The Greatest Show

by Absolution

The Greatest Show

How long it had been, Trixie couldn’t tell. The amount of power she had felt, the respect she was given, the absolute fear in the eyes of the ponies as an entire town had been at her beck and call.

Then the complete horror at the realisation of what she had become.

But the Alicorn Amulet was a myth once more, taken by Twilight Sparkle to ensure the near limitless power she had once possessed would never be used again. And for good reason.

Every single day since that moment, Trixie had practised.

Trained.

Repeated each instruction until she could transmute water into milk into cider.

Perfected every routine so each future show would be utterly unique.

So then why was she homeless? Why was she living under a bridge in Los Pegasus?

Trixie’s once azure fur was stained from the dirt she slept on. Her hat, stolen a few months back. Her left flank exposed after her cape tore on a particularly stubborn branch. The fabric desperately needed a wash, but doing so would definitely make the once sparse tears more prominent.

The brilliant afternoon sun would blind Trixie if she were exposed for too long. Yet the hoofsteps from those above echoed throughout the underpass, assaulting Trixie’s ears and causing a dull throb through her mind.

Bringing her hooves over her ears, Trixie groaned and buried her nose in the grass. The only piece of shade in the park that wasn’t covered in blankets or foals came with the deafening echo of hooves on stone. If only she hadn’t given up her spot by the swings.

However, her kindness was never rewarded.

Not that the family knew Trixie gave the spot to them.

When she had lived in Manehattan, Trixie had once turned a leaf into a slice of bread for a starving colt. Two days later, everypony else he lived with had asked her to turn a tree into an entire loaf.

Having ponies beg Trixie to perform some kind of magic was a welcome change. Then again, for that brief moment, she was the most important pony in their dull lives. Being swarmed by countless bodies, asked for favours and gifts... It was enough to drive her mad.

How Twilight Sparkle managed it was beyond Trixie.

It wasn’t about the favours though. It wasn’t about the lifestyle. Oh, yes. Trixie had heard the news. Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Almost overnight, it seemed, Twilight had gone from no-name librarian to princess because of her friends?

Trixie didn’t hate Twilight. Quite the opposite, actually. After the years of training Trixie had put in, she now fully understood what it would take to actually perform each spell they’d dueled over. But that didn’t mean by knowing the formula she would ascend to being Princess of Magic.

But for a librarian to become an overnight celebrity known across Equestria without having lifted a hoof?

Where was the justice?

Instead of the travelling showmare who took to the stage every other day and faced every obstacle head on, performing countless spells she’d practised for months to absolute perfection?

Where was the—

“Here, buy yourself a new blanket.” Several gold Bits landed in the grass before Trixie.

Headache forgotten, Trixie lit her horn and threw the bits back at their owner. “Trixie is not some charity case!”

The currency bounced off the mare’s flank, the high-pitched ring of metal on stone drowning out the echo of hoofsteps.

Turning around, a golden face frowned at Trixie’s still prone form, her eyes obscured by a pair of wide glasses. “You looked like you could use a hoof, so I’m just giving you one. Like it or not.”

Trixie forced herself to a standing position, the mare before her wore a striking blue trenchcoat, covering her from head to tail. “The only thing Trixie needs is to be left alone!”

“Fine.” The mare turned around, leaving the bits on the pavement. “Don’t say I didn’t try to be nice.”

Trixie teleported before the mare, a solid glare fixed on her features. “Don’t you dare say that you’re being nice by simply dropping a few bits on the ground.”

“Alright, fine… Whatever.” The mare simply sidestepped Trixie and continued along the path. “Oh, by the way… You might want to consider ditching the blanket. Wearing it at the park might give other ponies ideas.”

Trixie knew her cape had seen better days, but she promised herself she’d buy a new one when she could. “Gladly!” Trixie barked.

Lighting her horn, Trixie took hold of the mare’s trenchcoat, instantly swapping clothing with her. The hood rested on her horn, and the temperature rose significantly upon donning the article. But otherwise it was a rather loose fit.

It took a moment for the golden mare to realise what had happened. But a quick glance back towards Trixie confirmed everything she needed to know. Flaring her wings, the golden mare widened her stance. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Seeing the cape billow out behind the pegasus reminded Trixie of the small spell she uses herself. “Accepting how nice you are, what does it look like?” A slight smirk spread her lips. “Although isn’t it a little warm for a coat?”

“I don’t care! Just give me my coat back.” The pegasus kept her teeth bared, a growl underlying her words.

“Fine.” Two quick flashes later, Trixie stood wearing her cape, while the trenchcoat hovered between the two of them, folded as if straight out of a heat press.

The pegasus quickly grabbed the coat, forcing her forehooves through the clothing.

“Mom, look! It’s Spitfire!”

“Sunny! What have I told you—oh, it really is Spitfire!”

The pegasus froze, unable to slide the coat over her wings. Groaning loudly, the pegasus threw her coat to the ground, glaring daggers at Trixie. “This isn’t over.” A strong gust of wind later and the pegasus had taken to the skies, soaring towards the centre of the city.

Trixie levitated the coat, folding it neatly once again and setting it on her back. Moving towards the foal who made the outburst, she found him and his parents sitting under the tree near the swings. It was the family she’d given the spot to a few hours earlier.

“Do you know who that was?” Trixie stood at the edge of the shade, not wanting to ‘give ponies ideas’ as the golden pegasus had said.

The foal jumped at Trixie’s question. “That was Spitfire of the Wonderbolts! She was right there!”

“Sunny!”

“But it was, Mom! I can’t believe we got to see her before the show!”

“What have I told you about talking to strangers?” the white mare scolded, causing the colt’s ears to droop. “Now sit down and be quiet.” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to my son.”

“Is what he said true?”

“I’m sorry?”

“About the Wonderbolts! Was that pegasus a member?”

“You unicorns don’t know anything. Spitfire is the captain of the Wonderbolts.”

Glaring at the mare, Trixie turned around and left, apparently having picked a fight with the leader of the Wonderbolts. At least Trixie now knew where to find her.

Lest she be called a thief for taking the pegasi’s coat.

*

Los Pegasus stadium was built entirely for it’s namesake. Not only was the city built around it, but the numerous landing pads built onto the exterior walls made the ground queues surprisingly short.

Not that Trixie was getting in line for the show. Since every unicorn in attendance was forced to wear an inhibitor ring to avoid security threats, and Trixie refused to allow anypony near her horn, there was little choice in the way of how to watch the show.

Of course, lacking the funds needed to enter didn’t help her chances of the front gate anyway.

Slipping off away from the gates, Trixie scanned the skies as countless security ponies flew laps around the stadium. Which allowed her perfect opportunity to try a camouflage spell she’d been wanting to try.

Trixie slowed her breathing and began to recite each step for her spell. It was simple enough, a light reflection spell which would render her invisible to anypony not paying attention. A few extra adjustments to include her cape and the extra coat. At least she’d know instantly if the spell didn’t work.

Continuing the flow of magic, Trixie teleported herself to the top of the stadium walls, allowing her a pegasus-eye view of the entire grounds within.

The afternoon sun had weakened significantly, reaching the very tip of the horizon. Thankful that she wouldn’t burn, Trixie scanned the skies. Countless security guards and royal sentries flew circles overhead, not a single pony noticing the subtle lilac glow of her horn, powering the spell that kept Trixie hidden.

Looking over the edge into the stadium, Trixie was unsure what to expect from the show. She knew about the Wonderbolts, of course, but there were no obstacles placed within the grounds, no clouds floating overhead to influence. Just the circular stadium filled to capacity with ponies and the field of lush grass, meticulously groomed to absolute perfection.

By the time the moon had risen above the horizon, the clear evening was only disturbed by the incessant din of ponies underneath. Trixie continued to feel the constant tug of magic draining her. Although she did have the power to maintain the camouflage for hours on end, she wasn’t entirely sure how long she could maintain hiding. After all, the one thing Trixie didn’t want was for the disguise to fail mid-way through the show. Because escaping pegasi was hard enough, let alone military trained fliers.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” The announcer started as the spotlights shut off, leaving the entire arena to the moon’s luminescence. “Presenting... The Wonderbolts!” The spotlights focused on the four separate entrances to the grounds. “Starting us off is the youngest member of the wonderbolts. Known for her lightning fast turns and perfect precision, please welcome Misty Fly!”

A solitary flash of blue shot out from the southern entrance, upon reaching the centre of the stadium the pegasus shot straight vertical, twisting her form in a tight spiral and leaving a perfectly smooth streak of cloud before stalling and flying straight back through her initial trail, splitting the cloud perfectly in half as it formed a perfect double-helix before dissipating into air as Misty Fly landed.

An eruption of cheers sounded immediately after she’d landed. “Following the new with the old, this veteran of the team proves that old dogs can certainly learn many, many new tricks. Here comes Rapid Fire!”

A solitary line of fire shot out of the eastern entrance, dwarfed entirely by the single spotlight tracking him, but effective at drawing attention. Upon reaching the centre-point where Misty Fly was waiting, Rapid Fire shot straight into the sky, the trail of fire lasting several seconds behind him. Almost mimicking Misty Fly’s stunt, Rapid Fire stalled at the apex, and started falling towards the ground, this time gathering the trailed fire within his hooves, slamming it into the ground, sending sparks in all directions around the stadium as if confetti had just been fired from cannons.

“Thirdly, she’ll fly rings around you, your friends and even the whole town if you asked her. Catch her if you can, it’s Fleetfoot!”

The western entrance flashed blue for a moment, the bright blur started flying circles around the arena, obscuring vision of the other two wonderbolts with a much darker trail of cloud. Almost menacing in a way. After a few moments the entire stadium was filled with the dark cloud. Trixie watched from above as Fleetfoot continued the rounds before flying a mere hoofs-length away from her head, building up more speed as the pegasus used the air pressure to suck the clouds back out of the arena and coming back for a landing with the other two members.

The cheering erupted once more once the clouds had left the stadium. “The fourth member of the Wonderbolts began with humble beginnings out at Dodge Junction, holding onto his dreams of devouring the skies like he would devour your pies… ladies! It’s Soarin’!”

The northern entrance erupted with a thunderclap before the dark contrail of Soarin’ started doing laps around the stadium. The display wasn’t focused as much on his abilities, but rather more of a crowd mascot. Everypony was on their hooves, reaching into the sky that maybe they’d grab a hoof-bump from Soarin’. Regardless of his flying prowess, he had a way with the crowd Trixie could only dream of.

“And finally, she holds the records for the fastest lap around Canterlot Mountain, the highest flight altitude, the only perfect score recorded at the Equestria games in acrobatics, she is the youngest ever captain of the Wonderbolts, and do I really need to continue? Hold onto your hats ponies, heeeeeere’s Spitfire!”

A bank of clouds had appeared overhead during the introduction. Flashes of lightning jumped between clouds overhead, sending multiple rumbles of thunder throughout the city. soon, the clouds started to move into the stadium. The flashes of lightning causing most ponies to close their eyes. The constant thunder rendering everything else inaudible. The only thing that existed was light blinding light, and deafening sound.

After almost a full minute, the clouds burst, revealing a raging inferno that evaporated any remnants of the storm. And hovering in the middle was Spitfire, taking a moment before bringing the entire crowd up with her hooves alone.

The reception was intense. If everypony loved Soarin’, they adored Spitfire.

Trixie grumbled into her hooves, despite the fact that the show was incredibly repetitive, everypony continued to cheer at every trick. It didn’t make any sense!

Two of them would fly towards each other, then glance off safely to another part of the stadium.

There would be a double-helix drawn between two ponies, only for a separate pair to perform the trick directly inside the first one.

Every single vertical stall, was followed by a dead-drop either above the crowd or the ground.

It was boring! It was all well and good the first few times, but all they’re doing is pairing up differently for nearly identical tricks.

“Time to spice things up.” Trixie muttered to herself. She could feel her magic pool draining slowly just maintaining her camouflage. But she had more than enough for a few illusions at least. And escape... If it ever comes to that.

The lilac glow of her horn intensified, watching closely as Fleetfoot and Misty Fly started their ascent on the western side of the arena. Once their stall began, Trixie summoned illusory rings of clouds in a straight line beneath the two mares. Almost as if the two hadn’t seen them, both Wonderbolts continued with their drops, even so much as slaloming through the rings. The clouds burst into fireworks as they passed, pleasing the crowds at the very least.

Having noticed the fireworks, both Soarin’ and Spitfire paused for a moment in the centre of the arena and after a brief pause started scanning the crowds for any unruly unicorns. Ever the showpony, Soarin’ used it as a chance to get as many hoof-bumps as possible, leaving the captain to effectively fly solo on the mission. After several quick laps and sight of security doing the same thing, Spitfire called off her search, figuring that security would be able to find the miscreant.

Seeing Spitfire return to formation alongside Rapid Fire, Trixie took that as her cue to begin again.

Misty Fly and Soarin’ started counter clockwise laps in the centre of the arena, while Fleetfoot and Rapidfire flew clockwise over the crowds. As the two teams picked up speed, Soarin’ started increasing the radius of her lap while Misty Fly kept the tightest circle she could. As with the first pair, Fleetfoot kept up her blistering pace around the outer edge above the crowd as Rapid Fire slowly tightened his rotation. As the two stallions moved closer to a collision, Trixie knew the next step of her plan.

Once the stallions were making passes a hoofs-length away, Trixie struck. A solid wall of bricks appeared between the two stallions just before they passed, causing both pegasi to turn outwards. Bracing for impact, Soarin’ turned his shoulder in and tucked his wings, grinding up against the wall, only to find it cold to the touch and rather soft as well. On the other side Rapid Fire had the same reaction, seemingly bouncing off the surface of the illusion.

Neither stallion had the time to extend their wings though, as the ground and arena wall were hurriedly rushing up to become acquainted with their facial features.

Another poof of magic later, and both wonderbolts found themselves crashing headlong into a mountain of pillows, producing a magnificent pompf of feathers out the two entry wounds the summoned mountain birthed.

That certainly got their attention.

Trixie giggled to herself, watching as the entire crowd, Misty Fly and Fleetfoot slammed to a halt, and inspected what could have certainly been the end to both fliers. The announcer immediately went into damage control, reciting the list of emergency procedures in a panicked flurry.

“Had enough fun yet?” Trixie heard a voice above her and immediately stopped everything but her cloaking spell. “I know you may think that you’re having fun up here, but it’s a miracle they’re not in any real danger.” An eruption of joy reached them as both fliers were found alive and flying. “I would say that you’re lucky I found you instead of a security guard, but that just means I get to have my fun before they do.” Trixie slowly turned around, seeing the captain Spitfire with a glare strong enough to petrify a cockatrice. “Y’know, I saw you up here after my introduction. Reminded me of myself back in the day when I would sneak into Wonderbolt shows just so I could see my idols doing what we both loved. But why would a unicorn want to? Hmm? I’ll tell you now, that your cloaking spell needs work, mostly because if I can see myself in it, it’s not working.

“Then again, the meat-heads that work in security aren’t known for their observation skills. And it’s one thing to summon clouds during a show, we love clouds, in case you couldn’t tell. I’ve shown the team countless times that it’s better to fly through them at top speed than to avoid them. And I could go on for hours about the technique that is cloud-busting. But while it’s one thing to have a bit of fun, it’s another to make a pony actually fear for their life.” Spitfire suddenly gained more venom than a Chimera’s tail. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of near death experiences. I’ve only been in the Wonderbolts for six years, but I’ve feared for my life just as many times. Eight if you count being unconscious during them. So why would you wish what could potentially be a lifetime of anxiety on two of the most harshly judged fliers in Equestria?”

Trixie cut her failed invisibility spell, and watched Spitfire’s glare increase another magnitude. “You! What in Equestria are you doing here?”

Trixie opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, lighting her horn and levitated the thick coat back to it’s rightful owner. She knew it wouldn’t do her any good to say anything. She had been caught, again. It wasn’t the first time that she’d been found sneaking in to special events. This was just the first time caught by the lead actor, or actress in this case, of the show itself.

“You brought back my coat?” Trixie nodded in response, shivering as a gust blew up the back of her cape. “Alright, so that’s why you’re here. You certainly got enough of my attention to give it back personally. Congratulations.” Spitfire flung the garment over her shoulders, making sure it didn’t impede her wings. “Are you going to answer my questions now?”

With Spitfire’s frown somewhat softened, Trixie cleared her throat and prepared to fight the pegasus. “Trixie had heard that the Wonderbolts had the greatest show in Equestria. But if all you have is that collection of tricks, Trixie thought she would be able to spice things up a bit.”

Spitfire clearly wasn’t impressed by the answer. “So you thought it would be a good idea to ruin our show? You thought it was a good idea to endanger the lives of my team.”

Trixie scoffed. “They were never in any danger, if you didn’t notice, they were still clouds. Trixie just put on a coat of paint.”

“They obviously didn’t know it, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a crash and I wouldn’t be up here.” Spitfire stepped closer to the unicorn, noticing the numerous tears across her cape; and the poorly colormatched patches ‘hiding’ them.”So you’re an illusionist then? Summon a small wall for me like you did down there.”

Trixie put a hoof out and opened her mouth to lecture the pegasus. “Actually, Trixie-”

“Look, I don’t care what you want to call yourself.” Spitfire paused, her glare returning for another round. “Can you summon the wall or not?”

Trixie stood her ground, this time it was her turn to glare. “Why should Trixie? What do you want it for?”

“Because I’m the one who could call the police up here and have you carted off to jail.” Trixie visibly gulped at the threat. “Now summon a smaller version of the wall you made just here.” Spitfire motioned with a hoof a line between the two of them. Not wanting to face whatever the consequences for her actions were, Trixie did as instructed.

Spitfire approached the wall, nudging it with a hoof, feeling the spongy texture of cloud under the illusion. “Can you make them break apart like actual bricks, but keep the cloud feel and weight?”

Trixie frowned at the request, lowering herself to performing on demand like a trained dog. A few seconds of concentration and Trixie let out a deep breath, summoning all those pillows and holding the invisibility spell for so long had drained her power dramatically.

After seeing the unicorn motion to continue, Spitfire tapped the wall again, feeling the soft clouds like before, causing the edge of the wall to wobble slightly. With a forceful punch, several of the cloud-bricks flew onto the stadium roof, sounding like a monsoonal downpour as the wall collapsed. “Alright, and how long would it take to make them all disappear?” Trixie growled, but nodded her head, and in a flash the wall was gone and the scattered bricks nonexistant. Trixie heard a slight chuckle out of the Wonderbolt.

“So what about-”

“Is there actually a point to this? What is it you want of Trixie? Either tell me now, or just get me taken away.” Trixie sat down and sulked. It was one thing to be caught, but it was another to be used for someone else’s amusement.

Any sign of enjoyment immediately left Spitfire. “Here’s the deal. You have obviously fallen on tough times. I can tell by the look of your cape and that stench that things aren’t easy for you.” A growl escaped Trixie as she thoroughly loved having her circumstances pointed out by others. “But since you returned my grandmother’s cloak, there’s obviously a good heart in there somewhere. And despite outward appearances, you obviously have some good magical schooling behind you. Where’d you graduate? Canterlot? Hoofvard?”

Trixie wilted at the question, her voice but a whisper. “Trixie has never been-”

“I can’t hear you Trixie.”

“Trixie said she has never been to magic school!”

Spitfire reeled at the outburst, but quickly made sense of the words. “So you’re entirely self taught? That certainly seals it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Spitfire smirked, but her eyes lit up like Canterlot during the Summer Sun celebration. “You were right, some of our shows are a bit boring. But there’s only so much we can do with an empty sky. It’s why we can usually never set up obstacles ourselves, if there is any wind blowing at all, that makes it impossible to keep things in place. So, here’s the deal.” Spitfire extended a hoof to Trixie. “I want to offer you a job. If this is what you can do by teaching yourself, I’d hate to see what some real tutoring can do with you. I always wanted to get a unicorn on the team, being able to manipulate the stadium and various things around it. You come work with us, and after a few months of training, I want to have you out on the field, conducting arenas filled with obstacles and making every show unique.”

Trixie stared at the extended hoof, then back at the hoof’s owner, who was practically glowing. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch. Spend a few months honing your skills, a couple more watching and training with the team, then you’ll be on display for the whole world to see at every single show.”

“And if Trixie refuses?”

“Then you can go back to your normal life, and we go back to Cloudsdale forgetting this ever happened.” Spitfire lowered her hoof and turned away. “But if you don’t want to join us, that’s fine, I get it. Being in the Wonderbolts isn’t easy. You’ll train for eight hours most days, sometimes even more if there’s a big event coming up. And being famous certainly isn’t for everyone. But-” Trixie’s ears perked up at that last bit. Everypony would know who she was. Even if she only did it to make some money for a few years then break off to make her own show. Everypony would know her name. Everypony would want to meet the Great and Powerful Trixie! It was then that Trixie felt her stomach grumble, practically answering for her. “-ere, then I’ll leave you be. It was at least nic-”

“Trixie will- S- she means… I’ll do it.”

Author's Note:

There...
I wrote another thing...

To those of whom I haven't spoken to for a while... (You know who you are) Please tear this apart as much as you like... As payback for everything I made you do...

Otherwise, well, I know it ends abruptly, only because it's taken me about 3 years to write this to a degree that I liked it... So, yeah... Just an idea I've had for a long, long time... And decided that I was happy enough to let the public see it...
ugh, I will never learn...

Comments

[forbloodysummer]

I really liked this, you characterised both leads well, giving them each some bite.

Also, while Trixie was mentioning the displays being repetitive, I was admiring how you'd written some of the best Wonderbolt routine descriptions I'd ever read, being both creative and easy to visualise.

The coat being Spitfire's grandmother's was a really nice touch too.

Thanks for writing this