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Azure Memories

by Silvak

Chapter 13: Chapter XIII: Tricks

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Days passed by as Sapphire took Twilight's advice to heart, practicing her special talent in the hopes of putting on an adequate show. As amusing as a pony made of water flying around could be, she felt that trick alone wouldn't be enough for a show. So, she proceeded to try and come up with different tricks as well as refine her control over water. Thankfully, she decided to practice on the outskirts of town, away from anypony that might end up being caught by her mistakes, which frequently left her shivering from being soaked too many times. Still, it was progress in being able to make a living for herself.

However, it came to a halt when news of a showmare was about to appear in Ponyville. This caused both Sapphire and Rarity to come to the show, where in Sapphire's case, she was hoping to learn a thing or two about how to put on a show. Though, seeing the large crowd gathered before some kind of cart caused some doubts to be raised in her mind as both she spotted Applejack and Rainbow already in the crowd, to which Rarity joined them while Sapphire had chosen to stand behind them. Moments later, Sapphire noticed Twilight and Spike coming into the crowd, taking their own places alongside their friends.

Suddenly from the cart, a voice cried out, "Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the great and powerful Trixie!" before the cart opened up to reveal a stage as a blue unicorn mare with a purple hat and cape that were covered with stars appeared in a puff of smoke, causing the audience to exclaim in wonder at it. "Watch in awe as the great and powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" Trixie exclaimed, as a set of fireworks fired off.

As Sapphire pondered on if she had to be as vocal as the showmare before her, she heard Rarity say, "My my my! What boasting!"

"Come on, no pony's as magical as Twili—Twi—Twi—Oh!" Spike said, causing Sapphire to turn her her attention towards him as she noticed that he was fidgeting a bit. "Hey, Rarity, I, uh—mustache!" he cried before he dashed away from her, only for Twilight to take his place.

"There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?" Twilight asked, with a bit of an uncertain expression on her face.

"Nothin' at all, 'ceptin' when someone goes around showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons," Applejack answered, which caused Sapphire's ears to fold down against her head.

"Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us," Rainbow added in, causing Sapphire to think to herself, And here I was thinking that I could try to put on a show with my magic! That was a foolish idea! Quietly, Sapphire started to back away from the front, making sure she didn't bump into anypony as she tried to avoid attracting attention.

"Well, well, well, it seems we have some neigh sayers in the audience. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?" Trixie declared, causing Sapphire to back away even more from the front.

However, Sapphire heard Rarity blow a raspberry before commenting, "Just who does she think she is?"

"Yeah! Since we all know that Twilight here is—" Spike started to say before Twilight interrupted him.

"Spike! Shhh!"

"What?! What's wrong?!"

"Didn’t you see the way they reacted to Trixie? I don't want anyone thinking I'm a show-off," Twilight answered.

"Well, maybe Sapphire can tr—wait, wasn't she here a moment ago?" Spike declared, causing some of the girls to mumble that she was there just a moment ago, all the while Sapphire kept backing away as she thought to herself, No way I want to show off anything after what everypony else just said!

Eventually, Sapphire was in the back of the crowd, where she could barely register what was being said in front unless it was shouted out. However, she did see Rainbow squaring off against Trixie, putting on a display that wooed the audience until Trixie countered with one of her own that resulted in Rainbow being spun about. Applejack then challenged her when she did some tricks with her rope, only for Trixie to use her magic. It finally ended with Rarity taking a go at the showmare, only to end up with a green mane as she ran away crying in horror of it. That was when Sapphire decided to make her own leave too, as she gave up on the idea of using her magic to entertain others after what she just saw.


After leaving the crowd, Sapphire had made her way back to the Carousel Boutique, where she resumed her studies. Though her efforts were half-hearted since all the effort she had put into developing tricks the past few days have been for naught, which caused her spirits to drop. She could hear Rarity in the bathroom above, her occasional shriek of horror ringing out every so often as she worked to purge the green out of her mane. It wasn't till hours later that Rarity finally came down, her mane restored to its former glory as she muttered to herself, "I can't believe that mare da—oh, Sapphire, I didn't think you would be here dear."

"Well, I still have a lot of stuff to catch up on for my education," Sapphire meekly said while still looking at her book, causing Rarity to raise an eyebrow in doubt at her.

"But why aren't you practicing your tricks? Didn't you want to... oh..." Rarity started to say until she realized what was really going on, to which Sapphire just folded her ears against her head again. "Dear, you shouldn't let what happened today end what you worked so hard for recently."

"But you saw what happened, she humiliated all of you when you challenged her. I don't want to be a pony like that, even if I ended up living on the streets," Sapphire countered, finally looking up from book.

"Darling, the reason the girls and I disliked that mare was because of her horrid attitude, one of which I highly doubt that you will ever achieve if you took to show business," Rarity replied.

Sighing, Sapphire looked down as she said, "Maybe... but after what I just saw, I'm uncertain about being a showmare myself," before laying her head on top of the book. "Besides, I doubt I'll be anything after the show Trixie put up. It was more flashy than anything I can come up with."

Walking over to Sapphire, Rarity placed a hoof on her shoulder as she responded, "Sapphire dear, it doesn't matter how 'flashy' a show is, as long as it comes from your heart, it will be a fantastic show nevertheless."

Biting her lip, Sapphire thought to herself for a moment, before letting out a sigh as she replied, "Maybe... but if I do put up a show, it has to be at least a few weeks after that showmare leaves. Though I also wish I could do something else with my special talent."

Her ears perking up at the tone Sapphire had with her last words, Rarity asked, "Sapphire, dear, is there another problem that is bothering you?"

Blinking at first, Sapphire let out an embarrassed moan at her slip up before answering, "It's just that with a special talent of controlling water, what can I really do with it for a career? It can't be used for weather since it would only cover water, and Twilight's mention of the nearby dam isn't an option either since I lack an education. So all I got is tricks,"she said before laying her head on the table while putting her forelegs over her head.

Rarity just looked at Sapphire for a moment, her mind piecing together what she just heard. After a moment, she came to a conclusion. "Sapphire, it sounds like you weren't just trying to be a showmare just for your special talent," Rarity said, causing Sapphire to peek at her through her forelegs.

"I... I just don't want to be a burden to you, Rarity. I know you would say otherwise, and I don’t mind being a living model for some of your dresses, but I've been living off of you for too long now. I know it's only about a few weeks now, but I just want to be more productive than just standing around. I, at least want to be able to do something else to pay you back for your hospitality. It's just... something I feel I have to about this situation, that's all," Sapphire explained.

"Now Sapphire, I know that you want to be an independent mare, and I'm touched that you went through the effort of learning those tricks so you can pay me back out of gratitude, but you really shouldn't be so worked up over paying me back. Furthermore, you're no burden to me, the dresses that you model for are done so well that their buyers are spreading word of my work to other ponies. However, you shouldn't be in such a rush to become independent that you would try to take on a career that you may not enjoy. I'd rather you take your time and find a path that you would find fulfillment in dear, and I'll be happy to support you as long as necessary," Rarity said, rubbing a hoof on Sapphire's back to ease her plight.

Letting out another sigh, Sapphire lifted her head as she gave Rarity a nod. "Alright... but please, if there is anything I can do to be of service to you, don't hesitate to ask."

After a moment of thought, Rarity answered, "Well, there is something you can do for me..."


Next time, Sapphire, put some limitations on what you want to do, Sapphire thought to herself as returned the various cleaning utensils that Rarity owned to her cleaning closet. Due to Sapphire's desire to do more for Rarity, Rarity offered the task of cleaning the boutique to her. Of course she accepted, initially feeling a bit of joy of actually doing something for once. However, that quickly faded after being given a list of instructions on the various cleaning-related chores that needed to be done to keep the boutique up to Rarity's standard of cleanliness. Rarity even gave her a maid's uniform in order to keep her coat clean, though Sapphire found it to be an irritation. She rather just take a bath instead of dealing with the uniform, but she kept up the appearance of the satisfaction of having something to do for once.

As Sapphire was putting away the uniform, some bestial roar rang out, drawing her attention. Trotting over to the kitchen window, she opened it before poking her head out, only to receive the sight of an angry blue bear the size of a house moving about as ponies ran about in fear. Quietly, Sapphire pulled her head back in before closing the window, just as Rarity arrived in the kitchen, asking, "Sapphire, did you see what made that horrible roar?"

"There's a giant bear outside Rarity," Sapphire said as she calmly walked past her.

As a look of panic took hold on Rarity's face, she exclaimed, "A giant bear! It must be an Ursa Major! I ha—what are you doing Sapphire?" before her expression turned into confusion as Sapphire opened the closet door.

"I'm going to hide in the closet," Sapphire answered as she entered said closet before closing the door.

"Why are you hiding in the closet?"

"Cause it's better than running in terror in the open where a giant bear can see you. You can join me since this is your closet after all."

"Um... I rather not... I'll just go find Twilight instead. Hopefully she has some plan on how to deal with the Ursa..." Rarity responded before Sapphire heard her leaving. Left with nothing else to do for the moment, Sapphire instead pondered on one thing.

Don't ponies realize that running around in the open where the bear can see you is just asking for more trouble?

Next Chapter: Chapter XIV: Labor Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours
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