Reactions May Vary

by Namara

We're off to see the wizard

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It was silent. The frantic shock of Vinyl Scratch conflicted with the the calm and collected expression of the new alicorn.

Vinyl found her voice. "T-Trixie!" she yelled.

"What?"

"You're an a-alicorn!"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "She knows, Captain Obvious. Anything else to add?"

"How are you so- so at ease with it?!"

"Why, she was expecting it for quite some time now. Since Trixie fled from the Ursa Minor, she delved deeper into magic than ever before. Her level had drastically improved, as she could perform spells the inferior Trixie wouldn't have dreamed of doing." Trixie shrugged. "She figured it would have happened sooner."

Vinyl Scratch rolled her eyes. "Only you, Trixie." Then her flustered demeanor returned. "Trixie, this is really rustling my jimmies! What're you going to do now? You can't go out, you can't perform, you can't- hell, you can't even get me my Stalliongrad candy!"

"Trixie could always usurp Princess Celestia."

"WHAT??!!"

"She kids, Vinyl, she kids. Calm down- chillax, you might say. Trixie can wear that nice sweater she had Marshmallow to sew to cover the wings." Trixie experimentally flexed said limbs. They obeyed, snapping downward (or in this case, horizontal) at an alarming speed. Trixie had put too much effort into it. She winced.

"Marshmallow? What in Celestia's name is Mar- forget it. Let's stay on topic here." Vinyl took a deep breath. "YOU. ARE. AN. ALICORN!"

"Trixie thinks you may have scratched yourself too much- you're starting to sound like a broken record." Trixie giggled at her own (albeit lame) joke. "That is humorous because your name is Vinyl Scratch!"

"Oh shut up," Vinyl grumbled. "We have to get somewhere to reverse this."

"But why?"

"Trixie, are you serious? If there's suddenly a new alicorn trotting around the streets, word will go around that one of the Princesses is dying or had a kid or something. Some extreme Solarists or Lunarites might try to kill you to protect the Princesses. Ponies might rally against Celestia and Luna and before you know it, we may have a full revolution on our hooves and you're gonna be shoved up on that throne and forced to wear necklaces 'n crap and HAPE's gonna follow you everywhere." Vinyl Scratch violently shook Trixie's head, surprising the newly ascended alicorn. "Cults. And HAPE!"

"Viiiiiiiiiinyyyyyyyyl," Trixie groaned. "You are making Trixie nauseous."

"Oops," Vinyl released the head. "Sorry. But I'm sure you'd be acting the same if you were me."

Trixie yawned. Too much was going on that morning. "Actually, she would mainly be disappointed that the Magic Flutterpony didn't come for Trixie and just settled for a ruffian deeeeee-jaaaaay," she sneered. "Instead of the best."

Vinyl said nothing at the less than subtle insult.

"Then the Deee-jaaaay," Trixie once again drew out the word. "Would get an audience with the Princess. Both the Princesses would be stunned at both her sudden magical ability and her music prowess. Stunned, they would grant her the title as Princess of Music, therefore bestowing immortality. The Princess of Music would be adored for generations to come, all the while forgetting her third-wheel roommate!" The 'third-wheel roommate' started out slowly, slowly escalating to an enraged shout at the end of her speech. She found her face inches away from Vinyl's, wings held rigid out of stress. Her aggressive expression melted away as she realized her past few words. She leaned back and tugged at her pale mane. "Yes... it would benefit the hypothetical," Trixie emphasized. "Disk jockey greatly if she were bestowed wings."

Vinyl reached a hoof toward her. "Trixie..."

Trixie slapped it away. "She is fine, Scratch. Get back in the kitchen and make her a sammich."

Vinyl shook her head. "Trixie, if I make you a sandwich, will you see somepony to try and fix this?" she asked. "Somepony you trust." she added after a moment's thought.

"She will see somepony if you make the best sandwich Trixie has ever seen. No crust, cheese, tofacon, tomato, sourkraut..." she listed off her ideal items for a sandwich. "... and pizza sauce."

Vinyl's brow crinkled. "Why would you want Cool WHip on a sandwich?"

"What? It's Cool Whip."

"That's what I said, Cool WHip. I don't usually put Cool WHip on sandwiches." Vinyl said.

"Why are you putting so much emphasis on the H?" Trixie asked.

"What're you talking about, Trixie? I'm just saying Cool WHip. Raspberry jam or strawberry?"

"Raspberry." Trixie said automatically. "Say 'whip'."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

"Whip."

Trixie nodded her approval. "Now say 'cool'."

"Cool." Vinyl levitated the sandwich over. She left some things out, like diamond powder and gold dust, but substituted it with glitter.

"Now say Cool Whip."

"Cool WHip."

"Cool Whip!" Trixie shouted, frustrated at Vinyl's hardheadedness.

"No. If you want the sandwich, you'll drop it there."

Trixie shut up.

Vinyl continued making the sandwich in peace until Trixie spoke up again.

"It bothers Trixie that you don't speak properly."

Vinyl grit her teeth. "So I've heard. And it bothers me that you tried using a terrible joke that everypony's over. And the whole 'referring to yourself as Trixie' thing."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Trixie sees nothing wrong with speaking of herself as Trixie."

"Well then Vinyl Scratch might just start doing it, too."

"It doesn't work with your name, Vinyl. It only works with names like 'Trixie' or 'Diane'."

"Nope, Vinyl Scratch says it works with her name."

"It doesn't work with 'Vinyl Scratch'! And plus, it's Trixie's thing!"

"Nu uh."

"Yuh huh."

"Nu uh."

"Yuh huh."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yuh huh!"

"NU UH!"

"YUH HUH!"

"NU UH!"

"YOU'RE EATING MEAT!"

A stream of sandwich materials spewed forth from Trixie's mouth.


The train car rattled as two unicorns sat together in stormy silence, backs turned to the other. After no less than forty-five minutes, the blue one spoke up.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not going to ask where you got that meat."

"Vinyl Scratch doesn't know where she got the meat. Some stallion must've left bacon in there." DJ P0n-3 replied.

Trixie scowled. "You cannot imitate Trixie well."

"Vinyl Scratch wasn't trying to. And as for the meat, we were out of tofacon so I substituted with the stuff at the back of the fridge. Chill." Vinyl snorted, slightly fogging up her glasses. "And who's this Twilight Sparkle? Isn't that some sort of vampony?"

Trixie laughed. "Oh Scratch, everypony knows vamponies don't sparkle! And Twilight Sparkle is the protégée of Princess Celestia. Don't worry; she is trusted." Trixie fidgeted in her highly fashionable sweater (made by Rarity as a gift to remember to not wear any strange amulets, bracelets, rings, or any other suspicious jewelery. And to help stave away Trixie's preferred garb of violet and blue).

"I didn't ask if she was trusted, I asked who she was."

"Twilight Sparkle is.... a rival of Trixie's, you might say. She banished the Ursa Minor instead of Trixie and she masterminded the plot-"

Vinyl started snickering like a little filly.

"-to remove the Alicorn Amulet from Trixie. She forgave me- her when she was freed from it's influence, but still remembered the horrible things she did." She swallowed. "Trixie apologized and Twilight Sparkle accepted. End of story."

Wisely not commenting on Trixie's slip-up, Vinyl shrugged, forelimbs bumping against the neatly hidden wings on Trixie's back. The slightly too-large sweater's purposeful wrinkle smoothed out, revealing a bump.

A pink pegasus looked up from a book she had been absorbed in and saw the slightly raised portion on Trixie's side. She smiled. "How long have you been expecting, miss?"

Vinyl looked up. "Oh, what? Me?"

The mare shook her head. "No, no. Your sister. Miss?"

Vinyl had started laughing hoarsely, shaking her head halfway through. She elbowed the 'expecting' unicorn behind her. "Hey, Trix, Trix, tell her when you're due."

"What?"

"Tell the nice mare when your twins are due, Trixie." Vinyl elbowed the Mortified and 'Pregnant' Trixie.

"Erm, uh, Trixie doesn't know!" Trixie announced after some deliberation. "She's uh, on her way to find out, in fact."

The pink mare tittered highly. "Congratulations, Trixie! Hoh, I remember my first foal. Boy, he was a hoofful for sure. Twins must be twice the trouble! Hee hee!"

Trixie blushed profusely, silently cursing Vinyl for putting her in the situation. And for the wings being so darn nervous right now! "Oh, they are, uhm, kicking around right now. Trixie... has to go the the filly's room." She got up and hid in the bathroom.

"Is she always like this?"

Vinyl smirked and adjusted her rose tinted shades. "Oh yeah. The awkward third pony talk and she insists on wearing designer clothes. We're going to see- oh what's her name- Rarity for a new sweater."

Her eyes widened. "You mean the Rarity? As in Rarity?"

"Yes, Trixie's had some... encounters, let's say, with her. Once she had about ten Rarity.. things, but she gave them to er, charity, I think. I dunno. Everypony's out doing important stuff while I'm still here dropping the bass. Anyway, where're you headed?"

"I'm headed to Los Pegasus. I have some spare bits I'm willing to give to the buffalo." She laughed again. That was starting to get on the DJ's nerves. Her eyebrow twitched behind the reflective glass.

"We're stopping at Ponyville to see her uh.... uh.... MAREFRIEND!" It burst out before Vinyl could stop it.

The mare's smile faltered. "That's... nice."

Vinyl laid down on the slightly uncomfortable cushions. "Yeah.... I'm not too crazy about, uh, Octavia," She really had to try and filter thoughts better. Octy would probably skin her alive if she could hear her. "But she's cool, even though she does crummy classic tunes. I, however, do sophisticated music."

"Oh do you?"

"Yep. Called dubstep and remixes, my stereotypical friend. Imagine it: start out soft," Vinyl hummed a soft rendition of Octavia's famous overture. "Then, it escalates into this." She made sounds like she was choking on some styrofoam and spasmed on the train car seat.

Trixie emerged from the bathroom car. She stopped in front of Vinyl who remained unaware of Trixie's arrival.

Trixie looked to Vinyl, then to the pegasus. "Should Trixie be concerned?"

The mare's horrified expression flicked to Trixie. "I don't know."

Vinyl ended the song 'Cat being strangled while in labor', Trixie presumed. Vinyl Scratch sat up. Her glasses were crooked after wubbing it out. She laughed and fixed it. "That's the future of music, baby."

The mare looked positively terrified. "That- that's the future of music?"

"Yep." Vinyl looked like a proud parent.

"Build your bunkers now," Trixie said sarcastically. She could practically see the venomous look Vinyl gave her.

"Buck off."

Pinky, as Trixie 'affectionately' called her in her own mind, gasped deeply. "Such language around your poor sister!"

"Excuse Trixie, but why can't Vinyl swear around her?"

"The foals might hear!"

"Look lady, Trixie's not pregnant she just-" Trixie saw Vinyl pale even whiter than the usual. "In a erm, mid-life crisis."

"Yeah, I was just screwin' around with ya. She just polished off the last of the Twinklies a couple weeks ago. Last ones I'll ever have." she finished sadly as Trixie flushed a brighter red than when Vinyl told the stranger she was pregnant.

"Oh look, Trixie can see your stop, Vinyl Scratch. Trixie will make sure the... wheels," she said the word with a faraway look in her eye. "don't plan any treachery while you dismount."

"She has a thing with wheels." Vinyl informed the shocked pegasus.

"I- I see."

"While we're here, why do pegasi  have such high voices? If it don't offend you or nothing." Vinyl asked.

Trixie winced. Why was it always gas with this mare?

"Uh, well, it, uhhh--"

"Pegasi release helium, Vinyl." Trixie deadpanned.

"What? Don't stallions fart more than mares?"

"Vinyl Scratch! Stop asking this poor mare about the farting habits of different species or so help Trixie, she will give you a mustache! Do you understand?" Sweet Celestia, she said fart. Vinyl was starting to get to her.

Vinyl nodded, paralized. Mustaches were so out of season! How could Trixie do this to her? I just wanted to know why pegasus voices are so tiny!

The train screeched to a halt. Trixie seized the handles of their bags in a pale lavender glow. "ThankyouthatwasnicegoodbyehaveagoodtimeinLosPegasuswinsomejackpotsmmkay?Mmkay," she said in a rush, affirming that 'Pinky' would indeed win some bits. She dragged Vinyl off the train, stealing furtive look at the wheels. She bumped into a tan earth pony.

"Oh, sorry. Just looking at the.... wheels." Trixie shivered; her contempt for the round devices was Great and Powerful in it's own sense.

He gave her a knowing smile. "Barrels are worse."

"Wheels."

"Barrels."

"Wheels.

"Barrels."

Vinyl tapped Trixie's shoulder and led her away from the rampling stallion. "Somepony hit the liquor a little too hard." Vinyl murmured in Trixie's ear. Trixie nodded.

"Trixie will show you the way to Twilight Sparkle."

Past the insanity, Trixie trotted down the main street somewhat awkwardly. Her wings wanted to beat, to soar into the sky- she craved some liquid nitrogen ice cream, for whatever reason.

"Why would somepony plant a huge tree in the middle of town?" Vinyl asked.

"That's the library. Sparkle should be there." Trixie answered. "And it wouldn't have been that big when they planted it."

"It was a rhetorical question," Vinyl muttered under her breath.

Some ponies gave Trixie a suspicious look. Every time the unicorn had been there, it was chaos. Either a gigantic dome  that cut them off from the world or an Ursa Minor or something else- they would keep an eye or two on Trixie the Great and Powerful.

Trixie marched up to the library door and knocked, rapping thrice on the candle painted on the door.

"It's open!" a cheerful voice called.

She pushed the door open, glancing back at Vinyl. For the first time, Trixie looked unsure. She gathered her courage and stepped in the library, companion trailing behind her. "Twilight Sparkle, Trixie, eheheh, I need your help."

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