorry for trying to upstage you, even if you did ask for it. The mature thing would have been to just walk away. I apologize," the white unicorn, who Trixie now knew as Rarity, said, bowing her head. Rainbow Dash let out an agonizing groan, before looking at the unicorn. "Fine! Whatever. I'm sorry." Trixie stared at the six for a moment, before it all became clear. Moral high ground! They were trying to be better than Trixie! They were acting with 'maturity' and 'forgiveness' because they just wanted to feel superior to Trixie! Well, she was going to show them superior! "Trixie is also sorry. How she acted, how I acted was very rude. She pleads that all of you forgive her for her immature and uncalled for actions," she calmly said, bowing her head and putting her hooves together as she sat in her seat. HA! Chew on that, Sparkle! "I accept your apology, Trixie," Twilight smiled. "We all do," she added, motioning to her friends, who had a range of faces on their faces. Pinkie Pie was still smiling, Rarity and Applejack had looks of awkwardness on their faces, Rainbow Dash was grumpy about recent events, and the yellow pegasus that barely spoke had a small smile on her face, as if she believed all this friendship sillyness. "Now how about we all chow down?" She grinned as the rest of their food was delivered. Trixie was about to ask to be excused, not wanting to watch the six eat the delicious, rich in both quality and price, food that had escaped her. Sadly, her stomach cut her off. "I guess your brinner wasn't as big as you thought it was. Here, you can have some of my food, Trixie," Twilight offered, breaking her sandwich in half and floating it over to her new friend. "Trixie does not require pity food." "Its not pity. Its friendship. Here." The sandwich landed on her plate and the others began to eat, trading friendly jokes and smiles to one another as Trixie looked at her meal. She quickly went to work, eating it nearly as ravenously as Rainbow Dash. It was the single most delicious thing she had ever eaten since arriving in Baltimare. Worth every bit of Twilight's money. "That was amazing....ly decent! Trixie finds this food decent! Her private chef could whip up something better, but this is an adequate replacement!" The unicorn was quick to cover up just how...Great! And...Powerful! The meal was. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Say, we're all a little busy today, but tomorrow afternoon, is it okay if we visit one of your mansions in downtown Baltimare?" the purple unicorn wondered. "Hm? Yes, that sounds nice," Trixie mumbled, licking her lips to taste the delectable crumbs, distracted by the remains of her delicious food. "Great!" Later that day, after enjoying their breakfast and friendly conversations, the seven began to disperse. They waved goodbye to their new friend, well Pinkie, Twilight, and the yellow pegasus waved, the others just mumbled goodbyes and gave awkward smiles to Trixie, before they left. "Ha! Trixie showed Twilight and friends who is on the moral high ground! They thought they were so much better than her with their apologies and forgiveness, but no pony begs for forgiveness better than Trixie! And now, Twilight and her friends can crumble before the awesome beauty of her mansi..." Trixie's eyes nearly popped out of her skull as what just happened dawned on her. "The Great and Powerful Trixie feels she has just made a slight error...." The Lying and Exaggerating Trixie"So basically you're doing that cliche from the movies?" Giggles asked. "What?" Trixie replied, glaring at her boss. "That cliche. Ya know. 'Hide the secret from others, before its revealed, but in the end everything turns out okay because real friends don't care about material things?' My ex-wife and I used to take our kid to the movies and-" "How did we even get to discussing this?!" Trixie lampshaded, slamming her hoof into her face in annoyance. "I asked you how your day was. You yelled at me. Think you called me a fat, pink, tub of lard, before you started pleading me about something. Then I asked why, then you gave a mostly, I assume, fake story about how that 'wench' Twilight Sparkle attacked you with an Ursa Minor," the pink stallion replied, taking a long drink from his apple cider bottle, only to find it empty. "You know, I've noticed that I've been lacking apple cider lately. Ever since I hired you, in fact." "Your drinking problem is not of Trixie's concern! Trixie demands you give her the Top Dollar job tomorrow!" "Trixie, you came into the office in the middle of the afternoon to demand to work? Besides, they didn't even ask for a magician. This is a big time wedding, not a birthday part." "Offer it at a discount price, then! Trixie does not care! This is a matter of pride!" "Coming from a stallion who has lived a long life, pride doesn't usually lead to good things. That's why I gave up trying to have pride long ago." "The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks you are an idiot." "The Old and Grumpy Giggles would like to remind you that he can fire you right now, if he wanted." "...The Great and Powerful Trixie needs this, Giggles! She cannot allow Sparkle and her cohorts the satisfaction of seeing that she does not live in a mansion!" Giggles let out a loud sigh, before nodding. "Fine. I'll tell them you're part of a package deal. Don't come crying to me when this all goes south. Even though you will, considering you don't have that many friends. Well, I guess you do now, I mean." "What? Please! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not friends with Twilight Sparkle and her band of lowly fiends! She has standards, as you know." "Uh huh. Trixie, this is just coming from an old stallion, but you might want to consider burying the hatchet. What's the worst that can happen by being friends? I mean, they apologized to you first." "Trixie...I...." The unicorn looked at the ground, before glaring at her employer. "Trixie will not simply yield! She knows they are trying to trick her! Ponies do not just forgive one another!" "I forgive you for being so difficult," Giggles replied, looking through his paperwork. "Look, just think about it. Maybe being friends is a better move than being enemies." "The Great and Powerful Trixie has thought about it, and she says no!" With that, the conversation was over. The blue pony exited the room as the pink colt rubbed his head. "I need more apple cider." "Hey! Magician! You're on soon," a mare yelled as Trixie peaked out from behind a bush. "Yes, yes, yes, Trixie heard! Now be gone!" She commanded, before resuming her search for Twilight and her friends. She had left a letter at their hotel room giving the time and place of where they would go to find one of her many, non-existing, beautiful mansions. To Trixie's outrage though, they were running late. "Cruse you, Twilight Sparkle! Were I your teacher, your tardiness would go straight onto your permanent record!" She growled, taking her fury on the bush below her as two colts saw her. "What's with her?" "I think she's had too much cider." "Heh. Some people just can't hold it in." "Trixie? Why are you assaulting a bush?" A voice asked. Trixie opened her eyes to find Twilight and co. in front of her, having watched her Great and Powerful beating she gave the poor, abused bush. "Trixe...is...gardening! This bush is just running her lovely front yard, and decided to be kind to the gardener by dealing with it herself!" She explained. "Oh! Well, let me help you then," Twilight smiled, before her horn glowed. In a purple flash, the bush vanished from the yard, leaving a small hole where it was. Trixie fell to the grassy ground in surprise, before rising up, dusting herself off. "Yes, well. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie's eyes shot open at what she just said, and in an attempt to save face, pointed at her. "But Trixie was just about to teleport it away herself! Ahem, well, you may leave. Trixie is busy being incredibly rich and not paying taxes." "What? So we can all this way to hear you gloat?" Rainbow Dash groaned, rolling her eyes. "We could have been doing something fun, but we just had to go visit Trixie," she grumbled, as Twilight glared at her. "We understand, Trixie. We'll be going. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow though?" "W-wait, you are leaving?" Trixie gasped. "Yeah. You told us to. Just now," Rainbow Dash stated, rolling her eyes. Leaving? This was too easy....Ah...So that is your plan, Sparkle! You do not believe, Trixie! "Well, she shall show you her glorious abode! Behold the Great and Powerful MANSION!" She declared, lifting her forehooves into the air. "Are you sure, Trixie?" Twilight began, only to be interrupted by the bouncing, pink pony. "Alright! Let's party!" She giggled, before pulling out a party popper and pulling on it, shooting confetti onto Trixie's head. Rainbow Dash groaned yet again, before Twilight scolded her. The blue unicorn led her new found....friends...to the door, opening it for them before she followed. "Where is that magician?" A brown mare with a black mane looked around, a dollar sign on her flank. She saw the door close and gave chase. For one reason, or another, Trixie came to regret her hasty, error-filled choice. Maybe it was the fact that there were pictures of Top Dollar and her family everywhere. Maybe it was the obvious inability to tell where she was going. Maybe it was the loud screaming in her mind, in the voice of her boss, telling her she had made a hasty, error-filled mistake and should be attempting to drown herself in cider now. Or maybe it was just the fancy hor dourves she had earlier. Either way, she was worried. "Oooh!" The pink one pushed her hooves against her cheek in an attempt to imitate one of the paintings, before falling over and laughing. "Trixie? Can I talk to you about something?" Twilight asked, walking over as the rest of her gang looked at the various fancy paintings in the room. "What?! Oh! Of course, Sparkle," Trixie replied, before seeing a picture of Top Dollar and her family beside her, in front of her home. As Twilight walked over, the showmare bucked a window opened and tossed the picture out the window. "I noticed you haven't been wearing your hat and cape lately." The blue mare glared at the purple one, but Twilight quickly continued. "I know, what happened. I know they were lost because of the Ursa Minor incident. I'm sorry to tell you I couldn't recover them, but if you want, you and I can talk to Rarity, and I'm sure together we can recreate the hat perfectly!" "Oh please, they're a bit a dozen in Hoofington. All the rage in New Unicornia a few years back, I heard," Trixie replied, rolling her eyes. "Wait, wait, wait!" Pinkie Pie bounced over, confused and confuzzled. "Ya mean your hat isn't one of a kind, super special, ultra rare?" Trixie scolded herself mentally at the chance to make herself sound more impressive. She grumbled a bit, before glaring at the pink mare. "No. Its a simple magician's hat and cape set." "Your mommy didn't give you it before she died?" "Pinkie! That's none of our business!" Twilight scolded. "But the fanfics say-" "Trixie will have you know, both of her parents are alive and well!" "Does your daddy abuse your mom?" "PINKIE!" "What?! Trixie's father would never lay a hand on her mother! He shows her love and respect!" "Did they ignore you as a filly?" Pinkie was finally silenced by her mouth literally zipping shut, thanks to one of her spells as Trixie rubbed her head. "Trixie's parents have always been supportive, if slightly weary of her job profession! They have never ignored or negatively spoke to her for as long as she can remember." "Pinkie, what's gotten in to you? You can't just ask questions like that out of the blue!" The purple unicorn scolded her friend, bringing her aside and loudly whispering to her. "But all those fanfics I read said stuff like...Oh, nevermind," she sighed, before a loud knocking was heard from the door. "I hear voices in there! Is that you, Trixie?" Top Dollar questioned. "Who in tarnation is that?" The cowpony wondered. "Trixie's maid! Um...Why don't you all take a look inside Trixie's antique room? She'll talk to her maid and shoo her away," the unicorn suggested, opening a random door. "Uh...Trixie, darling, I do believe that is the little filly's room," Rarity pointed out. "Ya mean the bathroom?" Rainbow Dash added. "Nonsense! Why, look at this bar of soap! Said to have been used by Princess Luna the day before her transformation into Nightmare Moon! Oooh!" Trixie whispered, holding up said bar of soap. "And...um...These sheets of paper! Engraved upon them is the ancient codex of a long, lost language!" "Pardon, but ain't that just a roll of toilet paper?" The orange earth pony asked. "Nonsense! Trixie supposes that you foolishly think this is a chair, do you not?" "No, Ah think that's a toilet." "Foolish fool! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not surprised you are foolishly fooled by this foolish foal made trap! This is actually the great throne of the long lost...uh...creator of all sandwiches!" Pinkie Pie unleashed a loud gasp, before grabbing a wooden brush. "What's this, Trixie? What is it? What is it?" "It looks like its made out of mahogany," Twilight analyzed, picking it up with her magic, before it was taken by Trixie's. "This brush was made out of the desk of the the great Boss Ogre, King Yemma, the Judge of the Dead! This mahogany came from the planet Malchior 7, where the trees are 300 feet tall and breathe fire! From those trees, the desk was formed, by the dark, blood rituals of the Malchior people! But the Great and Powerful Trixie came to the great Boss Ogre and defeated him in combat, and in return, he gave her a piece of his mahogany desk! With all this history, this comb has the power to transcend space and time, and can shatter the very existence between all universes!" "..." "..." "..." "NEAT!" Pinkie smiled. "..." "Huh?" Rainbow finally said, before all six of the friends were pushed into the small bathroom. "Hey!" "Why don't all of you stay in here and examine the rests of Trixie's artifacts, Trixie hears her maid calling out to her!" She slammed the door shut and used her magic to lock it, before running to the opposite door. She opened it, and found Top Dollar glaring at her. "Yes?" "Where have you been? The foals are getting bored, and need to be entertained! When they're bored, they get annoying! To me and the adults, if you can't figure that out," she growled. "The last thing my sister needs is to be bothered by her baby niece." "Of course, of course! The Great and Powerful Trixie will be right down to entertain the...adorable...little...foals." Trixie could swear a few of her blood vessels popped as she forced herself to smile. "Entertain?" The unicorn turned and saw Sparkle and her group walking out of the bathroom. Trixie cursed to herself silently, realizing that the lock was inside the bathroom. Of course Twilight and co. could have easily escaped. "Yes, entertained. This stage magician isn't doing a very good job entertaining the party guests. That's the only reason she's here, ya know...Wait, who are all of you?" The earth pony mare realized, cocking her head to the side. "Well, that explains the party outside," Rainbow mumbled, staring out a window to see the party downstairs. "We're so sorry, miss...Um..." "Top Dollar." "Top Dollar!" Twilight grinned as she walked over. "You see, The Great and Powerful Trixie had actually called us over to help her! We're her assistants. The...uh...Spectacular Six!" "Never heard of you." "Well, we're very renowned in Hoofington. She called us up here to form a plan to entertain everyone! In fact, we were about to come down to do, just that!" "Twilight, what are you-MMMPH!?" The blue pegasus was quickly silenced by the unicorn's spell, leaving her quiet and angry. "Come on, everypony!" Trixie could not believe what had just happened. She watched Rainbow Dash fly through the air, entertaining the partygoers with fabulous tricks and flight moves. Rarity was giving fashion tips and was throwing out lies to the more prim and posh partygoers. She actually thought they would believe her when she said she knew Fancy Pants. HA! As for the others, Pinkie Pie was going back and forth between the kitchen and bringing life and laughter to everyone in the party, no matter the age. Not to mention her sweets were simply amazing. Applejack was showing off lasso tricks, improvising with a hose. Fluttershy was showing the young foals different types of birds, entertaining those that actually cared, and even a few who did not simply due to what they must have seen as adorableness. Twilight walked over and stood beside the Great and Powerful Trixie as she took a sip of her apple cider. The blue unicorn turned to look at her, before back at her drink, not knowing what to say. "Trixie! Trixie!" Top Dollar ran over with a large smile on her face. "I have to tell you, when I was told I had bought you along with the preparations for this wedding, I had my doubts you'd be anything too...amazing. But...wow! Just wow! A flight show and some of the best sweets I had ever tasted? Here! Take this, you earned it!" A bag filled with bits fell in front of the Great and Powerful Trixie, bringing the biggest smile to her face since she was hired in the first place. "I'm also giving your boss a a positive review of you, and telling all my friends that if they want a party done right, to call up Giggles McJoyheart!" Top Dollar thenran off to get a better view of the flight show, leaving Trixie and Twilight alone. "...Thank you." "Trixie?" "Thank you, Twilight. For the help," she slowly mumbled, looking at the bag of gold bits. It was larger than her last two paychecks combined. "Trixie, we're friends. Its what friends do." "..." "But you shouldn't have lied to us like that," the unicorn spoke firmly, making Trixie look at her. "You can trust us. We're not enemies anymore. You don't have to impress us. We're friends. I had hoped you realized that yesterday. I hope you know it now...." The showmare looked at the bag of bits once again, silently contemplating the words. "Twilight, if you and your friends wish, you may visit Trixie's true home after this. It is an unappealing, unimpressive room in a dull apartment. Nothing Great, nor Powerful. But it is Trixie's." She felt a hoof on her side and she turned to see a gentle smile on her once hated rival's face. "We'd love to, Trixie." The Generous and Fashionable Rarity"Well...Here it is," Trixie sighed, standing in front of her door. "Will you excuse Trixie for one moment? She needs to tidy up." The door opened a crack and the blue unicorn slipped in quickly, before any of her new...FRIENDS....could peek into her home. "I can't believe we're here," Rainbow sighed, flying above the five. "Come on, Rainbow, look how far we've come! We're at her actual home now. I'm sure Trixie is beginning to trust us." "That's what you said yesterday." Before the conversation could continue, a loud bang was heard from inside the room. The mares stood in the hallway of the shoddy in, the sounds of chaos from behind the door filled the air. Pots were clattered, yelling and pony swear words followed, and several of them could swear they heard a water buffalo. Finally, the door opened, and a ruffled and tired Trixie stepped out. "You may step in," she said, dusting herself off. The six did so, and they found the one room house to be...well, let's be honest. A mess, despite the attempt at cleaning. The floor was made of a messy, no doubt bug infested, carpet, the walls were a dull grey, with brown stains and cracks polluting it. The window allowed in light, which should have helped improved the room, but only seemed to be a small, quivering ray of hope that was quickly fading as the clouds moved in front of it. "Wow...Its..." "Yeah, its..." "It sure is...somethin'." "Yes! Something!" "I love something! Something is my favorite!" "Its...nice." Rarity glared at her friends, recognizing the words they said. As if they couldn't think of some other phrases or words to avoid the truth. "...Trixie, do you really live here? I mean, honestly, this place is rather, how shall I put it...? Cesspool-y?" "And I thought the orange one was the Element of Honesty," Trixie mumbled. "Pardon my diction, darling, but even you don't deserve to live in such an ugly abode. It is simply terrible." "Yes, well. Unless some bits magically appear on your persons, I doubt that will change." "Still, I cannot stand by and let any friend of mine live in such a disgusting home." "Agreed, Rarity. Come on, girls, let's help!" Before Trixie could stop the unicorns, they began to clean the place with their own magic. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does-MMPH?!" The magician was silenced with a hoof in her mouth by Applejack. "Best not to try and stop them, sugar. Once these two want to clean something, they clean it," the Earth Pony explained. "They have SUPER OCD!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping and landing on Trixie's hat. "...Right. Truly this is the magic of friendship." "Hello everypony, tonight we have a special treat! The Unicorn Competition! A tournament of show between some of the best magicers in Equestria! And we have the finest of the best of the greatest around, mares and colts!" "That's right, Pinkie Pie! Our finalist are pair of grade A show unicorns! On the left, we have the fashionable fashionista fiesta foreknown as being the Element of Generosity, Rarity! On the right, we have her opponent, a fan favorite, the dangerously delicious doughnut deliverer, Joe!" "The round is about to start! Whoever gains higher points from the judges will be the winner and will be bringing home a big bag of bits!" "Hey! Get out of there!" The actual announcer ordered, banging on the door. The ring was a simple, large circle made of orange tiles. The audience sat in the stands surrounding it, while the judges were on the left side, sitting in soft, comfy seats behind a basic, white, wooden table. The twp finalist were standing on their respective sides, looking at each other. "Best of luck to you, Joe." "Same to you, Rarity. Don't worry, second place is still pretty good." The two gave each other a friendly, competitive grin, before their horns glowed. "I hope you do not allow your friendship with Rarity to influence your rating, Fancypants," Photo Finish stated. "I hope you do not allow your animosity to influence yours, Miss Finish," the stallion replied. "Uh huh. Yep. Alright, I'll-Oh pony feathers! Round's about to start, I got to go, Octy! BTWITIAILWU!" "Wait, Vinyl, what-!" The DJ threw her phone in her saddle bag and smiled at the other judges as the lights dimmed and the spotlights were focused on Joe. The colt's horn grew brighter as three giant doughnuts appeared in the air and began to spin. The doughnuts flew over and under each other, before one of them exploded, turning into a swarm of smaller doughnuts. The normal sized doughnuts flew through the holes of the other two, making aerial movements equal to the Wonderbolts. "And Joe gives such a spectacular showing of his doughnuts! Look at those moves, Pinkie! I think that was the Buckaneer Blitz!" "I doughnut know what you're talking about, Rainbow, looks more like the Doughnut Dubstep to me!" The two shared a laugh as the show continued. The river of doughnuts exploded once more, so it was now an ocean of tiny pastries. The pastries packed against each other, becoming a giant serpent. The crowd gasped and screamed as the serpent hissed at them, before one of the giant doughnuts went down its body and stopped at just beneath the head. The other doughnut exploded into tinier pastries, and formed a rope, ending at the last giant one. Joe smiled as he tamed the doughnut serpent, pulling on the leash a bit and making the snake move around above him. Suddenly the snake broke free of the leash, breaking the giant ring, and sending pieces of the humongous jelly doughnut everywhere. The serpent attacked Joe and ate him in one quick gulp, and the judges gasped in shock. But it was all for show. The serpent shook and rumbled, frowning as it realized what was about to happen. It exploded, and the remaining doughnuts shot off, slowing down just enough to land on the lap of the judges and audience. "Free doughnuts for everybody!" Joe shouted, landing on the ground. "That was awesome! What do you think, Pinkie? Pinkie?" "Mmm! Good!" Pinkie smiled, stuffing her face with frosted doughnuts. "Well, colts and mares, I know Pinkie and I liked it. I know you liked it. Let's see what the judges think!" "That was spectacular! Simply divine! Bravo, Mr. Joe!" Fancy Pants applauded. "I'll give you a 9! Just shy of a ten. I noticed this show was still a quite similar to your last showing, but flashier." "Mmm! Ten, dawg! I'm bringing some these home," Vinyl grinned, loudly chewing on her doughnuts, spitting on crumbs as she struggled to talk. "Why I do not have the same love for fattening sweets as Vinyl does, I do respect your showmanship. Eight." "That's a score of 27 out of 30! If Rarity wants to beat that, she's going to need to bring out everything she's got!" Rainbow Dash announced, before looking at her co announcer. "...Hey, give me one of those," she ordered, grabbing a doughnut to eat. "Go, Rarity!" "Woohoo...!" "Go get them, sugarcube! Show these folks who's got style!" "Right. Whoo." Trixe sipped loudly from her drink as she rolled her eyes. The spotlights fell on the beautiful mare ass she closed her eyes. The lights then began to dim, letting darkness fill the enormous room. A cyan gem suddenly appeared in the air, slowly spinning. It bounced, as if dancing, slowly going up higher, before it suddenly stopped and a crack appeared on it. It plummeted, falling down into darkness, before it was caught by a net of blue and white stars. A white wand, crowned by a star on top, hopped over to the gem and spun around. The crack on the gem glowed and it seemed to fix itself slowly. That wand...Is that supposed to be me? Trixie thought, her eyes wide. A red apple suddenly bounced over to the pair. The apple and gem bumped into each other and spun around one another. They bashed into each other, and the repairs were threatened to be reversed. They suddenly stopped though and gently touched one another, and they both glowed as the repairs continued. The three now bounced together, before a roar was heard. A pair of red eyes glared at the three, and a giant, tooth filled maw appeared under it, emitting a red glow. Before it could hurt them though, a rainbow colored bolt of lighting hit its eye. It whimpered in pain, before a butterfly and cloud flew over. The cloud bumped into the monster's face, trying to push it away, while the butterfly flew to the injured eye and gently kissed it. The monster smiled at the kindness and kindly left as the butterfly and cloud joined the gang. Each of the symbols were now glowing, filling the room with a rainbow of lights. The lights only increased as happy, bubbly music started to play from nowhere. Balloons of all sorts of color rose up from nowhere, and they danced around the group. One in particular, a pink one, flew down to them and it bounced even more than they did. The other symbols grabbed the balloon's string and rose higher together, the music continuing to play, before it was replaced with a deep, echoing bellow of an organ piano. A pair of yellow eyes with red pupils suddenly appeared before the group, but the symbols stood tall against the monster. The monster was shocked to find the dancing objects resisting him. He flinched as a rainbow colored bolt shocked him. He reacted with shock as the butterfly tried to embrace him. He was flabbergasted as the wand spun around and sent a beautiful, sparkly, magical wave to knock it back. But it only fled in terror as a purple star descended from the unseeable heavens, and bashed him square in the head. The monster ran off, the evil in his eyes replaced with terror. The seven symbols danced as they glowed ever brighter. The gem was perfect once more. Better even, as it shined with an aura that easily outmatched its single light. The butterfly flew into the air with the balloon, leaving a rainbow behind them. The cloud followed, moving with such speed it created a Sonic Rainboom. Though it was an illusion made by the unicorn, the sight was equal in beauty. The apple and gem spun with each other, but softer, as if they were dancing. The star and wand played with each other, creating blue and purple bursts of magic. Their magic fused together, becoming a beautiful spiral as fireworks went off in the air. One final one, rainbow colored of course, went off, and the symbols all stopped dancing, and slowly faded away. "..." "Dude." "Quite." "I say, Rarity. That was spectacular," Fancy Pants whispered. "Nothing like you've ever done before and it was... phenomenal! Ten!" The audience agreed, loudly banging their hooves against the ground, shaking the stands as the other judges gave their ratings. "Ten! Dude, that was wicked awesome! You rock!" "...Ten." "A perfect 30 out of 30! Rarity wins!" Pinkie Pie screamed, hugging Rainbow Dash. "Whooo! Rarity won folks! You saw it!" Rarity smiled at the audience, tears in her eyes as everyone cheered and applauded her. Joe gave a sad smile, happy at the very least to be beaten by such a spectacular light show. "Way to go, sugarcube!" AJ jumped from out of the stands and ran over to her friend, embracing her as the others followed, even Trixie. They congratulated the unicorn as Fancy Pants walked over with the bag of gold bits. "Congratulations, Miss Rarity. You deserve it." "Thank you, Fancy Pants. Thank you, everyone!" "Rarity! Rarity! You just won the Unicorn Competition! What are you going to do now?" A reporter asked, yelling from the sidelines. "Hmm..." The seven laughed at Pinkie's joke as Joe walked over to the table with more doughnuts. Rarity happily paid him, reaching into the bag with her magic and giving him a few bits extra as he thanked them and walked back to the kitchen. Trixie could not believe what she was doing. One half of her brain told her to leave now, and stop this stupidity. The other half, the winning half, was too busy enjoying doughnuts and her new friends to care. "Oh wow, its getting late. We better head back to our hotel and get some rest so we don't miss the train back....home." Twilight looked at the others as her words quickly sank in. "Ah. Right. You all have to go back to Ponyville..." "Don't tell me you're actually going to miss us," Rainbow commented, and received a glare from the magician. "What if Trixie does?! Huh?! What if she does end up missing you six?! That doesn't make Trixie stupid or silly or-or whatever it is you're implying!" "Whoa...Yeesh. Sorry, Trix. I was just kidding." "I...! Wait, what? Did you apologize to Trixie? To me?!" "Yeah. That's what most ponies do. That's what friends do." Rainbow gave the magician a sly grin, before patting her back. "Besides, buck up! We can visit, right, gals?" "Actually, Trixie, why don't you come back with us to Ponyville?" Rarity suggested. "What..?" "I mean it. It'd be much easier being friends if you live in the same town as us." "That's a fantastic idea, Rarity. What do you say, Trixie?" "I...But....I...Huh?" "Shoot, she's so happy she can't even talk right," AJ laughed. "Ooh! You can work at Sugarcube Corner! We can have magic shows every week! Maybe even everyday!" Pinkie gasped, bouncing up and down. "And you're welcome to stay with any of us," Twilight offered. "At least until you have a home of your own." "Well, except for me. Unless you wanna make a cloud walking spell everyday," Rainbow chuckled. "Trixie...Trixie does not know what to say!" Go for it! GO FOR IT! One half of her mind screamed. Don't do it! Friendship is evil! Don't! Flee! Run! Quickly! Buck one of them and run! "Trixie is honored. Thank you, my...friends," the magician smiled. The six cheered, and Pinkie jumped over to Trixie, hugging her. The small party was soon going to end, with Twilight saying she would go and buy the ticket back to Ponyville that night, paid for by Rarity. There was only one last thing to do. "Here. For all of you," Rarity said. She emptied the bag and evenly distributed the gold bits, giving each of her friends an fair portion. "I...You're giving us the grand prize?!" "All that I haven't given to Joe already, yes. You are my friends. You supported me. Help me train. I owe this victory to all of you. Besides, the fame of victory is worth more to me than these simple bits. I'm sure Fancy Pants and the others are telling all of their high class friends about my sense of fashion and style! Not to mention everyone in the audience. My business will get a huge boom from this! I-Trixie? Darling, what are you doing?" The blue unicorn placed the bits back in the bag and gave a sincere smile. "You have done so much for me already. This is my gift to you now. First of many, I assure you." The smile was quickly replaced by the Great and Powerful Trixie's pompous attitude. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Of course you realize, any friend of the Great and Powerful Trixie will be well taken care. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not simply let anypony be her friend. Only the best of the best." Trixie opened an eye and gave a joking smile as RD playfully elbowed her. "Oh, of course, darling. I'm honored," Rarity giggled, as the friends left the doughnut store.
The Annoyed and Flabbergasted Trixie"Yes, mam. No, mam. Yes, mam. I understand, mam. Okay, mam. Yes, mam, I heard you the first time, mam. No, mam, I'm not back talking you. Okay, mam. Goodbye, mam." The light red stallion sighed, before rubbing his head with his hooves. "I need a nap..." He placed a hoof on a nearby intercom and spoke into it. "Will Trixie please enter my office?" Giggles McJoyheart waited in his office for several minutes, staring at his mahogany desk, before staring at his pink, soft hooves. He sighed and pressed on the intercom again. "Will the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie please enter my office, before I fire her?" Said Trixie must have been waiting right outside the door, because it suddenly launched open and she stepped out, basking in the ever amazing perfection that was herself. Truly her perfect perfectness was more perfect than even the perfectest of perfectionists. "Trixie, take a seat." "How may the Great and Powerful Trixie be of service to you, Giggles?" The cyan pony inquired, taking a seat as she sipped on the straw of her drink. "Trixie..." Giggles growled. "Apologies, apologies. Trixie forgot you do not enjoy being referred to by your first name." "Just Mister Mc will suffice, Trixie." "Of course, Mister Mc," she nodded, keeping her holier-than-thou attitude and tone. "I just got a call from Miss Ching." "Ah. Yes. Ka Ching. Trixie remembers her." The pony mentally fumed as she remembered yesterday's party. "Well, she just called. Can you guess what she said?" "That she wishes to pay me double for my amazing and stupendous services?" Trixie smiled, placing a hoof on her chest. "No. She's complaining about how you made her son cry. Something about, electrocuting his flank?" "That little snob was yelling at me throughout the entire performance! Obviously, his parents are doing a poor job of raising him," she declared, keeping her chin up. "The customer is always right, Trixie. Miss Ching is making me give her a refund because you electrocuted her son." "It was a small one." "That money is coming out of your paycheck." "WHAT?! You can't do that! Not again!" The room suddenly shook as the pink stallion slammed his hoof onto the desk. Trixie did not bow down though. Her arrogance wouldn't let her as she glared at her boss as he yelled. "This is the third time one of your customers have asked for a refund, Trixie! If you don't do something about your attitude, then you're out of here!" "Trixie is doing her best, with the tiny budget YOU have given her, Giggles!" "I am running a business, not a charity. I have already increased your budget, and I won't do it again." "Trixie requires the best equipment possible to do her best work, and Trixie will not perform for those that do not show her proper respect!" The pony got off her seat and turned with an angry grunt, before she began walking to the exit. "Trixie, wait," Giggles sighed, rubbing his head once more. "I'm sorry. I know the customers are always right thing is a load. They're not always right. But this is a repeating occurrence. I can't keep you if you keep costing me money. I gave you this job because I pitied you-" "Funny. Trixie doesn't remember it like that," she commented, examining her hoof. "AND because there's something about you I really like." "My skill? Charm? Showmanship?" She smiled, striking a new, Great and Powerful pose with each word. "No, your hammyness," he corrected, before glaring at her. "But I can only do so much. This is a business. I still need money, and so do you. I hope we don't have a talk about this again." Trixie let out an long, exasperated sigh and nodded her head. Giggles nodded back, before he excused the blue unicorn to leave. He sighed and looked for his stash of apple cider, mumbling to himself about "Kids these days..." Trixie quietly walked down the streets of Baltimare, in a huff over her recent meeting with her boss. Ever since her humiliating humiliation at the hands of one TWILIGHT SPARKLE, the Great and Powerful Trixie had led herself to Baltimare. Now, here she was, performing for birthday parties and weddings, lacking her trademark hat and cape. She growled and stomped her hooves into the ground as she stopped in line for some food. Perhaps some sweets would get her mind off her outrage. "E-excuse me?" Trixie sighed, rolling her eyes to the source of the voice. No doubt a loyal fan pleading for an autograph. Or an annoyed customer demanding payment for damages. If it was the former, she would shoo them away. If it was the latter, she would shoo them away. With a lightning bolt. "Do you know where we can find the Petunia Hotel?" A pink maned, yellow pegasus asked, looking to the ground and back at Trixie. The unicorn rolled her eyes once more before raising her hoof and pointing down the street. "Go down that way and take a left, then right on the third exit. Can't miss it." "Oh, umm...Thank you...Trixie?" She raised a brow as she realized who she was talking to. "Does the Great and Powerful Trixie know you?" "Fluttershy! There you are! We've been-Trixie?" A group of ponies walked over. An orange earth pony, a blue pegasus, a pink earth pony, and a white unicorn. But it was their leader that made Trixie's eyes widen, before they narrowed in hatred. "Twilight Sparkle. What are you and your, lowly friends doing here?" She asked, turning her head and pretending to not even notice the six. "Well, look who's exactly the same as when we last saw her," The blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash, mumbled. "Trixie...Um...We're here for the 'Unicorn Competition.' Have you heard about it?" Twilight sheepishly asked, smiling as her other, lowly friends grimaced at the sight of the Great and Powerful unicorn. Well, save for the pink one. She was being annoyingly perky about it all. Look at her...So smug. Trying to act so coy. I know what you're thinking Twilight Sparkle! "Of course, the Great and Powerful Trixie heard. She has been deemed ineligible though, for being sooo Great and Powerful!" That was an outright lie, of course. Trixie wanted to join the competition, but could not due to the entrance fee being more than she could afford in such a short time. Of course, Twilight and her band of misfits couldn't be allowed to know that. "What a load of flying feathers," the blue pegasus mumbled, before being poked by Twilight. "Well, that's...spectacular! Really! Um...So, how are you?" "Look, Twilight. I don't know what game you're playing, but I don't want to hear it! Go and take part in your little competition, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not care! Now be gone! The Great and Powerful Trixie just wants her food." "Sorry, everypony! Sold out! Come again tomorrow!" The baker yelled. The line of ponies groaned as they began to disperse. Trixie could have sworn one of her eyes twitched as her anger broke. Before the the blue unicorn could give the baker a stern scolding over refusing the services of the Great and Powerful Trixie, Twilight's voice rang out. "Pinkie, can I see the food you baked?" "Okai-dokei-loki, Twilight!" The pink pony produced her saddle out of nowhere (where did that come from?), and the purple unicorn opened it with her magic. She took out a cupcake and a muffin from it, before bringing them over to the Great and Powerful Trixie, who held them with her own magic. "You're giving her our food?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Calm down, Rainbow. These were meant for me. Here, Trixie." The sweets were released into Trixie's telekinetic hold, as Twilight looked at her Great and Powerfulness. "Trixie, I know last time we met things didn't go...well. I don't want any bad blood between us, though. You don't have to if you don't want to, but we'll be at the Petunia Hotel. If you can, could you come over so we can talk?" "The Great and Powerful Trixie...shall think about it." "Great. You do that," the purple unicorn nodded, nervously smiling. "Come on, girls. Let's get to the hotel. See ya, Trixie!" No one, save for Pinkie Pie gave such a cheer goodbye. The most she got were glares, perhaps a mumble or two. She slowly took a bite out of the cupcake, her eyes widening in joy at the taste of the sweet delicacy. It was the best thing she had eaten in a while. "Curse you, Twilight Sparkle. I know what you are planning. You are trying to lure the Great and Powerful Trixie into a trap with your delicious sweets! Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall show you she is not outwitted by anypony! With Celestia as my witness, I shall arrive at Petunia Hotel, and we shall see what you have to say!" She declared, raising a hoof into the air as she nibbled on her cupcake.
The Fair and Forgiving TwilightThe Great and Powerful Trixie looked at the Petunia hotel, and grimaced. The place was far more classy than that of her little apartment, no doubt this placed was picked and paid for by the so called Fashionista, Ribby. Or Reggy. Maybe Randall. Trixie couldn't care less what the white unicorn's name was. She sighed as she walked into the hotel, seeing various colts and mares walking by, before she saw the secretary at a nearby desk. A brown colt, with a black mane. She walked over, cutting in front of an elderly mare as she stood tall and proud. "Excuse me. I am looking for one, Twilight Sparkle. What is her room number?" "Um, mam, you-" "Yes, yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie is amazing, but please, focus and do your job. Twilight Sparkle. She should have five friends with her." The poor pony sighed, realizing this mare was going to be stubborn and difficult. Best thing to do was to get rid of this Great and Powerful pain as quickly as possible. "Twilight Sparkle, room 406. That's on the fourth floor." "Thank you. Here you go, my dear gentlecolt, for your services," the blue mare smiled, using her custom spell to conjure up a picture for the stallion. It landed on the pony's desk as she left. "You are no doubt honored to meet me. You are welcome, (insert name here). - The Great and Powerful Trixie. You may XXX this picture's hooves." Along with a picture of her Great and Powerfulness. "I don't get paid enough for this," he mumbled, throwing said picture into the trash bin behind him. "Next!" Trixie could feel her hooves becoming heavier with each step. Here she was, about to arrive at her archenemy's hotel room, no doubt walking into some sort of trap. Perhaps a ninja minotaur would strike. Or an Ursa Minor would attack, and Twilight would laugh at the irony of it all. Wait, was that irony? Or just a cruel callback? Trixie does not care! She will not show cowardice against her foe! She will charge horn first into whatever trap she may have awaiting her and prove herself able to outsmart and overpower the purple wench. The Great and Powerful Trixie had been so distracted by her own thoughts of riding a flying Ursa Major through Twilight's home, she found herself colliding into a certain unicorn. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Trixie?" Twilight realized, before using her magic to help her fellow pony up. "You came? You came!" Behind Twilight was her ever present gang of lowly followers. No doubt the blue pegasus one was laughing at her. The others did a better job at hiding it, but Trixie could tell what they were thinking. Their small, insignificant minds were like peas. They may have been able to hide their pea minds from others, but the Great and Powerful Trixie could see their pea-ness! She could see their pea-ness with ease! "Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived! Now then, Twilight Sparkle, what is it that you wish to converse about? The Great and Powerful Trixie's time is more valuable than even Princess Celestia's golden horseshoes." "Is it okay if we talk about it over breakfast? We were actually about to go get some food at the restaurant downstairs," Twilight offered. "Oh, very well. The Great and Powerful Trixie shall accompany you." "Joy," Rainbow Dash mumbled. "Hey there, everypony. What can I get for you lovely mares?" Their waitress smiled at the group, and one by one they made their order. The last two to order would were Pinkie Pie and Trixie. "One coconut cream pie, please!" "Does she not realize we're eating breakfast?" Trixie asked aloud. "Oh, she's just being Pinkie Pie. You'll get used to it," Twilight explained. "That would require spending more of Trixie's time with you. That is something Trixie will not do," the unicorn mumbled, before giving one last look through her menu sheet. To her utter displeasure, everything on the menu was far beyond her usual breakfast. Even a simple drink was too much for the poor Great and Powerful Trixie. There was only one last thing to do. Lie like a mad pony. "Trixie had a big...brinner. She does not require anything." "Brinner?" Twilight repeated. "Yes, brinner. Between breakfast and dinner. Trixie would not expect you of lower pay to know what such a thing is. It is only eaten by the most rich of rich ponies, with only the best supplies possible. Trixie can only afford it because her skills as a stage magician is so loved and sought after," she laughed, smiling proudly. "...Oh! Brinner! I get what you're talking about," Twilight suddenly smiled. "I believe I've read about it in a few of my books. Starswirl the Bearded would have them all the time with his apprentice, Clover the Clever." "He did?" The other ponies stared at the purple unicorn in surprise. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound right," Rainbow Dash said. "Do not question Starswirl the Bearded!" Trixie shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at the pegasus, silencing her momentarily. "So, Trixie, I take it you are quite wealthy then?" The white unicorn, Rarry, Trixie believed, asked. "Oh yes. I actually own a mansion in downtown Baltimare. Several in fact." "Probably to store that massive ego of yours." She heard, but she could not find the source. Most likely the blue pegasus, or the yellow one, who was trying to act so coy and shy. "Now then, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie hopes you did not call her away from her busy schedule to simply eat." "No, Trixie, what I wanted to discuss was something a bit more important than pie." "Must be super duper important than!" The annoying, pink pony known as Pinkie gasped. "Is Trixie working with Nightmare Moon?! Is she going to try to overthrow Celestia and bring about the Lunar Republic? Is Gilda in on it? Should I turn the Party Cannon to Mech mode?!" The hyperactive pink earth pony was stared at by half the restaurant as Rainbow Dash sighed and rubbed her head. "Pinkie Pie, you're so random." "No, Pinkie. I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I've been hoping to meet Trixie again to talk to her about this. I didn't plan on all of us meeting her here, but it doesn't matter. I need to ask this. Trixie, will you accept my friendship?" Trixie was expecting a lot of things. She expected land sharks. Ninjas. Shark ninjas. Minotaur ninjas. Ursa Minors and Majors. Even a musical number. But this? She was silent, and her shock would have to be translated by another pony. That pony being, one rainbow maned pegasus. "Uh...Hello? Equestria to Twilight! Did you forget how she magic'd us?" "Humiliated us?" The orange pony added, glaring at Trixie. "Insulted us?" Reggie the white unicorn added. "No, I haven't, but you three have forgotten. When Trixie first came to town, she was arrogant and boastful, I won't deny that, but then Rainbow Dash started booing her. You three were rude, and we should have just left the show rather than have you three try to upstage her. How many times has Rainbow Dash been annoyingly arrogant? And Applejack, you have been boastful, even overconfident, plenty of times. Remember the apples incident? Or the Iron Pony competition you and Rainbow Dash had? And Rarity, the incident at Cloudsdale speaks for itself." "So what, we're the bad ponies now?!" Rainbow Dash huffed, glaring at the unicorn. "No! Not exactly! Oh, this sounded so much smarter in my head. Like I said earlier, Trixie was loud, boastful, and to be perfectly honest, obnoxious." "Hey!" In another part of the restaurant, the waitress received the coconut cream pie from the chef. "Order up, one delicious coconut cream pie that will in no way be used as a classic, in the face gag!" "But we've all made mistakes, and we're still friends. We have all had moments of weakness, but we are still friends. Who says we can't forgive other ponies for their moments of fear and arrogance, and try to see the best in them?" Twilight once again faced Trixie, and held out a hoof. "Trixie, if you won't accept my friendship, at least accept my apologies. I don't care who's fault it was. We all made mistakes." "Hmph. Trixie accepts your apology, Twilight," the unicorn replied, turning her head and raising her nose. She looked at Twilight for a second, before quickly, and quietly tapping her hoof against her fellow unicorn's. "Thank you. Now, I would like it if you apologized to us." Trixie gasped and her eyes widened, as she placed a hoof on her chest. "Apologize?! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not apologize! Do butterflies apologize for eating nectar? Do beavers apologize for building dams? The Great and Powerful Trixie does not apologize for being GREAT AND POWERFUL!" To emphasize her point, the blue unicorn thrust a hoof into the air. "Okay, here's that non-comedic, completely unimportant pie for you gi-" The plate the pie was placed on was suddenly punched by Trixie's hoof, sending the pie flying into the air, and down upon the blue unicorn, splattering all over her head. "Huh. Ya know this always happens whenever someone tries ordering a pie from here. Weird." "Mmm! Yummy," Pinkie smiled, getting a dab of pie on her hoof and licking it clean. The other ponies couldn't help but chuckle and giggle at the sight of their pie covered acquaintance. Under the cream and crust though bubbled an angry and upset unicorn, who was about ready to scream at the six. She was stopped though as she felt most of the pie vanish from her face. "Are you okay, Trixie?" Twilight asked, a look of true concern on her face. "Don't act so innocent, Twilight Sp-" Trixie stopped as she felt a hoof hold her. She turned to see the cowpony, Applejack, using a napkin to clean up the spots Twilight missed. "Hold still," she ordered, wiping her horn, mane, and neck. When she was done, Applejack handed the napkin to the waitress before placing her hat on the table. She sighed and her green eyes locked onto the blue unicorn. "...Ah'm sorry too," Applejack mumbled, looking away. "Ah'm sorry for trying to upstage ya, even if you were acting mighty arrogant and snub." "...You are truly sorry?" Trixie questioned, raising a brow. "I'm not! This is stupid. She was a jerk when we met her!" Rainbow Dash declared. "Rainbow Dash! It is important we keep to the moral high ground. Twilight is right. We made a simple mistake. Trixie. I am sorry for trying to upstage you, even if you did ask for it. The mature thing would have been to just walk away. I apologize," the white unicorn, who Trixie now knew as Rarity, said, bowing her head. Rainbow Dash let out an agonizing groan, before looking at the unicorn. "Fine! Whatever. I'm sorry." Trixie stared at the six for a moment, before it all became clear. Moral high ground! They were trying to be better than Trixie! They were acting with 'maturity' and 'forgiveness' because they just wanted to feel superior to Trixie! Well, she was going to show them superior! "Trixie is also sorry. How she acted, how I acted was very rude. She pleads that all of you forgive her for her immature and uncalled for actions," she calmly said, bowing her head and putting her hooves together as she sat in her seat. HA! Chew on that, Sparkle! "I accept your apology, Trixie," Twilight smiled. "We all do," she added, motioning to her friends, who had a range of faces on their faces. Pinkie Pie was still smiling, Rarity and Applejack had looks of awkwardness on their faces, Rainbow Dash was grumpy about recent events, and the yellow pegasus that barely spoke had a small smile on her face, as if she believed all this friendship sillyness. "Now how about we all chow down?" She grinned as the rest of their food was delivered. Trixie was about to ask to be excused, not wanting to watch the six eat the delicious, rich in both quality and price, food that had escaped her. Sadly, her stomach cut her off. "I guess your brinner wasn't as big as you thought it was. Here, you can have some of my food, Trixie," Twilight offered, breaking her sandwich in half and floating it over to her new friend. "Trixie does not require pity food." "Its not pity. Its friendship. Here." The sandwich landed on her plate and the others began to eat, trading friendly jokes and smiles to one another as Trixie looked at her meal. She quickly went to work, eating it nearly as ravenously as Rainbow Dash. It was the single most delicious thing she had ever eaten since arriving in Baltimare. Worth every bit of Twilight's money. "That was amazing....ly decent! Trixie finds this food decent! Her private chef could whip up something better, but this is an adequate replacement!" The unicorn was quick to cover up just how...Great! And...Powerful! The meal was. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Say, we're all a little busy today, but tomorrow afternoon, is it okay if we visit one of your mansions in downtown Baltimare?" the purple unicorn wondered. "Hm? Yes, that sounds nice," Trixie mumbled, licking her lips to taste the delectable crumbs, distracted by the remains of her delicious food. "Great!" Later that day, after enjoying their breakfast and friendly conversations, the seven began to disperse. They waved goodbye to their new friend, well Pinkie, Twilight, and the yellow pegasus waved, the others just mumbled goodbyes and gave awkward smiles to Trixie, before they left. "Ha! Trixie showed Twilight and friends who is on the moral high ground! They thought they were so much better than her with their apologies and forgiveness, but no pony begs for forgiveness better than Trixie! And now, Twilight and her friends can crumble before the awesome beauty of her mansi..." Trixie's eyes nearly popped out of her skull as what just happened dawned on her. "The Great and Powerful Trixie feels she has just made a slight error...."
The Lying and Exaggerating Trixie"So basically you're doing that cliche from the movies?" Giggles asked. "What?" Trixie replied, glaring at her boss. "That cliche. Ya know. 'Hide the secret from others, before its revealed, but in the end everything turns out okay because real friends don't care about material things?' My ex-wife and I used to take our kid to the movies and-" "How did we even get to discussing this?!" Trixie lampshaded, slamming her hoof into her face in annoyance. "I asked you how your day was. You yelled at me. Think you called me a fat, pink, tub of lard, before you started pleading me about something. Then I asked why, then you gave a mostly, I assume, fake story about how that 'wench' Twilight Sparkle attacked you with an Ursa Minor," the pink stallion replied, taking a long drink from his apple cider bottle, only to find it empty. "You know, I've noticed that I've been lacking apple cider lately. Ever since I hired you, in fact." "Your drinking problem is not of Trixie's concern! Trixie demands you give her the Top Dollar job tomorrow!" "Trixie, you came into the office in the middle of the afternoon to demand to work? Besides, they didn't even ask for a magician. This is a big time wedding, not a birthday part." "Offer it at a discount price, then! Trixie does not care! This is a matter of pride!" "Coming from a stallion who has lived a long life, pride doesn't usually lead to good things. That's why I gave up trying to have pride long ago." "The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks you are an idiot." "The Old and Grumpy Giggles would like to remind you that he can fire you right now, if he wanted." "...The Great and Powerful Trixie needs this, Giggles! She cannot allow Sparkle and her cohorts the satisfaction of seeing that she does not live in a mansion!" Giggles let out a loud sigh, before nodding. "Fine. I'll tell them you're part of a package deal. Don't come crying to me when this all goes south. Even though you will, considering you don't have that many friends. Well, I guess you do now, I mean." "What? Please! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not friends with Twilight Sparkle and her band of lowly fiends! She has standards, as you know." "Uh huh. Trixie, this is just coming from an old stallion, but you might want to consider burying the hatchet. What's the worst that can happen by being friends? I mean, they apologized to you first." "Trixie...I...." The unicorn looked at the ground, before glaring at her employer. "Trixie will not simply yield! She knows they are trying to trick her! Ponies do not just forgive one another!" "I forgive you for being so difficult," Giggles replied, looking through his paperwork. "Look, just think about it. Maybe being friends is a better move than being enemies." "The Great and Powerful Trixie has thought about it, and she says no!" With that, the conversation was over. The blue pony exited the room as the pink colt rubbed his head. "I need more apple cider." "Hey! Magician! You're on soon," a mare yelled as Trixie peaked out from behind a bush. "Yes, yes, yes, Trixie heard! Now be gone!" She commanded, before resuming her search for Twilight and her friends. She had left a letter at their hotel room giving the time and place of where they would go to find one of her many, non-existing, beautiful mansions. To Trixie's outrage though, they were running late. "Cruse you, Twilight Sparkle! Were I your teacher, your tardiness would go straight onto your permanent record!" She growled, taking her fury on the bush below her as two colts saw her. "What's with her?" "I think she's had too much cider." "Heh. Some people just can't hold it in." "Trixie? Why are you assaulting a bush?" A voice asked. Trixie opened her eyes to find Twilight and co. in front of her, having watched her Great and Powerful beating she gave the poor, abused bush. "Trixe...is...gardening! This bush is just running her lovely front yard, and decided to be kind to the gardener by dealing with it herself!" She explained. "Oh! Well, let me help you then," Twilight smiled, before her horn glowed. In a purple flash, the bush vanished from the yard, leaving a small hole where it was. Trixie fell to the grassy ground in surprise, before rising up, dusting herself off. "Yes, well. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie's eyes shot open at what she just said, and in an attempt to save face, pointed at her. "But Trixie was just about to teleport it away herself! Ahem, well, you may leave. Trixie is busy being incredibly rich and not paying taxes." "What? So we can all this way to hear you gloat?" Rainbow Dash groaned, rolling her eyes. "We could have been doing something fun, but we just had to go visit Trixie," she grumbled, as Twilight glared at her. "We understand, Trixie. We'll be going. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow though?" "W-wait, you are leaving?" Trixie gasped. "Yeah. You told us to. Just now," Rainbow Dash stated, rolling her eyes. Leaving? This was too easy....Ah...So that is your plan, Sparkle! You do not believe, Trixie! "Well, she shall show you her glorious abode! Behold the Great and Powerful MANSION!" She declared, lifting her forehooves into the air. "Are you sure, Trixie?" Twilight began, only to be interrupted by the bouncing, pink pony. "Alright! Let's party!" She giggled, before pulling out a party popper and pulling on it, shooting confetti onto Trixie's head. Rainbow Dash groaned yet again, before Twilight scolded her. The blue unicorn led her new found....friends...to the door, opening it for them before she followed. "Where is that magician?" A brown mare with a black mane looked around, a dollar sign on her flank. She saw the door close and gave chase. For one reason, or another, Trixie came to regret her hasty, error-filled choice. Maybe it was the fact that there were pictures of Top Dollar and her family everywhere. Maybe it was the obvious inability to tell where she was going. Maybe it was the loud screaming in her mind, in the voice of her boss, telling her she had made a hasty, error-filled mistake and should be attempting to drown herself in cider now. Or maybe it was just the fancy hor dourves she had earlier. Either way, she was worried. "Oooh!" The pink one pushed her hooves against her cheek in an attempt to imitate one of the paintings, before falling over and laughing. "Trixie? Can I talk to you about something?" Twilight asked, walking over as the rest of her gang looked at the various fancy paintings in the room. "What?! Oh! Of course, Sparkle," Trixie replied, before seeing a picture of Top Dollar and her family beside her, in front of her home. As Twilight walked over, the showmare bucked a window opened and tossed the picture out the window. "I noticed you haven't been wearing your hat and cape lately." The blue mare glared at the purple one, but Twilight quickly continued. "I know, what happened. I know they were lost because of the Ursa Minor incident. I'm sorry to tell you I couldn't recover them, but if you want, you and I can talk to Rarity, and I'm sure together we can recreate the hat perfectly!" "Oh please, they're a bit a dozen in Hoofington. All the rage in New Unicornia a few years back, I heard," Trixie replied, rolling her eyes. "Wait, wait, wait!" Pinkie Pie bounced over, confused and confuzzled. "Ya mean your hat isn't one of a kind, super special, ultra rare?" Trixie scolded herself mentally at the chance to make herself sound more impressive. She grumbled a bit, before glaring at the pink mare. "No. Its a simple magician's hat and cape set." "Your mommy didn't give you it before she died?" "Pinkie! That's none of our business!" Twilight scolded. "But the fanfics say-" "Trixie will have you know, both of her parents are alive and well!" "Does your daddy abuse your mom?" "PINKIE!" "What?! Trixie's father would never lay a hand on her mother! He shows her love and respect!" "Did they ignore you as a filly?" Pinkie was finally silenced by her mouth literally zipping shut, thanks to one of her spells as Trixie rubbed her head. "Trixie's parents have always been supportive, if slightly weary of her job profession! They have never ignored or negatively spoke to her for as long as she can remember." "Pinkie, what's gotten in to you? You can't just ask questions like that out of the blue!" The purple unicorn scolded her friend, bringing her aside and loudly whispering to her. "But all those fanfics I read said stuff like...Oh, nevermind," she sighed, before a loud knocking was heard from the door. "I hear voices in there! Is that you, Trixie?" Top Dollar questioned. "Who in tarnation is that?" The cowpony wondered. "Trixie's maid! Um...Why don't you all take a look inside Trixie's antique room? She'll talk to her maid and shoo her away," the unicorn suggested, opening a random door. "Uh...Trixie, darling, I do believe that is the little filly's room," Rarity pointed out. "Ya mean the bathroom?" Rainbow Dash added. "Nonsense! Why, look at this bar of soap! Said to have been used by Princess Luna the day before her transformation into Nightmare Moon! Oooh!" Trixie whispered, holding up said bar of soap. "And...um...These sheets of paper! Engraved upon them is the ancient codex of a long, lost language!" "Pardon, but ain't that just a roll of toilet paper?" The orange earth pony asked. "Nonsense! Trixie supposes that you foolishly think this is a chair, do you not?" "No, Ah think that's a toilet." "Foolish fool! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not surprised you are foolishly fooled by this foolish foal made trap! This is actually the great throne of the long lost...uh...creator of all sandwiches!" Pinkie Pie unleashed a loud gasp, before grabbing a wooden brush. "What's this, Trixie? What is it? What is it?" "It looks like its made out of mahogany," Twilight analyzed, picking it up with her magic, before it was taken by Trixie's. "This brush was made out of the desk of the the great Boss Ogre, King Yemma, the Judge of the Dead! This mahogany came from the planet Malchior 7, where the trees are 300 feet tall and breathe fire! From those trees, the desk was formed, by the dark, blood rituals of the Malchior people! But the Great and Powerful Trixie came to the great Boss Ogre and defeated him in combat, and in return, he gave her a piece of his mahogany desk! With all this history, this comb has the power to transcend space and time, and can shatter the very existence between all universes!" "..." "..." "..." "NEAT!" Pinkie smiled. "..." "Huh?" Rainbow finally said, before all six of the friends were pushed into the small bathroom. "Hey!" "Why don't all of you stay in here and examine the rests of Trixie's artifacts, Trixie hears her maid calling out to her!" She slammed the door shut and used her magic to lock it, before running to the opposite door. She opened it, and found Top Dollar glaring at her. "Yes?" "Where have you been? The foals are getting bored, and need to be entertained! When they're bored, they get annoying! To me and the adults, if you can't figure that out," she growled. "The last thing my sister needs is to be bothered by her baby niece." "Of course, of course! The Great and Powerful Trixie will be right down to entertain the...adorable...little...foals." Trixie could swear a few of her blood vessels popped as she forced herself to smile. "Entertain?" The unicorn turned and saw Sparkle and her group walking out of the bathroom. Trixie cursed to herself silently, realizing that the lock was inside the bathroom. Of course Twilight and co. could have easily escaped. "Yes, entertained. This stage magician isn't doing a very good job entertaining the party guests. That's the only reason she's here, ya know...Wait, who are all of you?" The earth pony mare realized, cocking her head to the side. "Well, that explains the party outside," Rainbow mumbled, staring out a window to see the party downstairs. "We're so sorry, miss...Um..." "Top Dollar." "Top Dollar!" Twilight grinned as she walked over. "You see, The Great and Powerful Trixie had actually called us over to help her! We're her assistants. The...uh...Spectacular Six!" "Never heard of you." "Well, we're very renowned in Hoofington. She called us up here to form a plan to entertain everyone! In fact, we were about to come down to do, just that!" "Twilight, what are you-MMMPH!?" The blue pegasus was quickly silenced by the unicorn's spell, leaving her quiet and angry. "Come on, everypony!" Trixie could not believe what had just happened. She watched Rainbow Dash fly through the air, entertaining the partygoers with fabulous tricks and flight moves. Rarity was giving fashion tips and was throwing out lies to the more prim and posh partygoers. She actually thought they would believe her when she said she knew Fancy Pants. HA! As for the others, Pinkie Pie was going back and forth between the kitchen and bringing life and laughter to everyone in the party, no matter the age. Not to mention her sweets were simply amazing. Applejack was showing off lasso tricks, improvising with a hose. Fluttershy was showing the young foals different types of birds, entertaining those that actually cared, and even a few who did not simply due to what they must have seen as adorableness. Twilight walked over and stood beside the Great and Powerful Trixie as she took a sip of her apple cider. The blue unicorn turned to look at her, before back at her drink, not knowing what to say. "Trixie! Trixie!" Top Dollar ran over with a large smile on her face. "I have to tell you, when I was told I had bought you along with the preparations for this wedding, I had my doubts you'd be anything too...amazing. But...wow! Just wow! A flight show and some of the best sweets I had ever tasted? Here! Take this, you earned it!" A bag filled with bits fell in front of the Great and Powerful Trixie, bringing the biggest smile to her face since she was hired in the first place. "I'm also giving your boss a a positive review of you, and telling all my friends that if they want a party done right, to call up Giggles McJoyheart!" Top Dollar thenran off to get a better view of the flight show, leaving Trixie and Twilight alone. "...Thank you." "Trixie?" "Thank you, Twilight. For the help," she slowly mumbled, looking at the bag of gold bits. It was larger than her last two paychecks combined. "Trixie, we're friends. Its what friends do." "..." "But you shouldn't have lied to us like that," the unicorn spoke firmly, making Trixie look at her. "You can trust us. We're not enemies anymore. You don't have to impress us. We're friends. I had hoped you realized that yesterday. I hope you know it now...." The showmare looked at the bag of bits once again, silently contemplating the words. "Twilight, if you and your friends wish, you may visit Trixie's true home after this. It is an unappealing, unimpressive room in a dull apartment. Nothing Great, nor Powerful. But it is Trixie's." She felt a hoof on her side and she turned to see a gentle smile on her once hated rival's face. "We'd love to, Trixie."
The Generous and Fashionable Rarity"Well...Here it is," Trixie sighed, standing in front of her door. "Will you excuse Trixie for one moment? She needs to tidy up." The door opened a crack and the blue unicorn slipped in quickly, before any of her new...FRIENDS....could peek into her home. "I can't believe we're here," Rainbow sighed, flying above the five. "Come on, Rainbow, look how far we've come! We're at her actual home now. I'm sure Trixie is beginning to trust us." "That's what you said yesterday." Before the conversation could continue, a loud bang was heard from inside the room. The mares stood in the hallway of the shoddy in, the sounds of chaos from behind the door filled the air. Pots were clattered, yelling and pony swear words followed, and several of them could swear they heard a water buffalo. Finally, the door opened, and a ruffled and tired Trixie stepped out. "You may step in," she said, dusting herself off. The six did so, and they found the one room house to be...well, let's be honest. A mess, despite the attempt at cleaning. The floor was made of a messy, no doubt bug infested, carpet, the walls were a dull grey, with brown stains and cracks polluting it. The window allowed in light, which should have helped improved the room, but only seemed to be a small, quivering ray of hope that was quickly fading as the clouds moved in front of it. "Wow...Its..." "Yeah, its..." "It sure is...somethin'." "Yes! Something!" "I love something! Something is my favorite!" "Its...nice." Rarity glared at her friends, recognizing the words they said. As if they couldn't think of some other phrases or words to avoid the truth. "...Trixie, do you really live here? I mean, honestly, this place is rather, how shall I put it...? Cesspool-y?" "And I thought the orange one was the Element of Honesty," Trixie mumbled. "Pardon my diction, darling, but even you don't deserve to live in such an ugly abode. It is simply terrible." "Yes, well. Unless some bits magically appear on your persons, I doubt that will change." "Still, I cannot stand by and let any friend of mine live in such a disgusting home." "Agreed, Rarity. Come on, girls, let's help!" Before Trixie could stop the unicorns, they began to clean the place with their own magic. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does-MMPH?!" The magician was silenced with a hoof in her mouth by Applejack. "Best not to try and stop them, sugar. Once these two want to clean something, they clean it," the Earth Pony explained. "They have SUPER OCD!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping and landing on Trixie's hat. "...Right. Truly this is the magic of friendship." "Hello everypony, tonight we have a special treat! The Unicorn Competition! A tournament of show between some of the best magicers in Equestria! And we have the finest of the best of the greatest around, mares and colts!" "That's right, Pinkie Pie! Our finalist are pair of grade A show unicorns! On the left, we have the fashionable fashionista fiesta foreknown as being the Element of Generosity, Rarity! On the right, we have her opponent, a fan favorite, the dangerously delicious doughnut deliverer, Joe!" "The round is about to start! Whoever gains higher points from the judges will be the winner and will be bringing home a big bag of bits!" "Hey! Get out of there!" The actual announcer ordered, banging on the door. The ring was a simple, large circle made of orange tiles. The audience sat in the stands surrounding it, while the judges were on the left side, sitting in soft, comfy seats behind a basic, white, wooden table. The twp finalist were standing on their respective sides, looking at each other. "Best of luck to you, Joe." "Same to you, Rarity. Don't worry, second place is still pretty good." The two gave each other a friendly, competitive grin, before their horns glowed. "I hope you do not allow your friendship with Rarity to influence your rating, Fancypants," Photo Finish stated. "I hope you do not allow your animosity to influence yours, Miss Finish," the stallion replied. "Uh huh. Yep. Alright, I'll-Oh pony feathers! Round's about to start, I got to go, Octy! BTWITIAILWU!" "Wait, Vinyl, what-!" The DJ threw her phone in her saddle bag and smiled at the other judges as the lights dimmed and the spotlights were focused on Joe. The colt's horn grew brighter as three giant doughnuts appeared in the air and began to spin. The doughnuts flew over and under each other, before one of them exploded, turning into a swarm of smaller doughnuts. The normal sized doughnuts flew through the holes of the other two, making aerial movements equal to the Wonderbolts. "And Joe gives such a spectacular showing of his doughnuts! Look at those moves, Pinkie! I think that was the Buckaneer Blitz!" "I doughnut know what you're talking about, Rainbow, looks more like the Doughnut Dubstep to me!" The two shared a laugh as the show continued. The river of doughnuts exploded once more, so it was now an ocean of tiny pastries. The pastries packed against each other, becoming a giant serpent. The crowd gasped and screamed as the serpent hissed at them, before one of the giant doughnuts went down its body and stopped at just beneath the head. The other doughnut exploded into tinier pastries, and formed a rope, ending at the last giant one. Joe smiled as he tamed the doughnut serpent, pulling on the leash a bit and making the snake move around above him. Suddenly the snake broke free of the leash, breaking the giant ring, and sending pieces of the humongous jelly doughnut everywhere. The serpent attacked Joe and ate him in one quick gulp, and the judges gasped in shock. But it was all for show. The serpent shook and rumbled, frowning as it realized what was about to happen. It exploded, and the remaining doughnuts shot off, slowing down just enough to land on the lap of the judges and audience. "Free doughnuts for everybody!" Joe shouted, landing on the ground. "That was awesome! What do you think, Pinkie? Pinkie?" "Mmm! Good!" Pinkie smiled, stuffing her face with frosted doughnuts. "Well, colts and mares, I know Pinkie and I liked it. I know you liked it. Let's see what the judges think!" "That was spectacular! Simply divine! Bravo, Mr. Joe!" Fancy Pants applauded. "I'll give you a 9! Just shy of a ten. I noticed this show was still a quite similar to your last showing, but flashier." "Mmm! Ten, dawg! I'm bringing some these home," Vinyl grinned, loudly chewing on her doughnuts, spitting on crumbs as she struggled to talk. "Why I do not have the same love for fattening sweets as Vinyl does, I do respect your showmanship. Eight." "That's a score of 27 out of 30! If Rarity wants to beat that, she's going to need to bring out everything she's got!" Rainbow Dash announced, before looking at her co announcer. "...Hey, give me one of those," she ordered, grabbing a doughnut to eat. "Go, Rarity!" "Woohoo...!" "Go get them, sugarcube! Show these folks who's got style!" "Right. Whoo." Trixe sipped loudly from her drink as she rolled her eyes. The spotlights fell on the beautiful mare ass she closed her eyes. The lights then began to dim, letting darkness fill the enormous room. A cyan gem suddenly appeared in the air, slowly spinning. It bounced, as if dancing, slowly going up higher, before it suddenly stopped and a crack appeared on it. It plummeted, falling down into darkness, before it was caught by a net of blue and white stars. A white wand, crowned by a star on top, hopped over to the gem and spun around. The crack on the gem glowed and it seemed to fix itself slowly. That wand...Is that supposed to be me? Trixie thought, her eyes wide. A red apple suddenly bounced over to the pair. The apple and gem bumped into each other and spun around one another. They bashed into each other, and the repairs were threatened to be reversed. They suddenly stopped though and gently touched one another, and they both glowed as the repairs continued. The three now bounced together, before a roar was heard. A pair of red eyes glared at the three, and a giant, tooth filled maw appeared under it, emitting a red glow. Before it could hurt them though, a rainbow colored bolt of lighting hit its eye. It whimpered in pain, before a butterfly and cloud flew over. The cloud bumped into the monster's face, trying to push it away, while the butterfly flew to the injured eye and gently kissed it. The monster smiled at the kindness and kindly left as the butterfly and cloud joined the gang. Each of the symbols were now glowing, filling the room with a rainbow of lights. The lights only increased as happy, bubbly music started to play from nowhere. Balloons of all sorts of color rose up from nowhere, and they danced around the group. One in particular, a pink one, flew down to them and it bounced even more than they did. The other symbols grabbed the balloon's string and rose higher together, the music continuing to play, before it was replaced with a deep, echoing bellow of an organ piano. A pair of yellow eyes with red pupils suddenly appeared before the group, but the symbols stood tall against the monster. The monster was shocked to find the dancing objects resisting him. He flinched as a rainbow colored bolt shocked him. He reacted with shock as the butterfly tried to embrace him. He was flabbergasted as the wand spun around and sent a beautiful, sparkly, magical wave to knock it back. But it only fled in terror as a purple star descended from the unseeable heavens, and bashed him square in the head. The monster ran off, the evil in his eyes replaced with terror. The seven symbols danced as they glowed ever brighter. The gem was perfect once more. Better even, as it shined with an aura that easily outmatched its single light. The butterfly flew into the air with the balloon, leaving a rainbow behind them. The cloud followed, moving with such speed it created a Sonic Rainboom. Though it was an illusion made by the unicorn, the sight was equal in beauty. The apple and gem spun with each other, but softer, as if they were dancing. The star and wand played with each other, creating blue and purple bursts of magic. Their magic fused together, becoming a beautiful spiral as fireworks went off in the air. One final one, rainbow colored of course, went off, and the symbols all stopped dancing, and slowly faded away. "..." "Dude." "Quite." "I say, Rarity. That was spectacular," Fancy Pants whispered. "Nothing like you've ever done before and it was... phenomenal! Ten!" The audience agreed, loudly banging their hooves against the ground, shaking the stands as the other judges gave their ratings. "Ten! Dude, that was wicked awesome! You rock!" "...Ten." "A perfect 30 out of 30! Rarity wins!" Pinkie Pie screamed, hugging Rainbow Dash. "Whooo! Rarity won folks! You saw it!" Rarity smiled at the audience, tears in her eyes as everyone cheered and applauded her. Joe gave a sad smile, happy at the very least to be beaten by such a spectacular light show. "Way to go, sugarcube!" AJ jumped from out of the stands and ran over to her friend, embracing her as the others followed, even Trixie. They congratulated the unicorn as Fancy Pants walked over with the bag of gold bits. "Congratulations, Miss Rarity. You deserve it." "Thank you, Fancy Pants. Thank you, everyone!" "Rarity! Rarity! You just won the Unicorn Competition! What are you going to do now?" A reporter asked, yelling from the sidelines. "Hmm..." The seven laughed at Pinkie's joke as Joe walked over to the table with more doughnuts. Rarity happily paid him, reaching into the bag with her magic and giving him a few bits extra as he thanked them and walked back to the kitchen. Trixie could not believe what she was doing. One half of her brain told her to leave now, and stop this stupidity. The other half, the winning half, was too busy enjoying doughnuts and her new friends to care. "Oh wow, its getting late. We better head back to our hotel and get some rest so we don't miss the train back....home." Twilight looked at the others as her words quickly sank in. "Ah. Right. You all have to go back to Ponyville..." "Don't tell me you're actually going to miss us," Rainbow commented, and received a glare from the magician. "What if Trixie does?! Huh?! What if she does end up missing you six?! That doesn't make Trixie stupid or silly or-or whatever it is you're implying!" "Whoa...Yeesh. Sorry, Trix. I was just kidding." "I...! Wait, what? Did you apologize to Trixie? To me?!" "Yeah. That's what most ponies do. That's what friends do." Rainbow gave the magician a sly grin, before patting her back. "Besides, buck up! We can visit, right, gals?" "Actually, Trixie, why don't you come back with us to Ponyville?" Rarity suggested. "What..?" "I mean it. It'd be much easier being friends if you live in the same town as us." "That's a fantastic idea, Rarity. What do you say, Trixie?" "I...But....I...Huh?" "Shoot, she's so happy she can't even talk right," AJ laughed. "Ooh! You can work at Sugarcube Corner! We can have magic shows every week! Maybe even everyday!" Pinkie gasped, bouncing up and down. "And you're welcome to stay with any of us," Twilight offered. "At least until you have a home of your own." "Well, except for me. Unless you wanna make a cloud walking spell everyday," Rainbow chuckled. "Trixie...Trixie does not know what to say!" Go for it! GO FOR IT! One half of her mind screamed. Don't do it! Friendship is evil! Don't! Flee! Run! Quickly! Buck one of them and run! "Trixie is honored. Thank you, my...friends," the magician smiled. The six cheered, and Pinkie jumped over to Trixie, hugging her. The small party was soon going to end, with Twilight saying she would go and buy the ticket back to Ponyville that night, paid for by Rarity. There was only one last thing to do. "Here. For all of you," Rarity said. She emptied the bag and evenly distributed the gold bits, giving each of her friends an fair portion. "I...You're giving us the grand prize?!" "All that I haven't given to Joe already, yes. You are my friends. You supported me. Help me train. I owe this victory to all of you. Besides, the fame of victory is worth more to me than these simple bits. I'm sure Fancy Pants and the others are telling all of their high class friends about my sense of fashion and style! Not to mention everyone in the audience. My business will get a huge boom from this! I-Trixie? Darling, what are you doing?" The blue unicorn placed the bits back in the bag and gave a sincere smile. "You have done so much for me already. This is my gift to you now. First of many, I assure you." The smile was quickly replaced by the Great and Powerful Trixie's pompous attitude. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Of course you realize, any friend of the Great and Powerful Trixie will be well taken care. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not simply let anypony be her friend. Only the best of the best." Trixie opened an eye and gave a joking smile as RD playfully elbowed her. "Oh, of course, darling. I'm honored," Rarity giggled, as the friends left the doughnut store.
