//------------------------------// // 1.1 - Sign on Delivery // Story: Magic and Confetti // by MrAlterad //------------------------------// It all seemed so perfect. Go on tour. Visit every village and city in Equestria. Spread her Great and Powerful name. Make ponies of all types gape in awe. Nopony in Canterlot seemed fit to mention that there were, in fact, roads not made of stone. Muddy trails were not kind to anypony pulling a wagon. Trixie wiped the sweat from her brow, eyeing her brand new carriage with a mixed sense of pride, and complete loathing. Things would be so much easier if she had somepony to pull it for her. Perhaps an earth pony. A nice, strong stallion. Though, a mare was fine too. Despite the muddy path, the day was quite beautiful. Mockingly so even, as Trixie couldn't help but notice that a number of song birds were perched on the physical anchor of her life. They were singing. She was trudging through the mud, sweaty, tired, dirty, and they were singing. With a spark of her horn, a blue firework flew over the carriage, popping loudly, ending the song as the birds scattered. That carriage was a gift from her teacher. It was her home, her stage, and no woodland critters were going to perform there while she suffered. She then let out an indignant cry as several of the birds chose to share their grievances with her. “Okay okay okay! Trixie is sorry!” she let out, making the birds back off as she gave them an unpleasant look. Any attempt at intimidating them with such a stare was lost to the fact that her mane now had feathers stuck in it. “Look, just, stay off the carriage, you can perch on the straps if you want,” she added, watching as a number of them returned to the trees, making her exhale a long sigh. Vanhoover seemed ever so far away. One good thing came from her muddy situation, time was passing at a brisk pace. And it only came at the price of her stamina, composure, and feminine charm. Coming around a bend, she saw a break in the trees ahead, seeing the spires of her destination in the distance. It was close, but it felt so far away. Her eyes then shifted towards the path, noticing something that made her eyes narrow for a moment. Was she seeing things? After rubbing her eyes, she scrutinized the road again. There was a small two-wheel cart parked on the left side. It had a single box on it; one that looked needlessly secured by ropes and chains. The cart was leaning over, the left wheel clearly broken. Next to it stood an earth pony stallion, who was bickering with what could only be a pony with the lower body of a snake, a lamia. Between the two, Trixie couldn't decided which was more deserving of her concern. The stallion, well, looked like a thug. Every single aspect of him screamed that he lived a thug life. His black, greased back mane. His dirty, splotchy tan coat. His black jacket. Even the way he talked oozed with a sense that he was no better than a two-bit crook. Trixie then had to resist the urge to facehoof. His cutie mark was an open scroll, with two golden bit-coins printed on it. The lamia wasn't any better. Her light brown mane went down to her shoulders, curling slightly at the end. Her coat was beige, while her scales were dark brown. She was wearing too much make-up, which was quite a shame, since Trixie could make out an attractive mare under that layer of powder. The make-up around her eyes gave her the look of an up-tight individual who laughed maybe once a week, usually at somepony's expense. Trixie didn't know much about lamia. Well, besides the fact that they were snake-like and avoided ponies as best they could. Okay, maybe that was all a pony really needed to know when it concerned the pony-snake hybrids, but seeing such a creature talking with a pony was easily something out of the ordinary. To be clear. The oddly matching couple weren't arguing. They weren't fighting either. They were bickering. Like foals. “I said we should have dropped two bits for a spare wheel!” the lamia retorted. “Funny, coulda sworn ya said we dinna need ah spare wheel!” he replied with a raised eyebrow, practically in her face, “And ya'd be right, if ya didn't go and break the cart!” he added, making her glance to the side. Trixie simply shook her head, pulling her carriage along, hoping they'd pay her no mind as she passed them. “Well, maybe you shouldn't have run over my tail!” “I already said sorry,” he bluntly replied. He then noticed Trixie as she started passing them. She gave him a warm smile. A forced smile, but he didn't know that. After all, he looked like an idiot. “Afternoon,” he said with a casual nod, before looking back to his partner. Okay, a polite idiot. “A-After-?” the lamia replied, before noticing, to her shock, how close behind her Trixie's cart was. “Oh, hello,” she added, eyeing Trixie oddly, making the blue unicorn explicitly aware of the fact that she had feathers in her mane, was sweaty, and covered in mud. She had been so distracted by how odd those two looked, that she'd forgotten to attend to her own mess before letting them notice her. The lamia's eyes followed her for a moment as she continued past, Trixie's face blushing at her sorry state. They were supposed to be the oddballs here, not the showpony covered in filth! Her carriage suddenly lurched, followed by the snapping of wood as the lamia let out a hissy, joyful laugh. “Look Slick. A spare! Lucky~!” she declared energetically, making Trixie stop, her eyes widening as she glanced to the two, seeing the stallion raise a hoof to his forehead, as if her actions had induced a headache. “Sid, that wheel's too big,” he replied flatly. Seeing a part of her livelihood being carried in Sid's tail, Trixie's eyes darkened, the straps that tied her to the carriage coming loose with a passing flicker of her horn. “Uh oh, looks like I upset her.” Sid added with a sly smile, getting an annoyed sigh from her companion. “Look toots, we don't wanna hurt ya,” he began as he walked closer to Trixie, a disinterested look on his face, “The city's not that far. Ya can make it on three wheels, ya understand what I'm sayin'?” Trixie simply raised an eyebrow, as her horn started to glow. ~~~ Everything was perfect. The day was beautiful. Birds were singing, sun was shining, the breeze was cool, the air smelled of grapes and salt, and Trixie got to appreciate every single aspect of it. From the roof of her carriage. Sipping a glass of lemonade, while stretched out on a beach chair, wearing star shaped sunglasses, as the stallion and lamia pulled her cart. Slick was resisting the urge to comb his mane. That would mean stopping the cart. He did not want to do that. There were flower petals sprinkled through it. His jacket was also inside out. Don't ask how, he doesn't even know. And, he was covered in soot. Sid's make-up was running something fierce. She was also covered in soot. There were also lines of running mascara and ash under her eyes, born from the aftermath of Trixie's Great and Powerful display of dominance. It didn't take much persuasion after that to convince the pair that pulling her carriage to Vanhoover was in their best interests. And, not only was she Great and Powerful, Trixie was also Kind and Forgiving, allowing them to place their crate on her cart, instead of leaving it with their broken wagon. “Next time Sid, can ya check before ya go and upset a student of Luna?” “H-How was I suppose to know!?” “Oh I don't know, how 'bout by checkin'!” he retorted, right as the carriage bumped, making Trixie almost spill her lemonade as Sid let out a small cry of pain. The winding motions of a snake didn't sit well when it came to pulling something on wheels. Suffice to say, another bruise would soon be tallied to her tail's count. “Erm, Miss Trixie.” “What is it?” “I got the wagon, can Sid just follow along?” he asked with a flat look, getting small, thankful tears from his companion. “Trixie is fine with this,” she replied, feeling sorry for Sid as her horn glowed. Sid was freed from the straps, making the lamia move to the other side of Slick as Trixie continued to relax. She let out a pleasant sigh, stretching in her beach chair, before eyeing the chained and roped box sharing the roof with her. The box itself was made of metal, and it had a small pair of holes near the top. It looked like a present, waiting to be unwrapped. Now, Trixie knew it wasn't nice to pry into other ponies' things. But, Slick and Sid were not nice ponies. Who knew what kind of cargo they were shipping. Wrapped up like that, it must be important. Eyeing the box curiously, she could almost hear it calling her, begging to be opened. Trixie wasn't one to let a box beg. She adopted an innocent grin as she cast a small spell, creating a transparent, noise canceling bubble over the carriage's roof. She then levitated the box closer as she rubbed her hooves together. It wouldn't hurt just to take a peek, right? Meanwhile, Slick was giving Sid an aggravated look. Mostly because she just used his jacket to wipe away her make-up, imprinting a crying silhouette on it. Before he could voice his disgust, she placed the tip of her tail over his lips, bringing a hoof to her mouth in a hushing motion. She really did look better without make-up, not that Slick would ever admit it. “She got the jump on us,” Sid began in a hushed tone, “One bite from me, and she'll be out for hours. Keep pulling the cart, and I'll get the jump on her,” she said with an energetic grin, making him raise an eyebrow. “Sid. That broad is one of Luna's students. I say we cause no more trouble.” “But, Slick, if the boss finds out...” she said in a whiny tone, making him roll his eyes. “Fine, but don't blame me when ya tail's in a bind,” he replied, getting a small grin from her, and a brief hug, which he took stoically, before her scales started to shift colors. She then looked to the carriage, her scales and coat shifting to better blend in with its look as she approached the side Slick was pulling from. Trixie was really hoping those bindings would put up more of a fight than that. One knot undone, one lock detached, and the chains and rope slipped right off, making her feel a little embarrassed for the naked container. Taking the lid off, she took a brief step back as a small bit of white smoke left the box. It smelled sweet, and made Trixie yawn, but it quickly dispersed. She then rubbed her eyes, shaking her head before taking a peek inside. Her mouth slowly fell open as she took in the sight of a young lamia, sleeping on a padded layer of blankets. She had a light red coat, dirty blond mane, and scales that took hues from both. Between her hooves was a small green salamander doll. Her face scrunched as daylight landed on her face, and as her eyes started to open, Trixie's horn started to tingle. Powerful magic was being awakened in those eyes, giving them a subtle glow. Whatever that spell was, Trixie didn't want to get a taste of it. Her magic shifted gears, the lid being dropped, falling over the side as she enchanted her sunglasses, right before the filly looked at her. The spell her eyes were casting didn't pierce those starry spectacles, making Trixie let out a brief sigh. The lamia blinked at Trixie, her eyes a bright shade of green, and as she became more awake, she became aware of the pony outside the box, making her break eye contact with Trixie as she started to move. Trixie took a step back as the box fell onto its side, the filly slithering out as she quickly hid behind it. She peered around it as Trixie watched, a little confused at the strange turn of events. She then frowned, seeing her beaten chauffeurs in a more sinister light. Seeing Trixie doing nothing hostile, the filly's gaze moved from her to the box. She then glared at her former prison, before whipping her tail around, hitting it soundly, making Trixie watch wide-eyed as it hurtled past her, towards the front of the carriage. It was at this point that Sid's head peered onto the roof, her eyes seeing nothing but box. There was a loud clang, that didn't escape the soundproofing bubble, making Sid fall backwards, landing on Slick's back. “W-Whoa, Sid?” he asked, peering at her, seeing a distant, lost look in her eyes. “The wheels on the cart go round and round~” she mumbled, before passing out, making Slick sigh as he shifted her around on his back. “Ya camouflage don't work too well covered in shmuck,” he pointed out as he shook his head, “Well, at least ya tried.” To Trixie and the filly, it looked as if the box just felt like stopping with a clang as soon as it reached the roof's ledge. It rested there without a care in the world, as the two rooftop dwellers looked to each other. Considering what the filly did to the box, Trixie now understood why it'd been so tightly wrapped. “I want to see mom,” the filly said, glancing to the side with an upset look on her face, pulling her doll and blankets close to her as Trixie considered her. “Uhh, does she look like this?” Trixie asked as she created a small illusion of Sid in the air, making the filly stare at it in surprise for a moment, before shaking her head. “Never seen her before,” she said, eyeing the illusion in wonder as Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Well, what's her name?” She asked as she ended the illusion, getting a very flat look from the filly. “Are you dumb or something? Her name is mom.” “Oh yes, very helpful,” Trixie replied sarcastically, “and is your name daughter?” she asked with a smug smile. “Huh? O-Oh...” she replied, looking like she just tasted something sour. “I, I'm Reina. Can you..." she began, eyeing the forest around them as if it were an alien world, "Can you help me find her?” she asked, about to look Trixie in the eyes, before quickly glancing away, making Trixie tilt her head. She appraised Reina's eyes, before letting out a sigh, pretending to be bothered by her request as her horn glowed. A window on her carriage opened as a pair of gaudier shades levitated out towards her. Her horn shined brighter as she focused on it, making the shades become transparent, altering the frame's shape, and enchanting the spectacles. “The Generous and Heroic Trixie sees no reason why she shouldn't,” she replied, before presenting the glasses to Reina, who eyed them in a moment of confusion. Trixie rolled her eyes, before placing them on the filly. Trixie then took off her own shades, before approaching Reina. The filly didn't know how to respond, so she simply glanced away, before Trixie's magic raised her chin, making her look into the mare's eyes. Their gaze locked for a moment, before Reina blinked. Nothing happened. She brought a hoof to the glasses, her mouth falling open, before her eyes shifted slightly. Now, she was looking, focusing, on Trixie's eyes, and she found herself blushing as Trixie smiled. “Your eyes are pretty,” she mumbled, getting a nod from the mare. “Trixie is well aware, and thanks you for your honesty. And she must say, your eyes are pretty too.” “Mom said I have dad's eyes,” she replied in a disappointed tone, “Is this magic?” she asked as she scooted back, looking down as she carefully took off the glasses, eyeing them as a treasure. “What else is it supposed to be?” Trixie replied proudly. “I don't know,” she replied flatly as she put them back on, before giving Trixie a cross look. “That's why I asked.” “Yes, it's magic,” Trixie replied, giving the thankless filly a cross look of her own. “Mom liked to talk about magic,” Reina mumbled, before glancing to the side. “Thank you, Mrs. Trixie.” “S-Spare the 'Mrs.'.” Trixie replied with a blush. “Now,” she began as she adopted a more sinister look, “let's get some answers...” she added as she peered over the side, looking towards Slick, before blinking in confusion. Why was Sid out cold on his back?