//------------------------------// // The Lying and Exaggerating Trixie // Story: Element of Forgiveness // by MasterZero //------------------------------// "So basically you're doing that cliche from the movies?" Giggles asked. "What?" Trixie replied, glaring at her boss. "That cliche. Ya know. 'Hide the secret from others, before its revealed, but in the end everything turns out okay because real friends don't care about material things?' My ex-wife and I used to take our kid to the movies and-" "How did we even get to discussing this?!" Trixie lampshaded, slamming her hoof into her face in annoyance. "I asked you how your day was. You yelled at me. Think you called me a fat, pink, tub of lard, before you started pleading me about something. Then I asked why, then you gave a mostly, I assume, fake story about how that 'wench' Twilight Sparkle attacked you with an Ursa Minor," the pink stallion replied, taking a long drink from his apple cider bottle, only to find it empty. "You know, I've noticed that I've been lacking apple cider lately. Ever since I hired you, in fact." "Your drinking problem is not of Trixie's concern! Trixie demands you give her the Top Dollar job tomorrow!" "Trixie, you came into the office in the middle of the afternoon to demand to work? Besides, they didn't even ask for a magician. This is a big time wedding, not a birthday part." "Offer it at a discount price, then! Trixie does not care! This is a matter of pride!" "Coming from a stallion who has lived a long life, pride doesn't usually lead to good things. That's why I gave up trying to have pride long ago." "The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks you are an idiot." "The Old and Grumpy Giggles would like to remind you that he can fire you right now, if he wanted." "...The Great and Powerful Trixie needs this, Giggles! She cannot allow Sparkle and her cohorts the satisfaction of seeing that she does not live in a mansion!" Giggles let out a loud sigh, before nodding. "Fine. I'll tell them you're part of a package deal. Don't come crying to me when this all goes south. Even though you will, considering you don't have that many friends. Well, I guess you do now, I mean." "What? Please! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not friends with Twilight Sparkle and her band of lowly fiends! She has standards, as you know." "Uh huh. Trixie, this is just coming from an old stallion, but you might want to consider burying the hatchet. What's the worst that can happen by being friends? I mean, they apologized to you first." "Trixie...I...." The unicorn looked at the ground, before glaring at her employer. "Trixie will not simply yield! She knows they are trying to trick her! Ponies do not just forgive one another!" "I forgive you for being so difficult," Giggles replied, looking through his paperwork. "Look, just think about it. Maybe being friends is a better move than being enemies." "The Great and Powerful Trixie has thought about it, and she says no!" With that, the conversation was over. The blue pony exited the room as the pink colt rubbed his head. "I need more apple cider." ------------------------------- "Hey! Magician! You're on soon," a mare yelled as Trixie peaked out from behind a bush. "Yes, yes, yes, Trixie heard! Now be gone!" She commanded, before resuming her search for Twilight and her friends. She had left a letter at their hotel room giving the time and place of where they would go to find one of her many, non-existing, beautiful mansions. To Trixie's outrage though, they were running late. "Cruse you, Twilight Sparkle! Were I your teacher, your tardiness would go straight onto your permanent record!" She growled, taking her fury on the bush below her as two colts saw her. "What's with her?" "I think she's had too much cider." "Heh. Some people just can't hold it in." "Trixie? Why are you assaulting a bush?" A voice asked. Trixie opened her eyes to find Twilight and co. in front of her, having watched her Great and Powerful beating she gave the poor, abused bush. "Trixe...is...gardening! This bush is just running her lovely front yard, and decided to be kind to the gardener by dealing with it herself!" She explained. "Oh! Well, let me help you then," Twilight smiled, before her horn glowed. In a purple flash, the bush vanished from the yard, leaving a small hole where it was. Trixie fell to the grassy ground in surprise, before rising up, dusting herself off. "Yes, well. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie's eyes shot open at what she just said, and in an attempt to save face, pointed at her. "But Trixie was just about to teleport it away herself! Ahem, well, you may leave. Trixie is busy being incredibly rich and not paying taxes." "What? So we can all this way to hear you gloat?" Rainbow Dash groaned, rolling her eyes. "We could have been doing something fun, but we just had to go visit Trixie," she grumbled, as Twilight glared at her. "We understand, Trixie. We'll be going. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow though?" "W-wait, you are leaving?" Trixie gasped. "Yeah. You told us to. Just now," Rainbow Dash stated, rolling her eyes. Leaving? This was too easy....Ah...So that is your plan, Sparkle! You do not believe, Trixie! "Well, she shall show you her glorious abode! Behold the Great and Powerful MANSION!" She declared, lifting her forehooves into the air. "Are you sure, Trixie?" Twilight began, only to be interrupted by the bouncing, pink pony. "Alright! Let's party!" She giggled, before pulling out a party popper and pulling on it, shooting confetti onto Trixie's head. Rainbow Dash groaned yet again, before Twilight scolded her. The blue unicorn led her new found....friends...to the door, opening it for them before she followed. "Where is that magician?" A brown mare with a black mane looked around, a dollar sign on her flank. She saw the door close and gave chase. ------------------------------- For one reason, or another, Trixie came to regret her hasty, error-filled choice. Maybe it was the fact that there were pictures of Top Dollar and her family everywhere. Maybe it was the obvious inability to tell where she was going. Maybe it was the loud screaming in her mind, in the voice of her boss, telling her she had made a hasty, error-filled mistake and should be attempting to drown herself in cider now. Or maybe it was just the fancy hor dourves she had earlier. Either way, she was worried. "Oooh!" The pink one pushed her hooves against her cheek in an attempt to imitate one of the paintings, before falling over and laughing. "Trixie? Can I talk to you about something?" Twilight asked, walking over as the rest of her gang looked at the various fancy paintings in the room. "What?! Oh! Of course, Sparkle," Trixie replied, before seeing a picture of Top Dollar and her family beside her, in front of her home. As Twilight walked over, the showmare bucked a window opened and tossed the picture out the window. "I noticed you haven't been wearing your hat and cape lately." The blue mare glared at the purple one, but Twilight quickly continued. "I know, what happened. I know they were lost because of the Ursa Minor incident. I'm sorry to tell you I couldn't recover them, but if you want, you and I can talk to Rarity, and I'm sure together we can recreate the hat perfectly!" "Oh please, they're a bit a dozen in Hoofington. All the rage in New Unicornia a few years back, I heard," Trixie replied, rolling her eyes. "Wait, wait, wait!" Pinkie Pie bounced over, confused and confuzzled. "Ya mean your hat isn't one of a kind, super special, ultra rare?" Trixie scolded herself mentally at the chance to make herself sound more impressive. She grumbled a bit, before glaring at the pink mare. "No. Its a simple magician's hat and cape set." "Your mommy didn't give you it before she died?" "Pinkie! That's none of our business!" Twilight scolded. "But the fanfics say-" "Trixie will have you know, both of her parents are alive and well!" "Does your daddy abuse your mom?" "PINKIE!" "What?! Trixie's father would never lay a hand on her mother! He shows her love and respect!" "Did they ignore you as a filly?" Pinkie was finally silenced by her mouth literally zipping shut, thanks to one of her spells as Trixie rubbed her head. "Trixie's parents have always been supportive, if slightly weary of her job profession! They have never ignored or negatively spoke to her for as long as she can remember." "Pinkie, what's gotten in to you? You can't just ask questions like that out of the blue!" The purple unicorn scolded her friend, bringing her aside and loudly whispering to her. "But all those fanfics I read said stuff like...Oh, nevermind," she sighed, before a loud knocking was heard from the door. "I hear voices in there! Is that you, Trixie?" Top Dollar questioned. "Who in tarnation is that?" The cowpony wondered. "Trixie's maid! Um...Why don't you all take a look inside Trixie's antique room? She'll talk to her maid and shoo her away," the unicorn suggested, opening a random door. "Uh...Trixie, darling, I do believe that is the little filly's room," Rarity pointed out. "Ya mean the bathroom?" Rainbow Dash added. "Nonsense! Why, look at this bar of soap! Said to have been used by Princess Luna the day before her transformation into Nightmare Moon! Oooh!" Trixie whispered, holding up said bar of soap. "And...um...These sheets of paper! Engraved upon them is the ancient codex of a long, lost language!" "Pardon, but ain't that just a roll of toilet paper?" The orange earth pony asked. "Nonsense! Trixie supposes that you foolishly think this is a chair, do you not?" "No, Ah think that's a toilet." "Foolish fool! The Great and Powerful Trixie is not surprised you are foolishly fooled by this foolish foal made trap! This is actually the great throne of the long lost...uh...creator of all sandwiches!" Pinkie Pie unleashed a loud gasp, before grabbing a wooden brush. "What's this, Trixie? What is it? What is it?" "It looks like its made out of mahogany," Twilight analyzed, picking it up with her magic, before it was taken by Trixie's. "This brush was made out of the desk of the the great Boss Ogre, King Yemma, the Judge of the Dead! This mahogany came from the planet Malchior 7, where the trees are 300 feet tall and breathe fire! From those trees, the desk was formed, by the dark, blood rituals of the Malchior people! But the Great and Powerful Trixie came to the great Boss Ogre and defeated him in combat, and in return, he gave her a piece of his mahogany desk! With all this history, this comb has the power to transcend space and time, and can shatter the very existence between all universes!" "..." "..." "..." "NEAT!" Pinkie smiled. "..." "Huh?" Rainbow finally said, before all six of the friends were pushed into the small bathroom. "Hey!" "Why don't all of you stay in here and examine the rests of Trixie's artifacts, Trixie hears her maid calling out to her!" She slammed the door shut and used her magic to lock it, before running to the opposite door. She opened it, and found Top Dollar glaring at her. "Yes?" "Where have you been? The foals are getting bored, and need to be entertained! When they're bored, they get annoying! To me and the adults, if you can't figure that out," she growled. "The last thing my sister needs is to be bothered by her baby niece." "Of course, of course! The Great and Powerful Trixie will be right down to entertain the...adorable...little...foals." Trixie could swear a few of her blood vessels popped as she forced herself to smile. "Entertain?" The unicorn turned and saw Sparkle and her group walking out of the bathroom. Trixie cursed to herself silently, realizing that the lock was inside the bathroom. Of course Twilight and co. could have easily escaped. "Yes, entertained. This stage magician isn't doing a very good job entertaining the party guests. That's the only reason she's here, ya know...Wait, who are all of you?" The earth pony mare realized, cocking her head to the side. "Well, that explains the party outside," Rainbow mumbled, staring out a window to see the party downstairs. "We're so sorry, miss...Um..." "Top Dollar." "Top Dollar!" Twilight grinned as she walked over. "You see, The Great and Powerful Trixie had actually called us over to help her! We're her assistants. The...uh...Spectacular Six!" "Never heard of you." "Well, we're very renowned in Hoofington. She called us up here to form a plan to entertain everyone! In fact, we were about to come down to do, just that!" "Twilight, what are you-MMMPH!?" The blue pegasus was quickly silenced by the unicorn's spell, leaving her quiet and angry. "Come on, everypony!" ------------------------------- Trixie could not believe what had just happened. She watched Rainbow Dash fly through the air, entertaining the partygoers with fabulous tricks and flight moves. Rarity was giving fashion tips and was throwing out lies to the more prim and posh partygoers. She actually thought they would believe her when she said she knew Fancy Pants. HA! As for the others, Pinkie Pie was going back and forth between the kitchen and bringing life and laughter to everyone in the party, no matter the age. Not to mention her sweets were simply amazing. Applejack was showing off lasso tricks, improvising with a hose. Fluttershy was showing the young foals different types of birds, entertaining those that actually cared, and even a few who did not simply due to what they must have seen as adorableness. Twilight walked over and stood beside the Great and Powerful Trixie as she took a sip of her apple cider. The blue unicorn turned to look at her, before back at her drink, not knowing what to say. "Trixie! Trixie!" Top Dollar ran over with a large smile on her face. "I have to tell you, when I was told I had bought you along with the preparations for this wedding, I had my doubts you'd be anything too...amazing. But...wow! Just wow! A flight show and some of the best sweets I had ever tasted? Here! Take this, you earned it!" A bag filled with bits fell in front of the Great and Powerful Trixie, bringing the biggest smile to her face since she was hired in the first place. "I'm also giving your boss a a positive review of you, and telling all my friends that if they want a party done right, to call up Giggles McJoyheart!" Top Dollar thenran off to get a better view of the flight show, leaving Trixie and Twilight alone. "...Thank you." "Trixie?" "Thank you, Twilight. For the help," she slowly mumbled, looking at the bag of gold bits. It was larger than her last two paychecks combined. "Trixie, we're friends. Its what friends do." "..." "But you shouldn't have lied to us like that," the unicorn spoke firmly, making Trixie look at her. "You can trust us. We're not enemies anymore. You don't have to impress us. We're friends. I had hoped you realized that yesterday. I hope you know it now...." The showmare looked at the bag of bits once again, silently contemplating the words. "Twilight, if you and your friends wish, you may visit Trixie's true home after this. It is an unappealing, unimpressive room in a dull apartment. Nothing Great, nor Powerful. But it is Trixie's." She felt a hoof on her side and she turned to see a gentle smile on her once hated rival's face. "We'd love to, Trixie."