Chapter 15: The Riddle of Trixie
Applejack trotted on through the darkness. She couldn't even see her own hooves but she could feel that she was no longer walking along the wooden floors of the theatre... if she had ever actually been there at all.
"Trixie?" her voiced did not travel far. The blackness was as thick as butter. She walked onwards.
There was a distant twinkle that grew larger as she drew closer. A stone archway lit by a soft light. Through its grim mouth AJ could see the room that lay beyond. A small courtyard, paved with unassuming cobblestones, surrounded by other archways, identical to the one Applejack was just about to walk through. Through each archway lay nothingness. Ten archways in total.
She carefully stepped forward into the courtyard.
"Welcome!"
"Welcome."
Two familiar voices spoke in union. Applejack's head spun wildly.
"Trixie?" she stared in disbelief, "...Trixies."
Two of them this time. Perfectly identical. Even their steps were in sync as they marched across the courtroom and turned to face her.
"Ten gateways," said the Trixie on the right.
"Only one will lead you to the heart," smiled the Trixie on the right, her mirror image smiling as well.
"The others will trap you here."
"Forever," they both said, together. The effect was eerie. Applejack could feel her hair standing on end.
"Trixie knows the right way but remember this..."
"When you ask us, only one of us will tell the truth..."
"The other will lie..."
Applejack stared back at them.
Hey, Ah think Ah've heard this one before. This is one of those stupid riddles that Twilight likes to tease me with. What the heck was the answer again? Ya gotta... ask the one what the other would say and then... wait... then...
She paused in thought for a moment. Racking her brain.
"Uh..." she turned to the Trixie on the right, "What's mah name?"
"Applejim," replied the Trixie cheerfully.
"Applejack," said the other when AJ glanced at her.
"So... uh... yer the one who lies and yer the one who tells the truth, then," Applejack turned to the Trixie on the left, "Which way should Ah go?"
"That way," Truthful Trixie pointed at the furthermost archway.
"Okie dokie," said Applejack as she marched confidently towards the correct archway. Usually she could never figure out riddles like this and sometimes it still took her a while to understand them even after Twilight had explained the answer. Now, Applejack was no fool but her mind was better suited to more practical problems. How to dig terraces to avoid erosion, how to position the orchards to reduce tillage and fertilizer requirements, how to balance costs. Still, she was surprised she'd cleared the riddle this easily. She had something to boast to Twilight about when she got out of here.
The Deceptive Trixie seemed startled.
"Wait!" cried the Liar, "Trixie forgot! You're only supposed to be allowed one question!"
A silence descended on the mysterious courtyard.
"Uh... yeah..." said Applejack, "Ah can... see how that coulda made things a lot harder..."
More silence, growing more awkward by the second.
"Redo! Trixie wants a redo!" demanded the deceptive Trixie, "Close your eyes!"
AJ reluctantly obliged the two. There followed a few frantic seconds of panicked shuffling and whispering and then came the call, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."
Applejack obeyed. The scene seemed to be completely unchanged. The two Trixie's stood staring back at her.
"Ha!" cried the Trixie on the left, "We shuffled positions randomly! Now you don't know which of us is which! Now, ask your question! But this time you only get one question!"
Applejack stared back disbelievingly. She couldn't help but giggle. Trixie was terrible at this.
"I don't have to ask a question anymore... Ah already know the right way," she chuckled and pressed on, "Besides, Ah reckon yer the liar," she winked at the Trixie on the left, "You were more talkative then the other. Also, yer sweating and you've yet to make eye contact. Ah'd stay away from professional poker games if Ah was you," she smiled to herself as she walked away.
The Deceptive Trixie was looking more and more frustrated with each exchange. She leapt in between AJ and the exit.
"Then... then close your eyes and spin around and we'll do it again!" she cried, already on the brink of tears.
"Nah!" laughed AJ, "Fer a pony who makes a living tricking folks you sure ain't much good at lyin', Trixie."
"Trixie is a master of deception!" the Liar was fuming with indignation.
"Name one time you've managed to deceive me," Applejack didn't often tease other ponies but Trixie was just too much fun.
"Trixie told you that if you picked the wrong archway you'd be trapped her forever and you believed her!" said Trixie triumphantly.
"Didn't believe it for a second. Twilight said she could pull me out any time."
"You believed Trixie's story about the Ursa Major when she first came to Ponyville!"
"Not even a little."
"You... you believed Trixie when she said she wasn't scared late last night," Trixie was grasping at straws.
"Yer a real cutie," AJ chucked her lightly under the chin and walked on.
"You think you can read Trixie like a book but there's one secret that she's managed to keep from you!" yelled the deceiver, thoroughly frazzled, "And you'll never guess it. Trixie did everything she could to hide it from you!"
This time AJ's curiosity was piqued. She turned to face the strange duo.
"Well, what's the secret?" she asked.
"I won't tell!" the liar stuck out her tongue.
"Good. 'Cos I wasn't asking you," Applejack turned her expectant eyes to the other Trixie.
"Trixie is desperately in love with you," said the truth teller.
Applejack and the Deceptive Trixie's jaws hit the floor.
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That was hilarious.
Was not.
Was too.
Now, time to see what is inside the heart of door number 4.
*Grins* Very nicely done. I confess I did twitch at the ego thing and then figured you weren't using Freud's take on it. Good to know I wasn't the only one
That's much better. Seriously, Freud was a quack anyway. He believed that all boys are naturally attracted to their mothers, which he based on his own feelings, even though he did not have a normal relationship with his own mother. Entirely unscientific. Freudian psychology is a joke nowadays.
I like the touch that AJ is good at practical solutions, and deals with the riddle in a more sensible way (reading the ponies for tells) instead of picking it apart like a logical experiment (as Twilight would have done). Like I said before, it's interesting to see how AJ handles the obstacles with her own mindset.
So I'll ask again...how many more trails must Applejack face before she gets to 'the roots'?
3657122
Uh... two?
3656880 Agreed, I like seeing Applejack as the 'cutting the knot' type of problem-solver, tackling the obstacles in front of her on her own terms instead of playing along with someone else's (attempted) mind games. Charging straight ahead to the exclusion of all else can and has been known to backfire on her badly, but I think that mindset of simple honesty works well here when it comes to wearing down Trixie's facades.
This continues on the right way!!!!!!!!!!!
That's the best way I've ever seen that scene used. I loved Trixie messing everything up, and that last secret made my heart flutter. I can't wait for the next chapter.
Your chapters are short, but you update frequently and they're all great, so I don't really have anything to complain about anything!
BAH! WELL NOW YOU'RE JUST BACKING OUT OF THE THINGS YOU SAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO! YOU NEVER FOLLOW THROUGH AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
No but seriously. I'm not going to bully you. This was great