The sun shone brightly through the trees as the fiery mass peaked over the horizon. A soft fall wind brushing through the trees and across the well-traveled road.
Tap, tap, tap...
A unicorn methodically trotted along the cobblestone path pulling along a bulging yellow cart. The fall air swished through the unicorn's mane gently tossing its long prim strands around her hat. The mare strode with purpose, lost in thought as the beautiful day begin unnoticed.
This was the time, time to win over yet another town. To spread her power and influence in the minds of others. Another challenger stood before The Great and Powerful Trixie, Ponyville.
She had fought hard in the past few months, Appaloosa, Dodge City, Baltimare, Filly Delphia, Hallow Shades, and her home town Manehattan. The Great and Powerful Trixie defeated them all. That was not to say they didn’t fight back, each city brought its own set of unique challenges. Specialized mages, magical landmarks, and even mystic weather which disobeyed the natural order. Trixie had over overshadowed them all, placing her image atop a pedestal of glory. The journey had been long and hard, and with several dozen more cities left on the map Trixie braced herself for a rocky ride. Although, if there was one thing that Trixie had learned about herself over these last few months it was how devilishly clever she could get when pushed to her limits.
The last two towns, as well as Baltimare before were especially challenging for Trixie. Baltimare was open to the sea’s influence which left little unknown to its residents. Trixie smiled slyly as she reminisced on her masterful plan which won over its residence. The other two weren’t quite as difficult as they were grating. Two small frontier cities were newly constructed and inhabited by simple folk who were hardly worth the trouble and had left a particularly dirty taste in her mouth.
Suffice to say, The Great and Powerful Trixie was a face for the masses. For those who could fully appreciate the glory of her performances. A magician who, in the next year, would be begged to come and perform in Canterlot for the Royal Princesses.
This was her dream, what Trixie really wanted. This is what made Trixie feel alive!
It was with this in mind that Trixie planned out her tour through all of the major cities. Traveling to Manehatten, Baltimare, Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Vanhoover, and lastly Canterlot to finish the tour. The decision to visit Los Pegasus was critical to her success. It was only after planning out her route did she find out that the city was floating in the sky. Now quite a few smaller towns on the way were being graced with her presence as she learned up on cloud magic.
The rural town would inevitably be filled with simple folk and their ilk resulting in more headaches for Trixie. She wasn't ready to face the music in Las Pegasus yet. Ponyville can't be as bad as committing an untested spell she only attempted a half dozen times to save her life from instant death by gravity.
Ponyville itself looked like an easy target from the outside. Like Appaloosa or Dodge City before it, the backwater town of Ponyville will be more than happy with a simple magic show to brighten up their dull little town. What had Trixie worried was The Elements of Harmony. They were an unknown quantity, a Known Unknown, which weighed heavily on her thoughts as she traveled.
She had heard The Elements they were just like normal ponies, but that didn't make sense with the tales of how they defeated the dark alicorn Nightmare Moon.
Trixie came to a halt just outside of the town, her rough breathing calming as a wave of exhaustion washed over her body, the long trek from Appaloosa hadn’t been as relaxing as she had hoped.
Time to set the stage. She thought, compelling her aching body back to action; Trixie began the ritual of preparing her cart for the show, first dismounting herself then...
Whoooooosh…
A gust of wind brushed against Trixie’s sweaty fur soothing her stiff stature. She sighed deeply, as the beautiful weather finally registered in her previously occupied mind. She stood resting momentarily, a calm serenity taking hold as her gaze drifted toward the sun rising above the tree line to proclaim the beginning of a new day.
Creak.
“NO!” Trixie screamed as she turned and darted after her cart which was picking up speed down the slight incline. Trixie snagged the cart's mount with her teeth, digging her hooves into the ground as the two slowed to a stop.
“No, no you don’t, Prestige. No one runs from The Great and Powerful Trixie. Not again.” she mumbled into the leather girth caught between her teeth. The freezing-cold Foul Mountains had taught Trixie an important lesson. Never leave your cart, Prestige, unattended, gravity has a sick sense of humor.
Trixie tugged at Prestige, pulling it into a grove surrounded by tall bushes. Then she methodically surrounded each wheel with dozens of small rocks. She would not be the victim of another cart gone loose incident, and until she could buy a new cart-break this was the only solution.
Now secure, Prestige sat in the middle of the grove awaiting its master’s inspection. Trixie happily obliged the cart, diving first into the pyrotechnics. Trixie's specialized collection of rockets, flairs, and sparklers were sporadically clustered throughout the cart. Trixie groaned as she cleared the small living area of the rocketry, the bumpy trip having knocked several items onto the floor and bed.
Trixie placed fireworks back in their rightful places, counting them as she did. Trixie continued for another half-hour, arranging the living space back to what was comfortable and a quick maintenance check thereafter.
Maintenance checklist complete she pulled the lever. The cart worked much like a jack-in-the-box transforming the unsuspecting yellow cart into a small stage with an array of contraptions. The complex mechanical miracle had been the result of hundreds of hours of tinkering, the small minute details gave the small broad stage an aura of both exhilaration and mysticism.
Trixie stood back admiring the masterpiece which was her Prestige. The many gadgets and eye candy plastered across the weathered stage sent a torrent of nostalgia through the magician, reinvigorating her passion for performance.
Trixie pulled a different lever, collapsing the hidden stage back into the unsuspecting cart. Now, time to get to work! Trixie grinned as she compiled her plans, a giddy joy visible in her movements.
Where’s that checklist again. She fumbled through her saddleback till pulling out a small notepad, with the words “Idea bank” on the back.
Firstly, I need to build up some hype. In the past, newspapers seemed to have worked to my advantage. Very easy to work with and great for getting lots of viewers. Trixie bit her lip I just wish I knew a mare in the local press who could run news real for me. That’s off the list if I want to make a shortstop.
Trixie looked down at the notepad again ‘Use children to market your shows so that parents will be dragged along for the ride.’ Haven’t used this one yet. Well, there is a first for everything. more ideas formed as Trixie scribbled in her notepad.
A massive maniacal grin overtook her usually broad face as she finished scribbling.
Trixie chuckled to herself and headed to the local schoolyard. Its wasn't a long walk but after such a long journey Trixie's pace left little to be asked for in term of speed, or stealth. A half an hour later she arrived at the fence which bordered the local foul school. She was lucky, the school had just let out for recess. Trixie peered through the fence rails scouting for her soon to be volunteer promoters. Getting volunteer promoters would take some doing, but this wasn't Trixie’s first time trying something risky in the name of advancing her image. Trixie, prepared for the worst, but hoped for the best beginning “Operation Marionette”.
The school bell rang, stifling the calm late-morning air with its abrupt arrival. Fouls began to pour out of the school, the usual chaos calmed by mixture of worry and relief. Two fouls in particular, Snips and Snails absentmindedly fumbling into the schoolyard.
“Why do tests have to be so hard?” Snails complained.
“Yeah dude, that entire test was really hard, everything but that last question I just guessed on.”
Snails chuckled, “Yea, I liked that one, an easy one for sure. I put D.”
“What?” Snips interjected, “but the answer was A. Don’t you remember anything from class.”
“Uhhh Snails, I am pretty sure that Pegasus need magic to fly. One of my uncles, Uncle Brandy I think. He’s a Pegasus and he said that the wing is only part of the reason he can fly.”
“That’s not magic, magic is what unicorns do with their horns.” snips barked back.
“No, Pegasus also use magic!” Snails said raising his voice.
“Uhhhh. I am pretty sure that one was E. Actually,” a colt smaller interrupted.
“What?” Snips and Snails exclaimed.
The intruder, a colt with the white coat and dark brown mane continued, “Yea, back home I heard that all ponies have magic, even the Earth Ponies,” the newcomer stated somewhat confidently.
“Oh, and who are you?” Snips accused.
“Pipsqueak, I join your class this week, remember?”
“Ohh, you're from Trottingham, right?” snails asked.
“Yep,” nodded Pipsqueak, “best city in the world!”
“Well, I am not sure what they say over there, but here in Ponyville magic is for unicorns only!” Snips exclaimed.
“Pegasus and Uni . . .”
“Unicorns!” Snips hollered trying the end the argument with yelling power.
“No, Pegasus def-”
“Why don’t you go ask Cheerilee?” Pip interjected.
“Good idea, Let's-” Snails said.
“No!” retorted snips, “If we ask Cheerilee we’ll become teacher’s pets.” Snips and snail both made gaging faces, as they considered the consequences.
“You're right, but then how do we . . .”
The two looked toward the younger colt expectantly.
“Hmm, You could ask another student, I hear that Sweetie bell gets a perfect score on every test. I sit next to her and she talks ‘bout how her sister wants her to get the best education. She is always complaining ‘bout how she has better things to do than sit at home and work on school."
“Ok, then let’s go talk to Sweetie belle. Uhhh... where is she?” Snips said.
“I think she is over by sandboxes, before the test she was talking about wanting to try out a new pattern or something,” Pip Squeak, shuffled to take his leave.
“Come on, let’s go!” Snips said hurriedly as he ran off.
“Uhhh, thanks Pip,” Snails said before turning and running after Snips.
“Uh yeah, no problem.”
Snips and snails ran to the sandboxes.
“AHHHH! It’s moving!” a scream echoed throughout the yard.
The two foals tripped at the sudden outburst, crashing into each other rolling to a stop at the source of the scream. Diamond Tierra was sitting at the edge of the sandbox, eyes wide as her hooves flailed wildly trying to pull her body away from the thing.
What she was referring to was a glowing wooden puppet mechanically walking toward the sandboxes. The toy was a simple creature composed of a small body with four extruded legs and unusually large head. Its mane, if you could call it that, was a stiff curl of brown hair about its neck.
“How’s it going my little ponies?”
No response came from the foals, as an eerie silence enveloping the crowd. The group eyed the toy suspiciously.
“Ehhh I usually get this reaction, I know I am not a pony.” A few of the larger fouls gave it a threatening look as they approached. “But please don't hurt me,” it pleaded.
“Hurt you? But you're the most adorable thing ever!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Moving up to the toy.
“Well thanks” the toy grimaced in surprise. “But I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for this one pony. The most beautiful and magical unicorn I ever laid eyes on” The doll gazed into the distance with its eyes detached from the world. “You see, she's the one that made me.”
“WHAT?” Snips and Snails exclaimed. “I was...” the toy began. “You mean that you were given life, by a pony?” snips rudely interrupted.
“Yep, all I remember is that one day I woke up and The Great and Powerful Trixie was there. Since then she has let me be her assistant, and I am here to see if anyone wants to come with me this afternoon to see The Great and Powerful Trixie perform magical feats beyond imagination right here in Ponyville!” The ponies became ecstatic with excitement at the idea of seeing a unicorn that could make their toys come to life. “Now remember to bring your parents, you wouldn't want them to be worried about where you were”
A few of the ponies winced at the idea of having to convince their parents to come to the show. “Don't worry The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't charge for her to shows.” A cheer range out as the ponies rejoiced at the opportunity to see a real magic show.
There was a buzz in the air as the hyperactive colts and fillies ran about in excitement for the evening’s entertainment. The creature leaked a guilty smile at the crowd as their hype grew and grew to riotous levels. But then, like clockwork, the bell rang out across the schoolyard. A torrent of moans cascaded through the crowd as the fouls headed back to their classes.
“Well, I’ll see you at the performance, remember to bring your parents,” the doll turned to walk out of the yard but was stopped by Snips and Snails.
“So,” Snips started, “I was wondering if The Great and Powerful Trixie ever told you anything about magic.”
“Well, I should get going . . . I don’t want my master to worry that I've gotten lost.”
“Please, it’s just a quick question.”
The toy stopped walking, “Ok but make it quick, I really need to go help The Great and Powerful Trixie prepare for this afternoon.”
“Ok, the question is: What kinds of Ponies have magic?”
A. Unicorn.
B. Pegasus.
C. Earth Ponies.
D. A & B.
E. All of the above.
Snails stated verbatim from the test.
“Well, the answer is E. Anyone should know that. But Unicorns are the only ones with any real magic, they just say that Pegasus and Earth Ponies have magic because it makes us all equals, even when we aren’t.”
“Snips and Snails, hurry on inside we are starting class soon” Cheerilee called.
“Ohh, uhhh, what do you mean by equal?" Snips asked.
"Snips, hurry up!" Cherrilee called frustrated at the colt's tardiness.
"Ehhh, ok thanks, bye.” Snips ended before running inside.
The toy happily skipped across the schoolyard to joined its “master” in the bushes.
“Yes!” Trixie squealing with the excitement of a filly who just got her cutie mark. The plan went perfectly! She sat there resting in the bushes, a smile etched across her sweaty face. Trixie was proud of her setup, using a telekinetic reflection spell on the doll and herself while simultaneously powering the short-range transmitter. It was a challenging combination, but not beyond her abilities and so evidently very convincing.
She started wondering why nopony else hadn’t ever done this before, children were the perfect tools for advertisement. There was some serious potential for advertisement here. Foals were persistent, energetic, and annoying the best qualities for any advertiser. Trixie took another glance back the schoolyard admiring her work as the last few foals disappeared into the building.
Her eyes shifted back to her miracle worker, the transmitter. The device was old, she had been told that there were only a few others like it left in the world. When she was an assistant for Jack Rabbit’s magic show in Manehattan before her days as a traveling performer she had access to some of the more sophisticated enchanted tools used in the industry. Black Flair formerly known as Jack Rabbit for his famous rabbit in a hat trick used these tools to communicate while doing high-level escape tricks so that he could communicate with his co-workers if there were ever any complications.
Trixie always admired Black Flair for his tenacity to try ever increasingly challenging stunts. Although after the incident she was left without work and the entire studio was shut down, the admiration she once held for the stallion was now shame and disappointment. She hadn't seen him since and the void left in the wake of her unemployment was unforgivable. The entire affair was simply unforgivable.
Though on the positive side of things, during the chaos of the studio closing down... Well, let’s just say Trixie thought she deserved some extra payment for her work and acquired a few trinkets as a pension before the condemned studio closed down for good.
Maybe it’s time I start practicing some of those higher-level tricks. The last few performances were more flair than substance. She sighed, committing to more studying in the future.
Trixie only used production, vanishing, and restoration type magic tricks which encompassed most of the commonly practiced acts. She had considered adapting other tricks into her performances. For this show, however, simple tricks would be the best since any added complexities would be lost on her audience and also make the show unnecessarily difficult.
Never enough room for error...
Magician’s Oath started to play in the back of Trixie’s head, like a tape recorder magically engrained into her brain it reminded her. As a magician I promise to never to reveal the secrets of my magic to a non-magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Magician’s Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any magic for any non-magician without first practicing the effect until I can perform safely without error. I promise to uphold the wellbeing of my fellow magicians and audience above all other ambition.”
And I promise The Great and Powerful Trixie will rise above them all! Trixie always liked to add that little part at the end but dared not say it out loud back under Black Flair’s tutorage. The proud stallion always had a thing for order and made the whole staff repeat the oath at the start of each day. At first, Trixie was very irritated by the elongated oath, but the oath soon became routine and over time she took a liking to it. Now the oath served as a focal point to which she could center her mind. A single statement that brought her magic and performing finesse to their peaks.
Hours passed as Trixie set up the final details for the show. The streets of Ponyville lined with expectant ponies as she happily pulled Prestige through Ponyville. Trixie was thrilled to see the large crowd awaiting her arrival in the town square.
Taking in a few deep breaths, she glances back to her audience preparing herself to start the performance. The audience size was amazing she really underestimated the effectiveness of her advertisement. Trixie momentarily regretted saying that show was a free performance, she could have made bank with this crowd.
Focus! Now is not the time to get sidetracked, there might be the elements of harmony out there and I can't let myself be shadowed by them. She breathed a few more times. Then began!