Trixie Searches For Magic

by MagicS

Fourth Lesson

Being invited to another dinner at the mayor’s house would’ve normally annoyed Trixie since it meant she’d get hounded by his kids the entire time. But she decided to see the glass as half full and just enjoy the good meal while basking in the adoration of others. And it also meant that it was a reprieve from getting hounded by her students instead. Besides just her, both Daylight and Coil had been invited to the dinner. All the big outsiders for some reason. Vahar from the merponies was here too instead of Senax, Trixie had no idea why.

For the moment they were all pleasantly eating the meal Giselle had made for them, the mayor’s three children actually behaving and staying in their seats instead of instantly bombarding Trixie with questions and requests. Speaking of questions, Trixie wanted to ask Coil about the Suggestion Crystals but that could wait until after they were done.

Due to recent events the meal did not include carrots in any way. Special attention was being given to the regrowing of the patch but it would take some time before things were back to normal.

Daylight Gleam and Coil both didn’t give any indication that they knew why they had been asked to attend this dinner either. It came out of the blue and while Trixie certainly didn’t mind being the guest of honor at any event she still wondered why things were specifically like this. Vector and Gizzard were frequently at these dinners but they were absent this evening and just why was Vahar here and not Senax?

“Are you enjoying your meal?” Gabriel suddenly asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Er, yes. It’s delicious,” Trixie looked down at her corn pudding. In truth it was pretty good.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Gabriel pushed around his pudding with his spoon, something clearly distracting him.

Trixie looked at his kids and saw them all expectantly staring up at their father. A glance further down the table showed Vahar doing the same thing. The traveling magician shrugged and went back to eating, if they had something on their mind or some ulterior motive for asking them all to this dinner she was at least going to get the best of it before any annoying request was foisted on her.

“Sorry about the lack of carrots,” Daylight said to Vahar. The white unicorn probably could’ve blamed Trixie for all of that right now but instead she just gave an apologetic frown to the merpony.

Vahar seemed a little startled at being spoken too, she turned her spiky pink-maned head from looking at the mayor to Daylight. “Oh, that’s alright. We were upset to hear about it but we understand.”

While Trixie was fine with letting this strange meal go on for as long as necessary, Coil didn’t seem to share her feelings. The inquisitive and science-loving unicorn just had to know why they were here when so many other usual members of their group weren’t. And he was also quite surprised by the unusually good behavior of the mayor’s three children.

“Excuse me, mayor. But I have to ask why the three of us specifically were asked to dine with you this evening? Is there something going on?” He asked, glancing around at the other table members.

“Well, um-” Gabriel was about to respond when he was cut off.

“Dad, just ask her already!” Gabriel Jr. suddenly shouted.

He and his brothers abandoned all pretense of civility and started squawking and shouting over each other at their father. Giselle just sighed and hid her face in her talons out of embarrassment when the three jumped out of their chairs and crowded the mayor, jumping on and over him and tugging on his feathers while begging him to do something. It seems whatever patience the three might have possessed was sorely exhausted.

“Knock it off already!” Gabriel shouted and slammed his talons down on the dinner table.

The rambunctious griffon children stopped, quieting down and looking away wish bashful expressions on their faces.

“Sit,” Gabriel commanded and they all returned to their seats, although not without puffing out their cheeks in a pout. The mayor shook his head and propped his elbows up on the table, rubbing his tired eyes with his palms. “So.” He started. “I can guess you’ve all noticed that there’s a reason why just you three are here right now?”

Trixie and Daylight both nodded. Coil just sat back since he already asked about it.

“The reason for this dinner is because my kids—and Vahar—actually she was the one who came here and gave them the idea,” He nodded to the merpony, who blushed in acknowledgment. “Have a request of you, Miss Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“Umm, okay?” Trixie tilted her head, she looked between the three young griffons and the merpony.

“I’m sorry I didn’t just come to your wagon and ask you directly, but I was a little embarrassed so I came to the mayor first. Senax is busy with the carrots too...” The merpony fidgeted, her tail swishing around behind her.

Trixie rolled her eyes, now her patience was exhausted. “Can someone just please tell me what’s going on?”

“We want you to teach us magic tricks!” Gabriel Jr. yelled, half getting out of his chair while his wings shot open in excitement.

There was a pause as his statement hung in the air. Trixie was surprised and confused and Daylight was trying to think of how this involved her and what she could do to get out of it. Vahar blushed even harder now that the cat was out of the bag and the mayor gave Trixie a shrug and an apologetic smile as if admitting there was nothing more he could do for her. Meanwhile Gabriel Jr, Gower, and Guyaven eagerly awaited her answer.

Well it can’t be any worse than teaching my magic lessons.

“Why do you want to learn how to perform magic tricks?” Trixie asked the four interested.

“Because it isn’t fair!” Guyaven said. “You haven’t even put on a show in a long time and now you’re always teaching magic to the unicorns.”

“That’s right.” Gower said. “We want to be able to spend time with you too, just because we can’t use magic doesn’t mean Gold Box and Gold Fortune get to have you all to themselves...”

“I see now...” Trixie sighed. Well it was only natural for them to get jealous that her amazing self was being monopolized by others. Of course they wanted to spend time with her too, and have something special to do it seems. With how much this village idolized her she expected many were jealous that the unicorns got to do something only they could do together. And apparently her magic and shows had a great deal of influence on them if they wanted to learn magic tricks. Trixie had to smirk to herself, she really was great, wasn’t she?

Vahar quietly spoke up too, trying to hide her blush. “I just thought your magic tricks were really cool… I want to learn how to do stuff like that too.”

“Well, there you have it,” Gabriel sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry if this is putting you on the spot. I know you’re busy with other things and you’ve given so much to this village it’s kind of selfish to ask this of you...”

Trixie cleared her throat. “Ehem, well, a magician cannot reveal her secrets but I would have no problem teaching you the kinds of everyday magic tricks that anyone can learn.” I just have to go back to when I was a little filly practicing card tricks and making coins disappear. I wonder if I have any instructional manuals or props in my wagon that can help?

“Excuse me?” Daylight Gleam interjected, hoof raised in question. “But what does this have to do with me and Coil?”

“Ah, yes, my apologies,” Gabriel said. “I know Trixie’s magic lessons are very important for the future defense of the village. And Speckle Wood and the others really enjoy them and would probably be a little upset if things were put off just so The Great and Powerful Trixie can teach my kids, and Vahar, some magic tricks. So I figured since you and Coil are very talented unicorns from outside you could temporarily take over the magic lessons?”

Coil seemed ambivalent but an awkwardly lopsided grimace plastered itself onto Daylight’s face.

“I would love to,” The white unicorn said, and then glared at Trixie out of the corner of her eye.

“I’m somewhat busy but I suppose I have no problem with it for a day or two,” Coil answered.

“See, dad? They’re totally fine with it,” Gabriel Jr. said to his father.

The mayor pushed his son back into his seat. “There’s a thing called being too polite to refuse.” He looked to Trixie. “But I mean, if you would care to teach them as soon as possible I think they’ll have it out of their systems in a day or two. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize!” Trixie grinned and hopped up on the table, ignoring all manners and etiquette. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is happy that she has so interested others in the performing arts! I shall teach you magic tricks that you can wow all your friends and family with!”

---

“Issss, this your card?!”

“No, try again.”

Gabriel Jr. and Trixie had been working on the same beginner’s card trick for a while and so far the results had been… mixed. Still there wasn’t much else they could do about that, these things took practice. Trixie turned out to be a better teacher of these tricks than actual magic though, even though she performed tricks that used actual magic she was still more than fluent in every kind of trick under the sun that a magician could perform. Whether they be unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, and now apparently griffon and merpony. And this was something she was just more passionate about.

Vahar was trying to figure out the magic rings while Gower and Guyaven worked on making a coin disappear and reappear behind each other’s ears. Basic stuff. But still fun.

The other unicorns meanwhile were all practicing magic on their own or listening to Daylight and Coil somewhere else while Trixie did this. In everyone’s haste to get started on this new craziness, Trixie had forgotten to ask Coil about his progress on the Suggestion Crystals. Oh well, some other time.

Trixie indeed had quite a large amount of useful things in her wagon to help everyone but she found that they were more interested in just getting taught specifically by her than anything. She had no idea Vahar was so awed by her magic shows that she wanted to learn tricks and illusions too. It certainly made Trixie proud.

Again though she found it annoying in passing that she had come here to learn and discover new things and yet now was acting the teacher.

Well, she just couldn’t help being so special and desired.

Seeing that everyone was struggling a bit, Trixie decided to give them a talk. “Alright everyone, gather round,” She waited for Gabriel Jr. to neatly put his cards back into a deck and for the others to come sit in front of her. “So when it comes to magic tricks you need to have a lot of patience. It takes time to master these things just like any other skill. But there’s another layer to magic tricks because they’re just that, tricks. Misdirection and sleight of hand are what it’s all about, especially when magic tricks are being performed by those who can’t use actual magic since you have less options. However if you’re able to successfully pull off a trick you may amaze your audience even more than I would since they’ll be left wondering how someone without any magic could’ve just gone through a solid wall, or escape a sealed jar filled with water, or slip out of any kind of hoofcuffs.”

Trixie smugly grinned as she explained to them. All four of her new students were completely enraptured by what she was telling them. “Now normally I wouldn’t reveal how any magic tricks are done but since we’re talking old classics and you want to learn how to actually perform them I’ll make an exception.” And it’s not like they’re mine. She added internally.

“What tricks?” Gabriel Jr. asked, his whole body shaking. His brothers too were close to jumping up and down.

“Calm down,” Trixie frowned at him. “I’m just explaining how they work. These are tricks that can both take a lot of time to do right and require some assistance with. One of the best classic earth pony magic tricks was performed by Morgana. She would have herself be tied up, put in a box that was nailed shut, and then thrown in a lake. How do you think she escaped?”

The four looked confused as they tried to figure it out, Trixie could see them racking their brains in an attempt to solve an old magic trick. Vahar’s brow furrowed in thought while the griffon’s eyes just started to glaze over and they tilted their heads in unison as if they were hypnotized. Slowly, after some more “thinking”, Guyaven raised a talon.

“Yes?” Trixie asked expectantly.

“Uh, magic?” He seemed to be suggesting it innocently enough.

Trixie groaned and facehooved. “Ugh, no. Not magic. She was an earth pony, she couldn’t use magic. The trick was that the box was built so she could push out one of the sides and swim into the lake. As for being tied up she was an expert in escaping ropes. You can take a deep breath to expand your chest when being tied up to give yourself more room, or dislocate your shoulders, stuff like that.”

“If you go from performing simple party tricks to big tricks like that you’ll learn that it’s all about making your audience think you’re doing one thing when really you’re doing another. Watch this,” Trixie grabbed the top playing card from Gabriel Jr’s deck with her magic and placed it in her hooves. “Now look,” Trixie pointed to her horn and once all eyes were on it she turned her magic off to show that she wasn’t going to be using it anymore. “And be amazed.”

She grinned and suddenly dropped the card, where to the astonishment of her students it hung suspended in midair and began spinning around, Trixie waved her hooves around to make the card follow under them to show that she was indeed controlling it even though they could plainly see she wasn’t using any magic. The card really looked like it was flying around at her command.

“Ta-da!” Trixie finished, plucking the card out of the air and dramatically spinning around before handing it back to Gabriel Jr.

The young griffon looked over every inch of the card, trying to figure out the trick. “How did you do that?!” He asked in wonder.

Trixie was about to answer when Vahar spoke up first.

“I think I know… er, at least partially,” She hesitantly said, blushing slightly.

The traveling magician grinned at the merpony. “Well? Go ahead and tell me.”

Vahar nodded. “Okay… I don’t know how you made it levitate like that but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the card you took from Gabriel Jr’s deck and gave back to him.”

The three young griffons all looked at the card. A simple Two of Spades.

“It wasn’t?” Gabriel Jr. asked.

Trixie kept up her grin. “Go on.”

The merpony looked a little nervous to be put on the spot like this but she continued. “I think when you told us to look at your horn, you switched his card with a card you already had while we weren’t paying attention. And then when you spun around at the end you switched the cards back. You must’ve been hiding one or the other under your robe the whole time,” Vahar elaborated.

“Very good,” Trixie was impressed at the merpony’s observational ability. “Now was I just lucky that I happened to grab a card that was black like the one I already had and not red?”

This time Vahar shook her head. “No, you were planning this trick for a while. You paid attention to Gabriel Jr. while he gathered up his cards, you must’ve noticed what color the top card of his deck was… which means you probably also have a red card hidden in your robe just in case.”

“Indeed I do,” Trixie reached a hoof into her robe and pulled out an assortment of playing cards. Red, black, face, etc. “I was ready with whatever I needed.” Trixie looked at her three griffon students. “Like I said, these tricks are about making your audience think you’re doing one thing when you’re actually doing something else. As for how I actually levitated the card...”

Trixie stepped forward and showed her right hoof to everyone up close, turning it around they could just barely see a black thread visible in the light with a piece of clear tape stuck higher up on the back of her hoof where the black thread was connected.

“All of my cards have a very sticky piece of tape on them, I attach the black thread to them and viola, as long as I hold it right you can’t even see the thread at all and it looks like the card is floating from my hoof,” Trixie smiled at them. “Very simple, right?”

Vahar looked very interested but the three griffons looked somewhat… disappointed?

“It’s kind of underwhelming when you know how it’s done,” Gower said. “Just a string?”

Trixie scoffed. “That’s how magic tricks are. The magic disappears when you learn the trick to it. If you want to actually perform tricks like these yourself that’s something you’ll have to accept. There won’t be any more mystique for you.”

Three of her students seemed discouraged by that. The fourth nodded in understanding.

Trixie wasn’t sure if any of them really cared to become magicians or if was just a fad to them thanks to her influence. But if one day there was a merpony magician traveling around the world, well that wouldn’t be so bad.

Comments

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Interesting.

[redmar]

This is nice and it seems that only Vahar really has what it takes to be a magician.