“Ready Trixie?” asked Sunburst.
Trixie reached a hoof out from behind the curtain flicked it upward. With the signal given, Sunburst opened the house and let the ponies and assorted other species flood into the theatre. Creatures young and old shuffled to their seats, gawking at the décor of the theatre. Many of the creatures in attendance were students of the School of Friendship, so seeing the state of the great hall was especially awe inspiring to them.
“Wow look at those curtains! Aren’t they elegant?” came one voice.
“I can’t believe this is our school!” came another.
“Is that a wagon or a stage? How does it even function?”
From behind the upstage curtain, Trixie peered through at the crowd. She was disappointed to see that not every seat had been filled. She had obviously been hoping for a full house and clearly the marketing for the show had worked well enough, but those few empty gaps in the audience were sticking out all the more to her. They could have been filled so easily! she thought.
However, her spirits were lifted when she saw Star Search sitting there in the front row, flipping through his program. Wait, no, it wasn’t her spirits being lifted, it was her anxiety. Stage fright had never been a stranger to Trixie, even when she performed for a living. In some ways it was a necessity to heighten her senses and increase her awareness. It was a reminder of what was at stake if she didn’t give it everything she could onstage. Now, the nervous twinge in her stomach, the adrenaline rush that made her hooves feel numb, and the constant voice in her head screaming “Don’t mess up! Don’t mess up!” was back with a vengeance.
It was one thing to invite Star Search to the performance, another thing for him to show up to the theatre, and yet another thing entirely to leave an impression that would give her the chance she needed to sign a contract in Las Pegasus. She couldn’t possibly know what he was looking for in a prestige magic act, so she would have to give everything she had to offer and hold nothing back.
Seeing him sitting there proved another thing to her: she had a legitimate shot at the top. If he didn’t think she had what it took he wouldn’t have wasted his time showing up, but his presence in the theatre alone was telling her she had a chance. She was so close she could practically taste the Las Pegasus air, soaring high in the clouds with the rest of the city’s residents. This was the day she could make her dreams come true.
Peering over Trixie’s shoulder through the same break of curtain was Starlight. “Would you look at that crowd?” said the headmare. “Ready to give them a good show Great and Powerful Trixie?”
“Ready if you are, my Great and Powerful Assistant.”
Starlight took her eye away from the curtain. She trotted in place, a big smile on her face. “Eee! I’m so excited I’m getting goosebumps. I didn’t expect to be this excited. Or is this performance anxiety? Oh gosh, am I having performance anxiety?”
“You’ll do great, Starlight. Just followed my lead. You’ve never let me down before.”
“Okay. If you’re ready, I’ll signal to Sunburst to dim the lights and I’ll introduce you.”
“Wait.” Trixie stopped Starlight from going too far and passed her a rolled-up scroll. “I’ve written down my introduction. Just read from this.”
Starlight unrolled the scroll and skimmed through what Trixie had written on it. Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure this isn’t a bit…” Her eyes softened as she glanced back at Trixie, who had a twinkle in her eye. “You know what, it’s perfect.”
“Thanks. I’m going to get in place below stage.”
Trixie turned but was stopped when Starlight placed a hoof on her shoulder. Starlight swung her around and pulled her into a tight hug. “Break a leg, Trix,” she said.
“You too, Star,” Trixie responded before returning a hug back.
“And try not to break a hip.”
“No jokes now please,” Trixie said warmly but firmly as she separated. “I’ve got to focus now.”
“See you on the other side then.” And with that, the two ponies turned away from each other, Trixie crawling under the stage to her entrance platform and Starlight walking toward the curtain.
Taking a deep breath, Starlight stepped onto the stage through the stage left wing. The audience members, who were making small talk with each other as audiences do while waiting in a theatre, took notice of her one by one and greeted her with clapping hooves, claws, etc. As the applause built, Starlight made her way to centre stage. She nodded toward Sunburst, who was hidden from the audience’s sight in the stage right wing behind a curtain. Taking Starlight’s cue, he used his magic to dim the lights of the theatre, save for one spotlight focused on centre stage, where Starlight was now standing.
The applause subsided and Starlight took in the crowd. Standing in front of the red curtain, all eyes on her, anticipating what she was going to do, she understood why Trixie loved performing. She had their full attention. The problems of whatever worlds they came from outside those doors were on hold because at this moment they wanted to be entertained, and Trixie was the only one who could provide them this entertainment. As terrifying as being onstage could be, the power that came with it was undeniable. Nothing in Equestria felt like this.
Better give them what they’ve been waiting for, Starlight thought. She cleared her throat.
“Fillies, gentlecolts, and everycreature,” began the headmare. “Welcome to the School of Friendship. I am Headmare Starlight Glimmer.”
There was a scattering of cheers that clearly came from some of the school’s students. Some of the other audience members politely laughed in response and Starlight couldn’t help but smile as she used her magic to float Trixie’s prepared speech up to her eyes.
“‘You are so lucky to be here, everycreature,’” she read. “‘You are about to witness sights that will dazzle your eyes and,’ um…” She trailed off.
“Say it!” came a familiar voice from below Starlight’s hooves. It was Trixie, hiding and waiting for her cue below the wooden stage. She was speaking with a forcefulness that Starlight could hear but the audience could not.
“‘…and razzle yours souls,’” continued Starlight.
“Nailed it!” came Trixie’s voice.
Starlight forced herself not to roll her eyes. “‘You will see wonderous illusions and daring feats of danger. All brought to you today by one very special mare.’”
“Put a little more showmareship into it. You sound a bit flat,” came Trixie’s voice.
Starlight quietly sighed before leaning out to the audience. She used the most exciting stage voice she could muster. “‘She toured the world from Canterlot to Saddle Arabia!’” she continued. “‘She tamed the great Ursa Minor! She harnessed the power of the Alicorn Amulet! She even rescued the great princesses of Equestria from the clutches of the Changeling horde’ … with my assistance, of course.”
The audience let out a collective chuckle. “That wasn’t part of the speech!” Starlight stomped one hoof to quiet Trixie.
“‘For years, only her legend remained, but whispers of her return have proven true.’” Starlight couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that cheesy line. “‘For you are about to witness this mare’s return to the realm of magic; bolder, wiser, and more powerful than ever before. Fillies and gentlecolts, it is my honour to present to you the comeback of the legend herself: the one and only, Great and Powerful Trixie!’”
Starlight led the applause and crossed to stage left, still in view of the audience but out of the spotlight, just as smoke flooded the stage. The applause ended and the audience waited in anticipation for whatever came next.
They waited … and waited … and waited…
Something was wrong.
Here’s what was supposed to happen: As the smoke built to its height, Trixie was to emerge from the trapdoor in the centre of the stage. The spring-loaded platform hidden beneath was designed to propel her up through the trap door where she would land on her hooves to greet the audience.
Here was the problem: the platform was stuck.
The door was open, but the platform wouldn’t budge! Trixie had her knees bent, ready to launch gracefully through the air but grew impatient and anxious as soon as she realized something was wrong. She stomped her hooves repeatedly onto the platform in an attempt to make it move. “C’mon, c’mon,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “Not now!”
She got flat on her stomach and peered over the side of the platform to examine the spring underneath. It was taught and ready to uncoil, but there was no clear problem in sight. She was losing time, and the attention of the audience with it. She could hear murmurs of confusion coming from above. As quick as she could, she slid herself around the platform, examining all sides of the spring but she could see nothing preventing the launch. It must have just been stuck in place.
Reaching out, she tapped the spring with her hoof. Nothing. “You are not ruining this for me!” she snapped at the spring. She tapped the spring again, harder this time. Again and again, harder and harder. “You rusty piece of junk! Do! Your! Job!”
With one final jab, Trixie heard a click coming from the spring and the platform moved up a touch. “Oh,” was all that escaped from Trixie’s mouth before she was launched into the air at full force. “YEAAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!” she screamed.
The platform shot her straight up through the field of smoke and into the open air beyond the open trap door, separating from the platform as it sunk back below the stage and the trap door closed.
Trixie heard the audience gasp as they saw her rocketing up from below the stage, summersaulting in the air and flailing her hooves uncontrollably. Higher she went, higher than she had intended on going. She was halfway up to the ceiling before she stopped gaining altitude. At the height of her launch, temporarily suspended in the air, she leveled her body and stopped flailing. She also realized something crucial.
In her attempt to examine the spring she had turned herself around and was now facing away from the audience. She had a split second to realize this before she started plummeting back down to the stage.
Trixie cleared her mind and focused on getting herself positioned properly. She paddled her hooves through the air to spin herself around. When she was facing the proper direction again, and halfway back down to the stage, she tilted her hat forward to hide the panic in her face from the audience. This would take a lot of concentration.
The magician, cape billowing behind her, angled herself so that her weight was distributed evenly to all four legs. She unlocked her knees and braced for her collision with the stage. This was all she could do to not literally break a leg, or four, before the show even began.
You can do this! You can do this! she thought as she made her landing. She came down hard on all fours, bending her knees to absorb the impact. Her hooves made a loud bang as they hit the wooden stage with force. Her cape flowed around her, creating a clearing in the smoke. She was shaking, but that was more from the adrenaline than because of any injury, of which she appeared to have none.
When she was relatively sure she was still in one piece, Trixie peeked up from under her hat at the audience. She could only make out their silhouettes as the spotlight blinded her of their faces. She had no idea what their reaction was until she heard it. A thunderous cheer erupted from the theatre. Trixie tilted her head up fully and proudly, letting the audience take in the pony who just accomplished this incredible feat of acrobatics.
They all think you were in control the whole time, Trixie thought. Perfect!
She beamed and shot them her signature look: a sly grin, with a raised eyebrow. Hiking back on her hind legs, she struck a pose; the cheers only got louder. She had the crowd right where she wanted them. Her eyes wandered to the side of the stage where her assistant Starlight had a wide grin frozen on her face, though Trixie could see relief in her eyes that Trixie didn’t hurt herself.
Trixie cockily wiggled her eyebrows at her friend before facing the audience again. “Behold, everycreature! The Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived! It’s showtime!”