> The Great and Powerful Centaur > by Viper Pit > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Every story has a begining > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am on my way to a little town called Ponyville to make my grand start as a show mare so I can help my Mother in any way I can. As the day grows old and I grow tired and decide to rest for the night seeing as I should make it to the town by noon tomorrow anyhow. I unhook myself from the wagon once I pull off to the side of the road. Inside the wagon, I have a bed, a small camping stove, and a picture of my family. My mom is the only human in Equestria with long black hair on her head and beautiful brown eyes with tan-ish skin. My dad is a light blue unicorn with a white mane and tail with a cutie mark of a half moon. My uncle is in the picture as well, though I’ve only seen him a few times. He’s also a blue unicorn but with a dark blue mane and tail and two crescent moons for a cutie mark one big one and one small one that turns into the big one. Shortly after I get done looking at the family photo I start making a vegetable soup with corn, green beans, carrots, and peas. Once I'm done chopping up the vegetables I set them in the pot too start boiling while I go wash my hands and clean my hooves cause I do need to look my best for my grand debut. Even though cleaning the back hooves are a pain in my flank at times. "This is it, Trixie. Tomorrow you can finally show those bullies at school that you aren't a freak of nature." I said to my reflection from the mirror before I take my blood pressure medication. See because I have two hearts I have to take these special medications at least three times a day to keep my blood pressure down. Otherwise, I could end up in the hospital just from a brisk walk. I accidentally let the food cook a little too long and its lost some of its flavor... Well, at least it was still really good though. I need to remember to write back to mom and thank her for the recipe. Going to sleep might be a bit of a challenge at certain times. My pony half gets comfortable one way and my human half gets comfortable another so what ends up happening most of the time is I sleep with my head against a wall. It doesn't help that its unusually cold tonight and my pajamas are more or less a glorified tank top made of silk. The next morning arrives a little too early for my liking but who am I to tell Celestia to hold off on raising the sun. After I finally get out of bed I proceed to eat some of the leftover vegetable soup from last night, brush my teeth, and take my medication. I decide to throw on my Performance outfit so that way I don't have to waste water washing more then I have to when I'm on the road. The outfit consists of a purple shirt with a dark blue vest a star covered light purple magicians hat and a matching cape. I rehooked myself to the wagon while trying my best to ignore the frost making my hooves cold. My journey resumed though I can't help but think back to some of my earliest memories of my mom. I remember when my magic first started to develop and I accidentally set the living room on fire. My mom was so proud and so angry at the same time. I smile every time I remember the look on her face. Another memory I have is when we first discovered that I need to take medication to help my blood pressure. I was but a little filly no more than five years old and I was playing in the yard when I felt very sick all of a sudden I vomited up blood and I started crying. My dad just happened to be coming out to check on me when it happened. I don't think I ever saw him so scared ever. Anyway, I was rushed to the emergency room where we discovered I got some extra organs such as heart stomach but also where my pony half is mostly filled with a extra magic that helps keep me going. Which means I need to be careful when I over exert myself. I'm pulled out of my memories when I see a couple of unicorn colts playing. A short stubby grey one and a tall skinny orange one. I try and move on in hopes that I don't scare them off like some of the foals in Canterlot. But luck is not on my side and they do spot me but instead of screaming and running away like I was expecting they instead come running up to me. "Umm, Can I help you?" I asked, a little weary of the two colts. "Yea just what the heck are you?" The stubby grey one asked with the orange one just nodding in agreement. it takes a lot of willpower to not roll my eyes at these two. I know its a legitimate question for young foals to ask, but after getting asked that question for all your life it gets on your nerves at times. "My name is Trixie and I'm a centaur," I answered as I continue on my way to Ponyville. "Cooool." They said in total awestruck at the same time. "Ummm... what's a centaur?" The orange one says. He sounds as stupid as he looks. So very stupid. "It means I'm half pony and half human," I answer while trying not to sound rude. "Neat." The stubby one replies. The fact that they didn't ask what a human was very unusual but not that uncommon, considering there are many other creatures inhabiting this little magical land called Equestria. The grey one continues to spout his multiple strings of questions that much to my growing annoyance and headache."So what's with the wagon." "I'm a traveling stage magician." By now it's warmed up enough and I get the feeling in my hooves back again. I get a nice idea that will help promote my show and get these two away from me. "How would you two like to earn some bits?" I ask before they can get off another question. "Boy, would we!" Again they said with amazement at the same time. Ha! Hook line and Sinker. "Okay, what you need to do is go into town and tell as many ponies as you can about The Great and Powerful Trixie and her show got it?" With a quick nod, they take off and with that the rest of the trip is smooth sailing with some of the ponies staring at me once I get into town. After a quick search for a place to set up for my performance later. I make a quick sandwich to take my medication with before I start setting up. After about half an hour of working, I'm finally ready to start the show. I take a quick look at the crowd and I see at least fifty ponies. I end up having to take some deep breaths to calm myself before I go on. "COME ONE COME ALL."I yell to get everyponies attention "I am the Great and Powerful TRRRIXIE! Watch in awe as I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, perform feats of magic to have ever been seen by pony eyes." To punctuate that last statement I use my magic to launch some fireworks getting a string of oohs and awes from the audience.So far so good.I think to myself as I continue. I performed some basic tricks like pulling a bunny from a hat and spinning some plates on my fingers while I balance on a ball. "My, my, my what unnecessary boasting." I detect a pony say in the crowd but I ignore it as I use a bit of sleight of hand to poof in a bouquet of flowers. "Yea yea. Magic. Smagic. Boo!" Again I hear another pony declared out loud. But I won't have any of that on my first show none the less. "Well, well, well it seems we have some naysayers in the audience." I confidently said. "Who is so ignorant that they dare challenge the magical might of the Great and Powerful Trixie." I challenged to those neigh-sayers. "Do they not know they are in the presence of the most powerful centaur in all of Equestria?" "Just who does she think she is." I see the pony who commented this time a white unicorn with a purple mane and tail and way too much eyeshadow for my taste. "Yea especially when we all know that Twi...." a small purple dragon says before being cut off by another unicorn this one I recognize as Celestia's prized pupil, Twilight Sparkle. I set off some more Fireworks to try and get the show back on track when a Blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail flies up to the stage. "So Great and Powerful Trixie what makes you think you're so awesome anyway?" After a moment I remember a story my mother told me when she first came to Equestria and how she tricked an Ursa Major. "Why only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic powerful enough to defeat the dreaded Ursa Major." I then follow up with some fireworks in the shape of a bear with a star on its head. The crowd again oohs and awes as I recite the story my mother told me. " When the ponies of Huffington had no one to turn to but The Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in and with her awesome magic to defeat the Ursa and sent it back into the Everfree forest." I used the fireworks to illustrate the 'battle' that took place until the Ursa picture exploded into an array of various colorful and dazzling lights. "That settles it Trixie really is the most talented, most awesome, most powerful unicorn in all of Ponyville." the orange colt from before says stepping in front of the audience to praise me for some reason. The fact that he got my species wrong is not helping his credibility. "No, in all of Equestria." His stubby counterpart joins in. "How do you know you didn't see it and besides." Again the dragon never finishes his sentence as Twilight zips his mouth shut. "It's true, Trixie's enthusiastic little admirers. Trixie is certainly the best in Ponyville." I understand it was wrong to talk like an egotistic jerk. But I just can't help but stick to whatever is going on while I try to sort this out after the show is over. Nothing... not single noise can be heard other than few strays of coughs and the cricking noises from a cricket. At this rate, I may end up having to take my medication an extra time with the way these ponies treating the show. "Oh, please you're nothing but talk." I heard the dragon stated after he unzips his mouth. And that's the point where I had enough. "OKAY ENOUGH!" I pointed my right forehoof at the troublemakers. "No one is forcing you to stay here and watch my show. So, you can leave at any time but if you do want to stay and disrupt the show. I want to see you backstage once I'm done performing," I stated, breaking my persona for it was the only way to prove how serious I was being. Heck, I don't think they knew it was all an act. The tiny dragon took his leave with a smug look on his face but the two talkative ponies decided to stay put albeit reluctantly. "Thank you for your cooperation." Fortunately, the rest of the show went off without a hitch and I saw three ponies backstage when I have finished the unicorn and Pegasus from before along with an orange earth pony with a straw blonde mane and tail, which both tied with red bands at the end. They had difficulty looking at me straight in the eye mostly because I'm a good bit taller than them. "I have two questions; Why did you interrupt my show and most importantly, why is the earth pony here?" I asked as I repeatedly tapped a hoof as I anticipated for a response from the offenders. "You were boasting like a delusional mare and we didn't like it one-bit, Darling." The white unicorn says and it just makes me pinch the bridge of my nose. "Ahm here for the same reason my friends are." The earth pony said with a matter-of-factly attitude. "Have you ponies never been to a stage show before?" I ask still holding my nose. After a little bit of waiting, I look to see that all three of them are looking at the ground like it's the most interesting thing around. "I was putting on an act to keep my audience entertained while I tell some made up stories. Do you understand?" "Wait... you mean that was all an act?" The Pegasus says with a clearly confused look on her face. "Yes, it is an act. As a matter of fact, it was meant to be my first show... However, you stubborn foals nearly ruined it with your harsh comments that I was this close..." I made a small pinch from my fingers to show how much patience I had left, leaving a microscopic gap between both fingers. "...to running off stage with those comments of yours." I really don't know where I went wrong with the show for them to act like that. "Ah, geez I feel like a jerk now." The Pegasus admitted to her folly, she rubbed the back of her head. "Me, too. Ahm mighty sorry for ruining yer first show. Can ya find in yer heart to forgive us?" The earth pony apologized. I let out a displeased scoff as she insinuates that I should overlook at what she and her friends did to me and my show... But I guess I can't be mad forever. "I guess but can one of you explain to the dragon I saw in the crowd that what happened was an act I don't feel like having a repeat at tomorrows performance." "I'll do it, darling, he's more than likely going to listen to me." The white unicorn said. "Thank you now if you excuse me I need to get some rest for tomorrows show." I wave them off and they were even nice enough to leave some bits in the tip jar. Which I forgot to announce at the end of the show.....I facepalmed at my blunder. I decide to make a small salad for dinner before taking my medication and going to bed. > The Ursa attack > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "TRIXIE! TRIXIE! TRIXIE!" The endless crowds of ponies were chanting my name as I tell fantastic tales of adventures that range from outwitting the most stubborn dragons with my great magic and tricks to besting the rowdiest and foul-smelling diamond dogs by using my powerful wits and reflexes. Once I was done narrating my chronicles of amazement, the crowd began throwing bouquets roses and other varieties of exotic flora at me as I gracefully bowed. Some were stomping their hooves in a rhythmic pattern. I can see that tiny little purple dragon crying with regret and spouting multiple sincere apologies, which were directed at me but I ignore it for I was too occupied with giving thanks to this wonderful crowd. "Oh yes, yes, thank you all you've been a wonderful audience," I exclaimed out loud and waved my marvelous cape at my adoring new fans, I could embrace this wonderful feeling forever. However, the stage and rest of the surroundings suddenly began to quake around me and I could hear loud rumbling occurring. I looked upon the audience to ask what is going on but one by one the ponies spontaneously combusted into black smoke and raised up high in the air, disappearing and leaving me alone. Before I could get speak out a single word on what was going on, I was immediately awakened and I could feel and hear my stomach growling. "I knew I should've eaten more than a simple salad... " I grumble to myself as I get out of bed and get ready to go out for a midnight snack. "Maybe I have something... nope, no cooked meals." I miserably groaned. "Great." I don't wanna cook anything so I decide to head out to eat, I think I saw a bakery on my way into town. I hope they're still open. I changed out of my pajamas and into some casual attire that I have with me; a plain light purple T-shirt and a light jacket. A little bit after my journey for a midnight snack begins I see and here a whole lot of ponies running right towards me. Naturally, I reel up on my hind legs cause it scared the crap out of me. What I was not excepting was the ponies to stop and run away from me as I did that. Only for them to remember what they were originally running from when a loud roar can be heard throughout the town and the ponies to run around in circles. After about thirty seconds or so I whistle to get their attention. "Could someone or somepony please tell me what is going on?" I asked using my stage voice so that way they can all hear me. Every one of them pointed a hoof at the giant bear with a star on its forehead. "Okay, that's a good reason to panic." After a moment of scheming on what to do in this situation, I finally came up with a rather shoddy plan that I could devise in a few seconds. "Everypony to that park. I'll distract it while you get to safety," I shouted with the best calm demeanor that I can perform. I know I won't be able to stall for long but if it means saving as many ponies as possible then I don't have much of a choice do I? Once the last of the ponies has left the vicinity, I launched fireworks that I have left in my trailer to grab that monstrous Ursa's attention. It works a little too well if I do say so myself as now its bloodshot eyes were shooting metaphorical and intimidating daggers towards me. "HEY! OVER HERE YOU OVERGROWN FUR BALL." I shouted as I galloped away from where the rest of the ponies are. As I run I try a few different tricks to slow the beast down from using some rope to try and tie its paws together. There wasn't enough rope. I made an attempt to summon a storm to drive it away with a fright. Unfortunately, I can only manage to get its tail wet. I'm an amateur stage magician, not a professional weather pegasus. I postponed my efforts to catch my breath only for the Ursa to smack a house and hit me with some rather large chunks of the building. "Gahh my leg. " I screamed at top of my lungs as I attempted to hobble away from this hostile Ursa. I don't think I can make it far for I was struck from my behind by the big beast paw and sent through the air. this is it this is where I die. "I'm sorry. Mom... But it looks like I won't make it home and tell you about my first show after all." I said to myself as I flinched, shut my eyes and wait for the Ursa to finish off with what's left of me. Only for the sound of music to cause me to open them. what I see astounds me. I witness Twilight Sparkle luring the Ursa and persuading it to fall into slumber. And to top it off she grabs this village's water tower container, levitate it towards a barn, I could hear a few moos from cows at the barn, I saw the container was now holding gallons of milk, sealed the container, she gives the container to the Ursa which is used as a baby bottle and while it was distracted, Twilight floated the Ursa back into a nearby forest with a veil of purple magic. All I could do during that process was stared in awe at what this lavender unicorn was capable of and... Ahhh... struggle to not pass out from the excruciating pain that I am experiencing right now. "Now, Trixie. I hope you learned your lesson about bragging." I see the dragon from before come up with his eyes closed and arms behind his back, probably feeling like he just found out he won the lottery. "Open your eyes, you idiot." I coughed out in agony. He seemed to be horrified at either his inappropriate actions against an injured mare or the sight of my injuries. Probably the latter. " Get....me.... to a... hospital please, you imbecile." I wheezed out a few words of help to the dragon before I finally passed out... > The Great and Homless Trixie. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Owwww... My everything. Huh? It would appear that I have woken up with a great and powerful pain in my side. I hesitantly open my eyes as the pain calms down to a more manageable level. What I see when I do open my eyes to a white ceiling with light blue curtains off to my left side. I look down after a few minutes to see what I look like, and what I see is not pretty. Over half of my lower half is wrapped up in bandages and my broken leg is in a cast. I reach up and feel my face and I notice a bandage on my right cheek. "Oh good you're awake." The sudden voice causes me to jump which causes me to wince at the sudden spike in pain. "Oh sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you." I look at the voice and see that it's a nurse with a white coat and light pink mane and tail. She’s wearing a nurse's cap with her mane done up into a neat little bun. Her cutie mark is a red cross with hearts around it. "It's okay, I wasn't expecting an Ursa to attack last night," I said, not sure what I was getting at. "So what happened after I passed out?" "Well after a group of ponies brought you in here we patched you up. You had three broken ribs, a broken leg and severe blood loss. There will be some scaring, but that's to be expected with injuries this bad." I give a slight nod before answering "At least I'm still alive." I say while putting on a small smile. The nurse does a quick checkup. You know, the standard stuff, heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, medical history. I do tell her about the blood pressure medication I'm on and how I have to take it. As the nurse is on her way out she speaks up again. “Oh before I forget you have some visitors. Would you like to see them while I get your medicine?" I think for a moment before nodding. I wonder who could possibly want to see me? I think as I lay back trying not to cause my self too much pain. As I lay in the hospital bed I let my mind wander. What in all of Equestria caused an Ursa to suddenly attack the night I give my first performance? I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I hear the door open and I look to see six mares and the dragon from the other day. No one or pony spoke for a solid minute. My guess they are stunned by my rather... shabby appearance. "Hello," I said, trying to break the ice of awkwardness. To my luck, it worked somewhat well than expected as Twilight speaks up. "I am so sorry about what happened to you, Trixie." I can see she's on the verge of tears. "Hey, it's not like you brought the Ursa to town... You didn't right?" "No I didn't, but a couple of imbecile colts did. They somehow got it in way over their tiny heads that you could really defeat an Ursa Major. We just got lucky that it was just the cub they brought." The realization that the bear that leveled half the town and tried to tear me in half was a cub! Seriously, that bear... THAT STUPID THING WAS THE SIZE OF A TWO STORY HOUSE was just a baby?! "That is quite a lot to take in," I admit. "So what happened to the colts?" I ask to try and get my mind off the somewhat embarrassing fact that I was almost killed by a baby. "They were handed over to their parents and told what happened." A pink earth pony with a darker pink mane and tail stood forlornly in the corner. Her mane and tail were so flat it made me wonder if it could be thinner than paper. I then noticed that the dragon suddenly looked very guilty for some reason. "Dragon." I point out. "Whats your name?" I ask in a somewhat accusing tone. If I learned anything from my father it's that guilt is a powerful tool to get the truth. "It's Spike.” He answered somewhat hesitantly, staring at the floor with a glum look. "Well, thank you for getting me to the hospital like I asked," I say trying to guilt him with kind words to get him to spill whatever he's hiding. "She's right, darling. Why if you hadn't come and got us she might not very well be here." The white unicorn says adding more guilt to the pile. Hmm, just a little more and he's sure to crack. "Yeah, I think we should have a party to celebrate." The pink pony adds the cherry on top of the guilt Sunday. Her mane and tail seem poofy all of sudden. It kinda reminds me of cotton candy. Anyway, Spike shortly after broke down in tears apologizing profusely. "Why are you apologizing Spike, you didn't do anything wrong," Twilight says while trying to comfort the little guy. "But I did I told Snips and Snails that if they didn't see it then it didn't happen." This was a shock to me. it must have been shortly after he left the show because the White unicorn said she'd talk to him. "It wasn't until after we got Trixie to the hospital that Rarity explained that the whole better then everypony act was just that an act." That got my blood pumping literally. I ended up throwing up some blood, much to the surprise of everypony in the room. So much so that both of the Pegasi fainted on the spot. “Sorry about that, I haven't had my medication for a while,” I say while trying to clean up a little. I nodded at the two pegasi. “Are they going to be alright?" "Oh them, yep they should be right as rain in a little bit. Ya see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are afraid of blood they can handle there own, but others just cause them too well" The orange earth pony says as the two unicorns put them on the unoccupied bed in the room. I frowned, I knew that was a fear, but I didn't know that it could make ponies faint on the spot. "So can I get the rest of your names?" I ask once I get the last of the blood off of me but the gown is a different story. "And maybe a fresh hospital gown?" About half an hour and a bath later the two pegasi woke up. I think my little incident took the fight right out of Rainbow Dash because as soon as she saw me after coming to I swear that color from her rainbow mane drained to greys and whites. Once I explained to her that I don't vomit blood on a regular basis she seemed to have calmed down. The butter yellow pegasus seemed more curious as to how I came about. I mean I obviously don't have any Minotaur in me, so once again, I explain what my mom is and how she met my dad. Or at least what they told me anyway. "So... your mother is the only one of her kind that she knows of?" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah that's right I mean she’s seen some other "humans" but they were more like her ancestors or something like that," I reply as I take a bit out of some pizza the nurse was kind enough to bring us. " Oh I get it like how zebras are related to ponies but are not ponies per say." the buttercup mare says. "I guess, I'm not a history major, I just like to make ponies smile with tricks and fireworks. Now if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to." I excused myself to use the bathroom. Curses on these restrooms for being too small. I get lucky this time and I don't get any on the floor. The first time I tried to go was messy, to say the least. "So do any of you know when I can get out of here? I need to get going to the next town to build my reputation." I ask when I leave the bathroom. They all look at each other with worried looks before Twilight speaks up. “Your trailer was destroyed in the attack sometime after you left it and before you encountered the Ursa. We did scavenge the wreckage for anything that might have survived though.” She finishes with a sad look on her face. "Okay, very funny, my trailer was nowhere near that overgrown teddy bear," I stated, not finding any humor in this situation. I mean who would play a joke like that. "This isn't a joke Trixie we found a bow with some arrows, a weird looking plus sign, as well as some of your clothing." Oh my god, she isn't joking. Why god? Why oh great and powerful god did this happened to me? is it because I forgot to pray to you before going to bed the past couple of days? If it was that then I'm truly and deeply sorry but I was occupied with the preparations for my first ever show. I just wanted to finally prove to everypony and everyone that I am Great and Powerful like Mother has told me every day before I go to bed. I prayed every night, so why can't you make an exception Do you have a plan for me like Mother told me whenever I have my bad days? Because I've had MANY bad days and have been desperately waiting for that "plan" to come. If your plan was to make me miserable all the time, well you're in luck my friend because you did it. "Trixie?" I don't know what to do with my life. I can't come back home. I don't have any bits to get back. Maybe there's some left under the debris. I could... "Trixie!" No no. I'm pretty sure some conniving ponies already scavenge my belongings while I was knocked out. I can't do my shows without my equipment and attire. And I definitely don't want to perform on the streets like some cheap entertainer. "Trixie!" "What?!" I yelled because Twilight won't stop chanting my name. I regret snapping at her when I see her face, but can you blame me I'm under a lot of stress. "I'm sorry Twilight I didn't mean to snap at you it's just a lot to take in all of a sudden." "I understand completely Trixie but if you need some extra bits I have some work at the library that could be done." She says with a smile. "Hey yeah," Spike exclaimed. "There's always something do in the library. So you can earn a lot of bits in a couple of days." "Excuse, Sugarcube. Ah, can always use an extra pair of helping hoof with some chores at Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack joined in on the job offer, tipping her light brown Stetson hat down to her face. "Oh... Umm, I also have some things that... maybe you can do with my animal friends." A yellow whispered, hiding behind her hair. "If it's okay with you." "Yes yes." Rarity said. I can see her eyes sparkle. "There's some bits of manual labor at my Boutique that I could never complete due to my busy schedule. Your help would be definitely required for such tasks." "Oh-oh-oh." The pink pony excitedly shouted out. Her hair began to pop into a poofy state. "You could be my party planning assistant. You can help me set up parties, you could be the main performer for the ponies. I saw your show the other day..." Okay. Now she's continuously mumbling about the job offer. Let's just move to the next one to get it over with it. "Hey, there's..." Rainbow Dash was about to offer me a job but I interrupted her by raising my right hand to stop this. This is nice and all... However, I don't take handouts....even if I do need the bits. Besides, I barely know most of these ponies other than that embarrassing backstage talk with a couple of them. "Thanks but no thanks I don't need your handouts, Twilight, and friends," I stated firmly. They look a little disappointed at my response for some reason. I have heard that she loves to study things and centaurs aren't all that common so maybe that's why she looks a little down. "But if it does make you feel better I will keep all of your offers in mind." "Okay, then we should get going and let you get your rest." With that Twilight and the rest of her friends leave and I'm left alone with my thoughts and what I'm going to do about money or a roof over my head for that matter. I'm so boned. > The Great Medical Testing > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next day arrived and boy I was a wreck. My back was killing me my breath smells to high heaven, worst of all my hair was all over the place. "God, I look and slight... SLIGHTLY feel like trash." I told to myself as I looked in a mirror. What a cluster fu- AHEM! I mean, a series of unfortunate events that have occurred in my life. A tiny jerk purple dragon calling me out on my tricks as nothing and boasting how this Twilight unicorn is the best magic user in Equestria. Bunch of the village's natives tried to do the same thing but I was lucky to end that so-called argument by telling them I don't know... IT WAS A MAGIC SHOW! Ahem, sorry about that outburst. I don't know what came over me just now. Must be due to the fact that my trailer/home got decimated by an Ursa MINOR. Not a Major but a little baby Minor, who got a little antsy when it got rudely awakened from its slumber by two dense colts as they thought that I could actually beat that monstrosity. I don't know how my life will get any... Oh hey, look at that. The hospital must do complimentary bathing and teeth supplies to all their patients. That's a good sign of my luck... right? Whatever, I brushed my teeth and give my face a quick wash. "Better if only a little." I grabbed a mane brush from the table. I don't know who's owns this but I doubt they will care if I use it to get rid of this bed head. Once I finished brushing, I put down the brush back where I found it then I limp my way over to the door, feeling a little famished. On the other side of the door is Nurse Red Heart. "Oh, umm Good morning Nurse... Red Heart. Is that right?" I said, my voice croaked a bit. Feeling a little uncomfortable about running into somepony while on my way to getting breakfast. "Morning, Trixie. Yes, my name is Nurse Red Heart and I came here to inform you that the doctor would like to run some test on you after your done eating." She stated flatly, probably not a morning pony. "Thank goodness." I let out a sigh of relief. "I was beginning to feel hungry after my... situation last night. I'm sorry to ask this..." "Oh, it's no problem at all. Ask away." "Thank you. Anyway, why am I being tested and what kind of tests am I going to experience?" I ask a little nervous about being poked with hundreds and hundreds of needles. I involuntarily shudder at that particular thought, which only intensified to one thousand percent when I realized that I'm in a hospital and have little memory of what actually goes on in here. "Oh, the doctor was going over your medic records... well, the remains that the scavenger ponies found on your trailer and since the medical field has improved since the original test where taken, the hospital staff, including me, has decided that these new test might be able to give a more detailed reason as to why your hearts are acting up in lay pony's terms." "That makes sense, I guess," I said as we started heading to the cafeteria albeit rather slowly as they don't have any wheelchairs that I would fit in. " You guys really need to get bigger wheelchairs. WHOA! " I almost lost my balance when I forgot my back leg was broken for a moment. "You should be more careful and while I agree you really shouldn't be moving this much but we need you in the labs so might as well grab you something to eat along the way." She says while helping me keep my balance. Once we arrive in the cafeteria, I was out of breath from all the limping. I grabbed some rose oatmeal with some water, so I can take my pills. While I was eating nurse RedHeart goes to get a stretcher as it is apparent that me limping all the way to the lab was going to interfere with the test, and it also gives me time to think about what I'm going to do for bits. I could take that job offer twilight gave me. No no, not yet I haven't even explored all my option. I could give performance lessons a try. maybe even archery lessons. But who would want to learn archery that I only took it up because of daddy? On top of that, I'm not a very good teacher. I can't do to much physical labor, otherwise, I could aggravate my condition so that takes out farm work.I signed as I finish the last of my food before returning the dishes and sitting back down to wait for nurse RedHeart to get back.Maybe I could work at a stall and use my skills to attract customers yea that might work. Small towns like these almost always have a farmers' market. Although should I... My thoughts are interrupted by a stretcher pushed by Nurse RedHeart coming through the cafeteria doors. Well, at least she knows how to make an entrance at least. "Have you finished eating, Trixie?" She asked as she pulls up next to me. I gave her a slight nod because this stretcher is huge... Well by pony standards anyway but it looks like I can sit comfortably on it. "Good, now let me help you on." After I get on the stretcher I'm pushed to a room in the hospital where they care for larger ponies like that big red stallion I saw at the show the other day. "Hey, Nurse Red Heart, I have a question." "What is it, Trixie?" "Why didn't somepony just bring breakfast to me while I was in bed?" "Oh well, we are a little short of staff at the moment, dear." "Why is that?" "The same reason you are here. That Ursa attack hurt a lot of ponies." She must have noticed my worried attitude changed because she continues by saying. " It would have been a lot worse if you hadn't bought time for Twilight to come and stop the attack it would have been a lot worse for everypony." I gotta admit it did make me feel a little better. If only slightly. Our conversation ends as we enter a new bigger room. Well, bigger in the sense that it was a single bedroom, yep no more roommates for me, not that I had one, to begin with. "So... When and how many are these tests going to take place?" I asked, not wanting to wait for hours just for some random pony to flash a light in my eyes and taking some blood for some reason. I'm a little squeamish seeing my own blood come out of my body. "Oh, don't worry. The doctor should be arriving here in about five to ten minutes, as his schedule suggested. Although give or take with the number of other patients he's currently taking care of, it might take longer than expected." She replies with a small smile on her face like a professional hospital staff. "And the number of tests may vary on how many current ailments, medical issues and... unusual anatomy additions each patient has." Did she have to make that unnecessary pause on the last one like I'm not here? I wouldn't be too offended if she didn't do that or I don't know, tell me that I'm not a pony. "Anyway, while we're waiting for the doctor to arrive, I'm going to ask you some questions about why you are here in Ponyville Hospital. For reference your records, of course." "Okay, go ahead and ask away Nurse Red Heart," I told her. "Thank you, Trixie, and just call me Red Heart." She then proceeds to ask me some question about my point of view of last nights events such as why was I out so late and if I could recall which direction the Ursa came from, stuff like that. After she asked her questions she left to give my answers to the local police. About ten minutes after Nurse Red Heart left the doctor came in, he was a light brown unicorn stallion with chocolate colored mane and tail, I can't see his cutie mark because of his coat that's covering it. He wore a white lab coat, a brown clipboard floating beside him with the use of his magic and had a stethoscope, I think that's what they are called, around his neck. "Hello, Ms.Lulamoon. I am Dr.Feel Better. I called you here as I noticed that your medical records are a little out of date and a few pages missing, so I am here to update them and maybe see if we can find a cure for your condition." He says with a lighter voice then I would have thought for someone of stature. he is slightly bigger than most ponies but still smaller than me. "Sounds good. What do we need to do doc?" "First I am going to do a standard physical then tonight you can't eat or drink anything because you could make yourself sick when we examine your hearts tomorrow." He explained. "Why is that?" "Well, the magic we use will upset the stomach or in your case stomachs if these records are accurate." "Alright makes sense I guess." "Excellent then let us begin. Take a few deep breaths." I do as he says and he puts a stethoscope on my back as he writes down his findings. "Keep breathing." He then places both buds of his stethoscope, placed the apparatus' flat surface on the lower half of my centaur body and continues writing on his clipboard after a couple of seconds of listening. "Fascinating. "What's up, doc?" I asked. "Your heart pulse in your pony half seems to beat a little faster than other ponies. Must be due to the organs requiring to circulate on your pony half and the extra ones on your... human half, I think that's what types of species your birth mother is, right?" "Yes, my medical records will tell you that," I answered him. "Interesting interesting. I've heard stories about these creatures but I've never actually seen one face to face. Is your mother still alive?" "Yes. She is." "Good. That means you have some relatives to visit and inform me more about your condition." After he was done mumbling at my anatomy, he levitated the stethoscope away from my centaur body and... took out a popsicle stick from one of the pockets of his lab coat? "Umm, excuse, Dr. Feel Better. But shouldn't you check other heart as well?" I asked, uneased on why he didn't inspect my human heart. "Oh, don't worry about that. I only needed a record of your pony half's heartbeat as it larger than your... human heart as it flows most of the blood throughout your entire body and must be the main cause of your condition." The doctor looked away from me for a second, appearing sheepish. "And I can't actually document that part due to lack of information about humans, centaurs and both of their anatomy." A tilted my head to my right shoulder as I half-understand what he said to me. "I see," I said to him. "You don't have to understand that part just yet." He reassured me. "We still have a lot of tests to perform before we can specify if that part of your body is the problem and whether Equestria's medical science and alchemy can cure it." "Okay. I'm sorry for lying that I understood what you said back there." "I'll accept your apology if you accept mine for informing you ahead of time." "Of course." "Marvelous. Now, enough chit-chat.I have other patients to attend to so let's finish the rest of the tests." He floated the popsicle stick near my mouth. "Open your mouth wide and say 'Ahh'." > Meet the Fashionista > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A few days of testing from Doctor Feel Better.) That was both agonizing and humiliating. Lots of tests in and around my breast, arms and most of my upper body with some fertility test for some reason. I need a show after those, but hey I can have foals of my own. Yeah me. I'm just glad that it's now over though not being able to eat dinner to finish up these test is a bit of a downer, though I have done enough through vomiting for a lifetime, I'm sure those Pegasi that visited yesterday can vouch for me there. The big thing the Dr.Feel Better suspects that my smaller human organs are rejecting the magic that my bigger pony organs produce causing some sort of forced expulsion. I think that means like I got a permanent case of severe food poisoning, only instead of getting rid of a bad hayburger, I got rid of the magic-infused blood. Yeah with being at least part unicorn I have more ways of getting rid of magic other than vomiting blood, so that's a plus at least. The medicine I am currently taking seems to have a side effect of somewhat suppressing my human organs magic rejection properties so for the meantime I'm still taking my current medicine at least until a better medicine is developed. Twilight, Spike, and the rest of their friends have visited me through this time. Sometimes they bring get well gift cards or in the case of Pinkie Pie a three layers red velvet cake. How she knew my favorite type of cake she probably messaged my mom and asked her. I have taken Twilight's offer to work at the library after a lot of thought, but what convinced me was when I heard that a local zebra was having trouble for the longest time just being able to buy supplies for her home and that it was Twilight who got the townsfolk to show that... Zecora... I think her name, was a nice pony. Where I'm staying at least until I can get a new wagon is a place called Sweet Apple Acres because it has the most room for me. I have quite the road ahead of me but I will travel it and soon my name will be known far and wide. I will be the GRRRRRREASTEST SHOW MARE EQUESTRIA HAS EVER SEEN, or at least one of the more unique ones. I better get my rest I have a long day ahead of me when I get released. Finally, it is time. The day of my release couldn't have come soon enough. The "nutritious" hospital food had been bland, no hint of sweetness or saltiness on the food what so ever. The strong scents of janitorial disinfectant and other hospital chemicals have lingered around my nose for these past few days that it made me nauseous and I can now remember it with precise accuracy for the rest of my mortal centaur life. The beds were uncomfortable and not suitable for my centaur physique or any creatures with large and complicated anatomy structures. Even with the largest bed that they have available in the hospital, it was still quite small and had little space to move around when I fidget around during my slumber. The staff had to resort to merging two equal sized beds together which would have been fine but the middle gap kept widening even with the wheels were on tight brakes. Causing me to have faint heart attacks and almost falling down on the floor. And the cherry on top of the misery cake, I've received information that I was... in their words, "slightly" underweight. I weigh about 800 pounds but I was apparently supposed to scale about another 200 pounds. The nerve of those indecent hospital staff, telling a lady like myself to put on some extra weight because of their "it would improve your health" malarkey speech. I mean I know that some health hazards would happen If I didn't put on the extra weight, the only examples being from the much more common Minotaur born centaur. Anyway, I put on a white shirt that was salvaged from the remains of my wagon and made my way to the front reception desk. I have gotten better at walking with three legs though it's still a challenge at times with the aches and pains of my injured one. I made it work somehow. "Are you finally ready to leave, Trixie?" The nurse behind the desk asked with a small smile on her face. "You know it," I said, full of enthusiasm to depart this place. "Plus the sooner I can leave, the sooner I can earn enough bits to fix my wagon." "Well, I'll give you the discharge paperwork to fill out so you can be on your way." With that, I received the discharge papers and start filling them out. It took a couple minutes to get through everything. By the time I was done, I noticed that Twilight and Spike had stopped by.I wonder why they are here?I thought to myself as I handed in the paperwork. "Good Morning, Trixie. How are you doing?" Twilight asks with spike looking a little down in the dumps. He still might be feeling guilty about the giving those two colts the idea to go bring an Ursa Minor to town, but I have since forgiven him if only because my dad once taught me that holding that a grudge can destroy families. "I'm just checking out now that I'm mostly better." To make my point I point to my cast, getting a flinch from the purple dragon. "So why are you here anyway?" "Spike brought a very good point in that you don't know your way around Ponyville," Twilight says while moving the little guy forward. "Oh! Ummm..." Spike stutters out. "Yeah since you only arrived in town two weeks ago and most of that time is in the hospital so I umm, thought we could show you around." I'm going to have to try and get him to calm down some otherwise it's going to be awkward working with him. The question is how to go about it, being nice is a good place to start as any. "That's very nice of you, Spike." I give a small smile to try and calm him down. It didn't work as he looked away from me due to guilt. Feeling uncomfortable, I simply shrugged it off and asked Twilight a question. "So, where do we should head first?" "Well, I thought we could go to Sugarcube Corner and get you something other than hospital food," Twilight said. "Sugar...cube Corner," I questioned. "Oh, you'll love it. They make the best pastries in all of Ponyville." She answered, confirming my assumptions that I indeed seen a bakery when I first made my way into town. "And my friend, Pinkie Pie lives and works there, so you know that my statement is true." Twilight and Spike began to slowly walk down the street. "Okay then, Twilight Sparkle," I said while following them. "Led me to this said "best pastries" establishment and see if your words are true to fact." Spike was rather quiet and seems to be pacing a little faster than his friend. His finicky behavior must be due to his awkwardness towards me. I can't blame him for that as a part of me is still a little peeved on his first impression on my show and that night when the Ursa Minor attacked the town. He kept on boasting about how Twilight is better in magic than anypony in Equestria and was considered unrivaled. He enunciated Twilight's feats of grandeur like they were his own. I wasn't trying to upstage or challenge anypony on magic, I just wanted them to recognize and appreciate me and my skills that I've been practicing for my entire life. "Trixie..." I just want Equestria and those who have mocked me to acknowledge that my life has "Great" and "Powerful" purpose and brings joy to all. "Trixie..." My mother would be so distraught if she heard what happened to me and the wagon. Oh no, that wagon was her's and she gave it to me as a gift... How can I face her no- "Trixie!" "What?" I asked, wondering why Twilight would yell my name so loud. I looked in front of me, only to see that Twilight and Spike wasn't there. "Trixie, over here!" Twilight notified me. Her voice was coming from behind me. I turned my head. I saw that she and Spike were a couple of meters away from me and standing near a doorway of a building that is strangely resembled like a two-floor gingerbread house. Its roof was covered with chocolate brown icing and swirled with white frosting. There was a tower in the middle of the building, adding two more floors. They were stacked up to resemble like a cake or two cupcakes with its pink dome roofs, white frosting and three irregular size purple candles that had yellow lanterns that act as the flames. This must be the "Sugarcube Corner" bakery that Twilight mentioned. My first thoughts on this are... oh my goodness. The exterior design of this building seems a bit excess with the whole cake and baked goods concept. I understand they wanted to attract customers but... "Trixie!" Twilight shouted once again, waving her right hoof in the air to signal her presence, even though I already notice her. Maybe I shouldn't keep her waiting. I carefully walked towards the duo, making sure my injured legs isn't used too much. Twilight had a concern expression on her face and Spike hid behind her. I finally reached them. "I tried to call you a couple of time but you seemed to be entranced in your thoughts." She informed, worried about me. "Is something wrong, Trixie?" "No, not really I guess I'm still recovering from the test the doctors did." It's not a lie, just not the whole truth, I really am still getting over the test the doctors did. "If you say so," Twilight says not entirely convinced but doesn't push it. "So what are you gonna get guys?" She asked while we prepare to have our order taken by the blue mare with a pink mane that looks like a swirl pink cupcake frosting behind the counter smiling. "I'll have a sapphire cupcake with extra sapphire," Spike says licking his lips. "I guess I'll just have a strawberry jelly doughnut." I requested. Twilight gets our orders and she gets her self a bear claw, which made me feel a bit unnerved for some reason. We decided to take our order is to go since their friend was out on deliveries. "Too bad we didn't see Pinkie Pie." Spike surprisingly said. "I'm sure she would have helped you get some of your energy back." He finishes his gem covered cupcake. "I have to agree with you, Spike. I could use a little pep in my step," I said as I take another bite out of my doughnut spilling some jelly on my shirt. "Ah man! I just got this shirt." "Trixie, what happened?" I hear Twilight's worried voice asked. "Oh, it's nothing. I just got a little jelly on my shirt," I explain as I try and clean the jelly off. "It's gonna stain though." "Well lucky for you we are heading to Carousel boutique next I'm sure Rarity will be happy to help." Twilight then leans closer to me and whispers. "Plus I think it would help Spike relax a little." I have tried to hold back the laughter with all my might as Twilight wiggled her eyebrows as she whispered that to me. "What's so funny guys?" However, Spike noticed this and asked as he liked his claws. "Oh, nothing much. Trixie just needs some clothes so we are going over to Rarity's for a bit." Twilight explains as she puts Spike on her back. "Well if that's the case then let's get going." He happily said. I swear I thought I saw red hearts popping out of his eye but decided to not say anything and just follow them to the best of my ability. The rest of the trip to the boutique was peaceful mostly because Spike stopped flinching when I looked his way, maybe because from what Twilight has hinted at he has a crush on rarity and seeing her always makes him happy. We arrive at what looks like a circus tent only instead of red and white strips it has purple and light pink strips. We make our way inside the sound of a bell letting Sarity know of our arrival. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique where everything is... Oh hello, Twilight, Spike... and Trixie." She said my name with enthusiasm as she as truly glad to see me. "It's good to see you out of the hospital, Darling." The white mare greeted us with a gentle smile. "Hello, Rarity," Spike says as he hops off Twilights back and rushes straight to Rarity. "We are showing Trixie around town when she accidentally got some jelly on her shirt." The look on Rarity's face and the horrified gasp she let out of her mouth after she noticed the jelly stain was terrifying. I never saw her coming as she lunged at me with such great speed that I thought I saw a white blur charging towards me. She could not get my shirt off fast enough. I instinctively covered my chest with my arms as soon as my shirt was removed fully. Mom always told me to never expose my human half's bare skin and breast to anyone, especially towards bipedal creatures. She also mentioned to me that they think of impure thoughts the longer they stare at my human torso. She taught me to wrap my breast with a roll of bandages really tight and secure enough that it won't fall off easily. Too bad I forgot to do that during my time in the hospital. I looked around the room to inspect everyone's reactions. Twilight and Rarity seemed to be unfazed about by human torso and occupied with my shirt. However, Spike gawked at my embarrassing state and bare torso. Okay, I feel a little violated, with the way he is staring at me. His eyes bulging like dinner plates and face flushed with red. He made a poor attempt to cover his face with his tiny purple claws but he left his right eye uncovered and it was looking at my chest. I turned away from the little dragon's gaze and towards the two unicorns, who were discussing over my shirt and something about new designs. "Ummm... Excuse me, Twilight, Rarity?" I called them out. They noticed as they avert their attention to me. "Can I have my shirt back?" "Oh, I simply refuse to do that, Darling." Rarity gasped, shocked and horrified by my request. Twilight and Spike remained silent as if she was nervous to get in on our conversation. "This piece of fine fabric has been violated with cuts and stains apart from the jelly. Trixie darling, what were you doing with this shirt?" She asked with such seriousness as if she was waiting for my answer to judge me. "What do you mean?" I asked as I approached closer to the two unicorns and looked at my shirt. "It looks fine to me... well, apart from the jelly stain that I just got." I guess I said something wrong as Rarity let out another gasp but this time it was loud enough echo throughout the boutique's room. Twilight backed away slowly while Spike cowered behind her. "Darling, this shirt is anything but fine." She said, using her magic to levitate my shirt right in front of my face. "There are other visible stains everywhere, there's a hole under here." She pointed her left hoof at my shirt's right armpit sleeve. "And it appears that you have worn this for over a year." "That's because I did wear it for a year," I responded. She gasped once again and... Wait for what?! Rarity just grabbed a couch out of nowhere and fainted in an overdramatically manner. I looked at Twilight with a confused expression. In return, she shrugged as if Rarity's behavior was a common thing she encountered. "Oh dear, this isn't good." Rarity moaned. "How can you be so careless with your attire, Miss Trixie?" "What do you mean?" I asked that question again as if I'm going to say this a lot to her. "I properly wash my clothes and check for any wears and tears every we- Hey!" My explanation was interrupted by a measuring tape wrapping my human belly. I see that the tape was shrouded in magic it must be Rarity's as it was pristine white. It would appear that she is wearing glasses and has a notepad and pencil floating beside her. Twilight and Spike smirked at my predicament. This isn't funny what so ever. "This simply won't do, Trixie." Rarity told me. Her pencil was scribbling on the notepad with such speed as the white unicorn continued to take my measurements. "I'm going to design you some new shirts for you to wear. And I assure you that these ones would be exponentially more exquisite than the ones you currently possess." "Oh, you don't have to do that, Rarity." I politely refused her offer once again. I really don't want her to work so hard on me. "You shouldn't "No, Darling. I insist." Rarity reassured me. "I want to help you with whatever I have possessed considering you sacrificed your own safety to ensure that the ponies in town escape from the Ursa Major's rampage." "First, it was an Ursa Minor. I didn't do much other than become its plaything." I corrected her with a frown, feeling guilty as I had a part on that event in the first place and couldn't do anything to prevent it. "And some of them were injured. They're still in the hospital." I lowered my arms from my chest, I don't care about my decency anymore. "I didn't help anypony at all. As soon as I came to this town, everything went horribly wrong. My lie about me defeating the Ursa Major convinced a bunch of foals to awaken its younger offspring, expecting that I can vanquish it with lousy party tricks that I call "magic". I am nothing but bad luck and a failure." The room went uncomfortably silent after I was done talking. Oh great, I had to go and open my big mouth. Now I made everyone guilty. Great. Just great. "Trixie..." Twilight said my name but couldn't utter another word, disheartened by my little outburst. Spike looked away from me and his friends. I can't read Rarity's expression but I'm pretty sure it would be sad... Wait, nope. She's scowling at me. "Trixie..." She said, her tone of voice had no hint of anger but rather it was sympathy. It was strangely similar to my mom's. "I know you feel like you could have done more to help out during the incident but you shouldn't call yourself a failure and have bad luck for that." I tried to correct her but suddenly pencil floated near my lips, pressing closely to each other. "Ponyville is near the Everfree Forest. Anypony would have been misfortunate enough to attract a giant beast from that area and bring them to town. Especially if it was Snips and Snails." The two unicorns and little dragon out a little chuckle when they mentioned those two mischievous colts. "Trixie, please don't discourage yourself. You tried your best and nopony got seriously harmed, only a few scratch and bruises. That's all that matters." I wanted to oppose but what would be the point then? That speech was so encouraging that it halted my depressing thoughts and replaced it with soothing ones. "I guess you're right," I told Rarity. She and her friends smiled and sighed with relief. "But do I deserve your generosity of designing new shirts? I have nothing to pay you with but as soon as I get a job, I'll-" I was cut off once again with Rarity's pencil. "Darling, like I told you, I insist you accept my assistance with your shirts. As a friend, I want to provide you the best attire that my sophisticated skills can offer." "You think of me as your friend." "Why of course, Darling." "Yes, we see you as one of our own, Trixie." Twilight finally said something. I turned my sights on Spike... Ahhh! I covered my chest as I realized that my naked torso wasn't concealed with anything and I let down my arms after becoming a downer. The little pervert returned to his blushing state. "Spike, look away!" I demanded the little purple dragon, who immediately obeyed it. "Trixie, why?" Twilight asked me, worried and confused on why I ordered that. "Is something the-" Rarity was going to ask a question but I interrupted her. "Just please finish my measurements and give me my shirt." "RIght away. I just need to measure those two swollen bulges on your chest" "Okay, fine," I said. "But hurry up. I'm getting a little cold up here." > Meet the Rainbow Apple part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phew! Finally, it's over. The meeting with Rarity could have been less embarrassing, to say the least. What with the elegant white mare ripping my shirt off in front of Spike and everything. I had to smack Spike for starting again when I put my shirt back on. After explaining that I don't like it when anypony and anyone staring at me without a shirt or any concealing cloth on my chest. It was a pain to do but with a few explanations about human decency that my mother taught me, they seem to understand what I was saying and respected my comfort zone. While Rarity was working on my new shirts, Twilight, the perverted purple dragon and I decided to head to Sweet Apple Acres for lunch and to see where I would be sleeping as I concluded that I needed room to sleep comfortably. My stay at the hospital reminded me one thing that I need most of all in Equestria; a big comfy bed and a satisfying full-course meal that will fill all my stomachs. As we near the farm I can hear steady thuds. The thuds were not rhythmic like one would expect from a walking pattern of a large stallion or monstrous beasts. No, these were coming all over the place, echoing someplace near. Sometimes there would be two thuds in a row then a long silence before another thud would happen. The closer we got to the loud and more pronounced thudding noise, it was starting to become a little unnerving. My centaur body couldn't help but shudder with a little of anxiety, agitation, and confusion. It feels like it wants to run away from the noise before I found out who or what was causing them. "Trixie, you seem a little jumpy." I hear Spike's worried voice calling out of my trance on the noise. I shook my head to regain my focus and glanced at the little pervert, who turned his head away immediately. I ignored that gesture and answered him. "It's just that thumping I keep hearing. It's kinda putting me on edge." I replied as I remember the thuds from the Ursa chasing me. Yep, I definitely have a fear of bears now. "I get it. You've been through a lot so you're still jumpy." Spike correctly points out. I gotta give him credit he is smart for his age... I think so anyway because I don't know how old he is.Note to self-look up how dragons age. Also look into getting insurance for the next wagon I'll buy so I'm not going to be in that situation again. "Relax Trixie that's just Applejack and Big Macintosh doing some apple bucking there is nothing to be afraid of," Twilight says in a calm but informative voice. "I'm not afraid, just a little on edge from everything including what happened at Rarity's." I pointed out. It looked like Twilight was gonna reply but a voice from above stops her. "Oh hey, Twilight what's shaken." I looked up and saw a cyan mare with a rainbow mane hovering below towards us. "Hello, Rainbow. I was showing Trixie around town and thought I would show her where she will be staying given her size it made sense that Applejack's farm would have space for her." Twilight informed the newcomer. "At the ba-AHEM!" She continued but suddenly covered her mouth with her right forehoof. Wait, she covered up her mouth before finishing that last sentence. What did she mean by "Ba"? Did she made a Faustian slip-up or is she part sheep? "That's cool. I was on my way to see if I could get some cider before Pinkie takes it all again." Rainbow then lands on the far side of Twilight. "Hey Rainbow. Whats ups?" I asked as she hasn't really visited me since the initial visit with her friends. "H-Hey Trixie. I'm happy your out of the hospital." She didn't seem like she was all that happy, but I didn't say anything about it. "It does feel nice to get out of that place," I said instead of asking why she was being so skittish. From what I heard from Twilight and a little from Spike, she was described as sociable, egotistical, competitive and loyal to a fault, but here she's acting timid and aloof. Personality traits that are usually expected from a certain yellow pegasus. "So, Rainbow. Wanna come with us?" Spike asks as he gets down from Twilight's back to walk with us. "Yeah, sure why not? But Uhhhh... is Trixie gonna... well, you know." Rainbow looks at me with a little fear in her eye. "No, I'm not gonna vomit blood... I think. I took some of my medicine before I left the hospital. You don't have to worry about that from happening. It's not that serious." I explain. She seems to relax when I said that. So that's why she's was acting so timid. She was afraid I'll vomit again. I can't say I blame her considering it was my blood and not the remains from the inside of my stomachs. It might take a while for her to be herself in front of me but I hope she doesn't continue to act this way around me. "No, it's not exactly that..." She told me. Wait, if it wasn't my health she's worried about then what is it then. "Huh? Rainbow Dash, what are you implying exactly?" Yes, thank you, Twilight. It would've been more awkward if I asked her. Rainbow kicked a tiny pebble with her left forehoof and tilting her head sideways, feeling awkward at what she about tell us. With one big gulp, she opened her mouth and begin speaking. "Is Trixie gonna keep up with you guys or is she gonna collapse again?" What did she just said? "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted at the cyan pegasus, appalled at what just said about me. I couldn't blame her. I'm mad at this as well. "Why would you say that?" Spike continued. "What?!" She said, looking away from our gaze and acting innocent as if she say anything offensive. "I just thought that she looks a little weak and kind-of underweight. By the way, you should eat more." I gasped, offended at what she is telling me. I was going to say something but she continued. "I mean look at her body. I can see the rib cage through the chest." She pointed her right forehoof on my lower half's body. I looked down and saw that she was right. Wow, did I let myself go that much? "And won't stop shaking like there's an earthquake." "Wait, you're right," Twilight said, her voice sounded surprised. She looked at me and inspected my body and behavior. "Trixie, are you trembling intentionally or is your body really in a weaken state?" "What?! No, I took my medicine so my illness should be gone for now." I informed them, raising both my hands as to signal that I'm defending my answer. "Trixie, that's not how medicine works." Twilight reprimanded for my answer. "They only stabilize and slowly heal your body against your illness and injuries, not stop them entirely until you take another." "Yeah, even I know that." Rainbow joined in. "I think? I'm sure what stabilize means but the slowly healing and not stopping your sickness parts I understand." I lowered my head in shame. "I'm not a doctor or a nurse, how would I know..." "It's still your body." Twilight interrupted my speech once again, her voice becoming more worried and a bit angry. "You should understand what is wrong with it. How could you neglect it?" "I don't know." Well, that was a rather quick yet accurate answer from me. "I thought I was good to go like the doctors told me. I guess I trusted their word over my own body. I'm sorry." Great, I'm apologizing to them for something that only affects me. What's wrong with me? Oh, wait. It's everything. "Yo, Trixie." Rainbow is calling out my name. She was hovering right in front of my face, slowly flapping her cyan feathered wings. "What?" I said with an irritated tone. Is she going to continue telling me what's wrong with my body or something else that's wrong about me? "No, I'm sorry." Huh? What did she just say? "I was just pointing out what was wrong with your body because I was concerned if you are okay to even be out of the hospital. I didn't mean to make you feel horrible about it." "Oh." Me, Twilight and even Spike for some reason, said it the same time. "Oops," Twilight said, she sounded a little embarrassed. "I was concerned as well but I guess it was more about how ignorant you were with medical science instead of your actual health. I apologize as well for being unaware of how you are feeling." "No, it's okay," I reassured her. "I'm sorry-" "Ummm..." Spike finally got in the conversation. "I don't want to be rude but is it okay if we just say sorry once instead of exchanging it with each other?" "Y-yes, you're right, Spike," Twilight stuttered. "We don't have time. We still have to get Trixie to Applejack to talk about her living arrangements." "Yeah. We can say our sorries when we get there." Rainbow excitedly said. Must be happy to get out of the awkward situation that I caused... again. "You know what?" "What?" I asked, feeling nervous for some reason. "Here." She got to my left side and stretched out her right wing to cover my back, feeling a tight squeeze and lift as if she was carrying me. "I'll help you get to Applejack." "Oh, you don't-" "No, don't even finish that sentence." Rainbow objected to letting me finish my sentence. "As your friend, I want to help you out, whether you're injured or when you need help. I can't leave anypony or anyone lying down and feeling down. It's my duty to help all my friends out, no matter how impossible it would be." "Wow, thanks, Rainbow Dash," I said, feeling a little awestruck at her motivating speech of how loyal she is. "Then led the way, Twilight." "Sure. Let's go, Spike" She called out to her assistant, who obeyed it. They slowly returned to walking to the designated destination. I was about to follow them as well but Rainbow seemed to not budge. "Hey!" Rainbow shouted at me, even though I'm right beside her. "I'm the one who made that awesome speech. I should be the one to lead you to Applejack's place." "Ummm... aren't kind-of busy with something else," I informed her, moving my back where her wing is resting on. "Oh... Ummm" Rainbow blushed at her obliviousness. "L-let's just going already." After that little awkward talk at the dirt road of Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash and I made small talk while following Twilight Spike. I feel like we are getting closer to our destination, the place where I'll be meeting some ponies I'm staying with. I noticed the thumping stopped which helped calm me down, get me to relax, and stop shaking as bad. The rest of the way seemed surprisingly short but that could have been the fact that I wasn't focused on the journey but instead I was having fun with friends. Wow, that is not something I had in a while. "Look were here," Twilight says breaking off the conversation we were having. I see a big red barn with a silo next to a two-story house with what looks like an older looking pony in a rocking chair. "Okay looks like Granny Smith is taking a nap so we need to be quiet." I nod as Rainbow let go of me. She probably figured we were close enough to the house that if something were to happen I could get help almost instantly. "Thanks for the assistance guy." "Think nothing of it, Trixie, we are happy to help," Rainbow says with pride. "But we better go get AJ just in case Granny wakes up early." "Agreed Spike and I take the left half of the orchard and you take the right half Rainbow." Twilight suggested. "What do I do?" I asked knowing I'm not gonna be able to help search for their friend mostly because I would get lost. "You can wait on the porch and see if Applejack or her siblings come by," Spike speaks up. "Alright I guess but what if she wakes up." I point to the older pony sleeping in the chair as Twilight said her name was. "Don't move her eyesight is based on movement if you don't move she can't see you," Rainbow says with a straight face. I can't tell if she serious and that very concerning. Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow head out to search for their friend and I make my way to the porch and sit lay down. I listen to the old mare snore as I start thinking when I let myself go. When did I start loosing so much weight. Oh right, It was about a month before I set out when I took some advice from somepony named Jetstream when he stopped by for business with my dad. He suggested I lose a lot of weight if I was gonna be a star like I wanted. First I cut meat out of my diet, then I started eating less overall. Wow, I never realized how slippery of a slop that could be. Wait, why did the snoring stop.I slowly look up to see That Granny Smith was awake and look at me funny. "Dang nab it! One of the bulls got loose again." She then gets up and heads inside.Did she just called me a bull?She then comes out with a CATTLE PROD?!! "Get back to your pen before Ah whip this doohickey on yer keister." She demanded. "I'm not a bull," I calmly said as I stand up and cautiously backed away from the crazy elder mare. "That's what they all say." She then lunges the cattle prod towards me but falls short. "Nope, I'm not dealing with this." I use my magic to lift her up and yank that thing away from her. "What didja to that fer?" She said with such hostility that she give me a stink eye. "Because I just got out of the hospital and I don't want to get back so soon," I shouted as I put her down while still keeping the cattle prod out of her reach. "None of our bulls went to the hospital so quit yer lying." She shouted back. She sounds really grumpy even though she took a somewhat serene nap. "I'M NOT A BULL!" I'm not gonna lie I'm really tempted to use this cattle prod on her. Luckily somebody new arrived at the scene. "Granny, who are ya barking at this time?" A little yellow filly with a pink bow in her red mane asked, looking curiously at me and the crazy old mare. "Applebloom, one of them bulls got out their pens again. This one won't go back and snatched ma poking stick." Granny said. She was trying to get the cattle prod back from me by attempting to jump for it but her age stops her from fulfilling the action and I raised my arm higher that not even a tallest known stallion can reach it. "This darn bull is more stubborn than Applejack during her angsty young mare years." "And I keep telling you that I'm not a bull." I stomped my left forehoof and just chuck the damn thing away just to stop the elderly mare from getting it. "Granny go get yer glasses." The filly I now know as Applebloom says opening the door for her grandmother. "What fer? Ah' can see just fine Applebloom." She then harrumphed. " Now quite Sassen me and help me get this bull back in the pen. Um... whichever this one is? Ah' can't quite member their names." She then starts mumbling to herself as she wonders inside seemingly forgetting what just happened. "Ah sorry about my granny. her eyes ain't as good as they once were." She gives a small smile. "Hi Ah'm Applebloom it's nice to meetcha." "I am the Great and POWERFUL TRRRRIXIE." I made my wonderful introduction towards the little filly. I then strike a pose with my arms and front legs in the air while balancing on my back legs briefly. "But you can just call me Trixie." I give a slightly cocky smile. "Oh, so you're Trixie? Applejack said you'd be stayin' with us." Applebloom then starts inspecting me. "You're bigger then I thought you'd be." A huge grin forms on her face as she starts bouncing around me. "Oh boy, the cutie mark possibilities with you around are well not infinite but a lot that's fer sure." As she bounces around I can't help but giggle at her enthusiasm. " Can ya come with me to meet my friends?" "Maybe once I get settled and get something to eat." As if on cue, my stomach growled like some ferocious beast. "Eh? I didn't eat much today. Hehe....ho boy." Applebloom giggled. "Come on, Ah'll get ya something to eat." We then head inside and I see the older mare sleeping in a recliner this time. "What do ya want to munch on?" "Well if you're making it," I said. I pondered for a few seconds until made my decision on the meal that even a little filly like her can make. "Then I'll have something sweet and enough for both my stomachs. Maybe a sandwich." "Right away," Applebloom responded. "Ah'll make ya the best sandwich in all of Equestria." After she finished talking, she immediately went somewhere, most likely in the kitchen. Huh, unlike most other places I don't have to duck as much to get inside.This place is definitely bigger. I guess the Apples are just bigger than your average pony. "Here, you go." Wow, that was rather quick. "One slice of Granny's delicious homemade apple pie and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." The tiny filly holds the plate of food in front of my face. Of course, I happily accept and say thanks to both Applebloom and God before eating the food. I get on my knees, clapped my hands together and begin. Dear Lord, I thank you for all of the blessings you have given me, like having the Apple Family Clan take me in in my time of need until I am able to get a new wagon. A Men. "Trixie, what are ya doin'?" Applebloom ask. "I was praying," I reply as I took a bite out of the apple pie. It tastes so delicious that I can taste the fresh apples of the farm with every chew and have the sensation that my energy coming back. "This is really good Applebloom." "Thank ya but what's praying?" Oh right, it's not very common outside of my household. "It's part of something that my family does."I start "When my mom first came to Equestria it was all she had for the longest time. It was an anchor to keep her sane. I don't know too much more other then it has something to do with a major belief in her homeland about some old pony who supposedly created everything." I answer before looking at Applebloom, who looks like she want's to more questions. "Applebloom I know you have another question," I said as I got to take another bite of food only to realize I don't have anymore.Ah man, That was really good pie. It will be missed. "Ah was wondering If ah could hope on your back so I could feel tall like my brother Big Mac." She then uses her puppy dog like eyes as weapons of mass cuteness, making her all adorable that I can't to say no to her. She even tops it off with a quiver from her lower lips that became a death blow to my mental defenses. "Fine you can ride me but be careful back there I'm still not one hundred percent in case the case wasn't a giveaway." I get down to make it easier for Applebloom to get on my back. "Easy now. Don't want you falling." "Okay, ready when you are." I gave a little nod and carefully make my way outside. "It's a little bumpy." "Well, I only have three good legs to work with," I said in a joking matter, shrugging of the stinging pain of my injured leg as to assure the little filly I'm fine. Applebloom noticed the jesting quote and laughed. This is fun and all but... Ouch... Although my leg feels a little... "APPLEBLOOM, GIT DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT THIS INSTANCE." A rather angry sounding voice screams scaring the tar out of me causing Appleboom to fall off, but I catch her with my magic in time. "Uh, oh," Applebloom said as I set her on the ground gentle only to see a rather angry looking orange mare barreling down towards us. Uh oh indeed. > Meet the Apples part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Applebloom what were ya' thinking? Getting on Trixie's back like that you know she just got out of the hospital." Applejack scolded Applebloom before looking at me. Her judgemental gaze made ME flinched. " And what were you thinking even letting her on yer back in the first place ya Idjet." She then takes a deep breath. "Now Trixie you are more than welcome to stay here but Ah need you ta be more careful. Ya understand?" "I understand Applejack, but I didn't see anything wrong with it. Your sister just wanted to feel tall. If only for a little bit." I explain while trying not to be intimidated by a mare that's half my height. I was failing miserably. "Yea Ah mean Big Mac is well he's big and I wanted to see what it was like but Ah didn't wanna because it's embarrassin' Applejack." The little filly says as she rubs her hoof in the dirt. If I had to guess she was trying to act cute to reduce her punishment. I'm sure a lot of ponies do that when they are young and try to play off cuteness as their ace in the hole, but if they play it too much and it doesn't work as much. "It's okay Applebloom just, just try not to do that with an injured guest alright sugar cube." Applejack then pulls in Applebloom for a hug. I can't help but smile at the sight. It kinda makes me wish I had a brother or sister. "Run along now sugar cube I gotta get show Trixie where she'll be sleeping." "Okay Applejack." Applebloom gives me a quick hug and then runs off somewhere. Probably to meet her friends she told me about earlier. Applejack waves to her sister then turn towards me. "Trixie, if ya gonna be livin' here fer the time being I might as well show ya around." "Sounds good to me, I don't exactly wanna get lost in this huge orchard," I replied while crossing my arms. "Alright, then its time fer the grand tour." And with that, the grand tour started. After about five minutes, (give or take a few minutes). Our first stop was some trees with green apples in them. " These are our green apple tree. They are a little sourer then yer run of the mill red apples but they make fer great apple juice." "Wouldn't the red ones be better for apple juice?" I questioned. Applejack chuckles slightly. "That's what most folks think but nope, the sour nature of these apples goes well with sugar and it ends up taste both sweet and sour at the same time." She explained. "Just like lemons on lemonade." I responded. "Exactly, Sugarcube." She happily said. Huh, I guess that makes some sense. I mean, she is the apple expert. "Where to next Applemaster?" I give a slight bow. "Applemaster?" She said, looked at me with not an offended look but rather a curious one. "Well, you must be an expert and really fun time doing farming apples and doing other farm stuff." "Now hold just an apple pickin' minute." She said Huh? "It ain't all fun and games when it comes farming apples." "Oh." "Apple farmin' is a serious career. "Look, I'm sorry that I offended you." There were a few long seconds of silence before I could hear the blonde mane pony chuckling. "Nah, I'm just yanking yer chain." "That was... quite a sense of humor you have there, Applemaster." "Well, I had to get back at ya fer dat nickname." She retorted We chuckled a bit while we slowly walked down the road. I was looking at the numerous rows of apple trees that were guard by a long line of wooden fences. "Up next is the Zap Apples which are just over that hill." She pointed to a hill that was a good distance away. "Are you sure I should be walking this much with a broken leg?" I asked suddenly having second thoughts and a little concerned with how much walking I did today. Applejack seems to ponder what I said for a minute or two "Yer right, Sugarcube. Sorry, I reckon we need to git back so you can rest up some." "Thanks, I'm just a little exhausted." With a little help from Applejack, we start heading back towards the farmhouse Applejack giving apple bucking tips for when my leg is better. "Well, we can meet Twilight and Rainbow before I show you where yer stay." Applejack casually mentioned and not that she did I would be nice to say bye to them before I lay down to rest. "I think I can do that but then I'm going to pass out for a little bit." She gives a nod of understanding and before I know it we stop in front of the barn.We got here faster then I was expecting, but I suppose that's a good thing. Applejack opens the door to the barn as she says "Twilight and Rainbow should be in there." "Why are Rainbow and Twilight in the barn?" I asked. I mean why wouldn't they be on the porch with some apple cider or something. "Only one way to find out, Sugarcube." She points a hoof inside the barn.Totally not ominous at all. "Okay but I'm not good with surprises because you know bad hearts and all that." I give a nervous chuckle as I enter the barn. Inside was Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity surprisingly reorganizing the tools in the barn and getting what looks like a giant pile of.....Hay.....with a.... quilt on top of it. "What's with the hay pile?" "Oh, we didn't expect you to come back so early, darling." Rarity said while what I'm assuming is organizing some of the clothes I had commissioned from her earlier today.My god, she works fast. "I wasn't expecting to see you here either Rarity. Why are you?" I ask as I look around the barn and I can see a curtain that's around the giant hay pie. "Oh well, Darling. Since you are staying here until you can afford a new wagon I thought I would come by with your clothes and see about cleaning up the place." The sophisticated white pony said that with a smile. "Yeah!" Rainbow enthusiastically shouted. "And since, these guys are really slowpokes. I decided to clean as well. With my awesome pegasus speed, this barn will be so clean that you can eat food off the floor." "EWWW!!!" Everypony yelled. "Rainbow Dash, that's a revolting idiom to state." Rarity commented. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on a second. Why am I staying in the barn?" This is unacceptable. There is no bed for me no place for me to put my medicine, plus anypony can just walk right on in on me at any time. "Beggars can't be choosers, Trixie darling." Rarity said. "Yeah." Rainbow joined in. "Be grateful that you even have a place to stay for free and the bed is big enough that your entire body will be comfortable." I somehow doubt that hay will be comfortable. "Don't worry, the girls and I will make sure that your stay at Applejack's barn is comfortable and safe," Twilight reassured me. I was going to protest but I looked around and just sighed in defeat. I'm pretty sure every pony here in this room has some persuasive speech on why I should stay here. I should just accept the offer and skip the exhausting argument. "It doesn't look like I have too much of a choice in the matter." With a sigh I say. "I better make myself as cozy as I can with hay for a bed. At least the quilt is warm and really soft. Thanks, Rarity." "Nothing but the finest cotton fabrics for my new friend." Rarity clarified with a grateful smile and prideful tone for hearing my compliment. "But before you lay down and have some shut eye." Applejack said. "We better start cleaning the barn before the sun sets and Granny howlers us for dinner." "Yeah." We all shouted and began clearing some space for me to rest on. After what felt like a long hour of clearing various heavy items and washing every surface, the barn is finally clean enough that it appeared to be more of a very spacious house rather than a barn where the large farm tools are kept. Twilight went out twenty minutes ago, saying that she was going to grab something from her home to give to me. Rainbow Dash also left the scene fifteen minutes ago, everypony telling me that she might have taken a nap somewhere in the apple orchard or above the clouds. I kind of understand as I want to collapse on the hay pile right now and fall into a deep slumber (maybe munch on some hay as a late night snack). "Phew, that sure was exhausting work." Applejack stated. She removed her hat and uses her right hoof to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Indeed, it sure was." Rarity agreed. "Now that we're done here, I can finally go home and take a nice long herbal bubble bath to soothe my aching body." "A bath does sound good to have right now," I said, now desiring "You can use the bathtub in ma home." Applejack politely offered. Usually, I would refuse but my body is begging to be cleaned. "I'll take that offer then, Applejack," I replied. Clunk! I heard the metal hinges of the barn doors emit a clunk noise. The doors opened and I saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash came back. With them was a large light blue box that was about their size and was wrapped in a white ribbon. Twilight used her magic to levitate the seemingly heavy box while Rainbow was floating beside it with a huge grin on her face. "Hey girls, we're back," Twilight stated to everyone. "Sorry for unannouncedly leaving but I had to get Trixie's present from my house." "it's no problem at all," I said. " But you didn't have to give me anything. You girls already provided me everything I need to survive until I can get back on my hooves. I don't how I'll ever repay you back if you kept giving me more stuff." "Haa..." After I was done with my grateful speech, I heard Rainbow snicker loudly. I looked and saw her poorly attempting to hide her laughter by cover her face with her hooves and wings. "Did I said something funny?" I asked, feeling a little offended. The cyan pegasus waved her hooves like a shield. "Oh no no no no, it's just that the present we got you is really awesome and I can't wait for your reaction." She responded. "I'm so excited." "Okay," I said but I don't trust that answer. There must something suspicious inside that box. "Is this a prank gift." "Oh, there's no need to worry about Rainbow and her... wily personality." Rarity said reassuringly. "Her remarks are only in jest. We truly are thrilled to see what we all got for you." "Yes." Twilight agreed. "Pinkie Pie put all of her effort on this one." "Oh, if it is from Pinkie," I said. "Then I guess there's nothing suspicious about this present, right?" "Well, why don't ya go open dat box first then thank us fer it." Applejack chuckled and I give her a confused look but I doubt she noticed. I slowly approach the giant box as it was about four feet high from the looks of it. "Umm, okay?" A little weird but I thought nothing of it and remove the top cover of the present. I slowly looked down to see... "SURPRISE!!!!" "GAHHH!!!"I screamed at the top of my lung when some pink thing popped out of the box. My first primal instincts were to punch the thing that scared me in the face while screaming like a little foal. After the initial scare, I started freaking out because of who I just punched. "Oh, my god I'm so sorry I don't know what happened I just reacted." I'm freaking out really bad because I just punched Pinkie in the face. She was holding her muzzle and rolling on the ground. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"I repeated over and over. I'm so freaked out that I almost start vomiting. "Trixie, calm down." I hear Twilight's voice. "We don't need you having a panic attack on us. Breath Trixie breath." > Party of Pink > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After one quick vomit session at the nearby trash bin later, I sat down on the hay-filled while doing breathing exercises with a brown paper bag that Twilight instructed me to do. I was currently having a panic attack as I punched one of Twilight's friends. In my defense, she suddenly popped out of the giant box which I should have expected to happen when a giant box was presented but I let my guard down due to the fact it was a present that Twilight and her friends gave to me. The current activities and reactions of every individual who was currently inside the barn were different and unique. Immediately after the incident passed and Twilight came to my side, Rainbow Dash was laughing out loud and rolling on the barn floor, covering her entire body and wings with hay straws in the process but she did not care at the slightest for she appeared to have the time of her life Unlike her rowdy rainbow maned pegasus friend, Applejack took the situation seriously and came to Pinkie's side to aid her with any injuries that she might have received from my punch. The pink pony's nose was bleeding quite a lot on both nostrils. It was a good thing we had an extra of clean white cloths that we were using to clean the barn. Unfortunately, Rarity couldn't provide her generous skills to Pinkie for... well, she fainted when the pink pony's nose began to bleed. The fashionista must have been extremely squeamish when she saw blood because she took the time to take out a fancy looking purple cushion couch somewhere and, in a slow, gentle and overdramatic manner, fainted on the furniture while she used her magic to levitate a fan to provide some wind on her face. And back to me... I took out the paper bag from my mouth. "I'm calm, I'm calm," I repeated the phrase while everypony else makes sure Pinkie is alright. "Again I'm so sorry Pinkie." "It's okay." Pinkie mumbles while removing the cloth from her nose. "I know you didn't mean it." "But I punched you straight in the face," I told her, still horrified that I just did that on instinct. "Yeah, you sure did," Rainbow remarked as she wiped a tear from her right cheek. "Usually ponies just jump up in the air and yelp like little foals and Fluttershy after hearing my super scary stories." "Rainbow Dash!" Applejack grunted. "This is serious. You shouldn't make fun of Trixie's accident..." "It's not an accident..." She replied. "It was instinct. Trixie must have punched Pinkie because she thought an Ursa Minor was going to attack her." She was half right. It was instinct but I didn't think an Ursa Minor was going jump at me. My first instinct was to punch Pinkie was due to it's just that I was really tired, famished and my mind was occupied with cleaning the barn that... uhh... uhhh... yeah, I can't find an answer on that one. "Ah'm pretty sure Pinkie doesn't look at all like an Ursa Major..." Applejack said. "Minor..." Rainbow corrected. "It doesn't matter..." Applejack was beginning to sound irritated. Maybe I should... "Yes, you're right, Applejack. It doesn't matter." Twilight calmly said while she got between the two ponies and their conversation. "Whether it was an accident, basic instincts or Trixie gets scared easily..." "Hey!" I yelled. "All that matters is that Pinkie is fine and she isn't the slightest mad about it." I sheepishly looked at the pink pony. "Ummm... isn't that right, Pinkie." Please let me be right or I'll be in big prob-. "Uh huh, I know you didn't do that on purpose." Pinkie reassured me and her friends with a huge grin on her face. "In fact, this isn't the first time I got hit in the face by something and this happened." "Wait... WHAT?!" We all shouted in shock. "Pinkie Pie, you never told us about this." Twilight got closer to the pink pony with a worried expression. Her other friends kept a distance but I know they were worried as well and must However, Pinkie simply chuckled at the situation. "What? I thought you guys already knew about that?" "Again... WHAT?!" Twilight yelled, becoming more confused and a little irritated by Pinkie's cryptic response. She turned to her friends. "Girls, did you knew about this?" "No way, no how, Twi." Applejack shook her head. "Absolutely not, Darling." Rarity said "Pinkie, are you pranking us or something?" Rainbow Dash rushed towards the pink pony and grabbed her by the shoulders, face to face. "If this is serious-" She paused. Why did she pau- Thunk! What the?!? She fainted! Why did she faint?! Her body went limp and lied motionless on the barn floor. Her cyan fur appeared to become paler color. Is that even possible? "Huh? What's wrong, Dashie?" Pinkie asked, though her tone sounds normal rather than concerned considering her friend suddenly passed out. "Now what?" Rarity whined as the situation kept changing drastically. The purple mane pony looked at Rainbow, then at Pinkie and finally... looked away from both ponies. "Pinkie Darling..." "Yes, Rarity?" "Your nose is gushing blood again." She informed. Just like Rarity said, Pinkie's nose is bleeding again. Pinkie wiped some blood from her left nostril and inspected with her right hoof. "Oh, it seems so." My hearts feel like I can't take in more stress if this situation continues. "How hard did I punch you, Pinkie?" I desperately asked. "I barely have much strength as it is. I had a hard time carrying a small box filled with apples during the barn clean up." "Oh, this isn't anything bad at all, Trixie." Pinkie shoved a cloth on both of her nostrils. "I just have a minor health condition that makes my nose bleed easily. HAAA!" She took a heavy inhale of air. "It doesn't matter if it was natural or I got hit directly at the nose. HAAA!" She took another gasp for air. "My nose goes SPLOOOSH! with my body's not-so-delicious cherry punch juice. HAAA!" After she took the last long gasp, the room went silent for a few seconds until... "I didn't know that!" All the ponies and I shouted in surprise, even though I barely knew the pink pony. Rainbow Dash also moaned some words that might be that but I'm not sure. "How is that possible?" Applejack couldn't accept that fact for some reason. "I've seen your face get hit with pies and other stuff all the time. And none of those times did ya have a nosebleed." "Oh. that's simple, you sillies. I just turned the other cheek before anything got near my nose. Most of the time, it works." She smiled. "Like I said don't worry a thing and let's get this part-" "Hold on!" Twilight shouted. "When you said 'this isn't the first time I got hit in the face by something and this happened' and 'most of the time, it works', you did have a few nosebleeds. Is that correct?" "That's right." "Then how come we didn't see-" "Twilight, I'm fine. Let's just forget about my nosebleeds, turn those frowny faces upside down and let's get this party started." Then she pulls a cannon from nowhere and fires. I can't help but flinch at the sudden noise but when I recover the whole barn has been decorated with party supplies. As the party got started and Rainbow Dash finally shook off her unusual faint moment, I scarfed down on the baked goods that Pinkie made and brought with her to the barn. Apparently, the party and the food was the surprise present, which I am truly grateful that she and her friends did to me. I should be enjoying the party but my curiosity about something that Pinkie possessed won't let me. "Pinkie Pie," I called her, who was currently still arranging the food on the table. "Yes, Trixie?" She responded with so much pep. "Where did she get that cannon?" I asked myself and I can feel my sanity slipping some from trying to figure it out. "And why does it shoot streamers and confetti instead of... well, I don't... a cannonball!" "I got it from a pirate," Pinkie enthusiastically explained suddenly in front of me and it causes me to almost punch her again from the scare. "Two things Pinkie."I then take a deep breath. "One doesn't suddenly appear on my face you are very likely to get a knuckle sandwich like that, and two a pirate?" "Yeah, you ponies that sail the seven seas taking all the mares and making robberies." "I know what a pirate is Pinkie, but why do you have pirates giving you cannons?" I then feel a hoof tap one of my legs and who the hoof belonged to was Twilight. "Yes, Twilight?" "I wouldn't go down that rabbit hole Trixie I tried it once it." Twilight then shivers. "I pull rabbits out of hats all the time, and I am determined to pull the rabbit from this hole." I proclaimed in my usual flashy manner. I notice the odd looks from everypony. "What you set me up for that." "Yeah, yeah, I did, didn't I." Everypony then chuckles. After that little bit of fun moment, we got the party going Applejack taking care of the formerly white rags so rainbow doesn't end up passing out on us. I had almost forgotten she doesn't handle blood very well. "Well to help calm everypony down. I grabbed some hard apple cider." Applejack announces when she came back. "Hard cider? Applejack darling you rarely bring that stuff out."Rarity said while everypony was both confused and excited. I am just confused about the difference between regular cider and hard cider, but I don't say anything I don't want to ruin my own party after all... Well, more than I already have anyway. "Alright, everypony try not ta have to much fun with the stuff ya hear. So that means a three drink maximum." Applejack ordered as she starts passing out mugs filled with the apparently potent drink. Well potent enough for everyone to have a three drink maximum at least. Once everybody gets a mug Applejack stands on a bit of hay that's not part of my bed and hold her mug in the air. "To friendship." "TO FRIENDSHIP!" Everypony cheers before slamming down the drinks. It tasted like apples and burned going down. It burns so much that I end up coughing. Not that bad of one but it's enough to make me not want to drink any more of the stuff. "You okay Trixie dear?" I hold a finger up basically saying one moment. "Yeah, I'm good." I then take a moment to catch my breath. "I just wasn't expecting it to burn so much." "Yea, Ah probably should have warned ya that the first taste is always the hardest ta swaller." Applejack explained then started chugging her mug like a champion. Rainbow seems to have taken that as some challenge as she starts chugging as well. Soon enough they are down six cups of the stuff. "Uh oh looks like their at it again." I hear Twilight say. "At what again?" I asked as I continue to watch the impromptu drinking contest.Man I can barely get one drink down and they're going to town on the stuff. I wonder how they do it? "Almost every time the Cider comes out those to start seeing who can drink the most. "AH -Hick- Ah beat you this time RD." One drunken farmer mare proclaimed before slamming another. "Nuh-uh." Was all Rainbow could muster before she passed out. After a very short-lived yee-haw howler from Applejack, she passed out as well.The answer is they don't. "We better get the darlings home." Rarity then takes a deep breath. "I'll let Rainbow's herd know what happened." "I didn't know rainbow had a herd?" Twilight says in surprise and yeah it is quite surprising. I thought Applejack would have been the one in a herd given what I have seen of her family first mentality. "Oh? OOH, That's right you're still new yourself, Twilight." Rarity then sits on the couch which she used to faint on earlier. "Well, it's rather a long tale, Darlings but I'll shorten it for you." She cleared her throat before continuing. "I heard through the grapevine that when Rainbow was in flight school she helped their lead stallion out quite a bit so he owed Rainbow a huge favor. Well, years later when Rainbow moved to Ponyville and need a place to crash he helped her out and the rest they say is history." "In...*hic*... res...*hic*...ting." I... I... Bleah, Trixie stammered as the... the... cider is taking effect. Feeling intoxicated after drinking my second mug of hard apple cider, Trixie only heard one or two worlds... I mean, words... Trixie thinks the talking marshmallow was talking about stallions and doing something with rainbows... Trixie doesn't remember. "Twix...Eeeee" A purple unicorn... wait, that's Twibright. Yes, Twibright called out someone named Twix and squeed for some reason. "I... you drink.... enough cider..." "You...*hic*...want Trixie to not...*hic*... not drink more cider?" Trixie asked the purple paintbrush while chugging my third mug. "Yesssss..." "Oak...*hic*... kay then." Trixie dropped my third mug on the floor... and reached for my fourth one, immediately chugged it and grabbed another mug. "Twix... Eeeee, I told you nnnnnno... to drink more cider." The purple mane brush yelled at me. "Trixie is doing what you told me to do, talking purple floor mop," Trixie whined. Trixie doesn't understand what it is going on about. "Talking pur-wha? No, that's not the point. You have to stooooo... drinking hard cider." "*hic*Why?*hic*" I asked. "Oh, I doooon't know... Maybe, it's because you're sitting on top of me!" It yelled out loud. "Shh, shh, Trixie needs sleep." Trixie is feeling a great and sleepy sensation. "Well, you can sleep once I'm out from under you." Trixie's purple pillow says. Trixie is too tired to care. Trixie also takes*hic*one more drink.*Hic* "G'night pillow" Trixie going to sleepy time now. "NUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" > Regrets and Discoveries > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ow, my head" Trixie's... I mean, I moaned in anguish. From my joints to my brain, I can feel every pounding aches repeatedly hit the insides of my body. How many hard apple ciders did I consume to have this horrible torment to occur on me? Was this my punishment... AHHH! Must... not... overthink... too... much... of my... current... predica- AHH! Dilem- AHH! ... Problem. Seriously, what was wrong with the other words? Whatever. I rubbed the temples of my head. Ooooh yeah, this feels soothing. I'm going to do this until the pounding sensation goes away. But why is everything dark still? I heard the rooster's call, signaling the rise of Celestia's sun and the start of the morning dawn. Hmm? Oh... Hehe, my eyes are still closed. I'm really silly today. Ummm... I can feel the muscles of my eyelids but they don't seem to be opening up. I hate to do this but I need the help of my fingers to allow me to regain my physical sight of my sore yet still functioning eyes. But I don't wanna. If I let go of my fingers' current objective, that pounding headache will come back. What should I do? Should I open my eyes or continue on with... AHHHH! "The light it burns!!!" I shouted at the top of my lung as my sight has been regained, only to first experience the piercing bright glare of the sun. My body seemed to have grown impatient with my petty decision making and instinctively forced open my eyelids. "Ugh! Hey girls, Trixie's finally awake." I heard a familiar voice groaned. "Yay!" Now I hear three new voices exhaustedly cheered. Giyah! I feel my hay bed squirm and twitch so unnaturally. Wait, I didn't remember going to my hay bed last night. The only last moment that I could recollect was me drinking my last mug of hard apple cider and collapsing on to... oh no. I nervously looked down... AHHH! "I'm so sorry, guys. I'm sorry." I repeatedly apologized. I can't believe I just used Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash as my cushions for my slumber. Ugh! This is so embarrassing. "No, it's alright, Sugarcube." Applejack calmly reassured me while she gently stroked my back with her right foreleg. "Speak for yourself." Rainbow Dash grumpily protested, crossed her forelegs and puffed her right cheek. "While she was sound asleep, we had a terrible time being her bed." "Like I said, I'm truly sorry for what my inebriated-self has done to all of you girls." "It's quite fine, Darling." Rarity joined in on the conversation while she levitated three ice packs. "Ow, my head" I muttered as I apply an ice pack to my head along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. This morning was embarrassing, mostly because I used Twilight as a pillow. She was not happy about that. I will be apologizing to her later especially after I tossed her out of the barn for her horn magic being too bright. "Tell me about it sister," Rainbow says a little loud making all three of us wince. "Sorry" "This is why Ah put the three drink limit." Applejack mumbled. "So how much trouble are you in with your herd this time Rainbow" "I'm not getting ear scritches from Jack for a week." She almost shouts but thankfully doesn't. "He gives the best ear scratches." Applejack nods in understanding. "Jack? That's a weird name for a pony." I say as I put the ice pack down to let my head warm up some. "Oh, that's because he isn't he's called a human." My eye's open wide at what The cyan Pegasus words "You probably never heard of them." She must not have been listening when we were at the hospital. Oh wait that's right she passed out when I had a little incident, still, I do wonder why the others didn't say anything about this? "Think I could meet this Jack person Rainbow?" I ask. "I'm a little curious about what this human is like." "Um, sure I guess I just need to ask his mother Lyra." Rainbow replies taking my ice pack and putting it on her head."But just a heads up, if you do meet him, is that he's just a kid that Lyra took in." "My memory about yer herd is a little fuzzy. Who exactly is in your herd?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. "There's Bulk Biceps, the cloud twins, Lyra, and her adoptive son so five adult ponies and one foal." Rainbow replies "Really Darling? I thought Lyra was with That candy maker friend of hers." Rarity then pauses for a moment. "Oh, what was her name again Juicy fruit? No, no that's not it Bon-Bon that's it." Shouts with excitement and I decided to take this opportunity to head a quieter place to nurse my hangover. "Again I am sorry about using all as a bed but I need to start looking for some way to earn bits without the use of all my legs." We exchange our goodbyes and I head into town albeit slowly, so I have some time to think about what I need to do and how to go about it. I think I should start working on my magic act now that I have all this extra free time, but what to work on card tricks? No not flashy enough, maybe I could cut myself in half. No no that won't work I don't have a body double. I got it I could call a volunteer and make them disappear maybe even make them reappear as a different race? Yeah, that will work but of course, I would need to find someponies that look similar and use some makeup but that will a good trick to end the show with. What to do in while I find said ponies to preform with? Maybe I should practice my archery with some hunting. I could use the protein in my diet plus doctors orders I got to eat more. I know that Applejack has some pigs on her farm but I don't think she would let me eat one. Maybe Rainbow knows someone who knows about animals then I could ask them about any good hunting spots. Venison does sound good right about now. "Maybe once my leg is better, I'll go hunting," I say to no one in particular. As I walk I hear the sounds of birds singing and I can also feel a cool spring breeze. It kinda reminds me of when I left home two weeks ago. My mother was in tears while my dad was smiling but I know he was crying on the inside because he's always been a bigger softie than mother. "Maybe I should write them and tell them about my new friends.....Well assuming they aren't just hanging out with me because of pity like so many others." I have to stop myself from going down that road. "No. They are my friends." ".........I hope." But there was some self-doubt as I barely knew them and making quick assumptions might jinx it somehow. GAHHH! All this thinking is making me depressed and more hungry for some venison. Heck, I'd even go for... some... rabbit... I licked my lips as I just saw the most delicious looking white rabbit right now. While I was having a depressing inner monologue with myself, my eyes caught a glimpse of a tiny yet meaty white rabbit hopping along the field with a carefree attitude. Damn I don't have my bow or arrow's with me looks like its the little bugger lives another day. > The Long and Over Chapter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I decide to take a short rest just off the path and near enough to the town so I could catch my breath and see if I can get the last of my hangover to go away. I find a nice shady spot underneath an oak tree with dandelions scattering in the gentle breeze.It kinda looks like it came straight out of a painting.I can't help but chuckle at the thought as I lay under the tree. "I might have to come here more often it's nice and peaceful," I say to myself as I lay under the tree. I can feel my eyes slowly getting heavier and I soon find myself on the edge of dreamland. I don't know if I fell asleep or not but I do know that I now feel something small and warm on my back, which seems to be enough to wake me up and look to see what's their anyway. Low and behold, it's the delectable rabbit from the field, laying there, flopped on his back so that's how I know the rabbit is male I can see his coin purse, unfortunately. Ugh! Eww... That is so weird to specify in my mind. Hangovers making me weird... eh, who am I kidding... weirder. "Hey, little guy what are you doing?" I reach over and rub his belly. He jumps a little as he didn't seem to expect me to rub his belly but he quickly calmed down and enjoy the attention. After about a minute or so I can hear a Pegasus flying closer. I pay it no mind as I continue to pet the bunny. "Oh, there you are Angel Bunny. You know better than to run off like that." A soft yet familiar voice from above followed by some harder flaps that indicate that whoever has just landed. I turn to the direction of the voice and I see a butter yellow Pegasus with a light pink mane, tail and strangely enough, the tips of her feathers are pink as well. I remember seeing her while I was in the hospital. I think her name is Butterfly. "Oh, I hope Angel hasn't bothered you too much, Trixie. Ponies sometimes think he's too much of a hoof-full." "He's been a... well, an Angel really." I jest which caused for both of us to share a slight chuckle. "So how have you' been, Butterfly?" I asked.Huh come to think of it I don't think I saw her at the party last night. Was she invited? She makes this weird eep noise before answering. "Close but no cider...I hope that's right," She whispered under her breath, unsure if she said the right expression. Ugh! I don't want to be near any cider for the rest of my life. Last night was such a blur and so embarrassing. Hard cider is the D-word and H-word combined together. "It's Fluttershy." She giggled and I blush at my mistake. "And to answer your question Trixie I have been good I was just gonna take angel bunny and get some apples to give to some of my animal friends." She then picks up the rabbit much to his dismay but he doesn't put up too much of a fight. "I'll just take Angel Bunny here and be on our way." No, she can't leave now. I made such a disappointing greeting to her that I have to make up for it. "No! Wait, Butter... I mean, Fluttershy!" I shouted rather dramatically. I reached out my right hand towards the yellow pegasus. This sudden action caused her to scream in terror and go stiff as if she got frozen by the frozen tundra. "Oops, sorry." I sheepishly apologized, rubbing the back of my head with my right hand. I slowly raised my body and saw Fluttershy flinched a bit. "I just wanted to ask you where were you last night?" I asked. "You weren't invited to my party, did you?" Because if that's the case then that will break both of my hearts. "Oh no, I did receive an invite but I was rather too occupied at that even to attend." She explained. "I guess that makes sense. I mean I wouldn't attend a party if I had the stuff to do to." I sigh "But given my line of work I would probably be working at the party." I see a rather large looking insect with bright green eyes leave the tree but I think nothing of it. "If I may ask what were you occupied with Fluttershy?" "Well, getting all of my little animal friends to bed and waking up the nocturnal ones." She says with a smile. The rabbit, on the other hand, seems to be getting impatient as the tapping of his foot, it had a grumpy expression and its little arms crossed are anything to go on. "Animal friends? How many would you need to have that you would miss a party?" I ask as I stand up and Fluttershy flinches a little when I stand to my full height. "Oh, that's right you have never seen me standing up before." "No, no it's alright and to answer your question. Well, I have about..." Fluttershy placed her right hoof on her chin as she pondered for a bit. "There are sixteen of my critter friends living at my cottage. Six birdies, a family of six squirrels, three bunnies including Angel Bunny and Harry." That's a lot of animals. "Harry? who's that?" I ask.Could Harry be her coltfriend? She is pretty enough to have one but somehow I don't think that's the case. But if it is, how scandalous of her. "Oh, my cute widdle Brown Bear friend." She beams with excitement as she says. "B-Bear?" I say as I start shaking to the point where I think my cast might break. "W-what's the matter, Trixie?" Fluttershy asks with genuine concern. That's some relief that she does worry but then again she just seems kind all around. "It's nothing I just have a slight fear of bears ever since the Ursa attack about a month ago." I shuddered at the memory of that night. "Sometimes I can still feel the breath of that monster breathing down my neck." "Oh, my." Fluttershy covered her mouth with both of her hooves. "How unfortunate, but I know Harry would never attack anypony" "I don't care and as long as Harry stays far far away from me I am happy," I say with no small amount of fear in my voice. "I am truly sorry to hear that you got such a phobia from that horrible event but if it helps, Harry is a big pushover and a real big softie who just wanted to give and receive lots of cuddles." Yeah, I don't care about that. I just want all bears to stay far, far away from me. She then takes off to the air to go get a bunch of apples. Maybe it was for her animal friends. "Anyway, I have some chores to do back at my cottage. See you later, Trixie." "See you later too, Fluttershy." After waving farewell, I resumed my journey into town which felt kinda weird now after the conversation with Fluttershy. I better see if I can collect my stuff... well, whatever remains of my stuff from town hall before I start doing anything. I think to myself as I resume my trip into town. > A Great Encounter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please sign right here. And here. And here. And... "UGGGGHHHH!!! SO MUCH PAPERWORK!!!"I loudly thought myself. I'm almost finished with the last of an hours worth of paperwork. It wasn't an easy feat to achieve or to endure as while signing them, I completely exhausted my right hand and horn. I have been at this for so long that my hand cramped so I had to switch to magic. And apparently, only residents can obtain any jobs in this town with few exceptions and the paperwork for becoming a resident is not to be underestimated and that's not including the paperwork for retrieving my stuff that after my trailer was destroyed. "Just one last signature... Aaaaaaaaaand DONE!" I joyfully exclaimed as I put down the quill and stretched my back. The sound of giggles catches my attention, so I look over to see Mayor Mare with a hoof over her mouth. "What's so funny?" "Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all Trixie." The beige fur mare says with a wave of a hoof "I just thought that I should treat us to lunch after so much paperwork but if you are gonna get a job in Ponyville right away..." "Yeah, I could eat. Where are we going?" I stand up and pop my upper back. "I made reservations at a fancy cafe called Le-Ponied." she then look around for a second then whispers "Just between you and me, I think it's too fancy of a name for a coffee shop but their doughnuts could rival Sugar Cube Corners own sweets." "That sounds delicious. Let me just grab my stuff and we can head out." She nods and I grab a not quite medium but also not quite a large box that contains stuff like clothes, my wooden cross... Ummm, I mean, my Crucifix, a re-framed picture of my family, and my bow but sadly no arrows. "Oh, no need for that. I asked Applebloom and her little friends to take care of that." Mayer Mare said reassuringly with a small smile. "Two questions; why and how?" I asked setting the box down. "To answer the why it's simple why not and the how with five bits and a chance to earn their cutie marks without having to cause too much property damage." I have to pause for a moment when she says that. "Property damage? What could a couple of adorable foals do to cause that much trouble?" "Oh, you would be surprised." She pauses to rub her chin. "In fact, it might be better if you take your stuff with you Celestia knows what ideas they could get looking at your possessions." "Okay then." I pick the box back up and head out... But before I open the door, my curiosity kept pounding an important yet annoying in my mind that I finally decided to comply it to satisfy it. "Oh before I go do you know anything about a human kid?" "Hmm, oh yes Jake he came into our quaint little town about two years ago. Poor kid was lost, hungry and confused around his surroundings when he got here. He was first seen scrounging around Sugarcube Corner's trash bins. It's too bad he didn't know about Pinkie Pie or that Sugarcube doesn't throw any food at all." She shook her head and cough. "Ahem... Pardon for being a little descriptive. "No, it's no problem at all. Please continue." I said, "Okay then. Anyway, I thought he was going to a bad seed route but thanks to Lyra he has been able to make lots of friends." She continued. "To bad for his arrival caused Lyra and Bon-Bon to get a divorce." "Why would that happen?" I asked, feeling a little curious and sad about the development. "That's not my place to say or judge. I just signed the paperwork." She says with a shrug. "Well okay, then I'll see you at the cafe," I said as I turned around and- "Trixie, wait!" Mayor Mare shouted. "Yes?" I responded, feeling a little shocked. "Is something the matter?" "Could you umm... please don't mention anypony of me telling you about Jake. I don't want the residents to spread the news again and making him sad again. He finally got settled in our town and stop feeling depressed about the divorce." "Of course. The last thing I need is creating unnecessary tension for anypony... and anyone." and with that, I headed out of town hall. And coincidentally, as soon as I took my first step on the stairs, my stomach began to growl a mighty beast-like sound. I lowered my box for a moment and patted my belly with my right hand. "I guess, I should put my stuff away back at the barn." I sighed. "Haaa... I hope I get enough bits for the tip." On my way back I happen to pass Le-Ponied and with my growing hunger, I decided to go ahead and wait for Mayor Mare so I take a seat next to some bushes. I opt to sit on the ground with my box next to me for comfort reasons. As I wait for Mayor Mare I ordered an Egg salad; no ranch and extra cheese. I'm happily eating my meal when I hear "psst" coming from beyond the bushes. "Hello?" I said, looking in the direction of the noise and I see a small tuft of brown hair trying to hide behind the hedge. "Hi, I'm Jake." The voice now known as Jake introduced himself. "Jake, huh? I heard quite a bit about you," I told him as I resume my meal. I should say anything delicate about him if I don't want to scare the kid away or make him cry after all. I'm never good with foals. Human kids are a whole new and awkward level that I never thought would happen in my lifetime. Then again, my mom is here and she's human, so I should have expected more of her kind; young or old. "Only good things, I hope." He says in a joking manner, though I sense a hint of worry from his tone. Remember, Trixie. First impressions are everything. Don't screw this one up, like you did to the recent ones in this town. I finally see his face its similar to mind except with a broader chin, bushier eyebrows, and a missing front tooth. A canine to be accurate. He wore a turquoise hoodie with a golden... harp, I think. Yeah, the hoodie had a golden harp emblem on his left chest. He also had pants and shoe that I can't tell their style. I was never good at identifying clothing, especially human ones. "So, how did another human got to this place?" He eagerly asked, rubbing his right hand on his left arm and fidgeting a lot while standing still indicating his nervous. "I was born here and in case my horn didn't give it away but I'm not entirely a human," I said putting down my fork. I can see the disappointed look on his face. "Really?!" He questioned, tilting his head to the left meaning he was confused. I looked at his eyes and see that he was observing my features. "Oh!" He exclaimed, finally realizing that I was indeed not entirely human. "Yeah, I am half human on my mom's side," I replied. "Where does she live? Can I meet her?" Jake said with a good deal of passion and I think desperation.Is he really that desperate to meet more of his kind? "She might be helping my dad with his Las Pegasus show about this time of year." I give an honest reply with a huge grin that I can't just contain whenever I talked about my parents. "Is your dad a stage magician?" The familiar voice of Mayor Mare said, scaring me. Now both Jake and Mayor Mare are laughing. "Yeah, yeah it up, and no, he just owns a hotel called The Jack Pot hotel." I puffed my chest up, feeling prideful of my father's achievement but I noticed that Mayor Mare stopped laughing almost immediately. "You mean the very hotel that has the Wild Blue Yonder roller coaster?" The grey-maned mare asked in shock. "Yeah, it gets super busy about this time of year and my dad needs all the help he can get," I replied. "I wanted to join him someday up there in Las Pegasus after a couple years traveling around Equestria and be known by all as the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!" I happily exclaimed. Oops, I think I overdid that one. My loud boastful voice attracted the attention of nearby ponies. Jake and Mayor Mare tilted their heads, feeling both confused and surprised of my... overdramatic speech. "Ahem... sorry for the theatrics. I just got a little excited." I apologized. "Oh, it's no problem at all, Ms. Trixie." Mayor Mare reassured me. "I found your future goals interesting to hear. I'm glad to see you have a determined spirit to follow your dreams and planned a stable future for not only to yourself but to your family as well." I can feel my face blush so much from that compliment. "T-thank you, Mayor Mare. I really appreciate that." "Well, take my words to heart. As the mayor of this fine little hamlet, I want everyone to feel safe and happy, citizen or not." I was about to say more but my stomach had other plans as it growled a furious noise. "Oops, I guess my stomach wants to cut our conversation short. Sorry, Jake but maybe we can continue our conversation sometime later this afternoon." I told him. "Oh, okay, Ms. Trixie," he said, sounding a little disappointed. "I was looking for Applebloom and others anyway." Now we're done with the chit-chat, I can now continue eating my delicious salad. I shoved my fork on- "Wait!" Jake called out. "Yes?" "Can I ask one more question." He asked. He did the puppy dog eyes. Ugh! My hearts can't handle that level of cuteness. Must comply or might have heart attacks from the adorableness. "Sure, Jake. I'm happy to answer anything you have to ask." I responded with an uneased grin. He took a few breaths before he was ready to say his question. "So, were you born with pony legs or..." He questioned. Oh, I guess he's curious why I'm half and half. I did say I was part-human on my mom's side. Maybe, he wants to know if magic was involved with my unusual form. Magic is usually the logical topic on this kind of question. Well, he's young, so he doesn't know about biology or Centaurs. I should tell him the truth... or maybe, I should mess him around. "Hey, Jake. Come here." I called him. He complied without some hesitation due to being a little nervous about what my answer was going to be. I leaned down close to Jake until I got near his right ear. "I didn't look like this, you know?" I whispered and seeing the little human boy shiver. "I once had only two human legs... until I did something that caused these..." I and Jake looked down at my pony-half body. "... to suddenly appear." "Do you want to know what I did to become like this?" I made my voice sound more grim to give the boy a fright of his life. With a gulp, a reluctant nod and a light-hearted eye roll from the Mayor. I continued on. "I started misbehaving like a lot." The look of confusion was evident so I elaborated. "I never listened to my parents, did not do my chores, tossing a hissy fit every day, refusing to take my medicine and a bunch of etceteras of being rude. The whole cheesy quesadilla." It's so cheesy! Huh, what was that? I heard a faint shout of fear coming from somewhere. It sounds like a mare's voice and also really familiar. "What was that?" Jake asked. Thank you, I was a little curious myself. "Oh, no need to worry about that." Mayor Mare replied. "There's a certain mare in Ponyville who has an irrational fear of quesadillas. She must have heard you say somehow, Trixie." Okay, that's a little weird. Who would be afraid of a tasty and cheesy food? I hope I never meet the weirdo while I'm in this town. "So anyway, I continued my mean girl streak for a couple of months until one day I suddenly woke up with no feet but with hooves and two extra feet at the far back." I gestured to my lower half. "W-w-what?!" Jake practically shouts and the look on his face I can't hold it back anymore and I just start laughing my butt off. "What's so funny?" "Jake dear. Trixie was just having some little foalish fun with you." Mayor Mare said with some chuckles of her own. "So, I won't turn into a pony for misbehaving?" Jake asked. "Oh no, there is some truth to her tale." She said with a false grim tone. "Wha-what is it?" "There are consequences for your actions." The older mare quickly adjusting her glasses. "So its best to think before I act?" Jake then gave us a deadpan stare. "I already knew that." "I wouldn't be so sure, Remember last week when you got into a fight with filthy riches daughter." Mayor mare gives Jake a knowing look. "Really now? I would like to hear that story." I say but before Mayor Mare can tell the story Jake decided now is a good time to book it without saying goodbye. "What got into him?" "Who knows." was the only thing she said. I just shrugged it off as it might not be important to be curious at. And with that, we resumed our meal. > Dear Daddy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Daddy, It's your favorite daughter Trixie. I know I promised I would write to you immediately after my first show and tell you about it but some pranksters decided to take my wagon wheels and I now have to do weekly shows to pay for new wheels. The turn out is okay and everypony loved the performance that we've practiced for years but I'm not gonna lie the tips could have been better. Yes yes, I know you well enough and that you want to send me the bits to pay for replacement wheels but I want to do this on my own. Like how you got the Jackpot hotel on your own, through hard work and determination. Hows mom doing I know she's a worry wort but I discovered something in my travels I discovered another human. His name is Jake and he seems like a nice boy if a little gullible but I thought mom would like to know that she's not the only one of her kind. His herd seems nice and I have become friends with a couple of the mares as well. Rainbow Dash is a little bit arrogant, but she does have the skill to back up her boasting. Rainbow is also incredibly loyal she helped me out when I feeling a little sick. Jake's mom, Lyra, was a bit of an oddball when I first met her but she seems nice and you might wanna tell mom this she is apparently on the verge of a discovery on how Jake got here as well. She is in an orchestra that plays at... get this... at the Grand Galloping Galla! Yes, you heard me right, THE Grand Galloping Gala. You said it comes around almost once a year and all of the high-class socialites from all over Equestria gather to Canterlot Castle to talk to the one and only Princess Celestia. I heard that Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's long-lost sister, attended this year's gala from the rumors I heard during my travels. I really wanted to see the princess of the moon and dreams with my own two eyes. She must be really beautiful and shine like the moon and stars she brings forth during the night. Oops, I got a little side track just now. Pardon me. As I was saying, Lyra offered me to be her plus one partner for next year's gala but I turned it down as I didn't want to be that guy... I mean, gal you know? That plus one should be reserved for somepony special to her. Listen, she has... well, she had a wife but they got a divorce due to personal reasons that I don't want to tell as it would be rude and not my business to gossip about willy-nilly. Anyway, Lyra also told me that she has a hobby, or what she calls her 'super secret part-time job', of being an anthropologist whatever that is. She said something about studying humans and their activities or something like that. I wasn't really listening carefully at the time. I have told Lyra what I know about mom, which is surprisingly low as she sounded a little disappointed when I gave her my knowledge. Maybe because mom never really talks about herself before she came to Equestria. Why is that, maybe you can ask her why that is for me? Oh there is also Mayor Mare, the elected leader of Ponyville and a nice mare to be around. I know that mom will get a kick out of her name but I'm not really sure if it is her real one. I'll ask her if I ever have the chance to hang around. Anyway, she and I had lunch recently. She has quite a sense of humor let tell you. I told Jake that I was more like him at one point but due to being a spoiled brat I started Turning into a pony. Mayor Mare quickly caught on and added more to the story. She apparently is Jake unofficial aunt. They became really close with each other during the .......well divorce as I mentioned earlier. Anyway, I thought I would give you the letter that I promised to send you after my debut even if it was a little late then promised. Don't worry, I'll write to you more when you respond to this letter. My temporary address is at the back of the envelope. But if you threw the envelope, just send your response letter at Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville. With lots and lots of love your Great and Powerful Centaur and number one daughter, Trixie > Filler > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Putting my stuff up didn't take to long and while I was doing that, I was thinking about what I'm going to do for work. I thought about working with Twilight at the local library but I somehow think she doesn't need help. Then there is just the good old fashion job hunting but who would hire someone with a broken leg. "Man this sucks," I grumbled as I head over to the main apple house for a nice relaxing bubble bath at what looks like the biggest bathtub that I have ever seen. I swear, I think I've seen swimming pools smaller than this one. Too bad I can't lay on my human back due to my pony half. I had to be low enough to reach my chest and let the shower cover the rest of my upper torso. But I don't care for it has been too long since I had a nice bubble bath. I grabbed a towel from the bathroom closet turn on the water. The water I have to where it's steaming but not boiling. Next, I add the most important things for a bubble bath are the bubbles, the quantity that can overfill the bath and the quality of making me relaxed and make my entire body into metaphorical jelly. This being the Apple family one would think they have Apple scented... Heck, Apple flavored soap but nope. They use lavender soap. I had to learn the hard way after gagging on the soap. Who would have thought? Well, a complete moron would've and unfortunately, I'm not one. Anyway, I take off my new shirt that Rarity designed for me and unwrap my "support" bandages off my chest and put my cast in a plastic bag. Screw the cast, I'm glad it's coming off tomorrow anyway. Been looking forward to that for a while. You would not believe how much the healing magic in it itches. I set my lower half in the tub and I can feel the warmth hit me. "Oh, Yeaaaaaaaaaah. I needed this." I muttered as I get comfy in the bubbles. Maybe I'll stay here an hour or so until somepony knocks or breaks down the door and pull me out with all their might. I could just die here now... Ahhhhhhh... *Knock knock "Trixie." Mmmmm... indeed. I am the great and powerful Trixie. Bask in my glory, my lovely audience and shower me with all of your admiration, and things... *Knock knock "Trixie?" Yes, Trixie wants to have all of your finest chocolate truffles and delicious grape juice. Only the best and refined for the greatest performer... which is moi, please. *KNOCK KNOCK! "TRIXIE!" Wha?! Who's... Waaaaa! When I tried to rise up from the bath, some of the bubbles on the palm of hands caused me to slip and I hit my face towards the faucet. Oww... Oww, my nose. Chalk that one on my injury list. Gah, I hope that didn't cause a visible mark because I don't want them... "TRIXIE!" Ahhh, my hearts... they can't take the surprises. Somepony... a mare... was barking my name behind the bathroom's wooden barn door. "Yes, who is it?" I meekly asked as I got out of the bathtub and find some tissues after I just found out right now that my nose is bleeding heavily. "It's Applejack." She responded. Í let out a quiet annoyed groan as to not let the orange mare hear it and feel like she did something bad to me. I slip in my towel on my upper human torso, covering my ássets before I approached the door. "Whats so important that it couldn't wait until I was out of the tub?" I asked, letting my irritation show a little which I feel was a bit rude to do but I can't help it. "Pardon me, Sugarcube. Ah just wanted to check up on ya and ask what do ya want fer supper since er going to be our guest for a while. Today is usually Granny Smith's homegrown vegetable salad and stew but she told me to ask you what do you prefer." Oh, that's nice of Miss Smith. I would love to try the original menu but I do want some sweet delicious dessert to fill my belly up and give me some weigh. "Ummm... Is it okay to have some dessert after dinner?" I sheepishly asked. I feel awkward and a little inconsiderate about the request. "Sure thing, Trixie." Her voice muffled behind the wooden door. "Really?" I questioned her. "Are you sure it is okay?" "It ain't no problem at all, Trixie. Granny Smith loves to take care of her friends." "Well, thanks. I'll see you down in a little bit." I say as I grab a towel to wrap around myself. Applejack then leaves with a tip of her hat. "God if that had been Big Mac I would of......." Low and behold there is the big lug in the doorway......Staring......While blushing. "GET OUT!!" I started throwing shampoos, soaps towels whatever I can get my magic on. "SORRY!" He shouts as he ducks, dodges and runs away from my assault. After calming myself before well you know, I put on my clothes minus my "support" as sometimes, I need to let these puppies breath, and besides I need to find more comfortable wraps anyway. Maybe I'll head to the market later and see if they have anything that I could use that look sexy. What can't I feel pretty sometimes? As I head downstairs and into the dining area, I am greeted by an embarrassed Big Mac, an amused Applebloom, a nonchalant Applejack. I tried to avoid making any eye contact with the big galoot of a stallion and then proceeded to think about that. I thought my human half's physical physique can only allure only certain anthropomorphic creatures like other centaurs (if there were any in this region full of ponies) and dragons (like that little immature purple perv lizard who shall not be mentioned while I feast on my delicious meal). But I guess, there are some exceptions towards the... purely muscular and testosterone-filled stallion like Big Mac. I should ask mom in my next letter if she had this encounter before and see if there are ways to handle this I took a small glance at the big fella, who was too occupied with eating... no, more like shoveling his meal towards his mouth and refilling his plate. It doesn't look like he's doing that to distract himself to prevent staring at me as none of his other family members were complain... in fact, they were eating in a fast motion as well but in their own manner. The women of the Apple family were more composed and actually used Earth pony-style utensil hoof holders, unlike Big Mac, who used his bare hooves to grab his food. At least he was decent enough to use serving utensils to grab seconds... or I think that's his fourth helping. I wasn't counting... or really focusing on tasting my meal. Better do the second thing if I actually want to savor my meal that this generous family provided me. Applebloom was loudly slurping her vegetable soup while she leans pretty close to her bowl that I can see that she is standing on her chair. The soup was filled to the brim with all kinds of vegetables that I've seen at their farm crops (although there were some that might have been bought from a market). The vegetables were soft enough that it easily cut into smaller pieces with every chew. I can taste the full flavors of all the contents of the soup. Granny Smith seemed to have removed her teeth (she must at the age where she uses dentures) and softly chewing on some creamy applesauce, which by the way is really sweet and a little sour at the same time that makes my mouth melt in delightful bliss. I taste a hint of sugar and cinnamon that just makes my taste buds explode with glee even more. And Applejack... yeah, she seems to have the same eating manners like me but she had hooves instead fingers to hold the utensils and her eyes were focused on her plate rather than the current occupants of the dining table. She was munching on a wonderfully dressed salad. It had spiced croutons and smothered with some dressing that I can't identify right away. The meal that they prepared was way better than any meal I have in my entire life. I'm truly sorry, mom but someone just won over my stomach. The Apple family goes all-out on their food. I wish I could live here forever so I can try every home cook recipe that Granny Smith concocts in her kitchen. ... Although, if that option comes forth, I should get a better... no, a real soft bed and room. The straw pile and barn are fine and all but my body, mind, and spirit requires all the proper basic necessities. I shifted my pupils around my surroundings to see if I attracted any attention to the Apple family. And thank the mighty lord, they weren't. It would have been really really awkward if they noticed that I was staring at them while they were eating. And thank my lord's son that they can't read minds or they might have heard my critic on their eating habits. "Trixie..." I really shouldn't judge others for their eating etiquette or any other etiquette. "Trixie..." I feel like I should answer that before... "TRIXIE!" Applejack raised her voice to regain my attention to her again "Gyah!" And I did it again. I shrieked like a maniac. It happened again. If this keeps up, Applejack might think that I'm ignoring her intentionally. "Whats with you today?" Applejack says "Anyway everypony is done with their breakfast except you something on your mind?" "A little, yeah," I reply as I push my food around a little. "Wanna talk about it?" She asked with a concerned look on her face. "I-I don't know maybe later," I say taking a bit out of my food. I mean how do you bring up the fact that I wish I had better food when I come from a fairly rich family. Nowhere as rich as Filthy rich but I think a little more wealthy than Twilight, so I had some amazing food growing up, it's just the apple families cooking is just better. "Well if ya ever wanna talk us apples are always willing to listen ya understand Sugarcube." She then tips her hat that seemed to be directed towards me and starts to head out but stops near the door. "Oh and one more thing, Sugarcube. I know you need bits but your show won't go on here, try finding a Real job after you get your cast off." and just like that she left to go do her chores or something I don't know. "Well, I know she's not a fan of the stage." I sighed and finished my delicious delicious meal before going to clean the mess I made when I had a reasonable reaction to Big Mac staring at me in the bathroom. Getting up the stairs I can see the mess I made. "Wow I did more damage then I thought." I shamefully pondered to myself as I let out a whistle at the scene. There is mane care coming out of the bottles, towels on the pictures on the walls, and a mane and tail brush embedded in the wall. I hope that hole isn't too noticeable. Carefully I pick up and close the bottles then I take some of the towels that are on the wall and use them to wipe the floors of the soap I don't wet them on the first pass but I do on the second pass to prevent a huge soap mess. Going over my work it looks good, it looks like the floor has been mopped (because it kinda has) and it has a certain shine to it. Satisfied with my work I go out to the barn to enjoy light reading before I go job hunting tomorrow now that everything is set so I can actually get paid legally. > The New Job > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (After A Few Days Of Hospital Check-Ups and Finally Getting Rid Of The Stupid Leg Cast Later) Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. Okay, I think that's enough for today. I know that I've asked myself this question a hundred times but I still don't know how these morning breathing exercises will help with my hearts. This is just calming me down. Whatever. If the doctor told it's good for me, then I've got no reason to deny that. ... That made me sound a little gullible and I should suspect something. Nah. That would require me to stop practicing my magic tricks and that just made me a little sad inside. ... I need a therapist... if only I had enough bits to actually get an appointment. I think my doctor recommended me one. I shook my head to get rid of the distracting thoughts. No no no, that will have to wait. I'm just stalling myself now. I looked at the clock... Yup, I knew it. I'm late. I frantically brushed my still wet hair, rushed out of the Apple family bathroom and to the dining room to grab a quick breakfast. "Mornin', Trixie." Applejack greeted me. I saw her and Granny Smith sitting comfortably while casually munching on some porridge. "Morning, Applejack and Granny Smith." I returned the greeting to my generous hosts with a quick yet gentle response. I was in a hurry and decided to snag an apple or at least a piece of toast. Unfortunately, I made a fatal mistake when I saw the large display of food that was laid down. My stomach began to let out large growls that seem to relate to that of a wild beast. My appetite has grown quite a lot and wild after staying in the Apple family property. I feel like I've gained the appropriate amount of weight that the doctor recommended me to be in just one seating from their meals I bite the lower part of my lips as to prevent the saliva from coming out. Ohhhh, I really want to stay and eat but I don't want to be late for my first day on the job. "Ummm, Trixie?" Applejack called out to me, releasing me from my hungered trance. "Is something the matter?" Quick, answer her. "I'm a little starved, that's all, Applejack," I said with a grin. "Well, then what are ya waitin' fer, missy. Pop a seat and grab a plate. There's always enough er both of yer stomachs." Granny Smith exclaimed with her jolly elderly tone. Raised both my hands up and waved defensively. "Oh no..." "And don't 'oh no thank you. I'm good' speech and grab only a measly toast like you did yesterday." Uh oh, I mad Granny Smith mad. "You get yer Kester on that chair right now and eat. Yer all skin and bones. You can't work right with an empty stomach." "No, really..." But before I could finish my refusal, I heard Granny Smith shout to Applejack. "Wrangle her, AJ." With quick lightning-like reflexes, Applejack took out a rope lasso out of her hat, tossed it right at me, tightening its hold around my arms and, with unyielding Earth pony strength, I was immediately dragged closer to the dining table. "Wah! Hey!" I shouted in fright and protest. I dug in my hooves with all of my might on the wooden floor yet it did no good other than making drag marks. I made my stop when my body collided with a chair that was nearby Applejack. "Come on now, Sugarcube." Oh great, Applejack's going to lecture me on how to take care of myself. "You need a proper healthy breakfast if yer goin' to work really hard on yer first day at Twilight's library. And I know Twilight and how organized she is with her place, she's goin' to toss ya a whole lot of work that will keep ya busy for the whole day like Spike." I made a bunch of protested groans as how I was... I wouldn't say annoyed but rather... ummm... hmmm... kind-of tired of receiving motherly advice from the more matured (and talkative) Apple family members. I've only been living at the barn for a couple days but their words drilled into my mind that I think I've memorized every sentence. "Mmmm... Fine but I'm only eating one sandwich." I said while taking a seat and picking said food. It was a cucumber, tomato and lettuce sandwich, which was filling enough until my short break. I took one bite of the sandwich... and after that, everything became blurry and a little bit delicious. (After 30 or so minutes of eating a large portion of breakfast later) Sooooo Tiredddddd... and Ugh, so full. I can't believe I ate an entire plate platter of those delicious sandwiches and a slice of Granny Smith's signature homemade apple pie. If this keeps up, the doctors might recommend me to lose weight instead of losing it. "... Okay, Trixie. I know this gonna be hard to learn because Twilight likes things in a certain order but I think you got this," Spike instructed me as he shown me around the Library. Its been about a week since I got my cast off and I started working at Golden oaks library with Twilight and Spike, I help out at the farm when I'm needed so I have a place to stay and as a side benefit I get a nice work out to help straighten my recently healed leg. I guess its do or die time. "Okay, Spike, I'm ready when you are." Spike nodded before we walked over to the front desk. Instead of the normal chair that's normally set there, I see a large fancy looking cushion. Its purple or violet, maybe mulberry and around the edges looks like gold fringes. Wow, that looks like satin that stuff is not cheap. "Oh don't mind the cushion Its Twilight's old one from when she was a little filly we figured that since she's not using it right now you can use it until we can get you your own," Spike explained. "Wow, thanks I'm sure getting a chair for my build isn't gonna be easy I'll be sure to repay you and Twilight," I say as I take a seat on the cushion. My god, it's so soft like a brand new blanket or a fluffy kitten. "I'm sure your hard work will be enough to pay us back plus we are gonna take a percentage of your paycheck until it's paid back sorry but Princess Celestia appointed Twilight to arrange some business practices to help broaden her skill set instead of just magic and reading you know," Spike explained before looking around to see if anypony else was listening. "But between you and me I think the princess is just trying to train Twilight to replace her nephew in that department." "Why is that?" I ask a little curious as to why the Princess would want to replace her own family? "The guy is a total pretentious booger eater and treats the 'lower classes' like they are nothing but he is very good at what he does so you know what every helps keep the country going smoothly you know?" "I guess that makes sense their is always that one person that makes it harder for the rest," I spoke from experience often being the one that makes it harder because of my...Unique shape and size that often required special treatment. Such custom seats, meals, space and more often than not health reasons. And I just made myself sad. "Well, for now, don't check any books out and just except book returns and when I get back I will go and put them in the right spots," Spike instructed. "Where are you going spike?" I inquired. "Oh, I am going to go see some of the preparations for Princess Celestia's arrival." "Alright have fun I'll hold down the fort......Wait wait wait, Princess Celestia is coming!" Spike replied with a casual head nod. "Why didn't I know about it?" "Well, you were getting your cast off when we got the news and we didn't want you to worry about that when you need to work on getting healthier." He pointed out and I couldn't help but sigh. "Hey don't worry I'll bring you a cupcake when I get back." "Thanks, Spike." I wave him off and officially start my first day on the job. Yep living the dream and with everyone out doing something I had time to take a small nap, yeah a nap sounds good. "Hello, Trixie are you wake?" I hear a voice as I stir awake to see a light green or possibly mint green unicorn and Jake? "See mom I told you she was here" " Yes, you did Sweetie but she is clearly working." The unicorn who is apparently Jakes mother. Oh, what was her name again? I think it was Lyra. Was it? Yeah, I think that was it. "Sorry about that it's been a slow day with everyone's getting ready for the Princess of the Sun and Equestria to make her glorious arrival," I said in a dramatic tome. I feel a little awake from that. "It's alright. I came to drop off this book on humans." Lyra replied. "Yeah we found out a lot of cool things" Jake announced, earning him a small eye roll from his adoptive mother. "Oh, like what?" I asked the little guy. "Well, apparently about one human every ten to twenty years comes to Equestria and that sometimes they turn into other creatures," Jake said but his smile faltered a little. "But sometimes the ones that transformed are labeled as crazy and are put in crazy hospitals" "Oh wow, that is kinda sad," I replied, letting out a concerned tone. "Yeah but most of the time the humans just live their lives and sometimes start families of their own," Lyra said as she gave Jake a small squeeze. "Like I did with this little runt." She gave Jake a hoof noogie, messing up his hair in the process. "Hey, mom. Ah, quit it." He giggled. "NEVER!!!"Lyra yells as she continues the noogie as Jake is fruitlessly trying to escape his mother's grasp. I decide a topic change is for the best and I say "Well if you have the book with you I would be more then happy to check it in." Without missing a beat Lyra pulls the book out of her saddlebags and puts it on the desk. Apparently giving Jake just enough room to break free from his noogie punishment as I check the book in. "Thank you for your service," I reply trying not to laugh at the sight of these two bonding over noogies. "Trixie." Lyra began "Would it be any trouble if I kept in touch with you?" "Sure I don't see why not but my schedule is a little packed trying to rack up enough bits to get a new wagon," I replied with a smile. "I can understand that." She replied as Jake started to look bored. "Well if there is nothing else I can do for you...." I trail off giving Lyra a hint that I think our current business is done for now. " Oh right sorry so do you mind if we meet up again?" Lyra asks. Is she blushing? "Mom hurry up I want to see the princess." Jake cuts in clearly very bored. "Sure I have the weekends off to rest and do what I want basically," I answered while Lyra Is giving Jake a not now look. The scary version that all mothers have. "I can't do Saturday I have rehearsals with the Orchestra but I can do Sunday." She answers once she's done looking Jake to death. "Sunday works until then, have a good day." I gave a polite wave and they leave and as soon as that door closes I hear Lyra scream with joy judging by the newfound temporary deafness I have. The day goes on and I check in a few more books and explain to a couple of ponies that I am not authorized to check out or renew books as it was my first day on the job. But then, after replaying the past few moments in quick mental processing, a sudden realization hit me like a nail on a hammer. "Wait... Did I just agree to a date?" > Q&A > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to The Grrrrreat and Powerful Trixie's Questions and answers where Trixie and friends plus family will answer any questions we can but we won't answer anything that's not safe young ears ask many questions as you can because it took a lot of work getting my family and friends all in one place. The first question is from a Pegasus fan and it for me. The first question reads Do you prefer to date males or females? Do you have any tribe or race preferences in a potential date? Lastly, do you like giant Robots? Of course, it's about my romantic life but I shall answer it I prefer unicorns of either gender but they can sometimes be high maintenance but it's understandable the horn of a unicorn it very important. Pegasi are also fun too, they can get a little too much hooves on for my liking, And Earth ponies are known for their endurance but sometimes that can be the problem during certain adult activities when you have health issues like myself. The next question is by shy sad jaded shard and it reads it may have been answered but where there any complications with Trixie's mother's pregnancy? A question for my mother interesting "HEY MOM YOU HAVE A QUESTION." "No need to yell young lady I'm right here as for your question I had a mess of issues to worry about from her almost kicking out my uterus to needing a custom spell so that I don't burst open in the late stages of development. But yes I had some complications but the most difficult was when I was giving birth and I ended up having to get a c section because she was too big and awkwardly shaped. I got through it as you can see. I believe that God gave me the strength to get through it all." That was an interesting take on my birth and certainly the first I heard about it. Thank you, mom. Anytime and you should really write more I miss my little moon pie NEXT QUESTION this one by badninja Who was Trixie’s first crush? Again with my love life but if you must know it was on a colt back in magic kindergarten and his name was Wilfred Fizzlebang and he was and kinda still is like my stage persona well except he doesn't speak in a third pony speech. I remember how he introduced himself to the class still. He walked up to the front of the class and said behold the power of Wilfred Fizzlebang and then he levitated an apple form the teacher's desk This question is by crank1116 and it says My question has two parts. Part 1 how long has Trixie been on her own. What I'm saying is how old was she when she left her parents. Part 2 the reason for part one is because did her parents have"The Talk" with her to let her know that her body may be somewhat different compared to the average Pony that she may meet on her travels. Okay for part one of the question I been on my own for about two years but I only recently started traveling about three months ago but you all saw what happened on my first stop on my grand tour as the second part of the question I got the talk when I was about nine or ten years old but I always knew I was different but you know I was having a blast being the tallest kid in the class but being different when your different as a kid you are an easy target for bullies, unfortunately. Next question is by NightWatchRouge and he asked... Are you gonna get a pet like the rest of the mane six? No, sadly while I would love the company on the road I wouldn't able to keep it happy and healthy and if it were to get sick while on the road vets are not all that common to come across when in between towns and cities. Another Question from NightWatchRouge again (This one is about Trixie's parents) and this one says... Does Trixie's parents know that she's stuck in Ponyville and working hard to get her new equipment? Will any one of them visit Ponyville? If so, will the reason be about Trixie or something related to their past/business? "She said being held up but she never said anything about being stuck. Trixie, have you been lying to us because you know That god frowns at lyres right? Well, they know now but as for visiting isn't the most practical thing when your schedules are packed as tight as my parents are most of the time but it would be nice. Then it's settled me and your father are coming to visit Ponyville I heard that Princess Celestia is supposed to be there soon so I would be a good opportunity to give thanks to her for helping in gods plan. My Mom, everypony. This is gonna be a long visit that's for sure. Well until next time have a good day and don't forget "That everyone is Great and Powerful in their own way." Oh is that a new catchphrase I like it. Thanks, I just thought of it > Lord of the Parasprites part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The time passed by relatively fast while I was on the clock. If I had to guess it was about two o'clock when Twilight returned she looked happy but tired at the same time it. Her mane was disheveled but her face tells me that she got some work done on her end today... "Hey Boss, how did preparations go?" I ask as I got up from the incredibly cozy cushion. "Hey Trixie, the preparations should be ready by tomorrow the only thing that needs to be done is that Pinkie needs to bake more sweets for the lunch tomorrow." Twilight explained as she sat down at one of the seats at the reading tables. "Some of the sweets that Pinkie made were kind of..." "No, wait. Let me guess she ate them." I guessed. "Winner, winner, Daisy Sandwich dinner. She even said it was fit for a king after eating a cake in front of me." She explained with a little bit of a chuckle and I can't help but chuckle as well at the mental image. "Which is rather strange considering there are no unbiased records of past kings of any of the Three Pony tribes having an abnormal appetite that re-" Wow, this pony has quite a set of lungs on her. She's still telling a lecture about Pinkie's appetite without even taking a single breath. She must be really used to telling lectures to other ponies. I would love to listen to what she's saying but my mind can't help but stray away as it was being overwhelmed with the amount of information that Twilight was dishing out. My train of thought continues to wander until I noticed something on Twilight's hair shuffling and making tiny buzzing noises. "Ummm... Twilight, sorry to interrupt you but your mane is moving.." I informed her and I will admit I am a little more curious than startled. I raised my finger, pointing the situation clearly to Twilight. "Oh, this little guy." She says as a small creature pops out of her mane. It looks familiar somewhere, but where? Oh, I remember when I was traveling here or shortly after arriving? "I think I have seen it somewhere before during my travels," I said as I put my right hand on my chin and the other on my hip, pondering on where I saw this little creature. "Really, where?" She asked as she advanced closer to me with big gleaming puppy dog-like eyes that were filled with wonder and curiosity. She was rather... a little to close to my face. I can feel all kinds of awkwardness from this situation. These feelings have only been intensified when she climbed on my body and inconveniently placed her forehooves on my... Ahem, chest area. Her nuzzle pecked on my nose, her eyes beaming against mine and... No, no, no brain, shut up. I should stop Twilight from disrupting my personal space before this situation escalates into a romantic scene. I like Twilight but not in that way. "Maybe when I was on my way to Ponyville or shortly after arriving," I responded as I gently push the purple unicorn's face out of my face and off my body. "Oh sorry, I just thought I would learn something new." She apologized when she finally noticed what she had done. "It's alright, Twilight, but next time watch where you placed those hooves at. Those things hurt. " I said with joking smile getting her to blush from embarrassment. "Well, I'm gonna head pack it up for the day Twilight I need to be extra careful until I can get more medicine." "Alright, Trixie, have a goodday and would you like one of these little guys," Twilight asked and I turned to see three where there was once just one. That is creepy like horror story creepy. "Eh I think I'm good Twilight I'll see you soon," I replied before taking my leave. Once I'm outside, I shivered at the thought of those bug things. They are cute but oh boy they are giving me a bad feeling. Shrugging off the weird bugs. I have a little bit of time before I need to get the farm so I go and get a nice little cupcake. As I make way over to the bakery I feel a sudden weight on my back and I turn to see Pinkie pie looking for something. "Can I help you with something Pinkie if not can you get off my back?" I ask politely. "Oh, Trixie do you know where a bass drum is?" She asked with a serious look on her face. Maybe she needs it for a party or something. "I think theirs one in my old wagon but I make no promises that one is there," I reply earing a hug from the pink mare. "Thank you, Trixie, I'll make sure you are repaid for this," Pinkie says before jumping off of me and taking off so I assume that I should go search the wreckage of my old wagon. Shrugging off the weird encounter with Pinkie I resume my journey for a snack at sugar cube corner. I wonder is it spelled Sugarcube Corner or Sugar Cube Corner? Is Pinkie gonna invite me to the party she's planning with the drum and why the drum? Why am I thinking about so many questions? Questions for another time. I finally made it to Sugarcube Corner and as soon as I got inside, I saw more of those weird yet strangely adorable bugs... Like a hell of a lot more, only they are caring various ingredients and food items to customers I can see them eating as well I then almost lose my lunch when I see a brown one puke up another one, this one blue That's okay I wasn't hungry anyway. After promptly leaving the bakery and my breakfast in a nearby trash can I really want to call it a day but I still have more I need to do today. I just wish I didn't just toss my cookies. I chuckle at my own little joke and head to the pharmacy to refill my pills, maybe get a bottle of ginger ale...... and a something for lunch, but it is getting rather late in the day I'll just have to eat at AJ's house it sucks that she lives on the other side of the town. > The Lord of the Parasprites part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bzz, Dear Lord in Heaven, Bzzz It is your faithful follower, Trixie Lulamoon, again. Sorry to impose you, great holy one. Bzzzz But I require your divine intervention to Smit... I mean, send away a certain swarm of Abomi... Ahem, a certain group of insects. Bzz, Bzz I know you and Mother have taught me that every living creature deserves to co-exist in the world I live in (with the exception of revolting sinners and demons) but... Bzzzz, Bzzz, Bzzzzzzz THESE FREAKIN' CREEPY BUZZING BUG ABOMINATIONS DESERVE TO DIE A SLOW AND EXTREMELY PAINFUL DEATH AND BE SENT TO HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY FOR DISTURBING MY SLUMBER! "Getting to SLEEP with these things buzzing around is impossible," I growled as I try in vain to cover my ears by placing my pillow on top of my head from this hellish buzzing caused by the now thousands of these disgusting and absolutely creepy things. "HOW IS TRIXIE SUPPOSED TO SLEEP IN THESE CONDITIONS!?" I screamed in frustration and sleepy grumpiness as I mercilessly swat at one of them but it dodged my hand and looked at me with that gullible smile that makes me think that it was being smug with me. Bzzz "Consarnit, Trixie! Keep, it down or Y'all wake granny smith up." I hear Applejack yell back. I scoff at the hypocritical mare. She's closer to the old mare then I am and she's the one telling me to be quiet. Bzzzzz, Bzzz "I WOULD BE IF THESES PEST WEREN'T EVERYWHERE!" I shouted back with more vigor and noise that I think my shout could be heard throughout Ponyville. I expected an appalled reply from the orange farmer almost immediately after I finished my rant but instead, I heard the front door open followed by the barn door opening with all of the spawns of Satan flying out of the barn like a bat out of hell. "What in tarnation?!" I hear Applejack say as the swarm clears out, and when they do I see her on the ground in a moo-moo with some what I think is anti-aging cream on her face. "Where did they all come from?" Applejack asked as she dusted herself off. "They ate a couple barrels of apples and I put a spell around the rest of them so they wouldn't get eaten," I state flatly as I get myself up. Fun fact I do not like sleeping on hay. What? It makes me itchy. "Well thank ya I guess, but that doesn't explain why there were so many of em in the first place." Applejack then went over to a barrel that was filled with water and washed her face. "You tell anypony about this and yer keister is out a here ya understand, Sugarcube?" Her tone was serious as the situation, but I saw other problems forming being the Apple-centric mare. "Yeah yeah as long as you have a place after this is overlook." I point to the now apple free apple trees that the pest are currently devouring. And just like that Applejack is out of her moo-moo and out to save what tree's she can. I, of course, follow to help after I quickly take my medicine. Seeing as I don't know the current time I thought it was better safe than sorry, and I really don't feel like going to the hospital at this time of night because I overdid it trying to help a friend....or landlord at the least. I began casting a small bug repellent spell on some of a few untouched trees to try and limit the damage these things are causing while Applejack is catching them in a giant butterfly net that she apparently got as a gag gift from Rainbow Dash. It took us hours to stop the spread of these things and save what apples that we can see, and by the end, Applejack and I are drained and completely frustrated. Out of Forty-Five Hundred trees, we only save about an exact number of ninety-nine Red Delicious apples... and a few hundred of other apples with other names. On the bright side, I figured out these freaks eat fruits, vegetables, sweets, and loaves of bread but they never even took samples of grass, flowers, leaves, roots, dirt, or... thank god for this one, the meat of any living creature. Because if they have an appetite for that last one, I would have grabbed whatever stuff I could carry and jolted out of this town like lightning on a storm cloud. Oh, thanks a lot, AJ. Now I'm doing that weird farm folk phrasing thing as well. "Thanks for yer help, Trixie. I owe ya one big time for this." Applejack said as we watched the sun come up from the spot we collapsed on for a well-deserved rest. We sat there for maybe half an hour to an hour until I realized something. "Hey Applejack," I called her out. "Yeah, Trixie?" "Didn't the rest of your friends have those things as well?" I can see the gears turning in her head for a moment before the light turns on. "Yeah, yeah they did." She sighs before standing up. "Do what you want as far as Ah'm concerned yer good in my books for helpin' me out back there, but Ah need to go help them deal with these varmints before they cause any number of problems." Applejack then gets up and goes back to the barn. "Going to get your hat?" I ask as I got up as well. I wince as I feel a headache coming on. I guess I used more magic then I thought. Good thing I took my pills. "You know it, Trixie."With that, she goes to fetch her hat then head into town and I decided to refresh a couple of the spells which is not helping my headache and worse I can taste blood in my mouth. I know I need to rest but this is a possible emergency damn it. I eventually make it to the barn after refreshing the anti-bug spell on most of the tree's, and I can really feel the exhaustion weigh on me. Blood drips slightly from my mouth but I wipe it away, grabbing a bundle of clean cloth. I change out of my nightgown and head to the main house where I see Applebloom and Big Mac eating some cereal and Granny Smith is still sleeping. "Wow, Trixie you look quite awful," Applebloom says pausing to take another. "Didn't you sleep at all last night?" "No sadly, I didn't and I still need to get ready for work at the Library," I reply as I grab an orange and start eating it. Both Applebloom and Big Mac look at me funny "What?" Wait, is it weird or really rude to eat an orange in front of apple farmers? Wait, what am I thinking? Gah, stupid drowsy random thoughts! "Ah, don't think you should be workin' today." "Eeyup." Big Mac agreed. "Oh, I thought it was something else." I softly muttered while quietly chewing on my orange. "Pardon?" Applejack asked. "Uh, it's nothing. Look, I can see that you guys are worried for me and I appreciate that. I really do but I really can't afford to miss my second day on the job." I explained Big Mac seemed to understand but still looked worried and Applebloom just looked sad. "But what if yer sick or somethin'." Applebloom pulled out her ultimate weapon the puppy dog eyes, and its almost enough to stop me but I do need the money and if its a slow day at the library then I can sleep there. "I'm sorry Applebloom but I really do need to get to work and besides isn't school about to start?" I say getting her eyes to somehow gotten bigger before she gulps down her cereal and gives everyone a hug and saying love you before leaving. I finish my orange before throwing the peel in the trash. "She's right ya know." I hear Big Mac responded as I turn around to leave. "Ya shouldn't push your self so hard." I soon feel his hoof on my waist. Without looking I reply "I know but..." "No buts other then yer's gettin' into bed. Don't think Ah didn't see the blood comin' from yer mouth while you were eatin'." I look him in the eye for a second before sighing. "You can even use my bed if that's you want." "Alright you wing but your telling Twilight why I didn't come in today." I rub my eyes. "And What would Granny Smith say if she were to catch me in your bed?" I teased a little. "She won't. It's her day in the market so if anything were to happen Granny wouldn't find out." He then waggles his eyes a little. I'll admit it got a chuckle out of me. I head upstairs but just before I reach the top I turn around and say. "You will make a herd very happy one day you know that?" "Ah know now go get some rest I'll go talk with Twilight and tell her you're not feeling well." I give Big Mac a nod and I head to his room. His Room is very plain, to say the least. Other then the Apple-themed wallpaper the biggest thing that stands out is some hooks in the wall that I assume are for him to hang his yolk on. I look under the bed and in the closest to see if there are any dirty magazines and to my surprise, on the top shelf of the closet there is one and the only way you would be able to get it is if you were as tall as me and Big Mac. "Oh, I'm so teasing him over this since he loves unicorns so much," I say to myself before I lay down on the bed and before I know it sleeps claims me. > The Lord of the Parasprites part 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up because the sun shined on my eyes and as much as I hate to admit it but I really needed that. My headache is almost completely gone and I no longer taste blood in my mouth which means my magic is back and under control. I will have to thank Big Mac for making me rest next time I see him.The clothes I put on this morning are drenched in sweat. Looks like I will need some fresh clothes. I make my way to the bathroom to take a quick bath to wash away the sweat and dirt from last night. I wasn't in their long about fifteen minutes at most. Wrapping a towel around myself I take a look around the house, Seeing as nopony is here I make my way to the barn or I would if those bugs from this morning weren't eating it and everything inside. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I screamed at the sight of maybe millions of those things just eating a barn like it was a cake. My screaming causes some of them to break away and eat the towel wrapped around me I even feel their tongues lick me before flying off. Once they are gone I puke because those things just touched and licked me. If I hadn't just woken up I would have probably fainted. Then start getting angry because this always seems to happen to me. I start looking around the remains of the barn to see if they left anything untouched. To my surprise yes the barrels I put the anti-bug spell on are still there and that's it. Everything else is gone. When I say everything I mean EVERYTHING else. My clothes, props, medicine. Not to mention Applejack's tools, barrels and oh yeah THE BARN. "WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL!" I shout to the heavens. "This doesn't make any sense I was helping Applejack deal with those things all night I never saw them eat anything like wood, paint OR TOWELS?!" I kick ground in frustration "How do Bugs go from eating mostly fruits and vegetables to eating entire barn? IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! It would of have to take a skilled mage to change the diet of a single creature let alone an entire swarm of bugs?" I shuddered a little bit as the wind blew past my unclothed top half, but I ignore it for now. "I can only think of one pony in this entire town that can do something like this and her name is Twilight Sparkle," I growl as I make my way towards town to chew out the purple mare with zero common sense. I would find something to cover myself with but I'm afraid that anything I use will just get eaten by those bugs. I will make her pay for this. She is buying me a new wagon and the supplies to go with it. INCLUDING CLOTHES. Before I even reach the main town center, I can see the damage caused by her little spell and the bugs. The closer I get the worse the damage is. Houses half eaten or completely gone, Ponies screaming in terror as their possessions are beating eaten by bugs. Luckily I see Pinkie Pie rounding up the devil spawn with music, before the completely destroy the town. I give Pinkie a nod to which she returns and I follow her because she will lead me to the source of this destruction, and to make sure that none of these things break formation. Soon enough, Pinkie Led me to Twilight and the rest of her friends. "Before I go would you like to give me your friendship Report now?" I hear a motherly voice ask but I don't care before Twilight gets a single word out of her mouth I scream her name. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" They all turn to look at me and they can tell I'm pissed. "What in Gods name did you do?" "Trixie?! What happened to your clothes?" Rarity asked but I march right past her and lift Twilight with my magic. "I tried stopping the Parasprites." She said weakly. I can hear Rainbow getting angry at me but I will deal with her in a moment. "That is enough, Trixie" I hear the less than motherly say but I ignore her. I bring her as close as I can to my face. "Isn't changing the diet of a creature illegal?" Again, she nods. "So I'll ask again. WHO IN GOD'S HOLY NAME TOLD YOU THAT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA?!" I dropped her on her ass and wait for a reply. "I didn't think." She began. "No, you didn't." I interrupted. "I could have died today, you know that, right?" I heard the collective gasp everypony. "Yeah, I was on the second floor of Applejacks house asleep when they came because I was exhausted from helping Applejack all night from those bugs." I can see Twilight look at Applejack as I continue. " I just got lucky they ate the barn instead of the house. So tell me Twilight how are you gonna fix this because if you hadn't switched their diets and caused all this what do you think would have happened." " I-I-I don't know." She replied on the verge of tears. "They would have run out of food to devour and moved on it's just like any bugs... no like any parasites do. Sure, the food supply would have been depleted and the entire town might starve for a couple of days... BUT FOOD IS REPLACEABLE, LIVES AREN'T, TWILIGHT!" I huff as I finish my rant and venting my anger. I feel a hoof on my shoulder and I turn around to see Princess Celestia. "It seems that my student has caused some unintended harm when trying to do good." The Princess glares at the both of us. "Twilight, I expect you to help with the clean up the town and I will be telling your parents about this." She addresses Twilight first then she looks at me. " While I understand that you are upset Trixie you didn't need to yell at Twilight." "Forgive me Princess but that is where you are wrong I was living in the barn until I could get back on my hooves but the barn and everything save for a couple barrels of apples are gone including my medication which I DESPERATELY need," I informed her which got her to mouth an "oh" sound. "Applejack, the Crown shall pay for repairs for your barn, the town and replace any items that were destroyed in the attack that is replaceable." She states before she gets back in her chariot."I will Check in as repairs are going and Trixie be nicer to your cousin." And with that, she leaves. After a moment of silence, Rainbow is the first one to speak up. "Wait, who's Trixie's cousin?" "Twilight is my cousin. Our dads are brothers." I explained as I went to go and see if the bank was intact. I'm okay if one of them followed me but I think they should focus their worries and assistance more on the town since it is in serious need of repair and the citizens need all the help they can until the Equestrian Royal Guards arrive with the reparation supplies. Besides, there is no reason for me to stay in Ponyville anymore. "Why did no one tell me?" I heard Rainbow behind me apparently they were following me or at least heading in the same direction. "Well, you never asked, Darling." I heard Rarity's reply. "All though I never asked either, so this is quite the surprise for both of us." We arrived at the heart of the destruction and I can hear them gasp as they really look at the damage Twilight's actions have caused. I can't help but see Fluttershy looking extra skittish this entire time. I'll have to ask her what's wrong later, but I'm sure Rainbow will already do that if not her then Rarity will. I stop and turn to see them all in shock. The only one who isn't surprised is Pinkie Pie who saw this as she was rounding up the Parasprites. Fluttershy looks to be on the verge of tears, Twilight is getting a big fucking reality check, and the rest are still taking it in. "Look at me, Twilight." I see her ears lop down, letting me know that she heard me. Rainbow Dash moves in front Twilight wings spread out. Deciding I don't want to get into a brawl right now I don't raise my voice. "You're a smart pony... well, academically and magically smart pony but you don't have common sense on... basically, everything. Sometimes, you need to think things through especially during emergencies that involve your friends and other ponies- no, other creatures around you." I paused for a bit to see if she reacts and she doesn't. At least not on the outside. "Let's use the Ursa attack as an example, Okay? If I hadn't kept my cool and told everyone to run to the park, I would imagine a lot more then ten ponies would have been injured... or exponentially worse. You understand you need to have a clear head especially in emergency situations like the one today." I leave to let them think on my words. I decide to grab a couple of bits out of the bank. If there was a bank left, that was it. Thankfully, there was and I head to the train station which is in a largely unaffected part of the town. It was an uneventful walk but I am starting to give goosebumps from being without a shirt for so long. I buy the ticket and wait for the train. "Where are you goin', Sugarcube?" An all familiar deep voice of Big Mac says behind me. Covering my breast with my arms I turn around to answer him. "I'm going back to my parents' place in Las Pegasus. Maybe my father will give me a job as his assistant or schedule my own gig... well just until I've earned enough to get back on my hooves." I replied and I can see the hurt in his eyes. If I'm being honest with myself it hurt to see that. "There is just no place left for me here both metaphorically and physically," I say as I step closer to him "Ah see." He looks around the empty train station. "Well, Ah know Ah can't stop ya but do please come back." The twinging pain in his voice and hearts were too much to bear for me. As he starts to walk away but I can't stop myself from stopping him. He turns around and I kiss him and he kisses back. It was perfect if a little unusual. I stop as my train pulls up and ponies inside start getting off. "Goodbye, ya big lug," I said to him with an uncertain smile, saddened voice, and aching hearts. After I said that to him, I board on the train that was heading to my parents' place, Las Pegasus. "Goodbye, Trixie." He says to me with a smile but I know he wasn't smiling at all. I assume he went to tell the others about where I'm heading. While I waited for the train to move, all I could think of was that kiss I gave to Big Mac. That only kiss was my last regret in Ponyville... or so I thought. > Meet the parents > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got off the train, stretching my arms and legs as I step on the platform. What? It feels good to get off the train after a few hours of sitting. looking around I can see a lot of ponies getting on the train presumably to go home and count how much bits they lost during their stay. Yep, this place hasn't changed a bit. "I still have some bits leftover. Maybe I can get something new to wear before I head to the hotel." I stated to myself to get my priorities organized. I quickly count out all five of my bits. SERIOUSLY?! " Haaaa... Of course, I don't have enough." I sighed deeply. "Mom is gonna kill me for not having a proper shirt on... And she might overkill me for not properly maintaining my finances." Without much choice in the matter, I head straight to the hotel. As I walk through the sea of crowds, I can see all sorts of creatures pass by each other who each one was focusing on their own activities such as visiting popular attractions with excited expressions. From Griffons to Minotaurs and even a couple of my fellow Centaur brethren. Just another typical day in Las Pegasus. Even though no one noticed, I covered my upper human half torso as best I can and pick up my pace before I see my (hopefully) caring and gentle parents. I make it to my family's hotel with a little trouble in locating the place. It's relatively easy to spot considering the giant cross as the sign. Geez, it hasn't been that long since I left. I shouldn't be THIS nervous to see them again, let alone be clumsy with finding your childhood home/tower. "No use getting cold hooves now." Taking a deep breath and gulp from my throat before proceeding to head inside... Ah, this place hasn't changed at all... in a nostalgic sense. In physically and popularity appearances, the hotel changed a lot. I swear it gets cloudier in here every time I come inside. The floor has a nice dark blue carpet with a purple cross that connects to the front reception desk to the front entrance door. On top of the center of this room, the ceiling has a gorgeous golden chandelier with emeralds and other lighter green gemstones for decoration. The furniture is pure alabaster white and in different shapes to accommodate different species and... AHHHHHHHHHH! ... Yup, like clockwork, The screams of said creatures coming from the indoor roller-coaster deeper inside the hotel. Everything looks the same? Of course, why wouldn't it? Its only been about a year, maybe a year and a half since I left. Walking up to the front desk I ring the bell and wait for the desk manager to arrive. It's not long before he shows up. He's a short light brown stallion wearing a nice white suit. His cutie mark is that of a pocket hankey and his name tag that reads "Mr. Moseby". He sees me and his eyes widen and he gets the biggest smile on his face. (Remember: don't... never criticize his bald head. That is considered to be incredibly rude.) "Trixie, it's so good to see you again." He exclaims as he runs up to me full speed ahead. "Its good you see you too, Moseby," I greeted back as we share a brief hug. Well, to be more accurate I am the one doing the hugging while he tries since his forelegs are too short to reach around me. After I set him down he gets a proper look at me. "Trixie dear, what happened to you? Did you get robbed? I need all the details, young lady." Although he sounds truly worried, he can't help but be curious with information. Don't let his gender fool you. He is a huge gossip lover. I would even dare say that he participates in all kinds of gossips even more than Rarity. "Sure but first you wouldn't happen to have a shirt in my size I could borrow? My mother would ground me for a month for showing up without one." I informed him. "Oh, of course, of course. Follow me." He scurries away. I follow him into the back where he stays. He's not the only staff member to stay in the hotel but he is the only one to have his room expenses not be taken out of his paycheck. I may or may not have had a hand in that as a little filly. I tell him what happened in Ponyville along the way. Everything from the Ursa Minor and the Parasprites incident to the date I forgot I set up with Lyra and before I board the train, I unconsciously kissed with Big Mac. "My, my it seems you would have formed quite the loving herd if things turned out differently," Moseby said with a kind smile on his face. Opening up his room it looks like any other room in the hotel only with a stove and a big refrigerator in the kitchen. His closet is fairly packed with shirts, suits, ties, and pocket hankies. I skip the majority of the cloths and I find a nice blue tropical shirt with palm trees and coconut drinks all over it. It fits, but I do have to make sure not to raise my arms around my parents tho. "Oh, thank you, Moseby, you're a life saver," I say as I pat his head getting a joking glare from him. "Your very welcome Trixie. Now I think its time for you to go meet with your parents they should be in their room." I nod at his words. I thank him again for his shirt before I take a nearby elevator up to the upper levels. The elevator music is a song from moms world called Jesus, take the wheel. It's a nice song but not really my type of music. The ding of the elevator lets me know that my stop is here. I step out and into the hallway. The shine of the floor tells me it was recently mopped well that and the wet floor sign. Carefully making my way to my parent's room without making a mess of the recently cleaned floor. It's not long before I'm at my parent's room. I go to knock but I start to get cold feet. "You can do this Trixie you've come this far," I say to myself and without further hesitation, I knock on the door. "Who is it?" I heard my dad's prestige voice call out. "It's me, dad," I answer through the door. There is a moment of silence then the door swings open to my father, who has the biggest smile on his face. He has light blue fur, white mane, and tail, and his cutie mark is three sacks of bits. He's wearing a purple suit with a black bow tie and he has a rose in his pocket. He was was probably about to go mingle with the guest. "Hi, dad." I awkwardly waved as he barrels into me giving me a Pinkie Pie-style full body hug, his arms wrapped around my lower human half torso. I will say it is awkward to be taller than your dad. Especially when maximum height (including his unicorn horn) only comes close to my human half belly. "Oh, I missed you, my little princess." He says once he stops hugging me. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but why are you here?" He says as he lets go. "And wearing one of Moseby's shirts?" "It's a long story and I would like to tell it to both you and mom so I don't have to repeat myself." I step inside the apartment. Its nothing fancy just white walls, wood floors and a golden cross on the wall. The furniture is a nice light brown color. Taking a seat on the couch while my dad goes and gets me something to drink. "Thanks, dad." I take the glass of water. "So, how is mom doing?" "Well other than a slight change in appearance she's doing good." I don't like the way he said that. "What happened to mom?!" I yelled in a panic. My dad flinches at my words. "Well, her skin turned orange and her hair turned a nice golden yellow." I facepalmed that daf would be complimenting mom's sudden changes in her physical appearance. "Yeah, she's currently in her prayer room to combat the effects." "How did she get exposed to that much magic this time?" "I had to break up a fight between two unicorns." A new voice cut in catching the both of us off guard. "Hello, Trixie This is a pleasant surprise." Turning around I see my mom. She is wearing a solid black business suit. She has white skin but its still yellow around the joints, Her hair is brown with hints of the golden yellow. "Hi, mom." I get up to hug her and she hugs back. My mom is about a head taller than me so she always makes me feel safe whenever we hug. "I hope you're okay." "I'm fine sweetie but it seems that God is gonna let stay human for a little longer." She then looks sad for a moment. " I will turn into a pony one day and I don't look forward to it but if it's in gods plan who am I to judge." "I'm sorry Amy but I should have been there when the fight broke out." My dad said as he nuzzles my mom. "It's alright, Jack. We both know that it's gonna happen eventually but if I'm being honest, I'm a little terrified at the thought." My mom said but I know that was partially a lie. My mom isn't really afraid of transforming into a pony. No, she's terrified of losing her human form, the one she was born and lived with. It must be hard to part ways with something you lived with for most of your life. I knew this because I heard her cry out once when I was a little kid. One night, I had a nightmare that woke me up and scared me completely; although I have forgotten what that dream was. I ran straight to my parents' bedroom to soothe me and sleep with them but both of them were gone that night. My dad was performing a late-late-night show for the "more matured" audience and wouldn't be back until the morning. I knew where my mother was which was in our private prayer room, next to the living room. I was gonna burst into tears and ran straight to her but my mom beat right to it. I took a peek through the small crack of the door and saw her kneeling while praying to God in a desperate begging manner. She begged to Our Almighty Lord with all of her might to not change into a pony for she was afraid of losing "the last thing she had left of her homeworld", in part of losing all her memories of her human friends and family. When I saw her collapse and pass out on the floor, I charged back to my bed, covered my entire body under my blanket and closed my ears with my pillow to block out the sorrowful cries of my mother but to no avail. I regretted not helping my mom that night. I felt so weak and pathetic. That event was when I decided to do whatever I can to help my mom with her condition. I wanted to use my magic to prevent that change from happening but I don't how to do that and I might become the main cause of her transformation. Finding the cure or the solution to her problem was one of the main reasons why I decided to roam around Equestria and beyond as a Travelling Magic Show Centaur. Every time I stop by a town or city, I would go to the libraries or anywhere that provides information to look for any hints of a solution. I thought Twilight's Library might hold the answers that I need when she told me she had a collection of ancient Equestria and Old World tomes that weren't available anywhere else. But I never got the chance to look at any of them due to the Parasprites devouring the irreplaceable ancient tomes. That event was the reason why I snapped at Twilight. Gah! Enough with the sad thoughts. I can't help but sadly reminisce that memory whenever my mother started to have her... "episodes" but I don't want to cry in front of my parents right now I already have enough on my plate. I give a polite cough to get both of their attention. "Now, I don't mean to interrupt but I don't think now is the time for being a Debby downer, you guys." "Trixie is absolutely right." Mom then claps her hands "Now why are you here, dear?" We sit down and I tell them everything I told Moseby. They where mad that I had lied to them in my letters but overall, I'm glad that I am safe. Mom was a little miffed that I entertained the Idea of a herd but was more interested in Jake. Dad was laughing at the way I told... no, more like snapped aggressively Twilight off for escalating the Parasprites incident. I guess that was his way of getting back at my uncle. By the time I was done talking thanks to the many interruptions by comments and questions three hours had passed. Not that I'm complaining about spending time with my parents but well they are my parents they can be awkward at times. "Wow, sounds like you had quite the adventure but you do realize you're grounded for lying to us." My mom said as I nodded on my punishment... then as if the perfect timing, a knock at the door. "I got it," I said while my dad goes to answer the door. "So they have a whole book on humans?" My mom asks and again I nod. "What did it say?" From her tone, it wasn't a request. "It was about what happens to humans when they arrive, some who are ponies when they arrive are locked in mental institutions because no one believes them, others like you, mom, turn into ponies over time, but most died due to illness in their first couple weeks after arriving in Equestria," I answered honestly. "What else?" Her desperate gaze makes me flinch. I never understood how she knew I was never telling her the whole truth. I guess her intuition is greater than God's omniscient sight on all of his creations. "That one human arrives about once every fifteen to twenty years." The familiar voice of Lyra cuts in. To say I'm shocked she's here is an understatement. Even more shocking is she is wearing a black dress that sparkles in the light. "Lyra, what are you doing here?" I asked once I get over the shock. "I'm here for our date, silly." She giggles with an ominous tone, her right eyebrow twitching quite a lot. Tipping her head slightly down, a dark shadow soon coated the top half of her face and eyes. She slowly approaches me until she stopped exactly five feet in front of me. I can feel all of my anxiety well up all over my body. "I'm not gonna let a little thing like the town being destroyed by creepy gluttonous bug creatures stop that from happening." Oh great. She's mad. > Christmas special ( Cannon but its way in the future) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Light white snow continues to gently descend upon the Equestria's central city of Canterlot as my family and I are going to visit... ugh, Twilight and her family. Hearths Warming has never been my favorite holiday, that would be Hearts and Hooves Day due to the fact that my family (and a few secret admirers) would gift me lots of chocolates and other assortments of sweets. God, I wish it was that holiday. At least, the weather would be better and I get a "slightly" life-endangering sugar crash at the end of the day. Wait, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, but it's still an important holiday and I can understand why. Hearth's Warming celebrates the founding of Equestria and the permanent unification of all three main pony tribes. But my mom prefers her winter holiday of Christmas since according to her many stories of the holiday that it's the birthday of Jesus Christ. But she can't exactly celebrate it since Equestria has ten months versus mom's homeworld of twelve, and none of them are named the same either. But I'm getting distracted from the letters that I got from Big Mac. It would appear that Twilight is still a little mad at me for telling her off her mistakes right in front of the Princess of the Sun, and from his other letters, I read that her parents came down and chewed her out and Rainbow Dash who was laughing at Twilight. I wish I was there to see that, but I digress due to the fact that mom raised me better to not act like an insensitive arrogant jerk who thrives on making fun of others' suffering. But still, how in the... I am truly sorry mom and God... hell did Big Mac get the "parents chewing her out" information? For my next letter, I should ask him where he gets his sources to see if they are unbiased... and might have come from her always honest little sister. My mom is wearing a red jacket with a white interior and lining with a red hat with a wool ball on top. my dad is wearing a simple black jacket. I am wearing a jacket I got from Rarity in the mail as a hearths warming gift. It's a nice pink button-up jacket It came with a saddle but I know the implications behind that particular gift. I'm rambling again, aren't I? Right sorry. We make it to Twilight's house. Its a nice two story house with a picket fence just like every other house on the block. "It's about time we made it. It's super cold. Trixie, do you have the gifts with you?" My mom asks and I hold them up and nodded. "Oh Praise the Lord, excellent, good, let's go." "Is it to late to go home, Amy?" Dad asks. He really doesn't like doing this but mom always insists that family is important. And I agree with her. "You leave now and you're sleeping on the couch when we get home." Mom threatened. "Yes dear." Sighing, my dad goes up to the front door and knocks. After a minute, Shining armor opens the door. "Hey, everypony, come on in. You guys must be freezing out there." He steps aside to let us pass. "Thanks, Shining," I said as I pass him and he nods. I can already feel the awkwardness seeping out as my parents and I entered the premises one at a time. My plan for today is just to hang with my extended family, ask Spike a favor on searching for a book on humans and a solution to my mom's transformation problem. Oh, and also avoid being alone with Twilight. Okay, I'm here and finally out of that chilling winter cold. After we hang our coats and warmed ourselves up, my parents and I proceed to the living room to meet my aunt, uncle and... gulp, Twilight. Just remember, Trixie, to avoid making direct eye contact and not make any awkward conversation about... you know what. "Welcome everypony." Aunt Velvet says with a large smile as she brings everyone some eggnog. Happily excepting the drink I take a sip.Oh, Minty. Setting it down on a coaster. I look to see Aunt Velvet and my mom talking. Dad and his brother are in a staring contest while having a "civil discussion." That just left me and Shining at least until Cadence, Twilight, and Spike could arrive. "So Shining, what's it like to be married stallion?" I asked my cousin. After taking a moment to finish his drink he answers. "Its pretty good and not sleeping alone in a bed is a nice little bonus." Shining takes another sip of his eggnog. "So how are things with the herd?" I nearly choke on my eggnog when he asked that. After taking a moment to catch my breath"Lyra and Big Mac are good Me being a traveling magician I can't help but worry about them." I sigh. "I know I'm being silly but I feel like a third wheel at times." "We should fix that then." A new voice comes into play. Both Shining and I both turn around to see Cadence holding a very disgruntled Twilight in her magic and Spike riding on her back. "Sorry it took so long Mrs grumpy here is still upset at Trixie for something that happened almost what three years ago now?" "She must get this behavior from her father." Aunt Velvet said, earning a round of laughter everypony, excluding the said father and his daughter. Spike hopes off Cadence as She sets Twilight down on one of the two couches. "Its alright Cadence but it is unlike Twily here." I had to conceal my laughter at Twilight's nickname. "To hold a grudge for so long," Shining said as he gave his wife a kiss. Then it hits me the Reason why Twilight is so grumpy. Walking over to her I sit down on the floor next to her. "Hey, Twilight," I say putting on a smile. "Ugh... what do you want, Trixie?" She huffed in annoyance, her tone of voice became hoarse when she said "you" and "my name". I saw a wine glass filled with apple cider levitating in a fuschia-coated magic aura, it was waving quite close to my face. "As you can see, I haven't caused another disaster with my magic." Okay, I'm just gonna ignore that remark for now. "I just realized the real reason why you are so grumpy." Her right eyebrow raises in curiosity. "You're just jealous that everyone else here is in a relationship." Her mouth drops. I'm not sure if I hit the proverbial nail on the head or I missed by a mile. "W-w-what do you mean by that?" She loudly stammered, her face flushed in red and some of the contents on her wine glass spilled out. No one seemed to notice or more likely paid attention to the scene she's making. Unlike her, the rest of the family and I are celebrating the holidays in peace. "Hey, what's with that smug grin on your face for?" Awww, she's embarrassed, so I did hit the proverbial nail. Wha? Oh, I was so proud of my guess that I didn't notice my expression change from neutral into excitement. "Oh, it's nothing." I nonchalantly replied before taking a smooth sip from my drink. "Hey, that's my apple cider!" Twilight exclaimed. Oops, I unconsciously grabbed her glass. "Trixie, do you like teasing me that much?" "Nope." I quickly answered since I have no idea what she meant by that question. I took another sip from the glass. "I'm just asking a serious question." "Well, to answer your rather rude question, no, I'm not jealous of other's relationships in the slightest. I'm more dedicated to my studies to even think about forming an intimate bond with a special pony." Wow, she explained all of that without even taking a breath. "Is it more like no pony approached you yet?" I said without thinking. After I said that, Twilight let out a deep gasp. "I'll have you know that there are many stallions and mares around the world lining up my door just to ask me on a date." She shouted. She didn't have to yell at me. I'm right in front of her. "That's a lie!" I heard Shining Armor's voice shout back at his sister's statement. "You stay out of this, Shiny!" Twilight shouted back, her face becoming redder than purple... so, basically a darker shade of purple... Grapes. "If your lonely Twilight I'm sure I could find someone for you my next tour." I politely offer. "I don't need help finding a special somepony." The Grape sized pony said. "And besides I'm not even looking for one." I raise an eyebrow. "Have you found any assistance to help you on your show yet?" She quickly changed the subject. I will give her some slack it is hearths warming. "No, not yet but then again not a lot of ponies are willing to put up with the demand that the road can bring," I answer honestly. " I mean, it does take some time getting used to the rough lifestyle of traveling and the demand becomes more difficult if you happen to be traveling with somepony who has health issues that can make it worse." Twilight seems to agree as she lightly nodded. "You might be right on that." She said. "But back to the topic at hoof, you have no right to tell me that no pony has made advances towards me. I can guess you also have the similar situation as I have." "Well, Twilight, actually..." I awkwardly tried to explain. "Actually, Trixie has a lot of admirers back home at Las Pegasus." This time the voice who jumped in our conversation was my dad. "Most of them are full body ponies, more specifically, in the young Mare demographic." "What-what-what?!" Twilight exclaimed in stammered surprise, I can see her eyes widen and mouth gaped open. "How's that possible? I heard that most ponies bullied her due to her physical appearance most of her early years." Okay, ouch. No need to open old wounds. "That is true. Most of those foolish ponies did commit acts of foalish torment towards my dearest daughter." My dad said. Okay, stop making it grow bigger, please. "But later on the same day, they apologize, saying that they actually admired Trixie and her magic tricks. They even ask permission from me if they can be her friend." "Which I refused at first as I don't really trust those jerks..." I continued my dad's explanation. "...but after many attempts and rows of apology/love letters, I just gave in and just let them be my friends... well, more like casual acquaintances that hang out sometimes. Most of them moved out of Las Pegasus and scattered throughout the globe. I really don't know where they are but I think I'll meet them again during my traveling show... if I actually give two hoots about them." "Trixie!" My mom yelled at me for that last phrase. "Sorry, mom." I quickly apologized. I didn't say a swear but she knows that I was thinking of saying one. "How... how..." Twilight tried to ask something but she was too shocked to say it right away. "How many? I think about twenty-something but I lost count during middle school." I answered. "N-no, that's not what I was going to ask..." I placed my right hand on her mouth to shut her up. "Look, Twilight. I know you have a lot of questions about my past but I don't really want to talk about it considering most of those so-called friendships involve my feelings getting betrayed and/or I'm not really that close to them. Can we just agree that you need a special somepony in your life, okay?" Twilight just nods and takes a swallow of cider. Eww, I just drank from that cup... and there's none left inside. "DINNERS, READY!" Aunt Velvet's voice rings out. Everypony... Well, Twilight and I stopped talking, arguing and what not and head to the dining area to get some delicious dinner. For the main course, it's a nice tofu turkey that mom made with stuffing, green beans mashed potatoes, some cranberry sauce, and for dessert, there is Aunty Velvet's Blueberry Pie with vanilla ice cream as a topping. I just wished there was meat on the side. For the rest of the day, Uncle Light and my dad didn't fight. Twilight and I came to a sort of understanding and my mom got the recipe for that pie in exchange for her Poffin recipe. Oh and Spike said he was gonna get me the latest books on humans that he could find from his connections at Canterlot's Royal Library. Overall, just another holiday in my family who express their love through fighting and food. Happy Hearth's Warming everypony and everyone... and Twilight, I guess. > The Date > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've really screwed the three-headed pooch now. I have an angry mare in a black dress, an infuriated and slightly... SLIGHTLY homophobic mother, and a confused father, with all of their judgemental glares on me. I swear, I think that black dress that Lyra is wearing should only be reserved for funerals. Wait... Am I going to die? Taking a moment to take a deep breath and steel my nerves, I asked an obvious yet all-important question so that I can remove the tense intimidation atmosphere and avert everyone's attention on me. "Where's Jake?" Lyra, without any hesitation, replies. "He's looking around in the lobby on his lonesome. "Shouldn't you have just brought him along? We don't mind." I asked, feeling a bit worried. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." She reassured everyone. "He's used to being on his own before I adopted him. I give him my trust that he can handle himself and behave appropriately." Oh, what a nice mother figure she is. "Besides, I thought it would be good for him to spend some time with another human." Lyra gestures her left forehoof at my mom, who returned it with an intimidating stare which seemed to have little effect on the mare. "If that's alright, of course, ma'am?" She nonchalantly said with a smile. "It's fine." My mom answered with a disgusted scoff. Mother, please be more considerate towards same-sex relationships. "It has been too long since I've seen another human." A small frown forms on her face. "Even those perverted primitives in Zebrica have some decency to almost welcome to have a decent chat with people... Almost." "Really? Well, you can chat with Jake while Trixie and I go on our date," Lyra said quite smoothly that it actually convinces my homophobic mom to agree. Just how did she convince my mom with a couple of sentences? Anyone's guesses would be better than mine. "Just be sure to bring her back by eleven." My dad says a little hint of protectiveness in his voice. "Let me go get ready," I say before I get in any more trouble with Lyra. "It should only take me a couple minutes." She nods in conformation and I head to my old room. My old room is very pink. The walls are pink, the blankets are pink, and the dresser is pink. But there was stuff like glow in the dark stickers on the walls to help break up the pink. My room is basically a Pinkie Jamboree of decorations. Oh my lord, seeing this room after being away for a long time makes it super embarrassing. This feeling would become even worse if Lyra caught a small glimpse. "When did I stop liking Pink so much?" I asked myself as I open my closet to find some decent dating attire. I took another quick look at everything in my room. "More like... Why did I even want to anything pink in my room?" I choose a shirt and vest combination similar to what I wear on stage, excluding my glorious cape of wonders and only the colors of the base and trims are reversed. Dark blue sleeves and a light blue vest instead of a dark blue vest and light blue sleeves. Should I wear a hat to complete the casual stroll outfit? Mmmmm... maybe next time. Before I leave I put on some cherry red lipstick, some light purple eyeshadow and brushed my hair into a more flowing style to give myself a more mature and sensual charm. As I casually saunter back to the living room, My observant eyes immediately notice my date's eyes widen and jaw drop in awestruck. Booyah, I hit the mark with a single love arrow. "You look exponentially more alluring in that outfit than that drabby-looking tropical shirt you had on before." She says, biting her lower lip. Is she blushing? Of course, she's blushing like a newly grown apple. I must look like a true beauty. Wow, it's amazing what a little makeup can do. "Thanks, Lyra." I go and give my parents a quick hug "Well I'm heading out now I will tell you how it goes when I get back." "Oh and have Moseby escort little Jake on your way out please." My mom said as I broke my hug from her. "We will, mom," I calmly said then Lyra and I head to the elevator. The ride on the elevator is awkward mostly because Lyra was drooling at me. I wish I was kidding. I was used getting looks but they where mostly the are you sick or the wow that's a shiny look. To say I never got looks like this before would be wrong. A couple of my old bullies where only bullies because they had crushes but the way Lyra was looking at me was a little weird. "Lyra, you're drooling." I pointed out and it takes her a second before she wipes away her drool. "Sorry I guess I was entranced by your beauty." She says trying not to appear embarrassed as she was. "It's alright." The elevator door opens to the main lobby Where I see just how Lyra got up to my parent's room. The lobby looked like a tornado blew through the place as I see some items lying all over the place and some of the furniture has been tossed around. The guest looked terrified of Lyra as they backed away as we passed by them. I think I heard some of them whispering... "The Grim Pony!" Yeah, that. Someone just screamed that name. What was all that about? Shrugging off that name, I looked at Lyra. "What did you do!?" I loudly asked in shock. "The wouldn't let me up so I had to persuade them to let me up." She replies too calmly for my taste. Yeah, not gonna poke inside that Ursa Major's cave. Note to self; don't get on her bad side... again. Implant this fact right this time, Brain. "Moseby," I called out his name, changing the subject quickly. I see his little bald head poking out of his desk and he looks like he just seen a ghost. "Mom wants you to bring Jake up to her room." "W-W-Whos that?" He whispers. I point to the human boy sitting on one of few pieces of furniture not upside down or hanging from the ceiling. "Right away." "Thank you," Lyra says politely and we head out to officially start our date. " Now I heard that there was this really awesome rollercoaster called the Wild Blue Yonder I wanna ride." I can't help but laugh. "What's so funny?" "That rollercoaster is in my families hotel but I don't think that's first date material. " I answered as I gestured to her fancy black dress. "Yeah, you gotta point there... I guess." She looks a little down so I give her a slight hip check. "Yes?" "Let's just go watch a play or one of the many other shows this is Las-Pegasus after all." I remind her. I can see the gears turning in her head as a wide smile forms on her face. "Yeah! You're right this is Las-Pegasus." She gets some pep in her step. "Let's go play some slots or, or go see some stage preforms and eat a big old cheese pretzel." "Now your thinking this is a place for memories but no hard drinks. I don't wanna have to carry my date back to the hotel because she got blackout drunk," I say in a joking yet serious matter. I don't want that incident to happen to me... hah, again. "Sure, that can be for the third date." Lyra teased as she winked at me. I just roll my eyes at her antics. "Let's just see where this date goes first," I reply casually, placing my right arm around Lyra's neck and guided her to our next destination. We decided to just look around and see what catches our attention. As we walk I give Lyra little bits of trivia. Like how Las-Pegasus hospitals suspend doctors and nurses who get caught betting on patients who would die next. One nurse was even arrested for murdering her patients so she would win the pots. And that there are over 30 quick weddings per day in Las-Pegasus, making it the top wedding destination in Equestria. "Huh, that's kinda neat to know," Lyra replied as she looked around taking in the sights and sounds. "Wow look at that." She then books it to a street performer. The performer in question was a red dragon with black strips running along the length of his body and his wings were beige with red circular patterns on them. He also had on a nice long sleeved tux. "Step right up! Step right up and let me show what magic a dragon can do." He shouts to get as much attention as possible. Once he gets a decent sized crowd he pulls out some cards and starts shuffling them. Nothing too impressive. I would have at least done the shuffling while interacting with my audience. This guy is nothing more than a con artist, a rookie one at that. I think to myself as he begins laying the cards down in groups of four. "You with the cowpony hat. Why don't you step right up." He says as he points to a big yellow earth pony stallion in a tiny cowpony hat. I noticed his cutie mark was three cards, two-faced down and the face up one was an ace of clubs. "Howdy." The stallion says as he takes a bow. That's probably his straight man. I deiced to use this to teach Lyra a couple things about stage magic. Plus they aren't doing anything wrong just trying to make a couple of bits so no reason to ruin the fun for everypony by calling him out. "Lyra, pay close attention to the dragon's wrist," I informed to her as the dragon has the stallion pick a card from each pile. "What why?" She asks. The dragon them shows everyone the cards the stallion picked. They are a three of clubs, a jack of diamonds, a five of hearts, and a princess of hearts. "I wanna teach you some things about stage magic." Lyra looks at me confused for a moment before she does look at the dragon as he then sets the cards to face down. "Now I want you to follow the princess of hearts." The dragon then mixes up the cards and it seems easy to follow. But for those paying attention would have noticed the slight shine coming from his cuff-links. The stallion pick one and he's correct, but the dragon then flips over the others and they are all the princess of hearts. "Did you see it Lyra?" I asked as the crowd oohs and awes. "I think so didn't his cuff-links shine but it was so fast I almost didn't catch it." She rubbed a hoof under her chin as she thought about it. "But it might have just been the light." "You saw it and it was real. " I lowered my sleeve down to her to show her my cuff-links. "His cuff-links and by extension mine are enchanted to swap cards to set one based on what your actions are. But you have to be touching the cards you want to swap." I look at the dragons technique and it's good it shows he knows his stuff but he still needs to work on his entertainment a little. "So why is this important." She asked, curiosity rising into fascination. "Because the cuff-links are like training wheels until you can do these trick on your own without magic," I state as I begin to walk away. I don't want to ruin the fun for everyone and there could have been eavesdroppers that do want to ruin the fun. "That's kinda cool but why do you have them?" Lyra asked once she caught up to me. "This is from my early days as plus it has been a while and I need to get some practice before I resume my grand tour across Equestria," I answer giving Lyra some good for thought. "But despite the cuff-links being training wheels you still need to learn the movements needed for each trick like if you want to summon an ace of spades you would have to shake your left hoof three times but if you shake it twice you could end up with the six of diamonds," I explain further. " Wow, there is a lot more work that goes into stage magic then I thought," Lyra said stunned. I give a light chuckle as we continue to walk around. But soon all that walking caused us to get hungry. If the sound of our stomachs is anything to go by. "You wanna grab a big old cheesy pretzel?" I ask my date with a slight smirk. "Oh you know it I'm so hungry I could eat Sweetie belles cooking. I mean I won't but I could" We both share a good laugh and we find a pretzel stand and we order a couple of cheesy pretzels and decide to call it a successful date overall. After we finish our pretzels we head back to the hotel and I have Mosbey get her a room for the night. I head up to my parent's place on the top floor and I walk into Mom playing a board game with Jake. "How was the date, Sweetie," Mom asks as she takes her turn. "It went well we both agree that a second date is a must but not any time soon," I respond as I yawn. "Lyra is in room 145, so you know where to send Jake when you're done I'm going to bed." We give our course of good nights and I go to bed. > Special Chapter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shortly after Trixie has left for her date with Lyra, Moseby had brought the young human Jake to Jackpot's and Amy's room. He was still shaken up by what had happened in the lobby and will probably have nightmares for weeks about that moment. Well, he and almost every other creature that witnessed Lyra's short-lived yet truly destructive rampage. After dropping Jake off, Moseby went back to the lobby to clean up the mess. He was still the front desk manager and he had to keep the lobby clean for guest after all. "Take a seat, Jake. We have much to talk about." Jackpot welcomed the small human as he went and got his wife who was currently beating her head against a wall for falling for Lyra's tricks to get her to let Trixie out on a date. Maybe it was the stress of the day or the fact that Equestria was so open with its relationships statuses but Amy still felt like an idiot. "Wow, this place so... so cool," Jake said as he looks around with sparkling eyes of amazement and child-like curiosity. He begins to run up to anything shiny and touches them as if seeing if he were really there. "Thank you, Jake." Amy's voice said to him scaring from the vase he was currently looking at. Jake turned around his jaw dropped when he sees Amy being that she was, in fact, the tallest creature he had seen ever since he woke up in Equestria. Amy was taking the staring well for about a minute anyway, taking second to clear her throat to get him to stop staring. "Thank you, Jake, now While my husband brings back something to drink why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" she asked him as she took a seat. "Oh, umm, Okay, I like the Power Ponies and ice cream. The chocolate kind, not the vanilla." He quickly specified. "Oh, Oh there was also my Nintendo 3DS." That caught Amys' attention, she had never heard of this 3 des item before. "Jake, what year was it on earth when you arrived?" A little hint of worry could be heard in her voice. "It was two thousand nineteen, why?" He casually replied, tilting his head as he asks the question for the reason why Amy asked his current timeline. The woman mouth gaped open after she heard the boy's reply. Amy had to sit down and as she sat down she thought Had it really been twelve years on Earth? B-But how? I've been here for twenty years here. Is time slower over there? "Are you alright miss?" Jake asked as Jackpot came back with the drinks and some snacks since he thought it would be nice. Amy still in a little bit of shock just numbly nods as she picks up one of the cheese crackers her husband brought. As she anxiously nibbled the cracker, the room's ambiance got a little bit awkward as Jackpot was more of a hardworking pony than a social one. It is a wonder to him how he married Amy sometimes. "She will be fine she sometimes does this when she remembers how long she has been here." Jackpot said as he gave Jake his cup. "So Jake how did you meet Trixie?" "I saw her show in Ponyville but a lot of mean mares where ruining the fun for everypony," Jake explained as he took a swallow of the tea. "Not enough sugar," Jake said flatly. "I'll be sure to remember that," Jackpot quoted and then went back to the kitchen to get some sugar cubes. It was about this time Amy snapped out of her stupor when the scent of her husbands' high-quality tea reached her sensitive nose. Noticing his beloved shaking nervously and in a trance, Jackpot levitated a cup of tea to his lovely wife, who gladly accepted it with a gentle smile, however, her clammy hands trembled, spilling some bits of the cup's contents. "Thank you, Dear." She complimented her husband, taking a small sip and releasing a relieved sigh. She looked back at Jake, who seemed to be gorging on the treats like a hungry beast, rather than observing his surroundings. Does his lesbian... I mean, ugh, fillyfooler foster pony mother not properly feed him before arriving in our hotel and abducting my only daughter unannounced? She slightly shook her head disapprovingly as to not be noticed before she gave a loud fake cough. "Ahem... Excuse me, Jake dear. Can you tell some segments of your daily life in... what do you call that place again?" "Huh? Oh ummm... I live in a tiny town called Ponyville, Ma'am." He nervously answered, dropping his shameful action and feeling a little embarrassed that he messed up his basic manners. His mother will enforce etiquette lessons from Octavia all over again. "What do you want to know exactly, ma'am?" He asked as he wasn't sure how to answer the adult human woman's vague question. "Oh, anything will do. Maybe an exciting event that happened recently will suffice." Amy's nerves seemed to slowly soothe at ease as she continued to sip her tea and sophisticatedly ate the treats. "Well, there was that one time a giant dragon appeared up a mountain near Ponyville." He nonchalantly informed. This caused Amy to flinch in surprise and intensified her nervousness. "O-oh, I see. He must have there for a temporary visit." "Well, we weren't sure about that." "How so?" Amy leaned closer towards the boy with curious eyes. "Well, from what the other ponies were gossiping about, a giant dragon arrived there unannounced, took shelter in a mountain's cave, and took a long snooze." Amy shook her head. "He must have made a lot of noise that kept everyone awake." "Well, yeah... And also he made a lot of black smoke that blocked the sunlight under Ponyville." He once again casually answered as if it didn't make him scared. "He poisoned our water supply, burned our crops, and delivered a plague into our houses." Amy and Jackpot concurrently let out audible gasps. "He did?" "Nah, I just wanted to make that reference." Jake let out a childish chuckle. "No, it was just annoying everyone and stopped most of the jobs that day." "How did this problem got resolved?" Amy asked before chugging an entire cup of tea and refilling it. "Oh, Fluttershy and her friends went up the mountain and negotiated to go somewhere else for his nap. You know, a usual Saturday morning episode in Ponyville." "Episode?" Amy was confused by that statement, even though she should be more panicking on the answer. "Yeah, weird stuff like that usually happens once a day, specifically thirty minutes or more on a Saturday morning. Basically, a new episode in a cartoon TV channel." "Oh dear, That's news to me." Jackpot said when he returned with Jake's new sweeter tea. "Here you go." Jake nodded in appreciation. "Amy has told me a lot about televisions and what kind of shows they show in these tiny metal boxes. But for specific reasons, what is this show exactly about?" "Yes, I'm curious about that as well." Amy inquired further. She was quite curious about the fact that there was a modern show about talking ponies. She remembers the similar show that she watched when she was growing up but this world was nothing like what she remembered. "From what I remember from the show, it had... I dunno, I think about nine seasons and an a-okay youtube series based around the ponies' human versions going to high school and doing normal teenager stuff with a magical twist. " Jake then takes a drink of his tea. "This tea tastes so much better. Thank you, mister." Jake smiled as he took another drink. "I don't really watch them myself and forgot what the title of the show was but some of my friends do and won't stop talking about them." The magic stallion, Jackpot was completely enamored by what the boy explaining about the things in his modern human world while his human wife, Amy was feeling the complete opposite. She thought of the boy's statement as a sick joke on the reality where she and the boy were captivated in. She began to silently think to herself. Nine seasons and another one about pony-human counterparts. Has human fiction writers always been this accurate when it comes irony? The Lord must be testing my resolve and mentality on how I'll handle this news but this is nothing. The boy must be mistaking the show's concept. The characters must resemble ponies or something. The boy is still young and mixing reality with fiction. No matter, I should be focusing more on entertaining my young guest instead of prying information from him. "Well, it has been a nice chat we have, little Jake, but I think we should head outside and look around Las Pegasus," Amy said, finishing her tea. She rose up from her seat and approach the door. "Dear, could you please clean up the table?" Jackpot nodded as he began to levitate the entire tea set back to the kitchen. "Really? We just got started." Jake whined, feeling confused that their tea time was cut abruptly. "I know but we can continue our chat after exploring around Las Pegasus," Amy explained. "Unless you want to stay in here and wait for my daughter and your..." She turned around so that the boy can't see her roll her eyes. "... your pony mother to come back and pick you up?" "No no, I want to look around with you, Miss." Jake happily exclaimed as he ran towards the woman. "It is my first time here in Las Pegasus and I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to come here again." Amy opened the door. "Well, then let's go watch one of my husband's subordinates' show." "Just make sure we head back before my mom gets back otherwise she might go berserk and wreck your hotel again," Jake replies as he heads out the door. He looked anxious, meaning his statement was serious and that there would be another expensive incident. "I will keep that in mind," Amy said, taking a nervous gulp. With that, the trio went to go watch a magic show downstairs and when they come back, Amy decided they will play a board game or two until Lyra comes back to pick up Jake. > A day with daddy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up a little later than usual if the clock on the wall is anything to go by. Ah, my neck feels a little sore. It's been a while I've slept in my own bed. "I think I better get up before mom comes into my room again... but I REALLY don't want too." Begrudgingly, I do get up out of bed. I grab some clothes from my closest and I go take a nice shower. I would describe my bathroom but it's a bathroom just with a custom toilet for my mom to use. After a nice long shower, I get dressed and I go and get some brunch as it was twelve thirty when I got out of the shower. Hehe, whoops. "Look who's finally risen from the dead." I heard my Mom's joke followed by laughter from I think Lyra. Upon walking into the living room, yep there is indeed Lyra and Jake sitting on the couch, the ladder of which looks like he is coloring in a coloring book. "Oh haha, very funny, Mom," I replied in a deadpan tone as I walked past them and into the kitchen. "Hey, Lyra," Jake cheerfully greeted me "Hey, Jake." I half greet. "Hey, Trixie," Lyra replies with a not so subtle wink. Jake just gives a little wave before going back to coloring. "So how did you sleep last night?" "I had a nice dream that me, you, Big Mac, and some random mares where at a beach with bipedal squids shooting each other with different colored ink," I replied as I stick some bread in a toaster. Setting the toaster into golden brown, I then go to the fridge and grabbed some homemade Apple Family apple butter that I sent my parents during my stay at Sweet Apple Acres. If you hadn't had apple butter or even heard about it, then you're missing out something wonderous big time. "Sounds like fun but why was Big Mac there?" I didn't have to look at the living room to know that Mom was staring at me with Lyra's question. "Just because of reasons." I simply answered. Heading over to the sink I turn on the out water to warm up the metal lid to the apple butter. "Did Dad leave?" "Yes, he did." I hear mom say as comes into the kitchen. "He should be back any moment now. He said he was going to take Jake to the park." "Oh man, I haven't been to the old park in ages," I remembered the memories I spent with dad there. "I should go with them." "That's a great Idea. I know FOR SURE he misses spending time with his little magician, Trixie." Way to guilt trip me, Mom. Conversation dies down when the newly made toast dings, using my magic, I levitated over the toast, butter knife, and a small plate as I use my hands to open up the jar once the lid has been loosened by the hot water. Sitting down at the table I quietly eat my breakfast while Lyra and Mom talk about different relationships they had in the past. Lyra tells some stories about Bon-Bon and her distrusting nature and my mom talks about a boy from earth she dated in high school. Jake runs off so I assume to use the bathroom since he left without a word. "Hey, Lyra, is Jake alright? He hasn't said much today." I asked once I finished my toast. "I think he is just nervous about spending time with a stallion since there aren't many in his life," Lyra replies with a shrug of her shoulders. "For Heaven's sake, Miss Heartstrings. You need to fix that problem. Instead of being surrounded by female ponies who like to fool around with each other, what he needs a strong father figure in his life for his mental health and future, otherwise, there might be some unforeseen consequences." My Mom replies in a serious and criticizing motherly tone that I know all too well. In response, Lyra gave my judgemental mother a death glare and looked like she was about to flip the table to starta fight. Quick, avert the situation with a more friendly question. "What would happen if he doesn't get that?" I curiously asked, getting up to put my plate in the sink. "I think he would end up rejecting a lot of himself and have a serious identity crisis, but then again I'm not a child psychologist so its possible he will live a perfectly happy life." My Mom answers, which gets a worried look from Lyra. "Wow, that's a scary thought even more so since humans can't get cutie marks or use magic." Lyra's voice is filled with worry. "We actually can but its incredibly difficult and even then said humans would turn into a pony shortly after a few months or years if I remember correctly." Well, that went from bad to worse since Lyra fainted. "Nice work Mom you made my marefriend pass out." I point out. "Wouldn't have happened if you just stuck with that Big Mac fellow." My Mom casually replies earning a groan from me. I love my mom but good lord she can be stubborn as an ox sometimes. Umm, no offense to any oxen "I'm guessing herds don't count." I heard Dad's voice remark as he comes through the door. "Welcome back and no they do not dear." "Hey, Dad." I go give him a quick hug. "I see you two were arguing again?" Dad points out immediately after releasing from our hug. "No, we were simply having a discussion on proper relationships." I shake my head slightly at Moms answer and Dad doesn't seem to be buying it either. "Dear you know I love you but some of your beliefs don't really have a place here in Equestria." My Dad goes and gives mom a quick kiss. Just then Jake comes back into the room with what looks like a little lunchbox in hand. "I'm ready mister pot, sir." He says with a huge smile on his face. He seems to have lost all of his nervousness. Something is up with Jake. Maybe he doesn't like fighting or something? "That's great Jake, just give me a moment to get a quick bite to eat and we will be on our way," Dad replies as he uses his magic to ruffle Jakes' hair. With an eager nod from Jake Dad mouths something to Mom before joining me in the kitchen. "Sleep late again, Trixie?" "Hey, not my fault this time. You can pin the blame on the couch mare for that." That gets a chuckle out of my Dad. "So, can I go with you and Jake?" "I don't see why not it would be nice to spend some time with you again my little Moonpie." He says cheerfully and I can hear Jake snicker at my old cutesy nickname. "I love you, Daddy, but why are you bringing up that old nickname all of a sudden," I said in a monotone voice, not trying to hide the embarrassment in my voice. "Well, that's for giving your mother a hard time..." He let out a loud sly chuckle that I always here whenever he performs his finishing touch on his performance. "And I love to tease my little Moonpie." "Geez, Daddy." I let out an annoyed whine while he adjusts his throat. "Ahem... Anyway, I'm gonna make a sandwich before we head out. Be ready by the time I'm done eating." With a tired sigh, I go back to my room, giving Jake a nice little head pat as I pass him. I closed the door behind me, opened my wardrobe and scanned the inside. Okay, what to wear today? I could go for a summer dress look with a big sun hat combo... No, the weather is a little misty and moist, might rain. Maybe wear a heavy jacket. No, it's still a little warm and the layers would suffocate me. I guess I'll just go for the simple t-shirt under a light wool sweater attire. After finally settling on what to wear for my walk with Dad, I went to the bathroom, quickly doing what people do in bathrooms and afterward put on my desired outfit. As I was about to exit out of the bathroom, I bumped into someone and that someone was a groggy Lyra with a bad case of bed mane... well, couch mane. "Hey, Lyra. How are you feeling?" I asked the recently awakened pony. "Wah. Huh?" She mumbled in response at first but after rubbing her eyes and a quick yawn, she now appears to be more aware of her surroundings. "Oh morning, Sweetie." "Sweetie?" I silently muttered in confusion. What's up with ponies giving me nicknames today. "Oh, sorry. I mean, Trixie." She corrected herself, feeling flustered and embarrassed by what she said to me. "I was just looking for the bathroom." "Well, you found hehe." I joke as I get out of her way while trying to hide my blush. " Be careful the water can take a bit to warm up." I receive a lazy nod from Lyra as she heads in and I go back to the living room where Jake is at the door looking around nervously while my dad finishes I assume second or third sandwich. "Okay once Lyra is ready we will head out." My Dad says with his mouth semi full. I go and put Jake on my back while we wait for Lyra. The wait isn't too long and the four of us finally head out while my Mom does some hotel stuff I think. Then again for all I know, Mom could just go back to bed or go ride the wild blue yonder while we are gone. Surprisingly not much is said for the most part as Jake is taking in the sights and sounds of the city, Lyra and my Dad are on the opposite sides of me, so I decide to be the one to break the reforming ice. "Hey, dad remember that one nightmare night when I put on fake cutie marks and Thestral wings to be a bat that transformed into a pony or what I called 'the bat-mare'." I will admit it's a tad embarrassing but it's one of my favorite memories with my parents, and I know it is one of my dads favorite as well. "How could I not that had to be the healthies nightmare nights ever." Dad and I start chuckling at the memory. "What happened?" Lyra inquired. "I went through the superhero phase that everypony goes through and I may have been a fan of bat-mare," I sheepishly confessed while brushing the back of my head. Jake suddenly joins the conversation. "If the costume that you described is anything like Batman's super suit, then I like it." Naturally me Lyra and Dad all look at Jake with questioning looks. "Who's this Bat...man, Jake?" Lyra asked, her voice became enthusiastic and raise a bit when she said 'man'. "He's like the most awesome and bestest superhero ever since he is like all pow and wham, he doesn't really have superpowers or magic but makes up for it with his superhuman physical abilities after years and years of training, and he has many sidekicks like Robin, Batgirl and... and..." Jake enthusiastically explained without taking a single break for air. He bounced on my back which did hurt a little but I couldn't stop him he was too adorable and excited talking about stuff from his homeworld. "He sounds very cool indeed." My Dad says with a chuckle. "So, what other superheroes from your old world are there?" I asked with some curiosity. My interest in superheroes begins to slowly creep out of my hearts and mind. Jake seems to ponder this for a moment before answering. "For example, there's the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Superman, Green Lantern, Miss Marvel, Supergirl and... and" Oh no, he's doing it again. "Wow, that is a lot of heroes," Lyra exclaimed clearly impressed, halting Jake's excessive blabbering about superhero names. In our minds, we felt relieved that she stopped him in time before he fainted from the lack of breathing. I had to admit that I was impressed as well. We continued to talk to Jake about some of his favorite heroes from both worlds for a little before we somehow got on the topic of bad movies and for the record, I actually enjoyed Bat-Mare versus the Power Ponies. Soon enough we make it the park. Jake soon hopes down and runs to the swings while Lyra, Dad, and I went to some nearby benches to watch over him and get some rest from the walk. "Oh, crap I forgot to take my medication today." I suddenly realized. "Oh, that sounds bad. But don't be too worried about that. Just take it easy and take them when we get home." Lyra calmly consulted me. "That depends when was the last time you took them?" My dad asks with a concerned look on his face.Come to think of it when was the last time I took the stuff about three days ago seems about right. "I think it was two maybe three days ago," I reply nervously. You can't blame me for forgetting a lot has happened in recent times. "One day is forgivable but Three Come on Trixie have some common sense." My dad says with disappointment in his voice. "Hey go easy on her. Trixie has been through a lot in the past few days." Lyra peps up. "You're right I'm sorry Trixie I have been stressed out as well the Hotel hit a bit of a rough patch because of the Wild Blue Yonder is due to be shut down soon and we need to find a replacement ride," Dad explained. Oh, so that's why Mom stayed behind. "Man, that Sucks how long does the old girl have?" I asked. Really hope the medicine thing doesn't bite me in the butt later. "Maybe five years ten if we are really lucky." " Well, that just means the next ride will just have to be even better." Lyra proclaims as she stands up on her back hooves. She then sees something. "Be right back I'm gonna get us something." She then books it. "She is a keeper alright." My dad jokes. "Yes, she is." I give a little chuckle. "Hey, dad I have a question." "What is it, my little Moonpie?" "Make that two." I huff a little at the name and the 'my little' addition. "The first one can you stop using that nickname?"He puts on a cheeky smile and shakes his head. " I thought so. The second question is how did you and Mom end up together?" "What brought this up?" He raises an eyebrow at me. "I wanna stay true to the Word of God but a part of me is telling me that I should join a herd and have a lot of foals," I answered. It may not seem like a big deal to you but it is to me. "Ah, I see well... When your mom and I first met it was under less than ideal conditions," He looked away and blushed in embarrassment. Dad decided that he would be the storyteller of this familiar tale since he was there and remembered all the details clearly. I remember some parts of it but I like to hear it every time. "What happened?" I casually asked "I was visiting Zebrica when I saw her raising Tartarus, or she what calls from her world 'Hell', about the wrong Humans or something to a local guide and the guide just left her because he was clearly done with her business" Dad and I both laughed a little. Mom's attitude was a little... complicated for anyone's first time meeting her. "She then followed him but I didn't for what was at the time obvious reasons." He scoffs for a moment."I didn't see her again for about two months when I went to Canterlot for a business meeting and I seen her on the streets begging. I will admit I was surprised to see her again I asked her why she was on the streets and she said she couldn't get a job because she wasn't a citizen because she hadn't done some program or something. I knew that it wasn't too hard to be a legal citizen but I asked what other choices she had." "What did she say?" I will admit, this is my first time hearing the story so I am a little excited. "She said she needed to either work for the false god or get married. " I can see it now Mom telling Princess Celestia to piss off and call her a blasphemous sun demon. Believe it or not, Mom has calmed down a lot with the righteous religious stuff, thanks to the help of my dad and some very patient psychiatrists. "So I asked her to marry me in exchange that she would give me a chance to get to know her better, and you know what she did?" "She said yes?" "Well yes, but she first slapped me in the face because getting to know her better where not my exact words." He shook his head for a hot second. "Sweet Celestia, I was an Idiot back then." "We all were idiots when we were young," Lyra says as she returns with four ice cream cones. Each one is Chocolate. "That's what growing up is all about." She then passes me and Dad a cone. "JAKE, COME GET SOME ICE CREAM!!!" She shouts right near my ear. "Ow, Lyra a little warning next time please?" I say as I try and get the ringing out of my head. "Oops, sorry Trixie, my bad." She looks sheepish for a moment. My retort was cut off by the sight of Jake holding his head and crying. "What happened Jake?! Are you alright?!" Lyra almost dropped the ice cream, hell I did drop mine as we went to help him. "I-I was pl-playing on the s-swing and this mean pony p-pushed me off and called me a freak." He hugged Lyra and cried into her chest. Lyra looked absolutely livid and I was just as mad. I'm sure my dad probably went to get some ice for Jake. "Trixie, why don't you take Jake back to the bench. I have some trash to take out." I nodded and put Jake on my back as Lyra went full momma bear mode. If its gonna be like anything at the hotel then its gonna be a show of force, one that might very well end with her in jail for a few days. So while Lyra does her thing I put Jake on the bench and take a look at his injuries. "Looks like it's only a little cut." I take a sigh of relief it could have been worse. "Jake How are you feeling?" He gives me a half shrug as he wipes the tears from his eyes. "You want your ice cream?" Again he gives me a half nod. "Okay, let's get you some ice cream." I see my dad return with the ice pack. "I think when Lyra gets back we should go home." "Agreed, I forget how racist some of the outs of town ponies can be." My dad puts the ice on Jakes' head and I go grab him a new ice cream cone. > Dreams and Goodbyes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was following some scattered rose petals, which were guiding upstairs. Ugh, I'm feeling a little anxious and annoyed as the stairs squeaked like a rubber chicken, with each step I took. I decided to use my prideful and prismatic dragon wings to pick up the pace a little as keep following the petals. As I fly over a giant wedding cake, I started to hear disgruntled moans. Not undead zombie moans, but "this feels really good yet it hurts a little" moans. Ooookay, it sounds like reallygood. Passing by some flying wedding dresses, I can see what I think Is Lyra, but her physical figure appeared more like my mom's with the exceptions of her signature light mint green fur and no clothes, only the glistening natural lights conceal her... Ahem, 'shameful' exposed parts . Her beautiful breasts were bouncing and jiggling in a jelly-like motion as she tosses the rose petals that I have been following. Her light green mane with silver-white highlights was tied neatly into a bun and the bindings was a white ribbon with a few different assortments of exotic flowers. Switching my target of observation, I follow her instead of the petals and soon I see Big Mac in all his glory. I wish I could describe more about his aesthetic appearance, however, I can only clearly see his rugged face while the light that I previously mentioned tried to blind me from motioning my vision on his body. Ah! Such a tease. The alluring yet mysterious scent exuding from both of them was quite intoxicating as a fresh cup of freshly ground coffee in the morning with a small hint of freshly baked sweets that just came straight out of the oven. The blinding light made my vision blurry and disorientated that I can only perceive Lyra's and Big Mac's specific body parts. My body's movements were stiff and hesitant as I couldn’t help but go a bit closer; the closer I got to them, the more excited I got. It wasn’t often I got dreams like this so I was gonna enjoy this very much. “Hey, Trixie. Come here, Trixie, and we will show you a wonderful time, Trixie.” Lyra kept saying my name as she began licking one of her own voluptuous breasts. While the other one was being fondled by the sudden appearance of Big Mac Big Mac got behind Lyra (who seemed to quiver at the contact he was providing) and with a big smug grin. “Eeyup.” He said his signature phrase with a deep seductive voice. The two of them quickly began having sex. The sounds Lyra made with the smells I mentioned earlier it all became too much for me as I quickly flew over to breeding pair and I began to take part. I would've described more, but I don’t think young children should listen to what happened next... I don't know why I went towards that mentality but it can't be helped, I guess. Anyway, let’s just say Princess Luna probably blushed that night. Ughhhhhhhhhh... Waking up the next morning, I groaned a little at a familiar pungent smell that permeates the air in my bedroom, “Well at least I try and bath regularly.” I then got up and grabbed some clothes, put my beddings in the laundry basket, and then went take a shower. “Trixie, when you are done, I need you to take your marefriend to the train station,” I hear my mom through the door. Her disgust at the use of marefriend is not lost on me. “Alright, Mom,” I shouted back, loud enough to be heard through the door. “I’m not washing your sheets, you are to do that before you go looking for another trailer.” “Yes, Mom.” A slight blush crosses my face. It’s caused by the fact that my mom found out how my sheets got dirty, but also from the dream I had last night. Finishing my time in the bathroom, I get dressed again. I don’t wrap my breast for support because I didn’t really feel like it. Well, that and I need to get more support wraps anyway. The old ones were starting to stretch and lose there support anyway. Did I mention that before I feel like I have? “Man, I need to get back on the road I am starting to lose my mind.” I vacate out of the living room where I see dad making breakfast in the kitchen while mom is reading the paper. “Morning, guys,” I greeted everyone to get their attention. “Morning, Trixie.” My parents responded with a daily morning family greeting while not looking away from their respective task, also known as me. “Where' s Lyra and Jake?” I asked, curiously and still half drowsy as my eyes were still slightly shut and I had to depend on my memories to locate the coffee maker. I grabbed a mug, poured some freshly brewed morning coffee and took a long sip to warm up and re-energized my body. Oh yeah, that's the good stuff. Now that I have coffee metaphorically coursing throughout my veins, I fully opened my eyes to completely perceive my surroundings. "Lyra said they were gonna wait in the lobby for you moon pie." My dad says as I feel him hug me. Ruffling his mane while not commenting on the nickname I respawn. "That so well alright let me go grab a couple of things before I head out." I hear my mom say something about being a sinner before I leave to grab me what I need. (Including one letter for one Macintosh Apple.) Once I have what I need I say good-bye and promise to return to wash the sheets. Meeting Lyra and jake in the lobby we quickly make our exit. Jake was asleep on his adoptive moms back. "So when are you going back on tour Trixie?" Lyra asks me. "Sometime next week." I then say. " I'm getting my wagon today but I need the extra time to practice my routine and maybe hire a bodyguard to avoid another Ponyville incident you know?" "Yeah, I get it." She hums thoughtfully. "It takes a special kind of crazy to live there." "Like having a human son and a centaur girlfriend?" I took a witty jab at her statement. "Exactly." Wait, a second... Did she not get- "ACK!" She playfully punches my leg with her forehoof. Okay, she got it. She quickly uses her magic to adjust Jake. "So what your mom said I am wondering if Jake will one day turn into a pony." "I honestly don't know I haven't met too many humans and as far as I know the only reason that's happening to my mom is that she pissed off the wrong zebra," I answer reply honestly. "So the stuff about cutie marks could be just to scare you." "What other humans have you met?" She pauses for a moment, "Besides, Jake and your mom-" For some reason, I could see her body visibly shivering. "I meant, your mother." I have to think for a moment. It would have been easier to say no but I want to be honest with her. " I remember back when I was in Canterlot, visiting my cousin and there was this green skinned thing that had the same body shape as my mom but there is no way it was human." "What makes you say that?" "It has been a while so I can't remember much about it but I do remember it had a question mark for a face and a nice suit." "Yeah, no way. That was a human." The rest of the trip was in silence until we got to the train station. "Have a safe trip Lyra." I lean down to give her a hug. "And could you give this to Big Mac when you see him?" I give her my letter. "I will on both accounts." She and Jake got on the train. As the train pulls out I can see Jake tiredly wave goodbye to me. > Big Mac's letter Third person. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lyra was trotting down to Sweet Apple Acres after dropping her adoptive son off at school, much to Jake's dismay. She was on an important mission to deliver a letter to one of the residences who was living there, Big Macintosh or Big Mac to his family and close friends. "You got this, Lyra. You just gotta find Big Mac without giving in to your curiosity about the letter. You can do this." Lyra said to herself as she motivated and encouraging herself up with delivering Trixie's letter to Big Mac. She made her way to the orchard and went to the house at the center of the land and gently knocked on the door. She waited... and waited... and waited for what seemed like an eternity when in reality it was at most one minute of waiting. Lyra was not a very patient pony and it did not help that she had to encounter one of Trixie's potential lover. Shortly after the one minute mark, the door opened up, revealing her designated target. One big red stallion with a yoke around his neck. The stallion looked down and raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you, Miss Heartstrings?" He asked politely like the Gentlecolt he was raised to be, which made the awkwardness intensify for Lyra. "Hey, big guy. I was just in the neighbor and well... I forgot to mention to you that I have a letter for you from Trixie." Lyra then used her magic to hand over the letter. Big Mac opened the letter and skimmed over it before hoofing it back to Lyra. "Why are you handing me the letter?" "It involves you as well apparently." Big Mac sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down as tears began to seep out of his eyes. Lyra took the letter and began reading it. Dear Macintosh Apple... and Lyra, if she's there with you, Big Mac, I am writing to you to tell you that as of the current time in my life I can not in good faith court you or really anypony else right now. You know the whole "it's not you, it's me" deal... Well, in this case, it really is me as my dream is to be a traveling magician and maybe with some luck, I can one day settle down with a nice stallion, but that is just not gonna happen right now. That goes for you too, Lyra but I can't be in good faith at keeping up with a long-distance relationship that is only based on letters when I could be holding on to my end for days or even weeks at a time while I'm traveling. Big Mac, it wouldn't be fair to you or Lyra so with a heavy heart I write this at the night before Lyra heads back to Ponyville. I hope you can keep an open spot for me in your herd but I understand if that doesn't happen. Love, Trixie. P.S if you wish to catch me at my next show it will be held in Trottingham. I don't know how well it will go so I am hiring a bodyguard to help keep me safe. P.P.S Please Tell Twilight I am sorry for snapping like that in front of the Princess it was wrong of me to do that. "Well, that just happened," Lyra stated after she first finished reading the letter and waited for Big Mac to lessen his lip quivering. "Eeyup." was the phrase Big Mac could respond for the moment before a single teardrop came out of his right eye. "Can I cry with you." "Eeyup." And with that, for the next three hours, both of them cried themselves to drowsiness. That night was the most uncomfortable for both of them. The next morning Lyra got a wonderful Idea so after taking Jake to school again she gallops straight to Sweet Apple Acres and finds Big Mac. Who was crying in his room to which she could understand? Lyra grabs Big Mac by the shoulders and shakes him to grab his attention. "Big Mac, snap out of it, will ya? I have an idea on how to get Trixie back." The mint mare exclaims once she is done shaking the stallion. Big Mac looks at her his eyes red from tears. He doesn't say anything but she knows she has his attention. "We go to Trottingham and we get our Herdmate back!" "What's the point?" Big Red said with his voice a little horse from all the sobbing. "The point is she needs us and she clearly is confused because she was so happy when I was in Las-Pegasus with her." Lyra puts a hoof around Big Mac with extra cheese as she continues. "And I personally think that her mom made her write that letter so she doesn't really feel that way." Big Mac thinks for a moment. "Ah, dunno Lyra what she doesn't wanna be in a herd." "We won't know until we go ask her." Lyra shrugs. "But I am willing to be a beta mare if it means we get Trixie back." With a long moment to allow Big Mac think he nods. "Awesome but I gotta ask if we can somehow get Bon Bon in the herd I know she doesn't like stallions all to well but I do still love her." With a smile, Big Mac says " We need to ask the Head Mare first." "Awesome, let's go to where ever Trixie is going to have her show is at." Lyra can't help but rub the back of her head. "It's being held in Trottingham so we got time to set up ponies to cover what we need too." Big Mac says his Voice no longer as horse and Lyra has a big smile on her face. "Awesome, let's head out on Friday." Lyra and Big Mac have a hug before Lyra leaves and Big Mac heads to do his chores for the day. > Interviews > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was idly sitting by my new wagon. Note to self be sure to repay my parents for covering the cost. While I waited for any potential bodyguards approaching my way, I had spent the last couple days hanging fliers with the location on where and when to meet me at if they want an interview. I set out some snacks that everybody can eat that being brownies. I help myself to one as I wait, and luckily I don't have to wait long as I soon I see a Griffon approach me. She has white feathers on her head and neck and the rest of her is light hazel brown but the feathers on her wings are a darker shade of chocolate brown. "Hello," I say politely. "Are you here for the interview?" I ask just in case they are just tourist. "Duh, while else would I be here?" She response. she sees the brownies and takes a couple. Well she's definitely rude. but being rude doesn't mean protection. Keeping my poker face smile, I politely asked. "Can I get your name, please?" Taking a moment to swallow her brownie she replies "Name's Gilda." "Okay Gilda, why do you want to be my bodyguard." I skipped straight to the point. "I need the bits." I raise an eyebrow. Didn't expect a short blunt answer right away but I guess that's typical for someone with a brash personality like hers. "If I may ask, why do you need the bits?" I asked a prepared question. "I wanna get a home here in Equestria." She explained. "And traveling will get me a good idea of where to settle down at." Again, another unexpected answer. "That is a very good reason, Gilda," I reply as she takes another brownie. "Unfortunately, I can not guarantee you will get the job as I know of a couple of other interviewers and maybe they are better qualified." I pause as I realized I forgot to ask a very important question. "Which reminds me of. What are your qualifications?" Gilda took a deep breath and opened her beak to speak her traits. "Well, I should get the obvious ones out of the way. As you can see I have razor-sharp talons and beak, I went to and graduated junior speedster flight camp with top scores in being awesome and daring, and not to brag about it but I can handle myself in a fight, whether it be a one-on-one or like I dunno, against five or six Minotaurs." I noticed that the last one was an overexaggerated and that there was no statement about calming down a situation before it escalates' but I don't comment on it. "Alright, I think I have what I need... for now. Is there any way to contact you to announce your official employment?" She may not be much but who knows about Griffons. "You can find me staying at the Drunken Boar Inn." She replies before taking off, but not without taking a couple more brownies. "Okay she needs money and wants to scout out a location, but she seems like the type to escalate things unnecessarily and she is staying at a bar." With a heavy sigh, I write down her location and my thoughts on her. I use this bit of free time to replenish the brownies since Gilda took nearly all of them. Just as I finish setting down the brownies as sphinx?! lands nearby before what I assume to be looking at the fliers before looking around some more. I can't tell if its a boy or a girl because it is kinda small a little bigger then my dad if I had to guess. They have sand brown fur with a white underbelly its wings seem to be of similar coloration with white feathers but brown fur where the feathers meet the bone. They soon see me and smile revealing that they are a pure carnivore. "Hello I am Trixie and you are?" I ask once they get close. "Hello, I am Giza." With a voice that deep it is definitely a he. "I was hoping to find you." "Well, here I am" I give him a polite smile. "Are you hear for the bodyguard position?" When he nods I take a second to clear my throat. " First question. What are your Qualification?" "Well I was a bouncer at a local club but I quit when I learned that all the employees were being docked half pay just because the owner wanted to impress some nobles." he scoffed as I nod in understanding. "It was the called the Nile if you are curious." I will have to check in with them to confirm the story, but at least he has experience in the field. I think as I write down the club name. "Alright, why do you this position over a job here in the city?" "I'm would like to stay in the city, to be perfectly honest, but not a lot of creatures are hiring muscle right now." I nod as I write that down. "Alright is there anything else you would like to tell me because if I do hire you-you do realize that we will be on the road a lot." He nods as he says. "I do but desperate times call for desperate measures. Also how much does the job actually pay if I may ask." "You may and you will get 25% of the total profit while I will get 50% with the last 25% goes to expenses such as food, water, and general maintenance of the wagon." I don't even look up towards him as I reply. "Where can I contact you should you get the position." "You can find me at Fairy tale Inn." That name rings up some alarms bells in my head. "Isn't that place always getting destroyed because of fights?" I asked, a little worried since I heard a lot of violent rumors about that place. He gives me a cocky smile as if he knew I was going to ask that specific question as he says this. "Hey, I gotta have fun somehow." with that and a shrug, he leaves. I'm not gonna lie he scares me a little. "Well, he was an interesting fellow." A voice says from behind me, making me jump while holding my chest. I turn around to see an Earth Pony covered in armor and a big sword that looks like it's too big to wield properly. Most likely enchanted "How long have you been there?" I asked as soon as I quickly regained composure. "Around the time that guy said how much I would get paid." A cheeky smirk forms on her face as I just nod and gesture for her to take a seat. She wiped her right forehoof before she reaches for a brownie when I asked. "If you're here for the interview, I guess I have to ask what is your name first?" "Name's Iron Heart and if you heard that name when you got here, then you know that I'm awesome." She replies with her smirk still on her face as she continues to eat through the plate of brownies. I swear she might eat the plate as well. I know Earth Ponies have big appetites after being with the Apple Family for while but her's was beyond insanity that she might give Pinkie's gluttonous stomach a run for its bits. She is certainly confident. I wonder why? I take a moment to let her swallow her food before I ask the next question. "What is with the armor and Sword, if I ask?" "Well, there's a combo set included with my service." She began. "The Armor and Sword are magically connected to each other, the sword will always re-appear on my back if should I ever lose it." She pauses to take a bite of the baked goods. "And past that the Armor, when activated, it gives me the strength of a Rhino and the Speed of a Cheetah, the Sword can also absorb elemental attacks such as Fire from a Dragon, or Lightning from a Thunderstorm. Also, they make me look, sound, and feel awesome." "Well, you certainly are prepared aren't you?" I must admit the enchantments that she mentioned were not be cheap to attach on a sword and armor. "Indeed I am." She munched the last brownie. I guess I'll have to refill that with cookies... maybe after she leaves. "Okay, where can I find you should you get the job?" She pulls out some sort of golden card with a sword and a shield on it and hands it over to me "Press on the shield if you want to contact me for a talk, press on the sword and I'll be teleported over in battle mode should you be ambushed" With that she leaves and I pocket the card. Possibly lying through her teeth about the enchantments and has a higher appetite than Pinkie. I wrote down on my notes. "Good lord these interviews are taking a lot out of me but I know I got at least two more to go over and then the hard part of picking one. Well, I could pick more than one but they might not like that and I may not make enough money to pay two of them." I end up waiting for the better part of an hour before I decide to call it a day and to grab something sweet to eat that isn't brownies. Thunk "Looks like dinner is going to have to wait." With a heavy sigh, I go and observe at what made the sound. I go to the other side of my trailer and I see a Thestral with one of my mangoes in her mouth. "Excuse me?!" I exclaimed, grabbing her attention. "Mello." She replies her mouth full of the fruit. She has big blue eyes, light grey fur, purple mane, and tail, her cutie mark is that of some flower with a sword over top of it, and lastly, her wings are surprisingly not dark blue or black like normal but they are a light purple. To complete the set she has a rapier on my right. So she left. "Why are you eating my food?" I asked, my voice sounded like it had no patience left in it. She thankfully swallows before replying. At last, she has manners. "I was looking for the interview for a bodyguard in the area and I got a little lost but then I smelled these amazing fruits before I knew what was happening I was already eating them." She says with a smile on her face before she seems to remember something if the look on her face is anything to go by. "Do you know where that interview place is being held at by any chance?" Sighing again at this newcomer I say. "Well, your first impressions needs some work and show up on time would also be good to do." She puts on an apologetic smile. " Well let's get this over with." I use my magic to pull her out or my wagon. Once she's out, we head over to the interview area. "First question what is your name and why do you wanna be my bodyguard?" "Well, my name is Nightslash and I just really need job experience before I can start teaching the way of the rapier." To make her point she pulls out the rapier and gives it a couple of quick thrusts. "The Biggest reason is I love stage magic it's always more entertaining than regular magic that I see during fights. To me, at least." I write down her answer along with my thoughts on her. She certainly is eager to help with my acts at least so that is good... or maybe she is brown nosing me to gain a higher chance of getting the job. I look up to make sure she isn't going to eat any more of my food. After confirming she is still there I ask the next question. "Why do you need experience if you are just gonna end up teaching?" "Well, you can only learn so much with wooden dummies and rookie sparring partners. you know?" I give a slight nod. "And as a bonus, it gives me more credibility if I have stories to tell future sword-wielders and possibly scars to temper up my skills." I quickly write down. Possibly has a lack of self-preservation. "Is there anything else I should know about?" "Well I do have a slight allergy to peanuts but nothing too serious." She informs me. I wrote that allergy in my notes as remind myself if she did get the job. "Alright, thank you for the information I just need a way to contact you in case you get the job. " I swear I heard a 'Squee' sound as she smiles. Is she Pinkie in disguise or maybe her cousins? "I am currently staying at this really weird place run by a human mare that has this massive wooden plus sign on it" Well she will be the easiest to find at least. "Oh, and sorry about the mangos I just couldn't resist it, since been so long since I had one." With that, she takes her to leave and I get something to eat from my trailer. When I get back from my meal, I can see a minotaur born centaur waiting outside. He has two massive horns, white skin on his upper half and brown for his bottom, muttonchops or sideburns as someponies might call them and a tattoo of a snake head on his left arm. I will be honest, he looks very familiar in a bad way but if he is here for the interview, I gotta at least be polite but quick about it. "Hello, are you here for the interview?" I say in the most polite voice I can muster. "Oh, it's you." His voice his a lot more formal then one would expect and I remember that voice well. "Chiron, what are you doing here?" I make no attempt to hide my anger in my voice. A little backstory Chiron and I used to take way back in high school but after I refused to give myself to him he tried to force himself and I swiftly left him. "I was looking for a job as a bodyguard but seeing as how you're the employer I will admit I am curious as to why YOU of all creatures need a bodyguard." A smile forms on his face. "Oh that's I remember you have a heart condition." "Why should I even give the job. " I huff in annoyance. A smile forms on his face as he walks over to my Trailer and lifts it with one hand. I am not impressed. "After what you tried to do to me it will take a lot more than that to even think about hiring your ass." "I suppose that's fair given our history." He sets my trailer down and then lights his horns and cast a powerful beam spell up in the sky. "What about that?" I'm done with this guy already. "Why do you even want the job in the first place?" "While the bits would be nice I was hoping to find a good breeding mare to have fun with." He actually wiggles his eyebrows at me. "But in all honesty, I am just looking for someone worthy to fight and while I do find you just as attractive as back in high school I know your mother would skin me alive if I so much as laid a finger on you." "Well, that concludes the interview now leave." He gives me a bow before taking his leave in a casual manner as if he succeeded. I summon my notes and I write down. Is his Power worth it? Probably not. I go inside my trailer to make sure his little display didn't mess everything up and thankfully he didn't do to much damage. " I really hope I make the right choice with this." > Unexpected meeting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Man, deciding who to pick is gonna be a pain in the flank," I say as I take a stroll through the park where I held the interviews. I am poring over my notes on the accidents over and over again not really paying attention when I suddenly smack one of my shins into something very hard. "YEOW!!!" I yelp as I back up a little to immediately check the injuries. That will bruise but that's about it I think as I rub them down. Looking up, I see a massive crystal table that I know wasn't here earlier. Looking closer at it, I can see a map of what I assume is Equestria but it is off in different ways. Towns appear to be in different locations. Where my hometown Las Pegasus should be, Ponyville is located, and vice-versa. For some reason, Canterlot on the map is hanging off the side of the mountain rather than on top of it. "Well, that is an interesting interpretation on the world I'll say that much," I muttered as the soreness in my legs went away for the time being. But I know that once the bruises set in then it will come back with a vengeance. I was about to go on my way when what looks like a giant hole appears before dropping out a green pegasus with a blonde mane and tail and... TWILIGHT?! "Twilight." The pegasus called out the unicorn's name while laying down with his eyes closed. From the voice and muzzle, it is clearly him. "Yes, Mark?" Twilight replies, back both of them sounding completely exhausted. "I am getting really sick of these sudden travels." He lets out a tired breath. "So am I, Mark, so am I" Twilight replies. "But we gotta get home." "I know, but I could go for some food." As if to prove a point, his stomach growls. "Fighting Starlight and Travelling dimensions really works up an appetite." "If I may interject into the conversation, why does Twilight have wings?" I asked, nabbing both of their attention. "Oh, this world doesn't have a Princess Twilight yet?" The pegasus whose name that I assume is Mark answered. When he looks at me, he looked shocked. That doesn't surprise me as I am rather unique even among centaurs. "Trixie, is that you?" That took a turn I didn't expect. "Yes, why?" I ask. I notice off to the side Twilight doing something about her wings. My guess he is trying to hide them. "It's me, Mark." He asked as if he knows me. "I'm sorry. I don't know anybody by the name of Mark. I do know a Jake; he's a really sweet kid." I reply and he looks sad for a moment and an awkward silence hangs over us for about a minute. During that time I can't help but think that the name Mark isn't quite a pony name and more of a human name. "Hey, Mark," I said, breaking the unbearable silence. "Yeah, Trixie?" His voice sounds like he's trying to hide the pain and I could see him biting the lower part of his lip before he responded to me. "Why do you have a Human name?" The look on both of their faces almost makes me want to laugh but I don't because I'm sure that there is more to this then I want to know. "Well, I used to be one, of course." I give him a skeptical look for a second. "I came to my Equestria by a magic mirror and the magic part of that was to turn me into a pony." He explained clearing things up. "I see and here I thought you were cursed like my mom and forced to turn into a pony." By this time, Twilight gets back if the gasp I hear is indeed coming from her. "How did that happen?" Twilight asked. Mark nodding in agreement. Turning Twilight and before l look back at Mark. "Let's go to my trailer we can talk there." All three of us get moving. As we walk I can see the questions brewing in their heads. Taking a second to channel some of my stage personas, I said."We can walk and talk on anything you want to know about that isn't too personal." "That would be nice thank you, Trixie" Twilight says with a smile. She levitates out a notebook out of her saddlebags. "Are your humans natural to this world?" Straight to the point. Yeah, she definitely is Twilight. "No actually, they are not from this world." I give her a minute to write before continuing. "I just know that with some exceptions a human comes here about every twenty years or so." As she writes Mark speaks up. "How do they get here then?" "Like you did." I see worried looks on there faces. I elaborate further. " You know through portals. I don't know the details but apparently, our worlds are close enough that wild portals open up and take ponies or people to the other one's world."Yeah I am definitely going to need to hear their story. "Really have any ever returned?" Mark asks again to which I just shrugged. "What research is being done?" "I honestly don't know I just know that not all humans come here with there sanity intact." I take a deep breath. "Humans and magic don't really mix well I know that it can have nasty effects on the mind of one." "What about this Jake person," Twilight speaks up. I can see the worry in her eyes. "He's young about eight or nine and I would say rather healthy," I explain "I would know I just saw him a couple of days ago with his adoptive mother." Before they can ask who the mother is I answer "Her name is Lyra heartstrings and she really cares for the little guy." Twilight takes a sigh of relief. "Well as long as he is happy." "Feel free to look around I know it isn't much but it's mine," I say once we get to my trailer and once head inside I offer them some of the leftover brownies for the interviews which they happily take. After eating a couple they thank me and I get comfy for when they are ready to ask more questions. I don't have to wait long. "So, how do these portals form?" Twilight asked. "I'm sorry, I don't know how exactly they work. The only ones who would be able to answer that would probably be this world's version of you or some of the genius' bighorns at Canterlot." I gave a slight bow as I say this. "It's alright. Trixie." Mark puts a hoof on me to show his support. " So do you have any questions for us. Twilight and I would be more than happy to answer them." I give a smile and a nod as Mark starts to look around. "What's your world like?" They begin to explain to me the world they live in and how the royal sisters are missing and how their version of me somehow got put in charge, which followed shortly with Twilight once she earned her wings by completing some spell by Starswirl the Bearded, beating her idol at spell crafting with the power of Friendship or something similar to that. And apparently, they are about twenty-two months (basically a year and ten months) ahead of my current time which I find to be rather fascinating. Well, their whole tale is fascinating two be honest. These future bad guys sound like something I should warn the Princesses about. I should send a letter to Cousin Shining Armor to tell his fiance. Maybe to Uncle Nightlight and Aunt Velvet to tell the Princesses. "Wow," I say once they finish telling their story. "That is quite the tale." I notice that Twilight had fallen asleep during the story. Lord knows how many times they had to repeat it. "Yeah, it is." Mark says "but its all true. I think the evidence of Twilight with wings is proof enough." He gestures to the napping Alicorn. "Well, feel free to stay the night but I still gotta pick a bodyguard to travel with me." I exhaustedly groaned as the re-reading the interview notes takes a lot of decision making energy. "Mind if I help you pick one?" The green pegasus asks and I nodded as I levitated my interview notes over to Mark. "Let's see here Gilda likes to boast but inexperienced, Giza experience but may start a fight intentionally, Iron heart has some unique gear but that seems to be all she has, Nightslash is looking for experience and seems to be laid back." He squints to look at Chiron's section to ensure something. "NOPE!" "Yeah, I agree with you on that last one." I stood up to stretch my legs. "Coffee?" "Yes, please." I nodded as he goes over the notes while I got the pot of water with the coffee grounds inside boiling. "I think this Nightslash pony would be your best bet." He stated with an approving tone. "Why is that?" "She's got the basic skills that are necessary for a dependable bodyguard down. And having a Thestral with natural night vision, enhanced hearing, and flight could be extremely useful for a bodyguard and traveling companion." Mark described Nightslash's many beneficial traits. I didn't even consider her innate Thestral abilities. I would've just picked her for her adorable laid back attitude and love for stage magic since it might help my hearts condition by not having a high maintenance traveling companion stressing me out. "Yeah, I can see your point." We sat in silence until it was broken by steam whistling from the coffee water. I poured the coffee on both mine and Mark's cups. "Cream and sugar or just stick to black?" "Cream? No milk?" He asked. I could hear the sadness in his voice. "I gotta have only non-perishables goods since I got to long trips before I reach a settlement and getting an enchanted fridge would hurt more than help in a financial and magic use sense," I responded as I grabbed the creamer and sugar cubes from one of my cupboards. "How many lumps of sugar do you want?" "I'll take three sugar cubes." He replies. I just nodded while I finished preparing his cup of coffee. Handing over his cup I sit down. "When you finish, can you put the cup in the sink?" "Of course but I wish I had more than brownies to eat." He then takes a long sip from the mug. "Oh yeah, I needed that thanks." "You're welcome, Mark." I take my own sip. "I am gonna Keep an eye out for your counterpart assuming he is even here and not on earth still." "You don't have to do that but I appreciate it." Mark gives me a small smile. " I should probably wake Twilight up because as nice as this world is I still have a wife to be to get back to." I take a look outside to see the sun in about the three o'clock position. " Yeah, I will take you back to that table if you want," I say as Mark take a feather and tickle Twilights nose causing her to sneeze herself awake. I may have laughed harder then I meant to which caused me to spill some of my coffee. "Oh, before we go mind, if I take a picture with you?" Mark says as he pulls out a camera. Twilight rubs her eyes from her impromptu wake-up call and starts stretching. "After you get the coffee cleaned up I mean hehe." "Sure and for this Starlight person, I will pray for your safety and for your quest to succeed without getting into too much trouble," I told them as I clapped both my hands together before I take Mark's empty cup and put it in the sink. When I say sink I mean it is just a hole in the counter that you put water into it by bucket to wash dishes. As I do I notice an extra Cross. Would they like this as a keepsake? After a brief of consideration, I decided to at least offer it to them. Grabbing it, I follow my guest outside for picture time. We take a couple with several funny poses but I think my favorite one would be the picture we took where I'm laying down with Twilight and Mark in my arms like I just bought a couple of sacks of potatoes or some large pumpkins. Our fun comes to an end shortly after and I guide them back to the crystal table. "Well, this is goodbye," I said, I then pull out the cross and hand it over to Mark. "So that God will be with you on your journey." "Thank you, Trixie, I will take good care of it for you." He gave me a hug and so did Twilight. "Good luck and goodbye to you as well Trixie," Mark said as he breaks the hug. "I'm sorry about your cousin Trixie but in my defense, I was stressed out about Celestia coming to visit and the Parasprites were not helping." Twilight had a blush on her face. It was faint but I could see it. They got on top of the Crystal Table and Twilight's horn light up followed by a portal sucking them up into the sky. As soon as they were gone the Table sunk into the ground. "Well, I guess I better contact Nightslash and tell her she's got the job," I quietly said to myself as I took one more glance at my chosen candidate's notes. If I have to guess, with her personality, she would (metaphorically) be over the Moon with this news. > On the road again > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After my... unexpected (and rather unnecessarily silly) alternate extra-dimensional visit from familiar and unfamiliar individuals, I don't think I will ever forget that moment anytime soon. But strangely enough, luckily they have helped me decide on my new bodyguard which I am thankful for. I had another stroke of luck as I find out that my chosen candidate, Nightslash was lingering around at my parents' hotel. This just gives me a chance to say goodbye to my parents, even if it is just through a nameless messenger. After all, running a hotel is a lot of work and they can't always be pulled away from it just because of me, their one and only daughter. Making my way down to the hotel from the park was a little tedious as nothing too exciting happens along the way. But I guess that also means that I didn't encounter anything too stressful for my hearts. Well, that was supposed to happen because I think I just jinxed myself by thinking that last sentence so confidently. Anyway, all I could see around my surroundings were just the usual Las Pegasus citizens; talented street performers who were performing amazing feats that no ordinary ponies or other species could perceive and cunning hustlers trying to make a quick bit by preying on the clueless first-time tourist. I had to be very careful around the hustlers and other lowlives in this city since I can feel their greedy glares on my new wagon, thinking that they could easily scam me out of it. I can tell that they perceive me as just a traveling show magician from a far away small town. But jokes on the newbies of the hustling world, I've in these streets since I was a little girl. When I was five, I was almost got scammed out of my childhood bits savings if weren't for my dad's intervention and my mom's nosiness. I got an ear full of lectures about not trusting strangers and not trusting their word that they are a distant relative of mine so easily. After that little ordeal, I decided to keep a far distance from approaching strangers in big cities and any other settlements. I also decided that I should be the one to approach towards others, instead of letting them come to me. ... unfortunately, my life choices were irrelevant as right now as a group of unfamiliar ponies surround me and my wagon. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here, ladies and gentlemen." One of the ponies boastfully announced to his partners. "A little pony with a box full of treasures." I guess he's the mastermind of this pathetic encounter. He had a bright crimson fur color and a grass green high mohawk and eyes. I'm just gonna call him Tomato because that is the only thing I can perceive of him. I guess they're here to mug me and steal my wagon away from me but I'm not having any of that. I reach towards my pockets for my quick getaway smoke bombs but suddenly... "And what do you think you're doin'?" An unknown mare's voice said behind me. I felt something sharp jab my back, must be a knife or something. I tried to turn my head towards the individual but I felt another sharp jab. "Unh, unh, unh. No sudden movements, you freak." Okay, that freak remark was so uncalled for. This is Las Pegasus, they must have met some centaurs here. Unless they are singling me out because they must've known that my mom is a human in which case I'm Boned. "Let's not do anything rash now," I said as I tried to get out of this situation with my life at the very least. I really hope things don't go that far. "Oh, we won't won't we fellas." The mare says as I feel the knife get a little more pressure behind it, thus causing the others to chuckle. One of the stallions who had a confident composure and smug expression starts speaking. "You see our boss wants a word with you." I see him giving me a lecherous glare and started to slowly lick his upper lip. I cringed at what I just saw. I couldn't help but anxiously gulp since I know there are only two outcomes would occur if I actually did their demand. Either the leader is going force me to do his demands or be forced to hand over every valuable I have after... after... after being "assaulted" by every gang member. I don't want any of those things to happen to me. I have to escape from this situation but how do I do that? I felt another sharp jab. "Hey fat flank, do you have wax on your ears? Move your ass or..." The mare who had a knife on my side suddenly paused her speech and I could hear her starting to loudly yelp in pain. Since I could no longer feel the knife on my side, I turned towards mare and I was shocked to see her squirming on the ground with what I think is a large slash wound on her right side. I had to quickly look away from her before I get squeamish from the excess amount of blood vacating out of her wound. Her degenerate partners were completely caught off guard by this and became disoriented as erratically turn their heads on who caused "You! Did you do this!?" Tomato demanded an answer from me, only to have my confused and frightened expression. He tried to reach for his wounded partner's knife to assault me, only for a shroud of darkness appear right in front of us and a slash mark was inflicted on the stallion's right side face. "GAHHH!" Tomato yelped in pain as he reached his wound with both of his forehooves and collapsing on the ground. The rest of the gang members huddled together with their backs sticking together to cover all their surroundings. "Hark, foul evildoers!" Suddenly, I heard a familiar mare's voice valiantly echoing somewhere. I turned to the origin of the voice and saw a silhouette figure on top of a hill with something long and slender placed beside her. I immediately guess that it was a sword as it reflected the morning sunlight from the sky, blinding me and the gang members. The figure grabbed her sword with her mouth and then leaped up to the air, performing a quadruple somersault before successfully sticking the landing in a heroic way. "Nightslash!?" I shouted in surprise. "Hey, Trixie." She happily muttered her greeting with a confident and innocent grin on her face and somehow speak properly ever though her rapier was on her mouth. Immediately after greeting me, she turns her attention to the gang members and initiates her namesake slashes all around the thugs who shortly after running away, I'm assuming as to lick their physical and mental wounds. "That was.....AMAZING!" I exclaimed with full amazement. "Where did you learn to do that?!" I ask in excitement. Nightslash gives a small giggle before answering. "I learned one of those moves from my swordmaster, silly." Putting away her blade. "So about that Job offer?" "Oh, Ye,s you do indeed have the job," I exclaim. "In fact, I was just on my way to inform you about it but you just guaranteed your position with that fight." She nods with a big smile on her face. "I hope you already packed your bags because we're leave in about an hour." "Yippee." Nightslash leaps high up in the air for joy like a foal being told they are getting ice cream after dinner. "Where will I meet you?" "I was thinking we could meet in an hour on Route Thirty-Six." I used my magic to levitate a small pouch of about twenty bits." And here's a little something for helping me with those delinquents since you were not technically on the job yet." "Why thank you very much, Trixie." Nightslash squees as she happily accepts the bits. "I will meet you on the road then." "God speed, Nightslash." I gave her a little bow as she gave her wings a might flap before taking off to the sky at incredible speeds. "I am really lucky she was there when she was. I don't wanna know what would have happened otherwise."