The Little Curiosities

by Comma Typer

Trix of the Trade

“Dad, hello?”

Trixie stands alone in the school’s parking lot, cold under soft night lights. A car whisks by on the road. The suburbs sparsely illuminates from within little homes at this late hour.

The phone levitates in her magic grasp. “How are you? I’m sorry for not calling sooner; I just got back from my apprenticeship with my Equestrian self.”

“That’s okay, dear,” comes the other voice in the line, loud and clear. “At least you’ve had it better than I have: getting stuck in a magical mishap with Big Bucks and having the RV nearly totaled. We had to jump the battery a few times, could you believe it?!… Mother told you I arrived here just this afternoon, yes?”

“But that’s been… two months!” Another pair of headlights pass the school by; griffon inside pays Trixie no mind. “You’ve been out for that long… are you okay?”

“Yes, dear, I’m okay. Road trip tales can be saved for another time. What’s more important is whether you’re okay… so how are you?”

“I’m doing fine. Actually, I’ve… never been better now.”

A little silence. A hum in the background, thrumming—“That’s encouraging, first time hearing from you since the world’s decided humans had their time.”

“Hah! I did like how things ended up, though. I’m a unicorn now, able to do much more magic than before! And Mother’s a unicorn too!”

So it hits her:

“Dad… are you… are you a unicorn too?”

Some shifting on the side. Rumbling from his end of the line. “Well, I’m a stallion now and I have a horn on my head, so…”

Unbelief washes over, and Trixie jumps in joy, almost dropping her phone—a teenage mare hopping all over the parking lot. “I can’t believe it! The whole family’re unicorns! We can levitate everything together, we can do magic tricks together, we can…”

Holding the phone close to her ear, even as the humming increased in the back: “Dad… have you used your magic a lot?”

“My magic? Well, not too much. It’s already weird enough walking on four legs instead of two—“

“Dad, listen to me.”

The surprised silence is what Trixie wanted. “Well, what is it, dear?”

“I… don’t you see?” Up there, the moon and the stars… several flying creatures, of pegasi and griffons—“It’s the start of a new age! You told me… you told me that magic shows were going down these days because of phones or games or because they’re old or whatever… but you kept doing it! I kept doing it too, with street magic and all… and at school too…

“But now, Dad, real magic is everywhere! We’re not limited to pretend-cutting people up or throwing knives or sleight-of-hand card tricks! We’ve got… magic! We can make things float with our minds, we can create our own fireworks with magic, we can light everything up… and there’s spell books! There’s many old books about ancient magic on the other side, they’ve got potions and spells galore—they’ve got everything to spice up your act, Dad!”

At his side of the call, metal creaking like gears. “Hmm, is that so? I’ve… thought about it for a long time… that Sunset—“

“Yeah, yeah, Sunset’s great and all, but she’s only teaching us how to get by. Dad, I wanted to be magical, and now that we’re unicorns… even Fuchsia and Lavender are unicorns too!”

“Well, too many cooks in the kitchen can spoil the pot, but perhaps you can teach me what your Equestrian other’s taught you? And we can do a show or two together… how’s that sound?”

“Oh, that’d be great! When?!”

“Well, look up.”

So the rumbling grows.

Grows beyond the phone.

Lights—a pair of headlights turning to the school parking lot, so she looks up:

A big RV painted blue, stars and cards painted all over. They fit in tonight, complementing the glittering evening sky tonight. And in neon cursive, the words lay across the whole length of the van:

Jack Pot’s Magic Moment!

Anticipation overwhelms as Trixie sees her father’s face plastered on it as it’s always been—his human face, at least—dapper in his clothes colored like that of a Roamane Emperor who happened to live long enough to encounter top hats.

Then out the door trots the new Jack Pot: a unicorn stallion, the creases on his forehead betraying his age but his signature attire magically fitting his new form still makes him quite the looker.

And his hat lands on Trixie as she disconnects the call. “Oh… so you’re picking me up? I thought Mom was going to do it!”

“She was… then of course, you called, so behind the scenes, I decided to take you in instead.” A frown later, “I must apologize for being away so much these days… but with our talents in renewed demand, perhaps I can make up for it, dearest daughter…?”

A smile breaks out. Trixie then takes out from her saddlebags a variety of notebooks and tomes threatening to spill onto the asphalt below. “We’ve got lots of reading and practice to do! I-I still can’t believe it!—we’ll be showing the world what magic really is!”

“That we do,” he mutters, bringing his child up into his RV with all her magic materials, “that we do…”

---

“I’m glad we can finally relax after all that principal work, huh?” Trixie says to Starlight as she sits down in Las Pegasus’ famed Ponet Fantastique Theater, getting a front-row seat beside her friend.

“Yup!” Starlight then levitates a brochured schedule of tonight’s shows. “Anyway, before Haphazard Pay’s Comedy Night, we have a one-time magic show all the way from Earth! Now that’s a treat… and the name’s a secret too!”

Trixie whickers. “Really, now? At least give us a sci-fi play… they can always talk on their phones and it’s like Spike’s delivering messages everywhere all the time. That’s magic I’d like to see from those post-humans, not—“

“And hailing from Earth,” proclaims the announcer, “we have two unicorns from Earth! This father-daughter duo will dazzle you by escaping from chains and a straitjacket… against each other! Who will reach freedom first? Please welcome—“

The curtains part with great smoke and fog coming off, spotlights turning on—

“Oh… wait!”—and Starlight gasps. “Trixie, that’s you… and your father?!”

“Wait, I have a father?!” And a gulp. Then a rush of a myriad of emotions ranging from anger to joy—“D-Dad… is that you?!”

Comments

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Oh. Well now that’s an ending.

Didn’t Trixie cause humanity to end in this universe? Is someone planning on bringing her up on charges at some point?

[Eroraf86]

“Wait, I have a father?!” And a gulp. Then a rush of a myriad of emotions ranging from anger to joy—“D-Dad… is that you?!”

Well, yes, that is how mammals tend to work. Looks like the G and P T didn't pay attention in biology class.

[Venerable Ro]

Ey they're back together! Fantastic.

[FanOfMostEverything]

But now, Dad, real magic is everywhere! We’re not limited to pretend-cutting people up or throwing knives or sleight-of-hand card tricks! We’ve got… magic!

"We can actually cut people up!"

Not a fan of either Trixie not knowing her father, but I'm always up for some family bonding between bombastic blue unicorns.