REVIEW: Trixie and the Razzle-Dazzle Ruse · 11:35pm Mar 12th, 2017
One secret of fiction is the creation of unique characters who are precisely defined. The secret of comedy is the same, with the difference being that the characters must be obsessed with unwholesome but understandable human desires.
- Roger Ebert, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
It's been a while, hasn't it? Rumor has it this will be the last one in Berrow's individual character books. Feels sad, like another small piece of the show has ended. Therefore, it might be the last review in this series as well.
Next week is the Discord book.
Trixie and the Razzle-Dazzle Ruse
by G. M. Berrow
Trixie is the best unicorn on the show. She is better than both Twilight Sparkle and Rarity combined.
Therefore her book is the greatest literature ever written. 10 out of 10. 
Trixie needs to create a fancy magic stunt to impress the Starmane Society of Magicians, so that they will accept her as a new member. She just hasn't figured out what her magic show should be about, and hasn't actually been invited to perform at the Grand Magician's Ball, but she'll figure out the details later with Starlight's help!
I don't want to reveal much more. Not because there's some clever surprise twist or anything that might get spoiled, but because there's a delightful logical progression from that starting point. One thing leads to another, and little problems set off new bigger problems. So even though at the end we're given exactly what we were promised at the start, it's fun to trace over the strange route taken to get there. The solutions to the problems may not be so fancy (and they might be a little rushed) but that's not so important in a slice of life tale, where the characters are the focus.
Besides, that opening setup tells you all you need to know about Trixie. Like Donald Duck (or Daffy Duck? whichever), she wants attention and glory, but probably won't choose the wisest path. She's confident and egotistical here, but not so much to aggravate other ponies or become an unsympathetic selfish jerk. It's a nice balance of all her development over the seasons, so she's no longer just a one-dimensional anti-Twilight foil. Plus, narrating from her point of view makes everything funny:
"Helloooooo?" Trixie knocked her hoof again, growing impatient. It took all her willpower to refrain from using a glittering smoke bomb to vanish and reappear inside. She was following the rules. Twilight Sparkle loved rules. So first she would knock. Then Trixie would be welcomed into the Castle of Friendship for an extended stay.
Besides, Trixie reasoned, there was still plenty of time for Princess Celestia to decree that Trixie was a princess, too.
It's not that she wanted things between Starlight and Twilight to be unpleasant; Trixie just wanted Starlight to like her best. Was that so much to ask?
Of course best-friend/assistant Glimglam is going to be in this. They go so well together with their similarities and differences. They've both had to make up for evil deeds in the past, though Trixie was motivated by ego while Glimmer was acting out of a misguided sense of the greater good. Trixie's confident in her inflated sense of her own talents, while Glimmer actually does have amazing talents but seems too naive and neurotic about using them. And they both have their own connection to Twilight Sparkle...
I absolutely loved their episodes together in Season 6, and the love-friendship-triangle going on with Twilight felt like one of the most refreshing concepts I'd seen in the show for a while. I might be the only one, but Season 6 felt like it had a lot of the Season 1 atmosphere to it, and this triangle added a lot to it. It reminded me of the Mane 6 back then, when they were formally a group but didn't like or tolerate each other much at first. They had to grow into true friendships. From Season 2 on, it already felt like they were perfect friends, too elevated for petty bickering like they used to -- just awkward misunderstandings from now on (or else the fans cry that they're OOC).
I guess this is how I'd explain why I really like Starlight Glimmer and her role in Season 6, despite its flaws. For quite a while, the show's been about these imperfect characters in perfect friendships, and the episodes became more about advancing them as individuals (until they seem near-perfected now too). I found Season 6 exciting because it found a way to go back to the theme of flawed (almost broken) characters within imperfect relationships, hurting each other but learning how to grow. "No Second Prances" allows Twilight to actually fail as a friend for once, so she can learn how to apologize for it (I wasn't a fan of how "Amending Fences" did this). "To Where and Back Again" brings all the untrusted misfit characters together; they don't really like each other that much, but they're willing to work together anyway.
Anyway, that's what I like about how Trixie fits in with the Ponyville crew in this book. There's no hard feelings, none of them hate Trixie anymore, but they're not crazy about her either. There's a few great scenes where Rarity finds common ground with her, but still has trouble matching the wavelength of Trixie's ego. By the end, the whole Mane 6 end up helping Trixie while teaching her about friendship, and it feels great because they didn't have to. Even though Trixie can be an annoying problem-causing visitor that they sorta-tolerate, they'll still consider her a friend and do what's right.
This shows how the Mane 6 have learned their lessons in friendship. It's so easy to be nice to your closest best friends whom you already love. It's a bit harder when it's somepony who gets on your nerves.
BONUS:
I remember Not_A_Hat (in a drunken live-react) liking the part of the season finale where Glimmer kept putting Trixie in that magical soundproof hamster ball. Luckily, Berrow does bring that back for this book. It is pretty funny.
There's some interesting names here for things in the MLP universe, for stuff that we rarely consider naming. Aloe and Lotus Blossom work at the La Ti Da Spa. And there's an officially named past event called The Lunar Return, which you can probably figure out. I don't know if Berrow created these herself, or got info from so-and-so show staff, but I think they're wonderful names either way. I'd use them.
One plot point I found interesting is the use of accidental magic. Two unicorns doing the magic they normally do all the time, but by mistake they interfere with each other and create unexpected results. It was a neat way to get some conflict out of magic instead of having it be yet another solution, and also adds back in some of the unknown mystery that magic should be about. Too often in episodes/fanfics it seems so mundane, just a lot of telekinesis everywhere.
PREVIOUS ENTRIES:
Book 1 / Twilight Sparkle and The Crystal Heart Spell
Book 2 / Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party!
Book 3 / Rainbow Dash and The Daring Do Double Dare
Book 4 / Rarity and The Curious Case of Charity
Book 5 / Applejack and The Honest-to-goodness Switcheroo
Book 6 / Fluttershy and The Fine Furry Friends Fair
Book 7 / Princess Celestia and The Summer of Royal Waves
Book 8 / Discord and The Ponyville Players Dramarama
Book 9 / Princess Luna and The Festival of the Winter Moon
Book 10 / Lyra and Bon Bon and The Mares from S.M.I.L.E.
Book 11 / Princess Cadance and The Spring Hearts Garden
Book 12 / Starlight Glimmer and The Secret Suite
Book 13 / Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Forgotten Books of Autumn
Ah, aiming for an EQD reviewing job from Seth, I see.
There I fixed that for you.
Blasphemy!!!!
...Alright I'll hear you out.
I get where you're coming from. I absolutely agree on Twilight needing to be flawed again, and with "the theme of flawed characters within imperfect relationships", 100%. This is part of the reason I hate Starlight, even though she's a very interesting character to watch in an episode. The fact I feel that way so easily while watching her and not with any of the others (as easily, if at all), just drives me up a wall, because it isn't necessary, and Starlight shouldn't be necessary to bring that kind of engagement and interest to the table. But I say all this every time you bring up Starlight, so I guess I'll just shut up now
But telekinesis is the beeeeest.