> The Great and Powerful Escape Artist!
>  by Phoenix Quill
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Acting your way into a clear plastic box.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been three days since Trixie has gone into the box.

She looked down the clear flexible glass like material and made note of how far the ground was below her, and looked up at the solid wood top above. A small smile crept upon her face as she saw the gathering ponies below her begin to flash pictures. 

This was it, time for Trixie to begin her escape.

The cloud holding the box from above was bucked away from existence, and the box began to tumble to the ground...





A Week Ago...


Trixie sat across from Twilight at the Books and Branches library, both were sipping politely on tea as a silence filled the air. Not a tense silence, but one of those comfortable silences that only could be found in a library.

Twilight looked up from the piece of paper before her and looked Trixie in the eye, "So, let me get this straight, you designed this trick all on your own?"

Trixie nodded as she smiled with pride, "Yes I did. The design is based loosely on the great Hoofdini's famous escape box, but I added these elements to make it more... today."

Twilight looked at the detailed blueprints with an impressed expression on her face, "And you want me to...?" She let the question hang in the air, and Trixie picked up instantly.

"I need you to help me get the publicity machine rolling. While I am great and powerful, and Trixie could easily craft this perfection, I want everypony to know that the only unicorn that bested Trixie built this for me to escape out of."

"So, its a trick."

Trixie sighed a little bit before shaking her head, "Not a trick, its more like... A distraction of the fact. They think you are better at magic than I, and you sealed me so I can not escape! Its called false proof, or slight of hoof. A false hope that simply because somepony else traps me, that I can not get out."

Twilight raised a hoof in protest as she glared at Trixie, "But that isn't how magic works!"

"Not magic!" Trixie exclaimed as she slammed a hoof to the table, "This is entertainment! It has nothing to do with what you learn at unicorn school and everything to do with placing the crowd in suspended disbelief!"

Twilight gave off a small sigh as she rubbed a spot on her forehead, "Ok, but if you want to pull off this stunt we need supplies and I can't just pull bits from thin air to buy the materials. How are you going to pay for this?"

The Great and Powerful Trixie rubbed her hooves together as she smiled, "We get a sponsor..."





An hour later Twilight and Trixie found themselves in Ponyville's east end of town. Here the river ran around behind the thatched roofed cottages and shops, and the streets were twisted tight alleyways. Twilight was leading the way through the streets as Trixie followed and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible with a wizards hat and cape. "Where are we even going Twilight Sparkle? This neighborhood doesn't seem so, savory."

Twilight smiled to herself as she kept leading the way, "There is a store here that just started out a few months ago. Its doing well, but has been looking to advertise more."

"How do you know that she could even afford to sponsor us Twilight?"

"Trust me," Twilight said as they rounded another corner, "This pony is on the verge of success! All she needs now is a little nudge and it could benefit you both."

Twilight stopped in front of a clean little shop and smiled, "Ah where here!" She pointed up to the sign of the unassuming store.

"Lyra's Music Exchange and Artifacts Boutique." Trixie read aloud, "A music shop? What would a musician know about magic?"

Twilight opened the shop door and stepped in, "I think you would be surprised."

Inside the shop, guitars, cellos, lyres, drums and an assortment of wind and brass instruments lined the walls. On the back wall was a black painted sign with crimson scrip that read as follows.

Music is the magic that all know, any can learn, and few can master.
S.S.

Under the sign there was a high polished counter with a brass cash register and several of those last minute things a musician might need, like a guitar pick, or strings for there violin, drum keys and sticks, and those little screws that were impossible to find anywhere other than here that held the pick up for your electric guitar. 

Behind the counter sat an aquamarine unicorn. She was wearing a little vest with a million pockets filled with little tools for fixing and tuning musical equipment. At the moment she was leaning over the counter from her seated position, carefully soldering together the inner working wiring of an electric bass guitar. The mare didn't even look up from her work as she greeted the pair, "Welcome to Lyra's Music Exchange and Artifacts Boutique, I'll be right with you."

Trixie opened her mouth to protest having to wait when twilight placed a hoof over her barrel and shook her head. After a few more minutes the mare behind the counter placed the soldering gun in its holder and looked up at last, "Oh, hi Twilight! Can I help you?"

Twilight smiled politely, "Yes you can. Tell me, do you remember The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Lyra looked over at the blue unicorn and frowned, "Aren't you the one that took over Ponyville and ordered me to make a lyre without a body and only strings?"

Trixie rubbed a hoof behind her head, "Maybe..."

Lyra gave off a sigh and pulled out a set of strings ranging in size out in a glow of magic. Using the magic she pulled the strings taught and plucked out the basic music scale, "Thatt'le be four hundred bits."

"Wait, I didn't actually want the thing!" Trixie started as she backed away slightly, "It was meant to keep you busy!"

"Too bad, I made it, you pay it."

"But The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't have that kind of money!"

"Well then looks like you don't get it now do you!" Lyra said as she placed the strings back in a drawer, "Now how can I help you Twilight?" She said in a much kinder tone.

Twilight shuffled her hooves a bit as she talked, "Well you see, Trixie here has a new trick, but she needs a sponsor to make the trick work properly, and we thought maybe if you loaned us the cash, we can advertise you as the sponsor of the trick?" It came out like a question, even though Twilight did not mean it to.

Lyra looked at the two ponies and frowned, "If you want to talk business like that, you have to come into the back room." She then opened a door behind her reveling a dark room with no windows or lamps. As she walked in, the darkness enrobed her.

Trixie and Twilight looked at each other and shrugged as they followed into the room, only for the door to slam shut behind them.

A soft light glowed across the dark room, bobbing and weaving about. Lyra was sitting up in a big arm chair with her forehooves tapping together as she sucked on a novelty lollipop with a red light glowing on the tip of the stick, "Please, have a seat."

The two ponies gulped and made there way to the desk and sat on the floor before it. "No no no, in the chairs upright, I want to see your faces."

The two ponies got up and sat upright in the slightly cushioned chairs, as there eyes adjusted to the dim lighting they looked at Lyra, who was now wearing a black pin striped suit and fedora. "So, you want me to loan you money."

Twilight nodded and began to speak up, "Yes so she can-"

"Don't answer for your friend. I want to hear the proposal from Trixie herself."

Trixie gulped and tried to give off her signature smug smile, but it came off more as a worried grimace, "I need money, to build a modern version of Hoofdini's glass box so I can escape from it."

The silhouette of Lyra leaned back in the chair and lightly tapped her hooves together, "Good, now... How much money are we talking here?"

Trixie began to sweat in her seat as Lyra calmly sat before her, acting like a mob boss, "About a thousand bits for the equipment and to pay for help."

"Enough, I have come to a decision." Lyra then pulled out the lollipop and was able to speak more clearly, and as a result less menacingly, "I'll sponsor the event. I'll front the cash, you put my shops name out there. Be it on the box itself, or on the stage, or on a sign nearby letting them know who brought this to them. Got it?"

Trixie and Twilight nodded, "Yes I got it, you got it Twilight?"

"I got it, you got it?"

"I got it, we got it."

"Good. Now, as a sponsor I am paying for good advertisement, if it fails to bring me customers I will garnish half of your payment for this gig. Clear?"

Both ponies before Lyra let off a yes as Lyra stood up, "The lets shake on it."

The two ponies took turns shaking Lyra's right hoof before heading out again. "Remember good advertisements."

> Lyra and the Musician Mafia.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra watched as Twilight and Trixie exited the shop, headed to the bank to cash a check for one thousand bits.

She then tossed the suit back into the back room and sat down in her favorite chair so she could finish working on the electric bass guitar.

A few moments later she heard the tinkle of the shops door bell, and again she started her usual greeting while still working. "Hi and welcome to Lyra's Music Exchange and Artifacts Boutique, I'll be with you in a moment."

The voice that responded back was gruff, like a singer that had left his prime behind many years ago from yelling too hard into a microphone, "Take your time, we can wait."

She knew that voice, Lyra hated to admit it, but every musician knew that voice when he spoke. She looked up and saw them, the local duo of shock rock, Dark Star and Essence.

Now, allow me as the author to pause this story for a moment to explain why Lyra's heart came to a stop when she saw the face of Dark Star under the shadow of his fedora. Dark Star was not just some singer and guitarist that had run his one good looks and golden voice into the ground through years of personal abuse. No, he was also the founder of a particularly notorious group, The Musicians Mafia. 

The Musicians Mafia was legally a savings and loans company, anypony that wanted to play music at a venue, had to get permission from Dark Star, or his partner Essence before they got the chance. If you wanted to cut a record, you had to use Dark Star's equipment. If you wanted to even be considered a real musician, you had to get Dark Star and Essence's approval that you were one. 

And if you wanted to run a shop that sold music, or music equipment, or have a venue to play music, a tribute had to be paid to Dark Star and Essence.

"Well Miss Heartstrings, I am so glad to see you are doing moderately well in this location. But as you know, it is the first of the month. Payment due." The grey unicorn stretched out a hoof to Lyra from across the counter as Essence's wings twitched impatiently.

Lyra smiled sheepishly at the couple and lowered her eyes from his green ones, "I don't, that is to say at the moment, I can't pay... I don't have it."

Dark Star's face flashed with a hint of anger before he reached into his black suit jacket and pulled out a note pad, "I don't ask for much. We agreed that you would pay ten percent of your prophets. Now, I might be a stallion of business, but I am also a gentlecolt and would never hit a mare."

Lyra gave off a small sigh of appreciation before Essence spoke up, "However I might be a mare, and I ain't no lady." She raised a hoof reveling a switch blade built into her horseshoe. She flicked out the blade quickly and slammed the blade straight for Lyra's face!

Lyra flinched as the blade came straight for her eye ball and brought her forehooves up to protect herself. The blade swung up and slowed, lightly tapping the unicorn's horn, "Today you get a warning," the sun burnt orange pegasus said as she shook her blonde mane out of her face, "Next time I cut off part of your horn, and you live without magic till it grows back."

Lyra shuddered a bit as the blade lowered away from her. Essence folded the blade away and gave her partner an almost puppy dog look as she leaned into his side, "Baaaabe?" She said in a childish whiny voice, "Use that magnificent horn of yours to pop open the register for us love?"

Dark Star, having had just enough of his ego stroked from his wife and partner, complied as his green glow of magic enveloped the brass register. After a few moments, the cash drawer slid open and he pulled it out all the way and floated it to him, "Wait how am I going to make change?!" 

Dark Star gave off a small groan as he pulled the bits out of the drawer and filling his and his wife's pockets, "I'm a musician and a business pony, not a punk." The register floated back in with about ten bits in change. 

"Now according to this" Dark Star held up a note book, "you are still about a hundred bits short of your quota. Where is the money?"

Lyra then began to sweat, "Well, you see... I wanted to advertise my shop more, so I paid to sponsor a show, in the town square in exchange for advertising."

The pegasus was on top of Lyra so fast that if you blinked you would have missed what happened to get her from point a to b, "YOU SPONSORED ANOTHER MUSICIAN WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION! WHO THE BUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE LITTLE PONY!" The blade came out and drew up close to Lyra's cheek pressing its way into the flesh almost cutting, but not quite.

"NO NO MAGICIAN NOT MUSICIAN! It seemed like a good idea to get more business so I went with my gut! OH Celestia please don't stab me!"

The blade backed away a little bit before Essence spoke again, "How much did you give her?"

"A... a-a-a thousand bits."

Lyra could see the purple eyes of essence twitching for a few moments. The blade of the knife folded away as Essence got off of Lyra. Then the pegasus grabbed the bass guitar that Lyra worked so hard on and proceeded to smash it against the counter, sending splinters and electric parts flying all over the store as she yelled at the top of her very musical lungs.

Dark Star then placed an arm around his wife and hugged her, "Now you see what you've gone and done Lyra? You've made my wife angry. And if there is one thing I wont stand from anypony its making my wife mad." He stopped and let a deadly pause fill the air before continuing, "I'm going to be back. The day after this little magic show is done, you had better have the money, or everything that you see here. I will take for myself and give the rest away as a generous donation to needy colts and fillies, got it?"

"Yes sir..." The aquamarine unicorn said with a nod as the two ponies left the shop.

Lyra waited a full minute before going out the front door. She looked left, then right before shutting the door and grabbing a dustpan and broom in her magic.

She swept up the broken shards of the bass guitar from the floor and gave off a sigh as she pulled the still decent electric parts out. She then threw away the broken shards of wood and placed the electronic components and strings into a jar labeled parts for fake bass before she grabbed another wooden blank bass and pulled it out from under the shelf.

Useless guitar designed only to be smashed again and again by either Essence or Dark Star when they wished to intimidate her, and they usually did. It was a cheep shot at them, but better than having to explain to a customer where there instrument went. Or lose a brand new instrument to the smash happy hooves of Essence, and Dark Star.
> Set the stage.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been three days.

Three days of frantic running around Ponyville, placing orders for flyers, wall posters, and even a hot air balloon advertisement provided by Cherry Berry.

Today, all the work was finally paying off, and the rumors began to fly around the town as the posters started to go up. 

"She could die,"

"I heard that this is an elaborate ruse to fake her own death."

"Isn't that the pony that had trapped us in a giant dome?"

"Simpsons did it."

At the center of it all, was Trixie herself, but nopony has seen her at all since the posters had been ordered, choosing instead to hide away in the Books and Branches Library, leaving Twilight Sparkle as the pony in charge of propaganda distribution, and under her command, was Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and a reluctant Rainbow Dash. 

"I just don't understand why we are helping out that fraud." 

Fluttershy smiled kindly as she passed another flyer out to a passing pony, "Well they are going to need help with setting up clouds, and you did offer to buck out the clouds holding Trixie."

Dash grinned a bit as she passed out another flyer, "Yeah, but I just want to watch her fall, I mean come on! The biggest reason anypony sees a magic show is to watch them fail."

"Rainbow Dash! How could you say such a thing?"

"Look Shy, if Trixie messes up, it's her own fault for setting herself up to fail, and besides you saw what she did to Ponyville, I don't care what Twilight says, she is a long ways away from earning my trust any time soon."

Fluttershy looked at the ground and folded her wings rather than actually telling her friend what she thought. She pawed the ground nervously before passing out another flyer, "Well, everypony needs a little kindness." she then squeaked and closed her eyes before Rainbow Dash could say anything.

Suddenly, a stallion that was approaching the duo grasped his chest and shouted, "HNNNNNNNNNG!" before falling over from a combination of diabetes, heart attack, and chronic cuteness overload from looking directly at Fluttershy during her timid moment. Fortunately, Nurse Redheart happened to be near by, and quickly had a team of ponies remove and revive the stallion before Fluttershy could see what had happened, preventing her from crying and unleashing a massive breakout of chronic dawww's that could have put many ponies in the hospital.

Dash folded her arms and harrumphed, "That's your answer to everything."





Not too far away, Trixie and Twilight Sparkle were busying themselves with setting up the actual stunt.

It did not require too much concentration, especially for two ponies that had magic related cutie marks to put together. It was decided however that since Trixie knew what she wanted, she simply had Twilight do the heavy lifting while she used her own magic to make finite adjustments.

"Are you sure you know what you are doing Trixie? That doesn't look too stable."

The magician flipped her hair with a hoof, "Naturally, I wouldn't expect you to understand the fine art of stage magic, but I assure you it is as sturdy as a rock." To prove her statement, Trixie kicked one of the hard glass walls, immediately causing the whole thing to fall apart.

Trixie smiled sheepishly and shrugged at the glaring face of Twilight, "Well, I can't be right all the time."

Twilight closed her eyes and rubbed the spot between them with a hoof and groaned a little bit, "Trixie,"

The magician smiled at Twilight as she leaned in, "Yes Twilight?

"Why don't you go check up on the spot we rented by town square."





"And furthermore, I am the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie, and I tell you what to do, not the other way around! Yeah, that's what I should have said. Stupid Twilight with her answers and her bossiness and her know-it-allitude and her being Celestia's prized pupil.

The blue unicorn was trying to keep a low profile as she wandered through the town, making her way over to an empty field to check up on the construction of the stage that would start off the show.

The stage was made out of wooden boards and had all the rigging necessary to start off the show, and host a few others. Needless to say it was very tasteful and extremely expensive.
But because she is donating it to the town after the show is over, it is tax deductible, and that's always a good thing.

At the moment, construction ponies were working around the clock to make sure that the stage would be complete on time and Trixie's presence there was unnecessary. As she sat down thinking about what she SHOULD have said to Twilight a shadow fell over her, "Pardon me, but are you The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

The mare stood up faster than a flash and instantly got into defense mode, and stage presence mode, "That depends, who are you to seek the Great and Powerful Trixie?" 

An ashen grey unicorn in a black suit and a fedora was standing before her with wayfarer sun glasses on his face. Next to him was a burnt orange pegasus dressed note for note the same, "My name is Dark Star, this is my associate Essence." the grey one started.

"We are looking for The Great and Powerful Trixie to ask her a few questions." the other started imediatly after he stopped.

"I assure you that her safety will not be compressed, we simply need to discuss a matter of bits."

Trixie's ego had finally bested her capability of rational thought and she felt the need to introduce herself. But she wasn't fully stupid, "Well, I am her manager, Lulamoon. Any questions you would like to know about her can be directed to me."

The orange mare looked at her partner before the two nodded, "Is she reliable with her money?"

"Yes, she always pays her debts."

Dark Star then entered, "Has she ever failed to perform before a crowd?"

Trixie blinked for a few moments, "Well, she has never failed to perform before a crowd, however sometimes a crowd really does try their best to ruin her show. Are you the police?"

"No ma'am,"

"We're musicians."

Trixie looked at the two of them for a few moments with a blank look on her face, "Umm, how are you so in synch?"

"We have been married for a while now." the orange pegasus started.

"You tend to know what the other is thinking once you really know them." the grey unicorn finished.

The showmare backed off a little bit more, "Right, well I'm glad to see that you have taken an interest in this little act we are putting together, perhaps you will be around to enjoy the show."

"You don't seem to understand us," the Essence got close to Trixie and held up one of her hooves as a blade came out, "We heard that you were lent money from a Lyra Heartstrings to perform here, money that she owes us."

The grey unicorn's horn glowed as he stepped forward, bringing a set of drum sticks into view, "Now since you are new to this town, I decided to cut you a break. But that stage over there," Dark Star raised a hoof to point out the nearly complete stage, "you are now renting from us."

Essence stepped in as she held the knife to Trixie, "Now miss Lulamoon, I don't know what agreement you have made with miss Heartstrings, but once you pay her back the loan, you as a performer will have to pay us two percent of your personal earnings, or else."

Trixie stood her ground as she leared at the two musicians, "Or else what?!"

"Heh, tell her Essence."

Essence smiled, "Well, it would be just terrible if your star just suddenly... disappeared, wouldn't it? Or perhaps if Trixie suffered an accident where she could never perform again, GOT IT!"

Trixie nodded as the blade was held up to her throat, "Yes, I got it."

"Good," the blade went away as the two ponies turned about, "get to advertising, you got money to make."

Trixie watched the two walk away until they rounded the corner before she finally had a break down, "Oh my Celestia, I think I have just been threatened by the mob!"
> It's A Mare In A Box!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was finally here, the day that everypony was waiting for.

With all the aggressive advertising that Trixie's team had pulled off, it would have been amazing if nopony showed up at all. What nopony expected was for almost the entire town to show up!

The stage was set, as Twilight Sparkle and Trixie made some last minute preparations back stage, "Are you sure you want to do this Trixie? It's not too late to back out now."

Trixie snapped the button on her cape and adjusted her collar before answering, "After those two threatened me? I normally am not above running away, but threaten Trixie's life and limb over something as shallow as bits? That's low."

Twilight raised an eye, "Isn't this whole stunt about bits?"

"Ah, tut-tut-tut-tut-tut, shush." Trixie said as she lowered her hat onto her head, "That's different, we are talking lively hood and honorable work via entertainment, not strong arming innocent ponies."

"I still don't know why you just didn't call the police." Twilight said with a huff.

"Twilight Sparkle, if they are really a mafia as I suspect, they probably pay off the law enforcement!" she looked herself over for a moment before continuing, "It would just inconvenience them enough that Trixie would have to pay more bits!"

Twilight gave off a sigh before looking at a clock, "Well we have two minutes before Lyra introduces the show and we come out. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." the would be escape artist said with a grin.

"Okay, let's get in position."





Lyra Heartstrings was off to the side of the stage. Despite the fact that she wasn't the star of the show, she was nervous. "So, this is your big break is it?"

Lyra looked up at a grey earth pony with a neatly brushed black mane and tail. She had purple eyes, a purple treble clef cutie mark, and was sporting a pink bowtie on a collar. Lyra snorted and replied, "The only things I ever break are strings."

The two mares looked at each other with a smile before they gave each other a hug, "It's been so long Lyra! You know Canterlot just isn't the same without you."

"Oh I know but, I gotta go where I gotta go." the unicorn answered with a smile, "By the way I have something for you," She leaned down under her table to a set of saddle bags, "Give Baritone my regards.

The grey agent gave a narrow look at the paper wrapped package, "Of course. Well, I'm off to watch the show for now. See you on stage!"

Lyra smiled wide and gave a wave, "Yeah, see you after the show!"





Dark Star and Essence sat down together in the field before the stage as they waited for the show to begin, and made sure to count as many heads as possible in the venue, "Looks like a full house missus mouse."

Essence snorted out her nose, "All I see are bits flowing into our pockets when this is all said and done misser mouse."

Dark Star smiled as he watched Lyra walk up the short set of stairs onto the raised platform, "The stage is set, and the band is about ready I think." he commented as Lyra took up the microphone.

"Fillys and Gentlecolts, as owner of Lyra's Music Exchange and Artifacts Boutique, it is my pleasure as the management to bring you, The Great and Powerful Escape Artist, TRIXIE!" 

The ponies watching the stage applauded politely as they waited for the show to go on, "And remember to come by Lyra's Music Exchange for all your musical needs! Thank you."

Again some polite applause before Lyra made her exit off the stage.

Suddenly some fireworks went off around the stage as fanfare began to play, "Everypony please rise up for the Great and Powerful, TRIXIE!"

The curtain dropped and there she was, the mare that had trapped Ponyville. The town reacted exactly as expected, by attempting to lob rotten eggs, fruit and vegetables at the stage midst a shout of "BOO!"

The projectiles never stood much of a chance as they bounced harmlessly away from the stage and fell in the space between the crowd and the stage that had been left empty for just this reason, "Thank you! Thank you! The Great and Powerful Trixie is so happy to know that you remember her, even if it is in this fashion."

A grey pegasus stallion with black and green mane suddenly flew up a ways and shouted over the crowd, "YOU SUCK!" 

"HEY NO REFUNDS!"

A few ponies groaned loud enough for Trixie to actually feel the stage shake slightly. "Now, for the moment you all have been waiting for. To assist me, may I introduce Twilight Sparkle!"

The purple unicorn entered from stage right just as practiced with a smile and a tumultuous round of applause from the audience. Trixie smiled as things were going exactly as she expected them to. "Please introduce yourself to the crowd."

Twilight cleared her throat before speaking, "My name is Twilight Sparkle," she paused for some more applause, "and I would like to show you this!" horn aglow she magically grabbed onto a sheet, throwing it off of a giant plastic box with a wooden top lid.

A few of the ponies gave an audible ooh sound as Trixie met up with Twilight Sparkle, "This box was designed by myself to be unbreakable. It was based on the late great Hoofdini's infamous escape box, and as such there is only one way to enter this box, here through a door on top." Twilight said as she pointed out the features of the box.

Several ponies looked even closer at the box and murmured among themselves, "Furthermore," Trixie started, "to commemorate that the great Hoofdini was in fact an earth pony, yet still managed to amaze ponies with his escape artistry and slight of hoof, I shall escape from this box without the aid of magic!"

The murmur turned into a veritable buzz as the ponies got very excited over this fact. Twilight then held up a small ring, "This as you may recognize is an inhibitor ring, on loan from the Ponyville Police Department. It prevents unicorns from casting any spells whatsoever. Would anypony care to come up to demonstrate this in front of the audience?"

The ponies all looked at each other for a few moments, but no hooves came up to the air, "How about... you?" Trixie said as she pointed out to the crowd.

"Me?" A blue unicorn with a grey mane and lighter blue eyes said as he held a hoof to his chest.

"Yes you, with the lightbulb cutie mark! Come on up here and show your peers that this is the real thing!" Trixie said with a flourish.

The stallion walked onto the stage and smiled as the crowd stomped their hooves politely for him, "So tell Trixie, what is your name?"

"My name is Bright Idea, and I sell electronic devices, like lamps and bulbs and maybe some day radios." a lone pony gave a whoot over the crowd as he blushed on stage.

"Alright," Twilight said with a smile, if you would please demonstrate that you can use some magic by levitating this apple."

The stallion smiled as he easily lifted the apple up in the air. He held it for a few moments before lowering it back down on the small table.

"Very good, now I will simply slide this ring over your horn," Twilight did so with a small smile, "now if you would be so kind to try again?"

The unicorn struggled for a few moments as he tried to direct the power to do so. When nothing happened he shrugged, "I can't, I just simply can't."

Twilight then slid the ring off his horn and smiled, "Thank you for demonstrating for us, you may keep the apple!" The stallion grinned as he grabbed the apple with his magic and ran off before he was asked to do some other arbitrary thing.

"I will now slide the ring over Trixie's horn." Twilight said as she raised it over her head with her magic, "Any last things you wish to do with your magic before I place it over your head, followed by you in the box for three days?"

Trixie gave off a smug grin, "Only this," she cast a spell as Twilight grew a rediculously over sized mustache. "Trixie is ready now."

Twilight groaned as she cast the counter spell to make the mustache disappear as the ponies in the audience laughed a little bit. She slid the ring onto Trixie's horn then levitated the blue unicorn up to the top of the box.

Trixie opened the trap style door and jumped in, immediately Twilight cast a spell causing a lock to appear making the door sealed tight, "And now, to help us raise the stakes here, may I present Rainbow Dash!"


The ponies applauded again as the sky blue pegasus brought down decent sized cloud and left it hovering above the box. Chains quickly wrapped themselves around the cloud, cast so that they could grip onto it. "Alright Dash, raise her up!"

With the command given Rainbow Dash grabbed the cloud and lifted as Twilight helped levitate the box. Higher and higher into the air until Trixie and the box she was within was almost a thousand feet up in the air.

Twilight stopped casting her spell, as Dash dove back down to the stage, "Thank you for coming everypony and paying for your tickets. Be sure to keep them and return in three days when Trixie makes her great escape! Rainbow Dash called out with a grin as the two ponies bowed before the audience.

And just like that, the show was over. Trixie smiled inside her box as she watched some ponies file away, while others decided to stick around and see if she did anything embarrassing while up there.

A pegasus flew by her box, "Hope you don't have to use the bathroom!"

"This is going to be a long three days," Trixie said as she slapped her face with a hoof.
> No Privacy For YOU!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prince Blueblood was in his private study as he looked over the bills of his estate, and ran a hoof through his mane, "Ugh, I'm going to have to cut back somewhere, these expenses are going to be the death of me."

His butler, Sound Advice raised an eye to this statement, "Perhaps Master Blueblood, if you were to cut back on your intake of hard liquor, salt licking, and hiring of escort services,"

"Are you insane? Those are the things that make life worth living! No, I think I shall raise the taxes for my district again."

Sound Advice raised an eyebrow as he used his magic to pour another glass of brandy for his employer, "Surely sir you would not do such a thing, after all do you wish to become the most hated unicorn in Equestria?"

Blueblood raised took a bite out of a salt block before drinking down the entire glass of brandy, "You mean I am not already? Then who is? And be quick about it before I go off into the land of jitters!"

Sound Advice turned around to prepare a bucket in case his master needed it, "I believe it is a traveling magician by the name of Trixie Lulamoon." He turned around with the bucket at the ready, "Master Blueblood?"

The master of the house sat in the chair covered in his own vomit and fecal matter while his tongue hung out his mouth. His eyes were rolling about as he babbled like a newborn foal that couldn't master basic Equestrian language.

The butler gave off a sigh as he went to a near by sink to fill the bucket with hot soapy water, "Well your most hated in my book anyway."





Trixie was settling into a corner of the box with a sigh. The real trick of this stunt wasn't so much her escape, but the boredom of being trapped in a box at all times.

Taking off her cape and hat she lay them down on the corner into a make shift sleeping area as she lay down with a sigh, "This is going to be the death of me. I Can't stand this boredom."

"Hey there!"

Trixie jumped up with a start and was rewarded with bopping her skull on the wooden top of the box, "OUCH! Who's there?"

The pegasus outside the glass box smiled as she leaned forward on the cloud she was resting on, "My name's Flitter, I just thought maybe you could use some company."

The unicorn in the box huffed as she stuck her nose in the air, "Very well! Trixie will allow you to keep Trixie company." 

The pegasus giggled lightly behind her hoof, "Well, can you tell me where you come from?"

Trixie closed her eyes as she flashed back in her mind to her earliest memories that she had.

A little blue unicorn filly sat in the back of a classroom filled with many ponies her own age. She never had seen so many other ponies before in her life. The other ponies seemed to ignore her entirely as she played with a toy wand trying to entertain a small army of toys before her. "And now for Trixie's greatest trick, I will allow you to pick a card any card!"

The stuffed toy ursa major simply fell back from its seated position as Trixie gave off a sigh, "Why don't I have any friends?"

It was years later and Trixie was in Magic School. The unicorn frowned behind her thick glasses as she tried to adjust the sweater on her school uniform, "Hey Trixie!" 

She turned around to look and saw her, Hot Trot, the most popular girl in school, and she was talking to her! Her mind went abuzz with many thoughts about how this was it, and she was finally going to be accepted into the popular clique and how she will finally have friends of her own. Trixie smiled wide showing off her braces as Hot Trot leaned brushed a hoof through her mane, "Tell me, what is the physical dimensions of a shut locker?"

Trixie frowned paused for a moment as she tapped her chin with a hoof, "I'm not sure, what are they?"

There was a bright flash of light and suddenly Trixie found herself stuffed inside the confined space of somepony else's locker. "Have fun nerd!"

It was a few years later, and Trixie was packing up a wagon, "You'll see mom. Some day I'll be famous! You'll be proud of me then!"

Her mother yawned into her hoof, "Good luck with that. Don't get eaten by a bear when you're out there, I can't afford to hold a funeral for you."

Trixie felt the tears brim behind her eyes, gone was the nerd from those school days. She had the perfect smile, and perfect vision thanks to a spell she learned. Yet nothing could sting more than what her mother said. "Goodbye mother." As she left the border of Hoofington she looked back at the village and quietly vowed to return some day so that they would all see how well she did. How famous she became, and how loved she is without them. "Then they will love me, everypony will." 

Trixie blinked at Flitter and tried to smile as well as she could, "I would rather not talk about that."





In Canterlot, two ponies met in secret. They looked at each other and nodded before one dropped off a paper wrapped package, "Is that it?"

The other pony nodded under her hat as she backed away into the shadows. The pink unicorn picked up the package and quickly stuffed it into her bags before running off to another part of the city.

Once she reached her destination, Beauty Brass pulled out the package and could hardly believe her eyes, inside was a stack of papers, along with a reel of recording tape. Quickly as she could Baritone placed the tape in a player and began to listen.

"This is agent nine, reporting to you on suspects twelve and thirteen respectively. Evidence has been hard to come by, however I have recorded these ponies giving a shakedown." The sound suddenly shifted as Baritone plugged in her set of headphones effectively blocking out any unwanted listeners from finding out where the recording came from, or the names of Agent Nine, or suspects Twelve or Thirteen. 

As she listened Baritone flipped through the paper evidence as her smile grew wider and wider. "I'm gonna catch you two..."





Penny Pincher gave off a sigh as he left the bank he worked at and trotted homeward.

Suddenly he looked to his side and said softly, "You don't even know who I am, do you?"

"Nope!" the purple earth pony said with a smile, "But I wave at everypony!"

The green and copper stallion gave off a sigh and walked back home, muttering about alcoholics.





Twilight Sparkle sat in her library flipping through the pages of a book with a small smile, the peace of the evening was interrupted by the sudden sound of Spike throwing open her bedroom door, "TWILIGHT! It's terrible, a disaster!"

Twilight jumped out of her bed as quick as she could, "What is it? Do we need to write the princess? Is there an attack on the town?!"

"Worse," Spike started as he pulled something forward, "We're out of double chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream!"

Twilight stared at Spike for a few moments. She felt a tinge of dizziness as she looked at her book and realized that it had shut without a bookmark. She looked back at her dragon assistant with a frown, "Maybe you need to stay the night with Pinkie Pie..."





"And that's how I make my tacos!" Flitter finished as Trixie sat in the box in front of her.

Trixie felt her eye twitch for a few moments and tried to keep her calm, "Facinating. You know what? I would love to try one."

"Oh how wonderful!" Flitter smiled as she clopped her hooves together, "I'll go get you some!" she then jumped off the cloud and started to flitter her way home to get Trixie one.

"Finally, maybe now I can do some meditating."  Trixie said with a sigh as she sat down on top of her cape in the corner and closed her eyes to relax.

"Only two more days of this, just try to keep calm... Find your inner self... Wait stop thinking... okay, now I'm not thinking, wait yes I am. Okay. No thoughts."

As Trixie tried to clear her mind for meditation she sighed, and some clouds moved aside to bathe the blue unicorn in the sky with the light of a full moon. The stars twinkled around her as if they were dancing to a song that no mortal pony could understand. 

Trixie felt herself relax, and tried to reach that higher state of being, "I'M BACK! And I got Tacos!"

Trixie immediately jumped, and as a result again bopped her head on the roof of the box. She attempted to smile at the intruder again, "Great! Now, how are you going to get it inside of this sealed box?"

Flitter looked over the box for a few moments, "Oh yeah... Well I guess I'll eat them!" She then sat back down on a cloud and munched contently on the crispy shell wrapped around vegetables and ground spicy soy and cheese. 

As Trixie tried to block out the pegasus's constant munching noises she looked out over the town below her, "It's going to be a long night..."
> Dawn of the second day.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Great and Powerful Trixie yawned wide as she woke up and stretched. "Despite conditions, I slept like a filly."

She looked around and saw a dozen pegasi watching her from clouds, and a few dozen earthbound ponies below looking up at her.

At this moment three immediate thoughts came to her mind: "Ugh, I need coffee.”, “At least the trick is working out.”, and “Wait, I think I have to pee."

As she looked around at the ponies watching her she gave off her best smile. "Hi everypony."

From all around every single pony that was able to hear her, and a few others from the ground that were able to listen in shouted back. "HI TRIXIE!"

"Okay, a bit creepy..."






Lyra gave a small yawn as she walked the distance to her shop, cup of coffee levitating beside her. "Well, here we go again. Maybe I can finish that violin today, OH MY CELESTIA!"

Her usual train of thoughts had been derailed and slammed into a river by the sight that greeted her. A line, starting from where she stood, snaked its way around the block. As she went around the corner, she saw that it went down the curve in the road, all the way to the front door of her little shop.

As she drank down the rest of her coffee she quickly made her way to the front of the line to open the door. Once inside she quickly turned on the lights, gave her displays a quick once over, then unlocked the door to let the flood in.

Immediately the torrent of ponies came into the shop and started looking around all the various musical and magical instruments, leaving Lyra to try and figure out who to help first.

"Do you have any pianos?"

"Can I get this on layaway?"

"Hey, what's this do?" The question was followed by the sound of shattering glass, as Lyra turned to the direction of the sound; The perpetrator already blending into the rest of the crowd.

Lyra felt panic rise in her chest as she quickly stood on her hind legs, grabbed the nearest instrument off the wall, which happened to be a baritone saxophone, and played the lowest note possible followed by a shrill squeak.

The effect was immediate, as everypony stopped talking over each other and bumping into the expensive instruments.
Lyra lowered the musical instrument and smiled. "Now that I have your attention, welcome! Please form a line to the counter and I will help you each one at a time!"

After a few groans and grumbles, the ponies reformed into a line before the register. That line connected to the line outside the door, which went around the block, and kept getting longer by the minute.

Lyra put her best smile on as she greeted the first mare at the counter. "How can I help you?"

The blue unicorn gave off a perfect smile as she flipped her white and blue mane. "Do you have any electric pianos?"

"This is going to be a great day for business." Lyra smiled as she pointed out the small selection she had. "Right over there, please take a look for the model you want. If it's not available, we can order it. NEXT!"

A pink unicorn gave off a small smile as she adjusted her wavy blue mane. "Yes, I was wondering, what is your favorite musical style?"

Lyra froze as she looked the pony over a few times. "I would have to say neoclassical." The two mares looked at each other for a few moments before Lyra finally pointed to the door leading to the back room. "Please make yourself at home, I'll be with you as soon as I can."

As the other mare went into Lyra's back room she turned to the next pony in line. "What can I get for you?"





Nurse Redheart gave off a cheery smile as she entered the room of a patient in the hospital. "Well Mister Tops, how are we doing today?"

The red earth pony was all smiles as he sat up in his bed. "Nurse Redheart, I do believe that I feel much better today, and please, call me Firebird."

Nurse Redheart gave off a gentle smile. "Well I just came by to let you know that Doctor Stable says that you should be able to go home today."

Firebird ran a hoof through his orange and gold mane as he eagerly tried to get up and away from the machines hooked up to him. "Well that's wonderful! Then the diabetes from the daww attack was impermanent?"

The nurse looked over the pony's chart a few times and nodded. "That is correct, however I would advise against viewing anything cute and cuddly for a few more weeks. No fluffy bunnies and kittens, and try to avoid little colts and fillies being adorable or any members of the so called Elements of Harmony."

The nurse was suddenly cut off from a moaning sound from the next bed over. "Where am I?"

Redheart grabbed the curtain in her teeth to slide it open revealing a certain white unicorn lying in a bed splattered with who-knows-what bodily fluids. "Prince Blueblood, you are lucky that Sound Advice was able to bring you to a hospital you partially own. Canterlot E.R. rejected you outright for what you did, last time you were there."

The bed ridden prince looked up at the florescent lights in the ceiling and moaned. "Why am I in a room with a mere commoner, and why is my nurse a lowly earth pony and not a unicorn?"

The nurse stuck her nose in the air as she slid the curtain shut again. "This EARTH pony happens to have been the only one that WANTED you to get better, despite your recent tax increase. I take my job seriously, and lucky for you that I was able to flush out all the salt and alcohol in your blood system."

The prince shot up in the bed and was rewarded with the squish of whatsit from under his legs. "ALL OF IT?!"

She pointed to the hose attached to Blueblood's foreleg that connected to a fifty gallon drum filled to the brim with pure alcohol, next to it sat a pony high pyramid of salt blocks. "ALL of it."

"Maybe that's why I am thinking clearly for the first time since..."

Suddenly Blueblood's mind was flooded with memories of his father forcing him to stand in a closet sized oven filled with broken glass and nails sticking out of all four walls and the ceiling, while the heat was rising. The young Blueblood attempted to lean against the walls to rest as the heat made him waiver and nearly pass out. "Father, what did I do?"

"A PROPER PRINCE MUST STAND TALL!" His fathers voice called out through the steel door.

The image faded away as the stallion came crashing back to reality. "I need a drink..."

The request was ignored for the most part as Firebird and Nurse Redheart left. "No more salt or alcohol for you. The doctor has already written to your aunt about sending you to a sobriety class."

At this call, Prince Blueblood quickly reached for the drum of alcohol in hopes of getting it back in him. The nurse quickly grabbed the cart it, and the salt was sitting on with her teeth and wheeled it away from him. "I'll be back with a few ponies to clean you up."

A few moments later and Firebird B. Tops was outside the hospital, breathing the fresh air and casually trotting to his tea shop; hoping to open it on time for the mid-morning rush.





Dark Star smiled at his aunt, Black Shadows as he sipped politely on his cup of tea. "Aunt B. It's so nice of you to invite me all the way up to Canterlot on this fine Friday."

The dark gray unicorn rolled her eyes, as she set her own cup down on the coffee table. "Dark Star, I did not invite you, you just appeared at my back door and asked where my sons are. Next thing I know, you let yourself in and help yourself to my tea."

Dark Star threw one of his hooves downward through the air as he laughed. "Oh Aunt B., you're so modest. Now where is Spooky Shadows? I could use him for a gig back in Ponyville tomorrow."

The psychiatrist frowned as she sipped from her teacup, giving her nephew a dark look over the rim. "Steam Shine is at work, up in Cloudsdale, where neither of us can go. That is unless you learned how to perform the cloud walking spell and can afford a balloon ride up there."

Her nephew guffawed for a few moments before finally getting a deep enough breath. "Steam Shine? What did he change his name for?"

Black Shadows stirred her tea for a few moments, as she looked at her nephew. "He felt that he should use his real name, if he is going to get a job. Not just a stage name you created for him."

Dark Star laughed for a few moments as he trotted to the fridge. "Oh Aunt B. you crack me up. Hey, you're out of iceberg lettuce and I was going to make us a salad. Oh, and when does Spooky Shadows come home from work?"

"Dark Star, I have already been through this with you, he does not live here anymore, and I don't give out addresses unless he says it's ok."

"Yeah, but I'm family, so you can make an exception. I need him for a job. Come on, I know you know, that I know, that you know, that he knows, that I know, that he knows, that we all know, that they know me, and I need him for his muscle. By the way, you're out of extra sourdough bread."

"What?! I just bought a whole loaf yesterday for sandwiches!" Black Shadows turned around to see her nephew chewing on the end of the whole loaf of bread.

"You know," he paused to swallow before taking another bite and continuing to talk. "I should have brought my wife here, she would have loved this bread and tea you gave me."

Black Shadows turned in her seat as she levitated her tea cup and muttered into it under her breath. Something along the lines of "I bet she's an ass too." but nopony could say since nopony could hear her.
> Pieces fall into, and out of place.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trixie's stomach growled. Nopony could really blame her, however, given her situation. It has been two days since she last ate or drank anything and she was now finding how cruel pegasi can be.

"You want this cake?"

"Trixie wants it."

"You want this taco?"

"Yes, Trixie is hungry."

"Well then come on out and we'll give you some of this tasty popcorn!"

Trixie stared through the thick plastic at the ponies around her sitting on clouds, several ponies had cloud walking spells enacted upon them and paid for a cloud ride just to tease Trixie with food and drink. Unfortunately for her, this also meant that she could not relieve herself and was now constantly pacing back and forth. Not that doing so would be of much help without someplace for it to go. Trixie never planned for that.

As she looked over at the ponies surrounding her, she noticed that their eyes followed every move she made in the box. "I wonder what's going on below?"

As Trixie contemplated this, she looked to the west and saw the sun setting-down below the horizon, finally signaling the end of her second day. "That's it then, tomorrow I make my great escape!"





Essence watched as the train pulled into the station and smiled brightly, as the doors opened to reveal Dark Star's smiling face. "Misser Mouse, where have you been?"

He quickly hopped out of the train and gave his wife a quick kiss before explaining himself. "Sorry love, I stopped up at Canterlot for a bit to see my aunt about loaning me my cousin."

"You didn't tell her what you wanted him for, right?"

Dark Star waved a hoof nonchalantly with a smile. "Of course not, love. I just said that I needed him for a gig, they don't need to know what we do besides play music."

The two smiled for a few moments by the train, watching as other passengers got out to stretch for a few moments, or gallop into the arms of a loved one they were planning on staying with. It was at that moment that Dark Star spotted her. "Say, isn't that...?"

"Beauty Brass! So good to see you again, did you bring the rest of the group?"

The blue earth pony dropped her case and immediately hugged the mare that greeted her. "Octavia! I missed you so much. How is your vacation here in Ponyville?"

Dark Star and Essence crept closer to the pair like a moth to a flame as the two continued to exchange greetings. "Oh things are going fine. Royal Ribbon came earlier and is staying with Lyra. My cousin Fiddlesticks and I are staying at her cousin's apple farm."

Beauty threw a foreleg over her chest, as she looked Octavia over. "Oh my, I do hope your doing fine there."

Octavia gave off a small smile. "Well it's not quite what I am used to but the Apples are real nice, and treat me like family. Well, I technically am, however distant it is, but still family none the less."

"Excuse me," Dark Star interrupted, "but aren't you two from the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra?"

Beauty Brass looked the pair over for a few moments with a frown. "I don't know what they teach out here in this 
unsophisticated little town, but it is rude to interrupt ladies when they are talking. However, yes, we are."

Dark Star smiled wide as his wife rolled her eyes at his obvious fanboying. "I just wanted to say that I saw you playing at the Royal Canterlot Hall and I was so moved by the way your group played. I hope you are planning on a performance here."

The two musicians looked at each other for a few moments before finally acknowledging him back. "We are planning a small get together tomorrow, yes. But we have some business to attend to first, so wherever we play will probably be at a friends venue or home."

Dark Star and Essence looked at each other in confusion for a few moments before they shrugged. "Well it was nice to meet you both, come on love."

With all that said and done, Essence and her husband trotted into town and had a quiet argument between them if they could manage to get money out of this or not. They were so into their conversation, that they did not realize that they never saw the tower of scrolls being carried by the town's resident dragon and assistant to Twilight Sparkle, Spike.

Poor Spike, he just simply could not catch a break that day. First he was forced to stay the night with Pinkie Pie. While it doesn't sound so bad to have a sleepover with the town's party pony, it lead to a long night, with Spike being kept up till nearly sunrise, talking to, or rather listening to Pinkie Pie talking about everything while getting nothing said at all.

Spike finally fell asleep at four thirty in the morning, only to be awoken by an alarm clock that was quite possibly invented by a mad scientist, or Pinkie herself. Either or; same difference. Moments afterward he discovered how Pinkie was so energetic all day. The answer was coffee. Lots and lots of coffee, which Spike drank a liberal amount of as well.

After a few hours Spike was picked up by Twilight, who took his sudden jumpy energy as a sign that he had a good nights sleep, and immediately sent him on an all day long shopping trip. It had taken till just then, to grab the last thing on the list: one hundred scrolls of paper.

With so much paper in his arms, he never saw the oncoming pair of ponies, bickering about whether or not they could get money out of some musicians. Soon enough he found himself flat on his back with the two ponies passing by him without even an "Excuse me." or "Here let me help you.".

As the young dragon lay on his back, under a pile of now-dirty scrolls, he groaned aloud. "Yep, it's one of those days..."





It was an hour after sunset before Lyra Heartstrings finally was able to close the shop. She was so busy that she had to forgo her lunch break, and stay open late for all the customers.

Nearly everything was sold, with almost one hundred special orders, and almost a hundred more for the things she ran out of!

Yet, she could not go home. Lyra looked outside her shop, up and down the road for a few moments,  made sure the coast was clear, then locked herself in the closed shop and headed into the back room.

The back room was lit by a single lamp, and was filled with the sound of bickering ponies, as they argued about the best route to take in the situation at hoof. Lyra looked at the eight musicians before standing on her hind legs and whistling into both her front hooves. "Alright, everypony!"

Suddenly the loud sound of obvious fake coughing in the seek of attention drew the rest of the eyes on a gryphon sitting in the back, with his talons folded together and an intimidating frown on his beak. "Sorry, I have no idea vere dat came from," he spoke the words with a thick Gryphonian accent.*

Lyra paused as she took notice of the gryphon. "Sorry Sven, everybody, I think that it is time we get down to details, gathered here we have Beauty Brass, Octavia, Harpo, Royal Ribbon, and Fredric Horseshoepin from Canterlot, Fiddlesticks, Vinyl Scratch and myself representing Ponyville, and last, but certainly not least you all know Sven, the drummer from Germaneigh, currently on tour here in Equestria,"

"Ve know who ve are, get on vith it!" Sven called out from the back of the room before the rest of the group nodded and called out in agreement.

"Sorry," Lyra winced as she spoke. "I'm not used to speaking with groups and thought introductions would be needed. Anyhow, you are all here today to answer to the threat of boredom."

"The Boars are attacking?" Vinyl asked as she raised raised her shades and started to pull her bass canon closer to her.

"No, I think that she's trying to be dramatic again,"

"I MEANT, that Ponyville is in serious trouble!" Lyra finally interrupted. "Everyone here, I am sure, is finding it increasingly difficult to book a venue here, without raising suspicion with the local mob, the so-called Musicians Mafia."

FIddlesticks slammed a hoof down on the table. "Them goons charged me an' my group an' arm and a leg for playin' music last Nightmare Night!"

"I must say that my cousin is right. Two of those goons, as she called them, harassed Brass and myself at the train station, under the guise of being fans."

"Dey are currently extracting ten marks a day from me for holding my clarinet and reeds at a verehause I never asked to be put into!"

"AND THEY DROPPED THE BASS!" Vinyl screamed over the rest holding up a broken bass guitar. "My beautiful bass..."

"That's all fine and good, but why are we all here right now?" Fredric asked as he looked up from the notepad he was writing music notes on.

Lyra, Octavia, Vinyl, Brass and Ribbon looked at each other and shared a small grin before Lyra finally explained. "We have a plan."





Trixie tried to settle down in the same corner as last night, but found that she just couldn't get any sleep. Hunger gnawed at her stomach like a pack of parasprites and thunder rumbled across the sky, as several pegasi gathered storm clouds for the night. "Trixie demands to know if she will be struck down by lightning tonight!"

A passing pegasus stopped to answer, although briefly. "Don't worry, Captain Rainbow Dash has special instructions to make this a low energy storm. Besides, you're not grounded. If anything, it would just pass you by."

Soon enough, all the pegasi flew away, leaving Trixie alone for the first time all day. With the public eye off of her, she could finally drop the act and be herself, in the situation she was placed in. That of being a grown mare, scared to death of being cooked alive by lightning.

As she lay on the bottom of the box, she hid under her cape, and using her hat like a pillow, she tried to relax. That was when the first raindrop hit the box.

Thunder rumbled once again, as the storm really started to get some momentum to it. Rain pelted the box like an angry child, and she felt all-at-once terrified and glad that the water was not finding a way in through the wooden top of the box.

That security was short-lived. The hastily crafted wood that made up the topside of the box, was never stained or varnished to be water proof, and soon began to drip water into the box. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

As the rain continued to pour, Trixie began to feel sick, while the wind howled and rocked the box on the chain it was suspended from. Furthermore, the rain continued to pour into the box at a rapid rate leaving an inch of water on the floor. "Well, it could be worse. At least I'm not grounded."

That was when fate decided to laugh at her and throw a lightning bolt her way, instantly frying the unicorn standing in an inch of water. "Joy..."
> Dawn of the Final Day, Six Hours Remain.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun crested over the horizon, its light cast a warm glow over the now clear skies of Ponyville. Trixie awoke to realize that she had fallen asleep standing on her hind legs, in the corner of the box, with water nearly up to her haunches. "Ugh, what time is it?"

"It's sunrise genius. Now come on, splash some of that water on your face, you look all burnt up." Rainbow Dash said as she continued to buck the remainder of the clouds out of the sky.

Trixie growled under her breath for a few moments, before splashing the water on her face a few times, in hope of getting rid of the scorch marks the lightning had left on her throughout the night. "Just a few more hours of this, then I can finally get out of here and collect the bits from the ticket box..."





Firebird B. Tops yawned into his hoof as he walked down the stairs of his home and into the small kitchen of his professional life. It wasn't a glamorous job owning the Tops Tea and Coffee Cafe, but somepony had to supply the caffeine to Ponyville.

As he fumbled in the dark, he muttered under his breath about getting electric lights some day, right before tripping on a bit of loose floorboard in the kitchen. He cursed under his breath before rising to light a gas lamp in the wall.

With the light on, he could finally see the simple set up of his shop; the bottom story of a house converted to a cozy seating area, with a counter and several brewing devices. He smiled despite himself and immediately began the process of brewing select coffees and teas for the morning rush. But first, his personal stash of imported coffee from Zebrabwe, a particularly strong coffee that could only be drank one ounce at a time.

As the mechanized brewers began their work, Firebird quickly downed his shot of coffee and gave the dining area a once-over, before unlocking the front door and flipping the sign to open. Once it was all said and done, he opened a notepad and began to write.

A coffee brewer's day starts early. Dear Celestia, does it start early. When you’re the one stallion in town that knows how to properly brew a cuppa, ponies expect that you’ll be up and percolating before the moon goes down at the end of the night. Unfortunately, those same ponies who force me out of bed before the crack of dawn also tend to enjoy coffee most when eating their after-dinner dessert from Sugarcube Corner. Most times, they’re in and out faster than I can say hello. Still, wouldn't trade it for all the riches of Canterlot. After all, I like to think that if I were to close down, the whole of Ponyville would collapse, since nopony’d be able to wake up and go to work.*

"I'm telling you darling, this little cafe has simply the finest tea outside of Canterlot. You simply must come inside and have a cup, my treat!"

Firebird stopped writing in the notepad, to look up and smile as he saw his best customer, Rarity, standing within the open door-frame of the shop. Two other ponies stood behind her, but he could not quite see who they were. "Really Rarity, you don't have to buy me anything. I usually get my coffee from Java Bean's across town anyway."

"Now now, not another word, you both must simply try the blend of Jasmine Tea that he carries here," With that said, Rarity entered the cafe at last, followed by a purple unicorn and a certain yellow pegasus.

Firebird felt his heart pop slightly in his chest as he remembered what happened the last time he was within twenty feet of Fluttershy, and the overnight stay in the hospital it caused. Quickly as he could, Firebird looked for something to look at, other than the three mares, in hopes of not winding up hospitalized again and found a newspaper. He opened it quickly and pretended to read the obituary.

Rarity paid no mind to the strange behavior of the shopkeeper and sat down at an open table with her friends, "Oh Firebird, please be a dear, and bring a pot of your lovely Jasmine tea for my friends Twilight, Fluttershy, and myself."

Firebird paused, closed his eyes and smiled at the three mares. "Of course Miss Rarity," He turned and quickly prepared a tray with sugar cubes, cream, cups and saucers, before grabbing a pot of the requested tea and carrying the tray over to the table.

On his trip over to them, he kept his eyes closed the entire time, fear clutching his heart as he hopped beyond hope that this would not be the day that he wound up back in the hospital, sharing a room with that insufferable 'prince' that raised taxes whenever he wrecked another private yacht. "Here you are ladies, please let me know if there is anything else you need."

"Thank you Firebird, I shall," With the business out of the way, he quickly made a retreat to the safety of his counter where he could continue to read the paper and not suffer from an overexposure of either Daww, or Hnnng.

"Oh my, but this tea is nice." Fluttershy commented as she sipped on the tea, "I wonder if he would sell any that I can take home."

"It is quite the cup of tea, but for my bit I still prefer Java Bean's regular ol' coffee," Twilight said with a smile.

"Oh, his coffee is fine enough if you just want to wake up and do something," Rarity replied, "but in my opinion, nothing says good morning like a cup of tea."

"Well, I suppose it depends on what I am in the mood for, but maybe I'll come by more often. After all, a change here and there is probably for the best."

The three friends continued to sip on their tea and make polite conversation, as they did the shop slowly let in the trickle of his usual morning customers. As the shop became more busy, the more he was able to be distracted from the three mares at the table and not have to worry about another hospitalization.

"So, what time is the big drop, Twilight?"

Twilight swallowed down her tea and looked at Rarity with a raised eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

"You know," she started before whispering in her direction, "when Trixie makes her escape."

"Oh that!" Twilight laughed a little for not catching on sooner. "It's at noon. We still have a few hours to go before we have to be there." She stopped to pour herself a little more tea only to find that it was all gone, "Oh well, I guess it's time we get going."

"Yes, I am afraid that I have got a busy morning today, I simply have to finish that dress I was making, for an important client in Canterlot."

Fluttershy looked at her friend with some concern. "Oh, does that mean you have to leave later today?"

"I'm afraid so, but I did promise to be there when Trixie makes her escape, and I will not miss it. I'll take the next train to Canterlot once everything here is squared away."

The other two ponies nodded slightly before Fluttershy drained the rest of her cup. "It was so nice to have this outing with you both. Before we go, I would like to talk to the owner about taking home some of this tea," With that said, the timid mare made her way through the crowd to the counter.

Firebird felt a small pinch of panic rise in his chest. "Oh no, she's coming this way, what do I do, what do I say? I don't want to go back to the hospital. Okay, you know what, just give her what she wants and maybe things will work out." 

Before he knew what was going on, he found the pegasus was on the other side of the counter.
"Um, hello. I was just wondering if I could buy some of your Jasmine tea so I can brew it at home. If that's alright."

Firebird B Tops never felt more afraid in his life, with a stoic face and panicked heart, he looked the mare in the eye and said, "Yes, let me get you a bag. Would you like two or three ounces?"

"Oh two would be fine, that should last a while."

Firebird quickly scooped some of the ground tea leaves into a bag and weighed it on a small scale before passing it over the counter. "Two bits please."

Once the exchange was made, she quickly trotted off to meet up with her friends. "Thank you darling, I left payment as usual on the table." Rarity called out before the trio headed out the door.

Firebird let out a breath he forgot he was holding and relaxed slightly at last. "Finally, I can have a nice, normal, boring day."

He walked to the table the three friends were sitting at and grabbed the tray with the empty tea set. True to her word as always, Rarity left the proper payment, and a very generous tip.

Once back behind his little counter, Firebird dropped the tray in the sink, and was just starting to place the bits into the register when a small voice suddenly grabbed his attention. "Hey! Have you seen my big sister?"

He looked over the counter and did not see anypony at first, until he looked down and saw a small white filly with green eyes, and a curly pink and purple mane, "I'm trying to find my sister Rarity, is she still here?"

Firebird shook his head, "Sorry little one, you just missed her."
The small unicorn gave off her biggest puppy dog eyes and stuck out her bottom lip, "You mean, you don't know where she is?"

Firebird grabbed his chest and began to lean forward, his heart pounded, abused once again by too much cute overload, "She... She's headed to work... on a dress."

"Thanks mister!" With all that said and done, Sweetie Belle skipped out of the cafe humming a happy tune that only she knew, and sent Firebird down to the floor, suffering another slight daww attack. With the last bit of strength he had, Firebird called out, "Somepony call a doctor..."





Vinyl Scratch held a few tools in her magic as she placed the final screw into place. "There, that oughta do it!" She slowly climbed down the ladder and looked at her craftsponyship, "You can't hardly tell it's there unless you're looking for it!"

Lyra looked up at the corner near the ceiling and nodded in approval. All four corners had been tackled in much the same manner, hiding four color-film cameras on loan from the disk-jocky. "Very good, Vinyl. Octavia, have you passed out the party favors?"

She nodded in consent. "Of course. Everyone here outside of Ribbon, Brass, Vinyl, you and I, all have the party favors at hoof when needed."

"Excellent. Once today is over, ponies will be able to play music in freedom, without fearing the extraction of their hard earned bits... At last we shall make a statement, against the villainous curs known as the Musicians Mafia."

Sven suddenly raised a talon in the air. "Excuse me, but vouldn't it be a good idea to practice some music before ve perform in public, just to see if ve, gel I tink is vhat you vould say?"

"Oh ja, I mean, yeah," Lyra stated, with a slight stutter, "Everyone, gather up your instruments if you've got them, we'll do a practice round in the back room before we meet at the park. Yes Sven, I know they have your clarinet, you can borrow one of our rentals."





Prince Blueblood usually wandered through the Ponyville Rehabilitation Clinic in a haze, feeling not quite sure of himself. It had been two days since his last bender, and the unfortunate side effect of that time, was clear thinking. For the first time in years he realized that he had a problem, and that this place was going to help.

He also realized that food was incredibly bland without salt. While not a necessity, he felt that he craved the stuff, and was losing his mind over the shear blandness of every food item they tried to give him. Perhaps it was simply the withdrawals talking.

As the morning slowly drew on, he looked around the room a few times to look over his fellow addicts. Not so surprisingly, there were very few in the small town, and he wound up continuing to stare at the same light plum and mulberry earth pony. Every time he caught her sight she would smile and wave at him before turning back to the window to stare outside.

Blueblood rolled his eyes before looking back down at the tray next to him, holding a cup of flat water, without any ice cubes. "Oh how the mighty hath fallen. Not three days ago, I was drinking my weight in champagne and sleeping with everypony that dared to come within thirty feet of me!"

"Only your weight of that light stuff? Try twice your weight in my home made punch and whiskey." Blueblood looked up to see that the light plum mare was right in front of him smiling widely. "Hi, my name's Berry Punch– Well actually, it's Pinot Noir, but that's a boring name, so everypony calls me Berry Punch, what's yours?"

He winced and grabbed his head as her voice, while under normal circumstances he was sure would be pleasant, on this sober occasion felt like drills screwing into his brain, "I am Prince Blueblood you simpleton! Ow... What do you want peasant?"

"Well, sorry, your royal snootiness! I just wanted to make polite conversation with anypony besides Nurse Hard Case, but I guess I, a mere brewer and fermenter of fine alcoholic beverages, is below you, oh mighty prince. By the way, thanks for voting on increasing the alcohol tax, AGAIN!" With all that said, she stomped across the room and sat back down by the window.

Suddenly Blueblood felt his heart pop. It was as if fate had brought him to this very hospital at this very time. How else would he have known that the famous brewer of his favorite local wine, Berry Punch, actually called herself Berry Punch? Or know that she would be here at the clinic as well? How else would he have known, that he could flirt his way to free drinks for life?

Blueblood mentally slapped himself, then quickly got up out of the chair he had been vegetating in for the last three hours, since his so-called breakfast, and galloped across the room to her. "Hey, wait! Let's talk more about you."





Only three blocks away from the budding love story of two alcoholics, one with power and money, the other with craft-brewing skills, the air was filled with a rhythmic grinding sound. Slowly at first, then quite suddenly, a small, blue box appeared on the side of an alley.

The box had two doors on one side, and two short windows near the top all the way around. The last thing to note about the strange, blue box was that over the windows, it proudly proclaimed Pony Public Call Box in big, bold letters.

Suddenly, the doors flew open and out galloped a tan earth pony and gray pegasus, "See Ditzy, I told you that it was no big deal, saving the future of pony kind by ensuring the fall of Ancient Gryphonia was necessary. I mean, do you really want to be subservient to the gryphons or do you like your freedom more?"

Ditzy looked like she was about to throw up, "Doctor, I don't think you know how to fly this thing... How late am I to work anyway? You said I would be back in time, and it was snowing that day."

The Doctor looked around nervously, "Ah, it would appear that this is the wrong day, and its not a thing, she's the TARDIS. Anyway, don't move. Don't even leave a trace you were here, or we are going to be stuck in this time-line for a while. If you read anything, or show up to work and they say you haven't been there in months or years or anything of the sort, then it's set in stone. See, time is in flux so long as you don't interact with it too much." As he continued to ramble on, he galloped back into the box, to the TARDIS control panel, and began to flip switches, spin wheels and pull levers at random, until an image came up on the small television screen mounted in the center of the console. "AH, here we are. Oh..."

Ditzy Doo walked up to the doctor and looked at the screen, "What is it Doctor?"

"You remember everything I told you a moment ago about how time was in flux, and to not touch anything?" He asked with a serious look on his face.

"Yeah? I remember."

"Well, forget about everything I said–  Well, not everything, just most of it. The TARDIS brought us here for a reason. Today is the day of the great fall, and time is in flux, and it's up to us to ensure that it happens."

"Wait one moment!" The two ponies ran out of the TARDIS as Ditzy tried to get more answers out of him. "You picked me up just after the royal wedding, told me that you have a time machine and showed me sights and wonders I never expected, including the fall and rebirth of the Crystal Empire, and now you are telling me I can't go back?!"

The Doctor stopped and looked his companion in the face. "Ditzy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but it looks like you are going to be missing out on," He paused and looked at a wrist watch, "ten months of work. Don't worry, I'll fix everything."

With that said the time-lord galloped off again. "Wait, how are you going to fix everything, when I'm sure I've been fired by now?!"

"I'm the last Time-lord of Galopfrey! I'll fix it! Now come on, we have to make sure that the great fall happens!"





Dark Star and Essence stood in the center of a great warehouse filled with musical equipment. They were not alone; across from the duo stood the rest of the members of their little gang. "Now boys, the missus and I will be attending the fall of a certain star by the town square today."

The four other ponies laughed to themselves at the joke made by Dark Star, stroking his ever inflated ego. "Now, you four will be keeping tabs on our venues to make sure that those musicians from out of town don't play any venue without us getting a cut. After we are done with Miss Heartstrings, we are going to meet up with the rest of you here at three o'clock, got it?"

The four stallions all nodded and answered simultaneously. "Yes, fearless leader."

"Good." He paused and looked to his wife for approval, she nodded at him and he finished, "Let's head out and make a killing today!"

Everypony gave out an enthusiastic cheer and stampeded out of the warehouse to do their dirty deeds for the day.





It was almost ten o'clock before Twilight met up with Rainbow Dash. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Dash waved a hoof as she floated above the unicorn. "Easy shmeezy, just buck the cloud at the last stroke of noon."

"Alright Rainbow, I'm counting on you." The pegasus saluted Twilight before taking off into the sky.

Twilight watched the rainbow contrail disappear over the roof tops of Ponyville before nodding at Spike. Spike nodded in reply and hopped up on her back. The two quickly took off to join the ever-growing crowd of ponies. Ponies that paid to watch the fall of Trixie, to see if she would live to become one of the greatest escape artists of their time, or to be another fool who bit off more than she could chew in the name of show biz.
> The Great Fall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clock continued to climb ever closer to the noon hour as Spike rode into the back stage area with Twilight, "Do you think Dash will make it in time?"

"I hope so, last I heard she was at home, and I can't teleport there and cast a cloud walking spell, I would wear myself out and the cloud walking spell would cancel! Ohhh if only I had wings!"

Spike snorted a bit, "Yeah like that would ever happen."

Twilight and Spike kept looking around the small areas back stage in search of Rainbow Dash, but there was no sign of her, "Oh no, how could this happen? Did she fall asleep again?"

"Hold your horses Twilight!" She looked up to see none other than Rainbow Dash lounging in the rafters, "What kept you? I've been waiting here for the last fifteen minutes!"

Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash with annoyance etched out on her face, "I'm on time, in fact I'm early!"

As Dash glided down she waved a hoof through the air, "Doesn't matter, the point is you had me waiting. Now how much longer till the big drop?"

"Only thirty minutes, you had better make sure Trixie is ready now before you buck the cloud away," Twilight said with a slight tone of worry in her voice.

"No worries, I'll check in a minute."

Twilight and Spike looked around for a few moments before leaving the small back stage area to see the ever growing crowd, "I hope everything goes alright Twilight."

"Me too Spike, me too."





Prince Blueblood and Berry Punch were sitting on a pair of chairs and looking out the window together as they hoped to see anything of the stunt happening a few blocks away, "Can you see anything Berry?"

"No, can you?" Punch asked as she squinted into the distance.

"Does that little blob in the sky count?" 

"No, that's just dirt on the window..."

After a few hours of conversation the two ponies found that they had a lot in common, mostly that they like to drink, but still it was something to go off of, That was when a brown and tan blur swooped passed the window, "What the hay was that?" Blueblood asked as he jumped into the arms of the mare to his right.

"I don't know, but your royal flank is heavy," Berry said as she dropped him on the ground, only for him to shoot in the air when a grey and yellow streak ran past the window next.

Prince Blueblood and Berry Punch looked at each other for a few moments before the prince finally spoke, "What do you suppose that was all about?"

"I don't know," she replied, "But if there is two things I know, its this. One, something big is going down if we saw what we thought we saw, and Two this place practically has a revolving door, COME ON!"

The two ponies quickly ran across the room before coming into the hall way, "Wait, what do you think is going on?" Prince Blueblood called out.

"There is a pony that comes by once in a while, and whenever he does Ditzy Doo is sure to follow, and if those two are together and galloping, then something big is going down. I don't know what but something!" 

The two kept galloping through the halls until they reached the small lobby, there the found Nurse Hardcase sitting at the reception desk filing some paperwork. Blueblood and Berry looked at each other for a moment as the plum mare grinned wide and pulled a rubber ball out of her mane. He gave her a quizical look before she threw the ball at a file cabinet. The nurse turned to the sound, and as she did the two ponies quickly ran out the front door.

"Well that was pretty smart, but now what?"

Berry Punch paused to breathe for a few moments before pointing in a direction, "We try to catch up with those two, come on!" And so the pair took off in a hurry.

Meanwhile, just ahead of the two recovering alcoholics, The Doctor and Ditzy were galloping and flying along the road at break neck speed trying to find the next area, "Now Ditzy, according to legend today is the day of the great fall," he stopped to breathe for a moment and looked at his companion for any insight, she gave none so he continued, "If the fall does not happen successfully, then the land of Equestria will be thrown into an age of dullness, brought about by a lack of music!"

"Doctor what do you mean?"

"What I mean, is haven't you noticed that there has been a lack of something? Ponies that used to break out into song at any moment have all been silenced in Ponyville, and it's spreading! We have to find Song Lore, he works for them."

"Works for who doctor?" Ditzy asked in confusion.

"The musicians Mafia, we have to find him, and follow him. Find out where they keep the warehouse so the great fall will succeed, or the events that are supposed to take place in just two days will be catastrophic without music!"

"I don't understand!" 

"You will, now come along Ditzy, I can see him up ahead, onward and upward!"

The two ponies came to a slow down before the doctor looked at the situation, "If only one of us had a mail bag or something, some way to deliver a message."

Ditzy looked The Doctor over a few times, "Really? Just, really? You couldn't have had me get my bag out of my cottage before we left," She looked at him as he smiled sheepishly, "Oh Ditzy, you don't need your bag, just leave it! THAT'S what you said, RIGHT?"

The Doctor looked down the road as he watched the goon go into a bar, "Ditzy, now is not the time for this, how far away is your cottage?"

She looked the Doctor over a few times before finally sighing and pointing to her left, "About three minutes that way if I fly."

"Then this is what I want you to do," he looked around for a bit before whispering something in her ear, she nodded a few times and smiled before backing away, "So I'll be tailing him, take this psychic paper with you, I'll let you know where I am got it?"

"Okay Doctor!" The pegasus took off as quickly as possible, headed off to the west end of town. Suddenly the sound of galloping reached The Doctor's ears, he turned to find Berry Punch running up to him.

"See, I told you we would find him here," Berry said to the stallion with her, "Doctor, this is Prince Blueblood the twentieth, we saw you and Ditzy run by the rehab clinic, what's going on?"

The Doctor looked at the pair and smiled a bit wider, "Berry Punch! How are you doing? It's been ages, well actually about a day for me, but still how are you doing? Still brewing that delicious punch?"

The mare giggled into her hoof before replying, "Not at the moment, I got busted for being drunk in public, again."

"Oh Berry, how many times must I tell you not to drink too much when you are brewing!"

"I Only had a glass to make sure it tasted proper," The mare started to defend as the prince backed away from the pair slightly.

"Bad news love, but a glass usually does not take two barrels to fill. Hello there, Prince Blueblood, I've heard of you. By the way, might want to give up the salts, settle down and not sleep with strangers. Just in case that one blue pony turns out to be a cop, hired by a rival of yours."

Blueblood looked at the tan pony in confusion for a few moments before finally giving the best answer that he could at the moment, "err..."

"Well, anyhow love to chat, but my target is on the move, follow me if you must, but I need you to stay silent if you do." 

So it was that Blueblood and Pinot Noir were confusedly drafted into helping The Doctor spy on Song Lore to ensure The Great Fall.





It has been three days since Trixie has gone into the box.

Three days of ponies teasing her, three days of hunger, misery, and boredom. She had endured rain, thirst, hunger, electrocution, ponies pelting food at her, pegasus ponies shaking the box, and the need to use the bathroom with no chance of escape.

But that was all going to be behind her, as she looked down and watched the open grass of town square and the stage by it become more and more crowded with ponies, excitement began to fill her.

As she looked down, a blue and prismatic streak shot into the sky. The close it got, the more Trixie could tell that it was Rainbow Dash headed up to talk with her, "Hey are you ready up here?"

Trixie nodded to her from behind the glass, "Trixie is prepared, how long until you drop the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

"About five minutes, if there is an emergency just let me know before I buck the cloud away and I'll bring this to a halt."

Trixie nodded before Dash flew back down to the crowd below, no doubt to make sure that the crowd was truly excited.

Down below, Lyra had just walked onto the stage with Twilight Sparkle, Octavia, and Sven Biller to the roar of applause, "Thank you for coming," Lyra started as the applause died down, "We have just sent the captain of the Ponyville Weather Team to talk to Trixie to make sure that everything is alright, and here she comes now to give us the news!"

As Rainbow Dash landed on the stage the group of ponies applauded wildly, and Dash ate it up like a foal eats candy on Nightmare Night, "Thanks, The Great and Powerful Escape Artist Trixie is prepared for the fall, are you ready to watch her escape?"

The ponies in the audience again applauded, only to have the cheers inturupted by Lyra, "Everypony remember, Trixie will be available to sign autographs and there will be live music provided by a one time only performance by Octavia and her group from Canterlot, with Sven Biller, and others sitting in for a one time only super group! This show is free of charge to you ticket holders, so don't throw your tickets away!"

Everypony applauded again, everypony that is, except for two. Dark Star and Essence looked at each other with anger in their eyes as they nodded, "We break her horn for this, Essence. Keep an eye on the show, I'm going to get Bones and Pyro to help us out at Lyra's music shop."

"Good luck misser, I'll meet you at the shop." The couple kissed each other quickly before her husband took off to find his thugs to help him out.

As he left the crowd, the show went on, as Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, "Remember the after party will begin at Three O'clock!"

Rainbow Dash flew back up to the lone cloud in the sky, and the box suspended benieth it, and Trixie smiled, "It's time."

She looked down the clear flexible glass like material and made note of how far the ground was below her, and looked up at the solid wood top above. A small smile crept upon her face as she saw the gathering ponies below her begin to flash pictures.

Dash stopped just before the box and knocked three times, "Are you ready?"

Trixie nodded and swallowed down some saliva before answering, "As ready as I'll ever be, " this was it, time for Trixie to begin her escape.

Dash flew up a little higher, and turned to buck the cloud. Trixie breathed in and before she could let a breath out the cloud holding the box from above was bucked away from existence, and the box began to tumble to the ground.

The box fell quickly, as if gravity was pulling harder for avoiding this for three days. Trixie was thrown about the box like a rag doll for a few moments, breathed out and closed her eyes.

The ground was getting closer, and she made a motion as if stepping to the right, that's when the box smashed into the ground into shards of its former self.

The crowd of ponies, so intent on watching the events finally play out could not believe what they have just witnessed, a group of ponies suddenly ran forward into the rubble and began to sift through the pieces hoping to find the mare that crashed into the earth.

Twilight looked around, for a few moments before running to join the rescue team. She lifted wood and plastic high up in hopes of finding Trixie. After a few moments of frantic searching, all she or the rest of the crew could find was Trixie's hat and cape.

"She, she failed!" Twilight Sparkle called out suddenly to the shock of everypony.

"THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE NEVER FAILS!" The call came out loud, and the entire crowd turned to look for the voice that called out, so smug and assured. There in the dead center of the crowd, a blue unicorn stood with an inhibitor ring on her head, "The Great and Powerful Trixie LIVES, and she demands her cape and hat!"

Confusion raged throughout the crowd, then joy and cheers as they lifted Trixie high into the air! The impossible has been done, and ponies knew that on this day, they have witnessed the greatest escape of all time!





The Doctor, Blueblood and Berry all were standing a few feet away from The Manticore's Mane Pub waiting to see if Song Lore would be headed out soon when Ditzy landed behind them, "Sorry I took so long, you won't believe how much dust a mail bag can have after sitting around for a few months."

"Never mind that now, did you bring the pen and paper?"

Ditzy fished out the requested items and passed them to the Doctor, "Right here!"

Quickly the Doctor took the items and began to write out a hasty message, "I need you to read this aloud to Song Lore, tell him that you have a message from Shred. Do you understand Ditzy Doo?"

The Grey pegasus nodded as Prince Blueblood and Berry Punch stood baffled to the side, "Then get to it, I'll be right here to back you up if you need it."

Ditzy Doo looked at the trio of ponies standing before her, raised an eyebrow then asked a question that's been bothering her all day, "How do you know all these ponies names?"

The Doctor smiled a bit as he explained, "Been here before, several faces ago when I was content to just observe, in fact here I come now!"

The rest of the ponies watched as a blue unicorn trotted down the road, he had a wavy mane and tail that was white and lighter blue and wore white shirt with ruffles, a black bow tie and a red crush velvet jacket. Most importantly, he had the same hour glass cutie mark as the doctor that was with them had. The unicorn kept trotting down the road, paying no mind to the quartet of ponies observing him, and instead observed the bar Song Lore had entered up ahead.

"That's me about seven faces ago, wish I could tell him about Metebelis III, but you know how that goes by now..." he went off into his memories for a moment before clearing his mind, "Anyhow, that's how I know so go to it Ditzy, off you trot."

Ditzy seeming satisfied with the answer took off to deliver the phony telegram to the pony inside The Manticore's Mane, Blueblood on the other hand had one last question on his mind, "Did you really just say I, I, I, instead of three?"

The Doctor turned to the prince and gave off a cocky half grin, "Prince Blueblood? Would you kindly shut up and just bask in my brilliance for a moment before you open your mouth, thank you."

Ditzy walked over to the pub and frowned as she adjusted her delivery bag, it felt so wrong being as light as it was, almost as if it had wasted away in the time she was gone. She reached her hoof forward only for the door to be cast in the golden glow of magic. She turned to find the pony that The Doctor pointed out as himself had just opened the door for her, "After you my dear," he said with a kindly smile as she moved to let her by.

"Your too kind sir," she stated simply as she trotted in and he followed after her. Ditzy looked around the seedy pub and nearly gagged at the sticky sweet smell of beer and cider spilled on the collection of tables, so long ignored that the sticky residue would take hours of work to just make the smell go away, let alone sanitary.

As Ditzy stood stock still looking for the earth pony she was sent after, she couldn't help but notice the former incarnation of The Doctor walk past her and set himself down on a bar stool. He pulled a hoofkerchief out of his breast pocket and wiped his hooves off from the sticky substance no doubt gained from walking across the pub's floor. 

Ditzy gave a sigh of slight boredom as she looked for a sign of the grey and black earth pony, but could find none at the moment. That was until she heard a door open, "Now mister Tapper, aren't you glad to have seen things my way?"

"Yes Mister Lore, I'm happy to pay for my protection. I'll let you know if we have any bands performing of course Mister Lore."

Song Lore nodded at the pony in the other room before letting the door shut. Ditzy quickly trotted up to the stallion and tapped on his shoulder, "Excuse me, Mister Lore? I have a telegram from a mister, Shred?"

Song Lore turned around and looked Ditzy in the face, and Ditzy couldn't help but gasp at what she saw. While his left eye was a bright and vibrant green, his right eye was a dulled off white color. as if they had scrapped away the very stuff his eyes were made out of, "A telegram? What does that air head have to say now?"

Ditzy shook her head and blinked before pulling out the sheet of paper and reading aloud, "Mister Lore, stop. Forgot where to go after I make my rounds, stop. Send reply via this mare, stop. Signed Shred Guitar, stop."

Song looked at Ditzy and rubbed his good eye with his hoof, "You don't have to say stop aloud you know," he paused to breathe in deeply before slowly letting it out to calm down, "Tell that idiot to meet at the warehouse on Bridle and Saddle Soap, got it?"

Ditzy wrote the message down on a fresh sheet of paper as she kept her right eye closed, "Got it! That'll be a quarter bit collect for reply message Mister Lore!"

The stallion glowered at Ditzy for a few moments as he fished around in his jacket pockets for a few moments before fishing out a golden bit, "Here, since you got such a beautiful set of eyes, keep the change." 

Ditzy looked the stallion over for any signs of insincerity at his comment but found none and gave a soft smile, "Thank you mister Lore! See you later!"

She galloped away as quickly as she could out the bar to meet up with The Doctor and the other two. To let them know the location of their secret warehouse.





Lyra sat in her music store, once again alone. She waited calmly for the arrival of Dark Star and Essence, but this time she would be ready.

Across the street from her small store, a team of ponies were doing some light repair work on an empty shop. Lyra paid them no mind, and they none to her as the time continued to slowly drag on.

A grey pegasus landed in the road and passed a piece of paper to one of the ponies, she dropped her paint brush to read the note before galloping down the narrow street as fast as she could, but Lyra paid it no mind as she simply waited for the inevitable.

When the sound of a door slamming shut from the store room echoed loudly, followed by the sound of a few rushing out the door only for it to slam again, Lyra paused to wonder what could possibly be so important to make the other musicians leave. Yet she still did not take her eyes off the front door and waited for the inevitable.

The pegasus stood in the road for a few more moments before a trio of ponies met up with her, they spoke for a few moments before finally they all took off together. Yet still she paid no mind to what was going on. All she wanted to do was wait patiently.

The sound of voices filled the air, and Lyra's ears perked up a bit. She looked out the window and saw four ponies walking up to her shop. The familiar duo of Dark Star and Essence, followed by a small elderly earth pony so thin he looked like a skeleton, and another red and grey earth pony. Older but not as elderly. All four of them were carrying bats and knives clearly visible.

As the quartet headed into the shop, Lyra took her rear hoof and placed it on the floor, lifted then dropped it down again to finally stand up, "Welcome Dark Star, Essence. It's a great joy to see you both here again, and you brought friends! Sorry boys but we're all out of stock on everything, perhaps you would like to order-"

"Cut the crap Heartstrings, you know why we are here," Dark Star interrupted quickly, "You set up a music show without informing us, and now you are going to pay."

Lyra looked at the four ponies in her shop, "I don't know what you are talking about. I'm not getting payed, its a free show you are invited to see it if you want to. I'll pay up the money I owe you now if you want as per usual."

Dark Star lit his horn and pulled forth a bat as Essence pulled her knives out of her horseshoes, "You messed with the wrong ponies, Bones! Pyro! Hold this unicorn down, I'm going to cut her horn off as a reminder of who we are."

Lyra to her credit did not even blink at Essence's threat as she stepped closer from behind the counter, "And who do you think you are? Demanding money from me? HUH?!"

Essence reached back and slapped Lyra across the cheek with the back of her hoof, "Don't play dumb with me girl! We are the Musicians Mafia, and you damn well know that what's yours is mine!"

As Bones and Pyro reached forward Lyra simply smiled, "Then you should know better than to bring a knife to a gun fight."

As if on cue, the front door and back door to the small shop burst open, "FREEZE!" The four ponies holding Lyra suddenly looked around in panic as they were surrounded by four more ponies.

Octavia stepped forward with Royal Ribbon, Octavia held up a bow with a blade running down where the hair normally would be in a defensive stance, while Royal Ribbon held a small kazoo at the ready, "By the authority of the Pinkieton Detective Agency, the four of you are under arrest for racketeering, strong arming, possession of illegal weapons and terrorism," Octavia spoke loudly with authority, "Drop your weapons and come peacefully."

Fiddlesticks, and Fredric Horseshoepin stood blocking the front doors holding up their own little devices, one a Tommy Gum, and the other held what looked like a recorder flute in her mouth. Dark Star and Essence looked around for a few moments, finally Dark Star let out a laugh, "So this is it huh? The end of the road for me? And what are you going to do? Party me to death if I don't?"

Lyra reached back behind her counter and pulled out her signature lyre, "Give it up, your out classed. Don't make us use these party favors."

Dark Star and Essence looked at each other. The tension was so thick in the air that you could cut it with a knife. Finally Essence spoke, "Kill them. Kill them all."

"WRONG MOVE!" Fredric called out before pulling the trigger on the Tommy Gum, covering Bones and Pyro in the pink goo that shot out sticking them to the floor. Essence reared up and brought her hooves to Octavia in an attempt to slice her open, only to be blocked by Octavia's own sword. 

Essence blinked a few times and made several more attempts at getting to the grey mare, while Dark Star used his magic to swing his bat wildly at Brass Beauty's direction. 

It almost seemed comical how things happened next. Lyra threw her lyre across the room, only for it to miss the target. Dark Star laughed menacingly as he continued to swing at Brass as she continued to swiftly dodge. "Give it up, your just going to wear yourself out before you hit me," she called out as he missed another swing.

"Stop moving so I can hit you!" Dark Star yelled right before the lyre boomeranged back and beaned him in the head, snapping the tip of his horn off, "MY HORN! I'LL KILL HER!"

While he turned back to Lyra, Fiddlesticks played a few notes on the recorder, releasing a sleeping dart and getting the mob boss in the neck, bringing Dark Star to the ground faster than a ton of bricks.

That only left Essence, who was still dueling with Octavia. Essence sliced upward as she flapped her wings to try and confuse Octavia, but the bluff didn't work. Octavia then gave a quick diagonal slice of her bow sword, clipping several feathers on her right wing.

While Essence was distracted the simple note of a kazoo filled the air, only to launch another dart into the orange mare's flank.

She let out a small scream before finally falling over into the pile of gum next to Bones. Octavia and Lyra looked at each other before smiling slightly, "Well that is one way to handle it I suppose. You remembered to activate the cameras and audio recording equipment right?"

Lyra nodded slightly as she picked up her lyre, "Yes, with this evidence the Musician's Mafia will be put away for a long time."

Brass Beauty looked down at the sleeping pair and tutted slightly at the still struggling stallions trying to get out of the bubblegum, "Give it up you two, its over," she then looked at Fiddlesticks and Fredric with a rare smile, "Good job you two, there might be room for you in the Pinkieton Agency after all this is done. Music Department could use a few good ponies."

The pair looked at each other and smiled slightly, "Maybe we should discuss this later." Fredric finally answered, "Lets get these four on a cart to the station, they need to answer for their crimes at Canterlot."

Lyra felt as giddy as a filly as she gave Octavia a grin, "So I guess you would say Operation Great Fall was a complete success!"

Octavia frowned as she looked down at the four thugs on the floor, "Not yet, we need to find out how things went with the other four at the warehouse. Come on, help me cuff them."





The Great and Powerful Trixie was exhausted in every sense of the word, it took nearly an entire hour to get away from all the ponies congratulating her before she could make it to the safety of the Golden Oaks Library where Twilight awaited.

There were a few things that she wanted to do, and was glad to be away from the thousands of suddenly adoring ponies, one of them was to use the bathroom for several reasons. Toilet aside, she smelled like a public bathroom from being locked in a plexiglass box for days on end with no real fresh air. 

After a relaxing shower, Trixie ate a simple meal and drank a glass of water, and finally slept on Twilight's couch, waiting for three o'clock for the after party.

Twilight was very understanding to all this and kept relatively silent, only helping Trixie when she asked for it in the kitchen, or offering conversation when Trixie initiated it. The mood was somber despite the success, and Twilight almost felt awkward being around the magician.

When Trixie excused herself and passed out on the couch, Twilight frowned despite herself, and opened up a book to read silently, waiting for the party at three o'clock.





On Bridal Street it was very quiet on this end of town, a lone cockroach scuttled across the dirt road in an attempt to reach for a discarded banana. Upon reaching the rotten fruit it climbed up onto its rear most legs, threw the remaining four into the air and screamed, "WORLD DOMINATION!"

That was when the claw of Sven picked up the bug and ate him.

Vinyl, Harpo and Royal Ribbon looked at the gryphon with disgust as he shrugged, "Vat? I vas hungry!"

The three ponies rolled their eyes as they made their way closer to the intersection of Bridle and Saddle the warehouse came into full view. Like most buildings on this side of town, it was brick, industrial and filthy.

"So you think that they are in there?" Harpo called out as he stepped forward tentivly.

"They had better, or that derpy mail mare is going to get it from me," Vinyl said with a growl.

The quartet silenced up as they got closer and closer to the building. Finally when they reached the warehouse, they dropped the black cases holding their weapons and looked up at the building, "Vell, now vhat fearless leader?"

Royal Ribbon looked up at the building and spotted an open window, "Fly up there Sven and let us know if you can see them, or a way to get us in."

The gryphon nodded and flapped his wings a few times to become airborne, soon enough he was looking in through the window and could see crates and crates filled the vast room. There were shelves musical instruments lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Sven reached a claw up and wiped a tear from his eye, "It's, so, wunderschönen," he whispered out loud.

"HEY! Are they in there or not?" Vinyl called up to the gryphon.

"OH!" he shook his head a few times before blinking again, "Ja, dey are playing cards at de table in de center of de room," he then glided down and smiled, "Dere is an open door on de side of de building, Diss vey!" 

The four quickly made their way around to the side of the building and sure enough, a giant rolling door was opened up all the way in an attempt to bring cool air into the warehouse. Royal Ribbon looked at Vinyl and nodded, "Alright, what equipment do we have with us?"

Vinyl smiled as she opened up the cases one by one, "We have a standard issue confetti gun, a pack of explosive play-dough, one Tommy Gum, and the Bass Canon, Ma'am."

"Alright, gather around, here's the plan."

Inside the warehouse, Song Lore and Shred looked at each other over their cards making some small talk, "When do you think his royal shortness is coming back?"

"Don't know, I still can't believe you sent a telegram because you forgot what was next on the agenda though.

Shred looked up at him with some confusion, "I never sent you such a message, why would I do something that dumb?"

Song looked Shred in the eye with his one good one, "Because you are a complete idiot, that's why."

The yellow and red unicorn was about to answer, when suddenly they felt a rumble throughout the building, "What's that? An earthquake?"

Suddenly the sound of shouts erupted from the far side of the room, and the pair turned to see three ponies and a gryphon making their way towards them, "We've been double crossed Song! Help me defend!"

Song Lore looked at Shred, then at the oncoming group and snorted, "Yeah right! I'm not going back to jail, your on your own kid!" With that said he took off galloping for the back door.

Sven took off into the air and perused the grey earth pony with gusto while Royal Ribbon pulled the trigger of her Tommy Gum with her magic, quickly disabling the unicorn before he could even attempt to throw a punch, "Quick get that inhibitor ring on his horn!"

"On it!" Harpo called out before slamming the small ring onto the unicorns horn, "Well that was easy."

Song Lore meanwhile was nearly at the back door, and was making a great leap for the escape when Sven suddenly cut him off, "Going somevhere my little mahlzeit?

Song quickly put on a stern face, "I aint ever going back, you won't take me alive!" The pony quickly pulled the first thing he could grab as a weapon, an over sized tambourine and smacked the gryphon upside the head!

Sven shook his head for a few moments before reaching back to punch him in the face, only for him to duck out of the way and smack him with the tambourine again, "COME ON!"

Sven frowned and let out the cry of a predator before taking one of his claws and scratching down across the left side of Song's face. At first nothing happened, but then the blood from the cut dripped into the only good eye that Song Lore had left, "ARGH! YOU BLINDED ME! YOU OVER SIZED CHICKEN, YOU BLINDED ME!"

Sven turned and grabbed a crate and threw it at the thrashing earth pony, knocking him out cold, "That's your problem," as he turned away he walked up to the shelves on the wall and found there among the hundreds of instruments, his beloved clarinet, "Hallo Schatz."

Royal Ribbon quickly galloped up to him with a serious look on her face, "A job well done deputy, listen, after the show come speak with me about signing you up with the agency."

Sven looked at his clarinet, then at Royal Ribbon, "Sorry, but I vant to play music, not spy. Do you tink dat ve should tie dese two up?"

"Quite right, come on there has to be some rope here somewhere."





Three o'clock came much too quickly for Lyra Heartstrings. It was no easy task finding the warehouse and returning all the instruments back to the original owners. The crates and crates of equipment however, had no owners and as thanks for her involvement were given to her free and clear along with the title of the warehouse itself.

The Musicians Mafia were all cuffed and had inhibitor rings on if they were unicorns, and rode the train back to Canterlot with Royal Ribbon acting as guard in the cargo hold with them.

But the rest of the group still had work to do.

Lyra smiled about her accomplishments as she knocked on the library door and waited. It did not take long for Twilight to open the door, "Oh hello there Lyra, how are you?"

"Great, thank you. Is Trixie ready? The rest of the band is all set up on the stage, and we just need her to make the party complete."

Twilight nodded a bit before answering, "She's sleeping right now, but is presentable. I'll go get her up."

Trixie was quickly awoken from a marvelous dream where everypony loved her, and she was the princess of magic all across the land. She was at her favorite part of the dream where she makes Twilight her official court jester when she was shaken awake, "Come on, your going to be late for your own party!"

Trixie woke up in a snap, "Oh my gosh, your right!" She ran quickly out the door, her hat and cape following after her before placing themselves on her body, "Come on! Trixie doesn't want to miss a moment of this!"





Not too much after Trixie arrived, the rest of the guests started to file back into the area in front of the stage. Lyra joined Octavia, Vinyl, Sven, Brass, Harpo, Fiddlesticks and Fredric on the stage with a smile, "Sorry I'm late, is everyone ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Octavia announced in her usual dry manner, "On my mark, one, two, three, four."

Octavia slowly drew her bow across the strings of her cello to start off a slow, somber song as the curtain rose. Lyra stood up on her hind legs and grabbed the microphone in a hoof, and her lyre in her magic, "Mares and Gentlecolts, in honor of the great fall may I present Equestria's first super group, Electronic Symphony!"

Applause echoed throught the party in front of the stage as the cello was now accompanied by the docile tones of a piano, harp and lyre. Then Vinyl dropped the bass.

The wubs echoed across the field as the traditional instruments weaved in and out of the electronica with a finite precision never before seen in the world. It was loud, it was new, it was exciting. The DJ lowered her volume slightly as Sven blew a solo into his clarinet and Fredric's electric piano took a small spotlight of its own.

Meanwhile across the small field, Trixie sat behind a small table signing countless autographs, while the party seemed festive, she had to settle for what she promised to do. Luckilly for her, Twilight and Pinkie Pie stayed close by to keep her company.

"Next," Trixie called as she gave the little filly a smile, "And what is your name little one?"

The young unicorn gave off a smile, "My name's Sweetie Belle, can I ask you a question?"

Trixie grabbed a pen in her magic and began to sign her name on it, "I don't see why not."

"Well, how did you do it? Without your horn I mean. I can't do magic at all even when I concentrate really really hard, all I can do is shoot sparks."

Trixie looked at Sweetie Belle and smiled, "Magic is more than just sparks and flashes little one, it took me a long time to understand that in subtlety there is power," she paused and gave Sweetie a smile, "I can't tell you how I did it, trade secret and all, but I will say this. You can learn a lot on a rock farm."

Sweetie Belle gave Trixie a confused look before shrugging and turning away to let the next pony get a free souvenir from Trixie.


> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The party lasted from three in the afternoon, long into the night. Trixie partied with the rest of Ponyville as soon as she could get away from signing autographs. It seemed that sure enough she had finally been forgiven for her past deeds, and had an act so great that there was no need to exaggerate her skills any more.

The next day Trixie could be found sleeping for the most part, finally waking up late in the afternoon only to announce to Twilight, "It's time that I head on out."

Twilight blinked at her with confusion, "I thought that maybe you would stay, settle down at last since you found a good fan base here."

Trixie gave a small sad shake of her head, "Not yet, maybe down the road I might call this place home. But until then I feel I must travel."

Twilight nodded in understanding, "Well, have one last hot meal, who knows when you might next find one on the road."

Spike made soup that night, and the two unicorns and dragon ate in silence as the sun set behind the mountains, letting night settle over the world. Finally after it was all said and done, Trixie grabbed her bag of bits and headed for the door, "Before I go," she started as she opened the bag to pull out a few hundred bits, "I feel that I owe it to you and your friends for helping me out."

She passed the bits over to a jar by the door and smiled, "I'll be back some day Sparkle, farewell."

Just like that she was gone, with bits in hoof she walked out the door and hitched herself up to her cart with a smile on her face, "I think, maybe it's time to go back to Hoofington. Maybe its time that they know what I have done with my life."

As she took off down the road, a stallion with a delivery bag galloped toward her down the road. Trixie paused as she watched him gallop past her and knock on the front door of the library. A few moments passed before the door opened to reveal the librarian, and Trixie could just make out the conversation, "I have a delivery from Princess Celestia."

"Oooh!" Twilight squealed with joy as she clapped her hooves together, "It must be important to send in the regular mail!" She quickly took the package from the stallion, and slammed the door shut in his face.

The delivery stallion stood before the door for a few seconds before shuffling off to head back to the post office, no doubt to go home after a long day and this late delivery. Trixie watched for a few more moments before she saw out the corner of her eye a set of dim flashing lights from the bottom window of the library, "Time for Trixie to make her exit, before getting wrapped up in something crazy."

And with that, Trixie left Ponyville with her head held high, back on top, and a legitimate success at last.