Remembering
Real Magic
A Trixie Lulamoon in the Vogonverse Story
Chapter 1 - Remembering...
The sound of applause rocked the amphitheater, and the showmare on the stage bowed. She looked happy, confident, and truly excited to be there. Slowly the curtains closed, and she walked back stage. Once she was out she stopped by the dressing room that was offered to her. In a few moments she'd be expected to greet her fans, sign autographs, but all of that could wait.
Stepping into the room her eyes focused on the man standing there. She walked toward him, her smile brilliant, her eyes full of life and energy, and a moment later she was in his arms.
"It was a great show," he said.
"Trixie did outdo herself, but that is just because she is the Great and Powerful Trixie!" she replied.
She felt the kiss, and returned it.
"Will you be here?" she asked.
He nodded, and she smiled at him, "Trixie is lucky."
She walked out and he took a seat. Two years, two years he'd been with her, traveled with her, and in that time he couldn't bring himself to face the crowd. Being an introvert wasn't a bad thing, but he knew that he took it to a new level.
He loved being with Trixie, and watching the show, but he just couldn't deal with crowds at all. It was funny, here he was, a gifted illusionist, but he couldn't stand to perform in front of very many people at a time. Hearing the crowd cheer from the dressing room reminded him of the times he managed to play large crowds. He would manage it, somehow, leave the stage, and once he got to the dressing room he’d nearly have a panic attack.
It’d been more than just hard. He knew that he was able to make a comfortable living by playing to larger groups, but being unable to deal with just everyday things for hours afterward was too much. It was what made meeting Trixie such a blessing. Slowly, his mind went back to two years ago. Being a magician meant knowing the lure behind the illusions. Any magician worth their salt knew the old stories about magic, how the seasons worked the ebb and flow of it, and of course every magician knew that winter, for all of the cruelty and harshness it dealt out was the season that had the strongest connection to magic that could cause change.
It was the strongest connection because winter itself was a promise for change. Winter caused the land to go to sleep, to rejuvenate, and prepare for the oncoming spring. Winter worked its own magic on the Earth preparing it for something better, and being able to tap into that magic meant being able to do the impossible.
He’d prepared for his show, knowing that even if magic itself was nothing more than cheap fifty dollar illusions the fact that it was happening when people sensed a change approaching made them far more receptive to seeing and believing. He walked outside, into the falling snow and breathed in the cold crisp air. There was a few hours before his show would start, and it was a smaller one.
Leaning against the rough brick of the older theater he felt the cold of the brick bleeding through his show jacket. It was the kind of cold that cut straight to the bone. Uncaring, unfeeling, and ready to steal the warmth from the willing and unwilling alike. He shivered, preparing to head back in when he heard the soft chattering of teeth. Had the wind been blowing, if he would have simply went in a few moments earlier, he wouldn’t had heard a thing, but instead he heard it clearly now.
Moving down the steps from the backstage door he saw a figure with a cloak pulled up over its shoulders. A pointed, almost witch’s or wizard’s hat stood above the cloak, and otherwize little more could be noticed about the huddled lump.
“Are you okay?”
“Trixie is cold, and Trixie would rather not be cold,” a feminine voice replied.
He knelt down, brushed the hat back to see silvery white hair. Two blue hands reached up, pulling the hat back down roughly.
“Why would you try to make Trixie colder than Trixie already is?!”
He stepped back, uncertain of what to say to the voice with white hair and blue hands, “Ummm… Sorry, look, if you’re cold I’m sure you can come into the theater for a little bit.”
She stood, and he could see that her azure, (yes he was certain it was that shade of blue, so her hands weren’t from the cold itself, but rather they were fur covered to match the rest of her) coat. Her violet eyes looked into his own, and he realized that she was one of the Equestrian folk he’d read about. He heard rumors, stories, from tourists and regulars alike of the pony folk turning up in the oddest of places. She started to step, but he could see her faltering already. Not knowing what else to do, he reacted as best he could and caught her.
Zachary was many things as a magician, a gifted illusionist, and fairly easy going, but strong as an ox wasn’t one of them. She was a milkweed puff, but for all Zachary knew, she was sixteen tons of lead and tungsten. He carried her, as best he could back down the alley they were in, up the stairs, and through his dressing room. Once there he deposited her, perhaps a bit harshly, on the couch. She bounced, which surprised him, and it allowed her cloak to fall open. Under it did, he discovered a shimmering, but wholly inadequate, V-cut dress that seemed to be made out of a slightly darker blue sequins, and her sides were split up to her waist. There was a mark, on each hip, which looked like it had a wand, a star, and something else he couldn’t quite tell on it. Of course what really surprised him was the fact that she was a very full figured woman, mare, or whatever the Equestrian folk called themselves. Her dress had shifted, and she was a bit more exposed than he supposed a body would want to be. He delicated grabbed the edge of her dress, dragging the cup that was supposed to completely cover her, ummm, top shall we say, and moved it.
This event ended in two more. The first was her eyes snapping open, and the other was his hand being batted away a bit more forcefully than he would have thought possible for someone that had been out cold a few moments before.
“What are you trying to do to the Great and Powerful Trixie?!!”
“I was just trying to cover you up,” he replied as he backed away, “I mean when I placed you on the couch…”
She moved and groaned, “Placed? It feels as if you simply tossed Trixie on this, couch, with the same amount of care somepony would have tossed an old hoofball!”
“Sorry, it’s just that you were heavy, and….” he started to say something else when she sat up and glared at him.
“Please, continue!” The mare named Trixie demanded, “Trixie wants to hear how you think that Trixie was too heavy to move. Trixie wants to hear it from you before Trixie decides what kind of spell she should cast on somepony that would try to feel what Trixie has not given permission to be felt!”
He backed into the dresser, which caused him to stumble, which caused him to fall on his arse. She continued to glare at him, but soon she began to weave back and forth for a moment before she fell back, “Ow… The Great and Powerful Trixie is… okay.”
He breathed out a relieved sigh, and slowly got up. He looked at the mirror and realized that suit had gotten a little out of sorts, but it would still be wearable for the show tonight, and the show must go on. He looked at her, seeing her struggling with staying awake, not sure if she should sleep or not, but he did think about the small closet they provided in the dressing room. He opened it, seeing an old blanket, most likely a prop for one of the plays that used to be performed regularly, and pulled it out. He unfolded it, and could smell how stale it was. Still, it had to be warmer than just lying on the couch, and draped it over her. She took the top of the blanket, pulling up under her chin, and he watched as she turned toward her side.
“This blanket pleases the Great and Powerful Trixie, Trixie will enjoy it, and Trixie supposes that she will forgive you for your insult, but do not do it again.”
Seeing that she was at least going to be warm, for while at least, he looked at the clock on the wall. The show was going to last for a couple of hours, he had around thirty minutes before it began, and then it would be showtime. The theaters he’d worked at before usually gave him an hour, usually, to unwind and get prepared to leave before having him vacate the dressing room. In truth, he could only hope that they were going to do this for him now.
Looking at the mare on the couch, under the old blanket, he knew that she most likely didn’t have a place to go to. Which basically meant after the show, after the winding down, he’d be heading home, and she’d be back out on the street. That just didn’t sit well with him. Slowly, he went over it a few times before he walked out the door, closed it, and headed toward the stage.
“Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Children of all Ages! For one night only, The Sheridan Theater proudly presents the Astounding Zackary O’Daniel!” the announcer shouted.
He walked out, thankful for the bright lights hiding the crowd. He flung his arms into the air and at that moment the pyrotechnics he’d helped set up went off creating a huge display on the front of the stage. Grinning at his captive audience he couldn’t see he removed his hat, and held it out.
“You know, it’s not often that I’m able to get around both pet ordinances and union laws at the same time, but I believe this is one of those times,” he said, to mild chuckles from the audience, setting the hat down on a stool. He dug around in it, which unknown to the audience the stool itself was hiding a small cage under the seat of it. From there he pulled out a small white rabbit, and grinned, “This is Lola, Lola Bunny. Lola Bunny here is going to become Lola my assistant in three,” he carried the bunny over to a cabinet and opened to show that it was empty, “Two,” he placed her inside and tapped on the door to indicate to the woman hiding behind the curtain where the cabinet was located to remove the bunny and step inside herself, “One!”
He opened the door and a beautiful red headed woman wearing a red vest, gold watch chain, a matching skirt, rabbit ears and a cottontail puff on the back of her leotard. The woman stepped out of the cabinet, playing the “transformation” by faking a concerted effort to walk on two legs. “Lola” made a show of examining her limbs, as if she hadn’t been in this from very often or at all. Then with a grin, she hopped on her stiletto heeled feet, giving a cute curtsy when she landed, first to the audience, then to Zachary. Upon her rise, she stepped up to Zachary and offered him a cheeky grin.
“Lola, so good to see you.”
“Good to see you too, Zackary! So, what are we doing tonight?”
He grinned and extended his hands in the direction of the audience, “Why, we’re entertaining our guests.”
The next two hours he performed dozens of tricks, escapes, and illusions that he’d learned over several years of performing. Towards the end he stopped and breathed in a deep breath. The lights were going to go out, and he was going to have to see the audience and they would see him. It was needed, but it didn’t meant that he liked it at all. A moment later the lights began to dim, and he performed his show stopper. A holdover from the Great Houdini that he had learned about.
His assistant brought over a straight jacket, wrapping him into it, and walking him toward a large glass tank. He crawled into it, and within a moment it was sealed. It was down to time, and he knew it. A quick dislocation of his shoulder, bringing his arm out, relocating it, getting out of the jacket, unlocking the tank, and making sure he didn’t lose any time. It should have been perfect, but instead there was a faint Azure glow around the case, around him, and he found everything unlocking. He was lifted out, floating above the ground before he was dropped like a sack of potatoes. From behind a curtain the blue mare that he had brought in walked toward him. Rubbing her horn, groaning from the obvious overuse of her magic, but she stopped when she saw the audience.
“Behold, the Great and Powerful Trixie has shown her mastery of all things!”
Zackary was used to getting applause. He really was, but this was the first time that he had ever heard the entire theater explode like it did.