Ever since Jon first started interviewing ponies from Equestria there was one individual who had always been his biggest asset. Princess Celestia.
From approaching Jon with the list of ponies names to teleporting both himself and guests to and from New York, Celestia was always the one person (or pony) he could rely on when it came to "Equestrian Interviews." That is until the night Jon requested something that even she would not help him with.
Jon had interviewed Twilight Sparkle not a couple hours ago and already he was conducting further business. Locked in his study away from the prying eyes of his family Jon had called Celestia to make a request...a request that she did not take to hearing very well.
"And you're sure you can't think of anyone?" Jon pleaded.
"I'm sorry Jon," Celestia answered with a sigh. "But I'm afraid I can't help you this time. What you are asking just sounds so...distasteful."
"Yeah I know," He responded. "But that's just how it works around here."
"Well if that's the case then I must commend you on being able to acclimate yourself to such standards within your profession," she continued. "But here in Equestria everypony is unique and deserving of the same praise as anypony else."
"I suppose you're right." Jon said, as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry if I upset you."
"That's quite alright Jon. I bear no ill will." Celestia responded in a soothing manner, like a mother to a child. "You are more than welcome to continue with this idea though I'm afraid all I can do is send somepony to you. Nothing more."
"I understand," He said. "If I make a decision on who I want for this project I'll call you back tonight, ok?"
"Of course Jon. Good luck!" Celestia said. "Say 'hi' to Tracey and the kids for me."
"Will do." Jon said with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his tired eyes. "Oh and Celestia let me just say it never ceases to amaze me at how much of a kind and loving person you are."
"Why thank you Jon." She responded humbly.
"...There's no way in hell you'd ever make it in show business." He added. Celestia responded with a slight laugh.
"I'll take that as a compliment." She said. The two said their goodbyes and hung up, leaving Jon alone in his study with only the the occasional gust of wind providing any sound.
"I definitely could have phrased that question better." Jon thought to himself as he ran his fingers through his aging hair.
After his vacation to Ponyville and meeting Twilight Sparkle, some changes occurred in Jon's normal routine. For one he had been more cautious about work and who he chose to appear on his show.
Jon previewed Twilight's appearance for days in both his world and Equestria. As as as result her segment was the highest rated Equestrian Interview to date. However at the last second she almost cancelled leaving Jon without a guest for the night.
Ordinarily this wouldn't have been too much of a problem as Jon usually had a backup plan for these kinds of things; however with Twilight it would have been different. If she hadn't shown up the fans wouldn't have gotten their daily dose of pony like Jon had promised. This would have been devastating for the show.
To combat this possible scenario from ever happening again Jon had sent (through Celestia) more letters to Equestrian citizens, requesting their appearance at a later date. This way Jon would have multiple people willing to appear instead of just having one at a time. Thereby making scheduling that much simpler.
Another one of Jon's plans in making sure his show ran smoothly was having a pony come by the studio and do an interview off-the-air and save it for later as a back up recoriding in case a guest couldn't make it for whatever reason. The act of taping an interview with the sole invention of never playing it unless there was an emergency was a very common practice in show business and has proven to work before in the past.
One incident that came to mind was when Jon had the opportunity to interview a high-ranking senator who on the day of his interview had to fly back to Washington D.C. to cast his vote on an important piece of legislation. At the time Jon had some footage of an unused interview that he used as a placeholder and eventually got to have the senator on his show a few days late, so all as well.
This rarely happened but Jon didn't want to take any chances. Especially with "Equestrian interviews" because had this happened with Twilight he would be in serious trouble due to the fact that he didn't have access to any back up pony interviews. Only human ones.
So with his heart in the right place Jon called Celestia with an idea that, though efficient, had her feeling somewhat flustered. What Jon had proposed to her was a pony coming over very early the next morning to do an off-the-air taping of an interview. Though in his haste to cover his bases Jon had accidentally used the phrase "uninteresting" in describing anyone she knew for the job.
Getting someone to appear for an interview was simple business. You get the famous people to appear live on prime time to bring in the ratings and you get the nobodies to appear as backup footage to be used as a filler for the next famous person. To Jon it was business, but to Celestia it was foul.
Although she had some disagreements in what Jon was proposing she understood the importance of having a 'plan B.' But asking her if she knew anyone who wasn't interesting enough to go on a live showing was too much.
She still allowed Jon to have someone come on his show for this off-the-air taping but it was still her position that everyone in Ponyville was equally important. So to that end the task of coming up with a guest for the project was entirely up to Jon.
"Yeah...I really could have phrased the question better." Jon thought, as he slumped his tired head on the palm of his hand to keep him up. Jon would spend the next hour or so thinking to himself as he poured over the list of names belonging to a different pony.
The next thing to cross of his "to do list" was find someone bland enough to appear tomorrow morning. This proved to be harder than he thought.
Captain of the Wonderbolts
Fashion Photographer
Spa Owners
Successful business owners
Doctors
Butchers
Bakers
Candlestick Makers
All these ponies were interesting enough to merit their own real interview and just the fact that they were all talking animals in itself meant burying one for the sake of filler would be a grave injustice...and yet it had to be done.
Great guests aside the process of asking someone too do an off-the-air taping was always an awkward one. By asking someone to do so is basically saying to them:
"Hey buddy, guess what? You're no where near interesting or likeable enough to appear on TV for real so howsabout we record your no-talent-as just in case we need to kill time for someone who is?"
Jon sat up in his chair and shook his head to try and stay awake.
"At this point it could be anyone." Jon thought with a tired sigh. Almost on cue a flash of light momentarily distracted him from his critical thinking. The light illuminated from a burst of emerald green fire, which came and went within a matter of seconds leaving behind only a faint smell and a bundle of sealed envelopes.
"Oh great," Jon said with a yawn. "More mail."
Another change in Jon's routine as a result of his vacation in Equestria was the chance to have a direct mail service between himself and his other worldly fans. Before leaving Ponyville Jon had set up a system where any fan mail from Equestria would be sent to Twilight's house whereupon it would be finally transported to Jon via Spike. It wasn't the best mailing system but it meant that for the first time ponies in Equestria (many of whom believed Jon to be not real) now had the chance to voice their opinions to Jon. And voice them they did...many times a day.
Had this been a month or two ago Jon would have been utterly shocked by the sudden appearance of anything through the medium of fire, but it had been happening so regularly for the pass couple of days that Jon could practically set his watch to it.
Jon grabbed his new bundle of letters and skimmed through them one by one just to get a quick idea of what they were regarding. He was almost half way through the collection of letters before gently tossing them back on his desk; he was going to read them all later but in the meantime it looked to be a normal assortment of what to expect. Requests to have someone on the show, requests to have the sender on the show, ideas to make the show better, and general questions.
With deep breath Jon sat back in his chair and continued to think about what his next move was going to be. He closed it eyes and could feel himself gently floating away when something jolted him from his near slumber. Another small flash of light...only this one was somewhat different
He looked forward at his desk but no new letter could be found. In addition the flash of light was very faint compared to what he usually witnessed and the faint smell of smoke was absent. Jon wondered if he had merely dreamt whatever it was he thought he saw. In response to this he rubbed his hands over his face.
Bzzzt
This time Jon knew he wasn't dreaming because in addition to seeing the same faint flash of light he also heard something. Jon scooted closer to his desk, again no new letters. He leaned forward so to see if he could catch whatever it was that was causing the commotion.
Suddenly it happened again.
Bzzzzzzt
A little surge electricity appeared in front of him. Somewhat surprised Jon's first instinct was to check the wiring around his desk to see if there was a broken cable or something of that nature. Though this was somewhat pointless as the electrical shock appeared no where near any wiring. Almost as if it was in mid-air.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt
It returned again. Time time it appeared much quicker and brighter than before. Louder too.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT
Now the surge of electricity was starting to get bigger and more violent. Jon was about to get up call someone who would know a thing or two about electrical currents when all at once a burst of light and energy sent him flying back with great force. Fortunately for Jon his desk chair caught him before he could fall, but the papers and other trinkets on his desk however were not so lucky as most of them scattered all over the ground.
Jon opened his eyes to see a cloud of smoke atop his desk. He didn't panic though because even through it's thick smog he could tell there was no fire; just smoke. In addition the smoke in question was not what Jon would call normal. Instead of being a black haze it was actually purple and blue.
Jon covered his mouth and used his free hand to wave the think mist away. He couldn't see much but he could just barely make out a lone figure standing on his desk. Who ever it was Jon could tell it was female based on the tone of her voice as he coughed and gestured off the cloud of smoke herself.
Even though he couldn't see what the person looked like through the slowly dissipating smoke there was one thing he did know for sure. Based on the silhouette of this mysterious stranger Jon could infer that it was a pony.
Eventually the colorful gas evaporated revealing both Jon's messy desk and a dark neon blue Unicorn. Her mane was comprised of light streaks of blue almost to the point that it looked white, and her cutie mark was not visible as it was covered by a cape held together by a diamond.
In fact, aside from maybe a hat or collar, this had been the first time Jon had seen a pony wear much clothing at all. Most of her body was covered by a purple cape and atop her head was a wizard's hat, both of which were purple and adorned with blue and yellow stars. Whoever this pony was she certainly seemed colorful.
With the smoke now gone, and any sense of danger along with it, Jon slowly approached the Unicorn to get a better look. It was then that he noticed that she looked as if she would fall over at any moment. Her legs wobbled strenuously and her breathing was heavy like she had just emerged from underwater.
"Is she injured?" Jon thought to himself. "I better see if she's ok."
Although his study was now a mess Jon felt it was only right to see if she needed assistance. He quickly walked over to his desk to tend to his invasive guest.
"Are you alright?" Jon asked, extending his hand to help get her down. "Do you need-"
Before Jon could offer even the smallest of assistance the blue Unicorn slapped his hand away.
"Do not touch Trixie!" She said. "I can handle myself!"
Jon recoiled at the sudden rudeness that seemed to have sprung from no where. He noted that it would seem she was talking in the third person; by that he gathered that her name was 'Trixie.'
"Um, Who...are you?" Jon asked.
"Who I am is not important." Trixie said. "What is however is my present location."
She began to look around in all directions as a smile slowly crept upon her face.
"Tell me human," she said with a smug tone. "Is this place...New York."
"Uh...yes, yes it is." He answered. "Manhattan to be exact."
"Excellent! Then the spell was a success!" Trixie exclaimed, wiping some loose particles from her attire. "Oh and forget what I said before...about who I am being not important because in actuality, it is. Brace yourself human for you are looking at the one...the only...THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"
Jon watched as Trixie flung her hooves in the air as if she had just won the lottery. She stood there in her pose for a good couple of seconds as if she was awaiting for an audience to cheer for her or to be doused by a shower of confetti.
"I'm sorry but...I'm afraid I've never heard of you." Jon said trying his hardest to tread lightly. This sudden news did not set well with Trixie, who just threw her nose in the hair in a manner that suggested she was better than Jon.
"Hmph! Well I suppose I shouldn't expect you to." She responded. "After all, only the most important ponies have ever heard of me. And I'm pretty sure none of them live here in...New York." She made sure to say 'New York' in the same fashion someone would explain a root canal.
Jon still couldn't see Trixie's cutie mark though with all the boasting she was doing he wouldn't be surprised if it was a picture of Kanye West's face.
"Speaking of which," she added. "Since this is New York I'm assuming you are the one they call 'Don Drewart?'"
"It's 'Jon Stewart.'" He answered, now sounding slightly annoyed.
"It does not matter what your name is," Trixie replied. "Just so long as you are who I think you are."
"Aaaand who do you think I am exactly?" Jon asked. This time it was Trixie who looked annoyed.
"If you are indeed the one called 'Jon Stewart' then you are the owner of that...show everyone seems to love so much." She responded.
"I'm guessing you mean 'The Daily Show.'" Jon shot back.
"Yes, yes that's the one." She said as she hopped off of Jon's desk onto the floor. Her graceful leap was met however with a thud as she crashed to the ground due to her weak legs; she slowly tried standing up which proved to be a challenge. For whatever reason she looked absolutely exhausted.
"Are you alright?" Jon asked, once again running over to help her up.
"Trixie is fine!" She shot back, once again refusing his assistance.
"Uh huh...sure you are," Jon said, standing back to give her some room. "Then well me...Trixie...why on earth does it look like you just went ten rounds with Big Macintosh?" Trixie, now focused on getting back on all fours, gave a somewhat straight answer for once.
"Well if you must know...getting here proved a bit more difficult than expected." She answered. "But in the end it was nothing the Great and Powerful Trixie couldn't handle!"
Seeing as how she looked as if she would faint at any moment Jon offered her a seat on his comfy chair. Instead of taking it however she began to walk around Jon's study, pulling out the occasion book or looking at a picture. Jon decided to do the same only he preferred to pick up the fallen letters and documents that had scattered upon Trixie's arrival and place them neatly back on his desk.
"Why are you here?" Jon asked as he picked up piles of papers.
"Isn't it obvious? Or are all humans has oblivious as you?" Trixie asked. Jon showed no signs of frustration; as a comedian in New York he's heard worse. "Trixie is here because she demands that you have her on your show!"
"I'm sorry?" He said, shaking his head in disbelief. "'Demand?'"
"Yes...'Demand,'" She responded. "It means to ask with authority. Try to keep up Stewart."
Jon stopped picking up his belongings to marvel at his present situation. He was at a loss for words; all he could do was give a confused laugh. Throughout his years in the entertainment business he'd met some pretty narcissistic characters but this one took the cake.
Part of what was catching Jon off guard was the fact that in his travels to Equestria, for the most part, every pony there was polite and respectful; almost as if their world took place in a kid's show. But this Trixie just seemed like she didn't belong there at all. She was rude, arrogant, entitled, and had a huge chip on her shoulder...she was more of a New Yorker than Jon.
"Well I...let's say, appreciate your offer Trixie," Jon said, putting a stack of envelopes on his desk. "But you see-"
"That's Great and Powerful Trixie, Stewart!" She interrupted.
Jon rolled his eyes, wondering if he still had that muzzle from when he first got his dog.
"...Noted." Jon said as he rubbed his hand across his face. "As I was saying I appreciate your offer but I already have a schedule in mind, and as you can see I already have a lot of people trying to get on the show as it is." To demonstrate this Jon motioned to the stacks of fan mail he had been getting since his visit.
Almost as if it was planned to happen a burst of green flame caught the attention of both Jon and Trixie before disappearing and leaving behind a new bundle of letters.
"See what I mean?" Jon asked, giving his rude guest a slight shrug.
Trixie stopped her exploration of Jon's study and made her way to his desk. In one smooth motion she stood on her hind legs and put her front hooves on his desk for balance. She examined the various piles of letters before giving a very audible "Ha-rumph!" With a single swipe of her hoof she sent a nearby pile tumbling back onto the ground.
"Do not compare me with these untalented ponies," she said as he tried to get back onto Jon's desk. This time he didn't lend her a helping hand. "Tell me Stewart, if these other ponies want to appear on your show so badly why are they not here?"
At this point Jon's sense of annoyance was slowly giving way to a sense of curiosity. As insufferable as Trixie was he was curious as to where she was going with this line of questioning.
"Well...I'm assuming there probably home right now." Jon answered. "But if you're asking why they're not here in my house making a mess it's because-"
"It's because they lack tenacity and the drive that I, the Great and Powerful Trixie possess!" She interrupted with a loud tone as if she wanted the whole world to hear.
Within the layers of arrogance that surround her previous statement was a kernel of truth. While others have wanted to appear in the show this was the first time someone from Equestria actually physically approached Jon instead of the other way around...and in his own home no less.
"To make it big as an entertainer one must have determination!" Trixie continued. "Isn't that rule number one for people like you Stewart?"
"And what would you know about the entertainment industry?" Jon asked.
"Well...if anypony here would be of some kind of authoritative figure on that matter I suppooose it would be you." She begrudgingly admitted. "But you know I'm right. I believe you humans have a term for it...now what was it?"
"Moxy?" Jon interjected.
"Yes that's it," She said as she flipped her hair. "You'd be a fool to squander your guest slot of anypony but me!" As annoyed by her as he was Jon had to admit that she was very determined...but then again the same could be said for a crazed stalker.
"Alright I'll hear you out." Jon said as he fell back in his chair. At this level, much to her delight, Trixie was now looking down on Jon. "Trixie...why do you feel the need to appear on my show?"
"Once again Stewart it's THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" She said as she raised her hooves in the air. "And I'm afraid you have it the other way around...it is not I who needs to be on your show but it is you who needs me to appear on your show."
"Oh do I know?" Jon asked as he cupped his chin with his hand. "Well then enlighten me...why do I need you on the Daily Show?"
"Again the answer is obvious!" She said her tone now more smug than ever. "You need interesting ponies for your show. Up until know your roster as been a cavalcade of mediocrity but with me on your show your viewership will increase ten folds!"
Jon leaned back in his chair, impressed by Trixie...impressed at how egotistical she was.
"Furthermore it has come to my attention you have yet to have a skilled magic user on your program," she continued. "As a proud Unicorn I can not allow my kind to go unnoticed!" Jon thought about what she said, and how wrong she was.
"I'm afraid your mistaken oh Great and Powerful Trixie," Jon said. "We've already had a Unicorn on our program before...very recently as a matter of fact she was really good. Her name is Twilight Sparkle."
The utterance of Twilight's name seemed to have resonated with Trixie.
"Yes I am fully aware that you recently interviewed...Twilight Sparkle." She said, pausing as if she had to get a bad taste out of her mouth. "And I still stand by my previous claims. Trust me when say Ms. Sparkle is nothing compared to me...THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"
This time Trixie stood in a posed position for a longer duration than usual as if to act as her own exclamation point. Jon had heard enough, all he wanted to do was get rid of her. In that moment Jon had hatched a plan but for it to work he needed to tell a little fib first.
"Alright." Jon said. "I'll do it...I'll have you on my show."
"Hm hm, a wise choice, Stewart." Trixie said. "Perhaps you aren't daft as I thought you were."
"Right back at ya." Jon said under his breath.
"Come tomorrow I'll show you and the rest of the world what real magic is." She said. "Now then in the mean time I shall require a room of my own to stay in, as well as transportation to your show in the morning."
"Wait what!" Jon exclaimed. "Didn't you think of that stuff before coming here?" There was actually a lot of things she didn't think of before coming to his world.
"Well excuse me Stewart but I was under the assumption that I am now your guest." Trixie shot back. "And as such I believe I am entitled to a little thing called 'hospitality.'" Jon smacked his palm against his face in frustration.
"Down the hall, first door on your right." He said. "That's our guest bedroom. It's all we have."
"It'll have to do." She said, making her way to the door. "Please do not disturb me for the rest of the evening I must prepare for tomorrow."
As soon as Trixie left the room Jon got up from his seat to make sure is she was really gone. He peaked into the hallway and just barely missed her flank disappearing in the free bedroom. Now that he was alone once more Jon took out his cellphone and began to dial Celestia's number, hopefully she could use her magic to teleport Trixie out of his house.
But just as Jon was about to press dial on his phone a thought occurred...he still needed someone from Equestria to do an off-the-air taping of an interview. The only problem that Jon had with this idea was he didn't particularly enjoy the thought of asking someone to act as filler...but perhaps the answer was now in front of him, or rather a few rooms away.
There are only two ways for someone to be eligible for being used as a backup piece: 1) They're not famous enough or 2) they're not likable enough. And to Jon, Trixie certainly filled one of those criteria.
Jon thought that the act of having Trixie appear as a filler interview was somewhat mean. Especially since he had no intention of telling her that that was the case. But in the end he justified it to himself with the following reasoning.
"It couldn't happen to a nicer pony." Jon thought as he put his phone away. He turned off the light in his study and made his way to bed, ready for a well deserved sleep.
Looking back Jon realized he was very close to having Princess Celestia take Trixie back to Equestria that day...with hindsight Jon knew he made the right choice by keeping her.