S2 Ch 19: A show to remember
Trixie gulped, staring through the curtain at the crowd of ponies. Oh, this was going to be an experience, alright. She glanced over at her assistant and let out a small smile. “While… normally we would not ever need the assistance of another… without our magic, we do admit that you have proven quite invaluable.”
Zecora merely snorted. “We accept your attempts at gratitude, though please do not mistake our reasoning. It is merely that we have heard ponies speak of your shows and we desired to merely add our own seasoning.”
“… You have the most interesting way of speaking. Have you ever considered a life in show business? If you’d like to become my assistant again, the Great and Powerful Trixie could always be generous enough to allow you a full time position.”
The zebra merely shook her head and laughed, before stepping back towards a cooking cauldron. She then gestured towards five small, different colored potions in vials. “The first half of your act is prepared chemically, just remember do not drink, only coat with the remedy.”
“Yes, yes,” the unicorn said, before trotting over to them and sliding the five vials into her hat. “I’m a professional, I assure you. Now, would you mind?”
Zecora nodded and reached over, gripping the rope of the curtain and giving it a great tug.
Trixie threw down some smoke pellets, which exploded while the curtain opened, allowing her to step forward into the spotlight. The crowd stared at her and she felt the thrill begin to course through her. The excitement. The wonder. It was time to trick all of these ponies. To make them believe that yes, magic was real.
Well, of course magic was real. But that HER magic was real. Even if it was gone, that didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of great acts to make them cheer. To make their blood freeze. To make them jump up and shriek with excitement. She was the greatest performer in Equestria and she would NOT let something as trivial as not having her magic stop her from blowing all of them away. “Fillies and gentle colts! I hope you are all ready to be wondered and amazed at the magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Tonight, before your very eyes I will put on a show like none other!” She then flipped her hat off in one hoof, popping a bottle off one of the vials. Dark, purple smoke began to flow freely out. “For tonight, I will show you the greatest frights and terrors you have ever seen. The beasties that lie in wait, preparing to snatch up little ponies who travel too closely to their homes...”
The lights, on cue, began to dim. The smoke above began to swirl. She reached a hoof out, moving it through the smoke as she had learned from Zecora. She made a mental note to add the zebra as at least a foot note when she made her memoirs. Maybe a few sentences in a chapter. Possibly.
Glowing red eyes seemed to form from the smoke, before shaping into a cold, wicked looking dark, purple pony that flowed across the room, swirling over the heads of the crowd. “Creatures such as the Windigo, the great spirits that feed off the hatred and violence of ponies everywhere. Creatures that chill the bones of even the bravest pony...”
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Twilight let out a soft gasp, her eyes wide with wonder. “I can’t believe it. Trixie knows how to make a shifting draught,” she whispered.
“A what?” Spike and Nightmare Moon asked.
“Oh, it’s a potion designed, originally, for making cloud letters,” Moondancer started, letting out a gasp when the ‘windigo’ galloped by. “Created by the pegasi about five hundred years ago. It’s very difficult to make, but very useful for modern weather shaping. As a matter of fact, the biggest display of it was made five years ago during the--”
Nightmare Moon and Spike rolled their eyes and gave each other a look. “Eggheads,” they said in unison.
“We’re not eggheads!” Moondancer and Twilight said in unison, before sharing a look and blushing.
“I wrote a report on it when I was going for my minor in weather patterns...” Twilight mumbled softly.
“And I was there at the display and studied up on it, then,” Moondancer added.
Spike let out a low whistle when the Windigo disappeared. “Ohhhh, what’s she doing now?”
“Now, my little ponies,” Trixie said, a dark mist swirling around the unicorn. “I am sure you’ve all come to accept the night. And you’ve learned of things such as wereponies, vampires and shades. Some of you, foalish ponies, even believe they are worth fearing. Worth truly being frightened of… well. Of that, you are wrong.” She reached back into her hat and popped open another vial. Dark, red vapor flowed from her hat, spilling out across the stage and enveloping the crowd.
“For there are far, far more terrifying things that go bounce in the night. Monsters that your pony minds could barely comprehend. For example… the terrifying hoof snatchers.” The unicorn let out a low, wicked laugh that seemed to echo through the room.
Twilight rolled her eyes. Why would there-- “EEEEEEK!” she shrieked when something raced across her hooves. Something small and red in the dark, swirling mist. Judging by the reaction of other ponies, she wasn’t the only one who had such an experience.
Moondancer’s horn glowed and she caught one… revealing a small squirrel in a tiny red cape. She quickly let it go, letting out a low chuckle. “I have to say, she does have a way of putting on a show. I don’t know how she got squirrels to help her...” She trailed off when she realized the answer. Fluttershy. It had to be.
The earth pony nodded, relaxing and staring up at the display. She was beginning to understand why so many ponies were coming to these shows to view the Great and Powerful Trixie. As boastful as the mare was, she did have a flare for the grand.
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Trixie grinned happily, small beads of sweat forming on her brow from the long performance. All five potions in her hat, along with half a dozen other tricks of hers, had now been performed and the ponies were on the edge of their seats, staring with wonder, excitement and, best of all, fear. This was probably the greatest show she had ever put on.
And it sent a small jolt through her heart when she realized she KNEW half these ponies and half of them knew her. Recognized her. And yet stared at her with such awe. Now? Now it was time for the grand finale. She gave another quick look over the crowd. Good. Nightmare Moon herself wasn’t here. She could perform her next act without fear of repercussions.
“Now then, my little ponies...” she said softly, stepping into the center of the stage. She glanced back at Zecora, who was stirring her pot. The zebra sniffed the brew, before nodding. She tossed a green vial into the pot and a thick, inky black smoke began to rise up. “It’s time for you to see the true terror of this night. However, this is not for the faint of heart. For this is a monster you all know quite well. One that makes even the bravest pony curl up with fear and tremble.” She gave a loud, wicked laugh. “Ah ha ha ha! Do you have the courage? The bravery? Do you have the will to face the most terrifying creature of all? Those who are afraid, please. Depart. Nopony will think less of you. Nopony will mock you. For this, my dear ponies… is where true terror begins.”
Nopony moved. They all just stared with rapt attention as the smoke rose above, billowing and swirling. “Very well. The greatest, most terrifying creature of all. A monster that none can stand against.” She made the signal for Zecora. Dark, purple clouds enveloped her.
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Twilight’s eyes widened when the smoke began to clear. No no no. Oh no. Please no. But it was. It could be nothing else.
“Nightmare Moon.”
On the stage, Trixie was standing. Except she had been transformed. Her mane glimmered. Wings(likely fake but heavily masked by the smoke) stood out by her side. She towered over the ponies(though her hooves were hidden by the darkness and smoke as well, Twilight suspected she was on stilts.) She had great, gnashing teeth. “Our ruler of the night, a creature that none can hope to stand against!”
Ponies in the front row screamed and toppled back in their chairs when the pony moved forward. Trixie disappeared and a dark, pony shaped mist flowed through the crowd, drawing more screams of fright when its damp coldness washed over them.
Until, eventually, it too faded. The lights came back on and Trixie stood on the stage, completely back to normal, lightly panting but standing firm and strong. The dark clouds were quickly beginning to evaporate. The crowd was a mess, some ponies having even fled the library entirely. Many others had fallen over and scrambled to their hooves. But the reaction was obvious.
Ponies began to cheer wildly, stomping their hooves at her performance.
Trixie stared for a moment, before bowing her head. “Thank you, thank you. You have all been an audience worthy of the Great and Powerful Trixie. And please, keep pounding your hooves for my Spectacular and Delightful assistant, Zecora!” the mare called, motioning for the zebra to trot on stage.
Zecora, albeit nervously, stepped forward and bowed her head. There were a few shocked gasps, but the pounding continued.
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t as bad as she’d expected. It had obviously just been an act. Maybe it--
Her thoughts were stopped when she looked over to Nightmare Moon and found the mare wasn’t there at all. Her eyes caught Moondancer’s and the two shared looks of terror.
Oh no.
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Trixie let out a soft, exhausted sigh when she trotted off the stage and to the backroom, the crowd still stomping their hooves. She’d performed a spectacular show and now it was time to enjoy the fruits of her labors, namely the curtain was down and she was going to get some rest. And dream about her show. One worthy of her name. One even worthy of how SHE saw her name. And the crowd had gobbled it up. It was--
“Quite an interesting performance,” a voice said, a voice that sent a chill down her spine. One Trixie had heard in her nightmares more times than she could count. Slowly, the unicorn’s gaze was drawn up to the ruler of Equestria, who stood on the platform high above the rest of the room, that held her bed.
“Y-your highness. E-err… you saw it? I uhhh… didn’t… see you in the crowd.” She gave a nervous gulp. Funny, she’d imagined the mare might be a little annoyed by the display, but she’d had a thousand excuses. Now they all felt insufficient when she stared into the eyes of that great, powerful mare. “What, errr, d-did you think?”
“It was incredible, we will not deny,” the alicorn said, her lips in a cruel, wicked smile that revealed her sharp, narrow fangs. “Even without your magic, it seems you have more than a few tricks up your sleeves.”
“W-well, I try, your highness. So… you enjoyed it?” Trixie felt relief begin to flow through her. Maybe the ruler wasn’t so mad at her little joke.
“Oh, we did. Most of it… at least...” With a flash of dark magic, the alicorn disappeared and reappeared in front of the unicorn. “So… WE are the greatest monster in Equestria, then?”
“Y-yes, I mean, no, I mean, i-it’s just a show. You know, Nightmare Night, r-right? Leave out candy f-for Nightmare Moon, hope she doesn’t g-gobble you up, a-all that. Your highness? It’s all make believe a-and pretend and--”
“We were wrong about you, Trixie,” the alicorn hissed, stepping forward and towering over the unicorn. “We believed that, perhaps, you would learn your lesson. That you would… that you COULD learn to respect your ruler. To treat her the way she deserves… it seems we were wrong.”
Trixie whimpered. “Y-your highness. I-I meant no disrespect. I-I was merely performing a--”
“A mockery of us? Yet again. Did you think that performing it away from our city would spare you? That we would ignore a SECOND mistake? We will not be so merciful this time, pony...” she growled. “For your deeds against the crown, Trixie. We hereby banish you from Equestria!” Trixie felt her entire world begin to crumble around her. “You shall be sent away, where nopony will ever hear of your treacherous--”
The door banged open and a swarm of colts and fillies came bounding in. “Trixie, Trixie! That was amazing!” the ponies shrieked. Only to pause at the sight of the true Nightmare Moon.
The alicorn gave pause, staring at her smallest subjects. Trixie merely gulped, her entire body shaking.
Finally, a voice spoke out. “Oh my gosh! Is that the real Nightmare Moon?!” Button cried, galloping forward.
The alicorn let out a startled cry when she was suddenly swarmed by the little ponies, her eyes widening when they poked and prodded at her. “Can you show us your fangs? Can you really turn into shadows? Do you actually eat ponies?”
The ruler just stared in bafflement, trying to spit out answers in response, but struggling under the deluge of foalish curiosity. “W-why are you not frightened of us?” she asked in bafflement, not getting a response from the excited ponies, only more questions.
------
Nightmare Moon stared in wonder, the last of the foals leaving out the door. Finally, she turned to Trixie, her eyes narrowed. “Explain, mare. They were terrified of us in there. Why were they not, now?”
The unicorn gulped. “Because the lights are on in here? Because you’re not supposed to be scary, now? Because it was all entertainment and, at the end of the day, they know the REAL Nightmare Moon is their ruler and protects them, doesn’t eat them?” she offered, all those excuses flowing back into her mind. She gave a mental thanks to all those ponies who had given her a chance to prepare.
“W-what?”
“It’s Nightmare Night. Ponies WANT to be scared. That’s why I play it up,” the mare said. “The ‘eating foals’ thing, stuff like that? It’s all made up to scare ponies. And they know that none of it’s true. In the darkness, it makes sense. But when you’re just here, in the light?” Trixie motioned to the lights around the room. “You’re… well, just a pony. And kind of their ruler. They… suspect you won’t hurt them. It’s why making you the ‘scariest thing’ is so effective. Ponies believe you won’t really hurt them, so they can let go and pretend you’re a big, terrifying monster. If you ran outside and crept in the shadows, they’d be just as scared. Because they WANT to be scared tonight.”
The ruler stared at the doorway, then back to the unicorn. “They… aren’t… truly frightened of us, then?”
“Well, I mean… not… as much as they probably should be...” Trixie mumbled softly.
The alicorn stared at her for the longest moment. Then she began to, lightly, chuckle.
“Y-your highness?”
“We were wrong, little pony. And we are sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Your performance was magnificent. And we were quite entertained. Though… we suspect we had miss understood the finale.”
“O-oh, err, well, thank you, your highness. Does… that mean… I won’t be banished?” Trixie asked, her voice filled with hope.
“No, you shall not.”
Trixie let out a sigh of relief.
“However. There is still the matter of your-”
“Y-your highness!” Twilight said, bursting into the room, Moondancer right behind her. The earth pony’s heart was hammering, she couldn’t believe Zecora had refused to let them in until all the foals had left. “O-oh thank heavens. Your highness, w-we heard that you--”
“Yes. We are here. We were discussing things with our subject.”
“Y-your highness, before you do anything, I-I think I need to explain some things about Nightmare Night. You see, the fear is--”
“Pretend? Yes, we are aware.”
“O-oh. When Trixie, err, she wasn’t mocking you, she--”
“We know.”
“…. Really? But… I have a whole lecture available, and a report. It--”
“Is unnecessary,” Nightmare Moon said with a shake of her head. “But, as always, your dedication is… sizeable.”
“But… I… I...”
Moondancer sighed and patted Twilight on the back. “It’s okay, I’ll listen to your lecture, after. Okay?”
“R-really?”
“Really. You’ll be going into the detailed history of Nightmare Night, right? We could make a thesis out of it!”
“Ohhhh, that sounds delightful!”
Trixie just stared at the two ponies, a look of confusion on her face. These were the two ponies who were closest to the ruler of the night? Why would anypony subject themselves to that kind of dorkiness?
“AHEM!” Nightmare Moon said, silencing everypony. “As we were saying. Trixie. As it seems you HAVE learned your lesson. We hearby release your from your punishment.”
The unicorn froze, staring up at her. Nervously, she gulped and dared to hope. “You… do you mean...”
“Yes.” The ruler’s horn glowed, a beam of purple magic flowing down and connecting with the unicorn’s horn. “We hereby return that which was taken from you.”
Trixie was lifted into the air by the magic swirling around her. Eventually, her flank began to glow and, once again, her cutie mark appeared. Then, gently, she was lowered to the ground. The unicorn slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Her horn glowed a moment later and the lights turned off, then on. She let out a squeal of delight, running to the light switch. “It works! MY MAGIC! IT WORKS!” she shrieked, flipping the light off and on again. “Oh thank you, thank you your highness! Oh thank you! I-I’m a unicorn again! I’m a performer again! I’m WHOLE again!” she shrieked, hopping up and down with excitement.
Twilight chuckled, smiling while she watched the happy mare. She then glanced to Nightmare Moon, who was offering a smile of her own. The ruler gave a nod, before turning to her student and bard. “The night is still young and I believe… there is still more scaring to be done. Is there not?”
Moondancer gave a smile and nodded. “Might I suggest talking with Rainbow Dash? I’m sure she’d love to have you help her with some of her pranks.”
The ruler frowned, but then nodded. “I suppose… that may be exactly what we shall do. Thank you, my student.” With those last words, the mare disappeared in a flash of dark magic.
Twilight stared, then looked to Moondancer. “It… worked. Didn’t it? It really… everything worked out?”
“It did.”
“What… now?”
“I’m not sure. I… suppose we go an enjoy the party? I think there are still ponies trick or treating, too.” Moondancer glanced to Trixie, who was gleefully juggling a few bouncy balls. “Or how about we go see the farm? Either way, I think… we should give her some time.”
Twilight nodded, eying the other unicorn and nodding. “Of course. Bye Trixie!”
“Yeah yeah, bye Twilight, Moondancer. Oh my gosh, I can SHUFFLE CARDS AGAIN! EEEEEEE!”
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Eeee, that was PERFECT! Just the right amount of tension but everything worked out in the end! Bahaha, Twilight being so let down she couldn't do her report and Moondancer consoling her with the promise of a thesis. XD I LOVE THOSE TWO. This was adorable and made me very happy to read! Obviously the conflict of the story isn't over yet, but it's so dang NICE to see Nightmare Moon maturing and growing and becoming less hostile. I can't wait to see where things go next!
I suspected that something like Trixie's last performance to happen, as well as Nightmare Moon's ire. I thought something would quell it a little, but not who or how.
Honestly, I was expecting it to end with Nightmare Moon deciding to simply leave the punishment in place until it was fully served.
Also, a part of me kind of wonders what the other potions would have done. I understand excluding them as it would slow the story and not add much, but I'm still curious.
Oh, Nightmare Moon is finally learning to listen! Wonderful, if she can keep that up she will start to realize that her ponies have started to care for her and see her the way Luna always wished to have been seen.
Great chapter all around, well balanced and the bits with Trixie and Zecora were really nice as well.
Zecora saves the day! And she’s definitely getting those sentences. Maybe even a whole paragraph!
Also Trixie, more or less unintentionally working an anti-prejudice message into her show. Credit to Zecora, and “Oh you fools think you should be afraid of werewolves and vampires? Ha!”
I wonder if Trixie learned to make those potions herself or if it was all Zecora. Could go either way, Trixie IS dedicated to her craft after all.
I think Trixie will be a better magician for this experience, combining magic with tricks to do things that should be impossible.
All's well that ends well, Trixie perform her ass off to deliver a breath-taking show, got Nightmare's respect & got her magic back! So far the night, as gone well!
Take that, Tirek.
Trixie has made a comeback and I'm glad for that!
>Pipsqueak doesn't show up to fanboy at Nightmare
Disliked, unfavorited and reported.
Phew, good thing NM went from blast first ask.second to scream first blast second.
It actually went well? Got worried for a second there. Even with her magic back, I think Trixie should try to incorporate Zecora's assistance as much as possible while she's still in town. With both potions and magic, she'd definitely do well.
An excellent chapter, that genuine flair for the dramatic and willingness to put the work in is why I've always appreciated Trixie.
Ok, but when will the nightmare exact the candy tithe?
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Trixie: drama hufflepuff?
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Well every other unicorn main character seems to be either a prodigy and/or blessed with opportunity. Trixie is self-taught, and entirely reliant on her own ability for her livelihood.
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She may not be the greatest mage in the land, but storms if she isn't the most driven one!
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Yep. Definitely got that badger stubbornness. Much admirable about that.
Ah, Trixie has only seen the tip of the dorkiness iceberg from those two.
"But I have a lecture!" :-)
I have a sudden urge to see Trixie on this universe’s version of Penn and Teller: Fool Us. Seeing her combine “conventional” and magical illusions can prove rather interesting.
Also yay, Nightmare Moon is learning the power of chilling out and not destroying everyone who looks like they may possibly be slighting her!
Oh my god this is the best chapter! NM learns the spirit of Nightmare Night, and SOMEHOW it turned even better than when Luna learned of it. EEEEEEE I'm exceptionally loving this!
Truly, a wasted lecture is the greatest fear for somepony such as Twilight xD