Friendship is Shining: Boasts and Brag

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Boasting and Bragging

"Sunset Shimmer?" Shining Armor rubbed at his chin, watching the mare on stage. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Watch in awe and be amazed," the stage mare stated with a voice that carried all across the crowd, "as I, Sunset Shimmer, perform the greatest of magic more incredible than any of you could even dream of doing."

"Did she just insult everypony?" Spike whispered to Shining Armor.

"My my my," Rarity said, "such boasting."

"No one is as magical as Shiny," Twilight said, staring at the stage.

"It's just stage patter," Shining said. "She's just talking herself up to get the audience interested."

The group watched as a hoop of flame appeared on stage and Sunset Shimmer jumped through it. As she landed, the ring shot up into the air and exploded in a burst of fireworks.

"Ah suppose," Applejack admitted. "Still," she looked back at the stage, "Ah don't like the way she's looking down her nose at us just for knowin' a couple of fancy magic tricks."

"Well," Shimmer's voice boomed, "it seems we have doubters among you who question my greatness." Tilting her head back slightly, she narrowed her eyes and looked down at the crowd. "Do you dare to challenge me? To come up and face the most powerful and talented unicorn in all of Equestria?"

"Just who does she think she is?" Rarity asked after a very unladylike snort.

"You should challenge her," Twilight told Shining Armor.

"No," Shining responded. "I'm not going to start a fight with a pony just because of some exaggerated bragging."

"But you're way better at magic."

"We don't know that." Shining took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "And even if that's true, it's not a reason to challenge another pony."

Twilight looked at him a moment, then sighed and looked away.

"I guess you're right," she mumbled, "but you could totally kick her flank."

A burst of fireworks exploded from the stage and a fanfare of horns played, drawing their attention back to the stage where the mare stood on her hind legs. As soon as the lights and music finished, Rainbow Dash bolted to the stage, hovering in front of the show mare.

"So, Sunset Shimmer," the pegasus said, "what makes you think you're so awesome anyway?"

"Oh my dear simplistic chromatic citizen," Shimmer stated, "I am so glad you asked. For you see..."

Her horn glowed with a pale green energy as light erupted from the brass horns on the ends of the stage. The light took to the sky above the audience, taking shape as the mare spoke.

"I have studied," the stage mare continued, "for years at Cel..." She cleared her throat, "at the prestigious school for gifted unicorns in Canterlot. After becoming too powerful and talented for their piddling classes, I traveled all across Equestria to learn... and beyond.

"I have traveled to the zebra lands to study strange magic under the tutelage of their shamans. I have learned about weather and combat magic at the talons of the griffons. I have faced dragons, stood against a hydra, and even... vanquished the ferocious Ursa Major!"

The audience watched the shifting and changing lights as it illustrated her story, letting out oohs and ahs.

"I could tell you all about how the poor, pitiful ponies of Hoofington were at their wits end," Shimmer continued, "desperate for help and willing to pay whatever it takes. Or how I was able to defeat the creature, forcing it to return to The Everfree Forest." She narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash. "But I don't want to bore you little mind with such things."

"That settles it," Snips said, him and Snails moving closer to the stage.

"Shimmer surely is the most talented, most magical, most awesome unicorn in Ponyville," Snails stated.

"No," Snails corrected. "In all of Equestria."

"How do you know?" Spike shouted at the two. "You didn't see it!"

"Spike!" Shining said firmly. "Calm down."

"Yes my young colts," Sunset said with a grin. "It is true. I am certainly the best in Ponyville."

The audience stared at the mare in silence. Shining Armor let his glance shift sideways, noticing the glares at Sunset Shimmer from his friends.

They don't look happy, the stallion thought. Hopefully I can talk to them and calm them down. Just need to make sure nothing else-

"Don't believe me?" Sunset Shimmer said with a chuckle. "Well then, I, Sunset Shimmer, do hereby challenge you Ponyvillians. Come up and face me with your challenge. Anything you can do, I can do better."

-provokes them, Shining finished the thought with a sigh.

"Any takers?" Shimmer asked. "Anyone? Or do you all accept that I am the greatest pony ever?!"

"Come on," Twilight whined at Shining. "Just listen to her. She's offering you a chance and has been very rude."

"How about..." Sunset Shimmer pointed at the audience "YOU!"

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

This is not good. Unlike Trixie Sunset Shimmer lacks the reserve to be a good pony, and she clearly is delving into magics far more dangerous then she realizes. She's a gambler that's getting in deep with the sharks, she's so close to having them bite her face off and she doesn't know it.

[Hopeful_Ink_Hoof]

3741717
Which was actually an additional reason I ended up using her (the first being an idea I had just before starting that will become fully clear either later in the story or in one of the later parts of the series). A few people who have talked about this (on earlier stories and with other Trixie related ones) felt Trixie was treated unfairly, which is somewhat understandable so I touched on the complaint. So I wanted to make someone who was a little nastier to the ponies and seemed to deserve it more. Considering her personality in the movie, Sunset Shimmer seemed perfect.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

3741740 Yup. Sunset Shimmer is a much more compotent Trixie. A villan that is a villan not because they don't know they're doing wrong, but because they don't care. For Sunset it's all about her, and her alone.

[The Letter J]

I was mentally reading Sunset's lines in Trixie's voice. Then I caught myself and tried to give her the right voice. Then I realized that their voices aren't actually very different. Or it's just been long enough since I've heard their voices that they've merged together in my mind.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

"I have studied," the stage mare continued, "for years at Cel..." She cleared her throat, "at the prestigious school for gifted unicorns in Canterlot. After becoming to powerful and talented for their piddling classes, I traveled all across Equestria to learn... and beyond.

Add twenty tu tu twenty tu and twenty tu as well. Your answer will depend upon the way you choose to spell
In this case, should be too (when used as an adverb & not a preposition)