As the equine audience got up from their seats to leave, Trixie was instead walking towards the stage. She passed by all kinds of ponies making comments about the show they’d witnessed, trampling over the rose petals that covered the theater’s seats and floor like a blanket of scarlet snow.
“That was surprisingly good,” she heard somepony say. “How do you think he did all of that?”
“I’ve no idea,” said another. “How does anypony just walk through a brick wall without anypony noticing? That was just impossible.”
“Daddy!” The unicorn mare’s attention turned to the voice of a small filly. The raspberry earth pony, still young enough that she lacked her cutie mark, climbed onto an older stallion’s back. “Can I be a magician, too?”
“Why do you want to be one?”
“Because Houdini showed me that I don’t have to be a unicorn to be magical.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” the father replied. “Now come on, let’s go home.”
Trixie paused for a moment. When was the last time she had heard anypony say that she had inspired them to do illusions? From her time as the Great and Powerful all the way back to her start in the city that never sleeps, she couldn’t recall a one of her fans - and a few stalkers - talk about wanting to be like her.
Shaking her head, she looked over to the Royal box, finding it completely empty. No doubt Celestia was already backstage talking with Mr. and Mrs. Houdini.
“Trixie Lulamoon?” The mare’s attention turned to a gilded guard approaching her. “Her Majesty and the Houdinis wish to see you.”
The unicorn gave a quick nod and followed the guards through the stage’s backdoors. They walked through titanic props before spotting Harry and his wife leaning against a brick wall, currently having a conversation with the Sun Princess. About what exactly, she wasn’t sure.
“Your Highness,” the guard spoke up, getting Celestia’s attention.
Trixie bowed to her and Celestia bid her rise. “Ms. Lulamoon, I presume?”
“Um, h-hello again, your Grace.”
“Again?” Harry stood up. “What do you mean by ‘again’?”
“It’s, uh…” the blue magician started, her ears folded back. “It’s a long story that… Trixie wishes to not talk about. She-- I did something foolish that I don’t want to remember.”
“Still feeling guilty about the amulet incident?” Celestia inquired. “Ms. Lulamoon, I’ve already long pardoned you for what happened in Ponyville. And with what I hear about you saving Mr. Houdini’s life, I would safely say that even Twilight would think that you’ve improved.” Celestia gave a small pause before deciding to change the subject. “In any case, as a professional illusionist yourself, what are your thoughts on the show?”
“What do I think?” Trixie stared at Houdini for a few moments before walking up to him. She rose up onto her hind hooves, trying to match him eye-to-eye. “Mr. Houdini, I am going to say this honestly, and without any sort of sarcasm.”
“Alright,” Harry shrugged. “What is it then?”
“I hate you,” she said calmly. “I hate how cleanly you pulled off every single trick. I hate how you somehow did the impossible without the aid of any sort of unicorn magic. I hate that you were able to keep everypony on the edges of their seats. I hate how flawless your misdirection and sleight of hoof were. I hate how good your performance was, and how you almost gave everypony a heart attack or ten. But most of all, even though I could at least guess the solutions to most of your tricks, I hate how I can’t figure out how you made that elephant disappear.”
“Trixie,” Harry said with a cocky grin, “that’s gotta be the best compliment I’ve ever heard.”
The blue mare returned to all four hooves. “Out of curiosity, Mr. Houdini,” Celestia spoke, “what was the significance of that song you sang at the very end?”
“Well,” Mrs. Houdini answered, “a long time ago, Harry and I were once entertainers on Coney Island. Back then, I was part of a little song-and-dance routine called The Four Sisters. We could get up on stage and do a little number for everyone. Anyway, on the day we met, I was singing a song called ‘Rosie’. I guess he started to fall for me when he heard me singing.”
“I see,” Celestia nodded. “Mr. Houdini, I think that Ms. Lulamoon is quite right in one aspect.”
“And what’s that, your Highness?”
“You really don’t have any magic in you,” she said, lighting up her horn as her aura surrounded the human.
“Hey!” Harry tried to swipe at the light covering him. “What are you doing?”
Celestia dropped her aura. “That is truly remarkable. I can’t detect any sort of magic on you, yet you’ve performed such amazing stunts.”
He laughed. “Your Majesty, our magicians are different. I’m an actor pretending to be a magician. And judging by tonight’s audience, I would brag that I’m a very good one at that.”
“You even fooled Arrow Head,” the princess pointed out. “In fact, that’s why he volunteered. He wanted to see for himself if you really had any powers. Come to think of it, you aren’t injured from his punch earlier, are you?”
Harry put a hand over his vest. “It’s nothing to worry about. I try to keep myself in shape, and I’ve suffered much worse than a hoof to the stomach. A punch isn’t what’s gonna kill me. I’m practically impossible to kill.”
“If you say so,” Celestia nodded. “But placing all formalities aside, I think we should get straight to the matter at hoof. I am going to try my best to return you and your troupe back home.”
“You can do that?” Bess asked. “I mean, can you really get us back to New York?”
“I can’t guarantee it, but I will do everything in my power to help you go back from whence you came. Tell me, do either of you remember what happened when you first came here?”
“There’s not much to go by,” Harry confessed. “We were cleaning up after one of our evenings shows when we heard a loud crack of lightning above our heads. Next thing we knew, we were on a different street with all of our power and phone lines cut. No… not cut, burned. They were made out of thick wire and rubber, too. I still have no idea what happened.”
As Houdini talked about his experience, Trixie thought back to the unusual storm from weeks ago. The theater suddenly appearing after a bolt of lightning, the unscheduled rain, and Discord for some reason…
“Your Majesty,” Trixie spoke up, “Trixie thinks she may have figured out how they got here in the first place.”
“You do?” Celestia asked.
“It’s just a theory, so Trixie doesn’t know if she’s right.”
“What is it?”
“Discord was at my show the night they arrived,” Trixie replied. “Trixie didn’t think much of it at the time, just that Discord was being Discord. But now, she’s not so sure.”
There was a pause until Harry raised his hand. “Sorry, but who or what is Discord?”