“There once was a great and powerful pony named Trixie. She was a showmare without compare, heir to the house of Lulamoon! She traveled Equestria far and wide, dazzling town after town with her amazing performances and displays of magic! She was beloved far and wide! Unfortunately for her, a couple idiotic but well meaning colts ruined her life with an Ursa Major upon taking one of her stories far too seriously! Seeking to find a way to reclaim her fame and renown, she sought out a power to make her truly the greatest unicorn in Equestria! And she found it...unfortunately, such power came with a price. The Alicorn Amulet granted her nigh unlimited power...but also consumed and corrupted her until she became a tyrannical despot that may have taken over a town. Thankfully for all, Trixie was freed from the Amulet's influence and returned to her normal lovable, glorious, and quite humble self...but she still needs a way to regain that lost fame and once more become beloved.
“Thus, she is now in search of a legendary artifact. A egg said to grant its owner the power of Discord. She no longer seeks revenge and does not seek to be corrupted again, simply have the power to dazzle Equestria again as she did in days long past...So...”
Trixie looked at the very confused stallion in front of her. “Any ideas where Trixie can find it?”
“...” the annoyed and bored stallion sitting in front of her at the roadside museum merely pointed towards a tall mountain nearby.
“...Horseapples...”
“Why is it that artifacts...” Trixie muttered, pulling herself up the mountain as snow blew past her head at high speeds. “...of great magical power that don't corrupt your soul...are so hard to find?” she muttered, panting as she pulled herself up the cliff to the top of the mountain and collapsed in a snowbank. After a moment's rest, she shook herself and looked upon what awaited her at the mountain top with wide eyes. “Well...that's definitely not what Trixie expected to find...” she muttered, looking out at the large, beautiful forest greeting her on the snowy mountain peak. “...Well, at least if Trixie doesn't get what she came for, she got a wonderful view out of this whole misadventure.”
The unicorn continued along the path into the forest, finding it surprisingly densely populated with animals life for a forest mysteriously at the top of a mountain. Not helping was the fact that it was already well into the night, and thus her vision was somewhat restricted. “This place is weird. Must be in the right place...” she muttered...but after a few minutes of walking she began to become frustrated at the decided lack of magical artifacts. “Well, this is all very pretty, but why can't the artifact just be right in front of Trixie's nos-oof!”
Trixie staggered back, her muzzle having collided straight into a rather healthy, incredibly hard tree as she'd been looking the other way. “Stupid tree!”
Right next to a pillar of light illuminating an ornately designed Faberge Egg on a pedestal of wood only a few feet a way.
“Helpful tree!”
The mare trotted over to the egg and looked it over carefully. “...So...how does Trixie use it?” she inquired, picking the strange artifact up and turning it over and over in her telekinesis. “It's not a conveniently wearable amulet...And Trixie doesn't see any obvious, big red button to activate it...then again that might just make it explode...Trixie's not falling for that one again...”
After several moments of trying to figure out some way or another to look for some form of activation method (including biting it), she gave a growl. “Why can't these things ever just come with an instruction manual?”
Deciding to work from her own wheelhouse, she took a deep breath. “EGG! GRANT TRIXIE THE POWER OF DISCORD!...EGG POWERS ACTIVATE!...GO EGG GO!...POWER UP!...JUST OPEN ALREADY!”
After several minutes of scaring everything with ears with her screaming to the heavens, Trixie finally glared at the egg. “Trixie just wishes you'd open!”
The mare gave a scream and dropped the egg as suddenly it lit up with a magical aura. The artifact rattled for a few moments before the top sprung open and a swirling mass of magic emerged. In a bright flash of multicolored magical light, it congealed into a strange little creature Trixie didn't recognize except for the Breezie-like wings and the star tipped wand on her hand (not hoof).
“Wow, it's been a really long time since anypony came up here! Was beginning to think I'd gotten my egg hidden a little too well!” the little creature said as she stretched.
“Ah! Trixie accidentally unleashed an ancient creature that might want to take over the world!” Trixie screamed in terror.
The strange winged creature blinked in confusion. “No, I don't think I did...this time...” she said, giving a thinking look. “Oh! Hello, little pony!” she said with an earnest eagerness. She then gave a gasp. “Oh, is your life not going too great?!”
Trixie blinked and looked offended for a moment. “...Maybe...your home being destroyed and you made a laughingstock tends to make one rather miserable.”
The eager little creature got a wide smile. “Good!”
The mare raised an eyebrow as she stared at the strange, oddly happy creature. “...Trixie doesn't understand...”
“Oh, I think I do!” the fairy-like creature said before clearing her throat. “Hello my little pony! My name is Trixie Pixie! And I'm your new...” She flew up and was surrounded by fireworks that spelled out what she said next. “FAIRY GODPARENT!”
Trixie blinked in confusion. “Fairy Godparent?”
“Oh! Fairy Godparents look after little foals in need of help and grant their wishes!” said the fairy proudly with a wide, admittedly contagious grin.
“...Trixie isn't a little foal...”
Pixie raised an eyebrow. “Yeah...I know I'm not.”
“...Oh, right, your name is also Trixie...I'm not a little foal!”
“Oh, you little ponies always act like you're all grown up...then again my species doesn't age like yours, so hard to tell some times,” the fairy replied with a shrug.
Trixie gave an annoyed look...then actually thought about what the strange little creature had said. One specific, very tempting word in general. “...Wait, you grant wishes?”
“Yep! Though there are some rules...I'll remember most of them as we go, but a big one is that my wishes will only last until sundown. Oh, and you might not want to tell ponies about me. Most ponies don't believe in fairies and it gets...awkward,” the fairy explained, rubbing the back of her head nervously.
The showmare gave an almost giddy laugh. “Trixie guesses this is what they meant by the 'Power of Discord'...”
Pixie cocked her head. “No I didn't...I don't have anything to do with Discord either...though he did say sometimes I 'cause discord'...Coming from him is that an insult or a compliment?”
Trixie was too caught up in her racing mind to think listen to that. So many possibilities and so many possibilities! Anything she wanted just one wish away! Trixie might as well been a filly again as excited as she was! “This is so amazing...”
“By the way, what's your name, little pony?” asked the fairy.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“Yes?”
That's Trixie's name!”
“I know it's my name, silly! What's yours?”
“Trixie!”
“Yes?”
Trixie prepared to open her mouth and then facehoofed. “My name is also Trixie.”
“Oh! Why didn't you just say so?”
The showmare gave a growl of annoyance but quickly shook herself out of it. “...Regardless, Trixie...I think I have my first wish!”
Pixie leaned in closely and eagerly. “Yes?!”
Trixie cleared her throat...then noticed it was still decidedly night time. “Oh...right, your wishes last until night fall...and I will make my wish at dawn on the way there!”
Trixie walked with the Pixie whom shared her name floating behind, constantly looking over at the horizon until finally the sun rose above it. “Ah! There it is! So here is my wish!”
Pixie gave a grin and waited eagerly. “Yes?”
The showmare cleared her throat again, more theatrical than the first time. “There is a festival I managed to get set up to perform at...but likely, everypony will somehow know about the incident that ruined my life and heckle me for it! Therefore, I wish that everypony would forget about the Ursa Major Incident!”
The fairy nodded and held up her wand. “I can do that!” she called, waving her wand and pointing it skywards with a bright flash of light leaving a rain of fairy dust.
Trixie blinked, looking around as fairy dust rained around her. “Did it work?”
“Yep! Until sundown, everypony won't remember the Ursa Incident!...Whatever that is.”
The azure showmare gave a gleeful squee. “Yes! Now Trixie will have the best performance ever!”
“What?!” asked Trixie, staring at the pony in front of her at the entrance to the festival. Rides and lights filled the area behind them enticing the showmare like a moth to a flame.
“Sorry, Miss, don't remember talking to you earlier,” said the stallion in front of her. “Let alone making a verbal agreement about you being in the festival.”
“How could you just forget?! It's not like everypony just forgot...about...Trixie...” the showmare said, slowly going from angry to a look of realization. “...Trixie needs to check on something...”
The mare walked away and to a nearby isolated area. “Trixie Pixie!”
Pixie suddenly appeared out of a flash of light and rain of fairy dust. “Yes, little pony?”
“Why did the festival ponies forget about Trixie?!” asked Trixie.
“Huh? Why would they know about me?”
“...Oh, right...why did they forget about me?!”
The fairy cocked her head. “Huh? That's not right, I should've only erased memories of this Ursa Incident...whatever that is...unless I also erased the memories of any conversation you had where you mentioned it to...did you mention it to that pony?”
Trixie raised a hoof...then face hoofed. “Great...well, Trixie could just wish he remembered...” she said to herself...before looking over and finding the festival was now in full gear with its proper schedule set up. “...Or not...”
Pixie gave a genuinely sad look. “...Sorry...I didn't mean to...”
“...I suppose it ended far better than past festivals did without your magic...Trixie didn't get hit by rotten tomatoes...” Trixie muttered, trying to be at least somewhat optimistic. After all, the wish had worked, she just hadn't considered all the possibilities. She still had a reality warper at her beck and call. One small mix up was far from enough to make this not worth it.
“Yeah, that would be terrible,” Pixie replied, giving a shudder. “Had it happen before...Though that also involved a wish for tomato rain...Or was it something about tomato stains?...Still better than what happened with Rachel...” she muttered, looking ashamed for a moment. “...If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure you'd have put on a great show...”
Trixie blinked, looking at the fairy and surprised by the genuine care she saw. “...You mean that?”
“Yeah! I mean it!”
“...Thank you...So there are no limits on the number of wishes, correct?” the showmare questioned her fairy friend.
“That's right!” said Pixie.
“Hmm...wish Trixie knew what to wish for...” Trixie muttered, tapping her chin.
The fairy twirled her wand and cast a spell, causing a light bulb to appear above her own head. “Oh! I know! How about something to eat?!”
The azure showmare raised a hoof...right as her stomach growled. “That...is actually a good suggestion...But why go small when you can have anything you want?” she replied and cleared her throat. “I wish for a dinner at the most luxurious restaurant in Equestria!”
Pixie gave an excited nod. “You have a big vocabulary for your age! One luxurious dinner coming up!” she said, waving her wand and causing them to vanish in a flash of fairy dust.
Trixie sat at the fancy, candle lit table in the middle of a luxuriously decorated room. Octavia and her band stood on stage, playing a relaxing tune. She levitated her fork up, unable to hide a giddy laugh at the fact the eating utensil was gold plated and diamond encrusted.
“Your dinner, madam...” said the waiter. Trixie was pretty sure his suit was so perfectly tailored that it might as well be made from a single piece of cloth. She wondered if his mane needed the same amount of hair gel as an animane protagonist. He put her meal on the table and one by one removed the lids from the platters. “For the appetizer slow baked imported crackers. Imported pinecones from Yakyakistan baked in a honey imported from Bumbleland for the main course with a side of bread sticks. And for dessert, a peanut butter pie.”
The showmare licked her lips, gazing at the huge meal using ingredients she'd never in her life expected to taste, mouth heavily watering.
Trixie patted her muzzle with the fancy provided napkin, having left nothing but the plates on the table. “That was by far the best meal Trixie had ever eaten! She should wish to eat like this more often...”
“We are quite glad you enjoyed the meal, madam...” said the waiter, floating a rather long slip of paper in front of her face in his telekinesis.
The azure showmare blinked. “What's this?”
“The bill.”
Trixie's eyes went wide as dinner plates at the incredibly long number presented by the bill.
Another clean plate was slowly placed on the massive pile. Trixie paused only to get a dry towel...then sighed at the massive pile of dirty, incredibly expensive dishes still waiting for her.
Pulling another dish off the pile, her eyes widened as several slipped and fell off. The azure unicorn cringed, expecting to hear the plates worth more than she probably made in a month to shattering into millions of pricey pieces...
But heard nothing.
Blinking, she looked down to find Pixie had caught the dishes without prompting, looking apologetic.
The fairy looked around, making sure they weren't being watched, and then silently joined in helping wash and dry the dishes.
“I'm sorry...you didn't say free meal...” muttered Pixie as they departed the restaurant. “...And also, I think it might have been against the rules to do that...counterfeiting is wrong...”
Trixie gave an exhausted sigh, late that night. She wanted to be mad...but Pixie had at least helped fix the mess and Trixie was too tired. “It's fine...Trixie at least got a reservation...And the meal was good...Just sleepy...”
“...Do you wish you were in bed?”
“Yes...”
With a wave of her wand, the two were back in Trixie's cart, the unicorn mare in bed and falling asleep before she could say another word. Pixie carefully tucked her in.
“Sleep well pony Trixie...” said the fairy, kissing her on the forehead like a parent before returning into her egg.
“Alright, Pixie...” said Trixie, the standing outside her cart the next morning. “Trixie...I have a simple wish and has given it more thought.”
“I'll do my best!” replied Pixie, looking eager to please.
The mare gave it another run through in her head. “I wish I was the most powerful pony in Equestria! And specifically that I will be able to handle the power and not explode or atomize a five mile radius...or go insane...or break my own legs from sheer power.”
The fairy manifested a piece of paper and wrote it down. “Alright, got it! This one won't mess up! Promise!” she exclaimed, swirling her wand and firing a blast of fairy dust at her.
Trixie smiled widely, waiting for it to hit her...then had the very strange experience of being flung out of her body and sent hurdling across the world at hyperspeed.
The mare blinked, finding herself not in her carriage, but instead in a strange, though exceedingly fancy room she'd never laid eyes on before in her life. “Where is Trixie?” she asked, looking around slowly in confusion...and noticing an abnormal amount of suns and moons and artifacts...along with several pictures of Twilight Sparkle, pictures of an orange furred unicorn with red and yellow mane she didn't remember, and Princess Luna. And that wasn't all she noticed. “Why is everything so short” she inquired. “Did Pixie make Trixie a giant?” She walked around her new surroundings...until she saw a very imposing visage looking back at her.
“AHH! Princess Celestia! Trixie is sorry for the Alicorn Amulet! It was an accident!” she frantically shouted, genuflecting...and slamming face first into the ground due to her legs seeming longer than she'd expected. “What the...”
Slowly rising up, she looked back at Celestia and noticed she looked as confused as her...and was also rubbing her muzzle. Trixie reached out and her hoof met Celestia's...only to instead feel a cold, solid surface rather than the hoof of another pony. Trixie's eyes went wide as dinner plates.
“I'm Celestia?!” she asked, looking herself over in panic. “This isn't good, Trixie has stolen the body of the...most...powerful...pony...in...Equestria...” she muttered, realization setting in before she facehoofed. Having underestimated her now godly strength, she sent herself flying back and landing on Celestia's bed.
“...Strongest pony in Equestria with a body that Trixie won't destroy itself...Trixie didn't specify WHO'S body...Well now what?” Trixie questioned. “...Wait...if Trixie is Celestia, then she could command ponies to not hold Trixie's past actions against her! And they'd have to listen!...Or give herself a glowing endorsement!...She'd attend one of her shows but that'd be difficult...”
Before Trixie could consider the many, many, many things she could use her phenomenal cosmic power for, there was a knock upon her door. The mare in the body of an Alicorn's eyes widened and she quickly got to her hooves and put her acting talents into presenting the best approximation of the co-leader of Equestria she could. “Come in!” she announced in a refined, but slightly over the top voice.
Raven Inkwell entered. “Your majesty, you're needed in the throne room.”
“Understood. What is on the agenda today? A trip to a foreign land? A battle with some ancient evil?”
Trixie groaned, seated on Celestia's throne. She'd dreamed of this as many young ones may have all her life...but now she wished Pixie was here so she could reverse the wish and wish for it to be wiped from memory.
“As you can see, the city of Manehattan's water consumption is unusually high this year. We've gone through this detailed analysis to find the problem...” said the stallion, who was likely the most boring creature Trixie had ever met...if he wasn't the ninth one this day, all equally as dull and boring. Still, she couldn't just banish him to the sun and be done with it, and if she broke character then ponies might thing she was that Changeling Queen she'd heard about...which might get her blasted with the Elements of Harmony and sealed in stone for a thousand years. While Trixie had always wanted to be immortalized in statue form, that was in no way ideal.
“What do you think we should do, Princess?” asked the stallion.
The mare barely managed to avoid jumping. She quickly gave it thought while desperately trying not to look as nervous as she was. “...Flowers and plants typically take up a lot of water when it's hot...that's why say a traveling unicorn in a carriage wouldn't have a box garden unless she needed them for say...a magic act...So perhaps ponies are watering their gardens more often and we need to schedule more cooler days?” she asked, waiting for his response...and all too aware she was in deep trouble if her answer wasn't up to snuff.
“...That's a great answer, your majesty,” replied the stallion with a bow. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome...my little pony...”
Trixie did her best to hide her sigh of relief...and then her annoyance when she realized the line continued to the door and beyond it when it was opened for the stallion to leave.
A long, long, long time later, Trixie could've sworn it was supposed to be night time already...but she was still sitting there listening to boring bureaucrats. Trixie had been extremely relieved to find Celestia had many extremely knowledgeable advisors on so many subjects she could call upon at a moment's notice...and had...many, many, many times. So many times.
“Sister!”
Trixie gulped, recognizing the voice of the other Princess and one pony who may very easily recognize something was wrong.
Luna flew in with a dramatic flare Trixie had to earnestly respect...looking more concerned than angry with her. “You have not joined me to lower the sun and raise the moon. It's been a few hours past the time and I was afraid you'd been kidnapped again!”
The showmare resisted the urge to facehoof. “I'm...sorry, sister...I lost track of time with all the bureaucracy...”
The Night Princess gave a sympathetic look at the still rather sizable line of ponies. “I see. I know how that feels when it comes to traveling the dream realm, and you do look mentally fatigued...”
Raven cleared her throat, moving forwards. “Everypony. We are out of time for today, please come back tomorrow.”
Luna lead Trixie over to the balcony and her horn began to light up. Trixie gulped and tried to imagine the sun moving...and did manage to grab it, but her control over it was finicky at best, going more in a squiggle than a line. She tried to keep pace with Luna...but ended up launching the sun down past the horizon...to her relief, rather than blowing her cover, this instead resulted in the feeling of being hurled out of her body and across the world.
Trixie gasped like she came up from being underwater due to the strain she'd felt suddenly vanishing, finding herself standing in her carriage, staring at Pixie. The fairy was looking down, seeming downtrodden and worried. “...Pixie? What's wrong?”
Pixie blinked, looking up at her. “Trixie?”
“Yes...”
The fairy flew over and hugged her tightly. “Thank goodness you're okay! I'm sorry! I didn't know where you went! I'd been looking all over for you! I came back when I saw the sun starting to come down! I'm so glad my spell wore off!” she exclaimed...seeming almost like a worried mother who'd lost their child at a market than the energetic peppy fairy she'd been mostly seeing her as.
The azure mare was tempted to say something...but simply patted the fairy on the back. “It's okay...Trixie is fine...assuming that Celestia doesn't get...oh no...”
In a flash of orange light, Celestia appeared in her carriage...and promptly had to duck due to the limited room.
Trixie gasped in horror and genuflected as quickly as possible. “Princess! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Please don't imprison me to the place you banish me to!”
Pixie...flew in front of her protectively. “Hello, Princess...I'm sorry...this isn't Trixie's fault...the wish went wrong, she never meant to steal your body...I take all responsibility for it...”
Celestia stood over them for a moment...then put a hoof on Pixie's shoulder. “Hello Pixie...I see you're still a Fairy Godparent...” she said calmly. “...It's okay, it was a honest mistake...” she continued...then gave a warm smile. “And honestly, it kind of was fun.”
Trixie's eyes went wide. “W-What?!”
“I got a day off, that's a rarity for me...if you'd like to take my place some other day I'd be more than willing to-”
“NO!” Trixie screamed...then looked terrified. “Trixie means no thank you! One day with the bureaucrats is quite enough for one life time!”
Celestia gave a chuckle. “And that, my little pony, is another reason why I'm not mad at you,” she replied. “I could've retaken my place whenever I chose to simply by contacting my sister and having her briefly lower the sun...but you were doing a good job and I felt dealing with my court was more than punishment enough...” she replied, before turning to leave. “...Oh, and by the way, Trixie. I had a little fun with your body in the meantime...I hope you don't mind...” the Princess of the Day replied before teleporting away.
Trixie's eyes widened. “Wait...Celestia was in Trixie's body?! What did she do?!” she asked...then noticed a large bag of bits on the counter nearby, flowers, and signatures from fans...as well as pictures of a performance she didn't remember partaking in. “...She...she helped Trixie...why would she do that?”
“...Yeah, Princess Celestia has always been forgiving...even after that time I was a weather fairy...” Pixie replied. She floated down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “...I...understand if you don't want me to be your fairy anymore...just say the word and I'll go...”
Trixie turned to look at the caring face of her fairy...well...the wish hadn't gone as planned...but it did work out in the end... “...You can stay...”
Pixie's eyes went wide and the excitable, energetic fairy returned. “You mean it?!”
The mare nodded. “Indeed...though perhaps next wish won't be quite so grand...but first things first...Trixie needs to get some sleep...”
“Yeah, I really do, thanks for saying so...thanks, Trixie...you're a good pony to be a fairy to...”
“And you're a good fairy...”
To Be Continued...
While it was true that the initial stages of their relationship had been a tad complicated and had its problems, meeting Pixie was working out in general for Trixie. Granted, part of that had been Celestia possessing her body and choosing to do something kind and merciful for her, but the wish had still worked out well in the end. After that day of Celestia in her body, she'd at least managed to put the Ursa Incident far enough behind her to do some shows without being chased off the stage by rotten tomatoes. Which in a way, had made her first wish somewhat come true.
Better yet, Trixie had managed to get a few good wishes in that had been a net benefit since then. Mainly simple things like wishing for a restock on her fireworks display (specifying they must be created, not given to her to avoid accidental theft...again) and things to help with a few acts. Even a few wishes that hadn't turned out quite as planned had pleasant secondary benefits thanks to Trixie being creative enough to make use of them in an act.
Thus, after a few successful shows, Trixie had decided to do something bold.
“So, this is the town this Ursa thingie happened?” asked Pixie, floating alongside Trixie as the mare trotted towards Ponyville.
“Yes. And where the Alicorn Amulet happened...but now that Trixie has began to rise again, it is time to wash that away!” Trixie announced with her normal flare. “Thus shall begin the Great and Powerful Trixie's 'The Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour!'”
Pixie cocked her head. “Why am I doing an apology tour?”
Trixie paused her trek towards Ponyville to facehoof. “Trixie as in me, not Trixie as in you.”
“Oh!...Kinda a mouth full.”
“It's a working title,” the unicorn whispered.
“Oh...”
As the two continued on, Pixie blinked, finding a letter suddenly manifest in front of her face. “Huh?” she asked, grabbing it and opening before giving an excited gasp. “I can't believe it!”
Trixie looked to her fairy with a raised eyebrow. “What is it?”
“It's a notification of my 1000th year of being a Fairy Godmother!” Pixie said, flying around excitedly so fast Trixie's eyes struggled to follow.
“Wow, quite impressive,” the unicorn sincerely replied.
“I know! I've been at this for a long time! One time I even helped a little girl who wanted to make the night last longer! Not sure how that turned out...Anyway, they'll be sending me a award for it soon!”
Trixie finally came to a stop on the outskirts of Ponyville and began setting things up. At least on the surface, the town hadn't seemed to have changed much: still a quaint, quiet little town. Little towns tended to be a good places to do shows. At least when children didn't summon giant monsters to ruin her life. “Hmm...wish we knew how much had changed since Trixie was here last...”
“Okay, though I haven't been here in a really long time!” Pixie called, swinging her wand around and firing a blast of fairy dust at her godchild.
Trixie's eyes widened as she suddenly felt her head rapidly fill with information. Likely several hundred years worth of it.
“How's that?” Pixie asked...but got no reaction. “Uh? Trixie?”
The azure unicorn merely stood there for a few moments, eyes wide, until Pixie snapped her fingers in front of her face.
“Ah! Vines! Crazy time adventures! The Cakes had babies!” Trixie rambled blindly before shaking her head to clear it. “...Thank you...”
“You're welcome,” Pixie said proudly.
The unicorn's head felt scrambled, having so much information dumped into it. It'd probably take her awhile to process it all. Even just narrowing it down to the last few years left her with a bizarrely huge number of events. How could one town have so many things happen in that short of a time period? It was like the most interesting things in Equestria all happened in this one area! Thankfully, most of the things now filling her great and powerful mind which were things she had absolutely no clue about or reason to care about. There was, however, one pony she was interested in out of all of them. What had Twilight been up to? This took her a few moments to sift through, but once she found it, her jaw dropped and she once more froze for several moments.
“W-What?!” asked Trixie in disbelief. “Twilight is...she's a...”
Pixie blinked, cocking her head. “A what?”
“Twilight Sparkle is an Alicorn Princess now!” Trixie exclaimed. Yes, she acknowledge it was ultimately her fault the Alicorn Amulet incident had happened, but she was still entitled to some envy. She felt that was perfectly fair.
“Oh, good for her,” the fairy replied, then noticed Trixie's expression and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Something wrong?”
“Trixie...Trixie is fine. She's not jealous or anything,” the unicorn said, trying to look confident and normal.
“Of course, I'm not jealous of anyone, why would I be?” Pixie noticed Trixie's expression and gave a comforting look. “I don't know who this Twilight is, but you're awesome too.”
Trixie looked back to Pixie, noting the genuine concern on her face. “...Trixie is pretty awesome, isn't she? Thank you.”
“You're welcome!” said the fairy with a smile. “So...you wanna wish to be an Alicorn yourself?”
The unicorn smiled widely and raised a hoof to make a wish without hesitation before a realization crossed her mind. “Wouldn't do much good, given your spells only last until sundown.”
Of course, she could always just wish to be an Alicorn every morning, but that could be problematic if she forgot or if somepony saw the spell fade. Besides, she'd seen the political requirements of an Alicorn very, very thoroughly while borrowing Celestia's body, and had no real interest in being involved in that again.
“That said, there may be a benefit to showing off a bit,” Trixie replied, giving a thoughtful look. “Trixie has always wanted to outdo Twilight at something.”
“Uh, I don't know who Twilight is,” Pixie replied, cocking her head.
“I meant me...Nothing bad, mind you. I remember what happened with the Alicorn Amulet...It was partially why I sought out your egg to begin with.” Trixie gave it a good deal of thought. What could she wish for that might allow her to achieve that without it backfiring? She was hesitant to wish for the most obvious thing to come to mind, but sometimes the first idea to come to your mind was the best idea.
Trixie took a deep breath. “Alright, I wish that I possessed the magical might to best Twilight! But also that my horn was tough enough to withstand the power of it and won't explode. And the magical stamina to use it effectively.”
Pixie nodded, not quite sure what was happening. She just saw it as her wanting to play with a friend or something else a kid would do. “Alright! One power-up coming up!” she said, swinging her wand and showering Trixie with pixie dust.
The mare cringed, just in case something like ending up in another body happened once more...but nothing. “Did it work?”
“Yep!”
Trixie turned and looked to a tree. “Let's test it then.” She focused, magic charging into her horn and firing a far larger beam than she'd been prepared for. She effectively blew the tree in half...and sent herself flying backwards several meters and crashing through a row of trash cans with an 'Oof!'
“...Oops, you didn't wish to be able to brace yourself...” Pixie said, quickly rushing over to check on her worriedly. “...Want to now?”
“...Yes...and I also wish to no longer have bruises...”
Twilight was sitting in her library, rubbing her eyes as she worked on the paper in front of her. “I need to come up with a friendship lesson I know Starlight won't ignore, but what?”
Before she could continue the lesson plan, the door suddenly flew open dramatically. “Princess Twilight Sparkle! The Great and Powerful Trixie has returned!” Trixie announced, standing on her hind legs with her cape billowing dramatically.
Twilight gave a shout and jumped several feet, spinning around with her horn glowing on reflex.
“Don't worry, Trixie isn't here to cause trouble,” Trixie said, confidently, but showing no malice. “Trixie is actually in town as part of an apology tour for her past transgressions!”
The Alicorn carefully powered down her horn, looking cautious, but giving a small smile. “Good. I'm glad to hear it.” Twilight didn't have much to go on when it came to Trixie. She knew her stage persona, sure, but otherwise most of her experience with Trixie had been when she was wearing the Alicorn Amulet. She wanted to give everypony the benefit of the doubt after all. “I hope everything goes well for you.”
“As does Trixie,” the unicorn replied with a smile. “But Trixie had a proposition for you.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”
“Well, you see, last time we met, our magic duels were neither truly fair, nor was Trixie in her right mind,” Trixie answered. “So how about we have a friendly little magic duel later today? No stakes, no consequences for losing. Just testing our magical capabilities against one another?”
The Princess of Friendship raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? I mean I am an Alicorn now...”
Trixie gave a smirk, using her telekinesis to raise various things around the room, make them orbit her, and then placed them back down with little effort. “Trixie has been practicing quite a bit. She is pretty sure you will find her skills have improved considerably. Unless you're scared.”
Twilight rolled her eyes at that. She wanted to just say no, but if there was one thing she did know about Trixie, it was she was persistent. “Fine, I've got a few things, so let's do it later today.”
“As you wish, Twilight! This time the great and Powerful Trixie shall emerge victorious!”
Trixie and Twilight stood out in the court yard of the Castle of Friendship, the sun on the horizon in the background. A few ponies were watching, but Twilight had intentionally not asked ponies to come, not wanting to humiliate Trixie too badly if this went wrong.
Pixie watched from nearby, hiding in a bush but smiling widely.
Trixie kept a confident smirk, Twilight's expression being more reserved. “Alright, let's do this!” the showmare yelled, horn igniting with magic.
“Let's get this over with,” Twilight replied, preparing her own magic. Not wanting to hurt or humiliate Trixie, she held back quite a bit and being met with a surprisingly large beam from Trixie.
“Go Trixie!” yelled Pixie like a mother cheering for her child at a soccer game, then covered her mouth and hid when she noticed Twilight looking in her direction.
The two beams collided and Twilight's eyes widened as Trixie's beam actually began pushing hers back surprisingly well. Seeing this, Pixie cheered as Trixie's confidence grew.
Twilight, assuming she'd merely undershot too much, cranked up the power.
Trixie smirked, preparing for a decisive victory and putting more power into it...only to notice the sun dip below the horizon at the same time Pixie did.
“Uh oh...” both said simultaneously.
Her beam shrunk in size considerably right as Twilight cranked hers up. The end result was Twilight's beam piercing straight through Trixie's own and slamming into her chest. Trixie gave a scream as she was sent flying backwards, slamming into a wall of a nearby building hard enough to rattle it before sliding down to the ground. Giving a groan, the mare started getting up...only for a flower pot to fall and shatter on her head...then another when she stood back up. Then several dozen in a row until she was buried in it. “Ow...”
Twilight's eyes went wide as she looked up to find she'd launched Trixie into the flower pot emporium nearby, the owner glaring at her after the impact had knocked most of the display pots out of the windows. “Oops...”
“Trixie!” Pixie yelled in shock and worry, but had to hide when Twilight snapped in her direction while likewise checking on the hurt showmare.
While Trixie had to stay in the hospital for the night due to Pixie's limitation, she did note that Pixie had stayed by her side whenever the doctors and nurses weren't in the room. At least when Trixie was awake.
“...It's okay, Trixie forgot about the limitation,” Trixie muttered, feeling...odd.
“I forgot too,” Pixie admitted, looking down.
“Trixie really needs a timer or something.”
“Yeah, we do...but I can't make one to last more than a day.”
“We'll figure something out,” Trixie replied, thinking about how they might go about that. The unicorn looked out the window, noticing the sun come up. “I wish I was fully healed.”
“So, what kinda game are you and your friend gonna play next?” asked Pixie as Trixie was let out of the hospital.
“Well, we could try that again, but Trixie doesn't like relying on time sensitive means,” Trixie replied, tapping her chin. “Ah! If Twilight has agreed to a competition that Trixie can win, it doesn't matter if it goes over time, now does it?”
“Sure...but why do you want me to win?” asked Pixie, cocking her head. “We can't let her even know I exist.”
Trixie sighed, having to keep reminding herself they shared a name. “We want me to win...I have an idea.”
“Yes?” the fairy asked, leaning in close.
“I wish that when I challenge Twilight again, she will make the challenge something I'm actually capable of beating her in,” the unicorn recited, being somewhat careful. “Or does that break the rules?”
“I don't think so,” Pixie replied, swinging her wand around and throwing it skywards with a flash of light. “Alright, there we go!”
This made Trixie wonder just what were her limitations. Still, after the Alicorn Amulet, she wasn't too fond of the idea of overreaching. Especially given sometimes the wishes blew up in her face already and the fact even Discord had lost to Twilight and her friends. And as the info dump into her brain had taught her, now one of Twilight and company's friends.
Twilight blinked, emerging from the hospital. “That was strange, how could she be-”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle! Looking for the Great and Powerful Trixie?!” asked the azure unicorn, appearing in an explosion of fireworks in front of the Alicorn. Twilight gave a scream and jumped back several feet.
“Yes, I was worried about you! How are you already out of the hospital?!” Twilight asked as she took a deep breath. Trixie was surprised by the concern in her voice.
“Trixie is a fast healer,” was her simple answer. “But if you wish to make it up to Trixie, then she has a request.”
The Alicorn looked cautious, not knowing what to expect at this point. “And that would be?”
“Trixie wants another competition. Trixie isn't all about strength and power after all,” the azure unicorn replied, tapping her chin. “As Trixie chose the competition last time, you get to choose the next one. Trixie will do whatever you choose...on the condition that you likewise promise to not change your mind once you make your choice. No chickening out!”
Twilight gave an annoyed sigh, but acknowledged that she may have gone overboard and put Trixie in the hospital, so she did owe her. Plus, this didn't really matter much at all to her, so other than cutting into her scheduling time, it wasn't that much of an issue. “Fine. I Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”
“A Pinkie Promise, it's how all of us in Ponyville make a promise we won't break no matter what,” the Alicorn replied, then looked at her expectantly.
The unicorn gave a raised eyebrow for a few moments, then sighed. “Fine...Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ey-GAH!”
“I did that a lot too when I started doing it.” Twilight rubbed her chin, giving it thought. Trixie noticed pixie dust flutter down around the Alicorn's head. Twilight's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, as if she were in a slight trance. “Let's do a 'Make a Fool of Ourselves' Competition...” she recited in a monotone voice. Twilight's eyes suddenly widened as it wore off.
“WHAT?!” they both asked in shock.
Trixie gave a disbelieving look aside to Pixie, who was once more hiding in a bush and looked just as shocked.
“Uh, I don't know why I said that, but what I meant to say was-” Twilight started, only for both to notice Pinkie Pie rise ominously from behind a fence and give both her 'No one breaks a Pinkie Promise' glare.
“...Since when is she so terrifying?” whispered Trixie, staring at the suddenly very intimidating party pony.
Twilight gulped. “This is why no pony breaks a Pinkie Promise...Uh, Pinkie, would you like to be the judge?”
Pinkie Pie's expression changed on a dime as she jumped with an excited chuckle. “Of course! No pony knows more about making ponies laugh than Pinkamena Diane Pie!” She then suddenly zoomed in front of Trixie's face without any warning, causing the unicorn to jump with a shout. “Oh! And welcome back to Ponyville, Trixie!”
The showmare raised an eyebrow “...Thank you... You're not mad about Trixie stole your mouth last time?”
“Eh, water under the bridge.”
“What happened?!” Trixie asked Pixie while they stood in an alley.
“You didn't say what competition to make it...” the fairy replied, looking a little sheepish. “But you're a showmare, right? You can do this, Trixie!”
The azure unicorn blinked, then gave it thought, tapping her chin. “True...Trixie does have experience making fools of ponies, just not herself normally. If she acts as a jester, she just might win. And seeing Twilight make a fool of herself will be quite amusing at least.”
“Uh, you're the one in the competition, not me, remember? I said not to let anypony know about me?” the Pixie asked, not noticing several ponies walking by and looking at them. As this was Ponyville, they mostly just shrugged and walked on without paying it any mind. “In fact, I think the rules might say if they do I'll have to leave forever...maybe. I can't really remember.”
Trixie's heart skipped a beat at that. Pixie have to leave her? Why did that make her feel so bad trying to imagine? “...I'll keep that in mind.”
“Okay, so, I guess we'll be taking turns?” Twilight asked, standing with Trixie in a clearing while Pinkie Pie stood at her podium. Neither of them had much interest in humiliating themselves in front of the entire town. Or was very enthusiastic about this for that matter.
Pixie floated in a tree nearby, watching excitedly.
“Yeah! Twilight, you go first!” Pinkie Pie called, sitting at a judge's table.
“Alright...hmm...” Twilight thought about it for a second, then decided to do the obvious thing and manifested a pie. She promptly slammed it into her own face and looked at Pinkie Pie with a forced smile through the whipped cream.
“Ha! Nice one, Twilight! Your turn, Trixie!” Pinkie Pie called, turning to the azure showmare.
Trixie took a deep breath. Making herself the butt of a joke wasn't nearly as easy as making somepony else it. Still, she steadied herself and jumped up on her front legs. She began trotting forwards until she finally forced herself to loose balance. Giving a yell, she flipped over onto her back with a 'Oof!' “Tada...” she said before having to quickly nurse her bruised ego.
Pinkie Pie gave a clap as Trixie got up and carefully tried to hide an embarrassed blush. She noticed Pixie laughing from her perch, but just thought it was a bird having a good time. “You're gonna have to try hard to top that, Twilight!”
Twilight hadn't really intended to try all that hard, but Pinkie Pie was watching extremely intently. If she dared not put effort into it, Pinkie would know. She materialized a bunch of balls and began to juggle them for a few moments before letting them fall on her head, one at a time and giving an oof with each hit. “How's that?”
“Classic!” the pink party pony called. “Trixie?”
Trixie came out riding a unicycle, keeping herself steady...until she finally forced herself to take a fall. This sent her flying and landing with her hindquarters in the air as her cape fell over her head. Pixie gave a cheer and applauded.
“Oh, good pratfall! Alright, Twilight, this is your last turn! Give it all you've got!” Pinkie Pie called with a laugh, not noticing Trixie actively trying to avoid drawing attention to her bruised ego.
Twilight sighed. “Alright...” She used a small to make a ice path with a snowbank at the end and jumped on it, intending to simply do a header into it...but tripped on her own tail. This resulted in her being launched over it. She went crashing through a pile of soap Trixie had been intending to use for one of hers and right into the nearby lake. Emerging covered in soap, the Alicorn shook herself off, resulting in her fur puffing out. “...Not what I had in mind.”
Pinkie Pie gave a big laugh. “Good one! Trixie! Time for your last act! You'll have to pull out all the stops!”
“Darn it, Trixie was going to use that soap!” Trixie muttered, tapping her chin and looking around. She then smiled, noticing Twilight's snowbank still in place. “Well, if you'll take Trixie's prop, she'll take yours.”
Trixie got out the cannon she was planning to use in her act that night and aimed it properly before jumping in after lighting the fuse. She ran through it in her head: she'd launch herself into the snowbank then with a little magic make herself come out looking like a snow pony, perfect. That was until the wheels on the cannon (which she hadn't gotten a chance to properly check, given how she'd had to rush here) rocked backwards. “Curse you, wheels!” she shouted, right before it fired.
She flew right over the snowbank and straight into a den in the ground. Twilight and Pinkie both came close to look...only to recoil with a gag as a horrible smell came out of the den. Pixie cringed with a groan at the sight.
Trixie groaned, emerging from the skunk den, face green and eyes watering. “S-So, who...who won?” she asked, coughing and gagging as several fainted birds fell around her.
“Hmm...” Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin as she put a clothespin on her nose. The two mares, both quite obviously wanting this over, just stared awkwardly as Pinkie looked back and forth between them. “Well, Twilight's had more parts to it, but Trixie's had more impact to it overall...” After several moments with the two leaning in to listen for her answer (before Twilight recoiled from the stinking Trixie), Pinkie Pie produced a notebook and looked over them. “Move the ha, carry the chuckle. Add and subtract a pratfall...” she muttered to herself before she finally raised a hoof to announce her decision with unusual formality. “It's a tie!”
“What?!” both mares asked in shock and annoyance.
“You both tried so hard! I can't decide! Just look at the score chart!” the party pony replied, showing her notebook...which was largely composed of nonsensical drawings that may have made sense to Pinkie but were the written equal of gibberish to anyone else. “Now, if Trixie had launched herself through the den and into the tomato stall across the street or Twilight had landed in the mud, then slid into the soap, that would've been a clincher! Good job, girls! And trust me, I know my comedy!”
With that, Pinkie Pie promptly dove headfirst into the snow, causing it to erupt upwards into a snow Pinke Pie that the original emerged from the nose of. “What? No pony else used it!”
“Well, at least it was a tie rather than a loss,” Trixie muttered, sitting in a tomato juice bath as Pixie scrubbed her, both having clothespins on their noses. Trixie would've just wished the smell away, but knowing her luck that would've resulted in it just coming back at dusk.
“And you did a really good job! You're really good at being funny!” Pixie praised, sounding like a parent praising their child.
“Thank you,” Trixie replied, giving a small smile. It felt...good getting honest praise. Even if the whole thing had been a bust. “Well, Trixie isn't giving up yet! She will claim a victory over her rival!”
“I never give up! I've been at this for a thousand years, after all! Even when I get a rough child! Like that one little yak who wished for a snow-day ever day! Got a wish to help?” the fairy asked, holding up her wand.
The showmare rubbed her chin. “I wish I knew a competition Twilight couldn't win, and if it doesn't exist I wish it did.”
Twilight groaned, finishing drying off her mane. “This is getting annoying...” On one hoof, Trixie wasn't trying to take over Ponyville or do something, but Twilight had Starlight's lessons she needed to plan. As she emerged from the bathroom, she jumped, finding Trixie waiting for her...with pink hair. The Alicorn just gave an annoyed sigh.
“That competition did not go as expected,” Trixie stated simply. “Trixie doesn't think you enjoyed it anymore than she did.”
“No, I didn't. Sorry about that, it was just what popped into my head,” the lavender Alicorn replied awkwardly. She tried to force herself to be polite despite her growing annoyance. The last one had been her bad and gotten Trixie skunked, after all.
“Indeed. Trixie, however, has a better idea for a replacement challenge!”
“...A 'Do Not Read' Competition?” Twilight asked as they stood, the two surrounded by books.
Trixie was honestly equally as uncertain, given this wasn't exactly a competition she'd been expecting to partake in. “It's a legitimate competition, complete with a rule book. Now let us begin!”
Spike gave an annoyed sigh. “Alright, start...whatever this is.”
Twilight sighed. “Wait! What exactly are the rules?!”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “They're simple, first one who can't resist reading something loses, didn't you read the rule book?”
“You didn't give me time!” Twilight complained. She was Twilight, of course she'd have read it in an instant if given the chance. “Is that all there is to it?”
“Yes, it very clearly says the rules right here,” Trixie said, opening the book and pointing to the rules. “First to read-”
“Uh, Trixie, you just read a book. You lost,” Spike interrupted, looking at his own copy of the rules.
Trixie's face fell. “W-What?! That doesn't count!” she yelled at the same time Pixie, hiding nearby, echoed her before hiding.
“Uh, yes it does. Doesn't matter how you end up reading it: you lose when you read anything from a book,” the baby dragon said, pointing to the text on the page. “You can even trick the other person into reading something to win.”
“Oh, so you have to try and get the other other pony to read, that makes a bit more sense,” Twilight replied, putting a hoof to her chin. “Might have to look more into this, but I'm very busy at the moment. I'm behind on Starligh-”
“B-But that's not fair! Trixie didn't mean that!” Trixie complained. “Trixie demands a rematch!”
The Alicorn gave a frustrated growl. Given the competition, it was obvious Trixie had been trying to ensure she'd lose. Had Trixie really changed at all? “Trixie, I don't have time for your challenges! We'll have some competition or another later, okay?...But it's my turn to pick.”
Trixie growled with a glare. “Fine, but don't keep Trixie waiting!”
“Pixie,” Trixie said, looking to her godmother.
Trixie noticed Pixie looking at her expectantly, ready to try and please her.
“...That was a good try,” Trixie finally said.
The fairy gave a proud smile. “Thanks! I always do my best to help my godchildren! Like the time I helped that little goat find a bell!”
The mare took a deep breath. “Now, as for this time... I wish Twilight would pick something I can win...again.”
Pixie gave a salute. “Will do...hmm, maybe I should try granting it a different way this time...” With that, she vanished into pixie dust.
Twilight sat in her library, finishing up the next Friendship Lesson for Starlight. Having a student, especially one with obvious issues, was a hoofful. She wondered if Celestia ever had this issue with her.
Speaking of issues, Twilight gave an annoyed sigh. “I guess I've got to find out what to do with Trixie's challenge.”
Trixie was beginning to get on her nerves. 'Reformed' or not, Trixie was still fixated on upstaging Twilight and putting herself on a pedestal seemed to be all she wanted to do. Had she really changed at all? Twilight wasn't sure.
Pixie peaked into the room. “Alright, Rachel told me about 'subliminal messages'...let's try some!”
Twilight reclined her head against the chair, thinking. What competition should she choose?
“You will choose an event where Trixie can win...”
Perhaps she should, just to get Trixie satisfied and get her off her back.
“Or she will be very upset and sad and would like to make your life miserable...but you ignore that because you want Trixie to be happy...”
Her subconscious had a point. Trixie could be a bit vindictive, but ultimately the entire reason she acted this way was because her entire life had been ruined by the Ursa. For as frustrating as she could be, Twilight didn't think Trixie deserved that. So perhaps letting her win was for the best.
“I mean the pony not me. Because I'm happy already being a helpful godmother... wait what was I saying?"
“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, eyes snapping open. Pixie quickly zoomed and hid behind a conveniently shaped lamp to hide. Looking around, the Alicorn Princess saw nothing. Her response was to shake her head in an attempt to clear it. “Maybe I need to take a nap...”
Trixie wasn't incompetent, she had some genuine talent. Thinking of something she could win with that talent that Twilight couldn't shouldn't be that hard. Maybe if done right, it'd show Trixie her strengths.
“Okay, Trixie, for this next competition, we're going to do what we call a 'Goof-Off,'” Twilight finally told Trixie.
“...Didn't we already do that?” asked Trixie, raising an eyebrow.
“No, that was...well, having to be fools,” the Alicorn replied, cringing at the memory. “With this, the rules are simple: we have to entertain someone and make them laugh. In fact, for this time, first pony to make the judge laugh wins.”
The azure unicorn raised a hoof...then put it to her chin. Entertaining was her thing, after all. “Hmm, entertaining somepony is something that Trixie can definitely do. A fine choice.”
“And the judge will of course be Pinkie Pie,” Twilight called, expecting Pinkie to come over. Making her laugh should be easy. Then Trixie would have her confidence and finally be satisfied.
However, instead of the pink party pony, they were greeted by another mare entirely.
“Maud?” Twilight asked, looking the eldest Pie sibling. “Where's Pinkie Pie?!”
“Sorry, there was a party emergency that needed her. I'm her replacement,” Maud said with her normal monotone.
“...Okay then,” the lavender Alicorn replied, giving it thought. Maud looked emotionless, but she wasn't truly. Perhaps this still wouldn't be so difficult. If worst came to worst, they could count 'laughing on the inside.' “Trixie, you start.”
Trixie gave a smirk. “Of course the Great and Powerful Trixie will begin!” she called, fireworks going off around her. Giving it a little bit of thought, she took her hat off and threw it into the air. In an explosion of magic, out emerged three doves...each of which were dressed in clown makeup and perched on Trixie's forelegs with a dramatic bow. On cue, one of the doves did a pratfall and landed on the ground. “Tada!”
Pixie, hiding on a nearby roof, laughed and raised a 'Go Trixie!' sign.
Maud, however, remained stone faced.
“Fine, your turn, Sparkle.”
Twilight sighed. She thought back to a joke book and tried to think of something that Maud wouldn't laugh at. “So, why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!” she said with a forced smile.
The oldest Pie simply sat there unchanging.
“Ha! Is that the best you've got?” Trixie asked, rolling her eyes. “Let Trixie show you how it's done!” she called. “What do you call an alligator in a vest?” she asked, manifesting a hologram of a familiar baby alligator and a vest. “An investigator!” she ended, the two melding together in her illusions to form a rather adorable little version of Gummy dressed like a private eye. The hologram instantly grabbed a magnifying glass and began looking around, climbing up and comically looking through Twilight's mane.
“Hey!”
Pixie once more laughed and cheered for her godchild. “You can do it Trixie!”
Maud, however, didn't budge.
“Tough crowd,” the showmare admitted.
Twilight admitted, if it were Pinkie Pie that'd probably do the trick, but Maud was...well, Maud. “Did you hear about the mathematician that was afraid of negative numbers? He'd stop at nothing to avoid them!” she joked, and genuinely laughed.
No response.
Trixie sighed. “Fine then, Trixie supposes that she will need to pull out the big guns,” she replied, preparing herself. “Trixie might be redeemed, but that doesn't mean she can't still upstage!”
= Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better – Annie =
“Anything you can do, I can do better.
I can do anything better than you!” Trixie sang, summoning illusions of a mathematician who followed numbers back to zero, only to stop with an over the top, cartoonish wild take when he saw the negative numbers beyond that. Pixie chuckled, humming along with the song.
Twilight rolled her eyes...then realized given Trixie's ego, perhaps calling her bluff might bring out the best in her.
“No, you can't,” Twilight sang back to her.
“Yes, I can!” Trixie sang back with a glare.
“No, you can't!”
“Yes, I can!”
“No, you can't!
“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!”
“The game is to fill the air with laughter,
And I know I'll make her laugh before you,” Twilight sang back, trying to match Trixie's bragging in hopes it'd bring out everything she had.
“No, you won't!” Trixie sang, getting face to face.
“Yes, I will!”
“No, you won't!
“Yes, I will!”
“No, you won't!”
“Yes, I will! Yes, I will!”
Twilight swung her horn around and summoned Angel Bunny dressed like a little bee.
“I can make this bunny,
A bee making honey.”
Twilight's eyes widened as Angel gave a growl and tried to kick her, resulting in her teleporting him back home (where Fluttershy fawned over how cute he looked in the outfit).
“Oh yeah? How about a skunk,
Dressed like a little punk?” Trixie sang back, pulling a skunk out of her hat dressed like a punk rocker complete with the little false leather jacket and Mohawk. She jumped as the skunk reacted naturally and tried to spray her, but managed to dodge and let him run, the outfit disappearing into illusion magic.
“My pun was much more clever,” Twilight sang, still trying to get the best out of her. She was admittedly impressed so far.
“Is that a fact?” the unicorn retorted.
“Yes.”
“Well, I used my hat.”
Twilight used a gravity spell to make herself float.
“Any height you can reach, I can go higher”
Trixie merely countered by summoning enough balloons to be slightly higher.
“Oh, I can go so much higher than you!”
Twilight floated a bit higher.
“No, you can't.”
Trixie added more balloons to be slightly higher.
”Yes, I can.”
“No, you can't.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can't.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can't.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can't.”
“Yes, I CAN!”
In the end, Trixie was indeed higher up than Twilight...but both realized they were very high.
“Any fall you can take, I can fall faster!
I can get down so much faster than you!” Trixie called, using her magic to summon a trampoline down below and popping her balloons.
Twilight reversed her gravity spell and dove.
“20 miles?”
Trixie used a few fireworks to dive faster.
“30 miles!”
Twilight merely dove faster.
“40?”
“50!”
Twilight's eyes widened and she looked genuinely worried at how fast they were going.
“No, you can't!”
“Yes, I can!
To Twilight's surprise, Trixie actually managed to land on the trampoline and bounce a few times before doing a flip and landing on her hooves with a bow.
“Yes, you can,” The Alicorn sung, genuinely somewhat impressed. Still, she decided to roll things back a little bit for Trixie's safety.
“Anything you can juggle, I can juggle more,” Twilight sang, making three rubber balls.
“I can juggle so much more than you,” Trixie sang back, manifesting and juggling four balls on a circus ball.
“No, you can't! Twilight summoned five and joined on a ball of her own.
“Yes, I can!
“No, you can't!”
“Yes, I can!”
“No, you can't!”
“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!”
By the end they were both juggling so many balls they lost count and finally lost the ability to keep track, resulting in them simultaneously getting hit in the head with one. The rest followed one at a time until they were both swaying dizzily.
“I can stay on this ball,
Even after it all,” Twilight sang, swaying dizzily.
“I think we will both fall,
But I'll do it slicker,” Trixie sang back, both falling off, but her doing it more dramatically.
Pixie gave a thunderous applause and cheer, before having to dive down when ponies looked her way.
After several moments of getting their wits back, they both looked to Maud. “Well?”
Maud, however, was preoccupied with Boulder. “Did you already start? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. My humor is more rock and Pinkie Pie based...”
“...So, I guess it's a tie then...” Twilight admitted, getting back to her hooves.
“Trixie demands another challenge!” Trixie exclaimed.
“Trixie, you tied twice, isn't that enough?” the Alicorn asked, trying to be civil.
“Not until Trixie beats you!”
Twilight growled, her frustration with this entire situation overflowing as her suspicions were confirmed about Trixie's motivations. “Well, I've got a friendship lesson to go make! I'm sorry, but this is all I have time for!” she said, turning and walking away.
Maud just shrugged and trotted off.
Trixie growled. “This isn't over!”
“...You did a good job, Trixie.”
The azure unicorn turned, looking at Pixie, finding her looking genuinely supportive. “...Trixie supposes she did. You know, if Trixie...I mean I made wishes mid-competition, I could easily win.”
Twilight, a good ways away, took a deep breath and did Cadence's breathing trick. “...Okay, that wasn't the best way I could've handled that situation.” Yes, Trixie was frustrating her, but that was no reason to lose her cool and get mad with her. She slowly walked back...then paused, noticing Pixie floating next to Trixie.
“But Trixie, remember?!” the fairy asked, being rather loud and dramatic. “If we do that, she'll know about me and then I might have to leave you forever!”
The Alicorn gasped, remaining hidden. She noticed Trixie look...sad. Worried. She didn't know who or what this creature was, but for her to react like that...
Pixie flew down, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “You don't need to beat Twilight, you're better than her to me.”
Trixie...looked genuinely moved by that. “...Thank you, Pixie.” The unicorn's eyes widened as Pixie hugged her...but put a hoof on her back.
Twilight slowly backed away. “...I'll just leave them be,” she said, not knowing what was going on but not wanting Trixie to lose a friend if she did learn too much.
After a few minutes, Trixie jumped and cleared her throat. “Perhaps you're right! Trixie has been obsessing too much over Twilight!” she said, turning to think.
Pixie smiled...then found a Breezie appear next to her. “Oh, hello.”
“You Trixie Pixie?” asked the little fairy pony.
“Yes! That's me!”
“Here,” the Breezie said, handing her an envelope. “Your reward for a thousand years of service.”
“Oh! I wonder what it is!” Pixie asked before opening it...and smiling from ear to ear. “Hehe! This is great!”
“Pixie, come along,” said Trixie, looking back. “We've spent so much time on Twilight Sparkle, we've neglected the reason we came here in the first place. Time to work on the show!” the mare said, turning to walk away. “Hmm...you are a great assistant, but I do wish I had one who could help directly on stage.”
Pixie swung her wand and it glowed, though Trixie didn't notice. “Wonder how that wish will be granted...” she said, then looked at what had come out of the envelope: a voucher reading 'One Permanent Wish.' “And what we'll use this for...”
