//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay! // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay! Epilogue Sweetie Belle smiled up at her sister. “Nervous about tomorrow, Rarity?”   Rarity took a breath and shook her head. “Certainly not. Everything has been planned down to the last detail. Coco is making sure the store is ready for the morning and Sassy will be arriving by train to help us in the afternoon. Yes, all fine.” She took another breath.   Ahead of the two, Twilight turned her head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Rarity. The opening of the Canterlot store went well, right?”   Pinkie Pie raised her eyes. “Well, except for when Sassy tried to take over the store and you had to spend all your time making the same dress over and over again until you couldn’t stand it anymore and almost closed down the store because you were so stressed out. But that was a one-time thing!” She noticed Rarity had stopped walking, her eyes now wide and her chest heaving. “Uh, I say something wrong?”   “Nothin’ more than usual,” Applejack replied.   Rainbow patted Rarity on the back. “That’s totally not gonna happen this time, right? Coco Pommel isn’t like Sassy Saddles and Sassy’s gotten a lot better since then.”   Rarity regained her composure. “You’re right, Rainbow Dash. The Manehattan store will be a brilliant success.” She hugged Sweetie Belle closer to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “And I can’t thank you and your little Crusader friends enough for the help, Sweetie Belle.”   “Sure!” Sweetie Belle looked down the street. “Uh, where’d they go?” The group turned down the street; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were nowhere in sight.   “Darn it. Girls!” Applejack ran forward. “Ah told ‘em not to go runnin’ off…”   “Applejack!” Applejack almost bumped into Apple Bloom as the foal rounded the corner, jumping excitedly. “C’mere, ya gotta see this!” Apple Bloom ran down the street to where Scootaloo was staring up at a wall next to a theater. Applejack followed her and saw what had gotten their attention: a poster for the theater.   “This week on-stage – Equestria’s greatest ventriloquist, Gabbo the Grande, and his sidekick, Harvey.”   “Not that!” Apple Bloom groaned. “The bottom!”   Applejack lowered her eyes. “Opening acts by comedian Stevie Slapstick and… magician Trixie Lulamoon?”   The rest of the group caught up as Applejack read the poster. Sweetie Belle ran up behind her. “Really? Trixie’s performing here?”   Applejack shrugged. “Seems so.”   Apple Bloom grinned widely. “Can we get tickets? Please?”   Scootaloo’s wings flapped excitedly. “We gotta meet up with her after the show and show her our new cutie marks!” She smiled down at her flank.   Turning to her friends, Applejack pointed at the poster.. “Whadda ya say, girls?”   Fluttershy nodded. “It might be nice to see Trixie again.”   “I’m up for it,” Twilight agreed.   Rarity looked up at a nearby clock tower. “Well, it’s a bit late and I want to be rested for the morning…” she looked at Sweetie Belle; the foal’s eyes were wide and her lip was pursed. “Oh, very well.”   “YES!” The Crusaders whooped and slapped their hooves together.     The theater was over half-full as the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran down the aisles, looking for a spot with enough open seats. Scootaloo waved her hoof. “Over here!” She pointed to three rows where the three seats closest to the aisle were vacant. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo filled in the lower row, leaving their sisters and Rainbow Dash to sit behind them, and then Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy in the back.   Twilight flipped open a program book. “I’ve heard about Gabbo the Grande. He uses unicorn magic to manipulate and amplify his voice like no other ventriloquist can. His signature bit is having two of his dummies get in a slap fight while he tries to break it up!”   “I caught one of his shows in Canterlot, once.” Rarity sniffed. “I have to say his brand of humor is unfitting an establishment of this caliber. Too many horn and wing jokes.” Rainbow snorted as she tried to stifle a snicker. “Oh, hush, Rainbow Dash, of course you would laugh.”   “Hey!”   Applejack smirked. “Lucky for us, most of that stuff is gonna fly over their little heads, or we’d have to leave. That kind o’ humor ain’t fit for young’uns.”   Scootaloo turned in her seat. “Why not? What’s the big deal about horn and wing jokes?”   “Ask yer dad when you’re older.”   Rainbow reached forward and tussled Scootaloo’s mane. “I’ll tell ya when the show’s over.”   “Or that.”   The lights in the theater went down and the nine ponies faced the stage. “Here we go!” Apple Bloom whispered.   “Fillies and gentlecolts!” The announcer’s voice rang through the auditorium. “Thank you for your patronage tonight. In a mere hour, you shall be entertained by the greatest ventriloquist in all of Equestria, Gabbo the Grande!” The audience applauded and the announcer waited until they stopped. “But first, we have two nearly as impressive acts for you. First, Equestria’s number one travelling showmare – the Great and Powerful, Trixie Lulamoon!”   The curtains parted, revealing a small purple magician’s hat in the center of the stage. Clouds of smoke billowed from it and it rose into the air as Trixie appeared from below it, throwing her hooves up in a burst of fireworks. Her voice thundered through the auditorium, almost as loud as the announcer. “Finally, Trixie has come back to Manehattan!”   The audience applauded once again. A particular three sets of hooves kept pounding the floor as the others around them stopped and a chorus of silencing shushes brought them to a halt shortly after.   Trixie bowed, her magic lifting her hat from her head to sweep it forward. “Fillies and gentlecolts of Manehattan. Trixie’s name is one that few in Equestria know, yet those that do speak of her in the highest reverence.”   “Yeah, she of the inflated ego,” Rainbow Dash muttered. Scootaloo shushed her.   “For you see, the Great and Powerful Trixie has vanquished one of the most dangerous and feared monsters Equestria has ever known!” Trixie’s horn glowed and a beam of light shot into the air above her.   “Oh no,” Applejack groaned.   “Trixie has face down and defeated the dreaded ursa major!” The light beam burst, forming the image of a giant snarling purple bear glowing overhead. The ponies in the audience let out a collective call of awe as it roared at them silently.   “It was in a small village on the outskirts of Equestria.” Trixie raised her hooves and sent swirls of magic into the air, turning the ursa major into a series of houses. “Trixie chanced there in her travels and found the village living in fear of this terrible beast, forever afraid it might attack them in the night and devour all they held dear! Trixie, benevolent and courageous as she was, could not stand to let them live like this! She vowed to the village she would free them from the ursa’s grip.”   Twilight rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hoof. “Maybe she hasn’t changed much after all.”   On-stage, Trixie paused for dramatic effect. “Yet, though she projected confidence to the villagers, Trixie knew she was no match for the ursa on her own. Even her power, great and mighty though it was, was not enough.” The village lights became a crowd of ponies, a blue pony with a cape and hat standing to the side of them. “Trixie called out to the villagers for aid. Surely somepony among them had but a fraction of the bravery Trixie showed? To her dismay, they stepped back. Trixie would need to face the ursa alone.”   The crowd of ponies turned into a shower of stars. “Trixie turned to set off into the woods where the ursa made its home. But then, suddenly, like the whisper of a breeze, she heard a small voice call out to her. And she turned.” The stars came together, forming the image of three ponies. “Three small fillies stepped out of the crowd and offered Trixie their aid. A unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony.”   In the audience, Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, and she saw Scootaloo lean forward.   “Trixie sensed great potential in these young foals. Truly it is a mighty pony that would step forth when others stepped back. Seven days, Trixie trained them for the trials ahead, teaching them all she could of the craft of magic. They took to it like fish to water. The earth pony showed amazing skill in alchemy, brewing potions that took lesser ponies years to learn. The pegasi had a knack for construction, and aided Trixie in building the trap that would seal the ursa’s fate. And last but certainly not least, the unicorn’s power in telekinesis was even beyond Trixie’s, levitating objects larger than fully grown ponies with ease.”   Trixie swept a hoof out, flaring her cape. In the air, the images of the four ponies training turned into a cave with trees at the side “At last, it was time. Trixie and her apprentices planned their attack, and in the depths of the night as the ursa stirred from its slumber, they struck!” The glowing image of a pegasus fleeing from an ursa appeared and whirled across the auditorium, the bear chasing the pegasus along the walls and balconies. Trixie kept her horn and eyes trained on the illusion as she continued.   “The pegasus, flying faster than a Wonderbolt, baited the ursa to chase it far away from the village. Though the ursa was persistent, the pegasus had lain traps for it along the way, distracting the beast and angering it to keep up the chase. Yet in its blind rage, the ursa fell victim to Trixie’s trap. The four ponies bombarded the ursa with a powerful sleeping potion, strong enough to put even an alicorn to sleep for a hundred years. Overcome, the ursa slumped to the ground, unable to continue.” Trixie’s illusory ursa major did as she commanded and fell over in the air. “So subdued, Trixie and her unicorn apprentice took the ursa further yet, to an isolated valley where it could do no harm. They put it to rest in a new cave there, far from ponies.”   Trixie conjured a crowd, hoisting her and the three foals into the air. “Trixie and her young apprentices returned to their village as heroes. And ever since they have known peace from all monsters, great and small, terrible and benign. For all who would threaten them find themselves at the mercy of the town’s protectors. The three foals that Trixie trained to defend it forever.”   The final image dispelled and Trixie took a bow. The crowd applauded, hooves stamping the floor. Staring, slackjawed, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at each other. As one, they grinned and joined in the applause.   Trixie held up a hoof. “Your applause is appreciated, but premature, my audience. It is not Trixie alone who deserves your praise. She never could have vanquished the ursa without her apprentices. They, as much as her, should be commended for their courage and skill.” She lifted her head into the air and smiled. “But, in this, Trixie has a confession! She has deceived you this night! For these three great heroes are among you now!”   The crowd began to murmur, before Trixie thrust a hoof out into the audience. “They are the ones who deserve the applause! The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”   “Wha—”   A spotlight over the stage came on, casting a ray of light over the three. They raised hooves to shield their eyes and saw the crowd turning to look their way. The applause began anew, thundering through the auditorium. The spotlight turned down slightly, and they lowered their hooves. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle slowly lifted their hooves to wave. Apple Bloom, however, was watching Trixie.   “Girls!” She called out to them and nodded at the stage. Trixie was looking directly at them, and gestured them forward. Apple Bloom hopped out of her seat and ran down the aisle, grinning. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo quickly followed her. The three reached the stage and climbed onto it, running across the wood. They stopped in front of Trixie.   Scootaloo shook her head. “How did you know we were here?”   Trixie smirked. “A good magician always scouts the crowd for a good mark.”   “Look, Trixie!” Sweetie Belle turned to bring Trixie’s eyes to her flank. A three-colored shield with a musical note inside a star lay filled her vision “We did it! We got our cutie marks, just like you said!”   Trixie nodded. “You did indeed. And?”   “Just like ya said. We know our place in the world.”   “Indeed.” Trixie turned to the audience. “But for now, your place is here. You have an audience watching.”   The Crusaders turned and the four ponies took a bow together. The applause once again grew louder, then died down.   Trixie turned her head. “What say you, my young apprentices? Trixie is certain you have kept up with your training since her departure, yes?”   Confused, Scootaloo’s eyes darted away. “Yeah, sure…”   “Wonderful.” Trixie’s horn lit up and a box of magical props slid in from the wings of the stage. “Then you’ll have no problem assisting her with a simple trick or two.”   “Of course!” Sweetie Belle winked and headed to the box. “What do we need?”   “First, we need a strip of enchanted silver.”   Sweetie Belle reached into the box and pulled out a rubber chicken. The audience laughed.   “Stand aside, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom slid in next to her. “Ah’ll handle this… uh, what color is silver again?”   The audience laughed, and continued to laugh as the three fillies began to bicker over the prop box, Trixie watching with a small smile.