Trix of the Trade - Chapter 16

>You wake up the next morning feeling…

>Hungry.

>Yeah, that’s a good way to describe the feeling in your gut.

>Perhaps Anonymous is out there right now, cooking something delicious for you.

>You hug your feathery purple pillow a little harder as you imagine the scene.

>”Oh boy! I wonder what Trixie wants to eat this morning!” He acts so enthusiastic about being your chef! Of course, who wouldn’t be? “Ah, perhaps lightly cooked tomato slices with pepper jack cheese, all drizzled in basil!”

>You then completely forget about Anonymous and imagine the meal on a rotating dish.

>And now you’re imagining eating the dish in front of a warm fire.

>Oooooh yes…

>…

>Why can’t dreams be reality?

>You groan as you roll over and force yourself out of bed and onto your hooves. Hardest part of the day, already out of the way!

>You begin the morning routine, as per usual. Stretch the legs, brush the mane and tail, check for any facial imperfections, and brush your teeth.

>Actually evaporating everything before it hits the ground is much less embarrassing than having to go outside and simply spit on the ground. You wish you learned how to do that before Anonymous began tagging along.

>And last would of course be shooting off a few practice spells to make sure everything is working well up there.

>First a few sparks, then a minor light illusion, then some light levitation.

>Everything checks out just fine, as it always does.

>However, you are beginning to notice something.

 

>Those spells used to require some sort of effort to cast them not long ago. But that suddenly changed for some reason. You wouldn’t have noticed if it was gradual, but when a strange creature begins living with you and you’re suddenly better with your magic, it catches your attention.

>Dismissing the fact that you got better once you accepted Anonymous on board is foolish. There’s some sort of connection there… But you can’t figure it out. Perhaps Anonymous is a magical amplifier that… you don’t know!

>There’s no explanation why you’re better, all of a sudden. You don’t FEEL different. Physically, that is.

>Emotions have been running on an all-time high since you and Anonymous become somewhat close. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most stallions you come across want one thing from you, and despite what they think, they’re not good at hiding it. Every other stallion wants the same thing, they’re only more subtle about it.

>But Anonymous… He just makes you feel good! Not… Not like the stallions you were talking about. But, on the inside… you guess? It feels awkward to describe. At least you’re not talking about this to someone. You’d be slipping over your words the entire time.

>The fact of the matter is: Since Anonymous has come aboard, you’ve become better with magic.

>There, done with the topic. You must satiate this hunger.

 

>You exit the room after another inspection in the mirror. You look magnificent, as always.

>This… enchanting aroma invades your senses. What is… could it be?

>Anonymous stands in front of the stove as Scratch sits at the table, shoveling pancakes down her gullet.

>She tries to say something to Anonymous, but she’s intelligible behind the ton of pancakes and gallon of syrup in her mouth.

>”You’re welcome, Vinyl. It’s been a while since I’ve made pancakes, so I’m glad I haven’t lost my touch at pouring batter into a pan and flipping it.” He chuckles at his little joke. Vinyl joins in, spitting small chunks of her food back onto her plate.

>You quietly trot to the seat across from Vinyl and take it without a word.

>”’EEEYYY!” Vinyl greets you. You flinch at her words, expecting a barrage of unchewed food to follow.

>”Ah.” She swallow the food all in one big gulp. “Sorry about that. Sup, Trix?”

>”Morning, Trixie! Pancakes?” Anonymous calls.

>You pretend to think about your answer, when it is already obvious.

”Trixie will accept this as a passable meal.” You snobbily say.

>”See, that means she really wants it.” He says to Scratch, who can’t hold back a snicker.

>… Well! It seems Anonymous is becoming more bold with his mockery!

>You’ll just have to be extra irritating today.

>As Anonymous sets down his own plate of food and turns back to wash his hands, you know how it should start.

>With his back turned, you slide onto the seat, lift a fork, and quickly chow into the food. Manners be damned, this is personal.

 

>Anonymous turns back toward the table and adopts a frown as he looks down at you with half of a pancake hanging out of your mouth.

>He grunts in disgust before turning back to the frying pan.

>”Gross…” You barely hear him mutter.

>Doesn’t matter. It was both necessary and worth it.

>After Anonymous finishes another batch for himself, you, Anonymous, and Vinyl stuff these delicious pancakes (Compliment withheld from Anonymous.) down your gullets.

>As you take your final bites and delicately clean the syrup that dribbled down your chin, Anonymous and Vinyl begin getting ready for… something.

“And what do you two think you’re doing?”

>”Goin’ out.” Vinyl says with half her body hidden in Anonymous’ room.

>”Yeah,” Anonymous says in addition as he zips up a jacket. “We’re just going to get some fresh air.”

“… Alone?”

>Vinyl walks out of Anonymous’ room with a raggedy looking hoodie covering half of her body.

>”Nah, we’ll be walking together.”

>Ugh, it’s unreal how stupid she is.

>She’s so stupid, Anonymous has to laugh at her.

>”Don’t worry Trixie, we’ll be back soon. It’s a good opportunity to practice for your upcoming act, anyway.”

>Your eyes widen as you remember WHY you spent the entire evening with Anonymous, last night.

“Ah… Of course! Trixie will need her privacy for meditation purposes.”

>”You medi…? ” He shrugs it off. “Yeah, it works out then. Catch you later.” Anonymous waves before exiting the wagon with Vinyl in tow.

>You sit in your chair for a few moments in silence before lightly kicking the chair Vinyl sat in, minutes ago.

>And that’s all the time you have to stew in annoyance and self-pity. You made up the meditation thing, but you do need to prepare.

>The future of your career may depend upon it.

 

>You are Anonymous.

>Fillydelphia is once again,

>Drumroll please…

>Raining.

>You were nothing if not prepared, though. Because you brought… An umbrella! [Queue dramatic reveal]

>However, you don’t want to look weird, so you only pull it out of your jacket and open it up gently.

>Vinyl huddles closely to avoid the raid as the two of you walk down the sidewalk.

>”Hey, thanks again for doing this outside. I just didn’t want Trixie to hear, you know?”

“Yeah, I get you.”

>The two of you continue in silence for a minute before Vinyl speaks up once again.

>”Look, the reason I came to you guys was…” She looks around as if she’s being followed before finishing her sentence. “Cause I’m outta money.”

>Oh. Fuckin’…

>You stop and give Vinyl quite an offended look.

“Are you seriously coming to us for money?”

>”What? No! No, no, no. I ain’t some mooch.” She rethinks her statement. “… Money mooch. Heh, I’ve already been takin’ advantage of you for a place to crash.”

>You raise an eyebrow questioningly.

“Then why are we out here?”

>”I had to tell you somehow, dude. And I didn’t want Trixie to have something to hang over my head. I was all vague and mysterious last night and I kinda felt bad. Plus, if I’m gonna be sticking around for a little bit, you should at least know why.”

“Hold on. You never said anything about ‘sticking around’.”

>Vinyl falls deathly silent and tenses up.

 

>”… C’mon, Anon. You wouldn’t put me out on the street, would ya?”

>You can see her eyebrows raise under from under those glasses as her lower lip begins to quiver.

“No… I mean, it’s not that. It’s…”

>It’s the fact that now you’re imposing and implying unsaid things are true.

“… I don’t know.” You let out an annoyed sigh. “It’s not that I’m kicking you out, or anything. I just… Look, you can stay for a few more nights until we figure something out, alright?”

>Vinyl takes a few steps toward you before nuzzling your left knee.

>”Thanks, Ano-ooooh! Look over there,” She latches onto your leg with a hoof and points to the small coffee shop across the street with the other. “Cup of hot chocolate for a bit.”

>You pass a glare down at Vinyl. She just finished thanking you for your generosity and now she’s asking for more.

>”Come ooooon! Only two bits for the two of us!” She says while tugging at your pants leg.

>You sigh in defeat. She’s right, it’s only two bits.

“Yeah, fine. A hot chocolate sounds great, anyway.”

>”Hehe, alriiiiight!” Vinyl cheers while hugging your leg.

 

>You are The Great and Powerful Trixie

>And you truly are great and powerful.

>Your upcoming act will be a hit with every p0ny from Appleoosa to the Crystal Kingdom. From Manehatten to Las Pegasus. From Cloudsdale to Canterlot.

>So everything must be perfect.

>You’ve already decided on one very important aspect.

>No explosions. Explosive show off-y spells get cheap applauses. Simple minds clap their hooves together at the mere mention of something blowing up.

>You have to act with class and experience here. Complicated spells. You must use spells that would mesmerize the audience.

>You are a magician. Illusion and alteration spells are your greatest assets. You are great, and you must fool the audience into believing you are even great.

>After a deep breath, your try one spell that you’ve been working on over the past few weeks.

>Manipulating physics so everything in the room will become pitch black, aside from the audience and yourself. Light would still shine upon everyp0ny, making them visible. But they would not see.

>You shoot the side of your wall with the spell. Where the spell lands, a black ooze begins to quickly creep out and cover every object.

>However, it fails halfway through the room, eliciting another obscenity from you.

>This spell is so annoying to understand, it’s stupid.

>But conjoined with a lightshow from your horn, you think it could be incredibly atmosphereic.

>You give your head a shake and take another deep breath before attempting the spell again.

>Once again, you’re met with failure.

>You curse as you fall back onto your rump in frustration.

>Why is this so hard?

>Do you know why? Oh, you know exactly why.

 

>Two words. Anonymous. Vinyl.

>They’ve only been gone for a short time, but seeing those two together… It admittedly hurts.

>You have the urge to challenge Vinyl to some sort of duel of magic, and instead of stopping when she surrenders, you’ll banish her to another dimension. One with only a single stallion who happens to be very, very ugly.

>Then you and Anonymous are free to do whatever the two of you please. After he’s done getting you into Canterlot. After that, the two of you will sit on a finely crafted marble balcony, sipping on wine and watching the stars. Then Anonymous offers you such a gentle, genuine kiss, which you re-

>What.

>You and your crazy imagination. Celestia…

>You push yourself up on all fours again, and clear your throat before attempting to cast the spell.

>But the thought of yourself with Anonymous lingers in the back of your head. A different scene this time.

>Cloudsdale. The Wonderbolts have chosen you to be in charge of everything flashy for their show.

>You sit in a small room within the stadium wall, heart racing faster than the fastest Pegasus. You can’t do it. It’s too much.

>Then Anonymous in formal attire lays a hand on your shoulder and kneels down to your level. He gives you strong words of encouragement, and you sit there, soaking up every word. As he finishes, it’s time to go. The nauseous feeling remains, but it’s his words that gave you the confidence to go out there in front of thousands of ponies.

 

>You grunt in frustration.

“I’m never going to get this if I can’t… can’t…”

>As you open your eyes, you’re met with a dark abyss surrounding you. And even without any visible light source, you can still see your limbs and lock of hair hanging down just fine.

>It doesn’t make sense. You couldn’t concentrate yet you managed to pull off the spell with much greater ease. It can’t just be plain old happy thoughts. You’ve tried that before, but it doesn’t work.

>And that thought was hardly happy. You were a wreck. But Anonymous… He gave you the drive to do something greater than you honestly thought you could ever do. Jumping to conclusions and saying something along the lines of, “Think about Anonymous makes my magic better!” is incredibly foolish, but… you don’t know. This really does need to be looked in to.

>And what better time to experiment than now?

>You easily dispel the enchantment on the walls and attempt it once more with a clear mind.

>As you dreaded, it yielded the same results you’ve been getting most of the morning.

>Once more with you, Anonymous, and Vinyl all playing a good game of… Poker!

>Of course, Vinyl seems like the type who would cheat… Then when both you and Anonymous run out of money, she takes it all and spends it all on drugs and partying and… Bleh!

>The spell doesn’t even make it halfway to the wall before it fizzles out.

 

>And then… then Anonymous.

>You. Anonymous. Night time.

>…

>After a show off the wagon-stage.

>Both you and him sit on the edge, while a few fillies and colts sit on the grass in front of the two of you as you tell stories of your travels all across Eqeustria while Anonymous throws in his own witty commentary, getting the children to laugh. You would counter with a smarmy comment or two, before continuing with your story.

>The spell has been casted already. You don’t need to open your eyes to know it worked perfectly. Yet you continue with your thoughts.

>After all the foals have left, you and Anonymous lay down on the stage, staring at the stars. He would talk about whatever came to mind while you listened carefully for the first time in a long while. The two of you would scoot closer and closer as the night went on. Once each other’s warmth couldn’t even stop the biting cold of the night, the stage would be packed up, and the two of you would go to your respective rooms for the night, but not before saying ‘good night’ to each other.

>Oh… Oh, Trixie.

>You, You don’t think about things like that, very often.

>Thankfully, a knock on your non-visible door is able to pull you away from them.

“Who is it?” You say sternly.

>”It’s me.” You hear Anonymous’ voice call from the other side of the door.

 

>Of course. Who else would it be?

>His timing was horrible, as usual. His arrival coupled with what you were just thinking… Oh, Trixie, Trixie, Trixie…

“… You may come in.”

>Anonymous struggles with opening the door. The reason becomes apparent when you see the two cups in his hands.

>”I thought you might want some… Whoa.”

>His eyes wander around the room, staring in awe at the faux abyss as you did moments ago.

>With a quick flick of the horn, you dispel the illusion once more.

“A simple spell I planned to use for her first performance. With no distractions between the audience and myself, the performance as a whole would feel much more intimate.”

>Anonymous lightly chuckles.

>”A lot more thought goes into these performances than I think they do, don’t they?”

>He raises one hand, holding the cup.

>”Anyway, I brought you some hot chocolate. Thought you might want some.”

“Ah, why thank you, Anonymous!”

>You grab one of the cups with telekinesis and bring it to your mouth. It seems to be just the right temperature too. Perfect.

>”So Vinyl might be staying for a few more days, at least.” He blurts out.

>It takes every ounce of will to not spit out your drink all over Anonymous. You’d even step closer just to make sure it got all over him.

>However, you keep your composure.

>You lower the cup gently while giving Anonymous a very blank stare.

>Over time, you’ve learned that this translates into disappointment for Anonymous.

>He already begins squirming in place as you stare at him.

 

>”I know… I know the two of you don’t like each other, but-“

“But she’s in a tough situation and you’re going to rescue her because she’s helpless and blah, blah, blah. This sounds very familiar to Trixie.”

>Anonymous is at a bit of a loss of words at the moment.

“Anonymous, you are not a knight in shining armor who is out to save any damsel in distress he comes across. Why do you insist on helping her?”

>Anonymous shrugs and kicks at the carpet.

>”I don’t know… I guess I keep seeing her in a bad position and I want to help?”

>An idea strikes you. You will have to allow Vinyl to stay, but it may be worth it.

“She can stay, Anonymous.”

>His face lights up with a smile.

>”Thanks, I’ll-“

“On one, single condition.” You adopt a smug grin. “You must make an oath.”

>”… An oath?”

“Yes. Repeat after me.”

>You close your eyes and take a deep breath.

“I, Anonymous, swear to The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon.”

>You hear him sigh before he starts speaking.

>”I, Anonymous, swear to the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“That if being an idiot who tries to help every mare with a minor issue eventually backfires.”

>”… That if being an idiot who tries to help every mare with a minor issue eventually backfires.”

“I WILL come crawling back to Trixie, and tell her that she was right, and I was wrong, and beg her to forgive me for being an incredible moron.”

>He hesitates at the last one.

 

“… Anonymous~, I’m waiting.”

>”I will… come crawling back to Trixie… andtellhershewasrightandIwaswrongandbeghertoforgivemeforbeinganincrediblemoron. Are we done?”

“Mmmm, you must also kiss my hooves until I tell you to stop. You don’t have to say that, just keep it in mind.”

>”… Right. Am I done here?”

>The frustration is clear in his voice, and that’s not what you wanted. The only times he’s not very playful are the times you are! Unfortunate, to say the least.

“Perhaps…” You sit on your flank and fiddle with something nonexistent on your chest. “You would like to help The Great and Powerful Trixie prepare for her act? She will be calling a volunteer on the stage  once or twice, so…”

>The sour look on his face lightens before he crosses his arms.

>”… Yeah, alright.”