Adrian

Thank God it’s Friday.

While I loved my job, a notion that not many people or ponies could make, I still loved my time off even more; and on Fridays, I got off work two hours earlier than usual. Cel Shade, Roxy, and I were in the employee lounge, eating lunch that we bought from Manehattan Mega Takeout— and after the meeting that we had with Mr. Render yesterday, we were still thinking about our new series.

“Are you guys free after work?” I asked. “I think we should have a development meeting so we can figure out what kind of series we want to make.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” said Cel. “It’ll be better if we put some thought into this outside of work.”

“Alright, then.” I nodded. “So, who’s hosting?”

“Not it!” Roxy and Cel said suddenly, putting their fingers to their noses.

“Oh, come on!”

“Them’s the breaks, man,” Cel Shade shrugged.

“You guys know that my apartment is the worst place to host a meeting right now!” I reminded them.

“True, but if we host it at either of our places, then we have to clean, and I’m not down for that,” said Roxy. “Are you, Cel?”

“Nope,” the Pegasus answered, shaking his head.

“You guys are real assholes, you know that?”

“Nah, we’re just lazy,” the diamond dog corrected.

I sank into my chair, rubbing my temples as I tried to figure this whole situation out. “I hope to God that the place is empty when we get there.”

Trixie

“Consider yourselves fortunate, fair Manehattanites, for you have just witnessed another amazing showcase from The Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie!!!”

A billowing cloud of smoke appeared beneath me, and I disappeared under its cover, leaving nothing behind as the smoke cleared. While I gave off the illusion that I teleported away, in actuality I simply ran backstage.

But magic, at least the kind that I’m known for, is nothing but illusions, anyway.

I reveled in the applause that I received from my spectators, despite the fact that there were only two of them. “Yeah! Alright, Trixie!” a young voice cheered, and I walked outside to take a bow.

“Thank you! Thank you!” I said graciously before stepping down from the stage.

The filly that cheered for me a moment earlier rushed down to me with an older mare trying to keep up behind her. “Hang on for a sec, sis!” the mare said in exhaustion. “I ain’t as fast as you, y’know!”

The orange-brown-coated filly paid no heed to her older sister. “Oh, c’mon, Sunflower! You sound like Grandma!” I chuckled at her spunky attitude, something that I’ve come to like in the time that I’ve known her.

“So, what did you think, Babs?” I asked.

“It was even better than last time! I can’t wait ‘til the actual show!”

“Good to know,” I chuckled as Sunflower caught up, and then I looked at my watch. “I suppose now’s a good time to get some lunch.”

“Can we go to Big Harry’s Bagels, sis?” asked Babs.

Sunflower thought about it for a moment before giving her little sister a shrug. “Sure, why not?”

The three of us left the theater and took the short walk over to Big Harry’s Bagels, which, despite the name, also served pizza. We were promptly seated when we arrived, and I perused the menu to find something I’d like.

“Ugh, these all sound appetizing, but I’ll have to be a lot more frugal until I get paid after this weekend’s show,” I thought disappointedly. “This is really depressing. If it wasn’t for that stupid fire, I wouldn’t have to deprive myse-”

“You alright, Trix?”

I looked up to see Babs and Sunflower giving me concerned looks.

“Pardon?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“Ya seemed kinda bummed,” said the filly.

“Oh… well, I… haven’t been doing well these past few days,” I sighed.

“Whaddaya mean?”

“You’ve heard about the fire on East 29th Street, right?”

Babs and Sunflower nodded their heads.

“Well, I… was somewhat responsible for that. There was a mishap with one of my spells and long story short, I had to pay for all the damage and I’m now sharing an apartment with two of my neighbors.”

The two ponies’ eyes widened when they heard my story, and Sunflower reached over to place a hand on my shoulder. “We’re really sorry to hear that, Trixie.”

“Thanks. I’m just trying to make the best of it at this point,” I said, feeling a little better thanks to my friends’ support.

“Why didn’t ya ask to crash at our place?” asked Babs.

“Well, I knew that you guys’ place was small, and you already have yourselves and your grandmother living there. If I were to move in, it’d be too much of an inconvenience for you.”

The filly sighed. “Right…”

Sunflower looked at her little sister, then looked back at me with a smile. “Ya know what? We’re payin’ for ya!”

“Wha? Really?” I asked, dumbfounded. “You don’t have to-”

“Too late, Trix,” Babs interrupted. “Sunflower’s already made up her mind.”

I was going to say something, but simply smiled and accepted their offer. “Thank you so much, girls.”

“Aw, don’t mention it!” the sisters said with a laugh. “It’s the least we could do.”

I ended up ordering a small pizza with four bagels while Babs got the same thing and Sunflower ordered breadsticks instead of bagels. As we ate, the conversation shifted back to my financial situation.

“So, ya got a plan for how you’re gonna get back on your hooves?” Babs asked.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie always has a plan!” I boasted. “It’s actually quite simple, actually. You know how I perform at the theater every Saturday and Sunday night, right?”

“Yeah, and you change your routine on the second weekend of every month.”

“Exactly, so after this weekend’s shows, I’ll have a new set of tricks, and if I go the extra mile and make it incredibly amazing, I’ll rake in tons of ticket sales. Once I impress all the patrons on the routine’s first weekend, word will spread and I’ll get more and more people and ponies come to see me, and by this time next month, I’ll have a new apartment! It’s brilliant!”

The girls giggled, happy to see that I had finally cheered up a little, but then a look of horror appeared on Sunflower’s face. “Hold up. Creepo alert.” I was about to look and see who she was referring to, only she stopped me. “Don’t look! Don’t look! Just duck under the tablecloth.”

Without any hesitation, I dove underneath the red tablecloth, taking refuge under its dark cover. Amidst the chatter of the other ponies and people at the restaurant, I could faintly hear hoof… no, those sounded like sneakers. It had to be a human coming over to our table…

Aw, shit.

“Hey, Sunflower,” said the human.

“Hey, Larry,” the unenthused mare groaned.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you.”

“You two know each other?” Babs asked curiously.

“He was one of my old babysittin’ gigs from when I was sixteen,” the older sibling explained.

“So, have either of you two seen a unicorn mare about yea tall with a blue coat and light purple eyes?” asked Larry.

“Nah, can’t say that we have.”

“Hold on, big sis,” Babs interrupted. “I think I saw her headin’ down to the subway. She might be headed up to the north side of the city. You can catch her if you hurry.”

“Really? Thanks, guys!” Larry said excitedly, and I could hear him rushing out of the restaurant, only to trip over something. “Oh! Sorry, sir.”

Correction: someone.

“Alright, Trix. He’s gone,” said Sunflower.

“Thanks for the save, Sunflower,” I sighed, crawling out from under the table and getting back into my chair.

“No problem. Good thing my cousin from Ponyville ain’t here, ‘cause she woulda blown it for us,” she replied, wiping the sweat off her brow. “Now that I think of it, though, you never told me how you got so unlucky to end up as his new target.”

“I first met him after one of my shows a couple of months ago while I was signing some autographs. He’s been following me around ever since. He’s worse than those two Ponyville colts. At least they followed me because of admiration instead of infatuation.”

Babs looked at the two of us with a confused look. “So… did I get kicked outta the conversation? What’s up with that Larry guy?”

“He’s just some snot-nosed kid that gets a little too hung up when he finds a girl that he likes,” Sunflower explains before looking back at me. “As happy as I am to not be on his radar anymore, it sucks that you’re his latest victim.”

“Ugh… he really does sound like a creep,” the filly shuddered.

“Well, get used to seeing ‘im, because I think he goes to the same high school that you’re going to.”

“What!?”

“Oh yeah, you are going to high school, aren’t you?” I asked Babs, momentarily distracting her. “Do you think you’re ready for when summer ends?”

“Not anymore!” she exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t worry about Larry if I were you. He always goes after older chicks,” Sunflower explained.

“You sure ‘bout that?”

“Positive. Not sure why that is, but it just is.”

“I guess that makes me feel a little better…” the filly sighed, and then she looked up at me. “So, do ya have any idea of how you’re gonna make this next routine of yours a success, Trix?”

“At the moment… no,” I embarrassingly admitted, “BUT I assure you that I will come up with something by next weekend! You’ll see!”

“We’ll help out from our end, and try to go to as many shows as we can for the next month,” said Babs.

“Wonderful! If everything works out, this next routine will be my most successful one yet!” I declared proudly, but as confident as I had sounded, behind my smile was a deep feeling of worry.

Chrysalis

Every other Friday was a very special day. It was a day where any and all annoyances and misfortunes of the previous two weeks no longer mattered. It was a day where, if changelings fed off of happiness instead of love, I’d be a walking buffet.

Payday.

Now, I could’ve gone the old-fashioned route and receive a regular old check and cash it at the bank, but going to a bank is a little… difficult for me.

Usually, what happens is that the staff automatically assumes that I’m conducting a robbery. I honestly don’t know what insults me more, the fact that they’re so stupid to assume that, or the very thought that if I were to rob a bank, that I wouldn’t take a more finessed approach. At least more finessed than walking in without even disguising myself as a random pony. I mean, come on! Did they really think that I, who was able to infiltrate the capital city of Equestria, would be that stupid!?

Needless to say, opening my account was a nightmare, but thankfully, I won’t have to show my face there again anytime soon. I try not to use this expression very often, but thank Celestia for direct deposit.

Ugh… Just thinking about that phrase puts a bad taste in my mouth.

As I walked back to my building after a busy day at work, I checked my bank account on my phone. After taking a moment to admire the significant increase in my balance, I checked my account activity to see just how much extra money I got thanks to my new raise.

“A ten percent increase?” I thought. “That’s rather generous of them. Why do I get the feeling that Cross Hatch had something to do with this?”

I chucked to myself as I arrived at my building, ignoring the glare that I was getting from Mr. Saddleton as I crossed the lobby on my way to the stairs.

“Now that I have all this extra money, this weekend would be a good time to buy some furniture for my bedroom,” I thought as I reached my door fumbling with my keys, “although I could use a night out on the town tonight. A nice celebratory love session would do me some good.”

I opened the door to see that the living room was empty. I at least expected either Rusty or Trixie to be camped in front of the TV, but instead the couch remained unoccupied.

Not that I’m complaining.

I levitated a bottle of water out of the fridge as I looked at the clock above it. “Four-thirty… I think I’ll head out around nine or so,” I thought. I headed back to my room, gulping down swigs of water as I walked down the hallway, only for my ears to perk up as I passed Adrian’s room.

“Hm?” I muttered, inching closer to the door. I lightly touched my ear to the door and heard several voices coming from inside, including Rusty and Adrian’s. Did they have guests over? I tried to focus on their voices in an effort to hear what they were saying.

“Okay, so we’ve got some character designs, but what kind of setting are we gonna have?”

“Well, Gem Quest had a heavy Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy style to it. There were a lot of darker colors, too…”

“In that case, why not go for something completely different, then? Instead of a fantasy theme, we could go with a stylized futuristic feel with a brighter color scheme? If an action series is what we’re going for, then this kind of setting will lend itself to some over-the-top scenes.”

“That’s a good idea, Adrian. You know what this story really needs, though? A jackalope. Preferably a talking one.”

“Can you be serious for at least one minute, Rusty?”

“What the hell are they talking about?” I thought. “I know I’ve heard the name Gem Quest before, but I can’t remember where I heard it…”

I shook my head and kept listening, Adrian’s voice being the next one I heard. “Well, we’ve at least made enough progress to know what kind of series we’ll be making. Next time we meet we’ll start working out character personalities and backstories.”

“Sounds good,” said a female voice. “See ya later, Adrian!”

“Yeah, see ya,” said a male voice, and I heard the two of them approaching the door.

I briskly walked away from Adrian’s door, casually making my way to my own bedroom, and I heard the door open before I made it inside. A scent of fear similar to Trixie’s hit me; they must me staring at me.

“It’s rude to stare, you know?” I quipped, glancing back at them for only a moment. I was slightly surprised that one of them was a diamond dog. My assumption was that Adrian was meeting with either ponies or humans. Even in a racially mixed city like Manehattan, diamond dogs were still a minority.

A scared whine escaped the canine. “You heard ‘er, Cel. Quit staring!”

“Eh? You were-”

SMACK!

After the stallion had some sense knocked into him, he and the dog quickly left the apartment, shutting the door behind them. I let out a grunt and locked the door with my magic before walking into my room. I changed out of my clothes, threw on an oversized t-shirt, and lied down on my air mattress with my laptop in front of me. While the mattress wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, I certainly wasn’t going to miss it once I bought a real bed.

“I could catch up on my show before I head out to the club,” I thought as I went to my usual streaming site and pulled up the latest episode, which I missed three days ago. I got comfortable under my blanket as the recap from the prior episode played.

“Previously on Equestria’s Next Top Model…”

Yeah, I watch that show. Sue me. I mean, I’m a model, too, so it wouldn’t hurt to watch the show to learn a thing or two, right?

I cringed when the recap highlighted Harmony Charm’s elimination. I was still rather sour from it, and it gave me yet another reason to hate Hoity Toity. Seriously, why is that stallion a judge?

A sigh escaped me as I muttered, “I really hope Fleur de Lis comes back.”

Author's Note

What? Chrysalis is an ENTM fan? Who knew?

Well, so far we've seen our three main characters live out their own lives so far, but we haven't seen them interacting with each other, have we? Well, it's not like they have any reason to... at least not yet. You'll have to find out in the next chapter after we follow Chrysalis around for a bit.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments! Keep it Sketchy, folks!