• Published 9th Sep 2011
  • 24,033 Views, 430 Comments

U-Harmony - Ebon Mane



Twilight's curiosity pushes her to go were no bookworm has gone before: On dates.

  • ...
20
 430
 24,033

Her Nefarious Nemesis

TIME: 2:00 PM CST
LOCATION: MUSEUM OF MAGIC, CATERLOT
REASON FOR MATCH: INTEREST IN MAGIC AND ITS APPLICATIONS




A mage! Twilight Sparkle was ecstatic; how could a fellow practitioner of the arcane sciences be a bad match? Well, there was that unfortunate incident with Moondancer. Twilight dismissed that as a fluke. Her bad luck had to end some time. At least, she hoped so. Perhaps she would finally have somepony willing to discus the subtler aspects of magic theory. The unicorn sighed wistfully. She was finally looking forward to a date, instead of dreading it like she had with most of the others.

For once, Twilight didn't put too much thought into her appearance. She knew that any pony of magical inclination would care about her knowledge, not her mane. At least, any that she would want to associate with. The mare idly hummed a cheerful tune as she studied the morning away; when the time came, the teleportation took her by surprise.



***



After the flash cleared, Twilight Sparkle looked around. She was in one of the familiar marble halls of the Museum of Magic. Trips to the museum had been a favorite weekend activity for the mare, before she took up residence in Ponyville. The displays around her were all concerned with the magic of illusion or items enchanted with tricks of light or appearance. It reminded Twilight about her refraction research and the upcoming presentation, and she wondered if her date would be interested in hearing about it. Where was the other unicorn, anyway?

Twilight looked around, and her gaze immediately fell upon a mare. She simply stared for a few moments, then turned around, looking for somepony else. Anypony else. She had no such luck; she was alone in the museum with.... the librarian sighed. With Trixie. Even from behind, the magician was unmistakable. The hat and cape were a dead giveaway, identical to the costume that she had worn to preform in Ponyville. The self-proclaimed great and powerful mare was busy examining herself in the largest of the magic mirrors in the exibit hall. It hadn't been there the last time that Twilight visited; she wondered briefly what it did.

The purple unicorn considered just teleporting away to escape another inevitable bad date. It would be so much easier that way. She dismissed the line of thought. She was in too deep, now. It had become personal. U-Harmony just wanted to break her will, to make her give up, to watch her fail. Twilight couldn't give it that satisfaction. Her eyelid twitched. She would show that dating service that it couldn't get the best of her; she would get a good match eventually. She just had to pony up and keep trying. Maybe she had been wrong about Trixie. Was there any reason not to give her another chance?

Something within Twilight wondered briefly if U-Harmony had already succeeded in destroying her sanity.

The librarian trotted toward the showmare, seeing how close she could get to the mirror before Trixie noticed her. Twilight stopped just behind the other unicorn and tried to think of a way to greet her, nervous despite her resolve. "Uh. Hello again, Trixie. I see you replaced your, um, outfit. What enchantment does this mirror have?"

The magician looked over her shoulder, and gasped when she realized precisely who was addressing her. She turned to face Twilight and frowned. "Twilight Sparkle. The Great and Powerful Trixie's old arch-nemesis. Have you come to get your revenge on The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Twilight blinked and tilted her head questioningly, "Arch-nemesis? We only met once. We barely spoke. What is there for me to get revenge about? And how do you know my name? Ugh, never mind," Twilight sighed; this was going about as well as she should have expected, "I'm here for the date, Trixie. U-harmony." At least the purpose of the mirror had become clear: it showed a giant image of whatever was closest to it. Trixie had been admiring her own face. When the blue mare had turned around, the image changed. Easily four ponies high, the reflection of Trixie's hindquarters loomed behind the showmare. It was distracting in a way that made Twilight Sparkle extremely uncomfortable. She struggled to maintain eye contact with the other pony.

If Trixie had heard Twilight's objections, she didn't show it. She just grinned and spoke much louder than was strictly necessary, "The Great and Powerful Trixie knew that you could not resist her charms for long! That you'd come running back to beg for The Great and Powerful Trixie's forgiveness... and affection!"

"Trixie, this is a blind date. I couldn't have known it was you," Twilight said, her voice flat with weary cynicism.

The other mare was not put off in the least. "Then it is fate that brought us together. The Great and Powerful Trixie is the only unicorn that is equal to your magic, Twilight Sparkle! Clearly, we are a match in more ways than one," she said, nodding in agreement, presumably with herself.

"You can drop the stage act, you know. It's not like there's anypony else around," Twilight said, eyes darting to the mirror to watch as Trixie idly shifted her weight from one hoof to another and back. The librarian bit her lower lip subconsciously as she stared.

"What act?" Trixie asked, seeming genuinely curious.

Twilight's gaze returned to the other mare's face and she sighed again. "Well, whatever. I'd like to get to know you better. Whatever else you may be, Trixie, you are a great magician, and we didn't get a chance to talk shop when you were in Ponyville," she said. She forced herself to keep focusing on the other pony's eyes.

Trixie leaned forward, and she spoke seductively, "Yes, The Great and Powerful Trixie would also like to get to know you, Twilight Sparkle. Every inch of you."

The librarian wondered if the other pony was even participating in the same conversation as her. "That's not exactly what I had in mind, Trixie."

The showmare seemed to hear exactly what she wanted to hear. She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, "Your place or Trixie's?"

Twilight stomped a hoof in frustration, "And that's my limit for actually trying on this date. I can't tell which end of you is the bigger ass! It's not worth... I... why do...? Ugh. Just... Goodbye Trixie." She shot a final glare at the other mare's reflection, then turned and trotted away. She would enjoy the museum on her own; she wouldn't let Trixie ruin the day for her.

As she left the illusion displays behind, the librarian heard desperate yelling from behind her, "Wait! Don't you have any sense of foe-yay? Please come back. Trixie is so lonely!" Twilight studiously ignored the calls.