The Great and Powerful Filly
Young ponies ran in joy while their parents waited in worry as the beginning of the entrance exam for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns drew near. This morning was the moment that several of the young fillies had been waiting for all year, a moment that would determine which unicorns would have their magical abilities fully honed under the guidance of some of the most talented magic-makers in Equestria. Those who did not pass were often burdened with thoughts of what they could have achieved had they been admitted. In fear of this, many of the young unicorns studied long and hard for this day, ready to pass the exam with flying colors. Among the unicorns, those who graduated from the academy were regarded with the utmost prestige. Not many ponies could imagine a greater honor than to practice magic under the gifted unicorns that worked within the academy.
As the exam drew closer, the minutes started passing like hours to both young and old alike while the gentle heat of the morning sun lightly caressed the fur of the eager ponies waiting frantically outside the school's entrance. Suddenly, the great wooden doors of the school swung open exposing a majestic stallion. His old wrinkled face carried a scowl so fiercely sullen that even the most cheerful of the perspective students could feel their warm spirits slowly being dampened by his cold complexion. The stallion moved his hoof up his temple as he pushed back his thick rimmed reading glasses and cleared his throat. He then looked to the crowd, addressing them with a tone that sent an implication that he had much better things to be doing.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, we have a very busy day ahead of us so I kindly ask that anypony here who has serious doubts about their acceptance at this institution kindly leave and come back when you are more confident in your abilities,” the stern-sounding prompter proclaimed. “This school is reserved for unicorns whose abilities have been proved to be beyond exceptional, and anypony who believes themselves to be below our school's high standards should save their precious time and head home immediately.”
The colt’s disheartening address left many of the nervous mothers and anxious fillies in a hovering cloud of doubt. The flittering skips of anticipation the young ponies had were halted, and the wavering fears of their parents only solidified further.
As the tension started to thicken to an unbearable threshold, the ponies could not help but be startled by the sudden burst of bright, brash, light emitted from the rear of the crowd. Squinting, the crowd could see the silhouette of a young unicorn casting a blinding glow, forcing all eyes onto her. As the powerful light faded away, the smug smiling face of an azure unicorn suddenly became visible to everypony. The dignified posture of the young filly exerted a sense of confidence that one would expect of royalty, portraying poise beyond the natural grace of most ponies. The proud filly carried a bright cyan mane, which rested comfortably under a large pointed hat and flowing cloak decorated with stars and sparkles that shined almost as brightly as her spectacular magic. Her presumptuous outfit was completed by a gleaming gemstone brooch that held her cloak together. The tiny filly started strutting toward the stallion, inhaling deeply before speaking as though she were about to make a speech.
“Mister prompter, please don’t waste your precious time with these miserable ponyfolk.” the cloaked filly stated. “After all, it’s doubtful that anypony here could possibly hope to match the raw magical talent of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
The young pony’s energetic and shrilly voice rang with such an intoxicating sense of pride that everypony in attendance couldn't help but to hang to her every word. The foals watching couldn’t believe that such charisma could come from such a small pony.
The impressionable young unicorns marveled at her posture as she suddenly stood on her hind hooves, and summoned a spectacular storm of fantastic fireworks and twirling tails of light from her horn. The spectators couldn’t help but gasp at the fantastic lightshow, which was full of beautiful color and sound. Fixated on the young filly, everypony watched as she dropped to her tiny hooves and approached the large wooden doors of the academy. Her grandiose performance was almost ruined by the tiny clops her hooves made as she walked across the pavement. The frame of her body seemed much too small to have held the enormous amount of confidence she had just exerted. Regardless, she fearlessly walked to the prompter and looked the scowling stallion dead in the eyes.
“Now listen here, if you wanted to get the gifted ponies out of the way first it only makes sense that I should take the exam before anypony else.” she stated while whipping her long mane behind her, sporting a smug smile. “As you can see, there could clearly be nopony better than Trixie.”
The prompter, clearly unimpressed by the spectacular show put on by the young filly and even more so by her attitude, started glared straight back at Trixie, eyes full of annoyance. His efforts were in vain however, as Trixie seemed far too absorbed in her own self-assurance to be intimidated by the disgruntled prompter’s stare.
Not a word was spoken as he pointed his head in the direction of the entrance doors. The young filly again flipped her mane behind her as she turned back to the crowd, inhaling deeply before shouting again in her shrilly but confident voice.
“Listen here my enthusiastic admirers. I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, shall become the most spectacular specimen of pony to ever grace this academy’s halls! You all have witnessed the first step of my journey to become the greatest unicorn in history!”
As the final word left her lips, an eclipsing cloud of smoke erupted from beneath her. Obscured from the eyes of the other ponies ,the small, showboating pony turned into the building and made a mad sprint toward the inside of the hallway. As the smoke cleared, the ponies left waiting outside sat in confusion for a brief moment.
Moments after her departure, a faint clap could be heard from a young mare in the audience. Like a wildfire the clapping spread to another pony, then another, and soon the entire crowd exploded into a wild demonstration of cheering. This caused the bitter prompter’s scowl to stoop even further. It was only after the clocked unicorn had left that the ponies could find the confidence to speak again.
“Can you believe that girl?” said one small pony to another, voice full of youthful enthusiasm.
“NO! She was so fearless the way she just ran up to that scary prompter! Not to mention those fireworks she used! They were so pretty!” the other filly exclaimed excitedly.
“Do you think she’ll actually become the greatest unicorn in Equestria?!?”
“I hope so! If she’s already great and powerful at our age she must be able to!”
The giddy young ponies jumped excitedly, their spirits completely renewed. Meanwhile their parents turned to one another, speaking under their breath.
“I for one think that little filly was little too pretentious for someone her age. Where does such a tiny filly develop an attitude like that?” muttered an older mare to another, her voice full of concern. “Also, where were her parents just now?”
“I’m not sure but at least it got the little ones excited again, if my little Sparkling River didn’t get accepted into the academy because of that stupid prompter I simply don’t know what I’d do!”
Inside the academy, Trixie was busying contemplating how she would make her grand entrance into the exam room. She approached the exam room door, she lite her horn, readying a grand display of magic. But, as she flung the door open a rush of cold air crashed into her, causing every hair on her mane to stand on its end.
Three cruel but majestic unicorns, with faces full of emotionless indifference, stood at the far end of the room, watching as the young filly pushed open the door. The trio of older unicorns levitated their clipboards in front of their eyes using magic and began writing, causing Trixie to think, for just a moment, that she somehow made a mistake. Regardless, she quickly regained her prideful poise and loudly declared:
“Hello future teachers and mentors! Today you shall witness the rise of your greatest pupil! For I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am destined to become the most powerful unicorn in Equestria!”
She ended her introduction by shooting a long, twisting beam of light, which took the form of a golden serpent. It slithered through the air, passing through the gaze of each proctor. Most ponies would be captivated by such a flashy and bold illusion. The elder unicorns, however, showed little interest as the snake swam to the far end of the room and vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Great...and...Powerful...Trucy... alright young lady for your entrance exam today we’re going to ask you to perform a task that will demonstrate your current level of magic.” said a gray and wrinkled stallion who was most likely the eldest of the three unicorns at the table. Confused, Trixie pounded her hoof against the cold tile floor of the exam room.
“Excuse me!?! Did you not see Trixie’s performance just now? She just demonstrated her current level of magic to you all!”
“Yes, yes dear. Please do us a favor and save any comments you have for later. We have a very busy day ahead of us and we need to keep things going,” claimed the old examiner as he turned and called out into the opposite hallway, “Bring in the egg!”
A young colt pushing a small cart appeared through the door. The squeaks of the wheels filled the otherwise silent exam room with an unsettling noise. As the colt let go of the cart’s handle Trixie noticed a small egg surrounded by hay on top of the wagon.
The proctor stallion coughed and raised his clipboard yet again, scribbling down his final notes. For your entrance exam you are to hatch this newly laid dragon egg. A simple task for any full grown unicorn, however for young fillies it’s a great test to see who is already gifted in the art of magic,” claimed the unicorn, lowering his clipboard to speak to Trixie.
In perfect unison, the examiner ponies all raised their clipboards and began scribbling yet again, causing Trixie to become slightly paranoid of what they were recording. “Start when you’re ready Miss Great and Powerful” exclaimed the elder proctor.
The azure colored filly stood there dazed, pondering how they were not completely awestruck with her entrance. However, before speaking out in protest again, she realized that she had not the slightest idea of how opening a dragon egg could be done.
Trixie started at the egg for several seconds before sickening feelings of panic began to sink into her mind. She had never used her magic for something like this before. In a fit of desperation, Trixie attempted to reassert herself to the unicorns that sat judging her yet again. She knew the only way to pass this test was to take a risk.
“Oh how you belittle me! Anypony who calls themselves a true unicorn could open a silly little dragon egg like this without even the slightest bit of difficulty,” proclaimed the azure filly. “Humph, this task is much too trivial for a powerful unicorn such as Trixie! She requests you merely watch as she demonstrates her true magical genius!”
Using the strongest of her unicorn magic, Trixie emitted a bright neon stream that rose to the exam room’s ceiling. Concentrating deeply, Trixie tangled and bent the stunning beams of light into the image of a dragon with large jagged jaws. As the examiners continued to sit unimpressed, Trixie called down her magical light show and placed it right in front of the proctor pony’s eyes. Using all the magical talent within her, the young filly animated the mighty dragon fangs, causing them to open and expose all the brilliantly colored and pointed teeth the young filly had created. Finally, Trixie closed the frightening mouth with a great CHOMP right in front of the examiner pony’s desk as the illusion faded away into smoke.
The elder proctor's expressions remained completely devoid of any emotion except for the slight gleam of bafflement in their eyes. The young filly stood with her hooves on the ground panting, wondering why they weren’t the least bit moved by her magic.
“Young lady this isn’t some theatrical show,” said the elder stallion with a clear tone of urgency in his voice. “…If you wish to be admitted to this academy we ask you use your magic to complete the task we gave you or we must move on to the next pony in line.” Trixie, devastated by examiner stallion’s unresponsiveness to her magic, began to feel a great rage start to fill up inside her. Never had one disrespected her magic in such a way.
“Well, clearly the Great and Powerful Trixie needs to show you boring old hags just how easily she can pass your meaningless test!”, screamed Trixie, her voice shaking with an intense anger. Walking towards the egg with a pout in her step, Trixie summoned all the remaining magic she could muster in her horn. Her mind plagued with doubt throughout the entire process.
Trixie had never studied magic very diligently. Her ability to impress others through entertaining displays was unrivaled by other fillies her age, but her experience in actual spells was almost entirely nonexistent.
Her horn shaking on top of her silver mane, Trixie thought long and hard about the right method of opening the egg. Her magic covered the delicate egg completely, but it could not find a way to crack the egg’s smooth surface. Although diligent in her efforts, Trixie ultimately threw the egg in frustration, almost smashing it against the opposite wall. “This is ridiculous!” She cried desperately. “This egg is clearly defective, and the Great and Powerful Trixie cannot open a defective egg!”
With a soft chuckle, the unicorns looked at Trixie beyond their clipboards. The eldest of them raised his voice and said, “Well now, is that so? Could you tell me how this egg is defective Miss Great and Powerful because if you can I’ll consider that a great work of magic in itself.” The judges continued to chuckle, causing Trixie’s face to turn a bright shade of red.
“Well,” cried Trixie. “…the shell… the shell is much too hard... and...How could you possibly expect me to crack such a hard shell when there’s such a tiny dragon inside?” Trixie stated, with a sense of panic rarely seen in her. “I don’t want to hurt the poor thing. Trixie is a creature of compassion of course.” Trixie’s desperate explanation only served to make the examiners laugh even more loudly than before.
Between chuckles the wrinkled stallion asked Trixie. “Why don’t you just leave and let us move on to the next pony Trixie? You're such a young filly, and can always try again next year. We promise to have a working egg then too.”
Lips quivering, Trixie’s head fell towards the floor, trying to hold back the urges to cry and lash out at the proctor. Before she had a change to protest again, the elder pony in an old, hoarse voice shouted “BRING IN THE NEXT PONY!” into the hallway.
Suddenly, eyes filled with tears, the defeated Trixie sprinted towards the door on the other side of the room. Refusing to look back, she continued galloping towards the exit in a desperate desire to leave the dreaded school as fast as she could.
As the young pony dashed out the academy’s back gate, she continued bolting away as fast as her tiny hooves could carry her. Trixie felt as though a great weight had suddenly been placed inside of her and she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it. Trixie, for the first time in her life, did not feel as great and powerful as she normally did.
Trixie kept running until she reached the royal garden just outside of Celestia’s castle. Often one could hear the birds and bees humming their beautiful spring songs in this small part of the courtyard but as the crying pony stopped and started to weep wildly the typical cheeriness of the garden was quickly replaced by gloomy feelings of pain and anguish.
“What will I do now?” Trixie cried out between sobs. “I can’t even get into the Princess’ school! How will I ever become the most powerful unicorn in Equestria now!?!” Trixie bawled as she buried her face into her hooves, feeling as though everything she had ever aspired to be was suddenly taken away from her.
“Why hello there little filly, why so glum?” said a sweet and warm voice coming from across the garden. Startled by the noise, Trixie’s sobbing stopped as she turned to see that a gorgeous alicorn with a majestic white coat and swaying rainbow mane was standing across from her. The alicorn wore a glittering gold tiara and necklace encrusted with large purple gems. The way she carried herself demonstrated a level of elegance that Trixie had never seen in a pony before.
Baffled, Trixie realized that she was standing next to none other than Princess Celestia herself. “Your Majesty!” exclaimed Trixie as she bent over for a bow. Something that Trixie would never have done for another pony had she not felt so disheartened by her failure.
“Yes my reputation exceeds me yet again it seems, but what are you doing crying out her in the garden?” Celestia asked in a kind, sympathetic voice.
“Oh Princess, I feel like I may not be the powerful unicorn I thought I was,” said Trixie as she slumped down against a tree. “What good will I ever do if I’m not the best at magic?”
Celestia chuckled lightly, “What are you talking about little filly? You don’t need to be the best at magic to make a difference. Why, just look at the difference you made today at the entrance of the exam.”
As Trixie listened she looked up at the Princess’s caring face in confusion, “You were watching us Princess? What do you mean? I wasn’t doing anything I don’t normally do.”
Celestia laughed loudly, “I’m sure you weren’t! But that’s exactly why I said you don’t need powerful magic to make a difference.” said Celestia as she lowered herself down next to Trixie. “When that grumpy stallion came out of those doors, all the little foals out there became too frightened to take the exam, but once you showed up and inspired them through you’re little entrance, they forgot all about their worries and were inspired to imitate the confidence that you showed. If you ask me I’d say it’s the mere force of your personality that makes you great and powerful.”
Trixie was looked at the Princess with even more complexion than before. “Wait… huh?” said Trixie with a tone of bafflement. “The ponies were inspired by me?”
“Yes, your theatrical personality did wonders for those little ponies,” retorted Celestia. “I’m sure that if you tried, you could do the same for several other ponies as well. In fact,” said Celestia as she leaned closer to Trixie, whispering into her ear. “Someday, I want you to travel all across Equestria. If you showed your little Great and Powerful act to everypony you meet I’m sure you’d see what I mean.”
Trixie slowly leaned away; completely unsure of why the princess was telling her this. “But why should I Princess? I also don’t understand what you mean by my act. I may perform for others but I don’t act.”
Celestia started to stand upright and stretched her large wings, “Maybe by traveling you’ll learn about more about yourself. Once you understand what makes you unique I know you’ll be able to make a difference in the lives of everypony in Equestria. Now I must be off. If being a princess meant lying down in a garden all day there would be a lot more ponies after the throne. Take care now.”
With a flap of her great wings she soared quickly into the air. Further and further into the sky she went until she was almost out of Trixie’s sight. Before she was gone she turned back and shouted, “One more thing before I go little Filly, ponies are inspired by confidence, but never by boasting. Try to keep that in mind little one!” and with that the Princess flew off into the sunny horizon.
“Traveling Equestria huh…” muttered Trixie to herself as she struggled to make sense of the Princess’s words. “Why would the Princess want me to travel all across Equestria just to put on an act for them, and what does she even mean by act?”
Suddenly, the message behind the Princess’s words became somewhat clear to her. “That’s it!” exclaimed Trixie loudly. “The Princess clearly understands the complexity of the magical genius of Trixie and wants her to be the model unicorn that everypony looks up to! It takes a powerful pony like a princess to understand the greatness that is Trixie, and to hide my ability from the rest of Equestria would be a complete waste of my talents!” proclaimed the young filly as she regained the smug grin she carried earlier that morning.
Her confidence restored, the young filly walked out to the edge of the royal garden and peered off into the distance at all the places outside of Canterlot that she had yet to visit. “Prepare yourself Equestria!” screamed the refreshed unicorn energetically to the horizon. “One day, everypony in the Equestria will know of the amazing talent that is the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
