//------------------------------// // The Great and Powerful Trixie: Monster or Misunderstood? // Story: Ponyville Confidential // by Doctoroctagonapus21 //------------------------------// One day after the Prized Pony story was published, in the office of the Ponyville Express, a certain Mr. J.J. was enjoying a nice cup of coffee before his prized reporter reported in for work. "Ah, nothin' like a hot cuppa joe." he said before taking a swig. "BOSS!" Type Writer said, bursting into the office. "How's it goin', ace? You seem excited." "You bet I am! You're not gonna believe this." Ty said pulling out the scroll he had recieved in the mail, hovering in the air out of sheer excitement. "What's this?" J.J. asked, grabbing hold and reading it, taking another drink of coffee. "It just so happens that yours truly got an invitation to the one and only Grand Galloping Gala!" Stunned, J.J. spit out his coffee, letting out a couple coughs in the process. "The Gala?! No freakin' way!" He said looking at Ty, who's face was now covered in a coffee and saliva mixture. "Oops." "Don't worry about it." Ty said, wiping his face off. "And way. I'm gonna need to use one of the cameras." "Uh, yeah, that might be a problem." "What do you mean?" "Newbies. That's what I mean." "They're ALL busted?" "Well, we got one left. You break it, and you're gonna have to get another one with your own money." "Understood, boss." Ty said, trotting over to the camera. "You know, this extended deadline thing wasn't a bad idea." "Told ya." "Now you be careful with that camera!" "No worries!" Ty replied as he flew out of the office. Two weeks later, Ty walks out of the camera store with a brand new camera. "Darn griffon, I hope they're not all that nasty... I also hope this thing is worth the 15 bits I paid for it." He said looking through the eye piece. As he looked around through it, he noticed a crowd forming over in the town square and went over to check it out. "I wonder what all this is about." As he went over he noticed all the ponies were gathered around a wagon like show was going on. "Might as well stick around a bit." he said as he grabbed a tuft of cloud to rest on until something happened. Minutes went by that felt like hours. Ty took several pictures of the scene before him in order to get used to his camera until finally something happened. "Come one! Come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Gr-r-r-r-reat and Powerful Tr-r-r-r-rixie!" Camera trained and snapping, the wagon unfolded into a stage and, with a flash of smoke, a blue pony appeared onstage wearing a purple hat and cape, both of which were covered in stars. "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" Trixie shouted as fireworks went off around her. "Pfft. Show-off. I doubt she could beat Twilight in a magic contest. I've seen what she can do." Ty thought to himself as he captured pictures of Trixie summoning a bouquet of flowers. "Magic Schmagic! Boo!" Somepony from the crowd yelled out. Ty put his camera down and pulled out his notepad. "Well, well, well, it seems we have some NEIGH-sayers in the audience." Trixie said to the crowd. "Not afraid to make incredibly stupid puns." Ty thought to himself as he wrote it down. "Do they not know that they are in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?!" "Incredibly arrogant as well." After another round of fireworks Ty saw Rainbow Dash fly right to Trixie's face. "Oh this is gonna be good." He said, readying his camera again. "Only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded Ursa Major!" As she finished, a glowing image of an ursa appeared above the stage. As the Great and Powerful Trixie began weaving her tale, Ty quickly wrote it down. "Hoofington... Ursa... Magic... Forest..." When he looked back at the crowd, he noticed Spike and Twilight towards the front as the Great and Powerful Trixie issued a challenge to Ponyville. "Anything you can do, I can do better." For the briefest of moments, he actually thought about going down there. "Bet I could whip up a tall tale to beat that ursa story." "How about.. you?" Trixie said, pointing at Twilight. "Now we're talkin'." "Well how about it, hmmm? Is there anything you can do that the Great and Powerful Trixie can't?" Ty pulled out his camera, ready to snap some pictures of what was sure to be an epic magic duel... When Applejack spoke up to challenge Trixie. Ty got a good couple pictures of her impressive cowgirl rope routine before Trixie embarrassed her with a snake charming routine. Rainbow Dash then wowed the audience with some special routine she had likely been practicing to show to the Wonderbolts which followed wiith Trixie magically transforming the rainbow into a twister. Rarity then took up the challenge, magically turning one of Trixie's curtains into a beautiful dress... which Trixie messed up by turning her mane into what looked seaweed. Everypony, including Trixie turned to Twilight for one last challenge. "Come on, Twilight. Give her a head to match that ego. I know you can do it." "I think I hear my laundry calling! Sorry, gotta go!" "What?!" Ty thought to himself, shocked. As Trixie retracted the stage and the ponies in the town square dispersed, Ty wrote down the events that transpired and flew off for the library. Ty landed on the welcome mat and knocked on the door. The door opened and Ty looked down to see Spike looking back up at him. "Oh, hey. You're that reporter, right?" Spike asked. "Type Writer. Just call me Ty. And you're Spike, right? Twilight's Number One Assistant." "Yup! That's me!" "I was wondering if Twilight was here." "Let me guess. You want to talk to her about Trixie?" Spike guessed rather accurately. "Actually, yes." Ty admitted. "Come on in. Maybe YOU can talk some sense into her." Spike said as he walked out leaving the door open for Ty, who walked inside and found Twilight nose-deep in a book, as usual. "Hey there, Twilight. I suppose you heard all that?" "Uh-huh." Twilight replied, not even glancing in his direction. "You're here to ask me why I didn't stand up to Trixie for your story." "Well, I might put it in an article, but really I'm here to talk to you as a friend." "Then why did you bring a camera?" Ty looked down to see he still had his camera with him. "I haven't been home yet." "I'm not going to one up Trixie. I already told Spike that a few times." "Why?" "... I don't want to talk about it." "Come on, Twilight." Ty said, slowly walking up to her. "Just one spell would send her packing. You could give her a big head like a week ago when I walked in and threw off your aim." "Yeah, sorry about that..." "Don't worry. It was my own fault. Anyway, I'm just saying you could make her slink away like that." He said, making a snapping sound with his wing. "The answer is no." Twilight emphasized sternly. "Alright. I'm going to go talk to Trixie. Try and get something out of her other than bragging. But for what it's worth, I believe in you." Ty told her as he exited the library, not even sure that's the issue. As the sun began to set, Ty flew to the Town Square and up to the wagon where Trixie was camping. He walked up to the door and knocked. "The Great and Powerful Trixie said- Oh, hello. And you are?' "Type Writer. Reporter for the Ponyville Express." "Oh. A reporter..." "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." "Trixie doesn't like talking to you reporter types." "What?" "All you reporters do is set out to write slander against Trixie. To tarnish her name with words like 'fake' and 'phony'. I will have no part of it." "I'm not like those other reporters. I don't just write whatever in order to get readers. I write about the facts, whatever they are. I was hoping to get a good look at the real Trixie." "Trixie's heard that story many times before." "Look into my eyes," Ty said, "and tell me I'm lying." The two stared into each other's eyes for a good two minutes before Trixie decided to open the door without a word. As Ty stepped in he noticed it was rather small and dark. "Wow. Not exactly made for company, eh?" "Sit down and shut up." Trixie demanded. "Yes ma'am..." Ty said, following orders. Trixie sat down across from him, the only light coming from the setting sun, most of which was blocked by nearby buildings. The intamcy of the tight space was making Ty a bit nervous. "You said you want to know the real Trixie. So I'm giving you the real Trixie. You can ask questions, but if I hear a single snarky comment I'm tossing you out. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes ma'am." Ty said, taking out a notepad. Thankfully there was just enough light for him to see what he was doing. Trixie took a deep breath and began her story. "My real name is Trixie Lulamoon." Ty snickered a little. "SORRY! Sorry! Please don't throw me out." "Not the first, won't be the last. Anyway, the story about me vanquishing the Ursa in Hoofington is made up... sort of. The truth is an Ursa did attack Hoofington, but this was a long time ago..." "You're on in 30 seconds, dear." a bright blue female unicorn with a purple mane, purple eyes, a purple star-spangled hat and cape, and a magic wand cutie mark said to a very young Trixie who already has her cutie mark. "Okay mom!" "Knock 'em dead sweetie!" a white male unicorn with deep blue eyes and a grey mane with a mirrored magic wand and the same hat and cape said. "Okay daddy!" Trixie said, bounding onto the stage, hatless and capeless up to a top hat. The seats were packed with ponies who had come to see their magic act. "Fillies and Gentlecolts! Welcome to the Lulamoon Magic Show. We're very glad you're here tonight. Now watch and be amazed as I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, pull a rabbit out of this top hat!" Trixie, levitated the hat up and tipped it so the audience could see inside it. "Look at the hat, see how empty it is. Now watch..." She set the hat on the floor but her horn was still glowing. "1...2...3!" At the count of three, a bunny was levitated out of the hat. The crowd applauded as Trixie set the rabbit back in the hat. "Thank you, thank you. Now watch as I make flowers magically appear!" Trixie concentrated her magic in the air as a bouquet of flowers slowly materialized in the air. The crowd cheered as Trixie reached out and grabbed the flowers. Trixie waved her hoof over the flowers and they magically transformed into a flock of birds that flew away and the audience cheered louder. "Thank you. Thank you very much. Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. The main event: the Lulamoon Magic Show!" As Trixie finished, a great burst of smoked enveloped the stage as Trixie went offstage to watch er parents work their literal magic, eyes sparkling, practically idolizing them. After the show, Trixie met up with her folks."Mom! Dad! What did you think?!" "You did a great job, sweetie!" Trixie's mom said. "The bird thing was new." her dad admitted. "I've been practicing." Trixie said not so modestly. "Keep this up and you'll be joining us on stage in no time." "I look forward to it!" Unfortunately, that day was never to come... Trixie was fast asleep and dreaming about her future: onstage with her parents in Canterlot, putting on the greatest magic show in history. All of a sudden, the earth began to shake and split open. As the darkness swallowed her, she woke up and saw her house in ruins around her as a giant blue bear went on a rampage, destroying the town. "MOMMY! DADDY!" but her pleas were not answered. Her parents had disappeared. She built a makeshift fort out of the remaining wood and hid inside it until she passed out. The first two words out of her mouth that morning were "mommy" and "daddy". In fact, those were the two words she used most that morning as she went around asking everypony as they returned and saw the damage caused by the giant creature. "Have you seen my mommy and daddy?" she asked over and over. She spent all day looking, and it was only when the sun went down that she went back to her little fort which she had made bigger to fit her mattress in and cried herself to sleep... "I ended up crying myself to sleep for what must have been a week before I found the cape and hat. At that point I knew I had to keep the family spirit alive. So I built my wagon out of the scraps of my house and, when I was old enough, I set out to bring the family's brand of magic to every corner of Equestria." Ty was wiping away tears from his face as he wrote down her story. A quick flash of her horn and she lit a candle revealing some of the news articles written about her. All the articles berated Trixie, calling her a fake among other things. "There. Now you know the real Trixie. Finish writing whatever on your notepad and leave. The Great and Powerful Trixie needs her beauty sleep..." Trixie said, putting out the candle and lying down on a mattress. As Ty quietly left the wagon, he thought he heard Trixie sobbing... That night in ponyville was peaceful. The crickets were chirping, and Princess Luna had brought out a beautiful full moon. Ty was fast asleep in bed until he heard the roar. He quickly shot awake and looked out the window to see a giant, blue, translucent figure rampaging through town. He quickly grabbed his camera and notepad and flew out to keep track of what was going on. Just as he flew over to the town square he saw Twilight standing before the ursa, horn glowing like crazy. As he took pictures he felt a strong wind blowing him off course a bit but quickly corrected his position as he heard a nice little melody over the wind. Off in the distance, he saw the water tower being removed and filled with milk. "Wow. Never seen magic used like that before." Ty said, snapping away. Suddenly, his attention turned to the ursa who was glowing a bright lavender. The ursa floated into the air and grabbed the water tower, drinking from it like a baby as it floated into the Everfree Forest. As he wrote down the awesomeness that just happened, he suddenly heard Trixie's voice. "But you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie said before summoning a cloud of smoke and running off. Ty took a couple minutes and watched as Trixie ran off before turning his attention to her wagon now in ruins. He searched the wreckage and found the two things he knew she'd miss: her hat and cape. He donned them and took the sign from the wagon, hoping someday she'd return so he can give back the remaining relics of her home... The Great and Powerful Trixie: Monster or Misunderstood? A few nights ago, a certain blue unicorn graced Ponyville with her presence: Trixie Lulamoon a.k.a The Great and Powerful Trixie. She made a big show in town square that day, besting three of ponyville's finest with her magic and boasting about how she vanquished an ursa major. Two young colts by the names of Snips and Snails decided to call Trixie out on her story and actually managed to coax an ursa out of its cave in the everfree forest where Trixie revealed that the story was false. That's when local librarian Twilight Sparkle showed her own magical prowess which drove both the ursa and Trixie away. When asked the following day, many residents were "glad that show-off is gone. Good riddance." Good riddance. Harsh words indeed, and at first glance she probably deserved them. However, this reporter went and talked to the unicorn in question and learned something very sad. It turns out that Ms. Lulamoon comes from a family of magicians situated in Hoofington and were even big hits. She studied hard to be like her parents in the hopes of joining them onstage one day. However, before that could happen, an ursa attack destroyed her home and her parents went missing. The following day she looked around for the missing parents, practically bawling her eyes out, her heroes missing. One day, she found the hat and cape her parents wore onstage and decided to take it upon herself to keep the family spirit alive. That's when she began roaming Equestria to follow the magicians' path. As it turns out, the citizens of Ponyville weren't the only ones to quickly get tired of Trixie's facade as she had clippings from a number of newspapers using words like "phony." "Good riddance" some say. Is it really good riddance or did we just not take the time to know a potentially valuable friend? Ty knocked on the door to the library. "Twilight? You in there?" Twilight opened the door. "Hey, Ty. Did you need something?" "Yes actually. I was wondering if I could borrow one of your Daring Do books." "Sure, which one?" Twilight said, letting Ty inside. "Crystal Skull. I don't care what anypony else says, I like that one." "Alright. I read your article on Trixie." Twilight said, walking up to the bookcase. "I guess we were pretty quick to judge her. Here you go." "Thanks. To be honest, I don't blame you. I'm a bit guilty of it myself. But, being a good reporter, I write the facts." "I'm grateful we have ponies like you around. You wouldn't believe the garbage they printed in Canterlot." "You don't say? Well, thanks again and see you later." Ty said as he trotted out the door. As he returned home, he looked over at te wall where he had placed Trixie's sign as well as her hat and cape. "Maybe someday..."