Magic Hats and Cowboy Hats
Author's Note
As my blog post stated, I have a better understanding of what makes good writing, but naturally, I'll need some more practice. This is where this story comes in, which is simply a tool to practice my writing that came from a silly thought. Any comments of what you liked or what I need to work on are appreciated.
Having a Drink
"Thank you all for watching the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, drowning out any other noise that might dare make a peep within the enthusiastic crowd. Trixie waved and bowed at her adoring fans and proceeded to trot down the wooden stage, her trademark hat and cape still adorning her. Before she departed the stage, Trixie stopped to look at the smiles of the fans that chanted her name in joy. Her performance at Appleoosa had gone much better than she could have ever anticipated, and considering that this is Trixie, who is known to be somewhat full of herself, that is saying a lot. Trixie returned to moving and could feel the coarse sand of the desert touch her hooves the moment she touched it. The sun was beating down harshly on the modest town of Appleoosa, making the town feel more akin to an oven. Trixie panted with her tongue sticking out once she was away from the crowd, who probably would rather not see her this tired, and Trixie cleared her throat and looked at the unpaved road and the rows of wooden buildings that ran in a seemingly perfect straight line, extending beyond the horizon.
"Trixie is exhausted," she muttered to herself as she tried to catch her breath. "There has to be a bar or a restaurant somewhere in town." Trixie looked at the wallet she brought with her and peered at its contents. Inside were sixty bits, more than enough for a drink and even a meal if her stomach beckoned for food. Trixie put away her wallet inside her fanny pack, which was cleverly concealed by her flowing cape, and trotted down the main road of Appleoosa, looking at all of the shops the town provided.
Appleoosa never had the riches of Canterlot, the architectural beauty of Cloudsdale, or the sheer infamy of Ponyville. This meant that most of the shops specialized in a few things or sold only odd little trinkets and souvenirs. All of these shops were labeled in bright yellow block capital letters with titles across them such as Groceries, Theater, or Dentistry. Trixie kept on trotting, her head moving from left to right, hoping to find someplace where she could order a drink. She started to feel faint, her legs feeling like jelly and the world slowing down as she was begging inside to have something to drink, but when it seemed like all hope was lost, she found a building titled Minotaur's Bar and breathed a sigh of relief. Trixie entered through the doors into the bar triumphantly as though she had found the Holy Grail.
Inside, the bar was of a typical Old Western design. A square, wooden bar desk was connected to one side of the wall, with a door nearby to allow bartenders easy entry access. Tall bar stools went around the perimeter of the bar desk, each stool having a red cushion on it. In no particular pattern were oak tables, with four uncomfortable looking wooden chairs to each table. Trixie hated being uncomfortable, as she felt that someone like her deserved something adequate at the least, so she approached a bar stool and sat down, somewhat disappointed that the stool's cushion wasn't as comfortable as she expected. Trixie stretched her front legs and rested them on the bar desk, the coolness of the wooden finish feeling surprisingly soothing. She closed her eyes briefly, nearly falling into unconsciousness, until a tough voice caused her to jolt in surprise, drawing her attention.
"Excuse me miss," a grey stallion with a dark red goatee said. "If you're just gonna sleep and not order anything, I'm gonna have to ask ya to leave."
"Pardon me," replied Trixie, who felt intimidated enough by the bartender to act polite, "but I am here to order something. May I have a glass of water, please?"
"Not a beer?" The bartender seemed shocked, even though Trixie's request was innocent enough. "Whatever, I'm not the one who decides how lame you are."
Trixie rolled her eyes when the bartender turned around. She had an urge to go and punch the stallion square in the face, but she recognized that he'd probably reply to that with an even bigger punch. The bartender filled up a tall glass with water, placed some ice cubes inside, and inserted a straw into the glass, handing the drink over to Trixie.
"Here's your water," said the bartender.
Trixie used her magic to move the glass of water closer to her. She drank from the straw and a cold, soothing feeling entered her as she drank, revitalizing her spirits. As Trixie was drinking her water, she noticed that a stallion with a cowboy hat and a vest sat right next to her. He had a dirty blonde mane and light green eyes. He appeared to be one of the sheriffs of the town, though Trixie wasn't quite sure. The bartender approached the stallion and to Trixie's surprise, actually smiled for once.
"Hey Braeburn," said the bartender, whose tone of voice wasn't frightening for once. "You want the usual?"
"I sure do," yelled Braeburn excitedly. "I could use one of those right about now."
"Alrighty then, one Red Kraken comin' right up."
The bartender went through the back door, disappearing from sight. Trixie turned her head slowly and looked at Braeburn's eyes. She found the stallion to be cute in a way, which was odd for her, as Trixie was never the romantic type. Trixie nervously smiled at Braeburn, hoping that she could draw his attention to her. After a few seconds, Braeburn finally turned his head towards Trixie and noticed her smile.
"Don't worry about him, he's a bit rude to anyone new here," whispered Braeburn into Trixie's ear. He pulled his mouth away from her ear and his volume immediately went from one to ten. "Anyways, howdy partner. What's brought you here?"
"Trixie had an epic magic show not too long ago," she replied. "To be honest, it went much better than I thought it would."
"Oh, so you're the crazy magician." Braeburn was more curious as to who Trixie was and chuckled innocently. "I saw you on that big wooden stage in the middle of the road. It looked like the folks really loved your act. I wish I could've seen it."
Trixie blushed ever so slightly, not sure how to respond. "Um, thanks." Trixie was out of things to say. She knew that she needed to keep the conversation going in a polite direction, but before the silence between the two became too awkward, the bartender returned with Braeburn's drink.
"Here you go, one Red Kraken," the bartender shouted as he pushed the drink towards Braeburn. "Aye, now I've gotta clean more glasses until someone else comes along." The bartender trotted away from Trixie and Braeburn and took out a white cloth and rubbed glasses. He looked frustrated at his job, frowning more angrily as he cleaned each cup, and as any bartender in Equestria will say, cleaning glasses to a high quality is not easy.
"Say Trixie, are you okay?" asked Braeburn. "You've been sittin' there perfectly quiet."
Trixie shifted her eyes around, still searching for something she could say to continue their conversation. "I'm fine. I'm just a little tired is all. The heat has been quite rough on this town." While it wasn't what Trixie had in mind of saying, it was a start.
"Yeah, this heat is tough," said Braeburn as he stretched his body. "Yesterday it reached scorching hot temperatures. I thought my hooves would melt into the ground." Braeburn turned to his beer and took a sip, the beer tasting rather coarse and something only a beer connoisseur would like. He looked back at Trixie, who was still staring at him. "You wanna try this beer I have? It's a good one."
"Personally, Trixie does not like beer. Trixie is more of a wine pony." Trixie recoiled ever so slightly, hoping that she didn't offend Braeburn.
"It's okay, everyone has their likes and dislikes." Braeburn took another sip of his beer as Trixie took a sip of her water.
Trixie continued her search for a question to ask in her head, and at last she found one that wasn't complex, but wasn't anything personal. "What do you like to do in your free time?"
"Well honestly, I love to go on adventures with my pals. When I'm on my own, I go to a bar like this one and have a nice drink. Before you ask, I'm not an alcoholic, I only have two beers a day at most. Applejack would be so mad if I drank more."
Trixie's eyes focused attentively on Braeburn upon hearing the name Applejack. She was one of her rival's closest friends. Trixie could feel a needle through her heart at the thought of Braeburn already being taken. She hid her heartbreak behind a mask of curiosity. "Applejack?"
"She's my cousin. AJ is smart and she's super honest. She's so honest she can't tell a lie. Sometimes she works a little too much, but she's a great cousin."
Trixie felt slightly better upon realizing that Applejack and Braeburn were definitely not in a romantic relationship. However, she also felt as though actually getting to date Braeburn would be a herculean task. She took another sip of her water and heard the familiar sound of an empty glass.
"Do you want more water?" asked Braeburn.
"No thanks," said Trixie.
"You look cute in that hat and cape of yours."
Trixie blushed intensely, she never expected Braeburn to call her cute already and quietly giggled, but just loud enough for Braeburn to hear. "You're cute yourself."
"Why thank you. Say, how about we go out on a date next week somewhere nice where it isn't too hot. I'd like to get to know you a little better. Sound agreeable?"
Trixie couldn't contain her excitement. Her face grinned and her eyes closed as she felt a wave of positivity rush through her heart and her mind. "Yes. Trixie would love to."
"How come you refer to yourself in the third person?" Braeburn chuckled a little, thinking of how silly he would sound referring to himself in the third person.
"Trixie has a bit of an ego." She sighed, wondering if this might end their relationship before it even started. "I'm trying my best to work on it, though my magic shows do benefit a bit from it.
"It's okay. As long as you're working on it. It's a start." Trixie's eyes brightened up upon hearing Braeburn understand her better. Braeburn couldn't not notice how enthusiastic Trixie was about their first date. Seeing her in such a state warmed his heart and he cutely smiled at Trixie. "Well I've gotta go now. I'll see you next week."
"Goodbye, Braeburn."
"Goodbye, Trixie."
Braeburn left the bar and departed into the outside world, which from Trixie's perspective looked like a ridiculously bright light. Trixie got off of the stool and trotted out of the bar, her eyes wincing at the sudden change of light. Appleoosa was as hot as ever, only this time Trixie's spirits were as high as ever and she was fueled with the anticipation of going on a date with someone who she finds to be incredibly attractive, but she realized that she would have to try and prevent her ego from getting too out of hand, as the memories of what went on with Twilight Sparkle back then still stuck to her like an invisible scar. Despite concerns for the future that Trixie recognized she could correct, today couldn't have gone any better for her, and her adorable smile was proof that she thought so herself.
