The Ties that Bind

by the7Saviors

An Unexpected Encounter

Beatrix cried out in both pain and alarm as she felt a hoof smash into her side, sending her rolling across the dining room floor.

"Wake up, you lousy layabout," Mother said as she pulled on her work shirt, "I told to you this place was supposed to be spotless when I came back down here, and instead I find you sleepin' when you're supposed to be workin'."

Beatrix just rolled over and gave a pained groan in response.

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you right now," Mother continued with a shake of her head, "so you're gonna make this whole house shine like it was Canterlot bucking Castle, you understand me, girl?"

Beatrix whimpered in pain.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?"

"Yes, Mother!" Beatrix cried as she tried to rise to her hooves, "I-I'll make sure t-the... the whole house is clean!"

"Good," Mother said with a satisfied nod. She made her way to the front door, making sure to give Father a good hard kick to the face as she passed, causing the auburn coated unicorn stallion to yell and curse, "I'll probably be back sometime this afternoon, but I don't know for sure so you better hop to it, girl."

With that said, Mother trotted out the door.

"That nag is bucking crazy," Father growled as he stood up and rubbed his jaw, "don't even know why I..."

He trailed off as his eyes settled on Beatrix. He let out a bark of laughter as he observed the filly trying to limp back over to the cleaning supplies she had dropped when she fell asleep.

"She musta got you good, huh?"

Beatrix didn't say anything as she lit up her horn and wrapped the broom in her pink aura. She had just begun sweeping the floors when she suddenly felt the broom wrested from her magical grip and before she realized what had happened she was on the floor clutching her horn in pain.

"Don't you ignore me, Beatrix," Father growled, "I asked you a question!"

Beatrix cracked a teary eye open and saw Father standing above her with the broom held in his cerulean aura and a glare in his same colored eyes.

"Well?"

Beatrix swallow and gave a small nod.

"Y-Yes, Father," she responded as she grit her teeth from the agony, "M... Mother told m-me to clean the house."

"Well I suppose you better get to it, then, girl," Father responded dropping the broom on top of Beatrix, "don't wanna make the nag mad do you?"

"N-no, Father."

As Father trotted into the kitchen, Beatrix remain curled up on the floor for another minute nursing her horn before struggling to her hooves. She tried to take the broom back in her magic, but the blow to her horn caused it to throb painfully and the pink aura to sputter out.

Without a sound of complaint, Beatrix clumsily took the broom into her hooves and resumed her now arduous task.

---

It was bordering on afternoon when Beatrix finally finished her chores for the day. Thankfully the painful throb of her horn subsided and the pain in her ribs soon followed. She had been able to use her magic again after about half an hour so and the rest of the cleaning went by much more quickly.

All the while she made sure to stay out of her Father's way which, thankfully, wasn't hard to do. Barring the occasional shouted command or nasty comment, Father more or less kept to reading the newspaper, rooting around in various places for wayward bits -- forcing Beatrix to re-clean some areas again -- or going upstairs to do who-knows-what.

Beatrix herself wasn't allowed upstairs so she didn't really know what went on up there. The only time she had been allowed up was when Mother had brought a pony over to fix the plumbing in the basement. Even then she had to stay locked in the small upstairs closet in the hallway so she didn't see anything of note.

She never did figure out why she had to stay quite and hidden, but like always she didn't complain about it.

Eventually one of Father's acquaintances arrived looking slightly nervous, but Beatrix paid it no mind as her Father stepped outside and closed the door. Over the next few minutes she heard the sound of her Father's voice getting louder and louder, but still couldn't make out what he was saying through the front door.

That was fine though.

It was none of her business after all.

On top of that, she was almost done cleaning, and soon she'd be able to go downstairs to the basement and play solitaire until Mother got home.

She was just putting away the cleaning supplies and heading down to the basement where her old deck of playing cards were hidden, when she heard the front door open and Father curse loudly as he stormed into the house.

"I can't believe that no good dirty son of a..."

His tirade dissolved into angry grumbling as he trotted upstairs. Beatrix watched him go with a worried frown and after waiting for a few moments, she was about to resume her trek downstairs when her Father came back down.

"The putz... making me head all the way into Hoofington," he growled, "said the bits were gonna be delivered to my door in a nondescript--"

He stopped and turned to Beatrix -- looking as though he only just realized she was there. Beatrix stood there, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof uncomfortably.

"Is... there something wrong, Father?" she asked meekly.

Father furrowed his brow thoughtfully before shaking his head and trotting towards the hat rack near the front door.

"Come on, girl," Father said as he levitated a dirty black trilby on top of his messy baby blue mane, "we're going into town on a little... errand."

Beatrix's eyes widened in shock at her Father's statement.

"You're... you're taking me with you into town?" she asked somewhat incredulously.

"Don't get too excited ya little blue headache," he sneered, opening the front door, "you think I'd trust you alone in the house?" he laughed mockingly, "I'd sooner invite a klepto over for dinner!"

Beatrix shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. It wasn't the insult that bothered her - she had gotten used to those - no, she had something much bigger to worry about...

"But..." Beatrix hesitated before continuing, "but what about Mother? What if she comes home and we're not-"

"Buck her," Father answered casually as he trotted outside, "she ain't the Princess, she don't control what I do. Now get the buck out here so we can go."

Beatrix bit her lip as she looked back into the living room before quickly following her Father outside. They both left the rather rundown two story house and began the relatively short trek out of the slums and into Hoofington proper.

Beatrix didn't say anything, choosing instead to cast nervous glances down every alleyway and street corner. The afternoon Sun was beating down from overhead, but that brought Beatrix no comfort in a place like this. Father looked down at Beatrix with an amused smirk as she trotted closer to his side almost involuntarily.

"Hey, brat."

Beatrix looked up at her Father and saw him jerk his head in the direction of one the alleyways she had been eyeing.

"That alley back there?" he began nonchalantly, "awhile back, three foals nicked some food from one of the local gangs and beat it into that alley," he looked down at Beatrix with a twisted grin, "you wanna know what happened to 'em?"

Beatrix shook her head fearfully, but Father continued on regardless.

"Some of the boys from the gang followed 'em into the alley, but when they got there, they found the brats split open like watermelons!"

Father let out a loud bark of laughter at the horrified look on Beatrix's face. Beatrix herself was trying not to lose her lunch as she shuddered, her fearful wide eyed gaze lingering on the alleyway behind them.

"Folks say it was the Razor Twins that got 'em," Father continued, "crazy freaks like to prowl around here from time to time looking for ponies to slaughter for their amusement. They show up out of nowhere, gut the poor saps, and vanish like they weren't even there."

Father leaned down to Beatrix's eye level with that same twisted grin, "so you better make sure you stay close, girl," he whispered, "don't want that cute little belly of yours split right down the middle do ya?"

The only response Beatrix gave was a terrified whimper.

Father just laughed again and trotted ahead - Beatrix struggling to keep up. Neither of them spoke the rest of the way and, eventually, they started to pass by nicer looking houses and a few stores here and there. Beatrix breathed a quiet sigh of relief as they finally made their way out of the slums.

As they traveled further into Hoofington the crowd of ponies became thicker and thicker around them. Beatrix - not used to being around so many ponies - began to grow more and more anxious, sticking closer to her Father.

Father led Beatrix down one street, then another, and two more before they came to a somewhat secluded spot near a small convenience store. Beatrix was thankful that were fewer ponies trotting about, but was jabbed sharply in the side by her Father before she could get too comfortable.

"Stay here, Beatrix," he commanded, sweeping a narrow eyed gaze up and down the street, "daddy's got something to take care of," he seemed to spot what - or rather who - he was looking for and trotted off, "I'll be right back."

"Father, wait! Don't-"

Beatrix reach a hoof out to her Father, but he was already crossing the street.

If he had heard Beatrix, he didn't show it as he continued making his way to an alley further down the street where a navy blue pegasus was waiting.

"...leave me here."

She slowly lowered her hoof and looked around nervously - her tail flicking back and forth in agitation. She got the occasional odd glance from ponies passing by as she stood there waiting, but they otherwise ignored the blue filly.

Beatrix looked back towards the alley her Father had entered after a few minutes, but he was nowhere to be seen.

A few minutes turned into half an hour and Beatrix was extremely worried by now. It took all she had not to go running into the alley after her Father - the only thing stopping her being the story of the Razor Twins.

She tried to calm herself by watching ponies pass by, but that did nothing to help. She looked towards the alley once more and was about to throw all caution to the wind and follow her Father, when her ear suddenly twitched.

Music?

Her ear swiveled in the direction of the odd, somewhat whimsical tune and she turned her head towards it's source. At first she couldn't see what was causing the noise, but by the gradual increase in volume, she could tell it was getting closer, so she waited.

It turned out she wasn't the only one that was curious, as she saw several ponies stop and turn their gazes towards the sound as well - some murmuring in confusion and some in growing excitement.

Eventually Beatrix saw the source of the music make its way down the street and she gave a quiet gasp of awe.

Coming down the street was a tall grey unicorn stallion with sharp azure eyes, a top hat, and - most prominently - a grandiose black moustache and goatee adorning his face. What caught the stunned blue filly's attention - and indeed the attention of the other ponies - was the large wagon the stallion was pulling along behind him.

Attached to the wagon were all sorts of random bells and whistles that confounded and intrigued Beatrix.

The stallion strode down the street with an air of confidence and assuredness that Beatrix had never seen before now. The whimsical melody continued to blare from a horn attached to the wagon and as the stallion passed her by, Beatrix couldn't help but follow after him and his wagon - absolutely enthralled by the spectacle.

She cast a glance at the large purple banner covering the side of the wagon and her eyes widened in wonder as she read the flowery yellow print.

HARRY HOOFDINI'S SPECTACULAR MAGIC FEATS TO ASTOUND AND AMAZE THE MIND!

Author's Note:

The pieces are slowly but surely coming together.

Comments

[Ze1a7in]

Let me guess, Hoofdini is the greatest escape artist in Equestria.

[the7Saviors]

8818697
*shrugs* I dunno, probably.

Don't really know what I'm going to do for his show yet, but I'll think of something.

[tkepner]

8818740
Using the double-hyphens is a good solution, much better than just a lone hyphen.

[Grif_Bladefeather]

8818697
escapism was actually only one of Houdini's talents he was skilled in most of the showman magical arts.
hand is swifter then the eye
illusion
escapism
mesmirism
the guy was pretty much a swiss army knife for magic.

[the7Saviors]

8819068
Well there you go! Now I just gotta come up with something, probably look up some of houdini's acts and adapt that. Not gonna worry too much about it though because the focus is going to be less about the magic shows and more about the characters.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Why that no good... warp damned...thrice cursed... PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A MOTHER!

If I had been there, I would've taught her a lesson she wouldn't ever forget, and maybe give the father a piece of my mind as well...

They don't deserve to be parents, they don't even deserve to raise a kid!

Throne damnit.....

Sorry for going on a bit of a rant, but it just gets my goat to see this kind of treatment they're giving Trixie.

But I am interested to see what happens next.... Hopefully we learn how Trixie ends up being extremely proficient in using Mind Magic...

[tkepner]

...morning on the phone talking to...

AH!! NO!! The ponies don't have phones! If they did, they would have instant communications and a simple phone call to Canterlot would solve Twilight's problems (call the newspaper, "I've got Twilight safe and sound, no need to search for her.")

[the7Saviors]

8819425
I'm aware of the situation with the phones, but not every town in Equestria has them. In fact only a few cities do such as Canterlot, Manhattan, and Hoofington. Ancient Scroll doesn't have access to a phone way out where he lives, and the citizens of a small out of the way village like Faranda Way don't use phones either, so who would call?

If Twilight had disappeared and reappeared somewhere else in Canterlot or Manehattan then it would have been a different story, but that's another reason why I chose such an out of the way setting.

Canonically Equestria doesn't really have a set technological level, but the things we do see indicate that there are some surprisingly modern things, so phones wouldn't be all that out of place in big cities. The phones themselves in my story are rather old fashioned as well, at least that's the way I pictured them.

Also keep in mind that even though we have access to phones, people can still go off the radar for years before being found. Sure there might be a case where a pony recognizes the fillies and might head off to the nearest city to report it, but whether or not that becomes an issue later down the road, I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

[tkepner]

8819503
historically, in 1900 there were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell's telephone system; that number shot up to 2.2 million phones by 1905, and 5.8 million by 1910. In 1915 the transcontinental telephone line began operating.

That folks as poor as Trixie's parents are portrayed as having a telephone means telephones are common enough in Equestria (it wasn't until there was a nationwide network that non-business or very rich people could afford phones). That means they are VERY common. In the US only the rich could have telephones, at first, and it wasn't until after WWII that they reached the "common man." Plus, Canterlot and the other pony cities should be covered with telephone wires! Yet we see none (burying telephone cables is incredibly expensive).

In addition, the tech level of MLP is about the late 1800's, with some outliers (such as DJ PON3, who apparently uses magic to drive her her turntable and amps). The record player displayed by Twilight certainly fits that time-frame, as does their b/w only movie shown in MLP (episode where Fluttershy helps get water for Cloudsdale).

While the ponies most certainly could have phones, the game changing aspect they have on society would make them appear everywhere in the broadcast episodes, which takes place ten years after the time you are using as a backdrop. (i.e, from the equivalent of 1910 to 1920 in the US -- where, again, you show non-rich folks have phones so they must be fairly common putting us at the 1910-1920 time period.) Rural areas didn't get them until WWII, and small towns before that typically had only one phone in the town that was shared by all.

Sorry, I simply can't believe that a family so poor they can't afford ear plugs could afford an expensive telephone, unless phones were a common item expected in every home. And we simply don't see that in MLP as broadcast, which takes place 10 years later!

Are you going to introduce diesel engines, too? They were invented in the 1890's and put into commercial trucks in the 1920's, the same time frame as telephones.

[SuddenlyFerrets]

8820145
Whilst I agree that a telephone feels somewhat out of place, you're basing your argument on the influence of technology on Human society and applying it to a society with a demonstrably different attitude towards technology.

The machines displayed in the show are almost entirely isolated examples and, I would imagine, at least partially based on magic. The Flim Flam brothers created a machine which could differentiate between rotten and fresh apples. Surely magical tin-cans-on-a-string aren't beyond them.
However these machines, with the exception of the weather factory (which is still a singular instance) are generally met with apathy at best or contempt at worst. It could be argued that between magic and the natural abilities of the tribes, in a relatively content society, there are very few ponies who care about early industrial development enough to see the long term point of it.

Imagine this: Some enterprising company gets a crown grant to implement an experimental communication network. They wire up a city or two with hybrid electrical/magical phones as a proof of concept. For a while it's all the rage, then ponies decide it's too impersonal and stop using it for personal calls. The small amount of business traffic simply isn't enough to justify expanding the network (Especially if further development is needed to get that sort of range). Sure, some ponies would realise the utility of inter-city communication, but the majority simply don't care.

And why shouldn't they have diesel engines? How many ponies are going to be okay with a road network for heavy, polluting machinery when there are already trains? How many ponies are going to mortgage their farm to buy a somewhat experimental tractor and a few years of fuel when two Earth ponies can do just as much work, are cheaper to hire and have the added bonus of being new friends?

I'm not saying that Equestria couldn't go through some sort of industrial revolution. Just that it's understandable if it were much slower and more patchwork, simply because they have no pressing need for a lot of what we developed and don't seem to demonstrate the same drive for progress that Humans do.

[the7Saviors]

8820145
You say that that Equestria's tech level is about the late 1800's with some outliers, but that's just it though. While we're most likely not going to be seeing anything too futuristic, the creators do take liberties with the level of technology based on what they need for the episode at the time.

As I said, you can speculate on Equestria's level of technology all you want, but at the end of the day there is no officially set tech level in MLP. I'm aware that I used a real life example of people still going missing for years despite the fact that we have both landline and cellphones and I still stick by that -- rare as the case may be nowadays.

But this is a fanfiction -- specifically a fanfiction of a fantasy fiction show with no set tech level. As such, I'm not going to hold it up to the rigid standards of realistic technological evolution. Would it make sense to have every single place in Equestria have a phone? Sure, but since this is a fantasy fiction setting, I could make any number of reaons why there isn't.

Trixie's parents having a phone even though they're dirt poor? There could've been any number of extenuating circumstances where they were able to obtain one -- an exception to the rule, if you will.

I know that I can't just go crazy and throw whatever tech I want into the mix, and that I need some sort of consistency, but I don't think I'm being too unreasonable with how I'm handling the technology. I'm sorry if you're not able to suspend your disbelief because this isn't realistic enough tech-wise, but I'm not changing anything on that front.

Oh, and there will not be diesel engines, no.

[the7Saviors]

8820651
On top of all of that, remember that Celestia in this story has a habit of suppressing information, and restricting the use of phones to only a few cities wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. One might argue that it would be more convenient to spread the use of phones and therefore Celestia's network of information.

However, the same could hold true for anyone acting against Celestia, like Frigid Gale for example. Not only that, but Celestia is old fashioned -- very old fashioned. I'd imagine she keeps a tight restriction on any technology that gets released to the public and when she does allow it, she does so begrudgingly.

[tkepner]

8820668
Sorry, about the diesel comment, it was late at night and I was being a bit snippy.

I just think that the whole scene could have been done WITHOUT resorting to a jarring use of technology.

For example:
There's a knock at the door. She hears dad answer it.
"What the tartarus do YOU want, brat?"
"Message from So-and-so. Here." Sound of someone small stomping away.
Dad closes door. Rustling paper. Conversation that was had on phone, only it's really dad talking to himself and arguing with a piece of paper (I've seen people do this).
Scene continues with him dragging her along.

Much less jarring.

If you show them using a phone, the readers will now question why they don't see a phone being used in other places where, logically, you would expect someone to use a phone. Making it an exception where only Trixie's family is using a phone is unrealistic to the story's environment. Especially since it's usage means So-and-so ALSO has a phone handy, and routinely uses it to contact other ponies, implying a much larger network.

And, yes, ponies seem slow to adopt tech, however, I can't imagine the government and military being slow to see the tremendous advantages instant communication would provide. Plus, businessmen are businessmen, if having a phone lets them make more money then they will certainly make use of it. The first time a businessman LOSES a sale or contract because he didn't have a phone will see him getting one ASAP. The Apple machine was being sold to the Apple Family, which, apparently in show, has few competitors. There's no pressure for them to actually use the machine.

Cars and trucks I don't see the ponies adopting, with one-third of the population being winged those items are simply not needed. And Unicorns, with proper instruction, can learn to teleport, leaving another third out of the market. So, no cars in the future, except maybe as curiosities.

Oh, on another note, long before telephones became popular, telegraphs were the main source of long-distance communication (voice over wire was simply an extension of the idea). If the ponies are experimenting with phones, I would expect a very complete telegraph system already in place.

[the7Saviors]

8821048
...Alright.

I've taken what you've said into account and though it over. I looked back at that chapter and have come to the conclusion that revising it won't take away from the story in any way (the section itself was only about 200 words long anyway) so I've decided to make a small revision, that way there's no error in logic.

The phone has been removed and I'm moving on with the story.

[Prince Leviathan]

Ah. This gonna be fun...ish

So i think i know who killed Twi's parents now. It's the Twins ain't it?