Violet

After work, Twilight joined Rainbow Dash in her car and sighed. “Well, that was… a lot. Does it really get that busy all the time?”

“Yeah. Usually starts off slow in the morning and then quickly ramps up.”

“I see. Speaking of the morning, who was that?”

“Oh. Gilda. Friend since we were kids. Then when she found out I was into girls, she asked and I said yes. Only, she was too rough, so I called it off.”

“Right,” Twilight muttered, thinking back to her moment with Pinkie. “What about… Pinkamena?”

Rainbow chuckled. “She can be as rough as Gilda or as gentle as me. Whatever you prefer.”

“Okay, and… Well, after you left, she… invited me over to… Uh…”

Rainbow smirked. “I know. I saw you when I went back. But you seemed busy, so I returned to the shop.”

Twilight went wide-eyed. “You s…”

“Say, wanna hit The Top Hat?”

“Top Hat?”

“Ever seen open mic nights for comedians?”

“I’ve heard of them, yes.”

“Top Hat’s like that but for magicians. It’s really cool. There’s this one magician who I think is gonna make it big time. I think she’s there tonight. She usually performs on Mondays.”

“Well, okay,” Twilight replied with a smile. “Let’s go.”

Rainbow opened the door to The Top Hat and stepped inside with Twilight close behind her. On the right was a bar, on the left was a stage with tables set up in front of it, and at the back were the bathrooms. The place seemed pretty packed.

“Busy night,” Rainbow chuckled as she led Twilight over to the bat and sat down. When they were about to order, Rainbow looked down the bat at the far end and smiled. “There she is.”

Twilight looked, too, and saw who Rainbow saw. It was a female wearing a denim jacket, wide open to expose her black bra, hip-length denim shorts, and purple knee-high socks.

“That’s a little revealing,” Twilight muttered.

“That’s the best part about this place. Since it’s also a a bar, and you have to be 21 or older to come in, a lot of the female magicians wear revealing outfits.”

“I see.”

“Come on, let’s say hi,” Dash said as she gently grabbed Twilight’s wrist and pulled her along.

When they got close, the magician noticed them and turned her stool to face them. “And who are you two?” She asked with a playful smirk. “Fans of mine?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash and this is Twilight Sparkle. I’ve seen you perform before but it’s Twilight’s first time here.”

“First time, huh?” The magician asked, before chuckling. “Trixie can tell. By the way she’s staring at my body.”

“Huh?” Twilight asked, peeling her eyes away from the magician’s mostly-exposed torso. “Sorry. You’re just… really…”

“Hot, Twilight,” Rainbow cut in. “The word you’re looking for is hot. And, apologies, Trixie. She was the same way with me when she saw me naked. I like to sleep in the nude.”

“Hmm. And how did you ever manage to overcome such a hardship?”

“Simple. I let her touch me all over.”

Trixie eyed Twilight, who was covering her face with her hands. “Well, she won’t be feeling me up anytime soon.”

“Oh?” Rainbow asked with a smirk. “What about me?

Trixie smiled. “Perhaps for Trixie’s first feat of magic… she makes you disappear?”

Rainbow chuckled. "Just kidding."

"It was nice to meet you," Twilight suddenly said. "Sorry for staring."

Trixie stood up and patted Twilight on the shoulder. "Trixie is used to the adoring stares of her fans. It's no thing. See ya on stage, Twilight Sparkle." With that, she walked off, probably to prepare for her show.

"That was interesting," Rainbow chuckled as she sat down.

"Yeah..." Twilight muttered, sitting beside her.

After a couple magic acts, it was Trixie's turn. The magician walked out into the stage with a black briefcase and set it down on the table that was set up on the stage. She then scanned the crowd.

“Trixie’s first trick will be a simple card trick. For that, I’ll need a volunteer from the audience.” Even though a lot of the audience raised their hands, Trixie’s eyes were already settled on one in the back. “You, in the back,” she pointed.

Twilight went wide-eyed and looked at Dash, who just gave her a wink. The nerd stood up and made her way nervously through the crowd. She felt a lot of eyes on her but also heard a few applaud as she walked up the little staircase onto the stage. She gave the crowd a quick smile as she situated the magician before she returned her attention to Trixie.

“Hello, again, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie greeted with an almost seductive smirk.

“Trixie. It’s an honor.”

“Hmm… The honor… is ours.” Trixie then held up her left hand. In it was a fan of cards, all facing Twilight. “Pick a card.”

The former librarian smiled and eyed each card before she pulled out the 2 of hearts. Trixie then used her free hand to close up the deck in the left hand and straighten the cards out. She then lifted up a section of the deck.

“Now return the card to its home, if you would.”

Twilight nodded and did as told before Trixie set the top part of the deck back on top of the main deck. She then placed the deck upside down on the table and spread them out with her left hand.

“Do all the cards look random, Twilight?”

Twilight stepped up to the table and looked, before giving a nod. “Appears that way, yes.”

“Good. Because the first part of this trick isn’t really a trick at all. It’s memorization. Before I walked out here, I was studying the order of the cards. Now, if it were a new deck and all the cards were in order, that’d be one thing. Be too easy. So I shuffle the deck about thirty times each time I do this trick.” She then stepped up to the table again, right next to Twilight so they were mere centimeters apart. Trixie then picked up the two of hearts and held it up. “This your card?”

Twilight smiled. “Yes.”

“Cool. But not cool enough. Because memorization isn’t really a trick.” She then put the card back in the deck and face it a quick shuffle before fanning out the cars in her left hand. “Pick another. Then put it back.”

Twilight nodded and picked a random card before Trixie reformed the deck and broke it in half again. Twilight glanced at the three of diamonds she pulled before she placed it on the deck. Trixie put the other half of the deck she broke off back on top.

“This one isn’t special, either,” she said as she gave a quick shuffle without even using the table. She then turned the deck over and began to look through it. She then pulled out the three of diamonds and showed Twilight. “That’s me using my peripheral vision to see the bottom of the deck I break off and then making sure I don’t ruin the placement when I shuffle.”

“Still pretty cool.”

Trixie smiled. “I only do great and powerful.”

She then shuffled the deck again and turned her back to Twilight. “Same as before,” She said as she fanned the deck out with both hands.

When she felt Twilight pull one, she closed the deck and split it in half once more. She placed her thumb near the top of the bottom half of the deck so she would know when Twilight replaced the card. She soon felt the card slide under her thumb, and then she placed the top half of the deck back on the bottom and turned around.

“New order and I wasn’t looking. Shouldn’t be able to know which card you chose.”

“No, you really shouldn’t.”

Trixie smirked and walked over to the table. “That’s why I let magic do the work for me.”

She then let the deck slip from her fingers and all but one card fell onto the table. She then held up the queen of spades. Twilight chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

The crowd applauded as the two just smiled at each other.

Trixie groaned as she set her empty glass down on the bar counter. “It’s just… I want to do more but I’m stuck here doing card tricks.”

“That was a pretty impressive card trick,” Twilight reassured her with a smile.

Trixie only groaned again. “I attached a piece of thread I had in my sleeve to the card you chose. That’s it. What I want to do is so much bigger than this.”

“I know how you feel. I came here to try and find a way to help people. I knows it’s only my second day but I feel like I’m already stuck.”

“Help, like a cop?”

“Maybe not something that dangerous. Insurance. Tech Squad.”

Trixie chuckled. “The only way you’re going to make a difference in this city is if you become a superhero like in the comics.”

“Seriously?”

Trixie nodded. “If you’re a cop, you run the risk of getting killed within the first week. They don’t last long in this city. Anything else is… moot.”

“Moot?” Twilight asked, before she let out a sigh. “Well… it is only my second day.”

Suddenly, three men walked up to them, more specifically Trixie. “Hey, there,” the bigger one in the middle said.

Trixie said. “Trixie already told you guys, she’s not into you. So just… go away.”

“We’re not taking no for an answer,” the man said as he put a hand on Trixie’s shoulder.

“Hey, maybe you should…” Twilight started, before the skinny guy on the left glared at her.

“Does it look like we’re talking to you, girl?” He asked.

Trixie eyed the bookworm before Rainbow walked up to them. “There a problem here?” She asked. The three men turned to face her. “Hey, I recognize you. You’ve been here before harassing Trixie.”

“And what are you gonna do about it?” The shorter guy on the right asked.

“I could beat the living shit out of you,” Rainbow snapped.

“Bring it, bitch!” The skinny guy yelled.

“Hey!” A man with short black hair yelled from behind the bar. He had on a white shirt, blue suit, and a red tie, and was carrying a shotgun. “If you got a problem, take it outside!”

The bigger man groaned and waved for his two friends. “We were just leaving. Come on.”

He took one last look at Trixie before they left the bar, bumping Rainbow as they past her. She glared at them but let them go. The suited man listed his gun and walked over to Trixie, who seemed extremely tense.

“You okay, Trix?” He asked her.

When she didn’t respond, Twilight gently reached out and put a hand on Trixie’s. The magician flinched and looked over. When she realized whose hand it was, she seemed to relax and even gave a light smile. “I’m fine, Filthy, thanks.”

“Shall I escort you home again?”

Trixie nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”

The man nodded and out the gun away. As he went back to work, Trixie let out a deep sigh.

“Assholes,” Rainbow muttered through her teeth.

“That’s why I’m… glad to have fans like you two.”

Rainbow glanced over at the clock on the wall. “Hey, are you gonna be okay? We should be heading to bed now.”

“Oh, right,” Twilight muttered. “I have a job already.”

“I’ll be fine,” Trixie replied. “Filthy drives me home whenever those three come around.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“Speaking of which,” Trixie continued. “I could use a ride tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have a ride?” Asked Rainbow. “How do you get here?”

“I live in a nearby apartment building. So I walk.”

“I don’t mind escorting you but… I don’t have a car.”

“You could walk me back to my place and I could show you what I have planned for my dream show.”

Twilight smiled. “That’d be nice. And Rainbow?”

Rainbow chuckled. “I’ll come pick you up in the morning. If it’s the same building Lightning Dust lives in, I know exactly where it is.”

“The one on seventh?” Trixie asked.

Rainbow nodded. “Yep.”

Twilight smiled before she went slightly wide-eyed. “Wait. In the morning?”

“Yeah. You wanna drive back after midnight?”

“You can crash at my place,” Trixie said.

Rainbow smiled. “Maybe I’ll spend the night with Lightning.”

Trixie chuckled. “Sounds like a plan.”