//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: In which the Great and Powerful Trixie is tolerated and loved // Story: Elements of Anarchy // by UndercoverBrony //------------------------------// Chapter 5: In which the Great and Powerful Trixie is tolerated and loved Google docs “What? What does that even mean?” Asked Trixie. “Tolerate and love this!” Without the support of the others, she couldn't achieve anything like the spells she had used earlier, but she was still the Great and Powerful Trixie! She sent a volley of books flying towards them. They had little effect. No sooner had the books had started rising than a rainbow coloured shield formed around the six ponies, and the books just bounced right back at Trixie. All that it had really achieved was mildly annoying Twilight due to the abuse her books were getting. “Rainbow, why don't you show her what we mean?” The pegasus groaned. “Why do I have to go first?” Twilight gave her her best impression of a Fluttershy stare. “OK, OK, fine. Gilda, I'm really sorry for embarrassing you at that party. I still want to be friends, but you've gotta be more kind to my new friends as well. Do you think you can do that?” The griffon was stunned. It wasn't like Dash to be the first to blink. “Wait... you're apologising to me? I just sent you to the moon!” “Weeeeell, perhaps you should apologise too then?” Suggested Dash. “Oh right. I'm sorry I helped send you all to the moon Dash. I... get carried away sometimes.” “Aaaaand?” Prompted Rainbow, gesturing sideways at the others. “Oh right, sorry for sending you guys to the moon as well.” Now that she was getting all these apologies off her chest, suddenly it didn't seem so bad. Might as well go the whole hog... “Especially Pinky Pie and Fluttershy, I was cruel to you guys back the first time we met, and I'm sorry for that too. I guess... I guess I misjudged you all. I thought you were a bunch of lame dweebs when I first met you, but if you can magic yourselves back from the moon just like that I guess you're all pretty cool after all.” She held out her claw towards Dash, clenching it into a fist. “Truce?” “Truce!” Replied Dash happily, touching her hoof to Gilda's claw. “Pinky?” Inky stepped forward, nervously. “You're right, I don't really hate you. Do you... hate me now?” Her sister laughed. “Of course not! You sent me to the moon! It was lots of fun, and then you sent all my friends up to meet me there too! Then we got to ride a RAINBOW! It was all rocky there, you'd have liked it.” “Oh, um... well I'm sorry anyway. It was wrong of me. It's just that... when you threw that party for us, all those years ago, I was so happy, like my whole life had been in black an white and then had suddenly turned to colour. But then you went away and everything went back to how it was before. Only now I had one less sister... and once I'd seen how fun things could have been, the rock farm suddenly seemed so dreary without you...” “You big silly! Pinkie Pie parties are the BEST parties, but that doesn't mean that you can't have a party without Pinkie Pie! You could just throw your own parties!” “I... could?” Well of course she could, why hadn't she ever thought of that before? “But... I don't know how.” “Oooh! Oooh! I know! I'll show you! I knew today was going to be a great day for a party! It'll be a super awesome Pinky Inky Pie party! We'll plan it together, and I'll show you how it's done, and then you can go home and throw as many parties as you want!” “R-really?” Inky was beaming happily now. Suddenly, her perfectly straight hair seemed to explode into a frazzled mess of tangled disorder. “That's... ultra super mega triple awesome!” Laughing and giggling, the sisters began to bounce around each other and the other ponies. “Oh great, now there's two of them...” Muttered Twilight, although she had to admit their levity was somewhat welcome. “Applejack... I have a request.” Ace dived to the floor in front of the nonplussed farmer. “Pleeeeease! Please please! Remove this curse! I'm begging you!” She sighed, this pony was getting pretty darn annoying. “Ah already told yer! There ain't no curse! It's all in yer head! Twilight, help me out here, please?” This was a tough one, Twilight mused. Sportsponies could get very superstitious, and it seemed that Ace just simply wasn't interested in listening to reason. She'd read all about this; lots of them had all sorts of silly little rituals, like getting dressed in a certain order or something. If they did them wrong, they'd attribute any mistakes they made to the 'bad luck' of breaking their routine. And because they were so upset about it, sometimes it really would make them play worse, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course, they were always careful do do their rituals right, so that way they'd think positively and... wait! “That's it! Applejack, instead of cursing his racket, why don't you try blessing it instead!” That was a shock to Applejack. “Well Twilight! Of all the ponies here, ah thought you'd be the last one to...” Suddenly she caught on to her drift. “Ooooooooh. Ah get it. Erm... by mah mighty voodoo powers, or somethin', ah hereby give Ace here's racket the blessing of the mighty apple...” She waved her hood over him and grinned, rather unconvincingly. But it was enough for Ace. “Oh thank you Applejack! I swear I will never cross you again. If you would excuse me, I have a title to reclaim!” He reared up, and shot out of the library. “What a complete and utter mule!” Exclaimed Applejack. “If ah never see that pony again, it'll still be a mite too soon for mah liking!” She froze, suddenly remembering something important. “Oh, horseapples, ah never did ask him what happened to mah hat...” “Zat horrible thing is just vere you left it, lying on the ground in your farm.” Photo Finish turned up her nose. Hats were not in this season, especially not battered old Stetsons. “Now. Ve get to ze important moments, yes? Fluttershy, I have decided to give you vun more chance, as an apology for ze whole moon thing.” “Oh... that's, um, very kind of you...” Be assertive. Be assertive. Be assertive. “But even if I did want to, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to help you. You see... there's something I never told you about my last show. All those things I did...” She blushed. Just the thought of it was enough to get her embarrassed. Of course, the thought of most things was enough to make her embarrassed, but that show had been particularly embarrassing. “I couldn't do them on my own, I needed Twilight's magic to-” She was cut off as Photo Finish gasped loudly, realisation dawning. “Vhy of course! To make ze magic... I need- ZE MAGIC! I do not need you, vhy are you still here? Vhy am I still here? I go!” And she did. This only left the two unicorns. Blueblood could definitely see the way the wind was blowing here. He threw himself at Rarity's hooves. “Please, Rar- LADY Rarity. I hope this little... misunderstanding will not come between us. You want a princely suitor? Why, I am your colt! Anything you want, anything at all! Just please, please don't tell Princess Celestia about this!” She had to admit, she was ever so slightly tempted. He had said he'd do everything she wanted. Why, she could force him to be the perfect gentlecolt! Open every door, pay for every meal. Catch every cake. But she knew that it wouldn't be the same. If deep down he was still the same stuck up inconsiderate blow-hard, and only behaving like a proper prince to save his own flank, then all the romance was gone. Still, he did seem to be pretty desperate, and there were certainly plenty of other ways she could make use of that offer. “I have NO interest in a princely suitor. You are a horrible, insufferable dolt who I would not be seen DEAD with. However, if you really will do anything... From now on I want you to always place whatever mare you are with first. That means that you open doors for her, pay for her meals, help her to her seat... I think you get my drift.” “Gah! Fine.” It didn't sound too appealing to Blueblood, but he supposed that it was preferable to whatever Celestia would do to him if she found out the truth. “Oh, believe it or not, you may well thank me for these instructions one day.” It would certainly give him more chance of attracting some poor misguided mare to his side. Rarity couldn't help but feel that she was doing him a favour. That wouldn't do at all. “My second request... I do not think you will ever thank me for.” She grinned evilly. “You see, I am in need of a new clothes horse!” “...A clothes horse?” “Yes, a clothes horse. For my dresses.” “...For your dresses?” “Why indeed. I will make you look oh so PRETTY! We could even have a FASHION SHOW! I'm sure that everypony in Canterlot would want to be there...” “No... no. That's too much.” The Prince shook his head. “I couldn't possibly-” “Oh? Very well then. I know this is usually Twilight's line but... Spike, take a note please. Dear Princess Celestia...” “I'll do it! I'll do it!” The Prince started sobbing. “Now, if you'll excuse me there's... there's something in my eye...” He dashed out, desperate to get as far away from Rarity as possible. “No.” Now, only Trixie remained. Well, Inky and Gilda were still hanging around, but they were standing with Twilight and her friends now. “Whatever your plan is, the Great and Powerful Trixie is not interested in 'making friends', or 'saying sorry'. Nor is she one to be cowed into submission with threats. Your plan has failed, Twilight Sparkle.” “You know, Trixie, I really don't understand what your problem with me is. The way I remember it, I never tried to embarrass you, even though I probably could have. All I did was save you from an Ursa Minor. If my saving your life is really upsetting you that much, then I am truly sorry. Next time I'll let the bear eat you.” While Twilight was truly trying to be earnest and conciliatory, she couldn't help but let a little sarcastic jibe slip in out of frustration. “Trixie already told you no! If you had only let Trixie work, then that Ursa Minor would have been no obstacle! You saved nopony! You only disrupted Trixie's grand plan!” Twilight was starting to get more than a little annoyed by Trixie's attitude. “Come on Trixie, we all know that isn't true. Who do you think you're fooling? You were terrified of that thing because you know that behind all that bluster you're just a little pony like everypony else. We don't have to be enemies! We both have a love of magic, think of what we could achieve if we worked together! We could be friends...” “TRIXIE. SAID. NO.” Growled Trixie. “You think after this débâcle Trixie wants friends? The Great and Powerful Trixie works alone, all that this day has proven is that diluting with other ponies cramps Trixie's style!” “That's it.” Rainbow had had enough of this game. “Listen, Trixie, in case you haven't noticed, the tables have pretty much turned. Now it's you who is outnumbered six to one. Why don't you take a moment to think about how you want to handle this?” “She's not going to back down.” Gilda grinned. “She's stupid like that. And that's seven to one, by the way.” “Eight to one!” Added Inky. Trixie didn't like it, but it was true enough, everything had pretty much fallen apart around her. Of course, surrender was not an option for the Great and Powerful Trixie. “This isn't over!” She warned. “One day you will rue the day you crossed the Great and Powerful Trixie!” There was a puff of smoke, and then she was gone. As far as the door, at least. “You have to twist the handle and pull.” Twilight explained, helpfully. Trixie just huffed, and in another puff of smoke she really was gone, the door slamming shut behind her. “Are you sure you want to let her get away like that?” Asked Spike. “She did send you to the moon and all, is it really safe to just let her escape like that?” Twilight looked over at Gilda and Inky. It would be hard to explain Trixie's increased powers without getting the others into trouble as well. It seemed a shame to upset what was after all an 83% happy ending. “Don't worry Spike, I think once she's had time to calm down she'll realise that she's best off just leaving us alone. Perhaps she'll even learn her lesson this time. Still, I do think it's about time for my next friendship report. If that's alright with Rarity, of course...” “You go right ahead, dear. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a Prince to torture...” “Very well then. Spike, take a note please-” Princess Celestia was reading through some dreary report from one of the guard captains, when a letter from Twilight appeared with a pop. Glad of the distraction, she caught it with her magic, and opened it immediately. Dearest Princess Celestia, Today I learned that sometimes it can be hard to get along with every pony you meet. If you do find that you have made yourself an enemy, it is better to talk to each other to try to work out your problems together, because in the end fighting doesn't really make anypony happy. You never know, you might just be able to turn that enemy into a new friend. Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle On finishing reading the letter, Celestia glanced out of the window. Down below, Luna was frolicking in the gardens, enjoying the beautiful day. Celestia smiled. “Thank you, Twilight.” She said to herself. “But I believe that I have already learnt this particular lesson for myself.”