//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Assistant // by VGmaster78 //------------------------------// Chapter 3 The intrepid pair of ponies was walking to their first destination, which they had decided would be Appleloosadue to it being remote and for the most part cut off from the rest of civilization.Trixie felt it would be good for earning bits before the townsfolk got any word of the Ursa disaster that had happened in Ponyville . While it wasn’t a perfect plan it would do for now. Trixie was thinking of how she would perform her next act and what it would contain. The sun was blazing down on them in the middle of the desert but they trekked on for while longer before finally deciding to take a rest near a cliff. Trixie looked over to the tired-out pegasus and began talking about what else they would get done in town. “Alright assistant, when we get to town I need you to get the following things before I perform tonight,” Trixie said as she started reciting the mental list she’d thought up. “First, I need you to look into getting us a new carriage made. Walking just isn’t going to cut it;it’s rough on the hooves. Not only that, it provides us with shelter against weather or in this case the sun. Next, I need you to go shopping for some food .” Just as Trixie said ‘food’ her stomach rumbled in annoyance at being neglected this morning. “Uh, assistant I hate to ask this but can you fly ahead and see if the town is close at all? I’m starving,” Trixie whined a little. “Won’t it be dangerous to leave you all alone out here?” “Possibly, but starving to death is just as bad,” Trixie groaned melodramatically. “Um, then sure, I guess I can. Just look after Angel for me while I’m gone okay?” Fluttershy agreed. Angel’s eyes however shot open from his sleep due to this. He didn’t feel all that safe in the care of the light blue unicorn. “Alright. Here, take these bits and check if the town is close by; if it is head in and buy us something to eat for breakfast,” Trixie said as she gave the money to the meek pegasus, who flew off in the direction of Appleloosa. She was left all alone again - well except for the white rabbit that had been left behind, who was currently glaring at Trixie. “What do you want, furball?” Trixie mocked. Angel began to thump his leg on her side which annoyed her greatly. “Hey don’t make The Great and Powerful Trixie angry now,” she threatened but Angel ignored her and continued on.“She’ll make you part her act if you don’t stop!” Trixie yelled, scaring a few nearby animals out of their hiding places. ********** The pegasus flew off in a rush to buy the food she was asked to get. She wasn’t used to flying all that fast but she wanted to get the food quickly and get back to Trixie before anything happened in her absence. Surprisingly enough the town was close by - probably only a few miles away from the cliff they were resting at. She touched down on the outskirts before walking the rest of the way into town. Some ponies were looking her way so apparently it was strange to them to see some random pegasus fly in. The town was mostly populated by earth ponies and when other ponies came to visit they usually rode in on the train. Fluttershy was starting to get a little nervous at all the attention and just as she was about to escape into the store she was stopped by a golden-colored colt. He wore a Stetson hat and a brown vest; upon his flank was a red apple. “Howdy!” he said enthusiastically as he greeted the mare. “Oh, um, hello?” she greeted back. “My name is Braeburn and who are you? We haven’t had many visitors yet, the town was only founded a few months ago.” Braeburn started to talk faster than Fluttershy had ever seen. Well, almost the fastest - he was tied with Pinkie . “My name is Fluttershy…” she whispered but somehow he still heard her. “Fluttershy?!” Braeburn exclaimed. “I’ve heard of you from cousin AJ’s letters. She said she would be visiting soon with all of you. Anyway, enough of my rambling. What’s a fine young gal like you doing around these parts?” “Oh, I’m just getting some food for a friend.” “A friend? Well where is this little pony?” Braeburn said as looked around Fluttershy. “She told me to go on without her and bring food back,” Fluttershy explained. “Wait, you left your friend all alone in the desert?” Braeburn asked. “Well, yes, she told me to go ahead,” Fluttershy relayed to Braeburn as she began to crack under the pressure. “I didn’t want to leave her alone but she insisted and I-“ She felt a hoof go around her back as she looked up and saw Braeburn smile to her. “Calm down there missy! A beautiful mare like yourself shouldn’t be crying over a silly thing like this. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get you some food and I’ll go get us a wagon so we can get your friend into town safely. Does that sound good?” Fluttershy dried her tears and nodded to the Appleloosan. “Thank you Braeburn. You’re just as kind as Applejack would be.” “It’s no problem at all. It’s just that good ol’ Apple family hospitality.” ***** Meanwhile, in Ponyville Spike was waking up in his library home. He yawned and looked up to his best friend Twilight, who was still asleep. He was thinking of going back to bed, but if he did Twilight would only wake him up and force him to do chores instead. He decided to get up and head downstairs to begin work on his own; maybe if he finished early he could spend the rest of the day with Rarity! Upon making it downstairs however, he noticed a strange piece of paper near the door. He picked it up and red it, his eyes widening further with every word. “Twilight!” he yelled out as he ran back upstairs. He crawled up onto her bed and began panicking as he tried to wake up his friend. “Spike, what is it? Why are-“ Twilight couldn’t finish her sentence as Spike shoved the paper in her face. She pushed him away while she took the note into her aura and started to scan over it. When she finished she had no idea on what to say except, “Spike, get the girls.” Soon, the rest of her friends were gathered in the main room of the library, each one speculating on why they had been summoned. Their idle chatter was cut off as Twilight walked in with Spike following closely behind. “Spike, make some snacks for our friends while I discuss the situation with them,” Twilight ordered. She was met with a glare from Spike before he ran off to the kitchen. “Now Twilight, why did ya call us to come over so early? Ah have to get some things done in the orchards,” Applejack began. “ Yeah Twilight! I have some practicing to get in so can you make this snappy?” Rainbow spoke up. “Indeed, I hate to be rude dear but I have to open up the Boutique soon,” Rarity added. “Are we planning a surprise party? Ooooh, is it for Fluttershy?” Pinkie said as she bounced around. “Ahem, well girls, this morning Spike found this note slipped under the door,” Twilight spoke as she brought the note out for the rest of the ponies to see. The four of them read over the note. When they finished they all looked at each other uncomfortably. The first to speak up was Dash. “I don’t know Twilight,are you sure this is from Fluttershy? This doesn’t seem like something she would do.” “It’s her hoof writing. It has every characteristic she usually puts into writing her letters,” Rarity said as she looked over the details in the writing. “But why would she run off like this and who is this friend she talks about? Ah never seen her socialize much with any other pony folk except us,” AJ queried. “Maybe she’s been kidnapped!” Pinkie shouted. “Kidnapped? Who in the hay would kidnap Fluttershy?” Dash spoke up. “Well…” Twilight began, “yesterday I went over to check up on her and before she opened the door she called me Trixie.” “Trixie!” Three of them shouted as their brows furrowed in anger. “Who does that showoff think she is,kidnapping Fluttershy!” “I guess that’s why she wanted the clothes made. Trixie was using her to get something she needed,” Rarity said. “Girls calm down!” Twilight shouted to stop the uproar. “Look, we don’t know if she kidnapped Fluttershy or not - we shouldn’t make assumptions. Anyway, does anypony have any ideas on what to do?” “I say we should track her down and beat her up until she talks!” Dash yelled. AJ spoke. “Woah there RD, I don’t think we need to get our tails in a knot just yet.” “Oh yeah and why not?!” “Well first of all we have no idea where Fluttershy even is, they could be anywhere in Equestria by now.” “Look girls, I think we should split up and search for clues around town. See if anypony saw anything suspicious last night,” Twilight finally said. “Pinkie and Rarity, check around Fluttershy’s home to see if you can find anything. Rainbow Dash, Applejack and I will check around town. Everypony move out!” With that, they all rushed out into the street. “Okay everypony, get ready for the very best chocolate chip muffins you’ve ever tasted in your entire life!” Spike shouted as he came out of the kitchen, only to be met with an empty room. He let the tray drop to the floor before heading back upstairs. “I’m going back to bed…” **** The blazing heat was very unkind to the unicorn, who had been waiting for her assistant to return and was sweating all over. She could get to town herself faster than it took to wait for Fluttershy to come back! Thankfully Angel had left her alone after tiring himself out. Trixie didn’t think she could last any longer in the heat, but her hopes started to lift as a wagon came into view in the distance - it was being pulled by a very handsome colt and in the wagon was her pegasus friend with many apple treats stacked all around her. “Miss Fluttershy, is this your friend you was telling me about?” “Yes, thank you ever so much Mr. Braeburn.” Fluttershy got out of the wagon and trotted to Angel and Trixie. The little rabbit wasted no time in hopping onto Fluttershy’s back and flopping down in exhaustion. “Um, good work assistant. Who’s the colt?” “Oh, this is Braeburn, he offered to escort us back into town.” “Howdy!” “Thank you. This pleases Trixie.” “Well, alrighty then. Hop in and chow down while I get us out of buffalo territory. Yes ma’am, it was mighty dangerous for you to be out here all alone.” “Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie is sure she can take care of herself in a fight just fine.” “Well, excuse me but you look like you just do parlor tricks to me ma’am.” “Ahem, yes, while tricks may be my main talent the Great and Powerful Trixie knows many spells with which to defend herself.” “Alrighty then,” Braeburn repeated dubiously. “Enough small talk, let’s get ya’ll to town safely.” Trixie and Fluttershy climbed into the wagon and as soon as they were aboard Braeburn was off. Trixie surveyed the foodstuffs that her assistant had gathered; to her surprise they were all apple based. Fluttershy saw her confused looks and decided to answer her before she could even ask. “Um, Appleloosa stays true to its name and mostly has apple-related food. Sorry…” “No matter, at least it’s something to eat. Though Trixie would prefer more variety, this will have to do.” As she began to tuck in Trixie asked, “So how far are we from town anyway?” “Well Missy, we’re not far at all!We should be there in just a few short minutes,” Braeburn answered given that knew the area better than them. “ Perfect,” Trixie cooed. “Fluttershy, did you get the chance to look into buying us a new carriage?” “Um, no, I’m sorry.” “Bah! Get it done when we get into town - I need to make arrangements to do a show tonight.” “Show?” Braeburn asked. “ Hey, that would be a grand idea! The townsfolk are in need of some entertainment - it’s awfully dull around these parts most of the time. I’ll ask Sheriff Silverstar if that’ll be okay for y‘all.“ “Really?” Trixie asked. “Sure,” Braeburn said. “Also, I’ll check into getting y‘all a carriage while I’m at it.” “Thank you Mister Braeburn,” Fluttershy replied, smiling thankfully. “Ain’t no problem whatsoever.” Trixie truly smiled for the first time in years. Everything was going well for her - maybe her luck was changing for better. The wagon rolled into town quickly, and with the two partners’ bellies now full Trixie had the rest of the day to practice a new routine. Braeburn had offered them some unused space at the local orchard so they would have total peace and quiet until tonight. “Um, now introducing the, um, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Fluttershy whispered. “No, no, no! You need to put more heart into it Fluttershy,” Trixie explained. “Like this. Now introducing the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie shouted to the heavens above. “Um, okay… Now introducing the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Fluttershy declared, slightly louder the previous attempt. “Better… Look we’ll practice announcing again later. Right now, help me think of a new story of my great deeds.” “Um, Trixie, don’t you think you would gain a more positive audience from telling stories about other ponies?” “What do you mean?” “Well, when I was little my mother would always tell stories about the lighter things in life. Stories about weaker ponies rising up and doing great things make for amazing tales.” “Well, alright assistant. Normally I would be more than ready for this but you’ve convinced me to alter my standards. Do you have any ideas that we can use?” “Um how about one about a bunn-“ “No,” Trixie stated flatly, before Fluttershy even finished her sentence. “Eep! Well, how about if we tell a story based on one my friends?” Flutttershy said but was met with a blank stare from Trixie. “Look Fluttershy, stories need pizzazz to them to make them interesting and I don’t think anypony wants to listen to cuddly bunnies or your friends getting their hair done. They want action and danger! Y’know, a monster being vanquished like a sea serpent or a dragon.” “Oooo, please don’t remind me about the dragon,” Fluttershy pleaded to the unicorn. “Remind you of what? What are you talking about?” Trixie questioned her assistant. “Well, there was once a dragon that had gone to sleep close to Ponyville and, um, he was causing a lot of smoke while he slept. Anyway, Twilight had been ordered by Princess Celestia to move the dragon to a different location and, ah, she recruited us to help as well. I really didn’t want to do it because I’m – I’m scared of dragons,” Fluttershy explained while Trixie with listened with her slowly-widening eyes full of hope. “Fluttershy! That’s perfect!” Trixie shouted as she pulled Fluttershy into a hug. “’The Shy Pegasus and the Ferocious Dragon’ -it has a nice ring to it. Assistant, this is perfect! We have our story for the townsfolk tonight. Tell me the rest so I can practice the effects to go along with it.” ****** The sun had finally set after the long day. Braeburn had smoothed all the negotiations out with Sheriff Silverstar and they had gotten the stage set up. Behind the curtains Trixie, Fluttershy and Angel were preparing for the act. Trixie was all set; she had everything planned out. Fluttershy however was shaking where she stood out of sheer nervousness. Angel was trying his best to calm down his friend but with no luck, so Trixie stepped in. “Hey, Fluttershy, calm down. We talked about this - you’ll be fine.” “Oh Trixie, I’m just not cut out for show business! I don’t like being stared at by everypony.” “Hey now, you’ll do fine! All you have to do is introduce me to the crowd and then all attention will be on me, I promise.” Trixie sympathized with the pegasus; she wasn’t used to being all sappy or comforting but there was something about Fluttershy that made her want to be a better pony. “Hey, I’ve got an idea Fluttershy - pretend that they are your animal friends,” Trixie suggested. “Um, okay,” Fluttershy said with a smile. She actually welcomed that idea, it could really work. Just then Braeburn poked his head through the curtain and spoke to the two mares. “They’re all ready for ya’ll so whenever you’re ready, get out here!” Fluttershy gulped before looking at Trixie and Angel, who were urging her on, and so she walked through the curtains to be faced with a crowd of excited ponies; while it might not have been anywhere near a hundred it was still a large number and she already feeling nauseous. Cuddly bunnies… Fuzzy foxies… Tiny mousies…okay you can do this, Trixie is counting on you. “I-in-introducing the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Fluttershy shouted as low as she could. Poof! She was gone in a puff of smoke and in her place was unicorn with a confident smirk across her face. She looked into the crowd and then began her act. “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie and that was my lov- my assistant Fluttershy. Now, are you ready for a story that will blow your little pony minds?” Trixie questioned her audience. She was met with mostly nods and a few weary looks. “This is the tale of ‘The Shy Pegasus and the Ferocious Dragon’.” Trixie said as she summoned a new scene to display. In the vista stood a cabin, where a yellow mare was tending her garden and helping the animals. “All was calm for the resident of this quaint little home but today was to be a dark day. As today was the day when the sky was filled with a pitch black cloud. The pegasus looked up in horror as the sun was blocked out.”Trixie summoned a little smoke to convey her story better and was met with ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. “Her animal friends ran off to safety as she hid inside her home hoping it would all just stop, but as time dragged on she saw that the sun was still obscured. She knew she had to stop the source of this foul smoke or all her friends would suffer. She summoned the courage to open the door and head out in the direction of the smoke.” Trixie smirked with glee as she changed the scenery to reflect mountainous terrain. “And so the mare reached her destination. At the top of the mountain was a cave with smoke and a deep growling coming from it. She stepped back, scared, but knew she had to stop the beast that was causing the smoke and so she climbed and climbed until she was at the cave.” Trixie emulated a deep glow emanating from fire-filled eyes in the depths of the cave. ----------- “Who goes there!” The beast roared at that helpless mare, who cowered away. “Tis I, Posey, a humble gardener. I have come to ask you to please stop all the smoke. Please?” “Please? Bwahaha! How dare a little speck like youtell me to stop what I love doing. In fact,here, have a taste!” The dragon puffed a big cloud towards the mare, who could only cough violently in response. “P-Please don’t you see that you are hurting the land and its inhabitants beneath you?” Posey shouted, her eyes starting to water. “And why should I care?” The dragon retorted. “Well if all the ponies die then who will be your friend?” “What use do I have for friends. To eat? They’re not very filling to be honest,” the dragon taunted as he shot a very toothy grin towards the mare that sent a chill up her spine. “Um, no… friends are for sharing laughs with and having somepony to look back on.” “Hmph, very well… I will stop with the smoke if you agree to be my friend for the rest of your life.” Posey look at the dragon with her heart beating rapidly; she was terrified to begin with, but to now have to accept the beast as a friend? She felt as if she would explode at any minute! Reluctantly, she agreed to take the dragon on as a friend. And so the skies cleared and the animals would have returned if it hadn’t been for her new friend taking up all the space behind her cabin. Posey was declared a hero for her noble sacrifice in taking the dragon in. ----------- With her story complete Trixie was met with cheers and applause all round. Wow, they’re impressed easily around these parts, Trixie thought as she headed for the curtain to bring Fluttershy to join in the excitement. Bits were being thrown up onto the stage, so Trixie caught some in her hat. Her finale fireworks were going off all over the stage. The night finally died down and many returned to their homes. Braeburn had offered them a place at the inn to spend the night, as the finishing touches were still being made to Trixie’s new carriage. The pair chatted in the inn’s hall about the success of the show. “I loved your performance Trixie, it was beautiful! I was mesmerised the whole time,” Fluttershy congratulated her friend. “While the Great and Powerful Trixie was indeed great, you should not take away from yourself Fluttershy - you inspired the story in the first place and you faced the crowd rather well for your first time. I’m proud to have you as my assistant.” “Really?” “Yes! Now come on, let’s get some shut eye,” Trixie said as she opened the door to their room. Inside however they found only one bed, which left the two blushing and looking awkwardly at each other. Thanks to Starfall for proofreading