The Last Cutie Mark Crusader Epilogue, Part 7 of 8

Epilogue


Pixyglitter felt warmth on her face as the sunlight streamed through the open window. Considering how poorly she’d slept, it was nice to have not been awakened early for once. She listened to her surroundings for a moment to assess what was likely to be found once she abandoned the bed.

It was mostly quiet, but she could hear somepony moving about downstairs. The scent of freshly baked biscuits lingered in the air along with black pepper and flour gravy. Pixyglitter wrinkled her nose at it, as it was far too early in the morning for her to desire food.

The pegasus stretched before throwing off the covers and standing on the coarse carpet that covered the creaky wooden floor. She unfurled her wings slowly, taking care not to hit anything as she spread them against the soreness from her long flight the previous day.

That taken care of, she quickly found her cane, the saddle bags she had prepared, and her mirrored sunglasses. They were far more comfortable than the bandages she had worn for so long when her wounds were healing, but it was no surprise that her vision had never returned.

She made for the stairs, feeling her way with her trusted cane after she had prepared for the day. As she reached the final step on her way downward, a sweet and motherly voice greeted her.

“Good morning, I hope you slept well,” Twinklestar spoke.

Pixyglitter made a half-smile, “Well enough. I got used to being up on soft clouds, so the change in surroundings kept me up a little. Thank you again for having us.”

“Any time,” her host replied graciously. “Would you like some breakfast? Cloud Blazer had insisted we not wake you, but there are biscuits and gravy left. I think they’re still warm.”

Pixyglitter felt her stomach tighten a little at the suggestion, “No, thank you. I don’t do so well eating early in the morning.”

“Oh? You’re not experiencing nausea are you?” the tone in Twinklestar’s voice sounded a bit mischievous.

Pixyglitter’s head straightened and her ears perked up as she worked through what was being insinuated. The tone is what got to her more than the question itself. Sickness… in the morning… morning sickness… The pegasus felt her face flush at the implication.

“Hah, not likely.”

“Just unlikely?” the impish mare prodded.

Pixyglitter snorted, caught somewhere between amused, embarrassed, and annoyed, “How about, not possible.”

Twinklestar let out a giggle, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You wouldn’t believe how valuable gossip is in Ponyville.”

“I can imagine,” Pixyglitter said as she raised an eyebrow. Hoping to change the subject, she asked, “What time is it?”

“Fifteen past eight. I had instructions to wake you by eight-thirty.”

“Good thinking. I know it’s a little early, but I’m going to start heading that way. I guess, if you wouldn’t mind, may I take a biscuit for the road?”

“Of course.”

Once she was additionally laden, the mare stepped out of the house and followed the well-worn path. She could hear birds singing and workers out doing chores in the fields as she passed by. The path wound through the orchard and eventually joined the much wider cart-worn road that led into town.

The air was fresh and clean, and she sucked in a large draft of it, filling her lungs with the earthy sweetness of it. The low chorus of ponies going about their morning became the dominant sound as the blind mare approached the quaint little town proper. Though she paid attention with her remaining senses, finding places to which she’d never been proved difficult. She knew it would pass in time. In New Cloudsdale, she’d been able to find her way to work, the grocery story, and back home without so much as a hint from anypony.

She’d never spent nearly enough time in Ponyville to be quite that independent… yet. As such, she simply asked for directions as soon as she happened by somepony. This was the true reason that she had left earlier than might have seemed necessary.

It wasn’t long before she was pointed in the right direction, and it seemed far too quickly thereafter that she was standing in front of her destination. The mare took a deep breath as anticipation of the moment took hold.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ she thought to herself. ‘You’ve got this. Be confident, put your best hoof forward and let the chips fall where they may. Just keep breathing, one hoof in front of the other.’

She took the final steps slowly, opening the door and entering. Her ears were greeted with the repetitive sound of machines cycling and voices calling to each other in raised levels, but not distressed in any way. She walked forward a few more steps until she found a desk.

“Welcome to The Ponyville Express, can I help you?” a young-sounding mare asked.

“I’m here to see Blue-Penciler. I have an appointment.”

“Let’s see,” the receptionist flipped through some cards on her desk. “Ah, you must be Pix?

“Yes,” Pixyglitter replied.

“If you’ll take a seat, I’ll let him know that you’re here.”

“Thank you,” the pegasus replied as she turned to locate the chairs.

The plush leather sofa was well-worn but quite comfortable. Pixyglitter’s heart was beating with nervous rapidity for the coming meeting. She kept her breathing slow and deliberate in an effort to calm down. Her efforts were met with limited success.

It seemed an eternity before she heard hoof-steps approaching.

“Miss… Pix?” a stallion’s tenor voice greeted her.

“Yes, sir,” the mare said as she rose from her seat.

“Follow me, please.”

It was not difficult to keep up with the stallion. Pixyglitter gathered from the tone in his voice that he was masking surprise, most likely at her blindness. A few twists and turns through the office and she found herself in a quieter room that smelled of polished wood and leather. The air felt cool as he shut the door, further blocking out the noise of the printing press.

The stallion’s chair creaked as he sat down. He sat silently for a long moment, shuffling papers until he grew still, his breath making a slight wheezing as he exhaled.

“Your application certainly looks good,” the stallion broke the silence. “So, why The Ponyville Express?”

Pixyglitter took a breath, “I am moving to Ponyville, and given my previous experience in advertising, writing copy for a newspaper seemed like it would be a good fit for me.”

“Now, it says here that you type at fifty words per minute?”

“At my fastest, yes.”

“Would you mind demonstrating?”

“Not at all,” Pixyglitter feigned a smile.

Had she been more truthful, she’d have mentioned that it had been several years since she’d used a typewriter, and the speed she had listed was when she had use of her eyes. Within moments, he had prepared the typewriter and placed it in front of her by the distinctive sound of levitation magic.

“What would you like me to type?” the mare buried her nervousness.

“I’ll dictate,” came an even answer.

Blue-Penciler began speaking, articulating a little more carefully than he had in normal conversation. He also was careful to pause as needed for her to keep up.

Pixyglitter gave everything she had to fly across the keys, always finding the home keys as quickly as possible so she didn’t get off-center. As it turned out, her time learning to fly by voice command had given a secondary benefit here, as typing what she heard came almost naturally.

“That’s enough,” the editor finally put a stop to the exercise.

He pulled the paper from the device and hummed to himself as he walked around his desk and sat again in his chair. Pixyglitter remained silent and awaited the verdict.

“Well, not quite fifty words per minute, but over forty, and that’s not bad. Also, very few mistakes.”

Pixyglitter felt herself grin, but tried to squash the expression.

“So, you can take dictation well enough, and clearly you know your way around a typewriter. Can you hunt down stories?”

“You bet. Back in New Cloudsdale, where I’m moving from, I could find my way around town by myself. I’ll be able to do the same here in a matter of weeks.”

“The only thing, and it’s not you, I’m not sure we need another reporter right now.”

Pixyglitter’s heart dropped.

“Now, don’t get down about it,” the stallion tried to soothe her. “We’ve just got a lot of staff that’s been here and knows the ropes. They keep everything pretty well covered.”

The mare sighed, her spirit sinking lower.

“Pix…” Blue-Penciler seemed suddenly distracted. “You wouldn’t be Pixyglitter, would you? The mare that helped save the princesses during the war?”

The pegasus felt her face flush. She certainly hadn’t intended to bring that up. She didn’t want to get a job based on recognition from princesses. She wanted to earn it based on what she had to offer. However, lying to an interviewer would all but guarantee not getting a job.

“Yes,” she said simply.

“Oh, wow! I have heard your story many times. You know we did a special on you a few years ago?”

She was well aware. Cloud Blazer had read it to her many times.

She laughed nervously and attempted to feign graciousness, “I remember. Thank you so much for that.”

“There has got to be something I can do for you,” the stallion said as he shuffled more papers on his desk.

Pixyglitter’s emotions were confused. She wanted a job, but at the same time, she was a little disappointed that it was an unrelated accomplishment that seemed to merit her the opportunity. It felt like cheating.

“I’ll tell you what I can do,” the stallion said. “I can take on an intern. I mean, you’ve never done news reporting work, right?”

“That is correct,” she said evenly.

“Well, how about we take you on and teach you the ropes, three days a week for… say, a six-month term? After that we can see how it goes.”

Despite her disappointment, she felt a little hopeful at the offer.

“An internship… how much does it pay?”

“I’m afraid there is no salary attached to it. You are paid in knowledge, and possibly something equally important.”

She felt skeptical, but decided to hear him out, “What would that be?”

“A hoof in the door,” she almost felt like he had smiled. “As I said, most of our reporters have been here for a long time. Just between us… I couldn’t say for certain, but there’s always a chance that one of them will be retiring at any given time.”

Blue-Penciler’s tone suggested that he knew something.

“Just a chance?” Pixyglitter asked.

The stallion cleared his throat, “Perhaps a strong chance.”

She knew well enough to not ask further on what he was implying. An unpaid position was not at all ideal, but it would, as he said, put her in a position to be hired as soon as they had an opening, and she’d be better trained at that time. Also, in spite of why he reconsidered, it made her feel more like she would be earning the position.

“I accept.”

“Great! When can you start?”

“I just got into town, so we’ll be looking for an apartment. Would next week be soon enough?”

“Perfect,” he replied, his voice sounding joyful. “Be in at six-o’clock, in the morning.”

Pixyglitter groaned inside as she smiled, “Thank you so much! I’ll be here.”

The stallion led her out of the office, and it was moments before the mare was in the fresh outside air. She let out a breath she’d been holding since the previous day. She had been more nervous about getting her own job in Ponyville than she had realized.

Excitement welled up inside the mare. It wasn’t exactly what she had hoped, but her hoof was in the door. She did it without any help from Cloud Blazer. She couldn’t wait to tell him. Not sure where the stallion in question might be, Pixyglitter took the biscuit she had packed and took a bite. Wearing a large grin, she began heading to Sugar Cube Corner to wait for the stallion. She felt far too excited to contain her joy.