//------------------------------// // Act 1 Chapter 1 // Story: Subject of Revenge // by AuroraDawn //------------------------------// The Subject of Revenge By Aurora Dawn Act 1 Chapter 1 The Average and Uninfluential Trixie began her day like every other since the Ponyville incident. That is to say, she woke up fuming. Though many months had passed, Trixie still held a deep grudge towards Twilight Sparkle and all her friends in that ‘wretched and unappreciative’ town for her humiliation. Many a pony had called her out on her story in the past, and even more still were quick to accuse her of being a fraud. However, the Great and Powerful Trixie made fast work of non-believers. Her mastery of magic, while nowhere near the skill of that ‘prissy purple pony’, was still advanced enough to handle the hecklers. She wasn’t a fraud; she had never been. She was in show business after all, and a good show takes real talent. It wasn’t the exposure of her lies that upset Trixie so much; rather it was the manner in which it had happened. I mean really, Trixie thought. They brought an actual Ursa into the town, woke me up way past midnight, and expected me to just magically make it disappear on a whim.          “Morons,” she complained. Trixie yawned as she walked out of her new tent. Her caravan and most of her possessions had been destroyed in the incident. Some salvaged books and tokens, like her hat and cape, had been returned to her in the mail from an anonymous sender marked only as “FS”, but that had done nothing to restore Trixie’s faith in ponies. She still was driven by hate, and she’d be damned if anypony’s moment of kindness was going to take that away from her. Despite her malevolent goals, Trixie opted for an admirable approach. She travelled fairly far by hoof from Ponyville. She had decided to set up camp in the cool fields beneath the great pegasus city of Cloudsdale where she wouldn’t be bothered.  After she finished a quick breakfast of some freshly picked daisies, she jogged down to a lone, dead stump near the bottom of a hill and settled in front of it. With her magic, she pulled a few books from the bag slung over her back, and opened them on the stump. Oh yes, she thought, setting up her little workstation the same way she had been doing for almost two weeks now. Trixie will have her revenge. Trixie will learn more magic than Twilight can ever hope to achieve. With enough study and practice, Trixie shall once again be known as The Great and Powerful Trixie, and no one will be able to take that away from her. She chuckled aloud to her thoughts, before clearing her mind and focusing intently on the tomes spread before her. Her magical prowess had already improved in the short time she had been studying. She could teleport now, instead of simply throwing smoke bombs and galloping away. She found her ability to move objects had progressed, as well. Whereas before she had been quite dexterous with lighter objects such as ropes and fabric, she could now move big stones, and plenty at a time. Every new accomplishment brought with it a surge of momentary joy and a lasting desire for vengeance. Trixie looked up from her books, turning to a patch of posies gently swaying as a breeze crossed the rolling meadows. With a squint of her eyes and a sudden glow from her blue horn, the posies vanished with a light ‘pop’ and in their place remained a solitary rose. Trixie beamed in surprise at her creation, and stood up quickly in excitement. “Aha! Look, everypony of the world! I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, have mastered magical enhancement! Watch, in awe, as I turn ordinary posies into- oh,” she stopped with a sigh. Her rose had turned from a brilliant red to a dry, withered black, and was lying dead on the ground. With a frustrated grunt, Trixie kicked it away in frustration, before settling back in front of her stump. “Stupid flowers,” she complained, turning the page in her book, and concentrating even harder, “You dare to challenge the Great Trixie’s competence? I’ll show you! Hmmph.” Trixie settled back into her usual routine, reading great amounts of text before stopping to practice what she had learned. Yells of frustration and gasps of pleasant surprise peppered the quiet fields, occasionally frightening birds and other small animals unused to hearing the silence shattered. Trixie sat back several hours later to examine her work. Admiring the results, she smiled. Surrounding her tired, sweaty blue body was a slightly rotten tree stump and several bunches of beautiful and very-much-alive roses. With a look of true ecstasy lighting up her face, she plucked one of the elegant flowers and brought it to her nose, breathing deeply. It smelled like a posy. Trixie grimaced angrily, dropped it, and stomped on it. She sat on her hindquarters in a huff, momentarily fed up. “Trixie needs a break,” she sighed. She stared up into the great city floating several miles above her. A building on the edge of Cloudsdale floated in front of the sun, covering her for a brief moment of cooling shade. As her eyes focused, she noticed a large group of pegasi in the coliseum, watching some sort of event. Trixie sighed, lost in a brief fantasy. “One day, I, Trixie, shall have a crowd of fans that adore me as such. Perhaps I’ll even be in Cloudsdale, with magic to keep my career and I afloat!” Her eyes glazed over as she imagined a happy life as a famous performer, only to turn back to a dry glare as more thoughts of revenge popped back into her mind. “But first,” she commented, “Trixie needs to become that talented.” The blue unicorn turned back to her books, picking and sniffing another rose before impatiently tossing it behind her shoulder. She picked up the manual she had been reading, glanced at the open pages, and slammed it shut in a fit. Clenching her eyes shut, Trixie started focusing. That’s it, Trixie. Concentrate. The only way to improve is to open up new pathways for the energy. So let’s see some good old TRIXIE MAGIC! So to start... Picture the rose. Good, there. That was pathetically simple. Details, now. The colour of those soft, ever so delicate petals. How they curve and fold. That long, thorny stem. Those long, spindly, dirty gross roots. Ew. Focus. The thick, green, waxy leaves that stick out gingerly. And last, but definitely not least, the smell. What does a rose smell like? They’re ever so sweet... fragrant... the scent of two ponies in love. Trixie inhaled deeply, her imagination filling her nose with the scent she was envisioning. She held that breath, keeping the smell inside her, before exhaling as slowly as possible. Her heart skipped a beat, and her horn glowed brightly for a second. Then, she opened her eyes and blinked the brightness away until she readjusted to the daylight. Something astonishing lay in front of her. Her books and supplies had fallen haphazardly onto the ground, and laid in a scattered mess before her. In the place of the old, rotten tree trunk was a single rose. Trixie leaned in close, and breathed deeply. “Mmm,” she hummed, satisfied. “I told you I’d show you. Stupid flowers.” Trixie started to pack up her books, exhausted from the day’s work. She couldn’t help but smile as she stared at the single rose in front of her, pondering all the tricks she could pull off with such simple magic. She stared back up at the sky again, revisiting her fantasy of performing at the Cloudsdale Coliseum. How odd, she thought absentmindedly. That pony’s wings are more like... a butterfly’s. Perhaps it was a spell. I simply must research and master that one for myself. She turned around and started packing up the last of her things into her bag, humming in triumph over the delicate flower in front of her. As she turned to head back to her camp, Trixie noticed a boulder sitting off to the side. “Aha, now that... That would be a perfect replacement workstation for she who will soon be the Greater and Even More Powerful Trixie!” She grinned momentarily, before slamming her eyes shut. Her horn started pulsating with light as her magic enveloped the large rock in front of her. She strained, groaning a little in effort. The rock started to shift a little, and Trixie felt it. She pressed harder, giving it the last of bit of the energy she could find, and with a shout she lifted the rock up into the air. “Nnngg... That’s.... It! Bow, feeble ponies... ah...” She gasped, her knees shaking as she struggled to keep the boulder in the air. Slowly, she brought it over to where the stump had once been. “Before.... aaaaugh... the amazing... gah... TRIXIE!” As her name escaped her lips in a mighty shout, her body was suddenly rocked by violent tremors. The boulder vibrated and disintegrated in mid-air as a wave of polychromatic force enveloped and shook Trixie and the meadows around her. As an eardrum-bursting crack reverberated inside her skull, something strange happened. “What... What’s happening!? Was... was it me? Did I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, cause... Augh!” She cut herself short as her body involuntarily snapped up into the air, and a white-hot sensation began to erupt from deep within her. She screamed in fear as her azure coat emanated the brightest blue she had ever seen. Her mind began racing as memories flashed before her eyes with no sense or order. Her eyes rolled back into her head, as confusion and delusions sent her thoughts spinning. Her body snapped again, and a small shell of light shot out around her. Her mind became overloaded with energy and magic, and Trixie could no longer focus on anything around her. A splitting headache started to form quickly, tripling in pain with every vicious jerk of her body. Small bolts of electricity ran along her body, escaping from her hooves and crawling along her chest, wrapping her momentarily in a cocoon of power. The sparks pulsed brightly for a moment before dissipating, and Trixie was slowly lowered to the ground. In a minute, it was all over. “Ugh... what just happened? I’m going to destroy the pony who thinks they can pull an act like that on TRIXIE! ...Ow, my head... Show yourse- uh?” Trixie stumbled back on all four hooves, swaying as she shook her pounding head. In front of her was the big hill she had practiced by. A massive rainbow sparkled in the distance, however Trixie’s attention was caught by something else. The entire hill was covered in an enormous patch of wild roses; it was larger than any Trixie had ever seen before. On the patch of grass where a stump and a rose had been now stood a mighty oak. It reached almost forty feet up into the sky, its dark leaves almost shimmering as the sun behind it struggled to punch through the thick foliage. Trixie could only gape. She looked at her hooves incredulously, and then looked the rest of her body over. Nothing had changed that she could see. Trixie’s eyes widened and she turned and tried to run towards her tent. Her hooves tripped over each other, and she fell with a painful thump. She rose, trembling with effort, and slowly made her way to her destination. Her vision was blurred and faded, her mind totally burnt out from the experience. She stumbled slightly as she burst in through the flaps of her temporary home, lunging clumsily towards her stacks of recovered texts. “Encyclopedia of Magic... where is it... where is it?” Trixie yelled, tossing books behind her. Knocking several down to the side, she finally found the one she was looking for and opened it up, reading furiously. “SPONTANEOUS CRITICALITY” Spontaneous Criticality is a rare event discussed mostly in rumours. While it has not been reproduced or recorded in recent times, there are enough cultural references and historic mentions to deserve giving it serious consideration. The event is characterized by a magic-wielding pony, either an Alicorn or a Unicorn, going ‘critical’ (experiencing a burst of raw magical energy). Ancient texts such as A Study of Magicks (E. Calibra, F. Fields, et al.) & Enchanted Phenomena (T. Fastpace), go into greater detail. Specifically, a magic-wielding pony is generally focusing or concentrating especially hard, when interrupted by an occurrence of great force (Usually an earthquake or other form of natural catastrophe). The interruption, paired with higher-than-normal levels of magic flowing through said pony, triggers the Criticality. The many possible side effects of such a volatile magical reaction are mostly unknown, but the main result is that the pony’s damper on magic is destroyed. Whereas most ponies need to slowly study and exercise their magical abilities, one who has undergone Spontaneous Criticality will supposedly have their entire raw magic ability available to them at any time. Naturally, such ability would wreak havoc on a pony’s body, and this is considered the reason why the event is probably not recorded in any major scientific study. Any unicorn to have undergone the transition has probably been destroyed as a result of it. It is also theorized that if the Criticality itself could be interrupted, the result would only be a partial increase in access to raw ability. This would result in more powerful magic-wielders with more multi-tasking ability, without the danger of them being disintegrated. Further reading on the topic see... Trixie slammed the book shut, slack jawed. “There’s... no way. Impossible. Trixie may be the best unicorn around, but there’s no way she... Criticality doesn’t exist. I couldn’t have... Trixie. Trixie couldn’t have survived one. But...” She glanced to the side of the book, onto the small stand it was resting on. There lay a picture of a solitary, purple-coated pony, happily smiling. A sharp stone was embedded in the pony’s face, piercing an inch into the table underneath. “But... there have been rumours, of another. Hmm. If Twilight had an interrupted criticality, that would explain so much! If Twilight... ugh. If the lowly Twilight can hit criticality, then there’s nothing that could prevent the even more amazing TRIXIE from pulling one off! But perhaps I should perform a test, to make sure. Trixie wouldn’t want any more of those stupid foals trying to make her vanquish an Ursa unless she could actually vanquish an Ursa.” She sighed again. “Morons.” Trixie walked slowly outside, considering everything around her. What could The Great Trixie do to prove her might? Perhaps, another boulder... No, too simple. Aha, that could do nicely! She stopped in front of the oak tree, and brought her head all the way up to see the top branches. She gulped. Trixie looked back down to the base of the tree, considered all the roots, and gave a nervous laugh. This was the moment of truth. She would either have all her fantasies of being the most powerful unicorn in Equestria come true, or be embarrassed, sore, tired, and just as useless as she had felt she was only just a little earlier. She stared at the tree with no strain in her face. Her horn began to glow, ever so softly. The tree began to shake slightly. Her horn glowed just the lightest touch more, and the oak started to vibrate extravagantly. Birds abandoned their newly-found home and leaves started to fall slowly towards the ground. Trixie’s eyes turned into a barely perceptible squint, and the oak suddenly ripped itself out of the ground, hovering in the air in front of Trixie. She began to laugh, throwing her head back into the air in ecstasy. The oak tree followed her movement, flinging itself high into the air. When it landed behind her in a mighty crash, the earth trembling beneath her legs, she still laughed. “Bow, feeble ponies,” she howled to no one in particular, “before the AMAZING TRIXIE!” --- Trixie stood in front of the fallen oak, humming in annoyance. Sure, she had easily uprooted it. But that left her with the problem of a giant tree in the middle of the field she had staked out. “Now, how can The Great and Powerful Trixie clean this up, so she’ll have a wonderful place for an audience to witness her awesome abilities?” She grimaced slightly. Walking up to the tree, she kicked it. “Ow. Dumb tree. Wait, maybe I... maybe Trixie could get some practice out of this. Aha, yes, what a wonderful idea. Not only is Trixie Great and Powerful, she’s also intelligent!” She tilted her head a bit, and walked along the length of the tree, wondering. With a spark from her horn, the bark tore off into the air with a great shredding noise, and vanished. Next, the tree started to crack. Large vertical and horizontal ruptures started spreading throughout the timber, evenly and straight, until it was entirely segmented. With a blink from Trixie, the whole tree disassembled itself into a giant stack of two by fours. “That’s a little easier to work with.” Trixie started to hum a pointless tune as she manipulated the planks of lumber. A slight blue haze filled the air as she effortlessly grabbed each board with her magic. She started to frown in concentration, organizing and rearranging every board into just the right position, and then... “Hee-ya!” All the boards slammed into each other, and formed into one solid object. Sitting in front of Trixie was a brand new, if rather bland, caravan. “Bah! Only an elaborate and wondrous caravan will suit the Amazing and Clever Trixie!” She spun her head, and with a flash her new home was covered in a brilliant display of colours, a dark navy roof resting on sky blue walls. Bright white trim outlined the sparkling door and dark-tinted windows, and Trixie sighed in contentedness. “Aha! And now that there is a great and wonderful home for The Great and Powerful Trixie, she shall begin her tour of Equestria! But, first she has to build up a reputation. Now where shall I, Trixie, begin to awe and amaze the ponies of Equestria?” She grabbed her possessions from the tent, and magically teleported them into the caravan. She walked around inside her new home, admiring her creation. She sat down at her table, and unfurled a map of Equestria on it. “No... Trixie shall save Ponyville for later. She wants that terrible Twilight to hear of her, and fear her new might! Haha! Cloudsdale will wait until all of Equestria knows my name, too. Hoofington? No, I’m not ready to go- er, Hoofington is not ready for Trixie to go back there... Aha, one place Trixie has never been! ‘Flankstown’. Sounds... ugh. Thrilling. Well, one must start small to build a reputation!” Trixie rolled up her map, stowing it onto a shelf. She took a quick look around her travelling house, making sure everything was prepped for travel. She walked out and went around to the front. With a burst of energy from her horn, the wheels creaked and began rolling forward. Trixie looked around, taking in the scenery, a genuinely happy smile forming on her muzzle. Good memories of her life passed through her mind, as she thought back to all the travelling she had done over the years. As the carriage slowly bumped and rolled through the fields, she remembered all the successful shows she had performed. Trixie had always lived on the road. Her parents had had their own show, many years ago, and had raised Trixie while on tour. She had spent her entire life in show business, travelling far across Equestria, first learning from her parents, and continuing on after their deaths in an accident many years ago. By the time she had lost her parents, she had already surpassed them in magical skills, and earned her cutie mark. Sadness overcame her for a moment, but it passed. “Trixie has made them proud. There’s nothing to be upset about.” She sniffed, and then looked up . “And now... Now I can show the world how great their child has become!” She smiled again, vividly imagining all of her screaming fans and awe-struck audiences of the past. She had many years of magic under her saddle, and most of her journey had been fun. But now... things had changed. This wasn’t about the thrill of performance, or even the excitement of travelling. Now, this was about vengeance. Twilight had ruined her fantastic life. Everything had been fine until Ponyville, where Twilight had called her out and embarrassed her. Word had spread fast, as it is wont to do, and soon Trixie hadn’t been able to perform in any place of importance. As far as Trixie was concerned, that purple-coated unicorn known as Twilight Sparkle had ruined Trixie’s career and made her appear a failure to her parents. That was something Trixie couldn’t stand for. As the sun slowly set on the fields of Equestria, the night blanketing the small wagon in shadows, Trixie began planning. She hadn’t expected to become as potent as she was so soon, and with these new abilities came new possibilities. An evil grin appeared on her face as she directed her home down the long, lonesome road ahead of her to Flankstown. --- I’d like to thank the crew in #EquestrianStudy, especially Silfir, Foolonthehillz, and Autumn Wind, for help with editing and pre-reading this fiction. Thanks for putting up with me randomly stopping conversation to find the right words for this fiction, guys. =D If you loved or hated the fiction, or have anything to say to me, feel free to drop me a line at AuroraDawn.mlp at gmail.com. I appreciate any comments I get! --- Disclaimer: This is a work of fan made fiction, based on the animated show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” I do not own, nor lay any claim to My Little Pony or any related intellectual property. This work was made entirely for entertainment value and as a tribute to the amazing work of the Friendship is Magic production team. It is not, and will never be, distributed for profit.