Spectra knew any decent magic act, even for one with as many the performer's troupe, there remained a cardinal rule, each act must have something unique to bring to the table, and the show must be neither too long nor too short.
With the troupe's growth, it was becoming time for the magic act to draw to a close, on top of a 'performers on parade' style finale for the audience, there would be Tommy and Celly's join performance that they had insisted that with their combined tricks that it wouldn't just a rehash of their previous acts. But would it?
Spectra had started out with those in most need of a new life or new future, and had worked his way down. And he had wonder, was there anyone really left in the audience who truly needed his help? And would those transformed be able to give a decent magic act? He was bound by the role of his profession, and giving a lousy or repetitive magic act was simply impossible for him to go through with.
The kids had loved Rosewood's opening act, would more be merrier? Or would it be more of the same? An important part of any act like this was the novelty, and keeping that sense of novelty going for the audience. Or would it serve as a decent book end?
Or would be simpler and less trouble to get the 'Performers on Parade' over with, and have the magic act reach its conclusion? There was nothing more dull and frustrating than a show that tried to go on forever and inevitably burned out.
After all, at the end of the day, THIS WAS A MAGIC ACT, not a circus act. If it was a circus act, he'd have recruited clowns by now!
Spectra could see down the lines of fate related to those in his tent. And as much as he wanted to help all that needed help, his binding of putting on a genuine magic act remained.
What was there left? Was there anything left? Or was it time to simply give the show a proper send off?
-Rosewoods Puppeteering.
-Penny's Snake Charming.
-Tommy's Pyrotechniques.
-Chelly's Gymnastics (that he admitted stretched the 'magic act' clause very thin indeed).
-The triplet's Pantomime slap stick.
-Wesley's Escape artisty.
-And of course Penny getting a second chance on stage with her mundane hypnosis.
-O'Hara being the literal rabbit out of his hat.
-Betty's 'levitation' and Flying along with faux vampirism.
-And finally Adrian's transformations that the audience could see.
There was, Spectra realized, there was only one trick he hadn't really done that was directly connected to the magic show. And would be perhaps the last trick before allowing the performers on parade climax. The disappearing boxes trick. But Spectra still needed a way to have it remain a magic trick the audience would remember, and a transformation to bring what would be the last performer in his troupe (unless he decided to do the extra puppeteering after all).
He looked out over his audience as O'Hara ooh'ed the children with some minor cantrips, transmuting a stick into flowers and turning turning rubber balls into (non-sapient) dove eggs that hatched and flew off.
He spotted her. Now that Betty was part of the troupe, she was now the oldest girl left in the audience. Her clothes weren't all black, and they weren't painfully bright either, they were subdued colors and grays, and wearing jeans and long sleeved shirt.
She was 'perfect' but only the in the sense of being possibly the penultimate act and final troupe retroactive member. Crushingly alone, even in a crowd, and it was that same depressed tone that made it hard for her to make friends, and would eventually turn people off from her, and in spite of her loneliness, the fear of rejection kept her trapped in an endless cycle. Her parents... it wasn't that they didn't understand her... they just considered their careers more important. And the future she had ahead for herself was... not good. And the way she was destine to die was... not good either.
She was the one. Unless anyone else caught his eye, she'd be the final act.
One last trick.
In her heart of hearts, what she wanted, more than anything, willing to pay any price, was to never be alone. And that attitude in her current life would one day cost her dear. Not anymore if he could help it.
"It's time for what may very well be our penultimate act of the evening! And for this I shall need a volunteer!"
He looked at O'Hara and subtly gestured towards the sullen girl, and a slight electric spark zapped the girl's seat, making her stand up. He was a magician, he was allowed to cheat.
"Yes, you there young lady! Yes, you! Please come here!" Spectra gestured dramatically.
The tween-ager looked around, finding all eyes on her, and not having the guts to say no, (much to her own weakness), she found her legs marching towards the stage, wishing she had the nerve to run away, but not wanting to face the humiliation of a buncha children she'd likely not see again seeing her chicken out.
Nate and Katie held each other close their eyes on the stage.
"What do you think they're gonna do next?" Katie asked.
"I dunno! But I bet he saved the best for best!"
Katie was grateful that Nate had convinced her to enter the tent after she'd been initially worried. SO far the show had been great, even been hypnotized on stage had been kinda cool. And they WEREN'T turned into rabbits, put into cages, and sold to a pet store like some part of her mind had feared was going to happen. The twins were completely wrapped up in what was going to happen next.
Spectra himself wondered if some of those in here who weren't destine to be changed by him had come here to be inspired or to be protected... or just thought they were going to see a good magic show. Like his destiny to be bald.
She felt everyone looking at her.
"So what is your name my dear?" Spectra asked courtly.
She looked down and mumbled.
"What was that?"
She said it slightly louder.
"Could the whole audience hear place?" O'Hara stepped in.
The girl's face blushed beet read.
"Zabrina Zahlee Zealander! And yes that's my real name!" The girl huffed and puffed.
O'Hara looked satisfied with herself. "And it's nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's a nice name."
"I'm changing it something less... odd when I'm 21." The girl put her hands in her pocket and avoided eye contact.
"So you don't want to stand out? You don't like attention?" O'Hara grinned.
"No, yes, -I! I do want attention! But, I don't want to be humiliated or made fun of!"
Spectra pushed O'Hara back gently but firmly, having gotten the girl to do more than feel sorry for herself for a moment. "You have my word Zabrina, no one is going to laugh at you, I promise. Now please tell me, and what do you want more than anything?" Spectra asked subtly magically coaxing the answer out of her.
"To never be alone again."
"And what would you give for that?"
"Anything."
"'Anything' my dear? Are you sure about that? 'Anything' can be very much indeed."
"Yes."
"Very well. Have you thought about how disappearing can get attention too?"
"... Yes."
"Did you plan to run away once?"
"Y... Yes." She admitted, Spectra's magic still gently coaxing her true desire out of her.
"Well, allow my magic to show you how to disappear in a proper and good manner!"
O'Hara went off stage and returned with a box big enough to hold one person divided into three sections.
Spectra had wanted to do the classic 'cut the woman in two' act, but there wasn't much he could do that wouldn't be forgotten by his audience after the transformation was complete, and this was a magic show.
O'Hara opened all three panels and gestured inside.
"Go ahead and enter dear, I promise everyone will be applauding at the end."
Zabrina glanced back at the audience, then the exit, then steeled herself, and marched inside, her fists balled up. O'Hara closed the boxes tight.
"Now let the magic begin," Spectra said taking out a wand. He tapped each corner of each of the sections, then spun it around. He opened it again, and Zabrina was gone. There was clapping. Spectra said nothing, O'Hara closed the doors again. She handed Spectra four slidable box walls, that he slipped between each sections, becoming a top and bottom.
O'Hara opened the bottom, then the middle, and then there was Zabrina's head, blinking, looking around, and not really that alarmed besides the audience looking at her.
"How are you feeling Zabrina?"
"Okay I guess." The head said. She wondered why the audience clapped just then.
"Would you please wave to the audience until I ask you to stop."
"Okay." She didn't seem to notice or care where the rest of her was. O'Hara closed the middle box, and SLID it so it was on the edge of the top and bottom cubes, (if it was set up like a phone pad, the numbers would be 2, 6, and 9). She opened it... and there was Zabrina's torso and arms, waving.
"That'll do, dear." The torso stopped waving. He closed the head box again, and slide around the boxes like they were on an invisible grid, so the head was at 9, and the feet were at 2. O'Hara opened both boxes, showing Zabrina's feet at the top, and her head at the bottom!
Zabrina wondered if she was sunk into the floor without noticing as the she saw the audience of kids clap again wildly.
"Excuse me for a moment Zabrina, as O'Hara tickles your feet, are you ticklish there?"
"... Just a little."
O'Hara reached into the top box and took off one plain black shoe and white sock, and produced a feather to tickle the arc of Zabrina's feet. Zabrina giggled, and wondered who was tickling her down there if she could see O'Hara's feet from where she was standing.
The audience clapped and cheer again. O'Hara replaced Zabrina's footwear, and closed the boxes again. Spectra slide them back into their original positions.
O'Hara quickly went off stage again and immediately returned with cage containing three doves, and another cage containing a black coated pony. Spectra and O'Hara were both regretful that most of this trick wouldn't be remembered by the audience since it would retroactively have never happened.
Katie wondered if the animals were props or real, they were so calm, and didn't freak out at the sight of people or really react to anything around them. And their cages were made in the exact same size and shape as the cubes of the box Zabrina was in. O'Hara placed some slide-on-walls on the sides of the boxes, obscuring the animals from view like Zabrina. The animals didn't make a peep and showed no reaction to be put in the dark small spaces.
The three doves' box was made up of one cube, the pony's was made up of two cubes that were horizontal.
This was going to be tricky for Spectra, but he had confidence in himself, and it wasn't like he'd perform any trick that truly put anyone in danger.
O'Hara connected the three doves' box and the pony's box to Zabrina's, making it look like a set of stairs going downwards. While this wasn't as visually stunning as some of the other transformations for the beings beyond who were watching for their own amusement, Spectra for himself was still proud of this trick.
Spectra trapped the four corners of the box containing Zabrina's torso, and the corners of the box containing the doves. Then he spun them with pink sparkles going off all over the place, with the top row and bottom row boxes stayed stationary. Every child in the audience wondered how he was doing it! Magic?
When the spinning stopped, there was only one box middle row box, and O'Hara spun it around to show indeed there were now only five boxes. And that box was in the '5' position. Spectra tapped the corner of the 5 box, and opened it. Inside was Zabrina's torso, but now there were feathery wings cramped inside behind her, folded tightly, and her hands now had scales. The kids clapped again. He closed the box.
The 1 position box held Zabrina's head, the 5 box her combined torso with the doves, while the 7 box held her legs, and the 8 box held the pony's front and the 9 box held the pony's rear.
Spectra was VERY CAREFUL not to get the boxes mixed up! He moved Zabrina's head to the 2 position. Then Zabrina's legs to the 4 position. Then the torso to the 6 position. The cubes never fell over. He moved the pony front to the 5 position. Then Zabrina's legs to the 8 position. Then he pushed the pony's front to the 4 position and the torso back to the 5 position at the same time. He pushed the Pony's front to the 1 position. Then pushed the front and head to the 2 and 3 spots. And the torso to the 4 spot. Then Zabrina's head to the 6 and then 5 spot. And then the pony's front to the 3 spot. Then pushed Zabrina's head to the 2 spot. And finally the torso back to the 5 position.
It was important for the pony's boxes to all be on the same side of Zabrina. He spun the boxes clockwise, they gave off pink sparkles again. When they stopped, there was again only 3 boxes stacked on top of each other.
O'Hara opened the panels. Inside was a winged humanoid horse woman. A pegasus anthro. Her legs were digigrated and hoofed. Her three fingers and thumb all ended in armor going all the way around the fingers. Her clothes had vanished, but she was completely covered in black fur, hiding anything scandalous, that didn't stop her from having a figure that made even O'Hara green with envy. She wasn't collage age like O'Hara, this was no young filly, this was a thirty something year old mare, and with the body to prove it.
Her mane was pink, long and flowing, her eyes were a shining pale rose color. The feathers on her wings had pale rose highlights, as did the fur around her handles. A faded gray speckled her thighs.
The lively neon pink that looked good against her onyx fur. Her muzzle smiled at the audience.
"It's good to be back boys and girls!" She said warmly, getting more cheers and claps.
She was also still technically broken down into her head, torso, and legs, by the boxes.
"Miss Zabrina Zahlee Zealand are pleased to meet you!" She said, some noticed the poor grammar but thought nothing of it.
They'd seen the horse woman come on stage, enter the box, and be divided up. Had seen her pieces be repositioned in the box like they were each their own entity, then they'd spun around the boxes counter-clockwise and out came a non-anthromorphic pegasi, the size of dolls, that had flown around the audience, then flew back into the boxes.
"Now it's time to say goodbye, but don't worry, we're always around!" The pegasus woman laughed. The magician closed the boxes again, and placed them in positions, 1, and 3 for the head and torso. Then he spun it counter clockwise again with pink sparkles flying again (O'Hara though they were gaudy but Zahlee thought they were nice). Then O'Hara separated the boxes and set them equally apart from each on the stage and stepped back along with Spectra.
Then all three boxes' tops flipped at the same time, and three eleven year old black fur pegasi fillies jumped into the air from withn. They spread their wings and caught each other's hands', and spun down in a circle like sky divers before breaking apart perfectly landing on their two hooves. The black fur covered fillies theatrically bowed together.
"I'm Zebrina!"
"I'm Zally!"
"And I'm Zeal!"
"WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR SHOW!" They cried out together, clasping each other on the shoulders and bowing again, their pink tails waving in the tail. Then they twirled again, and a smoke bomb went off, and when it cleared, Miss Zabrina Zahlee Zealander was there again, kneeling on one knee, a hand over one knee. "Because I certainly did!"
Her wings stretched out behind her back, and she forwards to the audience, Katie and Nate only now realizing how friggin' [i]tall[/i] she was! "Remember kids, everything comes to those who wait! You decide what you're going to do with yourself. And enjoying being kids while you can." Another smoke bomb, and the fillies stood proud again.
"We certainly are!" Zally said with a giggle.
Another round of applauds, and the fillies gasped hands again and bowed again, blowing kisses as they went.
"Can I be in control of the arms torso next time?" Zeal asked.
"Only if Zebrina lets me form the head next time!" Zally said.
"But that would leave me with the feet and legs! And you always makes us tell the weirdest jokes when you're the head!"
"Speaking of which," Zeal said, "Hey Adrian, how's that spell coming to turn me and my sisters into robots so we can combine on stage in a big flashy sequence?"
"Designing you robot forms wouldn't be the hard part, designing robots forms that can combine into one big horse woman isn't!"
Zeal patted the four legged unicorn on the nose. "Ahhhh, are you saying you CAN'T do it?"
Adrian plushed. "No no no I can! But it's going to take some more time! And DON'T ask me to make them so you'd all be able to turn into whatever section you want! I'm a magician, not an robotics engineer!"
"You didn't protest so much when talking about turning some of the troupe into puppets for Rosewood to dance with."
"I have her as a template! We don't have any thinking combining robots around for me to examine to figure out how one would work."
"I showed you all my favorite combining giant robot episodes. We wouldn't mind being robot lionesses for the show."
Ardrian gave zeal a look. "The 'science' on that show is laughable, and the 'magic' is painful."
"Well, I still like it."
"And I'm not asking you not to."
"You could become puppets dancers for my act, I don't mind that Adrian changes you back after," The voice that spoke wasn't Penny's but Rosewood as she held the puppeteer crosses
"Not the same thing, thanks anyway Rosewood."
"Welcome!"
"I won't give up though, no point in a talent if you don't challenge it," Adrian said.
"You're so sweet." Zeal smiled.
"Arian and Zeal sitting in a tree-"
"Shut up Wesley!" The four legged white unicorn and the two legged black pegasus said together with a blush.
"So do you think your babies would be gray Alicorns?"
A brown and white weasel plushie with a gray cape sat on the floor, grinning at them, looked himself over and waved at them.
"Adrian, too far," Chelly said.
"But he's so cute this way! I could just cuddle him!" Zally said grinning back at the toy.
"Remember what Spectra said Adrian," Zebrina said.
"Right right, sorry. But don't tell me you weren't all thinking it too."
And the plushie became a weasel boy again.
"Nice job out there, Zilly," Wesley said. "So Zilly did you you wanna cuddle me?"
"It's Zally! Or Zahlee to you!" The filly snorted at him.
"Whatever," Wesley grinned. "You should try being the bottom instead of the top next time, you make a great butt!"
"WHY YOU!"
"Cool it Wes'," Tommy said.
"Only teasing, sorry."
"Don't you think Betty will get jealous?" Chelly asked.
That shut Wesley up.
"Ugh!... Did I sleep through Adrian and the ZZZ's act? Dang it!" Betty said as he woke up from her power nap and opened her feet, and flipped down onto the floor with barely a sound.
"It was definitely his best show yet," Zeal said.
"What about yours?" Betty asked.
"We're definitely doing better," Zebrina said, "We actually did more than combine and separate this time."
"Girls, you can't just let Spectra and O'Hara do all the magic out there, you can't just be living set props, that's what O'Hara is for," Betty said. Since she didn't turn into a white bat girl plushie, it was safe to say O'Hara hadn't heard the remark. This wasn't to say O'Hara was some kind of tyrant, it was a game at best, and some friendly teasing at worst. Spectra did NOT approve. O'Hara insisted she only did to friends and close family, and the trope was both! Spectra didn't want Adrian picking O'Hara's impish habits.
"I think it was a wonderful act!" Penny said, "My act with Copper wasn't that fancy at first."
“And I thought the bit with you flying around as tiny Pegusi was cute, too,” Chelly said, patting Zeal on the head. “Tommy and I could help train you to add some more visual flare to your flight, if you like.”
“That’d be fun!” Zally said.
“Yeah,” Tommy chimed in, “we could add some pillars of flame for you three to weave through, and-”
“Let’s just stick with the basics, for now,” Celly interrupted.
“Right, sorry,” the tiger boy said.
Em did sign language with her wings saying that she agreed with Betty that the fillies needed to up their game a little.
'Well, there's always next show.' Tott added, his wooden body able to move in ways that most wouldn't expect, and yet stayed perfect connected to his siblings.
Paul added, 'If you ever get lonely, we could always use more sections.'
"I am not your personal transformation machine you know," Adrian said.
"Oh you love it," Zeal said.
"True."
"Seriously Zilly, I think you'd do great as the legs, you can really dance!" Wesley said.
"I... thanks. And it's Zally."
"Oops."
"I need to go the bathroom," Zebrina said.
There were groans.
"Can you hold it until the end of the show?" Zeal asked.
"I think so..."
"We can all go then," Zally said.
There was rule of thumb with the fillies... they HATED being out of line of sight each other. They had been born together, and they would likely die together. Even when fused, they kept enough independent ego so that they were never alone. While physically identical, and very similar in personalities, they weren't so close in personality like Tott, Em, and Paul were. "Being surrounded by identical copies of yourself is just another form of loneliness," as Zebrina had so elegantly put it once.