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RogerDodger
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2000–8000
Grandiose Delusions
Trixie halted. She was out of breath from pulling her cart uphill, but this was not what made her stop; it was laying eyes on Manehatten for the first time. From up here, the city with its high, many-windowed buildings glimmered in the noontime sun, much like the gentle ripples of the ocean surrounding it. It was like a jewel in a sea of glass. Down there were thousands, no, millions of ponies that had not yet heard of her… and she was going to change that.
“Come and behold the great and powerful Trixie!” she shouted across Briddle Square where she’d just set up her stage. It was late afternoon and the area was crowded beyond anything she’d ever seen. However, nopony stopped.
“Watch in awe as the great and powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!” she continued and fired her trademark fireworks, throwing her arms up in a winning pose. Some ponies jerked at the explosions and cast sideways glances at her.
“Excuse me, madam.” Two stallions wearing matching, blue clothing had stopped infront of the stage.
“Oh, a challenger. Do you by any means question the magical abilities of the great and powerful Trixie?”
The speaking stallion’s face remained solemn while the one standing in the back chuckled. “No ma'am, we’re the police.” The pony whisked a metal badge from one of his shirt’s pockets and showed it to her. “You can’t set up a stage in the middle of a public square without a permit”
Trixie grinned. “I see: instead of challenging me outright you try to make me leave? You will find that the great and powerful Trixie is not so easily intimidated.”
The speaking stallion shook his head wearily. “Please be reasonable. I really don’t want to do this, but if you don’t pack up and leave this square I’ll have to arrest you.”
Trixie reared onto her hind legs and conjured a black cloud above the two stallions. “Be gone!” she shouted as she let two lightning strikes go down on them. They hardly flinched. Within a second they were on the stage. The speaker tackled her, bringing both of them onto the rough wooden planks. The other stallion got on top of Trixie and twisted her arm backwards.
“Ouch, you’re hurting me! Alright, alright, I submit, let go off me!”
The stallion loosened his grip. “You’ll come quietly from now on?”
“Yes, I’ll… Trixie will come quietly. Because you asked so nicely.”
At the police station, Trixie found herself locked into a room with a single, barred window, grey walls, a bunk bed and a sink. She sat down on the bed and massaged her hurting shoulder. Muffled talking could be heard through the massive steel door, but Trixie only picked up scraps: “Lunatic… shot lightning at us… great and powerful my ass.”
She probably shouldn’t have picked a fight right away, but she’d been frustrated. So many ponies had walked past without even a glance, others had looked as though she’d been a mildly frightening insect. What an abysmal start for her conquest of Manehattan.
The metal door swung open and a middle-aged mare wearing glasses and a pinned up mane looked at her. “Trixie, right? come with me please.”
Trixie got up and followed the mare to a desk in the next room. The mare sat down and offered Trixie a seat to the opposite side. “So, Trixie, Bucks and Simmer told me what happened. You’re not from here, am I right?”
“Trixie travels all over Equestria to prove her talent to all of ponykind.”
“Right… so, before you can prove yourself to Manehattan though, there’s still a small matter to settle: you attacked two police ponies. Unlike most rural areas in Equestria, Manehattan has a police force that makes sure laws are upheld. If you disobey these laws, they can arrest you and bring you before court where a judge and possibly a jury will decide your punishment.”
“P- punishment?” Cold sweat broke out on Trixie's forehead. Her belly felt as though someone had just dropped a bucket of ice in it.
“Yes, punishment. However, since nopony was hurt and it is obvious that you’re new to the city, the two officers you attacked agreed to refrain from pressing charges if you agree not to set up stages without permit again, and promise to not attack anypony with lightning strikes or in any other way unless in self-defense. Do you agree to that?”
Trixie, who’d been staring open-mouthed, nodded hastily. “Y-yes, and… I’m sorry. I was frustrated and acted like a brute. I should have learned that lesson already, but I lost control.”
The bespectacled mare considered her for a moment, then continued. “We’ve got an agreement then. Do not take this lightly. If you get into trouble again, this case might be brought up again and we might press charges after all.”
Trixie nodded, her head bowed.
“Now that’s settled: you’re a performer, right?”
Trixie looked up, taken aback. “The great and powerful Trixie is no mere performer, but the most magical equine Equestria has ever seen!”
“Well then, this might be a thing for you: there’s this talent show in two days called Equestria’s Got Talent. I wonder why you haven’t heard of it already, it’s all over TV. Anyway, this is really big, winning it will make you famous almost overnight. If you’re interested, I’ll show you where to go.”
The mare got up and went to a big map on a wall in the back of the room, Trixie right on her heels.
It was nighttime when she arrived in front of the big building. It was at least ten stories high and the harsh electric lights of the street lanterns were mirrored in its glass fronts: a dark tower imprisoning feverish fireflies. Trixie set down her cart in front of it. She took a few deep breaths, her head swimming with today’s events, before hunger and exhaustion came crashing down on her. She crawled into the back of her card and managed to take a few bites off a cereal bar before sleep overwhelmed her.
Hard rapping at the side of her cart woke her up. “Yo, wake up ya snoring fool!”
Trixie stuck her head out the back, the bright light of day almost blinding her. “What is it?”
“This ain’t no place for camping, ya blocking the goddamn entrance.”
As Trixie’s eyes adapted, she realized the mare cussing at her was pulling a taxi. Behind her, three other taxi’s were already waiting for her to move, blocking the whole street.
“Ya gonna move already or what you goddamn fool, want me to call the cops?”
“Who’s the cops?” Trixie asked, still half asleep.
“Po-lice. They’s gonna move yo ass alright.”
Trixie jumped out of her cart and pulled it away from the entrance onto the sidewalk. “Thought so,” the taxi mare said as she passed her.
Her heart still pounding, Trixie watched the many taxis and other morning traffic until she had calmed a bit. Ponies pulling carts on the streets, ponies slouching, walking or outright running on the sidewalks, two, no three construction sites within earshot… now that she was awake, she wondered how she’d slept through all the noise they made.
She finished her cereal bar from the day before, then looked at the ominous building again. Equestria’s Got Talent was written on a banner at the entrance, and ponies had already lined up. Trixie joined them.
“—so I’ll be singing them ‘Blue Suede Horseshoes’, it’ll rock their world,” a stallion with a pompadour mane and leather jacket said to another waiting mare. “Or what do you think,” he asked Trixie as he spotted her, “maybe ‘Are you lonesome tonight?’”
“The great and powerful Trixie’s nights are none of your business, mortal.”
“Wow, wow, wow,” the stallion took a step back, then smiled. “Babe, ‘Don’t be cruel’, ‘Love me tender’.”
Trixie hoped this situation registered for self-defense. She conjured the tiniest of clouds and shot the tiniest of lightnings at the stallions backside.
“Ouch!” he yelped, then laughed. “Haha, ‘Alright, Okay, You Win’” With that, he turned back to the mare in front of him to continue their conversation.
As the crowd entered the building, Trixie saw that all the ponies were directed to three counters with a big sign above them that said Registration. She had to wait what felt like hours until she reached one of them.
“We don’t need any more singers, thank you. Next.” The mare at the counter told the peculiar stallion that had been in line in front of Trixie.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” the stallion said as he turned to leave. He winked at Trixie. “Good luck, babe.”
Trixie stepped in front of the counter. “The great and powerful Trixie heard that you seek beings of extraordinary talent, and has decided to enrich your event with her presence.”
“Uhm… okaaay.” The receptionist said. “So, judging from the hat and cloak, you do magic tricks?”
“Not tricks, but some ponies call them so. My magic surpasses the comprehensive capabilities of mortals.”
“Riiight… well, loonies are always entertaining, you’re in. Be here at 4 p.m. tomorrow.” The receptionist bowed down over a stack of paper. “What was your name again?”
“The great and powerful Trixie. Remember it!”
The receptionist chuckled. “I will, I will.”
Back outside the building, Trixie went to her cart, only to see that a stallion in blue uniform stood right next to it and was scribbling something on a piece of paper. The ice in her belly was back. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the police pony, her knees wobbly.
The police pony noticed her and looked up. “Your trailer?” he asked.
Trixie swallowed hard. “Y-yes.”
“You’re blocking the sidewalk.”
“Uh… uhm… I’m sorry?”
“You can’t just park this wherever you want, there are designated camping sites for stuff like that, you know.”
“Uhm… so where can I go?” Trixie asked.
“There’s a camping site just outside of town, this way.” He pointed.
Trixie tried to remember all the streets she passed and turns she took to find her way back to the big Equestria’s got Talent building the next day, but there were so many, she lost count very quickly. When she had reached the outskirts of Manehattan, she had to ask several people to find the camping site the police pony had pointed her to. When she finally got there, it was late afternoon and she’d run out of cereal bars.
She stopped at a small hut next to a gate. The inhabitant, a very old stallion, seemed to have heard her and was already looking at her out of his window. He said nothing.
“The great and humble Trixie would like to stay here, please.”
“Three bits three days, five bits a week. Showers cost extra, lake’s free.”
Trixie went to and got her purse: two bits. She crawled the back of her cart and searched for more in the cracks: two more bits. She passed three of her precious coins to the warden and entered the camp site.
A long, winding path covered in gravel lead to a small lake that was enclosed in a sea of green pastures and interspersed with fruit trees. Along the path were several caravans, some big and luxurious, others small and shabby. She saw several ponies as she pulled her cart towards the lake, and finally noticed what she’d been missing as she’d walked through Manehattan; they smiled.
The wheels of Trixies cart ceased their crunchy sounds as she steered off the path towards a small group of trees near the lake, which resulted in a silence only interrupted by the singing of birds and the laughter of a distant group of foals. Only when she had entered the shade underneath the trees did she notice that the spot was not vacant: a large but rather shabby caravan stood there already.
Before Trixie could think about searching another location, a small head popped out of one of the caravan’s windows. “Hi there, are you a wizard?” The filly couldn’t be past the age of six.
“Not just any wizard my little filly. Behold the powers of the great and powerful Trixie!” Trixie reared on her hind legs and drew a rainbow into the air with the tip of her hooves.
“Wooow. Can you do more?”
“More?” Trixie chuckled. “I am the most magical equ—”
“Can I go get my friends? Will you be our neighbor?”
“Uhm… sure.” Trixie wasn’t entirely sure if the filly got more than the ‘uhm’, though: she’d launched herself from the open window and was already dashing for another settlement of caravans. In her stead though, a grown mare now looked out the caravan at Trixie.
“Hi there, too!” she said.
“Greetings, mortal.”
The mare chuckled. “I’m Passiflora. You can call me Passi or Flora, both is fine.This was my daughter you just met there. Daisy’s always liked magic, but we’re all earth ponies. She’s really lucky you came along.”
“Yes, I believe she’ll be a fine minion.”
“Haha, you’re a real character, huh.” The mare rested her head on her hooves and learned on the window sill. “She’ll be back with the whole horde in no time, I hope you’re ready for them, they can be quite a handful.”
“The great and powerful Trixie has vanquished Ursa Majors befo—Ursa Min—well, no I haven’t, but I can handle kids.”
“Alrighty then, here they come” The mare cocked her head towards somewhere behind Trixie. She turned to look and saw more than a dozen of foals run towards their group of trees. Before she could do more than take a deep breath, they had surrounded her and were demanding: “Magic! Magic!”
“Alright, my little admirers, stay put.” Trixie jumped into her cart and made it fan-out her stage. From there, she blasted her whole assortment of tricks. Fireworks, conjured rainbows and other light effects, lightning, levitation; the kids gasped in awe and laughed at all the right places. Some of them actually rolled around the floor when Trixie gave Passiflora a moustache. When she was out of spells, she thought of something new and encased all of the kids in magical soap bubbles: floating and bouncing off the ground and each other, they laughed and shrieked. This gave Trixie a much needed break: she conjured a chaise longue and dropped in exhaustion.
Passiflora hopped onto the stage and set down next to her. “You’re great. I really like this one.” she stroked her purple moustache. “I think my husband won’t, though, haha!”
Trixies horn started to glow, and the moustache vanished with a pop. The popping sound was followed by a deep grumbling emanating from Trixie’s belly.
“Oh my… say, do you want to join us for dinner? It’s the least I can do for that awesome show,” Passiflora said.
“The great and hungry Trixie will graciously accept your gifts of submission.”
Well fed and satisfied from a meal surrounded by admirers and minions, Trixie slept through the whole morning. When she woke, she stuck her nose out her cart; a warm breeze greeted her with the scent of freshly mown grass. She took a deep breath and postponed opening her eyes for a bit longer.
“Hi Trixie, you’re still here?” Passiflora’s voice.
“Hello. What do you mean, still here?” Trixie asked, voice muffled by her head still resting on the edge of the cart.
“Didn’t you say you had a competition to win or something yesterday?”
Trixie’s eyes snapped open. “What time is it?”
Passiflora, who’d stopped right in front of the cart, looked up at the sky. “Oh, sometime about after midday. We had lunch already, but we still got leftovers. Want some?”
“Thank you, but I’ve got to run.” With that, Trixie jumped from her cart and dashed across the pastures, down the gravel path, through the gateway that enclosed the camping grounds and onto the road that led to the city.
“And now for our last contestant of the day: The great and powerful Trixie!” a voice announced to the hall behind the curtain before hooves from behind pushed her onto the stage. She’d barely made in time and was still out of breath from all the running.
Trixie found herself on the biggest stage she’d ever seen: more than fifty feet in length, Trixie would have to scale her effects up to make them work. Directly in front of the stage sat three ponies with folded forearms, mustering her with mild interest—the judges, apparently. Behind them, several hundred ponies were only distinguishable by the reflection of the bright stage lights in their eyes, and all eyes were on Trixie. The attention electrified her.
“So, great and powerful Trixie, why are you here today?” on of the three front row ponies asked. According to the name badge, a unicorn by the name of Crimson Scowl.
“The great and powerful Trixie heard you were searching for beings of ultimate talent. She is the most powerfully magical equine in the history of time itself. Trixie shall be known by every pony in all of Equestria!”
“And you’ll perform… what?” the pony asked, his face still expressionless.
“Behold!” Trixie got onto her hind legs, her arms stretched wide. The stage lights went out with a bang as she fired her first blast of fireworks. She conjured balls of fire and levitated them through the air, illuminating the whole hall. Then, before she could continue to her lightning storm, a loud buzzing cut through the sound of her conjured fanfares. Somewhere in the darkness in front of Trixie, a red cross popped up. Her lightning strikes fizzled. Two more buzzing sounds rang through the hall, and the stage lights popped on again.
“What?!” Trixie asked, bewildered and annoyed.
The audience was dead silent as the only mare among the judges leaned forward and spoke in a nasal voice: “That was, like, sooo last century. I mean, I wasn’t gonna say anything about your outfit, but that hat is something, like, Clopperfield’s granddad could have worn. Don’t get me wrong, my little nephew is in kindergarten and he’d love your show, but for the big stage, this isn’t gonna cut it, hun.”
Trixie just stood there, open mouthed.
“If you could show us something really new and astonishing, oh great and powerful Trixie, we might still change our minds,” Crimson Scowl said and raised an eyebrow.
With a popping sound, a moustache appeared on his face. The audience roared, and the other two judges nearly fell off their seats laughing.
“So you’d make due as a manestylist, interesting… but not enough. A ‘No’ from me.”
“No, sorry, hun.” the female judge said.
“Nope,” the third judge agreed, still chuckling.
Trixie condensed all her anger into a single spell and threw it at Crimson Scowl. His mane and moustache turned a bright, iridescent green. To roaring laughter and applause from the audience, Trixie left the stage, her head held high in defiance.
“Oh great and powerful Trixie, I beg you to hear me out.” The stallion had just stopped her outside the Equestria’s Got Talent’ building, was wearing a suit and actually bowing before her.
“Speak, mortal.”
“I pity the fools that did not realize your potential, but I, Golden Tush, am different. Please accept me as your manager, and I shall pave your way to glory.” His smile revealed a single, glinting, golden tooth.
“Continue.”
“It is not only I that has seen and acknowledges your true power, but others also. Many speak of your unique talents and admire you, and would even pay to be able to meet you and reflect some of your radiance.”
“This sounds like a proposition Trixie could agree to.” Trixie said.
“Well then, great and powerful Trixie, would you follow me so we can talk in more detail? I have the paperwork in my office.” He beckoned her to follow him down the street.
“Trixie needs to get her cart from outside of town first…” she said hesitantly.
“Oh, there’ll be plenty of time for that later. Let’s start working on your ascension into celebrity first. I’ll sponsor you a hotel room for the time being.” The pony in suit smiled again.
Trixie hesitated for another moment. “Well, alright then.”
“Turquoise, please,” the mare said and sat down in front of the big mirror.
Trixies jaw dropped: “Wha—”
“And could you make it that they glow in the dark? I want to be the star of the nightclub!”
“Golden Tush, a word.” Trixie stomped into the room next door, the pony in suits following her. “Is this what you meant by ‘ponies wanted to see Trixie’? That I shall dye their manes?!” Trixie’s eyes promised murder.
“It is only a stepping stone, oh great and powerful Trixie, I swear.” He bowed, then smiled at her. “From the bits made this way, it will be possible to rent out city hall and make people see the complete scope of your grandeur.”
Trixie was still breathing heavily.
“First Manehattan, then all of Equestria shall know your true talent. Just a stepping stone.” Golden Tush’s smile grew wide, his gold tooth glinting in the cold light of the electric lamps that illuminated the windowless room. “Besides, you have signed the contract.”
“What do you mean by that?” Trixie asked.
“This means that you’ll either work this job until you’ve earned my initial investment and then some, reimburse me from your own funds, or, if you can’t do that, get arrested.”
Trixie swallowed hard. “Alright, just a stepping stone, right?”
“That’s right,” Golden Tush’s smile was back to normal. “Now then, shall we continue?” He pointed back to the room with the chair and mirror.
“Just one more for today, should be here in less than five minutes.”
Sharp Quill was the receptionist and responsible for the appointments. It had been three days already since Trixie had taken up the position of queen of mane dyers.
Trixie didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. She was standing with her back to the room with the chair and mirror and looked outside the window onto the busy streets of Manehattan. Night was starting to fall, and the tapping of rain muffled the noises of the city. Dark figures could be seen from time to time, hushing through the little oases of light created by the lanterns. Trixie’s eyes were fixed on the big, brightly illuminated billboard right across the street though: it bore her portrait, along with the title The Great And Colorful Trixie.
“You’ve made it.” Sharp Quill had stopped behind her, following her gaze.
Trixie turned to him and raised her eyebrows: “Hmm?”
“I mean: You’re famous. Everypony in Manehattan knows your name, your face. You should see the waiting list for our little boutique here, we’re booked out for months to come!” Enthusiasm radiated from Sharp Quill’s face.
“Hmm.” Trixie looked out the window again. A young stallion had stopped in one of the lantern’s pools of light outside. He was standing perfectly still, looking up at the building with its dark glass fronts. Trixie remembered being in his place, staring at a similar building, and wondered what he saw.
“The great and colorful Trixie, it’s an honor.” The last customer of the day, a young mare, actually did a small curtsy.
A smile flickered across Trixie’s face. “How can Trixie brighten your existence, mortal?”
“I’d like a rainbow colored mane, can you do that?”
Trixie did not waste words, but turned the mare’s mane into a rainbow, starting with violet at the hairline and ending with red at the tips.
“Oh, that’s perfect!” The mare jumped from the chair and looked at herself in the mirror from all angles. “I love it, thank you so much.” The mare jumped towards the exit, but turned her head one more time just before the door. “One more thing: when will it wear off?”
“Wear off?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, uhm, or, like, grow out?”
“It won’t.”
The mare turned around to face her, eyes wide. “You mean this is permanent?”
“Well, the great and powerful Trixie can change it back of course.”
“Oh no, oh please change it back.” The mare prostrated herself before Trixie.
Trixie took a step back. “Right now?”
“Yes, pleeease.”
With a popping sound, the mare’s mane went back to its original auburn color. She cast a quick glance in the mirror before she fled without saying another word.
The next day, Trixie left her hotel at eight o’clock in the morning. All went well until she laid eyes on the tower of glass she had been working in: a mob of several dozen ponies was waiting before the entrance, and not just any mob; bright reds and greens, iridescent blues and shrill neon colored manes that shone brighter than the early morning sun could explain crowned their heads.
“There she is!” a stallion with a bright orange mohawk that made him look as though he was on fire shouted. With a roar, the whole mob started dashing towards Trixie.
Trixie turned on the spot and fled down the street. Some of the mob were catching up to her, though. A box of camouflage powder makeup whisked past her head.
“Hold her!” somepony shouted. Ponies were grabbing at her from the sides, but she managed to dodge them.
Trixie turned into a narrow alleyway, but after a few more galloping steps crashed into a red brick wall: a dead end. She turned around to find her pursuers already charging towards her. She conjured up a dark cloud that filled the whole passage and released a volley of lightnings. As the cloud lifted again, her pursuers had stopped in their tracks.
“What is this all about? Why are you hunting me?!” Trixie screamed.
Somepony in the front row threw something towards her. She caught it with her magic: it was a newspaper. The cover image was a picture of Trixie. The headline read: Trixie’s Colors: Permanent And Irreversible!
“You messed up our manes FOREVER!” a mare shouted from someway back.
“Why didn’t you tell us the color was permanent?”
“You never asked!” Trixie shouted furiously. “And of course it is reversible. Look!” She turned the fiery orange mohawk of the stallion in first row back to his natural mahogany. “See?”
“Do mine, too!”
“And mine!”
Everypony started shouting. Trixie took a deep breath, then started working.
Back at the tower of glass, Trixie found another mob of past customers in the reception area. Sharp Quill had been tied, gagged, and propped up on the chair behind his desk. When they noticed her, they all turned and started talking and shouting all at once; they looked and sounded like a flock of crazed peacocks.
Without further ado, Trixie turned the first peacock’s plumage back to its original, unremarkable color. The gabbling stopped for a single second in which all the peacocks stared at the renormalized pony. Then, the gabbling started all anew. Trixie sighed and continued the decoloring of the flock.
As it turned out, Golden Tush’s phone was dead and his hotel room had been checked out… he’d fled before shit had hit the fan. He’d left the cash box though, and Trixie plundered it to reimburse those customers that demanded it. The leftovers she left to Sharp Quill.
“So, what are you going to do now Trixie?” he asked her when no more angry peacocks were around and they were getting ready to leave.
“The great and powerful Trixie…” She paused, blinked. Her lips twitched. “... will continue on her journey.”
“Well, I guess we won’t be seeing each other again, then.” Sharp Quill smiled sadly.
“Oh, be assured of it, you will hear of Trixie again.” With that, Trixie left the building and stepped out onto the streets of Manehattan. The night’s air was fresh but cold, and she had a long way to go yet.
Soft singing reached Trixie’s ears. She rolled onto her back, and through a crack in the wooden roof fell a ray of light directly into her left eye. She groaned and turned again, resting her head on the wooden ledge at the backend of her cart, sticking her nose outside. The scent of blueberry muffins made her smile, and she was ready to doze off once more when a shrill voice rang from right in front of her: “You’re back!”
Her eyes snapped open. Daisy’s face was inches from her’s. Trixie jerked back a little, then instantly tried to conceal it by stretching extensively. “Yes, my little minion, Trixie is back indeed.”
“Mummy paid for your spot while you were away. She’s baking right now, want some later?”
Trixie stopped her stretching and considered the filly for a moment. Then, she smiled: “I’ll have to thank her later, and I’d love to… but I want to show you something first. Trixie’s learned a new trick.” Trixie got out of her cart and stretched some more, then looked for a suitable target until she spotted an unsuspecting rabbit a few feet away. “Look at the rabbit.” With a pop, the rabbit turned into a colorful peacock. The peacock tried to continue grazing for a moment, then stopped, looked their way and cooed perplexedly.
“Wow, hahaha!” Daisy nearly fell over laughing.
“Yes, the great and powerful Trixie has learned all about peacocks lately.” Trixie kept looking at Daisy as she turned the peacock into a rabbit again. The filly gasped in astonishment, and like a lightning strike the realization hit her: this gasp was what she’d been longing for all along.
“Come and behold the great and powerful Trixie!” she shouted across Briddle Square where she’d just set up her stage. It was late afternoon and the area was crowded beyond anything she’d ever seen. However, nopony stopped.
“Watch in awe as the great and powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!” she continued and fired her trademark fireworks, throwing her arms up in a winning pose. Some ponies jerked at the explosions and cast sideways glances at her.
“Excuse me, madam.” Two stallions wearing matching, blue clothing had stopped infront of the stage.
“Oh, a challenger. Do you by any means question the magical abilities of the great and powerful Trixie?”
The speaking stallion’s face remained solemn while the one standing in the back chuckled. “No ma'am, we’re the police.” The pony whisked a metal badge from one of his shirt’s pockets and showed it to her. “You can’t set up a stage in the middle of a public square without a permit”
Trixie grinned. “I see: instead of challenging me outright you try to make me leave? You will find that the great and powerful Trixie is not so easily intimidated.”
The speaking stallion shook his head wearily. “Please be reasonable. I really don’t want to do this, but if you don’t pack up and leave this square I’ll have to arrest you.”
Trixie reared onto her hind legs and conjured a black cloud above the two stallions. “Be gone!” she shouted as she let two lightning strikes go down on them. They hardly flinched. Within a second they were on the stage. The speaker tackled her, bringing both of them onto the rough wooden planks. The other stallion got on top of Trixie and twisted her arm backwards.
“Ouch, you’re hurting me! Alright, alright, I submit, let go off me!”
The stallion loosened his grip. “You’ll come quietly from now on?”
“Yes, I’ll… Trixie will come quietly. Because you asked so nicely.”
At the police station, Trixie found herself locked into a room with a single, barred window, grey walls, a bunk bed and a sink. She sat down on the bed and massaged her hurting shoulder. Muffled talking could be heard through the massive steel door, but Trixie only picked up scraps: “Lunatic… shot lightning at us… great and powerful my ass.”
She probably shouldn’t have picked a fight right away, but she’d been frustrated. So many ponies had walked past without even a glance, others had looked as though she’d been a mildly frightening insect. What an abysmal start for her conquest of Manehattan.
The metal door swung open and a middle-aged mare wearing glasses and a pinned up mane looked at her. “Trixie, right? come with me please.”
Trixie got up and followed the mare to a desk in the next room. The mare sat down and offered Trixie a seat to the opposite side. “So, Trixie, Bucks and Simmer told me what happened. You’re not from here, am I right?”
“Trixie travels all over Equestria to prove her talent to all of ponykind.”
“Right… so, before you can prove yourself to Manehattan though, there’s still a small matter to settle: you attacked two police ponies. Unlike most rural areas in Equestria, Manehattan has a police force that makes sure laws are upheld. If you disobey these laws, they can arrest you and bring you before court where a judge and possibly a jury will decide your punishment.”
“P- punishment?” Cold sweat broke out on Trixie's forehead. Her belly felt as though someone had just dropped a bucket of ice in it.
“Yes, punishment. However, since nopony was hurt and it is obvious that you’re new to the city, the two officers you attacked agreed to refrain from pressing charges if you agree not to set up stages without permit again, and promise to not attack anypony with lightning strikes or in any other way unless in self-defense. Do you agree to that?”
Trixie, who’d been staring open-mouthed, nodded hastily. “Y-yes, and… I’m sorry. I was frustrated and acted like a brute. I should have learned that lesson already, but I lost control.”
The bespectacled mare considered her for a moment, then continued. “We’ve got an agreement then. Do not take this lightly. If you get into trouble again, this case might be brought up again and we might press charges after all.”
Trixie nodded, her head bowed.
“Now that’s settled: you’re a performer, right?”
Trixie looked up, taken aback. “The great and powerful Trixie is no mere performer, but the most magical equine Equestria has ever seen!”
“Well then, this might be a thing for you: there’s this talent show in two days called Equestria’s Got Talent. I wonder why you haven’t heard of it already, it’s all over TV. Anyway, this is really big, winning it will make you famous almost overnight. If you’re interested, I’ll show you where to go.”
The mare got up and went to a big map on a wall in the back of the room, Trixie right on her heels.
It was nighttime when she arrived in front of the big building. It was at least ten stories high and the harsh electric lights of the street lanterns were mirrored in its glass fronts: a dark tower imprisoning feverish fireflies. Trixie set down her cart in front of it. She took a few deep breaths, her head swimming with today’s events, before hunger and exhaustion came crashing down on her. She crawled into the back of her card and managed to take a few bites off a cereal bar before sleep overwhelmed her.
Hard rapping at the side of her cart woke her up. “Yo, wake up ya snoring fool!”
Trixie stuck her head out the back, the bright light of day almost blinding her. “What is it?”
“This ain’t no place for camping, ya blocking the goddamn entrance.”
As Trixie’s eyes adapted, she realized the mare cussing at her was pulling a taxi. Behind her, three other taxi’s were already waiting for her to move, blocking the whole street.
“Ya gonna move already or what you goddamn fool, want me to call the cops?”
“Who’s the cops?” Trixie asked, still half asleep.
“Po-lice. They’s gonna move yo ass alright.”
Trixie jumped out of her cart and pulled it away from the entrance onto the sidewalk. “Thought so,” the taxi mare said as she passed her.
Her heart still pounding, Trixie watched the many taxis and other morning traffic until she had calmed a bit. Ponies pulling carts on the streets, ponies slouching, walking or outright running on the sidewalks, two, no three construction sites within earshot… now that she was awake, she wondered how she’d slept through all the noise they made.
She finished her cereal bar from the day before, then looked at the ominous building again. Equestria’s Got Talent was written on a banner at the entrance, and ponies had already lined up. Trixie joined them.
“—so I’ll be singing them ‘Blue Suede Horseshoes’, it’ll rock their world,” a stallion with a pompadour mane and leather jacket said to another waiting mare. “Or what do you think,” he asked Trixie as he spotted her, “maybe ‘Are you lonesome tonight?’”
“The great and powerful Trixie’s nights are none of your business, mortal.”
“Wow, wow, wow,” the stallion took a step back, then smiled. “Babe, ‘Don’t be cruel’, ‘Love me tender’.”
Trixie hoped this situation registered for self-defense. She conjured the tiniest of clouds and shot the tiniest of lightnings at the stallions backside.
“Ouch!” he yelped, then laughed. “Haha, ‘Alright, Okay, You Win’” With that, he turned back to the mare in front of him to continue their conversation.
As the crowd entered the building, Trixie saw that all the ponies were directed to three counters with a big sign above them that said Registration. She had to wait what felt like hours until she reached one of them.
“We don’t need any more singers, thank you. Next.” The mare at the counter told the peculiar stallion that had been in line in front of Trixie.
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” the stallion said as he turned to leave. He winked at Trixie. “Good luck, babe.”
Trixie stepped in front of the counter. “The great and powerful Trixie heard that you seek beings of extraordinary talent, and has decided to enrich your event with her presence.”
“Uhm… okaaay.” The receptionist said. “So, judging from the hat and cloak, you do magic tricks?”
“Not tricks, but some ponies call them so. My magic surpasses the comprehensive capabilities of mortals.”
“Riiight… well, loonies are always entertaining, you’re in. Be here at 4 p.m. tomorrow.” The receptionist bowed down over a stack of paper. “What was your name again?”
“The great and powerful Trixie. Remember it!”
The receptionist chuckled. “I will, I will.”
Back outside the building, Trixie went to her cart, only to see that a stallion in blue uniform stood right next to it and was scribbling something on a piece of paper. The ice in her belly was back. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the police pony, her knees wobbly.
The police pony noticed her and looked up. “Your trailer?” he asked.
Trixie swallowed hard. “Y-yes.”
“You’re blocking the sidewalk.”
“Uh… uhm… I’m sorry?”
“You can’t just park this wherever you want, there are designated camping sites for stuff like that, you know.”
“Uhm… so where can I go?” Trixie asked.
“There’s a camping site just outside of town, this way.” He pointed.
Trixie tried to remember all the streets she passed and turns she took to find her way back to the big Equestria’s got Talent building the next day, but there were so many, she lost count very quickly. When she had reached the outskirts of Manehattan, she had to ask several people to find the camping site the police pony had pointed her to. When she finally got there, it was late afternoon and she’d run out of cereal bars.
She stopped at a small hut next to a gate. The inhabitant, a very old stallion, seemed to have heard her and was already looking at her out of his window. He said nothing.
“The great and humble Trixie would like to stay here, please.”
“Three bits three days, five bits a week. Showers cost extra, lake’s free.”
Trixie went to and got her purse: two bits. She crawled the back of her cart and searched for more in the cracks: two more bits. She passed three of her precious coins to the warden and entered the camp site.
A long, winding path covered in gravel lead to a small lake that was enclosed in a sea of green pastures and interspersed with fruit trees. Along the path were several caravans, some big and luxurious, others small and shabby. She saw several ponies as she pulled her cart towards the lake, and finally noticed what she’d been missing as she’d walked through Manehattan; they smiled.
The wheels of Trixies cart ceased their crunchy sounds as she steered off the path towards a small group of trees near the lake, which resulted in a silence only interrupted by the singing of birds and the laughter of a distant group of foals. Only when she had entered the shade underneath the trees did she notice that the spot was not vacant: a large but rather shabby caravan stood there already.
Before Trixie could think about searching another location, a small head popped out of one of the caravan’s windows. “Hi there, are you a wizard?” The filly couldn’t be past the age of six.
“Not just any wizard my little filly. Behold the powers of the great and powerful Trixie!” Trixie reared on her hind legs and drew a rainbow into the air with the tip of her hooves.
“Wooow. Can you do more?”
“More?” Trixie chuckled. “I am the most magical equ—”
“Can I go get my friends? Will you be our neighbor?”
“Uhm… sure.” Trixie wasn’t entirely sure if the filly got more than the ‘uhm’, though: she’d launched herself from the open window and was already dashing for another settlement of caravans. In her stead though, a grown mare now looked out the caravan at Trixie.
“Hi there, too!” she said.
“Greetings, mortal.”
The mare chuckled. “I’m Passiflora. You can call me Passi or Flora, both is fine.This was my daughter you just met there. Daisy’s always liked magic, but we’re all earth ponies. She’s really lucky you came along.”
“Yes, I believe she’ll be a fine minion.”
“Haha, you’re a real character, huh.” The mare rested her head on her hooves and learned on the window sill. “She’ll be back with the whole horde in no time, I hope you’re ready for them, they can be quite a handful.”
“The great and powerful Trixie has vanquished Ursa Majors befo—Ursa Min—well, no I haven’t, but I can handle kids.”
“Alrighty then, here they come” The mare cocked her head towards somewhere behind Trixie. She turned to look and saw more than a dozen of foals run towards their group of trees. Before she could do more than take a deep breath, they had surrounded her and were demanding: “Magic! Magic!”
“Alright, my little admirers, stay put.” Trixie jumped into her cart and made it fan-out her stage. From there, she blasted her whole assortment of tricks. Fireworks, conjured rainbows and other light effects, lightning, levitation; the kids gasped in awe and laughed at all the right places. Some of them actually rolled around the floor when Trixie gave Passiflora a moustache. When she was out of spells, she thought of something new and encased all of the kids in magical soap bubbles: floating and bouncing off the ground and each other, they laughed and shrieked. This gave Trixie a much needed break: she conjured a chaise longue and dropped in exhaustion.
Passiflora hopped onto the stage and set down next to her. “You’re great. I really like this one.” she stroked her purple moustache. “I think my husband won’t, though, haha!”
Trixies horn started to glow, and the moustache vanished with a pop. The popping sound was followed by a deep grumbling emanating from Trixie’s belly.
“Oh my… say, do you want to join us for dinner? It’s the least I can do for that awesome show,” Passiflora said.
“The great and hungry Trixie will graciously accept your gifts of submission.”
Well fed and satisfied from a meal surrounded by admirers and minions, Trixie slept through the whole morning. When she woke, she stuck her nose out her cart; a warm breeze greeted her with the scent of freshly mown grass. She took a deep breath and postponed opening her eyes for a bit longer.
“Hi Trixie, you’re still here?” Passiflora’s voice.
“Hello. What do you mean, still here?” Trixie asked, voice muffled by her head still resting on the edge of the cart.
“Didn’t you say you had a competition to win or something yesterday?”
Trixie’s eyes snapped open. “What time is it?”
Passiflora, who’d stopped right in front of the cart, looked up at the sky. “Oh, sometime about after midday. We had lunch already, but we still got leftovers. Want some?”
“Thank you, but I’ve got to run.” With that, Trixie jumped from her cart and dashed across the pastures, down the gravel path, through the gateway that enclosed the camping grounds and onto the road that led to the city.
“And now for our last contestant of the day: The great and powerful Trixie!” a voice announced to the hall behind the curtain before hooves from behind pushed her onto the stage. She’d barely made in time and was still out of breath from all the running.
Trixie found herself on the biggest stage she’d ever seen: more than fifty feet in length, Trixie would have to scale her effects up to make them work. Directly in front of the stage sat three ponies with folded forearms, mustering her with mild interest—the judges, apparently. Behind them, several hundred ponies were only distinguishable by the reflection of the bright stage lights in their eyes, and all eyes were on Trixie. The attention electrified her.
“So, great and powerful Trixie, why are you here today?” on of the three front row ponies asked. According to the name badge, a unicorn by the name of Crimson Scowl.
“The great and powerful Trixie heard you were searching for beings of ultimate talent. She is the most powerfully magical equine in the history of time itself. Trixie shall be known by every pony in all of Equestria!”
“And you’ll perform… what?” the pony asked, his face still expressionless.
“Behold!” Trixie got onto her hind legs, her arms stretched wide. The stage lights went out with a bang as she fired her first blast of fireworks. She conjured balls of fire and levitated them through the air, illuminating the whole hall. Then, before she could continue to her lightning storm, a loud buzzing cut through the sound of her conjured fanfares. Somewhere in the darkness in front of Trixie, a red cross popped up. Her lightning strikes fizzled. Two more buzzing sounds rang through the hall, and the stage lights popped on again.
“What?!” Trixie asked, bewildered and annoyed.
The audience was dead silent as the only mare among the judges leaned forward and spoke in a nasal voice: “That was, like, sooo last century. I mean, I wasn’t gonna say anything about your outfit, but that hat is something, like, Clopperfield’s granddad could have worn. Don’t get me wrong, my little nephew is in kindergarten and he’d love your show, but for the big stage, this isn’t gonna cut it, hun.”
Trixie just stood there, open mouthed.
“If you could show us something really new and astonishing, oh great and powerful Trixie, we might still change our minds,” Crimson Scowl said and raised an eyebrow.
With a popping sound, a moustache appeared on his face. The audience roared, and the other two judges nearly fell off their seats laughing.
“So you’d make due as a manestylist, interesting… but not enough. A ‘No’ from me.”
“No, sorry, hun.” the female judge said.
“Nope,” the third judge agreed, still chuckling.
Trixie condensed all her anger into a single spell and threw it at Crimson Scowl. His mane and moustache turned a bright, iridescent green. To roaring laughter and applause from the audience, Trixie left the stage, her head held high in defiance.
“Oh great and powerful Trixie, I beg you to hear me out.” The stallion had just stopped her outside the Equestria’s Got Talent’ building, was wearing a suit and actually bowing before her.
“Speak, mortal.”
“I pity the fools that did not realize your potential, but I, Golden Tush, am different. Please accept me as your manager, and I shall pave your way to glory.” His smile revealed a single, glinting, golden tooth.
“Continue.”
“It is not only I that has seen and acknowledges your true power, but others also. Many speak of your unique talents and admire you, and would even pay to be able to meet you and reflect some of your radiance.”
“This sounds like a proposition Trixie could agree to.” Trixie said.
“Well then, great and powerful Trixie, would you follow me so we can talk in more detail? I have the paperwork in my office.” He beckoned her to follow him down the street.
“Trixie needs to get her cart from outside of town first…” she said hesitantly.
“Oh, there’ll be plenty of time for that later. Let’s start working on your ascension into celebrity first. I’ll sponsor you a hotel room for the time being.” The pony in suit smiled again.
Trixie hesitated for another moment. “Well, alright then.”
“Turquoise, please,” the mare said and sat down in front of the big mirror.
Trixies jaw dropped: “Wha—”
“And could you make it that they glow in the dark? I want to be the star of the nightclub!”
“Golden Tush, a word.” Trixie stomped into the room next door, the pony in suits following her. “Is this what you meant by ‘ponies wanted to see Trixie’? That I shall dye their manes?!” Trixie’s eyes promised murder.
“It is only a stepping stone, oh great and powerful Trixie, I swear.” He bowed, then smiled at her. “From the bits made this way, it will be possible to rent out city hall and make people see the complete scope of your grandeur.”
Trixie was still breathing heavily.
“First Manehattan, then all of Equestria shall know your true talent. Just a stepping stone.” Golden Tush’s smile grew wide, his gold tooth glinting in the cold light of the electric lamps that illuminated the windowless room. “Besides, you have signed the contract.”
“What do you mean by that?” Trixie asked.
“This means that you’ll either work this job until you’ve earned my initial investment and then some, reimburse me from your own funds, or, if you can’t do that, get arrested.”
Trixie swallowed hard. “Alright, just a stepping stone, right?”
“That’s right,” Golden Tush’s smile was back to normal. “Now then, shall we continue?” He pointed back to the room with the chair and mirror.
“Just one more for today, should be here in less than five minutes.”
Sharp Quill was the receptionist and responsible for the appointments. It had been three days already since Trixie had taken up the position of queen of mane dyers.
Trixie didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. She was standing with her back to the room with the chair and mirror and looked outside the window onto the busy streets of Manehattan. Night was starting to fall, and the tapping of rain muffled the noises of the city. Dark figures could be seen from time to time, hushing through the little oases of light created by the lanterns. Trixie’s eyes were fixed on the big, brightly illuminated billboard right across the street though: it bore her portrait, along with the title The Great And Colorful Trixie.
“You’ve made it.” Sharp Quill had stopped behind her, following her gaze.
Trixie turned to him and raised her eyebrows: “Hmm?”
“I mean: You’re famous. Everypony in Manehattan knows your name, your face. You should see the waiting list for our little boutique here, we’re booked out for months to come!” Enthusiasm radiated from Sharp Quill’s face.
“Hmm.” Trixie looked out the window again. A young stallion had stopped in one of the lantern’s pools of light outside. He was standing perfectly still, looking up at the building with its dark glass fronts. Trixie remembered being in his place, staring at a similar building, and wondered what he saw.
“The great and colorful Trixie, it’s an honor.” The last customer of the day, a young mare, actually did a small curtsy.
A smile flickered across Trixie’s face. “How can Trixie brighten your existence, mortal?”
“I’d like a rainbow colored mane, can you do that?”
Trixie did not waste words, but turned the mare’s mane into a rainbow, starting with violet at the hairline and ending with red at the tips.
“Oh, that’s perfect!” The mare jumped from the chair and looked at herself in the mirror from all angles. “I love it, thank you so much.” The mare jumped towards the exit, but turned her head one more time just before the door. “One more thing: when will it wear off?”
“Wear off?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, uhm, or, like, grow out?”
“It won’t.”
The mare turned around to face her, eyes wide. “You mean this is permanent?”
“Well, the great and powerful Trixie can change it back of course.”
“Oh no, oh please change it back.” The mare prostrated herself before Trixie.
Trixie took a step back. “Right now?”
“Yes, pleeease.”
With a popping sound, the mare’s mane went back to its original auburn color. She cast a quick glance in the mirror before she fled without saying another word.
The next day, Trixie left her hotel at eight o’clock in the morning. All went well until she laid eyes on the tower of glass she had been working in: a mob of several dozen ponies was waiting before the entrance, and not just any mob; bright reds and greens, iridescent blues and shrill neon colored manes that shone brighter than the early morning sun could explain crowned their heads.
“There she is!” a stallion with a bright orange mohawk that made him look as though he was on fire shouted. With a roar, the whole mob started dashing towards Trixie.
Trixie turned on the spot and fled down the street. Some of the mob were catching up to her, though. A box of camouflage powder makeup whisked past her head.
“Hold her!” somepony shouted. Ponies were grabbing at her from the sides, but she managed to dodge them.
Trixie turned into a narrow alleyway, but after a few more galloping steps crashed into a red brick wall: a dead end. She turned around to find her pursuers already charging towards her. She conjured up a dark cloud that filled the whole passage and released a volley of lightnings. As the cloud lifted again, her pursuers had stopped in their tracks.
“What is this all about? Why are you hunting me?!” Trixie screamed.
Somepony in the front row threw something towards her. She caught it with her magic: it was a newspaper. The cover image was a picture of Trixie. The headline read: Trixie’s Colors: Permanent And Irreversible!
“You messed up our manes FOREVER!” a mare shouted from someway back.
“Why didn’t you tell us the color was permanent?”
“You never asked!” Trixie shouted furiously. “And of course it is reversible. Look!” She turned the fiery orange mohawk of the stallion in first row back to his natural mahogany. “See?”
“Do mine, too!”
“And mine!”
Everypony started shouting. Trixie took a deep breath, then started working.
Back at the tower of glass, Trixie found another mob of past customers in the reception area. Sharp Quill had been tied, gagged, and propped up on the chair behind his desk. When they noticed her, they all turned and started talking and shouting all at once; they looked and sounded like a flock of crazed peacocks.
Without further ado, Trixie turned the first peacock’s plumage back to its original, unremarkable color. The gabbling stopped for a single second in which all the peacocks stared at the renormalized pony. Then, the gabbling started all anew. Trixie sighed and continued the decoloring of the flock.
As it turned out, Golden Tush’s phone was dead and his hotel room had been checked out… he’d fled before shit had hit the fan. He’d left the cash box though, and Trixie plundered it to reimburse those customers that demanded it. The leftovers she left to Sharp Quill.
“So, what are you going to do now Trixie?” he asked her when no more angry peacocks were around and they were getting ready to leave.
“The great and powerful Trixie…” She paused, blinked. Her lips twitched. “... will continue on her journey.”
“Well, I guess we won’t be seeing each other again, then.” Sharp Quill smiled sadly.
“Oh, be assured of it, you will hear of Trixie again.” With that, Trixie left the building and stepped out onto the streets of Manehattan. The night’s air was fresh but cold, and she had a long way to go yet.
Soft singing reached Trixie’s ears. She rolled onto her back, and through a crack in the wooden roof fell a ray of light directly into her left eye. She groaned and turned again, resting her head on the wooden ledge at the backend of her cart, sticking her nose outside. The scent of blueberry muffins made her smile, and she was ready to doze off once more when a shrill voice rang from right in front of her: “You’re back!”
Her eyes snapped open. Daisy’s face was inches from her’s. Trixie jerked back a little, then instantly tried to conceal it by stretching extensively. “Yes, my little minion, Trixie is back indeed.”
“Mummy paid for your spot while you were away. She’s baking right now, want some later?”
Trixie stopped her stretching and considered the filly for a moment. Then, she smiled: “I’ll have to thank her later, and I’d love to… but I want to show you something first. Trixie’s learned a new trick.” Trixie got out of her cart and stretched some more, then looked for a suitable target until she spotted an unsuspecting rabbit a few feet away. “Look at the rabbit.” With a pop, the rabbit turned into a colorful peacock. The peacock tried to continue grazing for a moment, then stopped, looked their way and cooed perplexedly.
“Wow, hahaha!” Daisy nearly fell over laughing.
“Yes, the great and powerful Trixie has learned all about peacocks lately.” Trixie kept looking at Daisy as she turned the peacock into a rabbit again. The filly gasped in astonishment, and like a lightning strike the realization hit her: this gasp was what she’d been longing for all along.