Character Analysis: Trixie: Bully or Victim?

Oh boy, I have needed to do this for...a LONG time, this sort of this has been needed since...the first season, probably.

If you're reading this, odds are you're a fan of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", and if you are, then you've most definitely heard of "The Great and Powerful" Trixie, a minor antagonist from "Boast Busters", the sixth episode of the first season. If not...well, maybe you stumbled across this post by boredom or accident.

Quick recap or refresher: The episode starts with main protagonist Twilight Sparkle practicing her magic, and receiving praise from her assistant and surrogate little brother Spike. After the opening theme, the two of them are walking through town, with Spike still praising Twilight, until they come across a couple of local youths, Snips and Snails, who tell them that "The most powerful Unicorn in all of Equestria" has arrived. Despite her earlier humility, Twilight seems disturbed at being surpassed at her Special Talent, Magic itself, which was drew her the attention of Equestria's ruler, Princess Celestia, who took Twilight as a student many years ago. When they arrive at the show, they meet up with their other friends, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Trixie begins to perform, while verbalizing her belief in her abilities. Rarity expresses distaste for Trixie's behavior, leading Twilight to question her, and Rarity and Applejack express their belief that Trixie is a showoff. Rainbow Dash, unfortunately, causes a scene, leading to a confrontation where Trixie humiliates Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight, fearful that her friends will see her as a showoff, avoids a confrontation, even running away when Trixie challenges her. Afterwards, Spike gets into an argument with Snips and Snails about whether or not Trixie is as good as she thinks she is. Snips and Snails find themselves unable to argue when Spike points out that there is no proof she did the things she claims, and could be lying. The two youths then decide to prove Trixie's claim of being able to defeat an Ursa Minor (a giant bear) by finding one and luring it to Ponyville. The succeed, Spike warns Twilight, and when she arrives, a now cornered Trixie admits she lied about being able to defeat an Ursa, much to the shock of Snips and Snails. With an entire town of innocents on the line, Twilight steps in and defeats the Ursa, removing it from town, in front of the amazed towns ponies, including Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. When Twilight pleads with her friends not to hate her for being talented, they tell her that it wasn't Trixie's abilities that annoyed them, it was her boastful attitude. Trixie attempts to cover up her loss and flees, with Twilight ending the episode with the Aesop: There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your abilities, as long as your pride is not excessive or cruel.

This episode is...controversial, to say the least. Trixie is presented as a boasting showoff, earning her the ire of our main characters. However, Trixie was an instant hit with many fans, who angrily declared that she was a Designated Villain, and did nothing wrong, and the episode ran on Protagonist Centered Morality. This is a fairly serious accusation, as one of the basics of storytelling is getting the audience to sympathize with who you wanted them to sympathize with. Let's examine the accusations against this episode, the Pro-Trixie arguments to see if they hold any weight.

The Mane Six were heckling Trixie, so they started the whole mess!

This is probably the most common defense used. According to this claim, Trixie did nothing to establish herself as a villain, and only became directly antagonistic when Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash openly provoked her, forcing her to retaliate against a group that was interfering in her job and trying to humiliate her, with no fair or good reason to do so. Okay, this is definitely a “Designated Hero” and “Designated Villain” thing, as if these claims hold water, it defeats the intended moral of the episode. Trixie is supposed to be a mean-spirited showoff, whose ego causes her to torment our protagonists. If, however, as the Trixie Defenders claim, Applejack and the other two started the fight, it would in fact place Trixie as the victim, as opposed to the villain. If you want your protagonists to be in the right, then it’s important they not be the instigators without a very good reason. So let us examine their behavior. Rarity was the first to say anything, saying, and I quote: “My, much, such boasting.” Twilight questions her on whether there’s anything wrong with being talented, and Applejack says: “Nothing, at all, as long as you don’t go around showin’ off like a school-filly with a new ribbon”. Rarity then makes her second comment: “Simply having the ability to perform lots of magic tricks does not make one better than the rest of us. Rainbow says that this is HER job, earning her a dirty look from Applejack. Rainbow than switches tactics, and boos Trixie.

Okay, here now we have a bit of strength to the pro-Trixie defense, as Rainbow DID cause a scene, so let’s see how that plays out. Trixie notes they have “neigh-sayers” in the audience, and demands to know who is so “ignorant” as to question her, and that she is the most magic unicorn in all of Equestria. Rarity blows a raspberry and says: “Who does she think she is?” Rainbow then pops up onstage and demands to know what makes Trixie so special, and Trixie claims that she defeated an Ursa Major, apparently a big deal, given how the audience reacts.
Trixie then says she is the greatest in Ponyville and no one responds. Trixie then issues an open challenge to the crowd, stating anything they can do, she can do better.

Okay, the claims that the Mane Six where heckling Trixie don’t hold any water. Rarity made three comments, two expressing disgust for Trixie’s high opinion of herself, and the third was an explanation to Twilight as to why she was annoyed. The definition of heckling is to embarrass or harass someone speaking or performing in public by acting aggressively or abusively. Notice Rarity DID NOT cause a scene, as her comments were made in a normal tone of voice, almost an undertone, really, and she made no attempt to confront Trixie directly. So no, by the definition of the word, Rarity did NOT heckle Trixie. The claims against Applejack are even weaker, as she made a grand total of ONE comment, which was made to Twilight, again, in a normal tone, making no attempt to get Trixie’s attention or confront her directly. Plus, criticizing someone for their arrogance is not the same thing as heckling, especially when there is no public confrontation, the root of heckling.
Now with Rainbow Dash, there is…a BIT more of an argument. Not an ironclad fact, however, as Rainbow too can receive a defense for her behavior. While she DOES confront Trixie directly, all she does is question Trixie’s rather dubious claims. Now! At this point in time, Trixie would not be in the wrong for pointing out that Rainbow caused a scene and interrupted her performance. HOWEVER Trixie doesn’t seem to care about that, as she keeps that smug grin while claiming she defeated an Ursa. You’ll also notice when she responded to Rainbow’s original outburst, she said nothing about interrupting her performance, and instead insults them for questioning her skills. Given the sheer scope of her claim, and the fact that she hasn’t done anything impressive, Rainbow is not wrong for being skeptical, instead of just believing the claims at face value. She was aggressive, yes, but Trixie herself doesn’t seem to care. Also notice that once Trixie makes a claim Rainbow can’t disprove on the spot (The Ursa) Rainbow is back in the audience, no longer causing a scene. If she were REALLY a heckler, she would have kept going, without a legitimate complaint, which she did indeed have.

So no, the Mane Six did NOT heckle Trixie, as neither Rarity nor Applejack did ANYTHING that fits the definition of heckling, and arguments against Rainbow are debatable at best. In fact, she had a good point when she questioned Trixie, seeing as her magic wasn’t all that impressive. Yes, she did confront Trixie directly, but having a legitimate complaint against someone is NOT the definition of heckling. Trying to change the existing definition of a word in order to suit your claim only shows you don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s like all those people who use the word “literally” when they’re not being literal at all.

They provoked Trixie and tried to show her off at her own performance!

Alright, so supposedly the Mane Six confronted Trixie directly, and tried to upstage her in the middle of her performance. Let’s see exactly when the first competition started. Applejack was the first, jumping up onstage when Trixie was challenging Twilight to a test of skills. Interesting, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash are supposedly the ones causing trouble, but Twilight is the one Trixie tried to pick a fight with. Also, why is Trixie trying to choose an opponent at all, weren’t AJ, RD, and Rarity the ones supposedly trying to upstage her? Actually, going through the scene, no one challenged Trixie at all, she’s the one who issued the open challenge to the audience. When no one responded, not even her alleged “hecklers”, not even RAINBOW Dash, her most outspoken critic, she challenges Twilight. When Twilight tries to back out, and Trixie presses the issue, only THEN does Applejack step in. From there, Rainbow only challenges Trixie now that Applejack has been humiliated, and then Rarity refuses to get involved until Trixie taunts her directly. In fact, Rarity CRITICIZED Applejack and Rainbow for causing a commotion, so if anything TRIXIE is the one doing the heckling! Trixie makes a claim, the audience doesn’t respond, so Trixie tries to pick a fight with Twilight, Applejack steps in. Then Rainbow tries to avenge Applejack, and after that, Rarity refuses to get involved until Trixie insults her directly! After this, she tries to pick a fight with Twilight AGAIN! Yeah, I really don’t see how Trixie is supposed to be the victim here. Why are the Mane Six in the wrong for competing against Trixie when SHE’S the one who challenged them to do so in the first place? She certainly didn’t challenge them in response to their “heckling” seeing as they’re not the ones she challenged, she challenged the one character even her fans admit was innocent.

Trixie is a stage performer, it’s her JOB to make a spectacle of herself, therefore the Mane Six were wrong to criticize her!

Hmm, okay, the moral of this episode was about the dangers of hubris, and presents Trixie as a boasting showoff, so let’s see Trixie’s comments to see how much of it was boasting, and how much was just banter to draw a crowd. In other words, how wrong were the Mane Six to criticize?

“Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Okay, okay, that’s not so bad, what else does she have to say?

“Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!” “Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?” “It's true, my enthusiastic little admirers. Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville.” “Any takers? Anyone? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?”

Okay, wow, yeah, Trixie is DEFINITELY a braggart. Comments like those make RAINBOW DASH look humble by comparison. Also, I’ve seen real life magicians, and I’ve never known a single one to boast NEARLY that much. A magician’s job is to ENTERTAIN people, but having someone talk about how superior they are to you is hardly entertaining, in fact it’s INSULTING. I also have to question why Trixie is making such a big deal about her ability to use magic when one third the population uses magic on a daily basis, and the other two thirds witness said magic on a daily basis. Your magic would have to be REALLY incredible to impress those who witness it on a daily basis. It’d be like claiming to be a criminal mastermind in Gotham City, and then robbing a few banks. She summons a bunch of flowers, but no one reacts as though this is impressive, AND a little later in the reason, she see Rarity teleporting a vest onto Twilight. She then uses a rope to tie up Applejack, something that could easily be done with one’s limbs, and spins Rainbow around, something that again, could be done with your bare limbs. It’s hard to claim she’s an entertainer when she’s more focused on acting superior then entertaining, AND when her magic really isn’t that impressive.

See, ONLY Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash objected! NO ONE ELSE had a problem! So what Trixie was doing was perfectly fine!

Considering the episode was presenting arrogance as a bad thing, I find this hard to swallow. In fact, come to think of it, since the Mane Six are the main characters, and the ones delivering the moral, they are the only reactions we need to see, they are the focus, after all. In fact, on that note, how do we know no one else had a problem? Applejack and Rarity’s comments were done in undertones, so we wouldn’t have seen their reactions if the scene hadn’t been focused on them, so for all we know, plenty of other ponies didn’t like Trixie’s behavior, but like Applejack and Rarity, kept their comments to themselves, and thus we don’t see them, because they aren’t the focus. We see Rainbow’s reaction yes, but she’s, well, RAINBOW DASH. An Earthquake (Equestriaquake?) would be harder to notice. Also, to turn this argument around, no one in the crowd seemed to take issue with the Mane Six objecting. Keep in mind that arrogance IS generally a bad thing, as it’s socially unacceptable behavior. THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE EPISODE. In fact, at the end, Applejack tells Twilight that they like who Twilight is. Given that Twilight is humble and kind, the opposite of Trixie, it’s made readily apparent that being an abusive showoff will not net you any friends.

I do have to wonder why the citizens of Ponyville laughed at the humiliation of three of their neighbors who are also local heroes. I’ve heard suggestions that the reason the crowd laughed at Applejack because of the trouble she caused back in “Applebuck Season. Aside from how petty this would be considering those were ACCIDENTS and not done out of malice, it would also make the citizens of Ponyville hypocrites, since THEY’RE the ones who ran Applejack ragged in the first place.

Trixie may seem rough onstage, but that’s just a persona! She’s much nicer off the stage!

Mean Character Nice Actor, huh? Hmm, this reminds me of professional wrestling, where abrasive Heel, or “bad-guy” wrestlers will try to get under the skin of the audience, but are much nicer in person, and not in-character. The thing is though, is that Heel wrestlers tend to have a Face, or “good-guy” wrestler to play off. The “Heel” antagonizes the audience, to make the audience want to see the Heel lose, then the Face defeats the Heel, giving the audience vindication. The thing is, Trixie doesn’t have a “Good Guy” to play off as part of her performance. She insults her paying customers and humiliates them in public, and then she wins, and the humiliated audience members get no vindication. How is this right or justified? Where does she get off taunting her audience until someone objects, and then she humiliates them when SHE’S the one who provoked them in the first place? Also, how cruel is it to receive entertainment from the misery and suffering of others who have done nothing to deserve it? This isn’t Family Guy, or post-season 3 Spongebob, both of which have been heavily criticized for exactly that. Especially when the victims are your friends and neighbors! Also, we do see Trixie offstage, interacting with her actual fans, Snips and Snails…where she behaves EXACTLY the same as during a performance. Even rudely dismissing the two and not even thanking them for getting her a drink. She also refuses to show them any tricks, rather harshly, instead of gently explaining she needs to save her stuff for the actual show.

Some might try to justify this by saying that since it’s Snips and Snails, she’s justified. Trouble is, the fact that she doesn’t even TRY to be polite on any level does not speak volumes for her allegedly being nice. In fact, considering they’re praising her, you’d think she’d treat them with a token of respect in return. Really, this argument sounds like applying different standards to Trixie than you would anyone else, since anyone that rude to a couple of kids, a couple of KIDS, would not be looked at with favor.

They should have just walked away, nobody MADE them criticize Trixie, they didn’t have to watch the performance if they don’t like it.

Hmm, see, what I’m doing here is looking at both sides of the situation, which means listening to the Trixie defenders, but I also have to consider the other side, the opposers, to see how much weight each argument holds. A few of the past arguments aren’t unreasonable in and of themselves, but lose all weight in the context of the scene. This is where I can’t even see where the defenders are coming from to begin with, sure they COULD have walked away, but why? Why are they obligated to? This is like saying they don’t have the right to criticize. I know people love to portray Celestia as a tyrant, but in cannon, all evidence is that she’s benevolent, and as such we can only assume Equestria is a free country, where ponies have the right to voice their opinion. If your criticism can be disproven, you still have the right to voice your thoughts, it’s just that no one will listen. If you’re a jerk about your criticism, then others have the right to call you out on being a jerk. If the reasons the Mane Six had for disliking Trixie can be disproven, then their criticism is invalid and the Trixie defenders are right. Problem is, the Mane Six were RIGHT, Trixie was boasting, which, while not legally, or technically even MORALLY wrong, is still socially unacceptable behavior, and won’t win you friends or fans. It’s like belching or farting in public, it’s not technically WRONG, but it’s highly annoying and people don’t like it. If the Mane Six had been excessively mean, then the fan complaints against them would be valid, but NONE of them was excessively nasty, or really nasty at all. Even fact, Trixie was much ruder then they were. While the Mane Six generally kept their comments to themselves (except for Rainbow Dash) Trixie actually started the confrontation by challenging the audience directly, and not even the “heckler” which might have been justified, but the completely innocent Twilight.

This is basically the “Don’t Like, Don’t Watch” arguments, which might be one of THE most misused arguments ever. It tends to be used to shut people up after they’ve already watched it. People will watch a movie, find they didn’t like it, and will criticize it, and people will say: “If you don’t like it, then don’t watch it” which makes no sense, as you can’t unwatch something you’ve already watched, and how are you supposed to KNOW you don’t like something UNLESS you watch it? I know I probably just sound like I’m parroting PieGuyRulz, but really, he’s just putting into words what should already be common sense, something sadly lacking in this fanbase, as well as the human race in general. See, the Mane Six have to WATCH the show to know if they like it or not. If they don’t like the beginning, why not stick around to see if it gets better? They’d have to watch the whole thing to know if it gets better, but they never got the chance because Trixie provoked the audience into fighting with her, and then she ended the show. Speaking of things ponies COULD have done, why didn’t Trixie just continue the performance to PROVE she’s impressive, without humiliating audience members. Her fans will say she’s “justified”, which would make some degree of sense if the Mane Six repeatedly provoked, heckled, and harassed her, which they DIDN’T. It took the slightest bit of skepticism for her to pick fights. Trixie’s fans will say she’s a nice pony who was provoked, but for an allegedly nice pony, she was provoked way too easily, and took far too much pleasure in humiliating others to be a nice pony.

On the flip side, Trixie could have ignored their comments, it’s not like anyone MADE her respond to the critics. She didn’t even address their criticism, she just insulted them, and when you insult those who disagree with you without debating their actual point, not only does it make you look like a jerk, but it suggests you’re trying to distract from the fact that you CAN’T disprove their point and they’re RIGHT. Now, had she pointed out Rainbow was causing a scene, she would have been right, but she DIDN’T, she insulted ponies just for being skeptical of her abilities.

“Who is so IGNORANT as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

See, she doesn’t object to the interruption, she objects so someone basically not kissing her flank and treating her like she’s the greatest thing since a bread-slicing spell. If someone doubts your ability, you have the right to prove yourself, but INSULTING people and treating them like their beneath you is uncalled for. This is SUPPOSEDLY what the Mane Six were doing to Trixie, but in fact, she was the one doing it to them.
Oh, and uh, considering she picked fights with random innocent ponies (Twilight) and goaded into a fight ponies who refused to get involved (Rarity) I have no doubt that if they HAD just tried to walk away, she would have caused a scene and challenged them anyway.

Instead of condemning her, they should have given her a chance! She might have turned out to be nice !

Hmm, while that is a plausible course of action, it seems like this expecting too much of your average person. A lot of people DON’T reciprocate kindness, because they don’t appreciate it. They take it as though it’s owed to them, but they don’t feel the need to be kind themselves. Sure SOME people do, but to treat this as an ironclad solution is unreasonable. Now to offer Trixie compassion after she’s been exposed and humiliated? That would be much more reasonable to expect, since with her ego deflated, she wouldn’t be in a position to act superior. Examples? In the Pokemon Anime, Gary usually mocks and bullies Ash, and Ash, despite being a nice guy, understandably gets mad about this. See? Even nice people like Ash, Misty, and Brock are annoyed by arrogance, and trying to be friendly with egomaniacs just vindicates their ego. Despite this, when Gary lost in the Pokemon League tournament, Ash went to offer him sympathy and support. Having just lost, Gary is in no position to act superior, and therefore he doesn’t, and just kind of accepts it. Then we have the King’s Quest reboot, where aspiring knight Graham competes against four noteworthy knights to officially join the Daventry knights. Two of them, Whisper and Acorn, are jerks, despite Graham’s attempts to be friendly. After he defeats them, their egos are shattered, but he approaches them and treats them with kindness, winning both of them over, and they become his friends and allies. Trying to be friendly to someone who sees you as beneath you will see your respect for them as their due, and vindicate their feelings of superiority, and in their mind, justifies their cruel treatment of you. On the other hand, once their ego is broken, you are now the one with the power, and the one with the alleged “right” to be mean, but at that point, if you use your power to be kind, you’ve shown how different you are then them, and THAT can be inspiring. Why do you think people in high positions, with wealth, talent, fame, etc, are admired all the more when they’re humble? Compare Trixie to Twilight, Trixie THINKS she’s really good, and she uses this as an excuse to be cruel, while Twilight actually IS that good, but she acts with kindness and humility, which is why her friends like her. People try to justify Trixie’s ego by saying she really is THAT good, but ignore the fact that Twilight refuses to use the same excuse.

To turn the argument around, TRIXIE could have reacted to the alleged “heckling” with kindness and respect to get them to stop. Why demand the Mane Six react with kindness to somepony they don’t like, but justify Trixie reacting to someopony she doesn’t like with cruelty? That is quite the double standard, and it shows you the tendency Trixie fans have to apply different standards to Trixie then they do to everyone else. The Trixie fans call “Protagonist Centered Morality” on this episode, saying the Mane Six act like jerks and justifies it because they’re the main characters. From all arguments I’ve seen, the Trixie fans have “Trixie Centered Morality”, give that they’re holding Trixie to very low expectations and treating this as normal, while holding the Mane Six to unreasonably high expectations.

I would also like to point out that Applejack and Rarity were content to make disapproving comments, but didn’t confront her directly, until her provoking them fueled their dislike of her, making them even less inclined to be friendly. Oh yes, and Trixie talked down to Twilight after Twi saved her life, so see how Trixie responds to kindness?

Trixie’s HOME was destroyed! She’s homeless! She deserves sympathy!

I thought these defenses were supposed to explain why Trixie wasn’t in the wrong? Even if she was homeless after the episode was over, it doesn’t change the fact that she was in the wrong, nor does it make the Mane Six wrong for criticizing her when their criticisms were accurate.

To be honest, I find it hard to believe that was her “home”, since it’s more a mobile stage than anything else. There is no evidence that she doesn’t have an ACTUAL home somewhere, and the mobile stage wasn’t just her home away from home. In fact, her reaction suggests it WASN’T her home, as she wasn’t particularly upset, or even at all.

Now if it WAS her home, then yes, that might warrant her some sympathy. HOWEVER this does NOT absolve her of what SHE did wrong, especially as she never admits fault or shows remorse.

Conclusion: The Trixie Defenders have absolutely no weight to their arguments. Trixie was completely in the wrong, and WAS in fact the villain, and the Mane Six were completely justified in criticizing her. I hope that covers everything, and I may have to edit to include any arguments I missed.

Now cue the Trixie Defenders popping in to angrily rant that I’m “just a hater” in order to dismiss my arguments without actually addressing my statements or do anything to prove me wrong.