The sun showered through the canopy, splashing the little wooded path with an array of shadows and shapes. It was breath taking, really, but Trixie wandered through the splendor of the fauna without a second glace. Following closely behind, Twilight wondered just how often Trixie had come out here to practice. The path was well traveled, but so far, Twilight hadn't seen nor heard another individual during her time spent at Trixie's. Something seemed off about that- even with the Vexing Circle cursing the area, it seemed like Trixie's little cottage was absolutely isolated from the world at large.

"AHEM." Trixie's voice abruptly pulled Twilight out of her thoughts. The two had come to a small clearing surrounded by a rectangular scattering of trees. The grass was cut low, and soft, and the forest around them seemed to hush as Trixie spoke- like an audience waiting for the first act of a magician. The birds stopped chirping, the squirrels quit chittering, and nature itself seemed to hold it's breath for Trixie.

"Welcome to Trixie's little arena." The cobalt mage expounded, casually trotting over to a tree adjacent to Twilight, where she conveniently hung up her cape, and wizard's hat. She turned, grinning at Twilight over her shoulder with a sickly show of arrogance, and sat down quietly.

"Since you've allegedly read my volumes, you'll know Trixie gets to choose the battle field. Of course, Trixie chooses her home turf. " Trixie explained, her lip twisting slightly into a devious grin. This was going to be too easy. On the other side of the little make shift arena, Twilight sat down as well, and drew in a deep breath. She had cobbled together what could be considered the bare bones of a plan, and so far things had been working...

"Very well. T-then that means I get to choose the type of duel. I choose magic- Feather Fall. " Twilight exclaimed. Trixie balked. When Twilight had challenged her to a duel, she figured they'd be assaulting one another in a no holds barred contest of contempt! Not something she learned when she was five!

"Pathetic! Trixie thinks you're scared to face her in a proper duel! Feather Fall is for foals!" Trixie snarled. Twilight had to bite back a grin and simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you forfeiting, then? Book three, "A dummy's duel" states that as your opponent, I get to choose the duel type, since you choose the field. I choose Feather Fall. It's clear as day in black and white, on page forty-seven, second paragraph. It reads: After the challenge has been issu-"Twilight recited, but Trixie cut her off with a groan.

"UGH, Trixie KNOWS what it says, Twilight Sparkle. Humph. Trixie...Agrees to your pathetic duel. First to four. " Trixie grumbled. Now Twilight couldn't help but to grin, taking a slightly more relaxed position as they started to wager. Things would be much easier now. For a moment, she was afraid Trixie wouldn't agree but now with the duel type set in stone...

"First to five." Twilight grinned. Trixie narrowed her eyes.

"....First to six." She snorted, a vicious grin twisting over her features. Twilight bit at her lower lip. Surely Trixie wouldn't go any higher than seven...she was arrogant, not stupid. There was just no way..."

"First...to...seven." Twilight sputtered quietly. Trixie frowned.

"First to eight!" She barked. Twilight's eyes widened.

"Y, you can't be serious! " She snapped. Trixie 's grin grew wider and she gave a snort.

"If you cannot agree to Trixie's wager, than Trixie believes the rules state you forfeit, Twilight Sparkle!" The blue unicorn snorted. To her surprise, Twilight climbed to her hooves, and lowered her head, scuffling the ground with her right leg.

"Accepted." Twilight grinned. Trixie narrowed her eyes. It. Was. On.

The left half of the field was Trixie's and the right side was Twilight's. Thats where they started; glaring quietly at one another while their horns tingled- ready to launch a spell and counter spell at a moment's notice. Trixie was to go first, as stated by the book- she was being challenged, so she was allowed the first strike.

It didn't take long before Trixie shot first, sending a lavish burst of magic that thundered towards Twilight Sparkle. The purple mare dipped to her left, letting the shot race harmlessly by and narrowed her eyes. The blast wasn't meant to connect; and Twilight knew it. Trixie was practiced at this. Her expression, her stance, everything about her screamed of skill. She stood there with a smug little grin over her muzzle and coldly glared at Twilight. Trixie was learning her behavior- taking Twilight's stature, movements and abilities into consideration. The first shot had been just a test, and now that it was Twilight's turn, Trixie let her lips twitch into a larger grin.

Slowly, Twilight started to pace towards her left, letting her options tumble about in her mind. Trixie remained stoic and still, that fiendish little grin of hers setting Twilight ill at ease. It was psychological, Twilight realized with a cold shutter. She had absolutely no idea what Trixie was going to do next, and with that intense glare and smug grin, Trixie seemed to know it.

"She's in my head...No! NO! Focus, Twilight! You can do this. She thinks she's figured you out, but think about Trixie. You know her...you KNOW her...And she doesn't know you as well as she thinks..." With that, Twilight leapt to her right, suddenly, from her casual pacing to her left, and zapped a bolt of energy at the staring mare.

Even if the angle changed from what she was expecting, Trixie casually threw out a hoof in a dismissive gesture and deflected the shot without a hint of effort. She grinned.

"Is this the best Celestia's pet can do? I was expecting a challenge, Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie snorted. It was an insult meant to grab Twilight's attention- disrupt her focus and substitute it for anger. A twitch of a frown was all that Trixie needed to see, and when it happened, she leapt to her right and fired a bolt that curved like a boomerang. It was the perfect plan leading up to a perfect shot- and Twilight failed to avoid the magic that crashed into her neck. One point for Trixie. The blue mage grinned.

The spell's effect took place immediately, the beam twisting it's shape into a soft, blue feather that began to delicately brush back and forth along Twilight's neck. She gave a grunt and squeezed her eyes closed, trying to ignore the sensation and focus on her next attack. Her next shot was off, a beam of energy that should have smashed into Trixie's shoulder, but the blue mare dodged the blast easily, now that Twilight's concentration was being assaulted.

Trixie's next shot was to see that it continued. Once a pony had the upperhoof in a feather fall duel, it was oft impossible to regain the ground. The instant after Twilight's shot missed, Trixie focused a blast far to her left. At first it looked like she'd missed entirely, the beam spiraling from her horn was waaaay off target- but thats what Trixie was counting on- and even though the beam was way off, Twilight leapt to the side anyway- perfect.

The beam flashed past the purple pony, and crashed into a tree on her left- then bounced to a tree behind her- then bounced again and caught Twilight by surprise- forcing a sharp squeal from the dorky girl.

The blast caught her square in her pretty purple posterior.

Within half a second, the feather had formed, and was now casually brushing up and down the cleft of Twilight's bottom like a paintbrush. Immediately, Twilight gave another squeal, and wriggled her hips, trying to dislodge the gentle strokes, but the feather remained adamant in it's task. Who knew she would be so sensitive THERE of all places?! It was a distraction- something to keep her mind occupied on instead of Trixie. Twilight gave a hard snort and braced herself, trying to ignore both the feather along her neck, and the one gently swirling across her behind, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. If THATS the way Trixie wanted to play, spatial geometry was something Twilight could do, feathers or not.

Immediately, Twilight fired her next shot- the calculations spilling through her mind almost faster than she could keep up with- but her math was perfect. Like always. The purple shot was aimed low- lower than something Trixie was prepared for. She'd expected another near miss, but the shot rocketed forward near her ankles, crashed into the grass, and took a sharp turn upwards- hitting it's target with dreadful accuracy. The purple feather appeared immediately, casually swirling in tight little circles directly around Trixie's belly button. To Twilight's surprise, Trixie immediately burst into a squeal of giggles. She was staggering back and forth but after a moment or so, she got her hooves back underneath her, and her laughter under control. But it was too late. Now Twilight knew exactly where to aim.

Tensing her tummy, and biting down on her lower lip, Trixie managed to fire off an awkward, wobbly shot that narrowly missed Twilight's head. Twilight ducked down, and in the middle of doing so, fired a blast of magic energy that arced high in the sky and dropped down in front of Trixie, hitting the ground at the perfect angle to land in the exact same spot the first shot had landed.

Now Trixie was in trouble. She never expected Twilight to get TWO hits off on her- especially not her tummy, and especially not in a ROW! With two feathers spiraling clockwise and counterclockwise around her little blue bellybutton, Trixie was struggling to stay on her hooves. If she submit to the torture of the feathers- to fall over into a helpless fit of squealing giggles- Twilight would win. That thought alone made her blood boil and she narrowed her eyes.

Through the haze of laughter, Trixie tried for another blast, bouncing it off a tree to Twilight's right. Twilight, however was ready for this one- or so she thought. The magic beam crashed into the tree- but when it ricocheted towards Twilight it split into two- one that Twilight managed to dodge, the other catching her in the shoulder. Trixie had three points, and Twilight had only managed two. This was bad- and became worse when the feather formed, and slid under Twilight's right arm pit.

The poor mare stumbled forward, and her legs buckled. Her front legs, for a split second, crumpled underneath her, and she had to fight to stay upright. Of course, this position threw her rump into the air, and seemed to intensify the effect of Trixie's second fiendish feather dancing along her butt in teasing little spirals, starting at the very top of her cleft and lazily working it's way down. (Idly, Twilight made a mental note to exercise slightly more and study slightly less, seeing as her southern contours made for a much more expansive area to tickle than she realized.) She was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. If she could somehow make it to eight points, and NOT succumb to the voracious sensation of Trixie's spells, she might have a chance of outlasting her. But she had her doubts she could handle one more, let alone five more feathers. She had to do something- she had to end this now.

Trixie, for the most part, had lost her smug grin and was squealing in girlish little shrieks of laughter (Which Twilight had to admit, was pretty adorable.) She staggered forward and back, working to keep herself upright from the twin feathers teasing her tummy. Twilight's next shot wasn't anything special. It didn't loop, or curve or spiral to catch Trixie off guard- it simple barreled forward and caught Trixie in the face.

The feather formed instantly, and began to trace a wicked pattern along the jutting extension of Trixie's horn, a place all unicorns were dreadfully sensitive. Trixie was no exception. She gave a yelp when the feather twirled slowly around the base of her horn, before following it slowly up to the tip, where it dusted back and forth before it's slow, torturous decent back to the base to repeat the motion.

Concentration was all but lost at this point, and all Trixie could manage was a choked sputtering fit of laughter. Blinded by tears, she fired a shot towards Twilight's side of the arena. She couldn't see, but from the shriek of surprise she heard, she knew she hit SOME part of Twilight.

"Y, You can't, yohhahaahaha, Yo, you're cheating!" Twilight managed over her roar of giggles. Trixie tried to respond, but her voice was lost to yelps and whoops of laughter. Cheating? What was the crazy mare babbling about?

"R, Rules! HAHAHAHAha R, Ruleahahahahahaa Stahahahahahaha, state you, Heheehehee c, can't aim for thaahahahahahahaha." Twilight cried. Even now, still a stickler on rules. Trixie would have argued that she couldn't see where she had hit Twilight, and that it was unintentional whatever happened, but it didn't matter. Still blinded by her tears, Trixie didn't see it coming- something warm crashed into her and sent her tumbling to the ground. Twilight.

The purple pony had charged across the arena and dove into Trixie in a full on tackle. If Trixie was going to cheat, then so would she! They rolled and wrestled for a few moments, before their concentrations had totally shattered, and the feathers vanished from sight.

Now, awkwardly nestled atop each other, Trixie panted heavily and found herself nose to nose with Twilight, who was also trying her best to catch her breath. She blushed as did Twilight, her nose brushing along the other pony's, and Trixie couldn't help but feel a tug at her lips, twisting into a shy, petite smile.

"A, are you ok?" Twilight stammered. Trixie nodded her head as best she could, but still lacked the capacity for speech. Twilight seemed the same way, since she hadn't moved from their awkward embrace.

"...Feel better?" The purple pony asked. Trixie's eyes widened for a moment and it hit her all at once. She'd just had the day from Tartarus, and instead of sulking in misery, she spent the last hour outside, dueling with her friend. Better? She felt GREAT. Wait...Friend? Since when was Twilight Sparkle her FRIEND?

Slowly, Trixie gave a perplexed nod and closed her eyes. Had this been Twilight's plan all along? Get her outside and tickle her until she felt better? Rough housing and dueling together like they were old friends? No. Twilight was just trying to find a way to get even for kidnapping her. Trixie frowned.

"Trixie knows of your plot, Twilight. Do not think you'll avoid your fate tonight. " She snorted. Twilight waggled an exhausted hoof and closed her eyes, still sucking air in deep, labored breaths.

"Tha, that's fine...c, can we rest a minute, though?" She squeaked. Trixie closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, which was riddled with Twilight's tangy scent. There was no getting around it- it was the first duel Trixie had in a long time, and never could she remember having quite so much fun.

"Ok." She sputtered quietly. She was in no particular hurry to move herself. It was there, with the sweet smelling grass, and the evening sun starting to fade, that Twilight fell asleep in Trixie's arms, the two of them cuddled together like house cats.

As the stars slowly popped into view, and the warm summer night cast a blanket over the two of them, Trixie contemplated what horrid tortures she'd come up with for Twilight Sparkle. How she'd make her suffer for the humiliation and teach her once and for all who should have been Celestia's TRUE student. Twilight snuggled into her arms and gave a quiet little sigh of contentment, wrapping her arms around Trixie with a sleepy little squeeze. Trixie frowned. It would have been cruel to wake her up now. Absolutely cruel. Twilight just looked so comfortable and relaxed and Trixie just couldn't take that away from her. No, it was part of dueling etiquette, she was sure. Something about giving your opponent a break after a long hard duel. Somewhere in the back of one of her books. She was sure about it. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she'd take care of Twilight Sparkle. Yes. Tomorrow.

But for tonight? Tonight felt like a good night to sleep underneath the stars.

Author's Note

What? ...
You didn't think this story was DEAD, did you? ;)