The Showstoppers

by PingSquirrel

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Trixie, Comedy, Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna
Length: 13296

After the events with the Alicorn Amulet, Trixie has found herself on lam. Then, a chance to turn her life around drops into her lap and into a new circle of friends. And, if there's one thing they can do together, it's ruin a nafarious s

Trixie had a warrant on her for her arrest. It would seem that enslaving an entire town is quite the heavy offence, even if you're under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet, and now, she has to keep a low profile or risk being hauled off, but keeping a low profile isn't something that the greatest showmare in Equestia (self-declared) could ever do for long.
Now, with a new sort of stage, and a new circle of allies, she is producing a new series of shows (or, as the law would call them, cons) with the goal of taking down the powerful and corrupt from behind the scenes. They are the Showstoppers.
____

Thanks for reading this far. This is a side project and is sketched out for roughly 7 'episodes' with a season conclusion. Let me know what you think, and if I like it, I'll sneak you some credit.

Published 2013-04-08 05:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-29 02:51:13 UTC

Episode One, Part One: Casting Call

Doublecheck’s eyes roamed down the papers for the ninth time that night, and once again, the figures simply refused to add up. No matter how many times he made sure the numbers were the correct ones, being put into the right places in the balance sheets, and run through the right calculations, they turned up the same conclusion. There was money missing.

A lot of money.

He ran his hooves over his black mane out of frustration before he crumpled the paper up, and threw it across the deserted office. He was still relatively new to accountancy because he completed his degree only a year ago, but he was very good at his job at the First Bank of Fillydelphia. His cutie mark of several mathematical symbols told him as much, and he knew he could make the numbers dance in their formulae when he wanted to, so how could this much money go missing out of the bank. It was like there was a deliberate effort to hide the missing money by using unrecorded transactions to corporate accounts, but it was done in a way so a less talented pony would’ve missed the discrepancy entirely. However, this was his special talent and now he was looking at the math directly, it was clear to him that something was just not right.

He took note of several of the company names and account numbers and stuffed them into his satchel, so he could pull their records later.

“Right. One thing left to do,” the young bookkeeper muttered to himself before he forced himself out of his chair and stretched. The chestnut-brown stallion wasn’t the fittest earth pony around, nor was he out of shape. He wasn’t particularly handsome, nor was he unattractive. Average and forgettable would be the best way to describe him and that was just perfect for a bureaucrat like him. “Actually look in the vault.”

He had been working at reconciling the books long after every other pony went home, so the office was dark and quiet. It was nothing but row on row of empty desks with adding machines, calculators and ledger sheets over them. His eyes glanced to the clock. It was 11:34 and that explained why it was so dark out.

“I’ve got to stop working so late,” he groaned to himself. This was the whole reason he didn’t have much in the way of friends; he’d spend so much time with his work, that he’d never get out and make any. It was simply too late to do that this evening too, but he needed to sleep sometime. He planned to just leave a note to his manager on his desk that he needed to get a count of the actual, physical bits in the vault and pull several files, and get on that task tomorrow. In the middle of his planning, he heard voices coming from the vault’s direction.

“Just get it all loaded up,” said one voice, who sounded like the bank manager, Wheeler N. Dealer.

“Right boss,” came a chorus of gruff voices.

That was odd. There shouldn’t be anypony here other than the new security guards, but if Wheeler was still here, he could talk about him about getting into the vault first thing tomorrow morning. Doublecheck picked up his pace and turned the corner to see four large stallions in dark security uniforms and a green unicorn, wearing spats and a tie which cost more than Doublecheck would make in a month. The vault was open and there were several sacks of bits loaded onto a heavy cart.

All the bustling activity in the room ceased when they turned to stare at Doublecheck and he stared back at the whole scene. Something clicked in his head, and all the pieces landed into place. If he wasn’t about to get killed, he actually might of appreciated how clever the scam was.

“Uh, I n-need to talk to you, Mister Dealer,” Doublecheck squeaked in a pitiful effort to act innocent. He could see those eyes fill with ill-intent, but Wheeler put on his best smile in response. There wasn’t an ounce of mirth in that grin, and reminded the brown stallion more of a wolf baring teeth at a rabbit.

“Of course you do. Come on in. We can walk and talk,” he suggested with no effort to hide the slimey malice he had towards the accountant.

“I’d h-hate to in-interrupt though, s-sir. I’ll catch you in the m-morning,” Doublecheck stammered as he took several steps away from the door. The four ‘guards’ dropped the sacks of cash they were holding and began to close the distance to the scared pony.

“Look, I’m a busy stallion, Mister Doublecheck. I’d rather catch you now and be done with this. Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” warned the unicorn. There was a moment when Doublecheck actually considered taking up that offer, and promising to never tell anypony of what he just seen, but then he came to his senses. Instead of entering into the room, Doublecheck bolted for the nearest exit while screaming for help.

The four looked to Wheeler expectantly for a command, and he just was shocked that they couldn’t take the initiative for themselves. He had to give his head a shake because he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but they really were standing there like morons, just looking to him. “Well, what are you waiting for!? Run! Get him! Take care of him!” he snapped loudly, and the four took off in pursuit.

Wheeler sighed and looked at the work he had to do by himself now, thanks to the intrusion. “I knew I should’ve hired another goon,” he griped to nopony before he struggled to lift a bag of coins in his aura and put it on the cart. If he was lucky, it wouldn’t take long for his ponies to catch and deal with the accountant.

****

Trixie was tossing and turning in her sheets, but getting no sleep for her efforts. It was a common occurrence as of late that just left her tired, and her blue coat and lighter blue-grey mane in a mess. Her mind was simply too full with thoughts to let her have any rest tonight. And, the frequently passing trains were no help, with their loud whistles and obnoxious clattering.

Things hadn’t been going well for Trixie since the whole ‘amulet’ disaster a month ago. Infact, it was downright terrible for her. She was run out of Ponyville again, but this time, it was because there was a warrant out for her arrest for all the damage and havoc she had caused while under the influence of that cursed artifact. If she could go back and choose to never touch that thing, she would in a moment. Not only is she wanted by the law because of it, she was still outplayed by parlour tricks by her nemesis. Normally, she would’ve seen right through that amatuer little production that they put on, but the Alicorn amulet had taken her so far from her right mind, she actually fell for the whole thing. Just thinking about it made Trixie thump a hoof on the wall beside her small bed. She knew all those tricks and could do them a thousand times better than Twilight did, but she was blinded by the raw power she had at the time.

Now, it was even harder than before for the showmare to find work because she always had to worry about being arrested. And, that Twilight upstaged her, yet again. She wasn’t angry at Celestia’s favoured student, but frustrated with herself that she let herself be beaten. Now, she was living as a common busker and that was simply not something worthy of the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon. Her name should be in the limelights, not on post office walls! That last thought made her lash her hoof out against the wall with a dull thump, and she followed that with a long sigh.

Her hoof still touched the wall when she said, “I’m sorry.” She began a loving pat on the wooden surface to complete the apology. For all that happened, this time she still had her wagon. It wasn’t like her first one, but it was just as good as the original, and was entirely hers. She even had designed everything herself and built it with her own magic and hooves to her exacting specifications. Just being in it made her feel safe. It was her castle-on-wheels and within it she could find quiet time to collect her thoughts, or refine her acts and the glamour spell on the outside of the wagon made it impossible to tell it was hers, making it a perfect hideout from those that seeked her. Tonight, it looked like a large pile of trash in a dark alley,and there was no pony that would ever bother with that.

Then, just to prove Trixie wrong again, something knocked against the outside of the wagon.

****

The furious sound of hoofbeats rang through the empty night streets as Doublecheck hopelessly tried to lose his pursuers. They were faster and stronger than him and they knew it it, too. Every time he threw a glance back to the pursuers, they were a little closer to him and looked a little angrier. It was just a matter of time now.

Already, the accountant’s legs ached with the exertion and there hadn’t been a single sign of another pony on the streets since he had burst out into the back alley behind the bank. Not that it mattered much, because he was panting so hard, he couldn’t call for help even if he did see another pony. At this rate, they were going to catch him before he could get help and he didn’t want to know what they planned for him.

Between the sounds of his hooves on cobblestones, his own ragged breathing and the sound of his heart thumping hard, he heard a whistle. A train whistle. And, if there was a train, there would be ponies. He just had to keep away from the four goons for a few more blocks.

Doublecheck glanced over his shoulder again and this time one actually was close enough to make a lunge for him. He changed directions just in time to have the goon miss his tackle and land in a tumbling heap beside him. If he still had any breath to spare, that would've made him scream.

“Come on! Just a little further!” he thought to himself as he forced himself to keep up the sprint, “It’s just right there!” He could see the train’s headlight, and he saw he had once chance to get to safety and threw all he had left into the effort. He just had to get across the tracks before the train cut him off.

Even with the roar of the engine, he could hear how close the other stallions were. They were going to catch him, and he was so close now. The accountant took one final and desperate leap to cross the tracks, just as one of his pursuers tried to catch his tail in his mouth, and only got a few hairs and close brush with a train as a reward. The landing was rough though and Doublecheck’s legs couldn’t even keep him on his hooves. Instead, he crumpled gracelessly to the ground on one side of the train while the four waited on the other side patiently for it to pass. The train would only act as a wall for a minute or two, and then they could resume their pursuit. When they did, he had nothing left to give to evade them.

He forced himself to his hooves again, and moved as quickly as he can into the alley directly across the way, with full intent to hide, but already his legs were shaking on every step. “D-damn. If I get through this, I’m going to take up running,” he gasped to himself, as he passed a huge pile of junk and trash bags, and as if on cue his legs failed him again. To stop himself from falling right to the ground, he staggered back to lean back onto what was hopefully a trash bag filled with cotton balls and feathers. Instead, he hit something hard and wooden, but it in no way resembled broken trash. It was a single solid shape that didn’t match with what he was seeing at all. But, more importantly, he felt a door handle behind the illusion. Whatever was behind the illusion, it couldn’t be worse than the four ponies that were following him, could it?

Down the alley was nothing but dark windows, trash cans and a lack of ponies, and Doublecheck didn’t think he could go much further. The real clincher though was the sound of the train fading and resumed galloping of four, very large stallions. He turned the handle and fell through the hidden door into a tiny living space.

“Tabernac!” exclaimed blue mare, from her bed on the opposite side of the wagon, “Get out of Trixie’s wagon!”

“Please! Just let me stay in here until they go away! They’ll kill me!” Doublecheck gasped out plaintively as he pulled the door shut. The mare had her aura charging up to blast the pony out of her wagon, when she heard the voices approaching on the outside. She perked an ear to listen to them, and he held his breath out of fear.

“Did you see where he went?” one of the guards asked as he moved passed the wagon. They weren’t running but just moving at a canter.

“All I know is he went this way,” another answered.

The showmare became curious enough to get up and peer through one of the windows, which made Doublecheck whisper, “What are you doing?”

“Oh, please! Untalented ponies like this can’t see or hear through Trixie’s magic,” she confidently declared as she went back to watching the group of toughs.

“Boss is going to be pissed he got away,” a third complained before kicking over a trashcan. “I wanted to get me an ear, too.”

“Not like he can prove anything,” the final one pointed out, “The idiot is probably scared witless and ain’t coming back anyways. And, if he does come back, we give him a dirt nap then.”

She inspected the brown stallion again, and furrowed her brow. He didn’t seem the sort to be associating with this sort of ruffian. She finally asked, “What did you do?”

Doublecheck was still on the wagon floor, and wincing at the sound of every hoofstep around the hidden wagon. If they just reached out this way a bit, they’d know that the wagon was here, and then, it’d be all over for him. “I-I caught them stealing a lot of money,” he explained in a whisper.

“So, what do we do now? Just go back to the bank?” the first one asked of his peers.

“I guess so. We’re going to get chewed out, but the boss has a pretty good plan. I don’t think this loser really matters that much,” another answered.

“You know, he could be hiding somewhere close by. That guy didn’t look like he was fit enough to run another two steps. I bet that he can hear everything we’re saying right now, even,” the fourth tough pointed out, before kicking over another can.

The pained and terrified expression on the brown stallion’s face was clear to Trixie, and it was getting worse with every noise from the outside. She might not know him, but who couldn’t feel sorry for him, so after using her magic to don her hat and cape, she strode to the back door of the wagon and opened it. That made him wince because he was sure that the act would bring their attention to the trash pile. “Don’t look at me like that. The Great and Powerful Trixie knows exactly what she is doing. We’re still in the wagon, and they’re still untalented hacks,” she stated before she lowered her horn to line up her shot. A tiny burst of magic shot from the tip to her target, which was a trashcan as far down the alley as she could see. It did several somersaults in the air before crashing to the ground. Every bit of attention from the thugs turned towards the sudden racket.

“Told you guys! Get him!” the fourth one said with an evil smile painted on his face. “Dibs on his ear!”

“No way! It’s mine!” was the last of the argument that they could hear as the four ran into the darkness. For some reason, Trixie did want to point out the the thugs that a pony did have two ears, but she doubted that the stallion she just saved would appreciate that very much. As soon as they were out of sight, Doublecheck let himself breath.

“Losers,” Trixie said smugly.

“Oh, thank Celestia,” he said, before shakily getting to his hooves, “How did you know that’d work?”

“Distraction is a critical part of any good showmare’s act, so you should be thanking Trixie for saving you, and not Celestia,” she answered back as she closed the door. Her magic might stop ponies from seeing into the wagon, but it didn’t do anything to the cool air of the late summer night.

Doublecheck was bright enough to realise that the mare was referring to herself in the third person. Sure, it was strange, but she did just save his life so he wasn’t about to question it. “Thank you, Trixie. Thank you so very, very much. I’m Doublecheck.”

“As much as Trixie appreciates an audience, you should be going now. You smell of sweat,” she said flatly. The longer he stayed inside the wagon, the more she was becoming uncomfortable with another being inside of her wagon.

“Please, let me buy you a coffee or a meal or something. It’s the least I can do.” he said, then realised how stupid he sounded for offering so little for her saving his life.

She was about to outright dismiss the offer, but it was a good idea to get moving before the goons passed by again, and it wasn’t like she was getting much sleep tonight anyways. Besides, it had be a few days since she had a proper meal. “Alright, Trixie could use a midnight snack, and she is rather curious why you were in trouble with them in the first place.”

“I stumbled onto something big. I don’t even know what I’m going to do! They’re going to rob First Fillydelphia totally blind, and it could be months before anypony else even realises it happened,” he explained..

“Trixie thinks you should go to the police,” she answered, while she made herself busy with getting the wagon ready to move. She knew every inch of her home, and where every switch and catch was. A flick of a switch made her bed flip up and against the wall, and another lever made a bench lift up out of the floor to lay on while she looked through a wide window to operate her wagon. She had no intentions of pulling her wagon like a common workpony, but instead, she channelled an animation spell through her home, and with a lurch, it started rolling along.

The routine baffled Doublecheck until the wagon started moving, at which point, he braced himself on a wall. He was never good with moving vehicles and he was already exhausted, so he needed all the help he could get. “The money’s already gone on paper, and they are taking it physically right now. The police will take weeks just looking over the books, trying to figure out that there was even a robbery in the first place. And, even if they do figure it out, he’ll have a huge head start with over with a lot of cash, and he still has those guys to come after me. He’s going to pull the wool over everypony's eyes, and pull off the greatest bank robbery in years.” he returned, feeling more and more hopeless at his situation.

She scoffed internally. She was completely sure that she could pull off a better heist if she tried to do one. All he was doing was a simple misdirection play, and that sort of thing was foal’s play, even with an entire audience watching you do it on stage and looking for that tell-a-tale mistake. “Trixie could do it much better than he could, because he left a pony that saw through the trick. If Trixie did this, nopony would ever know that it happened.”

“You’re pretty sure of yourself,” he said as he carefully made his way to the front of the wagon in a swaying stagger. Every step was one that his tired legs were protesting vehemently.

“Of course I am. I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie,” she stated with a grin, before a thought occurred to her, “How did you do that, anyways?”

“I’m a very good accountant, and Wheeler was actually at the vault tonight. It’s not hard to put it all together when you catch them with the money red-hoofed, but that’s why I was being chased down. None of that really matters now, though,” he said with a sad shrug.

The mare hummed in consideration. She’d been looking for a big break to help her bounce back from her humiliation in Ponyville and the legal avenues were something she couldn’t use because of her legal situation. She needed to do something that would let her prove how great she really was to herself, and this sounded like a greater challenge than simple card tricks on street corners. And, best of all, the opportunity just stumbled into her wagon by chance. After mulling the idea in her head for a minute, she asked, “What would one need to do to foil the greatest bank robbery in Equestria?”

The stallion was surprised by the question and even more surprised to see that wide smile on the mare’s face. “Well, I think we need to get the right paper records, the bits and Wheeler all in the same place at the same time. If we can do that, there’d be an ironclad case against him,” Doublecheck answered finally.

The more she thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Already her heart was fluttering excitedly as if she just stepped onto a stage. The challenge alone was tantalizing, and the mare was already working through each step of the act. She tapped her hoof on her chin, considering the possibilities.

“Trixie thinks she has a show to put on,” she giggled. This was going to be fun.

Episode One Part Two: Casting Call

The cafe was pretty much deserted at two in the morning. The only other ponies in the place other than the ones being paid to be there were Doublecheck and Trixie, who were sitting in the corner of the place furthest from the door.

The waitress came over to their table. “Another daisy bouquet and chocolate dip?” the waitress asked dryly. It was too late in the night for the old nag to put too much energy into her work. Even lifting the empty plate seemed like a mammoth task for her.

“Trixie would like another one,” she said without hesitation. The waitress wasn’t even phased by the mare using the third-pony voice anymore, nor was the order much of a surprise to her.

“And, you sir?”

“Uh. Just another coffee, thank you,” Doublecheck said, after a quick peek into his satchel to check if he could cover the bill that she had racked up so far. Trixie might have saved his life tonight, but she was systematically slaughtering his budget with her appetite.

Either way, the nag just made a note of it, and duly said, “Watch how fast I go.” With that, she trotted away at a pace that could be called “leisurely” if one was feeling exceptionally generous.

“Another one? That’d be your fourth serving!” he harshly inquired as soon as the waitress was out of earshot.

“Trixie finds saving lives very hunger inducing work,” she replied with an indifferent shrug as if she was talking about a routine chore. It was clear the bottomless mare was going to show no remorse for her gluttony.

At this point, Doublecheck admitted total defeat and, with a laboured sigh, he checked his bits again. The math was easy to do, and he determined that the tip might be a little thin, but he could still cover the meal. “Alright, but this is it, okay? No more.”

Rather than agree to that, Trixie gave another look around the room to see that the dining room was empty again. Maybe a little dirty with half cleaned tables, but there was not another pony in the room. Her magic flared up, and a small illusionary replica of the bank came into existence on the tabletop. Doublecheck had a head for details, and his descriptions of the building seemed reasonably accurate, so it was an easy thing to do to create the map. A little red circle came into being around a single large room at the very bottom of the illusion. “So, the files that we need would be in the basement, you said?”

“Yeah. They’d be in the file lockers. I got the list of company names right here, and I’d bet if anypony looked at their files, they’d be able to see what I did,” he answered as he swirled his coffee, “But, it’s impossible to get at them. Just no way to do it.”

“Oh, half of Trixie’s tricks are things that lesser ponies say are impossible,” she replied without a bit of worry.

“But, the file room is nearly as solid as the vault. And, there’s guards all over the place who’d kill us, and to top it all off, we need to have the time to actually find the files and get them back out afterwards. And, even if we do that, we still have to find the bits, and Wheeler and get them all in the same place!” Doublecheck frantically pointed out with a growing sense of despair. His head sank back down with heavy thoughts of having to change his name, and move out of the city. Then, a blue aura lifted his head back up.

“Let Trixie tell you a bit about show business. When you have an act you want to do, you never look at anything like it’s impossible. These are all just tricks that Trixie needs to work out and to that, she just needs to know two things. First, how quickly can you get the information you need once you’re in there,” she said to help get the stallion back onto the task.

He didn’t feel much better about things, but at least her confidence was infectious. In his head, he began adding up everything he’d need to do to complete the task. His head nodded as he counted steps and worked out the time to do each one. “Once I’m down there, I think I would need about fifteen minutes to get them, as long as nothing goes wrong. But, how do I get down there? It’s not like I could go through the front door now.”

The disparaging point was ignored by the showmare, who instead pointed to a blank section of the building that ran the entire distance up and down the twelve story structure. “What’s this? An elevator shaft?”

“That? Yeah. But, I think they’ll deactivate my key card to get to the basement,” he replied, “I mean, they did try and kill me tonight, if you remember that little detail.”

“Again, you’re pretty fixated on that one little thing. Move on like Trixie did and focus,” the showmare said as she steepled her two hooves in front of her face. Nothing would keep her from just working on the tricks she needed to perform. “What type of lock is it at the file room?”

“It’s a magical aura lock. You know. If your magic is imprinted to the lock, you can open it. If it isn’t, it’ll trigger the alarm,” he replied, “And, I don’t think you’ll find anypony that can open it, and be willing to help us out.”

She nodded, with her brow furrowed at the illusion. She let the gears turn into her head and the kept running into the same issue. No matter how she ran the heist in her head, the same problem would rear its ugly head; she had to be in too many places at once. That was an insurmountable hurdle for her, no matter how well she performed. Maybe if she still had that amulet she could do it.

She gritted her teeth and forced that thought out of her head. That accursed thing is why she was in trouble in the first place. It’s better forgotten and gone. But, that did mean she had to turn to something else to do this.

While the mare was thinking, Doublecheck was left staring at the mare as she debated the options they had. The minutes passed and she was still silent so he spoke up first and meekly asked, “You think we can do it?”

She glanced up at him, and bit her lip for a moment as she gave the best scenario she came up with one last work through in her head, and came to her answer. There was simply no way around the facts. “Not by ourselves,” she finally said, and his heart sank.

Doublecheck sank back down in his seat and once again felt the weight of his situation in full. It was just as he suspected, and in his defeat, he muttered, “So, what now? We go to the police and hope for the best? Or, do we go different directions and skip town?”

“What? No,” she said right back to the stallion as if he said something insane. “Trixie said we can’t do it, so what we need to do is get together a proper troupe for this show.”

He blinked in confusion. “What does that mean?”

“It means, we have to talk to some ponies tomorrow that owe Trixie some favours. They should be in the city still,” she replied confidently. That answered precisely nothing for Doublecheck, but at least Trixie seemed happy with it. The illusion faded away and she turned to the waitress just in time for her final bit of her meal. “Can Trixie see the dessert menu too?”

The brown bookkeeper was really beginning to regret buying dinner for his savior.

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

The morning came too early for the accountant. He was too afraid to go home, since he was sure there had to be a goon waiting for him there, he asked to stay the night in Trixie’s wagon, and she very generously let him. Of course, he had to sleep on the floor, and, its not like he got much sleep that night with all the demons haunting him (and the snoring mare), and just as he drifted off to sleep, Trixie gave him a poke in the side to rouse him to life. As such, it took several cups of coffee to get the stallion anywhere near functional, and even after that, he was listlessly following Trixie down the city streets.

“Where are we going?” he asked finally, as his senses came back to him.

“You’ll simply have to await the reveal, Doublecheck,” Trixie stated. She was always the showmare, even if she was out of her starry hat and cape and covering herself up with a red headscarf and dark shades.

He barely had the energy to keep moving his hooves, so he conceded that to her and moved on to his next question. “Fine. Why are you covered up? Adoring fans harassing you?”

“Trixie prefers not to talk about that right now,” she said dismissively. “Her mind is too focused on what we are doing tonight. Besides, we are getting close to our destination.”

Doublecheck himself to look around become aware of his surroundings, which was an effort in his current state. Trixie had lead him off off the city streets and now they were in a large park, though he didn’t know which one. He wasn’t much of an outside pony, but at least he could recognize the smells and sounds of a carnival were getting close.

“Trixie, why are we going to a circus? Don’t we have much better things to be doing right now?” he asked.

“Well, last night Trixie said we needed a troupe. Here’s where Trixie will get one,” she stated as if that was already a matter of self-evident fact.

“Do we need clowns and jugglers?” asked the Doublecheck, and by doing so, he revealed his doubts in his savour.

“You’ll see,” Trixie replied as they came up to the gate. Just on the other side, the rides were doing their first few runs of the day, and much of the place seemed deserted. That’d change over the day as more and more came to enjoy themselves but Trixie and Doublecheck were here strictly on business.

“That will be ten bits an adult and five for foals,” the gruff ticket seller said to the pair.

Trixie’s magic lit up and her glasses slid down her face. “Really Stubs? You’d charge Trixie ten bits?” she asked rhetorically as she gave the pony behind the counter a familiar smile.

There was a moment where Stubbs just stared at the mare then he practically leapt across the countertop to hug her. Doublecheck was far too tired to move in her defense, but at least he could blink in dull surprise at what he was seeing. “Trixie! By Celestia! We haven’t seen you in so long! How have you been?”

“Unhoof Trixie!” she barked and Stubs complied with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry. Forgot you’re not much of the touchy-feely sort,” he said as he rubbed his mane to try and hide some of his embarrassment. “But, can you blame me? I haven’t seen you since you left the circus four years ago after that whole incident shook down. We’ve been worried about you!”

“Wait? You used to work here?” Doublecheck asked.

“Trixie did, and she was one of the stars, but then there was a bit of a falling out between-,” Stubs started to answer before Trixie coughed loudly.

“That’s enough out of you, thank you,” Trixie said, cutting off that line of conversation and after a moment, she added, “Trixie isn’t here to visit today. She needs to see some ponies, if they are still with the circus.”

“Oh, sure. Who did you want to get in touch with?” Stubs said with a little disappointment showing through. “Pretty much everypony is still with us, give or take a couple either way.”

There was a pause as the showmare looked back and forth as if checking for anypony that might be following, then nodded once. “Trixie would much rather keep that to herself for now, thank you. May Trixie and her cohort enter?” she asked.

“Oh, go ahead, but if you want to do any rides, you’re going to have to buy tickets like anypony else,” Stubbs pointed out to the pair, “Now, you kids have fun, and for Celestia’s sake, write or something, alright?”

Trixie just smiled at Stubbs and scooped up a little pamphlet for the layout of the place, before she began walking, leaving it to Doublecheck to thank the stallion before he hurried to catch up. “So, you know ponies here, but that still doesn’t tell me much about what you’re planning.”

“Just trust Trixie for now. All she needs to do is call in a few favours she’s owed, then, Trixie can do as she promised,” she said with all the confidence in the world.

He thought about that for a moment. She did save his life, and promised to help him but how far would that go so far as actual trust. In the end, he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for now and followed her to their first destination.

“Now, this mare might be the hardest one to actually win over. She’s a little strange,” Trixie explained as they came up to a large tent, with a prominently displayed sign promising “Death-Defying Deeds of Awesome Aerial Aptitude:Altitude with an Attitude! Shows at Noon and Four!”

“Ah, all alliterative ads,” Doublecheck pointed out, but Trixie was already inside of the tent, and he realised his attempt at cleverness was entirely missed or ignored. He sighed and joined the mare on the inside and they could see there were some of the pegasus performers in their morning routines, which included a lot of cleaning of the bleachers and the grounds around them, and some practice.

Trixie only needed a moment to survey the scene before she saw the pony she wanted to and she pointed to a pegasus mare on a highest platform in the tent, and below it was what appeared to be Equestria’s largest and most complex jungle gym with poles, wires and pipes randomly criss-crossing every which way. “That’s the mare Trixie needs,” Trixie declared.

Atop of the platform, the shockingly bright yellow mare made her final adjustments before she began her flight. Each one of her feathers was preened to perfection, and her fiery red mane was drawn into a pair of pigtails by playful blue bows so nothing would affect her flight, but she wasn’t ready yet. She took off her set of comically large glasses, and pulled on her goggles. Without the glasses or the goggles, the world was nothing but a nondescript blur for her where only smeared colours exist. With the googles, her blue eyes became bug-like in appearance, but at least she could see.

With that done, she gave the lever to her right a firm push of her hoof and the engines below her revved into life and caused the entire pipe structure below her to begin to turn and shift. The act was simple enough for her; fly through the moving structure, hitting several bells and horns to be found with then come to a perfect landing on the ground. At least it was simple for her. Most other pegasi would get pummelled in seconds by the pipes and columns and that is why this was the biggest part of the act.

She took one last breath and then tipped herself off the platform sideways not because the fake out of a bad start always got a gasp out of the crowd, but because it was the most fun to go way. Her wings flared and righted herself just in time to feel the brush of a pair of pipes along her back and belly, then, it was a quick flick and a tight tuck to pull through a ring. It was hard for anypony on the ground to really see how many quick and minute adjustments she was making to cut her path through the pipes, but almost anypony could see how the yellow mare was grinning ear to ear as she did it.

It was halfway through the impressive display of aerial agility that the sign outside of the tent promised when she caught sight of a familiar blue unicorn for an instant and that almost sent her headlong into one of the few stationary poles and it was only a quick and hard back flap of her wings that killed all of her forward motion and started her into a full stall. It looked like disaster for her, when she pulled herself right over, and pointed herself straight downward and turned the stall into a dive through the tangled and twisting machine. Each pipe and arm forced her to continue the rolling until she was spinning as fast as she was heading downwards, and at the very bottom of the structure, she once more corrected herself. Her routine was ruined but she was on a beeline straight for the blue mare.

“Trixie!” she squealed as she swooped in straight at the unicorn, and Doublecheck winced and turned his head, expecting the impact to send them both in a heap on the ground, but the crash never came. Instead, the yellow mare was flying in tight circles around Trixie in every conceivable way. “It’s you Trixie! Welcome back! You’re back right? I missed you!”

With the mare flying around her, Trixie just sat back on her haunches and gestured in a random direction and assumed her flightpath would come across it eventually. “Doublecheck, meet Whirligig; the best trick flyer that Trixie has ever met,” Trixie introduced while gesturing to the other pony, and Whirligig came to a proper landing to offer a boisterous shake of the hooves to him.

While he wasn’t the most socially adept pony around, Doublecheck did know when to shake a hoof. “Nice to meet you, Whirligig. That was very impressive flying there,” he said while trying to hide how he was confused as to why they needed this mare.

“That? Nah! That’s a warm-up, but I kind of messed that all up, but thanks all the same,” she said with a dismissive shrug as if it was all nothing. Her modesty didn’t make it any less impressive though. Now that she was closer, Doublecheck couldn’t help but think the mare looked a little like a walking hazard sign with her bright colours, and he refrained from commenting on that thought. Also, but her cutie mark seemed odd. It was nothing but a swirl of green lines as if a gust of winds sent a multitude of little strings tumbling and whirling.

“Trixie thought you did well enough, and she’s here for a very important reason,” Trixie stated and that caught Whirligig’s attention.

“What is it, Trixie? Oh my Celestia! Is this your special somepony and you need me to be a mare of honour for your wedding? Of course I will! I always hoped you two would get together,” she bubbled with honest enthusiasm.

“What? No!” Doublecheck returned before she looked at Trixie doubtfully.

The yellow mare actually looked saddened by that. “Aww. It’s always so sad to see a couple break up,” she mused with her ears turned down and her wings drooping.

“If you don’t want I plan, then Trixie doesn’t have to include you,” she huffed as she started to turn her back. There was just enough time for Doublecheck to get really confused at what just happened before the pegasus swooped around Trixie stood her ground.

“Hey! I’m good enough for any job you’ve got! I’ll have you know that I have been to the Wonderbolt Academy three times now!” she stated with a defiant stomp of her hoof.

“Wow! You’ve been invited to the Wonderbolts three times?” asked an impressed Doublecheck.

Whirligig’s face became a wide-eyed expression that was both surprised and blank at the same time.

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

Three years ago

Spitfire walked down the line of fresh faced cadets to the Academy. It was the routine greeting they got, as she called their names. “Vapourtail!”

“Here, Ma’am!”

“Windshear!”

“Here, Ma’am!”

“Zephyr!”

“Hear, Ma’am!”

She stopped and there was one more pony in the line than what was on her checklist. She turned to the extra at the end, who was a bright yellow pony, grinning madly.

“You!” exclaimed Spitfire at the mare.

“Me!” gleefully chimed Whirligig right back. “Yoink!”

Whirligig took off straight at Spitfire, snagging her hat off of her head as she passed. Everypony around was stunned at what they just saw.

“Don’t just stare! Get my hat back!” ordered Spitfire, and the rest of the recruits took flight after the giggling mare.

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

Two Years Ago

It was another boring day of drills and exercises for Spitfire, but that was the cost of being in the Royal Air Force. She passed under a tree and the shade it provided was a very welcomed relief from the heat.

“Yoink!” said a voice above her as her mane got rustled.

The captain looked up to see a familiar yellow mare wearing her hat, sitting in the branches. The smile of smug satisfaction would’ve been enough on its own to provoke Spitfire, but she just had her hat stolen. Again.

The chase was on.

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

Last Year

It was a serene view from Spitfires office window overlooking the ocean. All was quiet and peaceful this day.

A yellow streak blew by the window trailing a whirling green eddy behind her in the air.

“YOOOOOOOOINK!”

A fiery stream passed by next.

“GIVE ME BACK MY HAT!!”

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

“As long as there is no follow-up questions, sure,” answered the goggled mare in a monotone.

Doublecheck blinked and nearly asked for clarification. but Trixie cut him off simply by walking past him and towards the door. As she moved, she said, “Anyways, Trixie has need of a trick flyer and you’re lucky enough to be the one she’s selected. It’s a limited time offer, so Trixie suggests you think fast.”

“Oh come on, you can’t tease me like that! It’s not fair!” Whirligig whined as she followed the showmare out of the tent and into a more secluded spot. Doublecheck fell in line after them. “At least tell me what you need me to do!”

As soon as Trixie lead the three out of the tent and away from the ponies around, she turned. “Come here, and Trixie will tell you,” she said with a flick of her mane, and the pegasus was quick to lean in, and a hushed explanation was given. Doublecheck was curious himself, but Trixie was keeping her tone hushed so he couldn’t overhear what she was saying, leaving him to interpret their expressions and body language. While the pegasus was expressively showing of both interest and shock, Trixie just looked confident in every whisper she said, leaving her impossible to truly read. Then again, Trixie hadn’t exactly been forthcoming to Doublecheck with his role to play in her plan.

“But Trixie, that can get us in a lot of trouble!” exclaimed Whirligig while she ruffled her feathers.

“And you still owe Trixie for those goggles of yours, and Trixie assures you that nothing will go wrong,” she stated for the mare with a gesture to the slightly green tinted goggles.

That made Whirligig pause and reach a hoof up to touch the item in question, and she worriedly chewed her lip. “Well, I do. You did a great job on everything with them, but, this is really, really serious, Trixie,” she meekly replied.

“Well, if you can’t do it, do you know a mare that can do this? Trixie will need to speak with him,” the showmare said right back.

“Hey! I can do it. It’s just that I don’t want to get into trouble like that,” Whirligig said, as she shook off the meekness she was showing just a moment before.

Trixie smiled, and it wasn’t the self-confident sort of smirk she usually had, but it was instead a genuine and friendly expression to reassure the mare. “And, it will be fine as long as you do your part, Whirligig. Trust Trixie.”

Whirligig took a deep breath as she mulled that. She did know the showmare, and knew how good she was when she left the circus. That was years ago, so she must’ve gotten even better since then, so what could go wrong? Finally, she announced her decision “Okay. If you’re really sure, I’ll do it, but first I want to know why.”

Doublecheck took that as his cue to step up, and explain.” “It’s a delicate situation. We know of a stallion who’s planning to make off with a fortune, and he’d be able to stall any official for so long, it wouldn’t matter because he’d already had make his getaway. If somepony is going to catch him, it has to be like this.”

Trixie just nodded once and waited the answer.

“Alright. I’m in, as long as we don’t get in any sort of trouble,” Whirligig said and she offered a hoof to the two, but only Doublecheck took the chance for the small shake.

“Thank you, miss,” he said.

“Meet Trixie at the gate at the end of the day, and everything will be explained,” Trixie said then turned to Doublecheck. “Come on. Let’s go.”

They took about three steps before they noticed the third in their party and stopped. “What?” Whirligig asked.

“You don’t need to come with us,” Trixie pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s been a really long time and I want to talk to you!” returned Whirligig.

“Trixie doesn’t think you should,” she answered, and that was answered entirely by Whirligig’s dropped ears and a faint whine.

Doublecheck instantly felt sympathy for the mare, and looked over to Trixie. “I don’t think there will be much harm. She seems really nice, and you should catch up with her if you were friends before.”

Whirligig perked right up and smiled hopefully at Trixie.

“Alright,” she finally huffed and the other mare cheered. “But, let me talk to the others, Gig.”

“Gig?” asked Doublecheck.

“Yup. It’s my nickname!” the pegasus replied as she began walking along with the two. “So, what you been up to since you left?”

“Trixie had done many, fantastic things,” she answered.

“Neat! Did you go to Canterlot?”

“Yes.”

“Did you learn any new games?”

“Uh, no.”

“Did you get new ideas for your act?”

“Of course Trixie did.”

“Do you have a new favourite colour?”

“What? No, it’s still blue.”

That was the first few of many, many questions that were poured onto Trixie by the excited Gig while they walked towards their next destination. Everything from what she did for breakfast, to places she been in the last couple of years. Each question was answered in quick and terse terms by the showmare, but Trixie was honest in most of her answers, even if she simply avoided any that would pertain to her time in Ponyville.

“So, did you see any neat animals while you were gone?” Gig asked as they came to a rather simple looking tent that was for the maintenance staff. This time, she didn’t wait for an answer, but rather just stopped. “Is this where we were going?”

“Yes,” answered a weary Trixie, before adding in a whisper. “Thank Celestia.”

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

The inside of the tent was a dimly lit maze of scrap and half-completed projects. Motionless, grease and dust covered steel parts, and wooden planks criss crossed through the large tent, making the narrow pathways through the space claustrophobic.

The only life to be found in the place came from the large pile in the very center where a rust-red tail poked out from a pile of metal that used to be a part of one of the rides, with the occasional clanking of metal parts of tools echoing being the only sign of life.

“Dammit. Click-Clack! I need a 9/16ths wrench!” came a youthful voice from the pile, and an instant later, a pile of scrap on a nearby table sprung to life. A little clockwork beetle with a single red gem glowing faintly on its back shook itself loose of all the extra gears it was using for a bed, and scuttled to a tool chest. It only took a second to dive through one of the drawers before it made its run with a wrench on its back to the larger pile of scrap.

A steel blue glow surrounded the tool and pulled it into the pile, but a second later, a unicorn poked his head out. Grime and grease stains were all over his gun-metal grey coat. With his light blue eyes, it was always the bright green mane that got him the most attention, even if he usually kept it tucked under a bandana in a hopeless effort to keep it clean.

“Click-Clack. Now, you know this is a ¾ wrench. Not a 9/16ths,” he said with false veneer of calmness and patience towards the little clockwork bug. He looked far too young to scold anything like that, but it seemed to work because the bug lowered itself down and let out a soft, plaintive whine followed by several quick clicks.

“Well, where did you leave it?” he huffed.

Its gem lit up and the brightest part of the glow tracked in several directions as if it was looking around the room, before it shrugged with its front legs accompanied with a little whistle.

He scoffed and rolled his. “Come on, Click. You know better,” he sighed. “Well, get me a crescent then. He ducked back into the inscrutable pile of parts again, only to peek out when the bell at the tent’s front door rang, letting him know somepony stepped in. The little automaton knew what to do, and scrambled back to its pile on the table to hide.

“You here Moto?” called a sweet little mare that did nothing but heralded annoyance and destruction.

He worked his way partly free from his project and looked around to only find the hazard-yellow mare already poking through his tool bench. “Hi Moto! What’s this?”

He looked at the little object that was cradled between clumsy and uncaring hooves. “That’s a heat-charm. Careful with it! It’s what keeps me from getting burned while welding. That one is really expensive because it’s rated for five thou-”

“Neat! And, what’s this?” she asked as she tossed it back on the table and pulled a new object. This was a heavy, featureless mask with a sharp point in the middle of its forehead.

“That’s the matching welding mask. It’s custom fit to my horn, so don’t-” he gasped as he squirmed to actually get his hooves again. Already, the mare was hugging a little beetle as if he was the most cuddleable thing in the room.

“He’s soooooo adorable!” she squealed as she squeezed Click-Clack and the bug just let out a little worried whine of gears. “And, he talks!”

“Gig! What did I say about coming into my tent?” he snapped as he tried to grab the beetle from her hooves but she kept twisting and flipping in the air that he couldn’t even grab his friend with his aura.

She lazily slipped and tumbled through the air while hugging that little mechanical construct like a cherished toy, but she did think to answer him. “Don’t! Oh. Oh! I see what you did there!” The mare’s realization of the obvious was genuine.

“Sorry. Trixie couldn’t convince her to wait outside,” the showmare said as she walked into view, and Moto blinked several times at her

“Trixie! You came back!” he exclaimed before he ran up to her and offers a hood in greetings, but it was clear that Moto was tiny with how he had to look up at the mare. As an afterthought, he dusted off the best he could with his hooves and magic, clearing off the grime from his cutie-mark of two interlocked gears. “I’m afraid I had to break up that last project you had me work on. I didn’t think you were ever going to come pick it up and I really needed the parts for other things.”

“What?” Trixie asked, because she couldn’t remember asking for anything from him before she left, and was left a little curious about what that could be. Doublecheck made his way into the small clearing in that time and saw the unfamiliar stallion.

“Oh, in that case, nevermind. It’s good to see you again,” he said as he looked to Doublecheck. “Don’t look now, but you’ve been followed.”

The chestnutt bookkeeper chuckled softly. “Hey, is your parents around?”

Moto instantly snarled, “Screw you, I’m twenty-three!”

Doublecheck was instantly taken aback, and left speechless by the rebuff. Trixie was more than happy to fill the air. “Doublecheck. This is Moto. Moto. Doublecheck,” she said, “And, Trixie’s sure he didn’t mean to insult you. Right?”

“Right. Sorry, but you look pretty, um, small,” Doublecheck sheepishly muttered as he looked anywhere but the mechanic.

Moto huffed and looked even more annoyed to have that fact pointed out yet again then he just sighed. It was to be expected at this point. “Just, don’t do that again. It’s a peeve of mine.”

There was an awkward pause in the conversation at that point, and in the background they could all hear Whirligig singing. “Cute little metal bug/ Crawling on a steel wool rug!”

“Anyways, Trixie needs to call in the favour you owe her,” the showmare said after adjusting her glasses.

“Oh! Right. That,” Moto said, in surprise, and the memory made him blush. Doublecheck was left out of the loop, but the two knew what they were talking about. “Still owe you pretty big for that. What do you need from me? A quick fix for your wagon, or a gadget for one of your shows?”

She shook her head. “No, Trixie needs something a little more complicated than those things. You need to provide a lock-breaker for a high-quality magic-aura lock.”

Moto bit his lip for a moment and furrowed his brow. He was clearly troubled by the request. “How high quality are we talking here, Trixie?” he asked, but he already had suspicions about what the answer would be.

Doublecheck didn’t like how this was going, but Trixie pushed on after a quick glance around the tent to make sure that they were still the only ones around. “One that would be in a high-security vault.”

Moto turned away from the two and sighed. “You know, there’s only one reason that you’d ask for something like that. You’re not planning to rob a bank, are you?”

“Actually, we are,” Doublecheck said, stepping in, “But, not for the reasons you’re thinking. There’s a crime happening right now, and if we go to the police, by the time they even figure out a crime is taking place, he’ll be long gone with the savings of every pony that had a cent in the bank. We need to get in there for the evidence.”

That statement hung in the air. “Is that true, Trixie?”

“It is. Trixie isn’t asking you to come with. All you have to do is provide her tool, and nothing else,” she replied as she stepped up closer to Moto.

“Well, that’s going to be a problem,” the mechanic said flatly.

“You don’t have one and can’t build it in time?” Doublecheck asked, assuming the worst. At least the worst in this situation didn’t have him breaking into a high-security building.

“Are you saying I can’t build one?” he challenged right back at the stallion.

“Well, I -” Doublecheck stammered.

“Well, I what, what? What’s that? Can I build one? Yes, I can. But, are they huge because they are hooked up to a bunch of mana batteries? Is that what you’re about to say?” Moto snapped, “But, the bigger problem is that you guys can’t use it.”

“You can show Trixie how to do it,” the showmare said, looking vaguely insulted. She even stamped her hoof as if that were evidence of her capability.

Moto shook his head. “I’m sure you’d learn it too, but using a lock-breaker isn’t something you can teach in a day,” Moto said flatly, “I’ll have to go with you guys.”

“It can’t be that difficult for the Great and Powerful Trixie to learn,” Trixie said defiantly because she really didn’t like being talked down to by a stallion that couldn’t even look her in the eye without a stepladder.

“Alright. You’ve got a intense and increasing fluctuation in the third wave of the pick, what resonance do you set up to counter that?” Moto asked.

“I would, uh -”

“Eeeeee. Wrong,” interrupted Moto two seconds later. You just blew the mana capacitor, destroyed your pick and set off the alarm. Congratulations on your brand new piece of junk and you can enjoy it in your cell in the Royal Prison.”

The mechanic flicked his mane in the ensuing silence and just had the biggest and smuggest grin. The point was made and they weren’t going to argue further with him on it.

“Well, is there room for one more on this? It’s not like he’ll take up much space,” Doublecheck eventually asked of Trixie. Moto shot him a look.

“Yes, but, when you say the pick is going to be big, how big are we talking here?” Trixie asked. She’ll have to make a few changes to her plan if it really was as large as Moto indicated.

“I think I can keep it under two hundred if I trim the bells and whistles, but the batteries are big and there’s no getting around that,” Moto said as he started looking through the parts around the room. His mind was already on the build he needed to do.

“Then, we’ll need a heavy winch, too. And, one hundred fifty yards of heavy cable,” Trixie added while she modified her own plans.

Doublecheck was left wondering what was going to happen.

“That’s easy enough, but now you guys got to get out. The genius needs his space to do his thing. Just come back here in about eight hours,” Moto said, before looking around the room. “Click-Clack! We got work to do!”

The bug didn’t come right away. Instead, he was standing opposite to Whirligig, who was actively teaching him the bouncing, happy steps to the song she just made up. He was even whirring his gears so he could “sing” along with her while he mirrored her every motion. “Cute little metal bug! Crawling on a steel wool Rug!”

“Well, maybe we can give you ten hours,” Doublecheck suggested as he watched the two bounce and play. He shook his head and grinned at the antics.

“We can do that. Come on Doublecheck. Trixie has to see one more pony today,” she said and then made her way out of the tent.

He didn’t leave right away but rather looked to Moto. “Listen. Sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean anything about it,” he said apologetically.

“Forget it and get going. I’ve got a pegasus to kick out of my shop,” Moto said as he looked to the dancing mare who stole his assistant.

Just leaving it like that didn’t seem right to Doublecheck, but he didn’t want to push the issue either. He turned to follow after Trixie and left Moto to his work.

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

On a beautiful day like this, it was no surprise that the rides already running near to full capacity. The rail cars ran on their tracks, seats twirled and spun and with all did so with all the clattering and rattling one would expect. Even with the noise of the rides, nopony could miss the excited screams in the air.

One of these such rides was a roller coaster, complete with a line of excited foals waiting their turn. A large, muscular earth pony stallion the front was a large stallion operating the ride and ensuring everypony got on and off of the ride safely. He was an older sort with his deep-blue mane showing a large amount of grey, and his old, beaten ball cap didn’t stand a chance to hide it. Even pastel blue-green of his pelt had that grey insidiously showing at the edges. He looked like he had seen his share of the world, and at the same time, he was smiling just as widely as any of the fillies and colts in his line. It was clear from the section of railtrack on his flank that he was in his element.

The cars pulled in lazily behind him with their brakes squealing as they slowed to a stop. The riders were still cheering as the staggered off to find their next conquest or to recover, depending on how they fared and the next bunch pushed closer in an excited tizzy.

"All aboard!" boomed the stallion as he rose the gates to usher the crowd in and the pack of pastel daredevils pushed their way through as expected by the giant, but one caught his eye and he had to put out his hoof to stop him.

"Woah there, little guy," he said, "You're a little small for this ride."

"But, I really want to go!" complained the brow and white colt as he watched his friends go on by.

"Sorry, but I can't let ya on," the operator said apologetically.

"I'm tall enough!" the colt asserted as he put himself up and onto the very tips of his hooves. He still fell woefully short of the mark on the sign that declared the minimum height for a rider.

The big stallion shook his head and spoke again with authority but anypony could see he didn’t like having to do that. “I can’t let ya go on this ride.”

“I’m not afraid just because I’m small!” the little colt declared defiantly with a stamp of his hoof. “Being scared is fun!”

“I'm sure you’re plenty brave, but, it’s not being brave that matters here,” the operator said as he proceeded with the last few checks of the machine before he’d move onto the passengers and ensuring they were properly seated. “You’re simply too small for the seats. You’d fall out and that ain’t good for anypony around here.”

“How about if I did this?” he asked before he took a deep breath to push his chest right out. He could only hold that position for a few seconds and when he had to release, he looked up at the operator hopefully.

“Tell ya what. I can’t let you onto this ride, but I do got an idea of one you might like,” he said with a sly grin, “How’d ya like to be a captain of your own airship for a while?”

Across the park, there were a trio of small airships tethered down to a track system that would take them around the park. While the the carnies would use them to help them move heavy loads around, when the park was open, they were turned into rides for those that could pay to take a few trips around the park.

“Really? I can do that?” the colt asked with his eyes wide with excitement at the very idea of being at the helm of one of those ships.

“Yup. Just lemme speak to your parents and I can set it up for ya,” he replied. “It’s not something every pony can do, but you look special enough to really like it.”

The colt was practically tripping over himself in a rush to get them. “Y-yeah. I’ll go and get them!” he called over his shoulder as he ran off.

The big stallion chuckled to himself. “Ah, to be young again,” he mused before he turned and gave the ride its final send off. The engines started turning and the crowd on the ride started cheering as it lurched into motion.

“Railtie. Trixie needs to speak with you,” a mare said behind him.

He turned about to see a familiar face and he lit right up. “Trixie. It’s been a dog’s age and then some, but ya still came to visit an old codger like me!”

“Trixie knows it’s been a long time,” she replied while the stallion walked up to her and she flinched back, expecting a hug. Instead a single hoof was extended out her way.

“Don’t worry. I know you don’t like hugs much, but you’re not gonna get away without at least a hoofshake,” he said with a smile on his face.

Trixie touched her hoof to his and nodded. “Thank you for not hugging Trixie.”

“I remembered that,” Railtie said before he adjusted his hat out of habit. “I also remember that you’re also not exactly the visiting type, and I ain’t much good with small talk, so let’s cut to the chase. What can I do ya for?”

Doublecheck looked around Trixie and up at Railtie, who easily was a head taller than him. He was practically Moto’s opposite in every way. “Wow. He’s a big one,” he said quietly.

“I don’t think we met, but if yer with Trixie, I might as well tell ya who I am. I’m Railtie and I tend to the tracks and run the rides round here,” the operator said, as he stepped to offer a hood towards the bookkeeper.

“I’m Doublecheck. Just an accountant in a bit of a jam,” he answered back, smiling nervously at the towering stallion.

“A jam?” echoed Railtie.

Trixie answered this time. “Yes. And, that brings Trixie to why she’s here. She needs a favour from you. Trixie will need you to move some equipment for her tonight, and help out in other ways if needed.”

“Well, ya know I’m always good to help out when I can, but why now? You disappear for a few years without saying so much as a goodbye and then come back. Something ain’t smelling right about this,” the stallion said.

“Well, it sort of involves, uh,” Doublecheck started, but he became too nervous before long and his words fell apart into a barely whispered gibberish. This wasn’t as secluded as any other spot they discussed the task and his mind was filled with the idea of eavesdropping spies all around him.

“Let Trixie speak,” she said as she pushed Doublecheck aside. “We need a strong pony we can trust because this looks bad. Trixie is trying to get evidence out of a bank tonight, so she can catch a thief.”

Railtie raised an eyebrow and looked to Doublecheck. “She’s the one with the plan. I’m just the pony that found out about the crime in the first place. But yeah, that’s the situation in a nutshell. That is, if you add that this is on a tight schedule and we can’t wait for police to catch this guy or he’ll get away,” he explained after he rediscovered his voice.

Railtie raised his other eyebrow, and processed the information. A great hoof rubbed under his chin. “Never pictured ya fer the law and order sort, Trixie, even if ya are taking a roundabout sort of tack at it,” Railtie finally said, but he still had his brow furrowed in concern. “But, are ya doing it to show off or fer the right reasons?”

“Trixie isn’t looking for fame,” Trixie answered honestly. As nice as fame for this daring act of justice would be, she recognized that she knew she would likely be caught for the other crimes if she took any credit for it at all.

“She saved my life last night. She’s doing it for the right reasons,” Doublecheck added as he stepped up.

Railtie’s features lightened up. One might even say he looked proud of Trixie. “Well, tell me what yer looking fer me to do, and we’ll see what I can do fer ya. I got a couple minutes I figure before I’ve got to go to the airships, or there’s gonna be a really disappointed little colt.”

“Airships?” Trixie asked.

Railtie pointed to where the three small crafts floated lazily behind their tethers. “They’re new but they paid fer themselves already with how easy they make hauling things around and everypony loves taking a ride on them.

“That makes Trixie’s show even better,” she stated with a wide smile. It’s nice when chance came together like this to make a great trick even better. “Let Trixie explain what’s needed from you.”

* ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* ******** ********* **********

Everything was going according to the plan she had. The equipment they needed would be made and ready at the park in the evening and all the ponies that were part of the plan were ready to go. So, since they didn’t exactly have a good nights rest, Trixie and Doublecheck went back to her wagon for a mid afternoon rest. Doublecheck fell asleep almost as soon as he was allowed to lay down, and Trixie followed shortly after.

She knew she was dreaming. It was the only way she could be where she was, but she could still admire the familiar beauty around her and play her part in the dream.

The theater practically gleamed in golden hues on every wall, with gilt carvings and paintings decorating the expansive surfaces. The seats were deep red, and incredibly posh for the audience, much like the grand red curtain behind her. The entire theater screamed of wondrous decadence for any patrons of the arts that chose this as their venue. It was a shame it was empty, save for Trixie on the stage.

The show had to go on, even if there wasn’t a pony there to see her.

“Welcome ladies and gentlecolts! Tonight, you will be dazzled and amazed by the one and the only Great and Powerful Trixie!” she called out to the empty theater, and her voice echoed through the theater. Even the fireworks that popped and sputtered couldn’t hide the silence in the room. Even so, her smile didn’t fade in the least because a good performer had to hide anything they felt when they were on stage, and she waited for the non-existent applause to finish. “All of you are lucky for tonight, you will be dazzled and amazed by the most magnificent and wondrous show of magical talent in Equestria! Now, for the Great and Powerful Trixie’s first amazing feat of magic, she will-”

“Trixie Lulamoon, I would speak with you,” a single stern voice commanded. The mare’s act stopped suddenly as she followed the voice back to its source. There was somepony in the audience! There was never a pony in her theater, and yet, in one of the balconies, there was a dark, imposing shape looking down upon her from its vantage point.

Trixie stepped to the edge of her stage and called back, “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” It was hard to see much detail through the bright spot lights that shone down on her.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” said the voice again with weight and authority, but this time, it was from behind her. Trixie whipped around to find herself under the imposing presence of royalty.

“Princess Luna! What are you doing in my dream?” the showmare asked after she hit the ground in a deep bow. “Not that Trixie’s not flattered to entertain a pony such as you in her dream.”

The Princess of the Night’s eyes narrowed at the mare. She had nothing but disapproval for the boastful showmare. “You are wanted for crimes perpetrated in Ponyville. You used an illegal and dangerous artifact to enslave an entire town. Under my command, you’re to turn yourself in over to the nearest local authority,” the princess stated.

Trixie hesitated, as if she was waiting for some sort of magical compulsion to come over her, but it didn’t come. Maybe, she concluded, the princess’s magic was limited when appearing to a pony like this and she couldn’t actually use any magic right now. She kept herself bowed to and answered, “Trixie must respectfully decline to follow your command, your Highness. Trixie has plans that must be done and ponies that are relying on her.”

Several seconds ticked by as Luna registered what just happened. There had been only a few times when somepony simply refused to obey her like this. There had been times when it turned to violence or arguments, but there hadn’t been many times of simple and outright rejection. “Are you denying a Royal command on top of your other crimes?” she demanded with a forceful stamp of her hoof.

The mare stood up and did her best to meet the princes in the eye, and steeled her will. She knew she needed to answer for what she did, but to simply allow herself to be placed in prison wasn’t what she needed to do. “Yes, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.”

“You don’t wish to be punished. It’s natural not to want that to befall you, but its what must happen,” Luna stated. At times like this, she wished she had more power in dreams beyond simply visiting another pony’s mindscape, but this is simply how it worked. She was a messenger right now and nothing else.

That piercing and unwavering gaze that Luna was putting on Trixie was making her feel the weight of her sins, but the more she felt them, the more resolved she became. Finally, she spoke again, and this time it was going to be words from her heart, and not the bluster of a showmare. “No, I don’t want punishment. I want redemption, and I can’t do that from a prison cell.”

“And, how do you suppose you can do that?” the princess snapped. “You enslaved a town! You brought strife to an entire town, all because you were jealous of a rival! These are all acts of a petty, and self-centered mare!”

Trixie grit her teeth at the insult, but what made it worse was Princess Luna wasn’t wrong. She did all of that, but it was the amulet that pushed her. It’s addicting power got the best of her and drove her to take everything further than she ever wanted. “You wouldn’t understand what happened, your Highness,” she said quietly.

“What wouldn’t I understand? I’ve existed a thousand times what you have. I hath seen things thou couldst not comprehend! What justifies thy redemption!?” Princess Luna continued as she slipped into her older speaking habits because of her growing anger. This was Trixie’s dream though and she didn’t care who it was interloping in it. She wasn’t going to back down.

“You can’t possibly understand how it feels to be outdone by a brighter star at everything that makes you special!” snapped Luna back. Even from the princess, she would not tolerate being talked down to like that. “I didn’t know I’d be trading sanity for power, but you’d know nothing about any of that! I just wanted to be great again! To be loved again!”

The princess stepped back from Trixie at that point and opened her mouth to reply to the powder blue unicorn, but everytime she tried, she just didn’t have the words. It felt like every light of the theatre was bearing right down on her, and the invisible audience was demanding a response from her, and she simply didn’t have the answer she wanted to give.

“Trixie thinks you should leave her dream,” the showmare finally said, when she realised there wasn’t going to be an answer. “She has a lot of work to do tonight.”

Then, her alarm rang. She waved her hoof trying to catch the little button atop of the clock, and it ceased with a little click when she found it.

“Showtime.”