//------------------------------// // Ch. 5 Empezamos (We begin) // Story: The Great and Powerful ... Walter? // by Westphalian_Musketeer //------------------------------// The next day my mother drove me to the bus station. On such short notice it was the best arrangement that could be made to get me to New York. I had packed my bags and given my sister and dad one last farewell before getting in the family sedan. Buckling myself into the car with my new body was interesting to say the least. I must have slid out of the seat belt five times on the way to the bus station. I hopped out of the car eagerly when we arrived. My mother opened up the trunk and pulled out my suitcase. Grasping the handle with my magic, I dragged the relative monstrosity behind me, it was essentially taller than I was when placed in an upright position. Reaching the automated doors to the bus terminal I turned around and waved goodbye to my mother and called out, “Don’t worry Walt- I will be back soon!” I walked inside and glanced around, trying to find the ticket sales booth. It was difficult given my diminutive stature but after a few moments I finally glanced the booth through the proverbial forest of legs. I made my way to the booth and reared up on my hind hooves, setting my fore hooves on the desk. In front of me was a middle-aged, wrinkly, woman with her red hair coiled into a bun. She also had a mole on each of her temples, like the big ones with hairs coming out of them. At least they were symmetrical. She looked at me up and down and then finally spoke, “New York I presume?” “Yes please,” I answered. She punched in a few numbers in the the terminal and then sighed, “$69.50, will that be cash, debit or credit?” I opened up a compartment of my suitcase and levitated out my wallet. “Credit,” I answered, and the woman took the piece of plastic in her hand. “All credit and debit card transactions require photo ID.” She extended her hand out. I floated out my drivers license and handed it over to it. She gave it a onceover and then spoke, “I’m afraid that your picture doesn’t match up.” I rolled my eyes. “Really? I hadn’t noticed, maybe that has something to do with my having been turned into a pony recently, isn’t the point to get an address or something?” “I’m afraid I can’t accept it... company policy, would you like to pay with cash?” I opened up my wallet and looked at the contents, twenty, thirty, fourty, fifty, damn. I only had fifty-one dollars and sixty cents. “Hehe, where’s the ATM?” I asked. The woman extended a baggy arm past my shoulder. “Ah, thank you.” “Have a nice day.” I walked over to the ATM and used it to withdraw fifty more dollars. I turned around just in time to see the ticket lady walking away from the desk. I trotted over and called out, “Excuse me miss?” “Coffee break,” she said morosely. “This is ridiculous!” I shouted, “First you refuse to accept Trixie’s credit card! Then you have the audacity to go on break just as she is about to purchase a ticket! Now I demand you service Trixie at once or I shall be force to—!” “Any customer who threatens an employee is liable to litigation.” The woman stared at me. “This is a moral outrage! The Great and Powerful Trixie demands to see your manager, simpleton!” I was now stomping my hooves about. “Your license said you were named Walter.” The red-haired woman took a sip of her coffee. “Ugh! Fine, you insufferable knave! I will find your manager, and when I do I will inform that simple-minded, gas-filled—!” “Can I help you ‘mam?” a male voice behind me sounded. I turned around and there was the manager, he even had a name tag that had ‘manager’ written on it. “This clerk refuses to sell The Great and Powerful Trixie a bus ticket to New York! I demand that the sale be made now! I have to get to new york to figure out just what in Tartarus is going on.” I panted, my rage being spent. It was dawning on me that I had just referred to myself multiple times as Trixie. I looked at the manager to see what he was going to do after my rather in-character outburst. He walked up to the clerk counter and told her, “Don’t sell her a ticket, I don’t want customers being repelled by that blowhard of a pony.” “What?!” I screamed. “How could you dare refuse to sell me a ticket?” “Econo-Bus maintains the right to refuse service to anyone, and that includes ponies, besides, if you’re Trixie then you’d probably get my busses crushed by some giant monster.” The manager grabbed my bag and pushed it towards me. “Out.” “Wait? You’re a brony? You know who I am, or, rather what body I’m occupying? Surely you can sympathize with my situation?” I kneeled before him. Getting angry hadn’t worked, now maybe groveling would. “Nope, my son is, useless wastrel. Now please leave ‘mam.” He pointed to the door and I grabbed my bag, sighing as I made my way out. Outside I heard someone yelling, “What do you mean you can’t afford the gas? I have to get to New York so I can get out of this freaking body! Orange isn’t even my favorite color!” I looked over and saw a thin, lanky, orange unicorn colt and on his flank was a... no, nonononono not that idiot. “I told you, I used the last twenty bucks back in Austin! I’d still have money if you hadn’t insisted we go through every damn toll booth just to save time!” the man next to Snails responded. “Dang it well... wait is that?” Snails looked at me and our eyes met. His eyes immediately lit up. “Trixie!” he yelled, and the orange colt was galloping towards me. Before he reached me however, he tripped and did a somersault towards me, landing at my hooves. “Thank goodness you’re here Trixie! You can help us right?” “It’s rude to ask for help without introducing yourself, and I am called Walter, not Trixie, even if I do use the name myself sometimes.” I looked down at the colt and he was... staring at me. A shiver of slight disgust ran up my spine. The man who was accompanying Snails walked up to me and spoke, “I apologize for my brother, he goes a little crazy about anything to do with My Little Pony, especially, well, you.” He extended his hand towards me, it was tanned like the rest of his body, and he gave a broad smile. “It’s okay, I simply wish he was more restrained,” I said, letting him grasp a hoof and shake it. “Did I hear correctly that you are both heading for New York?” “Yes, but, oh where are my manners? I am Enrique, and this is my brother Pablo. As I was saying, we are trying to head for New York, but we’re low on gas and money, our mother kept calling to make sure I was feeding him alright, ‘your brother’s skin and bones again! Don’t let him starve!’” He shook his head. “Between meals and the price of gas, and the fact that my dad had borrowed my debit card, we barely made it here.” “Well, I am trying to get to New York myself, money isn’t an issue, I just need someone to drive me.” “Dice sí!” Pablo yelled. “Hush brother,” Enrique said before turning back to me. “I think this is an acceptable arrangement.” “Thank you, let’s find a gas station,” I answered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Snails drooling slightly. “What?” I asked with a tone of irritation. “Me encanta!” Enrique and I sighed and shook our heads simultaneously. “It’s going to be a long trip.”