Little Bits

by Loganberry

Old Tricks (flashfic; Slice of Life; Trixie)

Her mother was powerful. Exactly how she had obtained her former role at court, she had never been willing to divulge to her daughter. Young as she was, Trixie had sensed an aching sadness behind all the prideful comments about having the Princess’s ear.

Her father was great. Ponies from across the northern lands flocked to his shows. He dominated the stage; he had the greatest trick of all: that of making every member of his audience feel they were the most important pony in the room.

Their filly grew up in a world of luxury, every whim indulged and every wish granted as the family travelled onward. When Trixie won her conjuring cutie mark with a spectacular smoke-bomb display, her cute-ceñeara was the talk of the nearby towns for months.

It was a strange, rootless, life, but Trixie was content – until Big Bucks arrived.

The oddly-coloured stallion had a powerful build, yet the power of his mind was stronger still. Suggesting a partnership, he overcame Jackpot’s initial uncertainty and the two quickly became fast friends. The bits rolled in and their fame grew still further in the north.

Her father spent ever more time rehearsing and performing with Big Bucks, while her mother used those mysterious contacts to ensure there was always Canterlot Castle representation at the shows – though Trixie never saw her actually speak to the Princess herself, only to her servants.

Though Trixie’s parents had increasingly little time to spend with their daughter, she did not feel neglected. She felt inspired. Illusion magic! The ability to make your audience believe you could bring them the Moon on a stick – and wasn’t her cutie mark a crossed wand and Moon?

Destiny would brook no delay. One dark night, Trixie stole an old wagon and stole away.

Author's Note:

Written for Equestria Daily's 300-word challenge to come up with a backstory for Trixie and her (apparent) dad, Jackpot. Since responses were requested via the post's comments thread and I had very little time to spare, I hammered out something in just a few minutes -- and here it is. Apart from one minor formatting change (italics rather than *asterisks*), it has deliberately not been edited, since I wanted to include the piece exactly as it appears in the EqD comments.