//------------------------------// // Inside the mirror // Story: Trixie and the Mirror // by Mightyfinemorning //------------------------------// Except Twilight intermittently asking a question or two and subsequently mumbling inconceivably, the bearers were more accommodating than she thought. Even the cyan pegasus, the neighsayer who was first to challenge her, stood there quietly, deeply immersed in her own thoughts. Though it was only a temporary relief, a short moment of which she could rest upon, Trixie greatly welcomed the short rest allowed to her. But how long, she had to figure it out by herself. “Well, that is the story of this Trixie. Very different from the Trixie you know-Trixie here never vanquished Ursa Major. Nor did she aid you when two ancient evils threatened Equestria. She is a magician. An illusionist who excels at manipulative arts; but she cannot truly bring her illusions to reality-that is what the Great and Powerful Trixie is.” Trixie said. She sipped the tea. The sugary liquid gradually melted into bitter residues that left a stinging taste in her tongue. What faces were they going to make? She quickly scanned the ponies who until then were listening intently to her tale. It was as she expected. They were trying to keep their faces, and their attempts were working reasonably well. Trixie appreciated their effort. As a magician she sometimes saw what others did not see, something she did not want to see; such sights just forcefully came to her, regardless of whether she liked it or not. Following the path of the trickery, that was what she would occasionally face. Still she saw only the slightest bit of doubt on their looks, the six ponies trying to grasp the situation that had befallen upon them, their mind genuinely wondering what maze of riddles they had all fallen into. This time she surveyed across the bearers’ faces more closely-bewilderment, surprise, and confusion. Twilight particularly seemed troubled, contemplating deeply, searching for answer that was never going to come to her solely by her own act. If Trixie could not find the answer to the problem, then who could? She expected this. The most basic task of a magician, the grand inner workings of her mind accustomed the practice to incorporate the act part of her instinct by now. She knew what she could see, what she could not see. Finally, the lavender unicorn accepted her defeat in the face of the great mystery. “Uggh, I still don’t get it.” Twilight said. She was frowning-what was she thinking, anyway? Trixie had to wonder. Was this Twilight like Twilight she knew? One needed a lot of time to truly know a pony-a short exchange between she and Twilight, and then somewhat lengthy conversation she somehow managed to go through undercover with this Twlight-could she look into what the lavender unicorn was thinking right now with such short information she had for the moment? “Ditto. I just don’t know what to say…Hmm. you don’t look that bad. I really did that? But I’m right here! Oh boy, is this confusing or what!” Rainbow Dash said. Trixie quickly adjusted her attention to the pegasus. The one most hostile to her, now appearing to be apologetic; this world-or every world she knew-never ceased to amaze Trixie. A fine trick it was playing. But what was it exactly, she could not yet find out. Or was she going ever? To perform some tricks of hers, she relied more on countless practice rather than understanding the concept. Maybe that was how they were meant to be understood in the first place-the ever mysterious and wonderful realm of illusion, the art which she grew so fond of. The only way to learn, was to not to learn at all. Trixie could fathom over its perplexities for hours, then making a conclusion that did not mean anything that she could comprehend, her reasoning disappearing like a mirage, blended into nothingness and then closing her thoughts altogether. As always, her mind quickly found a way back to the reality-this reality she was currently in-and she thought it would be best to approach others with hospitality. “Trixie thanks you for such nice remark. Rainbow Dash I knew would not say that.” She said. Trixie kept a gentle, serene smile; it had the immediate effect she desired. “Um…” The cyan pegasus was evidently at a loss what to say, her eyes getting even bigger, their pupils slightly trembling, a sure sign that Trixie did not miss at all. To observe and analyze, that was part of her magic. Trixie found the method extremely useful on many occasions. It was not going to fail her. But it was enough for now; she had more immediate issues she had to deal with-observing how others tried to understand the intricacy of the situation, while it was a very amusing sight, did not help her case much. She needed explanation for all the things she went recently. An answer that would solve this trick-but how, she had to think, think very hard. Even then she could not be so sure, she thought. But she had to reach a conclusion somehow-no matter how insignificant it was going to be. One step was going to lead another, small tricks paving the way for the great mastery of illusory play. Just one start. That was going to give her boost which she greatly needed. Telling her humiliation to the bearers, apparently, was the first of the first step in solving the trick she was into. Then what next? She asked herself. No reply. She did not know. Who could know? Could the alicorn princesses enlighten her on this matter? But how? Again her mind focused on more immediate issues. “Trixie do not blame her. After all, Trixie did play some trick that was rather quite harsh, even in her opinion. It was most natural for her to have some hostility towards Trixie.” She said with a clear voice, not a sign of anger or resentment to be found. Even if she still had some left, it was reserved for other Dash, not this one, she thought. “Well, even if you say that…” Rainbow Dash was now trying to smile back, albeit awkwardly, of which Trixie found it quite amusing. Of course, such petty feeling of getting back to the cyan pegasus had to be promptly ignored, for many reasons. Trixie could just list them all day, number one being the fact that this Dash inside the mirror was not the same Dash, despite appearing to being so in several ways including her name and shape, even having the identical cutie mark. “It is Trixie’s fault, really. If a pony challenges her, then it is her job, her duty to show how Great and Powerful Trixie could be. She was not Great nor Powerful enough-that was the problem. She gave the audience a good show by meeting your challenge. But perhaps, it was a bit too much to strike you with lightning. Maybe that prank she has gone a little too far.” Trixie sighed. She made it sure Dash heard what seemed to be like her regretful apologize. But maybe she did go too far-tricks were meant to be enjoyed, to be shared by everyone of its entertainment. Maybe. Undeniably there was some regret in her mind, small portion of her reasoning saying that it zapping her tail with lighting might have been a little inconsiderate of Trixie. Well, anyway, she thought, this Dash was not the pegasus she had to get back, that was for sure. No need to feel sorry for her. Even now she was on her way to come up with a fitting trick to fool the cyan pegasus once again, later after getting out of this mess, part of her mind already working on to produce a befitting punishment for her reckless arrogance, claiming that it was her job to ‘show off’-but now, Trixie had to show others that there was no ill feeling towards them. The bitterness was better left to be stored, waiting for its proper use; her revenge would be directed towards the right targets at the right time. Now was not the time. “…This is really confusing, you know. Even after hearing your story, I still find it hard to understand.” Rainbow Dash said, with an uncertainty in her tone. “Yes, yes. I have to agree with Dash. All the books I read don’t really mention the concept of alternative universe much, at least not in an academic sense. And ones I found, they mostly said that it was uncertain whether such world could really exist. So, in conclusion, this is really confusing!” Twilight said. By now her troubled state was dangerously getting obvious to everypony near the vicinity. She was now prancing back and forth. Other ponies who were still around the table cast a worrying look. Trixie saw one guard coming towards her and the others, but Princess Celestia promptly stepped front, whispering to the guard. The guard pony nodded, and then quickly went back to her respective patrolling position. “Oh. Sorry, Princess Celestia.” Seeing the little incident she caused, Twilight stopped her frantic movement at once (or she attempted to do, in Trixie’s perspective), but still kept an anxious face nonetheless. “It is a truly perplexing phenomenon. I admire all of you staying relatively calm despite the strangeness of the situation.” The sun princess said. She took a sit beside Twilight. “Yes. I am sure the all the study I had mentioned nothing like this at all.” Twilight said, much recovered from her previous state. The presence of the sun princess had the soothing effect to her, Trixie concluded. They were very close, by no doubt. Not long after she managed to gather her little belongings and settling down in her temporary shelter, she picked up the information that Twilight was actually a special protégé of the alicorn princess; that explained her exceptional ability, the sheer terror of seeing someone else being Greater and more Powerful than her engraved into Trixie’s memory with a painful realization. And even in the world inside the mirror, Twilight was the beloved student of Princess Celestia. Trixie too, numbered among the bearers. But Trixie was not Trixie-Trixie was only Trixie she was, and that was the problem. And who was Trixie going to look for in times of need? A foolish question, for only Trixie herself is master of Trixie. She does not need anypony else. She handles her problem alone, by herself. Her dissenting voice was not going to interfere with her close observation. Twilight talked, and Trixie had to listen-Twilight Sparkle, who was she? Who was she there, who was she here? Who was everypony here? Where was this place? Trixie listened. She was on her own. Trixie had to know more. “But this is really bothering me. The more I think about it, the more frustrating it gets.” Twilight gulped down the hot tea in an instant. Not a good sign, Trixie thought. Twilight continued to talk. “So there were two Trixies all along? A whole world that is same-and different-from what we know as reality? That means there would be two of me and two of each of us! So every pony we know there is another version of that pony in this world where Trixie came from so Trixie here is Trixie and she even has the same cutie mark but she is not Trixie yet still she is Trixie and even with the most potent illusion spell I know cutie mark cannot be copied. So Trixie or are you really Trixie I guess that does not matter much now anyway so Trixie do you know if any of your spells can copy another pony’s cutie mark oh this is simply getting ridiculous!” The lavender unicorn had the hindsight to keep her voice down relatively low-the princess’ own student manically (for that was the impression Twilight was giving right now) uttering her speech was definitely not going to be pretty sight. Still, upon closer inspection she did appear quite disheveled, few strands of her hairs now poking out from her mane. Only after a while did she seem to calm down with gulping down some rose tea-she chose it wisely, Trixie thought-though her face still bore the worried expression. Trixie was, technically, in the same situation. She was only hiding it better than Twilight; that was the only difference. It was good that the bearers were more hospitable than she thought. The other Trixie, unfortunately, she was on her own. Here, Trixie was supposedly a hero, a great friend to the bearers of the elements. Back in her own world, however, she was just-just, she had to use the word, though it hurt a lot to apply the term to her-a travelling magician, an illusionist. And the fact was not going to change, the cold, hard fact etched deeply in her mind, denying the very change of which she appeared to so freely wield, her warping of the reality not working against of which she believed to be the absolute truth. Some things were beyond manipulation, it seemed. It seemed-there was a chance, wasn’t it? A tiny possibility that could eventually develop into a full phenomenon, very tiny; but it could happen. Then it might happen. That fact was so crucial. But really, Trixie was better off praying to the principle of probability that governed the world with dead accuracy. No doubt, but just solid cases that could be so cruel, yet so true. It was not going to happen. She was better off with her own magic than to plead for miracles to happen. Trixie was, after all, Great and Powerful. She had to live up to her title. Wandering in her thoughts, once again, she had to return. Twilight was close to start walking in circles again. Then Applejack tapped a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. That made the unicorn calm down a bit. “Ah figure it would be best if we all don’t make a big fuss over thing, at least not with all the other ponies celebrating around in here. It is good, though, ah think, that we all know the truth now. Still, gotta agree with Dash here. Can’t believe ya ‘roped’ this Applejack. Well, I’ve seen quite a number of rotten apples trying to look good, but you sure aren’t lookin’ like one.” Applejack said, smiling. “Trixie thanks you for saying that.” She smiled back, hoping that the expression was genuine. But which her, she had to wonder. So many things she had to consider-the grand workings of her mind was never quite finished, always on its vigilant task. “Applejack is right.” Princess Celestia stepped in front of them, then taking a seat in the table. “We certainly would not want everypony here asking what happened to Trixie. I am certain that this event has nothing to do with Nightmare Moon or Discord-their influences are diminished, they no longer concern the fate of Equestria.” She said. “Then what could have caused this entire event, princess?” Twilight said, now a bit recovered from her overzealous contemplation. “As I said before, I cannot give a clear answer to your question, Twilight. But while I was away with my younger sister, we talked about what happened to Trixie. Well, should we say Trixies? My sister too could not say much about the incident, though she did enlighten me on this matter. You said there was a magic mirror, Trixie?” With that she looked at her. Trixie replied. “Yes.” The sun princess nodded. “I believe the mirror connects your world to ours. I recall reading about the subject not too long ago. Perhaps the answers we seek might lie very near. Canterlot Library is well known for its huge storage of books and scrolls.” She said. “But Princess, are you sure about that? I tried to remember every book I read about magic, both here and back in Ponyville. And none of the books mentioned anything about this magical mirror, or this special spell Trixie mentioned.” Twilight said. “Canterlot had its library since from its very beginning, Twilight. Some of its parts you may seldom come across-such as the Starswirl Wing.” “Starswirl Wing?” With the mention of the name Twilight’s eyes grew wide, a sparkle in her eyes, like a filly who heard the word that she did not know, but instinctively knew that it was something important. Trixie was also interested. The name sounded not so distant from her constantly shifting memory. Where did she hear the word, she searched inside her mind. Where? Back when she was a filly herself, when she was not yet so Great and Powerful (but was very close, for she was Trixie), when she was learning to the path of an illusionist, mastering the art of magic- “We decided to name the place in honor of Starswirl, commemorating his role as the spell-crafter; perhaps you have heard its name?” Princess Celestia said. “Um, I actually never knew such section existed in Canterlot Library. How come I never came across the place?” Her curiosity peaked to the maximum, Twilight asked. She felt now was the time to intervene. The name was there in her memory all along, waiting to be retrieved. “Trixie have heard the name.” Trixie said, finishing her search. The others immediately looked at her, all surprised by no doubt, Twilight especially, surprised to see somepony other than her knowing more about Canterlot Library. There was a slight defeated look in her face. Only for a short time, but Trixie saw it. But what benefit could come out of it? It was her own face, after all, seeing the very lavender unicorn handling the Ursa Minor without a problem. The bitter resentment stirred again inside of Trixie. How to respond-she thought for a split second. She knew, of course, she was not lying. She could if she wanted to, but not now, she reminded herself. “From her mentor Trixie heard it. A place where a pony needs to look if she needs to find the ancient spells which are now quite forgotten.” Trixie ignored her emotion trying to get better of her-the tides were always in favor of Trixie. It had to be. Always. Control, she said to herself, forcing the indoctrination again and again. Control. She kept her humble face-no use of her stage voice and appearance. She was not high above, but down below, at least for now. She was waiting, biding her time. “Your mentor has taught you well, Trixie.” Princess Celestia grinned. “Huh? But how come I never heard of the place?” Twilight said. To Trixie she sounded little hurt not knowing this information. “Trixie only heard it once from her teacher, Twilight. She does not know much.” Trixie said, trying not to go too far proving her superiority. It was never there, anyway. “It is where scrolls of ancient spells are stored.” Princess Celestia said. “And the word ‘ancient’ is often synonymous with ‘dangerous’. An ancient spirit which ruled Equestria long before me and my sister came into being, for instance; or it could be the alternative word for ‘mysterious’. Alas, even we sometimes have trouble deciphering the true mechanisms of such spells.” “Princess Luna!” With the voice of Twilight everypony turned, and there was the moon princess, clearly no longer troubled by the ancient apparition, back to her royal status after the event. After what? Trixie questioned herself. She tried to recall her memory-did she see her as Nightmare Moon? But she was not there, was she not? Not this Trixie, she had to remind herself again and again. Not to fall for lies that lured her. The place was for others, not Trixie. Regardless of Trixie’s thoughts trying to figure out the situation, Princess Luna walked towards the table. She sat down with a warm smile on her face. “Hello, Twilight and my dear sister Tia. And greetings to all of you. And Trixie, too, though she is no longer with us-“ With that she stared at Trixie, looking at her like seeing her for the first time, not so sure how to react. Her stare, however, soon turned into a look of deep concern. “But Trixie is still here, yet she is not Trixie we know. A very strange turn of events, I have to say. When the world was not completely free of Discord’s reign, even after for so many ages I and my sister have witnessed very strange spells-but this mirror spell, I have not seen it. Though, my memory reminds me of something.” “Nice to see you again, Luna. I have been thinking the same.” Princess Celestia said. “But we cannot be so sure of what we think, sister. We do not know if it can be indeed called a spell.” Princess Celestia frowned a little. “I am very well aware of that. But what we see now we are not so sure what to think of, are we not?” “Truly. A great mystery it was, and now this-we have lived long, but this event we never seen it actually happening.” The conversation between the two alicorn princesses did help Trixie on some issue-but of course, as every talk between the wise did, their talk only served to confuse her further. The more she began to unravel the mystery, the more enigmatic it became. She now knew some, but she did not know everything else. “My, what is really going on here? We are not so sure what to say on this matter.” Rarity said. “I still can’t believe you did such thing to us, well, if they are really us. That story alone is hardly believable.” Twilight nodded. “I agree with Rarity. Till now we never realized what happened to Trixie, then all of sudden there is another Trixie who came from a different world. I thought I couldn’t be more surprised. But now Princess Celestia says there is the place where old spells I never heard before lies. How did this all happen?” Twilight said. She was still struggling to keep her anxiety. “My dear student.” Princess Celestia said. “I am afraid me and my sister cannot be much help on this matter.” “Is this something serious? Like the last time?” Twilight asked. She gulped, as if expecting a certain doom that was going to happen. “Perhaps.” The Princess said. “Huh?” Twilight said. Even Trixie had not expected such a reply. The lavender unicorn was now looking at the sun princess with wide eyes, not quite sure what to think of the princess’s word. “A mirror, Twilight, reflects one’s image. Magical ones, however, may show something else. It may bring whatever the viewer wants to see.” Princess Luna said. But no, it was wrong. Trixie wanted to say it. But she was going to be discreet this time. What she wanted to see-how? Did she want this? To see befriending her enemies that she had to overcome? No. Of course not. Her plan was far more elaborate than this, scheming devious plan that was going to surprise everypony who dared to laugh at her, even the favorite protégé of the sun princess. Her mind devised a grand plan that was not going to disappoint her. Not like this. So simple, so childlike-if this was her plan, to become the friend of Twilight and her gang, than she was better off not being a magician at all. As Trixie the Great and Powerful, she had to be better than this. More complicated, more mysterious, more complex-a grand trick that was going to fool everyone. A fine trickery she was planning. But surely, not like this. Before she could say something, the moon princess continued. “It would have been so simple, would it not be? I am sure Trixie here would have noticed it without a doubt.” She looked at Trixie, her keen gaze seemingly piercing through her intricate mindset. “True, your highness.” Trixie kept her face well. “This mirror, Trixie thinks, is far more complex than simple magical ones.” She said, her eyes beaming with interest. She instinctively realized the alicorn princess knew something about this. Well, they were alicorns after all, she thought. But how much did they know? The great riddle was not going to be solved so suddenly. She had to know. Yes, this was just the beginning. A one step among thousands in her path to disenchant this magic. To prove that she was indeed Great and Powerful. She could not fail this time-once, it could be forgiven. But twice-that was a great crime. “Indeed.” Princess Luna said. “But we should act with discretion. While we are free from ancient spirits, we do not know who-or what have caused this event. Is it solely the mirror’s doing? Or are we facing yet another apparition from the past?” Everypony, including Trixie, was silent upon hearing the moon princess’ word. Trixie tried to search her thoughts, hoping to find a thread that was going to help her. But it was just simply not possible. How could it be? Nightmare Moon and Discord-they were defeated. Even without Trixie the bearers used the elements. There could be no trickery about that. Even the mighty spirit of disharmony could not pull off such trickery. Then what was it? No answer, like it has always been ever since she tried to ponder upon this matter. “Hearing your story, Trixie, was not enough, it seems.” Princess Celestia said. She looked at her. Like her sister, the gaze of the alicorn princess had a certain power that made her shiver a bit. “The night has progressed quite far, is it not? Perhaps at the Starswirl Wing we might find some clue.” “I agree, sister. Twilight, meet us at the library. We will handle our official duties here.” Princess Luna said, standing up. She raised a hoof. The guard responded. She whispered something to the guard’s ear, and he moved. “We’ll be on our way, princess!” Twilight said. “Come, let’s go. And where is Pinkie? I thought she was here all along. Oh well, Dash, you know where to find her.” “Got it.” She galloped away. After they found all six ponies, and their 'assistants' Spike, Snips and Snails, under Twilight’s command the six ponies moved. Trixie followed them from behind. She needed her own moment to ponder about what the two princesses said. A spell-well, she did recognize it was the mirror’s doing, some kind of magic working. But what was it exactly? She could just wait for Princess Celestia and Luna. But then again, how much did they know? A starting point, that was all. It was Trixie who found herself in a strange place. Then it was her problem-she had to figure it by her own. The other Trixie too, she had her issue to deal with. For her things would be less accommodating. The defeated magician was, technically, back in town. Her mask was no longer there-how would Trixie outside the mirror react? Trixie stood there, unsure of how to approach. She heard what Trixie said; she ran away from this town. And now, she was, in a sense, coming back. She did not meet anypony on her way here. It was night, and Everfree Forest was not the safest place to wander at the time. But now, she was back at Ponyville, where she supposedly failed to live up to her standards. They would not welcome her; she did not have to guess that. One did not have to be a magician to figure that out. Fluttershy’s house stood there, the cozy atmosphere all around it. The light was on, giving a warming orange-colored light. But was that air granted to Trixie? She hesitated. How to approach, how to do this? She thought while on her way. No answer. The door suddenly opened, and she saw the cyan pegasus proudly marching out. She saw her. Trixie thought for an instant, how to react. She just stood there below the small hill, smiling a little. Rainbow Dash was dumbfounded for a moment-then she smirked. “Well, it seems the Great and Powerful Trixie has returned to apologize? Huh?” Rainbow Dash said. She glared at her. The disapproving look was evident in her eyes. Trixie kept smiling. So this was what Trixie was supposed to be?