Twists, Turns, Scars, and Steel

A few days later, on the final day of her first week, Trixie met up with Vexillum on the edge of town once again. This time, as opposed to the edge of town, Vexillum had led her to a small cove near the base of the massive cliffs on either side of the entrance to the Strait of Beccus.

Trixie looked around the cove, whistling as she exited the hole in the stone wall around the base of the cliffs. "Where did you find this?", she asked.

"It was known for a while", he said. "It was used to slip troops into the area under the cover of night, before the attack on the city during the Second Unification Wars. I thought it'd be a good place where we could work out what you're planning on doing."

"I've been thinking about what I'll be doing", Trixie said.

Vexillum sat down on a rock, pulling out a pen and clipboard. He nodded and said, "Go ahead."

"Alright. Give Trixie a second to start with the introduction." Trixie began taking deep breaths, before ducking behind a rock.

Vexillum looked at the rock in confusion, asking, "Ummm? Trixie? What are you doing?" He put the clipboard and pen down and stood up to go look for her when a purple-tinged mist formed around the outside rock.

From behind it, he heard Trixie, in a dramatic voice, say, "Behold. Hailing from the City where the lights never go out, introducing-" Trixie leap up onto the rock, flaring her cape out behind her and sending out several sparklers. "-The Great and Powerful Trixie!!"

"City where the lights never go out?", Vexillum asked.

Trixie's massive grin and dramatic pose failed, and she deadpanned, "Las Pegasus."

"Why do you have a city named after one of your species sub-species?", he asked.

Trixie countered, "Why do you have a city whose name literally translates to Maelstrom?"

Vexillum opened his mouth to reply, only to clamp it back shut after a second. He said, "Look, we're getting off-topic."

"Agreed", Trixie said. "So, what did you think of the Great and Powerful Trixie's entrance?"

"It was certainly impressive", Vexillum admitted. "You have any other tricks inside that bigass hat of yours?"

"Oh, my dear friend", Trixie said, patting Vexillum on the cheek. "Trixie is never without a wide selection of tricks to choose from." She stopped to think, a wide grin spreading across her face. "As a matter of fact, there is one thing that your position can help me with."

"My position?", Vexillum questioned.

Indeed", Trixie said, getting closer to him. "Have you ever heard of Hoofdini? A magician greater than the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Vexillum scratched his chin for a second, before replying with a somewhat cheerful, "No."

Trixie whinnied in alarm, before whipping around and getting right in the officers face. "HOW HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF HOOFDINI!!??"

Vexillum hissed and took a step back, rubbing his ears. He said, "One, equish. Two, as a Pryha, I'm afraid I've never heard of many notable Equestrians in recent history."

Trixie sighed, before saying, "I suppose that it can be forgiven. Like Trixie said, Hoofdini is a great magician. A pony that could escape from even the most complicated and impenetrable death traps. He is Trixie's idol, and she has been looking for a chance to emulate him."

"What will said emulation entail?", Vexillum asked. Trixie replied to him, and his eyes went wide. "You want me to get you a what!?"

++++~++++

A few months passed, and Trixie was giddy with excitement. She stood backstage of the makeshift wooden stage that been set up just outside the Castrum. A few hundred Pryhan troops sat on benches or on the ground in front of it, chatting amongst themselves.

Vexillum came up behind her, followed by a trio of Velites. Vexillum was still dressed up in parade dress; full armor with several medals pinned to a leather tab and a large plumed helmet. He said, "So, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, I have Medicii on stand-by, but still..."

"Trixie is certain that she can handle this", Trixie said.

Vexillum sighed and shook his head, but turned his head to the Velites. "Go and get the Mountain Gun."

"Yes, Praefect", one of them said.

As the trio of them headed off the backstage, Vexillum said, "You're certain about this? I'd hate to see you get hurt."

Trixie sighed, and nodded. "I can do it."

"Alright", Vexillum said. "I got the box ready, so just signal for it and I'll have a few troops bring it onto the stage."

"A quick kiss for good luck?", Trixie said, smirking.

Despite the bright coloring of his coat, Trixie could see the blush on his face. He said, "Eer... I-I... N-no. J-just go on. Break a leg."

Trixie smirked, before clearing her throat. She then said, projecting for the Pryhans further away to hear, "Behold. Hailing from the city from the lights never go out-The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Like in the cove, she hopped out from behind the blankets and stood on her hind legs, sending a shower of sparks and fireworks out around her.

A few of the Pryhans closer to her clapped, but due to the large amount, it didn't seem all that many of them did. She scanned the crowd subconsciously, stopping when she noticed one of them near the front. Sitting in a wooden seat, smiling and watching her, was Rainbow Dash. She rolled her talons, gesturing for her to continue.

Trixie, not wanting to falter in her shows momentum, said, "The Great and Powerful Trixie has quite the performance for you all. How about we start this show off... with a bang!"

The trio of Velites rolled out a small cannon, along with a box filled with powder and a few lead balls. On the other side, a few other soldiers pushed out a big wooden box and a few chains. Trixie said, "These fine gents here will lock me in this box and chain it up. The cannon will be fired at me... but, I will escape it before the cannon fires."

She trotted over to the box, and looking back at the crowd, noting the raised eyebrow on Rainbows face. She stepped into the box as the soldiers shut the door. She found herself in darkness, but it had a hole just big enough that allowed her to see out of. She saw the soldiers set up the cannon, which was taking a bit slower than usual. After a bit, they put a long fuse in the touchhole, and lit the fuse.

It snaked up the side of the bronze gun, slowly growing closer to the gun. She lit up her horn, imaging the backstage, and teleported away.

She found herself a few feet in the air and fell on top of someone. The two of them groaned, and Trixie looked down at who it was, her eyes widening. It was Vexillum, who had hit his head on the hardwood. "Oh Celestia", Trixie said. "Vex, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine", he said, sliding her off of him and standing up.

At that moment, the cannon went off, and the box shattered into hundreds of pieces. The Pryhans looked around in confusion, while Trixie smirked. "Watch this."

She lit up her horn again, casting a spell she had learned a while ago. Projecting her voice from inside the cannon, she called out, "Hello!? It's dark in here! And it smells like charcoal! Oh, wait, hold on; I got my horn free." She once again smirked at Vexillum, before teleporting onto the center of the stage. "TA-DA!"

Unlike her introduction, a large majority of the Pryhan soldiers began clapping and cheering. She smiled widely, once again looking at where Rainbow Dash was sitting. While far from the most enthusiastic, Rainbow was smiling and clapping. Trixie bowed, reaching back into her cloak, getting ready for her next trick.

++++~++++

Around an hour later, Trixie's show had ended. The soldiers filed into the fort as the sun faded below the horizon. A few of them cleaned up the stage, but Trixie was more or less alone.

Before she could begin her walk back to her apartment, Rainbow Dash and Vexillum came up behind her. "Hey, Trixie!"

Trixie spun around, asking, "Yes? What is it?"

Rainbow pulled something out of her cloak, offering it up to the unicorn. Trixie's eyes widened as she realized it was a thick wad of Imperial Script, the Pryhans currency. As she took it in her aura, Rainbow said, "That's a good six-fifty script. We provided most of the supplies for the show, so I'd say that's a fair amount."

Trixie nodded and said, "So, has Trixie proven you wrong?"

"Somewhat", Rainbow said. "You're still arrogant, and you're still full of yourself. But, better than when we last met. Vale, Trixie." With that, she took off, spinning in the air and gliding into the fort, leaving Vexillum and Trixie alone.

"Vale, Trixie", Vexillum said, also turning to head back to the fort.

Trixie stiffened, considering what to do next. After a second, she said, "Wait!" Vexillum turned to face her, mild confusion on his face. "Perhaps you would like to go and get some dinner tomorrow night?"

Vexillum cocked his head, his confusion now becoming fully apparent. He asked, "What for?"

"You know", Trixie said, trotting up to him. "Just spend some time together. No business, nothing but us?"

"Why?"

Trixie backed up at the remark, eyes going wide. "You know? Be friends?"

Vexillum said simply, "We're not friends. All that was just business."

Trixie bit back a sob, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. She backed away further, before teleporting away. Vexillum stood still as a post, looking at the wad of cash in front of him. He took a deep breath, picking it up and putting it in his cloak. He began to head back to the Castrum, a tear of his own falling down his face.