Twists, Turns, Scars, and Steel

"Come on boss", Trixie pleaded. "It's not like anyone is going to be there at that time tomorrow!"

Her employer, Donna, shook her head. "I'm sorry, Trix. But, you made the deal. Sign on the dotted line, you gotta read the fine print."

Both of them were talking at the end of Trixies workday. Trixie had come to her with what Vexillum had said, talking about the situation for tomorrow. When Trixie was supposed to head out to meet with him, she would still be on her shift. She had asked if she could leave early, but it seemed as if her proposition wouldn't be accepted.

"I did read the contract", Trixie deadpanned. "But this doesn't have anything to do with the contract. It's not that big a deal!"

"Yeah, I know. But, still...", she said.

Trixie put her hooves up on the counter, looking Donna dead in the eyes. "Please. This could be my shot. I know you don't necessarily want to lose me so soon after you got me, but please. I'll still be working, I just need to get off a little bit earlier. My shift ends an hour and a half after I would be leaving anyway." Noticing her boss seeming to process what Trixie was saying, she added, "You don't have to pay me for that day, if you want."

Donna sighed, looking at her over the top of her glasses. She asked, "You really want to do this, don't you?"

"You know how ponies have cutie marks?", Trixie asked.

Donna nodded, "Yeah. We go over it in biology. Some sort of magic tattoo thing that denotes skills in a certain area. "

"This-What Vexillum is potentially hiring me to do-is mine", Trixie said. "No offense, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life working in a bakery. I belong on the stage! Entertaining the crowds! I know it's corny, but it truly is my calling."

Donna nodded again, before sighing and looking at the counter. She looked back up, saying, "Alright. Tomorrow, I'll let you leave at eleven-thirty. No sooner."

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you!", Trixie said, pulling Donna into a massive hug over the counter.

The Demigryph's feathers fluffed up in indignation, the feeling reminding Trixie of a plush pillow. She barked, "Get off me and get out before I don't let you!"

Trixie did so, falling back and running out the door before Donna could say another word. She weaved in between various pedestrians and soldiers on her way back to her apartment. She had another job later that night, this time as a server at the restaurant beneath her apartment, but that was one of the furthest things away from her immediate attention. What was her top priority was practicing her tricks and getting her cloak and hat cleaned. It had been a while, and both of them were a bit unused. It would be good to get them ready for tomorrow.

++++~++++

The next day, at the time that Trixie and Donna had agreed to, Trixie bolted out of the bakery door and teleported as far as she could. After she could see the waking world again, she found herself on a road leading out of town. Looking up the hill the road lead up, she spotted, the fort, or Castrum as Vexillum had called it, in the distance. A small building on a rock outcropping stood in between the fort and her, with the shapes of a few Pryhan soldiers milling about.

She looked back down and realized she had missed the outskirts by a decent margin. Not wanting to overshoot again, she began to walk back down the hill. She muttered, "Trixie really needs to work on landing shorter."

Once at the bottom, she pulled out her cape and hat from her saddlebags. It needed to be shaken out a bit, but was clean and in good shape. She slid off her apron, taking not to be seen by any of the locals. While not entirely necessary, the Pryhans preferred to be clothed, and had a somewhat negative stereotype of those that didn't wear clothes.

As she had finished putting her apron away and putting her ID in a pocket of her cloak, she heard a pounding of heavy hoof-falls on the ground. Looking back up the hill, she spotted around two dozen wagons coming down the winding road. They were made of wood with metal plating, and were each pulled by a pair of massive boars that were easily half the size of an Ursa Minor.

The wagons pulled to a stop at the clear outside the town, and a bunch of troops pilled out of them, forming into blocks as officers shouted commands. Behind her, some of the soldiers she had seen around town were coming in, forming their own blocks. Trixie realized what they were doing; it was a shift change.

Before she could do anything, she spotted a land-skiff following the pack of wagons. It pulled over to the opposite side of the troops, and several creatures climbed out of the back as it came to a stop. They turned to leave, heading into town, and Vexillum hopped out of the back after them. He looked around, eventually spotting Trixie and waving her over.

As he got close, Trixie smiled and said, "Greetings, Vexillum! Behold, the attire of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Vexillum looked up and down her, before saying, "Well, you do stand out."

"That is half the aspect of making it big, Vexillum. Now, shall we be off? Trixie is ready to shine!", Trixie said.

Vexillum cocked his head. "Why are you talking in the third creature?"

"Trixie is merely getting back into her zone", Trixie said. "Now, again. Shall we be off?"

Vexillum nodded and gestured to the land-skiff. He said, "Yeah, let's go."

Trixie trotted past him, head held high, and climbed up onto the small iron stairs at the back of the land-skiff. After a bit of difficulty getting her cloak over the back of it, Vexillum undid the catch and climbed in after her. As Trixie sat down, he walked past her and pounded on the back of the cabin. He headed back and lifted up a wooden plank, preventing them from falling out the back before sitting down across from her.

The land-skiff backed up before turning and heading back up the hill. The two sat in silence, only jostling slightly from the movement of the land-skiff. Finally, Trixie couldn't stand the silence, and asked, "So, how long have you been in the Pryhan army?"

"Five years under the current Praetor, another three under the last one, Praetor Dorus before that", he said. "I've been a soldier all my adult life."

"Really?", Trixie asked.

Yeah", he said, pride in his voice. "My family have been serving in the Caesar's armies since the days of Aquila Vexillum, the first Terran Triumphator and my family's progenitor. It's a tradition for the oldest child to serve in the army. As an only child, the duty fell to me by default." After another minutes pause, he asked, "What about you? How did you discover your calling, eh?"

"I had an... interesting home life", Trixie said. "My mom and dad divorced when I was, like, two. I moved between the two of them, but I loved spending time with my Dad more. He was a stage magician, and I followed in his footsteps."

"Hmmm", Vexillum said, and the two once again returned to silence. After a bit, Vexillum peaked out the canvas on the side of the land-skiff, before turning back inside. "We're almost there. Now, stay close to me. Follow any orders the sentries give you. And for the Gods sake, don't do anything stupid."

"Oh, please", Trixie said, revealing in her old style. "Why would the Great and Observant Trixie do anything stupid?"

"Just a precaution", Vexillum said.

The land-skiff ground to a halt, and a pair of Pryhan Velites, a Bighorn and a Griffon, came up to the back of them. The Bighorn saluted, "Ave, Praefect. Lovely day, no?"

"Ave, Simmons", Vexillum replied. "Give me a second to get my ID."

"Oh no, that shouldn't be necessary, sir. I just need the ID of the civilian", 'Simmons' said. The griffon scoffed. "What is it, Grif?"

"Hmm? Nothing."

Simmons sighed, turning to his comrade. However, before either of them could say anything else, Vexillum said, "Just check our ID's."

Simmons turned back to them and said peppily, "Right away, sir! Ma'am?"

Trixie levitated over her ID, while Vexillum just tossed his. Simmons put Vexillum's on his back and looked through Trixie's booklet. After a bit, he grabbed and checked Vexillum's quickly. Finally, he said, "Everything checks out. Have a nice day, you two."

Grif smacked the side of the land-skiff, which lurched into the Castrum. Looking out behind the vehicle, Trixie saw the various troops moving around the fort. A little way down the hard-packed dirt road, the land-skiff pulled into a large shed. Vexillum undid the latch and climbed off the back. "Let's go", he said, holding out his hoof to help her down.

She accepted, smiling as he helped her down. He led her out of the large building in the center of the Castrum, being waved past the armed guards into the building. The two made their way up to the second story and arrived at a large door with a pair of eagle knockers. Vexillum grabbed one and knocked, answered a second later by a voice calling, "Come in!"

Inside, Trixie saw a pegasus pony in a tunic, leaning back in a high-backed chair. Trixie noted the massive amount of scars and the prosthetics, and the large black knife her talons. And, of course, the Rainbow mane. "Eh, hi, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow put the knife back on her desk, and Trixie realized that it wasn't a knife. It was a jagged horn made of black chitin. She said, "Have a seat. If Vex is right, we have a lot to talk about."

Trixie did as Rainbow Dash said, taking a seat in one of the chairs opposite the big wooden desk. She said, "So, Vexillum said that you needed some entertainment in a few months?"

"Yep. I don't like it as much as the next soldier, but we have to make due", Rainbow said. "And you want us to hire you do take care of that? After all that stuff you pulled back in Ponyville? And I do know about the incident with the amulet, not just that first time."

Trixie winced at the memory, rubbing her foreleg. "Yes, and Trixie is sorry for that. If it makes you feel better, Trixie did suffer a punishment for her actions."

"I also heard that, which is the only reason you're here." Rainbow leaned forward in her seat, her one good eye pinning her like a crossbow bolt. "Look, Trixie. I don't like you, but I am willing to give you a chance. From what I heard, you magically made Pinkie shut up and fused AJ's hat to her head, so you have some taste. I'll let you perform-"

"Thank you! Trixie won't let you down!", Trixie said, being stopped before she could continue by a talon pressing to her mouth.

"I wasn't done. I'll let you perform, but if I hear so much as a peep out of anyone about you doing anything like what happened back in Equestria-Any lying, any swindling, any misleading, any anything-you'll be out of my fort before you could say 'Great and Powerful'. Do I make myself clear?", She asked.

Trixie nodded, saying, "Trixie understands perfectly."

"Good", Rainbow said, leaning back in her seat. "Vexillum." The stallion behind her snapped to attention, bowing his head. "Your job is to help set up our dear friend's performance. Understood?"

"Understood, Praetor", Vexillum said.

"Good. You both are dismissed." Rainbow turned back to Trixie and said, "Good luck, Trixie. I hope to see a proper, non-arrogant asshole performance form you. See you in a few months."