//------------------------------// // Act I, Scene 4: Upstagings // Story: Summer Sun, Dawning Chaos // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie was humming a little ditty to herself as she pranced down the street toward the town square. Maggie Pie walked beside her, smiling slightly at her sister’s boundless and infectious cheerfulness. Both mares were bearing saddlebags packed with party supplies, quite possibly more than anypony except Pinkie could physically stuff into a bag if Maggie knew her sister. The light grey earth pony bucked slightly to jostle her load and get a better feel for the weight. It didn’t seem exceptionally heavy, but that wasn’t always an indicator of certainty. Pinkie had once had Maggie carry a bag that had turned out to contain a number of rather large rocks, but which had felt like it weighed only a few pounds. She was brought out of her ponderings when Pinkie came to a sudden stop next to her. Looking up, Maggie saw a small crowd of ponies gathering in front of a large caravan wagon parked near the pavilion. “What’s going on here?” she asked. “I don’t know,” Pinkie said, “But I think I see Twilight up at the front. She’ll know what’s up; she’s in charge of knowing what everypony’s doing today. Come on.” The pair made their way across the square and around the crowd. As they approached, they saw an azure pony in a purple pointed hat and cape slink around to the back of the wagon, eyeing the crowd critically. Pinkie’s eyebrows rose a little at the sight, but she stayed focused on reaching her scholarly friend. With a minimum of jostling, she and Maggie made it past the ponies circling around the front of the wagon and came up next to Twilight, who was looking nervously out at the growing herd of spectators, and Lyra ,who was focused on the wagon. “Hey girls,” Pinkie said, grabbing their attention, “Was it my imagination, or did I just see Trixie around here?” “Hey Pinkie,” Twilight said, and then looked curiously at Maggie. “Twilight, Lyra,” Pinkie said, “This is my sister Maggie, from the rock farm. Maggie, this is Twilight Sparkle and Lyra Heartstrings.” “It’s nice to meet you,” Maggie said, nodding at the unicorns. “Charmed,” Lyra said distractedly, “Not to be rude, but we’re a bit busy right now Pinkie.” She nodded at the wagon, “Last minute applicant for tomorrow’s entertainment.” “Oh, okie dokie,” Pinkie said. She took a few steps toward the crowd and took a seat, waiting expectantly. As Maggie and Twilight went to sit next to her, the wagon began to unfold into a stage as a fanfare of trumpets played. “Come on, come all,” a sonorous voice called out as thick lavender smoke billowed up, “Come and witness the greatest show to ever travel the roads of Equestria!” The silhouette of a pony in a tall pointed hat and a flared cape became visible within the smokescreen, and large silvery stars materialized and began to swirl about through the air, slowing drawing together to settle upon the figure’s hat and cape. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, we present to you The Great and Powerful Trixie’s Traveling Thespians!” The smoke parted and blew away to reveal the infamous showmare herself, head held high to soak in the praise and applause that was sadly lacking among the audience. Pinkie Pie’s hoof-pounding and whistling tried to make up for the lack, but succeeded only in drawing attention off the stage and onto the party pony. Having expected a lackluster welcome, Trixie was only mildly disappointed. Swallowing a sigh and reminding herself to stay patient, she turned her gaze downward to look at Lyra and continued her spiel, “You will stand in awe as Trixie performs amazing feats of magic never before witnessed by pony kind!” “Can you make yourself disappear?” a voice called out from the audience, garnering a laugh. Before Trixie could formulate a response, she saw a tomato wrapped in a magic aura floating upward out of the crowd. Not this time, she thought with a smirk. Keeping her eye on the red vegetable, she backed up three steps and raised her right rear hoof in expectation. “Disappearances, illusions, tran-” she cut off her speech and stamped down as the tomato began flying toward her. On cue, an earth pony dressed in a full suit patterned in yellow, green, and red and wearing a black mask over the top half of his face bounded through the curtains behind Trixie, leaped over her in a forward flip, caught the tomato in his mouth, and landed squarely on his back hooves while holding his front legs out to either side. The audience stared in silent surprise for a moment, but then a smattering of applause and appreciative murmuring broke out. Trixie gave a satisfied smile behind the cover of Harlequin’s body, but then the stallion lost his balance and fell with an exaggerated yelp onto the magician. The crowd laughed as Trixie lifted Harlequin off of herself and dropped him onto the stage next to her. He landed in a tumble that brought him to his hooves and then bowed deeply, tomato balanced on his head. “Yes,” Trixie said, gesturing to the garishly dressed pony, “you will laugh as the Harlequin storms the stage with his strange clumsy agility. But that is not all.” She brought her legs together in a stiff stance and lowered her hat to cast a shadow over her eyes. “Citizens of Ponyville,” she said darkly, “You think you know the Great and Powerful Trixie as nothing more than a teller of tales. Many of you were impressed by her claim to have vanquished an Ursa Major. That was a lie, the telling of which I have more than paid for. But now, I present to you a pony with even wilder and more unbelievable stories than even Trixie could imagine. What’s more, he comes with proof of the validity of his stories.” She grasped the curtains in her magic as she and Harlequin moved to opposite sides of the stage. “Ponyville,” Trixie said, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is proud to present Captain Barnacle Salt and his greatest catch: Mar the Seapony!” With a grand wave of her hoof, Trixie parted the curtains to reveal the caramel-colored pegasus standing proudly next to a large glass tank filled with water. Inside the tank floated a creature that looked to have the front half of a sea-green pony mare with a blue mane and the tail end of a sea-green fish. Around her neck hung a thin necklace with a small pearl pendant that shone in the sunlight. Her wide golden eyes swept across the audience as she attempted to give everypony a smile. Everypony stared back in amazement. “Incredible,” Twilight said, “A real-life hippocampus.” She turned to Lyra and said, “You have to let them have a spot now!” “I don’t know,” the green unicorn said, “The seapony is impressive, but Trixie still seems to be all talk.” “Well, you can’t expect me to display my entire routine now,” Trixie said, tilting her hat back to its normal position, “not with a crowd this big; there will be no reason to watch us tomorrow. However, I suppose could demonstrate one more trick.” She rolled her eyes back in thought for a moment and then looked out at her audience. “For this trick, the Great and Powerful Trixie requires an assistant. Are there any volunteers?” “Oh, pick me!” Pinkie Pie said instantly, sticking a hoof up in the air as high as she could. “Very well then Pinkie,” Trixie said, smiling and gesturing with a hoof, “hop on up here.” Pinkie took the instruction literally, jumping from her seat and landing squarely next to the showmare with her face out to the audience. “Captain,” Trixie said, turning to look back at Barnacle, “Trixie needs the box. Fetch it will you?” Barnacle gave a quick salute and walked backstage. He returned a moment later pushing a large black box decorated with silver stars and blue wands that matched Trixie’s cutie mark with four wheeled legs that brought the top up to Trixie’s shoulder. He parked it behind Pinkie and went back to stand next to Mar’s tank, the seapony looking relieved to have him next to her again. “What’cha gonna do Trixie?” Pinkie asked, turning around to look the box over as Trixie walked behind it and undid the latches holding the front panel in place. “Move aside for a second,” Trixie instructed. After Pinkie complied, Trixie levitated her hat off of her head and flung it aside. “Somepony asked for a disappearing act,” she projected out over the audience, “The act of rendering a pony invisible is a simple thing for a unicorn of Trixie’s ability.” Her horn flared and she vanished from sight for a second. “Personal teleportation is trickier, and teleporting another object without moving oneself trickier still. All of these you would expect from a pony as Great and Powerful as Trixie. If Trixie is to truly impress upon you her power, she must do better even than that. Trixie shall make this mare vanish without using her horn.” She reached up and tapped the pointed protuberance on her forehead, noting with pleasure the looks of skepticism on the faces of her audience. Even Twilight looked unsure, and Trixie was willing to bet the lavender pony was already trying to puzzle out the trick. It was time to weed out the obvious. “Climb inside the box Pinkie,” the showmare said. “Okie dokie lokie.” Grinning from ear to ear, Pinkie wiggled her way into the box, which was just big enough to contain her and her puffy tail when she tucked her legs underneath her. “Now,” Trixie said, ducking down and crawling under the box before flipping the front panel back into place and locking it, “As you just witnessed, there is nothing between the box and the stage. My horn is not aglow,” she tapped her head again, and then pushed the box around in a three-sixty spin, “and the box is complete on all sides. There is no means short of outright magic of removing Pinkie Pie from the box without- ack!” Out of nowhere arose a cloud of thick red smoke that obscured most of the stage, save for the far end where Harlequin could be seen staring at the smokescreen with a mixture of shock and anger. Over the sound of Trixie and Barnacle coughing, Twilight caught the distinct sound of a teleport spell on the stage, and then she grabbed Lyra with her magic and pulled the unicorn back when the box containing Pinkie came rolling off the stage. It landed on its end and broke open, sending Pinkie tumbling head over hooves onto her back. “Hey!” she exclaimed, leaping to her feet, scowling at the stage, “What was that for?” “Sincerest apologies madam,” a new, clear baritone voice said as the smoke began to thin, “But I had to act in haste.” If the speaker was going to say anything more, it was cut off as a blast of wind launched the smokescreen into the sky and scattered it. The Great and Powerful Trixie’s horn was glowing brightly as she glared daggers at the crimson unicorn with a stylishly short and oiled purple mane and tail who was suddenly on the stage with her, giving her a disgruntled look. “For the love of…” Trixie muttered, and then raised her voice, “Where did you come from this time, Trouble? I thought we’d finally given you the slip in Oat Grove.” “You’re not as slippery as you think you are Trixie,” the stallion replied smugly, “As I tell you every time we meet, you cannot escape the amazing tracking skills of Tremolo!” He reared up in a dramatic leg-pedaling, only to pause and look around the stage curiously. “We ditched the fireworks, if that’s what you’re looking for,” Harlequin said in a level tone. “Why would you not have fireworks?” Tremolo asked Trixie, “you always have fireworks. Your ego demands it.” “My ego demands that I do what it takes to keep the audience’s attention,” Trixie said, “But my stomach made a very strong case for selling what was left after your last interruption of Trixie’s show.” She turned away from him and walked over to where her hat had landed. “And if The Great and Powerful Trixie is bound by ego to use pyrotechnics, what does it say about the Troublesome Tremolo that you’ve used twice as much as I have since we met?” “This isn’t part of the show is it?” Maggie Pie asked, mostly to herself. “It most certainly is not,” Trixie said curtly, turning to look at Maggie and explain. Tremolo stepped in front of her before she could begin. “My friends,” the crimson stallion said in loud declaration, “My name, as you have heard, is Tremolo. I have come here with a mission to expose and denounce.” The crowd broke out into murmurs, wondering what he could possibly mean. At the back of the stage, Barnacle rolled his eyes and started to walk downstage to confront Tremolo, but stopped when Trixie waved him back, answering his questioning look with one that requested a short period of patience. His attention fully on the ponies in front of him, Tremolo didn’t notice this exchange as he continued his speech, “I am here to warn you against the lies and chicanery of the so-called Great and Powerful Trixie!” Silence fell like a stone, as the audience to a pony gave the crimson unicorn a flat, disappointed look. Tremolo had expected gasps and more murmuring, so the reaction caught him off guard. “Lies?” Trixie asked in a scandalized tone after a moment, walking around to bring herself into the audience’s view, “Chicanery? Such horrid accusation you’ve made against Trixie!” She switched to a mockingly flirtatious voice as she smirked at Tremolo, “Do you have any examples to present to these ponies?” Tremolo looked out at the herd, and then narrowed his eyes and whirled on Trixie. “I get it,” he said, “You’ve got these ponies on your side already. This is your hometown isn’t it?” “Hardly,” Trixie said with a laugh, “That would be Hoofington. No, these ponies would love to have another excuse to ride me out of town. Are you going to give them one, or just stand there like gasping fish?” A small wave of chuckles rippled through the crowd as Tremolo snapped his mouth shut and glared at the azure mare. “You’ve claimed to have save Hoofington from a rampaging Ursa Major single-hoofed,” he said at last, “When in fact you-” “She couldn’t even handle an Ursa Minor,” Lyra said, rolling her eyes, “We know. That incident happened here.” “Oh,” Tremolo said, surprised into uncertainty, “Uh… well then! Now that I’ve refreshed your memory- agh!” Having finally had enough, Harelequin had taken a small bite from his captured tomato and then chucked it at Tremolo’s head, where it splattered spectacularly. “Give it up already,” the costumed earth pony said, “You’re just going to make a bigger fool of yourself.” “You’re one to talk, clown,” Tremolo shot back. “I am,” Harlequin said as he sauntered over to the crimson stallion, “See, the thing is, it’s my job to be a fool. What’s yours?” “My job?” Tremolo asked with a snide grin, “Didn’t I make that clear before? It is to pursue the truth and expose the frauds. You play the fool indeed Mr. Harlequin, one who cannot keep an honest bit in his purse when the merchant offers you a deal.” He turned away from the glowering Harlequin and began to walk upstage toward Barnacle and Mar. The grizzled pegasus stepped between the Seapony’s tank and the unicorn, wings spread in a protective stance. “And you with your so-called-” Tremolo began, only to be cut off as a rope snaked its way onstage under the influence of Trixie’s magic, leaped up to tie itself around the crimson pony’s muzzle, and then tugged him roughly around to meet Trixie’s glare. “Your quarrel is with me, troublemaker,” she said, “You came here, as you have come to many of Trixie’s shows recently, to try and discredit Trixie and undermine her show. You say that Trixie is not so Great and Powerful? Prove it.” She commanded the rope to untie Tremolo and cast it away backstage. “The Great and Powerful Trixie does not take challenges often anymore, but for you we’ll make an exception. Anything you can do, I can do better. How about it?” “Nice try,” Tremolo responded, “I will not give you any means to humiliate me again. If you’re so great, come up with something original.” Trixie gave the unicorn a bemused look. “You must be joking,” she said, and then looked out at the audience with a shake of her head. “Twilight,” she said, pointing at the broken wheeled box on the ground, “Could you lend me a hoof and fix that please?” Twilight looked over the box before nodding and activating her magic. Pinkie stood up with a happy, expectant look in her eyes as the box came back together and floated up onto the stage, and Trixie waved for her to come up. “Yipee!” Pinkie squealed, bouncing up onto the stage and squeezing into the box again after pausing to stick her tongue out at Tremolo. “Now,” Trixie said, doffing her hat again to expose her horn, “Before Trixie was so rudely interrupted, she had established that there are no hidden panels, mirrors, or illusion spells on this box. Without tapping into her magic, the Great and Powerful Trixie will now make this pony disappear.” By hoof and mouth, she closed and locked the box, spun it around once, and then stood behind it with her front hooves resting on top. Tremolo watched the display with lidded eyes. Trixie tapped the box with her left hoof once, twice, and then reached across and undid the locks with a cry of “Behold!” The front panel fell open, and Tremolo’s jaw dropped when he saw neither hide nor hair of the pink earth pony. The audience broke out into amazed gasps and applause that Trixie basked in for a moment before holding a hoof up for silence. “We’re only half done,” she announced, “for what has been taken away must be returned.” She raised her right hoof high in the air and cried, “Vanished pony, I command thee, return to us, now!” She swung her hoof down and Pinkie Pie came cartwheeling out from behind the upstage curtains, rolling down the stage until she crashed into Tremolo, sending the crimson unicorn sprawling off the stage to land in an undignified heap in the dirt. Laughter, cheers, and applause rang out as Pinkie stood up, beaming, and then took a bow alongside Trixie. Twilight went over to Tremolo and tried to help him up, only to be brushed off. “This isn’t over Trixie,” he muttered. “I don’t doubt it,” Trixie said with an aggrieved sigh, and then straightened up and looked at Lyra. “Are you convinced now?” she asked. “Yes,” the green unicorn said with a smile, “I’ll give you a spot in tomorrow’s show, on one condition.” “What?” Trixie asked. Lyra pointed a hoof at Tremolo and said, “Make sure this guy is part of the act.”