//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Manehattan Chew Choo // Story: Changeling See, Changeling D'OH! (Comment-Driven Story) // by Kersey475 //------------------------------// Trixie spits her coffee in your face in shock at this news... Her very HOT coffee... nightmaster0 comment "Is something wrong Ritz?" Trixie asks worriedly after seeing your expression. "Um... Trixie you may want to see this, but you have to try to keep calm." you say as you show Trixie the headline as she drinks her coffee. Suddenly her expression just freezes and her left eye starts twitching like crazy until she lets out a cry that can be heard throughout a third of Equestria; *PFFFT* "MY EYES!" "WHAT THE BUCK?!!! HOW COULD TWILIGHT SPARKLE BE AN ALICORN PRINCESS!?" Trixie screams while clutching the newspaper in both hooves while you're rolling on the floor and clutching your eyes in pain as Trixie just spit her cup of hot coffee in your face in shock at the headline. "THE SUGAR! IT BURRRRNS!!!" "Now how is Trixie suppose to keep up with her? What kind of rival can Trixie be to a princess?" Trixie sadly mumbles to herself. Quickly invoking your healing factor after using your scarf to wipe off the coffee, you then proceed to comfort Trixie, "Don't worry about it. Just because Twilight's a princess now doesn't mean that you aren't still 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'." saying the last part in an imitation of Trixie's own boasting which gets a giggle out of her. "I mean Twilight's a new player in this alicorn game so she's obviously nowhere near Celestia, Luna, or even Cadance's levels yet. Trust me, she has a long way to go." "But just that fact that she's an alicorn now automatically puts her leagues ahead of mere unicorns in terms of raw magical power." Trixie points out. "Pfft" you dismiss, "That doesn't mean alicorn's are invincible. I mean look at King Sombra; The guy was able to hold his own against both Princesses at once in their prime in spite of just being a 'mere unicorn'." Trixie gives you an annoyed 'not helping' glare as you both sit in awkward silence for a few moments. "Okay, bad example." "That's an understatement." Trixie snarks. "But the point is that it IS possible for unicorns to keep up with alicorns. I mean who knows, perhaps one day you'll become an alicorn." "Do you really think so?" "Hey, if Twilight can do it, then surely it shouldn't be a problem for 'THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE'!" You both share a laugh at this Trixie imitation, "Thanks Ritz. I needed that." Trixie says with a slight blush. "I mean what's the worse that could-" BrownDog77 comment Love the Changeling comment ONE "YOU-JUST-HAD-TO-SAY-IT" AND A MONTH AGO "Hold it right there!" "Great." you mutter as you turn to see Twilight coming up to confront you, "What was the idea with all that heckling huh? Did you want Trixie to beat me?" "Hey, I was just playing the part. You won so why does it matter?" "It matters because you were making me angry and intentionally stressing out Trixie into making mistakes. It's like you were playing both of us and not caring which side won." "Hey, I was looking out for the rest of the town. If you lost, I'd still be in her good books and keep the town from becoming a complete dictatorship. If you won, which you did anyway, then everything goes back to normal." She shakes her head, "Even so, that was still a very reckless gamble. Your heckling could have caused the situation to get out of hoof and hurt the town! Were you really looking out for the town, or were just looking out for yoursel-" "Alright alright, I can read the writing on the wall." you angrily interrupt as you take out the Gold Cigarette Case, "Your friends already gave me this spiel a few seconds ago so I know when I'm not wanted." you add as you take out one of your cigarettes for a smoke when suddenly it's telekinetically yanked out of your grasp. "Are you crazy!?" "Hey!" you exclaim in annoyance. "Ponyville is a smoke-free town! Plus studies have shown that they are the leading cause of-" "Hey, Twilight, it's raining." you snark causing her to look up in confusion. "What? It's clear skies. There's no rai-" "Exactly. It's raining to amount of bucks I give!" you exclaim as you grab the cigarette back, "My lungs. My call." you mutter as you light up the cigarette, before finishing it in a long quick drag, and blowing it out in a sizable smoke cube. "Bye." you say curtly as you flick the cigarette butt away and leave the bookworm in shock. BACK TO NOW “Ohhhh... Buck." you say as Twilight becoming a princess actually hits you. I just told off and blew smoke at Equestria's newest princess who now the authority to jail and execute those she hates… A moment of silence passes Well, I now have more reason to avoid Ponyville, the residents hate me, the Elements hate me more, and Twilight can squash a lone changeling with her magi- Your thoughts are interrupted when the waiters arrive with your meals (which barely fits on the table with the quantity you ordered). You start eating as you continue musing your situation. Okay, her and any of her freinds could do that before, but still. It's not like I needed another complication to my continued survival. “Yeaaaahhh… Note to self: NEVER go back to Ponyville.” you mutter as you stuff a tomato-soup-dipped grilled cheese sandwich into your mouth, looking at Trixie eating her fruit salad as you chew, And that's not even counting on the shenanigans that Trixie will drag me into... “Well… it matters not, so what if Sparkle became a princess, Trixie was a Queen. By definition that means I was royally better than she can ever be so ha!” Trixie suddenly rationalizes. “Y-Yeah *gulp*" you add, trying to bring some levity to your thoughts, "I mean she just has... wings now." before stuffing a hoofful of chili cheese fries in your mouth. “Oh pfft, what would Trixie need with wings anyway? Trixie is not keen on leaving the ground thank you very much. Also, Sparkle will have to deal with preening, feathers in her bed, and being unable to sleep on her back now. Either way, Trixie is still better off.” “If you say so Trix.” twis a princess? you must have really been out of the loop, you decide to flip through the news paper to seewhat else, if any, has changed. Erised the ink-moth If Twilight becoming a princess is the headline, who knows how much Equestria's changed while I've been gone. With that you proceed to start reading the newspaper, holding it with your hooves as you use your telekinesis to continuing eating; Princess Luna: Princess of the night, or Mrs. Sandmare?, With evidence gathered by our surveyors across Equestria, it would seem that our beloved Princess of the night, once thought aloof and shut away from us all, has become closer to us all than we ever thought possible! One little pegasus filly from the small town of Ponyville told us her tale. "It was Awesome! I was really scared on a camping trip with my friends and their sisters; I couldn't get any sleep at all. But Princess Luna came into my dream and helped me face my fears! Ten outta ten: best Princess!" Many other young sources have also reported similar incidents. And while skeptics fear this kind of power breeches their privacy, many others are quick to denounce their worries. So for all of you laying restless in bed, rest assured, Princess Luna is there for you. "Oh buck me..." you mutter through a mouthful of fried onion and painfully swallow before thinking, Princess Luna can see into my dreams? Why is she allowed to do that? I mean for buck sake, what if there's something I really don't want her to see?! (Like the fact that I'm a changeling, for instance). Maybe nightmare fuel will keep her at bay. Guess I better double down on the creepypastas and horror movies. You're about to continue reading when you mentally add, Neighponese horror movies. Applewood horror flicks suck! You continue to ponder the implications of Luna's dreamwalking as you move onto the next articles, Wonderbolt Cadet Storms Out An incident during a training session at Wonderbolt Acadamy went horribly awry, and several ponies were put in mortal danger. The perpetrator, (whose name shall not be disclosed) was swiftly expelled from the academy for reckless behavior. We caught her on her way out, and she had this to say: "It's not fair! I worked harder, I was made lead pony, I pushed myself further! It should be me getting into the Wonderbolts! Mark my words, the Wonderbolts haven't heard the last of me! Equestria hasn't heard the last of Lightning Dust!" She then rudely assaulted the reporter when they attempted to question her further. One thing's for sure, this pony is driven, but headed in a very bad direction. She's gonna go far... into a wall. you mentally snark as you drink a bowl of creamy tomato soup like a smoothie. Chaos Reigns In a Whole New Lights, Camera, Action! Discord, Spirit of Chaos, ex-super-villain, and current aspiring movie producer has teamed up with none other than M-night Shamalamadingdong! Together they plan to bring about a revolution in cinema, starting with 'The Last Spellbender 2', which has already received a green light. We interviewed the draconequus, asking why he chose to go into the movie-making business. "When I was reformed by Twilight and her friends, I'll admit I had my doubts. Having friends for the first time in eons is all very nice. But you see... Twilight Sparkle has never been one to allow... unruliness. So I thought I'd never be able to express my special brand of creativity ever again. Then I went to a theater and saw a 'popcorn flick' (as you ponies call it) by some colt named Michael Beigh and I realized that I didn't have to give up chaos in order to keep my new friends, I just had to deliver it in a slightly different way." When asked about the outcry from the fans of the animated series the film was based on, and their thoughts that this movie would be The... Worst... Possible thing, he merely gave a devious smirk and teleported away. The studio was unable to comment at this time as it was currently full of living charts telling everypony what to do. You spew your Roy Rogers all over the current page when you finish reading that. The drink ruins the next article, something about the Crystal Empire hosting the Equestria Games or some-whats, but you don't notice or care as you have more important things to worry about. "How could this be allowed to happen?!" you exclaim, "That's the greatest bucking cartoon of all time and that pretentious idiot bucked up the entire movie in every conceivable way! Buck you M-Night! Buck you Discord!" "Uh Ritz? Are you okay?" Trixie asks in concern. So much has happened while you were gone it's enough to make your head spin. "I need air!" you scream and shove your way to the train compartment door... you read that wrong comment As you sit in an empty seat by an open window and start collecting your thoughts you realize, Wait, Twilight is MILES away from me. Hay at this point I wouldn't be surprised if she though I died. All I need to do is stay out of the spotlight and lie low. Remembering who your traveling companion was, you mentally add, Then again, that showmare will probably do something to get into the spotlight and as her assistant I'll be on the edge of that light. In retrospect, perhaps traveling with a mare who's whole profession is about being noticed probably wasn't the best ide- Wait, how much was all that food I ordered? Back at Dimondia, you were so used to having free meals at the castle that only now do you realize that you ordered from the dining car menu without even looking at the prices. Maybe Trixie could loan me a gem or two so I want have to empty my funds. if not... Suddenly you feel an itch on your chest. Looking down and carefully opening your white dress shirt, you see that the "Medal of Zeal" is still pinned to your chest. "Oh yeah, forgot about you." you comment as you realize that while it hurt like Tartarus initially, now it's more of an annoying itch so you take it off your chest and pin it onto your dress shirt under your suit. If I find a Y.U.M. cart, I can just flash this medal for a discount. you think optimistically. Erised the ink-moth After cooling off from realizing how much you've missed while you were in Diamondia, you decide to head back to the dining cart to finish your meal, but something catches your eye before you do. You spot a mysterious metal bar on a windowsill next to an empty seat. Your curiosity piqued, you approach the object and examine it. The design looks like a pair of reptilian wings coiled around the base of a bluish crystal orb with some bone-like talons on it. Something tells you that this object is the cross-guard from an ancient sword as further evidenced by the work and how it's nicked in several places, but decently heavy for its small size. Upon a closer look, you see a tiny engraving on the crystal, "Lee-Ob." you read it. "Would could 'Lee-Ob' mean? Feh, forget this piece of junk." With that you toss it out the window and turn to go back inside the dining car, but hear a clunk on the metal floor. You turn and see that the cross-guard has mysteriously reappeared, and it's just sitting there... like it's staring at you, waiting for something. You pick it up again and turn it over in your hooves again, not really noticing anything special about it outside of the design. "You're not going to let me get rid of you, are you?" you say blankly to it. The cross-guard just continues to lie there. "Fine I'll take you with me, but if I even think you're corrupting my mind or cursing me, I'm going to find the tallest hottest volcano in Equestria and chuck you straight in, Capiche?" You then realize you're talking to a piece of scrap metal. Good thing noling's around to make fun of you for it. You shove it inside your saddlebags and re-enter the Dining Car. Mysterious Cross-Guard added to Saddlebags. BrownDog77 comment "Sorry bout that. I needed some air." you apologize as you sit back down. “I understand. Anyway, have you ever been to Manehattan before?” Trixie asks “Oh yeah, plenty of times." you say picking up a sandwich, "We always went there. It was a place you could really blend in and not get noticed and one of the most vital cities in Equestria.” you say before realizing how suspicious that sounds. “Oh, you and your family?” Trixie asks, apparently not finding your speech suspicious. “Well… yeah, I guess you could call them my family…” you say. “Oh, I’m sorry, is that a sore subject?” she asks sympathetically. “No, no, nothing like that…” “Oh, well it’s just that you don’t talk much about them or anything. I mean, you’ve told me plenty of your past careers, skills, and things you enjoy, but nothing about them,” she says. You think back on the past month you’ve spent with her. Running Dimondia was hard work, but even during your down time you never told Trixie about "The Organization", only stories about many of your cover jobs. “It’s just that I haven’t seen them in awhile. I mean, I know they’re out there, but I guess I kind of got caught up meeting you and all,” you say. “Oh…” Trixie mumbles as she looks down in contemplation. “But yeah, enough about them, what’s the plan for Manehattan?” She looks up and her face brightens again, “Oh, well first of all, we are going to have to find a cheap but nice place to stay whilst we buy props, and acquire a spot at the hall. Do you know of any affordable places?” “Hmmmmmm…” you say as you think back. YEARS AGO “With all due respect, Sergeant? How come we have to stay in this homeless shelter?” a younger recruit you asked, disguised as a long haired stallion in a tan trench coat and orange and blue beanie. “Because Private, ponies don’t spare a second glance at a homeless beggar. In fact, they actively choose not to. Also, because hotels in this city cost a horn and a leg, these beds are decent and we even get free meals!” “OK… but isn't our assignment supposed to be infiltrating Fence Street and disrupting the Orange concentrate stocks?” you ask. “Exactly, most of these self-centered Fence Street types love to flaunt their wealth at every opportunity. Some of them even go to homeless shelters just to one-up each other in donations. We'll blend right in.” he says pointing to a group of rich looking ponies. “Oh…” "Now remember what I taught you to say Private!" "Yes sir. Ahem, Change! You got change! Aw come on! Help a pony out will ya! Come on, change! I need Bits to see that new Last Spellbender movie! I mean with the struggling auteur behind The Seventh Sense and Stuart Small at the helm, it's sure to be his comeback!" BACK TO NOW "BUCK YOU M-NIGHT SHYMALAMADINGDONG!!!" "What?" Trixie says in shock at your outburst. “Sorry, bad memories. Anyway, I do know of-" you begin before Trixie interrupts, “Any place besides a homeless shelter. Trixie once got dysentery from a batch of bad soup and fleas from the cots so I swore never again,” “…nowhere at all, unless you want to spend all our jewels or can make free pudding appear out of nowher-” *ding* "Ritz, you've given me a great and powerful idea!" Trixie declares before dashing off and calling behind her, "Pay Trixie's bill would you!" Shrugging at her disappearing act, you call to the waiter "Put her order on my bill." before starting on dessert. When you've finished the waiter brings you the bill and your eyes bulge out at what you see; BILL: (With conversions of 1 Equestrian Bit = $2) 6 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Chili Cheese Fries: 18 Bits ($36) 3 Bowls of Creamy Tomato Soup: 6 Bits ($12) 2 Blooming Onions: 7 Bits ($14) 1 Cherry Pie (Whole) a la mode: 6 Bits ($12) 1 Pitcher of Soda: 3 Bits ($6) Coffee: 2 Bits ($4) Fruit Salad: 3 Bits ($6) TOTAL: 45 Bits ($90) 15% Minimum Tip: 7 Bits ($14) "D'OH!" you exclaim before reluctantly paying the steep bill, 2 Bits Remaining The next few days onboard the train to Manehattan have been uneventful for you. Trixie mainly stayed in her wagon on the wagonrack writing down and planning her big Manehattan show and while she did give you a few gems to pay for her meals (which you'd have to bring to her) and beverages, she refused to give you any gems for meals or the arcade car, "Pleeeeease Trix." you beg. "I'm sorry Ritz, but we need these gems for Manehattan. Besides, your stomach needs to learn it's not in Dimondia anymore and you need to eat smaller meals like regular ponies." "...Fine." You notice that you've been putting on some weight, that shouldn't happen unless you were spending alot of time with somepony that genuinely loved you. Wait a minute, Trixie has been kissing you alot. Nah, it's probably you just eating too much. So in order to avoid spending more of your very limited bits you've started eating from your Saddlebags while using the gem Trixie loaned you for beverages (as she made you Pinkie Promise to only use the gem for drinks) -4 Cans of Apple Slices -4 Boxes of Ritz Crackers -4 Jars of Chocolate Peanut Butter -3 Cans of Cream of Potato Soup -8 Chocolate Bars remaining You also remember that nicotine suppresses the appetite so you spent some time each day sneaking to the end of the caboose to smoke outside to help lessen your appetite. -10 Cherry-Vanilla scented/flavored Cigarettes remaining You also attempted to pass the time by reading "The Dao of the River" hoping to find something useful and while you were able to force yourself to decipher and learn about how anger interferes with chi flow and were just starting to learn a new mind-influencing technique when Trixie suddenly interrupts you to give you some plans to look over. Partially learned "Inspire Hate" (short-range technique that makes the target fly into a berserker rage, but requires concentration, keeping the target in sight, and standing still) You also notice that you've been putting on some weight which is odd as that shouldn't happen unless you were spending alot of time with somepony that genuinely loved you. Wait a minute, Trixie has kissed me quite a few times... you ponder in shock. Nah, It's probably you just eating too much. you dismiss before continuing to read a copy of A Confederacy of Dunces that you "borrowed" from a Cajun pony in your sleeping car. (1) Outside of eating, smoking, looking over Trixie's plans, and reading books "borrowed" from other ponies in your sleeping car, you spent most of your time playing solitaire with your 52 Deck of Cards and napping. BrownDog77 comment After finally getting off the train at Manehattan and helping unhook Trixie's wagon you both manage to find a place that was easily affordable and clean; A caravan park. “Cheap, quiet, and I don’t have to sleep in a strange bed,” Trixie comments as she unhitches in the designated spot. You both then both go to Carneighie Hall where Trixie manages to sell the owner and stage director on a grand magic show the likes of David Clopperfield (of course, the chest full of gems also helped alot too). “Hmmm… I suppose a magic show could be a change of pace. And you’re in luck. After The Book of Horsemen moves on with their tour at the end of the week, the stage will be open. Plus this will give us time to advertise the event.” “Really? That is great news!” shrieks Trixie happily. “Yeah, We were originally going to host Spidermane: The Musical again, but after all the mayhem and destruction it caused, we decided to cancel the whole thing.” A spike of horror rams it’s way into your brain. During one of your stealth missions, your unit was told sabotage the original play since the concept of a Bug-Like Superony was offensive to the Queen. (2) Suffice to say the plan went too well, as a few trips, cut ropes, and smashed power lines led to a clusterbuck the likes of which you would not see again until the Canterlot Invasion. And the vomit, oh dear Queen, the vomit! “Are you okay Ritz?” asks Trixie noticing your shaking form. “I’m fine…” you squeakily say. Anyway, after securing the spot, you and Trixie go about gathering supplies for the big night. “Oh my gosh, this is going to be so exciting! Trixie's actually going to be on stage. And not just any stage; Carneighie bucking Hall! Once the Great and Powerful Trixie pulls this off, I will become the most famous pony in Equestria and they will love and remember me forever!” she squeals as she purchases a dozen fancy daggers. “Well of course they’re going to love you Trix, you’re gonna knock them dead,” you say as you purchase paint, plywood, and tools to build sets with but also think, Yeah... If Trixie's plan succeeds, it's gonna be ALOT harder for the assistant of 'The World's Greatest Showmare' to remain unnoticed... “Oh, was there any doubt?” she says jokingly as she purchases plenty of black powder and blasting caps. “This place sure has everything doesn’t it?” you say. “Wally’s Emporium of Hardware and Explosives is a magician’s best friend Ritz,” she says with a smirk. Next, you and Trixie go to a clothing store in order to acquire fabrics and clothing for the event where we now see you looking through straitjackets, "Bright pink... Blind pink... Sequins... Oof!" Suddenly you unwittingly bump into a pale mare with blue hair, and a fancy hat as a cutie mark and make her drop her things. You notice that she is flipping adorable. “Oh, I-I’m sorry,” she says as she starts picking up the clothes. “Oh no, It was my fault, please.” you say as you immediately help her up and start picking up the fabric she was carrying. “Coco, quit playing around and get that fabric over here now!” orders a snooty-looking light pink mare. “Y-yes ma’am,” she says before grabbing the clothes out of your magic grip and scurrying past you. “Huh… what a bitch.” you mumble/snark about the purple mare as you head back to Trixie to see her talking with... a high-ranking, mustached, MPD (3) officer? What's Trixie doing talking to a gorram cop! you think in worry, Better play it cool and dumb to find out more... "Hey Trixie, I found some straitjackets, which one do you need?" you say as you head over to Trixie, pretending not to have noticed the officer. "Oh hi Ritz, my faithful assistant." Trixie rather quickly greets with noted emphasis on the 'faithful assistant' part, "Could you do Trixie a favor and purchase as much pudding as you can while Trixie talks with Chief Stablemaker about security arrangements for the big event?" "Uh... Okay..." you say uncertainly. "Thanks. Oh, and these gems should cover the costs." she says before hoofing you some jewels and pushing you out the door. With a shrug, you leave the clothing store and begin to walk down the street thinking, Huh... Trixie was rather quick on the draw with that request. What if she's on to me? What if she alerted the authorities! What if they have a SWAT team on standby to wail on me with batons as soon as I buy a cigarette! That's it bug! Game over, bug Game ov- "Hooves in the air!" Being Manehattan somepony tries to mug you. The poor stupid bastard... You're snapped out of your panicked thoughts when you realize an earth pony wearing tattered clothes is threatening you with a dagger in his mouth. "Now that I got yer attention, empty the fancy suit before I get impatient. Na' mean?" With a brief look around, you realized that you accidentally wandered into an alleyway and are now being mugged. Now most ponies would be scared out of their minds in a situation like this, but for a trained specialist who has spent ALOT of time watching action movies... Chrysalis, there are SOOOOOOO many references I could make right now... you think gleefully with a malicious smirk hidden beneath your scarf, But since I was playing dumb a few minutes ago. "Are you... robbing me?" you ask with feigned obliviousness, thankful for the scarf hiding your smirk. "Yes!" the mugger responds bluntly. "Ooohhh... Aquila Talon." Quickly jutting your left hoof forward in a hook, your hookblade deploys and jabs the mugger right in the eye causing him to reel back and howl with pain, dropping the knife. You immediately follow up with a Chain Punch, sending a concentrated barrage of strikes onto the side of the Earth Pony's head. This sends the earth pony to the ground, but unfortunately you notice that he's quickly starting to recover from the surprise assault. Buck, I forgot; Earth pony strength! Gotta move fast! Quickly looking around the alley as your mind races, you spot an empty trash can next to the downed mugger. Thinking quickly, you quickly grab it and pull it down onto the mugger's head as he's starting to get back up. Next you immediately pick up the trash can and slam it upside-down onto the mugger so it covers his head before he can get back up and then quickly grab the Large Can of Beans out of the Saddlebags and start wailing on the trash can, inflicting a devastating series of intense rings on the mugger's senses. After 9 ringing blows from the can, you stop to catch your breath when you hear birds tweeting from inside the trash can indicating that the mugger in now unconscious. "Woohoo! Ritz DeWitt wins! Flawless victory!" you cheer as you relish the rush from that 'fight'. Now normally, most changelings in this situation would just forcibly suck the mugger's love out and leave him a catatonic loveless shell of a pony so you're about to do so on instinct when something falls out of the pocket of his ragged coat. Your curiosity piqued, you pick up the object to see that it's a crumpled sheet of paper with a foal's drawing of cakes and cookies with the words "Good luck daddy" scribbled on it in crayon. "Gorramit..." you sigh in sympathy and annoyance, your (rather new by changeling standards) conscience getting the better of you. Poor bastard's kid must've been starving. you think sympathetically before looking down at the Large Can of Beans in your hooves and noticing that it has even more dents now. Well... I do have fresher food in my Saddlebags now and it looks like he could use it more. With that thought, you set the large dented can of beans down in front of the unconscious stallion before placing the crayon drawing on the can of beans and writing on the back of it with your Gold Fountain Pen, Word of Advice: Pick a different career path before your kid becomes an orphan. (4) "Large Can of Beans" removed from Saddlebags As you walk out of the ally and back onto the main sidewalks, you realized that 'fight' with the mugger cooled your 'fight-or-flight' instincts triggered by your earlier panic and now you can think much more calmly, Calm down 815. Last thing you need is to pull a 9001. (5) Running would most likely just spike their suspicions even more, if not send me straight into a trap. I just need to be more cautious and sleep with one eye open. Now where can a bug find bulk pudding in this city... The rest of the days leading up the event were mainly planning, rehearsals, and hiring some temporary assistants to assist with the act. Fortunately, since Trixie was paying so much Carneighie Hall covered the both of you for free meals at the theater cafe and the carrot dog cart outside ("within reason", Trixie stresses to you) so you were able to eat sliders, paninis, and carrot dogs. You noticed Trixie occasionally talking with the stage director and Chief Stablemaker, but every time you ask her about it, she suspiciously quickly changes the subject... "Hey Trixie, what did the stage director want?" "Oh, just finalizing the fine print on the assistant's contracts. Now would you patch the equipment under the stage?" ======== "What did the MPD want-" "Oh Ritz, Trixie was just looking for you. Could you please check if the bears were fed?" ======== "Alright Trixie, I demand to know what's going on-" "Oh hey Ritz, since you've been doing such a great job and it's the day before the big night, Trixie will loan you some gems for a night on the town." "What was I talking about? Oh well." you quickly say before taking the gems to see an animated double-feature of the new Walnuts and Karate Ussuri movies before going to the local mom-and-pop Roamin restaurant and gorging yourself on Garlic bread, Calzones, Spaghetti, Pizza, and Cannoli. THE BIG NIGHT We now find you outside the theater having a smoke in the back alley to calm your nerves as fancily-dressed ponies fill the hall. As you mentally rehearse your roles in Trixie's performance you say to yourself, "Okay Ritz, just calm down. Even though you're involved in the biggest show of the city tonight, Trixie's going to be the focus, not you... The focus who's also having secret conversations with the police- Gah!" You take another deep suck of the cigarette to calm down, "Okay, it's just a play. Once the next play, blockbuster movie, or celebrity scandal comes out it will all be old news. I mean it's not like there's anyling in the audience who'll recognize m-" Your statement is interrupt when you see a familiar looking group of ponies out of the corner of your eye. Taking a closer look, you see why that groups is so familiar; It's Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and some unknown filly all dressed in formal clothes entering the building. "D'OH!" WHAT DO YOU DO?