Twilight Sparkle's ears twitched as she stepped outside the front gates of Canterlot Castle. An umbrella floated through those same gates moments later, perching over her head to protect her from the downpour taking place on the castle's courtyard and for miles around.
Twilight wasn't about to let a little rain stop her, however. She knew why she was here, and also knew what she was about to face--and not a moment too soon.
Her ears twitched again as she heard the hum of a magic-engine in the distance. Twilight glanced at her watch, counting the seconds until the hum turned into a full-fledged roar, then shifted that attention from the watch to the other end of the courtyard, straight ahead of her...
...where a blue unicorn could be seen straddling a motorcycle.
The blue unicorn dismounted her vehicle and coolly trotted towards her violet rival. "Well, well, looks like you showed up after all. Glad to see you've been getting cold hooves less and less lately."
Twilight advanced in kind. "I know what you're planning. Sorry, but I can't let you see the Princess."
"I don't recall asking for your permission either way. Besides, you're hardly her keeper." Trixie's muzzle curled upwards into a sly smile. "As much as I know you want to be. That said, you're welcome to try and stop me if you can."
Twilight said nothing in reply; instead, her horn glowed, causing a shining violet sword to manifest itself in front of her--starting at the hilt, and ending at the point of the blade, which she then pointed at Trixie.
Trixie took a step back, a look of mild awe on her face. "...ooh. Finally decided to get serious, love?" Her own horn glowed, revealing twin pistols which began a slow horizontal orbit around her body. She then pointed a hoof to Twilight's face. "That explain the glasses, too?"
Twilight shrugged. "Fashion choice. Realized I had a true calling in life." She reached up and pulled them off. "But I can still take you without them."
"No, no, on the contrary..." Trixie's smile grew slightly wider. "...take me with them, won't you?"
"If you insist." Twilight made moves to place her spectacles back on-
"Oh, I do."
-at which moment Trixie opened fire in a hail of tiny glowing bullets. All of them, however, were automatically deflected by Twilight's sword. Said sword and its owner were making a beeline for their opponent a second later.
Trixie also galloped forward, her guns continuing to fire, their discharges meeting the same fate as earlier as Twilight's sword moved swiftly left and right, the flat of its blade deflecting all in its path with the aid of Twilight's high-speed calculations.
Sparks flew from the deflected gunfire until both mares finally came in close proximity, whereupon they both shifted to bipedal stances, and traded blows with their front legs in sequence as fast as they were able. Neither of them ever landed any more of a glancing hit upon the other, but not for lack of trying as they struck ever faster, each trying to send the other back through overwhelming force, but neither ever giving more than a step in either direction.
In the midst of their exchange, Twilight dodged a straight blow and spun around, attempting to use the opportunity to hit Trixie's face from the side. Unfortunately, Trixie had the same idea, resulting in a clash which momentarily stunned them both...
...and that was when Twilight spun back around, sweeping Trixie's legs out from under her.
"Whoa!"
The blue unicorn found herself flat on her back, but only momentarily, using quick reflexes to shift into a backwards roll, and a leap back onto her feet. She rushed forward once more, dodging--once she got back in close--a sword swipe to the left, then the right... and then caught Twilight's sword between her own hooves as it attempted a straight downward blow.
Trixie smiled upon witnessing Twilight showing signs of mental strain as she held the sword where it was. "Oh, Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle. Such a beautiful mind, and yet after all this time, still so naive!"
And without warning, Trixie disappeared on the spot, robbing Twilight of her equilibrium, and sending both her and her sword with great force into the muddy grass.
"Ha! Insult to injury time!" Trixie returned to Twilight and reared back, fully prepared to buck her across the field--only for Twilight to teleport away in mid-kick.
"WAUGH!" yelled Trixie as she ended up on her back once again, and saw Twilight now standing over her. "Some nerdy idea of a joke, I bet..."
Twilight simply smiled in response... however, that smile shifted to Trixie as both of her pistols poked themselves into Twilight's back. Said guns then fired, point-blank--at a Twilight who was once more no longer there.
"Oh, for..." Trixie looked around, frustration on her face as she shouted into the rain. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is no longer amused by your shenanigans, Twilight Sparkle! I can play your games, too!"
"Can you, now?" said a mirthful voice from directly behind her.
"I can!" Trixie shouted in defiance, spinning around and going for a slap to the side. Twilight disappeared again, reappearing behind Trixie, going for the same strike... which missed, just before Trixie reappeared on the branch of a tree.
And so it went, both unicorns phasing in and out of existence across Canterlot Castle's estate, each one attempting to catch the other unawares, each one managing to hit only air... until one of them broke sequence.
As Trixie went for a two-legged buck from behind, Twilight once again poofed out of the way. However, she quickly returned, using Trixie's moment of weakness to connect with a solid kick. Her leg quickly became engulfed in a purple light, and thirty more followed in rapid succession over the course of five seconds, the final one launching Trixie high into the sky.
"Seems you had it right," said Twilight as she teleported over Trixie's sailing form, curled into a glowing ball, then slammed downward and directly into her. "A beautiful mind, indeed!"
Twilight scanned the ground, waiting for impact... which never came. Just as she was beginning to wonder what happened, several small but forceful impacts to her back stunned her, sending her falling from the sky and into the ground with a crash.
Groaning, Twilight looked up into the storm... and saw Trixie standing on the wall of Canterlot castle, her smile smug and her forelegs crossed in satisfaction.
"Indeed, I was right." Trixie nodded. "So. Naive. Guess I'll be having my audience with the Princess now..."
"...NO YOU DON'T!" Twilight yelled out in desperation, teleporting onto the wall herself, her sword giving way to her own set of twin violet magi-pistols. With another loud yell, she rushed up the length of the castle, guns blazing.
Trixie returned fire, every single one of her bullets canceling out every single one of Twilight's, until the two clashed together, hoof-to-hoof, for the umpteenth time that night. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed as the two stayed locked in an inverse tug-of-war, pushing for all they were worth.
Trixie scoffed, and grunted through her exertion. "Now who's trying to play who's games?"
Twilight began to reply, but instead noticed Trixie's horn glowing more brightly than it had ever been--and once the intense blue light began spilling out over her body, Twilight knew she would have to follow suit or be overtaken then and there.
Wind and water kicked up around both of them in a hemisphere as their magical forces grew, flared, swirled and crashed against each other, yet neither gave any quarter, applying more magic and pushing even harder as they gritted their teeth and growled even louder....
...until, finally, both could take no more.
Pushed to their limits, their auras imploded... then exploded, sending them flying across the field, and landing on top of each other in a heap.
Some minutes later, Trixie regained consciousness under a gently falling rain. She spied Twilight under her, rolled over, and ruffled her sometime rival's mane until her eyes fluttered open shortly after.
"Wha... did..." Twilight looked around. "...did I win?"
"No. But don't worry--neither did I." Trixie wrapped her forelegs around Twilight, snuggling into her own embrace. "But this is why I keep challenging you, you know. You always give one hundred ten percent whenever I'm around."
Twilight sighed. "Well, you always demand it."
"And I'll keep doing so until one of us wins." The blue unicorn surveyed their surroundings, then returned her gaze to their position. "Any thoughts as to why it always ends like this, though? I mean, we have to have the most convenient explosions ever if gravity always finds us together in the same spot."
Twilight winked. "You're complaining?"
Trixie took note of Twilight's wink, did a mental double-take, then relaxed with a knowing smile. "No, just asking."
"Ah. Good. Because personally, I blame you."
Trixie laughed. "You always blame me!"
"Well, stop pulling these stunts, and maybe I won't have to."
"Mmmmm..." Trixie mock-hummed in thought. "Not sure I can, yet. Too much fun."
"Don't know what to tell you, then," said Twilight, just before relaxing herself.
The Princesses could wait...
Bookish Delight Stories Season 5 Presents
Sparkle * Lulamoon
MARENETTA
(∞ Climax Unicorn)
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all characters belong to Hasbro.
From a high window, the Princesses looked down upon the two recovering unicorns. Celestia was all smiles. Luna was completely agape.
"Well, that was quite the spectacle. But as usual, I knew my faithful student had it in her." Celestia turned to her sister. "Still think the nights you bring about aren't good for all that much?"
"I... I..." Luna fought for the words. "...okay. That was actually quite a sight to behold. So, dear sister..." A mischievous smile spread across her face. "...if I were to, say, make the night last forever, would I get to see this again...?"
It was now Celestia's turn to gape, and step away. "Luna, what are you-"
"Kidding, kidding!" Luna laughed heartily. "Really, I just like seeing you do that..."
~fin~
