“ Next! And it’s not you, Ms. Hot-to-Trot!”
With a scowl THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie sat back down, allowing the foal with her parents to pass by. It was pointless for her to not go immediately - after all, it was plain that she was the most powerful and great magician - neigh, unicorn - in the waiting room, but the ponies running the show simply weren't willing to let her have her shot.
But seriously, if THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie wasn’t the one meant to have the dragon egg in the next room, who was?
It had been surprising news the week before - Princess Celestia had found a dragons egg, the second in the century. It was rare to find one in a hundred years, the last having gone to her famed protege Twilight Sparkle, but this second chance had everypony with even an ounce of magic raring to give it a show.
After all, what was more useful as a familiar than a baby dragon?
As she felt a feeble burst of magic from the next room, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie rolled her eyes. It was starting to get insulting. Fillies, noponies, and even the odd pegasus or earth pony had been given chances ahead of her, all wasting their time. It took a lot of power to hatch a dragons egg. She’d seen the type of pony needed to do so with her own eyes. She’d felt the power, sensed the skill. And these foals? They had no chance. As loath as she was to admit it, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixe was likely at the low end of what was needed - though, once she had that familiar, things would change. She’d have access to dragons scales for potions and dragons fire for sorcery, which would vastly increase her abilities.
“ Next! And no, it’s not your turn!”
Sitting back down, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie tried her hardest not to curse the unicorn that passed by her chair as he entered the ritual room. The waiting room was grating on her - it was a combination of a dentists office and a ... waiting place.
Words were failing her. Obviously, this unstimulating environment was affecting her mind.
To pass the time she played with some fortune telling cards, accidentally predicting the doom of the green mare sitting to her left and unfortunately discovering that the lover of the dappled stallion a few chairs down was unfaithful. She flattened the brim of her magicians hat - but the spell keeping it pristine was still working, so it was pointless. The door to the ritual room open.
“ Your turn.”
She took out a file and began to work on her left hoof. It was a little scuffed.
“ Hey, move it or lose your place.” sighed the unicorn guard, speaking again. THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie’s ears perked up.
“ Oh, wait, it’s me!” she exclaimed quickly, leaping off of her chair. She raced past the guard as a few foals chuckled - well, it didn’t matter. She’d show them. SHE’D SHOW THEM ALL! AH AH HA HA ho hooo...okay. She had her inner monolog under control again.
“ Greetings.”
“ Good day, Princess.” she said, entering the large stone amphitheater and bowing to the alicorn presiding. She had never met the princess before but it was easy to keep her calm, unlike the foals she’d heard about stammering and stuttering in the monarchs presence - stage fright and shyness was not one of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie’s problems, as years of stellar performances had shown. As she trotted confidently over to the pedestal where the blue-green egg sat on a pillow, a smile peeked on her lips.
“ I don’t believe we’ve met, though your reputation as a performer has reached my court.” said the Princess, smiling back. “ The Mayor of Manehattan claims you put on an unusually dazzing show on the last Nightmare Night.”
Trixie froze for only a second, her eye twitching at the thought. She’d been hired to do a show, yes. And, well, it had been scary, that was true. But nopony but her knew that the spell she’d used was only supposed to summon mannequins that she had dressed to look like zombies - not summon actual zombies.
But. She’d dealt with it and there had only been minor injuries.
THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie refocused.
“ You are correct, your highness.” she said with a little flaunt of her mane. “ I dare say they’ll never have another Nightmare Night as good until they hire me again.”
“ Mm - I may wish to hire you for Canterlot’s celebration, then.” said the Princess with a nod. “ But, to the matter for which you have came. This dragons egg is available to anypony with the power to hatch it. Are you ready?”
“ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie has been ready since she heard of it.” said the blue unicorn, focusing her eyes on the prize. The egg shone like crystal as she focused her magic around it, levitating it slightly. She felt...nothing.
She doubled the juice.
Nothing.
Setting her jaw and clenching her eyes, she gave it every ounce of magic, prayer, and dharma that she had.
NOTHING.
“ It seems it was not meant for you.” said Celestia, putting a hoof on Trixie’s back. The mare felt her confidence flagging as the egg slowly began to descend onto the pillow. She’d failed - Trixie had failed. Again. Just like she always did.
No.
“ hhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEERRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!”
Straining so hard she felt like her skull was going to explode, Trixie threw things she didn’t have at the egg. Voodoo, hoodoo, wabbajabba, karma, luck, thaumaturgy, and more than a few swear words. She was burning magic at an atrocious, dangerous rate - if she didn’t get the egg open, she’d at least die trying.
What the hay - she threw a little bit of her life force in there too.
Crick.
In an instant she relaxed, falling to the ground and panting for breath. Across the egg was a single crack, less visible than a hair. Legs shaking, she tried to stand - and it cracked again. Like a spiders web the cracks spread, quicker and quicker, until the entire shell broke off, revealing a small blue scaled dragon. It gasped for air for a moment, stretching it’s arms and legs, before gripping it’s tail and curling back up.
She’d done it.
Whoo. She’d...done...it.
THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixe passed out besides the pedestal, a smile on her face.
After a few moments Celestia signalled the guard, who left to dismiss the other ponies waiting. When he left, Princess Luna faded into sight from where she’d hidden herself with magic.
“ She is the only one who didn’t sense me.” said Luna, looking to Celestia. “ Sister, you felt her magic. She’s untrained. She’s barely strong enough to cast any real spells. Can she really take care of a dragon?”
“ She can - Twilight Sparkle personally vouched for her.” said Celestia, leaning over and nuzzling the sleeping dragon. It cooed slightly before beginning to snore, faint smoke rising from it’s nostrils. “ Ah, I always regret letting a little one go.”
“ That reminds me - wherever did you get the egg from?” asked Luna, looking to her older sister.
“...Lulu, you know when I told you about the, ah, ‘advances’ ponies have made in contraception in the last thousand years?”
Luna blushed, remembering the conversation well.
“ Well, um, the methods are still not, shall we say, foalproof.”
“...oh no.” said Luna, her eyes going wide. Dragons gestated for five months, ponies for eleven. And they’d had a dragon as a guest in canterlot eight months ago, right in the middle.
“ This has happened a few times before.” sighed Celestia, hanging her head a little. “ And, um, please keep it a secret?”
“...I won’t tell a soul.” said Luna, more than glad to keep this quiet. “ But this means you don’t get to tease me about my ‘flagrant misuse of the guards’ anytime soon.”
“ Ok, fair.” giggled Celestia. “ But in all honesty, you could have been a little more subtle than simply ordering a regiment of single stallions to report to your chambers.”
As the two sisters chattered away, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Trixie and her dragon both drooled in their slumber.