Trixie’s Number
Trixie hurried through the streets of Ponyville. If that pink demon found her…
“There you are Trixie! You’re not getting away!”
Trixie didn’t even look behind her. She knew that voice. Pinkamena Diane Pie, Ponyville’s premiere party pony, had a secret and Trixie found it. She poured on as much speed as she could muster. To her advantage, she did spend most of her career as an illusionist pulling around her own home, so she didn’t have to worry about her stamina. But that pony, that pink, pony-shaped creature of madness, she had an unnatural tenacity that could cost Trixie everything.
She came up with a plan that might… no, it had to work! Trixie was not going down this day!
Pinkie Pie knew she was on the right track. Her Pinkie Sense led her through Ponyville following that unicorn. Now it was telling her that she went down an alley, trapped with various tricks to slow the pony down.
Pinkie ran, dodging ropes and debris falling in her path as her Pinkie Sense warned her. Oh, Trixie was resilient, she gave her that. It would make her work afterward that much sweeter.
Twitchy tail. She looked up and saw the net falling. Cute, but it would not… WHAM!
A pit. A simple pit trap. That clever pony. She used Pinkie’s senses against her. Oh sure, look at the net! You’ll never guess that your sense was warning you about the pit that you… and now the net was over her.
Oh, she IS good. And here she thought Rainbow Dash had style. It was time to pull out all the stops.
It was close. All she had to do was run another couple minutes and…
“Nice try, Trixie.” No. There she was, ahead of her! “I have to give you credit. That pit trap and net? Genius. You actually managed to trick me. But I think it’s time you learned you can’t outrun me!”
Trixie gulped, swallowing every bit of confidence she had. She had one trick left up her sleeve. It was a gamble on any day, but it was all or nothing now.
“Very well then! No more running! I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, shall unleash powers overwhelming even you!” Trixie reared up and smiled in a way that said she was no longer holding back. “Good bye, Pinkie!”
She slammed her fore hooves on the ground and ignited her horn in a blaze of blue that rivaled the clear sky. Glowing blue lines emerged from under her on the ground and formed a diagram, a circle, brimming with raw power. She opened her eyes and they spewed forth black smoke. A guttural voice escaped her lips as if she was speaking from beyond the stars. “I summon the Beast of Shadow whose name shall not be spoken. Come forth and fulfill your contract!”
The blue lines seemed to scream as they darkened to a blackness that hid behind the sun. A black claw of smoke and shadow burst forth from the ground as a beast as large as Greedy Spike emerged into the world. Its eyes, if they could be called that, looked right at Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie chuckled. “Is that all you have? Not bad. But can it survive my CAKE BATTER CANNON?!” Out of nowhere, her trademark party cannon put itself right in front of her and the explosion was… well, it sounded like a pony blowing something out its nose. The batter that emerged looked like it was clearly yellow cake batter and went right through the beast, dissipating it in a big puff of smoke.
Pinkie sauntered up to the shocked Trixie. “Puh-lease! I thought you knew my Pinkie Sense. I could tell that was nothing but an illusion. Twilight told me that touching an illusion with something real could dissolve it like sugar in lemonade! Bet ya didn’t think I knew that!” She poked Trixie in the chest…
Trixie dissolved into a puff of smoke.
She had tricked her again! But, if she wasn’t here…
CLANG!
No…
CLANG!
It couldn’t be!
CLANG!
“NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie screamed to the sky as Trixie rang the school bell. It was over.
“I win I win I win!” Trixie clapped her hooves with a glee. “I can’t believe! I tricked the greatest prankster in Ponyville!”
All around, ponies were clapping and congratulating Trixie. Pinkie walked up to her and held a hoof out to shake. “I can’t believe it! You fooled me three times! The first time with the chocolate chip chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting and chocolate sprinkles slowed me down. How did you even think of that? Then the net and pit trap? Genius! And I don’t think I’ve seen anything as scary as that creepy thing you made. But that was just a diversion from the real trick and that was the copy of you while you snuck off to the school bell to ring it and win and now we’re here and THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!” Confetti flew around everywhere.
“Well, you said impress you; I had to do what I do best. I’m glad you enjoyed it all,” Trixie said with a bit of fluster. Here, Trixie had tricked Pinkie Pie in the race to the school bell and she loved it.
“Oh you betcha! You’ve more than proved you’re good enough to help me with parties! Just save the spooky stuff for Nightmare Night. Zecora likes to help with that. I’m sure you two could make some really spooky fun stuff for the kids!”
Trixie settled down to sleep. What a day. At Twilight’s… No, PRINCESS Twilight’s insistence, she tried making a new friend. It was a simple question. “What’s wrong?” Pinkie was starting to get overwhelmed with the amount of parties she was throwing, leaving less time for her friends. She needed help. Well, what better way to make a friend than to help?
Suddenly, Pinkie had the idea to HIRE some help and Trixie had somehow become her first applicant. It would be a race from Sweet Apple Acres to ring the school bell. Rainbow Dash heard race and wanted in, but when she found out it was for work, she passed. Then she let something slip that inspired Trixie.
“Besides, the only way I could guarantee a win against you would be distracting you with sweets.” In the first leg of the run, Trixie left a giant chocolate cake with the words “For Pinkie” written in icing. That would help her win.
For some reason, she wanted to win this. She asked Princess Twilight for help with the race. The Princess refused to help, saying she’d need more than tricks to win. Besides, Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense could easily tell what kind of tricks she’d use. Like how her tail twitched if something was going to fall. That inspired the net and pit trap.
The finale was pure exertion. She had not only conjured up a large illusion, but an illusory double of herself and a chameleon glamor that let her sneak away while Pinkie was focused on the illusion. It was a gamble, but considering the pit trap worked with two falling things, she figured three simultaneous illusions would work.
And, in the end, she gained a friend. Well, a boss too, but having your boss as a friend wasn’t too bad.
Maybe there’s something to this friendship magic after all.