It was finally here, the day that everypony was waiting for.
With all the aggressive advertising that Trixie's team had pulled off, it would have been amazing if nopony showed up at all. What nopony expected was for almost the entire town to show up!
The stage was set, as Twilight Sparkle and Trixie made some last minute preparations back stage, "Are you sure you want to do this Trixie? It's not too late to back out now."
Trixie snapped the button on her cape and adjusted her collar before answering, "After those two threatened me? I normally am not above running away, but threaten Trixie's life and limb over something as shallow as bits? That's low."
Twilight raised an eye, "Isn't this whole stunt about bits?"
"Ah, tut-tut-tut-tut-tut, shush." Trixie said as she lowered her hat onto her head, "That's different, we are talking lively hood and honorable work via entertainment, not strong arming innocent ponies."
"I still don't know why you just didn't call the police." Twilight said with a huff.
"Twilight Sparkle, if they are really a mafia as I suspect, they probably pay off the law enforcement!" she looked herself over for a moment before continuing, "It would just inconvenience them enough that Trixie would have to pay more bits!"
Twilight gave off a sigh before looking at a clock, "Well we have two minutes before Lyra introduces the show and we come out. Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." the would be escape artist said with a grin.
"Okay, let's get in position."
Lyra Heartstrings was off to the side of the stage. Despite the fact that she wasn't the star of the show, she was nervous. "So, this is your big break is it?"
Lyra looked up at a grey earth pony with a neatly brushed black mane and tail. She had purple eyes, a purple treble clef cutie mark, and was sporting a pink bowtie on a collar. Lyra snorted and replied, "The only things I ever break are strings."
The two mares looked at each other with a smile before they gave each other a hug, "It's been so long Lyra! You know Canterlot just isn't the same without you."
"Oh I know but, I gotta go where I gotta go." the unicorn answered with a smile, "By the way I have something for you," She leaned down under her table to a set of saddle bags, "Give Baritone my regards.
The grey agent gave a narrow look at the paper wrapped package, "Of course. Well, I'm off to watch the show for now. See you on stage!"
Lyra smiled wide and gave a wave, "Yeah, see you after the show!"
Dark Star and Essence sat down together in the field before the stage as they waited for the show to begin, and made sure to count as many heads as possible in the venue, "Looks like a full house missus mouse."
Essence snorted out her nose, "All I see are bits flowing into our pockets when this is all said and done misser mouse."
Dark Star smiled as he watched Lyra walk up the short set of stairs onto the raised platform, "The stage is set, and the band is about ready I think." he commented as Lyra took up the microphone.
"Fillys and Gentlecolts, as owner of Lyra's Music Exchange and Artifacts Boutique, it is my pleasure as the management to bring you, The Great and Powerful Escape Artist, TRIXIE!"
The ponies watching the stage applauded politely as they waited for the show to go on, "And remember to come by Lyra's Music Exchange for all your musical needs! Thank you."
Again some polite applause before Lyra made her exit off the stage.
Suddenly some fireworks went off around the stage as fanfare began to play, "Everypony please rise up for the Great and Powerful, TRIXIE!"
The curtain dropped and there she was, the mare that had trapped Ponyville. The town reacted exactly as expected, by attempting to lob rotten eggs, fruit and vegetables at the stage midst a shout of "BOO!"
The projectiles never stood much of a chance as they bounced harmlessly away from the stage and fell in the space between the crowd and the stage that had been left empty for just this reason, "Thank you! Thank you! The Great and Powerful Trixie is so happy to know that you remember her, even if it is in this fashion."
A grey pegasus stallion with black and green mane suddenly flew up a ways and shouted over the crowd, "YOU SUCK!"
"HEY NO REFUNDS!"
A few ponies groaned loud enough for Trixie to actually feel the stage shake slightly. "Now, for the moment you all have been waiting for. To assist me, may I introduce Twilight Sparkle!"
The purple unicorn entered from stage right just as practiced with a smile and a tumultuous round of applause from the audience. Trixie smiled as things were going exactly as she expected them to. "Please introduce yourself to the crowd."
Twilight cleared her throat before speaking, "My name is Twilight Sparkle," she paused for some more applause, "and I would like to show you this!" horn aglow she magically grabbed onto a sheet, throwing it off of a giant plastic box with a wooden top lid.
A few of the ponies gave an audible ooh sound as Trixie met up with Twilight Sparkle, "This box was designed by myself to be unbreakable. It was based on the late great Hoofdini's infamous escape box, and as such there is only one way to enter this box, here through a door on top." Twilight said as she pointed out the features of the box.
Several ponies looked even closer at the box and murmured among themselves, "Furthermore," Trixie started, "to commemorate that the great Hoofdini was in fact an earth pony, yet still managed to amaze ponies with his escape artistry and slight of hoof, I shall escape from this box without the aid of magic!"
The murmur turned into a veritable buzz as the ponies got very excited over this fact. Twilight then held up a small ring, "This as you may recognize is an inhibitor ring, on loan from the Ponyville Police Department. It prevents unicorns from casting any spells whatsoever. Would anypony care to come up to demonstrate this in front of the audience?"
The ponies all looked at each other for a few moments, but no hooves came up to the air, "How about... you?" Trixie said as she pointed out to the crowd.
"Me?" A blue unicorn with a grey mane and lighter blue eyes said as he held a hoof to his chest.
"Yes you, with the lightbulb cutie mark! Come on up here and show your peers that this is the real thing!" Trixie said with a flourish.
The stallion walked onto the stage and smiled as the crowd stomped their hooves politely for him, "So tell Trixie, what is your name?"
"My name is Bright Idea, and I sell electronic devices, like lamps and bulbs and maybe some day radios." a lone pony gave a whoot over the crowd as he blushed on stage.
"Alright," Twilight said with a smile, if you would please demonstrate that you can use some magic by levitating this apple."
The stallion smiled as he easily lifted the apple up in the air. He held it for a few moments before lowering it back down on the small table.
"Very good, now I will simply slide this ring over your horn," Twilight did so with a small smile, "now if you would be so kind to try again?"
The unicorn struggled for a few moments as he tried to direct the power to do so. When nothing happened he shrugged, "I can't, I just simply can't."
Twilight then slid the ring off his horn and smiled, "Thank you for demonstrating for us, you may keep the apple!" The stallion grinned as he grabbed the apple with his magic and ran off before he was asked to do some other arbitrary thing.
"I will now slide the ring over Trixie's horn." Twilight said as she raised it over her head with her magic, "Any last things you wish to do with your magic before I place it over your head, followed by you in the box for three days?"
Trixie gave off a smug grin, "Only this," she cast a spell as Twilight grew a rediculously over sized mustache. "Trixie is ready now."
Twilight groaned as she cast the counter spell to make the mustache disappear as the ponies in the audience laughed a little bit. She slid the ring onto Trixie's horn then levitated the blue unicorn up to the top of the box.
Trixie opened the trap style door and jumped in, immediately Twilight cast a spell causing a lock to appear making the door sealed tight, "And now, to help us raise the stakes here, may I present Rainbow Dash!"
The ponies applauded again as the sky blue pegasus brought down decent sized cloud and left it hovering above the box. Chains quickly wrapped themselves around the cloud, cast so that they could grip onto it. "Alright Dash, raise her up!"
With the command given Rainbow Dash grabbed the cloud and lifted as Twilight helped levitate the box. Higher and higher into the air until Trixie and the box she was within was almost a thousand feet up in the air.
Twilight stopped casting her spell, as Dash dove back down to the stage, "Thank you for coming everypony and paying for your tickets. Be sure to keep them and return in three days when Trixie makes her great escape! Rainbow Dash called out with a grin as the two ponies bowed before the audience.
And just like that, the show was over. Trixie smiled inside her box as she watched some ponies file away, while others decided to stick around and see if she did anything embarrassing while up there.
A pegasus flew by her box, "Hope you don't have to use the bathroom!"
"This is going to be a long three days," Trixie said as she slapped her face with a hoof.