The Great and Powerful Plan (Part One)
“Come one, come all! Witness the magnificent return of the best, the wondrous, the great and Powerful Trixie!”
…
“Why do I keep coming back here?”
On a portable stage, she stood watching and waiting. A scowl forming as people seemed to straight out ignore her. She looked around, trying to find anyone who would be willing to observe her show. Granted, her last appearances here were memorable in all the wrong ways, but she needed something to continue her travels. It wasn’t easy to be a traveling performer. She checked her costume, making sure it wasn’t the problem. Sexy blue dress to match my beautiful sky blue flowing locks…check. Star studded lavender cape and wizard hat…check. Style and incredible magical talent. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured up a mirror to admire herself in, making sure her make up hadn’t began to run in the summer sun. …Check. She had set up in the middle of town, trying to get some sort of show rolling, but her attempts at petty tricks to lure people in just wasn’t going to work. “Maybe trying to take over the town and exile miss goody two shoes wasn’t the smartest idea. At least they haven’t thrown anything at me yet.” She slowly slumped down, sitting at the edge of the stage. She looked around, her eyes catching a small group of men she had yet to bother.
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“…So then I say to her ‘Wrecked em’…Damn near killed em’!” Catacomb laughed loudly, Perry and Ark looking at each other and shaking their heads. “Ya know…cause wrecked em’…and…”
“Cata, we get it. It wasn’t that funny the first time, it still won’t be funny the twenty seventh time.” Perry said bluntly, Ark nodding in agreement.
“What…even you?” Catacomb looked at Ark. He stared blankly, not wanting to respond to such an idiotic question. Catacomb sighed and shook his head. “I swear, you guys have no concept of a clas…umm…who’s the weirdo in the wizard outfit?” Perry and Ark, now noticing what Catacomb saw, looked at the woman standing in their way.
“You gentleman are just in time to bear witness to…The Great and Powerful Trixie’s wonderful show!” She yelled out to the three, standing silently as she waved her arms in a flashy way.
Catacomb turned towards the former court jester. “Friend of yours?”
“Not this one." Perry responded. "Reminds me of a circus performer I once knew, but she has passed on unfortunately. I will always be reminded to this day that you don’t stick your head in a Manticore’s mouth.” Trixie still held her pose, her annoyance rising to high levels as the group ignored her.
“That sucks.” Catacomb said, shrugging. He turned back towards the fuming woman and waved. “Sorry bout that. Trixie, right? Can I help ya?” Trixie, about to blow, had finally been able to take a breath and relax.
“Yes. Trixie would like you to bear witness to marvelous feats of magic and mastery. Admission is free, and tips are generously appreciated.” Trixie said, nodding enthusiastically.
“Umm…not that we have anything better to do today, Miss Trixie.” Perry said, walking up next to Catacomb. “Why not wait for a bigger crowd?”
“Well…umm…doesn’t matter. I am sure once The Great and Powerful Trixie begins her marvelous show, others will arrive.” She stated proudly, pointing to herself.
“Ok. I have to stop ya here.” Catacomb said, eyeing her curiously. “Why do ya talk in the third person?” Trixie was already on her way towards the stage, leaving Catacomb’s question unanswered.
“Congratulations, Cata. There really is someone with a bigger ego than yours.” Perry said, making his way towards the stage as well, Ark quietly following behind.
“Catacomb can talk like that too!” His comment earned him a quiet look from his masked friend, saying all that needed to be said. “Right…I’ll shut it. Let’s go watch this show of hers then. Crazy people are the best performers after all, eh…eh?!”
“Catacomb, I will make it so they never find your body.” Perry said calmly, no longer looking back. Catacomb chuckled, quietly going the rest of the way with them, which was about an extra three seconds. The three of them stood by the stage patiently, waiting for whatever to happen to happen. It didn’t take long, as white and blue sparks shot out into the air from behind the stage. Smoke started to cover the stage, the fog making it hard to make out anything up there.
“Ladies and Gentleman…” A voice boomed out, filling the area with the sound of her voice. “I thank you all for coming to view the new and improved…the great and powerful…Trixie!” A crackle from the center of the stage blew the smoke away, leaving the magician visible for the entire crowd. It may have been only three, but the famous saying couldn’t be looked over, so Trixie did her best to treat this like a regular show.
Perry casually clapped, elbowing Catacomb to do it as well. Ark did his best as well, putting his hands together a few times to make it look like he actually cared. Trixie nervously viewed the reaction from the group, trying to maintain her composure with the tough audience. “Alright. For my first trick!” Trixie took off her hat, reaching into it. She looked deep in concentration, fiddling around until she removed a rabbit from within. Catacomb was about to remark on the act, but Perry quickly placed his hand over his mouth and pointed. Catacomb turned his gaze back towards the performer, who continuing the act, tilted the hat and started to shake it, a plethora of small woodland critters escaping from the confines of the hat. Perry removed his hand, letting his friend chuckle as the act continued. Trixie lifted the hat and looked into it, shoving her face inside. Then her head, arms and the rest of her went into it as well. The hat, no longer being held up, plopped onto the stage.
“Umm…I think we lost the magician.” A large thud from behind them forced them to turn around, gazing as Trixie walked back towards the group covered in full plate armor.
“You will never be able to guess where the great and powerful Trixie has been!” She said, walking towards the stage while removing the armor.
“The costume store?” Catacomb commented, but was quickly smacked by Ark. He stared, puzzled by the odd reaction.
“Shhh…I want to watch.” Perry and Catacomb, surprised, quietly turned back towards the stage.
The act continued on for about half an hour, Trixie doing various tricks. Making objects vanish, and reappear, including Catacomb’s mouth, not that anyone else complained. He could have grown a new one, but that would have required way too much explaining, so he quietly sulked until it was returned. She also did fancy card tricks and other feats of prestidigitation and eye illusions. It was hard for Perry to actually tell if she was using magic some of the time, which actually impressed him. Finally coming to an end, Trixie took her final bow, leaving her hat on the stage to collect donations. Perry happily took a small handful of bits and dropped them into the hat, followed by Catacomb, though he was stingier with his money. Finally Ark approached, leaving behind a rather generous donation.
“The great and powerful Trixie thanks you for your time.” She said, happily counting the money she was given.
“Of course. I was actually surprised by it all.” Perry said, leaning against the stage. “I can’t believe everyone else just avoided your show.”
“I can…” Trixie said, her voice slipping down quite a few decibels.
“Sounds harsh. Wanna talk about it? Talking seems to help me.” Catacomb said, jumping into a sitting position on the stage.
“Talking usually gets you in trouble…but he is right. Why are you so depressed?” Perry said, following Catacomb’s example and sitting at the edge of the stage. Trixie sat down between them, with Ark standing close by.
“You must all be new, if you haven’t heard about me before.” They all nodded, giving the woman time to take a deep breath. “Well, if I want to become better, I guess being honest is the best way to go about it.” Trixie began to tell them the entire story involving Ponyville. She started at the point where she was a boastful jerk, making fools of anyone who thought they could challenge her and be better than her. Everything was going fine, until a pair of numbskulls went and awoke an ursa minor, just to see her take it on like she said she could. She couldn’t. The town was saved thanks to the quick thinking and superior magical power of Twilight Sparkle.
She wasn’t done there, though. In a fit of jealous rage, she wanted to get revenge. Her reputation down the drain, she couldn’t make it traveling, and had to work on a rock farm for some time. She scraped by, trying to pay back her debts, when one day, a nice old man gave her money and the location of something that would make her dreams a reality. Her dream of getting revenge on Twilight for ruining her life. The three sat there, stunned as they discovered it was her who brought that accursed Alicorn Amulet into the town, Catacomb actually having to keep Perry calm this time around. She succeeded in showing up Twilight, before exiling her from the town and treating everyone like her slaves. Eventually Twilight snapped her out of it by tricking her into removing it. She apologized and was forgiven, but it was more than obviously forgiving and forgetting are two different things.
“To play with such dark and powerful magic, you’re lucky to still be around.” Perry said, thinking that if things got worse he would have been sent in to deal with the problem. Catacomb could tell Perry was going to need a few minutes to recover from this, so he decided to try a different approach.
“I dunno what you were like, but you haven’t been mean or nasty to us at all, so whatever lesson you needed, you obviously took to heart. I guess Twi has always been good at that.” Catacomb said, chuckling.
“You know Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie asked, her interest piquing.
“Yup. Kinda going out with her.” Catacomb wanted to laugh at the wide jawed Trixie, but remained polite as he continued to speak. “Besides the point and all, she…”
“Why in the world does someone as smart has her like…umm…no offence but like a buffoon?” Trixie asked honestly, Catacomb looking slightly hurt from the comment.
“One of life’s mysteries.” Ark replied, getting into the conversation.
“Oh not you too!” Catacomb said, yelling slightly at Ark. “Can we leave my love life outta this. You’re the one with immediate social issues.” Ark and Trixie pointed to themselves. “No not you, Ark…actually yes, you too, but where not talking about yours. Trixie, I know Twilight may have forgave you, but have you tried asking forgiveness from her friends. Knowing them, I think it would be a good start.” Catacomb finished, nodding proudly.
“We could arrange a meeting, maybe something along the lines of a nice dinner.” Perry said, adding in his own thoughts.
“Thank you all, but…why are you being so nice to me?” Trixie asked sincerely. “I mean, I know you’re not happy about that amulet and all, though I don’t see why?”
“Ya probably should drop the amulet talk there. He isn’t too…” Catacomb was silenced by Perry speaking up himself.
“On more than one occasion, that stupid artifact nearly took away everything from me. Still, forgive and forget. You may have been the one to bring it here, but the rest can’t be blamed on you.” Perry said, taking a deep breath and trying to be mature about the situation. “You have more than learned your lesson, and it is only fair to have people in your corner. If there is anything we know, it is being the outcasts of society.”
“Speak for yourself. I have and always will continue to live the life!” Catacomb said enthusiastically.
“Okay…dumbass aside, we can understand what you are going through.” Perry said, nodding. Ark walked over and gently patted her on the shoulder as well, his own way of showing encouragement.
“Thanks. This means quite a lot to me.” Trixie said, trying to hold herself back from getting emotional.
Catacomb hopped off the stage and rose his hand into the air, earning everyone else’s attention. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this show on the road then!”