It was already fairly dark when a crowd of ponies made their way along the wooded path to the outskirts of town, where The Great and Powerful Trixie's stage waited. Celestia's sun was still sinking in the sky, but darkness came early under the blanketing canopy of the oak trees. The forest paths were lit by rows of softly glowing lanterns on either side.
The mayor had planned this show as a sort of feather in the cap of the festivities, the final display of the town's pride: their talented new magician. It was their big finale, so to speak. However, today had not gone according to plan, and he was starting to put more and more hope into the thought that Trixie would be able to leave the Princess with a more favorable memory of her time here today. He was still a bit put out that Princess Twilight Sparkle was already at least somewhat familiar with the performance, but he still had high hopes that Trixie could end things with a bang.
The mayor's hope turned to worry as he and the other ponies of Oakville arrived at the stage to see it in its unexpectedly disastrous state. The mayor turned to look at the Princess, who frowned as she saw the stage area. She didn't say anything as they struggled through fallen branches to try and find the royal seats. Mayor Flax felt a fresh flush of embarrassment. What happened out here? he wondered.
"It looks like a tornado went through here," Data Feed muttered unhelpfully as he gaped.
. . .
“So, does Princess Luna have memories from all those years she was banished on the moon, or…? I mean, how did she not go mad, well, I mean... more mad?” Data Feed inquired tactlessly.
Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. That would have been un-Princess-like. “Understandably, that’s a topic that doesn’t come up much, what with the shame and intense personal trauma involved.”
Data Feed gave a half frown in reply, considering this. “Hm. Well, I’m still curious. What about Celestia? She must have a lot to say on the matter.”
“Quite the opposite, actually, Data Feed,” Twilight said to him, sidelong. There was just a hint of exasperation in her voice. She tried very hard to make a show of the fact that she had turned her attention towards the stage. Trixie had appeared from behind the somewhat ragged stage curtain, and thrown her hooves into the air in her trademark pose, looking much the worse for wear in a very tattered hat and cape. This, however, did not distract Data Feed.
“Do you think Nightmare Moon was a part of Luna’s personality, or do you think it was some kind of possession? And… what’s the deal with Princess Cadance, anyway? Where did she come from? Why has she aged, when Luna and Celestia haven’t? Is she immortal? What is her connection to the Crystal Empire? What is up with Prince Blueblood? Is he really related to Celestia? Why isn't he an alicorn?”
Twilight was spared further inquisition when Trixie’s first trick went awry, distracting everypony, even the intrusive librarian.
Trixie had used her magic to activate a lever beneath the stage, which opened a door in the stage and raised up a prop mechanically. In this case, the prop was her opening trick, the Tartarus Torture Box. However… as the box was only halfway out of the stage, a grinding noise was heard, and smoke and sparks began to shoot out of the lift. The audience gasped as a spark caught on Trixie’s hat, quickly lighting a small fire, and she quickly tore it off and threw it to the ground, stomping it out. All pretense of this being part of the show was lost at that moment, but Trixie carried on as if nothing had happened, attempting to maintain the illusion as best as she could.
. . .
As the show went on, Mayor Flax felt so bad for Trixie. It was awful to watch, and everypony else clearly felt the same. The atmosphere hovering over the audience was like watching a train wreck: not wanting to stare, but unable to look away. He had seen Trixie's shows many times since she had come to Oakville, and so he had some idea how some of her tricks were supposed to go, and... well, they weren't. Absolutely nothing was going right. It was an unmitigated disaster. Every trick flopped or failed in increasingly bizarre and creative ways. It couldn't be because of nervousness, not from the Great and Powerful Trixie. Surely, something was wrong.
He shifted in his seat, wincing as he found himself sitting on an acorn. There was a branch fallen across the bench between he and the Princess, making conversation and even eye contact difficult through the mess of leaves and branches. He briefly allowed himself to be relieved at this. It was a temporary respite that allowed him to collect his thoughts without royal scrutiny. He brushed the acorn from the bench and turned his attention back to the stage.
She was trying so hard, he could see it. He figured that they all could see it. She was desperately trying to make her various tricks and contraptions to work, and making an effort to play to the audience members who found themselves struggling to see through some of the branches and debris scattered throughout the area. The springs in her trick knives were missing... every time she tried to bring one of her contraptions up from below the stage, nothing happened except faint grinding and groaning noises... only one of her stage-mounted confetti cannons fired, half-heartedly belching a pitiful clump of confetti and wet leaves onto the first couple rows. He saw the glitter of a tear in the corner of her eye. But she was professional, never letting the frustration and embarrassment she must surely be feeling show in her expression for a second. When a trick went wrong, she seamlessly transitioned to the next one, each time hoping for better results, and each time finding none. The showmare's smile never broke, and she never stopped trying. It nearly broke his heart.
The audience around him projected an aura somewhere between awkward silence, pity, and vicarious embarrassment. It was far from the "oohs" and "aahs" he had seen at Trixie's shows before.
What happened here? the mayor thought, sweating as he thought of his royal visitor. He looked at the chaos around him, much worse than it had looked before he had told Trixie and Lightning Dust to get it cleaned up. How did it all go so wrong?!
. . .
Twilight wasn't sure what to do. Was she making it worse by watching? Should she look away? But that might look like she was... well, any number of things. But if she stared, did that make it worse? Should she... do something? Should she help? But Trixie would probably resent that. Should she applaud? No, that might seem sarcastic or condescending. Should she laugh... oh, but not in a mean way! ARRGH WHY WAS THIS SO DIFFICULT!
She was all too aware that her presence here had made this show much more complicated for Trixie, and part of her wondered if everything that was going wrong was her fault by proxy. Perhaps Trixie had been so flustered when she had shown up instead of Celestia that she'd loaded her confetti cannons full of leaves by accident?!
As all of these thoughts rattled around in her head, Twilight wore a tight smile that was hopefully more convincing than it felt.
. . .
The Great and Powerful Trixie had a performance to finish. She couldn't allow for distractions, she couldn't allow herself to focus on everything that went wrong. Focus on the next trick. Don't think about anything but the next trick, worry about stuff going wrong later. Worry about Twilight Sparkle later. Worry about why this was happening to her... why the universe hated her... why... worry about that later, too. Finish the show.
She blinked away the tear forming in the corner of her eye. She was holding herself together admirably, but it was a strain. She kept telling herself that she could still save the show. After all, she still had her finale. She still had the Wheel of Illusion!
. . .
Zecora found the show funnier than she should have. It seemed fitting to her. Trixie had humiliated her that night after Cauldron Club, and she had betrayed Twilight's trust to do so. She had been responsible for a great deal of the damage that had been done that night, but most of all she had... Zecora did not like her emotions manipulated. Trixie's want-it-need-it potion had made the magician irresistible to anypony who had come near her, and the first victim of it had been Zecora herself. In her desire to have the unicorn all to herself, Zecora had even attacked Twilight in a fit of mad jealousy. The idea that she could be made to feel that way against her own will... against her own judgement... it was a violation. And Zecora was slow to forgive her for it.
And so, though Zecora tried to hide her smile, a small one broke across her features anyway.
Fluttershy, who shared a lonely bench in the back of the crowd with Zecora, frowned at her. "That's not very nice Zecora. I don't think it's very funny," she said, quietly. A squirrel was perched on her head, and one sat on each of her outstretched wings. They also all frowned disapprovingly.
Zecora replied, "No, dear Fluttershy, I suppose not. Still, you can't deny she deserves what she's got."
"That isn't for anypony to say, Zecora. She did apologize to you, you know. Do you know how hard that must have been? I think the best thing for you to do for yourself would be to forgive her," the little yellow Pegasus said, gently.
Zecora watched quietly for a while, in thought. Trixie had created a field of fireflies over her head, seemingly out of pure pale yellow-green light. They illuminated the entire area, eliciting what had up until now been rare "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" from the audience. Then, a mirror that had been well-disguised as part of the backstage broke loose and fell, shattering on the stage. All but a few of the lights died out, leaving a pitiful handful of firefly-sized lights remaining of her display. Even in the now-dim illumination, Zecora could see that the rogue tear in the unicorn's eye had broken free and rolled down her face, unacknowledged by Trixie herself as she continued her show, throwing her forehooves into the air, and booming "Behold!"
Zecora sighed. "Fluttershy, your advice is true, and I must thank you. After this show, I'll talk to Trixie... though I fear she may be in no mood to see me."
Fluttershy just smiled in reply and gave the zebra a reassuring hug.
. . .
Why are you even here? said the voice in her head. Haven't you done enough damage?
Shut up, Lightning Dust said to the voice. I just wanted to watch the show. She sat high up in the tree branches, watching Trixie's magic show fall apart below her, safe in the shadows. She eyed the stage miserably.
Sure, because you haven't had the chance to do that for months now. Do you just want to see a pony fail worse than you? Is that what you need to make yourself feel better?
I am not a failure! Lightning Dust punched the stout tree trunk next to her with her hoof. Besides, the show isn't even that bad! It's going... okay, Lightning Dust retorted to herself, unconvincingly.
The voice in her head laughed cruelly. It's a disaster, are you kidding? That magician's life is ruined! Oh, wait! I get it now! You aren't here for her, you're here to punish yourself, aren't you? the voice laughed even harder at that thought.
Lightning Dust shook her head to clear it. This negativity wasn't helping. She sucked in a bracing breath, and began to put her mental armor back on. This had been a bad day, but it wasn't like it was her fault! Still, she should probably say something to Trixie after the show, anyway... maybe she could tell her that it wasn't that bad a show or something. Trixie would probably just yell at her until she went away, anyway, so it wouldn't even take that long. She could still be home in bed early tonight.
Part of her was terrified at the thought of speaking to Trixie, part of her felt shame for all of this, and that bitter voice in her head knew that a part of her hated herself. Thankfully, those pieces of her were buried deep inside her mental armor now, and she was back to being herself again.
Yeah, she could let the wizard have her fit, take it in stride, and be home before nine. Good plan, LD. We'll be the mature party here, she thought smugly.
. . .
Rainbow Dash glanced up to the tree branches. She thought she'd heard a noise, like something striking a tree trunk, but it was too dark and shadowy up there to see anything. She turned her attention back to Trixie's show, wishing she were anywhere else. It was not a great atmosphere, and her surprise encounter with Lightning Dust earlier in the day had been bothering her since they'd arrived. All in all, this had been a horrible trip.
"I can't believe I'm missing out on training for this," Rainbow muttered to herself. "Today has been the worst."
"It's been rough for everypony, Dash, but ya gotta remember why we're here," Applejack muttered in reply, tilting her head a couple rows behind them.
Rainbow turned to look at Twilight, who would have seemed to most ponies to be maintaining an air of perfect princess serenity... with her smiling expression... her eyes never leaving the performance... she certainly looked like a dignified princess enjoying local culture... or she would have if Dash didn't know her better. Rainbow knew Twilight, and she could see through the façade. She could see that her friend was about to snap in two from the stress this trip had heaped on her and everypony around her.
Yes, Applejack was right, of course. They were here for Twilight. Some things were more important than training. Loyalty was definitely one of those things.
"Yeah... you're right, AJ," Rainbow Dash replied. But Applejack had been distracted by something, and was looking off into the woods at the edge of the stage area. "Uh... AJ?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry RD. Now Ah'm sure Ah saw..." Applejack started... then stood up. "Ah'll be right back," she said, and began moving to the end of the aisle.
"Uh... okay?" replied Dash. Turning to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, she said, "What's got into her?"
"I'm not at all sure," Rarity said, putting the tip of her hoof daintily to her chin in thought as she watched Applejack make her way out of the audience area. Pinkie Pie's reply was a shrug, followed by more loud muching on terrifyingly-heavily buttered popcorn.
. . .
Flim and Flam ambled back towards the resting place of the Super Easy Cider Squeezy 6000. Their route passed close by Trixie’s stage, so they kept to the woods to avoid being spotted by the ponies attending her show.. In their saddlebags, they carried another load of odds and ends that they had swindled several of the town’s shopkeepers out of. It was their hope that, between these and the parts they’d taken from Trixie’s stage earlier, they’d finally acquired enough parts to fix their machine and get out of town. Flam’s moustache drooped as he appeared lost in thought, but Flim was as enthusiastic as ever.
“Ha! Can you believe all this stuff we got for practically nothing, brother? Something about festivals sure makes rubes easier to con! Maybe all the food is making their brains a little slower!”
Flam laughed along half-heartedly without replying. He wasn’t feeling his brother’s excitement at all. He wasn’t sure why, but he kept thinking back to the magician show. He felt worse than usual. It didn’t feel right taking those parts… it felt like stealing. And, for as much as the brothers prided themselves on their swindling, Flam had never thought of he and his brother as thieves. This had been nagging at him all day, despite his best attempts to shake it.
Flim, for his part, had noticed that his twin brother had something on his mind, and he was pretty sure he had an idea what it was, but he decided not to bring it up a second time that day. Surely, Flam would feel better when they were out of town, back on the road, and back on their game.
They’re getting to you, brother, thought Flim. The whole world is against us out there, waiting to knock us down a peg. We can’t let them. We stay together, we stay strong, and we don’t let them push us down.
Flim sighed. Hoping to give Flam something else to think about, he said, “So, brother o’ mine, have you got any ideas where to head next when we fix the 6000?”
Before Flam could reply, a vaguely familiar voice drawled from behind them, “Ah reckon Ah have an idea where ya can go right now.”
The brother’s hearts leapt to their throats and the color drained from their faces. Slowly, they turned in unison to face behind them. There, coming out of the deep wooded shadows behind them, green eyes shining fiercely in the dimming light, stood an orange earth pony mare with a Stetson on her head and a lasso rope around her shoulder.
Applejack nodded her head at their saddlebags. “That’s a real… interestin’ collection of parts y’all got there.” Applejack’s voice dropped threateningly, “Ah’m gonna offer ya a choice. Ya can come with me ‘n’ tell Trixie yer sorry, then return what ya took and help fix it, or…” she smiled. “We can resolve this a little less civil.”
Flim and Flam gulped.
. . .
The Wheel of Illusion was less a magic trick and more a light show. Trixie used the wheel to manipulate light to create dazzling, massive displays of color and brilliance. It was an ideal way to finish off a show, though Trixie tried to use it sparingly, only using it for special shows. The wheel itself was a simple round wooden slab, like the top of a round table, mounted to the side of a simple hollow wooden post that housed belts and gears and mechanisms the raised the wheel out from under the stage and also spun the wheel with great speed with great speed. The post and wheel had been carefully painted to match Trixie’s trademark hat and cape: purple with pale blue and yellow stars all over it. The wheel itself was covered with an intricate series of crystals, mirrors, lenses, and prisms, which, to look at it, might seem scattered randomly over the surface, but which were in fact positioned with minute precision to give Trixie perfect control over the light she would project at it, where it was refracted, reflected, and illuminated in a variety of possible ways. This allowed her to use the wheel not as some kind of primitive kaleidoscope, but more like… an instrument. Yes, an instrument of light. The Wheel of Illusion was Trixie’s finest accomplishment, impressive, expensive, beautiful, unique, AND ingenious. And now… well it might just save this show!
"FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS! THROUGHOUT THE AGES, PONIES HAVE WONDERED AT THE MYSTERIES AND MARVELS OF NATURE! LOOKING UP AT THE STARS, THEY WERE AWED BY THE MAJESTY OF THE NIGHT SKIES! WATCHING THE THUNDERCLOUDS, THEY COULD FEEL NATURE'S POWER! SEEING THE OCEAN WAVES, THEY COULD WATCH THE WORLD AS IT HEAVED AND BREATHED AROUND THEM! BUT NOW, BEHOLD AS THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE BRINGS THAT SAME WONDER BEFORE YOU! WITNESS, AS TRIXIE'S WHEEL OF ILLUSION BRINGS THE AWESOME GLORY OF THE COSMOS TO THIS STAGE! WATCH, AS TRIXIE MASTERS NATURE HERSELF!"
Trixie decided that she couldn't trust the stage lifts with the wheel, especially the way they'd failed her tonight. Instead, she decided to use her telekinesis to open the trapdoor and lift the wheel up herself, and just let the telescoping post extend manually. It was heavy, but Trixie was sure she could do it, and besides, such a display might even make the entrance more impressive.
Lighting up her horn, she opened the trap door, and wrapped her telekinesis around the telescoping post... pulling with all of her magical might. Throwing her hooves once more into the air in her trademark pose, The Great and Powerful Trixie, cried out, "BEHOLD! THE WHEEL OF ILLU-"
As the post emerged from the trap door, glowing with Trixie's telekinetic aura, there was nothing attached to it. No wheel. Only a few bare wires and rubber belts sticking out from the hole in the side of the post where the wheel had once been attached. Trixie released her magic, and the post telescoped back into itself, crashing under the stage with a dull thud. She turned to face the audience. She stared at them in silence for a full five seconds, her mouth open, and her eyes shell-shocked.
Somepony coughed. There were a couple gasps, and a murmur that spread through the crowd. Trixie locked eyes with Twilight Sparkle, who quickly looked away.
I am so done, Trixie finally thought. There's only one thing I have left... the only thing I can do is...
The murmur quieted as the light in the area began to dim further, as if all of the flickering lanterns at the edge of the seating area were having the light drawn out of them, as if the last rays of the setting sun itself were being absorbed.
Trixie focused. Using her magic to reflect and refract light was a challenge, and she was using all she could, sending as much light her way as possible. Above her head, a softly glowing orb of pure light, about the size of a beach ball, was forming. Focusing her magic, Trixie created a thousand tiny, invisble mirrors, and slowly began to warp and twist and mold the ball of light into a familiar shape, as she had once done for her classmates all those years ago: a magic wand with a star on the end. The spitting image of her cutie mark.
Slowly, and gently, she waved the ghostly blue-white wand back and forth above her head. It was small, perhaps only slightly taller than Trixie herself, and it was not especially bright, as there had not been much light at all to work with, but... in a way, the fragility of it made it more hauntingly beautiful.
In complete silence, Trixie, eyes closed, waved her illusory wand to the right side of the stage, leaving tiny, barely perceptible constellations in the air behind it. Waving it to her left, one could perhaps just make out a tiny galaxy and a shooting star. Everypony in the audience watched, completely transfixed, each and all caught up in this moment that was simultaneously expressive and intimate, vulnerable and beautiful. With one more wide arc of the wand in front of her, Trixie cast a small, dusty cloud of stars out over the audience as far as she was able. The wand disappeared, and Trixie opened her eyes. Fighting to keep her expression neutral, she gazed out at the audience for a few beats. Then, she bowed to them.
"Thank you," she said, simply, and turned and exited to the backstage.
And that was the show. Nopony moved or said anything, or... it seemed, even breathed for a few seconds. Slowly, the stray light that had been used in Trixie's display seemed to find its way back to the lanterns. Then, throwing the remainder of her popcorn into the air, Pinkie Pie stood up on her hind legs and began clapping her hooves together and cheering.
Before too long, everypony had joined her.