And now we see through a Glass Darkly (See OOC)

[Lux]

Night was surprised to finally see Mr. Glass, or an image of him at least. She wondered why all the technological smoke and mirrors. Was he that uncomfortable in meeting ponies face to fact or just that without cameras his act would fail.

"So far, I can only see pony with complexity addiction. Cut to the point Glass. Does it amuse you that ponies around the Strand start whispering with fright rumors about you? What are you trying to prove?"

Night couldn't help but stare in amazement at the boldness that Swift had in confronting the illusionist. She wondered why the stallion thought of Mr. Glass as something darker, more sinister than a magician seeking to entertain. Was there something he saw that she didn't? Before she could reply the hat Mr. Glass wore appeared to taunt Swift. It was an amazing ability, one that Night could only guess what it might be. Perhaps it was that the pony could seamlessly teleport objects so it looked like it was coming from the screen. That was her only guess, but then again she wasn't a unicorn and only knew the limits of magic through some studies about it and observation of others unicorns.

“I don't think the direct approach will work so well. It's his show until we can find a hole in it. I think we should play along for now."

"I agree," Night said, "So long as he isn't doing anything harmful I suggest we just observe and hopefully find out what this is about."

She turned towards the camera and decided she could ask a question.

"Very impressive Mr. Glass. I must ask though why all the secrecy of this show, why it required clues to find it? Were you simply looking for a small audience?"

[Ciraxis]

Squall rose an eyebrow as Glass set on bat on him. After the animal circled his head a few times he cough it with his magic and stared at it. For something that was basically flying rodent it looked rather cute. Also on it's dopey face was much more delightful expression then when it was flying from screen. Stallion shrugged and put it on his head. Bat, very content with this turn of events nested in the unicorns mane. Calling him out didn't worked so well. But maybe if Glass loses his cool...

When his companions expressed their own opinions, Squall whispered to them indistinctly.

"I am trying to make a hole." he said to the mares "And also...he's not harmless. He has a skeleton or two in his closet. I can feel it" Swift laid down his suspicions. Time to make Glass riled up.

"The only mystery so far why you didn't showed up. And don't feed me with 'It's part of the game rubbish.' What is it Glass? Stage fright? You suit is dirty? If the later you must be pretty poor illusionist if you can't make the stains vanish. How it's happened actually? Oh, don't tell me, I get it. Word of advice then - When you feed the animal, something comes out from the other side eventually. Now wonder that the poor thing was so eager to fly away from you." swordpony said while petting the mentioned animal. It was strange for Squall to actually....taunt somepony. To his own surprise, unicorn found it up somewhat enjoyable. He almost regretted that he didn't brought anything to write on. He would make notes.

"And about the paying part, funny story. I tried to find some Stand-up comedy but there wasn't any, so I settled for the second best thing instead. Turns up it was second from the bottom. Expected illusionist, got a clown who impersonates one so he didn't even dropped his pants, but I am not complaining. Except that text on black screen. Never heard of phonographs? That's explain why you choose to show by camera near - you know - filming school. Probably Neighponese Water Torture Cell is too complicated as well I assume?"

So far, his attempt at trash talk turned out good, by his own assessment. However when Glass mentioned the Nightmare Night...it stung the raw nerve of the unicorn. Gone was pseudo-playful air around him. Instead it was replaced by aggressive intent, as he squinted his eyes with the muscles in his body tensing up. A mocking smirk was replaced by a forceful one.

"Oh I know very well." his usual warm baritone turned into jagged growler. If look could kill, Glass would fall dead in the instant. "We had...a quite interesting last iteration isn't it? Kidnappings, identity thefts, mind torture, hurt children..." Swift reminded, his words dropping with venom. Unlike others preset here stallion was right in the center of the last year celebration. And he wasn't happy at all to recall events of it. The false smile disappeared completely, now with very unhappy scowl in it's place. The bat on Squalls head sensed the change and fidgeted nervously.

"We could use a happy one for a change. Step out of the line Glass and you will need more the one hat." the last part was said in very threatening voice, dropping all pretense of civility. Calm but threatening, with some long objects moving under that mantle of his, giving a metallic sounds. It appears that while nobelpony aimed to get Illusionist furious, he got angry himself as well.

[Blueblood]

There was one disadvantage to Mr. Glass' chosen method of showponyship on this occasion; he needed to be economical in his words. As such, he waited for all questions at once, Breeze's, Flux's, and Night's. He even let Swift Squall rant on, his amused and indulgent grin only widening, showing a gleaming set of teeth. Was the lighting meant to exaggerate them? They seemed more 'real' than the rest of the image on screen...

The Dean, however, wasn't going to take this sitting down. The students were getting caught up with Swift Squall's remarks, and in another moment or two anarchy would have started to reign in the theater. "Mister Squall!" He got to his hooves, fixing the green stallion in a stern look, as if he was addressing a disruptive student. "Mr. Glass is here as a guest lecturer, here to give us a practical demonstration of the science! We open it to the public as a courtesy, and we ask you not to be so disruptive-!" He kept having to raise his voice over the growing hubbub, clearly only escalating the situation.

And then, without warning, all the lights in the theater suddenly cut on at full power, just long enough to destroy the night vision of the audience, and just as suddenly went dark again. The only thing visible to any in there was the projected light, showing the one white word on black:

SILENCE

​

Without making a sound, Glass had quieted the entire theater. The 'film' had cut back to him, no longer grinning, but still smiling. When he wasn't showing his teeth, he looked almost good-natured. The bat, too, had flown back to... wherever he was.

We shall now begin the lesson. I appreciate a curious audience, but I must begin at the beginning. What are you looking at now?

​

He looked expectantly out into the audience, and one student actually raised a hoof. Mr. Glass pointed at him, as if the sepia-toned figure were a teacher present in the flesh. "Well, a movie."

Which is what? What are you seeing?

​

"Light projected on a screen." The student's tone was beginning to have a tinge of boredom in it. This was beginning to look more like schoolwork, for all it's odd accoutrements.

Very good. Next Question:

​

And then, the sepia-toned figure on the screen just took one step forward... into the theater itself, barely visible in the dim light, but in full color and in the flesh.

"What are you seeing now?"

[DerpRavener]

'Spring Breeze' stared at Swift as he launched into his rant. He'd heard her, and even responded to her, but he hadn't listened. For reasons beyond her comprehension, he seemed to think agitating was the way forward. It didn't seem to be having much affect on the Mr. Glass, but the crowd seemed to be getting riled up. So, his total accomplishment for the moment was to leave their target completely comfortable while agitating the crowd. 'Spring Breeze' shook her head slightly and muttered under her breath, mostly drowned out by the building noise. “Undisciplined runt.” She was venting frustration more than saying anything meaningful.

The dean of the school joined the fray though he only seemed to aggravate the situation further, until Mr. Glass took control of the room again and got everypony quieted down. It seemed to confirm 'Spring Breeze's point, at least to her, that they couldn't take any overt action yet. And that was assuming any was even needed. While a very odd pony and she'd be hesitant to trust him necessarily, she hadn't seen anything about Mr. Glass that made him seem explicitly dangerous. She'd really only had Swift Squall's word in that regard, and he now seemed a bit overzealous.

She was considering dismissing the whole issue and just enjoying the show, but stopped when she thought about what the dean had said. Something wasn't adding up, and while she couldn't rule out danger any inconsistencies would bear investigating. As Mr. Glass continued the 'lession' on stage, 'Spring Breeze' sidled her way through the seats and quietly made her way over to the dean, keeping an eye on the show but otherwise assuming her associates could handle observation of the demonstration itself itself.

“I wanted to apologize for my friend,” 'Spring Breeze' said a little hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she should be the one apologizing, but somepony probably should and she wanted to do something to get the group back toward the school's good graces. “He thinks Mr. Glass is dangerous, and is acting on it I suppose.” It wasn't much of an excuse, but maybe understanding could clear the field some.

She continued, now getting to what she really wanted to ask. “Something's been bugging me though. You said this was a lecture, but have you seen the posters? I didn't see anything the least bit academic about them. Normally I'd just chalk it up to over-eager students, but this whole thing's been a bit odd.” She shook her head and forced herself back on topic which she hoped would give her some insight into the purpose of this whole event. “I've got to ask, just what is this lecture about?”

[PyroBlaze]

Flux continued watching the screen, sparing an annoyed glance at Swift as the stallion began trying to taunt Mr. Glass. All the stallion actually accomplished was getting the audience riled and getting the dean against him. She watched as Spring went over to the dean, probably to apologize.

She simply turned her attention back to the screen as the stallion began asking simple questions of the audience. When he walked out of the screen, Flux let out a happy little noise as her eyes and her smile widened slightly. That was pretty cool! Her imaginary friends then distracted her, talking about why he would be doing a show here. They both had the same idea, that he was here to test something before moving to bigger venues. Test what though? New magic? New technology? She wasn't really sure, but she kept watching anyways, trying to see if there was anything else she could figure out from the show itself.

[Lux]

Night couldn't help but frown at the way Swift Squall tried to provoke Mr. Glass into reacting. The Staff Sergeant knew that provoking should be at a last result and that doing so would normally result in anger. A good soldier needed to tread the line between force and restraint, justice and mercy. Still it made Night wonder what Swift sensed about Mr. Glass that she couldn't see.

Before she could scold Swift, the dean of the school did it for her and then to illustrate the point the auditorium lights went up temporarily blinding night who although accustomed to the darkness due to patrols did have to adjust between extremes of light and dark.

"Swift, provoking this illusionist won't do anything," she whispered to the unicorn, "I want to find out about this as much as possible, but for now this is his show. Let's see what he does and react to it."

Interestingly enough this show wasn't a regular magic show but a lecture of sorts where Mr. Glass was the teacher. It was strange having a person interact with the crowd when he wasn't in the room, but that could be the cameras that allowed him to see. The fact that somepony was watching her every move while she couldn't see him was a little upsetting. In a shocking twist the stallion stepped from the screen and came into view. Maybe there was an opening in the screen or maybe he was in a concealed room.

She watched as Spring Breeze went to the dean, no doubt to apologize on the behalf of the group. Giving that moment she leaned over to speak with Flux.

"You seem quiet during this lecture. What do you think of Mr. Glass and his illusions?"

[Ciraxis]

Squall fell silent for a moment, only sound comming from the mantle he was wrapped into. Ponies that lost their cool often tend to say things they didn't meant to, things that they rather keep for themselves. Noblepony attempted to invoke this...unsuccessfully. Apparently Glass either had stronger nerves that he counted for, or just unbreakable ego.

"Swift, provoking this illusionist won't do anything," she whispered to the unicorn, "I want to find out about this as much as possible, but for now this is his show. Let's see what he does and react to it."

"Clearly. It seems that it was something he accounted for...but does it mean that he expected us specifically?" swordpony pondered. Something was amiss. Swift still couldn't grasp what it was, but he felt that they were on the right trail.

At the same time, unicorn got other feeling. That specific inch that he got when he approached danger. Would that mean that while they on the correct course of this mystery.

This train of though was stopped when...Glass stepped from the silver screen, unto the stage itself.

"Sorcery..." Swift growled. It wasn't teleportation, stallion was sure of it. It didn't brought that distinctive flash of light that accompanied it. That left two other choices. Either it was illusion - not the simple stage illusion, but a real one, with capital 'I'. Or it was a portal magic, something unheard for a centuries. Squall recalled that apparently Starswirl the Beardded himself worked over it...but Glass? Whatever was the case, it upped the stakes. Problem was, that so far Glass didn't did anything wrong aside from being creepy. Until he did, as Squall himself stated 'Crossed the Line' his hooves were tied.

But unicorn still couldn't shake the feeling that he missed something. And recently....what it could?....Wait...

Squall turned towards the dean. Swft was clearly higher then him so he glared slightly from above. It was so obvious, but only if you did paid attention.

"How did you knew my name?" he asked the 'Dean'.

[Blueblood]

The Dean, already having had to deal with one disturbance that almost broke up the gathering, was none to keen on encouraging further interruptions. Even the private questions from a member of the audience irritated him, as much as private student conversations during a serious lecture. "Hmph." He grunted under his breath, "The papers certainly treated him well, I shouldn't wonder." He said, in response to Spring Breeze's speaking up for Squall. "Vigilante... busybody more like. You got any questions, ask him." He waved a hoof towards Mr. Glass, who was still waiting on a response from the audience to his question as to what they were seeing now.

One student ventured a guess. "You?"

Chuckles came from the audience, and from Glass himself. "No. You are not seeing me. You have never seen me. You have never actually seen anything. All your eyes ever see are reflections, pictures made by light." With a much more flashy bit of spellwork, he summoned two objects to his right and left, a mirror and an empty frame. "Between the reflections you call 'real,' and the reflections you call 'only reflections,' what is the difference, but the frame in which they are seen?" He passed behind the mirror, letting the audience see themselves in it, and then behind the empty frame, where he grinned at them through it.

But when he got out from behind the frame, his face was still there, grinning, leering. And any who looked away from this apparition back to the mirror saw, that the audience within its frame was not the same audience that was staring at it. Seeing the slow realization dawn across their faces, the Illusionist threw back his head and laughed. "Ahahahah! You see now, the key to both our professions! We work in light, but my shows and your movies don't work half so well without the frames, of mirrors or film! Do it right, and your audience gives up trying to distinguish the real from the not! And that is were the magic happens..."

This, apparently, was a lecture on theory. It still felt like the first act of a horror movie, though. That was probably intentional, all things considered.

[DerpRavener]

The dean grumbled a bit about Swift Squall's outburst, before redirecting any questions toward the pony currently on stage. Evidently he wasn't inclined to be informative at the moment, and even if it was somewhat understandable it was still problematic. 'Spring Breeze' couldn't ask Mr. Glass without risking even more commotion, and she doubted she'd get a straight answer from him anyways. Trying to keep her own irritation concealed, she smiled and muttered a quick “thanks” before returning to her seat.

The show continued, with Mr. Glass describing frames as what his work and that of the students in the audience had in common. He seemed to be making a point of it in fact, and if 'Spring Breeze' had to guess she'd say that frames would be the topic for the evening.

The false pegasus mulled that over in her mind. A part of her still wondered if and how much Swift might be exaggerating about the illusionist, but even so there was something undeniably off about proceedings.

The importance of the frame, and exactly what Mr. Glass meant by saying it, was lost on her at the moment. Even if she could assume a hidden message, a frame could refer to a few things. It could be an actual frame with some sort of importance, which wouldn't even have to be in the school. Or it could be a metaphor, and even then was she supposed to be looking for the thing which frames another, or the one being framed? She grumbled a little to herself yet again. She had never been the best at these kinds of puzzles.

Yet again, she needed more information. For the most part that would require waiting, but there was one thing she was curious about right away. Hopefully it could shed some light on things. Looking at the mirror on stage, she asked, “Wait, who are they in the mirror?” Her hope was that either he'd give a more details about his methods with a more honest answer, or more likely he'd give a hint about his ultimate goals with one more fabricated or theatrical.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux looked over at Night as she asked what the 'unicorn' thought of the show. She looked back to the stage for a moment before responding.

"It's pretty cool magic. I've never heard of spells that let you move into a room like that. Well, besides teleporting, but that comes with flashes of light. I'm no magic master, so there very well could be a spell for that." Flux replied quietly, tilting her head slightly as Mr. Glass began talking about mirrors and frames, linking his work to that of the students.

Spring, who she hadn't noticed returning, spoke up then, asking who it was that was in the reflection. Looking closer, Flux could see that the ponies in the reflection were not the same as the ones in the audience. Now that was interesting, how did he do that to the reflection? Plus, this was sounding more like a lesson than a magic show. Was he trying to make up for his apparent misdeeds? Somehow, she doubted it, but it was a nice thought anyways.

[Lux]

Night could see that Swift did indeed calm down. The last thing she wanted was to see them getting kicked out of the theater or worse Mr. Glass getting riled up and actually unleashing something terrible.

"Clearly. It seems that it was something he accounted for...but does it mean that he expected us specifically?"

"You're saying that he expected other ponies besides us to be here?"

Pondering what Night said she couldn't help but see that Swift was disturbed by the magic taking place on stage. Even stranger was how the Dean knew the pony's name without hearing or seeing it written down. The Dean didn't know though everypony's name, just Swift. She wondered about the Dean, why he chose Mr. Glass to come here. Maybe he respected the Illusionist or maybe the two were even friends. But this thought was quickly surpassed as the pony on stage explained how reality could be manipulated by illusion. She watched as the pony moved from the mirrors to the frame, concluding with a reflection of the audience. There was something not right though, the audience looked different than what was on stage.

“Wait, who are they in the mirror?”

"That's exactly what I want to know," she said to Spring Breeze. The frame was an interesting touch, something that looked more like a door than a thing to hold a picture. Night remembered as a filly once reading a book about a pony who entered through a looking glass into a strange world where nothing was as it seemed or made sense. But these ponies in the reflection were just that, mere images, right?

"It's pretty cool magic. I've never heard of spells that let you move into a room like that. Well, besides teleporting, but that comes with flashes of light. I'm no magic master, so there very well could be a spell for that."

"Well, I'm no unicorn but I'd imagine that this must be some high level spell to pull off these illusions, maybe several spells used."

[Ciraxis]

Squall fell silent again when Dean revealed how he was familiar with his name. It was somewhat troublesome. He was getting famous more and more, whatever he wanted it or not. It caused to make his mission more difficult as time passed on. But since it wasn't anything he can do with it, he will have to accommodate.

On 14.11.2014 at 7:12 PM, Scootalux said:

"Clearly. It seems that it was something he accounted for...but does it mean that he expected us specifically?"

"You're saying that he expected other ponies besides us to be here?"

"Maybe. Think about it, he apparently thrown those posters around the city, but so far we only ones looking out for him. I am an exception, since I was on his trail earlier but you three just bumped into this info isn't it? There is two outcomes that we can deduct from this. Either he wanted to lure just us, or there will be the others that will show up." he said surprisingly calmly.

When Flux thrown her own opinion regarding what kind of arcane arts Glass was using, he threw his own two bits as well.

"So far it's looking like it's either a very strong illusions or ...portal magic." he conjectured warily.

"That strong illusions are strong yet not unheard off but the other magic..." stallion paused again. While he was an unicorn, sorcery wasn't his forte. Most knowledge he had about the arcane was bound to it's impact on Equestria history. So it happened that this portal magic counted as such.

"Portal magic was created by nopony else but Starswirl. He theorized that using specific materials and enchantments one could create a gateway through space, time and...possibly more. It's tied to 'Mulitiverse and Time Tree' theory, but in short it also says that it can speculatively lead to other realities as well. To do so, a simple displacement spell, one used in teleportation wouldn't be enough. One has to create a stable 'window' that would serve as a door though space-time continuum. Using a right materials - notably high level artifice - one can make such way-gates permanent." swordpony fed the mares with a exposition bomb.

"The only documented gate to exist was one that connected the Castle of Sisters - a former capital I must add - and Roam. Neither of the mirrors used for this function no longer exists. The one in the Castle was rendered useless during the 'Banishment', apparently power of the Elements rendered it too much in flux for further use, and the one in Roam was destroyed in the city fire. Not only that, but to use this without the artifice one would have to posses both incredible magical power and knowledge. So far three ponies alive would be capable for such thing, and so it happens all of the are Princesses." Swift paused and rubbed his chin with a hoof.

"And yet...why it looks to real for an illusion? Normal stage magician would use something to shift our attention to make swap trick."

.... And why did he put so much emphasis on the frame part? Could it be....could it be that Glass possessed some kind of magical relict? And the whole 'lesson' a clever plot to convince all that what is real, is an a trick instead? If all would be convinced that it's the illusion, Glass could go away with anything he want!

[Blueblood]

Magicians, more than any other performer save certain stand-up comedians, learn to take unsolicited comments and questions from the peanut gallery in stride. "He's got it hidden in his mane!" being the most common, and typical of the rest.

It was something to be said for Mr. Glass that all such questions directed in the course of his show had not been skeptical inquiries of that kind, and his already extended grin grew even wider and whiter in the dim light. "Oh, this?" He tapped the frame he'd set up as a mirror, and the surface rippled as if it had been liquid, the resolving picture shifting and changing, but always showing an audience in different attitudes and places, first outdoors on the grass, next in a set of plush red velvet seats. "A glimpse of the future, not to be forgotten. Your first audience is never your last, but they are all fundamentally the same. Your first showing should be followed by your final edit. But that is incidental."

Having concluded this digression he turned back to the lecture, but all the while his gaze, though hidden by his glasses, was palpable only upon the non-student members of the audience. "Again to return to our point; movies are manipulated light, and derive their effect from the limited frame. The audience accepts it as a window, and the light as a reflection of things. All the technical details are subservient to this. My own trade deals with live manipulation of light. What I want to do, is open your minds to the possibilities of combination..." And then, the light which had shown upon his form shifted, with the moving of the footlights, leaving a dim form on stage, but a still-lighted version of Mr. Glass now walking down the aisle. "Or division, as it were. And now, as was said by the great Starswirl when he wished to demonstrate his own theory of equine bifurcation, may I have a volunteer from the audience?"

The lighted figure laughed a bit, the dimmed one remained silent, grinning.

[DerpRavener]

Flux indicated she liked what she'd seen so far, and Night Watcher had a few questions of her own, but neither seem to have a answer to the puzzle at the centre of the show.

Swift Squall on the other hoof brought up the possibility of portal magic. He seemed to think that unlikely, given the difficulties in using such spells, but he found himself unable to rule out the possibility.

“Links and frames,” 'Spring Breeze' said, thinking aloud as she remembered earlier parts of the show. “Portals would explain a lot though, wouldn't they? I mean, what has a frame and can be used to obscure something from vision: a door, even if it's a figurative one.” She looked over at Swift. “Any chance he could have made his own focii?” She didn't know that much about magic, most of her knowledge she'd picked up in idle reading after her banishment, but it at least seemed reasonable that a given enough time, a pony could eventually replicate powerful spells that are otherwise beyond them.

On stage, Mr. Glass appeared to split into 'lit' and 'shadowed' selves (the mechanics of which 'Spring Breeze' couldn't begin to guess at for the moment) before asking for volunteers. She might not have paid it much mind but for the meaningful look he'd given the group earlier. She started to wonder what interest he might have in them, before remembering Swift Squall's rant earlier. It was possible that Mr. Glass was really just looking at him.

'Spring Breeze' hesitated a bit before wordlessly raising her hoof. Though she wasn't thrilled with the idea of being a test subject, if there was something underhooved going on she felt she'd be the best to combat it. She had her own secrets, ones which she hoped would complicate any sort of evil plan, as well as combat training. She was also the least likely to be missed if something went wrong.

And, truth be told she was genuinely curious both about what was happening in general and if it would work the same on her as it would on an ordinary pony.

That said, if somepony else really wanted to volunteer, she likely wasn't going to fight them for the position.

[PyroBlaze]

Portal magic? Hmm... That sent Flux's imaginary friends into another debate, most of which Flux didn't really understand. How come her imaginary friends knew more than she did? It wasn't fair. She pouted slightly as she continued watching the performance and listening to her friends, real and imaginary, at the same time. She tilted her head to the side slightly as the mirror began rippling, showing images of varying audiences in varying locations, Mr. Glass claiming them to be glimpses of the future.

"Maybe he found an artifact that boosted his powers or something." Flux said, inputting her own ideas into how the magician was using portal magic, since it apparently required a lot of magical power to do, or something like that. Honestly, she was finding it hard to understand what Swift was saying at times.

And now there were two versions of the magician, one lit and one on the stage, still dim. The lit one was asking for volunteers, and Flux's face broke out into a wide smile. Her hoof shot into the air with enthusiasm as she completely ignored her imaginary friends and their warnings. Likewise, she hadn't noticed Spring raise her own hoof, too focused on catching the lit performer's attention.

[Lux]

It was interesting learning the history of magic from Swift Squall as he explained the origins of portal magic. Being a Lunar Guard she knew the basics of magic, maybe better than most ponies did but she still needed to defer to her fellow unicorn soldiers to understand any arcane magical issues. The stallion's explanation did provide that only high level unicorns the likes of which had not been seen in Equestria for centuries and the Princesses were able to use such magic and that all anient portals were destroyed. But even so Night could see that this was no ordinary magic on stage.

"And yet...why it looks to real for an illusion? Normal stage magician would use something to shift our attention to make swap trick."

"You are right, there should be this shift but it's not here. Unless he's using some kind of highly sophisticated technology to give the illusion that he walked out from the frame I can't think of anything else to the cause but high level magic that you mentioned."

She felt very uneasy as the lecture/ performance continued, not that Mr. Glass did anything sinister. Instead it was the unknown that worried her, something all soldiers needed to prepare. A surprise could be good or bad depending on what it was and who used it. She watched as the "audience" changed but then noticed as Mr. Glass split into two forms.

“Links and frames,” 'Spring Breeze' said, thinking aloud as she remembered earlier parts of the show. “Portals would explain a lot though, wouldn't they? I mean, what has a frame and can be used to obscure something from vision: a door, even if it's a figurative one.” She looked over at Swift. “Any chance he could have made his own focii?”

"Maybe he found an artifact that boosted his powers or something."

"Maybe this whole thing is a diversion to something greater. Maybe the portal is just part of it, if it is a magic portal at all. You don't suppose that unlike a movie where images are displayed on a flat screen that he fond a way to bend light to make a full image of himself, hence the two Mr. Glasses on stage?"

Seeing an nopony in the audience, wanted to volunteer, Night knew that if nopony decided Glass would choose an unwilling candidate. She had no doubts in her mind that Swift would volunteer if nothing more than to try and provoke the illusionist. She though felt that this would lead to disaster as a unicorn with powerful magic who was upset could do bad things even if Swift was also capable.Maybe what was needed was a pony who wasn't provoking, who could play the docile assistant while spying on Mr. Glass's motives up close. Before she could raise a hoof, both Flux ans Spring Breeze volunteered. There was no going back now, but Night made a note that Mr. Glass was asking for volunteers should the opportunity return.

[Ciraxis]

“Links and frames,” 'Spring Breeze' said, thinking aloud as she remembered earlier parts of the show. “Portals would explain a lot though, wouldn't they? I mean, what has a frame and can be used to obscure something from vision: a door, even if it's a figurative one.” She looked over at Swift. “Any chance he could have made his own focii?”

"We shouldn't rule out possibility that he is just that intelligent. But even then the amount of research he would need to recreate this would take decades. And correct me if I am wrong, but I don't see a long gray beard on his face." he answered Breeze question before pausing. "...Unless he didn't start from a scratch. Starswirl was a pony who moved a lot. A secret vault, hideaway... anything really and he would have large head-start. But he still wouldn't have enough 'juice' to pull this off."

"Maybe he found an artifact that boosted his powers or something."

Swift nodded at that observation. "That would be the only way. At least the only way to do something more then....say, sent a letter in flashy fashion. But such things more often then not come with a price or other drawbacks. Still there are small odds for him to find both notes from Starswirl the Bearded and some kind of magical battery....unless they were in same place." unicorn theorized. After a second though he concluded that the more he pondered such scenario, the less he liked it. Finding a notes of the wizard that was studying some ancient relict was much more plausible then the chances that Glass stumbled upon two separately. A terrifyingly plausible.

"Maybe this whole thing is a diversion to something greater. Maybe the portal is just part of it, if it is a magic portal at all. You don't suppose that unlike a movie where images are displayed on a flat screen that he fond a way to bend light to make a full image of himself, hence the two Mr. Glasses on stage?"

"But exactly diversion for what Night? So far as we know he is completely alone and...." Squall stopped as the realization hit him

"Good Harmony....if he indeed has portal magic he doesn't have to be alone. He can have an ally or allies that he could work best with. Himself" he turned towards the mares. "We may have to deal with more then one Glass in such scenario." noblepony concluded.

Just then, Glass announced his desire for assistance from the audience. To Squall surprise both Spring and Flux choose for participate. She gave them both a long glance before saying.

"You both determined I see. Very well, be careful. If he do anything funny, I and Nigh will be at hos throat." he comforted them, before shifting his attention towards the black pegasus.

"You may be right about the distraction part. We all got lured here, and there is no windows. I am a little worried what's happening outside. Have eye on those two, I check the building roof to make sure that nothing funny is happening in the city, and I will be right back." with those stallion turned around storming out, with his mantle waving around and behind him.

[Blueblood]

Gazing over the set of hooves proffered from the students and guests, the lighted figure Mr. Glass made something of a show in pondering the choice of volunteers carefully, before ultimately gesturing towards the eager Flux. "Ah, yes, you will do nicely. Come with me." And he walked her down towards the stage, where his shadowed figure still awaited. Flux herself, while still shrouded in the dimness of the theater, was illuminated in the ambient light from the projector.

Turning back towards the audience, the lighted figure of the magician grinned again. "I want you all to remember, foremost, that everything you see here, you yourselves will be fully able to do, with practice. We all work with illusions, in one way or another." The lighted figure seemed to wink at Flux behind his glasses, as if he knew her secret, and then waved to the shadowy, which now stepped forward. "First question, for you, my volunteer, which of us is... real?" There was an intonation to his voice, as if there would be some kind of consequence were the question not answered correctly.

~***~

Having taken an aisle seat, Swift would have been able to slip away easily enough. The rooftop, like most Manehattan townhouses, was flat, and could serve as an outdoor porch. Evidently, it was also used for outdoor shots, as set debris and non-rustable equipment remained scattered across it. It didn't seem as if the magician below had any use for the equipment.

And further investigation would reveal little. The reflection posters were gone, but now that the show was actually starting, that might have been expected. It did mean, however, that almost no trace of the show would be left once it was over...

[DerpRavener]

After a brief bit of discussion about just what Mr. Glass might be doing and how he'd be going about it, Night Watcher brought up the possibility that Mr. Glass might be using the show as a diversion. 'Spring Breeze' didn't think much of the suggestion, she didn't see how distracting merely some portion of the Manehattan's film students and maybe a few curious wanders would give him the opportunity to do anything, but apparently Swift Squall felt differently. He took only a moment to announce his intention to check the roof before running off to do just that.

For her part 'Spring Breeze' saw that as a bit self centred, thinking that Mr. Glass might take the time to set up an entire presentation as a distraction just for them. On the other hoof though, Swift and Mr. Glass clearly had some sort of history if Swift's attitude towards the stallion was anything to go by, so maybe a personal distraction directed at him wasn't out of the question.

Of the prospective volunteers who raised their hooves, Flux ended up being the one chosen. In many ways, 'Spring Breeze' thought she shouldn't be surprised. She had to admit that Flux was one of the more enthusiastic volunteers, certainly more than 'Spring Breeze' herself, and if Mr. Glass was looking for somepony peculiar then the unicorn was probably the perfect pony in the audience.

'Spring Breeze' had some concerns about the mare's mental state. If Mr. Glass was dangerous, then she was worried about Flux's ability to respond to a harmful situation. And even if he wasn't, there was no telling what sort of trouble the mare could get into. Especially if Flux was hiding what 'Spring Breeze' thought she was...

There was nothing for it now though. She couldn't affect the proceedings at this point without giving away her suspicions, and that could only end badly. She'd just have to have some faith in her friend.

'Spring Breeze' decided to occupy herself with the other thing running around her head for the moment, as the show continued. Though in many respects thinking to herself, 'Spring Breeze' spoke aloud if a little quietly, both to keep Night Watcher up to speed on her thoughts and to give the pegasus a chance to add anything she'd come up with. “The thing I still don't get is, if Mr. Glass has figured out portal magic, why put on a show like this? I imagine either that would be a big enough discovery to get him all the fame and attention he'd want, and if he wanted something less legal why risk any attention at all with all of this? I'd almost think the distraction idea makes sense, except for the life of me I can't think of anypony who is both a risk to him and would be distracted by this.”

[PyroBlaze]

Flux grinned widely again as she was picked as the volunteer. She happily made her way to the lit figure before following him up on stage, humming quietly to herself the whole way. She was excited! She had never been able to volunteer for a magic show before! Her excitement also made it difficult to think about much besides what would happen once she got up there.

When she did make it to the stage, she turned towards the crowd, smiling widely as she continued humming, listening to what Mr. Glass was saying. Something about everypony working with illusions. Flux hadn't noticed the wink, as she hadn't been looking at him, though she did look over once he asked his question.

Flux tilted her head to the side as she tried to figure out the answer. She made quiet humming noises as she stood up there, looking between the two magicians.

"Hmm,,, Neither!" Flux said eventually, thinking it was a trick question of sorts.

[Lux]

The talk of finding Starswirl the Bearded's magical items or a power boosting artifact or even others working with Mr. Glass was unsettling to the mare as she continued to watch the stage while alternating her gaze to the others she listened to. Before she could do else, Swift explained how he would be making a quick exit to look outside for any trouble.

"Alright then, be careful. I know you can handle most things but this is an unknown area."

Satisfied that she gave a good warning, the attention turned towards Flux who volunteered and Mr. Glass. For a moment Night was about to concoct an extraction plan in case the illusionist invited them on stage, just like a soldier in a hostile situation needed to be rescued. But instead of doing something to her, he asked a question: which of him was real and adding that others could do the same illusions with practice. If this was truly the case then his threatening visage would be reduced, but perhaps there was something he would show that was more than others could do. Night could see that Flux was a very high spirited pony and hoped she didn't do anything silly or worse Mr. Glass would see her happy self as a weakness. Answering neither was something on Night's mind as an answer as perhaps not even the two were real but that Mr. Glass was somewhere else waiting for the moment to appear.

“The thing I still don't get is, if Mr. Glass has figured out portal magic, why put on a show like this? I imagine either that would be a big enough discovery to get him all the fame and attention he'd want, and if he wanted something less legal why risk any attention at all with all of this? I'd almost think the distraction idea makes sense, except for the life of me I can't think of anypony who is both a risk to him and would be distracted by this.”

"Unless he wants to show his power more selectively. Why cause a stir to thousands when there are just a few to witness? As for finding an artifact, it all depends on how one gets it and who knows it's been found."

[Ciraxis]

Squall slipped away like a phantom. Neither noticed, nor stopped by anypony on the school corridors. Making his way on the building rooftop, Swift - to his disappointment - didn't found anything unusual at his destination. Well, unusual for the filming set that is. Swift glanced at properties scattered around. They were apparently left on the spot, in hurry for the Glass 'lecture'. Squall still couldn't fathom what stagepony could gain from such appearance. He needed it for something obviously, any suspicions on his power notwithstanding.
Or maybe Squall was over thinking things. So far noblepony assumed that Glass was acting in perfectly logical manner, but maybe the other stallion was simply stroking his own ego?
Swift growled in frustration, there were still too little information to conclude anything. He should take course in psychology, maybe if he possessed such knowledge, swordpony could deduct magician motivation. Squall jumped even higher - on the patio - to gain even better view. But yet again, nothing out of ordinary, even through from his position he could see as far as to Ages Square. Even the glass walls of skyscrapers around him were now free of Glass reflection posters....wait a minute...
Why would he clear that so soon? Wherever the show or a lecture, it was considered standard to repeat it at least two times. Professors did as such, illusionist did as such...and yet Glass cleared after himself soon after...no actually before he finished? That was somewhat fishy...
If he didn't wanted to be trailed, why bother with poster reflections in the first place? Or maybe it was to lure something he wanted....and he wrapped up because he already got that.
Feeling that was important, Swift realized that he had to hurry and return to the theater as quickly as possible!
His mantle fluttering behind him, as he sprinted down the stairs like a pony possessed Squall did just that. But then another thought struck him. Why Glass chosen the stage? Simple, it made observing others easier. In such room, magician had every single pony in sight. Coming to his conclusion, Squall stopped at the second floor, instead of coming all the way down. Noticing the door labeled both 'Staff Only' and 'Danger: Do Not Enter', unicorn entered it without hesitation.
Behind it was exactly what he expected.
Instead of solid floor, there was layout of joists,with seats and stage far below. It was room that technical support used to put up reflectors and other equipment situated above. The thin pathways didn't discourage the unicorn. Balancing himself with almost nonchalant ease, like if they were broad sidewalk, unicorn made his way just above the first row of seats. While he was above any light sources, he didn't wanted to risk that his shadow would be cast below.
Now, he was at angle, that nopony else was. Squall hoped that from his position, he were to see something that audience would miss. Taking position, like a giant bird of prey, swordpony waited for the development of events, ready to swoop down if Glass did something sinister.

[Blueblood]

Whether or not the answer Flux gave was correct, it certainly was the answer Mr. Glass wanted, since he, or rather both of him laughed delightedly. He grinned like a professor at a favored student. "Ah, I see you are not to be caught by the old Magician's Forced Decision!" Came the pleased exclamation of the lighted figure. The darker one chuckled in a lower intonation, somewhat less pleasantly, "Although, my dear, the actual answer is that we are both real."

At the incredulous murmurs of the crowd, both the figures adopted contemplative poses, the one the mirror image of the other. They stayed so for a moment, looked at each other, and nodded. Turning to face the crowd with a flourish of his collective cape, Mr. Glass addressed them all in stereo, "Rather, we are both as real as her! Bring up the lights and dispel all illusions!"

Now, Glass had probably not planned for anypony to sneak up and watch from the rafters. He'd taken no particular pains to prevent it, anyhow, for whatever that proved. Still, the sudden flare of the rafter-mounted limelights would have had the effect of temporarily blinding any observer near, unfortunately for Swift.

Of course, everypony else in the theater was temporarily dazed as well, but after blinking the silent fireworks out of their vision, their eyes would have been greeted by a stage emptied of all but a changeling.

Undisguised.

That was disturbing enough for the crowd, but when one audience member discovered another changeling deprived of her disguise next to her, that was when the panicked cry went out. "CHANGELINGS!!!" It had about the same effect as shouting FIRE! in a crowded theater; that is, absolute Ponydemonium.

[DerpRavener]

"Unless he wants to show his power more selectively. Why cause a stir to thousands when there are just a few to witness?"

'Spring Breeze' mulled over Night Watcher's response as down on stage, Mr. Glass corrected Flux's answer. The pegasus brought up an interesting point, if not one 'Spring Breeze' could really work with at this stage. It stood to reason, that if Mr. Glass wanted specific ponies in the theatre on account of an experiment, it was as likely to be because he wanted them as test subjects as to distract them from anything else he might be doing. It was a troubling thought, as it meant they were in potentially greater danger than she'd realized initially.

'Spring Breeze's attention was drawn back to the stage, where the two 'Mr. Glass'es called out "Rather, we are both as real as her! Bring up the lights and dispel all illusions!" before there was a blinding flash of light...

Naj shook her head, to clear the stars from her vision. She recovered a little faster than most, as a soldier she'd had both training and experience in overcoming a daze, though it still took her a moment to fully regain her senses.

The first thing she noticed was that the stage was down several unicorns, and up one changeling. She was a little less surprised than others, having already had suspicions along similar lines, but seeing another changeling so exposed caught her off guard all the same. “...Flux?” She muttered. Well, she supposed this answered those questions, though she wasn't so happy about the timing. She saw looks of dawning shock and horror spread throughout the crowd.

"CHANGELINGS!!!"

It took Naj a half second to realize that the term was both plural, and if anything more directed at herself. She looked down briefly to see that she'd lost her disguise, having failed to notice it as it happened due to how divided her attention had been. The silence lasted just long enough for her to get out two words. “Oh. Horsefeathers.”

And then all Tartarus broke loose. The ponies scattered around the auditorium did what scattered ponies tended to do in frightening situations: they panicked. Naj spread her wings and shot upwards, just in time to avoid the crush of ponies surging toward the doors below, and came to a buzzing hover near the ceiling.

Naj found herself suddenly surrounded by potentially hostile ponies, with no idea how long until an organized guard presence arrived or how her 'friends' would react. Given they'd known each other for all of one evening, and that Naj had just been revealed, she didn't expect a positive response. Her heart thudded in her chest as she wracked her brain for a way out, all other thoughts case aside for the moment. She contemplated trying to blend into the crowd, but given their mutual dispositions at the moment that seemed kinda risky. And besides, she couldn't just leave Flux here all by herself, she might be all Flux had right now. For the moment, the best she could come up with was the leave by a different exit the crowd, and hoping the guard would be too occupied by the panicked mass to hunt down a pair of changelings.

She angled toward a door nearer to the stage, which most of the audience seemed to have avoided, and called out. “Flux! Come on, we gotta move!”

[PyroBlaze]

Flux smiled pleasantly as the two Glasses seemed to approve her answer. Wait, they were both real? Flux tilted her head to the side in confusion. How was that possible? Unless one was a changeling, she didn't think you could have two identical ponies at once. She simply watched the two ponies in confusion as they continued, amending their previous statement saying they were as real as her.

That just confused her even more, and she remained in the same position even after the lights coming on completely blinded her. When she regained her sight, she was alone on the stage, and the crowd was silent. Soon enough though, a cry went out and the crowd panicked. Changelings? Where?

It took her a moment, and her imaginary friends yelling at her, to think of checking herself. Looking down, she frowned as she saw she was in her changeling form. How had that happened? She sighed slightly before looking back to the crowd, belatedly realizing they had been talking about multiple changelings. She saw the other one almost immediately before she called to her to get moving.

"Spring? I knew you were a changeling!" Flux said, taking to the air and following after her friend.