Lulaloser

by MaskedWriter

Rating: teen
Tags: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Original Character, Trixie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 4683

After being run out of another town for the last time, Trixie goes to a bar to try and unwind. Little did she realize the one bar trip would change her life from magic to music.

Can cutie marks be wrong? What if a pony really isn't good at what they're destined to do? What if they hate it? What if it was possible to change yourself into someone you wanted to be?
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GUISE! I could actually really use a cover photo for my story. If any artists out there (Or even art-savvy people who know of a picture) can help me, I'd appreciate it! I can't really into art, so I wouldn't even know where to look.

Published 2013-09-14 14:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-08 13:36:40 UTC

Chapter One

Trixie quickly trots into the Manehatten bar, silently taking one of the few open stools avaliable. The barkeep gives her an odd look, simply stating, "Back again so soon, Ms. Lulamoon?"

Trixie looks up and stares at the stallion, a gruff yet friendly looking pony with a dark brown mane and a lighter brown coat. "Yes, The Great and-...I-I mean...Just give me the usual, please. Thank you, Malt Scotch." She retorts, a defeated tone in her voice. Malt simply nods and hands her a large glass, filled with a fizzy amber beverage. She makes it levitate, enveloping the glass in a light blue hue before quickly chugging down the entire glass. The unicorn next to her snorts, an impressed yet worried look on his face.

"One of those days, eh?" He says with a warm smile. Trixie turns and stares at him, a look of anger painted over her face. It quickly washes over with the same look of defeat she had before.

"You don't know the half of it. The Great-...I mean...I...I think that my cutie mark might be wrong... Im not good at magic, and I only get run out of town every time I try to do a show!" She nearly shouts the last sentence before blushing and lowering her voce. The bar was loud enough that no one paid much mind to her outburst. The stallion looked at her with a confused look on her face.

"You don't need to do what your cutie mark tells you to." He states, almost as a matter of factly. Trixie returns the puzzled look the stallion gave her, retorting "Excuse me?"

"The name is Looker Socials, my father was a police officer and my mother is..." He trailed off, a small smile on his face. "Well, everyone thought i was going to be a police officer much like my father." Looker points at his cutie mark, a large magnifying glass with a black x across it. "I had other things in mind, even if the Alicorn sisters thought otherwise. I'm an artist, a songwriter." Trixie simply stares, a look of curiosity in her eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Miss…” He gives her another warm smile.

“You may call me Trixie…” a quiet voice replies.

“Trixie, it’s been quite a pleasure. Now if you’ll excuse me..” Looker hops off the stool, trotting over to the stage at the end of the bar. He thinks to himself what song he’s going to play tonight. After only a moment’s thought, Looker takes a seat on the chair in front of the microphone, levitating the guitar onto his lap. He picks it up, plucking at each string with care. He didn’t need his strings out of tune, not at all. Looker takes in a deep breath and begins to sing and play the guitar, the quiet song about taking his marefriend to an aquarium. The song is sung with a smile and happy tone, the lyrics talking about how he’d do anything as long as she didn’t get upset. The song ended with his marefriend screaming at him, and it ended rather abrubtly. The bar keeps up it’s idle chatter, and silent sign of approval.

“Thanks, everypony. Might be back for another song after the next few acts.” Looker says, quickly trotting off the stage. He goes up to Trixie, tilting his head to the side. “So then, Miss Trixie. How was I?” He says, a hint of worry in his voice.

Trixie simply stares at the colt, her lips curling to a small smile. She quickly turns her head to Malt, “2…no, make that 3 of the usual please. Looker, you do drink beer yes?” She looks at him expectantly, the smile slowly growing.

Looker nods, “I’ve never been one to turn down a drink, especially from a friend.”

“F-Friend…?” Trixie asks, taken aback by Looker’s comment. He sits down next to her and nods, “Just wondering why you got 3 and not 2…” Trixie laughs a bit and gives him an honest answer, “I’d be lying if I said that 2 of weren’t for me.” She quickly takes a nervous sip and lets out a quiet sigh, "How do you even write such...personal things?" she asks.

Looker rubs the back of his head, fixing up his mane a little bit, "It's not too hard. On the contrary, it's actually a great way to get it out of my system. Ever done anything artistic?"

She scrunches her nose up, trying to think of the last time she ever sang. "When I was a young filly, my mother and I would always sing together. I-I mean before she passed away. I devoted myself to magic after that. I wanted to impress any young pony who was feeling sad. Well, at first..." Trixie looks away.

"I got drunk off the idea of glory and fame, to be the best unicorn magician was the only thing I've wanted in recent years. Of course, my attitude was...Let's just say it wasn't paying. I've had to do horrible things, just to make a living. Things that no little pony should ever have to do, things that make you crave alcohol just for a moment of rele-"

Looker quickly cuts her off, the same concerned look on his face that he had before. "Trixie...I don't really know what to say to that..." He comments, taking a long sip of his drink, "But what I can say is that no pony with your taste deserves that sort of ridicule. I just think you're a bit misguided, is all. I think that you haven't ever had any sort of outlet that you can fall back to and rely on like other ponies do." He reaches into his saddlebag and takes out a piece of paper, along with a feathered quill. "Now, Trixie, let's write a song and let it all out."

Chapter Two: Two-Headed Colt

Song that Looker plays: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDINJ7BvjyQ

“Ugh! This doesn’t work!” Trixie yelled through the apartment, wadding up a piece of paper. She tosses it with all her might, the paper ball landing right next to the trash bin. The paper ball joins it’s brothers and sisters scattered about the floor, a family of failed ideas or poor lyrics. Looker pokes his head out of the kitchen, letting out a small chuckle when he sees Trixie in her frustration.

“Not so easy, huh?” He says, trotting up to the mare. “Ever think you’re taking this a bit too seriously?” he questions, a smug yet worried expression worn on his face. Trixie turns her head sharply and pouts at him, only causing another smile from the colt. “You know what, we should listen to more music.”

Trixie let out a long-winded sigh, just nodding and getting a fresh piece of paper. Looker trots over to the speaker, pressing a few buttons as the old, worn down stereo roars back to life. A drumbeat plays loudly before Looker flinches, turning the volume down. “Damn thing…” He mutters under his breath as the drumbeat continues. Trixie looks on curiously as the song continues, listening even more carefully when she recognizes the singer of the song.

“I didn’t know you were ever interested in rap.” Trixie comments, still listening keenly to the lyrics. “No, it’s not really what we’d call modern-day rap though…” She keeps trying to appraise the song, closing her eyes and trying to figure out how such a nonsensical song could be so catchy. “It’s almost like poetry, rather.” She concludes, looking up to Looker.

“Songs can be about anything you want, Trixie. Hell, I wrote this song on the train while I was getting eaten alive by those stupid bugs. Try taking a few steps back and slow your roll.” He suggests, watching Trixie as the song loops over for the first time. He starts mouthing the words to his song, quickly singing along as he gets in the mood. Trixie keeps writing, using her magic to turn off the speaker. Looker looks at her and pouts, but his smile brightens as he sees what Trixie wrote. “Wait, stop there.”

“Excuse me? I’ve only written the first stanza of this thing! How am I supposed to get a hang of this if you keep interrupt-“ Trixie stopped talking as Looker held up a hoof in front of her mouth.

“…” Looker remains silent as he keeps rereading what Trixie wrote. His expression doesn’t change thought the reading until his face suddenly brightens up. “Oh, I know what’s missing!” Looker sprints to the kitchen, loud crashes being heard throught the apartment. Looker comes back into the living room with an accomplished look, a bottle of Pabst Blue Pony floating alongside him. “Okay, so back to the song then.”

“Looker, The Great and Powerful Trixie is so frustrated, her old habit of talking about herself in the third person has returned. I suggest you help fix my song before I decide to flip everything in your apartment.” She says in a cool, quiet voice with hints of seething rage at a certain pony’s antics.

“The song is fine, it doesn’t need to be fixed.” Looker says, sighing and sitting down on the sofa next to Trixie. His expression grows stern, looking straight into Trixie’s eyes. “In fact, it sounds like it would make a good addition to one of my songs… What do you think of duets? You don’t need to play guitar really, I just need that voice of yours.” Looker finishes, his expression turning softer afterwards.

“D-Duet?! Wait, I’m not even ready to write a single song yet, how the buck am I supposed to be able to perform?!” Trixie half-yells, Looker pinning his ears shut.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m throwing you off a cliff and asking you to fly. I’m going to start voice coaching you-“

“My voice is fine as it is!” She half-yells once more.

“…Okay, so like I was saying, after I help you out in the singing department. We both know you don’t have stage fright, so that’s not even a factor. What’s the worry?” Looker asks, tilting his head.

“I…” Trixie looks away, a slight tint of pink spread across her cheeks. “Maybe I’m scared…Maybe only my mother enjoyed my singing…” She says dejectedly, looking back up with sad eyes.

“Sing for yourself then. Buck ‘em.” Looker says, flailing a hoof in the air to really emphasize the ‘Buck’ part of his statement. Besides, this is gonna be a pretty small gig, it’s an open mic night at the bar we met.”

Trixie opens her mouth to protest, but quickly closes it. She looks dubiously at Looker, “So…I don’t need to go up alone for the first time.”

“Not at all.”

“Then set up the gig.” She states calmly, nodding to confirm her resolve. She trots over to the boombox, using her magic to put in a new CD. Trixie then trots over to the kitchen, grabs a beer, and sits back down next to Looker. She looks at him, then the piece of paper. Listening to the music, she begins to write.

“External control are you gonna let them get you?
Do you wanna be a prisoner in the boundaries they set you?
You say you want to be yourself, do you think they'll let you?
They're out to get you.”

Author's Note

Gosh, I need a drink. Sorry if my writing is terribad, I did this during work. The inspiration just randomly hit me.

Chapter Three: A Friend in Mead is a Friend Indeed

Trixie's sleeping body slowly stirred on the couch, knocking over several empty cans and bottles of her new favorite drink. She groans and rolls slightly, suddenly falling off the couch. "Oh buck!" She growls out, rubbing her flank. "God damn bucking sof-..." She cuts herself off, staring at the pad and pen on the desk. How was this possible? It was her hoofwriting, she was certain of it. She flips several pages, her jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Looker! Looker! I actually managed to write something good..." She winces a bit and puts a hoof to her head, letting out a quiet groan. Using magic was going to prove to be difficult with this kind of hangover. She slowly trots to Looker's room, peering inside only to find no indication he even stayed the night. With a quiet sigh, she shakes her head and decides she'd need a few glasses of water. When she enters the kitchen, she stops and tries to figure out what she's looking at. Row after row of empty beer cans are organized neatly into several straight lines, a passed out Looker laying in front of them with a can pierced on his horn. "Looker, get up." she groans out.

"Ugh...What happened last-" Looker immediately starts to laugh, pointing a hoof at all the cans. "Oh man, how did I almost forget about this?!" Trixie just keeps staring at him, slowly tilting her head to the side with a single eyebrow raised. "Trixie, you got so drunk last night. You declared yourself the queen of my apartment, with all this empty cans as your 'minions'."He states, still chuckling every so often. "You then proceeded to smash a can on my horn and declared that I was to be your military leader. After declaring that we attack at dawn, you started yelling a battle cry while floating a bunch of your minions. Pretty sure you just knocked out after crashing into the couch." Looker stands up, shaking his head hard to try and get the can off. He sighs and just pushes it off with his hoof. "Oh gosh, I need some bucking water..."

Trixie nods, gettting two glasses and pouring some water in each one. She starts to drink from the first glass, leaving the other one on the counter. "I guess that explains why I was covered in empty cans just now..." She says drolly, tossing the notepad to Looker without another word. He starts scanning it's contents, his lips slowly curling into a smile.

"You finished the song we were gonna play...? Damn, Trixie. Color me impressed!" Looker says, standing up with a grunt. "These lyrics go perfectly with what I wrote a few weeks ago, I can safely say that this...Just wow." He mutters under his breath. "When did you write this, Trixie?" He says, a goofy grin on his face.

"Sometime between proclaiming my new kingdom and assaulting the couch. But some of these lyrics I wrote...Can I really sing that and not get into trouble?" Trixie asks, looking at the floor a bit. "I don't want to hurt anypony. I mean, I really do feel that way but I don't know..." She sighs and trots over to the couch, knocking off all the cans. Looker follows her, still floating the notepad around as he reads it.

"We're just two city ponies. It's not like we're performing in Canterlot or right in front of the princesses." He says idley, still pacing around. "Trixie." He says, stopping in front of her. "This song is bucking beautiful." He states bluntly, as if he was pointing out some sort of obvious fact like the sky being blue. Trixie blushes, looking down again. She just shakes her head quietly, clearly nervous about her lyrics and performance. "Hey, you're gonna be fantastic. Remember, you're not going up there alone. Besides, you're supposed to be great and powerful." He says with a smile, nudging Trixie's shoulder gently. Trixie just nods and stands up, stretching out a bit.

"Damn straight I am." She says, taking a deep breath to collect herself. She glanced at the clock, thinking yesterday's idea of daydrinking was not well thought out. Sure, it was fun at the beginning,But to perform in only two hours while still hung over was not. Her ears perk up when she hears a familiar hiss and pop, turning to see Looker already drinking a can of beer. "W-What?! Why!" She exclaims, pointing at the beer can with a flailing hoof.

"Best way to get rid of a hangover. Mind if we take your cart? I don't wanna have to drag this thing around back and fourth." Looker says, floating over his guitar case and a few other cases to the door.

"O-Oh. Yeah, of course. I haven't really slept there for the past few days. T-Thanks for that, by the way. The shelter, I mean. Kinda nice not to have to sleep knowing that anyone can enter my cart while I slumber." She rubs the back of her head, fixing her mane up slightly.

"Don't worry about it, you're a fellow artist. I'm more than happy to give you all the help you need." He says, heading out the door. "Let me help pull the cart, sometimes this junk can get a bit heavy." Trixie nods and smiles.

"Thanks Looker, no one's really ever helped me with my cart before." Trixie states, walking out the door right after Looker. They go down the stairs and arrive at Trixie's carriage. The trip was mostly uneventful, time being passed by exchanging opinions about various types of music and art. Eventually, the pony-drawn carriage ride draws to a close. With one final grunt, Looker parks the wagon right next to the bar.

"Okay...perfect..." Looker says, panting as quietly as he could manage.

"You shoulda let me help you more. After all, I AM great and powerful." Trixie says, a playfully teasing look on her face.

"Nono, wasn't even heavy..." He huffs out, wiggling out of the harness in order to travel to the back of their wagon. Looker carefully levitates his instrument cases, a blue aura enveloping the rest.

"Well, this time I'm helping." Trixie said, letting out a sigh as she focuses her magic. She mostly knew simple parlor tricks, but levitation came naturally to most unicorns. As she walked into the back of the bar, following Looker with a brisk trot. "Hey, Looks, who'se gonna be playing right now?" She asks as they enter the bar. Trixie's eyes go wide, she wasn't expecting an actual, famous artist. "H-Humble Horse is here? What?! And we're playing after them?" She turns to Looker, a very concerned expression on her face.

"Hey..." He places a hoof on the back of Trixie's mane, trying to make her relax. "They're just the headline. They actually decided to sponser the event!" His eyes gleam a bit, making Trixie wonder just how much he knows about this band. She shrugs off the thoughts, gently placing the instruments down. She slowly trots around from the back to the front, the loud music increasing in volume as she got to the main floor of the bar. She looks around the bar, seeing a few familiar faces.

"Malt..." Trixie whispers at the barkeep. "I'm nervous as buck. I need liquid courage." Malt simply stared at Trixie, giving a shake of his head along with a sigh, going into the back of the bar to come back with a vintage looking bottle.

"Y'know, you're my most frequent customer here. And it usually kills me to see ya' here. But here. Think of it was a good luck gift. On the house. A special brew that's taste is supposed to be like nuthin' ye ever had before!" Malt gets a big grin on his face, hand off the bottle to Trixie. She stares at the bottle, admiring the gold finish on the label. She remains speechless, using her magic to pop the cork out.

"Three glasses." She says, looking at Malt. "I...still am not quite familiar with friendship. But I'd like to share this with two ponies who've showed me...kindness." She glaces over to Looker, who appears to be in the middle of dancing his flank off. She blinks and stares at how goofy he looks before giggling lightly and waving him over. "Hey, Looker! Let's have a drink with Malt."

Author's Note

Bucking SUPER late on this. I was planning a lot more of the story and decided to take it in a more interesting direction. I'm focusing on character development now for Looker and Trixie, and plan on introducing Looker's room mate and best homie. Give me some reviews, peeps, and let me know what you think.

Chapter Four: Manehatten Dive Bar

[READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES PLEASE, THE SONG IS COLOUR CODED FOR EASY UNDERSTANDING]

Trixie got on stage and took a deep breath, giving an occasional glance towards Looker. He just stared at his guitar, almost as if he was going through some mental routine just to calm his nerves. 'Yes, that's exactly what Trixie needs, something to calm herself down- I mean...That's what I need. Oh gosh, if I say my name during the song instead of the simple word 'I', then I have no ide-' her thoughts were stopped by a strum of Looker's guitar. He looked up at Trixie with a calm face, putting a hoof on her leg. She didn't realize how hard she was panting just now, but it was more than enough to garner the attention of Looker.

"Hey...You ok? We're starting now." Looker asks, keeping his usual smile to try and keep his partner's nerves under wrap. "You and I both know that you're going to be great. In fact, maybe even powerful!" He teased, snickering a bit before examining Trixie just before their performance. She had opted out of wearing her extravagent hat and cape, much to the relief of Looker. He wanted to attract attention, but if they performed in costumes that would just be silly. "Ladies and gentlecolts..." He spoke into the microphone, letting out a quiet cough to clear his voice. "We're Looker and Trixie. A few of you guys know me, but this is going to be this here filly's first time singing to an audience! Let's give her a hoof." The bar lit up with cheers, several ponies stamping their hooves on the floor to show their approval. Trixie let out a small smile and nodded to Looker, who started singing. Trixie provided the harmony for the first part, her own lyrics coming a tad after.

Big A, little A, bouncing B
The cat's in the cupboard but it can't catch me. (x4)

External control are you gonna let them get you?
Do you wanna be a prisoner in the ranches that they set you?
You say you want to be yourself, do you think they'll let you?
They're out to get you.

Be exactly who you want to be, do what you want to do
I am me and she is she but you're the only you
No one else has got your eyes, can see the things you've seen
It's up to you to change your life and my life's up to me

Hello, hello, hello, this is the Moon God, can you hear?
Hellfire and damnation's what I've got for you down there
On earth I have ambassadors, batponies, dark guards, cope
We'll blind you with our darkness, you'd best abandon any hope,
We're telling you you'd better pray 'cause you were born in sin
Right from the start we'll build a coop and then we'll lock you in

Hello, hello, hello, now here's a massage from your queen
As figurehead of the status quo I set the social scene
I'm most concerned about my ponies, I'd like to give them peace
So I'm making sure they stay in line with my canterlot armies
Tartarus and my mental homes have ever open doors
For those amongst my ponies who dare to ask for more
Unruliness and disrespect are things I can't allow
So I'll see those fillies grovel if they refuse to bow

Palaces for kings and queens, mansions for the rich
Protection for the wealthy, defence for the privileged
They've learnt the ropes In 'Loosa, engaged in civil war
Fighting for the rulers in their battle against the poor

From queens to local police, in home and street and school
They've got your name and number with their beady eyes on you
We've got to look for methods to undermine those powers
It's time to turn the tables. The future must be ours

Be exactly who you want to be, do what you want to do
I am me and she is she but you're the only you
No one else has got your eyes, can see the things you've seen
It's up to you to change your life and my life's up to me

Trixie looked around, almost worried. She closed her eyes and took a step back, only having barely any time to gulp before she heard the hoots and hollers of the bar patrons stomping their hooves on the ground once more. Trixie opens her eyes wide, a look of bewilderment on her face. She couldn't believe that people would like such...blasphemous lyrics! She turned to Looker, who was already getting all of his stuff together to get off the small stage. Trixie quickly helped him out, carrying a few things before trotting after him. The next band gets on the stage, setting up their instruments. "L-Looker!" Trixie nearly yells when she sits next to him at a table in the bar. "What the hay!? They...They liked it? Me? Us? M-My lyrics?" She sputters out, still flabbergasted at the entire situation
.

"Trixie, people come to these kinds of open mic situations to let off steam. Heck, even if some of the ponies didn't agree with you, they sure as hell liked your voice!" Looker quips back, taking a deep breath before a big smile grows on his lips. "You were beautiful out there. We really make a fantastic team, Ms. Lulamoon."

Trixie blushes and looks away, trying to respond just as loud as her response had to be.This wasn't a word she was used to saying, but it's been growing on her more and more the past few days. "T...Thank you, Looker...I really enjoyed myself tonight." She turns to look at him, tilting her head to the side. "Are there...any more venues that we could play at? I feel like we were good enough to get some bits for our singing an-" Looker interrupts her by putting a hoof to her lips. Oh, how she used to hate that. Now it's just a minor annoyance. "I don't like it when you int-" Looker shooshes her, a goofy smile on his face.

"I've already had someone book us for another gig, this one for bits. We're gonna have to play better though! There's much more than bits on the line for this performance. We might be able to get into the Manehatten Music Festival if we manage to luck out." Looker says, laughing a bit after. "My friends always manage to get in, but this year I think we have a really good shot. And...Sorry for interrupting you." He says, rubbing the back of his head and straightening out his mane. The only response from Trixie was a kiss on the cheek and the order of a round of drinks.

Author's Note

Alrighty guys, so for the song I decided to colour code it just to make it easier for the readers. When a stanza starts with Orange, it's Looker, Blue is Trixie, and Green is the both of them singing together. Last 3 stanzas are them singing together, having a bit of trouble with the colour word changing for some odd reason... Sorry for the slow update, I have chapter 5 pretty much done. It's not going to have any song lyrics now that the reader should have an understanding of the style that Trixie and Looker sing. Look forward to a few more of my stories which are going to be in the same universe! All stories will actually connect when the Manehatten Music Festival starts! Just thought I could give you all that little teaser cause I ignored you all for so long by not updating my story </3