Friendship is Card Games: Trixie and the Razzle-Dazzle Ruse · 12:17pm April 28th
We return to the pony novels this week, and hopefully a better showing from the titular mare. Last time we saw Trixie in one of these, G. M. Berrow was channeling the fandom circa 2011 and making her and Gilda the designated antagonists of the piece. Let’s see what she’s up to this time.
Unexpectedly, the dedication is in part to Bronycon. Well, “the Baltimore convention that celebrates the Magic of Friendship and community,” but I’m guessing that a licensed Hasbro product can’t use the name for various legal reasons.
The very first line of the novel is pony profanity. Trixie tilts her head back to take in all of Namepending Castle—okay, okay, “the Castle of Friendship”—from its front stoop, making her hat fall off and prompting a grunt of “Oh fizz!” We’re off to a great start, and I mean that sincerely.
In any case, Trixie is at Twilight’s doorstep because she’d like to spend an extended stay inside the castle rather than just parking her wagon on its lawn and camping out, and she’s making a point of following the rules of propriety to get on Twilight’s good side.
Interestingly, she’s sorely tempted to just teleport inside with the help of a smoke bomb. I’d never considered that, despite how Berrow describes her hat, Trixie may be more of an artificer than a wizard. In other words, she more easily and naturally channels magic through physical tools rather than directly warping reality with her bare horn. After all, unlike the more abstract cutie marks of Twilight and other Twilikes, Trixie’s does feature what is clearly a wand. Heck, even her human counterpart demonstrates that kind of assisted teleport in Forgotten Friendship.
But I digress, and we’re only three paragraphs in.
It’s definitely interesting to see Trixie’s relationship with Twilight through the former’s eyes post-“No Second Prances.”
After all that had transpired between the dueling magicians, the two still saw each other as somepony to impress and simultaneously challenge. Even if one of the ponies was a “princess” now. Trixie still couldn’t fathom that Twilight had received the honor when the two of them really were quite equal in talent and charisma.
One could definitely read a crush into that if one were so inclined, but these days Trixie and Twilight actually do have some non-adversarial common ground in the form of Starlight. And while Trixie will never say so out loud, she’s happy to put the rivalry behind her… and there’s still plenty of time for Celestia to give her wings too. Stranger things have happened, and she was there to see them. (I personally like the idea of Trixie never getting tired of ribbing Twilight over the decades, but I can see her wanting to devote her energy elsewhere.)
Trixie is “conjuring images of herself at her grand coronation” when Starlight opens the door, and I’m not sure whether that’s just in her imagination or if she’s casting illusions. Also, she identifies the magic opening the castle’s front door before she sees who’s opening it, which is a nice confirmation that ponies do in fact see the different aura colors. (That wasn’t really in doubt, but this is still the most direct way in official pony media to see through equine eyes.)
Starlight happily notes that we’re just after the Thoracic Revolution, and Trixie finds her suspiciously cheery… which may imply somethings about Trixie’s self-image if she doesn’t just think Starlight’s happy to see her. (Also nice to see “The (adjective) and (other adjective) Trixie” in someone else’s writing.)
Starlight does engaging in venting… and a very curious vent indeed: “Well, it’s just… friendship lessons are great and all, but sometimes I feel I’m not getting anywhere.” This after Thorax and she reformed an entire species. We presumably haven’t gotten to the medal ceremony and her graduation yet.
Trixie is disappointed after hyping herself up for a big “complaining about Twilight” session. Despite insisting she’s put the rivalry behind her, she still wants Starlight to like her more. We’re approaching Lyra and Bonbon levels of best friends here.
Despite her concerns about her lack of progress, Starlight demonstrates how well she’s learned several lessons in the space of a page, between the hoofmade (i.e. no magical shortcuts) apple pie and an appreciation for moments of wacky fun with no purpose other than enjoying the moment. Trixie, meanwhile, has much less patience for applied friendship lessons when she needs Starlight’s help to “come up with a brilliant new act practically by yesterday!”
Starlight decides the best way to come up with one is to take a trot about town. (Also, Twilight and Spike weren’t even home; Trixie could’ve smoke-bombed her way in and the only possible consequence might have been the smell getting in the drapes.)
The trot betrays Trixie’s lesser friendship enlightenment in her irritation at both Starlight sounding like Twilight while singing the praises of Ponyville and the idea of small talk with ponies who aren’t already her friends. She tries to run back to the castle to seek inspiration in dreams (and through Luna) only for Starlight to drag her back in a shield bubble. To Trixie’s humiliation, she has no means of escape beyond yelling at Starlight.
Trixie does get around to explaining why this is so important, and the magnitude is enough to make her nervous: “I’m about to be the first magician accepted into the Starmane Society of Magicians since the Lunar Return!” To do so, she needs to think of a magic trick for the ages, and having lost her patience with aimless wandering, she once again gallops for the castle, only now asking where her room is. (Not if she can stay, where’s her room.)
Starlight recalls the Andalusian Amplifier from her own wandering about the castle in an earlier pony novel and how she nearly collapsed space-time in her efforts to impress Twilight. The possible consequences of Trixie finding one are too terrible to contemplate, and she races after her friend to cut that off at the pass.
Trixie knows that the way to a mare’s heart (or at least her continued tolerance of Trixie) is through her stomach, and makes breakfast for both *lights the next morning, along with promising to stay out of their manes as they work on “important friendship lessons.” It’s enough to impress Twilight, or at least for Trixie to think she looked impressed.
Trixie herself heads for Carousel Boutique despite warnings that Rarity was working on a prestigious event of her own. Naturally, it couldn’t be more important than anything that Trixie cares about, and she bursts in with a same-day commission for a new cloak. Unfortunately, that current project is a dress for Sapphire Shores for the upcoming Glammy awards, which must take priority. Trixie can add her name to the bottom of the comissions list… with an expected waiting time of a few moons.
Still, Trixie’s insistence that this is the only way she can get in to an exclusive organization piques Rarity’s interest, and so Trixie weaves a narrative of a rise to greatness where the designer’s aid is essential.
We also get some degree of context for the Starmane Society, “the only organization of magicians that means anything, anywhere,” according to Trixie. If she doesn’t get an offer to join, “I might as well not be a magician at all!” Not sure how to feel about Trixie putting this much importance on an authority that isn’t Trixie, but when it comes to the idea of being a prestidigitator, it does work to a degree.
It turns out that Trixie’s plan is basically Rainbow Dash’s circa that first Grand Galloping Gala: Perfect her trick in Ponyville, then wow the professionals at a big social event. The key differences between big blue egos is that Trixie will be performing at the Grand Magician’s Ball (sic, unless there’s only the one Grand Magician)… and she wasn’t actually invited to said ball.
In spite of that, Rarity does agree to move Trixie to the top of her commissions list… after she finishes the dress for the Glammys (sic Wait, why do they pluralize the Grammys like that?) Trixie immediately demands she put in the same level of enchantment she’s currently weaving into that dress. In fact, why not just remove a swatch from the petticoats and make the cloak there and then? Trixie will demonstrate.
What follows is a series of magical interactions, poorly targeted telekinesis, and an inopportune glass of water that leave the dress ruined and Trixie’s hoof zapped by a spell meant to add gold trim to the dress. She slinks out of the Boutique, shamefaced and sans cloak.
Her confidence rebounds by the next chapter. The magic matters more than the costume, after all. That’s Trixie’s story and she’s sticking to it. She’s also sticking to her plan, dragging Starlight in as assistant, who is staying by Trixie’s side in no small part because of the guilt of nearly driving her to suicide by manticore. (The story doesn’t mention that part, but we know what we saw.)
Also, viewing a dinner party with Princess Celestia as “getting in the way of things” is a quintessentially Trixie perspective.
Trixie’s plan for the requisite “brand-new, never-before-attempted daring feat of magical trickery” is something she calls “The Tears of the Dragon.” Her plan is outlined in an illustrated scroll, and, well…
“Whoa!” Starlight Glimmer pulled a face. “Am I reading this correctly?” She pointed her hoof at the fire-breathing dragon. “You’re going to tickle a dragon with a feather so much that it cries dragon funny tears—the hottest-known substance to ponykind—then perform a dance routine while they rain down on you, culminating in your disappearance into thin air before you will then reappear on top of the dragon to put the very feather you tickled it with in your performance hat?!”
Yeah. Never let it be said that Trixie isn’t ambitious. It isn’t clear how or where she intends to procure a dragon, though that’s presumably what the “dragon whistle” is for. I kind of hope Spike keeps showing up. He hasn’t actually appeared in the story yet and he’d definitely be more amenable to negotiation than most other dragons.
In any case, Starlight is concerned, which is a phrase that should give anyone pause. But Trixie insists “Everything is going to go exactly as I want it to” as the chapter draws to a close. To my utter astonishment, the next one does not begin with Trixie lamenting just how much everything has not gone exactly as she wanted it to, but I’ll give it more time.
Trixie’s stage wagon (as opposed to a stagecoach 
) is bigger and better than ever before, and she’s ready for her first live performance of the trick before an audience bigger than just Starlight. Unfortunately, her old costume pales in comparison to the upgrades to the stage… and it appears that the trick does just depend on blowing the whistle and working with whatever dragon shows up without any prior arrangements. For goodness sake, Trixie did more preliminary work with the manticore. (And on a concerning note, the determined look in Trixie’s eyes is directly compared to when she had the Alicorn Amulet… though it’s not clear how anypony would think to make that comparison since Starlight wasn’t there and Trixie is very much not in a reflective mood right now.)
The crowd cheers as Trixie begins the trick (for the first time, without any prior practice,) but it goes wrong. And not in the way that all of the obvious problems would suggest: The same hoof that Rarity accidentally zapped earlier has become unusually heavy and “[pulsates] with an eerie golden glow.” And it’s gone transparent.
Trixie panics and Starlighty quickly tried to cover for her, using a convenient hose to spray water through the radiation emanating from Trixie’s hoof to create a lovely, distracting rainbow… and some mist for extra drama when the dragon actually arrives, and thankfully leaves just as quickly. As Trixie bows, an unintended finale surprises even her: a rain of glowpaz fragments on the audience. Nopony’s quite sure what happened, but the crowd is complaining about getting complementary chunks of “one of the most valuable gems in Equestria.”
After the performance, rather than go to, say, the hospital, Trixie hoofs it to her favorite thinking spot in the area, on the edge of the Everfree. She may not know what happened, but she can’t argue with the results, considering this trick instead of her original plan for wowing the Society. As visions of Starhoof herself inducting Trixie in the ranks fills her head, the effect on her hoof wears off. She slumps off back to the castle, not noticing the mass of glowpaz forming in the river flowing past her private spot.
Cut to the next morning, where Starlight’s venturing into the Everfree for potential alchemy ingredients and interesting flora, which is a thing she does on rare occasion. In this case, because she immediately told Twilight about the accident last night, and the following flurry of research showed that a certain plant could help: Gleam Berries. And finding them is essential, because “that hoof glow was going to start getting a lot worse—and a lot more powerful.”
Starlight wonders about Trixie’s tendency to hurl herself in harm’s way for other ponies’ approval… then kicks herself when she sees the cracks in her glass house. At which point she runs into two prospectors panning for glowpaz in the river, with dozens of others staking their own claims and even digging for nuggets that haven’t found their way into the river.
Yes, somehow a gold glow rush managed to begin overnight. In the outskirts of the Everfree. I’m sure this won’t end poorly. (Also, the thought occurs that Rarity would do very well for herself in these circumstances if she were so inclined. Gem detection available for a nominal cut.)
Speaking of whom, Trixie returns to Rarity in the hopes that the Humble and Penitent Trixie will be able to get a commission even in the Boastful and Blunderous Trixie’s wake. Especially since Rarity, after pulling an all-nighter, was able to repair the Glammy gown.
“If you’ve come to ask about the cloak again”—Rarity shook her mane—“I’m terribly sorry, but —”
“No, no, no!” Trixie lied. She looked at the floor and slumped her shoulders for an extra dramatic effect (shoulder slumps always sealed the deal).
I do appreciate Trixie’s ability to turn on a dime as needed. She pivots to offering Rarity a day at the spa as an apology with nary a blink. Rarity suspects it’s leading up to something, but still decides to offer the benefit of the doubt. Generosity is willing to extend another chance even after the green mane incident.
Pinkie Pie is inexplicably at the spa, but hey, even she needs to relax sometimes. Also, there’s a definite tick in the neurodivergent Trixie column given her intolerance for small talk when there’s something meaningful to achieve. And it turns out that Trixie’s magic hoof is activated by water, as Pinkie points out, which has her triumphantly smoke-bombing her way to “Luna knew where.”
Naturally, Starlight arrives just in time to miss Trixie and recruit Rarity in the effort to keep Trixie from “[ruining] all of Ponyville by accident!”
And yes, Rarity’s stuck hoofing the bill for the spa visit.
Fortunately, Trixie is limping her way back to the castle, her petrified hoof proving unresponsive to featherlight spells (which are a thing that exist and that she knows how to cast) and dreaming of a show built around the magic of refraction, so it’s easy to catch up with her. She tries to brush off her pursuers (and interprets Rarity encouraging Starlight to actually confront her friend as “a dainty grunting noise”) but they won’t be deterred by conversation and the last smoke bomb works far worse as a getaway plan.
A different distraction, however, works far better: Trixie’s leaving glowpaz hoofprints in her wake, going from just turning water into the stuff into anything her enchanted hoof touches, to the populace’s amazement and growing greed, to the point that Filthy Rich sits on one, insists there’s nothing to see here, and seems poised to wait as long is it takes for the crowd to disperse. Trixie doesn’t see the horrifying implications of this when there’s audiences to impress and mystic societies to join. All she needs is a little rain…
(Also, we get a brief interlude of Trixie imagining herself on world tour not just as a Society magician, but “a glowing goddess with the ability to entertain and delight by spectacularly creating beautiful, sparkling gems.” Not how I expected to encounter explicit references to deities in MLP.)
Meanwhile, Twilight’s called in the rest her friends to deal with the ongoing glow rush, Rarity presumably having missed the summons while chasing Trixie. Applejack explains that “Prospectors go where the wind whispers to ’em,” which I’d chalk up to earth pony magic if the two Starlight had encountered weren’t unicorns. As is, I can’t tell how figuratively AJ meant that.
Regardless, the prospectors are proving terribly disruptive, digging up Ponyville Park and, to Fluttershy’s fury—she’s slightly above a whisper—ruining countless dens and burrows. AJ notes that asking them to leaving likely won’t work; a recent gold rush in Appleoosa saw them stick around for moons even after the supply dried up. (A royal proclamation and use of Namepending’s dungeons could probably work wonders, but Twilight is presumably holding that in reserve. Really, Mayor Mare should be involved in this discussion.)
Twilight provides further context for Trixie’s affliction: Gem Hoof is a curse that will eventually spread to the whole body, leaving Trixie a crystalline statue. (Sombra demonstrated that curses are indeed a thing, despite Twilgiht’s Season 1 protestations to the contrary. No doubt Celestia was more cautious with this student than the previous one.) Pinkie provides context for how it happened; conveniently, she watching through the window as the incident unfolded. (Or she employed some manner of Pinkie-Sensory postcognition, but I won’t tell if you won’t. 
) With that information, Twilight and Starlight should be able to craft a specific countercurse… but they don’t have much time.
Trixie’s wagon is gone by the time the group arrives where she’d parked it; she’s off to Canterlot for the ball. The good news is that she’s leaving a trail, and her hoof is heavy enough that she won’t get far. The bad news is the curse’s spread accelerates the more she uses her magic.
(Also, I do love Pinkie gasping “She’s gone!” and immediately looking to see if she can replicate the Rainbow Rocks running gag. I always appreciate parallels between the worlds.)
They manage to connect with Starlight and Rarity, all boarding the Friendship Express. Rarity has brought a cape as an apology, and Twilight has been able to concoct a miniscule amount of “Radiance Remedy potion” as a cure. Dash doubts that Trixie will take it willingly, and everypony but Starlight silently acknowledges the sliver of doubt they have about the performer. Starlight’s sure she can get Trixie to take her medicine, though. I’d suggest telling her about the lethal consequences of leaving it untreated, but S&P get in the way there.
The next chapter is entitled “Cloak and Swagger,” and now I’m sad we never got a Trixie episode with that name. Good stuff.
Somehow, despite the others taking the train and Trixie traveling on increasingly heavy hoof, she still has time to set up posters before they find her. And credit to Starlight, she immediately warns Trixie of exactly what’s going to happen… but the presence of Twilight and company convince Trixie that this is all a ploy to steal the spotlight from her. Yes, even the bit about total petrification. 
I’m honestly not that surprised.
Fortunately, as Trixie adjusts the sprinklers for the show, Starlight realizes that she can administer the cure through the performance’s water features, hopping on stage as an unscheduled lovely assistant. By that time, Trixie’s body is half glowpaz, and as Starlight’s derailing patter continues, she overbalances and can’t get back up. Cue the potion in the sprinkler and a blinding burst of light and sound as the curse is undone… and the audience understandably wanders off after getting flashbanged.
Trixie laments the loss of what she was sure would impress the Starmane Society, and the entire mane cast assures her that it wasn’t what made her special. Her sheer tenacity does. (No comparison is made to Tank, but one certainly comes. Especially with that heavy hoof.) Rarity provides the dress, everypony hugs… and Trixie’s starts planning “something involving crocodiles.”
Thankfully, before that can get any further, Starmane herself enters the scene, incredibly amused by what she believes was a clever comedy of Trixie acting like she didn’t know what was going on during her own show. She also extends an actual invitation to the Grand Magicians’ Ball, which Trixie happily accepts.
It’s a good thing she does, because it takes place in a secret lounge under the ballroom. Which ballroom? Good question! I imagine Canterlot has many. Regardless, it’d be a lot harder to crash the party than Trixie anticipated.
Also, it turns out every member of the Society follows the “adjective and other adjective” pattern, from the Daring and Fearless Wild Card to the Incredible and Gifted Gimmick to the Stupendous and Astounding Starmane herself. I can’t tell if this is enjoyably silly or just stupid.
In any case, Trixie wows the Society with the tale of thwarting Chrysalis. (Again, this is before the medal ceremony, so I suppose they mgiht not have heard, but now I’m wondering if she’s divulging classified information. How many ponies know that Celestia and Luna had been replaced by changelings for a few days.) Impressed by the true entertainer before her, Starmane happily hoofs Trixie her member brooch, to much laughter and applause.
And so we end, with Trixie surrounded by peers who sadly never got the same degree of fandom traction as, say, S.M.I.L.E. There some pacing issues and unresolved plot elements with the prospectors and random dragon, but overall this is an enjoyable and throughly Trixie story that would have made a good Season 7 episode with a few tweaks. I’d happily swap this and “Fluttershy Leans In” for their comparative impacts on canon. (I do like Sweetfeather Sanctuary, but its inception has quite a few issues.) Heck, it has one of Berrow’s better Rarities as well… even if that apparently requires the complete absence of Spike.
And now, for my next trick...
Performer’s Top Hat W
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, create a 1/1 white Rabbit creature token.
Equip 2
Leave two rabbits in the same hat and you’ll never run out.
Lifetime Achievement Award 2W
Sorcery
Will of the council — Starting with you, each player votes for a creature you control without indestructible. Put an indestructible counter on each creature with the most votes or tied for most votes.
“And the Glammy goes to…”
Windwhisper Prospector 2W
Creature — Pegasus Scout
Flying
When Windwhsiper Propsector enters the battlefield, if an opponent controls more lands than you, search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
Plot 1W (You may pay 1W and exile this card from your hand. Cast it as a sorcery on a later turn without paying its mana cost. Plot only as a sorcery.)
2/2
Radiant Remedy 3W
Instant
Choose two —
• Destroy target enchantment.
• Tap all creatures target opponent controls.
• You gain 6 life.
Any ongoing magic contains an immense amount of energy. Disrupting it has to release that energy one way or another.
Mana Fizz U
Instant
Spree (Choose one or more additional costs.)
+1 — Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays 2.
+1 — Counter target activated ability unless its controller pays 2.
+1 — Counter target triggered ability unless its controller pays 2.
Smoke Bomb U
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has “Unattach Smoke Bomb: This creature gains hexproof until end of turn and can’t be blocked this turn.”
Equip 2
“If it can’t solve a problem, gallop faster.”
—Trixie Lulamoon, traveling performer
Cloak and Swagger 1U
Instant
Target creature you control gets +0/+3 and gains hexproof until end of turn. If R was spent to cast this spell, you may switch that creature’s power and toughness until end of turn.
Confidence gets you far, confidence and a warded cape even further.
Spellborn Muse 3UU
Creature — Spirit
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy. This ability triggers only once each turn.
“Her voice is magic, wonderful and terrible.”
—Princess Twilight Sparkle
3/4
Claim Surveyor 1B
Creature — Unicorn Mercenary
Whenever Claim Surveyor or another outlaw enters the battlefield under your control, any number of target players each mill a card. (Assassins, Mercenaries, Pirates, Rogues, and Warlocks are outlaws.)
“Plenty to find here. For a bigger cut, I’ll even help you dig.”
2/2
Increasing Greed 2B
Sorcery
Target player draws two cards and loses 2 life. If this spell was cast from a graveyard, that player draws four cards and loses 4 life instead.
Flashback 5BB (You may cast this spell from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
Curse of the Glowpaz Touch 2BB
Enchantment — Aura Curse
Enchant player
Whenever a permanent enchanted player controls becomes the target of a spell or ability that player controls, they sacrifice that permanent and create a Treasure token. (It’s an artifact with “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color.”)
Demanding Customer 3B
Creature — Unicorn Citizen
Other creatures you control have “Ward — Pay 2 life.”
Whenever an opponent pays life, you gain that much life.
“Don’t you look at them. I have more coupons.”
3/3
Dragon Whistle 1R
Artifact
2, T, Sacrifice Dragon Whistle: Create a 4/4 red Dragon creature token with flying and haste. At the beginning of the next end step, sacrifice that creature unless you pay RR.
The whistle gets a dragon’s attention. What happens after that is up to you.
Gemhoof Transmuter 1R
Creature — Unicorn Wizard
Trample, haste
Whenever Gemhoof Transmuter deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token.
Eternalize 4RR (4RR, Exile this card from your graveyard: Create a token that’s a copy of it, except it’s a 4/4 black Zombie Unicorn Wizard with no mana cost. Eternalize only as a sorcery.)
2/1
Rain of Glowpaz 1R
Sorcery
Rain of Glowpaz deals 1 damage to each opponent and each creature and planeswalker they control. Create a Treasure token.
“The first three rows may get rich.”
—Trixie Lulamoon, traveling performer
Tickle the Dragon 3R
Sorcery
Tickle the Dragon deals 5 damage to each player who doesn’t control a Dragon.
“Don’t. Seriously, don’t. Not unless you want to learn the difference between ‘fireproof’ and ‘flame retardant.’”
—Spike
Applied Honesty 1G
Enchantment
When Applied Honesty enters the battlefield, draw a card.
Each spell you cast by spending three or more green mana can’t be countered.
Even the haughtiest master of the arcane can’t say no to an earnestly made apple pie.
Stake a Claim 1G
Sorcery
Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle. Create a Treasure token.
Prospectors move at the speed of rumor.
Varmint Den 1G
Enchantment
At the beginning of your end step, if you descended this turn, create a 2/1 green Varmint creature token. (You descended if a permanent card was put into your graveyard from anywhere.)
A complex network of dens and burrows lay beneath Ponyville… until the glow rush.
Everfree Prospector 2G
Creature — Unicorn Scout
At the beginning of your end step, you may mill two cards.
Whenever a land card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, create a Treasure token. This ability triggers only once each turn.
3/2
Wand of Fate 2
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature has prowess. (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, if Wand of Fate is unattached, you may attach it to target creature you control. If you do, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Equip 2
Anticipation Builder BGU
Creature — Unicorn Wizard
At the beginning of your upkeep, if Anticipation Builder is plotted or in your graveyard, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Counters remain on Anticipation Builder as it moves to any zone other than a player’s hand or library.
Plot G(ub)
2/2
Starmane, Society Mare 2UR
Legendary Creature — Unicorn Wizard
Whenever you cast an instant, sorcery, or Wizard spell, any opponent may have Starmane deal X damage to them, where X is the amount of mana spent to cast that spell. If no one does, copy that spell and you may choose new targets for the copy. (A copy of a permanent spell becomes a token.)
2/3
Glow Rush 2RG
Enchantment
When Glow Rush enters the battlefield, create a Treasure token.
Whenever you tap an artifact for mana, add an additional one mana of any type that artifact produced.
Whenever an artifact enters the battlefield, that artifact’s controller gains control of Glow Rush.
Trixie, God of Wealth 4BR
Legendary Creature — God
Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs 1 less to cast for each artifact you control.)
Boast — XBR: Creatures with power X or less can’t block this turn. (Activate only if this creature attacked this turn and only once each turn.)
“Make way for greatness!”
4/4
< Equipment 2BR
The Glowpaz Hoof 2BR
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +3/+3.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player or planeswalker, create that many Treasure tokens. Then sacrifice equipped creature unless it’s legendary.
Equip 3
< God 4BR
Baltimare Panorama
Land
T: Add C.
1, T, Sacrifice Baltimare Panorama: Search your library for a basic Swamp, Forest, or Island card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
Horseshoe Bay isn’t always pretty, but for many, it’s home.
I'll just pop in to say that 'Luna knows where' is an amazing expression
You know, for a Trixie novel, I honestly expected a lot worse. There's some good balance here between Trixie's ego and proper humility here in a way that isn't following the one formula the show itself used over and over, and actually seeing the newer perspective of the Mane 6 on her (they basically don't interact from Season Seven onwards onscreen, unless one counts Pinkie buying fireworks from Trixie offscreen in "Horse Play") is a nice bonus too. Hard to perceive the pacing issue you cited in this abridged form, but I'll take your word for it. This certainly would have been a nice sub for some of the weaker episodes in Season Seven, let along the following two.
It had been so long I had actually forgotten most of Rarity's appearances in the earlier novels, but this did bring them racing back. And also remind me that "The End in Friend" exists.
And then you made the card a Pegasus, because that makes even more sense. (Not sarcasm)
One thing that I find fun is the a commonality between Trixie and one of her clear inspirations the Wizard of Oz.
Most people know about the wizard being exposed as a fraud using special effects in the original book. But fewer people know about Return to Oz where he helps Dorothy reach it through a host of dangerous lands displaying a huge variety of useful skills. Among other things he's an expert gunslinger and trick shooter.
Then there's Trixie who is exposed as a "fraud," in her first appearance. (In quotes because many claim that she was just being a performer and anypony besides idiots like Snips and Snails would know full well that she was exagerating for the act) Then in her later appearances she displays extraordinary competence in a large range of skills. She holds off the changelings with just her array of stage gadgets for several minutes. She makes her own fireworks and smokebombs. She pulls her wagon by herself across Equestria and beyond implying she's incredibly fit. Luna recruits her to the Nightmare Knights for her cunning and charisma. Etc. Trixie may not have the magical oomph of Twilght or Starlight but I'd wager she can handle a variety of problems the two of them would be utterly lost against.
As a slight tangent people many people say Trixie would be a sorceror to Twilight and Starlight's wizards in D20 fantasy. I say that's nonsense. She isn't especially magically potent instead she has a wide range of skills and uses a little magic to push those skills even further. She would actually be some flavor of magical rogue, and a pretty high level one at that.
The only book from the series that I purchased, because I'm an unapologetic Trixie simp. A fun, if swift, read. Even with the padding, this only took me an afternoon to get through. It was nice to see Trixie interacting with characters other than Starlight and she got to show a variety of skills that I think the later season writers either forgot about or ignored.
Either way, I'm pleased to have it on my shelf.
I have this book, but I have absolutely no memory of this story before, which has me wondering if I forgot to ever read it. In any case, I have read it now, and honestly that was one of the best ones. Berrow's Trixie is surprisingly good here, recognizable as herself and funny, and the story flows well and makes sense, minus pesky little details like where a giant dragon might come from or what it might do when it's there.
Huh. I had to look up what episodes Berrow wrote for the show, and if Trixie was in any of them (she isn't), and I see that she wrote "Daring Done?", the glowpaz episode. She has a history with this mineral.
Trixie may not be Best Pony, but she comes very close.
Oh, dear. Well, I'm sure our host shall administer unto himself the customary 40 lashes with a wet noodle for that indignity.