For the remainder of the day Trixie and Lulatrix promoted the coming show. An hour to curtain not a single pony had been denied the sight of at least one promotional poster. They had advertised with vigor but the question remained if their efforts would succeed in bringing an audience for that night.
"The performance of your life Trixie, literally." Trixie stared blankly at her reflection in her prepping mirror. With a sigh she placed her hat upon her head. "You got this."
She skimmed over tonight's acts mentally acting out each one. A lump caught in her throat as she looked at the last act on the page. It was a risky trick that she had never tried before and to make matters worse she would need to appear to fail without actually dying. Pushing her grim thoughts aside, Trixie busied herself with gathering all the needed props and equipment. Once everything was gathered she ran a rehearsal up till the final act.
"Seems you are pushing to be prepared for this show Lulamoon. I've not seen you work this diligently yet." Lulatrix peered from the shadows.
"I'm expecting a larger crowd and of course I want everything to be perfect to show off just how great and powerful Trixie is. Speaking of which, when are you going to provide me with this power?"
"First act my dear." Lulatrix grinned with a sickening display of razors for teeth.
Adding to the weight of Trixie's thoughts was the creeping fear of what nature of power would bury its way into her. She had no doubt Lulatrix would in fact bestow her with power, the question was the toll it would take. To distract herself from buckling under pressure Trixie snuck a peek through the curtains. Ponies had begun to congregate for the show. With a breath and forced smirk, Trixie evolved into a proud and confident stage magician. After a few minutes the audience had grown to a full house. It was show time. She took center stage as fireworks lit up the sky.
"Ladies and gentlecolts! The great and powerful Trixie welcomes you," the curtains flew apart. "To the greatest show you will ever see!" another barrage of fireworks shot into the sky. "For the first act Trixie will summon an assistant from the darkness. A foul beast straight from your nightmares." Trixie threw a smoke bomb for effect. As the smoke cleared her horn illuminated with magic energy. A burst of light and Lulatrix appeared on stage beside Trixie.
Hoof stamps rumbled through the audience. Trixie winked at Lulatrix to which Lulatrix responded with a grin. Red energy swarmed around Lulatrix pulsing dimly. Her eyes glowed with fury and passion. Lulatrix's hair flew back as if by a strong wind showcasing her pair of horns. Slowly it seemed that they were growing and tinted red. Trixie took a step back suddenly very unsure of her current situation. The audience knew no better and cheered on at the spectacle.
A stream of energy shot forth from Lulatrix slamming Trixie and pinning her to the stage platform. Lulatrix stepped forward with pleasure filling her expression. At this the audience reacted in gasps and screams. Some decided to escape the show as something had obviously gone wrong. Trixie could feel her energy and magic fading. A wave of exhaustion washed over her causing her to go limp.
"Thank you for your cooperation Lulamoon. Now I have all your power!" Lulatrix roared scaring away what was left of the audience.
"Then you don't have much."Trixie whispered through her weakened state.
"On the contrary. You know how much power you hold. What you would one day be capable of. Great and impressive feats, or should I say great and powerful. No matter now though dearest Lulamoon. All of it is mine!" Lulatrix chuckled pleased with herself.
"I'm just a simple trick pony."Trixie sighed. "I can't even teleport."
This statement caught Lulatrix off guard. "Wait what? You had so much power but you couldn't teleport? That doesn't make any sense."
"That's what I'm telling you. Trixie's... not as great and powerful as she claims to be." she couldn't hold back a tear from forming.
"You are a fool then. I can feel it. Your emotions, magic, beliefs, experiences and future. From here you would have only grown more powerful in the art of magic."
Trixie felt so drained she could barely gather the words Lulatrix spoke but one caught her attention. Her plan to bring herself to the brink of death had failed but now she may be in an even better place. 'I know how to do this now. If only I could.' She tried moving her legs but it seemed as if the entire world rested on her muscles. "If you think you have so much power then prove it." Trixie managed to call out.
"Ha! It would be a pleasure to showcase what you wasted." Lulatrix engulfed herself in red energy. Blasts of red energy shot from her horns striking the stage with force enough to break the boards holding it together.
Wood splintered and collapsed upon itself bringing the sides crashing down barely missing Trixie's body. The platform itself buckled under the pressure and damage and began to split.
"Teleport out of this you bitch." Trixie managed to call before being swallowed by the breaking boards.
Stage lights had started to fall and now the entire overhead system was plummeting. With an annoyed glance up, Lulatrix gathered energy to teleport. A flash of red light and she disappeared as the stage crumpled. Dirt and debris flew outward as the last standing part of the stage fell creating a heap of wood and cloth upon the ground.