To Soar

Two months have passed since the Alicorn Amulet incident, and only three days have passed since Twilight Sparkle was named a Princess of Equestria. The pace of the Nation was faster than anypony has sense in decades, but for one pony in specific, everything just seemed to be moving at the speed of light. Yes, Trixie Lulamoon was practically at the center of the most premier event of her generation, for as of two days ago, she was informed, by a Royal Courier, that her services as a stage magician were required at a celebration in honor of newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle. Trixie was positively speechless when she heard, and read, the message delivered by the courier, it was a once in a life time opportunity, and out of all the other famous Unicorn magicians, she was chosen. To be granted this esteemed honor meant a lot to Trixie, however the joy that came of it was soon snuffed out by the Ursa Major amount of stress, and work that had to go into her act.

For a total of two days, Trixie worked her horn to the bone practicing, developing, and experimenting a variety of new tricks she hoped would wow her audience. However, new tricks were merely the tip of her work load, she also had to manage her time, for as the grande finale of the whole celebration she would have no more than three hours to wow the audience, and on top of that she had to ensure every safety precaution was checked, double checked, and triple checked. After the first day, Trixie was beyond exhausted, and yet she could only grasp two to four hours of sleep before she had to get back to the grind to be ready for the celebration; scheduled to take place on the fifth day after Princess Twilight's coronation. The remaining days went by quickly, and on the eve of the celebration Trixie was at last able to get some sleep; though her dreams were hardly soothing. Each one became a terrible nightmare that violently awoke her in a cold sweat, and it was these terrors that drew her fears and doubts to the surface, making her wonder if she really belonged here.

Unable to sleep, Trixie opted to walk the city, and clear her head before her negativity caused her to do something rash. As she left the hotel she was lodging in, the cool midnight breeze brushed against her hide, and the starry sky awarded her some level of solace. In spite of Canterlot being Equestria's capital city its night life was very timid with only oil lanterns, and the occasional guard for company. Alone with her thoughts, as she traversed the barren streets, Trixie pondered why she of all the other highly talented, and far more likeable magicians in Equestria was chosen to preform for this high level event. In truth Trixie never really thought she was worthy of preforming in front of royalty; not after what she did in Ponyville with the Alicorn Amulet anyway.

Trixie's excursion through the streets of Canterlot had brought her to the concert hall where she would preform her act the following night. Finding it rather odd that she wandered to this place of all places, Trixie never the less saw it merely as happenstance, and so entered the vacant establishment. Inside the singular chamber were over five hundred seats, divided into two sections to allow space for the one aisle that connected to all the exits, and lastly over looking all was the royal box seat. Running her hoof along the left row of seats that flanked the aisle, Trixie let out a deep sigh as she walked toward the stage, and the closer she got the more heavy she felt. Each step up the small set of stairs, to the right of the stage, were like climbing fifty steps up a tall tower, for nowhere in Equestria was there a larger stage than the one in Canterlot, and the full ramification of this fact hit Trixie like a lead pipe; this was it, the biggest moment of her life, and she was terrified of it.

Gazing out among the sea of seats, Trixie felt nauseous, she didn't belong here, this stage was not her's to take, and just as her grief overwhelmed her the spot light came to life, shining its radiant light upon her. Shielding her eye's with her right fore hoof, Trixie did not have time to process what was happening, for the curtain behind her parted, revealing her props, and most importantly, her magician's attire. Blinking frantically, Trixie approached the tools of her trade, a slight twinkle reflected off her cap, and reflected in her eyes as she laid a hoof upon it. Looking to her left and right she could see no other pony, "Perhaps the light was on a timer, or something," Trixie thought as a bold smile brandished her face. Taking her cap and cloak from the coat rack they rested on, Trixie proudly donned them, and then with sparks of blue, red and purple shooting from her horn she turned towards the empty seats.

"Greetings fillies and gentle colts, and a special salutations to our most esteem guest, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie spoke, amplifying her voice with her magic, so her audience can hear her as if they were standing beside her. "Tonight, in honor of our newest monarch, I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, will not only perform magic never before seen by Pony eyes, but magic never before seen even by our illustrious Princesses. Now sit back, and be amazed by the show stopping, all inspiring, and one of a kind magic that can be casted by The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

As her first trick, Trixie levitated a simple wooden quarter staff, and after proving that the staff was not magical, and that she was concealing nothing in her clothes, she proceeded with the trick. Placing her two fore hooves at each end of the staff she began to push on both ends, and surprisingly the staff shortened in length as if it were being compressed like a tin can. When her two hooves at last touched, she ignited her horn, enveloping her hooves in her magical aura, and in one motion she parted her hooves and unleashed a gyroscopic orb of pure magic that rained star dust on the audience. The orb flew up to the royal box seat where it would have presented Princess Twilight with a rare crystal flower, but since no pony was there Trixie merely recalled the orb, had it enter her hat, and then walked towards one of the stage's curtains, tugged on it once only to have it become the staff she started with. Trixie could only imagine the round of applause such an elaborate trick would award her, but this was merely a parlor trick compared to what else she had up her sleeves, and she was just giddy with anticipation to show them off.

"Clearly I belong her," Trixie spoke confidently as she replaced the staff, and her attire to their original positions. "The Princesses are the wisest beings in all of Equestria, so of course they would chose only the best. An the best is, and always will be, The Great and Powerful Trixie! Was there ever any doubt?"

All her foolish doubt now in the past, Trixie walked back to her hotel, and enjoyed a blissful sleep devoid of all nightmares. The following night everything played out exactly as she envisioned, and more, the audience couldn't contain its mirth, and Trixie was only too pleased to goad them on. However, when the moment of her grand finale dawned, absolute silence filled the hall, due to the insane level of concentration required, and imposing danger involved in carrying out the trick. Standing on a platform just below the twenty five foot vaulted ceiling, Trixie confidently smiled at her audience, and even boldly blew a kiss at Princess Twilight; who was still in a stupor after receiving the exotic crystal flower. The audience held their breath when Trixie leaped from the platform, and plummeted to the stage below, all the while showing no fear as she fell.

Just inches from the stage floor, Princess Twilight almost jumped the gun in an attempt to save Trixie, but fortunately she hesitated, and as a result bore witness to a spectacular feat. In a blinding flash of bright pink magic, Trixie shocked the audience by sprouting a pair of angelic wings akin to the Princesses', and gracefully glided over head with the skill and grace of Princess Celestia herself. When at last she landed, and dispelled the illusion, everypony in the audience rose to their feet, and stomped their hooves until they went numb, while shouting out Trixie's name.

'Thank you, thank you all! You have been a wonderful audience, and of course a special thanks to the Princesses for granting me the honor of performing for you all," Trixie said, as she began to humbly bow, but was halted by Princess Twilight.

"No, Trixie. The honor is ours," Princess Twilight said, as she bowed instead.

With the show over, everypony gave one last round of applause, and then made for home. Alone once again, Trixie packed up her gear, and then made for the door, but suddenly realized that the spot light was still on.

"Oh pony feathers," Trixie groaned, remembering that she promised to turn it off before she left, but she was too exhausted to climb all those steps.

"Don't worry, I got you covered," Princess Twilight spoke from the cat walk, and used her magic to switch it off.

"What are you still doing here?" Trixie asked, a deep red blush glowing from her face as Twilight gracefully landed beside her, the flower she gave her woven into her mane.

"Oh, I always pitch in with stage work. Lighting and curtains are my responsibilities," Princess Twilight replied happily.

"Are they now?" Trixie retorted with a raised brow.

"Yep, why do you ask?" Princess Twilight said with a slight turn of her head.

"No reason," Trixie replied, a sly smile brandishing her face.

"Right, well shall we be off?" Princess Twilight said, motioning towards the doors.

"Sure," Trixie replied, and they both walked off under the starry sky.