“Truly this is Trixie’s darkest day. Once the most famous Unicorn in all of Equestria, now reduced to…to…this.”
“Come on. At least the uniform fits.”
“Hmph. I was supposed to be wearing the most glamorous gown at the Gala. Not these rags.” The Great and Powerful Trixie the Waitress grumbled using her magic to place the white paper hat on her head. Like her dress and accommodating apron her hat was for the most part a simple white, except for a red line along the bottom edge. With the exception of the large brown stain that dominated her apron. Trixie hoped it was just a coffee stain
“Don’t worry about it. A couple weeks of work and you won’t have to sleep in the broom closet.” Donut Joe replied, using his magic to straighten Trixie’s hat.
“Speaking of my accommodations how do you expect the Great and Powerful Trixie to get her beauty sleep? That closet is small and narrow. The cot is terrible. The racket you make in the morning drives the Great and Powerful Trixie to madness!”
“That ‘racket’ is me making all the donuts, brewing the coffee, and serving the ‘Morning Mayhem Rush’! You’re still a ‘trainee’ I’m not going to let some dame I met in my alley to make my donuts or handle the early hours.” Donut Joe laughed, slapping a hoof against the floor. Celestia’s sun was already making its way down from its highest peak in the sky toward the horizon. In the world of donut shops, bakeries, coffee shops, and pet stores this was essentially the night shift.
“I’m a businessman. This place is my life. I’ve worked my entire life to get just this far, from making donuts in my apartment and bussing them out all across Canterlot in a cart to all this! I’ve got enemies too. While the most dangerous of them is the health inspector (mare has the heart of a windigo), I have competitors who would just LOVE to knock me from my spot next to the Princesses’ castle. From sunrise to sunset Trixie I…Trixie…TRIXIE?! Are you listening to me?” Donut Joe’s monologue goes to shouting in his would-be-waitresses’ ear.
“What? Were you saying something the Great and Powerful Trixie was busy picking the dust from her hoof?” Trixie asks, looking up from a upturned hoof.
“Trixie…just…you...you…do you have ANY experience waiting tables?” Donut Joe asks between shaking his head and covering his nose with a hoof.
“Hmmm, once the Great and Powerful Trixie used her magic to bedazzle Hoofington by balancing twenty-two plates on a ‘volunteer’s flank. Does that count?” Trixie asked, immediately using her magic to seize several unwashed dishes from the sink and fly them across kitchen. Soapsuds and leftover bits of food fly across the room as the dishes circle overhead, rather skillfully crisscrossing each other in flight across the kitchen. Donut Joe can only watch on in horror as his only plate ware is tossed across the room by a mare quite clearly not all there.
“Careful…careful with those.” Donut Joe mouths, wiping a wad of soap from his eyes as it smacks into his face. Donut Joe was lucky the health inspector (whose tongue is sharper than any kitchen knife) had just visited. He lets out a breath of air he hadn’t noticed he had been holding onto as Trixie stacks the plates into two towers on the floor.
“Tadah~” The Great and Powerful Trixie proclaims as she steps between the towers flourishing her mane theatrically. Donut Joe immediately goes to the plates, wrapping them in his hooves and stroking them gently.
“My babies! You’re alright now. Its fine. Daddy’s here…” Donut Joe coos.
“You are an odd stallion aren’t you?” Trixie asks, nodding her head convinced that it was so.
“Ugh…alright Trixie. You can handle plates pretty good. Haven’t seen plate work like that since Old Maude on Canter St. and 18th St. in Manehatten. She could spin a plate. Though there was one mare with crazy blue hair that worked here a day when I first started. Wouldn’t take off her shades though and kept bumping into tables. But...” Donut Joe says, using his magic to stack the plates back in the sink and throw a sponge into Trixie’s hooves. “…can you clean them as good?”
“Wait. You want the Great and Powerful Trixie to…to…labor? In here? Back here where no pony can marvel at the Great and Powerful Trixie’s feats of magical skill? Madness!” Trixie scoffs, turning her nose away while flinging the sponge to the floor.
“Well…if you want to go back to eating pinecones…”
“Urk” Trixie coughs, just as her stomach gives a audible rumble of distaste. Compared to the prickley edges of the pinecone’s Donut Joe’s donuts were heavenly. Even Trixie knew when not to spoil a good gig like this. “Very well, Trixie knows the perfect spell that will make these dishes shine as if they were diamonds set in this rough-“
“No! No spells! No showboating magic!” Donut Joe says with alarm, waving a hoof frantically just as Trixie’s horn begins to glow with magic.
“Then how do you expect Trixie to-?”
“Hmph, the old fashioned way, with water and soap, you can use your magic to levitate, but NO ADVANCED MAGIC! I do not need my dishes turning into doves or exploding in fireworks. Squeaky Clean (Banish her to the moon) would come down on me with all four hooves, and a closure order to boot!”
-
“The Great and Powerful Trixie should not be distressed. Trixie’s rise to fame and glory will began again…even if it is from here.” Trixie muttered to herself no sooner after Donut Joe had left the kitchen at the ding of a bell signaling a customer’s arrival. Turning toward the dishes once again Trixie gave them a disdainful stare, giving a snort. “That pony has no idea how badly he is squandering the Great and Powerful Trixie’s talents. To simply ‘wash’ dishes…it is just not Trixie’s style.”
“Though...obviously Donut Joe has no clue to how much Equestria has changed.” Trixie spoke to herself per usual. The last few years had seen the march of progress through Equestria like ponies running to shake the leaves from the trees every fall. Great strides in technology and machines were being made every day in Equestria, from automachines capable of self-propulsion to telecommunication devices capable of outdoing scroll summoning spells. Trixie even heard rumors of a machine that could make cider better than anything made the traditional way.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has the foresight to see that with each new invention and discovery the public becomes dazzled and enthralled. They wanted more so Trixie had gone to great strides to obtain the lighting and firework displays for her act. Donut Joe is too set in his old fashioned style of doing things, he positively reeks of it.” Trixie mutters looking around the kitchen once again. Sure Donut Joe had ovens and refrigerators, but he lacked any of the modern machines that were being used by the growing ‘corporations’ that would be his rivals. Whereas he no doubt made every single donut by hoof, others were using machines that turned out three baker’s dozen worth of donuts for his one baker’s dozen.
“Well Trixie it looks like it is once again up to you to show a foalish pony how right you are and how they are not. Time to shine.” Trixie grins as her horn glows brighter with magic. Turning to the broom closet where she had spent the majority of last night she pulls the door open with her magic revealing not only the cot where she had slept, but a broom, a mop, and some buckets. As she concentrated on a particular spell in mind she gave a thought to the last time she had tried such powerful magic-when she had been defeated by that Twilight Sparkle!
It was true that she did not have the raw energy and talent that the cursed Element of Magic had. Trixie’s magic though was far more skilled then anything that common mare had in her repertoire! Trixie had found that if she focused she could a single spell better than any other unicorn! Even Twilight Sparkle who had forced her to do magic! In the middle of the night! After she had spent the entire day bedazzling all of Ponyville! Without even admitting her own inferiority to Trixie’s talent of magic! Her spell ended with a burst of light springing from her horn to the broomstick imbuing it with her magic.
“Hop to your bristle’s broom! You have work to do!” Trixie commanded and true to her words the broom did just that, two ‘arm’s growing from the handle and pushing forward past Trixie toward the sink.
“Hey!” Trixie shouts, stumbling on her feet after being so rudely pushed aside by her own creation. “Watch where your going broom!” The Broom appears to pay no attention to her, instead reaching forward it begins to go to work on the dishes , grabbing one dish it rinses, drys then slams it down on the edge of the counter sending broken bits in every direction. “Stupid broom! The Great and Powerful Trixie’s magic made you and anything less then perfect will not cut it!”
Trixie’s horn glows once again as she probes and pulls at the spell matrix that she had just cast. In practice the spell was not all that different from her inanimate locomotion spells such as the one she had used to tie up that little hayseed, dirt farmer in Ponyville. Granted she made her own ‘improvements’ to the spell, pulling at the tangle of a spell here and there to loosen the spell’s form so that it did not need her constant attention to power and would follow the commands she had laid out. For good measure though she also adds a simple repair spell on top of her original spell, intertwining the two. Studying her amazing skills Trixie is pleased to see that the previous chipped dish pulls itself together perfect as if it was new. While the occasional dish cracks here and there for a few moments the broom is soon washing dishes without breaking a single one.
“Perfect! This is coming together so well Trixie can almost hear triumphant music in the background! Muwahahaha-“
“Trixie! Hey! I need your help get out here!” Donut Joe’s voice shouts back into the kitchen, breaking Trixie out of her slightly maniacal laughter.
“Time to show them just how Great and Powerful you are Trixie. The rise to fame starts here!” Trixie says with a swish of her tail leaving her creation to wash. She doesn’t seem to notice that the broom is still washing even though all the dishes have been stacked into a neat pile. In fact, every time it reaches into the sink, which just starts to overflow with water, it pulls out another dish.
Then another, then another, and another…
-
“Well, well, well. It looks like you owe the Great and Powerful Trixie many thanks for all this business.” Trixie gloats, a triumphant grin painting her face as she walks out from the kitchen to the sight before her. The shop is packed with customers, a crowd of ponies lining up to the door while every booth and table appears to be filled with a flank of some kind. Donut Joe for his part almost appears to be flying as he rushes from one corner of the front counter to the other pouring coffee, handing out bags of donuts, taking money, grabbing more donuts from a display tray, taking more orders, and wishing the customer a great day.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Quit your yammering and lend a hoof!” Donut Joe grumbles, his tone is cheery and welcoming as if he was able to handle his work, but the sweat on his brow and the grim look he lets slip every time he faces away from the crowd betrays his exhaustion.
“Now, now. There is no need to lie to the Great and Powerful Trixie, for Trixie knows that it was Trixie’s editing of your little chalk sign that brought this crowd. If the Great and Powerful Trixie didn’t enjoy her own ability to bring in stallions and mares from miles around Trixie would think it a curse.” Trixie says while waving a hoof at Donut Joe as if teaching an ignorant foal.
“What? It’s always like this for days after the Grand Galloping Gala! Ponies staying up all night don’t wake up until right about now recovering. From what I’ve heard last night was a special one too.”
“Really?” Trixie’s eyes perk for a moment, leaning forward to listen for more before shaking her head and waving off Donut Joe with a hoof “It doesn’t matter. Once the Great and Powerful Trixie arrives at the gala all the others will be forgotten.”
“Hmph, rrrrrriiiight. How about you think in the present? You know before this crowd overruns by donut shop?” Donut Joe rumbles, his limbs were positively aching now and the energy was sapping from his features. There was something about this crowd that just didn’t add up, afternoons even after the Grand Galloping Gala were NEVER this…demanding.”
“Yea toots! Listen to the pastry and get me two jellies and a sprinkle! Chop chop!” an overweight, blue stallion demands while stomping a hoof on the counter.
“Hey! What he said! I’ve been waiting for five minutes for my coffee!” a pink and purple mare shouts waving bits in her hooves.
“Mommy! I was that and that and that!” a young filly screams, her high pitched voice causing several ponies to visibly twitch or cover their ears in pain.
“We wouldn’t have to wait this long at Dip-Ur-Donuts! They have service!” a stallion’s voice calls from somewhere in the crowd, angry voices joining in its sentiments.
“Dip-Ur-Donuts…” Donut Joe breaths, his eyes narrowing as pieces begin to fall into place. He knows though he doesn’t have much time; the volume of the angry voices is already rising as that one stallion’s words spread like a wave through the crowd. He can already see several potential-customers turning to leave. His eyes look over to Trixie ‘that smugness…ugh…’ he thinks before shaking his head and pointing a hoof at Trixie. “Your up super star!”
“Watch and learn how to woo a crowd” Trixie gloats, but the edge of…joy is unmistakable in her voice. She has been waiting to get in front of a crowd and have them bend before her show stopping magic for some time. As Trixie hops onto the storefront counter she is able to imagine she is standing in a spotlight on a stage the ponies before her seated in hundreds instead of a few dozen seats…all here to see her…she is living the dream again…
“Ponies of Canterlot! This is a day you’ll long remember, for it is the day that you first feasted your eyes on the wondrous magic of the Great and Powerful Tr-“
“WHO CARES! I WANT MY DONUTS!” a shrill mare’s voice rings out cutting Trixie off. On her stage Trixie visibly staggers, her eyes widen in shock as if she was physically struck.
“YEA! Who cares about you? I want what I want!”
“B-but. Th- Trixie. I am here to-to…amaze you” Trixie mumbles, her knees shaking, but her words are drowned out by the crowd.
“Shouldn’t you be getting me my coffee? Not prancing up there.”
“I-I’m I mean you-“Trixie gasps beginning to back up, she doesn’t have much room before he hooves would meet pure air.
“You work here? Get down and hop to it! This coupon says a free baker’s dozen of donuts at Donut Joe’s Donut Shop!”
“COUPON?!? What coupon?” Donut Joe’s voice shouts in anger. He didn’t do coupons.
His words though are lost on Trixie; her dream begins to fade in her mind’s eyes, becoming the nightmare. The accusing crowds of Ponyville stare at her with anger filled eyes and shout at her…no…now its no longer Ponyville. She is back in Hoofington. They-
“Awwwwwwww, service and a show sounds like a great idea.” A high pitched voice calls from the back of the crowd. “It’s like a treat for your eyes and your tummy” the voice says again, this time coming from much closer in the crowd.
“I recognize that voice.” Donut Joe says, looking into the crowd as a pink mare seems to literally pop up from the crowd and onto his counter. How she managed to get through the tight crowd is beyond him. The pink pony gives Joe a wink and the biggest smile he had ever seen before facing the crowd. Trixie stops her backward stepping on the edge of the counter, shocked out of her nightmare by the garishly pink pony stepping on the stage…her stage…
“Hiya Canterlot Ponies, my name is Pinkie Pie.” Pinkie Pie shouts to the crowd her voice somehow able to cut over their angry voices. Most of the crowd quiets at that, but gives her angry looks with the exception of the younger ponies that immediately perk up in smiles at Pinkie Pie.
“Do you come here often?” Pinkie Pie giggles for a moment before she continues speaking at a running pace “This is actually my second time ever coming to Donut Joe’s, and I kind of feel sad for my tummy, because Donut Joe’s donuts are the best! I mean the way the glazing stays perfect on the donuts and then melts in your mouth! Oh, oh or how the jelly gets sweeter in your mouth with every bite. Mmmmn!”
The crowd becomes more entranced with every word Pinkie Pie says as she goes into every delicious detail. In a matter of sentences the crowd is docile, and it’s the perfect opening for Donut Joe. Using his magic he pulls down Trixie from the counter, her intent gaze on Pinkie Pie now broken she looks at Donut Joe with a angry glare. “She…she stole my thunder.” Trixie says, sounding mostly amazed that it was possible to take attention away from her.
“She sure did.” Donut Joe says matter of factly, pointing to the crowd who for the most part are licking their lips as Pinkie Pie describes what it felt like for one of Joe’s donuts to travel through her digestive system. “She knows how to work a hungry crowd, or more importantly a crowd of customers expecting you to give into all their demands.”
“How does she do it?” Trixie asks perplexed, the crowds she had entertained before had come to her eager to see her amazing feats from her hyped up reputation. The emotions she had felt from the unicorns in the crowd felt like hot soup on her tongue.
“My guess she works in a bakery.” Joe says, taking a sniff “Can’t you smell that? Sugar and cupcake mixing.”
“…you are a strange pony.”
“It’s a baker thing! Never mind! Come on help me out here. Take orders and start serving.” Donut Joe says as he turns Trixie around and pushes her toward the counter.
“Not so ruff. Ugh, he needs to learn to treat an important mare like me like a lady.” Trixie growls, shaking her head she turns toward a customer. An orange earth pony stallion with a pink mane “May I…the Great and Powerful Trixie will take your order!”
“Yes, you may. I’ll have two jellies and a sprinkle.” The stallion demands rather then asks, before looking away from her and back to Pinkie Pie with a leveled stare. Trixie holds herself back, her cheeks puffing as she turns around and uses her magic to levitate the stallion’s order and into a paper bag. “Here you are. Know that you have been served by-“
“Yea sure.” The stallion says before turning away into the crowd toward the exit. It takes ALL of Trixie’s will not to turn his mane green.
The next few customers are much more respectful of the Great and Powerful Trixie, and in no time between her and Donut Joe the crowd dwindles away as satisfied customers exit the donut shop. Waving to the last customer Pinkie Pie hops down to the front of the counter, her winning smile directed at Donut Joe and Trixie.
“Wow I owe you one Pinkie Pie. Is there anything I can-“
“How did you do that?” Trixie interrupts Joe as she leans over the counter, grabbing Pinkie by the mane and pulling her halfway over the counter.
“Did what?” Pinkie asks innocently, not seeming to mind the invasion of personal space as if she had no such concept of it.
“Did what? Did that! All that! You had that crowd eating out of your hooves! Tell Trixie! TELL TRIXIE RIGHT NOW!” Trixie shouts beginning to shake Pinkie who only giggles as her head bobs back and forth. Trixie is interrupted by Donut Joe whose magic covers Trixie’s hooves and forces her and Pinkie apart.
“Easy now, she’s the friend of one of my best customers!” Donut Joe says, glaring at Trixie.
“Hehehe. Oh it’s okay. It was kind of fun seeing everything moving all fast.” Pinkie giggles as she waves a hoof. “It’s easy peasy. I gave them what they wanted. They were hungry so I distracted their meany thoughts with dreamy thoughts of Joe’s delicious donuts!”
“What…THEY wanted?” Trixie asks, thinking on it she didn’t really give what the crowd wanted…unless it was her. Every performance she held was always from the view that she was getting from the crowd what SHE wanted: their adoration and acknowledgement that she was the most powerful Unicorn in Equestria.
“Anyway, Pinkie is there anything I can get you? It’s the least I could do to thank you for saving my business!” Donut Joe asks, leaning over the counter eager to please.
“Weeeelll. How about you just give me the free baker’s dozen donuts your coupon advertises?” Pinkie Pie asks, producing a white piece of paper from her cotton candy mane.
“Pinkie…I don’t give away coupons. Where did you get those?” Donut Joe asks, using his magic to pull out a bucket’s worth of coupons he had received from customers.
“Oh, that stallion that was in here before was handing them out by Dip-Ur-Donuts. It looked like it was closed so he kept sending ponies to you Joe.”
-
Crispy Cream’s plan had almost worked. If it wasn’t for the paper bag in his mouth he would be cursing his way through Canterlot. If it hadn’t been for that damned pink mare Joe would have worked himself to collapse and his reputation would have been ruined in Canterlot. It did not take him long to arrive back at Dip-Ur-Donuts, pushing thoughts of how much profit they had lost he was glad to see the average ponies were already lining up to the donut shop’s outside counter to purchase donuts. The mare behind the counter starts at seeing him, straightening stick still from her slouch and giving Crispy a wide smile. “Welcome back, sir”
-
“It doesn’t matter for now. Pinkie you deserve two baker’s dozen worth of donuts!” Donut Joe says, turning back to the donut tray and seeming to notice that it was empty for the first time. “Hmh, well don’t worry I have a fresh stash of emergency donuts in the kitchen. Which reminds me, Trixie did you finish the dishes?”
“Did I finish the dishes?” Trixie asks with smile, putting a hoof to her chest. “You will soon find out that the Great and Powerful Trixie has done more than simply wash your dishes. For the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie can accomplish such feats as more amazing then your dough filled mind could imagine“
“Hmph, well Trixie-
Donut Joe’s words are interrupted as a plate falls out from the ceiling, hitting Trixie on the flank. “Aahh!”
Donut Joe’s eyes widen as he looks up at the ceiling, more plates starting to fall as if pushed. Joe rushes over to the kitchen door and pulls it open just in time to be met by an avalanche of dishes, spilling out into the dinner. Trixie tries to leap over the counter, but she too is submerged by the rushing pile of dishes.
“Wheee!” Pinkie Pie shouts as she rides down a pile of plates and out the door.
“Ah…you were going to say Trixie is amazing, right?”
“TRIXIE!!!!!!!!!”
Author’s Notes:
There you have it folks! Plot!
As well as a much more intricate and deeper look into what makes the Great and Powerful Trixie tick. Going from her only appearance in Friendship is Magic once can quickly deduce that Trixie is in many ways Twilight Sparkle’s opposite. Personality wise one is prideful in her abilities while the other is more humble, though under a layer of that one can easily come up with more background to Trixie. If she is opposite to Twilight in several ways then by default Trixie must be a mare of low standing coming from a small village in comparison to Twilight’s home of Canterlot with semi-famous siblings and possibly parents. Unlike Twilight it would be easy to deduce she would not be afforded the same privileges as Twilight. One interesting aspect which probably is semi-present in her canon backstory, but has not been made known in the show is that while Twilight is protégé to Celestia of the Sun, Trixie seems to be in ways protégé to the moon. Given her cutie mark, though there is present a curious reversal of personality as well-in that in popular culture the sun is portrayed as boastful and full of itself while the moon is more modest and silent.
There also is the curious ‘Element of Magic’, as some of you may have noticed I use ‘The Great and Powerful’ moniker in writing with Trixie describing herself or my writing describing Trixie when Trixie is at her…Trixie-est. Namely, being prideful and boastful of her abilities with magic. If we look at her appearances in the show it seems that when she is most able to use magic is when she is acting on her dominant characteristic (Moko Takabisha for Ranma ½ fans) and when thrust into the situation against the Ursa Minor her abilities seem diminished. Some could throw this off that Trixie is just full of tricks and illusions and not as powerful as Twilight whose special talent is magic, but to a degree I think personality and emotions plays into the magic of unicorns. Twilight Sparkle for example displays her magic most powerfully when she is living up to her role as the ‘Element of Magic’ when her friends are in danger or need her.
Food for thought there, hopefully it doesn’t taste as bad as a wet daffodil sandwich.