A Magical Way of Working

As I hurried along the path to Canterlot Square, I couldn't help but notice that it was suspiciously easy to get there. Not just because of the street signs, but mostly because of the even bigger signs mentioning the show. Every ten steps it was, "Magic Show This Way" and, "Pointing Way to the Show!" It was as if the magician was quite desperate to get a crowd to the show. But I digress. I turned the final corner, and there was the Square. A mediocre amount of ponies were filing into the section sitting before a simple wooden stage hiding a large wagon behind the curtains. And when I say mediocre, I mean that it wasn't exactly a full house or anything. From what I saw, there were only, like, 15 or so who showed up. Where the ponies were lining up to get in, there was an earth pony with a tan-colored coat and a slicked, black mane collecting the admissions from everypony. I saw that the guy's cutie mark was a piece of paper with writing on it. Didn't know what it meant, but I guessed that it had something to do with business. I trotted up to where the line was and when the guy turned to me, he spoke in a very thick Manehattan accent.

"Well hello! Welcome to da Great and Powerful Trixie's magic show! Admission is two bits!" I dug into one of my bags and pulled out two bits. I handed them to him and he stepped aside saying, "It's been a pleasure. Enjoy da show kid!" I found a decent spot in the center of the crowd and just waited. I looked around to see the crowd, and to be honest, they didn't look ecstatic to be here. Apparently, they just thought that it would just be a time-killer being here, or maybe they were just bored, but nopony looked excited.

Curious, I nudged a pegasus beside me. "Excuse me," I asked him, "Why doesn't anypony look excited? Don't you guys like magic?"

"Oh we love a good show," said the pegasus, "But that's just what we're not expecting. This pony has performed here for over two years and her acts are all the same. The first few times it was cool, but after a while, they just got old."

"Then why do ponies keep coming back?" I asked.

"We have a small hope that maybe she'll mix it up each time. So far though, no dice," he responded. At that moment, the lamps around the street went almost out. All was silent, and then, a spotlight appeared on the stage, and a loud voice of a mare sounded through.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, Mares and Stallions of all ages, prepare to be amazed! Here she is! The pony with the powerful prowess! The mare with the magical mastery! The one and only....GREAT AND POWERFUL TRRRRRRRRRIXIE!"

A puff of smoke ignited the stage, and when it cleared, there was the Great and Powerful Trixie. At first glance, I didn't really think she looked that amazing. She just looked like a regular pony. She had a cyan coat with a sky blue mane that curled a little bit at the tip. She wore a blue pointed hat and cloak coated in stars, and her cutie mark was a star wand with a light blue trail of magic beside it. That pretty summed up her talent for me. And apparently, she liked flashy things, because the moment she appeared, sparklers and fireworks ignited from behind her. The applause from the audience, however, was NOT as flashy. On the contrary, it was quite light, but that didn't seem to bother Trixie. "Thank you! Thank you!" she shouted with great gusto as the applause died down (it didn't take long either). "Prepare yourselves everypony! Prepare to have your minds mesmerized by The Great and Powerful Trixie's awesome abilities!" Trixie then reached into her hat and pulled out a ribbon. She levitated the ribbon and with a swift motion of her hoofs, it became a bouquet of flowers. A light applause sounded. Trixie then threw the bouquet in the air and with another motion from her hoofs, it transformed into a flock of doves. Another light applause. No "oohs" or "aahs", just light applause.

As the tricks went on, I realized that the pegasus was right. These tricks weren't that great. These were the kinds of tricks that you would see at a child's birthday party. And then I realized something else. When she took off her hat, I noticed that she was a unicorn. A unicorn magician? Wasn't that a bit...redundant? I mean, magic came naturally to a unicorn. If it was an earth pony or pegasus performing magic, maybe ponies would be a little more amazed, but when it came to unicorns, a magician, in my opinion at least, was not that big of a deal. I thought about leaving in the middle of the show, but then I realized why I was here. I needed a job. No matter how mediocre this magician was, I was probably not gonna get another opportunity like this.

Ten minutes went by before Trixie did her last trick, and even it wasn't that jaw-dropping. All she did was pound on the stage, a puff of smoke appeared, and she teleported from behind the crowd to back onto the stage. After she was back on stage, she threw her front hoofs up in the air, shouted, "Thank you all for coming!" and the sparklers and fireworks ignited again. The crowd applauded just as lightly as before and walked away. As the pegasus beside me flew off, the last thing I heard from him was, "So much for something new." I couldn't blame him. I saw ponies falling asleep during the show. Some ponies left in the middle. A magician must work pretty hard to get that much boredom out of their show. I was about to leave myself, until I remembered my purpose here.

I waited until everypony left. Then it was just me and the wagon in front of me. I walked up to the door and was about to knock, when I heard a voice from inside. It sounded like the admissions pony. "Trixie, you were amazin' as usual! You were on fire! Stupendous! Outstanding! Absolut-"

"DON'T YOU THINK TRIXIE KNOWS THAT?" came another voice. The shout was so loud I flinched a little. It sounded like Trixie, but she had a way different tone than the one she had on stage. "The Great and Powerful Trixie always puts on an amazing show! But why did those...those...ingrates leave during the middle of Trixie's show?" I was a little confused at this point. I thought the voice talking was Trixie, but she was talking in the third-person. Was she talking about herself like that?

"Weird," I thought.

"Dey're just jealous of ya. Dat's all!" said the admissions pony. "Dey just know that dey could nevah be as good as the Great and Powerful Trixie!" I think that that was my cue to knock.

I tapped on the door three times, and almost immediately, I heard, "PRINT! Get the door! Trixie will be in her quarters!" This was followed by the slamming of a door, trotting hooves, and the door opening to reveal the guy Trixie referred to as Print.

"Hey!" he said as he saw who it was. "I know you! You came to da show tonight didn't ya?"

"Yeah I did," I responded. "My name's Elbow Grease, and I'm here because I read about a job needed for an assistant. Is that position still availa-"

"YES!" he interrupted with a sound of excited relief in his voice. When he saw that he made me almost lose balance from getting shouted in my face, he retained his composure. "I mean, yes da position is still available. You're in luck too! We've been searching for a new assistant for a week now since the last guy...uh....quit. But no matter! You want the job?" Now I was a little distracted when he said the last guy quit to hear that last part. I was too busy wondering exactly, why did he quit?

But once I saw that he was waiting for an answer, I snapped back into time and answered, "Uh...yes. I would like to apply for the job."

"Excellent!" he responded. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Fine Print, but call me Print. I am Trixie's agent. I am da one who get's her all of her shows! If you need answers, come and see me. I'll take care of yous!"

"Thanks...I suppose," I responded.

"Now before you go in, let me tell you some things you may wanna know. Number one: Always refer Trixie as great and powerful. Nothing less will do. Number two: Only speak when you are spoken to. And number three: Never....EVER....tick off Trixie. Trust me kid, you do NOT want to see her when she's angry!"

Now after hearing that, if I would've had a better mind, I would've turned around and walked away, but seeing as though I was still looking to a brighter side, I just nodded and he showed me into the wagon. To my surprise, the inside looked a bit bigger than the outside. There was enough room for a small kitchen, a sofa, a small shelf of books, a coat rack that held her hat and cloak, a trunk that was labeled PROPS on it, and it had plumbing. It looked cozy. Fine Print walked me over to a door in the back with the name Great and Powerful Trixie on it and stopped me in front of it. He then knocks softly and peeked in. "Trixie?" The respond, however, was not as soft.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAS TRIXIE TOLD YOU TO KNOCK?" came the angry voice from the room. The frequency itself almost threw me off my legs.

"I...did knock miss," Print said weakly. "Anyway, I got a pony who's here for dat assistant job you put in da paper yesterday."

"Do you now?" responded Trixie. "Very well, bring him in." Print stepped aside to let me in.

As I passed at him, he smiled and winked as if to say, "Good luck. You're gonna need it." That should've been, like, my fiftieth clue, but I was still determined. Print shut the door, and there, sitting in front of me behind a table with props spread out on it, was Trixie herself. And I gotta say, she didn't look at all as happy as she did on stage.

"Sit," she said, and I sat on a small chair in front of the table. There was a moment of awkward silence between us as she looked me over.

I then broke the silence with, "Hello Miss Trixie. My name is-"

"Don't care," she said bluntly. "Tell me what makes you think you got what it takes to work for the Great and Powerful Trixie?" A forward one wasn't she?

"Well," I started, "I am hardworking. My father always taught me that hard work is the best source of achieving one's dream."

"Skill would help too," interrupted Trixie, "but apparently he didn't know that. Go on."

Did she just insult my father? A normal pony would have exploded then and there, but I shrugged it off and continued. "I am also very organized. I have adaptable skills. I can learn things rather quickly."

"Can you clean well?" asked Trixie in a monotone way.

"Well, I have cleaned a lot in my years," I responded. "I am also reliable and trustworthy."

"We'll see," she said. Was she doubting me now? I had no idea where this was going, but I had a feeling that with the way Trixie was speaking, I wasn't about to get the job.

"Better prepare the paper again," I thought to myself as Trixie looked me over again. There was another awkward silence between us, until Trixie cleared her throat and spoke.

"Trixie has decided that you can work for her." That's when my heart stopped. I got the job? I got A job! After a day of tragic let-down, I had finally obtained a job!

"Oh thank you Miss Trixie!" I said excitedly, "You won't regret it!"

"Hold on Mr. Hasty," she said holding up a hoof. "If you're going to work under Trixie, there was several things you need to know. First, you will respond to Trixie as the Great and Powerful Trixie. That also means showing respect! Second, Trixie will not tolerate any backtalk. Understand?" I nodded. "Good. And third, you will do WHATEVER Trixie commands. Remember, she is the one paying you."

"Understandable," I responded. "Speaking of which, what will my starting pay be?"

"TRIXIE WAS GETTING TO THAT!" she snapped. "Trixie will start you off at 50 bits per week. Show your potential, and Trixie might raise your pay. Any disrespect, and your pay will be dropped. And since we will be on the road traveling often, you may sleep on Trixie's sofa, but you must keep it, as well as the rest of the wagon, clean. Do we have an understanding?" The first thing that went through my mind was the 50 bits. It didn't seem that much to live on, but then I remembered that if I showed Trixie that I could blow her away with my reliability, she might increase my pay. I'd be buying a house in no time!

"Yes we do," I finally responded. "So...when do I start?"

"Now," said Trixie. "Go make me some tea." Well that was fast. I wasn't there for half an hour and she already wanted me to do stuff? I stood there a little confused.

"Uh...tea?" I asked.

"Yes tea! Do you not know what tea is?"

"Yes, but...well...I don't know where anything is..."

"FIGURE IT OUT," snapped Trixie as she opened the door, pushed me out with her magic, and slammed the door. I stood there stunned. What had just happened? One minute she's interviewing me, the next she's already giving orders. I looked over to Print who was sitting on the sofa.

When he saw me, he stood up and said, "Hey, I knew she'd see something in ya. Congratulations kid! Well, I'm off to rest. See ya bright and early. We travel to Ponyville." He opened the door and started to leave when he turned back and said, "And for your information, her evening tea is the stuff labeled Boolong, she takes two sugars and no cream, and she drinks it in the blue star cup." I barely let out a thank you before he closed the door, leaving me in the wagon. Did I just make a bad decision? Should I have just went back to the papers? I got a job, but now I wasn't so thrilled about it anymore.

Before I could think again, I heard from the room, "I DON'T HEAR ANY WATER BOILING!" I snapped back into reality and trotted to the kitchen area to find the tea. The entire time I work though, all I could think was,

"What have I gotten myself into?"