Adventures in Saint-Trotez - On Set (Episodes 1 - 3)

Noticing crowds of ponies entering a building with a golden note on it, he enters behind them. From what I gathered about these pony-folk, it wouldn't surprise me if this is what their Bed-and-Breakfasts looked like.

"The Golden No'?" Aces mumbled to himself, slipping relatively unnonticed into the crowd. "Eh, makes sense, I guess."

"This show had better live up to all the hype" Sparks comments as he enters with the other two guards.

As you enter the performance house and go through the main lobby, it opens up to an incredibly large room, filled with rows of cushioned seats, and an impressive stage at the other end of the room. Many of the seats near the back are already taken, most likely by ponies who wish to watch, but don't wish to volunteer for any of the tricks Mental Magic does. There are still more than enough seats around the middle and at the front. You hear a staff member tell an inquiring pony that the show begins shortly, and it looks like more and more ponies are entering the performance house behind you...

"Ah, there are still seats near the front! How fortunate!" Moonshot leads the visiting guards to the third or fourth row - where it was close enough to get a top notch view, but not so close that it became difficult to see what was going on. And close enough that there was a small chance of being asked to volunteer!

Oh, he couldn't wait!

Ah, definitely not a Bed-and-Breakfast. Necrar looks around the hall. Oh well, it would be more interesting to see what passes for entertainment here. He thinks, sitting down in the middle rows.

Aces, a very unusual sight in such an ornate room, looked around, a bit bemused. Then, drawing a little attention himself as he could, he walked as little forward as he could before finding an open seat and sat, slumping slightly and making sure not to look anypony in the eye.

(I'm going to assume that Sparks is also going to take a seat to speed things up...)

As you get comfortable in your seats, more and more ponies enter the performance house. Soon, the room becomes somewhat full. For those of you who live in Saint-Trotez, you figure that this is because of how early, so to speak, the show is. It's only becoming dusk now, so most residents will be eating breakfast now. But even so, the turnout of this show is still incredible. You wait for a couple of minutes, and then the lights for the seats are turned towards the stage, and any conversation in the room starts to quiet before dying out...

From stage left, two cloaked ponies carrying a large red sheet between them head to centre stage. When they get there, they wait a few seconds before flinging one half of the red sheet into the air above them, and walking under it before it falls, covering them from the view of the audience. When the sheet finally lands on the ground, the two cloaked ponies have vanished, and a new figure has appeared, standing in the middle of the stage giving a small bow to the audience. The stallion in the centre has a grey coat, a well-kept brown mane, and four small, yellow diamonds on his flank. As he raises his head to look upon the crowd, you can see that his face is sporting a plain mask, similar to those you see at festivals, minus and fancy trims or feathers or the like. The mask itself is in a vibrant red colour, and the contrast between the pony's mask and his light blue eyes is a very appealing look. Other ponies in the audience start giving a small applause...

"Hello, ponies of Saint-Trotez. My name is Mental Magic, and I will be your host for tonight's event. Now, I know you have woken up early for this show, so let me get straight to it." As he finishes his sentence, the magician stomps the stage with his hoof, and the stage is quickly enveloped in smoke, which dissipates just as quickly as it appeared, revealing a giant blue safe that has suddenly appeared to the right of the stage, with a brown envelope taped to the side. The audience give a quick clap to this. "Now, for this trick, I'm going to need a few volunteers, but I will only require one to start off with. Anypony interested, please raise your hoof."

Storm Blade's annoyance doesn't go unnoticed by Moonshot. "Ah, M'sieur Storm Blade, we can patrol the streets when everypony is around - the ponies are as much part of the street as the cobblestones in Saint-Trotez." he reassures the pegasus.

---

"Oh! Yes!" Moonshot's hoof shoots in to the air before his brain could catch up with him and order him to at least try to act professional around the visiting guards.

Spoiler:

Aces shifted his head slightly, giving his good eye a broader range of vision.

Spoiler:

Sparks stays on the edge of his seat intent on seeing if there was anything more than just slight of hoof.

Spoiler:

Moonshot can't wait - he loved this stuff. The chance to be part of this, up close - well, that was wonderful! He had his eyes and ears open, eager to find out the magic!

Spoiler:

Fury of the Tempest wrote:

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:

Spoiler:

You both see that there was only two ponies that walked onto the stage, so you know Mental Magic wasn't hidden in or behind the sheet, and you both notice the brown cloaks that the two ponies who walked onto the stage was wearing are now both empty and hidden under where the sheet had landed. You also notice that the smoke that covered the stage seemed to originate around where the safe appeared, and you also spot some trap doors, but there are small and no where near the act. They look like they are used mainly for plays rather than any tricks. Other then that, you don't see how Mental Magic could have gotten onto the stage, where the other two ponies went, or how he got the safe on the stage as well. For Ace only, you can tell from Mental Magic's stance that he is pretty confident, and that he's been practising a lot for this show, wanting everything to go as planned...

Pingcode wrote:

Spoiler:

In addition to the above (except the pose part, that's for Ace only), you also spot a couple of moments where the light wasn't exactly right, where Mental Magic and the safe were before they appeared...

tygerburningbright wrote:

Spoiler:

You identify some magic which is happening on the stage. You can't detect any teleportation spells, but you do notice some illusion-based magic, such as the smoke, and you have a sense that, somehow, the safe was always on the stage. You don't seem to be able to pinpoint any other magic though, too many unicorns in the audience using basic telekinesis to hold food and drinks for you to get a better reading...

Pingcode wrote:"Oh! Yes!" Moonshot's hoof shoots in to the air before his brain could catch up with him and order him to at least try to act professional around the visiting guards.

The magician points straight at Moonshot. "You, sir," Mental Magic calls out, making sure that the audience members at the back can hear. "Every other pony interested keep your hoof up, I will still need more volunteers. But first, what is your name, sir?"

Moonshot sets aside his drink and walks up to the stage. A trick of the light? Perhaps mirrors? Yes, mirrors, most likely. Clever! "Moonshot, M'sieur!"

Necrar sits up in his chair, surprised. Hold on now, this doesn't seem right. I was told only unicorns could do magic. It could be a trick, or...

Spoiler:

Colter Bolt wrote:

Spoiler:

You don't spot anything during the show. Mental Magic's tricks have eluded you!

As for the mask, you do not detect any magical powers in it...

Pingcode wrote:Moonshot sets aside his drink and walks up to the stage. A trick of the light? Perhaps mirrors? Yes, mirrors, most likely. Clever! "Moonshot, M'sieur!"

As you head to the stage, the audience gives you a small clap. When you get on stage, Mental Magic shakes you hoof as a friendly hello. "Well, Moonshot, the magician tells you, "I need you to decide how many other volunteers I will use, as well as how many of them will be earth ponies, how many will be pegasus ponies, and how many will be unicorns. Don't go too crazy on the numbers though," Mental Magic pauses for a very quick laugh, "They'll need to all be able to fit inside this safe."

Moonshot walks over to the safe, and examines it carefully, doing his best to steal a sneak peek at the envelope. He was quite enjoying this. "Ah, M'sieur Mental Magic, I can see this safe could hold maybe ten, fifteen ponies." he says, making an honest evaluation of the size of the giant safe, "But can you do thirty? Ten of every kind?" He gives the magician a sly look, playing the part of the too clever by half audience member to a T. All the better for the show, no?

Spoiler:

Mental Magic doesn't notice you make a sneak peak, but other than the fact that it's a brown envelope and it's taped to the safe, you don't see anything. You're not even sure if there is anything inside it...

When you make your suggestion, the magician looks at the safe, focusing on it for a bit. "Well, if thirty ponies are willing to squeeze in, I can do that if you want me to," he tells you with a small smile...

You watch Mental Magic quickly point to members of the crowd in order to collect enough to satisfy the large amount Moonshot volunteered. He gets ten Pegasus ponies before getting ten of the other two types; the fact they can fly means they can hover at the top of the safe and take little room. However, soon there is barely any room for more earth ponies and unicorns. After pondering for a bit, Mental Magic resorts to using young colts and fillies in order to meet the numbers. "Do not worry," he reassures ponies in the crowd who question his decision, "The safe's door is loose enough to let enough air and light in. Any and all my volunteers are in safe hands." The performance house's security to the sides of the room, while themselves unsure if this is a good idea, still prevent any angry pony from rushing the stage...

Aces High, as an expert at reading facial expressions, you can see a sorrow in the magician's eyes as he picks out foals for the trick, similar to a poker player will look when they have to go All-In with a bad hand. His stance is still a confident and reassuring one though...

When the numbers have been met, Mental Magic closes and locks the safe door. He asks "Is everypony inside okay? Many voices within the safe answer with a yes. The magician heads to the side of the safe, places his forehooves onto the safe, and focuses intensely...

Storm Blade shook his head at the fact that 30 ponies had been fit into the safe, Moonshot being one of them (at least, I assume so...). It would probably not be a comfortable fit. However, he let this slip his mind, focusing completely and utterly on the magician and the area around him. If there was any trick about to occur, he wanted to see it.

Spoiler:

Fury of the Tempest wrote:Storm Blade shook his head at the fact that 30 ponies had been fit into the safe, Moonshot being one of them (at least, I assume so...). It would probably not be a comfortable fit. However, he let this slip his mind, focusing completely and utterly on the magician and the area around him. If there was any trick about to occur, he wanted to see it.

Spoiler:

Moonshot didn't enter the safe (I assume he would have happily done it, but Mental Magic told him to stay on stage and out of the safe, as he'll need Moonshot later), and fitting the safe with thirty ponies got easier when he started using foals, as they could stand on the backs of the older ponies...

You still can't see any obvious way to do the trick. The safe didn't seem to have any openings other than the door...