The Great and P-Powerful

Trixie trotted wearily through the backstage tent, leaving the entrance-flap to swing shut behind. Her agent had told her everything was ready. All she had to do was step out onto that stage and ‘do her thing,’ whatever her thing was. They’d been so busy doing—Trixie cringed—Stuff, that she’d completely forgotten to form a routine.

Adlib it was then.

Slowly, Trixie trotted through the tent, taking in the surroundings. She was lucky. Everywhere else she had been forced to prepare out in the open behind her cart, to set up her own stage and hire her own henchp—body guards. But tonight, Canterlot had sprung to provide all of that, even including the various accoutrements needed for a budding performance artist.

Soft lanterns swung over head, giving just barely enough light to see, and by it Trixie could easily pick out a slew of furniture and equipment. It had it all, heck; she could’ve mistaken this for a specialised studio. Besides the various props and boxes for her act, ropes, lamps, some weird twisted antenna-things, and microphones lay strewn everywhere out of way. There was barely enough space for her to walk, and as Trixie carefully picked her way to the back, she even saw a set of battered and old couches and chairs. They formed some kind of makeshift waiting area, with a picnic table as playing host to assorted magazine. She didn’t care much for the tabloids, but one cover caught Trixie’s eye—an article by Mrs. Harshwhinney on the latest developments in SpaceZed. She didn’t know much about the subject, but anything with the potential to make her performance more explosive fascinated Trixie.

On her left, Trixie passed a second picnic table, this one laden heavy with assorted drinks, snacks, and fresh water—the second of those two looking like they hadn’t been touched in a fortnight.

Still, Trixie licked her lips, her mouth watering at the thought of the treats, as stale as they were. Trixie wrenched her gaze from the table—such frivolous distractions were below the Great and Powerful Trixie, she scolded herself and veered a wide arc around the table, making a beeline for the back of the tent, where her true target of interest lay, and what a target he was.

“Good evening, Mrs Lulamoon.” He was a deep dark blue stallion, obviously the studio bodyguard. He looked the part, standing stoic, only the barest movement as he tipped his head to Trixie. “All quiet this evening.”

Serious and straight to the point; Trixie could like that kind of stallion.

“Greetings”—she tipped her hat, with the usual smirk—“Star Charmer.” Trixie paid special attention to his smart dress. The black tuxedo and slicked back mane perfectly complemented the dark shades and moustache. Her gait wavered as Trixie’s eyes slipped over his withers. “Trixie trusts that everything is ready for Trixie’s grand performance?” she said then quickly added, “Tonight?”

The dark lantern light didn’t give much for to work with, but as Trixie crossed the stallion’s path, she could catch just the barest glimpse of details along his side. The coat was taut, which meant he was strong. Underneath he was probably hiding some thick, sturdy, rippling muscles—the stallion’s nostrils flared causing and Trixie stopped cold.

A chill ran up her spine, a cold breeze blowing between her neither, and Trixie’s ears pricked. The end of her cape flicked back in the updrafts, and on its end drifted the unmistakable scent of sex. It wasn’t strong at first, but with every second that passed, Trixie’s stomach sunk all the deeper as the smell coalesced into a permeating stench. And not just any stench, this was the stench of heat, or a mare in heat.

Trixie flushed red—was she in heat? Impossible, her oestrus had ended last week, which meant it had to Starlight’s. But that still left the matter that she was covered in the scent of a mare in heat, and drenched in her—Oh Celestia.

If she weren’t red, she was now. Trixie’s burned as an inferno as she back one step away from the stallion, her chest throbbing. A second chill breeze between her legs, and she quickly clamped her tail down. She felt exposed.

Somehow, even with the cape, she felt like she needed something to cover herself, to hide the shame. But there was no way to hide the smell, and the feeling.

He coat was tacky. It felt sticky, it felt dirty. Every motion, every attempt to move, Trixie could feel her coat sticking to itself, the hairs clumping together, and crusting, forming little mounds across her entire of her underside as the viscous liquid dried against her skin.

Luna knows, what this stallion must think of her.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. She guard nodded his head. Trixie noticed a slight flare of his nostrils, but otherwise he showed no other emotion. “You will see no interruptions tonight.”

Trixie forced a smile. “Th-thank you, St-Star Charmer.” She stammered, not her most convincing, Trixie had to admit, but it was the best she could do given the situation.

She quickly turned away from the stallion, trotting briskly to get past him and onto the stage. There was no telling whether the stallion had noticed her odd behaviour—a quick glance over her shoulder revealed him to be standing the same post, unmoving. Every few seconds he would glance away to check the tent, but still his gaze would return to her. If he had, Trixie was grateful to know he was at least professional enough not to bring it up.

Silently growling to herself, Trixie turned away from the guard and the tent, putting distance between them as she trotted towards the open stage. She mentally seethed, with the sticky feeling of fresh mare-cum still trailing between her legs. The sweet smell of heat returned, stronger this time, as Trixie took her first steps into the blinding light, using her rage to stoke her mind.

Now Starlight was really going to get it.

~ ~ ~

The inside of the main tent was far larger than anything Starlight could imagine, not to say it looked small either. Quite to the contrary, the structure had towered above Starlight, giving her the feeling of being small in the wake of its foreboding presence.

She was undeniably a little pony in comparison, a difference only made all the more striking as she drew nearer. The thick vinyl—normally awash with a multitude of varying colours by day—formed a thick, heavy curtain of muted greys on a backdrop of deep black. Like the shadows around the form of some ominous, sleeping giant, it clung to the earth taking them it all prisoners, with the front opened like a gaping maw ready to consume any ponies that dared wander near its breath.

Even then, it was only once she’d reached the entrance proper, and stepping inside that the true scale of it all truly sunk in. Poles and rafters, girders and pillars, all manner of scaffolding held this monster at bay, or more like supported it, keeping the mouth from snapping shut as she trotted through it lips.

“Thank ye’, miss.” A brown stallion, topped by a wicker hat and handlebars for a moustache, prattled off. He waved on hoof, pocketing his change with the other, and watched as Starlight trotted past his ticket booth.

She was instantly assaulted with all manners of noise. From the cheering or ponies, thumping of various hoof beats and wings, to the laughter and cries of foals, the din only grew louder with every step that she entered. Starlight tried to press it to the back of her mind for the meantime, instead focusing on the world around her. She stared, parts in wonder and awe, and other parts equally as much horrified.

Some part of her wanted to turn back, to get out. It was just too much, her mind was screaming for her to run away, get out of sight of all of these ponies. She was buffeted by a mare and her family, just barely stepping away before some poor colt’s hooves came down under hers, one foal squeaking out a meek “Sorry miss” as they passed.

Starlight’s pursed her lips, forming a slim smile. She made to wave, but when she turned their way, the family was already gone in the seething froth of other mares and stallions. None of them paid her any heed, in fact they all seemed to keep their distance from Starlight, clearing a small circle of empty ground as they mulled towards their seats.

Over head, Starlight caught glimpse of a blue pegasus—Rainbow Dash, she could only guess, as she glided and flitted around the support beams, alighting on one of the several raised platforms. She stared as the pony seemed to fluff her feathers before proceeding inside to join some other group under an enclosed roof.

Some speakers screeched across the crowd, and Starlight’s ears pricked back up. She looked behind her then began to slowly creep towards her own seat.

The noise was stifling; the air was hot. It hung heavy around her, sticky with the scent of cotton candy. Starlight’s mind quickly whipped back to the caravan, the familiar smells and scents, and—of course—the memories of what she’d done to—with—She had to keep that straight, for her own sake. What she did with Trixie was still fresh in her mind, and her muzzle. The pungent odour of their mixed sex still stuck in her muzzle, adding the slight scent of bubblegum to everything she smelled, and cotton candy, she suddenly realised. This whole time, Starlight hadn’t been smelling cotton candy, she been smelling herself. Starlight didn’t know what was more disconcerting, that she could still had a visible funk even after stopping to take a shower and moisturise, or that she smelled like a foal’s delicacy when she did.

Somehow, despite the soaring roof-space, Starlight felt like she was growing claustrophobic. It was smothering her, but this was something she had to do, for Trixie. They were friends after all, that’s what friends did, right?

Starlight flipped the ticket out of her hammerspace, letting it levitate out into the light of her own horn where she could see it more clearly. She squinted to see the smudged, already-faded, lettering.

D17

Not bad.

That put her close to the front, and not too far from the isle either, which meant she had not only her own freedom of movement, should she decide it was too dangerous not to flee, but also amply opportunity t—

“Starlight!”

Buck! Starlight cringed, biting her lip. Not now.

“Sparkler!” Her ticket immediately flickered out of existence, returning to its safe haven as Starlight turned to meet her captors, a pale white unicorn, and a pink-red unicorn, both mares with complementing spiral manes and bonnets that screamed Canterlot Elite. “And Ch... Ch..?”

“Cherry.” The second said, deadpanned, “Cherry Charmané. We had chemistry together.”

“Cherry~” Starlight sang and broke into a slight laugh, “R-right, h-how could I forget...”

Smiling, Starlight turned to greet each of the two mares, stepping close enough to acknowledge their existence and not be rude, but also far enough that she didn’t have to put up with them for long, she hoped. Also the smell, Starlight didn’t want any of them to smell her, or any other mares on her coat.

With that, Starlight took one extra step away. “H-how, lovely to see you,” she said.

“Oh, yes,” Sparkler—the white mare—waved a hoof, delicately priming her perfect perm. “I mean, how long has it been?” She glanced to Cherry. “Eight-Nine, ten years?”

“Twelve.” Starlight spat, “It’s been twelve years.”

“Twelved years,,” Sparkler parroted, turning back to Starlight to look her over, she smirked slightly. “And to think you didn’t even tell us you were going to be in town.”

“Mhm.” Sparkler nodded in silent agreement. She glanced from Sparkler to Starlight, looking the mare up and down. Starlight herself, shivered at the inspection. She felt like a slab of raw meat being meticulously picked to pieces by a skilled butcher. “Funny we should meet you here of all places...”

“Oh, well, you kn-” Starlight stammered, “-know, things happen and—”

She’d almost gotten her ticket out and was about to point her way to the seats when Sparkler sidled up to the right, adding a slight shove to Starlight’s withers. “Come now,” she commanded, more than asked, “Join us in the V.M.P Booth, there’s plenty of space.”

“Oh no,” Starlight shook her head. “I really should—”

Backing up, she was met by a push from behind, and Cherry appeared on the right urging Starlight on. “Palease,” Cherry rolled her eyes, and added another shove to move Starlight along. “A Unicorn such as yourself simply can’t be left ‘mingling’ among common ponies.”

Starlight made on last attempt to resist. She could already feel herself being egged on—dragged, more like it, “But—”

“I must insist.”

~ ~ ~

There was never anything quite like being up on the stage.

Some ponies would try to describe it, to compare it to being the top of the world, or being the centre of attention. Others would say it was like having a conversation with oneself, but Trixie never believed any of those things.

The stage was her life. Trixie had been performing for years, as long as she could possibly remember. Ever since she was a filly, the theatrics had captured her with a certain level of mystery, magic, and majesty. She’d always find some way to get up there, to get before those few that would see her, and just show.

Sometimes it went well; sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes it just straight up blew up in her face, but in the end nothing really mattered, all Trixie could know is that when she stepped up on that stage the world was right.

She could be what she wanted to be. It didn’t matter what she was, where she was, or where she’d come from.

Young, old, experience veteran or youngling starting out, the stage didn’t care.

All that there was, was that moment: you, your hooves, the audience, and the empty air between.

All of these and more were among the thoughts racing through Trixie’s mind as she stepped out into that stage. As soon as she’d passed the threshold, the change was like night and day. The audience’s roar was deafening, the sounds of hundreds, if not thousands, of hooves beating the ground.

She could feel the soil trembling beneath her hooves, and the air itself felt pregnant. Trixie’s breath came short, her entire body felt hot and her hooves began to quack as she took those first, tentative steps.

In the short time since leaving the relative safety of the back stage, she felt like her skin was on fire. And not just that, sweat trickled down her forehead, forcing Trixie to pause, wipe her brow, and re-adjust her hat.

Beneath her, she could feel every tiny motion. She stomps of the crowd, and the sensation as they looked her way only seemed to make it worse. Her lip quivered, and a slick, cool, trail traced its way down the inside of Trixie’s leg.

She almost missed her queue.

Lights dimmed, and the speakers boomed overhead with a mare’s, bubbly voice. The exact words were lost to Trixie, in the throes of her lust-induced trance, but no question remained when they were followed by resurgence in the crowd’s cheers, and a sudden explosion of fog over the stage.

Trixie shook herself, shivering. Her ears perked forwards, and she jumped up the last steps, arriving on the edge of the stage just as the blanket of mist began to take its toll.

For the time being, she pushed all other urges to the back of her mind, clenching her teeth and squinted to see across the stage. The timing had to be precise, too early, and the fog wouldn’t be thick enough to hide her entrance. Too late and, well, you can see how that would go.

She carefully watched for the far side, paying special attention to the thickness of the fog. Trixie stepped slightly higher, leaning on the tips of her hooves to bringing herself as close to the edge without yet revealing herself.

There was a system. Trixie realised long ago. She carefully watched as the previous act disappeared from the far side—a musician she’d been told, either somepony named Lyre or Octagon, one of those fan favourites were there as a pre-act show. The main reason was that Trixie insisted on having somepony to perform before her, precisely for this reason.

The dimmest flicker of green caught Trixie’s eye, and she narrowed in the ears of the last mare carrying her instrument down the far side. She counted the seconds, glancing from her to the audience.

Finally, when she couldn’t see the ear much more than a faint smear, Trixie leapt into action. She jumped across the stage and dashed to the centre, leaping the final distance and rolling her last step.

The audience’s cheers softened, turning to a gradual silence as she stage was enveloped in a blanket of artificial smoke. Trixie could feel the rumble beneath the floorboards as various unnamed stallions worked away at their machines, all just to aid her performance. She found it admiral, if not a bit unnecessary. She could’ve gotten the same effect with herself and one fogging spell.

The speakers squawked, a loud, ear-shattering screech sounding out across the stage and beyond, and this time the announcer’s voice came loud and clear—almost too loud for Trixie’s liking.

“And now,” The mare’s voice screeched, “for the attraction you’ve all been waiting for...” The announcer stopped short, as if waiting for somepony to complete the sentence for her.

The clouds slowly began to disperse and Trixie quickly took up her position, reared on three legs, striking her pose with the hat and cape billowing in an artificial—perfect, as always. She took a deep breath, and,

“BEHOLD THE GREA—”

Trixie’s voice boomed across the stage, crackling as it shattered several octaves and her own eardrums. She instantly recoiled away, stumbling and dropping to all fours with a grimace. “Ah-b—“ Trixie covered her mouth when she realised her swears were magically enhanced as well.

Another peep confirmed Trixie’s suspicions, and she turned back to the stage, putting on a smile and—hopefully—pretending none of the last two seconds had ever happened. Some of the unicorns among the staff must have thought it helpful to magically enhance the air around the stage, she concluded.

It made sense, naturally. This was Canterlot after all. Of course they would have a bunch of unicorn magic over the place. Trixie ground her teeth behind the smile—a feat not even Trixie knew she could accomplish. It was just something that one would normally tell somepony about before starting their performance.

She could feel the silence dragging on and, if it were to go on like this, Trixie feared it might start growing awkward. Or worse, she might just—

“I—” Trixie swallowed. Forcing down the heat between her legs, she subconsciously rubbed her calves together as she stalked up to the head of the stage. “—the Great and P-Powerful Trr-Trixie!” She felt herself stutter, not a good sign.

Trixie pushed on with a quick glance across the stage. The audience’s reaction told her nothing, an ever worse sign, but at least they were forgiving, so long as she made up for it later.

“N-Now,” Trixie plastered a smile across her face, ignoring the dribbles of sweat beading her forehead as she pushed on with the rest of her act. Every second that passed, she could feel heat rising around her, whether from the stage lamps or from something deep inside her.

Dammit, Starlight, why did you have to put me into this situation? Although, admittedly, she wouldn’t have had the courage to come up here in the first place if it hadn’t been for Starlight...

“T-Trixie will show you the w-wonder, and amazement”— Trixie added a flutter and twirl, letting the cape do the heavy lifting as she trained one eye to the crowd. Their eyes subconsciously followed the cape giving her only the briefest moment of respite. In this time, Trixie took a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and reached into her first hidden picket. –“as she performs true Magi—”

Finishing her turn, Trixie presented her finding to the audience. She flipped the hidden catch and the wand exploded.

Literally.

~ ~ ~

The explosion erupted across the stage to a chorus of gasps, runnings like waves across the audience. Starlight Glimmer herself tensed, her eyes going wide as she watched the ball of flames slowly rise from the safety of the V.M.P box.

There was a continued murmuring all around, and she glimpsed several ponies shying away from the front lines with singed manes and collars. She smirked slightly. For once, maybe being sucked into higher society was going to be a good thing. Though, on the other hoof...

“So...” Sparkler hummed next to her, conspicuously unaffected by the potential death of their show runner. Quite the opposite, Starlight should she seemed more bored than anything. “Starlight”—Sparkler leaned closer to Starlight’s side, putting one hoof over her shoulder as she looked over her hungry, lidded eyes. “I hear that you are playing protégé to a Princess now. What does it feel like to be ‘rubbing shins,’ so to speak, with Royalty?”

“I wouldn’t believe how many ponies you must have had to brainwash to get all of the way up there,” Cherry added.

“Hm? Wh-what?” Starlight snapped back to the present, tearing her gaze away from the stage. Her ears snapped forward as she looked to each of her unicorn ‘friends’. “S-sorry, girls,” Starlight muttered. She pushed Sparkler away from her and immediately got up to leave. “B-but I really have to go.”

Sparkler huffed and crossed her hooves, turning her nose up as she watched Starlight shimmy out of her seat. “And why is that?”

Cherry did much the same, joining Sparkler in locking Starlight with a death glare. “You’re not seriously going to help that Trixie filly, are you?”

“Yes,” Starlight said flatly, “Actually, I am.” She huffed, flicking her tail as the girls as she turned away from them. “Trixie is my friend. That’s what friends do for other friends.”

“A friend?” Sparkler hissed as if questioning the very concept.

“A friend,” Starlight confirmed. Not even paying the mare the respect to look her in the face, she continued towards the steps to the exit.

“You were never the one to strike me as having a friend, Glimmer.”

Starlight froze, poised with one hoof raised on the edge of the steps. “Well...” She swallowed. clearing her throat and reconstructing her composure, Starlight whirled back on the two mares. There was a silent thump behind her, and Starlight glimpsed a flicker of motion as the waiter vanished around the corner, his silver tray in tow.

Her ears lowered, and she looked back to Sparkler, lowering her voice to not be overheard. “Things change, Sparkler, which is more than anything I could ever say about you,” she whispered.

Starlight sighed, and, with that, she took her leaved.

Sparkler and Cherry sat together in complete silence, their ears red and mouths hanging agape. The former held a hoof to her chest, whilst Cherry looked to her with dismay. In the seconds that passed, the only sound to be heard were the ponies outside and Trixie’s yelps as she put the stage fire out.

There was a chink of silverware as the waiter delivered their meals, and Sparkler glanced to her plate.

Steamed clams.

Cherry looked to her. Their eyes met, and a wide, devious grin spread across both of their faces.

~ ~ ~

The wand crackled and sparked. It let out a furious hiss and shook violently in Trixie’s hoof. As soon as she’d pressed the switch, she could there was something not quite right. Whether the smoke, the sparks, the acrid smell of a spell gone wrong or the various gasps from the audience, she could only know one thing.

“Oh shi—”

The wand exploded, leaving Trixie precious seconds to jump away before it took her hoof with it. Her fur singed, and the ball of flames erupted out across the stage, blistering Trixie’s eyebrows as it rose into a rough mushroom shape.

She watched with wide-eyes, and gaping in awe at the magnitude of the thing. Normally, the mechanism was meant to release with ease. There would be one, maybe two, seconds of pause, ut then the wand would invert and turn into paper bouquet of flowers. The previous night, she’d inserted just a slight bit of explosives for an added confetti blast. But, now, that somehow seemed too much.

There was a combined utterance from the audience, and more gasps as she flames reached their zenith, then came crashing down to the stage in a pillar of smoke. Trixie, too, snapped back to attention. “I, uh...” She glanced to the stage side. Seeing several ponies waving at her and pointing frantically to the fire raging across the stage, she suddenly got the idea and rushed forwards. “B—b-behold!” she shouted, waving to the audience with a fake smile as she attempted to stomp the fire out.

“The G-g-grrrreat”—Her normal rolling ‘R’s were broken by a prickling heat rushing to Trixie’s cheeks. She could feel herself flushing all the more red as she struggled to keep her composure, stomping the soot-covered stage with her hind legs as she glanced every while to the audience. “And Powerrrrful, Trixie has”—

“Ignited the stage!” she heard somepony shout from the front row. It wasn’t clear if they were laughing or yelling in terror, either way Trixie received several critical glares from the wings.

“She-“ Trixie swallowed.

With the fire quickly stomped into submission, Trixie quickly turned to scan the stage. She could still feel her cheeks burning, both from smiling and from embarrassment, as she looked over the various stares and bored expressions.

“Trixie”– she gulped. This was bad. Worse than her Ponyville visit, worse still than the incident in Stalliongrad, but not the worst, at least not yet.

Taking a deep breath, Trixie steadied herself. Her hooves were blackened, her stage was a mess. She was sweaty and sticky in a various mixtures of heat, but she could do this. All she had to do was imagine them naked.

Yes, perfect.

Trixie cracked a smile, a real one, her usual confident demeanour part-way returning. She held her head high and turned to face the crowd her new image in mind. All of the mares and stallions sat there comfortably reclined in their seats, each one completely naked and utterly revealed, out on display for nopony but Trixie to see. It was perfect, it was hilarious, it was— Trixie’s neck pricked – a horrible idea. Her heart sank as the scene slowly began to sink in, the imagery proving to be no little amount arousing.

All of the stallions and mares were butt-naked.

All other thoughts ground to a halt as Trixie’s mind was flooded by images. Images of stallions sitting, their strong muscles flexing and their chests rising and falling as they slowly breathed. Trixie’s heart skipped a beat as her eyes slowly drew lower, scanning across the crowd, jumping from seat to seat.

The stallions were fully erect. Their horse cocks bobbed beautifully before her, each one subtly moving with the motions of their owner’s breathing. The subtle curves of their shafts clearly defined in the soft light of the stage, veins pulsing, flares trembling. Some of them would flinch, their glands engorged with eager anticipation, whilst many others would leak their beautiful rivulets of pre. Trixie couldn’t stop herself from imagining lapping them up, tasting the salty flavour. She licked her lips. The perfect full feeling of having them inside her, of them each one-by-one, stepping up to the stage and rutting her senseless, all of this, all of this whilst staring directly at her.

Something stirred deep within Trixie, a heat rising back to burn in the depths of her body. She felt herself flinch in the cold air, and the soft, almost sensual motions of the cape of her withers as she trotted wearily across the stage.

There was the subtle trickle of fluid escaping her, and Trixie became distinctly aware of her own juices trickling down between her back legs, and the unmistakable pull of her lips winking beneath the cape.

“I—” she croaked. Squeezing her eyes shut, Trixie pulled her gaze away from the crowd. Of course, she couldn’t do that for long. She was the showrunner, after all. She had to keep her focus and attention on the audience, the entertained. She pointed, raising her voice to be heard clearly, and playing herself as straight as possible.

“Trixie, would like a volunteer from the audience to...”

Glancing back, Trixie caught glimpse of the mares in the first row, and she immediately realised her mistake, as well as just how ‘straight’ she was.

Her mind filled in all the missing details. Their pussies were wet, dripping. The smell of lust was laden heavy in the air, begging to be rutted. It was was overwhelming. Trixie could feel herself swoon drunk in the heat of their passion. Images of them eating her out, of her eating them out, of them forming a mixed and disorderly pile whilst the stallions from before rutted her in every hole.

And all they did was sit there and stare at her with uninterested exp—

Trixie coughed, and pulled her eyes away from the scene. She quickly doubled back on herself, formulating a new plan as she headed back to the curtains. “T-t-to—sit right there and watch in awe as Trixie c—”

Cums.

The word flashed across Trixie’s mind. Too fast for her to see, she was barely prepared by the oncoming crash, and the familiar tingling of magic forcing its way out of her horn. Several spots flashed across Trixie’s vision. She felt her legs tremble and she barely held on by a hair, and several tray particles flashed from her horn illuminating the stage.

Trixie took a deep breath and held it, fighting back against her impending orgasm as she battled to reclaim her composure. She gingerly worked her way back to the curtains, hooking two hooves through the loops of rope, and rearing up to throw her hooves into the air.

“C-c-c-c—C” Trixie shouted, half squeaked through gritted teeth as she forced magic up her horn. She quickly turned the mishap into part of the show, showering the stage in a rainbow of sparks, even adding the after-thought to spell out her name.

‘Tirxe’ burst across the stage as a backdrop as the mare screamed to the rafters, “C-Cuts herself in half!” With a quick tug of her leg, Trixie unveiled her hidden weapon.

An eight-ton wooden box long enough to fit a pony and a half, all suspended on a raised cart burst through the curtains and glided to a stop at Trixie’s side. “I-She will,” Trixie began as she trotted around the box, pulling out the saw and quickly beginning to climb into the open half. “Climb into the b—”The box shook, causing Trixie to yelp and clutch at the sides. “I-I-I-Trixie will climb into the box and—” She glanced to the saw floating in her aura, and hoisted it higher, gesturing with a hoof for the audience to see. “With this saw, Trixie wi-will c—u-t the box with herself inside in half!”

“But not without the help of her Lovely Assistant!”