//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: I Shall Make You Great and Powerful // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// The Great and Powerful Trixie heaved a dejected sigh. It had not been a good show. Thankfully, for whatever reason, Ponyville was a kind and forgiving place, and she had made a few precious bits, most of them tossed into the donation box by Princess Twilight Sparkle. The Great and Powerful Trixie was silently grateful for Princess Twilight Sparkle’s support, even if she would not say it out loud. Twilight was almost something like a friend, and had invited Trixie back to Ponyville. She folded the stage into the side of the wagon, eased down the awning, and carefully packed her donation box away inside of the wagon, teleporting it under her narrow bed. It was probably time to go before she wore out her welcome. “Hi.” Trixie turned to face the voice, not sure what to expect. She saw a unicorn filly, rather young, small, obnoxiously orange, and wearing a large newspaper hat over her pink and teal coloured mane. The foal beamed at her. “Jinx is the Someday Great and Soon to be Powerful Hijinx, or Simply Jinx Because This Is a Mouthful,” the foal announced, introducing herself. Her belly rumbled mid introduction and the foal squirmed with embarrassment. “And Jinx wanted to give you, The Great and Powerful Trixie, a rare and wonderful opportunity that is a one in a lifetime chance at greatness!” Trixie stared at the foal in front of her and raised an eyebrow. “You, whomever you are, wanted to make The Great and Powerful Trixie an offer? What could you possibly have to offer Trixie?” “Jinx wants The Great and Powerful Trixie to be Jinx’s teacher. Jinx’s master! And Jinx will be your faithful and loyal student,” Jinx offered. Her stomach gurgled once again as she did so. “Ha! Why would The Great and Powerful Trixie need a student?” Trixie demanded in a haughty tone. “Princess Twilight Sparkle does not have a student. Here is your chance to show her up,” Jinx replied shrewdly. “Ha! As if Trixie needed a student to show up Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie crowed. “Wait, that isn’t a bad idea actually.” Trixie began to study the foal intently. Jinx’s stomach squelched and gurgled, causing Jinx to drop her gaze. “Life is rough, isn’t it kid?” Jinx nodded, but did not look at Trixie. “You dug the newspaper out of the trash because you needed a hat, right?” Jinx nodded again and made no other effort to reply. “When was it you ate last?” Trixie asked. Jinx squirmed and said nothing. Trixie heaved a sigh and felt just awful. Before her was a foal every bit as down on her luck as Trixie was. Trixie felt an odd unknown emotion stir within her breast. Trixie took in the foal as a whole and saw her cutie mark. “Kid, you have a broken mirror as a cutie mark,” Trixie said. Jinx nodded, rolled her eyes, and then shrank down and looked very ashamed. “Before, Trixie didn’t think you would ever shut up, now Trixie cannot seem to get you to talk!” Trixie exclaimed. “Jinx is pathetic,” she said. “Maybe this was a mistake.” The foal made one glance upward and looked Trixie in the eye. “Come. Trixie will discuss what is expected of you as Trixie’s student over a meal. Together, Trixie and Jinx will work towards new ways of showing up Twilight Sparkle. After we eat, Trixie will find you a better hat. A magician is nothing without a proper hat. That will be your first lesson,” Trixie stated, looking down her nose at her student with narrowed eyes. With a flash of her horn, she teleported a few bits from her donation box into her hat. “Thank you,” the foal returned, her eyes watering slightly. When Trixie turned away, the foal gave a canny half smile. Trixie trotted towards the center of town and Jinx followed just behind her, looking around at the ponies now staring at the both of them. The pair drew a great deal of attention, the showmare in her tattered cloak and battered hat, and the obnoxiously orange unicorn foal wearing a soiled newspaper hat. “Trixie will have to find you a cloak as well. A cloak inspires a proper sense of drama for a showmare,” Trixie explained. “Remember that, Student of Trixie.” “Yes my Master,” Jinx replied. Trixie paused mid step, her muzzle scrunching. One eye twitched slightly, and an ear stood sideways. “Trixie likes how that sounds. That pleases Trixie. Student of Trixie may continue to use that honourific.” “Yes Master,” Jinx said. Trixie continued forward, looking around for some place cheap to eat. There wasn’t a lot of bits to work with here. She could hear the foal’s stomach periodically broadcasting the fact that it was empty. After a bit of a walk, Trixie finally stopped in front of a place that looked like it might suit her needs. She pushed her way through the door into the dim interior, the air filled with the fragrant smell of coffee and donuts. “The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a Great and Powerful brew,” Trixie quipped. “Eh, we got that,” the mare behind the counter replied. “I have a pot of the special sludge on reserve. Anything else?” “The Great and Powerful Trixie is wondering if donuts are a suitable meal for a foal,” Trixie asked. “We have ones with jelly,” the mare deadpanned. “That’s a fruit.” “Perfect, no one can fault Trixie for buying a foal fruit!” Trixie crowed. “Two dozen donuts, jelly, two extra large cups of the special sludge, extra sugar, extra cream.” “Ten bits,” the mare replied in a nasal monotone. “Take a seat, I’ll bring it right out.” Trixie and Hijinx sat down in a corner booth, scooting and settling in to the padded seats and leaning on the table, looking at one another. “The Responsible and Concerned Trixie looks after her student and does right to provide for her, behold, the healthy and nutritional meal that Trixie has procured!” Trixie bragged. “Thank you,” Jinx replied, her tone humble. “Master is very kind, and ponies are sure to remember her generousity.” Trixie looked flabbergasted, the foal’s words settling into her brain. Yes she said to herself, ponies were sure to see how great of a pony Trixie was when they saw her generousity towards her student. “Trixie wants to know, what sort of magic are you, the student of the Great and Powerful Trixie, good at casting?” Trixie asked. “Jinx is really good at setting things on fire!” Jinx replied eagerly. “Oh really… that sounds gifted,” Trixie said nervously. The mare from behind the counter brought out the donuts and coffee. “I added the stale donuts from this morning. Better than throwing them out,” she muttered halfheartedly. Jinx wasted no time and ravenously assaulted the pile of donuts, grabbing a chocolate frosted donut first. Trixie felt a twinge of annoyance. The chocolate frosted donut should have been eaten last, as a dessert, the healthy jelly donuts should be eaten first. They were a fruit after all. Trixie squashed down her concerns and said nothing. The foal was starving and Trixie knew what it was like to starve. The mare shuffled off to stand behind the counter again, saying nothing as she resumed her post. The showmare and her apprentice rapidly consumed the donuts, and Trixie felt her resolve slip as she too ate a dessert donut, a long cream filled maple glazed pastry that spurted cream all over her snoot. Jinx laughed when she saw Trixie, and, rather than feeling like she was being laughed at, Trixie realised that it was funny, and she too had a good laugh at her own expense, something she had not experienced before. Trixie carefully sipped her coffee, it was hot but not too hot, and it was very, very strong. It was thick and brown even with the cream, and the sugar made it very sweet, just how Trixie liked it. Watching her benefactor drink coffee, Hijinx cautiously took a sip. The foal’s brain imploded. The thick liquid crept down her throat, burned bitterly, and then blossomed into a warm feeling of contentment in her belly. She felt something just behind her eyes begin to vibrate, her frogs began to sweat, and she could feel something deep within her hooves begin to pulsate. She took another sip and the effects doubled. “ThisisreallygoodcoffeeandJinxreallylikescoffeeandJinxisgoingtowantmorecoffee!” the foal blurted. Trixie’s eyebrows raised in alarm. The unicorn filly was vibrating slightly, her outline fuzzy and vague. Sparks sprinkled from her horn. The foal’s pupils had shrank to pinpricks. The overall sight, while slightly disconcerting, was highly amusing. Trixie laughed. Foals were funny. And in particular, this foal was hilarious. Jinx tore through the donuts in high speed, hardly chewing, devouring the first food she had eaten in quite a while, her body jittering and twitching. Trixie had eaten her fill of the donuts, so she sat back and allowed Jinx to devour the rest. She sipped her coffee, savouring each swallow, thoroughly enjoying the soupy liquid. Finally, Trixie Lulamoon had something that Twilight Sparkle didn’t have. She couldn’t wait to hold this over Twilight’s head and maybe, just maybe, rub it in just a little tiny bit. But not too much. There was a fine fine line between tweaking Twilight Sparkle’s lavender snoot and making Twilight Sparkle angry. The blue showmare only wanted a gentle tweaking of the royal snoot. Twilight Sparkle was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she didn’t want to ruin that. Trixie watched the starving foal finish off the last donut, then the unicorn filly belched an enormous show stopper of a belch that sounded like a giant frog in love with a foghorn, and then the foal began to guzzle her coffee. Bits were tight, but at the moment, life seemed like it was pretty good. Trixie was glad she had taken a chance and had returned to Ponyville.