Trixie

Trixie, who often refers to herself in the third person as The Great and Powerful Trixie, is a unicorn pony and traveling magician who appears in Boast Busters. In the episode, she visits Ponyville with her one-pony show, in which she shows off and greatly exaggerates and boasts about her abilities.

Development and design
Lauren Faust had stated that the premise of the episode Boast Busters called for a boastful unicorn character, who was originally envisioned as a male character. Writer Chris Savino came up with the current character of Trixie and her habit of speaking in the third person.

Trixie is one of the few ponies, along with Big Macintosh, Night Mare Moon, Granny Smith, Snips, and Snails, to have a single reflection in her eyes; most of the other ponies have two, while foals have three.

Trixie's design and color scheme is used for four background ponies in Bridle Gossip, along with two palette swaps. Another pony with the same design can be seen briefly near the beginning of The Return of Harmony Part 1.

The name Trixie can refer to her magic tricks, but is also a diminutive form of Beatrix.

Personality
Trixie first appears in Boast Busters, where she assumes a very theatrical personality and speaks dramatically in the third person, posing and setting off fireworks to complete the effect. "I am The Great and Powerful TRIXIE!"

- Trixie

She is set up as a rival to the protagonist Twilight Sparkle. Twilight's positive, helpful, and humble attitude is contrasted by Trixie's over-the-top boasting. She claims to have saved Hoofington from an attack by an Ursa Major. However, when confronted by an Ursa Minor, she admits that her tale was fabricated, and that even the Ursa Minor was an opponent far too powerful for her to contain. This is the only point in the episode where she drops her "Great and Powerful Trixie" persona and speaks in the first person. Despite this brief display of honesty and fear, her frequent showboating alienates the other ponies, and classifies her as an antagonist of the series.

History
In Boast Busters, Trixie arrives in Ponyville, having been rumored to be "the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria." At her show, Trixie boasts about her great magical abilities. She claims to have vanquished an Ursa Major, an enormous celestial bear-like creature that normally could never be defeated by just one pony. Upon hearing this, only two ponies, Snips and Snails, openly believe Trixie's claims and proclaim her as the most magical and talented pony ever. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack take Trixie's challenge to see who is better, only to be humiliated one by one. Twilight, who fears that she might lose her friends if she shows off her magic like Trixie, doesn't accept the challenge and runs off. Trixie then proclaims herself victorious, and ends her show.

After the show, Snips and Snails follow Trixie around, fawning over her and asking to hear more of her story until Trixie herself tires of it and sends them away. Snips refers to her as "The G and P T", shortening her title.

Spike witnesses Snips' and Snails' behavior and is far more skeptical of Trixie's claims, telling them that they should not believe her until she demonstrates a comparable feat in front of them to prove her story. Unfortunately, this leads the pair to seek out an Ursa themselves in the Everfree Forest. They draw the Ursa Minor into Ponyville, believing it to be an Ursa Major, and ask Trixie to use her magic tricks to defeat it, but her stage magic proves useless. She then admits that she can't defeat an Ursa Major and never has, and that she fabricated the whole story to make herself look better around others. Twilight then uses her magic to soothe the Ursa Minor to sleep, gives it a "bottle" of milk, and sends it back to its cave in the forest.

Trixie is surprised to find out that the monster they had faced was actually an Ursa Minor, the baby version of an Ursa Major, who was only cranky after being woken up by Snips and Snails. However, after the explanations, Trixie goes back to her arrogance, saying that Twilight will never have the same power as her, and once again proclaims herself "Great and Powerful."

Trixie then uses a smokescreen to poorly conceal her exit from town, and after it dissipates, she is seen galloping out of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash starts after Trixie, but Twilight stops her, certain that Trixie will someday learn her lesson about bragging.

Merchandise
A toy called Lulamoon, from the fourth wave of the Blindbag My Little Pony set, shares the same cutie mark and color scheme (purple eyes, blue coat) as Trixie.

Quotes
"Well, well, well, it seems we have some neigh sayers in the audience. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

- Boast Busters

"I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians -- anything you can do, I can do better. Any takers? Anyone? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?!"

- Boast Busters

Gallery

 * Trixie image gallery

Trivia

 * A modified version of Trixie's cutie mark (purple wand and pixie dust and yellow star) can be obtained at the end of Adventures in Ponyville.
 * Jayson Thiessen, one of the show's directors, hinted that Trixie may return in the second season.