Chapters "Attention passengers. If you want to start gathering your belongings, we'll be arriving in Canterlot in five minutes. Thank you," said the conductor over the intercom of the train.
That was my cue to open my eyes. I was is the middle of a good nap, but was immediately woken up by the words, "Arriving in Canterlot in five minutes." I wouldn't miss arriving in one of the greatest cities in Equestria for the world! I looked down at my pocket watch. 3:00 pm. Wow, has it already been three hours? I left the station in Mustangia around noon, and it's on the other side of the desert. I guess time flies when you're dreaming of what you're future's going to look like. As I grabbed my bags from the overhead rack, I dug into one of them and pulled out a slip of paper. My to-do list. "Let's see," I said to myself. "Step 1: Travel to Canterlot. Check. Step 2: Find a hardworking job. Step 3: Earn a good amount of money. Step 4: Travel back home, buy a house, and after that, who knows?" Technically that last step should've counted as three steps, but I was too excited to think about that kind of math. I then noticed that the entire train had gone dark. I looked up to realize that we were going through the tunnel. That's right, the tunnel. On the other side; Canterlot! I waited as the train came closer and closer to the light at the end, and as it left the tunnel, my eyes grew and mouth dropped open.
The city was gorgeous! The towers were glistening in the bright sun, showing off their alabaster coating with gold flagpoles and buttresses. As the train pulled into the station and started to slow, I looked out at the ponies trotting through the streets. All of them fancily dressed and with their snouts up in the air so high, they would probably drown if it rained. I always heard that Canterlot was high end, but I never expected it to be this high end. If there was a city I could find a job, it was definitely here. The train made one more whistling shout as it halted to a stop. The doors opened, and I can honestly say I was the first one out of there. I took a deep breath of my surroundings and let it out with a big sigh. That's a high end smell all right! "And so my journey begins!" I thought happily as I trotted off towards the newspaper stand.
I'm sorry. I just remember that I never introduced myself. It would be silly of me to write this and for everypony to discover my name only during the middle of the story. My name is Elbow Grease. I know, I know. A name like that is a little strange, but let me explain. I was born in Mustangia to a carpenter named Jackhammer and a nurse named Loving Care. Both earth ponies, so it was no surprise that I was born an earth pony as well. Throughout my childhood, my father taught me his philosophy. He said to me, "Elbow, nothing in this world is free. Only through hard work and perseverance can you fully accomplish a goal. Work hard and believe in yourself, and you can accomplish anything." That's a philosophy I've lived by ever since. It wasn't until I was eight, while seeing ponies getting cutie marks for specific talents, that I realized that working hard was my special talent, and just like that, my cutie mark appeared right on my flank. It was the picture of a flexing leg, which showed my dedication to hard work. While it was my father that taught me to work hard, it was my mother who taught me to love and show compassion. Being a nurse, she had a lot of patience (no pun intended) and kindness. She passed those traits to me, and to this day, I've never snapped off at any pony.
Anyway, after I graduated college, I decided my next goal was to get a job. There weren't that many good jobs in Mustangia, but I still wanted to live close to home. One day, I was looking through the paper, and a picture of Canterlot caught my eyes. I thought that a place that famous ought to have at least one decent job available to a hard working earth pony like myself. I had decided right there to move to Canterlot, temporarily of course, get a good job, work until I had enough money for a house, come home, and buy said house. After that, well I hadn't thought that part through, but I was confident that it would all work out. So with my suitcases packed and all the graduation money I had gotten from relatives, enough for train tickets, a decent apartment room, and meals, I got on the train to Canterlot, and the rest is self explanatory.
So there I was, in one of the most popular cities in Equestria, looking through the paper for the Help Wanted sections. "Let's see, Sports...no...Local....nope....Cartoons...another time perhaps....oh here we go." I finally got to the pages and to my happy surprise, there were a decent amount of jobs available. Since I didn't know where to start, I just decided to go in alphabetical order. No A's (bummer), B's...Bank teller. I could do that. I had some experience with money, since my dad did all our family's taxes (Hey I said he was a carpenter. I never said that was all he did). I was organized enough and smart enough, so I thought, let's give it a try. So putting the paper in one of my bags, I trotted happily in the sunshine to Canterlot's National Bank.
The bank was very quiet that day, besides the constant scribbling of quills and silent chatter of the staff. I was sitting in a small office of "Cash Return: Head Banker" or at least, that's what it said on the door. Mr. Return looked over my resume I gave him for a short while as I sat patiently. Finally, he looked up. "So Mister...uh..."
"Elbow Grease sir."
"Right. Mr. Grease. Do you have any banking experience?"
"Well, I've helped my dad with the taxes before. He taught me everything he knows."
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I see," he mumbled, "So your father is a banker?"
"Well, no," I responded. "He's a carpenter." Another raised eyebrow.
"So you've never been in banking before?"
"Technically no. But I am good with money and organized."
"I think I've heard enough," Cash Return said as he handed back my resume. "I'm sorry Mr. Grease, but we are looking for SPECIFIC talents in banking or handling money. I hope you understand." He said that, but the monotone in his voice made me wonder if he really meant it.
"Oh, I understand," I said with a sound of defeat in my voice. "Thanks for your time." He didn't say anything back. Just went back to his paperwork. As I walked out of the bank, I feel like that could've gone better. But, I wasn't about to stop there. "That was just one job," I told myself. "There are other opportunities." I took the newspaper from my bag, scratched off Bank Teller, and moved to the next one. "There ought to be others who will want my service."
There weren't others.
Two hours later, I was sitting on a bench near the station, crossing off the last "K" job. I never thought ponies were so specific about their hiring positions. All day all I heard was, "Specific talents this," and, "Not what we're looking for that." I sighed heavily as I sat back on the bench. I was running out of options. If I couldn't find a job in Canterlot, what was I supposed to do? I guess I could go to a bigger city for more opportunities, but it would be more expensive. Then I thought maybe I could find a job in that small town that was below Canterlot, uh...Ponyville. But that idea was shot down when I realized that it was even smaller than Mustangia. I didn't know what else to do. I needed a miracle. As I turned the pages of the paper, something bright caught my eye, stuck between the pages. I pulled it out and saw that it was a flyer. It was bright blue with stars designed on it. I read through the fancy letterings. "Come One, Come All, to see the Magical Amazements of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Show in Canterlot Square at 6:00 pm. Admission: 2 Bits." So it was just an ad for a magic show. Well that sounded fun and all, but I was on a mission. I wasn't about to waste my money on something as pointless as a magic show. I started to put the flyer back in the paper when I noticed something familiar written on the back. "Help Wanted." Quick as a flash, I took it back out and flipped it over. It read, "Help Wanted. Magician's assistant. Pony needed who is hard-working, diligent, organized, and very, VERY patient. Job Description: Helping magician with acts.
Hard-working? I was hard working! Diligent? I was diligent! Organized? I was organized! Patient? I WAS PATIENT! My mind was zooming with excitement and hope as I read through it again and again, making sure that it wasn't a dream. I could be a magician's assistant. Just handed off props and helping with some tricks? Piece of cake. Though I wondered why they put so much emphasis on patient. Ah what did it matter? I fit the description, so I wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by! It said the show started at 6:00? I looked at my pocket watch and it read 5:45. I had to get going! With that, I sped off towards Canterlot square, all the while hoping that this was going to work!
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?"
I consider myself a decent stallion. I’m not horrible, I’m not great; I’m just decent. I try and do the right thing and keep an open mind. I try to be as friendly as possible, even to those who are mean to me, and believe that every pony deserves the benefit of the doubt. But to be honest, my mother was the one who taught me this. Being a nurse, she had a patience and kindness towards others that no pony could explain. She just passed the lessons onto me. You see, my mom lived by a philosophy; that there was good inside every pony, no matter how deep it was. I've been living by that philosophy my entire life, and it has worked for me so far.
I can honestly say that after working for Trixie for two weeks, I was starting to think that my mom's philosophy was just a load of horse dung!
I have met many ponies who were considered unbearable, and I thought they were pretty bad, but compared to Trixie, they were looking like CANTERLOT GENTLECOLTS! I have never met any pony more cruel, rude, or so...so...FULL OF IT! Seriously, I had spent two weeks with her and I felt like gouging my own eyes out. I mean, after I was hired so quickly, I thought my dreams had come true. Over the course of time, however, I had started to regret my choice more and more. I finally realized why the ad in the paper asked for a pony with lots of patience. Of course, maybe it's best if I started at the beginning.
After my...ahem...quick interview and getting the job, my first objective was to make Trixie tea. If it wasn't for Fine Print telling me what tea to make, I probably would've messed it up. It still didn't help me not knowing how the stove worked, but eventually, I got used to it. I went to Trixie's room and gave her the tea. At that point, I thought everything was fine, until she threw the cup at me. "TRIXIE DRINKS HER TEA WITH TWO SUGAR LUMPS! NOT ONE!" she scolded as the cup came flying towards me. Luckily I ducked, but it was still uncalled for.
Still keeping my composure, I kindly said, "Sorry Tri...Great and Powerful Trixie. Can I make you another one?"
"Just forget it!" she snapped back. "Trixie has lost her thirst. Clean up those cup remains and begone with you. Trixie has to concentrate." I quickly swept up the broken remains of the teacup and went back into the living space.
Now for anypony else, that would've been their red flag, but still trying to be patient, I thought, "She's just having a bad night. I'm sure she'll be better by tomorrow." Man was I wrong with that. Trixie woke me the next morning at 8:00 to dust the furniture. Now I didn't mind cleaning, I mean I helped my mom clean many times, but the problem was that nothing was clean enough for Trixie. Then when I did clean it enough, there was no "Thank you" or "Good job," just an "It'll do." That was a nail to my head. Still keeping a positive attitude. I then asked if there was anything else?
"Trixie will be performing in Ponyville in a few hours," she said, "And you need to tow the wagon."
"Ok," I said, "So you need me to take the wagon to the station to hook it up?"
"Trixie's not going to waste money on trains when the destination is right below us!" she snapped.
At that time, all I could think was, "Oh please tell me she's not gonna tell me to do what I think she's gonna tell me to do."
"You can tow the wagon straight to Ponyville," she finished. Now it's not as if I have never pulled a cart before. Heck, I helped my dad tow carts of lumber to his workshop many times. I had a pretty strong back, but the wagon looked way heavier and Ponyville was located at the BOTTOM of the mountain.
"Uh...Trixie?" She snapped a look at me. I just sighed and said, "Sorry. Great and Powerful Trixie (that was not going to latch on anytime soon). Not that I'm complaining, but towing the wagon down the mountain will take at least two and a half hours if we're lucky."
"Then I suggest you get moving," said Trixie, "Trixie has to perform in three hours." At that point, my eye twitched a bit. Another nail of Trixie pushed into my head. She really did expect me to be not only the assistant, or the cleaner, or the butler, but also the muscle? I'm pretty sure that wasn't in my job description. But, my job was my job, so I sucked up whatever problems I had and went outside to the front of the cart. I hooked myself up and started to pull. The good thing was that the wagon was not as heavy as I thought it was going to be. I mean it was heavy, just not unbearable.
"Thank you strong back," I thought. The bad thing was that EVERY HALF AN HOUR, Trixie would kindly remind me to pick up the pace. And I mean as kindly as a drill sergeant in the middle of boot camp. It seemed like forever, but finally at 11:45, we made it to Ponyville. I set the cart where she needed it, listened to her complaining about how she has less time to get ready because of me (another nail), and went onto the stage to perform. Now my job while she performed was to hand off her assortment of props to her whenever she called for them. Luckily I was right on cue, so she had nothing to criticize about me during handoffs. As I looked at the audience from backstage, their reaction to Trixie's magic was a little better than the audience in Canterlot. There were a few "oohs" and "aahs", and there was even a slightly better applause, but for some strange reason, at the end of the show, Trixie came backstage looking like she had just sat through a history lecture.
"Nothing but simpletons," she grumbled. "They're lucky I decided to even come back to this backwater town." I started to think that Trixie had a bit of history in this town, but I already knew better not to ask her. Since she had to wait until Fine Print got her another gig, I thought that Trixie would want to relax. When I brought it up however...
"Are you insane?" she snapped like I had just asked the most stupid question in the world. "Trixie is getting out of this town as soon as possible. Take me anywhere, anywhere that's not here!" So I towed the cart back to Canterlot (another nail), and we waited there until Trixie got another gig.
Two weeks passed by, and I had gotten to know the full "Great and Powerful Package," and golly-gee wasn't it fun? The criticizing of my cleaning, cooking, and fixing were already established. There was the ever popular criticizing of my personality, which I was quite fond of, and who could forget the criticizing of my appearance ("You look like a donkey covered in dust"). If you haven't picked up on the sarcasm I'm displaying, then I should try harder next time. And the best part of all was that two weeks had passed, and I only made 90 bits (she took 10 off cause I accidentally broke the coatrack). I couldn't even afford a sofa for my "house." I could honestly say that my patience fuse was thinning more every day. If it weren't for my mom's anger-relief methods, I would've probably blown up a week ago. And if it weren't for Fine Print getting that gig in Appleoosa, I'm pretty sure Trixie would've exploded from angst. This time we took the train (thank Celestia), but to my horror, we only took it to Dodge Junction! Apparently, Trixie bought the WRONG TICKETS! So did Trixie take responsibility? "You distracted me with your talking," snapped Trixie. "Now to make up for it, you get to pull the wagon. Hop to it Assistant!"
Oh that's another thing, throughout the two weeks I've worked under her, she never took the time to learn my name. A normal pony would think that would be an requirement, but not Trixie. She was fine with calling me Assistant.
So now I had to lug the wagon across the desert to Appleoosa. It wasn't THAT far I suppose, but it was still a trek. Pulling a cart in the middle of the desert with the hot sun shining down would take a lot out of you. When we arrived, I wanted so badly to lie down and rest, but according to Trixie, there was no time. I set the wagon up by the stage and she went on to do her usual stuff. As I watched from the side, I couldn't help but notice that my eyelids were getting heavier and heavier as the show went on. I tried to stay awake, but it was getting harder and harder with every second. At some point, I figured that closing my eyes for a second wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, the second I closed my eyes, I was out like a light.
"ASSISTANT!"
I snapped awake and looked around frantically before seeing a furious Trixie in front of me. I could tell she was furious because her coat had turned a new shade of red. "Who do you think you are, sleeping on the job? You made Trixie look like a complete fool out there! Trixie called for her hula hoops, and what happened? NOTHING! Trixie ended up standing there for 30 SECONDS before she got them herself!" I looked out to where the audience was and saw that the show was over.
I groaned in frustration as I sat up. "I'm sorry Trixie-"
"GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"
"Whatever!" I was too tired to care. "I was exhausted from the trip, I just closed my eyes for a second. I'm sorry."
"I should've known better than to hire a slacker!" I perked up after hearing that. I had been nothing but patient with her, doing work for her and helping her out, and she called me a...SLACKER? "Well I hope that you enjoy no pay this week, because that's exactly what you are getting! I swear, I should've hired a monkey! It would have been more reliable than you!" Trixie continued to insult me, but I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy trying to drown her out, but her insults pounded more nails into my head.
Suddenly, I felt something. Something in the pit of my stomach. Something I have never felt before. It felt like...a flame. A little flame that started to grow with every insult Trixie threw at me. I finally realized that it was my bottled-up anger from the past two weeks, losing control. Normally I could control it better, but with the combination of my exhaustion and bottled-up anger, I was slowly losing control. I had to try and hold it back, but every insult Trixie said was like kerosene to the fire. It just kept growing and growing. I tried to remember my mother's anger-relief methods, but I couldn't think of anything when all I could hear was Trixie. Calling me unreliable, selfish, unorganized, when all the two weeks, I had done everything for her, was taking it's toll. The fire grew and grew and grew and if she would've stopped there, I could've done something to hold it back, but then, she said it.
"If your parents really thought that YOU were hardworking and reliable enough for Trixie's standards, then they're even DUMBER than you are!"
That did it. That was the last straw. I could handle my skills being insulted. I could handle my appearance being insulted. But NOPONY insults my parents. With that last comment, the fire exploded inside me like a raging inferno and turned around to Trixie's face.
"SHUT UP!"
There was silence. Dead silence. I was so mad I didn't know what to do but stare Trixie down. In the corner of my eye, I saw Print peeking his head from behind the curtains, and his jaw was so dropped you could fit a banana in vertically. After a few seconds, her tone changed to threatening. "What did you say to Trixie? You apparently don't know what respect is-"
"I SAID SHUT UP YOU UPTIGHT, CONCEITED, WICKED MULE!" I shouted again. This time, Trixie stopped talking and her face changed from anger to shock, but I wasn't about to stop. "You talk about respect like you should automatically receive. Respect is something you have to earn, and from what I've seen the past two weeks, you don't deserve the TINIEST bit of respect! All you think about is yourself and how "great" and "powerful" you think you are! You treat everypony like their beneath you and you treat me like dirt. NO! THAT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT! You treat ME like dirt you trotted on, chewed up, spit out, and trotted on again! I now understand why your last assistant quit. I can't understand why anypony would want to work for a heartless witch like you! In fact, I bet that if you did an x-ray of your heart area, all you would find was a PICTURE OF YOURSELF 'CAUSE THAT'S ALL YOU LOVE! I would rather cover myself in paper cuts and be thrown in a vat of SALT than work another week for you. I can't take it anymore. You wanna fire me? Go ahead. In fact, I quit! I would find a better job working as a JANITOR! Good-bye 'Great and Powerful Trixie!'"
Without giving Trixie a chance to yell back, I turned around and stomped off the stage. The fire had now died out. I had gotten everything off of my chest. I should've felt relief...so why did I feel bad? As the tension died down, I wondered if I should go back. "No," I told myself. "That would just give her power. If you're gonna move on, you can't look back." So, without looking back or giving a second thought, I raced back to the wagon to grab my stuff and head for the station.
The scream of a whistle sounded as the train pulled out of the station. The train heading towards Canterlot. While the ponies going there were nestled safely on the train, I was sitting on a bench near the station. I was too deep in thought to focus on the sound of the whistle; the sound of anything for that matter. I was thinking, believe it or not, about what just went down between Trixie and I. After finally letting all of my pent-up anger out, I should've been relieved, but surprisingly, I wasn't. I felt...guilty. I have never lashed out at anyone in my life. Not my parents, not my teachers, not even bullies that I met. But I suppose that Trixie was that one pony that was finally able to break my patience. She was just so...unbearable, and insulting me and my parents like that? I just couldn't take it anymore. "She deserved it," I told myself. "She needed to hear how it really was." Then why did I feel guilty?
I couldn't help but wonder if I hurt her feelings. I know I told her that she didn't have a heart and therefore no feelings, but that was just out of frustration. I always felt bad when somepony got their feelings hurt, so I guess this was no exception. I still wanted to believe that there was good inside Trixie, but nothing from my experience these past two weeks gave me any clues that said that there was. Maybe it was better that I quit. If I would've continued to bottle up my frustration, I would've exploded. But there was another matter on my mind; where was I going to go?
I didn't have enough bits to go home and buy a house, I couldn't go back to Canterlot cause 1: The train was already gone, and 2: I would just be back to where I started this whole escapade. "I'd probably apply for working under an even more stuck-up magician," I told myself jokingly. No, I wasn't going back, so I guess my only other option was going somewhere new. But where? It would have to be a pretty big city, a variety of options for jobs, and particularly close to where I was. I thought for second. "Well," I thought, "Baltimare isn't that far, and I'm sure they'd have a few opportunities." I bet that Baltimare WAS pretty this time of year. I guess that I would go there. With my mind made up, I grabbed my bags and started for the ticket booth. Suddenly, I heard a very familiar "ahem" from behind me.
I turned around, and there, standing in front of me, was Trixie.
I expected her to look furious, to start going on about how I "have the nerve to talk to her like that" and such. I expected her to put in her two bits about me. But when I looked at her, she didn't look angry or threatening. She looked...hesitant. Like she didn't know if she should be there or not. All I can say was it was the first time seeing her like that. There was an awkward silence as we just stood across from each other. "C'mon," I told myself, "Break the silence."
"Uh...hi." Smooth move Elbow.
"Hello," she answered back.
Another few seconds of silence passed us until I decided to just come out with it. "Look Trixie, I'm sorry I-"
"Let Trixie talk first please," she interrupted with a raised hoof. Normally I would be thinking that she was still acting like that after all that happened, but then I noticed that she said please. That was a first for Trixie, so I suppose it was fair to listen what she had to say. I nodded for her to continue. "Trixie is...well...uh..." She was definitely displaying a difficulty of saying what she wanted to say. "Trixie is...is...sorry." My mind went blank. Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Trixie had never even come close to saying sorry before. Was this a dream?
"Trixie shouldn't have insulted you, or your family, like that. Trixie's...just been under a lot of stress lately. What with her shows not bringing in as many ponies as hoped and with not earning as many bits, Trixie's just been on the edge for a while. But...that's still no excuse for what was said or how Trixie has treated you, so Tri-I mean I'm sorry." My heart skipped a beat I was so shocked. She was actually apologizing to me. ME! "And," she continued, "If you come back to work for me, Trixie promises to increase your pay to 6 bits per hour, pay you weekly, stop insulting you and anything about you, and stop being so demanding."
I didn't know what to believe anymore. This couldn't have been the same Trixie I knew just a few hours ago. The Trixie who I had thought I had figured out after spending two weeks with. 6 bits per hour? Given that I work at least 10 hours a day for her, I'd be earning 60 bits every day!
"So...do we have a deal?" she asked. I took the time to study her. Should I be taken in by these promises? Will she just go back to criticizing? Was she really ready to change? I looked at her and I noticed that her eyes. My mom always said that the eyes tell all, and Trixie's eyes looked pleading. Did Trixie really deserve a second change after what I had to put up with?
"What does your heart tell you?" I thought. My heart was telling me that from the look of it, Trixie wants to try and change, and since I didn't have an idea of where I was going to get another job, I might want to grab the opportunity to keep a job, knowing that things are gonna change. I studied Trixie one last time before finally saying, "All right Trixie. I'll come back."
A look of relief flowed over Trixie as she sighed, "Oh good." Her mood then changed to proud again. "Don't you think that the Great and Apologetic Trixie is the most humble pony you've ever seen?"
Y'know, before I would've thought, "We're really going back to this?" But something was different about her tone. She sounded happier than when she boasted before in the past. I just rolled my eyes and chuckled, "I guess I'll just have to learn to love that pride of hers."
As we walked back to the wagon, Trixie turned to me and said, "I guess we have some downtime before Print can find Trixie another gig. Might as well relax while we can Assista...I mean...uh...I'm sorry. Trixie never got your name." She wanted to know my name? She really was trying to change.
"Elbow Grease," I said. "Pleasure to truly meet you."
"Maybe there is some good inside her after all," I thought as we walked back to the wagon.
After making up at the station, Trixie and I spent another day in Appaloosa. During that time, I was able to get some real chores done on the wagon. I say real because Trixie didn't criticize me the entire time. It was like non-criticizing music to my ears. In fact, when she told me to clean, I saw another sign that she was trying to change. Her exact words were, "Assistant! Dust the furnitur...I mean, could you dust the furniture, Elbow...please?" That was enough for me to plant a big smile on my face and whistle while I worked. And that was another thing. I started whistling and Trixie didn't say, "Stop that racket!" I actually saw her hoof tapping to the tune. Whatever Trixie went through in our argument, she showed that she really was trying to change.
After a day of cleaning and relaxing, Print finally came to us with a gig. "I was able to book you to perform at the Outdoor Performance Hall in Baltimare!"
"That's where I was going to go after our argument," I said out loud. I quickly realized what I said and mumbled, "Oops."
I looked over at Trixie and expected her to look like she didn't want to remember what happened, but to my surprise, she said in a sophisticated tone, "How convenient for us then eh?" I sighed in relief.
"Ok," I said getting up from my seat, "I guess I'll tow the wagon to the station."
"Uh..." I turned back to Trixie who had spoken up. "You...don't have to do it...if you don't want to. Trixie can call for a towing service." That was enough for me.
"In that case," I said with a smile, "I WANT to do it." Trixie stared at me with confusion. I guess she never had an assistant who chose to do something for her. It was always ordering, but her giving me that choice reminded me that she really was changing. "I could use the exercise anyway," I said.
It may have been me, but I could've sworn I saw Trixie smile a little bit. But as soon as she saw me see her smile, she returned to her sophisticated posture. "Er...yes, of course," she said, "Hop to it then...uh...please." I think I was getting used to her proud stature. Before it was annoying cause she acted like everypony was beneath her. Now, she was just keeping her pride alone and not putting anypony down. I thought it was...cute.
Anyway, when we got to the station, they loaded the wagon onto the storage cart and we took our seats as the train pulled out of the station and headed for Baltimare. During the trip, Trixie talked about all of her previous shows and where she got her start. She said she did her first show in Canterlot of all places and met Fine Print about a year ago while performing in Hoofington. Since she needed an agent at that time, somepony to handle her finances and get her gigs, she hired him on the spot (it seemed that Trixie had an act for doing that). As she talk though, one thought about Trixie was stuck in my mind. "Uh...Trixie," I said. She left her story and looked at me. "Well, I've been wondering. When we were in Ponyville, it seemed like you didn't like it there a whole lot. Did you have some history in that town?" Trixie looked hesitant to answer, like she was hiding something. I suppose that was a question she didn't want to answer. I didn't want to put pressure on her, so I said, "I'm sorry. You don't have to-"
"No it's alright," she interrupted. "Trixie will tell you." I sat back and listened. "You see, the first time I performed there, I was a bit too boastful. Even more than now. Trixie even spread a story about how she vanquished an Ursa Major." I just started laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked in an annoyed tone.
"I'm sorry," I said trying to catch my breath. "I just couldn't imagine you of all ponies vanquishing ANYTHING!"
"Shut up." she said. I quickly found my composure as she continued. "Anyway, because of my story, some dumb unicorn colts actually found an Ursa and brought it to town for me to vanquish, but not only did Trixie make herself look like a fraud by not being able to vanquish it, but another unicorn stepped forward and used her powerful magic to tame the beast and put it back from where it came."
"Must've hurt your pride eh?" I asked with a smug.
"You could say that again. Anyway, I left Ponyville after that and a while later, I returned, but not the same. You see, I had found a powerful relic called the Alicorn Amulet, which granted the user with amazing magic. But what I didn't know was that it also corrupted the user. I used it to get my revenge on the unicorn and took over the town."
"Wait, you mean like a dictatorship?"
"Well, yes. Like I said, I was corrupted. So anyways, the unicorn and her friends came up with a scheme to make Trixie give up the amulet...and it worked, once again hurting my pride. Trixie left Ponyville for good after that."
"So, do you still hold a grudge against the unicorn?" I asked.
Trixie grew silent, until she quietly said, "I should, but Trixie has a lot to thank the unicorn for. If it wasn't for her, Trixie would've become a power-hungry dictator. I should be grateful, but..."
"But you don't want to hurt your pride even more by facing her," I said. It finally made sense about why Trixie hated Ponyville so much. Her pride was hurt so many times there. And Trixie, being the proud pony that she is, doesn't want to hurt her pride anymore there. The rest of the trip was mostly in silence. Luckily, it wasn't that long until we finally reached Baltimare. The city was a lot bigger than I thought. The buildings weren't as white and shiny as the ones in Canterlot, but there were more of them and some of them were even taller. We didn't waste any time in getting to the Performance Hall. Print set up the Admissions Booth as Trixie and I parked the wagon and carried the props to the backstage.
Five minutes before she was scheduled to go on, Trixie peeked out the curtains and saw the many heads in the audience. She took some deep breaths and said to herself, "Alright Trixie, this is it. This time it'll be different. This time they're going to cheer."
"What was that?" I asked. Trixie didn't know I was directly behind her and jumped when I said something.
"Uh...nothing," she said, trying to keep her posture. "Hasn't your mother taught you not to eavesdrop on other ponies' conversations to themselves?"
"Sorry," I said. As I continued to set up, I started to wonder what Trixie meant by that. But my thoughts were soon drown out as Trixie was preparing to give her introduction. "Hey Trixie," I called as she looked at me. "Good luck."
"Oh...well...thanks," she said with a smile, "But the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't need luck!" I just smiled and shook my head. Trixie then turned and using her magic to amplify her voice, did her introduction.
"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 TRRRRRRIXIE!" In a flash of light and a puff of smoke, she was on stage. I guess the only thing to do was to wait and listen. I had Trixie's props set up right where she could reach them, and from the sound of it, everything was going smoothly. Ten minutes into the show, nothing seemed to be going wrong.
Suddenly, I heard a pony give a very loud, "BOOOOOO!" A minute later, it happened again. This time, more ponies joined in. They kept on booing as Trixie tried to continue her act. Then I heard ponies shouting insults. "You stink!" and, "Get off the stage!" were among the favorites. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I heard something that sounded like...splattering. Suddenly, from back of the stage came Fine Print who was covered in what looked like red paint. From the look on his face, he looked like he just experienced war. "Print!" I said, "What's going on out there?"
"Oh it's turned into a madhouse kid!" he said trying to catch his breath! "Trixie hadn't been performing for half an hour, then dey started booing. That was soon followed by insults, and now dey're throwing tomatoes! TOMATOES! I mean, who brings tomatoes to a magic show?"
Before I could answer, I heard Trixie talking to the crowd very hastily, "Well thank you all for coming and I hope you enjoyed the show come back soon!" I then saw her run backstage, but before I could talk to her, she ran right by me, covered in tomatoes. As she passed my I couldn't help but notice something that looked like...tears...coming from her eyes. She ran right by me and ran off towards the wagon.
"Oh boy," said Print with a sigh, "I really thought that this time was gonna be different."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Y'see kid," he explained, "This is Trixie's SIXTH time performing in Baltimare. Each time she performed, she was booed off the stage. No matter how many times she tried to perfect her tricks, it was never enough for dis crowd. Baltimare's a tough city kid. Trixie was really hopin' to make an impact this time." I stared in the direction of the wagon.
"Wow," I thought, "Six times, and booed each time? No wonder she was stressed."
"I should probably go talk to her," said Print as he headed off towards the wagon.
"Wait!" I said pulling him back. "Do you really want to try and talk to Trixie when she's in the most stressed out state you could imagine?" Print thought for a minute, and then his face twisted into a horrified look. I wager that he was thinking what Trixie would do to him if he made her even more mad.
"Uh...good luck kid!" said Print as he ran off the stage.
"Courage of a squirrel," I told myself as I trotted off towards the wagon. But to be honest, I felt like maybe I should've let him go. I mean, I've known trixie for less than a month. Why did I think that I could try and calm her down? Maybe it was my mother's kind nature that talked me into it. In any case, I had to be prepared for what I was going to be dealing with. I gathered up all of my courage, and continued towards Trixie.
As I got closer to the wagon, I could've sworn I heard a familiar sound. Not familiar to Trixie though, because I've never heard her make it. But as I got closer, I knew what the sound was. It was crying. I had never heard Trixie cry before, but the sound was definitely coming from the wagon. I walked up to the door and slowly knocked. As soon as the third knocked sounded though, from inside I heard a muffled, "GO AWAY!" That should've been my cue to leave, but something was leading me keep going, so, call me brave or stupid, I opened the door. As I stepped in, I already noticed that things were not as they were. Trixie's tomato-stained hat and cloak were thrown to the side instead of hanging on the rack, books were toppled on the shelf, and sitting on the sofa, with her face in a pillow, was Trixie. I took a few more steps toward her when she said without even looking up, "What part of 'GO AWAY' didn't you understand?" I slowly walked over and sat down next to Trixie, still sobbing into the pillow. There was a moment of silence as I just sat there. I wondered what to do. I wanted to help in some way, but I didn't know how.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. It might just get me punched, but my mom used to do it when I was upset. It was definitely worth a try. I didn't know what else I could do. I lightly tapped Trixie on the shoulder; she raised her head, wiped the tears from her eyes, and sat up. "What do you want?" she asked with an annoyed tone. This was it. It was now or never. I had to not think and just do, so in one swift motion, I grabbed Trixie, brought her towards me, and wrapped her in a comforting hug. At first I thought she was going to automatically push me away, but she just sat there, probably stunned about what was going on.
After a second, I decided to say something, so in the most comforting voice I could muster up, I said the only thing I was thinking. "I'm sorry."
And then, what happened next, I could've never predicted. Trixie stayed still and silent for a second, and then I heard her starting to whimper. The whimper grew and grew until finally, to my utter surprise, she wrapped her arms around me, buried her face in my shoulder, and burst out in tears. She was no longer sobbing, but straight-out bawling. The Great and Powerful Trixie had finally broken down. All pride didn't matter anymore as she continued to cry. The tears started to run down my coat, but I didn't mind. Whatever Trixie went through in the past, she needed this. All I did was keep her locked in the hug and even stroked the back of her head as she released her tears. I rocked her back and forth a little bit as my mother once did for me, and to my surprise, it was working. Since I have met Trixie, this was the most comfort we've shown each other, and I didn't mind. We stayed like that for almost five to ten minutes. After a while, Trixie's tears started to die down, and then, she said something I would never EVER expect somepony like Trixie to say. Through the sniffles and the sobs, I heard the words,
"I'm a failure."
