A small crowd had gathered in front of a stage in Ponyville. This stage had been set up a few hours earlier, and the townsponies were curious about whatever event was going to take place this evening. Meanwhile, a certain blue unicorn was peeking through the curtains. When she decided that the crowd had grown large enough, she lifted the curtains with her magic and started her demonstration.
“Greetings, citizens of Ponyville. You have been given the privilege of witnessing the unparalleled talents of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Using her magic, she illuminated the stage and generated a fireworks display above. “Watch and be amazed as…” Trixie was interrupted by a drop of water splashing on her face. She looked up and saw raindrops falling from the clouds above. “How dare there be rain during the Great and Powerful Trixie’s performance? Do you know who I am?”
“Didn’t you already do this two years ago?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was relaxing in the rain on a low-floating cloud near Trixie’s show. “What’s with the lame encore?”
“You! You’re this town’s weather filly, aren’t you?” Trixie said. “Clear the skies immediately!”
“Trixie, my orders to change the weather come from Cloudsale and the mayor of Ponyville, or on rare occasions, Princess Celestia, but not from you,” Rainbow Dash said. “Besides, the weather in Ponyville is planned out at least two weeks in advance. If you didn’t know it was going to rain today, that’s your problem, not mine.”
Trixie looked up at the clouds far above the one that Rainbow Dash was lying on. Using her magic, she triggered a lightning strike that hit Rainbow Dash. Rainbow fell off the cloud after getting struck and grunted when she hit the ground. “Fine, if you won’t clear the skies, then the Great and Powerful Trixie will,” Trixie said. A minute later, Trixie had stopped the rain and pushed the clouds away from her stage, creating a circular hole in the cloud cover above.
Meanwhile, Zero Volt was trotting in between the crowds and the stage, not caring about the show that was happening. “Huh, I thought it was supposed to rain much longer than that.”
“That was all my doing,” Trixie said. “Do you see now, Ponyville? With my magic, I have power over the weather itself. Before long, you will be astounded by what the Great and Powerful Trixie is capable of!”
Zero Volt stared at her for a few seconds. “Oh, you’re actually serious, aren’t you?” he said.
“You doubt Trixie's power and greatness?” Trixie said as he lifted him with her magic. She then threw his body into the sky. “Begone, you nonbeliever! Maybe next time you will know better than to underestimate the Great and Powerful Trixie.”
Before Zero Volt reached the peak of his ascent, he teleported back to the ground, in front of the stage. His hooves met the ground and he slid to a stop on them. “Did you just throw me into the air?” Trixie was speechless after seeing him reappear on the ground unharmed. Zero Volt teleported onto the stage and touched her muzzle saying, “My turn.” He teleported Trixie into the air and returned to the ground to watch her fall.
Trixie plummeted toward the ground, but before she could crash through her stage, she caught herself with her magic and hovered above the stage. “I seem to have slightly underestimated you, but did you really think you could defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie so easily?”
“That’s enough, Trixie.”
The two of them looked in the direction that the voice had come from. “We meet again,” Trixie said. “Tell me, what was your name again? I think it was Starlight Twinkle”
“That’s Twilight Sparkle to you, and didn’t you learn your lesson the last time you were here?”
“The last time Trixie was here, you bested her against the Ursa Minor,” Trixie said. “But be warned, the Great and Powerful Trixie is far stronger than she was two years ago, and she is stronger than you. But enough of this, there have been too many distractions. Trixie will show you her true power tomorrow evening at six.” As she left, she turned to Rainbow Dash. “The Great and Powerful Trixie shall control Ponyville’s weather from now on since you can’t be counted on to do so.”
When Trixie left, Twilight and Zero Volt offered to help Rainbow up, but she stood up on her own. “You okay, RD?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Rainbow muttered.
“You don’t want to get checked out or anything?” Zero Volt asked, placing his hoof on Rainbow’s chest to check her heartbeat.
“I said I’m fine!” she said, swatting his hoof away. With that, she flew away, leaving Twilight and Zero Volt looking at each other.
“What was that all about?” Zero Volt asked.
“Walk with me to the library,” Twilight said, “I’ll explain everything on the way.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The following morning, Applejack went into town to look for Rainbow Dash. She found her in the library with Twilight, Rarity, and Zero Volt. “There y’are, Rainbow Dash. What happened to that rain we were s’posed to have? Get up there and move those clouds, yah lazy bum.”
“I’m working on it,” Rainbow said.
“Trixie’s stroking her ego again, just like she was two years ago,” Twilight said. “Not only that, but she’s also hijacked Ponyville’s weather. None of the weather ponies have been able to get any work done.”
“Poor Rainbow Dash has been trying to find a way to beat Trixie at her own game,” Rarity said. “But unicorns can be challenging opponents and Trixie is no exception.”
“They’re not that difficult,” Zero Volt countered. The four young mares in the library all looked at him. “I have plenty of experience fighting against unicorns. If they catch you in a telekinetic grip, they don’t have to let you go, and they can do a lot more with their magic. That means that if they capture you, it’s over. That is, if they capture you.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I mean that the outcome of the battle depends on whether or not they can hold onto you with their magic,” he said. “Most of the unicorns that I’ve fought rely heavily on their magic, so if you can get past any defensive spells and magical attacks, they won’t put up much of a fight.”
“That’s easy for you to say!” Rainbow said. “I can’t just teleport right next to her like you.”
Zero Volt approached Rainbow Dash until the two of them were face to face. “You’re telling me that the Rainbow Dash, the pegasus who can break the sound barrier, is having trouble outmaneuvering a few simple spells?”
“That sounds like a challenge. What do you have in mind?”
Zero Volt turned to the other ponies in the room. “Twilight, Rarity, come with me. We’re also going to need Pinkie Pie for this.” He walked to the front door with the two unicorns. “As for you, Dash,” he said, looking back to her, “meet us at your practice field in an hour. I’m going to teach you how to fight unicorns.”
* * * * * * * * * *
An hour later, Rainbow Dash arrived at her practice field. She saw Zero Volt, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity waiting for her. She also noticed Pinkie Pie standing next to a pile of water balloons. A line was drawn halfway across the field from them, and an X was drawn on the ground in front of her friends. “So, you said you were going to teach me about fighting unicorns?” she said.
“Yes, but before we begin, I want to ask you something,” Zero Volt said. “The first day I was in Ponyville, do you remember what I said about powerful enemies?”
Rainbow Dash thought about it for a few seconds. She was trying to remember everything he had said that day, but she couldn’t recall anything about powerful enemies. It didn’t help that Pinkie Pie was hopping around with her hoof raised, trying to get his attention. “Oh right!” Rainbow said. “You said that if they can’t hit you with anything, it doesn’t matter how powerful they are.”
“Exactly. Before I came to Ponyville, I fought a lot of enemies. Some of them could do a lot more damage than me, and some could take more punishment than me. A few of them could even do both. The key to defeating those enemies is to avoid all of their attacks while finding time to land your own hits. Rather than fighting offensively or defensively, this is about fighting evasively.”
“And if I learn how to do that, I can stop Trixie?”
“That’s the plan. Trixie’s probably going to rely entirely on her magic against you. There’s a lot that magic can do, but for it to work, she has to focus on the target or area that she wants to cast the spell on. With your speed and agility, you should be able to disrupt her focus and dodge any spells she casts. After all, you are the fastest flying pegasus in Equestria, right?”
“Right!” Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight and Rarity. “That means I’m going to practice against those two, but what’s with the water balloons?”
“Think of Twilight as the optional final challenge,” Zero Volt said. “You don’t have to go up against her, but if you can beat her, you’ll definitely beat Trixie.” He walked next to the pile of water balloons. “I’ll get to these later, but for now, here are the rules. Rarity will stand on that spot marked with an X, and Rainbow Dash will start at the other end of the field. Rarity, once Dash gets past that line drawn in the middle of the field, you can start using your magic on her, dealer’s choice. Dash, you goal is to make it over her and place your hoof on Rarity’s cutie mark. If you can do that without getting hit by any of Rarity’s spells, you win. If not, then start over.”
Rainbow Dash flew to the other end of the field and looked back to her friends. She took a few seconds to stretch her wings. “Alright, here we go!” She took off and flew toward Rarity on a straight path, leaving a rainbow in her wake. She quickly made it across the line and kept flying. While she was flying, she felt a little weighed down, but made it next to Rarity, stopped on a dime, and placed her hoof on Rarity’s cutie mark. “No sweat!” she said with a smirk.
“Well done Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. “I tried my best to grab you, but I couldn’t stop you in midflight.”
“Yeah, you only slowed me down a little,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Start over!”
“What?!” Rainbow flew in front of Zero Volt. “Didn’t you see that? Rarity couldn’t stop me. That means I won.”
“You said she was able to slow you down a little. Maybe that’s good enough against Rarity, but a stronger unicorn would’ve been more successful,” Zero Volt said. “Your goal is to make sure your opponent can’t hit you with anything, so you’re going to have to do better than that.” Rainbow started to fly back to the other side of the field. “And don’t fly in a straight line either. If it was Trixie, she could’ve tossed a rock or a fireball in your path.”
Rainbow Dash made her way back to her starting position. “Fly faster and don’t go in a straight line,” she said to herself as she got ready. She started flying again, and when she reached the line, she abruptly ascended. In the next two seconds, she performed a barrel roll in her descent and landed right next to Rarity. “I definitely did better this time,” Rainbow said after touching Rarity’s cutie mark. “I don’t think she did anything to me.”
“I didn’t,” Rarity said. “You were too fast, and you completely threw me off when you changed direction like that.”
“Nice work, Dash,” Zero Volt said. “Now you can either move to the next level or keep practicing with Rarity.”
“I think I’ll move on,” Rainbow Dash said. “Alright, Twilight, let’s see what you’ve got!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “He’s your next opponent, not me.” Rainbow Dash looked at Zero Volt, who was standing on the X with a few water balloons at his hooves.”
“You? But I thought I was here to train against unicorns.”
“Trixie will be able to do more with her magic than put you in a telekinetic grip,” he said. “You’ll also have to deal with projectiles: rocks, energy blasts, basically anything that a unicorn can pick up or conjure up to throw at you.”
“So you’re going to stand here and… no, you’re going to teleport and throw those at me,” Rainbow said. “But aren’t you were supposed to stay on that X? And what about your two-second warning?”
“I’m going to teleport back here every time,” he said, “and that only warns me about anything that would hurt me… unless you’re going to smack my flank.”
“I don’t like you that much,” she said. She was about to turn around when another thought occurred to her. “I suppose this means that you and those water balloons are at a higher tier than Rarity and her magic.”
“Dash, the balloons themselves are at a higher tier than Rarity and her magic.” As soon as Zero Volt said that, he was pelted by three water balloons. He looked in Rarity’s direction and was hit in the face by a fourth one. He had already told her that Rainbow Dash knew about the act, and while neither of them expected Rainbow to play a role in it, he was glad for the setup. “Dash, one more thing before you go. Keep going even after you’re hit. That way, we can see how well you’re doing and if you’re improving.”
The four of them watched as Rainbow Dash flew back to her starting point. While they were waiting, Twilight asked, “What’s Pinkie going to do after Rainbow Dash is done with you?”
“What? Oh, no, Pinkie’s here because I needed help with the balloons,” Zero Volt said. “You’re next after me.”
Rainbow Dash was ready at the other end of the field, and when they looked back at her, she started flying. She was eager to ace this as well. She quickly flew toward the line in the middle of the field, but as soon as she passed the line, a water balloon struck her in the side of her face, sending her spinning off course. It took her a few seconds, but she managed to recover just in time to avoid another balloon thrown at her. She continued on path as Zero Volt was picking up another balloon. She descended when she saw him teleport, ready to dodge a balloon from either side, but was surprised when this one hit her from above. Zero Volt picked up another balloon and teleported, but Rainbow Dash saw him appear and swerved to avoid the fourth balloon. She landed right next to him as he returned to the X and placed her hoof on his cutie mark.
“Okay, two out of four,” Rainbow Dash said. “That could’ve gone better.”
“You did fine for now. You just need to remember to check your surroundings for oncoming projectiles,” Zero Volt said. “Now, let’s try that again.”
Rainbow Dash returned to the other side of the field and tried again. As she passed the line, she saw Zero Volt teleport nearby. She ascended to dodge the first balloon and veered left to dodge the next one. It took her three seconds to get from the starting point to the X, and she dodged seven more balloons along the way. As she approached, Zero Volt picked up the next balloon and threw it from where he stood instead of teleporting. Rainbow ascended to dodge the last balloon, landed next to him and touched his cutie mark. “Ten out of ten! In your face, Zero!” she shouted.
Suddenly, a water balloon hit Zero Volt in the face. They all turned around and saw that Pinkie Pie had thrown this one. “Too literal, Pinkie Pie,” Zero Volt said. He turned back to Rainbow Dash. “You win again, Dash. Twilight is next, if you’re ready.”
“Yeah, I’m ready!” Rainbow Dash flew back to the other end of the practice field while Twilight stood on the spot with the X on it. “Alright Twilight, let’s do this,” she said before taking off. She flew past the line in the middle and raced toward Twilight. ‘That’s weird. She’s just standing there watching me,’ Rainbow thought as she approached Twilight.
When Rainbow Dash was only a few feet away, Twilight caught her in a telekinetic grip, instantly stopping her. “You’ll have to do better than that, RD,” she said before releasing Rainbow Dash. “Remember that you have to make it as difficult as possible for Trixie to keep track of your location and flight path. Aerial maneuvers should help, but if you can fly fast enough, maybe she’ll lose track of you completely.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Rainbow Dash said, “fly really fast and don’t go in the same direction for too long.”
“Why don’t we take a break?” Zero Volt said. He teleported away and reappeared a second later with a basket and a picnic blanket. “I think we could all use a snack, and Dash could definitely use some rest.”
The five of them each chose a few things from the sandwiches, apples, water, soda and cupcakes he had packed. In particular, Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to lie on the blanket and take a nap after two sandwiches and a soda.
“Zero, this must be the first good idea you’ve had in months,” Rarity said. “Although it’s certainly a step down from helping Applejack save Pinkie Pie. Not only that, but we could certainly do without the apparent racism. Trixie definitely deserves our contempt, but you seem to take issue with unicorns in general.”
“Twilight and I don’t have any problems, or at least none that I’m aware of, and I don’t hate you any more than I would if you were an earth pony or a pegasus,” Zero Volt said. “As for Trixie, she’s a conceited unicorn who abuses her powers. I don’t see why I shouldn’t hate her.”
“I just hope she gets what’s coming to her from Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie Pie said while munching on a cupcake. “Dashie’s just been amazing so far today. Sometimes she flies so fast that I can’t even see where she is anymore.” Then I see that rainbow trail she always leaves behind when she flies fast and I find her right after. But that mean old Trixie might do the same thing, so that might be a bad thing.”
“Pinkie has a point there,” Twilight said. “That rainbow contrail is a nice visual effect, but in this case, it might be a liability. I guess we’ll just have to work with it.”
An hour later, they finished their picnic and Rainbow Dash continued practicing against Twilight. In addition to trying to catch Rainbow in her telekinetic grasp, Twilight was also using the water balloons, which were the safest projectiles she had available.
Rainbow Dash flew close to transonic speeds as she passed the line in the middle of the field. Once she passed it, she went into a series of aerial maneuvers, partly to avoid the water balloons, but mainly to make her flight path as difficult to follow as possible. By this point, Twilight was throwing the remaining balloons en masse while trying to predict where Rainbow Dash would be. Two seconds later, Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight and placed her hoof on her friend’s cutie mark.
“That’s it, Twilight, I won,” she said right before she collapsed. She was panting and covered in sweat, and she gladly took a bottle of water that Zero Volt offered her.
“Good job, Dash,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“A little tired,” she said, “but I think I’m ready for Trixie.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Later that afternoon, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Zero Volt were walking toward Trixie’s stage. The crowd in front of her stage was larger than it was the day before, though it included Ponyville’s farm ponies, who were outraged that Trixie was preventing the rain from falling.
“Hey Dash, there’s one thing I forgot to mention earlier,” Zero Volt said. Rainbow Dash looked at him. “Unlike us, Trixie is not going to wait for anything before attacking you. She’s going after you the moment she feels like it. That being said, how fast can you accelerate on takeoff?”
“Zero to six hundred in less than a second,” Rainbow said proudly.
“Oh, wow…” he said. “If that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is.”
“Zero Volt, you can wait until after she defeats Trixie to praise her,” Twilight said. “Remember what he said before, RD, once she has you, it’s over, so don’t get overconfident.”
The curtain on Trixie’s stage rose and a strong gust of wind blew from the stage. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle braced themselves against the wind. When it stopped, Rainbow glanced at Zero Volt, who was holding his right foreleg in front of his face with the wings on his jeweled greave extended. “Volt, it’s just wind, but it’s nice to know that that thing works like a shield.” The wings folded back into place when he put his hoof back on the ground.
“Welcome back, Ponyville,” Trixie said. “I see that you’ve returned for a display of the breathtaking magical power of the Great and Powerful Trixie, and you will not be disappointed.”
“We’re here ‘cause yah stopped the rain yesterday,” Applejack said. "We need that rain for our crops.”
“Trixie also sees that the three of you are back again,” Trixie said. "This works perfectly, because now you all get to see the Great and Powerful Trixie’s triumph over your weather filly, that Sparkle unicorn and…” She looked at Zero Volt for a few seconds before saying, “whoever you’re supposed to be.”
“You don’t realize how much trouble you’re in, do you, Trixie?” Twilight said. “You’re not authorized to manipulate Ponyville’s weather. Not only that, but Rainbow Dash is the captain of Ponyville’s weather pegasi, and you committed a felony when you attacked her yesterday. Not to mention that you built that stage here without a permit from city hall.”
“Wait a minute, you’re telling us this now?” Zero Volt said. “The other two are just fines she’ll have to pay, but that felony assault could put Trixie away for a couple of years.”
“Forget it, Volt. I’m not pressing charges,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll handle this myself.”
“Well then, I think I’ll start with you first,” Trixie said. She prepared her magic to use against Rainbow Dash, only to be surprised when Rainbow disappeared after taking flight. She noticed the trail of colors left behind and followed it with her eyes. She eventually found Rainbow Dash, but was unable to keep her eyes on Rainbow long enough to magically grab her.
A second later, Rainbow Dash landed right next to Trixie and placed her hoof on Trixie’s flank. Trixie gave Rainbow a confused look, and the two of them stared at each other for a while. “Oh right,” Rainbow Dash said before beating her wings again and tackling Trixie into a tree. She landed on the ground, turned around, and kicked Trixie in the chest with both hind legs.
As Trixie reached a sitting position, Twilight and Zero Volt walked up to her. “Have you had enough, or does Rainbow Dash have to keep going?” Twilight asked. “Or maybe I should uproot this tree and show you what my magic can do.”
“Twilight please, easy on the plant life,” Zero Volt said. “Why don’t I just use my teleportation ability to drop that stage on her?” Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appeared in front of them, and when it subsided, they saw Trixie galloping away. “You think she learned her lesson?”
“She didn’t learn anything the last time we let her get away,” Rainbow Dash said. She flew at Trixie and stopped just in front of her, cutting off her escape. “Is there anything you want to say before running off?”
“Like how sorry you are for causing this entire town so much trouble?” Zero Volt said after teleporting right behind Trixie.
“Or that you promise not to do anything like this again?” Twilight said after teleporting right next to her.
“Alright, I’m sorry and I won’t do this again! Just let me go!” Trixie said before running off again.
“Okay, now she’s learned her lesson,” Rainbow Dash said. “And thanks for showing me how to put Trixie in her place. That might come in handy later.”
"Hey, any excuse to lob water balloons at Pinkie Pie," Zero Volt said.
"When did that happen?"
"That was a very long hour," he said, "and we had a lot of water balloons."
“That sure was somethin’, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, finally catching up to her friends. “Now don’t yah think there’s one more thing yah oughta be doin’ right now?”
“You got it, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said. She flew off to prepare another storm over Ponyville.