"Finally! I found it!"

It was a rainy night, and within an undisclosed city was a pony covered in a cloak, a sinister smile underneath. And floating next to them was an amulet with a red gem and attachment of both wings and a unicorn head, resembling an Alicorn.

"After all this time looking for it, I can finally initiate my revenge!"

Unf0rtun4t1y, 7ha7 w0n't h3lp. Suddenly, the hooded pony jumped, turning to whoever was talking. When they did, they saw another hooded figure. This one however was taller and slenderer than a pony, perhaps a dragon?

"And what makes you say that?"

F0rg1ve m3, bu7 you'4 aim i5 bo7h Tw1li6ht and X4v1er, co44ect?

"How did you-"

Y0u h4ve l4ck1ng inf0rm4ti0n. Th3 tw0 hav3 gr0wn much m0r3 th4n y0u r3ali2e. 4ddi7ion4ly, 7hey h4ve ga1ned n3w all1es, 4nd m4ny 0f th3m ar3 qu1t3 f0rm1dab1e.

"S-shut up!" They figure flashed their magic from their horn, getting irritated. "With this amulet, I'll get the revenge I've been searching for! Who are you to stop me!?"

I n3v3r sa1d 1 wou1d st0p y0u. The figure walked closer, and the pony could hear something unnatural from them, like metal creaking. I al5o h4ve bu5ines5 wi7h th4t t0wn, s0 I w1ll off3r s0m3 ass1stanc3. A snap could be heard, and a moment later another figure descended. This one had wings like a dragon, and one could see a scaly snout and claws like a dragon. Th1s i5 a disci9le of m1ne. Y0u m4y ca11 th3m... Scoil.

"And what are they going to do-?" Just as the pony was questioning them, a blade was a mere inch away from their muzzle, courtesy of a broadsword held by Scoil.

H3 wi1l hel9 y0u d3al wi7h th3 hum4n. Ev3n wi7h th3 pow3r of th3 amu1et, a 2-on-1 won'7 b3 in y0ur fav0r. Y0u may u5e h1m how3ve4 y0u se3 fi7. Looking Scoil up and down, the hooded pony's smile widened. After all, it would be foolish to reject such a generous offer.

Once again, the town of Ponyville was peaceful. Despite the incident that occurred at the harvest festival, everything was peaceful. Of course, things were picking up speed as Twilight was put in charge of entertaining delegates from the land of Saddle Arabia by the princess that were coming to town soon. There was quite a lot to take care of as well to make sure the delegates were happy in their town, and so all of the humans except for Xavier left town for Appleloosa to collect some apple deserts (despite Applejack saying she could make some). Right now, Xavier, Spike, and Twilight were at Fluttershy's cottage to practice, despite the owner's fears.

"Don't be scared, little friends. Twilight is wonderful with magic." Fluttershy said to comfort her animal friends, but suddenly dashed into Twilight's face. "Anything happens to them, Twilight, so help me...

"Aww, don't worry, Fluttershy, Twilight's magic has gotten a lot better since she accidentally crushed me and Applejack with a giant snowball." Spike reassured, Twilight blushing.

"Of course she's good with magic. Twilight's great with magic. I guess I just don't want my little friends to be scared. Oh, oh, look how scared they are!"

"They aren't acting scared." Xavier deadpanned. Not because of Fluttershy's overreaction, but because Rune, who was also a part of the act, was bouncing around happily. The other animals were also calm, much more than Flutterhsy.

"I promise, Fluttershy. Nothing bad will happen to them." Twilight said, stepping up to practice. As she began to charge her magic though-

"Stop, stop! They can't take it!" Fluttershy pleaded, even though nothing was happening.

"*sigh* Fluttershy, it's fine." Xavier sighed. "You're the only one worried, and the animals are the ones who are in the act." With that, Twilight continued, levitating the animals up into the air and juggling them around. Despite Fluttershy's fears, the animals were all having fun being juggled around.

"Twilight, that looks amazing!" Spike praised.

"Yeah, not bad." Xavier added, Twilight deciding to end it here. As she lowered the animals to the ground, they all ran over to go back.

"That's all for now, little ones. Maybe we can practice again later, if Fluttershy says it's alright." Twilight said.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Xavier joked as he and Spike walked up.

"Your magic has really improved since we came to Ponyville, Twilight. Princess Celestia's going to love it."

"Thanks, Spike. I have to be at my best when she arrives with the delegates from Saddle Arabia. I can't believe she's trusting me with the entertainment."

"Don't worry about a thing." Xavier said. "Everyone'll see how great you are with magic-" Suddenly, a blue blur shot straight into Twilight, sending her into the ground. When everyone processed what happened, they saw Rainbow on top of her, but she looked nervous.

"Twilight! Come quick! It's an emergency!"

The group all followed Rainbow to town, where the emergency was. See how much Rainbow was serious, Xavier pre-drew his sword in preparation. Once there, they saw a crowd around town hall, and saw some of the girls there, but Rarity was hit with some magic. After the spell took effect though, she was wearing some ugly dress.

"You beast! This shade of brown should only be used for accents!" She cried, fainting into Applejack's arms.

"Come on, Applejack. We've got to get her in a nice, soothing pink, stat!"

"What's going on here?" Twilight questioned.

"Where's the emergency?" Xavier called.

"Well, well, well." The group looked over at a cloaked pony, a strange amulet around their neck. Putting the hood down, however, they revealed themselves as someone who was in town before. A certain magician. "If it isn't... Twilight Sparkle and the ape."

"Trixie!"

"What's she doing here?"

"You call that great and powerful?" Rainbow questioned, not exactly impressed at the dress. Trixie retaliated smugly by hitting the pegasus with magic, turning one of her wings massive. This of course sent her off balance, and she began to struggle with the new wing.

"Oh! She's Rainbow Wobble, now!"

"Yeah! Ha ha ha ha!" Snips and Snails said, still sucking up to the magician, even as they ducked under the out-of-control Rainbow.

"Good spell, oh Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"You two! Quiet!" Suddenly, Trixie shot a spell at the two, affecting them despite their loyalty.

"Uh, hey! W— What happened?"

"Get off of me!" When the spell was complete, the two were connected by their horns, creating a weird... something as they tried to run around to... strange results.

"HEY! That is way to far! Even for you!" Xavier shouted, his anger rising.

"Stop picking on our friends, Trixie!" Twilight demanded.

"You and I have some unfinished business, Twilight." Trixie said smugly. "My magic's gotten better since I was here last. And I'm going to prove it! Me and you, a magic duel. Winner stays, loser leaves Ponyville forever!"

"Forget it! I'd never make a deal like that!"

"Hm. Your choice." Trixie shrugged before she shot another spell aimed at Spike. When the spell took effect, the dragon was being turned into a bouncing ball, dribbled like a basketball. Whilst Twilight was angry, Xaiver would act first.

"This is gone too far!" Xavier growled, running up to Trixie, aiming to grab her cloak. But when he was a foot away from grabbing her, he was sent flying backwards by an impact landing in front of him. When he recovered, he was shocked alongside everypony else to see a cloaked dragon in front of Trixie, a broadsword in the ground. "What in the-"

"I forgot to mention, I managed to collect a partner to take care of you, ape." Trixie said. "Meet Scoil, you'll have to get past him if you want to reach me." Scoil took his sword out of the ground, keeping it to his side.

"A dragon?" Xavier began to think. "Did she travel to the dragon lands to hire them? Or did someone like that Garble guy put them up to this."

"Why are you doing this?" Twilight demanded, snapping Xavier back to the current situation.

"Why? Because you humiliated me!" Trixie growled, using her magic to create a slideshow of her past. "After you showed me up with that Ursa Minor, I became a laughing stock! Everywhere I went I was laughed at and ostracized. I even had to take a job on a rock farm just to earn a living! A rock farm!""

"Hey! You're lucky a rock farm would take the likes of you!" Pinkie shouted, feeling offended. At least until a literal mouse and trashcan from a computer appeared next to her, "clicking" her muzzle and removing it, putting it next to the trash and basically shutting Pinkie up (Out of everything that's happened, this one thing got the strangest look out of Xavier)

"Now I want revenge!" Trixie continued. "And I'll just keep casting spells 'til you agree." Trixie then shot another spell out, this time affecting The Golden Oak library, lifting it up off the ground and flipping it upside down while shaking, sending all of Twilight's books to the ground. "Well? What do you say?"

"What is wrong with you?!" Xavier growled. "It was your fault for lying about your achieveme-" Xavier was silenced by a magic beam narrowly missing his face, vaporizing the top of a tree that was behind him.

"I didn't ask about any details!" Trixie growled. "All I want is Twilight's answer!" Twilight looked back at her friends, still struggling at the spells that they were under. That was enough for her decision.

"Alright, Trixie. Let's duel!"

"Excellent!" Trixie used some more magic, bringing everything back to normal. Mostly, as Pinkie was still missing her muzzle (to the victim's annoyance)

"Twilight? Are you sure?" Xavier asked, worried about the outcome.

"I'm sure."

"If I lose, I won't set hoof in Ponyville again. But if you lose, you're the one banished from this one-horse town!" Trixie laid out the bet, getting gasps out of the others.

"Seriously, something isn't right with you." Xavier said, this time a bit more concerned. "You've changed, this isn't the-" Xavier was cut off yet again, this time however because he reacted to Scoil rushing him, barely parrying the dragon's sword.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you." Trixie said smugly. "You will duel Scoil, ape. The same terms apply to you as well." Xavier and Scoil were staring each other down, Xavier's in front of him with Scoil's to his side. "If you don't want to, there is no worries. But I imagine the other apes would love to meet Scoil." Xavier's pupils shrank. Right before growing with rage.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me." Looking at Trixie's cocky grin, the human gritted his teeth and took a step towards Scoil, deciding the duel. The two sides of magic and swords stood still, waiting for the signal.

"Draw!" Trixie shouted, blasting a spell out at Twilight. As Twilight dodged, Xavier and Scoil rushed each other, clashing blades with sparks flying. Xavier and Scoil traded blows with each other, but to even an untrained eye it was clear that Xavier was being backed into a corner with how little his strikes were compared to Scoil's strikes. No matter how much he struck, Scoil kept blocking his blade, never even showing any emotion. Meanwhile, Scoil would retaliate after a parry, but the strikes weren't threatening. They could be blocked, but barely which sent Xavier into a desperate spiral, almost like the dragon was taunting and goading him into acting that way. It all culminated into a swift dash by Scoil behind Xavier. And before he could react, Scoil stuck the back of his neck with the hilt of the broadsword, sending him to the ground. Xavier tried to get up, but when he looked up at Scoil, he saw two red eyes within his cloak which seemed to say, "Give up." Normally, that wouldn't scare him, but something inside seemed even worse than anything he fought. And with a guilty heart, his head fell.

"Trixie is the highest level unicorn!" At the same time, the duel between the unicorns was concluded, and unfortunately the home team also lost over there. "And it looks like the ape lost as well. Now it's time for the both of you to leave Ponyville! FOREVER!"

"That's enough, Trixie!" Applejack said sternly, her and the others getting in front of Twilight and Xaiver.

"You proved your point, but you can't possibly expect Twilight to leave Ponyville!" Rarity reasoned.

"You fools! They're already gone!" Trixie said as she used her magic on the two, lifting them up and tossing them, shocking everyone as the heroes chased after the duo. Landing outside of town, a giant glass dome appeared above the town and began to lower onto the town, shocking the duo as the raced to return. Unfortunately, both sides were too late at reaching each other as the dome cut them all off. While the heroes inside of the dome were terrified, those outside seemed quite calm as the placed their hoof/hand onto the glass.

"It's okay, guys." Twilight reassured. "We'll figure something out. Just take care of each other. And keep an eye on Trixie. There's something strange about her."

"And try to figure something out about Scoil." Xavier added. "I want to know why he's helping Trixie." After that, the two ran off, hoping to figure something out.

Outside the Everfree Forest

At least, that was the hope. It's kinda hard to do something when there isn't much that can be done with their skill level. As Xavier was practicing sword swings with no progress, Twilight was trying a spell on a flower unsucessfully.

"Ugh! It's impossible!" Twilight growled. "How could Trixie know such advanced magic?"

"Or why did Scoil join Trixie?" Xavier joined. "Why would a dragon help out a pony? Gah, this is such a mess!"

"And without Spike, I can't get a message to the Princess in Saddle Arabia." Twilight mentioned. "So who else do we know who understands strange and powerful magic?" The duo began to think for a bit, but Xavier's gaze went to the forest they were next to, getting an idea.

"Hey, how about Zecora?" Xavier asked. "She's does know quite a lot. If nothing else, we could find an ally to help out."

"I think your right. Let's go." The two entered the forest to look for Zecora. Fortunately, they found her quite easily in her home and were now taking shelter within as they told her what happened, the zebra having a cup of tea as she meditated.

"Your tale of woe upsets me so." Zecora commented, taking a sip of tea. "No wonder you're dour. It's an abuse of power!"

"You've said it." Xavier sighed.

"I don't know what to do, Zecora." Twilight said sadly. "I feel like I've abandoned my friends. But I can't take her on horn-to-horn."

"If you train with me, so good you'll be. I'll show you the way to make sure she won't stay." Zecora offered.

"You'll train me in magic?" Twilight asked hopeful, but that hope fell a bit. "But she was doing age spells, weather spells, you name it!"

"When it comes to magic, it would be tragic if somepony licked me, especially Trixie."

"You really think I can beat her?" Twilight continued, a nod from the Zebra reassuring her. "Okay, when do we start?"

"Good for you." Xavier said. "As for me, I'm on my own to figure out a way to beat Scoil."

"I'm sorry, dear human. But I cannot help your stand."

"It's alright, Zecora." Xavier reassured. "I haven't exactly been keeping up with my sword training. Although..." The last part was quieter, as Xavier has his doubts. "How am I supposed to beat something like that?"

A Day Later

"Ahhh... ye weren't kiddin' Cali. That little town is nice."

"See what I told you?"

Unbeknownst to everyone at town, the humans were returning from Appleloosa with the apple deserts. Similarly, the humans did not know what they were returning to.

"Nyehehe, I guess ponies are also tenacious like us humans." Zenix cackled. "I swear, civilizations will grow in the craziest places."

"It's nice." Amity stated. "So many nice ponies and buffalos. I honestly expected the buffalos to be rowdy though."

"I think they mellowed out after the debate over land was over." Jasmine said with a nervous laugh.

"Let's all be happy that the town is still standing though." Flint said. "For now, let's find Twilight when we return to town." The humans all nodded.

"Speaking of..." Amity looked over to the deserts, where there was a very large pile of boxes filled with pies and a large cake. "Did we get too much?"

"...Maybe..." Zenix admitted, giving a little nervous laugh. As everyone was talking though, Huston was looking out the window and noticed something.

"Hey, what's that?" He said, catching everyone's attention. When they looked out, they all saw some strange dome with storm clouds within.

"Huh, dunno." Alex admitted. Zenix decided to take initiative and took out a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Taking a closer look, he began to panic at what he saw.

"What in the- what did we miss?!"

"What is it?" Jasmine asked.

"It's a giant glass dome thing! And it's covered Ponyville!"

"What!?" The humans all panicked.

"You can't be serious!" Cali shouted.

"Look for yourself!" Zenix handed the binoculars to her, the cook taking them and looking over.

"Shit, you're right." Cali growled with an irritated snap of her fingers. "Can we have one event go right for once!?"

"Cali's... quite angry." Amity noted, looking a bit scared.

"It's okay." Jasmine comforted, patting the younger girl's head. "It's just irritating when everything seems to bring a new problem." Suddenly, the train stopped which caused the humans to flinch. Looking around, they saw Alex pulling on the emergency break.

"What was that for!?" Zenix called out.

"We ain't gonna solve this if we just run inta the dome, now will we?" Alex said, walking to the door. "Ay say we get down there and see what's goin' on." The humans all had different looks, but they all nodded and followed along. Running to the dome, everyone stopped several paces away from the dome.

"Haah... haah... did we have to run?" Zenix wondered out of breath.

"You have no stamina, do you?" Cali commented.

"Hey! I'm a merchant, not a mercenary. I'm not like all of you!"

"You callin' me a mercenary?!"

"Cali, Zenix. Please don't start fighting." Flint said to break them up. "We have more pressing matters."

"Yeah, your tight." Looking up, they all saw how immense the dome was.

"Ay ain't a genius, but ay don't think that'll break." Alex commented.

"What even is it?" Huston wondered.

"Do you think it's protection like what happened at the wedding?" Jasmine asked. "We do have important ponies coming to town."

"I doubt it's like the forcefield Shining Armor used." Flint observed.

"Well how do we figure this out?" Cali questioned. As everyone was talking, Zenix noticed something going on inside a distance away.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Pointing, the group saw small red flashes in the distance. They began to get closer, but saw that it was a bunch of beavers with a log, beating on the dome with their tails irritated.

"Well I guess that confirms we can't just walk in." Cali commented. As they walked closer, they noticed something approaching the beavers. The humans all saw that it looked like a wood carriage, but it had no wheels on it. And it was being dragged by-

"Wait, aren't those two..." Zenix reached behind him into his bag and pulled out a newspaper. A very familiar paper.

"Wait, isn't that one of Gabby Gum's papers?" Jasmine asked. "Why do you have that?"

"Eh, didn't feel right throwing them all away. Besides, look." The humans all gathered and saw that it was the first paper published. The one with Snips and Snails. "Those are the same kids that are dragging that carriage."

"What? But they're just children!" Huston said worried. The group decided to hustle over and hide inside of some bushes nearby. Unfortunately, they couldn't hear anything from inside. But they did get a good look at who was on it. And the dragon-shaped cloaked figure walking next to it.

"That unicorn." Alex began. "Ay feel like ay've seen her before."

"I do too. Hold on." Zenix reached into his bag again and pulled out another paper. This time, it had the very same pony on the cover. "Yeah, the pony's also been in a paper."

"Trixie, huh." Jasmine thought out loud. "Now that I think about it, didn't Xavier say he had some history with her?"

"Yeah, he did." Huston agreed. "Wonder what she's doing here."

"And why there's a dragon inside as well." Flint noted, not exactly trusting them. The humans went back to observing the situation. They watched as the beavers chittered angrily at the dome, basically saying that it was in the way of them. With an eye roll, Trixie tilted the dome a bit to allow the beavers to walk out, the dome slamming down right after. Once they were out, the humans saw the carriage change, going from wood to an even bigger and flashier gold chariot, and still with no wheels. As the two poor colts dragged the chariot away, they waited for them to get out of sight before getting out.

"Yeah, I can definitely see why Xavier didn't want to talk about her." Cali said. The group looked over at the beavers, seeing them act strangely with the log they were carrying. They reached inside of a hole in the log, and began to pull on something. After a moment, Fluttershy came barreling out, wearing a black spy outfit.

"Fluttershy?!" The humans said shocked. They all ran over to her, the pegasus trying to re-enter the log in fear.

"Fluttershy!" Jasmine called, getting her and the beavers' attention. All of them looked happy to see her and the others.

"Jasmine! Everypony!" Fluttershy called relieved. "You're back!"

"Just in time too." Amity announced. "It seems everyone in is quite the pickle!"

"You have no idea!" Fluttershy fell to the ground covering her head. "Trixie's acting like a tyrant to us!"

"So it is Trixie, huh." Zenix said, looking at the paper. "Can you explain to us the full story about how you know her?"

"Huh? O-oh. Okay." Walking away from the dome in case Trixie came back, Fluttershy explained the situation and history with Trixie.

"So all o' this is because Trixie got exposed fer her own lies?!" Alex questioned. "What kind a' stupidity is goin' on in her head!?"

"I wish I could say..." Fluttershy sighed.

"Well, I guess the best course of action is to find our banished friends and tell them about this 'Alicorn Amulet'." Zenix said. "Know where they are?"

"No..." As they were trying to think about where their friends, a bunch of birds flew over and chirped about.

"What's with them?" Cali wondered.

"It... sounds like they know where our friends are." Jasmine commented.

"Seriously?!" Zenix questioned. "How can you tell!?"

"She's right!" Fluttershy confirmed, listening to the birds chirping. "And they say they're in- *gasp* The Everfree Forest?!"

"Everfree?" Amity wondered, a question mark above her.

"It's kinda like our world where everything grows and acts without the help of ponies." Cali shrugged.

"Only difference is that there are mythical beasts inside like manticores." Huston added, remembering how he was attacked by one of said beasts when he first woke up.

"And why would they go in there!?" Amity questioned, an exclamation mark joining the question.

"Maybe they went to see Zecora." Jasmine suggested.

"Oh, right! She's in there." Cali remembered.

"An' who's that?" Alex asked.

"She's a zebra shaman who lives in the forest." Huston explained. "I don't know her well, but she and Xavier seem close."

"But do we have to go inside the Everfree forest?" Fluttershy shuttered.

"Y-yeah? Couldn't we like, write a note for them to meet us?" Zenix agreed.

"Have some guts, guys!" Alex said annoyed. "We need ta do this fer our friends! We're all in this together!"

"Yeah!" Amity joined in. "No forest is too scary to stop us!" The others nodded outside of the scaredy cats, but those two gave a hesitant nod.

"Looks like we're all in agreement." Flint said, taking a step towards the forest. "Let's not waste too much time. Let's move." Everyone followed Flint's lead, heading towards the forest to find their friends.

Outside Zecora's Home

Xavier was having some trouble getting a game plan together. It wasn't like he was scared, but after what happened in the fight, it was difficult to think about a way to take on Scoil. How was he supposed to beat something that was better than him in every way possible. Even as he held his sword forward, he stood still like he was trying to think of an approach.

"Over there!" Xavier looked up when he heard a voice call out. When he looked, he was shocked to see both Fluttershy and the rest of the humans approaching.

"What the- what are all of you doing here!?"

"Well we were coming back from Appleloosa with the deserts," Cali began to explain. "When we ended up finding out that we have another event getting hijacked."

"She's not happy if you couldn't tell." Jasmine said with a nervous smile.

"I can't blame her..." Xavier said. "A-anyways, you guys I can get, but how did Fluttershy get here?"

"Beavers." Flint simply said.

"...What?"

"That doesn't matter." Zenix said. "Right now, she's managed to get some information on how Trixie managed to get so much power."

"Really? Okay, go inside and I'll get Twilight and Zecora." Following his orders, the group waited inside of Zecora's home by looking around, the owner returning soon after. Once everyone was inside, Fluttershy laid out what she learned about Trixie. Most notably, the Amulet that she had, the alicorn amulet. From what they learned, it was an artifact that bolstered the wearer's magic to unbelievable levels. There was a caveat though, and that it corrupted the wearer which is why Trixie was acting so much crueler than she once was. And the worst part was that the only one who could take it off was the wearer themselves, so they couldn't sneak in and grab it while she was distracted. With all of this information, Twilight paced around Zecora's home.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize the Alicorn Amulet!" Twilight cried out.

"The more she uses it, the more it will corrupt her!" Fluttershy added.

"Not only that, we don't have much time." Cali mentioned. "Remember, the princess is going to be here soon with those delegates from Saddle Arabia. We're gonna have to get this fixed soon."

"But how am I supposed to beat that amulet? My magic's not good enough!"

"Well, is there a way to boost it?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah, can't Zecora make some crazy potion thing-a-ma-jig ta give ye a boost?" Alex continued.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Xavier shot down.

"Twilight Sparkle, much work have you done." Zecora spoke. "You learned all of my lessons; all but one. If Trixie's tricks have you in a fix, you must nix your magic and use the six."

"...Oh she's a rhymer..." Zenix commented.

"Not now." Flint said, giving Zenix an elbow.

"But what the heck does she mean by 'use the six'?" Amity asked, wearing some strange hat and holding a spoon she found.

"What the- Amity! Don't touch her stuff!" Cali scolded, trying to take the hat. Try is the key word, as Amity slipped around her. Twilight watched Amity goof around, getting her gears grinding.

"Nix your magic, use the six... Nix your magic, use the six! Use the six! That's it! Zecora, you're a genius!" Twilight announced, getting a shock out of everyone as Twilight used her magic to grab a quill and scroll. "Now we'll need to get you back inside Ponyville, Fluttershy." As everyone watched her jot down a plan, Zenix noticed that Xavier left the building. With a curious face, he followed behind to see Xavier looking quite down.

"That's not a face I usually see on you." He said, Xavier looking over at him.

"Sorry, it's just... Twilight has a plan to beat Trixie. But I don't." Xavier sighed. "There's no way I could beat someone like Scoil."

"Right... the dragon..." Zenix said. "At least he seems like he wants to have a fair fight."

"Even still! How am I going to beat him in one!" Xavier shouted. Zenix looked at his old friend for a bit before clapping.

"So, I know you're going to hate me for suggesting this... but what if we did something she would do." Xavier looked up at Zenix with a glare. "Wait wait wait! Hold on, let me explain! I'm not saying anything devious, but maybe you shouldn't fight alone with nothing but your sword."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, work smarter, not harder is a good saying. You can't beat this Scoil guy with your own strength at this time. Maybe if you were stronger and better with your sword, but that would take too much time. Besides, this whole thing is dumb!" Zenix shouted himself. "Trixie's been gone for how long searching for a way to get revenge on something she caused and ended up using some relic that corrupted her and getting some shady dragon to help her! Heck! She did this to say she's better than Twilight! Her targeting you is just cruel, let alone the entire town of Ponyville! At this point, a little sabotage is warranted!" Xavier watched Zenix's outburst in shock, seeing how much passion he had in this. After, there was a silent pause, before Xavier lowered his head.

"I won't allow anyone to get in between my fight between me and Scoil. This is my fight." Zenix was about to scold him again, but... "But if there was something nearby that I could use to tilt the favor in my favor, I wouldn't be opposed in using that." Zenix stopped, realizing what he was saying.

"...Keep your eyes open then. There's a lot you can do with some random can."

Later

Once Twilight wrote down the plan of action, Fluttershy went back to Ponyville to explain it. Fortunately, the beaver trick worked again. After a bit, those outside of the dome were standing in front of it, ready for action.

"So... how do we get her to come over?" Jasmine asked. The answer was Alex and Cali smacking the dome with their weapons.

"Ay mean it worked with the beavers." Alex said, giving another smack. The two stopped after a bit, giving some time to wait.

"We sure this'll work?" Amity asked.

"We can only hope." Flint said. That's when they saw something coming closer.

"Looks like it worked." Huston said.

"You!" Trixie shouted, though it was muffled by the dome. "What's the matter, Twilight Sparkle? Not enjoying your exile?" Her gaze shifted to the humans. "And it looks like you found plenty of apes in exile."

"Unpleasant, aren't ye." Alex growled.

"I know about the Alicorn Amulet. I know you cheated." Twilight announced, pointing at the relic in question.

"Cheated? Moi?

"Yeah. And I thought you might wanna see what a real magical amulet looks like." Twilight said, pulling out a green amulet. "Zecora gave it to me. It's from beyond the Everfree Forest, and it's way more powerful than your measly little Alicorn Amulet!" Twilight explained, putting it on.

"Ha! Nothing's more powerful than the Alicorn Amulet! And nopony's more powerful than the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie said cockily, flashing her magic.

"Care to put your amulet where your mouth is?" Twilight goaded. "How about another duel?"

"Why should I? I already beat you."

"Sounds like someone is scared." Zenix joined in, getting a glare from the magician.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. It sounds like you're afraid of losing to some random pendant despite that gloating." Zenix explained with a sinister smile. "Isn't this lying act what got you in hot water before? I'm not judging, but imagine if the rumors of the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie was scared of some wimpy pendant despite holding the strongest relic. But if that's what you want, we'll leave. Come on guys." Zenix began to walk away, smiling at everyone. He then put up three fingers, putting one down after another. Once they all were down...

"Wait!" Trixie used her magic, this time removing the dome all together. "Okay, okay, you're on! A second duel."

"It's scary how good you are at taunting." Cali noted.

"Anger is the best emotion to exploit." Xavier took this time to step forward, pulling out his sword and pointing it at Scoil.

"As for us, we have a score to settle." Xavier glared. Scoil stared at him emotionless, but gave a nod. Both sides had their grudge matches set, now it was time to settle things.

At Town Square

Both sides were staring down each other, Twilight and her pony friends against Trixie, and Xavier and the humans with Scoil. Of course, it would only be one-on-one fights from here. Watching the swordsmen, the two took a step towards each other.

"I'm not going to lose again. I've got something to fight for." Xavier shouted, running up to the dragon and clashing. Scoil of course, did not flinch as he retaliated. Once again, the fight went in the direction of Scoil, his power and skill outmatching Xavier. Xavier was being pushed back near a building, and this time Scoil managed to knock the human's blade out of his hands, landing near a trash can. He ran over to try and grab it, leaping to grab it but missed it, which ended up getting Xavier kicked away from the blade. As Xavier was trying to recover, he was grabbed by the neck and pulled up above the dragon. The two locked eyes, Scoil showing no emotion. Xavier however seemed to struggle less than he should for someone in his position. As Scoil raised his sword to finish him off, Xavier raised his arm as well...

Spraying a red mist out from it into the dragon's face. This startled Scoil as he dropped Xavier, rubbing his eyes as a clank of a can of spray paint landing nearby. Ax Xavier ran back to his sword, Zenix smiled watching. Scoil noticed this and swung recklessly at Xavier, and was confused when he felt his blade slow down and stop. What he didn't see was that Xavier grabbed the lid of the trash can, once again using it like a shield, the blade slicing into the lid like scissors to paper. It stopped an inch from the center, and once it did Xavier used as much strength as possible to bend the can's lid to grab the sword. Now instead of a clash of blades it was a tug of war where the two were trying to take control of the broadsword. This all culminated when Xavier slammed the blade downwards into the trashcan itself, giving him just enough time to grab his own sword and slashing with the blunt side, delivering a clean hit to the dragon's back. Scoil was sent to the ground, and before he could get back up, Xavier's blade thrusted right next to his head as the human placed his foot onto his back.

"This fight is over. Give up." He said seriously. Scoil didn't react, but he put his head down and didn't move. "Now, I want to ask some questions-"

"But... what about the pony with the ten instruments?"

"That's not magic. That was just Pinkie Pie." Xavier's attention turned to the other side of the battle. At his observation, Trixie didn't have the Alicorn Amulet on anymore, and the pendant was on the floor broken. Meaning it worked, but it was another aspect that got his attention.

"Wait, how in the world is she playing wind instruments without a mouth?" Xavier questioned, once again questioning Pinkie, who was wearing the one-pony-band instrument she had when the parasprites invaded. He didn't realize though, that his foot lifted off the dragon for a moment, and when Xavier looked back, Scoil was gone. "What!?"

When Scoil ran off, the town tried to find him, but to no avail. It was like he never existed. They couldn't harp on it however, as the Princess was going to be in town soon with the delegates, so the town had to hurry to repair the damages. Fortunately it went quite smoothly and everything was ready by the time Celestia and the Saddle Arabian delegates made it. Unbeknownst to them as Twilight performed her act, the cloaked figure from before watched from a distance.

4n exc4ll3nt t3st. They spoke, looking back at a collapsed Scoil. At least, what was once Scoil as he could be seen sparking a bit. Almost like a machine. Xav1er ha5e gr0wn qu1t3 wel1. H0p3ful1y h3 ke3ps th4t 9ace, i7 w0uld b3 a sh4m3 if he s7opp3d gr0win6 wh3n h3 m33ts the king. As fireworks went off around the performance, a yellow glow came from the hood. Pl3as3 c0ntinu3 to gr0w, ch1ldr3n of m4n. Th3 pl4n mus7 sucs33d f0r the king. Grabbing Scoil, smoke came from under the cloaked figure as they flew upwards into the sky.

Author's Note

Alright, let's twist things up a bit, huh?
Did you really think that I would just make it a duel between Trixie and only Trixie? Nah, let's advance the plot just a bit. Also, it seems that I actually have some energy left with how quickly I got through this. Maybe it's due to the good idea. Or maybe it's because of the next chapters