1.   After years of scraping by with the hard-earned bits of the ponies they scammed, the con artists Flim and Flam finally struck gold- a booming resort in Las Pegasus. They were rolling in more dough than they’d ever dreamed of and for a while this steady stream of cash satisfied their greed. Predictably, the money high quickly wore off and as they once again craved more, they hatched a plan to expand their business. Unfortunately, doing so required money, and rather than use their extensive wealth saved up, the penny-pinching stallions brainstormed ways to raise the funds. However, while the brothers were resourceful when it came to making a quick buck, they never made more than that before getting thrown outta town. So their schemes, from running a fake university to selling cheap toys, only amounted in pocket change. With which they bought coffee in Fillydelphian cafe, where the despair pair discussed giving up an heading home. Fate had other plans and, deciding it was time to step in, blew a poster of a blue unicorn straight into Flam’s face. Taking it as a sign, the two pickpocketed two tickets to “The Great and Powerful Trixie”‘s show and watched with dollar signs in their eyes as the mare performed with mediocre, but potential talent. Sure, she was no Harry Hoofdini, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

As soon as the eight other ponies bustled out of the tiny tent, Flim and Flam approached Trixie with their signature graceful charm and winning smiles. They bombarded the magician with exaggerated praise that, combined with their dizzying fast speech, disoriented Trixie as much as it flattered her. Once she was spinning in their grasp, they moved in for the catch and in typical salespony fashion, presented her with a deal. If she ditches her sparsely attended roadside show and come perform at their resort, then they would do everything in their power to help her become a great and famous magician. Unsurprisingly, she swallowed their pitch hook, line, and sinker. Visions of a stadium filled with cheering fans danced before her as she signed the contract, as well as 75% of the earnings over to the brothers. But since she fame, not fortune, was her goal she didn’t mind her rip-off salary. Finally she’d get the rightful recognition she longed for so long, and the brothers could build their expansion afterall. It was a win-win for everyone.

2.  Luckily, Trixie’s show was a hit from her opening night, and every night following was packed out with so many ponies that a few had to take seats up in the rafters! And as her ticket sales skyrocketed, so did the bits in Flim and Flam’s pockets. Of course, her sudden success was partly due to her audience’s gullible nature, and partly because her passable parlor tricks may or may not have been a bit embellished by magically rigged stunts. But hey, that’s all a magic show really is, right? At least, that’s what the public seemed to believe, and for the trio, that’s all that mattered. Trixie’s popularity caught fire just a quickly, and she’d barely been there a month before tourists were swarming her for autographs and little foals were trotting around with Trixie Lulamoon™ plushies and t-shirts. The sudden rush of fame was overwhelming intoxicating, and Trixie relished every second of it.

Meanwhile, as Trixie soaked in the spotlight, Flim and Flam carried out the dirty work behind the scenes. By dirty, I don’t mean their usual thieving activity (although they may have leaked a few extra bits from the merchandise income into their own pockets). I’m mean all the technical, gritty work that one slaves through when running a business. Flam, the practical-minded twin, sorted through boring paperwork, budgets, and merchandise contracts, while the charismatic Flim controlled the advertising and personally oversaw the ticket sales for shows. Especially Trixie’s, even though he’d often sell out in mere minutes. With time to spare, he’d occasionally sneak backstage – just for a moment- to catch a glimpse of her show. An hour later, Flim was clapping and whistling along with the audience. He justified this by telling himself he was only watching to see how Trixie was doing, and that he’d only need to watch maybe one or two more shows- just to make sure everything was fine.

3.  Twenty-five shows and some inner reflection later, Flim realized it wasn’t the gimmicks or tricks that were magnetically drawing his attention- it was Trixie. He had ‘fallen in love’, as sentimental ponies say, and although it was foreign and somewhat terrifying feeling, the thrill of it encouraged Flim to give ‘dating’ a whirl. Of course, this handsome devil felt confident she’d fall for him in no time. Afterall, if he could convince ponies that a tonic of apple juice and beet leaves could cure all sickness, then persuading Trixie to be his marefriend was a piece of apple pie. However, the only thing Flim had ever loved was money, so when it came to wooing Trixie, his salespony instincts immediately kicked in. This meant that, once he’d established a friendly acquaintance with her, instead of moving in slowly with flirty, romantic gestures, he asked her straightforwardly if she’d agree to be his marefriend.

Turns out, asking a girl out in a business-like, ‘let’s-make-a-deal’ fashion wasn’t as appealing as he thought. However, failure is Flim’s middle name, and Trixie’s rejection barely dented his determination. So after reading a few chapters of ‘How to Date for  ̶D̶u̶m̶m̶i̶e̶s̶ Stallions’, he jumped right back into the ring- this time with flowers, minty breath, and some of the cheesiest pickup lines. Trixie waved off his advances at first, not because she didn’t like them (rather, she loved in the romantic attention), but because watching him try to seduce her was just too entertaining. Of course, she couldn’t keep turning him down forever and eventually agreed to one small, unofficial date as ‘friends’. Being the unromantic cheapskate that his is, Flim ‘treated’ her to the rides and attractions his resort had to offer, whether it was the claw machine games or the indoor teacup ride. Despite the lack of glamour and class, Trixie found herself actually having fun(???). Slowly but surely, the mare let her guard down to the point where. at the end of the evening, as the two rode the Ferris wheel in front of a flaming sunset Trixie maaaay have let her head rest ever so slightly on Flim’s shoulder. This didn’t mean anything of course- she was just tired that’s all don’t get any ideas! Tired or not, Trixie surprised herself when she agreed to go on another date with him, and told herself that she was just doing it for fun. It’s not like it would lead to anything serious down the road, right?

4.  While the prospect of dating her self-centered, yet charming boss lay before her, Trixie had another matter in her mind. You see, during the first few months of Trixie’s career change, she kept frequently in touch with her best friends- often too shamelessly brag about the perks of fame. Not that they minded, since just hearing from her was nice in that of itself. However, the more weeks passed, the fewer letters Trixie wrote. She eased her conscience with the idea that she’d have time to write later, after the next show or before her autographing event, although she never did. Meanwhile, the mail continued to lie unopened on her vanity, and her clutter of feather boas, makeup, far too many soda cans buried them until she forgot them entirely. Of course, at times thoughts of ponyville knocked at her inflated head, but her ego would always squash them like ants. However, as the glamour and glitz of her fast-paced life lost its shine, the knot of homesickness grew stronger. The more she tried to shake the feeling, the more prevalent it became.

Till late one night after a show, just six months since she left home, she collapsed in exhaustion onto her vanity. That’s when her blurry eyes caught sight of an envelope sticking out from amidst the clutter. Pulling it out, she instantly recognized Starlight’s hoofwriting and mechanically tore it open. Scanning the page, she could barely make out the words ‘Maud’, ‘Marry’, ‘Mud’, ‘You’, and ‘Bridesmare’. But when her eyes froze on the wedding date, July 17th, her heart skipped a beat. That was two months ago! The fact she’d missed her best friend’s (if they were still friends at this point) wedding all because of her selfish pride broke her down to tears. All her repressed emotions flooded her, filling her with feelings of homesickness and heartache. She missed Starlight. She missed her friends- even Twilight. She missed her wobbly little wagon home. She missed the slow and easy pace that a traveling magician’s life offered. She missed traveling to different towns with different sights and ponies. She missed her old life. As much as she adored the cheering fans every night and the ego-stroking merchandise and magazine reviews, she knew that none of it could ever fill the ponyville-shaped hole in her heart. As lost and distressed as Trixie felt right then, one thing she knew for sure- it was time to go home.