Chapters The cool winds of autumn sailed by the Whitetail Wood outside of Ponyville as the sun began to set. Near a pond by a bridge, some of the trees lost their leaves to the winds and they danced in flight before flying into an opening in a small light purple tent. The pony inside did not appreciate the leaves entering her domain.
“Ah! Get out of here!” With her horn, the azure unicorn whisked the leaves outside the tent.
With the distraction over with, the pony whisked a smoothie cup to her mouth before taking a sip. She stopped, smacked her lips, and her face screamed anger.
“That simpleton merchant! When Trixie says extra hay juice, that means EXTRA hay juice!” The unicorn chucked the smoothie out of the tent.
Trixie levitated a quill and opened a book labeled Trixie’s Diary on the ground and began writing.
Today, I have arrived just outside of Ponyville, the site of where everything went wrong for me, the former Great and Powerful Trixie! After that Twilight Sparkle embarrassed me during the Ursa Minor incident, the news of my predicament spread like wildfire and the ignorant masses began mocking me and dared throw tomatoes at the Great and Powerful Trixie but I deftly avoided all of them! Well, ok! Most of them! I was forced to abandon my tour altogether and I ended up working at a smoothie concession stand in Hoofington! What a disgrace for me, the former Great and Powerful Trixie, the greatest magician in Equestria to use my spectacular talents in such menial labor! However, everything will be different come tomorrow when I steal Twilight Sparkle’s magic and make it my own!
Trixie let out an evil laugh and she generated a small lightning cloud outside her tent which added to the moment. Unfortunately, a bolt hit the top of the tent and it caught on fire.
“Eeep!”
The unicorn made the cloud drop some rain on the tent which put the fire out but not before the tent collapsed, rendering it useless. Trixie shook her head, knowing she had made this mistake the night before. Fortunately, she brought an extra tent and put it up before retrieving her items under the charred remains of the old tent. However, there was one thing that was missing and panicked.
“Oh, where is it? Don’t tell me I lost the amulet!”
She then heard the sounds of a duck nearby with an amber amulet necklace in its mouth.
“Come here, you simple creature! That is not for eating!”
Trixie chased after the duck who tried to waddle away with its newfound item in tow. As she got closer, the duck spread its wings, ready to depart.
“You will not get away from Trixie!”
She conjured up another small lightning cloud and let out a bolt which scared the duck into dropping the amulet before flying away. The amulet levitated off the ground and towards the unicorn when she realized it was filthy. She took the short trip to the nearby pond where she dunked it in and out and gave it a small spin to dry it.
“Too close for comfort. I dare not ask Hocus for another one of these!”
She thought back to earlier in the month when she was working at the smoothie shop.
***Begin Flashback***
In the town of Hoofington, a locale much like Ponyville, Trixie was holding station at Hoofington’s Smoothies and Malts , an enclosed wooden stand much like all the other ones around her which stood on both sides of a dirt path. Behind the stands were two-story thatched structures where both residents and businesses presided. Trees took spots between the stands which obscured much of the sunlight save for sporadic spots in the middle of the path.
As various ponies ventured up and down the path, Trixie looked at them with disinterest and was tempted to make a cup of hay juice for herself. However, she knew that eating the merchandise was not a good thing as it got her fired from the last smoothie shop she worked at.
She then saw a medium-size white stallion approach the stand. Trixie gave an uninterested introduction while giving the customer a cursory glance. “Hoofington Smoothies and Malts. Voted two hooves up in the Hoofington Post.”
“Oh my!” said the stallion in suave voice. “Forgotten me already?”
Trixie gave the stallion a closer look. His mane and tail was a mix of black and white and the eyes were dark red. He had a traditional magician’s hat on his head and a black cape with stars obscured his cutie mark.
She realized who it was and got nervous. “Hocus? What are you doing here?”
Hocus let out a chuckle. “Why, performing a magic show for the denizens of Hoofington, of course. The more important question is what are you doing here, oh Great and Powerful Trixie?”
Trixie turned away from the stallion, embarrassed a fellow magician caught her in a humiliating position. “I no longer go by that name.”
Hocus let out a small frown and put his hoof on his forehead. “Oh, tsk, tsk, tsk, what a shame, not even referring yourself in third-person anymore? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
The azure unicorn still had some pride left. “Trixie does not need your pity! This is only a temporary setback! Now, purchase something or be gone from Trixie’s sight, magician !”
“Now, now, Great and Powerful Trixie, I meant no disrespect. I will purchase a strawberry smoothie, if you can be so kind.”
Trixie turned her back and using her horn, threw some strawberries into a blender and closed the lid. She made the blender activate, churning the fruits. She asked Hocus “So, where is your assistant, Pocus?”
Hocus’ suaveness disappeared replaced by disappointment. “She decided to venture out on her own. I told the mare she was not ready but alas, she did not listen. Last I heard, she is doing shows for little fillies as a clown.”
Trixie laughed as she detested the former assistant who acted a lot like herself.
“Fortunately, I’m still looking for a new assistant and you are always welcome to…”
The azure unicorn turned around. “Trixie works by herself and would definitely not work for an amateur !”
Hocus grabbed his top hat and put on his chest. “Such a shame. We could have made such great magic together.”
Trixie snorted in disapproval before she finished mixing the fruit and placed the contents in a cup.
“That will be two bits, magician.”
Hocus levitated the bits into the air and dunked two of them in a drop box behind her and many others into a tip jar. The stallion took a sip of his smoothie.
“Quite delicious. You know, I simply cannot depart your company without helping you in some way.”
He placed an amber amulet on the counter.
“What is that, magician?” said Trixie, giving the object a suspicious look.
“It’s a booster amulet” replied Hocus. “It gives the user an extra boost of magic power so you could either spruce up your small tricks over time or use it for one big trick just out of your reach.”
The azure unicorn glared at Hocus. “What’s the catch, magician?”
The stallion shook his head. “My, my, Great and Powerful Trixie. I ask for nothing. It’s a gift, from one magician to another to help you get back on your hooves. Use it wisely.”
Hocus departed the stand and walked down the path but turned around for a final word.
“Of course, you are always welcome to be my assistant at any time.”
He winked at Trixie which made her eye twitch. She levitated multiple empty cups and chucked them in his direction. Before they hit the stallion, he threw up some smoke and disappeared from sight.
***End Flashback***
As Trixie returned to her tent, she placed the amulet on top of the diary and brought to her a spell book. She opened it to a page that had been bookmarked earlier and looked over the spell she was going to use. She thought “Even for somepony as great as I am, this spell is very difficult so I must get it right the first time. Otherwise, I may not get another chance at this.”
The sun finally came down and Trixie decided to call it an early night. She rested down on a cloth and closed her eyes.
“Enjoy your magic while you can, Twilight Sparkle.”
She let out a small chuckle which echoed into the darkness.
Within the darkness of Ponyville, there was nary a sound save for the occasional chirping of crickets. The skies above glittered with stars which only meant one thing. A certain unicorn and assistant was going to do some pre-dawn stargazing. This unicorn was standing by the door inside the Library Treehouse, tapping her hoof.
“Hurry up, Spike” yelled Twilight. She had a purple bag on her side stuffed with astrological books and charts ready to go. The sleepy assistant came down the stairs with a box that had a picture of a telescope on it.
“Oh, I’m so tired!” whined the purple dragon.
Twilight shook her head. “I told you to sleep early, didn’t I? Instead, you stayed late with Rarity helping her at the Boutique.”
Spike walked to the door as Twilight opened it. “It was (yawn) worth it.”
Twilight followed suit into the outside world. A light wind blew by which gave the air a bit of a chill but it unfazed the duo as they walked down a path towards a tall hill on the edge of town. The purple unicorn kept looking up at the sky, her eyes growing wider every time.
“I can’t believe how many stars are out right now! We’re so lucky to have this gift bestowed to us, right Spike? Spike?”
The purple unicorn stopped and turned around. The little dragon had been lazily walking behind and he bumped right into her, causing the box to rattle.
“Huh? Oh, what did you say, Twilight?”
“Never mind. We’re almost there.”
The pair climbed the hill and when they reached the top, Spike put the box down and opened it, revealing the multiple parts for the telescope. Even in his tired condition, the dragon had assembled the telescope many times to the point that it became second nature. He set the instructions aside, unfolded the tripod, twisted the parts together, placed the finished telescope on top of the tripod and wiped the lens.
“There you go, Twilight” Spike yawned. “Do you need me for anything else?”
Twilight rubbed her chin. Usually, she would have her assistant read off coordinates while she did the adjustments to the telescope. However, she couldn’t help but look at Spike’s tired expression without feeling a bit of sympathy.
“All right. You can go home for today.”
“Oh thanks (yawn) , Twilight.”
“But I’ll add an extra session next week to make up for it.”
The little dragon let out a small moan. He turned around and stumbled down the hill while Twilight adjusted the telescope towards one of the dimmer stars in the sky.
As the little dragon reached the bottom of the hill, he passed by an innocuous bush when he heard a rustling sound. He stopped and looked at it for a second.
“Did I hear something?” he thought. “Aw, who cares? The bed’s calling my name. Oh, yes. I’m coming!”
“Too close” thought Trixie, now wearing the amulet bracelet. She looked towards the top of the hill and spotted her target. “What fortune! To think that I came out to do some early scouting but here she is, all by her lonesome! The wheels of fate have turned in Trixie’s favor!”
Trixie noticed a large tree in close proximity of Twilight, wide enough to hide her. She sneaked out of the bush and tiptoed towards the tree. A light breeze tickled her nose and her instincts told her to sneeze. Trixie bit her tongue which made her let out a small whimper. She scurried back to the bush, thinking she had blown her cover.
However, Twilight was too immersed in her stargazing session to notice.
Relieved, Trixie again left the safety of the bush and crept her way up the hill. Near the top, she got low to the ground and slinked to the tree before getting up and taking a peek around. The purple unicorn had her eyes looking at the telescope when she began turning around. Trixie pulled her head back and her heart pounded hard. “Has she spotted me?”
“Oh. This is the book I need” the purple unicorn said to herself.
The azure unicorn peeked around the other side of the tree and saw Twilight had levitated a book next to her and was busy making adjustments to the telescope.
“Ok! Now let’s steal some magic!”
Trixie held the amulet with her hoof and closed her eyes. Her horn brimmed with azure light and the amulet around her neck glowed, adding an aura of amber around the unicorn. She continued focusing her mind but the energy from the amulet was more than she anticipated.
“C’mon! Hold it together!”
She opened her eyes, poked her head out of the tree and aimed her horn right at Twilight. Just as the last of the energy from the amulet was sucked dry, Trixie’s horn let out a large bolt of amber and azure colored energy at Twilight, knocking both of them unconscious, falling onto the cool grass below.
As Trixie opened her eyes, she saw the tripod holding the telescope next to her. She then saw the hooves in front of her. They were no longer azure but purple.
“What’s going on? Wait! This isn’t my voice at all! It’s…"
She got up, spotted the tree now a few feet away from her and saw herself lying unconscious , causing her stomach to sink. Trixie ran to the front of the telescope and the reflection of the lens revealed the body of Twilight Sparkle.
“No! No! No! The spell was supposed to switch abilities, not bodies! This is not what Trixie wanted!”
Trixie stopped her rant as she felt the immense magical energy pouring from her new body. “Oh, what divine and incredible power! Trixie likes!”
She then heard the sounds of coming to from the tree. Trixie used her new powers to break off a few twigs and tied up her old body, now possessed by her foe.
“Hey, what are you…wait, why do I sound like Trixie?” Twilight looked up and saw herself and the purple eyes trembled. “How is this possible?”
Trixie walked right up to her old body. “Well, hello Twilight.”
Twilight tried wriggling out of her predicament but it was no use. “What have you done to me, Trixie?”
“So, you still remember me. Trixie can’t help but feel touched. The plan was to steal your magic and it was a complete success!”
Twilight mocked “And I suppose you intended to switch bodies as well? Sounds to me like you didn’t do enough research on how your spell works.”
“Silence!"
“Reverse this at once!”
“Trixie will do no such thing. This body may lack the grace, beauty and glamour of the old one but the magical powers are so worth it.”
“You won’t get away with this! My friends will realize what’s going on and together, we’ll…”
Trixie conjured up tape to stop Twilight’s speech. “Your friends? Trixie…no, Twilight will easily shed them and Twilight will become the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle! Besides, who’s going to believe your story, Trixie ?”
Twilight mumbled in vain but it dawned on her that she had Trixie’s magic powers. She summoned it but noticed that the power she had was nowhere close to what she was used to and had trouble controlling it. She broke off some of the branches before Trixie quickly added some more and then used the rest of the tree to make a wooden box and enveloped her foe.
Trixie yelled "That should hold you! Twilight thanks you for these powers. Enjoy being mocked by every pony for your feeble magic, Trixie ."
She began walking down the hill to put her plan into action but stopped halfway down.
“Wait! A teleportation spell? Oh, how convenient!”
The horn of the purple unicorn lit up and as she disappeared, laughed at her success.
Then, a bright light appeared on the same spot and Trixie reappeared. She opened her eyes, looked at her surroundings and stopped laughing, annoyed at her failure.
“Guess Trixie…ugh, Twilight will have to walk.”
Inside the top floor of the Library Treehouse, the window that brought in fresh air to the bedroom also brought in the peering eyes of the azure unicorn, exhausted from her long ascent. With the coast clear, Twilight slinked inside, careful not to knock over the unicorn head sculpture on the nightstand, and laid flat on the floor next to her bed for a breather.
“Why must…Trixie’s…levitation…spell…be…so…weak?”
Twilight got up and shook off the bits of leaves and bark before her ears picked up the sounds of conversation below. She took dainty steps down the stairs to the next level down before she saw all her precious books strewn across the floor and each cabinet opened. The unicorn let out a slight groan before making a right to the corridor of stairs. As the unicorn reached the first floor, she stopped and sat down to rest and listen.
On the first floor, Spike was sitting in a corner being comforted by the soft hooves of Fluttershy. Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow were all conversing with Applejack who assumed leadership in the absence of the smart unicorn.
“Ok, every pony. We all got a chance to read Twilight’s letter so what do y’all think?”
Rarity had the letter levitated in the air and waved it around. “I just cannot believe that she would write something like this but still, she has been gone for hours.” The white unicorn turned to Rainbow. “Dear, you said some pony told you they spotted Twilight on the road to Hoofington, correct?”
Rainbow quickly answered “They think they did. It doesn’t mean anything!”
They cow-pony then turned to Pinkie who had balloons saying Congratulations Twilight! and a pink magician’s hat on. “Pinkie, what in the hay is with that git up?”
“It’s to celebrate Twilight being a magician!” replied the cheerful pony.
Applejack raised her tone. “Pinkie, this ain’t the right time for a party, ‘specially considerin’ the situation! Just…tell me if your Pinkie Sense went off this mornin’.”
“Sure did! It told me a unicorn that I know was leaving Ponyville today!”
“It…did? Applejack took of her hat and placed it on her chest. “Gosh, with the sightin’ and your sense going off, that means…she really did leave us.”
The room stood silent save for the whimpering of the little purple dragon. Twilight got up and her hooves commanded her to go downstairs but her mind rejected the impulses and she sat back down just as an impatient Pegasus spoke up.
“Girls, what are we doing just sitting around here? We’re wasting time! We need to find Twilight and bring her flank back here!”
Rainbow’s wings unfurled and she aimed her nose at the door but she was denied the exit by a pink hoof on her tail. “Pinkie! Let…go!”
“Dashie! We can’t bring Twilight back! The letter said we shouldn’t!”
“So?”
“It’s almost like a Pinkie Swear! She trusts us to follow her wishes and losing a friend’s trust…”
The cyan mare ceased her attempts to fly and she turned around to shove a hoof on Pinkie’s mouth. “Yeah, yeah, forever , but that letter’s not a Pinkie Swear! Besides, if we follow her wishes, we’re losing a good friend!”
“Good friend?” Rarity scoffed. “Look at poor Spike here! Would a good friend leave someone so dear and precious behind like that? Hmfff!”
Rainbow powered her way up to the white unicorn’s face. “Are you saying we should just let her go like that without an explanation?”
“Well…” She took a step back and saw a glimpse of the crying dragon before bolstering her resolve. “Maybe we should! Spike will be in better hooves with us rather than that deserter .”
“Mmmmmmm! Desert!” said Pinkie.
Applejack nudged Rainbow aside and poked Rarity. “Now, hold on, Rarity! You can’t talk ‘bout Twilight like that!”
Rarity poked back. “Why not? She’s not around to hear it!”
The two mares went off in irate conversation amongst each other as Rainbow again tried to leave but Pinkie’s flank on her tail obstructed her flight. Fluttershy hugged the little dragon even tighter to shield him from the chaos.
Meanwhile, Twilight had both azure hooves shoved in her face in disbelief. “I can’t believe a simple letter can cause so much trouble. There’s no way I can waltz in there and tell them the truth looking like this. Okay, maybe I can…”
“Hoo!”
The smart unicorn snapped out of her thoughts and saw Owlowiscious flapping in front of her.
“Hoo?” said the owl.
The unicorn sweated beads as she whispered “Hi, uhm, I’m…Twilight…your owner?”
Owlowiscious circled the azure pony with suspicious eyes. “Hoo?”
“Look, I don’t have time to…”
“HOO! HOO! H…!”
Magical tape surrounded and quieted the alarming cries of the owl but silence also fell between the mares below.
“What was that?” asked a scared Fluttershy.
“It came from upstairs!” yelled Rainbow.
Twilight lifted the owl with her magic and she dashed up the stairs to dump her pet on the bed on the floor level above before her ears heard the approaching sounds of clopping hooves and flapping wings. In panic mode, Twilight spotted the bookcase with an attached desk to the right and she closed her eyes, summoning all her power to move it to block the stairwell. She finished just as her friends saw a glimpse of light at the top of the stairs before the bookcase blocked it out.
“Who’s there?” bellowed Applejack.
The smart unicorn did not respond.
“Y’all better speak up or I’m bustin’ through!”
The heart of the unicorn drummed as she knew the strength of the cow-pony would make quick work of the obstruction. There was not enough time to scurry to the bedroom window to escape so it left Twilight with only one option, deception. Again, the azure horn glowed and then sparkled randomly as the magic energy was running low. With the spell complete, she gulped and opened her mouth to speak.
“Umm, hi girls!”
Twilight heard the gasping of the mares on the other side of the blockage.
“Is that you, Twilight?” exclaimed Applejack with surprise.
“The voice-changing spell worked!” thought the azure unicorn. “Yes, it’s me!”
Murmurs broke out on the other side before the cow-pony spoke out. “Hold on! Let me barge through and…”
“No! You can’t!” interrupted Twilight.
Rarity yelled “Why not, dear?”
An accusatory voice directly above the azure unicorn rang out.
“Because it’s not Twilight!”
Twilight looked up and saw Rainbow Dash’s eyes staring down before the Pegasus stomped to the ground, sending the unicorn backwards and into the ground. She crawled backwards as Rainbow followed with heavy steps.
The voice-magic wore out but Twilight spoke anyways in desperation. “Wait! You don’t understand! I’m really…”
Rainbow interrupted “Nice try, Trixie! ”
The bookcase shattered into pieces and out of the splintered remains emerged the cow-pony and everypony else. They quickly joined Rainbow’s side as Twilight kept going backwards until the wall stopped her progress. She gulped as the stares she got were not of ecstasy for seeing the return of a friend but one of surprise, disbelief, and disgust for what they thought was the boasting magician.
The azure hoof of Twilight shook as she raised it and gave a friendly wave. “Eh, heh, heh. Hi…girls?”
A green-gray rectangular machine came to life, emitting a low electric hum which bounced off the walls of the Library Treehouse’s basement. Such equipment would normally be operated by the bookworm that owned it or her small, purple assistant but he was still shedding tears in the floor above but he was not alone. The yellow Pegasus mare named Fluttershy kept vigil on him, something she was only too happy to do to avoid the situation that was unfolding below.
Rainbow grabbed a roll of paper on a shelf below the big counter, its countertop having all sorts of scientific equipment from beakers to microscopes to bizarre contraptions with piping providing who knows what to them. However, to the cyan mare, none of it was needed or at least, she didn’t think so. With the roll on her hooves, she hovered over to the free-standing machine and jammed it towards a slot near the top. It didn’t go in, prompting the supervisor of the room, Applejack to step in and assist. After a few healthy shoves, the paper roll finally clicked in and both mares looked at the wires sticking out of it, one red, the other blue, the last one green. The first two led to another smaller machine of the same color, this one with a few buttons and dials on it. The green wire connected to a large, domed helmet adorned with bulbs of many colors but none of them were on. Below the contraption was an azure pony that correctly claimed to be Twilight Sparkle except she couldn’t say that at the moment. Her mouth had been taped up and any chance of escape was hindered by tightened metal clamps that held her front hooves to the small machine, now being fiddled with by a white unicorn and pink earth pony.
“Are you sure that’s how to set it, Pinkie?” said Rarity.
The party pony had a smile on her face, moving a knob back and forth. “I don’t know! I just love the sound this thingy makes!”
“Will you cut that out, Pinkie Pie?” said Applejack. “We’re about to turn this doo-hickey on!”
She turned to the cyan Pegasus and with a nod, gave Rainbow the signal to flip a switch on the side of the larger grey-green machine, sending it from stand-by to fully operational. Nothing happened. Rarity immediately looked down at the connections on her end and seeing the color coding above the inputs, flipped the red and blue wires with her magic. Suddenly, a puff of smoke started coming out of the sides of the larger machine which imitated a beeping sound. The paper roll printed out currently useless results, a straight red line. The dome on top of Twilight’s head lit up like a Christmas tree, pleasing the cow-pony.
“Yee-haw! I think we got it!” She then focused her attention on what she thought was the trickster magician. “Ok. Maybe we’ll finally git some answers here! Rarity, if you please?”
With a dainty magic touch, the white unicorn peeled away the tape, finally allowing Twilight to speak. “Girls, please listen to me! You don’t under…”
Applejack trotted up and quieted the unicorn with a glare. “I don’t think you understand, Trixie. Twilight disappears and then you just happen to stroll in here? That’s might suspicious if you ask me. Now this is how it’s gonna work. I ask the questions, you spill the hay. And dontcha think you can git away with lying ‘cause this…thing will be up to your tricks.”
“But that’s not quite how this…”
Rainbow dashed over to a set of switches on the wall and dimmed all the lights, all except for one directly above the azure unicorn. The interrogation was underway.
“So, why are you back in Ponyville?” said Applejack.
The bookworm fidgeted on whether to tell the truth but she finally did, feeling that her earlier deception only made things worse. “Trixie came to steal my magic and I think she used that to do so.” Her muzzle aimed at Rarity, the new owner of the amber amulet. “Instead, we switched bodies so I’m really Twilight Sparkle in Trixie’s body.”
Pinkie and Rainbow watched the now-squiggling red line on the rolling sheet of paper, with the pink mare fascinated by it.
“Ooooooooh! Pretty!”
An eye-roll came from the cyan Pegasus before she grabbed the sheet, trying to make heads or tails out of nonsense. Rainbow guessed, not wanting to look silly. “She’s lying! I…I think.”
Even with the late hesitation in Rainbow’s words, Applejack bought it. “I told ‘ya you can’t lie to us, Trixie. Here, I’ll make it easy for ‘ya. Yes or no. You used that amber thing to put a spell on Twilight to write that letter and leave us.”
The smart unicorn stepped up her urgency, clinging to the hope that her friends would believe her. “That’s not it at all! I told you that I’m the real Twilight! Trixie is going to use my body and magic to make her magic show better! It’s not right! We need to go after her!”
Applejack turned to Rainbow, now furiously rubbing her mane and finally relented for a second opinion. “What do you think Pinkie Pie?”
She replied with useless energetic advice. “I think the line needs to be pink!”
“Ugh! Never mind. Um…lying! I guess.”
“It’s not a ponygraph!” yelled Twilight. “This machine can’t…”
Rarity, after a nod from Applejack, re-taped the mouth, giving the cow-pony free reigns to speak.
“Now, listen here, Trixie. You’re just diggin’ yourself a deeper hole with us with your fibbin’ so tell us the truth ! Why did you come to the treehouse pretending to be Twilight? Are you just havin’ fun with us or is this all part of your plan?” Another nod gave the white unicorn permission to remove the tape.
Twilight could taste the singe of the cow-pony’s accusations and did not like the flavor, making her upset. “Again, I’m your friend, Twilight Sparkle ! I came here to see what damage Trixie has done around here! That letter, it was her doing so that you wouldn’t go chasing after her!”
The lines on the machine spiked and the poof of smoke came out at irregular intervals, tooting gibberish to everypony except for the pink one who began dancing to it.
“Oooh, that’s my new favorite jam!”
Rainbow could only sigh before going back to the results, now spotting the line of red running from top to bottom. “Um, is it supposed to do that?”
“It won’t tell you whether I’m lying or not!” bellowed Twilight. She then saw the tape levitating back to her mouth and unwilling to be silenced again, she dug in deep and with the little magic she had in reserve, tore it to shreds. Applejack took it as an act of aggression and postured towards the azure unicorn.
“Oh, you’re not gettin’ away, missy!” She turned to Rainbow who now looked completely lost. “Well, you got that last bit she said figured out?”
“Um, I…um…”
“Will ‘ya hurry up?”
Rainbow finally raised her hooves in defeat. “I…I don’t know! How about twisting some of them knobs over there?”
“Oh for pete’s sake” muttered Applejack. She looked at the console securing the azure hooves and saw a few flashing buttons, a giant red button, and two knobs, all of them identified only with symbols, indicators familiar for a scientist but foreign to an apple farmer. After some haphazard turning of the two knobs, the cow-pony went back to the interrogation.
“All righty. Now let’s try that again. Why did you…”
Rarity hit the pause button. “Now hold on, dear! Don’t you think we should at least perform a quick test of the machine? Not that I believe the words of…” She glanced at the azure unicorn. “…whoever you are…but we must be sure it’s telling us the right information?”
The cow-pony glared at Rarity, questioning in her mind whether she was telling the truth on not buying the words of the accused but then again, the whole point of using the machine was to shed light into whether the pony’s incredulous claim had some merit. It couldn’t simply be dismissed out of hoof. “Fine. Okay, Trixie. How about telling us who we two are?”
Twilight saw an opening to get them to mistrust the contraption so she went with a truth and a lie. “You’re Applejack and you’re…” She looked at Rarity and waited a few seconds. “…Fluttershy.”
A new set of results printed out for Rainbow and Pinkie to inspect. The line moved up and down but to both, the truth looked like the lie. It made no sense so they both shrugged, providing Twilight a lasso full of hope. Unfortunately, Applejack pulled it back in.
“Guess it’s not dialed in yet.”
The smart unicorn groaned in sheer frustration as the cow-pony again took to the console, this time with a set of blue eyes assisting. Both Applejack and Rarity took turns spinning the knobs and pushing the flashing buttons before Applejack’s eyes narrowed on the big red button, as though it was calling her to put her orange hoof on it. It was an itch of curiosity she just had to scratch and with a click, she found out exactly what it did.
Suddenly, a surge of electricity travelled through the green wire and onto the dome helmet, delivering its full force on Twilight, sending her into a quick spasm before the white glow around her disappeared, leaving behind charred spots on the azure fur and a pony who was stung more on the inside than out.
“Ughhhhhh! I can’t believe that a simple letter could cause so much trouble! I mean, how in Equestria can all of you believe that I would just leave all my wonderful friends behind without even saying a word? That’s not like me at all. And…and to be a magician? Are you kidding me? You know how much I cherish being Princess Celestia’s apprentice and how much I look up to her. Why would I ever abandon that to show off my magic? That’s something Trixie would do but not me. I’m…I’m sorry I tried to trick you with my voice but I didn’t want you girls to see me like this, at least, not without coming up with a way to properly convince you.”
A stunned silence permeated the room, the words coming out of the azure mare a mismatch to the boisterous magician but a perfect one to their friend, the one they though had left Ponyville for good. The cliffs of doubt began to erode but continued to stand in defiance.
“You…you…no, you’re Trixie!” said Rainbow. “You have to be!”
The gears in her mind revolved at maximum speed, hoping to come up with evidence to present. “I am not Trixie! Can’t you girls see that? I mean, we’ve been through so much together. Remember when I had the tickets to the Great Galloping Gala and I was so stressed that I only had two to give out but we all got to go and even though the Gala itself was a disaster, we were all together and that made it the best night ever. We…we fought Nightmare Moon and Discord, together, and we won because of the power of friendship! And…and Applejack, Rarity, that one night, we had a slumber party and you two were fighting but when that tree came crashing down into the treehouse, you two worked together and got it out. Rainbow, I was there to see your Sonic Rainboom at the Coliseum and it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and then I learned your first one, it helped me earn my cutie mark. Pinkie, your Pinkie Sense drove me crazy because I couldn’t explain it but I finally accepted it for what it was. Don’t you see? If I’m Trixie, how would I know all of that and why would I even care? Girls, will you please believe me?”
No pony had an answer for that; their only response is the rubbing of hooves on the ground. A hint of doubt lingered in the air but their hearts so wanted to accept the speech as the genuine truth. Finally, Applejack opened her mouth, sending a coded message to her hovering friend.
“Rainbow, go and bring Spike down here.”
The cyan mare hesitated, knowing the little dragon’s current state of mind. “Um, sure. You got it.”
As the basement door creaked open, Twilight looked at Applejack, saying with only a pained glance on why such an action was necessary.
“We…need to be sure of this” was all Applejack said.
Then, the sounds of quiet protest came down the stairs. The azure pony looked up and spotted Rainbow tugging along Spike with Fluttershy being the source of commotion.
“Please, Rainbow. Why can’t we just wait until he’s feeling better?”
“No can do, Fluttershy. We need to know now .”
Eventually, the small dragon, wet eyes and all, came to rest the group and Applejack gestured to Rarity to give him instructions.
“Dear, I know this may sound crazy but this pony standing in front of you might actually be Twilight in Trixie’s body but…we’ll only believe her if you do.”
Spike gave her a nod before walking right up to shackled mare, peering into the grayish magenta eyes to see whether there was somepony else behind them, one that was familiar to him. Before he finished, Twilight spoke to him.
“Spike, I know that…this is hard to take but I want you to know that…I would never, ever leave you. You’re my number one assistant and…you’re also my best friend. I know that I don’t give you the best birthday gifts and I’m sometimes hard on you but you’ve always been there for me like when I was worried about being tardy and…”
Her muzzle picked up a scent, a sweet one, the smell being one of her favorites. She then looked at the dragon's lips; it had bits of crumbly bits on it. Immediately, Twilight's mood switched from motherly to bossy. "Spike! Did you eat my ice cream?"
The dragon took a step back purely on instinct.
"I told you that I was saving that ice cream for a special occasion! Besides, I warned you it might be bad for your appetite! If you get a stomachache, you have no pony to blame but yourself! Ugh! This is just like the time you ate that…"
The ongoing rant rang through Spike’s ears, greatly annoying him. However, it also shattered the vision of the unicorn in front of him. He no longer saw Trixie the magician but a purple unicorn, one that was quite upset at him and from the looks of it, one that was going to punish him but that didn’t matter. Joy overcame him. “Twilight! It is you!”
Rarity loosened up the rings holding Twilight’s hooves, giving them the liberty to meet up and embrace the dragon who again shed tears but also felt a few fall on his head. “Oh, Spike. I’m sorry if I made you worry.”
After a few seconds, with a sniffle, Spike began reverting to his old self. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
“Oh yeah” replied Twilight without hesitation.
The little dragon ended the hug and started a protest. “Oh, c’mon, Twilight! I thought you were gone so I didn’t want it to go to waste!”
She didn’t buy it, giving him an eye roll. However, given what her friend had gone through, her heart had a lot of forgiveness to spread around. “Fine…but you owe me one, partner.”
“Deal!”
Twilight then turned to the rest of their friends, each of them carrying a heavy pang of guilt, with Applejack the most weighted down by it.
“Twilight, I just can’t tell you how might sorry we are for…”
The azure mare shook her head. “It’s all right. With Trixie’s questionable reputation, I know that trusting me wasn’t going to be easy…” A spark ran through the light cerulean mane, making her flinch. “…or painless.”
A call for action came from Rainbow. “Well, what are we waiting for? That impostor is running out there pretending to be Twilight! We need to bring her back here and…”
Twilight implored “Hold on, Rainbow! First off, she does have my magic powers so we need to be careful on approaching her. I overheard you say that she was going towards Hoofington so something tells me she’s going to start up her magic act there. That should buy us some time to come up with a plan.” She then turned to the wearer of the amber amulet necklace. “Rarity, let me see that for a minute.”
The white unicorn took a step back before nodded her head. “Oh, my apologies, dear. Seeing you like this may take some time to get used to.” A glow of light blue surrounded the amulet before it parked itself in midair for inspection.
“That’s all right, Rarity. I’m still not used to it myself.” Twilight then scrutinized the object floating in front of her and made mental notes of its features; roughly round, shiny, amber, star symbols deep inside, possibly can glow, looks heavy but feels light. Then, she cross-referenced the information to the multitude of books she had read, specifically, ones regarding occult magic tricks and devices. Imaginary pages turned, each one with fascinating tidbits that on any other occasion, would be read word-by-word but they were passed over until the section on amulets came up. Unfortunately, instead of an encyclopedia of knowledge, only scant words were available but there was enough to point towards a particular direction.
“Well, do you know exactly what that thing is?” said Applejack.
Twilight closed the book in her mind with a thud. “I want to say that it gives a boost of magic to the user so that’s how Trixie pulled this off. Still, I’m not quite sure what spell she used or how this thing actually works. I’m sure an expert magician would be able to tell me.”
Hearing those words flipped the switch inside of Pinkie Pie. “I know a magician! I know a magician!”
“You do? That’s great! How soon can they come over?”
From out of nowhere, the pink pony pulled out a kazoo and played a seemingly random tune before letting it rest on her hoof, apparently eager for…something, throwing Twilight into a loop.
“Um, okay. What does that have to do with…”
Suddenly, the kazoo made another random tune but there was no pony’s mouth in it to make it. Every pony in the room stood shocked except for Pinkie. She not only treated the experience as normal but also recognized the tune as a form of communications, one she was only too happy to translate.
“He says he’ll be here by sundown tonight! Yipee!"
The entire room looked at each other, wondering what the hay just happened. They thought that the day was weird enough with the sight of Trixie who was really Twilight Sparkle but now, they were just witness to Pinkie using a kazoo to contact a pony at who knows where in Equestria. Of course, this was Pinkie Pie they were dealing with and given her prior track record, anything was possible, even more so with a magician thrown into the mix. There was little point in doubting her claim and all decided to roll with it and enjoy the ride, with Twilight being the one to proclaim it.
“Ok, we’ll be waiting for him, then, Pinkie Pie.”
The dirt road to Hoofington carved through pine trees which roots entrenched them to the hilly ground below. Traversing the path was a smattering of ponies, most of them with plans to do some outdoor recreation around the immediate area. It was a perfect place for small merchants to set up and sell their wares to the tourists and the occasional pony with plans to go all the way to the next town. One such pony, a purple unicorn, came trudging up the incline, exhausted and whining out loud.
“That come-to-life-spell didn’t work! It only made the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle weaker, if that’s even possible! Physical exertion is definitely not one this body’s positive qualities! In fact, other than the magic, this body is completely inferior to the body of Trixie! It will take ages just to get this rat’s nest that is Sparkle’s mane to be even close to…”
Trixie then spotted the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, a small and colorful smoothie stand. It beckoned her to come forwards which she did in a hurry. When she arrived, a pimpled and scrawny orange unicorn stallion rose up and when he spoke, it grated the ears of the unicorn mare with its squeakiness, a consequence of puberty.
“Welcome to the Smoothie Stop-and-Go. A smoothie for your journey.”
“Um, yes, well. It would please the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle to purchase a banana smoothie with extra hay.”
“I’m sorry ma’am but we’re out of hay. You would like to try our imitation hay?”
The purple unicorn stomped her hoof on the ground, upset that once again, her beverage of choice was denied. She sighed, knowing her throat demanded some sort of liquid. “Very well, merchant. Sparkle has decided to be lenient with your incompetence and will acquire an inferior beverage.”
“That will be five bits” said the teen stallion.
“What?” screeched Trixie.
The outburst left her mouth dry and she scanned her surroundings for alternatives but found nothing more palatable. Begrudgingly, she threw down five golden pieces of currency and the stallion immediately fumbled around the bananas and in the air before they splattered into the blender along with a sprinkling of powder from a box labeled Stop-and-Go Imitation Hay, EFA Approval Pending . Trixie squirmed as the contents sloshed around unevenly before being poured into a cup smaller than she expected.
“Here you go.”
With smoothie in tow, she stormed away from the stand, muttering how expensive it was to buy something that was poorly prepared. With a small sip, the taste of substitution nipped her tongue, sending it outwards in rejection.
“Such horrible flavor! That’s the last time Sparkle buys smoothies on the road!”
Trixie dragged on up the hill, forced to consume her drink as her bits were running low. She needed most of them to hire a more competent pony to build a trailer to her traveling show, one she believed along with Twilight’s magic, would bring her back to prosperity and more.
As the skies grew dark, the multiple floors of the Library Treehouse stood in a disorganized mess with books randomly strewn about. Ponies of all sorts of colors dug their muzzles into the text in search of any relevant knowledge regarding the amulet or occult magic while they waited for the mystery magician. Twilight and Spike had taken the first floor but the task was delayed by the discovery of tomes which librarian had not been aware of before, drawing her ire.
“Ugh! I cannot believe there’s so many! This is completely unacceptable! Spike, we need to make up a cataloging checklist!”
Spike whined “But we already have one and another one to double-check it.”
“Then we need one to triple-check it! I will not have un-catalogued books in my library!”
A small pile of books by the stairs collapsed, followed by a pony snorting awake. She rose up and Twilight’s wrath spread.
“Rainbow! Napping again I see! I told you to help upstairs!”
The cyan mare stretched and yawned “Yeah, yeah but reading is soooo boring !”
“But you haven’t even read one” Spike deadpanned.
Applejack trotted down the stairs. “What’s with all the ruckus down here? Is the magician here yet?”
Twilight now directed her attacks to the cow-pony. “No and where is Pinkie? I haven’t seen her around since we started!”
A meek voice from a yellow Pegasus descended from above. “I’m sorry but I think she might have…disappeared.”
“What do you mean disappeared , Fluttershy? She was supposed to be with you!”
“Well, I…” Unable to cope with Twilight’s glare, she could only tap her hooves together. Fortunately, Rarity came down and defended every pony in the room.
“Now, Twilight. I know you’re quite upset about all this and we all understand but taking it out on us isn’t going to get you anywhere. Maybe you need to take a break and unwind a little, hmm?”
The bookworm looked at all her friends, the same ones that doubted her hours earlier. Even though she understood the situation they were facing, she couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Still, they were now helping her with something that was really more of a way to kill time than anything else. She threw away the mask of anger and replaced it with one of remorse.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m not having a good day. Trixie’s out there in my body doing who-knows-what to my reputation and I feel so helpless right now. You’re right. Maybe I should cool off. Let’s all do that, shall we?”
With murmured agreements, they sat around the floor in a circle, ready for some idle conversation when Rainbow busted out a question.
“So, how does it feel like being in some pony else’s body? Is it freaky or is it really cool?”
All of Twilight’s friends looked at Rainbow, apparently disapproving of the question although the cyan mare thought otherwise.
“What ? I really want to know!”
Twilight easily obliged. “Well, other than my appearance, it doesn’t feel that different. I don’t have any of her memories but I do have access to her magic and all her spells. It’s strange, though. It’s only been a few hours but I seemed to have mastered it but even more so, I’m beginning to tap into even more power. I’m not quite sure how that’s possible.”
Suddenly, the kazoo lying on a table sung a tune, spooking the entire room. Pinkie Pie suddenly appearing out of nowhere only made it worse and the lights dimming turned it up to the max.
“Ahem! Fillies and gentlecolts! Pinkie Pie proudly introduces you to the Tremendous and Splendid Hocus !”
Spike belched out loud but instead of green flames, it was sparkling black smoke which gathered together and spun around before it grew solid and revealed the white unicorn stallion with his trademark black hat and cape, standing on his hind legs. As he landed, his cape lifted up in the air, briefly flashing the symbols of a black hat surrounded by the same smoke from earlier. The lights came back on and he tipped his hat to his audience which responded with lukewarm applause. His red eyes then darted to the inside of the hat and spotted a pony inside waving at him before disappearing.
“That muffin-eating pony? How did she…” thought Hocus.
He didn’t have time to deal with the derped-eye pony as Pinkie made her presence known all over his face.
“So, was that good, Hocus? Do you think I can be a special assistant for one of your shows? I got this one idea that I came up with just five minutes ago where I juggle some cakes and then I eat them one-by-one, but the trick is…”
Hocus conjured a wand and used it to tap his hat. Suddenly, the words coming out of the eccentric pony became silent but that didn’t stop from her mouth moving about. He turned to the ponies in front of him, seeing the look of relief and gave all of them an eye wink.
“She can’t hear you either.”
This time, every pony stomped their hooves without restraint. Pinkie stopped talking, confused at the motions of her friends and with another wand tap, she was restored to normal.
“Oh, did I miss something?”
Every pony ignored the pink mare, allowing Twilight to begin. “Well, Hocus, you see, I…”
“No need to explain. I can already see that you are not the lovely Trixie but the gifted Twilight Sparkle…” He spotted a necklace around her. “…and I see you possess the amulet as well.”
“Oh, so you know what this is, then?”
“Well, of course. It’s one of mine and it’s the one I gave to Trixie.”
“YOU WHAT?” bellowed the room.
Rainbow charged at the magician and with a lunge, tackled through smoke and crashed into a pile of books. Immediately, the smoke hardened and Hocus reappeared, his suave attitude undeterred.
“Now, now, Dragonsieur and Mademareselles. Please allow me to explain my actions to you.”
The cyan mare wasn’t having it. “Why you…” She moved forwards but Twilight held her tail in place.
“Wait, Rainbow. I’m not happy either but at least give him a chance.” The smart unicorn then turned to Hocus, narrowing her eyes. “It better be good.”
The white stallion pondered over his history with the trickster magician and his mind filled with faded-color memories of large tents and the sounds of cheering crowds and playful music. When it ended, he sighed and began to weave his tale.
“A long time ago, Trixie and I, along with our families, were part of carnival that travelled all across Equestria. No pony within the group had spectacular talents on their own but together, we always put on a great show and we were very popular with the pony folk. When that ravishing young unicorn realized her talents as a magician, she began working in the stage and at first, she worked day and night to hone her craft but as she rose and became the star act, the fame became her only concern. Oh, how every pony in the carnival tried to tell that wonderful Trixie that it was the wrong path to follow, she denounced us and left to go off on her own. Now, the carnival is no more and when word spread that her magic tour ended as well, I could not help but shed a tear. However, I also held hope that she might learn the error of her ways by losing the one thing she valued. When I saw her again in Hoofington, I gave her the amulet, believing she would use it for good”
Rarity immediately pounced on the magician. “And from the sounds of it, you were trying to woo her as well.”
“I will not deny it! The first moment I saw her, she put a spell on me that I cannot break! The mare won’t even visit me and watch my magic shows.”
Applejack had enough of the drama pony. “Ok, lover boy. Now you go ahead and fix up our friend here or I won’t deny ‘ya a visit from Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee!”
Hocus removed his hat. “My humblest apologies but I do not have the ability to do that. I believe I know the spell Trixie used but alas, any spells aided by the amulet can only be undone by the caster itself. In this case, even though you, Twilight Sparkle, possess the body of Trixie, you do not possess her spirit.”
Rainbow pounded her hooves “Then we’ll force Trixie, then!”
The red-eyed magician shook his head. “I’m afraid with this spell, the caster must be willing to reverse the spell on their own.”
“Umm, could we just ask her nicely?” said Fluttershy.
“Well, if she said yes, then of course.”
“Like that’s going to happen” muttered Spike.
Twilight stepped up to the magician. “Are you telling me that without Trixie, I’m stuck like this?”
“That is a possibility. Then again, great magic power alone is not enough to properly wield it. It takes great study and discipline and that cannot be taken away. Twilight, I know that you possess such traits, otherwise, you could not wield such great power so controlling anything less should not be troubling for you. Yet, I must admit that for as wonderful as Trixie is to me, her lack of effort disappoints me greatly and I can only foresee difficulties ahead for her.”
The amulet within the necklace disappeared and another one immediately took its place and Hocus continued.
“When she comes to that realization, then that will be your best chance. Fortunately, the spell in question is easy enough to reverse that she should not have any trouble. That is all I am able to assist you with, I’m afraid and again, I cannot say how truly sorry for all the trouble I caused.”
Applejack wasn’t so forgiving. “You sure have, Mr. Hocus! We almost turned on a friend ‘cause of what you did!”
Twilight raised her foreign azure hoof. “Hold on, Applejack. He might have given her the amulet but Trixie made the decision to use it against me. At least he’s trying to help.”
Hocus did a little bow. “I am quite fortunate that you are a forgiving unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. If you need me again, Pinkie can call for me. Otherwise, I bid you adieu.”
He dropped his hat on the floor which magically enlarged and he hopped inside. His hoof came out and pulled it in, saying words to some pony else within before it disappeared.
“Mademareselle, quite impressive! I must know how you entered my hat!”
The magician was gone but so was a good chunk of their hope.
“So what we going to do, Twilight?” said Spike. “How are we going to convince Trixie to fix all of this?”
“First off, we need to find where she is. I know she’ll be starting up her magic show and since Rainbow spotted Trixie heading towards Hoofington and Hocus gave her the amulet there as well, that means only one thing.”
“To Hoofington!” proclaimed Rainbow.
Rarity chimed in. “Sounds like I need to pack my things. How delightful! I do have new fashionable luggage that I haven’t debuted yet.”
“And I’m sure Angel can take care of things while I’m gone” replied Fluttershy.
“And I’ll have Big Macintosh and Applebloom mind the farm for a while.” Applejack then squirmed “I just hope Applebloom doesn’t get her little friends involved like last time.”
“Time to bake some tasty treats to go!” said Pinkie.
As all of Twilight’s friends continued on with their conversations, the unicorn smiled at all of them. “I didn’t even have to ask them to come with me. I might not have my magic but I still have my friends and if I could only have one, I would always choose them.”
Within the town of Hoofington stood many thatched apartment buildings but one of them was different than the others. Mainly, it needed some tender loving care from its owners but instead, they eschewed maintenance in exchange for providing lower rent to its tenants. Most of the residents took the implied agreement in stride, even though the doors creaked at the slightest touch from a hoof, the roof allowed too many visits from mother nature, and only foals would consider the size of the accommodations to be adequate. Yet, this is where Trixie had decided to call her home and she stumbled inside as the midnight moon shone through her solitary window, ready to complain.
“Sparkle does not appreciate the temperature in here. And there is too much light in this room. Away with you!”
The purple curtains on the side glowed and Trixie tugged them sideways, only for them to rip in two. With a growl, she tossed them aside along with her crimson cape and sat down in front of the desk below the window. She rolled out a parchment containing her master plan and began checking off items with a quill before reaching the section regarding practice. Trixie glanced to some books in a dusty corner of the room behind and to the left of her.
“With this magic, Sparkle needs not busy herself with such menial tasks!”
A snap of the quill and the begging of her purple body for rest made her stop and she slumped onto the lumpy mattress on her left. Even with the bright moon outside, the eyes of the unicorn closed with ease and Trixie’s mind accessed the memories of her earlier successes when she was simply Trixie the Magician and made the carnival crowds stomp in applause. She could still remember the day when one of the ponies from the crowd called her great and powerful, a moniker that wasn’t suited to her at that point and yet, the rest of the audience chanted it out loud. She instantly adopted and cherished it like a treasure. The faded images from the past disappeared and Trixie thought about the new name she bestowed upon herself, erasing her smile.
“The Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle just doesn’t compare to the Great and Powerful Trixie but that doesn’t matter. If they come to see either, then that’s all that truly matters!”
Finally, her mind pulled up what always helped her escape the doldrums of her current reality, the fabricated images of ponies watching her spectacular show and chanting her name.
“Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!”
The unicorn sternly corrected her mind. “It’s Sparkle!”
“Sparkle! Sparkle! Sparkle!”
And she finally drifted to sleep.
If Twilight had her way, she and her friends would have been in Hoofington the day after the body switch. Then again, not much had gone the smart unicorn’s way and that trend continued. Rarity packed heavy, giving Pinkie Pie far too much to bake. Spike gladly gobbled up the excess but that meant frequent stops, giving Fluttershy time to go off-road, frolic with the forest animals and getting lost, forcing Applejack and Rainbow Dash to find her.
Even with the delays, as the group approached Hoofington in the mid-afternoon, Trixie was easy to find. They all spotted her plastered on a large poster put up on a board labeled Hoofington Arena . Beyond the board was an open area between the pine trees with logs neatly arranged in rows and at the front stood a solitary crimson wagon. For the traveling group, it was good fortune although Twilight’s immediate concern was Trixie’s alterations to her usual conservative image. She made her opinion known with a hoof stomp.
“What did she do to my mane?”
Rarity critiqued the image and thought differently. “Why so upset? It’s certainly not something that’s suitable in day-to-day situations but for social events, it’s certainly an improvement but of course, with more appropriate attire than that silly hat and cape combination.”
The cow-pony had other thoughts in mind. “Well, I don’t care what she’s wearin’ cause we at least know that troublemaker’s ‘round these parts. Rainbow, check that wagon out for us, wontcha?”
With a salute, the fast Pegasus blasted all the way to the bottom of one of the wagon’s windows. She took a peek inside and made a beeline back to her waiting friends.
“No pony home. Want us to look around the town, Twilight?”
The azure unicorn shook her head. “The poster says she’ll be here right after sundown today. If my hunch is right, then the best time to act is right after the show. In the meantime, let’s find ourselves an inn to stay at.”
They all continued down the dirt road towards Hoofington, except for Pinkie Pie. She took a moment to draw a curly mustache on the poster and giggle at her work before re-joining her friends.
A throng of ponies had already gathered at Hoofington Arena when Twilight and her friends made their arrival, taking them by surprise.
“How did she get so many to come?” remarked Spike.
Fluttershy thought back to the tour she took with Rainbow and Pinkie around the town. “Well, she did have all those nice posters everywhere.”
Rainbow added “But we took care of that, right Pinkie Pie?”
The pink mare nodded, marker in mouth. The two pranksters snickered and slapped hooves although Twilight was not amused.
“You realize that’s my face you two drew on?”
Suddenly, a tooting horn from the front made the group take seats in the back as the crimson wagon folded open, revealing a wooden stage with painted red sparkles. Then, a familiar, yet, strange voice boomed across the clearing.
“Hoofingtonians! Prepare to stand up and marvel at the brilliant magic of the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle!”
The wagon’s props twirled, shot fireworks, and made loud noises before a cloud of red mist covered the entire stage. From within, a small glow of magic pushed it all away, giving the crowd a clear view of a purple unicorn magician.
“Trixie” grumbled Twilight. It took all her willpower to stay put and allow her rival to go on with the show.
“Tonight, you will all have the privilege of being in the presence of the one magician who defeated an Ursa Minor !”
“Not again” bemoaned Twilight.
Rainbow openly gave her opinion. “Well, she’s kinda right. You defeated an Ursa Minor but since she looks like you right now…”
A glare from Applejack quieted the loudmouth Pegasus. Trixie continued with her show.
“Observe. The pine trees around this clearing would take ages to take down but it is a simple task for the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle. Tree, disappear!”
The unicorn powered up her horn and aimed at the direction of one of the tall, wooden poles of pine before releasing a stream of magenta energy. Soon, the tree was encased with a magical aura before Trixie sent out a burst of light towards it. The crowds rose in anticipation as the spurt of energy went upstream to the tree, only for it to bounce right back down to the magic caster, punishing her with a healthy zap. Trixie collapsed in a smoking heap but quickly bounced up, alarmed by the warm sensation of a flame on her cape. She trampled it, putting it out but not before her crowds chuckled at her incompetence.
“Yes, well. Just watch as the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle juggle five, count them, five food carts!”
Another spell gave the unicorn the power to levitate the wooden stands on the side up into the air. Trixie gently moved them above her head and got them moving in a circle. Their speed was that of a Ferris wheel until a sputter from the horn pushed it up to a frenzied spin. It proved too much for the wood which cracked into pieces, spilling tomatoes, grapes, and bananas all over the stage and onto the crimson-caped magician. The crows guffawed as Trixie chucked the remains of the carts away.
“How dare you mock the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle! You lowly Hoofingtonians should be punished for not recognizing such greatness but, Sparkle feels pity for your blindness. Therefore, you shall all be witness to the most amazing and wonderful feat in all of Equestria!”
Trixie closed her eyes and concentrated all her energy on the tip of her horn, forming a growing ball of magenta light, illuminating the surroundings. However, the shape began to warp and the purple unicorn drenched in sweat, fighting a battle of control. Watching from the back, Twilight knew the end results and yelled over the pitched whine of the ball of energy to the panicking crowd.
“EVERY PONY TAKE COVER!”
The audience knelt down as the ball split itself apart, casting the area with unbearable light and sending off a sound of cracking and tearing. Once everypony’s eyes were given relief, they all stood up and checked their conditions. By fortune, the only consequence was getting their hooves dirty and they began to murmur amongst each other before one shouted to look towards the stage. A cloud of dust surrounding it had drifted off, revealing Trixie cowering on a solitary piece with splintered wood all around her. She slowly got up and looked at the sad remains of her wagon and then at the crowd who, for a few seconds, had no idea on how to react. Yet, the boastful magician had an idea on what was going to happen and she shook her head, not wanting to believe the outcome.
Suddenly, the audience howled in laughter, some falling on their sides and others pointing their hooves directly at Trixie, shredding the last few strands of her resolve. She jumped off and ran into the woods, leaving sobs and tears in her wake. No pony amongst the crowd bothered to chase her down and instead, went towards the exits with a tale to tell the town,
Meanwhile, Rainbow, Pinkie and Spike were flat on the ground, pounding it with their limbs in mirth. Applejack and Rarity made lame attempts to withhold their glee.
“Well, that was…um…entertainin’” chuckled the cow pony.
Rarity held her hoof on her mouth. “Why yes. I will certainly remember that…performance for a long time. Don’t you agree, Fluttershy?”
The yellow Pegasus tried to be humble. “It was…nice?”
Twilight stood silent, her eyes set towards the last known location of Trixie. “I don’t know. Don’t you girls feel kinda bad for her?”
Applejack quickly answered “Nope. It was comin’ to her, sugarcube. She didn’t learn her lesson and she’s payin’ the price for it.”
Rarity gave a similar reply. “My apologies, Twilight, but considering she is a pompous braggart and a thief, I cannot feel much sympathy for her.”
Twilight could only nod in agreement and even she had to admit to giggling throughout the show. She had all intentions to carry out her task, yet, couldn’t scrape all the sympathy from her plate.
“Girls, wait here. I’ll go take care of this myself.”
“Are you sure ‘bout that?” said Applejack.
“Yeah. I don’t think she wants to see a crowd right now. If I don’t come back in ten minutes…”
“We’ll charge right in. Good luck, Twilight.”
“Thanks, Applejack.”
After a nod, the azure unicorn trotted past the deserted green field and into the pine forest, using the purple glow of her horn to follow the hoof tracks below. It didn’t take long before Twilight used her ears to pick up Trixie’s muffled whimpering at the edge of a small lake. As the bookworm worked around the last of the trees, she stepped on a branch, alarming the purple unicorn. Once Trixie saw who it was, she flipped the switch to defiance and stood her ground.
“You!”
Twilight spoke seriously. “Trixie, you know what I came here for.”
“It is Sparkle you insignificant pony! And you will not get what you want!”
“And you won’t either. I’m sorry I have to tell you this but…I have a letter ready to send to Princess Celestia telling her to forbid any town from allowing you to perform your magic show.”
The heavy words cracked Trixie’s armor and she slumped down on the ground, unable to speak. The dam in her eyes leaked water and Twilight softened her tone.
“There’s no point in keeping my magic anymore, Trixie. You can’t possibly control it, not without endless years of studying. Just reverse the spell and I promise I’ll let you go.”
Between her tears, the boasting magician muttered her bitterness. “So, you’ll tattle to the Princess? It doesn’t matter. You took everything from me so I’m going to keep this magic away from you.”
Twilight took offense and took a step forward. “Excuse me?”
Trixie stood up and postured at her rival. “I had it all, my show, my magic, my fans and then…and then YOU showed up! You and that little trick that you did with the Ursa Minor!”
“That was your own fault for bragging so much! You should have learned your lesson and cleaned up your act!”
“Like I had a chance! Everywhere I turned, ponies only came to my shows to mock me. There’s the loudmouth Trixie with her feeble magic, they would say!” Trixie’s voice began to crack. “Do you know how much that hurt, Twilight? They used to call me Great and Powerful but now, I can’t even be Amazing and Wonderful .” She turned towards the lake but instead of gazing at the reflection of the moon, kept her sights on the dirt. “Maybe I should just call myself…Lousy and Weak . They might cheer for me then.”
For a moment, Twilight kept silent as her mind couldn’t decide on whether the pony in front of her was weaving a tale of lies or truth. However, even at the protest of her mind, her compassionate side took over.
“Trixie, you’re not as bad as you think. You’re just need to work on your magic a little bit. I’ve only been in your body for a short time but I can already sense that you have a lot of potential. Granted, your powers still wouldn’t be at the same level as mine but that doesn’t matter. You have more than enough to become a great magician and ponies will certainly want to come and see you then. Isn’t that what you want?”
It took time for Trixie to mull it over. Times of joy were few and far between for her but when she was on the stage in front of the crowds, those were the best of times. Even with her despised rival present, she let out the truth.
“Yes but…I can’t go out there after what just happened and…I’m all out of bits. My time as a magician is over.”
Twilight’s mind pondered over ideas before one came up but it tasted bitter. “Ughhhhh! I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She threw away the frustration and spoke in earnest. “How about we make a deal? If you reverse the spell, I can help you get your show up and running again, not as Sparkle but as Trixie. That way, it make us even, right?”
The magician mare sensed a trap and turned around, putting up defenses. “Like I’ll fall for that, Twilight! Trixie paused for a moment and made a pompous sales pitch. “But…if you go as Trixie and gain back my audience first, only then I will return to you this drab body and its useless powers back.”
Twilight’s mind raised an alarm. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
Trixie moved her head away and slammed her eyes shut. “Then there is nothing more to discuss!”
Within the body of the smart mare, flames erupted as she felt her opportunity to get her form back slipping away. “Ok, fine!” Twilight marched right up to the mare. “But…you’re going to help me AND I’m not going to boast like you have in the past AND you promise not to do that anymore. Got it?”
For Trixie, the modified plan made her cringe. She couldn’t imagine working with a rival and quieting the claims of greatness but then again, it was either this or no magic show forever. The frightening possibility forced her to act.
“Very well. Spark--, no, Trixie agrees to the terms.”
Twilight hesitated on her next course of action and finally, she put out her hoof but it was too late. Trixie began a march away from her.
“We shall meet in the clearing at noon tomorrow. Trixie will not tolerate tardiness.” She tossed a smoke bomb, poorly concealing her exit into the trees. It gave a flying Pegasus up above a chance to swoop down at the fleeing pony.
“Trixie! Come back here!”
“Rainbow, stop!” shouted Twilight.
The cyan mare slammed the brakes and turned towards Twilight. Rainbow gestured that she wanted to continue the chase but the bookworm denied it with a head shake. With reluctance, the fast Pegasus joined her other friends emerging from the forest and joined up with the smart unicorn.
“What in the hay just happened?” said Applejack.
Twilight turned to all her friends when it dawned on her. Given how poorly tonight went, getting the citizens to attend another magic show so soon would be difficult. She was going to need the help of her friends and Twilight could only begin to imagine their reactions. With a gulp, she began her story.
“Girls, you’re not going to believe what I just did.”
In the middle of the field in Hoofington Arena , the remains of the crimson wagon had been cleared away, replaced by a table where Twilight and her posse of friends were in deep conversation.
“I still can’t believe we’re doin’ this” Applejack moaned. “It feels like we’re rewardin’ that Trixie for all the trouble she caused us. For goodness sakes, I have to build her a new wagon AND sell caramel apples!”
“But this plan sounds so like much fun!” said Pinkie. “I’ve always wanted to be a clown!”
“Oh, did you get the names of ponies from Hocus that could help us?” Twilight inquired.
“Sure did! And he even told us how to get some animals!”
“Good. Fluttershy, I’ll leave you to take care of that. Let’s see. What else do we—”
“Um, Twilight?” said the yellow Pegasus, tapping her hoof on the table. “Are you sure it’s okay to—“
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure these animals are used to a carnival setting. You can just ask them in case—”
Rainbow’s snoring caught everypony’s attention.
“Wake up!” Twilight shouted.
The cyan mare grumbled awake. “Yeah, yeah. I know what I’m doing already. Set up all the posters and junk. I still don’t like the idea of being in a dunk tank and—”
“Too bad!” She then ran down further down her checklist. “Rarity, you got the design for the posters ready yet so that we can get them out?”
The white unicorn burned her quill on parchment. “Not…ready…yet!”
“Please hurry. We only have until noon tomorrow and don’t forget you’re supposed to play fortune teller as well.”
Rarity snapped her quill and glared at Twilight.
Spike brought her another one. “Hey, cheer up! Think of it as an opportunity to drum up your business. I’m going to use this chance to practice my announcing skills. They have gotten a little rusty.”
They were all interrupted by the arrival of the purple unicorn.
“What are they doing here?” said Trixie, raising her muzzle at them.
Twilight sat up. “I asked for their help and fortunately, they all said yes.”
Her friends grumbled incomprehensive frustration.
“Also, we already have a plan set out.” The bookworm levitated over the list.
Trixie’s eyes drew narrower the more lines she read. “Unacceptable. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not perform at foallike events such as carnivals .”
Twilight walked right up to the magician. “After your little magic show yesterday, we couldn’t convince the town to let us do another one, at least, not without throwing some other things in! It’s either this or I send the letter off right now!”
“Hmfff! That voice and those words, they disturb Trixie! Very well. All of you, run along with your duties.”
All of Twilight’s friends stood in place, crossing their hooves.
“Trixie, say please” Twilight said.
“That is a word Trixie does not require.”
“You’re going to need it from now on so just say it. Otherwise, we can all just stand around here and do nothing.”
Trixie huffed at the lecturer and strained her mouth muscles. “P…please?”
For a moment, no pony did anything but with a motion from Twilight, her friends left the scene, complaining on their way out.
Twilight breathed in deep and released all her frustration. “Ok, I’m going to start practicing. Trixie, you can watch and learn on how to properly carry yourself on the stage. I’m sure you can give me some pointers as well.”
“Trixie does not find any interest in such a mundane activity.”
“Get used to it” she replied flatly.
A few hours later, Applejack and small group of ponies was at a corner of the field assembling the new magic wagon along with some wood stands. The others were either spreading the word or getting additional help, giving Twilight and Trixie more time to work on the magic act for tomorrow.
“Tada!” said Twilight.
Trixie did a face hoof. “You call yourself a user of magic but you lack the refinement and grace to hold the name of Great and Powerful Trixie.”
“Well, I’m trying my best and you’re not really helping a lot! How about you just do the switch now?”
“Trixie will do no such thing. The crowds first, Twilight. That was the deal.”
“Well, you’re not making this easy on me.”
“You’re not making this easy on Trixie .”
Twilight shook her head. “I’m not going that far.”
“You ask for help from the Great and Powerful Trixie and that’s the response you provide?”
“If I keep saying Trixie all the time, it’s going to make me sound too important.”
“But Trixie is important.”
Twilight stomped her hoof. “No, you’re not! And even if you were, you don’t need to carry this persona around you all the time! I mean, don’t your friends get annoyed with it? It’s sure rubbing me the wrong way right now!”
It struck a sensitive nerve and Trixie couldn’t answer back.
The smart unicorn put her head down. “You don’t have any friends, do you?”
“They…could not stand being in the presence of such…” The magician’s veil finally fell off. “…no, none of them could stand being with me. They left me…just like my audience.”
Twilight sighed. “Well, Trixie, you just need to act a little more…nice.”
“Preposterous! Trixie does not—”
“Please stop. Just give it a chance. I mean, what are you going to lose by showing everypony that you’re not this big shot magician but instead, just plain old Trixie?”
Trixie took a few seconds to think it through and despite not feeling much camaraderie with the pony in front of her, she had a point. “You can be quite persistent, Twilight. I’ll give it a chance if it keeps you quiet.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
From afar, Applejack yelled “We’re finished! Come and take a gander!”
The purple unicorn caught sight of her new wagon, one that looked just the old one except with a covering of the soft purple hue from her trademark cape. She knocked over Applejack and her helpers and went inside. Everything in place but it was newer, cleaner, and had a little extra pizazz. Trixie hopped off and after looking over her wagon again, let out a squeal of joy.
Applejack took off her hat and scratched her mane. “Wasn’t expectin’ that.”
Twilight cracked a smile. “She sure does seem…happy.”
Trixie turned around and realized everypony giving her a surprised look. With a cough, she slipped back to her usual self. “It looks…fine. Trixie requires…ahem, I need a smoothie so I’ll be back.” She trotted off into the distance.
“Was that…a compliment?” said Applejack. “Really wasn’t expecting that. Did ‘ya put some kind a spell on her, Twilight?”
“I…pretty much asked her to act nicer but…yeah. Maybe we just need to give her a chance.”
As Trixie approached Hoofington Arena , she smacked her lips, satisfied to finally get her beverage of choice before her ears picked up the sounds of conversation and banging nails. She turned the corner and entered the field which now bustled with activity. Ponies, some who looked familiar, were building stands, putting up a large tent or practicing their respective talents: juggling, face painting, shaping balloons, and acrobatics.
“It’s almost like before” Trixie whispered to herself.
With each step brought more memories of her days as a small filly on days just like this one. Although the scale was nowhere close to the carnivals of old, she felt the aura of anticipation and excitement from her surroundings and soon got the urge to talk with the workers. She found out that a few of them had worked at the old carnivals and many were their direct descendants but they all believed the same thing. The days of traveling carnivals had passed on by but they were all still part of a family and they just couldn’t turn down the chance for one final hurrah. They also shared something that wasn’t as favorable and with her foreign image, allowed her to hear what it was and reflected on them once she heard enough.
“I sure have disappointed a lot of them for leaving early” thought Trixie. “But they don’t understand! They were holding me down! No, they were holding me up. If I had worked harder, then I would have been fine on my own. This is my second chance, isn’t it? Well, I better make good use of it, then. Otherwise, I’ll be left with nothing.”
Finally, she reached Twilight along with all her friends, taking a break.
“What took you so long?” asked the purple unicorn.
“Trixie was…I performed an inspection of the work being doing outside these fields.”
Rarity took minor offense. “Oh, you don’t trust what we’re doing?”
Trixie opened her mouth with an insult ready but her mind gave her a slap. “That…not it. It’s just that…I have more experience with carnivals and thought I could…provide some suggestions.”
The group of ponies gossiped amongst each other.
Rainbow raised her eye. “So, what did we do wrong?”
Again, Trixie fought off the temptation to belittle the ponies in front of her. “Let’s see. The posters were…actually, the design was amazing…and the ponies around town, they…sounded like they were excited about the carnival…and I thought the animals I passed by looked quite cuddly.”
Now the group of friends all murmured compliments to themselves.
“In fact, everything seems to be in order except for one thing. Twilight, I need to get you ready for tomorrow. You’re not ready to entertain the ponyfolk just yet but that can be fixed if we work on it all night.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Wait. You seriously want to help now?”
“Isn’t that what I said? I bet you already did a mock run with your friends and found you to be…” Trixie made a long yawn. “…boring.”
Everypony snickered except for the one being slighted.
“Was I that bad?” said Twilight, letting her ears down. “Ok, guess we better get started, then.”
The purple and azure unicorn headed away from everypony else.
Rainbow rubbed her mane. “Um, is that the same Trixie from today?”
“My, her behavior is …different than usual” remarked Rarity.
“Do you think she’s beginning to turn around?” asked Fluttershy.
Applejack shrugged. “Well, doesn’t matter much to me but she better keep up her end. C’mon everypony. We got work to do!”
At the entrance to Hoofington Arena , a steady stream of ponies came in and out, going past a little purple dragon in a suit.
“Welcome to the carnival!” Spike announced to the masses. “Come and enjoy our various wares games and stick around for our magic show later today!”
From a distance cried out the sales calls of Applejack. “Get ur Caramel Apples on a Stick right here! Double the flavor, double the fun!”
A pink pony in a cloud costume suddenly popped up in front.
“Oh, tarnation! Pinkie! I told ‘ya to not scare me like that!”
Pinkie the Clown honked her fake red nose. “Hey, I need three more of those caramel apples for my stunt.”
“Not again. You couldn’t balance ‘em all the first two times.”
“Third time’s the charm, right?”
“All righty then…” Applejack tossed three apples. “…but just careful this time. You don’t wanna upset the balloon ponies again.”
“Okie-dokey!”
Pinkie then rushed over to a group of young fillies and colts and chucked the apples up into the air. She jumped on a unicycle and allowed the stick end to fall on both her front hooves and her muzzle. The young little ponies cheered as the pink clown did a few circles before tossing the apples again, one by one. She ate up the first and second one but her gaping mouth never got the third one.
The clown looked up and saw it fly over to the dunk tank where Rainbow, with wings tied with a rope, gobbled it up.
“Oh, thanks, clownie” said the cyan Pegasus. She then turned her attention to the growing crowd. “Heh! C’mon! You’ve all given up already?”
Out came grumbles about the setup of the game.
“Hey! It’s not my fault the target is small! Well, maybe it is.”
An old yellow stallion was next up and chucked the beanbag far short of the mark.
Rainbow cackled. “Hey, old timer! Maybe we should put an age limit on this. You must be this young to not look silly!”
The elder wasn’t going to back off. “Oh, you think this is funny? I’ll have my grandfilly show ‘ya a thing or two ‘bout manners!”
A young blue filly stepped forward and made her attempt. The beanbag flew right over the target, adding to Rainbow’s amusement.
“Oh, that’s the way to show me! She couldn’t hit the side of a cloud!”
Then, Fluttershy came along with a line of exotic birds, a baby elephant, a small giraffe, and a pair of baby lion cubs. She calmly came to the front, giving the animals a chance to play around with the audience.
“Rainbow, maybe you should, you know, be nice to the crowd? We are supposed to keep them happy.”
The cyan mare gave a raspberry. “Yeah, right! It’s not my fault I’m making fun of them. I mean, they have the worst aim I’ve ever seen, well, maybe except for yours.”
Fluttershy tried to open her mouth but her friend cut her off with more laughter, making her sigh. She picked up the beanbag and with one motion, silenced the boastful cyan mare with water, gaining her a cheer from the crowd.
Rainbow pulled herself out of the tank. “Wha…how did you—”
Fluttershy slinked some pride in her smile. “My aim isn’t that bad.”
She then motioned for the animals to continue on and they did, following her down the path and past a small white tent. Inside, a peach-colored mare stood across Rarity, now wearing colorful veils and waving her hooves on a globe.
The white unicorn did a little cough, making up a mysterious voice. “What is it that you seek my young mare?”
“So, do you think my coltfriend and I will…” The customer couldn’t finish and instead, fidgeted in anticipation.
Rarity’s horn glowed and projected fuzzy images. “Oh, yes. I foresee many great things for you two. In fact, I could see your parents…and all the family and…ah, yes, wedding bells.”
A high-pitched squeal could be heard halfway across the fields.
“Um, yes, well, such a great event requires only the best of wear and…ah, you decided to visit a boutique in…Ponyville. Yes, you were so amazed with the wonderful designs that you spent most of the day there.”
“Oh really? Maybe I should pay that place an early visit.”
“That would be a wise decision, my dear. Go on and spread the good news.”
The peach mare giggled and burst out of the tent.
A low voice whispered from behind. “Psst, hey, Rarity.”
She turned around and saw a purple head peeking in. “Oh, Spike. Let me guess. The magic show’s about to start.”
“That’s right. So, you got time to step out and watch me announce?”
“Maybe for the later show but good luck to you. Make sure that Trixie reverses the spell.”
Spike gave a salute and ran through the crowds before slipping into one of the many openings of the large red tent. He immediately made a right and hopped onto the wagon to knock on the door. Twilight, already wearing the hat and cape, swung the top half open.
“Oh, looks like you’re ready” said the azure magician.
Spike glanced inside. “Trixie’s not here yet?”
“Afraid not. We stayed up much of the night nailing down the act so she might have overslept.”
“Do you think she ran off?”
Another voice came in from behind. “Now, why would I do such a thing?”
The duo turned around, spotting Trixie.
“All that effort and then not see the end result?” said the purple unicorn, shaking her head. “Like I was going to let that happen. So, Twilight, are you ready?”
“Well, I’m actually kinda nervous. I mean, the crowd’s much larger than I thought. What if I screw up or—”
“Does Twilight already forget the words I said last night? Such thoughts must be cast away before facing the audience. Begin with confidence, end with confidence.”
One of the carnival workers gestured at the little purple dragon and after a few head nods, disappeared.
“What is that supposed to mean, Spike?” asked Twilight.
“That means it’s show time! Get ready!”
The small dragon walked off to the center of the large tent where ponies of all ages and sizes sat all around, waiting for him to speak. A pair of lights shone on top of him and a band on the side drummed up some music.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts! Today, the carnival is proud to present a magician that will bedazzle you with feats beyond your imagination. Put your hooves down for…Trixie!”
Twilight waltzed into the center stage, waving at the cheering crowd. Already, she could feel the tingling of anxiety but also, a rush of excitement. To think that all the ponies were out here to watch her perform, she thought. Now she began to understand how Trixie could have been allured to focus on the fame. She glanced back to her rival, standing within the shadows of the entrance, already fidgeting to go out on her own. Whatever doubt the bookworm had about Trixie reneging on the deal vanished. Now it was her turn to fulfill her end of the deal.
After a bow, Twilight lifted her cap and levitated out a set of purple tarot cards, all having an image of doves. She sent them skywards and spun them around in a circle before they went up in a puff of smoke. Then, out of misty grey came real white doves, gaining the magician oohs and aahs from the audience before they changed back to cards and given to the crowds as a souvenir.
Spike feigned disinterest. “Not bad but I believe Trixie has more in store.”
Twilight took out a solitary card with a picture of a baby elephant and made it grow in size before a swirl of smoke hid it from view. Out of it, the real deal appeared and trumpeted its nose, garnering approving hoof stomps. The magician looked it over and shook her head.
“Looks like Trixie isn’t satisfied with the size. But I bet you can fix that, right?”
The azure magician nodded and powered up her horn. She encased the animal in a spiral aura before it sent out a bright flash, blinding the entire room for a second. Suddenly, the baby elephant had become an adult and made a louder noise than before, same with the audience. Twilight then raised her front hooves and covered the animal with a huge smoke screen. Once it cleared, the elephant was no more, replaced by the original card.
“Nicely done, Trixie. Oh but you have another trick for us? Well, let us see it, then!”
The azure pony conjured up one solid metal ring. With her hoof, she moved it about, showing its form before a box on wheels came up to the center. Twilight tossed herself in and allowed her head and hind legs to show through the holes. Then the ring moved about and spun rapidly.
Spike put his hand on his mouth. “Don’t tell me you’re doing this again! It took us forever to put you back together the last time!”
The ring hovered over the box and slammed down and up, splitting the box in two. The crowd winced and then watched in fascination as Twilight used her horn to spin her two halves around the arena before putting the boxes back together. Again the ring cut through the middle and once the lid opened up, the azure pony hopped out safe and sound. The crowd hollered and whistled while the small purple announcer shook his head.
“Now you’re scaring me Trixie. I still can’t believe you’re doing this last stunt! You haven’t gotten it right all week!”
Twilight hung the metal ring in the air and it spit out other rings. They all landed in different spots and began to circle the magician before spontaneously catching on fire, making the crowd murmur, wondering what was going to happen. Then, the magician closed her eyes and levitated a few inches off the ground. With a wave of her hooves, the rings of fires stopped their circular motion and came right at the middle at the same time, causing a column of fire to erupt and envelop Twilight. The crowd gasped out loud and Spike played into their fears.
“Oh no! Is this the end of our lovely magician?”
When the flames extinguished, Twilight was already on the ground with not a burn mark on her.
“Give it up for—”
Spike’s remaining words were drowned out by the noise of the spectators, with a few of them beginning to chant the name of the magician. Twilight held her bow before waving goodbye for the crowd and entered the tunnel with a big smile.
Trixie stood with eyes wide open. “Twilight…you…you actually did it.”
“Only because we worked on it. Even if they’re just illusions, they’re not that easy to pull off. I’m glad you pointed out my flaws.”
The crowd began chanting for more of the magician, giving Twilight the opening she needed.
“Well, sounds like they want you out there so—”
Trixie turned towards the arena and a small tear ran past her small smile.
“Are you all right?”
Trixie cleared her throat. “Oh, yes, of course I am. Well, Twilight, I suppose it’s time to make the exchange.”
Back in the center of the arena, Spike caught a glimpse of amber and azure light from the entrance and rushed towards it. When he arrived, his green eyes saw two mares lying on the ground and the amber amulet, faintly glowing before it finally gave out.
The purple pony got up first and rubbed her head, moaning. Her eyes then spotted the little dragon. “Hey, Spike. Don’t worry, I’m back in my own body.”
“How do I know that—”
“You still owe me that favor so when we get back, you’re going to clean the Treehouse from top to bottom.”
Spike gave her friend a hug. “It is you, Twilight! So, any way I can—”
“No. You’re stuck with the chore.”
“It was worth a shot.”
They both turned around, hearing the azure unicorn get up.
“Such a wretched spell” Trixie muttered. “That’s the last time Trixie uses it.”
Twilight hung her head. “Don’t tell me you’re going back to that behavior again.”
“How absurd. You actually thought you could reform the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
The bookworm and her assistant frowned.
Trixie then had a good laugh. “Twilight, it is that easy to deceive you? Trixie still has an image to maintain, you know, but…” She allowed her guard to drop. “…that doesn’t mean I have to carry it around all the time.”
The ponies within the arena were now chanting for encores.
“Sounds like my crowds await me and Trixie must please them. The show must go on.”
Twilight and Spike watched Trixie get on center stage and bask in the glory of the audience.
Inside a small tent, Twilight and her friends were eating carnival food and conversing about their day at the carnival. Just outside, the leftover ponies began the process of clearing up the fields.
Rainbow was covered in a towel, shivering. “So glad that’s over with.”
“Sure wasn’t expectin’ so many ponies” said Applejack, yawning and putting her hat down.
“I’m just relieved that Twilight is back where she belongs” said Rarity.
“Same here” Twilight remarked. “I just don’t know what to make of Trixie, though. It’s like she was just starting to open up but I’m not sure if she’ll stay that way.”
Spike momentarily stopped munching on some popcorn. “Her performance was just like yours, though. Then again, was that in itself an act?”
The unicorn in question walked in. “Such a trivial question to ask regarding Trixie.”
Twilight waved her hoof. “Hey, Trixie. Do you want to join us?”
“Trixie needs to converse with others first. There is good news to be told.”
“And what’s that?”
“The traveling carnival has made its triumphant return. We are to depart next week, with Trixie as the star act, of course.”
The group grumbled, believing the azure magician was back to her old self again.
Twilight’s ears dropped as did her voice. “That’s…great. Well, we won’t keep you, then.”
Trixie made a motion to leave but then turned back. “Oh, and before it escapes the mind, Trixie…no, I …acknowledge what all of you have done today and I am in your debt.” The magician left the tent and scurried off.
For a moment, none of Twilight’s friends could say anything until the small dragon spoke up.
“Did she just…thank us?” Spike asked.
Pinkie bounced around. “She did! That one counts!”
Applejack didn’t share the excitement. “Pretty lousy if you ask me.”
Twilight took a step into the light of the moon and watched the azure magician greet a few of the other ponies in similar fashion before disappearing into the horizon. Unlike the last time she saw the azure pony running off from Ponyville, the smart unicorn believed that the lesson had stuck into the mind of the Great and Powerful Trixie and in the end, that was the best she could have hoped for.
“Well, it’s not perfect but hey, it’s a start.”
The sun shined through the window on the top level of the Library Treehouse, hitting the closed eyes of the little purple dragon, deep asleep on Twilight’s bed. He arose from his slumber and peered at the outside world, watching the red and orange leaves blowing by before stretching his arms. A peek of the sun revealed the time of day.
“It’s an hour to noon. Twilight should have woken me up already…and yelled at me for sleeping on her bed.”
Spike dragged himself down the stairs when he saw a letter pinned to the door. He pulled it down and read it:
***Begin Letter***
To all my friends,
I, Twilight Sparkle, have decided to no longer be Princess Celestia’s apprentice and instead, will go on the road and become a traveling magician. This decision was very difficult but I know it is the right one for me. My humblest apologies for departing without saying goodbye but I thought it would be for the best. Please do not follow me and try to change my mind.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
***End Letter**
The parchment was hit by one tear, then another, then a few more fell at once before the little dragon whimpered “She…she’s gone. But…but why didn’t she…”
Spike scrambled up the stairs of the Library Treehouse, hoping to see the sight of the purple unicorn but she was nowhere to be found. He searched through the basement, hoping Twilight was working on a scientific experiment but the machines downstairs were silent. As he came back to ground level, the little dragon started bawling and he ran outside, letter in hand, his instincts telling him to see a certain white unicorn.
Inside the upper floor of Carousel Boutique, the clattering of the sewing machine reverberated throughout the room, drowning out the constant meowing of the big, white cat sitting on a padded cushion on the bed. Rarity continued on with the stitching of a dress as she addressed the cat.
“My apologies, Opalescence, but I told you already that you’re on a diet.”
The cat meowed with an attitude.
“I said no. Your current figure is simply unacceptable and I will not stand by and have other ponies calling you a fat cat.”
Opal hissed and dug her claws onto the bed, ready to tear it into shreds.
Rarity stopped the sewing machine and stomped her hoof. “Don’t…you…dare !”
The cat gently stroked the delicate fabric below her, each slight motion making the white unicorn fret and fret some more.
“No, don’t, that’s, you can’t, please! All right! All right! How about some fish?”
Opal meowed in content and let out a sly smile as the white unicorn opened a narrow china cabinet and levitated out a glass of milk and a pouch with a picture of a blue tuna fish. As she filled the cat’s bowl with milk and sliced tuna, Rarity’s ears picked up the cries of the little purple dragon which grew louder and louder until Spike barged through the door. He made a beeline right to Rarity’s hoof and hugged it tightly.
Rarity looked down at her crying friend. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Oh, don’t tell me you ate all that spicy food again.”
Spike let out incomprehensible words. “Twilight…she…but we were…I don’t…”
“I don’t…I don’t understand.”
He waved the rolled up letter in his hand which then glowed blue and brought up to the unicorn’s eye level. Rarity unfurled the letter and she mumbled the words.
“Please don’t tell me this is a joke” Rarity flatly said.
Spike shook his head.
The letter fell to the ground and Rarity’s lips quivered. She pulled out the red chaise lounger and with Spike still clinging to her hoof, she laid down and went into despair. “This can’t be! Our beloved and cherished friend has departed us to pursue a career in a questionable profession? This is…THE, WORST, POSSIBLE, THING!”
Opal rolled her eyes, having seen the routine two times already during the week.
“Spike! We must gather all our friends and decide on our next course of action! We must hurry!”
Amongst the tears, the dragon replied “Thank you, Rarity.”
The sun continued its journey to the top of the sky as the wooden box standing on the top of a green hill made cracking sounds. Then, a large blast of purple energy ripped from the inside, scattering pieces of broken branches everywhere. From the newly created hole emerged a tired azure pony. She turned around and looked over the wooden box that had served as her prison.
“Trixie has more magic than I thought. Still, that should have held me for days but it only took a few hours.”
Twilight took a few steps to look at the edge of the hill towards Ponyville. She thought about what Trixie mentioned earlier, about her plan to ditch her friends behind and go on the road to be a magician. Her mind, still retaining all her memories and deductive skills, ran through various scenarios on how the trickster would pull it off. As she thought about it some more, the same dilemma came up for solutions to each potential situation. She was in the body of Trixie and given her questionable reputation, convincing her friends she was truly Twilight Sparkle was the hard part.
Suddenly, she saw a cyan Pegasus and a small purple dragon exit the Library Treehouse and after Spike hopped on the back of Rainbow, she took off coming right at Twilight.
“Oh no! They can’t see me right now!”
Twilight instinctively climbed up the tree and grabbed to one of the larger branches. She wriggled forwards until she reached the end and with her horn, she parted the leaves just enough to give her a glance below just as four cyan hooves landed by the telescope.
“So, are you sure this is the last place you saw her?” asked Rainbow.
“Uh, huh” sniffed Spike.
Twilight’s motherly instincts told her to come down and hug the dragon but knew she couldn’t.
“Huh. Nothing unusual here” remarked Rainbow.
Spike pointed at the wooden box “I don’t…remember that being there.”
Rainbow glanced through the hole and scratched her head. “Well, this is odd but then again, this is Twilight were talking about here. She probably was doing something nerdy with this.”
Twilight shouted in her mind “I am not a nerd! I am just smart.”
Spike wiped some tears off his face. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
He then turned to the telescope which he had assembled earlier and he thought about the last words he heard from the purple unicorn.
“She…let me go home early…so that…she can leave town without any pony knowing. She…didn’t even take her…tele…scope….” Spike started sobbing, prompting Rainbow to shake her head in anger.
“Well, I don’t believe it for a second! She would never leave us hanging like this! C’mon! We’re going back to the Treehouse!”
The little dragon hopped onto Rainbow’s back and she blasted off back towards the Treehouse, sending the telescope twirling around before tipping over. It came to within inches from the ground before a purple haze glowed all around it.
“Whew! Nice save! Ok, I still to come up with a plan but first, I should sneak up to the Treehouse and see what my friends are doing.”
Twilight looked at the grassy floor below which in her eyes, moved further and further away. She tightened the grip on the limb she was holding onto.
“Help!” she muttered.
Outside the purple tent within Whitetail Woods, a purple unicorn adorned in a crimson red cape adorned with stars was furiously working her horn building a wooden chariot using the trees around her.
“Wonderful! Sparkle’s Traveling Chariot is finished! A brilliant work of craftsmanship from the greatest magical equine in all of Equestria!”
Trixie’s moment was interrupted by a mocking quacking sound. She turned around and saw the same aviary bird that tried to pilfer the amulet yesterday now laughing at her creation. She turned back around and saw the wheels were more like ovals, the door swaying in the wind before falling off, and the sign which had her acquired cutie mark hung crooked.
“How dare you mock the Amazing and Wonderful Sparkle!”
The horn of the purple unicorn brimmed with red energy before she pointed her horn at the bird. The release of energy made Trixie twirl, missing her target and zapping the chariot, sending it ablaze. The duck quacked in merriment and flew off before the unicorn could make a second attempt at retaliation.
As the remains of the chariot turned into ash, Trixie stomped her hoof at her misfortune before she noticed the smoke had cleared the treeline, potential revealing her location.
“This calls for a hasty departure for Twilight!”
Trixie used the teleportation spell once again and the unicorn disappeared from sight. Then, she reappeared a foot from where she departed. She stomped her hooves in anger.
“Must Twilight dirty her hooves again and walk?” whined Trixie.
