"Come one, come all! See the amazing Cosmo Fantastique perform amazing feats of magic that will astound and amaze you!"
The blue unicorn outside of the tent watched as ponies crowded in, excited to see the magic show.
"Hmph" she thought to herself "Any unicorn can do magic, it takes a true artiste like the Great and Powerful Trixie to astound and amaze."
Trixie flipped her mane out of her eyes and adjusted her hat before stepping into the tent, taking a place on the edge of the crowd, slightly away from the other ponies.
A few minutes later, the pony who was calling ponies into the tent entered and shut the tent flap. He took the stage and cleared his throat.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts, Mares and Stallions!" He called, his voice magically amplified to echo through the tent. "Prepare yourselves, for you are about to be astounded and mystified by the amazing magic of the one, the only, Cosmo Fantastique!"
Everypony in the tent cheered and stomped their hooves as the pony disappeared in a cloud of sparkling blue smoke. Trixie stomped politely, unimpressed by the cliché entrance that she had learned so long ago.
The smoke cleared, revealing a tan pony in a top hat and suit coat, smiling winningly at the assembled ponies. Trixie frowned slightly. Something seemed off to her, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it.
The pony waved a hoof and the crowd settled down. "Hello Ponyville!" He shouted, eliciting more cheers from the audience.
"Now of course, what's a magician without his magic wand?" He asked over the cheers. "Fortunately, Cosmo Fantastique always comes prepared!"
The cheers quickly turned into a collective gasp that Trixie joined in with as Cosmo removed his hat, revealing himself to be an earth pony!
Cosmo flipped the hat around and showed the empty inside to the crowd before reaching into it. He frowned. "Now where did I put that wand?"
He reached deeper into the hat until it nearly swallowed his entire leg. The ponies laughed as he rummaged in the inside.
Suddenly his eyes widened. "What are you doing in here?" He asked, pulling his hoof out. Perched on his hoof was a pure white bird. "Anthony!" He exclaimed over the applause. "What have you done with my wand?"
Anthony squawked and he gasped. "What do you mean, you ate my wand?" Anthony squawked again. "What do you mean, you ate my entire act!"
The crowd laughed as Cosmo turned Anthony over and shook him gently. Anthony's beak opened and out fell a deck of cards, a series of interconnected metal rings, several silk handkerchiefs, and finally a magic wand.
"Aha!" Exclaimed Cosmo, releasing Anthony and snatching up the wand. Anthony spread his wings and perched on Cosmo's shoulder.
"Oh no you don't!" Said Cosmo, grabbing Anthony. "You've been nothing but trouble, so you're going to help me with my act!"
With a flick of his hoof, he produced a handkerchief from thin air and covered Anthony. He raised the wand and said, "Now, with me, can everypony say the magic words 'Abra Kedabra Kazam!'"
Trixie found herself chanting along with the crowd, actually excited to see what he was going to do next. With each word, Cosmo tapped the covered bird. After the last word, Cosmo grabbed the handkerchief and threw it off, revealing a shiny saw where Anthony had been.
"Now, for my next trick, I need a volunteer!" He called over the applause. His eyes roved over the crowd as ponies raised their hooves, excited to be chosen. "What about you, my dear?"
Trixie's eyes widened as his hoof pointed her out. She shook her head, trying to tell him to choose somepony else, but he had already turned and was directing two stage hands to wheel a large box in stage. The ponies near her started pushing her forward towards the stage, and she finally relented, trotting up the stairs to meet him.
"Hello my dear, could you please introduce yourself to the audience?" He said, turning back to her with a smile.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie should not need an introduction," she said, flipping her mane.
The crowd clapped for her, but she could tell that it was more forced than the applause for Cosmo. She cringed inwardly, but kept her composure. As she finished her introduction, she noticed an unpleasant expression on Cosmo's face, as though he had swallowed a lemon. But as soon as she noticed it, it was replaced once more with his winning smile, leaving her to wonder if she had imagined it.
"Well well, I am honored by your presence at my humble show," He said, bowing to her. "I certainly hope you are enjoying yourself."
"Trixie has been enjoying herself."
"Well I think you'll enjoy this next trick, so if you could step this way please."
He led Trixie around behind the box and opened it. He directed her to lie down inside and she did so. Her head and back legs hung out of the box and he quickly placed a stool under her head to support it. He closed the box and raised his wand and the saw.
“Now, watch in amazement as I, Cosmo Fantastique, saw the Great and Powerful Trixie in half!”
Trixie couldn’t help but notice that the cheers of the crowd were particularly loud when he announced this. She watched as Cosmo brought the saw down towards the box, blade gleaming in the spotlights. She suppressed the urge to gulp in fear as the saw began to cut through the box. She herself had performed the trick many times, using her magic to make the blade pass through the pony in the box and then forming an illusion as she pretended to pull the box apart, but without being able to perform magic himself, or having a unicorn assisting him from offstage, Trixie wasn’t sure how Cosmo would pull this trick off.
She gasped as she felt the cold steel of the blade touch her stomach and continue cutting. It continued and she could feel a tingling sensation as it cut through her. She shivered as the coolness of the blade finished cutting through her and the rest of the box.
“Behold!” Announced Cosmo, pulling the box apart and turning the halves of the box so ponies could see.
Trixie’s eyes widened as she was pulled apart. She wiggled her hooves experimentally and watched them as they did so in the other half of the box. The ponies were stomping and cheering at the trick, but Trixie could barely hear them as her mind raced, trying to figure out how Cosmo had done it.
As the applause quieted down, Cosmo turned the two halves of the box and pushed them back together in one fluid motion. Producing a large white sheet from midair, he covered the box, leaving Trixie’s head free. He waved his wand across the surface of the box and Trixie once again felt the tingling sensation in her midsection. As soon as the feeling stopped, he removed the sheet from the box with a flourish, revealing the box to be undamaged.
Cosmo opened the box and helped Trixie stand. “Everypony give a hoof for the Great and Powerful Trixie!” he shouted, raising her hoof into the air.
As the ponies cheered and stomped, he made a small flourish with his wand and transformed the saw into a single red rose. “Thank you for your assistance my dear” he said with a smile, tucking the rose into Trixie’s hat.
“Of- of course” Trixie said uncertainly, still trying to figure out how he had done that trick.
He stepped back and a stage hand helped her to the edge of the stage so she could return to her place.
She stepped back to her place at the edge of the tent, ignoring the ponies around her. She barely watched as he continued his act, still lost in her thoughts. She barely heard anything until a pony shook her shoulder slightly.
She shook her head and looked around, finding that most of the crowd was looking at her expectantly. She looked up to the stage and saw Cosmo staring at her as well. “I’m sorry?” She asked, uncertain what he had said.
The crowd laughed and he smiled. “I said, my dear, that I can’t have you leaving with Anthony. He is a pain I wouldn’t inflict upon anypony. So may I borrow your hat for a moment?”
She nodded and trotted forward, handing him her hat.
He took the hat and reached into it. After a moment, he withdrew his hoof, Anthony perched on it. Anthony squawked once as he returned her hat, rose still attached.
“Thank you everypony, for your time, and for allowing yourselves to be amazed and mystified by me, Cosmo Fantastique!”
As the crowd burst into cheers, he bowed deeply and disappeared in a cloud of sparkling smoke. The crowd began shuffling out and Trixie followed with one last glance over her shoulder at the spot where he had disappeared.