You slowly start to wake up and rise from your bed. You take a few minutes to let your eyes adjust to your surroundings. A quick rub on them and everything starts to come into focus. Your room is nothing special. A simple wooden floor and roof with a nice big hanging light in the middle of the room. 2 dressers sit in the corner and on top of them rest pictures of you along with your friends. To your right rests a bookshelf filled with lessons on spell casting and books on music and lots of its history in Equestria. You start to hear the sound of talking and laughing ponies coming from your slightly open window. The morning sun gives your room a light golden glow. On the opposite end of the room sits a few pots of flowers that give the room a pretty and very delicious scent. You turn your attention to the clock on the wall which read a few minutes after 7.
You yawn and stretch out your hooves and with that your body makes a few popping sounds as your joints come back to life. With that you also start to feel the pain of work last night especially in your hooves and your back. The worst part is you’re on shift at noon until 8 at night. The bright side is the day shifts are less busy than the night shifts. Guess that’s the perk of working in Ponyville’s only bar. It’s not bad work either. The tips are great and despite that you always seem to get a lowly drunk that makes a habit of touching your flank, you wouldn’t work anywhere else.
“Come on Lyra. Get up and have a shower. You’ll feel great after that.” You say to yourself in hopes you can actually move from your comfy bed.
You take a second and light up your horn to remove the blanket covering your lower body. The cover glows a golden yellow and floats into the air. You crawl out of the bed and past the blanket back on the comfy bed and quickly remake the bed. After that is done you groggily trot to your door and push it open. The quietness of your house fills your ears. You sigh in disappointment and walk into the bathroom. You've lived alone ever since you moved out of your parents’ house when you first got your cutie mark. You turn your gaze to it. Its a simple golden lyre signaling your talent for music. Many ponies wondered how you could play a lyre so well. Its actually thanks to a little trick you learned just before you got your cutie mark. You smile and light up your horn again.
This time you conjure up your lyre that you`ve grown attached to. You sit on the floor and grab the lyre. This time you use a spell that you yourself had created. You start to feel the magic wrap around your hooves and slowly start to morph into 5 long appendages. You finish the spell and look at your magical fingers. You smile and wiggle them a bit. You bring the fingers up to the strings and glide them to make your instrument give off beautiful music. The sound from the lyre always is able to calm you down. You close your eyes and play a song while you turn on the shower in order for it to heat up.
After playing your own song you move the lyre near the door and end your finger spell. As the magic disappear around your hooves you frown. You wish you had real fingers. They seem so much more useful then hooves. You`ve made a habit of using those fingers on more than one occasion…Your body shakes from the thought of the first time you use them to….
“Darn it girl! Save it for when you are more awake!” You say to yourself casting off those perverted thoughts and hop into the warm shower.
You relax and let the water beat against your minty fur reinvigorating your body and mind. After you let it soak in, you magically grab a bottle of fur conditioner and lather a cloth up and apply it to your whole body up including your horn. Your body becomes more relaxed when you touch the lathery cloth against your horn. You always hated how sensitive your horn is but whenever you touch it, it felt so good yet some naughty at the same time. As you continue to rub the cloth on your horn you wish you had a partner with you. Living alone is starting to make you feel sad and lonely. You push the thoughts to the side and quietly finish washing yourself despite feeling the urge for a quick clopping. As you step out of the shower and dry off you think about your day. Maybe youll invite Minuette over for some tea before you head off to work and see whats happening around Equestria from her. Or maybe head off…
“DING DONG!” A sound echoes throughout the house. You stop drying your mane and try to figure out if you had any company today. Not recalling any you quickly dry off fully and rush downstairs to the front door. You peer through the eye hole and see a very unexpected visitor. Standing on your doorstep was an azure mare with platinum hair. You recognize the pony from the show she tried to put on awhile along in Ponyville. You also notice she’s not wearing her cape and wizard and you also notice her fur was dirty and her mane was a wreck. You open the door slowly.
“Can I help- ugh you stink!” You say to the azure pony while bring a hoof over your nose to avoid her smell.
“Please can you…help Trix-uh….me?” She asks you in a quiet and very tired voice.
You stare at her for a few seconds confused by this sudden arrival of her. She looks sad and homeless when you look at her more closely. Bloodshot eyes, patches of dirt on her fur, and the stench of somepony not showering for a long time.
“ Trixie!? What happened to you?” You ask her still covering your nose.
Suddenly she bends over and grabs your hoof on the grab.
“Please help me! No pony else will help me in this town! I’ve been homeless ever since my house got crushed by that Ursa Minor awhile back!” She cries to you.
You look up and notice a few passerbies are staring at you with confusion and then you look back at her. Has she really been homeless since that happened!? As you recall that was a while ago.
“D-don’t you have any family you who can help you?” You ask while trying to shake her off your hoof.
“Tr- I has nothing anymore! My momma passed away a while ago and I never knew my papa….* She says giving you a pitiful look.
“Where have you been staying if your house got crushed then?” You ask her.
“In…in a tent in the Ev-Everfree forest…” She answers back quietly.
You’re honestly surprised to hear that considering that forest is full of dangerous creatures. Before you can think of it anymore you hear a deep rumbling sound come from Trixie. Her face scrunches up and she turns red faced as she lets go of you and puts a hoof to her stomach.
“I can’t live in that accursed forest anymore…It’s too far to go anymore else in my condition and I had no choice but to return here…Please help me I beg you!” She starts to beg again while going back to holding your hoof.
You honestly don’t know what to say to her. You look back up and see a few ponies walking by shaking their heads at her behavior. On one had you would feel bad if you turned her away, but on the other it seems so sudden to get a roommate so quickly.
“But I only got one bed…” You say quietly to her.
“Tri- I can sleep on the floor if I must. Ppppppleaseeee…* She whines at you.
“Alright, alright. You can stay here but only for a little bit alright?” You say finally shaking her hoof off yours.
You notice a sparkle in her eye and a big smile at you for letting her come inside.
“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!! I promise I won’t be a burden to you I swear miss….” She starts up but slowly stops when she doesn’t know your name.
“Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings. And before you do anything in my house I highly recommend you clean up in the shower upstairs. You reek!” You say to her covering your nose again.
Suddenly she gets up and hugs you tightly. You freeze up for a second realizing another pony is hugging you. You’ve been living alone for such a long time you almost forgot what a hug felt like. You were also not the type to hug your friends opening fearing ponies would get the wrong idea.
“Trixie Lulamoon! And once again thank you so much!!” She nearly cries into your neck.
You hold back your gagging as her smell almost overwhelms you. And you notice other ponies staring at you with confusion and even a few start laughing at you.
“Trixie..please..go shower…” You say still trying to hold your breath.
“S-sorry about that. I hope you didn’t get creeped out by that…” She say blushing with a bit of a frown she lets go of you and backs away.
“Hehe…it’s alright Trixie…Now go shower and we can talk afterwards alright?” You say with a small laugh.
She nods her head and you point her upstairs and to the shower. When you do she bolts it and seconds later you hear the sound of water running. You turn back to the door and look back out. Everypony has seemed to go back to what they were doing. You close the door and start to realize what you just got yourself into.
You groan in pain as you walk home from another long shift. As you predicted it would be a slow shift but also a long one. Thankfully it did pick up near the time you were leaving causing you to at least get some form of tips. Counting all of it up, you actually got enough for a session at the spa. As you walk on the dusty road back home you see the sun slowly making its way down signaling it shall soon be nighttime. You begin to wonder how Trixie is doing at your place. You still can’t believe she showed up out of the blue and asked you of all ponies for a place to stay. Absorbed in your own thoughts, you don’t notice a certain annoying Pegasus flying to you from behind.
“Hey tender flank, where you going?” A voice you can only describe as somepony who spends most of his days surfing on the west sea.
You stop and sigh deeply knowing that voice all too well. As you turn around you’re greet by a cheeky smile. After a quick study and much to your disappointment it’s actually him. A Pegasus who is white as snow with blue eyes and a yellow blasted back mane. His cutie mark is that of a comet flying through the stars and his vision of his self is just as high as the sky. You’ve come to know him as one of the locals at the bar. He’s actually a little too local. Turns out he was some lucky colt who won it big in Los Pegasus and now spends his days in the Ponyville bar hitting on anyone or anything at sometimes. Lately he’s taken an interest in you. Luckily for you, you don’t share an interest in him.
“Already had enough drinking for the day Comet? I’m surprised you’re not drunk off your plot.” You say sarcastically.
“Awww, don’t be like that Minty…Besides it’s no fun to get drunk when my favorite mare isn’t around..” He says giving you a cocky smile.
Just by being near him you can smell the applejack daniels on him.
“Ugh…I’m too tired to deal with you.” You say as you turn away from him but before you can walk away he flies in front of you nearly stumbling as he lands.
“I bet you would love somepony to give your tired body a little rubbing now wouldn’t you~? Must be hard living by yourself and nopony can ever make you feel better after working…I’m the perfect stallion Minty! I can make you feel better in more places then you know…” He says making a gesture like he’s eating somepony out.
“UGH! You’re such a pig Comet! Can’t you take a hint that I’m not interested in you!? And besides I actually got somepony living with me.” You say disgusted by his vulgar actions.
“Oh? I’m surprised to hear that. Who is the lucky colt?” he says thinking you’re being sarcastic.
“Actually….It’s a mare…”
Comet’s cheeky smile gets a bit bigger.
“and that’s all you need to know Comet.” You say rising your head and walking past him.
“I would love to see this new friend of yours someday. Maybe you should bring her to the bar later on…I would love to get better…acquainted.” He says with perverted intentions in his voice.
You simply ignore him and walk away not looking back.
“YOU KNOW YOU GOT A SMOKING HOT PLOT RIGHT MINTY. I HATE SEEING YOU GO, BUT YOU LOOK SO FINE WHEN YOU DO!” He shouts at you before he flies off somewhere.
You feel your face turn a bit red. This pony is getting more and more tempting to hoof in the jaw as days go by. You continue to ignore him and head on home.
Later you finally make to the front of your door. You notice the living room light is on telling you Trixie is indeed still in your place. You quietly open up the door and enter. You stop and look around and notice the place actually looks very clean and tidy. In fact it’s almost to clean. Suddenly a soft humming fills your ears and you see Trixie on your couch lying on her stomach reading one of your magic training books. You also notice the pillow and blanket folded on the floor near the couch you gave her before you left for your shift.
“Hi Trixie.” You say as you walk into the living room.
She stops humming and looks at you from her book.
“Oh! Your home. I didn’t hear you come in.” She says softly.
You look around the living room and notice the place is really more clean then earlier when you left.
“Did…you clean up around the house?” You ask her while still looking around.
“Of course! I promised I wouldn’t burden you so I decided to clean up after a bit of sleep.” She says with a nod.
You honestly weren’t expecting her to do anything at all today. The last time you saw this mare she seemed to value herself over anypony else.
“That was very kind of you. I wasn’t expecting that.” You say as you climb onto the couch and sit.
Trixie looks at you with a very puzzled look.
“You…have an odd way of sitting.” She says quietly.
You look at your position. You’ve always sat like this. Back legs are hanging over the couch while your back is up against the soft leather. She’s not the first to point that out to you. You’re the only pony who seems to sit like this.
“It’s actually very comfy Trixie. Why don’t you try it?” You ask her.
“As…comfy as it looks…I’ll pass.” She says shaking her head at you.
You give her a small laugh and look at the book she is reading.
“Decided to brush up on your magic skills I’m guessing?” You ask her.
“Yeah…I want to improve my spell casting since….” She starts to say but slowly drifts off.
“You alright?” You say with a hint of concern in your voice.
“I’m fine. I wanted to improve my spell casting since I could barely protect myself while I was stuck in the forest. I had too many close encounters with cockatrices, manticores, and timberwolves.” She says as she turns her attention back to the book.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. How did you survive in that forest for so long by yourself? That place is full of dangerous creatures.” You say to her.
“Easier then it seems actually. It’s all about figuring out where they nest and such. Also you got to never stay in the same area twice when avoiding manticores. I just got very tired from it and had to return to town. I ask around for some help but almost everypony other then you had an extra mate living in their homes. The ones, who lived alone other than you, refused me.” She answers back.
You think about it and realize there are very few ponies who live alone in this town. You frown realizing you’re one of the few who hasn’t got a bed to share with that special somepony.
“Are you alright?” Trixie says noticing your gloom look.
“Oh? Oh I’m fine. I was just thinking of something…would you like some tea Trixie?” You say trying to discard your previous thought.
“I would love some Lyra.” She says with a nod and a smile.
You quickly get up and walk to the kitchen. You lean up on the wooden counter and open up one of the cupboards. You push stuff around until you see the packets of tea bags. You then put some water into a kettle and place it over your small stove. As you start to heat it up you hear the sound of magic coming from the living room. You turn to see Trixie casting a spell. You watch as a ring of fire appears in the air but before you can panic about it, she turns the ring into a ring of ice. Next the ring gets smaller and turns into a ball of ice. Trixie notices you watching her and starts to walk over to you levitating the ball of ice beside her.
“You looks interested in Trixie’s spell.” She say with a burst of confidence in her voice.
“Only because I don’t need my home bursting into flames or such.” You answer back jokingly.
She gives you a dirty look but when you give a *just kidding* response she smiles and moves the ball of ice close to you.
“One of my own spells I pieced together awhile back.” She says to you as you stare into the ice.
You give it a look and are surprised at what you see. Even though the fire got turned into ice you can see a small flame inside the ball.
“Come outside for a second and see what it does.” Trixie says as she turns for the door.
You eagerly follow her to see what will happen next. She opens the door and points the ice ball at the sky. Before you can ask her what happens the ball goes up high and then suddenly explodes into a fireworks display of red and blue with a loud popping sound. You watch is awe as the red and blue sparks follow down and disappear across the twilight sky.
“In case you’re wondering that’s something I was working on for my show finales before…before…” She starts off by turns away and looks down at the ground.
“Before what?” You ask as you turn to her with concern.
“N-nothing…I think the kettle is ready.” She says quietly before she walks back in still sounding a bit gloom.
You offer no answer as she walks away. You being to wonder if she’s still feeling down from that Ursa incident. You would think so with her claims about it beforehoof. Getting put in your place about something always leaves a sore spot on you. Guess she took it harder than anypony would.
“Trixie. If you want to talk about it I’m willing to listen.” You say to her and you return inside the house and shut the door behind you.
She stops for a second but then walks back into the living room and lies down on the couch and continues to read. You start for the kitchen and sure enough the second you enter the kettle starts to whistle. You quickly use your magic and place the tea bags into 2 cups and pour the hot water into each one and stir it with a spoon. You pick both up with magic and walk back into the living room and place one on a side table near Trixie and you continue to hold the other one. Trixie puts the book down and picks up the cup and sips the tea.
“mmmm. Tastes familiar almost…”She says trying to figure out It’s taste.
“It’s a special tea from Appleloosa. Desert Rose I believe is its flavor.” You say before you take a sip for yourself.
“Is that so…anyway thanks for the tea…and once again for letting me stay here.” She says to you taking a another quick sip it.
“No need to thank me Trixie. I’m happy I could help you. I’m just curious but what’s your plan for the future.” You ask her.
She turns her head up likes she thinking and for a few long seconds it goes quiet.
“I want to have my own place again for a start, but I’m worried I’ll be a laughing stock if I perform in front of the town again…or anywhere else for that matter.” She says looking deeply at her tea.
Suddenly an idea hits you.
“If you don’t want to perform you could always come work with me at the bar in town. The bits are decent and the tips are a nice plus.” You say with a burst of happiness.
You actually wouldn’t mind if she worked at the bar. Some days its low on staff and the boss is always looking for more hoofs to help serve drinks.
“Me…serving drinks to a bunch of drunks? I don’t see how that job is any fun.” She says taking another sip.
“Ok sure some days are boring but you always hear rumors being exchanged and always learning something interesting when you listen to ponies talking. I could put in a word for you if you’re ever interested.”
“I’ll…think about it.” She says quietly and continues to drink her tea.
You get back up and look at the stairs.
“I’ll let you think about it. I’m going to shower and call it a night. Before I head off would you like to come to sweet apple acres tomorrow with me since I have the day off?” You say looking back at her.
“What for?” She asks you.
“With winter scheduled to come up within the next few months, I need to stock up on apples and such.” You reply.
“But ponies will make fun of me for what happened before…” She says quietly.
You turn back around and walk to her.
“Hey it’s in the past Trixie. The ones who will make fun of you are the jerks of this little town. Besides, you got me with you! Lots of ponies know me and will give you a good eye.” You say putting on a smirk.
“Alright, I’ll go with you but you better promise nopony gives us a hard time alright?” She says a bit more confident.
You nod your head and head up for a refreshing shower.