Illusions and Trix

Trixie and I made it into Manehattan by sundown. Trixie had in tow a rickshaw cart, or caravan, which not only held all of her props, but also folded open into a mobile stage. It also sometimes acted as her home, but not for the time being, not while we were in the big city.

"It's going to cost Trixie a fortune to house and feed you, human," she grumbled as we ambled into town.

"Either call me Alexi or don't speak to me," I barked, "I will not be called 'human' by a pony who refers to herself in the third person."

"Trixie...I...am sorry...Alexi," the unicorn said, bowing her head.

"It's OK, Trixie," I sighed, placing my hand down to touch a bit of mane on the back of her neck which wasn't covered by her hat or cape.

As we made our way through a part of town, we naturally passed other ponies, ponies who hadn't seen me yet. I tried to not make eye contact, lest I scare them, but they seemed to be doing that plenty fine on their own. I could see out of the corners of my eyes quite a few of them hide or even run away in fear. I suppose I can't blame them. People always said I was pretty frightening. My grandmother used to half-joke that I resembled a young Lenin. Eventually, we stopped in front of a three-story building.

"We shall stay here," my companion announced, "Trixie knows this place well."

"And what about me?"

"Do not worry," she waved a hoof, "you'll be fine. Besides, it's not as if you would fit in my caravan."

I had to admit that she was right about that, and followed the unicorn inside. The front room of the building wasn't much to look at, pretty standard, I suppose, though it seemed to be from a bygone era. In fact, now that I thought about it, even though Trixie mentioned that Manehattan was the largest city in Equestria, it seemed to have about the same technology as the early 1900s. The streetlights ran on gas, the streets were mostly cobblestone, and almost all the buildings were made of wood.

"Well," the burly masculine voice of the pony behind the wooden reception desk said, "look who's back. The Great and Powerful Trixie returns to Manehattan. So, Trixie, cause any international incidents lately?"

The stallion laughed at this, closing his eyes and throwing his head back.

"Not yet," Trixie answered in stride, "though my friend here might change all that."

"Your friend," the clerk asked, "And who would that...

He spotted me for the first time. Frankly, it shouldn't have taken him so long, but he was having so much fun poking fun at Trixie that he hadn't noticed me standing there. His eyes doubled in size, and his mouth hung open in utter bewilderment.

"Tr-Trixie...," he stuttered, "wh-what in Luna's Moon...is that thing!?"

Trixie didn't answer, but instead looked back at me and angled her head in a silent suggestion. I took it, stepping past her and up to the counter, where I towered over the stallion without even trying.

"My name is Alexi Federov," I said in as calm of a voice as I could, again trying to hid my accent, "and I am what they call a human. And, since you are obviously wondering, no, I am not going to hurt you."

"How...how long are you going to be here, Trixie," he asked, craning his head around me.

"Three days, four nights," Trixie answered promptly.

"No problem," he reached behind him toward the wall of room keys, shifting his worried gaze back up to me, "here you go. It should be big enough."

I saw the key the stallion held get picked up by the purple aura of Trixie's magic.

"Thank you," she said politely, "C'mon Alexi."

The unicorn began to make her way up the stairs. I soon followed, having to bend over in half to not hit the ceiling, leaving the clerk at the desk in a state of fearful rigor.

Soon we made it to the door that fit the key. It seemed to be slightly separated from the other rooms. I followed Trixie inside to find a respectable-sized room, equipped with a queen-size bed and a large, long, dresser with a mirror.

"This is nicer than I expected," I quipped.

"Yes," Trixie agreed as she took off her hat and cape and laid them on the bed, "Board must have given us the nicest room in the inn."

"I hope I didn't scare him too badly," I said, looking over my shoulder, considering whether I should go back down and apologize.

"He'll be fine. Now you wait here, Trixie will fetch us some dinner.

She was about to exit the room when a light bulb seemed to go off above her head.

"Um...Alexi...what do humans like you eat?"

I grinned wickedly, stepping toward her, "Oh, humans usually eat meat. We are particularly fond of pony meat.

Trixie's pupils shrank to pinpoints as she began to shake in fear. Like I did before, I kneeled down to appear less intimidating.

"I'm sorry, Trixie. It's true that most humans do eat meat, though almost never from ponies. I, however, have been a vegetarian for years now, so I suppose whatever you would eat would be fine by me."

Trixie's pupils returned to their usual size, and her horn flared up.

"You little...how dare you scare Trixie like that. You will pay!"

She fired a blast of magic in my direction. The energy struck me square in the chest, but nothing happened. It felt no different than being hit by a gust of wind. The attack over, I smiled at Trixie, who once again seemed petrified.

"Guess I'm not affected by your magic," I quipped, brushing off my slightly ruffled vest, "Now, you were saying something about food?"

"Food...right," Trixie stuttered, "I'll get right on that."

The blue unicorn bolted out the door, locking it behind her. I just shook my head and chuckled.

*--*--*--*--*

By the time Trixie returned with the food, she had calmed down from her earlier scare. We ate our steamed vegetables and noodles, which reminded me a lot of Chinese food, in relative silence. When we finished dinner, we both noted that it was quite late, and it was time to turn in.

Trixie took the bed without a second thought, and I really didn't blame her. However, she had brought in a blanket from her caravan and tossed me an extra pillow to sleep on.

"Hey Trixie," I said as I took off my vest, "I am going to need some new clothes."

"What? Why?"

"This is my only set. I want to look good for your performance tomorrow."

"Do you need to wear clothes?"

"Yes," I replied, taking off my black dress shirt, "It's a human thing. We need something to protect us from the elements since we do not have fur like most animals."

"But your undressing now," Trixie pointed out. I could see her eyes glance lower than my eyes.

"That's because I am getting ready to sleep," I reached down to remove my black slacks and black socks, "There are a few occasions when humans remove their clothing. One of them is to sleep. But it is never, or should never, be done in public."

"Fine," Trixie relented with a sigh, "I know a mare here in the city who might be able to make some for you. We can go first thing in the morning. I can only hope this doesn't cost me all of my Bits."

*--*--*--*--*

The next morning, as promised, Trixie took me to see this tailor. We had to walk across half the city, but eventually stopped in front of a lone-standing building. The blue-and-pink motif and decorations were nice, I suppose, if a little bright for my tastes.

As Trixie and I walked in, I noted the name of the shop, "Coco's Couture." The inside was pretty much what you would expect from a clothes shop, various outfits adourned on pony-shapped mannequins, and racks upon racks of clothes.

"Good morning," a small, high-pitched voice greeted, "Welcome to Coco's Couture."

Trixie and I looked in the direction, to see a beige pony with a two-tone blue mane standing there.

"Coco, there you are," Trixie beamed.

"Hello Trixie and EEP!" The little pony had spotted me. Somehow or other, even though I towered over them, these ponies had a weird habit of not seeing me. Coco got very small, her entire body shivering.

"Don't worry," Trixie said, making her way over, "Coco Pommel, this is my friend Alexi Federov. He's a human, a brand new species of creature which Trixie discovered."

Coco was not moving from her spot on the ground, so I did what I had done before.

"Ms. Pommel," I kneeled down, "I'm not going to hurt you. Actually, I need your help."

"My...help," she began to perk up, "What with?"

"Well, you see this," I pulled at the sleeve of my shirt, "This is the only set of clothes I have. I'm going to need some new ones if I'm going to look good for Trixie's performances."

"But, I make clothes for ponies," Coco argued, raising up to her hooves again, "I wouldn't know where to start with you."

It's quite simple, really. I wouldn't suppose my style is much different than a big-city stallion."

"Not at all," Trixie concurred, "Please, Coco, this is really important."

"OK," Coco sighed, "I'll try."

It took the rest of the morning for Coco to do all the research she needed to make clothing for me. By research, I meant taking my measurements, taking copious notes on the various articles of clothing I was wearing, and quizzing me on my personal tastes and preferences. She was thorough, I'll say that much.

When all this was over with, Trixie and I left Coco's shop with a promise that everything would be ready tomorrow morning.

"Well that was nice," I stated as Trixie and I started down the street, "What now?"

"Now, we have lunch, and then we set up for my show. This show will be the best one ever, the introduction of the human species."

"Just don't go overboard, Trixie."

"When have you ever known Trixie to go overboard?"

I gave the unicorn a look, "Do you really want me to answer that?"