//------------------------------// // Technical problem // Story: Good Vibes // by sunsetsjournal //------------------------------// Chapter 4: "Technical problem" “Okay, Twilight”. A red haired woman said, after examining the youngster's curriculum vitae. “It seems everything you've got here is in order. I must say that you seem a bit overqualified for this job. May I ask you why you decided to come work here of all places?”. “Well, you know...”. The purple girl quickly replied, blushing a bit. “...I am still technically a student, plus I have never had experience in the working field”. “So you decided to apply for this job in order to have some experience?”. “Exactly!”. The young girl exclaimed with a smile. “Seems reasonable”. The red haired woman went on saying in her calm voice. “Still you've got to realize that working here means that you'll have to bear with the terrible summer heat, while stuck in a store”. Hearing those words made Twilight gulp all of a sudden. What her new boss was saying was true: spending time in mall store in the middle of summer did not sound the best of ideas. On the other hand she knew she could not give up and quit: she and her friends had decided to work at the mall for a reason, after all. “Don't worry, Ma'am!”. Twilight answered. “I know what I am signing up for. I can assure you that I will put all of my effort into this job. You'll see I won't complain”. After the youngster had finished speaking, the older woman sighed in disbelief. “I seriously hope you will be different from the others...”. “Others?”. The youngster questioned curiously. “You mean that other people signed up for this job before me?”. “Yes, they did”. “And then they quit?”. “Exactly”. “I don't mean to be invasive or unprofessional...”. Twilight went on saying, eager to satisfy her great curiosity. “... But I would like to know why they decided to do such a thing in the first place”. “Don't worry”. The older woman replied, sighing once more. “What happened, it's no secret and you, as my new employee, have every right to know the truth”. After speaking those words the woman invited Twilight to a table, before nearing a water cooler, placed in one corner of the room. Having filled a plastic cup, the woman turned around and reached the table where her employee was sitting at. After taking a seat, Twilight's boss did not utter a word. For some time she just keep drinking slowly, until, sip after sip, her cup emptied completely. In the meantime the youngster finally got a chance to properly observe her employer. The woman's complexion was not exactly glowing and her skin did not look as smooth as it may have years before. Wrinkles appeared on her forehead and around her eyes which were also surrounded by two heavy dark bags. Her hair was long, straight and looked very well-cared , but their red tint was evidently not natural. On a whole Twilight's new boss had a really distressed looked; the girl was sure she had to be almost in her sixties. Despite all her elegant white dress proved that the woman in question had good taste. “You see, Twilight...”. The youngster's employer suddenly began to speak. “...As you may have noticed, this place's business in not exactly booming”. “Uh?”. Twilight asked confused, while quickly looking around the store with her searching eyes. “What do you mean?”. “C'mon, Twilight!”. The older woman exclaimed annoyed, as if her employee were teasing her. “Do you see anyone around the store?”. After hearing this question, the youngster immediately got spooked and was afraid to answer. But as she saw the expression her boss had put on her face, the girl ultimately decided that silence would only made things worse. “No...”. “Exactly!”. The red haired woman went on saying more loudly than before. “It's been like this for months. After they opened that new tech store in downtown, people stopped coming here. I am not the best with technology, so I thought that hiring teenagers would be a nice idea to lighten up the atmosphere, help rejuvenate the place and attract customers. But, as it turns out, youngsters don't fancy working in a place that's empty most of the time. They need action, stimulation, which I understand, since I, too, have been young. So they quit and leave me by myself every time”. Twilight was surely highly intelligent, but, truth to be told, it did not take a genius like her to understand that with her previous question the girl had touched a delicate spot. So she immediately decided to avoid asking further explanation. “I know what you're probably thinking”. The red haired woman said, despite Twilight being silent. “If I am not too keen on technology, as I said, then why opening a tech store at all? It's a question that many of my former employees asked on their first day”. While she was speaking these words, the older woman could not help but cry, as her sighing grew deeper and deeper; Twilight still motionless next to her. “And the answer to that question is that the reason is personal”. At that moment an anxious silence filled the atmosphere: Twilight's employer had suddenly stopped talking again and was trying to dry her face with a handkerchief, while the young girl was still unsure if saying anything would either be good or not. After filling another cup and quickly gulping the cold water down her throat, the older woman finally spoke. “I need to go do something important. I leave the store to you, Twilight, good luck...”. “Oh...”. She then added right after opening the main door. “... Just to be clear: if you fail to do your best. I'll need to shut this place down”. As soon as her employer had left, Twilight began to feel unusually awkward: a few weeks before, she and her friends had decided to take part-time jobs at the mall in order to raise some money for their trip to the beach, plus that was sure to be a more creative way to spend their time than stay home and twiddle their thumbs during the long summer afternoons. But now she had come to realize that, signing up for a job at the tech shop, had gotten her into a rather delicate matter. Sighing, the girl took another quick look at the shop. To be completely honest, that was not the best tech store she had ever seen: it certainly was not the biggest or the most clean. Dust covered the floor and the various items in stock had been placed on the shelves without following a precise order. “Oh my goodness!”. Twilight exclaimed, witnessing the mess that was lying before her eyes. “How is a client supposed to find what they are looking for in a place like this? Or me for that matter...”. What the poor girl was saying was the honest truth: the entire place was so chaotic that nobody would be able to find anything. It the end it looked like the lack of motivation, showed by the previous employees, and the opening of a new tech store in downtown might had not been the only problems for that place. Luckily Twilight Sparkle was no common girl, but a real master of organization. “Okay, where's my block notes?”. The youngster asked herself, while reflecting on what to do first. “This place really needs some spring cleaning. Hopefully they keep a broom in the supply closet. Next we'll need to organize the merchandise, basing on type, model and function. When everything is done, we'll need to figure out a way to bring here some clients. But for now let's get to cleaning!”. Having left her check list on the counter, Twilight headed to the supply closet, which, as you can easily imagine, was even in worse condition than the rest of the store. For starters, as soon as she tried to turn on the lights, poor Twilight found out that the bulb had gone missing for who knows how much time and had to look for the broom with the help of her phone torch. Soon after, she had to witness one of the most hideous sights of her life: the walls of the room were covered in hundreds of spider webs some of which still had insects attached to them. Twilight herself was fond of animals, even if not as much as her friend Fluttershy, yet if there was something she surely despised, it was tiny, creepy, crawling, hairy creatures. The sight of those horrendous arachnids gave the poor youngster a such a strong fright she had to ran through the closet room, grab the broom as fast as she could and leave, shutting the door behind her back. “I'll have to write a note to remember to ask Fluttershy for help. It's probably best if she handles that situation”. Cleaning up the store was no easy feat: sure it was not very big, yet still the dust and dirt to remove from the floor was a lot. “I wonder how much time passed since the last time the owner had this place cleaned up?”. The young girl said to herself, before starting sweeping. “I don't know”. A voice, coming from behind the youngster's back, suddenly said. “Some years maybe”. “Well that's ridiculous. If that was the case, I am sure that...Hey!”. Twilight exclaimed, recognizing the voice that had spoken just a moment before. “Oh...” the mysterious individual went on speaking. “You didn't hear anything. I am not here”. Ignoring what the voice was saying, the youngster went for her backpack, which she had left on the counter, only to find a big surprise inside. “Hi, Twilight!”. Her little purple canine friend greeted her. “Spike, what are you doing here?!”. The girl exclaimed in a rather loud and annoyed tone. “I thought we had an agreement. You said would remain home this afternoon”. “Oh, c'mon, Twilight!”. Spike quickly replied. “What was I supposed to do the whole afternoon without you...”. “Spike I'm here to work, I really don't have time to...”. Before the youngster could finish her phrase, the dog put on such a frowning expression that even Twilight, despite her mood, could not help but be moved by it. “Oh...”. The girl said, still trying to resist the temptation of hugging her little puppy. “Don't think you can change my mind with your weepy eyes!”. Despite all of her effort in the end the youngster sighed, accepting her emotional defeat. “Okay, okay...”. She exclaimed, covering her eyes, so she would not have to see her dog that was still pretending to be crying. “You won. You can stay here with me”. The moment the young purple girl spoke those words, Spike barked happily and jumped into her arms. “Thanks, Twilight”. He said, smiling like a baby, being hugged by their mom. “I promise I won't bother you at all”. “You'd better keep your word this time!”. Seeing his friend was still mad about the little surprise he had made for her, the dog did the only thing he knew Twilight could not resist. After jumping on the floor, he put on his frowning expression once more, then gently licked the girl's hand. “Oh, Spike...”. The youngster sighed in defeat. “...I get you. Sorry I got mad. I know I promised I would never leave you alone; it's just...”. At that point Twilight did not have the strength to go on with her speech and just stood silent, staring at Spike. The little dog, in his attempt to move her, had in fact brought up a memory the young girl had for good reason decided to bury in the deepest corner of her memory. You, see, dear reader. The bond between Twilight and her little canine friend had been forged a long time before the facts we are talking about and the two friends had to go through a lot of trouble in order to finally be together. The youngster had found Spike, when she was just a kid. The dog had been left in a cardboard box, hidden in the bushes for who knows what reason: Spike was no more than a few days old back then. Twilight herself was on her way to kindergarten; it was a cloudy day, so both she and her mother, who accompanied her, wore a poncho. Suddenly the little girl heard a bark, coming from behind her back and neared the bushes. “Twilight”. Velvet exclaimed, seeing her daughter was trying to get away. “We can't stop and play now or we will be late. Plus soon it will be raining”. Twilight had always been an obedient child, but that morning for the first time she ignored her mother and approached the bushes. As she carefully removed the leaves, blocking her sight, the child found a baby purple dog, hiding in a small box. “Hey little guy”. The innocent girl said, as she laid her eyes on the little animal. “Don't be afraid, come out”. At this point the child took the dog in her arms: he could barely open his small black eyes, his fur was dirty and wet from the rain, his muzzle tinier than a pinkie finger. “Mom, mom!”. Twilight shouted, attempting to attract her mother's attention. “What have you got there, dear?”. Velvet asked, noticing her daughter was holding something in her arms. “Look what I've found, mom. It's a doggie”. “I can see that, Twilight”. Velvet answered, honestly surprised at her daughter's discovery. “He was hiding in a box between the bushes. I think someone abandoned him”. “I see...”. The woman replied, cursing under her breath whoever had been so cruel to leave such a small defenseless animal behind. “Can we keep it, mom?”. Twilight questioned with her sweetest tone of voice. “Honey, I would love to, but I don't know what dad would think about this. You know he's not exactly fond of animals.” “Please, mommy. I promise I will take very good care of him. Just say yes!”. “Hmm...”. Velvet answered, sighing, knowing that starting an argument with her daughter over this was simply a lost cause. “I must admit that he is kind of cute”. As the woman said these things, the small dog turned towards her and began to stare at her with his small, weepy eyes. At that moment Twilight Velvet felt an awkward feeling, growing inside her; something that she had not experienced in a long time. There was something in that dog that conveyed great sadness. Or perhaps it was not the dog at all, perhaps it was her daughter. Twilight's words had reminded Velvet about her childhood, a time of her life that she, as every other adult, had long ago left behind her. Velvet had once wished for a pet, when she was a little girl, yet no matter what she said; her parents would not allow her to have one. “Don't waste your time thinking about that”. Her father and mother used to say. “There's no room for a pet in our house. Besides you can't even go outside alone, because you're too afraid of strangers. How in the world do you expect to be able to take care of a pet?! You're not that mature and responsible, yet”. Those words had remained stuck in Twilight Velvet's mind more than glue on a piece of paper. So, when her little daughter's asked her to keep the little dog, she saw a reflection of herself in her child. In the end she did not manage to say no...She just did not have the courage to be like her parents had been to her. She did not want her Twilight to suffer like she had. “Okay, Twily”. The woman said, giving up. “We can keep him”. As soon as she heard those words, the young girl jumped from joy, then deeply kissed her mother on her cheek. “Okay, young lady. I am glad, too”. Velvet went on, blushing. “But you still need to go kindergarten. In the meantime I'll take our new friend to the vet to make sure he is healthy”. As Twilight handed the dog to her mother, the little animal barked softly, then turned his eyes towards the young girl and licked her hand. Spike could not talk back then, but if he could have, he surely would have said. “Please, don't leave me”. And so the baby purple dog became Twilight's best friend. Truth to be told he was not always the best pet ever. Sometimes he would play in the mud and come back home, leaving a mess behind. Other times he would get sick and give Twilight and her family a lot to worry about: vet, medicines and things of the sort. But in the end it was all worth it: Twilight herself, years after that event, would learn that everything is worth doing for a true friend. “Twilight!”. Spike repeated, trying to make the youngster come to her senses. “Twilight, what's wrong?!”. “Mmm...what?!”. Twilight exclaimed, as if she had been just woken up from a long sleep. “You were daydreaming”. Spike went on saying. “I had to do something to wake you up. You've got work to do after all”. “Right”. The youngster replied, gazing upon the mess she had found in her new shop. “And a whole lot of it!”. “You'd better start then, otherwise you'll never gonna finish in time”. “You're right”. Twilight admitted, clearing her throat. “C'mon then, start!”. The little puppy said anxiously. “Hey...”. Twilight went on, smirking. “...Who said anything about me doing all the job?”. “What do you mean?”. Spike asked, finally understanding that it would have been best for him to just stay home. “Since you were so eager to spend time with me that you decided to disobey, now you get to help me clean up this place”. “But, Twilight, I...”. “No buts, Spike, after all you've asked for this!”. And so it was that poor Spike was forced to spend almost two hours of his time, sweeping the floor with his tail. It sure was hard work, but in the end, he and Twilight managed to make the tech store shine again. The young girl even used her excellent organizing skills to fix the mess on the shelves and organize a better display of the merchandise. “I think we did it, Spike”. “Yeah, it sure was hard, though”. The dog complained. “Oh, stop whining, it wasn't that bad. After all many hands make light work”. “Speak for yourself; I...”. A sudden ringing from Twilight's phone prevented Spike from finishing his phrase. “It's my new boss!”. The young girl exclaimed, checking her phone. “She sent a message, saying a new merchandise shipment has arrived. The carrier left the packages at the mall reception. Let's go get them, Spike!”. The two friends hurried up to the reception to get the packages full of new merchandise for the tech store, yet, as soon as they picked them up, they realized they were the heaviest thing they had ever come across. There was no way they could carry them all the way to the tech store all by themselves. They did ask the receptionist for help, but she was apparently too busy to do such thing, or so she claimed. The two friends were lucky enough to spot a nearby pushcart witch did help them a lot, until one of its wheels detached that is. Turns out, luck really was on their side that day, since Bulk Biceps turned out to be right there in the mall. The young man kindly offered to carry the packages all the way to the shop for Twilight. As soon as they had arrived at their destination, the girl thanked Bulk Biceps for his generous help and the two of them said each other goodbye. Though the young man did not leave just yet. Instead he stopped in front of the shop window to stare at his own reflection and began to brush his light brown...hair? “That looks more like a toupèe to me”. Twilight thought to herself, while watching Bulk Biceps from behind. “A very peculiar toupèe that is...Wait did that thing just raise its head?!” “Turns out that Bulk Biceps' new hair was actually a squirrel that Fluttershy had given him to help the guy hide his baldness”. DJ Pon-3 said, finally finishing her long speech. “Fascinating tale...really”. Rarity answered, looking deep into the other girl's eyes. “But that does not explain why you were so late.” “Oh, right!”. The DJ exclaimed, realizing what she might have said in the first place. “ A bunch of kids whooshed across the road and caused me to fall on my way here. I didn't get hurt, but my computer kinda broke, so I got over to Twilight's store to have it fixed. Then we had a long chat over this, just like the one we are having now, and I lost track of time, sorry.” “It's okay”. The young fashion designer replied, smiling. “I, too, often tend to get carried away during my conversations. Plus you did a terrific job here, so there's no way I could ever be mad at you”. Hearing those things DJ Pon-3 smiled, relieved. “I just wish to ask you one more thing”. The DJ looked at Rarity, confused. “Since, when are you and Twilight so close that you get to hear all of her secrets?!”. As DJ Pon-3 answered her question, Rarity's jaw almost dropped. Who could have ever imagined that those thick, black and definitely fashion-forward sunglasses hid the eyes of a girl who knew everything about everyone at Canterlot High?