Author's Note

This chapter is a bit of a silly one, hope you don’t mind. Don’t expect many to be this silly either.
(References, wooo!)

Chapter 10: a familiar inconvenience

It was a beautiful morning in Canterlot. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming. Foals were pretending to fight to the death with a skeleton in a blue hoodie. Everything Was great. Until the wagon came. It swerved left to right, causing ponies to hop out of the way as they try to escape the carts wrath. A small foal gets run over by the wagon, thankfully unharmed somehow, and yet it keeps going. Behind it were about 30 royal guards, chasing the rampaging vehicle down, to no avail.

They eventually chased it to a cliff, thinking that the driver would finally stop so they could catch the reckless bastard. But sadly, that is not the case. The cart goes sailing off the ledge, much to the surprise of literally everypony. As they look down, waiting for the sound of breaking wood, it suddenly comes flying back up. Somehow, the wagon had wings built into it. As it sailed away, the guards only had one thought: ‘What in Celestia’s sunbaked cheeks just happened?’

Within the flying wagon, resided a blue mare with a large, purple hat and cloak. As she furiously pulls levers and flips switches, she sticks her arm out the window and flips off the guards, still flabbergasted.
”Suck it coppers! The grrrreat and powerful Trixie ain’t paying her taxes!”
The still confused guards looked to each other before turning around and leaving. As Tricia pulls her arm back in her wagon, before looking down at a map she had sitting upon her lap.
” So Canterlot is a no-go for the ggrrreat and powerful Trixie, as she shall never pay her hard earned bits to those bitchy nobles. What other towns could she travel to, so she can woo them with her mystical arts? Ooh! How about a little town called-“

”Ponyville!”
”Uh, Pinkie? Who are you talking to?”
Pinkie proceeds to bend backwards, to such an angle that her bones should be nothing but dust.
”Silly Spike, were you not listening? I was saying how it was such a beautiful morning in this wonderful town!”
”Ah, okay. Sorry, must have been zoning out.”
”It’s fine! plus I was using it as a Segway as well, so you probably wouldn’t remember.”
”What was that Pinkie?”
”Nooothiiing!”
Pinkie blinks and giggles, before leaving the room, exaggerated smile still on her face.
”Wait, Pinkie! What about my baking lessons?!”
Pinkie just continued to giggle as she hopped away, leaving a very much confused Spike alone in the kitchen.
”Today is gonna be one of those days, isn’t it?”

Spike returned home early from his suddenly cancelled lesson, and proceeded to head to the kitchen. While heading there, he noticed Twilight passed out on a book as usual. The drake smirked before getting as close to her ear as he could. Then, in a voice even a field mice would struggle to hear, he uttered a single sentence:
”Someone started a book burning out front.”
Twilights eyes fly open as she leaps into action, grabbing the fire extinguisher and running outside. When she realized there was no fire, and that the citizens of pony collie were looking at her weird, she quickly went back inside. She then proceeded to punch Spike in the shoulder, before sighing.
”Today is gonna be one of those days, isn’t it?”

Thorax was currently taking a walk through the Ponyville park. After he started helping Fluttershy with her animals, he had come out of his shell a little bit more, and enjoyed taking walks through the town. As he was walking through the park, a wagon suddenly fell from the sky, directly into the middle of the courtyard, scaring several ducks and ponies. As the dust began to settle, strange beams and pols began to extend out, as flags were raised and banner’s were lowered. Finally, a stage began to assemble itself in front of the wagon, crushing a small patch of Pansies. As he stood there, awestruck at the chain of events that just transpired, a blue mare stuck her head out of the wagon, with a megaphone in hand.
-ahem- “Come one come all! For today and tomorrow only, you will be allowed to experience the wonders of the grrreat and powerful Trixies’s showcase of mystical powers! See I, the great and powerful Trixie, preform feats no others can do! Come one, come all! Tickets twenty bits, show’s are at 12, 2, 4, 6 and 8 for both days Trixie is here. No refunds!”
As Thorax bore witness to this strange display, he could only sigh.
”This is gonna be one of those days.”

Thorax returned home, and was met by the site of a snickering Spike dusting the bookshelves with his toothbrush.
”You scared Twilight ag-”
”I scared Twilight again.
Thorax sighed and chuckled at this, before walking over and planting a kiss on the dragons cheek.
”Well, you might wanna wait a bit before you continue. A wagon fell out of the sky, and some mare started yelling about her magic show.”
As Thorax was explaining to Spike what happened, Twilight walked in.
”Sounds like a traveling entertainer! Haven’t seen one of their shows in years, but they were always fun.”
”You wanna go twi? My treat for scaring you earlier.”
”Sure. You can use an actual duster when we get back. Now let’s go see us this magic show!”

As they walked up to the wagon, they joined the line of ponies standing at the ticket booth. It seems like a lot of ponyville wanted to know what the heck was going on. As they quickly got up to the front of the line, they noticed all within was a bucket labeled ‘20 bits per pony’, filled with bits. As Spike dropped his bits in, a random mare attempted to push past them and steal the bucket. Unfortunately for her, this was a magician’s show. And that bucket was enchanted. After the mare passed out in front of the trio, they proceeded to take the three tickets that produced themselves from the stand, before eagerly walking towards their seats. When they were gone, the mare once again groaned in pain, before reaching up to the ticket booth so she could haul herself up. Unfortunately for her, her hand landed within the bucket again, and she promptly fell back down, smoke coming out of her ears.

As the trio look for seats, they notice their friend group in the front row, and three open seats for them. They excitedly wave and beckon the three over, which they happily obliged.
”Hiya guys! Ready to see this specticularous magic show?!”
”Ah know ah sure am. Never been to one o these before.”
”Neither have I. Hope this is at least twenty percent more awesome than those stupid circuses my parents used to take me to.”
”Its not too bad dash. Should be plenty of fireworks along side the tricks too.”
As Rainbow does a silent celebration at the mentioning of explosives, Fluttershy huddled into a ball closer under her friends wing.
”I-I hope it’s not too scary. My animals might panic if they hear the bangs. ”

”It should be fine darling. Now hush, all of you! The show is starting.”

“Behold! The gggrrreeat and powerful Trrrrrixie is here to blow away your feeble minds with her feats of untold power! For my first trick, I shall show you the magic of cards. Look at this card, and make sure you memorize it. Now, watch the cards.”
She begins to shuffle them, before they suddenly burst into flames. As the cards crumbled to ash within her hand, she used her other hand to grab a handful of the ash. She blew upon the ashes, and the ashes scattered, before falling to the ground. When she was done, the ashes were in the shape of the Ace of clubs. The crowd cheered at this trick, and Trixie smirked.
” As you can see from just my first trick, the grrrreat and powerful Trrrrixie is a powerful mage! Now, let me frighten you with my arcane might!”
As the crowd continued to cheer, one rainbow maned Pegasus looked upset.

The show continued on, with the tricks getting more impressive, and the crowd getting more wild. And one certain Pegasus grew more and more annoyed. After about 30 minutes, The mage had taken a short break to get the next trick ready, as Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight.
”This mare is so full of herself.”
”Well yeah, she’s a good magician.”
”Well yeah, but she keeps boasting about how she’s the best, when you’re right here!”
”Well yeah, she has to. It’s apart of her act, she’s in character.”
”Well she’s still annoying with all that boasting.”
At this, Spike spoke up.
”Hey pot, meet kettle. Your black.”
This caused the girls to start giggling, and Rainbow to start grumbling. After a minute, Trixie returned, ready to re-start her show, before the hypocritical Pegasus spoke up.

”Hey! You’re not that good!”
Trixie stops in her tracks, before turning to the crowd, rage evident in her face.
“Who dares mock the grrreat and powerful Trrrixie?!”
”Dash! Sit the hell down!”
” I did! I don’t think you’re the best mage here!”
”Shut up Rainbow!”
”In fact, I bet you my friend could beat you in a magic duel!”
”Damnit Dash, I hate you so much.”
” Oh really? Than come up here, miss magic, and let’s see how you fare against the grrrreat and powerful Trixie!”
Twilight stood up while groaning, promising herself to get back at dash later.
”Look, I’m so sorry, she’s never been to a magic show like this, and she doesn’t know-“
“Well I’ll be damned. Twilight Sparkle. Come to ruin my life again?”

Twilight, surprised at this outburst, looked to the mare.
”I’m sorry, do I know you?”
”Do you seriously not remember me, Tattling Twily?”
”Wait a minute, only one pony ever called me that, and that was after… Beatrice?!”
”Do not call me that! I renounced that name after you betrayed me!”
”What the hell are you talking about, we were friends back then!”
”Trixie was one of the best illusionists at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, and she was scared to be the best. Until you got me kicked out!”
”You blew up half the dorm hall, what the hell was I supposed to do?!”

”Enough you fiend! Time to settle this once and for all!”
”Look, I’m sorry I told on you, but you almost killed Lyra!”
A mint green mare got up to say something, but was promptly pulled back down by her mare friend before she could get involved.
”It doesn’t matter! I lost my future, and now, I, the grrrreat and powerful Trrrrixie shall get my revenge!”
But before anything could happen, an entire platoon of guards came running into town.
“Beatrice Lulamoon! You are under arrest for evading your taxes, and fleeing from the guard! Please come with us peacefully, or we will use police brutality!”
Before she could respond, they pulled out their crossbows and began to fire. Trixie jumped into her wagon, retracting all of her things, before starting up the wagon. As it drove off, a turret sprouted out of the top, and began to fire arrows back at the guards. One of the guards hides behind a box, and pulls out a radio crystal.
” This is officer Clip Clop, suspect is getting away! I need back up!”
As more guards began to arrive in wagons to chase after the tax evader, Ponyville watched the chaos. Twilight, mind broken at this point, could only say one thing.
”What the actual fuck.”