"Um ... Can I help you?" the station manager asked me. I stood in the small lobby area for the customers. A tall black desk blocked access to the rest of the station, a door with a combination lock the only entrance. Norm is rather short and I could only see his head above the counter as I was only about three and a half feet tall. Behind the front counter is another door allowing access to employees to provide service to the customers.
"Hey, Norm, it's me, Mike. I got transformed this morning, but I'm here to work," I offered.
He registered shock at the fact I was able to talk to him and he closed the employee door. A moment later, my boss, Dave, showed up at the front counter.
"Norm tells me ... you ... talked to him? Said you ... were ... Mike?" asked Dave, quite hesitantly.
"Hey, Dave. Yeah, I woke up like this early this morning, but I'm here to work. Um, I know it looks pretty strange ..." I said as my words trailed off. Dave's mouth flopped open and closed as he tried to find something to say. He left and fetched Kevin, but he told all my coworkers as well.
"Um, Norm? Are you gonna let me in?" I asked. I received no answer from him. I guessed he was probably in his office or somewhere in the back.
"So what's this I hear about a talking pony?" asked Kevin as he came to the front counter. He gawked at me, then chuckled a little. "Dave tells me you're Mike, is that right?"
"Yeah, Kevin. I came to work, even though I woke up like this," I stated flatly.
"You're not big enough to drive a van -- you don't have an ID, no STA -- you probably don't even have a Social Security number for your new appearance, do you? How are you supposed to work looking like that? No one's gonna take you seriously when you try to get signatures," he said. "Let me put it this way, Mike -- you can't work for us unless you're a human. Doesn't matter what you can do as a pony. If or when you change back, let us know -- we'll keep a place for you."
"So what am I supposed to do now?" I asked, a look of concern on my face.
"I suggest you try to find a new job suited to your talents," he stated flatly. "But please call us back when you've changed back," he chuckled. I turned and trotted back out the front door to go back to my car. All of my co-workers were outside the employee entrance, trying to catch a glimpse of my new form. As I trotted across the parking lot, some of them gave me wolf whistles and shouted crude epithets at me. I tried my best to ignore them as I unlocked my car, hopping in and turning it on.
"Good morning, Twilight. Where are we going today?" came a cheerful voice from the speakers.
"Take me home, TS," I said flatly. "I'm gonna have to find a new job. Do you have any answers?"
"Your concern has been relayed, Twilight. Target destination acquired, preparing to teleport," came the flat sounding voice. The car glowed magenta then disappeared, shocking my co-workers who hadn't been expecting something like that to happen.
"Wow! How did he do THAT?" asked Dave.
"I guess Mike can use magic in that form," mused Kevin.
My other co-workers expressed interest in seeing me again, but I didn't know this until later. The car teleported into the driveway of our house, informing me that the magic battery level was down to 87 per cent. I turned off the car and went back in the house.
"You're back early, Mike," Brenda said quizzically. She was frying up some bacon, having already fixed some pancakes. "Did they fire you?"
"I suppose you could say that," I replied sullenly. "They told me I can't come back until I'm a human again." I wrinkled my nose at the smell of the bacon, something I wasn't accustomed to doing as a human. As a pony, the smell of cooking meat turned my stomach.
"So what are you gonna do now?" she asked, nonchalantly.
"Maybe I could be a paid spokespony for Hasbro," I mused.
"What? What do you mean by that?" she asked, almost in exasperation.
"Well, I AM the only living, breathing, talking example of one of their cartoon creations," I chuckled.
"So how much do you think they'll pay you?" she grinned.
"Depends, I guess. If I show them I can legitimately cast magic, that will probably freak them out," I laughed.
"Won't they expect you to act exactly like their cartoon character?"
"Then I suppose a total immersion into the character of Twilight Sparkle is in order," I stated solemnly.
"What? You mean you have to watch every single episode of that cartoon to get a good idea of how you're supposed to act?" Brenda asked incredulously.
"I guess that's about the size of it," I replied sullenly. "But before I do that, perhaps I should contact them to let them know that I actually exist."
"What if they don't take you seriously?"
"Then I'll teleport to their front office!" I laughed. "But first, can I have a couple of pancakes?"
"Sure, here you go," she said, putting two pancakes on a small plate for me and fetching a knife, fork, and syrup.
I must have been feeling particularly hungry, as I asked for two more pancakes after the first two. Brenda made some more and set them on the plate for me. I had some orange juice to wash it down.
"So how are you going to contact Hasbro?" Brenda asked, almost grinning at the seemingly ludicrous idea.
"I'll see if I can find them on the computer," I stated flatly. I trotted downstairs and turned on the computer. I used my magic to speed up the internet connection, CPU speed and graphics display parameters. I did a quick search for Hasbro and found the necessary contact information. I gave them a call, getting the computer generated menu system. I ended up having to wait about fifteen minutes before I was finally able to get through to an actual human on the other end. I nearly chuckled at the irony, but maintained my composure as I talked to the CSR, explaining my situation.
"Ma'am, we find your claim to be ridiculous. Such a thing is not physically possible," she stated flatly.
"Then tell me where the office is so I can teleport over there and show you I am very real," I responded almost stridently.
She gave me a physical address, which I looked up on a street view map. Satisfied with what I saw, I lit my horn and teleported to the Hasbro corporate office to meet with an executive, or at least somepony who could help me. I was hoping they might hire me and pay me fairly well to be their official spokespony.