Trixie was free! For the day... For more than a day, really, but not permanently. This reminded her even as she closed her fatter wallet that didn't hold all of her cash at once. "Today I ask."

She willed the button to the elevator to be pressed and tapped a hoof as she waited. The time made her reflect a little on how she ran into the Don in the first place, in some warehouse. She was surprised because something had just changed... What was it?

She frowned sharply, trying to remember what it was. What was she doing before the warehouse? Her rough trip and recovery had done nothing good for her memories. The elevator door opened with a chime and she stepped inside.

Soon she was on the casino level where the Don tended to be, along with all the others. She remembered being a new face, ignored or given the odd look, but that had changed. Working so hard you get thrown in a hospital, but still successful, did that, she supposed. They greeted her as she went past.

Rags was there, noticing her quickly. "Hey, aren't you off duty?"

Trixie waved a hoof at him. "So what if I am? This is a casino, is it not? Can't a pony be here on her day off?"

Rags chuckled at that. "I guess I can't say that ain't true. Have fun, huh?"

"Have you seen Don?" She looked around for his particular face.

"Just over there." He tossed his head.

She spotted him quickly and trotted off towards him. His mare wasn't around, which she figured would only help her cause. "Don? We need to talk."

Don turned his head away from the table he was seated at. "Trix! I didn't think I'd see you for a bit. What's on your pretty little head?"

Trixie held back her cringe. Some ponies she kinda liked being called pretty by. Don was not one of them. "This whole... thing. I'm glad I got the job done, and we all made a lot of bits, it's true, but this is not the life Trixie wants. She wants out."

Don hiked a brow. "Yeah? What do you plan to do?"

Trixie opened her mouth to fire a retort, but it fizzled and died. She could do her show! But her wagon was... not there. No, she never had a wagon. She clearly remembered having a wagon. She would pull it around. She never pulled it around. She had no wagon.

Don chuckled softly, easily seeing the confusion in her face. "You got a sweet gig right here. Take your break. The next one won't be so stressful, and nopony will be trying to hurt you, alright? Get out of here."

Trixie staggered away, her thoughts a confusing jumble. Before she even knew it, she was riding the elevator down to the street level. "I have a car!" she suddenly spouted as she stepped off the elevator. An image sprang to her mind of her old car. It was... not there. It was gone. It was gone like so many other things.

But she had no wagon. She never did. She could feel her mind finding balance around that concept. The only shows she had were as a storyteller, performing for the people of Manehattan. They seemed to like her tales. She smiled at the memory of them. She liked telling stories, wild and fanciful, with happy endings to uplift the ponies that listened to them.

"I wonder what he would think of them." He remembered an online friend, pondering what they would think of their shows. Memories oozed, broken pieces shuffling around. "I bet he would like them."

But he was an online friend. He was behind a screen, a world away. Trixie's steps slowed as she realized the error in her memories. Her old memories were so much dimmer than they had been. Who was she? The... real Trixie was ready to prove she wasn't Trixie.

Not-Trixie remembered clearly she was... not Trixie. Who was she? She liked being Trixie. Trixie was a comfortable name. She wore a nice hat, and a nice cape. She was used to being called Trixie.

She had to win.

She flagged down a passing taxi and hopped aboard. "Take me here." She floated the card in view of the earth pony, and she was spirited away through the city. They arrived at a small park that dimly registered a faint memory in Trixie. "Thank you," she bid as she hopped clear of the taxi and entered the park, her hooves squishing on the grassy ground instead of clopping on the cement.

It was a nice place, with flowers and paths and... Oh yes! It was the park they had done that play in that... show she once saw with the ponies. It looked neater than she remembered them getting it. Had they kept working on it after the show? That was nice of them. Trixie paused by a large flower and sniffed at it. Its aroma was delicate and sweet, bringing all the more of a smile to her face. "Trixie has good taste in battle arenas."

"Of course she does," came a familiar voice.

Not-Trixie jumped, coming down facing her twin. How could there even be two Trixies? Not-Trixie frowned, trying to remember how this had come to be. "Are you a changeling?"

Trixie scowled at Not-Trixie. "We were about to ask the same, imposter. I see you're here early. The competition isn't ready yet."

Not-Trixie tilted her head a little. "I suppose not... I just wanted to have a look. There's no law against that, right?"

"She supposes not." Trixie buffed a hoof against her front. "Look all you want. That stage will be where I show to the world how much more Trixie Trixie is."

Not-Trixie quirked a smile. Perhaps being threatened had pushed Trixie into her speech pattern extra. "You know, you were always a pony I liked."

Trixie blinked at that. "You like Trixie so much, you're copying her! That is a step too far!"

Not-Trixie sat down on her haunches, watching Trixie curiously. "They say the most sincere flattery is imitation." She leaned in a little. "I suppose that means I really like you."

Trixie went red, taking a few steps back. "You will not charm Trixie, even if you wisely wore one of the prettiest faces in Equestria to do it with. No! You are ruining Trixie's good name, so she will take it back. You will be laid low by her superior showmareship and have no choice but to admit that you are not Trixie."

Not-Trixie's mind went to dirty places, imagining a steamy fit of self-cest with the other Trixie. She went as red as the other Trixie, shaking her head furiously to shake off those thoughts. "I will not give up that name without a fight!" She rose up to all four, tossing her mane. "I've practiced my magic and I'm a showmare too."

"Trixie would hope that anypony with the nerve to call themselves Trixie would be one," scoffed the other Trixie. "You had better give at least a decent defense." She reached out and prodded Not-Trixie. "But Trixie will win, the real Trixie."

Not-Trixie looked past the other Trixie to the stage. "I want to see where we'll be competing." She walked past the other Trixie without being stopped. There was a short flight of stairs she ascended up onto the stage. It was made of wood, smooth and well-built. Craning her neck, she could see there were lights above, along with rods that other things could slide on.

She tapped her hooves as she walked, finding a trapdoor or two as she went along. What could go in those? Or maybe they came out?

"If you are a changeling, we appreciate that you're at least taking this challenge seriously." Trixie nodded softly, her eyes on Not-Trixie intently. "When you lose, do you have another name in mind?"

Not-Trixie winced at that. Did she have another name? One drifted in the murky depths of her memory, but it felt wrong even without her being able to get a grasp on it. It was a stallion's name. Where did she even get that name? "I'll just have to not lose."

"You're welcome to try." Trixie glanced off. "But bring another name."

"So you have one?" asked not-Trixie.

Trixie's brows shot up. "As if Trixie needs one. She will reign supreme." She raised a hoof in a slow arc over her head. "All the ponies that gather here will gasp and call out her name, praising Trixie for being Trixie, and laughing at the one that thought she was Trixie."

Not-Trixie glanced around suddenly. "There'll be a crowd?"

"Of course." Trixie scoffed at the idea. "As if Trixie would compete without a crowd. How ridiculous. She's already sold tickets. Expect this park to be overflowing with ponies to watch you fail."

Not-Trixie's teeth clenched at the thought of so many ponies she couldn't even really tell one from the next. Her shows had been for a dozen or so ponies, tops. That was... different. She had performed on the sidewalk. She had performed for sick ponies in a hospital. They hadn't paid to be there, they had chosen to sit and watch, or leave, but these were ponies that had paid, expecting a fine show.

They expected Trixie. Was she Trixie? What else was she?

Trixie smirked at the expression on her double's face. "Trixie is feeling magnanimous. When she finishes crushing you, she'll help you pick a better name." She turned away, rising up to two legs and letting out a triumphant laugh. "It's the least she can do for a pony who is clearly her fan, but not her equal."

Not-Trixie turned to face her gloating double. "I will... do my best. I've already jumped through smaller hoops on brighter fires."

Trixie perked an ear as she looked over her shoulder, her hooves at her hips. "What sort of 'hoop' were you jumping, Not-Trixie?"

Not-Trixie aborted the thought, mumbling softly. She couldn't go into detail about the crimes she'd performed... Still... "I recovered riches from some bad ponies, to be returned to the poor ponies they stole from. I teleported with this much." She spread her forehooves wide, balancing on her hind-legs. "It almost killed me, but I did it."

Trixie hiked a brow. "We were wondering how you managed to get those marks." Her voice wasn't entirely confident, her bravado dented at the idea of her double managing such a feat when she had not done such a thing. "But teleportation will not win you this show. You have to perform! Trixie is a showmare. This much is obvious to everypony. The better showmare will take the prize."

Not-Trixie fell back to all fours as she trotted for the stairs leading back to the grassy floor of the park. "I'll be there."

Trixie fell down as well, turning to smirk at her rival. "You know, Trixie already knows she will win, and it isn't just her confidence that tells her so."

"What else is it?" asked Not-Trixie, glancing towards the trail that led out of the park. She was ready to flee.

"You don't call yourself Trixie." Trixie grinned triumphantly. "Even the presence of the real Trixie is enough to drive the name from your lips. If you wish to concede, too bad. Trixie has already sold tickets. We will give them a show, even if it's just Trixie whipping the fight out of you."

Not-Trixie fled. She at least got out, "I'll be back!" But she wanted out of there, and her legs carried her out of the park without further delay, away from the double that would take away her precious name.

No. She was Trixie. She had to fight, and win.

Back in the park, Trixie strode for the stage with a smirk. "This will be almost too easy."

Author's Note

Trixie v Trixie. Can this end without tears?

Want this story updated faster? Want to get your own story written? Want to just support the author in his writing? Join the atreon!

Join my discord to chat!