//------------------------------// // The Duel // Story: My Little Fortress: Teamwork Is Magic // by AxleandWheel //------------------------------// "You did what!?" The purple unicorn fumed, staring at Rainbow Dash angrily. Dash recoiled slightly, never seeing Twilight Sparkle this angry before. "Well, I mean Trixie is back, and you're the only one in Ponyville strong enough to duel her with magic, and I..." She trailed off. Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. "You can't just speak for me! I don't want to fight Trixie!" "Twi, last time you showed Trixie up by a mile and a half! I'd bet you could do it again!" "That was six months ago! She's probably gotten much stronger since then!" "Well, so have you, silly!" Pinkie rose out of a bowl of apples sitting on a nearby table Twilight's anger subsided slightly as she pondered how long Pinkie had been there. Pinkie just stood beside her, munching an apple. "C'mon, Twilight, it'll be fun!" She said, mouth full. "Yeah Twi, we've got till sunset to prepare!" Dash chimed Her brow furrowed, knowing that she really had no way out. If she declined, it would seem as if she was backing out. If there was one thing to never do, it was back out of a challenge set up by someone like Trixie. And it probably would be fun. From Dash's explanation, Trixie just wanted to test her new magic. She sighed. "Fine. But I'm still mad at you" She trotted outside. "At least there'll only be a few people there" -------- "Don't know why I thought that" The stands were filled with ponies, cheering for Twilight. "How'd you even get these stands out to the outskirts of Ponyville?" "Big Macintosh helped" Applejack said, motioning toward her brother. "Now don't you worry, Sugarcube, we've all got your back" Her friends sat on the sidelines, hooping and hollering. Even Fluttershy could be heard once in a while, and Angel sat on her head, waving a small flag. "Still no sign of Tri-" As if on cue, the blue unicorn appeared in a brilliant puff of smoke. "The great and powerful Trixie!" Snips and Snails yelled in unison "The one and only! Now, Twilight Sparkle, are you ready for the duel?" Trixie reared up. Twilight sighed. "Ready as I'll ever be" She said as she lowered herself to the ground. Spike, Snips, and Snails All stood between the two. Spike turned to the crowd. "Fillies and Gentlecolts! Welcome to the magic duel between our own Twilight Sparkle and-" "The great and powerful Trixie!" Snips shouted. Spike shot him a glance. "Thank you, Snips" He said through gritted teeth. "Let's just have a good clean match. And now, without further ado, let the duel begin!" They all ran to the sidelines opposite the bleachers. Trixie fired a blue beam at Twilight, who stepped out of the way swiftly. She responded in hind, hitting Trixie with a blast that Made her stumble. Twilight charged at Trixie, her horn glowing with her next spell. Trixie regained her footing and smirked, firing a purple light. It hit Twilight, and she teleported away, running into a tree. "Teleportation spells? Two can play at that game" She shot her own spell, putting Trixie up in a tree. They kept throwing teleportation at each other, disappearing and reappearing all over the field. They finally ended facing each other, almost where they had started. They fired again, the beams collided in midair, growing into a large orb. They pushed all their energy into it, pushing it toward Trixie, then Twilight, then back. "Twi-light! Twi-light! Twi-light!" Her friends cheered, stepping closer. Trixie and Twilight pumped all their energy, panting. The Ball grew giant, until finally BOOOOMM!!! A bright light blinded Spike and the ponies for a minute. When they looked back, Trixie and Twilight were gone. Along with the rest of Twilight's friends. "Twilight?" Spike asked into nothing "Trixie?" Snails looked around "They're gone!" Someone in the stands shouted The crowd gasped and started yelling "Where... Where'd they go!? And... what if they can't get back..." Spike fell to his knees, Yelling at the sky. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" -------- Twilight Woke up, looking around groggily as she took in her surroundings. all her friends were scattered to and fro. They were in a mostly white room, With a few benches, a large cabinet, and some cubbies holding strange equipment that she didn't recognize. There was a large metal door in one direction, and a small room opposite it she could see through it's glass doors. In the small room Dash was against a wall. Everypony else was in the main room, Applejack on top of the cabinet, Fluttershy and Angel under one of the benches, Rarity against one of the walls, and Trixie in the middle of the floor. She searched for Pinkie, then became aware of something heavy on her back. With a quick glance, she found her pink friend had somehow landed on her. 'Wait...' she thought, now a little more conscious. She didn't know what this place was. It didn't look like any place she'd ever been before, and nopony was around. 'How'd... the spell!' She yelled at herself. 'Stupid! You never cross teleportation spells!' She shifted, and Pinkie slid off her back and landed on the floor with a thud. Even with the fall, she was still out cold. 'Always was a heavy sleeper' Twilight started walking around, waking her friends up one by one. Applejack nearly fell off the cabinet, but got down safely. Everypony looked around, slightly scared and confused. Except Pinky, she handled the situation with her usual energy. "Anypony seen Dash?" Pinkie asked Twilight pointed to the room, and Pinkie trotted toward the door. She didn't realize that it only opened from the inside until she smacked into it. "How are we supposed to wake Dash up if we can't get in?" "Ah, let'r sleep. she'll wake up eventually" AppleJack looked around. "Anypony know where we are?" "Well, wherever it is it's positively filthy! just look at all this grime on the floor!" Rarity lifted a hoof in disgust. Applejack rolled her eyes. "Um... Girls?" Fluttershy mumbled, unheard Trixie spoke over Fluttershy "Well, maybe-" "No! You have no right to talk! You're the reason we're here at all!" "Me!?" "Girls?" "What kind of foal counters teleportation with teleportation! You're lucky we didn't end up in the walls! Didn't they teach you that wherever it is you learned magic!?" "I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't-" She was cut off by a gruff throat being cleared. A rather short man wearing overalls and a hard hat looked at the ponies with a shotgun in his hands, finger on the trigger. Fluttershy mumbled "I tried to warn you"