As soon as Fluttershy had left the room, there was a sudden shift in tone. Pleasantries, however awkward they had been, were immediately dropped. In some ways Trixie felt that was a blessing, as it had been just a façade of friendliness. Now she had a much better idea of where she really stood.
From the outset, Trixie knew just stopping by for tea and biscuits had been an idea doomed to fail. It was the 'best case' scenario, and she had never had one of those hoofed over to her, so why would she expect this time be any different? As far as Trixie was concerned, Twilight was part of an ongoing effort to ruin her life. If she was a willing or unwilling part of that effort didn't matter to Trixie.
Trixie knew that to Twilight, she was just another minor villain. One that, unlike the others, had the poor manners to stick around after being defeated. All the other ‘villains’ that Trixie had heard about: Nightmare Moon, Gilda, and the dragon, each had skipped town moments after their ‘downfall’, Trixie had to assume that Twilight didn’t quite know what to do with her right now. And uncertainty was an opening Trixie knew how to exploit.
Either she still holds a grudge over Trixie putting on a show, which would be ideal… or she actually did manage to break the illusion already. There’s no way she could have though, is there? Even Trixie can’t be that unlucky.
“What do you mean ‘why are you really here’? It’s not nice to put ponies on the spot like that, but…” Trixie paused and rubbed her elbow nervously, avoiding Twilight’s gaze for a moment. “I know we started off on the wrong hoof, but I was hoping we could… well…” She met Twilight’s eyes again. “…Be friends?” If Dashie and Fluttershy were right, then the study of friendship was why Twilight was in Ponyville. Trixie could only hope that this was good enough bait to lure Twilight away from her suspicion.
The completely flabbergasted look on Twilight’s face was priceless. Her mouth hung open and her eyes attempted to take over her whole face. Trixie sincerely wished she could have snapped a picture, if only doing so would not have hurt her credibility, not that she had a camera.
“Bwah? But, I—you. What?”
Putting on her most innocent face, Trixie carried on. “I know you didn’t seem to like my show, and you could have humiliated me, but you didn’t. Unlike the others who tried to ruin it, you just left. That was ... nice of you.” Trixie leaned over the table, bringing herself a lot closer to Twilight, who pushed back a bit into her seat. Twilight's reaction reminded her of a rat backing away from a snake. Wanting to run, but not willing to let the snake out of its sight.
Trixie smiled, keeping her amusement at Twilight's reaction hidden as she continued. " Then, when nopony else would have, you saved me! You didn’t let the Ursa Ma—Minor crush me. You are an amazing Unicorn, Twilight.
“Before you, I never even thought it was possible for a pony to be so good at magic, and you were so humble about it. Then today you sent me my books, and I just had to come and see you. Not in a weird way! Just to thank you, for everything.” It was easy to smile, though Trixie had to actively force it away from ‘smug satisfaction’ and towards ‘grateful’.
Twilight's face was burning up, and she continuously shuffled her hooves quietly, as if kneading the seat cushion in anxiety. Huh, who knew the Princesses’ student would have such a bad poker face. Trixie watched Twilight struggling to regain her stern composure while she stuttered incoherently, ”B-but, I, uhm, w-well. You, erm. W-what about that t-thing you said? You know ‘show-stopping ability’? I thought you were angry?”
“Oh… that…” Trixie bit her lip, slumping back down on her haunches. She allowed her gaze to trace the wood grains in the floor. “I… was jealous, okay? Please don’t hold that against me. How would you feel if you met somepony who was better at everything? Who could easily replace you if they felt like it? I felt threatened. I-I’m sorry… but, I’ll understand if you don’t want to be friends after that?” Keeping her head tilted down, she stared at Twilight from under her eyebrows.
Twilight averted her gaze, an agonizing, contemplative look on her face. “I…well, I suppose I do understand what that feels like, a little. After finding the elements, Luna went to Canterlot while I…” Twilight’s eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head. A moment later, her eyes met Trixie’s gaze again. Annoyingly enough, they were filled with a renewed determination. “I chose to stay here, with my friends. They are very important to me. I won’t let anything happen to them. That’s why I have to ask you again: why are you really here?”
For one brief moment, Trixie felt her carefully maintained mask crack, slipping out one stray glare at Twilight. She quickly adopted a hurt expression. “I-I don’t understand the question? I’m here because we have mutual friends, and I thought we could get along?”
Clearly losing her patience, Twilight jabbed a hoof toward one of the doorways. A gesture which Trixie took keen notice of. “Trixie, I have your book. I know what you are like! It took me a while to work it out, but there is no way I will let one of you near my friends.”
Feeling the color drain out of her face, Trixie stared at Twilight wide-eyed. It’s a bluff! Don’t fall for it! Keep a cool head, Trixie! Find out what she really knows first. One of the things Trixie’d learned during her stay with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, was that she was an awful liar and actor when flustered. She had to remain in control.
It wasn’t difficult to well up a few tears, all Trixie had to do was imagine she’d be forced to leave her precious pair. Suitably sad looking, she shuffled backwards, away from Twilight. “Y-you know? I-I never thought… O-Okay! I admit it…” Trixie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as though to steady herself, then gave Twilight a fierce look. “I like mares! I-is that so bad?! You didn’t have to snoop through my books to figure that out! What are you going to do? Tell them? They already know!”
“Hah! I kne—wait what?! No! No no!” Twilight quickly waved her forelegs as though to ward off the conversation. “I don’t have any problem with, with well, being like that!” Her face was as red as a tomato while she attempted to clarify. “W-whatever a pony does in private is well, uh, a-as long as nopony’s hurt, I—Look that’s not what this is about! I meant the Jekyll and Hyde book!”
Trixie had to fight not to show a grin. She just loved watching Twilight dance in the palm of her hoof. It also helped that the prudish mare was surprisingly cute when squirming, though that was a thought that she rapidly suppressed. The next part was easy enough. Trixie shot Twilight a blank look, tilting her head to the side as though she thought looking at it from a different angle would help. “… The one about the potion brewing stallion? I never finished it. It was, erm, not to my ‘tastes’ if you catch my meaning. Was it that bad though? I know it had some violent passages.”
“No! It’s—you know! The illusion enchantment? I unraveled a few fragments of it already. It’s some kind of spellbook, but it’s wrong.” The almost pleading desperation in Twilight’s voice rose, almost as though she truly believed the true contents of the book had merely slipped Trixie mind, and she was hoping to jumpstart Trixie’s memory.
Just fragments? Hah, not as powerful as you thought you were, Twilight? Trixie blinked, staring at Twilight with a puzzled look. Shooting a smile, she leaned in with interest. “A hidden spellbook? That sounds great! What kind of spells did it have? Do you think it might have something to do with Orion Oreo? Inkwell? Oh! Maybe Starswirl the Bearded? Ah, wait. I guess the book wouldn’t be from that long ago, the story is only two hundred years old.”
Taken aback by Trixie’s enthusiasm, Twilight shook her head a little. Clearly unsure of how to proceed, she latched onto Trixie’s questions. “What? Well, uh, I don’t know. I can’t read any of the pages in full. As far as if any of those ponies wrote it… I guess it actually could be, if somepony placed the enchantment on the book later, or if it’s a copy, or maybe if the illusion changes every few centuries... But why would anypony want to hide a book like that? It’s unicorn history.”
“Well, it’s only an illusion spell. Nopony who’s serious about magic uses those, right? Maybe it was just a prank?” Trixie offered, resisting the urge to bite her tongue for blaspheming against her own magic specialty. “I just mean, any magician worth their bits would have used a transmogrification spell.”
“That’s what I thought too!” Twilight said, smiling. The first genuine smile Trixie had seen out of the mare directed actually at her. “The first thing I tried was applying the third and fifth principles of alternation by Ravine the Stoneweaver.”
“Oh, but if it was only an illusion, wouldn’t that end up turning the book into a tacky lamp?”
“It did, but I didn’t know at the time it was just an illusion.”
“Did you try using Hoofdir’s theorem?”
“You mean to restore it to its original form? Yes, but that also restored the enchantment. But that gave me an idea, I could try evading illusion entirely, and just remove the enchantment itself. The same way Teal Mithril describes in his book ‘inane and impractical solutions to unusual problems’.”
“And that worked? I’m more familiar with his contemporary, Evening Star, and she was not very positive about his methods.” Despite herself, Trixie found that she actually was having fun discussing how to crack the book with Twilight. It was only now that she realized how much she’d missed having some pony to talk to about magic that didn’t involve her bragging about it.
“He was pretty unorthodox, so at first I didn’t bother with it. I had just figured out it was probably illusion magic, so I tried to work with that first. The problem was that I don’t know much about illusions, so I didn’t get very far before I decided to try a more unconventional approach. It worked. The only setback was that the enchantment was more complex than I thought. So it only revealed small bits.”
Trixie stared at Twilight. For a moment, she felt actual awe. “That can’t be right. If it’s that complex it should have repaired anything you tried to unravel, unless you threw ridiculous amounts of magic at it!” Although she’d known Twilight was powerful, she hadn’t expected her to be strong enough to effectively brute force her way through the problem. It was practically cheating.
“Well, sure, it tried that, but it isn’t too difficult to overload. If you can use Hoofdir’s theorem, you can also overload an enchantment a bit.” Twilight chuckled as though it was the simplest thing in the world.
Trixie wasn’t quite sure if it was false modesty, or an honest misunderstanding of just what was considered ‘normal’ levels of magic. “Actually, I can’t use it. It’s purely theoretical.”
Twilight paused, giving Trixie a surprised look. “You don’t know the spell? But… you suggested it?”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Of course I know the spell. There is a difference between knowing it, and having the raw magic needed to cast it.”
“Oh, right. I guess I never really had that problem,” Twilight mused, looking up at the ceiling while stroking her chin. “I hadn’t even thought about that. So, on what level can you cast?” She focused on Trixie again as she asked the question.
It was not lost on Trixie that the look on Twilight’s face was different. They weren’t simply discussing spells now. Trixie was being studied. Under most circumstances, having the undivided attention of somepony would have been great, but this was uncomfortable. “Trixie does not want to talk about it,” she said, folding her hooves over her chest.
“Why not? You had some nice tricks during your show. Although, thinking about it, they weren’t very magic intensive. Were you pacing yourself? I guess you did just arrive in town.”
‘Tricks’ she called them! Trixie gritted her teeth while she glared at Twilight.
Twilight clapped her hooves together. “Oh! And where did you study magic? I saw you had a few books, but you can’t be entirely self-taught, right? Did they have a magic exam? What was your result? Oh, I think I still have one do—”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not owe you an explanation!” On the one hoof, Trixie knew that if she could get Twilight to dismiss her actual magic prowess, that would be to her benefit. However, every fiber of her being screamed in protest at the thought of allowing anypony to look down on her.
Twilight jumped, startled by the sudden outburst. Confusion streaked across her face while she stared wide-eyed at Trixie.
Trixie knew exactly what this was about, another attempt by Twilight to show off how much better she was than her. Oh sure it looked innocent enough to ask about her schooling and abilities, but there was no way that anything she said was ever going to compare favorably to ‘Celestia’s personal student.’
The friendly atmosphere they’d been building up gradually drained from the room. That was, until Twilight did something unexpected.
“I’m sorry, Trixie. I shouldn’t have pushed you.” Twilight lowered her head shamefully. “It’s no excuse, but sometimes I get a bad case of tunnel vision when I find something interesting.”
Trixie blinked. High and mighty Twilight was apologizing? It didn’t quite line up with how she had expected her to react. At the end of the day, Twilight was holding all the cards. She didn’t need Trixie, so why would she be at all interested in patching things up with her?
Something in her face must have given away Trixie’s confusion, as Twilight gave Trixie a sheepish smile. “Please don’t hold it against me?”
Recognizing her own line from before, Trixie smirked. “When you put it like that, Trixie doesn’t have much of a choice, does she?” Trixie suddenly realized that at some point she had slipped back into third pony. Fortunately, Twilight didn’t seem to mind the change. As long as Trixie made a good first impression, it shouldn’t matter.
“Thank you.” Twilight smiled, and looked over her shoulder in the direction that Spike and Fluttershy had gone. “They’ve been gone a while. Maybe I should go check on them.”
“No need. Trixie is sure the delay is caused by Fluttershy attempting to excuse Angel’s behavior while he was here last week.” Trixie rolled her eyes, exasperated. “At least it is nice to know it’s nothing personal. He just hates everypony, erm, and dragon.”
“Hah, Spike was going on for days about that. I don’t think anything could convince him to look after Angel again. To be honest, I don’t think those animals needed any looking after, but we just wanted to put Fluttershy at ease. Well, as much as possible anyway. Considering…”
Trixie laughed. “Considering that you were about to go fight a dragon? Which, by the way, is the worst idea Trixie has ever heard of.”
“We never meant to fight it! Just negotiate with it! How do you even know about this? Come to think of it. Where have you been these past couple weeks?” Twilight asked.
“Couple weeks? Huh, you’re right. It feels like it’s been much longer.” Trixie mused on it for a moment before she recalled the actual question. “Ah, anyway. After Trixie’s departure, she… was injured. Dashie, erm, Rainbow Dash found her, and got Fluttershy involved. Trixie has been enjoying Fluttershy’s hospitality ever since.” Technically, none of those statements were lies. Which was the best kind of lie.
“Oh. They never mentioned it to me.” The look on Twilight’s face betrayed hurt, and a little bit of suspicion, though she tried to smile.
“They knew that Trixie did not wish anypony to know she was still in Ponyville. Though Trixie stayed at the hospital for a bit when the dragon mountain thing was happening. She was given a very colorful retelling of the events that took place in the evening. Trixie still can hardly believe you all survived… Hey, did Fluttershy really… you know?”
“Really what? Oh! Yes! She scolded the dragon! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. If it wasn’t for everypony else corroborating the event, I would have thought I’d imagined the whole thing.”
If there was any lingering doubt in Trixie that Fluttershy, Dashie and Applejack had been playing a prank on her with that wild dragon story, it was gone now. “So is that just a thing now? Are you girls sent out to deal with random problems?”
“Oh, I hope not. I lost a whole day's worth of studying. Not to mention it completely threw off my weekly schedule. I can’t just plan in a spare ten ‘emergency’ hours to shift around every week… or can I?” Twilight scribbled down some quick notes, apparently revising and editing it several times while she furrowed her brow in concentrations. “Okay. No. Maybe. Yes? No. Unless… Well, I can get it down to maybe once or twice in a season. What if I…”
Apparently, the idea of being sent out to literally do Celestia knows what had Twilight more concerned with how it would affect her schedule, than the actual danger involved. Trixie gawked at Twilight while attempting to wrap her head around how this unicorn functioned with screwed up priorities like that.
Trixie cleared her throat to catch Twilight’s attention. “But, Fluttershy mentioned that the princess took The Elements of Harmony with her. Aren’t you just normal ponies without those?”
Glancing up from her notes, Twilight looked momentarily disorientated. “Wha? Oh, that. I’m sure she’ll provide them if there is a need for it. Just look at the situation with the dragon. Princess Celestia knew we could manage without them. I’m sure she has everything under control,” Twilight said, with absolute certainty.
“Right…” Trixie realized she shouldn’t have expected anything else. It must have been reassuring to have such unwavering faith in somepony, but Trixie isn’t so sure… Trixie let Twilight get back to her notes. She stared down at her hooves, slowly drawing circles over the floor while she thought about it.
Normally, the notion that a team of six special ponies took care of Equestria’s problems and shouldered the danger themselves would have been nice, if only she didn’t love two of them. Trixie could only hope she was worrying over nothing. It had only happened twice after all.
“Trixie? Are you okay?”
Shaken from her thoughts, Trixie looked up to find Twilight staring at her, looking concerned. Trixie briefly considered telling another lie for the sake of avoiding any potential confrontation, but the fear weighed too heavily on her mind to pass up the opportunity.
“No, Trixie isn’t. How can you be so sure? What if you need the magic suddenly?” Sucking in a deep breath, Trixie puffed up her chest to look more imposing. “Do your friends have a choice?” You can gamble with your own life, but Trixie won’t let you drag Fluttershy and Dashie down with you.
Twilight frowned. “I’d never force any of my friends to do anything. They choose to help me. I didn’t even have to ask for it. Hay, I tried to tell them I’d rather deal with it on my own, and they didn’t listen.”
Trixie fought to keep her scowl to a minimum, grinding her teeth to stop herself from blurting out her thoughts. Wouldn’t force them? You dragged Fluttershy up that mountain!
Apparently taking her silence as compliance, Twilight’s expression softened. “Look, I understand if you think it is insane —I sure did—, but I learned something special about the Elements of Harmony when we found them. The magic does not go away just because we don’t have them, the magic of friendship is inside of us, it always will be.” Twilight smiled earnestly while she gestured towards the window. “Just a few days ago, I learned that friends can be an amazing source of strength. Fluttershy showed us exactly how strong she could be for us. Do you see?”
‘Friendship magic’… It did sound insane. But what really worried Trixie was how completely Twilight appeared to have bought into it. She sounded like some kind of cult leader, or follower, considering the leader would have to be Celestia. Does she only teach blind faith? Trixie is glad to have dodged that bullet!
Forcing a smile, Trixie nodded faintly. “Riiight. Trixie understands perfectly.” Although Trixie tried, the small ember of hope that Twilight would be able to put her mind at ease died.
Still, Trixie couldn’t fight Twilight openly on this. No good could come from it, and she needed Twilight’s trust —or at least avoid her ire— for a while.
As long as Trixie had Twilight in a talkative mood, she might as well take advantage of it. “Speaking of the ‘magic of friendship’… Trixie was hoping that you could tell her about what happened with Nightmare Moon. Fluttershy told Trixie much, but there were many magic questions Trixie had that she was unable to answer. Especially about the Elements of Harmony. Could you tell Trixie your version of events?”
Twilight beamed enthusiastically, pulling two books off the shelves as she nodded. “Of course! We’ll start at the beginning: the tale of the two sisters!” She presented the first book, an illustrated version of the story.
Trixie caught the title of the other book from the corner of her eye: Predictions and Prophecies. She settled in for what undoubtably would be an extensive essay worth of information.
And to think most people hate Rainbow Dash in that episode for trying to convince Twilight to get Fluttershy to stay behind. Everything she said about Fluttershy was true up until the final encounter with the dragon, which she triggered.
Avoid her 'ire'... what?
Anyway, at this point, I wonder how this would end up leading to the events of Magic Duel if this isn't taking the Alternate Universe ark. You've gone through Dragonshy and Look Before you Sleep quite well, but the next episode is Bridle Gossip, when Zecora comes around.
5470379
I don't think that is the part that people disliked her for, but the part where she's being a jerk to Fluttershy while they are already on the road.
Did I use the wrong phrase? I meant to say that Trixie is trying to avoid making Twilight mad at her.
A lot can happen in three seasons. ^.~
I don't quite see why that would be an issue, maybe you can elaborate? ^^
5470404
I guess I just don't understand what 'Ire' means.
Something must've happened between them eventually then if Trixie was so thirsty for revenge after this conversation. Not to mention Trixie's bond to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy if she thinks this-
Well, first the obvious, Trixie's not around at all with meeting Zecora. The episode goes through two days. And Trixie's no longer in the hospital, so there's not much reason she would be away from either Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy at the time like Dragonshy. (Unless she's just going to stay at Fluttershy's and then wonder why she stopped talking all of a sudden.)
5470468
ire (aɪər)
n.
intense anger; wrath.
I was always intrigued by the fact that Trixie never did anything to Fluttershy during the magic duel episode.
Ah got you. I think I'll manage something.
*Yawn* Morning, Fluttershy.
Good morning, Trixie. Eeep!
Well, this is new.
...
5470510
Actually, she and Rainbow Dash were under the 'slave' duty of hanging her flags after Rarity stitched them. Otherwise she never had a reason to target Fluttershy specifically. The only reason she ever targeted Applejack eventually was because she refused to continue working.
Huh... I was more thinking along the lines of this.
5470404
'Ire' is absolutely the correct word in that instance.
5470581
Phew, thats reassuring, thanks. ^^
5470564
Eh,relatively nothing then. Compared to RD,AJ, Pinkie. Rarity got off surprisingly lightly actually, considering her role. altough, she tore trixies curtain, and trixie is forcing her to make banners, which are practically curtains. XD
Gah! You gave away the plot! Now i have to think up some other reason for trixie not meeting Zacora! QQ
^.~
5470632
She was especially cruel to Pinkie though, keeping her mouth off for the entire episode, and then forcing her to dance. I wonder how hungry she must've been considering we actually SEE her trying to eat cake, but unable to and crying as a result.
NOO! Must Save! Uhh... Everyone! Ignore my comment! You didn't see anything!
*Must hide it!*
Edit: Dang it! I can't hide it due to the colors!
5470647
Yeah, poor Pinkie.
How much time must have passed? A day? Maybe two? More? On the other hand, with all the sweets she eats, Pinkie could stand to lose a few pounds in a hunger diet. ~.^
XD
5470666 Oh well, after that, there's Swarm of the Century, which also goes through two days with the same problem.
...And I realize I should probably keep my mouth shut, otherwise I'd ruin more plots by revealing them...
5470692
Relax i was only kidding. ^^
How or what will happen will be a secret though xD
5470666
water is a bigger issue
5471930
I'm sure Pinkie Pie knows how to drink through her nose.
If she doesn't have her nose either though... Then all of this is irrevant, and the main problem is air.
5471935
it wouldn't surprise me if she did know how to drink through her nose
end " marks.
____________
That went leagues better than what I thought of as possible.Great chapter, now I really can't wait to see the fall out of Twilight breaking the encryption, and what it says in the book itself.
If I didn't play Diablo 3, I'd have to look in a dictionary.
Finally! Someone is thinking realistically. Trixie, you shall be rewarded with cookies.
Well... nope, not yet anyways. All in due time.
5472918
Right... that reminded me... Luna Eclipse... with Fluttershy...
Is Trixie hiding king Sombra's journal?
5472330
Fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.
Leave it to Trixie to do much better at making friends when she's lying.
5473814
Deleted scene from magic duel:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/1/12/210565__safe_meme_trixie_edit_king+sombra_alicorn+amulet_trixivision.jpg
5472918
Hurray for games, teaching us obscure words since 1973.
At last, Trixie's cynicism pays off!
img0.derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/20/746466__safe_solo_blushing_smile_equestria+girls_trixie_cute_upvotes+galore_adorable_rainbow+rocks.png
Use the force, Twilight. Join the Dark side.
img1.derpicdn.net/img/2014/12/1/776027/full.png
5474840 Those pics are priceless.
5474818 One does not see much of that ship
5474800
I think that Black Mage said it best In this comic page. And you're welcome, always a pleasure helping out on this magnificent piece.
5475635
Words to live by for certain ponies.
I may have to check that comic out. Been ages since I read anything spritebased though. Does the Dark Mage come up often?
Its always much appreciated.
5475674
Yes, he's one of the 4 main characters. I'll admit that the first 200 pages are just setting it up, but right on their first mission and up. It is utterly brilliant. They're also one of the reasons I root for the villains, since there have never been villians who've been "heros" like them before.
Oh, and another awesome sprite comic is http://www.bobandgeorge.com, it has some rather bad hand drawn pieces that turn into meta-jokes against the author (at least until the ending. When it's decent). But it's the most awesome Megaman comic ever made.
5475741
Excellent, I'll give it a go then. I've been looking for a new webcomic to keep me from doing anything productive till 3am.
Bob&George? Does it involve an obsession with icecream? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I've read that one. That was the other Spritecomic.
5475753
yep, it most definitely does have an icecreme obsession. I have a list of other good webcomcis that you could look at, but other than ansemretort (which is has died prematurely 700 something comics is) those are the only two webcomics I know of.
Have you considered converting him to your way of thinking?
Dear god that lying from Trixie was painful to read.
Comments;
With benefits, of course.
It's a good thing Celestia never asked her if she looked fat, eh?
"Trixie, you magnificent bitch! I read your book!"
Twilight OP plz nerf.
Oh yeah baby.
Once again: oh yeah baby.
Tell it like it is, Trixie.
Not gonna lie, I always did think Twilight was kind've preachy when it came to the "Magic of Friendship" .
6566361
Dude
Stop
I can't
BREATH!