//------------------------------//
// The Battle Be Joined 
// Story: I Can't Stop! 
// by MerlosTheMad 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2



“Trixie has won, Sparkle. Admit her your superior!”

Twilight glared across the room at the other unicorn, eyes wide and full of malice. She noted that with the other mare’s sudden ‘victory’, she had also started using third person again. "Trixie, look, I'll forgive you for this because we were just making progress... finally, but you have to undo this enchantment right now." All the while that Twilight issued the order, she felt her eyes straining to slide over to the rest of her precious books.

Trixie turned her nose up, grinning, and answered with simply, "No."

Twilight bared her teeth in a strained smile. "What do you mean, 'no'?" After a split-second she added, "You don't know how, do you?" Without noticing, a book lifted itself up in her magical grasp, and floated towards her.

Trixie shot a glare at Twilight. "Why you— Well, now Trixie is not even going to try! So there! Besides, it looks like you're quite enjoying yourself, anyway."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What 're 'hyu talkin' abo—" She realized after a moment that she was speaking around a mouthful of pages and book cover, and gasped. She managed to spit out some of it in her panic, only to stop and swallow the rest. "Darnit, Trixie! Fix this!"

“Never!” Trixie sneered, then gave a boastful laugh.

Twilight let out a giant groan of frustration, while also trying to wrap her head around what had been done. "I can't believe that you'd actually want to hurt somepony else so badly that you’d go to the lengths of enchanting them!"  

Trixie snorted. “Well maybe now you will understand Trixie's position.”

In response, Twilight stamped a hoof and stormed over towards Trixie in an intimidating way. “This is a serious enchantment, Trixie! It’s a compulsion spell!”

Trixie nodded, her smug grin stretching from ear to ear. “Indeed it is. I— Er, I mean, Trixie had worked tirelessly to get the hang of magic like this, something that you with your pampering and royal instruction could hardly appreciate!”

Twilight’s jaw dropped at hearing all of this. A moment later she caught herself slowly putting yet another book near her face, and threw it away with a gasp. “That’s not fair at all! Trixie, would you please undo this?”

“Hmm, let Trixie think about it…” Trixie turned up her nose soundly. “Nope.”

A groan of frustration escaped Twilight. “Fine! Be like that, I don’t need your help anyway.”

Twilight dashed over to the library’s bookshelves, desperate to find a book on unraveling advanced enchantments on the equine psyche.

Her hoof carefully drew itself across the spines of the books as she scanned the names—each one looking more delicious than the last—until finally she found the volume she was after. She pulled it down and hurriedly scanned the index, right up until she noticed she was licking the page. 

“Ah!” Clutching the book fiercely against her barrel was the only thing she could do to stop. “Blech! Augh, why does it have to taste so good?” 

Twilight put on a desperate expression and looked away, unable to even read her own book. The sound of giggling and amusement from across the room got her to open her eyes again.

"This is simply priceless." Trixie let out a contented sigh as she wiped away a tear.

"Trixie!" Twilight stomped a hoof, her deep well of patience nearly dried up. “Listen to me, we will never be friends if you don’t try to help me and fix what you’ve done!”

"Bah, Trixie doesn't need your friendship, Sparkle.” Trixie let out a quick, villainous cackle. “She’s finally beaten you! Look at you, once so high and mighty and incapable of admitting your shortcomings, now brought low by a true magician!"

Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that.

“Now,” Trixie went on. “Trixie is just going to enjoy your suffering for a bit, then she’ll be on her way! Thanks may even be in order for you, Sparkle. Trixie definitely does feel better now.” She giggled again, then pointed a hoof at her opponent. “Oops, you may have needed that.”

Twilight blinked, then looked down in horror. "Nonono!" she screamed, her mouth suddenly half full of the delicious parchment that had held her salvation. "I just had these ordered!" She rounded on Trixie. "How could you!? Y-You monster!" She could feel tears in her eyes fighting to surface at the sight of a second book meeting a grizzly fate.

"Monster?" Trixie sneered toward Twilight. "You mean like yourself after you turned the entirety of Ponyville on one another with that horribly misguided love spell of yours? Or the time you almost allowed Ponyville to be devoured by parasprites through, you guessed it, recklessly enchanting them all!"

Twilight goggled in confusion at Trixie. She wondered for a split second how the other knew about that stuff, then recalled the frequency that Trixie skulked around Ponyville. "Hey, none of that was my fault! Well, mostly..."

"Hah!" Trixie harrumphed smartly, her smirk growing by the second. "Puh-lease, Sparkle, spare yourself this embarrassment. And besides, calling me names isn't the best idea if you hope to actually get any of Trixie's brilliant help!" She settled back, admiring one of her hooves idly. "Trixie is actually feeling a little generous, so perhaps if you beg for help, she may just decide to try and— W-Wait a second, what are you doing?"

Trixie looked up, having caught sight of her adversary making a move from the corner of her eye. She thought she could see smoke pouring from Twilight’s ears. Actually… there really was smoke coming from her ears. A purplish glow was also building in intensity around the other mare’s horn. But more worrying than both of those details combined was the furious look of anger directed towards her.

Trixie began to back up. "S-Stop that at once!"

"Stop? Oh no, it's too late for that! You wanted a rivalry? Well you got one!" Twilight could only see red as she formed a hasty plan, furious that after everything Trixie would still gloat and try to get petty revenge. Her rage was fueled on by the poor helpless book that lay ripped asunder in her hooves, every page devoured a footnote in the annals of history of an atrocity committed unfairly against an innocent.

"I hope you're ready, Trixie!" A spell of truly, truly malicious design coursed through Twilight's mind, forming the base for the magic that even now gathered in strength, ready to be shot from her horn at the would-be unicorn magic user that had foolishly chosen a fight she couldn't possibly win.

“I-I-I—” Trixie felt her backside hit the wall, unable to retreat any further. Her adversary, it seemed, was keen on striking back after all—a small oversight on her own part. Nevertheless, she had gotten her revenge, and it was time for a retreat.

"W-Well, Sparkle, I've put you in your place so... I'll be going now!" Trixie slipped a hoof into her cape and found a smoke pellet there, ready to make her cunning get away.

"Running away already Trixie?" Twilight opened her eyes and put on a proud grin, her spell nearly finished.

Trixie stopped fast, and anger bloomed anew within her. "What did you say!? Running? Trixie does not—!"

A bolt of purple magic zapped across the room, and caught Trixie straight in the mouth.

Twilight whooped in success. "Hah, gotcha! I can't believe you fell for that, Trixie." She watched as the other unicorn picked herself up from the ground, staggering a little. "You really need to get your pride in check." While she chuckled, her gaze locked back onto the leather bound volume in her grip. She fought desperately to stop herself from taking another bite of one of her books, but couldn't. Her teeth sunk back into the book and created another sizable hole in its pages.

Meanwhile, Trixie shook her head in order to regain her bearings. "What— What did you do to Tri-iiii—?" Her mouth drew itself down into a horrified look as she croaked on her own name. She tried again to speak.

"Sparkle..." she began. "What did you just do to Tri-iii..." What had been done dawned on her. "I can't— I can't say my name!” Her hooves pushed at her face, while across from her a grinning unicorn fought to stop chewing on a book.

Twilight began laughing between bites. "Exactly!" She had to laugh and speak between chewing, but it was worth it to see that horrible smug look wiped off Trixie’s face. “At least, not in that context. You won't be able to so much as speak in the third person, or mutter your name until I release you from my grammar spell!"

Trixie ground her teeth, face blustering with effort. “Trii-ix Tri-i-x! Darnit, Sparkle! Now who’s the villain? You just got done saying how wrong I was to use that compulsion enchantment on you!" She bit her lip, trying to keep her nerve, regain the upper hoof on her rival, and recall another of the spells she'd practiced to get even. "And... and what kind of a giant loser has a grammar spell anyway!?”

“Hey! This is different!” Twilight managed the willpower to spit out her current mouthful of pages and toss aside the book she held. It was ruined, anyway. “That spell is a grammar training tool for foals! Fitting, right? And Applejack that one time... But what you did is destroy precious literature and private property!”

"Oh... Trii-ii— Curses! I'll damage more than property this time, Sparkle!" Trixie panted, and once again drew on her magic for another spell. She hadn't been able to recall one of her own, but a bit of poetic justice seemed in order for her rival. "Take this!" she screamed.

Another beam of magic raced across the room, and even caught Twilight off guard with just how quickly it had been fired by Trixie.

Twilight winced and shook her head, having been struck dead on. "Ho taerg, won tahw did uoy... tahw!? Eixirt!? Uoy edam ti os D'i kaeps sdrawkcab!?"

"It... It worked?" Trixie had to shake her head too, a little dizzy from improvising a spell like that. "Wow, Tri-iii... Uggh, I guess I really have gotten better at spell-casting." She grinned up at her horn, more than a little proud of herself. "Hah, well, what do you think of that, Sparkle!?"

"I t'nac eveileb uoy dluow tsac a lleps os ylsselkcer!" Twilight groaned, hooves on either side of her head as she quickly recalled the counter-spell for grammar. A moment later and a quick summoning of power, and she felt her speech clear. "Phew. That was easy. Next time, Trixie, maybe don't try casting a type of enchantment that I already memorized the counter-spell for, you big copy-cat!"

"Copy-cat!? Oh, you little—" Trixie scowled. "Well, I won't make the same mistake twice, Spa—!"

"Too slow, Trixie!" Twilight beat the other unicorn to the punch, and released her rebuttal.

"Augh!" Trixie flinched away, covering her face with a foreleg. After peeking out, she couldn't yet tell what was amiss. "What did you— Where is my hat!? My cape?" She twirled in a tight circle, searching both her own figure and around the room for her precious performer's ensemble.

"Hah! Tit for tat, Trixie! You replace my books, and maybe I'll return your stuff to you." Twilight crossed her forehooves in front of herself soundly. "Now, are you ready to put an end to this stupid fight? It's getting us nowhere!"

In response, Trixie let out a growl, and warmed up her horn immediately. "Never!" she screamed, and released a quick spell to get the upper hoof.

The beam hit Twilight's tail, and immediately the thing sprung to life with movement.

"What the hay!? Ow, Owowow!" Twilight cried out as her tail yanked her in one direction across the floor, then the other, only to stop as it began tying itself into a complicated and messy knot. Once the spell ceased, she whirled to face her enemy, who already seemed to be preparing another spell. "Trixie! This is your last warning! Stop!"

"Not until you beg me for mercy! You hear me, Sparkle!?"

Twilight dodged the next ray, and returned fire with yet another of her own. "Darnit, Trixie! Fine, I'm begging you to stop!"

"You call that begging?" Trixie reeled back as the return fire slapped her across the cheek. "That wasn't very convincing begging! Now what did you do this— Ah! Ah! Make it stop! Spark— Pbht, Sparkle!"

Trixie found herself being assaulted by her own tail, suddenly swatting at her face repeatedly as if it were alive.

Thanks to the brief respite her spell bought her, Twilight rolled onto her back, giggling. "That'll keep you busy. Good luck concentrating with a face full of hair! That animation spell won't give up until I tell it to!" She picked herself up, watching as Trixie ran across the room in a comical effort to outrun her own butt.

"Alright, Sparkle, new rule! No hair!"

Twilight paused in trying to untie her own tail. She looked up, a darkness crossing her features. "Oh. Oh! No hair, huh?" A wicked grin crept her face. "Alright, deal!" Perhaps it wasn't the right thing to do, she considered, but the tangle that her tail had turned into deserved retribution. A purple ray of energy burst from her horn, one targeted at Trixie’s own fat head.

"Gah!" Trixie spun in place from the force of the blast, shaking herself afterward to regain her bearings. "Why you—!"

A strange sight made Trixie stop short, that of a few strands of platinum blue shaded mane on the floor. Those few strands soon turned into many, and realization dawned on her in the same moment that stark terror gripped her stomach.

Across the room, Twilight began cackling in sheer laughter. "You're going to need a new title, Trixie! How does the Great and Hairless sound?"

"I need a mirror!" Trixie dashed across room. She found just such a mirror on the wall, and skid to a halt after shoving Twilight out of the way. Once she saw herself, she let out a shriek. "How could you do this!? My great and glorious mane!"

A shiny bald head stared back at Trixie, along with a smug looking Twilight standing just behind her.

"Oh, how could I? I'm the one who should be asking you that!" Twilight sighed, but started chuckling again while Trixie visibly mourned the loss of her mane, trying to cover up her bareness with both forelegs.

“What did you do to my mane!?” Trixie repeated, her voice shrill and piercing.

"Oh stop, it'll grow back, unlike my books!" Twilight devolved into a fit of sinister laughter, feeling a bit vindictive. “Besides, now you look like your character from our tabletop games!”

Trixie panted whilst staring starkly at her visage. At the same time, she wracked her brain for more spells, and the perfect way to get revenge... again. “Tabletop… games?” she asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion, but mostly just buying time.

"Oh, well,” Twilight cleared her throat and began an explanation, chuckling nervously. “You see, me and the girls play this tabletop game every other week... Actually, it was that thing you walked in on before, and you’re in it as a joke character. Funnily enough we were really entertained by you...”

With Twilight successfully distracted, Trixie tuned her out and set in motion her cunning plan to take advantage of the situation.

"Maybe if you could be as tolerable as that, then— Oh Celestia!" Twilight had just enough time to duck as a bolt of energy whizzed towards her. Sadly, she didn't make it, and the bolt barely grazed her.

"Hah! How do you like that?" Trixie had blasted the mirror itself, reflecting a bolt back at the infuriatingly overconfident Twilight. "I rather think that look suits you."

Twilight gasped as she caught sight of the mirror. There was red and black suddenly replacing her normal blue and rosy pink stripe in her mane. "Gah!" She stared angrily at her new colors, then snorted resolutely and squared herself up against the other mare. As a precaution, she warmed up yet another spell. "Now look, Trixie, this is the last time I'm going to tell you to stop! I'm really going to get serious if you don't give up, and you can't possibly beat m—"

With a calm look and without waiting for retaliation, Trixie made her next move, pointing a hoof above Twilight. “Oh Sparkle, do look up, won’t you?” She gave the other mare a wicked grin.

Twilight blinked, but looked up without thinking about why that might be a bad idea all the same. “Wha— Aaah!”

A runny black liquid streamed down from the heavens out of a glass bottle, covering her mane and face. Undoubtedly, it was ink.

“Hah! Score six for me!” Trixie cheered, pumping a hoof in the air.

Twilight felt the bottle clunk her on the head, and then, she felt her rage begin to boil over completely. With a burst of magic and a scream, she hurled the ink bottle across the room at Trixie, only to miss and shatter it on the wall.

“You’re even dumber than you act if you think you’re going to get away with this!" Twilight whipped her ink-doused head towards her adversary, a new spell flying off her horn's tip and already streaking across the room.

"Don't you mean dumber than I look? Which is your fault, by the way!" Trixie had seen the spell on its way, and used the wall mirror to reflect it away from her and into the ceiling.

"I know what I said!" Twilight shouted back, and fired off another spell.

Trixie heard the mirror crack as the second spell rebounded, causing a giant mustache to grow out of the woodwork a few yards away. She had just enough time to consider how bizarre a spell that was to know, and think of another way to get more time to come up with some way to get the upper hoof.

"Twilight, catch!" Trixie charged towards the bookshelves in the home, grabbed several in her magical grasp, then hurled them throughout the room.

Twilight zapped and zapped, trying to get an angle on Trixie around the mirror, only to stop and gasp at the sight of books, delicious and ripe, soaring through the air towards her. 

"Nooooo!" she had time to scream before her hooves, unbidden, picked up the closest novel and stuffed it into her waiting face. "'amn you 'rixie!" she cursed around the book, which tasted as if it was a delectable dark chocolate candy with a cherry filling.

Twilight fought it, but couldn't stop herself. She realized quickly she needed another plan, and fast.

"Good, you just sit there and enjoy your lunch." Trixie tittered at the sight of her rival being rendered helpless. She took a moment to brush some of her remaining hair strands off her shoulders, and drop her ruined mirror shield onto the ground, its usefulness spent. "Now where was I—"

Trixie cut off with a strangled gasp as a bolt of magic energy slammed into her chest.

"Hah' 'ah!" Twilight cheered through her mouthful, then swallowed. "Maybe I can't stop this... abomination of a spell, Trixie! But I can still focus on casting, despite it!" She had to stop, another book already getting shoved into her face. I'm so sorry my babies! You won't be forgotten! "Blech, uggh, now, are you ready to give up? There's no way you can match spells like this one, so are you convinced yet that I'll win if this keeps up?"

Trixie, meanwhile, was busy staring at herself over what had been done. "This... this isn't permanent, is it?" The sight had entirely stunned her, but for the moment it seemed Sparkle was content with just talking.

Twilight harrumphed, crossing her forehooves—though mostly in an effort to keep them under control. "It is, or until certain command words of my design are spoken. It's quite a refined spell, hm? But really, I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. We were going to use it for an undersea trip with Fluttershy. She's always wanted to see some sea life up close. We got the idea a little while after we gave Rarity wings to fly wi—"

"Oh come off it, Sparkle," Trixie hissed, interrupting the other mare’s gloating. "It's not that impressive."

The spell which Twilight referred to, and which had afflicted Trixie, took the form of a rather bright blue tail which resembled that of a fish, or some other aquatic animal, that had replaced Trixie's rear half of her body.

"And if you think that this is going to slow me down, you're sorely mistaken!" Trixie didn't wait for a reply as she screamed her challenge renewed, and shot another spell that had come to her. She was quite far from done.

"Darnit, Trixie!" Twilight flinched, but stopped and looked up slowly when no beam came. "Huh?" Then, it dawned on her that she was floating in the air. "What the? Levitation? Oh, come on! That's the simplest spell in the book!"

Trixie blew a raspberry at the purple unicorn being suspended from the ceiling. "As if! This is Trixie's patented long lasting horn-free levitation! I need not even concentrate to maintain it, as the spell does so on its own. It's the perfect thing for many of my single-mare performances. Hmph."

Twilight blinked, then nodded appreciatively. "Oh, wow, that's actually a really great idea. But how does it work? A spell network? Or does it draw ambient energy to maintain itself?"

Trixie smirked, rubbing a hoof proudly under her chin. "Oh, it draws ambient energy of course—"

"Hah, gotcha!" Twilight shouted, and fired another enchantment straight at the infuriating house-invader below her.

"Darnit!" Trixie managed to get out, before bright purple light filled her vision.

A thump sounded through the room, followed quickly by some light snoring.

Twilight stared below herself for a few tense moments, making sure the crazy mer-mare unicorn hybrid below was without a doubt, asleep. "Phew, alright, so that narcolepsy spell should keep her under for a little while, I hope." She hadn't ever studied the spell, only read about it in passing as a possible alternative for fighting monsters. Hopefully it would last. Truly, she considered, that the mother of all beasts was in her home right then.

"Now, to get to work on unraveling these spells. I just gotta— Hrrrng! Uhm, I just gotta..." Twilight furiously tried to swim towards the nearest wall, but found herself unable, instead merely floating in mid-air. "Uggh, great." She looked around for an alternative solution. "No idea what the spell structure of this enchantment that she cast is... It'll take me hours to figure it out... And I can't trust myself near my books to get a head start either..."

As Twilight slowly spun in the air, she began growing more and more nervous. She was dirty, sweaty, several different colors, her home was a mess, and there was a crazy fish pony knocked out on her floor that wanted nothing more than to antagonize her. 

Should I get help? That... that might scare Trixie into stopping. I mean, wow, she's really not holding back. I definitely didn't think she could pull off a spell like this book thing... or even this levitation enchantment. She's much smarter than I've been giving her credit. If only she could get her pride in check.

Twilight sighed, looking over herself dejectedly. So who should I get help from? Not the Princess... even if Spike were here to send a letter, I'd never be able to face her again if she saw me like this. The red and black mane positively seemed to glare at her from her peripheral vision. And that's not even mentioning the book enchantment... As for the girls, even if they would laugh at me a bit, they could help... but I've got no way to call to them. She winced, looking down at Trixie, who could very well wake up from any loud cries for some assistance.

"I guess this is up to me. I've gotta try and break these spells myself. Well, I'm more than capable of undoing something Trixie came up with!" Twilight grunted, and focused on casting her strongest counter-spell. "Maybe if I concentrate on—"

"Who?"

"What?" Twilight turned her head in time to see Owlowiscious flapping his wings lazily and looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, Owlowiscious! Excellent, you can go get he—" That happened to be in the same moment that her spell was being released.

The aura of magic that surrounded Twilight burst with an audible pop, and a scream left her as she plummeted to the ground.

"Wah!"

Luckily, she landed on something soft.

"OOF!" Twilight and Trixie both exclaimed together as one fell upon the other, their eyes bugging out in tandem.

Overhead, the pet owl had no idea what he was looking at. Whatever it was, it smelled of something wrong that had happened, so he flew closer to his owner, intent on finding out what it was. "Who?" he questioned briskly.

"Ow..." Twilight winced, rubbing a hoof over her now sore bottom. "Owowow... Wow, it worked, even if that was a rough landing. Oh! Owlowiscious! Thank goodness, look, you've gotta go get help! I—"

"Sparkle!" Trixie roared and reared back, her new fish-tail flipping Twilight off smoothly and back into the air, where she soundly smacked the other unicorn across the rump, sending her flying across the room, only to land several strides away in the largest pile of her books.

Twilight groaned again, only to gasp and begin chanting, "Nononono!" as she began to gnaw on a dictionary.

"Hmph." Trixie turned her nose up at the other mare, only to catch sight of movement in the air. "A pet, hm? How droll. You're not going anywhere, owl!" Her magic smoothly slammed shut the window across the room, preventing escape.

Owlowiscious froze, only to turn about and point a wing at himself. "Who?"

Trixie scowled. "Yes, you!" She jabbed a hoof at the animal. "I don't have time for you interfering with my duel. Only the best mare may walk away from this! Er... or in my case, flop away from this!" The hasty correction ensured she wouldn't have cheated herself out of a fair win later on, but more importantly, her horn warmed up for another spell.

Twilight watched as Owlowiscious disappeared in a poof of smoke, and gasped, pages and book-cover falling out of her mouth. "What did you do to him?" she choked out.

Trixie batted one of her remaining hooves at Twilight. "Oh fret not, I merely sent that thing to my hat."

Twilight growled and stood up, gingerly stepping over her fallen books. "Your hat!?"

"Calm down and focus on what's important! Besides, I keep at least a dozen rabbits and pigeons in that hat, I assure you there's plenty of room for your pesky owl." Trixie's patience grew thinner with her adversary, eager to resume their honorable combat.

"But, I sent your hat to the good-will!" Twilight bolted for the door, no longer caring that she looked absolutely horrible and would be made a laughing stock for years if anypony saw her. "I've got to go there and get it bac—"

"The good-will!?" Trixie screamed, and yanked back on Twilight's rear hooves with her magic, causing the other unicorn to collapse with a grunt. "How dare you! You said you would return both it and my cape to me!"

Twilight whirled around, and without hesitation flung a real doozy of a spell at the other pony. "I was!"

"Liar!" Trixie cried, and took cover behind a nearby table, flipping it over and hiding behind its broad area.

"No! I am not! I was hoping we could walk there together while we! Talked! Things! Out!" Twilight punctuated each word as she shot blast after blast at Trixie, blowing holes in her own display furniture.

Trixie weathered the storm, eyes clenched shut as purple flashes washed over her table fort and her face. At the same time, she thought of, and began charging a good spell for distractions. She waited for Twilight to end her foolishness about friendship, then rolled into the open and let loose her greatest and most powerful spell yet.

"Take this, Sparkle!"

Twilight gasped as magic zapped her once again. She had time to think, Oh great, what now? before an overpowering sensation began to assault every fiber of her very being. "Hehe! Oh no, what di— Not that! Hahahaha!"

Trixie watched in relief as Twilight's horn began to dim, and the mare helplessly started to roll about on the floor, squealing in girlish laughter.

"There. Now, you have been rendered unable to cast magic, Twilight Sparkle! I do believe that makes Trii-ii... Trix-x-x!"

Trixie let out a groan of frustration. "Blast! You've taken my well prepared victory speech away from me, Sparkle! Well, no matter, I have still won." She watched, smirking, as Twilight laughed on and on, unable to so much as lift a hoof against her now.

"Alright! I don't care anymorr-re-re! Y-You win, Trixie-Hehehe! You win! I give up! Please just make it stop!"

Trixie grinned, and trotted swiftly up to her fallen foe. Well, her front hooves trotted, while her fishy back-half was merely dragged.

"I can't believe I've finally done it. It wasn't even that hard! To be honest, I really didn't think that I'd actually pull it off, either. Well, Sparkle, I accept your terms of defeat! Perhaps after this is all done, we really can be—" Trixie gasped as magic shot-gunned her in the face, knocking her backward to flip end over end.

Twilight shuddered as she sat up, laughter still crawling its way out of her. "Oh no, hehe, hah! No no, we're not going to be friends, Trixie!" Her magic picked up a book as she stalked towards the other mare, taking a bite out of it swiftly before unceremoniously tossing the book aside. "No, I'm getting even before we're done here! I'm getting even for every last defiled work of literature!"

"How are you standing!?" Trixie snarled. "Give up!"

Twilight ignored her, and shouted as she cast another enchantment, intent on making Trixie's horn look like a bike horn, while at the same time, Trixie recovered, and screamed outrage while casting a spell to turn Twilight different colors even more varied than the rainbow. The spells met in the middle of the room, exploding outward in a corona of magic.