Disclaimer:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro and associations and are used without permission for the sole purpose of entertainment for no financial gain of any kind.
Much respect to the fanart of Twilight and Trixie entitled “Magic Duel” created by YoorPorick showing an intense magic duel seemingly to the death. This fanfic was directly inspired by that picture.
Background and setup:
I once saw a fanpic of Twilight and Trixie in a magic battle to the death. The art style itself was impressive, but the sheer emotion of mutual desperation really moved me. I could see how both ponies could be so proud that they felt compelled to attack the other rather than truly settling their differences rationally.
After watching the episode “Boast Busters” a few times, I can see how Twilight completely outclasses Trixie in sheer potential. I wondered how Twilight or anyone else might react if they found out that Trixie was not as lucky as they were in life and reacts out of fear born from desperation. Would anything change?
Could any of us ever feel shame or guilt knowing that our rival was fighting us for survival instead of pride like we would? It would take a very generous heart to try to help our enemies up instead of always knocking them back down.
Gemini in All Things
Late afternoon in Ponyville is normally a good time to be alive, especially in summer. Instead of the normal routine, the wielders of the Elements of Harmony had gathered at their local restaurant for a friendly outdoor dinner. Stories, laughter, and well-wishes were overflowing at the table.
Slowly walking up the street towards the restaurant was a blue unicorn with a white mane and purple eyes. Soon, whispers were flying from table to table. Laughter and stories were quieted as one by one, the entire patronage turned to view the unicorn.
The head waiter walked up to meet the unicorn. She preened her purple pointed hat and cape, fusing over the tarnished stars upon both.
The waiter asked, “May I help, you…miss?”
The unicorn straightened her posture and announced, “Yes, you may. Your restaurant is not completely full even though it is a nice summer’s day. Allow me to dazzle your audience with my stupendous feats of legerdemain. I will fill the rest of your empty tables with hungry customers. All I ask in exchange is a simple meal. Certainly that is a very small price to pay for the supreme magical talents of the Great and …”
The waiter sniffed audibly and interrupted, “We all know who you are. You’re the one responsible for the Ursa attack last year.”
The unicorn was visibly shaken by the memory. She gathered her resolve and defended herself, “That was NOT my fault! I did NOT tell those two idiots to wake a sleeping Ursa…”
The waiter replied forcefully, “You were the one who filled their heads with your lies. They wouldn’t have woken it except to try to prove you right. No deals. Now, get out.”
Defeated, the unicorn reached into her cape and produced a tiny pile of coins. She insisted, “I have money. I’m a customer. Now seat me and take my order.”
Clearly insulted at having to serve someone he completely disliked, the waiter escorted her to the smallest open table.
Giving her a menu, he asked, “What would you like to drink?”
She immediately replied, “Just water. What are the specials today?”
The waiter sniffed again, clearly offended, “Miss, this is a high-class establishment. We only serve…”
She interrupted, “Do you have any specials or not?”
The waiter recited, “I’m sure I can offer you a cucumber sandwich for a discount.”
The unicorn took off her hat and set it on the table. She asked, “Two specials, please. Can you recommend a cheap place to stay for the night?”
The waiter turned around to head for the kitchen. He replied carelessly, “No.”
Finally unable to take any more rejection, the Great and Powerful Trixie hung her head in silence.
All other tables were now awash with the buzz of idle gossip.
Rarity turned up her nose and stated, “Well, I certainly wouldn’t have the gall to show up in a place I had nearly destroyed, that’s for sure.”
Applejack frowned at the blue unicorn and said, “I wonder what she’s up to. No good, that’s for sure.”
The shy pegasus tried to speak, “Um…I don’t think…”
The multi-colored pegasus interrupted her by saying, “I’ll follow her around. If she is up to something, I’ll stop her.”
Pinkie Pie declared, “She’s not coming anywhere near my Gummy with those overblown magic tricks of hers! If she hurts my pet alligator, why I’ll hurl a batch of Applejack’s special cupcakes at her!”
The shy pegasus tried to speak, “I think she won’t…”
The farm pony complained, “Would you please give that a rest? It was a mistake!”
The white unicorn smiled and playfully countered, “Those cupcakes certainly are useful for getting rid of unwanted pests, Applejack.”
The shy pegasus tried to speak, “Uh…Just look at her…”
The purple unicorn announced, “Quiet!”
The table quieted down. She looked over to her friend and asked, “What did you want to say?”
Fluttershy said in a subdued voice, “Um…Just look at her. She’s too sad to cause a rampage over Ponyville.”
The group looked at Trixie, who was trying very hard not to sob in her chair. The waiter brought over her tray of food. Two sandwiches, barely laced with grass and only a few slices of cucumber each, were placed on her table. Any self-respecting customer would complain about the quality of the sandwiches.
However, Trixie’s eyes lit up in delight. She ate the sandwiches hungrily, as if she had not eaten since yesterday. The waiter rolled his eyes and placed a slip of paper upon the table.
He mentioned, “Your bill, miss.”
Twilight’s eyebrows narrowed at this display. Even if Trixie was not well-liked, every customer deserved good treatment. The waiter should have left her alone for at least ten minutes to relax before asking if she wanted the bill.
Trixie picked up the bill and read it. Her eyes opened wide at the total.
She objected, “Hey! You said these sandwiches were at a discount! This is full price!”
The waiter sternly replied, “They were discounted for you. Are you ungrateful?”
She added, “You charged me for the water! Water is free!”
The waiter drew himself up taller and snarled at her, “Are you causing trouble? If so, I’ll have you thrown in prison, you…”
Suddenly, Twilight stood up tall and called out, “Excuse me!”
The waiter looked over and saw who it was. Recognizing the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, he trotted over and put on a gracious smile.
He intoned smoothly, “Yes, ladies! What can I get you?”
Pinkie Pie asked in a whisper, “Twilight, what are you doing?”
Undaunted, Twilight asked, “My friends and I all had water also. Are you going to charge us for water?”
Without thinking, the waiter stated, “Of course not! I would never charge any of you for…”
Twilight then finished her statement, “Then wouldn’t charge anyone else here for water, right?” She fixed a glare at the waiter, who backed down.
He apologized, “Yes, Miss Sparkle. I made a mistake. I’ll take it off the bill right now.” He then ran back inside to recalculate Trixie’s bill.
The entire restaurant gaped openly at Twilight. She sat back down and took a drink of her fruit smoothie.
Noticing the stares of the assemblage, Twilight grumpily stated, “What? Charging one pony for something that you give to another for free is against the law. It’s just not right.”
Feeling just a little ashamed at not saying the same thing earlier, Applejack spoke up, “Well, I guess yer right, Twi. That wouldn’t be the right way to do business here in Ponyville.”
Everypony put their attention back to their own tables.
Fluttershy smiled and offered, “That was really nice, Twilight.”
Rarity fussed her perfectly coiffed mane and added, “Yes, I suppose that was the moral thing to do. Good for you, dear.”
The waiter brought the new bill to Trixie, who smiled at the new lower total. She pulled out her coins and placed all but one on the tray. Looking at the bill, she mentally calculated the customary tip in her mind.
The waiter patiently waited for her to finish. He sincerely hoped that he would still get a tip. Else wise he wouldn’t find it easy to serve this particular pony again.
Trixie looked up at the expectant waiter and then back at her last coin. Her mind went into a panic, conjuring up images of various cheap foods that she could buy with the last coin. She might be hungry again tomorrow. In fact, she knew she’d be hungry again tomorrow. Maybe she could get away with not leaving a tip just this one time.
She looked up at the waiter, who tried to control the impatience in his expression. Still, he said nothing nor did he emote at all.
With a heavy sigh, Trixie placed the coin with the others. The waiter smiled.
He said genially, “Thank you, Miss. I’m sorry about before. It won’t happen again.”
Trixie stood up and said simply, “Thank you.”
She left the restaurant carefully, trying not to draw too much attention to herself.
Rainbow Dash commented, “Well, that went better than expected. I thought she’d throw a tantrum and light the place on fire.”
Fluttershy said, “I’m glad she didn’t.” She then gazed at her fruit smoothie thoughtfully.
Twilight was still watching after Trixie as she left. Her mind kept trying to calculate what the blue unicorn was really up to in Ponyville again.
At length, Applejack waved her hoof in front of Twilight’s vision. “Yoo hoo! Twilight, are you in there? Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
The purple unicorn stood up and decided. She left a small pile of coins for her part of dinner.
She left, saying, “It’s been fun, girls. However, I gotta find out something.”
Ever energetic, Rainbow Dash stood up and said, “We’re with you, Twi! If that crazy mare tries anything nasty on you, she’ll get a one-two!” For emphasis, she stood up on her hind legs and punched the air with her front hooves.
Twilight called back over her shoulder, “No thanks. If more than one approaches her, she’ll clam up. See you tomorrow!”
The purple unicorn trotted up next to Trixie. The blue unicorn seemed to be wandering aimlessly towards the outskirts of Ponyville.
As Twilight came up alongside of her, Trixie snapped, “Well, what do you want? Come to mock the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
Twilight scrunched up her forehead in confusion and replied, “Uh, no. I was wondering what you were doing in Ponyville. You didn’t exactly make any friends last time.”
Trixie felt shame as the dreaded memory surfaced in her mind. She felt her face flush with embarrassment and turned her face away to hide it.
She replied, “If you must know, I’m on my way to Stalliongrad. I need a job and the last one in Hoofington…didn’t work out.”
The purple unicorn felt that something was wrong. She observed, “Stalliongrad’s a long ways away. Where’s your wagon? Won’t you need to sleep in there tonight?”
Trixie felt a sting to her pride, but she didn’t want to show it. She screwed up her pride and stated, “I sold it. It was just slowing me down. All those fireworks were expensive and heavy, you know. Now I have more food money and I can travel farther since my load is lighter.”
Twilight was now concerned. She pressed, “But now you have nowhere to sleep. How much longer will your food money last?”
The blue unicorn slowed her pace involuntarily. She tried to hold back her tears. She almost succeeded. She half-choked a sob and said, “That was the last of it!”
The purple unicorn gasped, “You mean you’re penniless? You’re homeless? My gosh, why don’t you go back to your magic school and ask for a job teaching? I’m sure I could write a letter of recommendation…”
The blue unicorn turned on the purple unicorn, standing in an aggressive posture. She challenged, “I didn’t go to magic you, you stuck-up teacher’s pet! All my magic was self-taught! I didn’t have a special, royal appointment like some ponies! I never had the soft life you had!”
Twilight backed off, feeling the anger palpable in Trixie’s words. Unwisely, she added, “What about your parents? Don’t they know somebody who could help you out?”
Trixie fairly steamed at the mention of her parents. “My parents are dead! My father died when I was too young to remember him! My mother had even less magic than I do! All she could teach me was the simple light spell that practically every unicorn knows! Everything I do on stage is what I learned by myself! You want to rub it in my face? Huh?!”
The purple pony felt offended. She had never rubbed her intellect or prowess in anyone’s face.
She stood up to Trixie and stated evenly, “I’m not insulting you. I’m just trying to help you get back on your hooves. If you need help with your magic, maybe I could teach you.”
The blue unicorn felt shell-shocked. Twilight, the one who showed her up, would teach her how to use magic?
She felt her body tremble in shock and fury. “Wh-wh-whaaaaaaat?”
Twilight smiled offering, “Sure. If you agree to become my apprentice, then you could sleep in the library. I’m sure I could fix up a spare bed somewhere. You’d share chores with Spike and…”
Trixie rose up high onto her hind legs and declared, “The Great and Powerful Trixie does NOT need your high-and-mighty charity! I’ve suffered worse and I’ve always come out on top!”
She openly sobbed with tears streaming down her face. She declared, “I will be fine ALL BY MYSELF!!!” She then turned towards the open fields and bolted as fast as her legs could carry her, crying openly the whole way.
Twilight Sparkle could only stare on in confusion and sympathy. She had only wanted to help. Still, she had never been in Trixie’s position before. It must be terrible to be alone, penniless, jobless, homeless, and even hated by many.
She did the only thing she could do at this point. She went home.
=====================
As night fell, Twilight was writing in her laboratory journal about the experiment she had performed hours earlier. The attempt to turn coal back into organic wood was a failure. All she had gotten for her efforts was a green mush. She grunted as she wrote her observations and conclusions. If she could just figure out this process, then she could help forests and field recover from wildfires faster and more thoroughly.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door of the library. Grateful for the distraction, she left her writing stand.
Spike came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes with fatigue. After yawning, he offered, “I’ll get it Twilight.”
The purple unicorn insisted, “No, Spike. I need the break. Just get yourself to bed. It’s been a long day.”
She opened the door to the library, saying, “Hello, can I help you?”
In the open doorway stood a very contrite Trixie. She absently pawed the ground and looked sheepishly at Twilight.
Spike caught a glimpse of who it was in the doorway and grumbled, “Oh, great. What does she want?”
Twilight glanced at Trixie with a very neutral expression, as if waiting for her to speak first.
Trixie hung her head shamefully and spoke softly, “I’m really sorry for earlier. I, um, uh…apologize…and I was hoping that your offer was still available.”
Twilight smiled widely and said in her most friendly way, “Of course! Come on in!”
Trixie smiled a feeble smile and trotted inside the library. As Trixie closed the door behind herself, Spike felt uneasy.
He asked fearfully, “Uh, Twilight? Is there something you want to tell me?”