Trixieville Part 3

>Moment of truth, Anon. You’ve got the suit. You’ve given Trixie her massage. You’ve gussied up more than you ever had in your life. And you’re doing it all under the demands of the devil herself.
>You now stand in front of the town hall. It hardly resembles what it used to before the whole incident. Trixie has decorated it with imagery of herself. Not in a tacky fashion either, like the rest of the town. Two statues at the front. Banners adorning the pillars around the bottom. And a flag at the very top.
>And you want to punch in the face of the next pony who says, “She really does like looking at herself, doesn’t she?”
>Almost 50 days in and it hasn’t gotten any funnier.
>You raise your fist to knock on the door only for it to open before you can swing.
>A tall, bluish gray stallion with an orange mane stands on the other side of the threshold. You haven’t seen him before, but judging by the little bowtie he’s sporting, he must be Trixie’s thrall.
>”Greetings, Mister Anonymous.” Ugh, it’s voice! It sounds as if as a kid, it was the most nasally, annoying voice in all of pony history. “The Great and Powerful Trixie was expecting you. Please, come in.”
>Expecting. That would be implying she wasn’t going to hunt you down if you didn’t come.
>The stallion nods and moves out of the way, and you enter the building.

>Well…
>This place has changed.
>The old town hall was just that. An old town hall.
>What Trixie has done to the inside… There are no words.
>Except there are plenty.
>All wooden things. Gone. No more wooden floors, rafters, balconies, and pillars.
>Now nearly everything is made of gold, steel, and marble. Creamy marble floors, pillars, and balconies, all with a glassy bright gray steel trim.
>And what was made of gold, you ask? The large table sitting on stage, scooted up to Trixie’s tall, golden throne.
>The one she is sitting in.
>Trixie has one of her legs scooted up in an awkward position and her head rested on a hoof, as if to look comfortable in her position of control.
>”Human!” Her voice echoes throughout the room. “You have arrived earlier than I had expected. You’re quickly becoming the one who disappoints me the least. After your, hm, little mistake, you wanted to become Trixie’s favorite, didn’t you?”
>You open your mouth, but no response comes to mind.
>Luckily, Trixie isn’t concerned with you or anything you do. She simply sticks her nose in the air and clops two hooves together.
>The stallion from before presses his head against your back, his horn digging into your spine, and pushes you towards the table.
>After pushing you a few feet, he abandons you and quickly trots towards a door off to the side of the stage.
>You continue walking towards the table, Trixie eyeing you with a smug grin the entire way.

>You take a seat across the table from Trixie, your chair much smaller than Trixie’s throne.
>The stallion comes back into the room as soon as you get comfortable, carrying many servings of food on a large serving plate that was mounted onto his back.
>”Hah, my servants are working faster than I had expected. Normally, Trixie would be gracious. But she requires time to use the little mare’s room. Snips. Keep the food warm.”
>”Yes, The Great and Powerful Trixie.”
>Wait, what did she say?
>You hold your questioning until Trixie exits the room a moment later.
>Looking back at the stallion, it does look like Snips.
“… Snips?”
>”… How’ve you been, Anonymous?”
“Jesus, Snips! I had no idea this,”
>”I’m fine, so is Snails.”
“Where is he?”
>”He’s the chef. He’s gotten pretty good at cooking. He had to.”
“And your parents?”
>”I don’t think they know…”
“… God damn…”
>”Could you? Could you tell them I’m doing fine. Snails too…”
“Yeah… Yeah, of course.”
>Things fall silent for a moment before you inquire further.
“… So why did Trixie do this?”
>”She needed servants who weren’t little colts. Instead of finding different ponies… She cast a spell.”
“How’s Snails.”
>”Taking it better than I am.”
“… I gotta ask… has Trixie tried anything… adult?”
>”No.”
“Good. That… would be horrible.”

>Moments later, Trixie returns to the table, obviously ready to eat. But before digging in, she dismisses Snips to a different room.
>Then it’s just you and Trixie.
>She wastes no time with niceties. She quickly picks up several dishes and takes a scoop or two of each onto her own plate.
>You avoid taking much food, only scooping a little vegetable fried rice onto your plate.
>Trixie eats in relative silence, hardly glancing up to you as she hums to herself between bites. She doesn’t even try eating with grace, almost shoveling the food into her mouth.
>You try to remain as quiet as possible. Carefully watching your fork while trying to make sure it doesn’t clank against the plate.
>”Hey!”
>You look up to Trixie. Food is nearly spilling out of her mouth. Nice.
>”Don’t you humans need to eat more than that? Trixie knows you can eat more than that.”
“This is fine…”
>”Hmph. Please, you’re only trying to look humble in front of Trixie. Here,” She levitates and dumps a whole serving dish of steamed vegetables onto your plate. “Have those. Trixie doesn’t like them anyway.”
>You fail to find a good enough reason to object and continue to motions. Stab or scoop, then eat. Just like at the massage table. Go through the routine and pretend that you care about what Trixie’s saying.
>Except she isn’t saying much. And that’s fine by you.
>But at the rate Trixie eats, it isn’t long until she finishes her meal.
>”Snips!” She clops her hooves twice. “Take the dishes away!”
>Without wasting a second, Snips magically levitates all plates onto his back, even the one with your food on it.

>You want to say something or perhaps reach back for it, after all, it has been a long while since you’ve had a large meal, but you know better than to act out in front of Trixie. Besides, you’ve eaten more than you have in the past week.
>You’re hoping Trixie could simply call it a night, but judging by that grin on her face…
>”Wasn’t that an excellent meal, Anonymous?”
“Yes, Trixie.”
>”And aren’t you thankful for such an opportunity? Aren’t you dying on the inside, knowing that you won’t ever have this privilege again?”
“Indeed I am.”
>”Hm,” She leans back in her throne. “As I’ve mentioned before, only a few ponies have received this opportunity. And we both know how thankful you are for this.”
>You mix things up with only giving her a nod. Clever, Anon.
>She leans back into her throne again with a thoughtful look on her face. It isn’t long before she regains her grin, albeit only a slight one.
>”Anonymous, do you see what I’ve done with the town hall? Isn’t it magnificent?”
>You once again respond with a quick nod.
>”Does it remind you of anything? Something in a tale Trixie has regaled you with before?”
>You can’t say it does. Trixie has told you a million and a half stories over the past couple months. Your mouth opens to say no, but upon seeing the expectant look upon Trixie’s face, you hold your tongue for a moment.
>Think, Anon. Marble floor with steel trim. A little tacky. Doesn’t sound too familiar.
>Wait. Trixie’s golden throne. Is it…
“… When… you performed for Megarumbla, the Elephant King?”
>That smile of hers cracks even wider.
“You said his entire castle was made to look like ivory, but was obviously dulled marble.”

>Trixie gives you a few seconds to stew in uncertainty before leaning forwards and saying,
>”Excellent. Trixie was worried you may have only been expertly pretending to pay attention to her stories.”
>You were, or so you thought.
“Ha… haha, of course not, Trixie.”
>”Do not trouble yourself with fear that you may have disappointed your goddess.” That’s a new title. “Trixie was only being sure. Now,” She seems to suddenly lose all interest in you and waves you away. “Go. Come back tomorrow. Wear something different, Trixie doesn’t like that suit.”
>It takes a moment for you to react, but you sort of elegantly scramble out of your seat.
>You’re sure to give Trixie a quick bow before turning to exit the building.
>As you exit, the cold wind outside is almost a relief compared to the seemingly hot sensation of Trixie’s gaze on your back.
>Still, you cannot resist a shiver before making your way back to the spa house.
>The worst thing about Ponyville now? It’s always dark and it’s always windy. Nights only make it worse. And the Trixie thing. That’s bad too.
>You’re ready to get out of this cold, and home is finally in sight.
>But, of course, a hoof HAS to wrap around your arm right now.
>”C’mon, we need ta talk at the library.”
>You can tell who it is before you see her. Again.
“Applejack?”
>”Shh, can’t be too careful.”

>Minutes later, you find yourself in the darkened library. Spike and Rarity are quietly exchanging words in a somber tone, most likely about Twilight. Rainbow Dash is out cold on the floor. Poor girl. Fluttershy is nowhere in sight, but you can hear a commotion in the bathroom. Applejack, next to you, is still looking rather bruised, but better than she was this morning. And of course, Pinkie and Twilight are still missing. Only four out the six elements are accounted for.
>”Sit down, Anon. We’ve got a bit to discuss.”
>Applejack, giving Rainbow a light nudge along the way to wake her up.
>”Huunh? Huh? Nmmhm. I’m awa… awake.”
>With not much of any kind of seat to take, you opt to sit on the stairs.
>As you settle in, Rarity, Applejack, and a sleepy Rainbow Dash gather around you.
“So what’s going on?”
>”Well, first, gotta show ya somethin’” Applejack turn towards the bathroom. “Fluttershy, c’mon out, now!”
>”No!”
>”Flutters, come ooooon. I need to go to sleep.”
>”I won’t! I’m never coming out! I hate this! I hate Trixie! Bearington is in the Everfree forest and I’m stuck here, not able to help him!”
>”Fluttershy, darling. Anonymous is here to help. Perhaps help us escape or dethrone Trixie! The sooner we do this, the sooner we can help Sir Bearington!”
>Silence, but only for a moment.
>”O-okay! I’m coming out… p-please don’t be scared, Anon.”
“I’m fine Flutters, what’s wr-“
>FUCK
>BEAR IN THE LIBRARY!
>Or, so says your initial reaction. You manage to remain still, but cautious. Besides, that pink mane on top of the bear’s head makes it look much less intimidating.
“God… Fluttershy?”
>”You’re… not scared.”
“Well, no… no. I know it’s you so… yeah.”
>”Okay. Um, thanks.”
“No problem?”
>Flutterbear twiddles her paws for a moment before lumbering over to the rest of the elements.

>”Good, now that we’re all accounted for, I gotta ask, Anon. I WAS goin’ to be more subtle, but RARITY had to spill the beans and whatnot.”
>”Please, I doubt Anonymous would become a turncoat after a little special attention from,”
>”ANYWAY!” Applejack interjects. “We have to know, you’re not with her, right?”
“No.”
>”You answered that pretty… *yawn* pretty fast.”
“I didn’t have to think about it. Girls, and Spike, I only put up with Trixie because I don’t like the alternative.”
>”He’s tellin’ the truth.”
>”Huh? Don’t you wanna do your ‘super honesty stare of judgement’?” Rainbow Dash adds radical arm wiggling for mockery.
>”Depends. Do you wanna stop bein’ a little crybaby brat for a sec?”
>”Girls, please! I know we’re both tired and bruised up, but we can’t do this to each other. Our friendship is basically all we have left.”
>”… Right. Sorry, lost my cool for a moment, there.”
>”Yeah, my bad.”
>”But I meant what I said. Anon is tellin’ the truth. We can trust him.”
“Were you all really that suspicious?”
>”Only cautious.”
>”Yeah, we actually brought you here for a reason.”
“And what would that be?”
>”… How did your date go?”

“Date? That wasn’t a date.”
>”Ah, yes. It only possesses all the characteristics a date, but it isn’t a date.”
>”Don’ matter. What happened?”
“Well, we ate dinner. I ran into Snips, he’s doing fine. Then we finished dinner. Then I went home.”
>Rainbow Dash facehooves while the others groan.
>”Dude, come on! There has to be more than that!”
>”Yes, did you find out anything about how to remove her amulet?”
“Seriously? No, why would she have told me anything?”
>”Anon, listen to me. What did Trixie say? Anythin’. Everythin’.”
>Oh god, you’re going to be here a while, aren’t you?
“Not a lot, actually. First asked me if I liked the food she was serving or if I was eating enough. Then she went on about it was a privilege to eat with her. After that, we talked about one of the stories she told me before, then invited me over again tomorrow night. By the way, Rarity. I’ll need,”
>”WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!”
“WHAT?!”
>”THAT YOU’RE GOING BACK TOMORROW?!”
“Because… I don’t know? I’m just hoping it doesn’t become a part of the routine.”
>”Anon you… you’re dense sometimes, you know?”
“What?”
>There’s an uncomfortable silence in the room.
>”Um… Anon?”
“Fluttershy?”
>”Since… since you’re going to be spending even more time with Trixie, could you try to maybe find a way to get her necklace off? Please?”

“I… absolutely. Why didn’t you say so earlier? Do we have a plan?”
>“No. Or, um, I don’t think so. But it would be really nice if you could just find out more about her.”
>”Yeah… yeah! Anon goin’ on a sweet reconnaissance mission! Going behind hostile pony lines and deep into Trixie’s trenches!”
>”Rainbow Dash, was the innuendo intended?”
>”It was, now.”
“Wait, are you saying-”
>”No, Anon, you don’t. Dash ‘n Rarity were only kidding.”
“Good… good, because,”
>”Trust me, we don’ need reasons.”
>With all that business out of the way, the tone has become quite brighter in this room alone.
>”’Kay, we got a plan. Hate to say it, but Anon, we can’ help ya much for now. We’ll spread word around to those we trust, lettin’ them know the deal.”
>”In the meantime, you’re going to have to brownnose Trixie a fair bit, but don’t deviate from what you’re doing, dear.”
>”Yeah, and when you find some good dirt or info, we’ll get ready to do our part!”
>”Then everything can go back to normal!”
>Applejack raises a hoof to the center of the little circle the five of you have created.
>”Alright. Pinkie ‘n Twilight are gone, for now. But that don’t mean we we’re hopeless. Through our friends and family, and a little seducin’ by Anon,”
“Hey.”
>”Kiddin’. But with everythin’ we’ve got, I know we’re gonna get things back to the way they should be. Ya’ll with me?”
>The girls all mummer in agreement before placing their hooves, and paw, on top of Applejack’s.
>You hesitate, but only for a moment before slapping your hand on top.
>It’s a cheesy moment for sure, but inspiring looks from those around you light a fire in your chest. One that was quickly snuffed out by Trixie at your first sign of resistance.
>It’s back, and it wants revenge.