On the busy Manehattan street sat a carriage, the image of a light-blue unicorn wearing a wizard’s hat painted on the side. Numerous ponies going about their day simply passed by it, the late afternoon rush from work back to their homes beginning to congest the streets. Several ponies are crowding around each other in front of the carriage, most of them stopping out of curiosity about what such a carriage with no one driving it is doing just sitting in the middle of the road. Their curiosity is whisked away by an amplified voice bellowing out from within.
“Come one, come all, and witness the Magic of...” The carriage began to unfold itself, revealing a stage with fog pouring out of the interior. Standing in the middle was the figure of an ornately-dressed unicorn, a flowing cape and a pointy wizard’s hat draped across her body. When the fog cleared, the unicorn mare raised her hooves, anticipating resounding applause and cheers.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie!” When she finally appeared, several light fixtures on the top of the stage began spinning, fireworks being shot off into the air while enchanted musical instruments blared out her fanfare. Trixie’s grand entrance was met only with the soft chatter of ponies in the crowd in front of her. She certainly got their attention as many of the ponies stopped and began to crowd around the stage.
“Come, and witness the great magical feats of Trixie, the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria! See the dazzling power of one who was able to defeat the dreaded Ursa Major!” Trixie figured she could keep this part of the act in. It went over well the last time, and it only ended in disaster because the town just happened to be near a cave where an Ursa was actually living. Trixie highly doubted that any of the Manehattanites would actually go out of their way to find an Ursa for her to vanquish. Besides, to her knowledge, the big city wasn’t near any particularly big caves.
“When the great beast threatened the small village of Hoofington, all hope was lost...” Her horn created a crude image of an Ursa Major crushing a city in a choppy sort of animation. “Until the Great and Powerful Trixie appeared and vanquished the monster with her great magic!” The image of Trixie appeared amongst the lights and pointed a wand at the Ursa, causing it to fizzle out. After she did, she looked over the crowd, the group seeming slightly smaller than before.
“An Ursa Major? With that kind of magic, I bet you couldn’t vanquish a house fly!” The female heckler’s voice was met with raucous laughter from the rest of the audience. Trixie grit her teeth momentarily, but put on her default smug smile, holding her head high and calling out to the audience.
“Is there one here who doubts the power of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” She scanned the audience and found the source of the mockery against her; a unicorn mare wearing a top hat and a red bow-tie that Trixie thought looked familiar, though couldn’t place where she saw her before. With her white coat, hazel eyes and auburn mane, this mare could be anyone.
“Yeah, I do.” The heckler stood in the crowd with fierce, almost arrogant defiance, a smirk on her face to match Trixie’s own.
“Step forward and show the Great and Powerful Trixie what you can do that she cannot! I guarantee you that anything you can do, I can do better!” Trixie’s smile widened. This went over great the last time, since she was able to outdo everypony who challenged her. This other mare didn’t stand a chance, the way Trixie saw it. She stepped forward, climbing up on stage and meeting Trixie’s gaze with a burning confidence and determination.
The other Unicorn pulled out a rope that glistened in the sunlight and a box of matches. She turned to the audience and projected her voice for all of them to hear.
“I shall set this rope ablaze and use it to perform some tricks. As you can see...” She held it up in the air, a slightly viscous liquid dripping off the end. “It is covered in oil. However, while I’m performing these tricks, the rope itself shall not be consumed by the fire.”
“Got any tricks that fake magical fire WOULDN’T be able to accomplish?” Trixie snidely interrupted the other unicorn. The mare turned over to her, then back to the audience.
“I’m glad you asked, oh Great and Powerful Trixie, because this will be done...” She levitated the matchbox, pulling out one of the matches and striking it against the side.
“... With real fire.” She dropped the match onto the rope, the entire length catching fire almost immediately. The audience gasped and flinched at the sight. The unicorn mare beside Trixie levitated the rope, her eyes shut tightly as she lifted it into the air. It remained still for a few moments, the crowd applauding by pounding their hooves against the ground. The other mare opened her eyes, twirling the rope in intricate patterns, loops and knots while the rope remained completely intact.
“I get it,” Trixie thought to herself as she examined the trick closely. “She’s using her telekinesis to separate the oil from the rope so it’s actually burning above it and not on it. Points for creativity, but no pony upstages Trixie!”
“So, you think you can outshine Trixie with rope tricks just because you set it on fire while doing them? Well, feast your eyes upon... THIS!” Trixie produced her own length of rope, coiling it up like a deadly viper. Glowing with her magic, the rope slithered toward the other unicorn. The energy around it formed a head at the top of it, baring fangs and hissing at its victim. The other unicorn was already locked in concentration and couldn’t move. She glanced at it, then began to use the flaming rope to wipe the other rope away. Trixie deftly swung it out of the way, cutting it across to slither along each of the other unicorn’s legs. The rope tightened around her legs and bound them together, suddenly lifting her up from the ground.
“No!” she shouted as the spell she had on her rope failed, the length quickly reduced to ash once the burning oil touched it. She grit her teeth in anger, struggling to get out of the ropes herself.
“Ha! That is what happens when you challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie! Any more takers? Hm?” Trixie examined the audience, finding that all of them had already left.
“Ugh... Good job there, show-boat. You ruined my trick and lost your audience.”
“I lost my audience?! It was you who upstaged me! They left because you interrupted my greatness!”
“No, that was all you.” The unicorn tossed the rope that tied her up aside. “Is this really your act? You go up on stage, blast some flashy effects, brag and wait for someone to call you out?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie always has those who doubt her amazing skills! Trixie must address all of those who dare doubt her so often that it is part of her act!”
“Really. I wonder why,” the top-hatted unicorn deadpanned at her, tightening her bowtie around her neck. “I knew all of that was part of your act, but I didn’t think you’d cheat to outdo someone actually performing magic on stage.”
“You challenged Trixie and Trixie bested you!”
“You cheated and you’re giving Stage Magicians all over Equestria a bad name!” The white unicorn stopped for a moment, adjusting her top hat. Trixie grinned widely and laughed at the other.
“It just sounds to Trixie like you’re a sore loser. Spare me your tears, I already have the satisfaction of beating you!”
Trixie’s adversary pursed her lips and thought for a moment. She adjusted her top hat again, tilting it down in front of her eyes.
“So, Trixie... I think I’ve got your act all figured out. You can’t refuse a challenge, right?”
“O-Of course not! There is nothing in the world Trixie cannot do!”
“And you fancy yourself a pretty well-versed Stage Magician, right?”
“The best!”
“Then perhaps you know of Coppermane’s Last Trick?”
Trixie stopped cold for a moment. “Coppermane’s Last Trick?”
“Yeah. You know about it, right?”
“O-Of course! Trixie knows about every trick ever created, and can top every one of them ever performed!”
“Well, then surely she’ll have no problem replicating and accomplishing the most powerful feat of magic ever attempted!”
Trixie fell silent. Just the syllables “Coppermane’s Last Trick” filled her very being with intense dread. She swallowed hard and nodded.
“Of... Of course Trixie can perform such a feat! She is the greatest Equine that has ever lived, and can surely do what those before her have tried-”
“And failed.”
“Tried and... Failed... Yes. But, Trixie’s great feats demand an audience! And as you surely know, Coppermane’s last trick takes a great deal of preparation! You will need to wait until-”
“I can have everything arranged for you, Trixie. An audience, all the fixings of Coppermane’s Last Trick... Everything you need to make the attempt. All you need to do is bring yourself to the Abandoned Warehouse on Maredison Street at Midnight. Bring your A-Game, too, Trixie, and show me the...” The unicorn grinned widely. “... Error of my ways.”
Trixie pointed at the unicorn, her hoof quivering and her voice shaky. “And y-you’d better be ready to eat your words, for the Great and Powerful Trixie will put you in your place!”
“We’ll see.” The unicorn mare walked off, leaving Trixie alone by her carriage.
****
Inside her carriage, Trixie latched parts of her mechanical stage back together. It was a small wonder she was able to construct a new one, given what happened the last time in Ponyville. The new one was basically the same, save for having her picture painted on the other side of the carriage instead of the image of her cutie mark above the front. After she finished collapsing the stage, she slumped down in a corner and took several deep breaths.
“Coppermane’s Last Trick... Who does that little pony think she is, anyway?! Challenging me with such a ludicrous, outrageous demand?” Her voice hastened, her breaths becoming short and heavy with each utterance.
“This is absurd! Coppermane’s Last Trick was impossible even for the magician who tried to perform it, the greatest of all time!” Trixie cleared her throat and corrected herself. “I mean... The second greatest. Still, it’s too risky... It’s not like the time with the Ursa. No pony else can take my place this time and I’ll be the only one who’ll do the trick!”
Trixie suddenly turned around, putting her forehoof to her chin. Her eyes darted back and forth between either of the corners of the room. “Yes... No one else will, would they? It’s not as if I can be upstaged trying this trick... No one would dare take my place trying to do the single most dangerous trick of all time, and no one could tear themselves away as I performed the stunt! Whether or not I succeed doesn’t matter, because either way, I’ll become part of the legend!”
Trixie twirled about and held her hooves up in the air. “Just imagine it, Trixie... In all of history, only twice was Coppermane’s Last Trick ever attempted, once with Coppermane herself, and the second with... Trixie!” She laughed hysterically while twirling around the room, then falling onto her rear. Her laughter now overpowered her terror from earlier, the prospect of being spoken of in the same breath as one of Stage Magic’s greatest performers filling her with an unbelievable euphoria.
“Tonight, whether she lives or dies, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall become... Immortal!”
****
The clock struck midnight, twelve bell chimes following afterward. The midnight crowd ogled the blue-coated unicorn that trot past them in a flowing cape and her hat as she approached the warehouse mentioned to her. Looking up at it, many of the windows had been broken, no doubt by foals who threw rocks into the derelict building. Her brow creased as she examined it, not even seeing any lights inside.
“She’d better have delivered on her audience... If she seeks to dupe Trixie, she’s got another thing coming.” She swung the door open. The only light filtering into the room came from the crescent moon above. She trot to the center of the warehouse, calling out to the darkness, hoping to find the one who challenged her.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived to meet your challenge!” Her voice echoed across the room. Several seconds of silence passed before the moonlight was suddenly blocked out, the door behind her slamming shut. Trixie’s distinctive fanfare blared out from the center of the room, a spotlight appearing on her. The voice of her adversary cried out from what seemed like all over the room.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The Great and Powerful Trixie in the Most Spectacular Stunt ever performed!” Another spotlight appeared at the other end of the room, revealing the white unicorn from earlier, dressed in a top hat, a red scarf, and a black cape to match. Loud, riotous applause roared from all sides of the room as she stepped forward, her smirk in full force.
“Tonight, Trixie has granted us the distinct pleasure of attempting the single most dangerous magic stunt ever conceived!” The room that Trixie was sure was the empty warehouse a second ago was suddenly illuminated with several small lights. The audience was seated along seats on tiers like a stadium. The crowd consisted entirely of hundreds of unicorns, all of them wearing top hats and cloaks, stomping their hooves on the ground in applause. Of course, far worse than that was the contraption at the center of the stage.
Trixie gulped as she saw the monstrous structure in the center of the room, the one that would be used for Coppermane’s Last Trick. On one end was a platform, large enough for a pony to have her body spread out on it. Four shackles were bolted to areas of the platform where a pony’s legs would be, a massive rune was drawn onto the center of the wooden platform, and underneath it were four sets of iron chains. On the other end stood a guillotine, looming ominously over the platform. The rope that held the blade at the top was clenched in between a disk with a smaller blade sticking out of it like the big hand of a clock. Trixie gulped as she saw the blade catch the lights around her, reflecting it into her eyes.
“Given the incredibly dangerous nature of this stunt, our brave magician will be allowed to back out at any time. In the meantime, will our wonderful assistants come to the stage and ready our daring magician for her trip into history?”
At that point, two well-built stallions walked up on stage, gently unclasping Trixie’s cloak and pulling off her hat, then set them aside. Trixie held out her forelegs, leaving her body open for all to see as the unicorn gave commentary.
“As you can all see, she has no saddlebags, no trick pockets, no keys hidden anywhere on her body, and nothing she can use to quickly escape the trap save her own wit and skill!” Trixie began to sweat. This was the first part of the stunt: Show the audience that she was completely on her own when it came time to start.
She walked over to the platform, climbing atop it while accompanied by the two assistants. She looked at the rune painted on the board. “A dampening rune... The filly really paid attention to detail for this one. There goes the ‘Teleport the hay out of there’ plan...” Trixie turned and lay on her back, spreading her forelegs outward while keeping her hind legs relatively close together. The assistants unlatched the shackles on each side, sliding each of her hooves into place. One of them then lifted the pillory at the bottom of the guillotine, then rolled it over so Trixie’s neck was just underneath the blade. At that point, they shut the pillory and clamped the shackles shut, her legs rendered immobile and her head helplessly at the mercy of the blade hovering several feet above her neck.
“Now, the Great and Powerful Trixie is locked into place, and what’s more, every method of escape she could normally employ with her considerable magic power has been nullified, and with these enchanted iron chains...” The two assistants drug the chains across Trixie’s body, strapping it tightly as the cold metal pulled against her skin. “She’ll be able to perform only one magical feat: telekinesis! Now, when the trick begins, she will have one minute to escape the trap before the blade drops and she meets her doom!” The audience cheered, their enthusiasm at the word “Doom” causing Trixie’s stomach to sink.
“Great and Powerful Trixie, there’s still time to back out. Are you sure you want to go through with the stunt?” The white unicorn leaned over her, her face neutral and professional. The truth of the matter was, Trixie felt weak. Not only was most of her magic sapped away by the trap, but she was being confronted by her adversary from earlier who doesn’t even seem to be showing the satisfaction of her challenge being answered and the fact that she may most likely fail. Trixie swallowed hard and grinned at her.
“Trixie is the Greatest Equine who ever lived. She’s not backing down from this.”
The other unicorn’s expression remained unchanged. She turned to the audience and held her hooves up high. “You heard it from the lady herself, folks! She said she’s not going to back down! Of course, she can still concede and forfeit the trick... But when it gets started, it may be harder to stop it.”
“I don’t care. Trixie was born ready.”
The crowd cheered as loud as they could, pounding their hooves into the ground. The white unicorn adjusted her scarf and flashed a very brief smirk.
“So you were.” She turned to the crowd and held her horn aloft. “Great and Powerful Trixie, you have one minute to escape the trap! Your time begins... NOW!” Her horn flashed yellow, striking the disk at the top and the blade slowly creeping across the circle.
60 seconds.
Trixie shut her eyes tightly, her horn glowing purple. She tried to envision one of the shackles, though they only glowed faintly in response. She had only gotten a glimpse of them and could only vaguely focus on them.
55 seconds.
The crowd yelled down at the stage indistinctly. It was difficult to tell whether they were cheers or insults, but either way they were loud and disruptive. Trixie finally got a clear vision of the shackle on her right hoof.
50 seconds.
Her horn began to give off a brighter light, Trixie focusing on the pins inside the lock of her right hoof. Moving just one of them seemed to take a herculean effort...
45 seconds.
“Ungh... One! Got it. Now... The next one...”
40 seconds.
Moving the second pin turned out to be far harder than the first time. The dampening rune and the enchanted chains were wearing down on her as she expended more energy to precisely move the tiny implement of the lock.
35 seconds.
The second pin slid into place. Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, getting a second wind from her success and pursuing the third lock with more vigor than before!
30 seconds.
“I might make it! I might make it!” While she didn’t feel nearly as drained from the last pin, the third lock was far less cooperative. Each of her attempts to put the pin in its place caused it to fall back out.
25 seconds.
The pin still wouldn’t slide into place. The white unicorn approached her and pulled off her hat, revealing her mane of auburn hair.
20 seconds.
“Your competition got the right hoof out by now.” Trixie opened her eyes though ignored her, gritting her teeth as she finally managed to slide the last pin into place. She broke her right hoof free of the shackle, grinning in triumph!
15 seconds.
“Not enough time left, kid.” Trixie concentrated as hard as she could on the next one, but felt exceptionally drained. She stared up at the guillotine.
“I’m going to die... But... I’ll be a legend...”
10 seconds.
“You can’t pull it off kid, but don’t feel too bad...” The white unicorn reached down with her teeth and pulled at the scarf.
5 seconds.
“After all... I couldn’t either.” The scarf flew away, Trixie’s eyes widening in shock. The other unicorn’s neck had a long, clean cut across it encrusted in dried blood.
“Y-You’re–”
0 seconds.
The bladed clock-hand cut the guillotine rope with a swift slash, the blade rushing down at Trixie’s neck. She struggled to force herself out of the shackles, but it was no use. All she could do was close her eyes and scream as loud as she could before the end...
Suddenly, Trixie was surrounded by absolute silence, not even the ambient noise of the crowd around her humming in the room. She opened her eyes and darted them back and forth. She found herself lying alone in the middle of the empty warehouse with the faint moonlight filtering in.
“I... I’m alive. But... But the trick!” Trixie looked around the room and shouted into the darkness.
“Let me do it again! Please! I’m begging you! Let me try it again!” Tears began to well up in her eyes, the one on her left streaming down her cheek. “I know I can do it! Just let me try one more time!” Her shouts began choked with sobs, echoing softly across the dead warehouse walls.
“I’m... The Great and... Powerful... Trixie...” She collapsed onto the floor, completely alone on the warehouse floor... Save for a lone top hat and red scarf lying to her right side.
Trixie Lulamoon, deprived of her moment of glory by one of the former Masters of her craft. She'll walk out of this warehouse alive, but in the pillory of that guillotine, something in her died that night. To this day, she wanders still, haunted not by an otherworldly presence, but by the absence of something that drove her...