I didn’t even know this ship existed. Let’s see where this goes.
*Opening Case 56*
Ponyville is by no means a stranger to travelers and few of them ever caused trouble, directly or indirectly. At the moment one such traveler was hard at work in a caravan trailer some ways outside of Ponyville.
“Ok, let’s see if this will work,” he said, took a deep breath and concentrated his magic into his horn. He had been studying and reviewing this spell for at least a week, and he was sure that if he could master it, it would be a huge help for him. He could do it, he just needed to keep his focus on this one…simple…task.
“What are you doing?”
The sudden voice behind him spooked which caused him to misfire and start bouncing wildly around the trailer.
“Who DARES to invade my home space?!” he shouted and turned to the intruder, who was a gray pegasus with a blonde mane and crossed yellow eyes.
“I was wondering what you were doing in here,” she said.
“What?” he asked and then ducked under the wayward spell. He followed the path of the spell and was horrified to find that it not only was headed for his stash of fireworks, but it also landed on the fuse for the biggest firework in the pile. It hit and for a few moments he thought that nothing was going to happen. But then the fuse lit up and he slowly looked over at the mare, who looked back with one eye while keeping the other on the fuse.
“RUN!” he yelled and ran for the door, grabbing his hat magically on the way out, followed by the mare. He looked around frantically for any sort of cover, but only found a rather large bush. He and the mare promptly dove over it and waited for the inevitable. Five seconds passed.
10 seconds passed.
After 20 seconds they stood up, looked at the caravan, and started to laugh.
“Heh, guess it was a dud,” he said.
Meanwhile, on a cloud above Ponyville, a certain pegasus and unicorn were spending their day off enjoying both the scenery and each other’s company.
“I always love coming up here,” Twilight said as she looked out over the landscape. “The scenery looks beautiful from up here.”
“Yeah, it does,” Blitz said, although he wasn’t necessarily looking at the landscape. It took Twilight a moment to pick up on that and turn to Blitz.
“Really Blitz? Out of all the things to say, you chose that?” Twilight asked.
“Yes,” Blitz said simply and grinned at Twilight, who couldn’t help but laugh.
“You can be so cheesy sometimes,” Twilight said and nuzzled against Rainbow.
“I can’t help it. You make it too easy,” Rainbow said and started nibbling on one of Twilights ears.
“Ah, Rainbow stop that tickles,” Twilight said and tried vainly to nudge Rainbow away. They did this a lot though, so it was just play.
Then the explosion happened.
They didn’t see it when it happened, but they heard it and felt the shockwave.
“What the hay was that?!” Rainbow exclaimed as they watched the distance smoke column rising up. Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other. Blitz nodded toward the smoke and Twilight nodded. She climbed onto his back and he took off toward the smoke.
The light blue unicorn stood up coughing. He tried to wave away the smoke, and when it cleared he found his caravan was no longer there.
“Great, my trailer has been destroyed, again.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “Well, guess it’s time to start over. AGAIN.” He then felt the top of his head. “And where’s my hat?” His question was answered when the mare cheered behind him with his hat on.
“That was the best fireworks show I’ve ever seen!” she screamed, her eyes spinning.
“Give me that!” he said and snatched the hat off her head, snapped the dust off it, and placed it on his head. She made didn’t react at all. He walked away from her to the wreckage of his trailer.
“Well, good luck with the cleanup. I got mail to deliver,” she said and flew off toward Ponyville. The unicorn groaned in exasperation and started to dig through the wreckage.
“Oh please don’t be a waste of bits. There you are!” He pulled out a special box, designed to be able to withstand just about anything. Which was a good investment because he lost almost everything he owned after his last caravan was destroyed. He opened the box and removed its contents: a simple saddlebag, his bag of bits, and his cloak. He put the bits into the saddlebags before securing the bag onto his back and covering it with his cloak.
“I was hoping not to go into town this soon, but now it can’t be helped,” he said to himself. He then turned to Ponyville and stood up straight. “Well then, look out Ponyville. Because The Great and Powerful Trixter is coming back sooner than expected!”
“Do you do that all the time?”
Once again startled by a voice from behind, Trixter yelped and stumbled forward, tripping on his hooves. He heard somepony snicker behind him as he tried to stand up.
“What is it with everypony sneaking up on me?!” Trixter yelled and turned around to find a familiar unicorn and a somewhat familiar pegasus whom he couldn’t place at the moment. “Well, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle and…” Trixter let the sentence hang for a moment.
“Rainbow Blitz,” the pegasus said.
“Of course it is, I was just making sure you knew.” Trixter stated.
“It’s my name. What are you doing here anyway?”
“That’s a good question, why did you come back?” Twilight asked, “It’s been almost a year since you’ve been here.” Trixter looked away from the two thought over his answer.
“To be honest, I don’t know. Usually I find it easy to avoid towns that don’t like me, but this town’s different somehow. It draws you in, you know?” Trixter looked back and saw the look Rainbow was giving him. “Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge against me?”
“I just don’t trust you,” Rainbow replied.
“I expected as much,” Trixter said and sighed. “If it means anything, I didn’t mean any ill will against either you or those other two ponies. I was just playing it up for the crowd, how was I supposed to know those two colts would be dumb enough to provoke an Ursa, let alone that there was an Ursa cave nearby to begin with?”
“He has a point, nopony saw that coming,” Twilight said, “Although we really could have done without the Ursa attack.”
“Fair enough, and you know what, it is my fault. My boasting planted an idea in their heads and that caused a good deal of damage,” Trixter took this moment to lift the brim of his hat, “Right now, all I want right now is a chance to make up for it.” Trixter looked over to his caravan, “It’s not like I’m gonna go anywhere anyway.” Twilight and Rainbow gave each other a look.
“So why are we helping him again?” Rainbow Blitz asked. He and Twilight were waiting in the library while Mr. ‘Great and Powerful’ was using the bathroom upstairs.
“Because I don’t think he was lying to us about making up for last time,” Twilight said while looking through the shelves for a book. “If he wants to try apologizing to the entire town to get on their good sides, who am I to stop him?” Twilight pulled a book down to check the cover, but shook her head and replaced it. “And besides, if I judged everypony by first impressions alone, I wouldn’t have made such good friends. Isn’t that right Blitz?” Twilight asked and gave Blitz a smile.
“I said I was sorry about that,” Rainbow said. Twilight giggled at this and nuzzled against Blitz.
“I know you are, but your reactions are so cute when I tease you.”
“Oh really?” Rainbow asked and, with a grin, placed a wing over her. “Well, two can play that little game,” Blitz then leaned closer to whisper into Twilight’s ear, “my little pet.” Twilight’s eyes widened and she looked away blushing furiously.
“I was just curious that night, Blitz,” Twilight said. Blitz chuckled and hugged her tighter.
“That’s not really a bad thing Twi,” Blitz said and started nuzzling the top of Twilight’s head, which she returned. “And who knows, next time you want to do that, maybe I’ll wear the leash.” This caused some laughs to rise from the both of them as they continued nuzzling each other.
“I’m not about to walk in on something private down there, am I?” Trixter’s question stopped their nuzzling and giggling, and Blitz looked down at Twilight who mouthed a ‘later’ and got out from under his wing.
“No, you’re fine to come down,” Twilight called up and shot a glance at Rainbow, who skulked over to a corner and put pretended to read a book. Trixter came down the stairs still slightly wet with a towel wrapped around his mane.
“I must thank you again for letting me use your bath Ms. Sparkle. Being covered head to hoof in dust and soot is a most unpleasant feeling,” Trixter said not noticing the various poses he made. He also didn’t notice Blitz annoyed huff.
“It’s no problem, though I get the feeling it would be best if you found a temporary residence for your stay,” Twilight said and motioned toward Blitz with her eyes.
“That should be no problem,” Trixter said, “I have plenty of spare bits for a hotel stay. I have to say this is much better than the last time I-“
“This has been bugging me for a while,” Rainbow interrupted without looking up from the book, “Why aren’t you all ‘The Great and Powerful Trixter enjoyed the bath. May Trixter bother you for more bath beads?”
“Are you asking why I don’t refer to myself in the third person?” Trixter asked and Rainbow nodded, “That’s just something I do for my shows. Besides, would you forgive someone who asked for forgiveness while being completely obnoxious about it?”
“…eh, you have a point,” Rainbow said, then looked up and had to stifle a laugh. “What is that?” he asked and pointed to the towel. Trixter looked up at the towel, and then stuck his chin up.
“Some ponies are very mindful of their manes, thank you very much.” This remark sent Rainbow into a laughing fit. Trixter magically unraveled the towel, gave it one last dry off, and then tossed it onto Blitz’s head.
“Well, if there is nothing else, I’ll be off,” Trixter said and levitated his saddlebag, hat, and cloak onto himself and made his way to the door. He opened the door and was surprised to find a dark blue unicorn about to knock on the other side. He stood there for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking.
“Excuse me, are you the librarian?” he asked.
“That would be me,” Twilight called from behind Trixter and the unicorn moved past him.
“Hi, I’m looking for this book,” he said and levitated a white note card toward Twilight, who took it in her own magic and read it.
“The Physics of Inert Magical Energy,” Twilight read and gave the note back, “I think we have it over here.” Trixter didn’t stick around to see the end of this exchange, since he chose this time to walk out of the library and into town.
Trixter didn’t know where to start in town, so he found himself wandering around town. He noticed more than a few looks his way, but it was easy enough to ignore them. He eventually found himself in a marketplace of some kind. He looked around at the various ponies buying and selling their wares. He was considering whether to get something when he heard a voice rise above the others.
“Apples, nice and fresh!” Trixter looked around and found the pony who was calling that. She was manning an apple cart, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane topped with a cowpony hat. As Trixter walked over to her he could have sworn that he had seen her somewhere before. He was almost there when she saw him.
“Apples, come and you?!” she shouted and pointed a hoof at Trixter, “I remember ya, ya’ll was that fancy pants magician from a while back. Ya got a lotta nerve to come back here.”
“Yes, I am aware of that,” Trixter said, “But I assure you, I have a good reason miss?”
“Applejack and I bet ya do,” she said looking none too pleased.
“I’m sorry, but have we met?” Trixter asked and Applejack’s stare intensified.
“Ya’ll don’t remember hogtying me at yer last show?” Applejack asked. Trixter thought for a moment and his eyes widened in recognition.
“That was you?” he asked, but backpedaled at Applejack’s glare. “I mean of course that was you, and I am sorry about that.”
“Uh huh, why are ya here now though? Did ya come back fer revenge?” Applejack asked.
“Revenge, no why would I want to get revenge against you? All I wanted to do was apologize for what happened.” Trixter said.
“Oh really? Ya’ll have to forgive me if ah don’t buy that.” Trixter sighed.
“I expected as much, and I suspect that will be the case for most of the town. So, what would it take to earn your forgiveness?” Applejack gave Trixter a weird look.
“Earn mah forgiveness?” she asked and Trixter nodded, “If ya’ll are serious, come by Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow. If ya want forgiveness, ya’ll have to work for it.” Applejack smiled smugly and Trixter sighed.
“If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it,” Trixter said and put a determined look on his face. This surprised Applejack, who thought that he would go away at the prospect of work. She shook away the feeling and looked Trixter right in the eyes. “Where exactly is Sweet Apple Acres?” he asked.
“Just ask around, you’ll find it,” Applejack said and turned back to her stand, “come by tomorrow around ten, and leave yer fancy hat and cape wherever yer stayin’. I guarantee the work I have planed will be dirty.” Trixter turned and started to walk away before he answered.
“I will. See you tomorrow, Miss Applejack.” Applejack watched Trixter walk away and shook her head when he was out of sight.
The next day, Trixter was on his way to Sweet Apple Acres, though only about half an hour of wandering and asking around. He noticed more apple trees the closer he got to the orchard. Soon, after an extended walk past seemingly infinite rows of apple trees, Trixter was at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres.
‘The things that I do,’ Trixter thought to himself as he entered orchard. He wasn’t particularly impressed by the look of the farmhouse and barn, but then again he wasn’t particularly impressed with Ponyville in general despite its rustic aesthetic. He started trotting toward the farmhouse, but changed his course when he saw a large red pony working a nearby field.
“Excuse me,” Trixter called out and continued when the pony looked over, “is Applejack around here somewhere? She said she would have some work for me today.” The pony looked him over couple times before pointing to the farmhouse. Trixter nodded his thanks and started walking to the house. He got about halfway there when Applejack walked out and toward him.
“So ya actually came. That’s a little surprising.” Trixter gave her a confused look and followed her as she walked past him.
“I don’t see why it’s surprising. I’m willing to put up with anything to make up for what happened,” Trixter said and looked over at the red pony. “If you don’t mind me asking, who’s that?”
“That’s just mah older sister,” Applejack answered.
‘That’s a mare?!’ Trixter thought, eyes widened with shock. He snapped out of it when Applejack waved a hoof in front of him.
“C’mon, I don’t need ya getting distracted before yer job,” she said and continued walking.
“What do you need me to do anyway?” Trixter asked. Applejack didn’t answer, instead continuing to lead Trixter through the orchard. After a while of walking, they stopped walking at the top of a hill.
“Yer job fer today is to buck the apples from all the trees from this hill to that hill,” Applejack pointed toward the hill opposite them, “and along the width of both of them. Do you think you can handle that?”
“There’s got to be like three dozen trees down there, and you want me to take care of them all?” Trixter looked at Applejack, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Ah, quit yer bellyaching. I had to do half the entire orchard by myself once,” Applejack said poking a hoof into Trixter’s chest. “If ah can do that, you can handle this little plot. Right?” Applejack and Trixter stared at each other for a minute before Trixter huffed and walked over to inspect a tree. After a moment he turned around and kicked it as hard as he could, which caused only a few apples to fall.
“Good enough fer a beginner,” Applejack said as she walked away, “make sure all are off the tree before ye move on. I’ll be back in an hour to check on you.” Trixter watched Applejack walk away before sighing and kicking the tree again.
An hour later, Applejack was going to check on Trixter’s progress. She got to the plot he was working to find he did a decent enough job, though some of the trees still had apples on them.
“Ah’m gonna hafta redo these trees, but he still got it done,” Applejack whispered to herself, “Ah’ve gotta think of something else fer him to do.” She saw Trixter continuing to buck the trees, although he seemed much more tired than earlier. “Don’t tell me ya’ll are tired already?”
“I’m a show pony, not a worker,” Trixter said as he looked around, “Although I have to say I think I did a good enough job.”
“Like ah said, good enough for a beginner. Don’t think yer done yet either, let’s find somethin’ else fer ya to do.” Applejack then motioned for Trixter to follow and the two started walking through the orchard. After a minute or so of quiet walking, Applejack broke the silence. “So, why ain’t ya speaking all fancy like the last time ah saw ya?”
“That’s just something I play up for shows,” Trixter answered, “If I went around saying things like, ‘The Great and Powerful Trixter demands a cup of coffee with two sugars and a hint of milk,’ nopony would want to interact with me for more than a minute. It’s good for drawing in crowds though.”
“So why are ye here? Ye got yer hide tanned pretty good last time ye were here.”
“Extenuating circumstances have left me without a means of transportation for the foreseeable future.”
“Beg yer pardon?” Trixter sighed.
“I accidentally blew up my caravan,” Trixter said and Applejack barely held back a laugh. “Oh yeah, it’s really funny until it happens to you.”
“Ah know, ah’m sorry,” Applejack said, still trying to hold back her laughter. She managed to quiet down by the time they got back to the farm. A familiar red pony walked up to them.
“So, how’d he do?” she asked. Applejack shot Trixter a look before answering.
“He did well enough, though it coulda been better,” Applejack said and then perked up in realization, “Oh ya ah haven’t introduced ya two. Red Gala, this is Trixter; Trixter this is Red Gala and it’s really impolite to stare.”
“Oh sorry,” Trixter said and looked away.
“Anyway, ah need something else fer him to do. Do ya need any help with anything?” Red Gala rubbed her chin before shaking her head.
“Ah can’t think of anything righ’ now,” she said
“Really? What about the plowing?” Applejack asked.
“Ah’m almost done with that.”
“Anymore trees that need buckin’?”
“Not today.”
“Any seeds that need planting?”
“Not that time of season.” At this point Trixter started eyeing his hoof.
“Need anything packed into the barn?”
“Caramel took care of that.” Trixter stopped paying attention to the conversation here and started to use his magic to straighten out his mane and tail.
“Well what about—“
“We’re still savin’ up to actually repair the barn, remember?” Red Gala pointed at the barn to emphasize her point. “Why do ya need him to do somethin’ around here anyway?”
“He pulled a stunt about a year ago and he wants to make up for it. Are yew even paying attention?” Trixter jumped a little at the question.
“I’m sorry I spaced out somewhere. What was that about a barn?” Applejack facehoofed at the question. Red Gala then cleared her throat to get their attention.
“Ya know, if the issue is making up for something he did, ah have an idea what yew can do,” Red Gala said and smiled in a way that put Applejack on edge.
“What do ya have in mind?” Applejack asked.
“Well, why not have him treat you to dinner?”
“What?” was the response from both Trixter and Applejack.
“Just a thought,” Red Gala said with a slight shrug then turned to walk away. “And Trixter, if ya come by tomorrow ah’m sure we’ll have more work fer ya.”
“Whoa, hold on! Back up a sec,” Applejack said and blocked Red Gala’s way, “where did that idea come from?”
“It was just an idea,” Red Gala replied, “Whenever Caramel messes up a job he always tries to make up fer it by inviting me to dinner. Ah never understood why though.”
“Gala,” Applejack sighed before continuing, “Ah don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I have to agree,” Trixter called from behind Gala, “no offense to Miss Applejack, but I’m fairly certain that any dinner date with her would be a disaster waiting to happen.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked and moved back to Trixter.
“I meant exactly what I said.” Red Gala took a step back from the incoming storm.
“Are ya suggesting that ah’m unable ta behave myself at dinner?” Applejack moved closer and stared at Trixter, almost touching heads with him.
“I suggested no such thing,” Trixter said returning Applejack’s stare, “I was simply stating an opinion.” This brought Applejack to bring her forehead onto Trixter’s, the stare intensifying.
“You’ve got some nerve, ya know that? Ah’ve got more manners than you ah’ll have ya know, and if ya want to see ‘em, ah’ll show them to ya.” Trixter arched an eyebrow.
“Is that so?” he asked and Applejack continued to stare. They held it for a minute before Trixter blinked and backed away. “Alright then. The great thing about opinions is they can be changed. If you are really serious about this, then I’d like to see where this goes.”
“Oh, ah’m serious. Come tonight at six and ah’ll show you how serious ah am.”
“Fine, am I paying?”
“Ah course, unless ya can’t handle paying fer a little dinner.”
“Of course I can handle it,” Trixter said and then stood up on his hind legs and used his magic to cause a light to emanate from behind him, “And mark my words Applejack, on my honor as a show pony, THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST DINNER YOU’VE EVER HAD IN YOUR ENTIRE *yay*ING LIFE!”
“Ah shut it. Ah’ll see you at six,” Applejack said and Trixter’s light show stopped and he returned to all four legs.
“Fine, I’ll see you then,” he said and started to walk away.
“Fine,” Applejack said.
“Fine,” Trixter called back halfway to the gate.
“Fine!” Applejack yelled back.
“Fine!” Trixter was past the gate at this point and started back toward Ponyville. Applejack huffed a little, turned back to Red Gala, and crossed her front legs.
“Ah sure showed him,” Applejack said proudly. Red Gala simply stood there smiling and waited for the pin to drop. When it did, a look of recognition crossed Applejacks face. “Wait a minute,” she said and looked angrily at Red Gala, who took that as a cue to start running.
Six o’clock came much sooner than either Applejack or Trixter wanted to. Applejack managed to distract herself from the upcoming predicament by focusing on the work that needed to get done, which were all finished by four. The intervening two hours was spent keeping Applebloom out of trouble and sitting on the porch of her house.
It was now ten after six and Applejack hoped that Trixter wouldn’t show up, which crumbled when she saw him walk through the gates and toward the house. Applejack was fairly certain that they had the exact same expression on their faces. Trixter stopped in front of the hose and the two of them were quiet for a moment.
“We’ve been tricked,” he said in a flat voice.
“Mhmm,” Applejack replied and stood up.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“Nah, ah know that Gala won’t let me live this down if I don’t. Let’s just get this over with.” Applejack walked off the porch and toward the gates, Trixter following close behind.
“You don’t know that.”
“Do ya have an older brother or sister?”
“No, I was an only foal.”
“Trust me, an older sibling will use any excuse to poke fun at ya.” Trixter let out an affirmative grunt and they were quiet for the rest of the journey into town. Once there, Trixter led the way toward the restaurant they were eating at. They stood in front of it for a minute before Trixter stood straight.
“Well, since we’re going to do this we might as well enjoy it.” Trixter then motioned a hoof inside and bowed slightly to Applejack. “After you, miss.”
“Uh huh,” Applejack said unimpressed and entered the restaurant with Trixter following. They were led to an empty table and started looking through the menus.
“Anything in particular you want?” Trixter asked.
“Nah, ah’m not really hungry right now. Ah’ll probably just get a daisy sandwich,” Applejack said and put the menu down.
“Are they any good here?” Trixter asked and was answered with a nod, “Alright, I’ll get that too.” Trixter put the menu down and the two of them were quiet until the waiter came to get their orders and for a minute after. Trixter was the one to break the silence.
“So, is apple farming something you like to do?”
“Ah course I like it, its mah special talent after all,” Applejack answered and motioned her head to her cutie mark.
“Ah right, of course.” Trixter took a drink of water and thought of something else to say. “You’re friends with Twilight right?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Nothing, I’m just trying to make conversation. It just seems like being friends with her would be very interesting. Do you have any interesting stories about that?”
“Ah’m not particularly interested in talking about that,” Applejack answered and took a drink of water.
“Ok how about this, a story for a story. I’ve been a travelling magician for a while, so if you tell a story I’ll tell one.” Applejack gave him a questioning look. “It’ll at least help pass the time.” Applejack sighed and rubbed her face.
“Alright, where do ya want to start?” she asked.
“Ok, how did you first meet?” he asked.
And so Applejack and Trixter made small talk, exchanging stories that happened to them both as dinner went on. On Applejack’s side there was there was her first meeting with Twilight, to an abridged version of Nightmare Moon’s defeat, to the Grand Galloping Gala and another abridge story of Discord’s defeat, to all the little things in between. Trixter’s stories weren’t nearly as impressive, simply interesting things that have happened to him over his career as a magician. His best story (arguably) was a strange time in Stalliongrad that involved a heavily inebriated unicorn DJ and a bottle of vodka, which Trixter didn’t want to go into specific details about.
“You know, hearing all this stuff from you makes me really glad I decided against the revenge route,” Trixter said and took a bite of his sandwich and continued after swallowing. “I mean, there’s no way I can stand on the same level as a group of ponies who managed to take on two powerful beings and win in the same year. The only way I can think of to even begin to be on your level is to make a pact with a dark god, which I’m not too keen on.” Applejack chuckled at this and finished off her own sandwich.
“Well, ah guess if ya were to do something like that we’d hafta kick yer flank too,” she said and the both of them laughed.
“You know, I’d be really interested to see how you would do that,” Trixter said and finished his sandwich, “And this has been the most fun I’ve had on a date in a long time.” Applejack cocked an eyebrow at this.
“Who said this was a date?” she asked. Trixter gave her a confused look.
“Did I say date?”
“Yes, ye did.”
“Huh, slip of the tongue. But still, I wouldn’t mind doing this again sometime.” Here Trixter noticed the waiter walked up and placed the check on the table. Trixter nodded his thanks and looked over the price, placing the necessary bits plus tip on the table before getting up.
“Well miss, should I see you home or…?”
“Ye can cut that out now, it’s kinda creepy. And ta answer yer question ah can see myself home, though I can accompany ya to wherever yer stayin’.” Trixter nodded and smiled simply.
“That’s good enough for me; the hotel I’m staying at isn’t too far away from here.”
So Applejack followed Trixter out of the restaurant and toward the outer edges of Ponyville. Celestia’s sun had set about a half hour ago and the moon was already making its journey through the sky. The pair soon came to the hotel and stopped in front of its doors.
“Well, here’s my stop,” Trixter said and pawed at the ground a couple times before speaking. “You know, I was serious about doing something like this again sometime. It doesn’t have to be dinner or anything like that; maybe I could just come over to the farm and do something sometime?” Applejack smiled and patted Trixter on the shoulder.
“Of course, we could always use any extra help. Just come on over sometime and we’ll find something fer ya to do.” Trixter smiled and started to speak.
“Tha—“
“And besides, yer gonna be very busy for a while if you wanna make up that little fiasco to the entire town. So ya had better get used to the hard work,” Applejack said with a chuckle.
“…Right, that too,” Trixter said, noticeably deflated. He opened the hotel door and looked back at Applejack. “I’ll see you some other time.”
“A’right, see ya,” Applejack said and waved a hoof at Trixter, who disappeared behind the hotel doors. Applejack started trotting down the streets back to Sweet Apple Acres.
‘Ah guess there’s more to him than just a showoff. If anything he’s at least a hard worker,’ she thought to herself on the way back. She was almost out of town when a familiar voice called from behind her.
“Ah Applejack, I thought that was you.” Applejack looked behind her to find a white unicorn with an expertly kept purple mane trotting toward her.
“Elusive, what are ya doin’ out this late?” Applejack asked her friend, who motioned toward the saddlebags he had on.
“I was just doing some late night shopping, darling. What about you?”
“Oh um, just some business I had to do, nothing too serious,” Applejack answered and turned back to the road. “Ah gotta get going Elusive, Ah’ll see ya later.”
“Actually, this is perfect,” Elusive said and Applejack stopped in her tracks.
“What is?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while, but I’ve just been so busy with the boutique I haven’t had the time. It’s been simply unbearable!” Elusive said, striking a dramatic pose with the last sentence.
“Elusive, I’m kinda in a hurry. Can ye get to the point?” Elusive huffed a little and threw his chin up.
“Fine darling, are you free sometime tomorrow?” Applejack was thrown off by the question and thought about her schedule tomorrow.
“Ah think ah have the regular work load tomorrow, so ah should be done sometime in the afternoon. Why do ya ask?”
“Oh that’s wonderful! You see, I’ve been thinking how you and I haven’t been spending nearly enough quality time together lately,” Elusive said with stars in his eyes.
“What?” Applejack asked confused.
“So I’ve decided tomorrow afternoon, I’ll stop by and we can spend an afternoon together!”
“What?”
“It’s settled then! I’ll see you tomorrow Applejack. Bye!” Elusive waved a hoof and trotted away from Applejack.
“…WHAT?!”
*Observation suspended. Reconfiguring file parameters.*
First of all, I'd like to thank Super Big Mac for helping me out with this. This would have been a lot shorter and a lot worse without his help.
Not much else to say really, let's just sit back and see where this little arc goes.
Next chapter, who knows what's up next? Till next time!