Game On
"Ow!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she fell into the water.
"Rainbow!" exclaimed Twilight. "Are you OK?"
Rainbow Dash swam to shore, shaking herself off. "Apart from you knocking me into the water over and over again for the last twenty minutes, yeah, I'm fine." Rainbow glared at Twilight. "How long does it take you you to learn a spell...?"
"Oh, I've had the spell down for about six attempts now" she explained. "But I wanted to double check that I had mastered it."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You've got a problem, Twilight, I hope you know that."
"I don't have a problem!" Twilight narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash. "I just happen to be a pony who heavily appreciates making sure that I don't mess something up. You know, maybe you should try double checking things. You wouldn't have messed up your first two tricks at the young flyers competition if you just took the time to—"
"Okay, geek-i-corn." Rainbow Dash sighed. "Any more spells you want to throw at me? I don't think you've managed to bruise my entire body yet." Rainbow was dotted with small but annoying bruising upon impact with spells, and had been soaked and dried in the cold air tens of times.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to help me. I didn't force you."
"Yeah, but couldn't you have just gotten like... Spike to help you? He has scales and won't bruise."
Twilight rolled her eyes, again. "You and I both know that Spike can't fly, and Fluttershy would never be willing to do something like this again. Look, I just have one more spell I want to try, okay?"
Sighing, Rainbow Dash replied "Fine, what is it? Are you going to singe off my cutie mark?"
Twilight ignored her comment. "The spell isn't really a new spell, it's just a way to use a water manipulation spell that I decided to try. The idea is to move an extremely large and hard to dodge mass of water at once. It requires that I focus everything onto it, but if I'm confident enough to cast it, I won't miss."
"So you're going to rinse my cutie mark off." Rainbow said, sarcasm embedded in her voice. "That's much better."
"Oh, you. Just go fly to the center of the lake and be glad I have no reason to train with lasers."
Rainbow nodded, and darted to the center of the lake, awaiting her final dose of battle magic.
"Alright, feel the water around me... make it into my own..." Twilight's horn began to glow a bright purple, brighter than with most other spells she casts.
"Twilight? How powerful of a spell is this?" asked Rainbow, nervously.
"Barely weak enough to be considered type three... I'm stretching the rules a bit." After finishing her statement the full strength of the spell was revealed. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash become something that hundreds of gallons of water had an extreme desire to touch.
"Are you s—" whatever Rainbow Dash was going to ask, she didn't have time to. Hundreds of gallons of water gathered into a large pillar slammed into the blue pegasus, engulfing her and pulling her into the depths of Lake Hardtack. After a good thirty seconds, she swam to the surface.
"Rainbow! Sorry! I didn't know how rough the spell was. It's hard to estimate how much water I'm manipulating at once... are you OK?!" Twilight was frantic as she ran towards the shore.
Panting, Rainbow Dash could only muster the energy for three simple words before collapsing in a tired mess. "That... was... awesome..."
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"Come on, Rainbow... hold still..."
"Fluttershy! You've been telling me to hold still for the last five minutes when I've barely even blinked. How much more still do I need to be?"
Fluttershy's ears folded on her head. "Well I'm Sorry, Rainbow, but I don't want to mess up..."
Rainbow Dash huffed. "You're putting ice on a bruise. How can that possibly mess up?"
"I might put it on the wrong place... or it may be too cold if I put it on too fast. Someponies can get frostbite from ice packs, you know..."
"Yeah, if the ice packs are taken from the arctic. Fluttershy, trust me, you won't mess up."
"Rainbow, why didn't you just let me heal it for you? Healing spells aren't that complicated." asked Twilight, impatiently waiting for Fluttershy to finish the (evidently) hour long process of tending to bruises.
"No, Twilight, you need your strength for the dueling club tomorrow. You've already done plenty of magic today. I'm perfectly fine, anyway." Rainbow replied stoically.
"Okay, done. Sorry I took so long... I hope you don't mind that much." Fluttershy dipped her head.
Rainbow smiled at Fluttershy in silent thanks. Fluttershy was her first real friend, and she loved her like a sister, but that pony was just way too insistent that everypony she meets know that if she did anything possibly wrong, she was sorry for it.
"Twilight, I can't believe you signed up for the dueling club. You're so brave..."
"What do you mean, Fluttershy? We defeated Discord, and Chrysalis. Are you saying it requires more bravery to do a safe sport then defeat villains?" Twilight raised her eyebrow at Fluttershy.
"Well... technically... didn't Cadence defeat Chrysalis?" Fluttershy's wings instinctively tightened against her side.
Twilight sighed. "Oh, you know what I meant. The dueling club is perfectly safe, Fluttershy."
"You've never dueled before and you covered Rainbow in bruises, what if somepony else hurts you?"
"That won't happen, Fluttershy. There are safety measures." Twilight eyed Fluttershy thoughtfully. "You worry about everypony, don't you?"
Fluttershy stood up slightly, grasping a tiny bit of bravery in the debate. "But what if it does? What if you go blind or something?"
"Blind?" coughed Rainbow Dash, who had been drinking a cup of tea that Fluttershy had made for them. "You think she's going to get blinded? What kind of a sport do you think this is, Fluttershy, seeing who can stare at the sun for longest?"
"Hey..." any grain of confidence Fluttershy had possessed in her side of the argument had been shredded. "... you don't know what magic can do..."
"No, but I do. I'll be fine, Fluttershy" cooed Twilight.
Fluttershy huffed. "Okay... if you say so... do you want any more tea?"
"No thanks Fluttershy" Twilight began. "It's getting late, I should probably head to bed in an hour or so... sorry."
"Oh, don't be sorry, Rainbow and I can finish off the rest of the pot."
"Actually, Fluttershy, I was going to go get some co—" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by a sharp glance from Twilight, and a nod toward Fluttershy. Rainbow sighed. "Actually, I could go for some tea. Plus, you probably want to check on my bruising... or something." The blue pegasus glared at Twilight.
"Alright, bye girls!"
.............................................................
Twilight stared at Trixie from across Lake Hardtack. "Of course" she thought. "Who else but Trixie to duel against for my first game..."
Twilight felt the tug from the levitation charm; the game had begun. "Let's end this, fast." Twilight began to summon her magic. She felt the air around her, deciding to go with a wind charm, and launched it at Trixie... but she didn't. Why wasn't her magic working?
"Oh, Twilight, are you missing something?" cawed Trixie.
"Wh—" Twilight began, before she gasped at Trixie. Trixie was wearing her Element of Harmony... how?!
"Oh, poor little Twilight. You are nothing without this fancy little crown. Is that right?"
"No... I..." why couldn't she speak? What was wrong with her?
"Aw... you can't even talk without the help of your Element, cute." Trixie had a wicked grin on her face. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your crown... I am the Element of Magic now."
Before Twilight could respond, Trixie's eyes began to glow in the same way that Twilights glowed when she banished Discord. She was charging up the Element of Magic.
"Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle" said Trixie, her voice eerily similar to that of the Archmage. A blast of searingly bright energy shot from the crown, heading straight for Twilight.
"Twilight!" yelled spike. "Wake up! You have to get to lake hardtack in twenty minutes!"
"Ah!" Twilight screamed as she fell of her bed. "Spike, don't do that..."
"Sorry, but don't you want to get their on time, you hate being tardy."
"So it was only a dream..." thought Twilight, relief blanketing her. "I... Spike... I don't think I can go."
"Why the hay not? I wouldn't have to tell the Princess that you quit... she was so happy that you were entering in this."
"You told Princess Celestia?!" roared Twilight. "Why in the name of harmony would you do that?"
"I'm sorry! I thought she would like to know, is all..." Spike looked at his feet, avoiding Twilight's anger filled gaze.
Twilight bit her lip. "It's okay, Spike, but... I really don't think I can do this."
"Why?"
"Because without my Element of Harmony, I'm just another unicorn. The only thing even a bit special or interesting about me is that I'm a student to Princess Celestia, but she never taught me any battle magic... what if I lose?"
Spike put his hand on Twilights shoulder. "Twi, you won't lose. I've known you for my entire life, you never give up. Even when the situation is so impossible that you know you are going to fail. All the other unicorns? They may know a few more spells, they may have history with unicorn dueling, but they do not have the drive that you do."
Twilight nuzzled Spike. "Thanks. But what happens if I do lose? What will I tell the Princess?"
"You'll tell her that you lost. Winning and losing don't mean much to someone who can control the sun."
Twilight laughed. "You know, even when the situation is serious, you never are."
To this, Spike grinned devilishly.
"Oh you." said Twilight as she hugged Spike. "You're right. If I lose, it won't matter. In fact, it will probably make the Archmage angry that he can't play any more tricks on me."
They laughed together.
.............................................................
Twilight walked towards Lake Hardtack, nervousness and excitement filling her mind. She looked around her, taking a deep breath of the warm air. Not a dream this time.
"You're almost late, Twilight Sparkle." said the Archmage, rushing up to Twilight as if she was a leper trying to enter a preschool.
"The keyword is almost, Sir." said Twilight. "Chances are, I'm going to lose this. Let's not bow down to this jerk while I do."
"Oh, you remain ever so clever, Twilight." sneered the Archmage. "Go stand in line, I have everyponies dueling partners organized, and I don't want you messing it up."
"What does that even mean...?" thought Twilight. Resisting the urge to curtsie, Twilight found her way to the line of unicorns, excitedly talking about the upcoming duels.
"Alright!" yelled the Archmage. "I have hand chosen all of your partners based off of many variables, such as whether or not you passed the first test, what kind of promise you show, etcetera."
"Alright, Archmage. Who's my first opponent? Probably someone who you know will beat me... or maybe... Trixie." Twilight gulped, remembering her dream.
The Archmage read off the list, jotting off a bunch of names that were meaningless to Twilight's ears. Trixie was paired up with a confident looking crimson pony named Flare, thank Celestia.
"Twilight Sparkle" announced the Archmage. "You shall be dueling Lyra Heartstrings."
"Excu—" Twilight interrupted herself before the Archmage heard her plea of complaint. She was facing Lyra? She couldn't face Lyra... what was he playing?
Lyra walked up to her, her expression completely unreadable.
"Lyra, I can't..."
"Oh, what, worried that you'll be too powerful for me?" said Lyra, smirking.
"No! Of course—"
Lyra interrupted her. "Twilight, It's a game. Someone always has to lose if anyone is ever going to win at the game. Let's both agree to play fairly beforehand, okay? I want this to be a real game, none of this Archmage game play."
Twilight nodded. "Nothing like the Archmage."
The two unicorns walked together, towards their assigned section of Lake Hardtack. Neither of them spoke to the other, they were both completely serious.
After setting up the pair of ponies before them with a levitation charm and shield, the Archmage walked up to Lyra and Twilight. To anyone watching them from afar, the Archmage simply applied the spells and walked off, but Twilight saw the look in his eyes. He chose Lyra for a reason other then what he claimed his methods for. She just knew it.
"Alright, Twilight." said Lyra as the two floated above their lake. "Let's see if I taught you anything useful."
Twilight nodded, and then felt the all too familiar tug of the levitation charm on her mind. The game had begun. immediately, Lyra's horn began to glow, but there was no visible magic appearing.
"Is she creating a shield?" thought Twilight. "Alright, let's assume it's a shield. Looks like I'm going to have to break that spell from the inside" Twilight concentrated on Lyra, pressing her mind against hers in an attempt to break into it and shatter the levitation charm, instead, she felt a numb feeling in her mind and heard... music?
It was beautiful music. A tune that could describe nearly anything... war, love, sadness, literally anything. Was this her spell? "Why would she be casting music" thought Twilight. She began to pay her full attention to the music, dipping nearly all of her conscious mind into it...
"Siren song!" Twilight screamed in her mind, tearing herself out of Lyras mind. "That's siren song! She's made it impossible for me to breach her mind, because if I do, she'll essentially hypnotize me... clever."
Lyra smiled. "Familiar with the music of the sea? Isn't it lovely... very useful when playing against someone like you, who isn't the type to only use brute force. Essentially takes out half of your magical potential. Like it?"
Twilight had never seen this side of Lyra. This competitive, edgey side that was sharp as a razor. In a way, she admired it. In another, she feared it. Twilight suddenly felt a prickle of a different tune in her head. This one was much more defined then the siren song. It didn't seem comforting or accepting, it was forceful and almost painful.
"What in the name of Celestia is this... get out of my head!" Twilight filled her mind with energy, trying to burn the music out of her mind. She succeeded... and also burned away her levitation spell. After falling a few feet towards the water, Twilight caught herself with a wind charm.
"I'm not going down that easy." yelled Twilight. That sentence was meant to be filled with confidence, but instead she found that it was teeming with anxiety and fear. She was going to lose this.
"I didn't think you were..." Lyra said, a deadly innocence in her tone. "You look tired, would you like a lullaby—"
"No!" yelled Twilight, sending a torrent of force towards Lyra. The mint unicorn was thrown backwards about ten feet, displaying the power of Twilight's spell.
"Wow, Twilight." Lyra said honestly. "You've been practicing your battle magic. Nice."
Twilight nodded at Lyra, her mind filled with the addictive adrenaline like (often called magrenaline) hormone that was created from lots of energy being channeled threw a unicorn's horn. She loved it. Twilight eyed Lyra, scanning her for any sign of weakness. There was none, she was completely confident, even after Twilight's barrage.
Lyra's horn began to glow brighter, but Twilight heard nothing. "She's probably channeling a spell." thought Twilight. "She's distracted, time to act."
Instead of casting a torrent of blunt energy, she was going to focus all the impact on one point: Lyra's back. She wouldn't expect something from behind her, so it probably wouldn't be blocked, and she wouldn't think to save herself because of the concentration on her charm.
Twilight released the energy. It was a long, flat shape that she whipped at Lyras flank... on which it melted into Lyra.
"How? What?" Twilight was confused, what had happened? Dismay filled her mine when she saw Lyra's horn... it was glowing purple.
"Mimicry spell." Lyra said simply. "Nasty stuff." Lyra launched Twilights spell back at her, knocking her out of the circle of wind she had created.
"I've lost." thought Twilight as she began to fall. "Good job, Lyra. Well played."
Twilight looked towards the shore for a second, and saw the Archmage laughing with Trixie. Oh of course they were friends, why wouldn't they be? Twilight stared at them for the few seconds that she had before impacting water, and the Archmage turned... and smirked at Twilight.
"You are not winning this, Archmage." Twilight screamed within her mind. A small surge of brilliance sharpened her mind as she remembered the events from the day before... she remembered the spells she had practiced...
Twilight focused on the water, drawing it's energy into her mind. She knew what spell to use. Without even thinking about any possible wrong outcome, she deftly gathered the water into a large mass below the surface.
"One shot to make this work..." Twilight thought, the water only feet below her. She released the spell, sending a pillar of frigid water surging towards the mint green unicorn in the air.
It was only half the size of the previous one that Twilight had cast, but she didn't want size. Twilight wanted speed.
The water engulfed Lyra just as Twilight hit the cool surface of the water. "Whatever happens, happens." thought Twilight as she drifted beneath the water. Twilight stared above her, admiring the little moment of beauty that she had.
"And you know what" she thought. "Does it even really matter?"