• Published 16th Aug 2015
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Harry Houdini: The Great and Powerful - CrackedInkWell



After another successful show, Trixie makes her way to her apartment during an unscheduled storm in Manehattan. It was during this freak storm that a lighted theater appears with the name of "Houdini" on the sides of the theater.

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Chapter 18: The Bullet Catch.

After approval by the audience’s hooves, Harry Houdini again excused himself from the stage as his assistants and stageponies alike worked on something curious. Bags and wheelbarrows full of sand were dumped in front of the brick wall, forming a mound around it. They worked quickly to pile the sand until it was around two-thirds of the wall’s height. Once that was done, a pedestal and a painted bullseye were placed directly before the small mound of sand.

While this was all being set up, Trixie looked over to the box where Mr. Houdini’s wife was sitting in. She had a hand covering her mouth in dread, seemingly knowing what the next trick entailed.

Harry himself walked on stage soon after, holding a long and oddly-shaped stick made out of wood and metal.

“May I have your attention please, mares and gentlecolts?” Houdini declared to his audience. “The trick you are about to witness is something that, for a long time, I have deemed too dangerous to attempt. I have done many dangerous things in my career. I have been tossed into rivers in chains and handcuffs, buried alive, trapped in a submerged crate, strapped onto a lit cannon, swallowed by a whale, and even locked in an airtight vault. And yet, all of those are nothing compared to what you’re about to see.”

He then held up the strange stick for all to see. With the help of the stage lights, Trixie examined a small mechanism that looked similar to the triggering mechanism of a crossbow. “I have been informed that Equestria yet to invent a device such as this,” Harry continued. “I hold in my hands an older model of a weapon we humans call a ‘gun’. While I apologize for not having one that’s more up-to-date, this was all I could find laying around.

“Of course, this may not seem like a weapon at first, but once I demonstrate its power, everyone will come to realize how dangerous this trick really is.” He turned to the Princess. “If I could, your Majesty, I’d like to borrow someone who is most skilled at using a crossbow.”

Everypony’s attention turned to the Princess’s box. Celestia put a hoof to her chin in thought before waving to one of her guards. A pegasus approached the Sun Princess as she bent down to whisper something to him. He gave her a quick nod and a salute before taking flight and landing before Houdini.

“What’s your name, soldier?” Harry asked.

“Sir, Drill Sergeant Arrow Point of her Majesty’s Solar Guard, sir!”

The illusionist laughed. “Be at ease,” he said as one of his assistants came on stage, carrying a horn with a cork in it. “Please allow me to show you how these old guns work.” He gave the rifle to his assistant, while Houdini gave the guard and audience a commentary as to how his assistant was preparing it.

“First, a little bit of gunpowder is poured into the barrel before being firmly pressed by the ramming rod. Next, a little wad of paper is added along with a small piece of lead called a ‘bullet’. Make sure that all of it is firmly pressed in using the rod. Once that is done-- thank you,” Harry took the rifle back into his hands, “all that needs to be done is to cock the igniter back until it clicks.” Harry demonstrated, the rifle giving off a loud click. “You may notice that a small piece of metal is sticking out from underneath. Since the real trigger is too small for pony hooves, we’ve modified it a bit to more closely resemble a crossbow trigger.”

Arrow Point nodded and looked over to the bullseye where an assistant was placing a coconut on the pedestal in front of it.

“Now before I hand this over, I should inform everyone here that once this trigger is pulled, there will be a loud explosion, so be sure to cover your ears. As for the Drill Sergeant, I should warn you to never pull the trigger unless you’re sure the bullet will fly straight at the target. Also, be sure to have the butt of the rifle held firmly in place with your shoulder because it will give quite a kick.”

The loaded gun was handed over to the Solar Guard, who then stood up on his hind legs in order to hold the weapon. “As you can see,” Harry pointed to the coconut, “your target is, let’s say… thirty-five or forty feet away. Unless, of course, you want to be closer.” Harry added with a cocky smile.

Arrow Point looked over to the Princess. With a quick nod from her, the Sergeant carefully placed the rifle on his shoulder and took a few steps forward. He took aim, lowering his gun as he pointed it towards the coconut.

“Fire when ready, Drill Sergeant.”

Trixie covered her ears, as did many of the audience, as the Solar Guard took a moment to focus on the target. Then, he pulled the trigger--

Ka-BOOM!

The weapon let off a thunderous boom as everyone in the theater jumped, gasped, or even screamed at the deafening explosion. Not even a fraction of a second later, the coconut had exploded into pieces as milk splattered onto the stage floor. Arrow Point had nearly been knocked over, completely shocked at the amount of power the small piece of metal and wood produced.

Nevertheless, Houdini clapped at the performance. “Excellent shot, Drill Sergeant. I would trust you with my life.” The audience took this as their cue to applaud the Solar Guard’s first lucky shot with such a unique weapon.

“And now,” the magician said as his assistants took the rifle away to reload it, “since we’ve established how deadly this thing is, we’re going to shoot it once more, with a little twist. You will all soon see why this is considered to be the most dangerous trick ever conceived. And do not worry, Arrow Head, for I guarantee that you’ll be perfectly safe.”

Houdini took the bullet from his assistants and produced a marker from his coat pocket, presenting both to the Drill Sergeant. “Would you please mark this bullet?”

Arrow Point uncapped the marker and took the bullet in one hoof, carefully etching a star on the side of it before giving it back to Houdini, who swiftly placed it in the barrel before pushing it down with the ramming rod.

With the gun now reloaded and cocked back, Harry gave the weapon back to Arrow before walking toward the target.

“Now Drill Sergeant, take aim.”

Raising the otherworldly weapon, the guard eyed the bullseye. But then, to everyone’s confusion, Houdini stepped right in front of the target.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “What is he doing?”

“I will now attempt to catch the bullet,” Harry proclaimed, “with nothing but my own teeth.”

A horrified gasp went throughout the theater. They had seen the coconut shatter like a vase under the power of the weapon. Had Houdini gone mad?

The Drill Sergeant’s eyes widened, more reluctant than ever to have volunteered to do this. He glanced over at Celestia for guidance, wondering if he should go through with this.

“I said I trust you with my life, Drill Sergeant,” Harry said, getting the pony’s attention back. “Now let’s see if you trust me.”

Arrow Head snapped his head back over to the Princess, his eyes pleading for her to spare him from such a monumental responsibility. Celestia, however, only had an eyebrow raised. She eventually nodded, allowing him to fulfill Houdini’s request.

Gulping, Arrow raised the rifle one more time, focusing his aim on Harry Houdini’s mouth.

“Drill Sergeant Arrow Head,” the human said, “fire the gun.”

“No!” a screech came from the crowd. “Don’t do it!” Many others soon joined in with concern.

“Fire!” Houdini shouted over the loudspeakers.

“You’re going to kill him!”

“Do it!” the illusionist commanded. “Fire the gun!”

“Stop!”

“Don’t do it!”

“Think of what you’re doing here!”

“Don’t shoot!”

A riot of voices pleaded for the lone guard to stop, standing stock-still as he held the loaded rifle aimed at the magician’s jaw. Even with years of discipline and constant praise for his ability to see reason, he couldn’t see any scenario where the insane human survived this stunt, especially after seeing the damage that was dealt with the coconut.

Closing his eyes, he tried to block out the crowd for a single moment before focusing all of his attention on Houdini. He had seen him escape from a locked milk can, made an elephant disappear, and even walk through a brick wall. Hoping that the human knew what he was doing, Arrow took aim and pulled the trigger--

Ka-BOOM!

To everyone’s horror, Harry flew backward with his hand covering his mouth. He fell over the target and landed on the sand behind it.

HARRY!” Mrs. Houdini screamed, covering her mouth with her hands in sheer terror.

There was a pause as the smoke from the gun cleared. Not a single soul dared move, frozen in shock at what they’d just witnessed.

But suddenly, Mr. Houdini rolled off of the sandy mound and onto the floor of the stage. He slowly stood up, lifting his head and showing off a shiny object in his teeth. As the audience’s eyes grew, Harry walked over to the stunned Drill Sergeant and spat the bullet into a porcelain bowl that an assistant had just handed him.

“Is this your bullet?” he asked the Solar Guard, taking the marked piece of lead out of the bowl.

The theater erupted in cheers and sighs of relief.