Trixie: Take 2

“Well, I can’t honestly say I thought I’d need to learn how to shave when I woke up this morning… Come to think of it, I didn’t think I’d be waking up in a freezing cold bath tub with the princess standing over me either… Something tells me this day isn’t getting any less weird.” Trixie thought to herself. She was mildly frustrated with Twilight, although it was difficult to not laugh with one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria playing with the beard that now adorned Trixie’s face. As she looked over at Twilight, she could see nothing but contempt in her purple eyes, and Trixie was extremely grateful for the company she was travelling with, knowing that if the princess was not there she would’ve lost an appendage or two.

“So you just made that appear? Out of nowhere?” Luna was fascinated, not for the first time, by the talent the purple mare possessed. Since she had been freed from Night Mare Moon, Luna hadn’t seen anything more than basic magic, seeing as there was no real need for such measures in her current life style; most matters were taken care of by the servants at the castle. “Could you teach ME how to do that?” She played it off as a simple lust for learning to encourage the purple pony, although she secretly thought it would be hilarious if Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, were to wake up with a faded, rainbow goatee and a soul patch, although she didn’t think Twilight could hear her request, she seemed to be intrigued by something else. Something that made her angry…

“And to think I could be in bed right now! Or, better yet, reading! This day started out so well, first I get breakfast in bed with a letter from the Princess- well, Princess Celestia, I suppose, there are two princesses after all… Announcing that I would be touring Princess Luna around Ponyville, but then SHE showed up… what is she even doing here, anyways?” Twilight was in a state of pure rage, her horn still glowing, ready to humiliate the Blue mare further if necessary. She couldn’t honestly pin the reason for her anger, last time she had seen “The Great and Powerful Trixie” (She said, mentally, in a mocking tone) she had been nothing but piteous for her, why am I so angry at her? Had she not noticed Princess Luna looking over at her, she may have gone in for a second attack on the mare. She quickly regained her composure and addressed Luna with the bow that was normal for greeting royalty, but Luna quickly held up a hoof to stop the bow. “Yes, yes, it is I, Princess Luna. Please call me Luna. Could you possibly teach ME that trick? I would love to begin learning magic again!” Instantly, Twilight set off on a tangent about how she’d love to show Luna some magic spells, and she was instantly put into a good mood, Trixie being all but forgotten by the group.

Trixie suddenly saw a resemblance between the two ponies; they both loved learning, albeit the motives may be different, and they both are insanely powerful… the three could certainly put on a fabulous show, although Trixie foresaw a harsh decline in her popularity in the very near future. She trudged on silently while the two ponies chatted about this spell, or that enchantment. She was planning on using her magic to make the beard disappear, but the morning air was crisp, and she suddenly realized the beard would help her mask her identity, and keep her face nice and warm. “Did Luna say she planned on assembling the SIX ponies that saved her? Assuming Twilight is the least rash of the group, this day CERTAINLY isn’t getting any less weird.” Her mind wandered for a few more minutes before she heard her name pop up in the other pairs’ conversation, and she immediately focused her attention on eaves dropping, although she pretended to be focused on the scenery.

“Ok…” Luna thought with growing exhaustion “I get that she doesn’t like Trixie, but she sure has thought out her argument!” The conversation about random small talk had suddenly changed to Luna defending Trixie while Twilight tried to convince her that Trixie was a “bad seed” as she had so eloquently put it. She noticed Trixie’s ears perk up for just a second, and realized she was (or had been, perhaps) listening in on the conversation, and, to avoid a conflict between the two, immediately changed the conversation. “Yes, I DID hear about her show in *Mareland, I particularly liked her “Ursa Major” act. She noticed that Twilight was thoroughly confused, and she was both sorry and somewhat happy, although she immediately felt guilty about the latter. “The picnic hasn’t even started yet, and I’m already getting tired…” She halted Twilight’s attempts at ejecting Trixie from the plans then and there, leaving a very frustrated Twilight, a very Exhausted (yet satisfied) Luna, and a very confused, and mildly annoyed, Trixie.

“Great, just great. I start listening in JUST as the conversation is ending… What were they saying? I KNOW I heard my name, and I’m pretty sure both sides said it at least once, perhaps more on Twilight’s side. I’m no **Sherlock Hooves, but I’m smart enough to know that’s probably a bad thing. I just hope she hasn’t gotten to Luna…” She was suddenly awed by the presence of the shadow-gray mare before her. She was spending the day with a unicorn, so powerful that she had to be banished to the moon to protect the supposedly “All powerful, Princess Celestia”… Come to think of it, Luna was probably stronger than her more popular sister, why hadn’t she chosen to assume power of the throne? She’s certainly smart enough, and she seems to know her way around a spell much more comfortably than Luna, although Trixie had seen no direct demonstration, Luna seemed to have a soft-spoken air of confidence radiating around her at all times. She pulled the Shadow-bound mare aside to ask her what had happened, and had to remind herself not to address her as “Princess Luna” and certainly not “Queen of the Night!” “Luna, what were you two talking about? I KNOW it wasn’t only about my show in Mareland, and I also know that Twilight certainly isn’t fond of me!” She seemed less sure of herself for some reason, although she couldn’t place why. Not until, that is, Luna leaned over and whispered in her ear in a menacing tone “The reason I seem to be radiating self confidence, little Trixie, is because I know much more magic than anypony could ever conceive!” She seemed to hiss out the last word, and Trixie was truly terrified, her heart had started thundering in her chest. “How had she known I thought that? Is this the same Luna? What… What’s-“ Her thought process was cut short by an intruding thought, which she felt was not her own. “Look at me!” It seemed to almost suggest. She obeyed the alien thought and peeked at Luna, who was choking back laughter. Between laughs, she managed to say…

“I’ve not been completely ignoring my studies since I arrived home, Trixie! I found a book on mind control. Interestingly enough, mind control isn’t only about having a brainless puppet do whatever you, more so ***subtly planting your thoughts into their heads, so subtly that they don’t even realize it isn’t their own.” She was proud to see that Twilight was completely dumbfound by this idea, and she saw that Trixie was not only equally impressed, but that she was also put at ease. She was pleasantly surprised when she heard Trixie say “A rather impressive notion, although it sounds like somepony would turn it into a movie; a very... very bad movie.” As the trio trotted on, sharing a laugh, Luna turned to Twilight and said “Now, Twilight, would you like ME to explain why you harbor feelings of hostility towards my friend here” motioning towards Trixie, cheeks faintly red “or would YOU like to?”

“She wouldn’t dare… would she? She obviously has entrance to my thoughts, she certainly knows why I’m angry at Trixie, but she wouldn’t do this to me, would she?” Twilight was in a state of panic, and it certainly would have gone on, had a certain unicorn laid a hoof on her shoulder.

Trixie was shocked at the sudden realization. “She isn’t mad at her for her actions on the night of the show, Twilight is mad at me for what I’m doing right now! Luna and I have plans to spend the entire day together, and that means Princess Celestia not only allows this, but welcomes it! She feels threatened by my being here!” Trixie was overcome with such guilt she suddenly found it hard to swallow. She’d been so naïve up to this point, she had paid literally no attention to what Twilight was feeling. She realized that Princess Luna could have planted those thoughts in her head, but… somehow she knew she had realized it herself. She did the only thing she could think to do. With tears in her eyes, she walked over to Twilight, laid a hoof on her shoulder and said as sincerely as she knew how “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you. I’ve been a bad seed” the thought seemingly came out of nowhere, “and I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I want you to know that I am sorry. The princess, your mentor spoke very highly of you after Luna took me in last night.” Trixie knew Luna would be listening, or seeing, rather, her thoughts, so she knew she would see the reasoning behind this lie.

Twilight was dumb founded, not for the first time, by what was happening to her. Was this the same Trixie? Was it Luna making her say this? “No” she thought. “This is sincere, Twilight.” She realized she wasn’t one to think in 3rd person, and the spell must take massive amounts of concentration, which led her to believe that Luna was the one influencing her thoughts. She looked into Trixie’s eyes and said something Trixie never thought she’d hear in her life. “I forgive you.” The two shared a brief PLATONIC hug, and then the three walked on in silence towards Ponyville, where a familiar orange pony was seen giving the young ponies a tour of the library, a chore Twilight had requested she do in her brief absence. When they walked into the library, Apple Jack was just wrapping up the tour when she saw Trixie.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the “Great and powerful Trixie” she spat. Have you come to settle the score, or have you come to apologize?

“The answer’s going to surprise you, I promise” Trixie said.

*Come on, I had to think of something horse related, and Maryland was the first thing to pop into my head, give me a break.

**Don’t look at me like that, it’s 2 in the morning.

*** I honestly thought of that myself, although I know Inception is based on that. If you haven’t seen it, don’t.

I feel like I was dragging my feet a little bit on this one, and that I might be losing steam. It’s fun to write, though, and that’s what’s important, so to anyone actually following this, thank you, I hope I don’t disappoint you in the near future. As always, I’m open to any and all forms of criticism, so please feel free to leave a review or comment, PM me on my page, or anything else. Seriously, though. Do NOT see inception.

-MrGreat (Just to avoid looking conceited, my brother made that name up as a joke and never used it again, and I thought it was hilarious, so I took it from him permanently :D )