//------------------------------//
// Pieces fall into, and out of place. 
// Story: The Great and Powerful Escape Artist! 
// by Phoenix Quill 
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Trixie's stomach growled. Nopony could really blame her, however, given her situation. It has been two days since she last ate or drank anything and she was now finding how cruel pegasi can be.

"You want this cake?"

"Trixie wants it."

"You want this taco?"

"Yes, Trixie is hungry."

"Well then come on out and we'll give you some of this tasty popcorn!"

Trixie stared through the thick plastic at the ponies around her sitting on clouds, several ponies had cloud walking spells enacted upon them and paid for a cloud ride just to tease Trixie with food and drink. Unfortunately for her, this also meant that she could not relieve herself and was now constantly pacing back and forth. Not that doing so would be of much help without someplace for it to go. Trixie never planned for that.

As she looked over at the ponies surrounding her, she noticed that their eyes followed every move she made in the box. "I wonder what's going on below?"

As Trixie contemplated this, she looked to the west and saw the sun setting-down below the horizon, finally signaling the end of her second day. "That's it then, tomorrow I make my great escape!"





Essence watched as the train pulled into the station and smiled brightly, as the doors opened to reveal Dark Star's smiling face. "Misser Mouse, where have you been?"

He quickly hopped out of the train and gave his wife a quick kiss before explaining himself. "Sorry love, I stopped up at Canterlot for a bit to see my aunt about loaning me my cousin."

"You didn't tell her what you wanted him for, right?"

Dark Star waved a hoof nonchalantly with a smile. "Of course not, love. I just said that I needed him for a gig, they don't need to know what we do besides play music."

The two smiled for a few moments by the train, watching as other passengers got out to stretch for a few moments, or gallop into the arms of a loved one they were planning on staying with. It was at that moment that Dark Star spotted her. "Say, isn't that...?"

"Beauty Brass! So good to see you again, did you bring the rest of the group?"

The blue earth pony dropped her case and immediately hugged the mare that greeted her. "Octavia! I missed you so much. How is your vacation here in Ponyville?"

Dark Star and Essence crept closer to the pair like a moth to a flame as the two continued to exchange greetings. "Oh things are going fine. Royal Ribbon came earlier and is staying with Lyra. My cousin Fiddlesticks and I are staying at her cousin's apple farm."

Beauty threw a foreleg over her chest, as she looked Octavia over. "Oh my, I do hope your doing fine there."

Octavia gave off a small smile. "Well it's not quite what I am used to but the Apples are real nice, and treat me like family. Well, I technically am, however distant it is, but still family none the less."

"Excuse me," Dark Star interrupted, "but aren't you two from the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra?"

Beauty Brass looked the pair over for a few moments with a frown. "I don't know what they teach out here in this 
unsophisticated little town, but it is rude to interrupt ladies when they are talking. However, yes, we are."

Dark Star smiled wide as his wife rolled her eyes at his obvious fanboying. "I just wanted to say that I saw you playing at the Royal Canterlot Hall and I was so moved by the way your group played. I hope you are planning on a performance here."

The two musicians looked at each other for a few moments before finally acknowledging him back. "We are planning a small get together tomorrow, yes. But we have some business to attend to first, so wherever we play will probably be at a friends venue or home."

Dark Star and Essence looked at each other in confusion for a few moments before they shrugged. "Well it was nice to meet you both, come on love."

With all that said and done, Essence and her husband trotted into town and had a quiet argument between them if they could manage to get money out of this or not. They were so into their conversation, that they did not realize that they never saw the tower of scrolls being carried by the town's resident dragon and assistant to Twilight Sparkle, Spike.

Poor Spike, he just simply could not catch a break that day. First he was forced to stay the night with Pinkie Pie. While it doesn't sound so bad to have a sleepover with the town's party pony, it lead to a long night, with Spike being kept up till nearly sunrise, talking to, or rather listening to Pinkie Pie talking about everything while getting nothing said at all.

Spike finally fell asleep at four thirty in the morning, only to be awoken by an alarm clock that was quite possibly invented by a mad scientist, or Pinkie herself. Either or; same difference. Moments afterward he discovered how Pinkie was so energetic all day. The answer was coffee. Lots and lots of coffee, which Spike drank a liberal amount of as well.

After a few hours Spike was picked up by Twilight, who took his sudden jumpy energy as a sign that he had a good nights sleep, and immediately sent him on an all day long shopping trip. It had taken till just then, to grab the last thing on the list: one hundred scrolls of paper.

With so much paper in his arms, he never saw the oncoming pair of ponies, bickering about whether or not they could get money out of some musicians. Soon enough he found himself flat on his back with the two ponies passing by him without even an "Excuse me." or "Here let me help you.".

As the young dragon lay on his back, under a pile of now-dirty scrolls, he groaned aloud. "Yep, it's one of those days..."





It was an hour after sunset before Lyra Heartstrings finally was able to close the shop. She was so busy that she had to forgo her lunch break, and stay open late for all the customers.

Nearly everything was sold, with almost one hundred special orders, and almost a hundred more for the things she ran out of!

Yet, she could not go home. Lyra looked outside her shop, up and down the road for a few moments,  made sure the coast was clear, then locked herself in the closed shop and headed into the back room.

The back room was lit by a single lamp, and was filled with the sound of bickering ponies, as they argued about the best route to take in the situation at hoof. Lyra looked at the eight musicians before standing on her hind legs and whistling into both her front hooves. "Alright, everypony!"

Suddenly the loud sound of obvious fake coughing in the seek of attention drew the rest of the eyes on a gryphon sitting in the back, with his talons folded together and an intimidating frown on his beak. "Sorry, I have no idea vere dat came from," he spoke the words with a thick Gryphonian accent.*

Lyra paused as she took notice of the gryphon. "Sorry Sven, everybody, I think that it is time we get down to details, gathered here we have Beauty Brass, Octavia, Harpo, Royal Ribbon, and Fredric Horseshoepin from Canterlot, Fiddlesticks, Vinyl Scratch and myself representing Ponyville, and last, but certainly not least you all know Sven, the drummer from Germaneigh, currently on tour here in Equestria,"

"Ve know who ve are, get on vith it!" Sven called out from the back of the room before the rest of the group nodded and called out in agreement.

"Sorry," Lyra winced as she spoke. "I'm not used to speaking with groups and thought introductions would be needed. Anyhow, you are all here today to answer to the threat of boredom."

"The Boars are attacking?" Vinyl asked as she raised raised her shades and started to pull her bass canon closer to her.

"No, I think that she's trying to be dramatic again,"

"I MEANT, that Ponyville is in serious trouble!" Lyra finally interrupted. "Everyone here, I am sure, is finding it increasingly difficult to book a venue here, without raising suspicion with the local mob, the so-called Musicians Mafia."

FIddlesticks slammed a hoof down on the table. "Them goons charged me an' my group an' arm and a leg for playin' music last Nightmare Night!"

"I must say that my cousin is right. Two of those goons, as she called them, harassed Brass and myself at the train station, under the guise of being fans."

"Dey are currently extracting ten marks a day from me for holding my clarinet and reeds at a verehause I never asked to be put into!"

"AND THEY DROPPED THE BASS!" Vinyl screamed over the rest holding up a broken bass guitar. "My beautiful bass..."

"That's all fine and good, but why are we all here right now?" Fredric asked as he looked up from the notepad he was writing music notes on.

Lyra, Octavia, Vinyl, Brass and Ribbon looked at each other and shared a small grin before Lyra finally explained. "We have a plan."





Trixie tried to settle down in the same corner as last night, but found that she just couldn't get any sleep. Hunger gnawed at her stomach like a pack of parasprites and thunder rumbled across the sky, as several pegasi gathered storm clouds for the night. "Trixie demands to know if she will be struck down by lightning tonight!"

A passing pegasus stopped to answer, although briefly. "Don't worry, Captain Rainbow Dash has special instructions to make this a low energy storm. Besides, you're not grounded. If anything, it would just pass you by."

Soon enough, all the pegasi flew away, leaving Trixie alone for the first time all day. With the public eye off of her, she could finally drop the act and be herself, in the situation she was placed in. That of being a grown mare, scared to death of being cooked alive by lightning.

As she lay on the bottom of the box, she hid under her cape, and using her hat like a pillow, she tried to relax. That was when the first raindrop hit the box.

Thunder rumbled once again, as the storm really started to get some momentum to it. Rain pelted the box like an angry child, and she felt all-at-once terrified and glad that the water was not finding a way in through the wooden top of the box.

That security was short-lived. The hastily crafted wood that made up the topside of the box, was never stained or varnished to be water proof, and soon began to drip water into the box. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

As the rain continued to pour, Trixie began to feel sick, while the wind howled and rocked the box on the chain it was suspended from. Furthermore, the rain continued to pour into the box at a rapid rate leaving an inch of water on the floor. "Well, it could be worse. At least I'm not grounded."

That was when fate decided to laugh at her and throw a lightning bolt her way, instantly frying the unicorn standing in an inch of water. "Joy..."