The ground shook as we dueled, spells soaring back and forth. Chips of rocks slid past my feet from the shockwave of the explosive spell I had flung. I started to grin before diving out of the way of the sizzling orb of electricity speeding towards me.
I looked up and growled in frustration as I saw my opponent stride forth from the conflagration, a shield spell shimmering around her. Raking my hair from my face, I stood, fire wreathing me as frost slowly spread from my feet.
“Not bad,” my opponent smiled in a snarky way, her shield winking out once she was fully out of the flames. “But amateurish. Come on, surely you’ve got more than that in you!”
“Amatuerish!?” I snarled, hands flexing, resisting the urge to call my staff to me. That would have been a bit of overkill. Maybe. Fingers curled as Glyphs spin past my minds eye, flame springing to life in the palms of my hand. I felt my hair starting to be whipped around by the mana-driven wind, but I ignored it. My breath fogging in front of me as I spun, bringing my hands together, I whipped one fireball forward. With the second following closely behind, the plan of using the optical camouflage of the first to keep it from being seen immediately had worked for me in the past.
No such luck this time. Yelping, I dropped into a crouch as a lance of lightning blazed by, shreds of my fireballs drifting away as they were pierced. My hands slammed against the ground, focusing hard. Earth based spells were so more difficult for me, butany port in a storm. The ground under my attacker’s feet shoved upward in a solid block, flinging her into the air with a cry of alarm, arms pinwheeling.
Shooting forward, I plucked a small ruby from a pouch at my waist and flung it to the ground. The gem shattered, the spell stored within creating a whirlwind that pushed at the loose folds of my tunic and gave me a brief moment of flight. Flame wreathed my arm as I pictured the glyphs of the spell in my mind's eye, the words slipping from my mouth as though a prayer.
But as I whispered the final words, my target smiled and in a flash, she disappeared.
Falling through the flames of my spell, I landed on the ground, a shield ward springing to life. Scanning the area, I couldn’t help but snarl in frustration.
“I hate teleportation spells,” I said to the seemingly empty area. Teleportation was bad for me since it would give my opponent the drop on me, but there was a bonus for me as well.
Teleportation spells took a lot of mana and took anywhere from an hour to five to recharge. This trick was done. All I had to do now was not get caught by surprise.
I heard a twig snap off to my left. I spun, hands raised and ready to weave my spells as the glyphs stood ready in my mind. But as I scanned the area, I saw nothing, not even a speck of rock to hide behind. Turning back, some glyphs of a rarely used spell flowed into my mind, a whispered word and a few hand shapes sealing the spell.
Blades of ice began to manifest around me, the grass beneath my feet withering. Sweat started to trickle down my face from the effort of the spell and the rising heat. More and more shards of ice formed as the water vapor and chill of the air were sucked away. I continued concentrating, building a blade barrier that would reform constantly, no matter how many bolts of lightning she called or force beams she sent forth.
The heat within my blade barrier begin to become unbearable. Evocation had to draw it’s force from somewhere. Fire drew ambient heat, including body heat, into the spell. The subsequent drop of temperature often found hoarfrost spreading from the caster no matter what the visible signs were. Frost and ice did the opposite, and the heat building around me was beginning to make it difficult to breathe. But I needed a thicker shell. Just a few moments more, that’s all I needed.
One large shard of ice tumbled, having struck something in it’s erratic path. I oriented on the spot immediately as the illusion faded around her, a hand up to her cheek as a bit of blood trickled down.
Howling out the words of release, I flung the accumulated mass of ice forward, surely shredding her and ending this ridiculous duel. My dome of frosty weapons whipped around and flashed towards my poor victim.
She grinned and vanished with a flash.
“What?” I cried when I felt a finger touch the back of my neck.
“You lose, Sunset,” the voice of the Archmage of the Tower purred. I bowed my head and sighed.
“Twilight,” I asked as I rose. “Teleportation spells are supposed to take an hour or more to replenish. How did you do that?”
The Archmage brushed off her clothes, robe and staff slowly drifting towards her.
“Simple,” she grinned as she slid her lavender robes over her slim frame. “The first one wasn’t a teleport. It was an illusion.”
I smacked my forehead as I mentally summoned my own robes and shorter staff over to me. “Fool that I am!” I laughed. That twig was you landing, wasn’t it?”
Twilight nodded, fluffing her hair out. “I couldn’t enact a flight spell without dispelling my concealment. But a simple application of a feather flight spell allowed me to drift mostly silently down.”
The metal ferrule on the base of my smooth ashwood staff clicked on the stones as we walked for a moment in silence. Her larger oaken staff was carried more like a badge of office than the tool of arcane mastery that it was.
“So what was the purpose of this little duel?” I asked after a moment. “Besides making even larger holes in the training grounds.”
Twilight smiled, her eyes flashing.
“I need practice once in a while,” she responded as she drew to a stop and ran a hand along the smooth, rune-carved length of oak before her. “I don’t get out much since I became court mage and tasked with keeping the Queen safe from magic threats. I need to stay fresh and able to improvise. You usually give me a better run for my money, though.”
I leaned against my staff, the smile blossoming despite my best efforts. “Well, some of use didn’t just get the Staff of the Archmage to boost our power levels,” I snarked. “We common adventuring types have to rely on cunning more often than not.”
“That barrier spell was rather impressive,” she nodded. “I didn’t think you’d try to make one so large, I thought the heat would cause you to pass out first.”
We passed under the stonework arch the denoted the borders of the training grounds and I laughed.
“I’ve done worse,” I bluffed. “But I didn’t want the area to catch fire, so I took it a little easy.”
Twilight stopped and looked at me with a skeptical glance. A rune flared to life on her staff and her eyes took on an arctic blue cast. I fidgeted in place as her eyes roved over my form.
“Took it easy, huh?” she giggled as the glow faded and the rune dimmed.
“I’m not used to dueling without my staff, ok?” I said defiantly.
“I’m sure,” she laughed and gestured for her apprentice to come over. The young lad trotted up, his robe looking just a bit too long for him. “Silver, can you go ask the cooks to prepare a light meal for us and my friend?”
The lad nodded, turning and rushing off. I turned an arched an eyebrow at my friend.
“You actually took Silver Vein as an apprentice?” I asked. “I thought the boy had little to no aptitude last time he applied.”
“He’s earnest and hardworking,” Twilight said. “And I’ve started sensing something in him. He may just be a specialist instead of a full magus like we are. We are a dying breed, Sunset.”
“True,” I agreed. I glanced up, stretching a little, looking at the banner of the Queen, it’s three gems fluttering in the air.
“So, is there any truth to the rumors?” I asked innocently with a slight elbow to Twilight’s ribs.
“R-rumors?” the Archmage stuttered, fumbling to hold onto her staff. “W-what rumors?”
“About you and the Queen,” I said, still innocent. “They say you and Her Majesty Rarity are rather close for a liege and an advisor.” My grin turned into a smirk. “Is there any truth to them?”
“Honestly, Sunset,” she blustered, adjusting her robes.
“I’m not hearing a no,” I sing-songed as we started walking again.
“Are the stories about you and…”
“Applejack the paladin?” I cut her off. “Entirely true. She’s not completely as pious as you might believe, at least where I’m concerned.”
“Sunset Shimmer,” a voice barked from down a corridor. “Ah thought we talked about this.”
I smiled as my knight in not-quite-shining armor came over, her squire Fluttershy by her side. The plates of metal protecting my amour’s body were durable and bore more than one scratch. One hand rode the pommel of her sword while the other had a thumb tucked into her belt.
“Applejack, Fluttershy,” Twilight said by way of greeting.
“Your Eminence,” Applejack said in response, dipping her head in respect. Fluttershy merely bowed slightly.
“I’ve invited Sunset to sup with me in my chambers,” the Archmage said. “You are both welcome to join us, of course.”
“Ah appreciate the offer,” the paladin spoke. “But Ah’m afraid I already agreed to demonstrate swordplay at the knight’s row before sundown. Jist wanted to make sure she wasn’t causing too much trouble.”
I flashed a smile of pure innocence. “No more than usual,” I said.
“That’s what Ah’m afraid of,” the knight groaned.
Twilight and Fluttershy both tittered. “I think I can keep an eye on her while you take part in training,” the Magus offered.
“Iffin you say so,” Applejack said, giving a slight salute before turning to leave.
I leaned against my staff and smiled as Twilight turned to me again.
“So,” I said. “You and the Queen?”
I couldn’t help but giggle as she groaned.
