//------------------------------// // Try As You Please // Story: Trixie's Last Show // by Str8aura //------------------------------// Eyes on Trixie, watch the birdy. Come one, come all, and peer into Trixie's orb of wonders. Squint, now, it's a bit of a cheap model, it may be foggy. You're a special case, I can tell, a real special one. You don't settle for ideas like 'this is the way it is, and it always has been', do you? You want explanation, a freudian excuse of sorts. If you so insist, Trixie loves to please a crowd. But understand, vagabond, that nothing Trixie intends to tell you is an excuse. She does not play to any emotion but wonder. She does not beg, or plead for others to understand her life. She revels in… quite the opposite, in fact. Watch the birdy. Can you see the little filly in the orb, through the haze? Look at them play with their plush Ursa, dreaming of one day being strong enough to conquer it. Aren't they cute? Their mother watches them from the corner of the tiny room, weary and tired. Mother was a nice enough woman. Father, less so. Being descended directly from him was... blech. Trixie had never seen him, but they knew him, felt him, in every word their mother spat with frustration, in every Los Pegasus apartment they moved between, in every dollar they spent, knew that Father had condemned Trixie and their mother to this existence because he couldn't keep it in his pants. Talk about holding on to the past. Move on, am I right? Years pass, and the filly grows older. Trixie begins to attend Celestia's School. The first time they had ever seen their mother smile was opening that acceptance letter, and the first time they had begun to wonder if their past was not today. But, like most things at this point in their life, Trixie screwed it up. Magic was driven from emotions, and emotions when you're a repressed, sheltered teen who hates themselves can lead to... unfortunate magical side effects. Trixie was an insecure freak, the students were bullies, the teacher was oblivious. Most people in this story are stupid. I know, I know. Give it time. After getting kicked out for one too many displeasing actions- nobody likes invisible snakes in their coffee, and Canterlot ponies have no sense of humour, remember that- Trixie returned to the family trade. Trixie's mother was an enchantress, their father a magician, and with their only other path in life dashed, they would have to return to a well-trodden one. Trixie would become the greatest of both lives under their aging mother's gaze. By the time they grew up, she had accomplished what was then her greatest vanishing trick, turning a pathetic, weak child into Trixie, the greatest sorceress the world had ever seen. Her mother had always told her not to trust boys. It was stupid advice, of course, borne of an injured heart, but it probably made the pill easier to swallow when her little boy decided to metamorphosize into a beautiful adult woman. Many would regret being such an idiot child. Trixie knows better. The past made her who she is today. Of course, that doesn't mean she would return to it.... After the transition, after the transformation, Trixie had finally become who she was meant to be. She would finally have all eyes on her, and she set out on the dirt roads across Equestria to make her mark. To wow and entertain, to finally be someone worth having all eyes on her. Then came the encounter with Twilight. Poor Twilight, she could have been something so great. Maybe she could have even rivaled Trixie. Twilight defeated her once or twice, the exact number eludes her, and Trixie… perhaps didn't react as gracefully as she could have. She was once again that little boy in Celestia's school, shown up by the more fortunate fools around her. But for once, her foe was no fool; Trixie was the one at fault. She had been brash, overconfident, weak, if she had realized that sooner, maybe she could have... It was no matter. She didn't like to dwell on that little boy and his schoolyard bullies, and she especially wouldn’t be dragged down by Twilight. They were the past. Now was today. And today... Magic was easy. Magic was the easiest thing Trixie had ever practiced in her life. Once upon a time, it had seemed so far off, so distant, so unfair that others could achieve what she had not. That others could fundamentally rewrite the world around them at nearly a whim, and that they all spouted the virtues of hard work and study as all that separated a child from a mage. As Trixie had always suspected, they were fools. Mastery in magic wasn't won through a special education. It wasn't won through studying book after book in libraries at small hours of the night. And it wasn't won with friends to encourage you. Trixie had gone to the same school as some of the best mages on the planet. She had spent years studying single spells. And friends... Well, if friends were the secret, how could her work have finally bore fruit, after so long? Magic had eluded her for years. Now, it seemed laughable. She almost had to thank... Her. If it wasn't for that other unicorn, she wouldn't have gained the drive she needed to finally cross that barrier and become what she was now. Trixie was a magician now. And it wasn't because of her twice as relentless studying, because of her paths between town after town following the Ponyville debacles, scrounging for every teacher she could find. It was all from the drive to do what others couldn't. What she couldn't. Trixie took a breath and reached for the flower growing through the cracks between the stones before her without moving a muscle. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Trixie stayed focused, and reached through the soil, feeling delicate hooves narrower than needles around the roots and to the flower's very core buried under the earth. With magic, the entire form, every root and petal was gripped in thaumic energy, and soil parted like water as it was lifted to Trixie's nose. With magic, the flower was stripped to bare particles and left to scatter on the wind. Trixie had been a fool, too, she supposed. Outside, rain battered the stone walls mercilessly. "Get back!" Sore and tired, Twilight Sparkle pushed on. She leaned forward with another cone of thaumic energy building around her horn. Whipping her head forward with a spray of rain off her face, she launched the crack of magic, choosing to just miss the snarling jaws that had swung towards her. The snap of the whip worked, and the Manticore took a step back, a heavy paw carving a streak in the mud behind it. "Go away!" She yelled at the monster like a housecat, forcing her legs to keep her up, groaning as she prepared another spell. The Manticore took advantage of the lull in action, pouncing forward with a paw raised to swing forward, batting her away effortlessly. At the last moment it crashed into a solid barrier of ethereal violet energy, sending cracks of blistering white along the shield’s face before it dissipated, only standing for as long as it needed to to conserve Twilight's sapping energy. An idea sprung into her head, and she drew up another one, a bowl-shaped protection forming at the point of her horn like a fountain of water, and swung her head forward with a yell, bashing the Manticore's cheek. The fight through, she had focused on non-lethal magic, trying to cause as little harm to the Manticore as she could. Her goal had never been to kill it, instead casting herself as the mouse to lead it back towards the heart of the Everfree she now struggled to stay standing inside. The trees around them grew high and wide, letting only wisps and speckles of moonlight light her path- moonlight, and the violent violet aura she called into being and manipulated like putty. Her face was lit again as she grabbed the Manticore's gnarled fang jutting out from its jaw in telekinesis, leaning into the spell with a contorted expression to force it backwards, taking quick and calculated steps forward to guide their path. The Manticore glared, struggling to open its maw. Twilight glared back. Another lash of magical energy at its back, and the Manticore finally decided it had had enough. It whimpered, and she released it, letting it run back into the foliage, standing proud until she was sure it was out of sight. Now she fell to a knee, reminding herself blithely she had to keep going. The Everfree wasn't a place to fall asleep; she only knew one person who could tame it, and they had a lot more experience with it than she did. The Beast had returned to the path it strayed from. She had saved the day. Twilight lifted her head, letting rain wash mud out of her eyes before blinking away, trying to shake strength back into herself. Her coat was frazzled and crossed with gouges, some still bleeding. She didn't know if she had the strength to call up another spell, let alone a teleport through the mangle of the forest that detested any and all magic cast within its borders. Twilight took a second to heave, and wasted no more time turning herself around and trying to trace back the wartorn path, split trees and disturbed mush and cleaved hanging vines. Something buzzed at her ear, and the instinctive attempt to pluck it out of the air magically drove a jolt of pain into her skull. She couldn't make it back to Ponyville. Not like this. Luckily, she had firsthand experience with this neck of the woods. Squelches in mud became clicks on stone as Twilight staggered through the rotting wooden doors, ajar and swinging in the wind. Rain still trickled down from the crumbling ceiling in steady streams of water against spots of uneven cobblestone, but shelter was shelter. Only once she was up the steps that led to the two thrones beneath billowing banners of blue and beige did she let herself rest. She collapsed forward onto folded hooves, resting in front of a tall and narrow window overlooking the brief shred of hills and plains in a ring of forest the castle had been built within. Now Twilight's breathing steadied, and she let herself calm and relax, waiting for her strength to return and mend her wounds with magic. She idly hoped she hadn't hurt the Manticore too badly. On the continent of Equestria, it was difficult to gauge the intelligence of any creature- sparse records even told of a sapient Manticore helping build the castle she resided in now- but besides that, she didn't like hurting animals. Unfortunately, Ponyville was... precariously placed. And if you've got a renowned magic user in town, who calmed an Ursa Minor into submission in the first few months after she arrived... Twilight's magic reached out to her fresh scar, numbing the pain and drawing skin back together. Fur wouldn't grow there for a while, but it could have been far worse. So she was the town's monster hunter, who could literally magically solve all of their problems. In the beginning, her little adventures had been fun. Important, even. She learnt an important lesson, would return home laughing with her friends. A cute little sleepover, a townwide race event, meaningless little ditties to bring her sheltered head out of the clouds and back to her friends. It was hard to learn a lesson each time once it became apparent that those adventures were now a job, a burden. "Good evening, Twilight Sparkle." Instantly her mind shifted into problem solving mode. Female voice. Knows my name. Prefers my full name, professionally. Knows where to meet me. How do they know where to meet me? Assume friendliness. Possible Friendship Letter: Don't judge a book by its cover. She turned slowly to the source of the voice, one of the thrones behind her. "Err... Hello. May I ask who you are?" A purple hoof fell on the arm of the throne. Hooved, furred end. Pony, most likely. Fur the color of mine- It shifted and caught the light, and she recognized the texture of fabric now. No, not fur. A lavender cape. "I think you know her very, very well, Twilight Sparkle." Third person. She's standing. Blue fur... She's... Trixie Lulamoon emerged into the moonlight. With Twilight's eyes on her, she seemed to grow a head taller as she watched. "It's always a pleasure, isn't it? How's town been since Trixie left it?" Twilight fought through the haze of tiredness. Something new; Trixie had followed her? Expected her? Okay, you're a little sore. But you know Trixie. She talks a big game and she runs when the cards are down. Keep her talking, ready some spells. Honestly, it could be far worse. Twilight would have laughed if she wasn't... Well... "Humbler than usual." Twilight's words left her mouth without thought or passion. "Well, perhaps they need a bit of a change then. I'm sure you know you can never have enough flashy spells. My own magic fills a single hoof, after all, doesn't it?" The strange deprecation barely registered to her, and she began looking for tactical places in the castle to... duel? Run? Talk? "I don't want to do this, Trixie. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not in the best shape right now." Twilight stepped lightly to conserve energy around the thrones. Trixie's eyes never left her, piercing straight into her thoughts. "Oh, but I do. I want to so badly, you couldn't understand in your life." "I understand you just want attention. That's all you've ever wanted, Trixie." "You'll be pleased to know I've expanded my horizons." Down the steps. "Oh? What do you want?" Trixie drew her tongue over her lips, cleared her throat, and spoke loudly and clearly, "I want you to duel me." Twilight nodded slowly. "Winner stays?" Trixie almost vibrated in glee, closing her eyes for a second before replying, "Loser leaves forever." She had handled this brand before. No amulet, but that didn't mean Trixie didn't have a dirty trick up her sleeve. She just needed to stay awake, stay afloat- Her duels are never much of a challenge, and if she wins... The most she'll do is leave me to fight her another day. Leave me to rest. "Alright, Trixie." Twilight steeled herself in a firm stance, rolling her head on its neck and blinking back sleep. "Let's duel." Trixie's eyes narrowed. Twilight was no stranger to this by now, and she lit her own horn, mind racing with possibilities to pull off in this small castle. It was just like her shows; flashy might, throwing herself around, the only difference was there was no audience. Twilight would be expected to match, and she had to think of a retaliation to whatever Trixie had building. Grow plants, deconstruct a wall, something on Trixie perhaps, try- "Draw!" -to levitate something, her classical show- The beam was approaching, abnormally fast- maybe use herself as the dummy, testing out physical altercations she could easily- was Trixie thinking the same- Is she-? The blast tore past her side without stopping until it hit stone, striking from the base of her neck to her flank, ripping up fur and blistering skin, and Twilight was blown onto her withers. The floor rose to catch her as she slammed into it, feeling something break beneath her, although she didn't know if it was the rock or a bone. That was an attack spell, the same Twilight would use against Tirek. Sombra. A threat. Trixie had attacked her. This wasn't a duel for an audience, of who could appeal to the most eyes, quite the opposite; this duel relished in the absence of an audience. Twilight caught her breath, thinking. This was a brawl, and Trixie had hit her with force to burn fur without breaking a sweat. Even now as Twilight's mind raced with information, Trixie casually sauntered down the steps beneath the twin banners, passing under the drizzles of rain from the cracks and holes in the roof moonlight shone through. Twilight switched tactics without even thinking. She wasn't a monster hunter anymore. She was an adult woman in a fight to the death. "Trixie, wait! You- Why are you doing this?" Appeal to logic. Twilight struggled to regain air, and had to roll this time to avoid another concussive blast aimed at her prone form. The stone she had sat on shattered. "Trixie, you're better than this!" Appeal to flattery. Twilight had to stumble to her hooves to break away from the castle floor, running for one of the halls. "Trixie, please!" Appeal to mercy. Twilight was struck across the face and skidded to the ground, the rough stone dragging across her cheek. "Trixie-" Now something did break, her nose punching in against her face as she was hit point blank, and she felt detached from her body as it rolled into a water drenched pocket of mud the floor had split over. It wasn't supposed to go like this. Blood rushed to Twilight’s face, and she tasted it on her lip as she found herself unable to get up. Hoofsteps sauntered out of the corner of her ear, and Trixie stopped just in front of her, gently kicking at her stomach to watch her stir. "Trixie..." Twilight pushed out again. It would be alright; she just needed time to think, and it was due time for Trixie to start prematurely boasting about her victory. This was when she worked best. Then, Trixie rolled her onto her back, and they met each other's gaze. "Tr..." Trixie's horn lit, and Twilight flinched feebly, waiting for the next blow. Twilight was struggling to see through spots of black now, and for the first time in ages she felt genuine fear against a foe. Trixie spoke, only now that she knew she had won. "I hope I'm all you're thinking about right now, Twilight Sparkle. I hope I'm all you ever think about again." Twilight was dropped to the floor, swimming in and out of consciousness. She gurgled something out before she was finally removed from the picture. Trixie flicked a spell at her like a wad of gum, and every molecule in Twilight's body disappeared. Easy. Ending Twilight was the easiest thing she had ever done in her life. There wasn't even a body left to bury. All Trixie had done, all she had ever had to do, was stop putting on the show. The show, the spectacle, the illusions weren't useless. They were everything that made her Trixie. But they had their place, and that place was on the stage. Taking advantage of this, allowing herself to stop being the Great and Powerful Trixie, if only for a second, was what let her finally win. She had always had the power to end Twilight Sparkle. It was on the trek back through the woods, rain still seeping through her cloak and soaking her pelt, that it finally started to seep in what she had done, and she felt high and lightheaded. It wasn't long before giggles racked her, turning into full belly laughs that nearly brought her to her knees as she tried to keep going. The lantern lit streets of Ponyville were hardly visible now, and as she staggered forward like a drunk beggar she found herself wondering what Twilight would have done when she returned. She had been exhausted when Trixie found her. Where did she live again? The library, yes, the one shaped like the tree. Trixie shambled along the paths, not even caring who saw her draped in the same garbs she had worn her previous visits. Her eyes were raggedly held wide, and she was still covered in mud and water; it was realizing how much of a wreck she was that sobered her up, and she quickened her pace up to the Golden Oaks Library. Door was locked. Lockpicking spell. Barely a thought, more of an instinct that opened it before her hoof hit the handle. Then she shut the door behind her, and just like that, she was Twilight Sparkle. In the sanctum of Twilight's own house, in her entryway, surrounded by loving pictures of herself and her friends, the books she cared for so dearly; Trixie traced a hoof over the shelves lovingly before forgetting them instantly when her eyes fell on a new interest; a stack of crumpled paper balls by a writing desk. Delicately opening them, she skimmed the crossed out lines and smudged ink with a thin smile. Today I learned a bird in the bush  Today I rediscovered the magic of friendship when a diamond dog tried to  Today I Today I Trixie pulled the letter to her chest, closing her eyes. All of beloved Sparkle's failures, neatly organized for her, wasn't that nice? Perhaps she could send a few, or staple them to doors, or- She scanned the lines again. She was more mature than that, after all. Perhaps a different approach was in order. Better to show the town she had changed. These were Twilight's failures. Twilight certainly couldn't fix them. It was only the gracious thing for Trixie to pick up the slack. Dear Princess Celestia, At today's royal wedding, I learned that when your friends and mentor abandon you when you're locked underground because you dared to trust someone when Chrysalis attacked when you can't win when you Something snored above her, and Trixie set the scroll down on the writing desk, craning an ear to the tinny sound. A small bed at the top of the stairs, something rolling in it... Trixie approached slowly, hypnotically. She stopped at the top of the stairs, looking down. So fragile. She gently reached down and stroked his back lovingly. "Mm... Twilight...?" He muttered. Trixie leaned down, inches from his face, and felt a spark of delight as his eyes shot awake. "Get out of my house." Trixie snarled. Spike shot out of bed, rolling away from her with blankets streaming behind him. "Tr- It's-" "Get out of my house!" Trixie cackled, and she brought lightning crashing an inch above the drake, rearing back onto her hindlegs and laughing as Spike bolted past her to the stairs. "Tell your friends Trixie's home!" She yelled after him without making a move to pursue. "Tell them Twilight is dead!" Yes, Trixie was home. She would never be Twilight. She didn't want to be Twilight. She would be something better. She looked back downstairs at the writing desk, letters still fluttering from the force of Spike's exit out the door and into the streets. Chrysalis, the letter named. Greatness waited for nobody.