“FIRED! YOU’RE FIRED! That’s what I’ll say to her the minute…no the second…no…the moment I lay eyes on her. If that filly can think I am gonna put up with any more of her shenanigans…” Donut Joe mumbled to himself as he trotted toward his shop. Every so often he would stop to half mumble and half shout, “I don’t have to put up with THIS!” as he stamped his hoof into the street. Joe had been so focused on his own thoughts he had not realized that he had passed his own shop by a block. He smacked his hoof across his face and trotted back to the way he had come to his shop. What he saw caused him to stop in his tracks only a few feet from the door.
The ‘Sorry! We are Closed’ sign that hung behind the glass door ignited the last of his anger. He grabbed his hat between his hooves and tossed it to the ground where he repeatedly trounced it into the cobblestones. “Ok! Fine! I may have been holdin’ out a LITTLE hope that SHE would be here but fine I see how it is! I see how SHE wants it! If SHE wants to perform on the street then SHE can do that full time! Joe you are not goin’ to give HER a second chance! No, no, no! Stop thinkin’ it! Put your hoof down and act like a business pony! GRAAAAAAGH!”
His last words of rage roared out as he chewed on his hat in frustration.
“Huh…” he coughed and planted his mangled hat back on his head before he looked around the empty street. Now that he could focus on something other than Trixie, he realized that in his entire journey from his apartment to his shop he had not seen a single pony. The streets had only echoed with the sounds of rants, the clop of his hooves, and the occasional thunder from the strange pink clouds that covered the sky over Canterlot. “Right about now is the lunch rush. This street should be packed. Where is everypony?”
Of course, no sooner had those words escaped his mouth he spied three pony shapes as they scrambled around a corner and down the street toward him. Joe’s eyes narrowed as the three ponies trotted closer for their lives as he saw that only two of the ponies were actually running toward him. One a young colt that looked incredibly filthy and the other a mint green colored mare that he knew as Lyra from her street performances. The third pony was saddled on the back of Lyra and occasionally smacked the plot of her mount as she egged Lyra beneath her to go faster. That Lyra did not seem to mind was a tad odd to Joe’s mind. Donut Joe easily recognized the rider and the sight of her caused him to suck in as much air as his lungs could hold before he shouted the mare’s name loud enough to be heard across Canterlot.
“TRRRRRIIXIIIEEEEE!”
Lyra halted in her tracks the moment Joe’s shout blasted into her, unable to hold onto her steed, Trixie was catapulted over the mare and onto the ground in front of Joe. Sprawled out in front of him as she was Joe resisted the urge to blush and averted his eyes but he still faced her down…menacingly. “T-trixie! I h-hate to say this, but I have to say you…are…fir-“
“Not now! Trixie does not have time for your words” Trixie stuffed a hoof into Donut Joe’s mouth and climbed back on her hooves. Her eyes darted back and forth down the street in a panic. “Trixie does not have time for anything but, hiding!”
“What are you talkin’ about? Hidin’ from what? And don’t try and side track-“ Joe’s words were cut off again by Trixie as she shoved both her hooves into his mouth this time.
“What did Trixie just say? We do not have time!”
“Ugh” Joe knocked her hooves from his mouth, “Wash those before you work. Though, I have to say this is just like you Trixie. Never letting me get a word in at-“
“Do you want Trixie to beg? Is that it? Fine! Puuuh-leeease open the door! Pleasepleaseplease! There! Happy? Do you want Trixie to kiss your flank too?”
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind a little kiss on the flank…” Lyra giggled and tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“Umm…you guys…” the young colt beside Lyra and tugged on her mane urgently until Lyra swiveled her head in direction he frantically indicated with his hooves.
“No! I just want you to show me some respect and you know, DO YOUR JOB!” Joe growled and butted heads with Trixie.
“Oh my Princesses...” Lyra cursed with rising panic in her voice. “You two should really-“
“Trixie does do her job when she has a job to do! Trixie cannot help it if Trixie wants to live her dream!” Trixie replied as she pushed back with her own head, eyes narrowed at Joe.
“You guys…”
“Yes you can it’s called havin’ ‘responsibility’!”
“Oh, sticks. They are not going to…”
“Bah. All Trixie does most of the time is sit and wait for customers that never show but, If you would just allow Trixie to perform.”
“I already told you my shop isn’t zoned for firework displays!”
“HEY! NUMBSKULLS! LOOK!”
“WHAAAAT?”
“WHAT IS IT NOW?”
Joe and Trixie turned and shouted at Lyra who un-phased by their display of anger merely grabbed both of their heads and turned them toward down the street. Where a horde of buzzing, purple monstrosities were zipping and zooming through the air toward them. Many of the Screwballs appeared to be wielding rubber chickens which they whirled around their propellers.
This being the first time Joe had seen any of this he recoiled in dumbstruck, horror.
“What the donut hole?!?” Joe gasped.
“Drat. Trixie knew we would be able to get ahead of them while they were distracted at Hard Pun’s Rubber Chicken Emporium, but Trixie did not think it would make them stronger!” Trixie cursed and pointed a hoof toward the oncoming horde of insanity. “Now will you open the door?”
“What? Yes, of course!” Joe’s horn glowed as he wrapped his magic around the store key he kept in his hat and then proceeded to float it into the keyhole. “Wait, what happened to the spare I gave you?”
“Uh…” Trixie rubbed her hooves together and admired the pink clouds with her eyes. “The Great and Powerful Trixie may have…dropped it…when Trixie’s invisibility spell was in effect…Trixie could not see where it went since it was…invisible…and stuff…”
“Trixie what did I-no. Ok, fine. I’ll make a spare or whatever.” Joe shook his head as the door clicked open. “Just, everypony get inside and Trixie you have some explaining to do…”
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Author’s Note:
Huzzah! I’m back. I wanted to make this chapter longer but, I wanted to warm up first and get some editing practice. Get back into the groove of things. I also wanted to name this chapter, “Lunch Rush”. Get it now? Anyway, next chapter is “Happy Hour”.
Oh, and I will be changing the Cover Image fairly soon. I am commissioning Valkyrie-Girl http://valkyrie-girl.deviantart.com/ for a new one.