//------------------------------// // Pony Royale! // Story: The Power of Pride // by artimus //------------------------------// For 2 days, Twilight trained under Trixie's strict tutelage vigilantly for several hours at 7:00 AM. The rough sessions went on until Twilight couldn't stand anymore. The lavender pony would stumble into the library after the sessions, her mind drained as she collapsed at her desk, attempting to stay awake by indulging in her research on various celestial bodies. Thanks to the mental strain, Twilight had to strain to focus on her studies, only being interrupted several hours later by Trixie's striding toward the basement stairwell sporting her usual cocky grin. This would make Twilight rub her temples in annoyance for three seconds before returning to her studies. However, today Trixie was over 2 hours later than usual. For 2 days, Trixie had trained Twilight. It was her fourth evening in Ponyville as Trixie stumbled toward the library, her knees nearly giving out with each step, dizzy from the sheer amount of magic she expelled over the 4 or 5 hours she usually spent practicing after Twilight gave up. Trixie, not wanting to let Twilight in on the fact that she had to train so hard, told Twilight that she would be meditating behind the library. "Vigilant focus," she strained, "is the key to Trixie's incredible stamina!" Fortunately, Twilight was far too tired to join her in 'meditation,' so Trixie remained undisturbed each afternoon. She had spent each day working on the same techniques she had with Twilight in the morning. First, the target practice. The second training day, she attempted to lift greater and greater weight, eventually finding herself able to uproot and replant (as not to arouse suspiction) a 30-foot tall tree, albeit with great strain. Today, Trixie had practiced weather manipulation. Trixie was afraid that such an unsubtle activity might attract not only Twilight's attention, but any pony nearby. Every pony had either not noticed Trixie or simply hadn’t said anything to her, but she didn’t want to risk that chance. Therefore, Trixie travelled a while away; a few miles outside of Ponyville would suffice. She had spent that day training in a forest clearing about 20 yards wide, decorated with numerous rocks and a patch of dirt in the center. There was plenty of space here to perform her weather magic without risking a forest fire. Because of the long walk, Trixie arrived back at the library two hours later than usual. As was her daily routine, before entering, Trixie gathered her strength, muttering to herself, “You are great and powerful, with more stamina than even the strongest pony could fathom!” When her legs finished their trembling, she slipped on the best grin she could muster. To help, Trixie always liked to imagine how much stronger she felt she had become in her training than Twilight had, that blasted, infernal, strong, cute-- Stop it! Great and powerful, stamina, better than Twilight Sparkle! Cuter than Twilight Sparkle, in fact. She felt her eyelids flutter instinctively at this thought before finally entering the room. "Did you fall asleep out there?" Trixie heard from the purple unicorn as she entered the room in her usual cocksure idiom. "Of course not! The Great and Powerful Trixie didn't earn her title by napping on the job like some ponies!" Her attempts at jabbing Twilight were acknowledged with a groan as Twilight rested her head on her hoof. "Trixie simply felt that she should be properly ready and focused for…for tomorrow!" Trixie quickly invented. "Tomorrow? What's so special about tomorrow? Are you leaving already?" Asked Twilight, unsure rather this would be good or bad news. For her training, of course. Oh, no...Well, I suppose it was going to come to this eventually. I had hoped to have a little more time, but… "Because, dear Twilight Sparkle, Trixie will be bestowing upon you the honor of dueling the finest magician in all of Equestria!" Trixie flourished at this self-imposed title, immediately regretting it as she felt a stabbing pain in all of her extremities. Ever a showmare, she did her best not to let it show, only a telltale gasp escaping. Fortunately, Twilight was too shocked at the news to notice. "W-What?" Twilight felt her legs give out at the mere thought of dueling Trixie. As annoying as Trixie was, Twilight had to admit that she was not to be rivaled with. Not anymore, at least. She collapsed onto the floor, staring up at the now cackling unicorn. "Haha! Trixie can see her generous offer has piqued your interest! She had hoped for it to be a surprise and it looks like that plan worked out beautifully!" Despite the pain she was feeling, Trixie had to giggle at Twilight's situation, her hooves spread out in four directions on the floor looking up at the blue showmare pitifully. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic, thought Trixie. She laughed anyway. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The next morning at the usual time, though in a new location, Trixie and Twilight stood facing each other. The two ponies had left early to reach the secluded area that Trixie had used the day before. Twilight had a concerned look about her. Not only was she afraid of hurting Trixie, but Twilight didn't want to get herself injured. The night before, Twilight had agreed to the duel with little resistance, part of her wanting to teach the unicorn a lesson for her boasting, and while the rest of her felt guilty for such a thought, the temptation was too great as Twilight had spent the entire morning yesterday listening to Trixie rant about how Twilight was only showing a fraction of Trixie's skill. Now that her irritation with the other unicorn had passed, Twilight's reservations returned. The long walk had given her plenty of time to think, which only exacerbated things. "Miss Trixie," by now Twilight had begun referring to her by this title on instinct and lest Trixie correct her in some annoying conceited way, "you know we don't have to fight! What do you want to accomplish?" "Well, little pony, Trixie wishes to duel you to make sure she hasn't wasted her time these past few days! If you haven't learned anything, you're no longer worthy to be my student!" "But, both of us could get hurt very easily! Trixie, I don't think I can do this…" Last night, Trixie would have been overjoyed at Twilight's refusal. Trixie wouldn't have to fight Twilight and she would have shown her up simply by having Twilight practically beg her not to fight. Or as close to beg as she could get. However, after sleeping on the idea, Trixie became not only okay with dueling Twilight, but downright excited. "The duel must go on as planned, lest Trixie waste another day on you," Trixie attempted to goad Twilight, failing to turn her student's look of fear into anger. She decided to try to appeal to her scientific side. "Look, think of it this way. By dueling The Great and Powerful Trixie, you can see how much you've improved! Don't look at this as a fight, but an…analysis!" Twilight thought about this for a second. Well, it is logical to see what I've accomplished earlier on, just to make sure this is helping. What better way than an empirical evaluation of the data! I can record everything afterward, of course. Once again, Twilight's thoughts turned to the loud-mouthed magician's boasting and she began to feel the urge to give her what for again. Perhaps the scientific evaluation was just an excuse, but it was enough for Twilight to justify going through with the duel. "Okay, let's do it." Twilight spread her hooves, lowering her head, horn pointed at Trixie. Trixie adopted an identical pose. "Trixie will try to go easy on you. Try not to become too distracted by her bedazzling moves!" Each of the unicorn's horns lit up with their respective colors as they glowered at each other. For a moment, Twilight couldn't help but feel excited. Trixie felt her heart beat quickly at seeing Twilight’s determined look. Rather out of fear or admiration, she wasn’t sure, but she did know one thing: She was going to win. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The first to make a move was Trixie. She began simply, picking up several small rocks behind Twilight and launching them one by one at the purple mare. Twilight felt the first of the rocks strike her flank, letting out a loud grunt at the pain. She quickly shot around, focusing on the remaining four rocks. Wise enough not to let Trixie have enough time to catch Twilight unawares as she turned from her, Twilight quickly used her magic to crush the rocks into fine particles simultaneously. Amazing! Twilight allowed herself a quick evaluation of her work. A week ago, those would have simply broken into smaller pieces. Grinding them down so easily, I can't believe it! However, Twilight didn't let her celebration last too long as she turned back to face Trixie. "Good show! But this unicorn doesn't play by turns," announced the wizard as she manipulated even more rocks that sat behind Trixie this time. She used her magic to grab 20. Even Twilight Sparkle will have a hard time with these. "Neither do I, Miss Trixie!" Twilight allowed herself a grin, as she focused on the new projectiles. She attempted to perform her new trick on all of them, but only succeeded in breaking them into smaller, sharper pieces. Oh no! Stupid foal, thought Trixie, They would have hurt before, but those are sharp enough to kill her! Trixie tried to stop the rocks, but they were too fast. Quickly, Twilight responded by bring up a magical shield, shattering the projectiles on impact with it. However, the shield left Twilight light-headed for a moment. They hadn't practiced it enough for her to become used to its wear on the mind. Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, but realized quickly she may not have to worry about injuring Twilight if she could protect herself so well. As Twilight came to, more rocks flew at her. This time, Twilight had to leave her fate up to her athletic skills. Quickly jumping out of the way, the leading rock plummeted into the dirt, the glow leaving it as the other three shot up before impacting the ground. They continued their path toward Twilight. "Oh, come on, don't you know how to do anything other than throw rocks," Twilight teased, her voice displaying a hint of levity, which was mostly lost in her audible annoyance at Trixie's monotonous tactics. "Why, yes, Trixie does know more. Creating explosives, for example!" Trixie screamed, provoked by the young girl’s taunting. Twilight didn't have more than a second to react to Trixie's threat before the three rocks burst, sending shrapnel and smoke in every direction. Trixie defended herself with a shield of her own. Though the shield drained her as well, Trixie didn't let it show, maintaining her cocky smirk. Twilight was only a few feet away from the rocks when they exploded, making Trixie's grenades very possibly a game-ender. Thinking fast, Twilight winked out of space for a split second with a purple flash. Trixie's smirk faded as she saw the flash, knowing what her student had done. Her smirk quickly reappeared, however, wider than before. This will be fun! As the smoke cleared, Twilight was nowhere to be found. Trixie raised her guard, looking all around her. The lavender pony had used a teleportation spell, but to where? Was she attempting to escape entirely? No, Twilight looked too caught up in the battle to run away now. But if she wasn't escaping…Trixie noticed the trees nearby. The shrapnel had failed to penetrate any of them. And judging from where the rock exploded, Twilight couldn’t have been in front of the trees in the clearing itself. Before she could put the pieces together, a vine stretched out from behind Trixie, entangling itself around her legs. She was caught so off-guard by it, Trixie didn't have time to move out of the way before it hog-tied her neatly. "I need to thank Applejack for teaching me that one," a giggling voice spoke from the direction of the vines. A familiar purple unicorn stepped out from behind the trees. "You teleported behind the trees and used them like a shield!" Trixie sounded impressed. She was impressed in fact. "So, you've gained at least the ingenuity of a child. Trixie would expect no less from her student! But far, far more!" "Well, whatever you expected, Trixie, I win. Looks like I have gotten a little stronger, huh?" "Win? Oh, please! You may have entangled Trixie's legs in vine, but you will never have the escape ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" As she finished her sentence, Trixie's horn shone again. A puff of smoke appeared. Twilight, who had been approaching Trixie, was shocked by the suddenly-appearing cloud, gasped, inhaling some of the smoke. As she attempted to expel the smoke from the lungs, one eye peeped open toward where Trixie had been. As the smoke cleared again, this time Trixie had vanished. "Oh, horseapples," Twilight swore as she coughed up the smoke, "It looks like she's stealing my trick now," Twilight muttered to herself. "Not quite!" The voice appeared from behind Twilight. As she turned to face the mare, all Twilight could glimpse was a blue flash. "Trixie isn't so unoriginal or amateurish to copy such a bland maneuver!" This time, her voice was to Twilight's left. Again, Twilight turned to only be met with a flash of light. By now, Twilght was beginning to grow frustrated. If she was going to strike, now would be the time before Trixie decided to cease her taunting and attack. She closed her eyes and focused. Her horn illuminated a familiar purple. Trixie, who had by now reconstituted behind Twilight again, looked around at what she could be manipulating, but saw nothing. She must be attempting to teleport again. "Hah! Try as you'd like to outmatch Trixie's amazing skills, but you'll be bested in any area! Anything you can do…" "I can do finer!" Out of the corner of her eye, Trixie finally noticed the luminescence of whatever Twilight was levitating. Sparkles seemed to float around nothing, as if Twilight was simply creating a light show. However, her chosen object became clear as the sprites moved together, creating a gray shroud surrounded by a fantastic purple light. The rocks! She's grabbed the individual grains! Before Trixie could truly grasp what Twilight was planning, the shroud broke apart, flying at her, the rock grains attacking her face, sending dust and rock into her eyes. She felt her eyes tear up intensely as Trixie instinctively moved her hooves toward them in pain. "I’m blind! You've blinded Trixie! You nasty, brutish mare!" Twilight didn't let her opportunity go to waste, tackling the panicking mare into the patch of dirt and rocks below her. Twilight landed on top of Trixie, her nose nuzzling Trixie's cape. The very light, thin silk did little to break her fall, but it at least felt better than landing her face directly on a rock. Quickly, Twilight moved her hooves toward two of the dazed mare's limbs, pinning her four legs with her own. As Trixie gritted her teeth tightly, her horn began to light. Twilight had no intention of letting her finish whatever spell or maneuver she had planned however. Twilight's own horn shined brightly as she brought it toward Trixie's. As they made contact, Twilight and Trixie both felt an intense shudder as the magical properties of each pony dueled internally. Each boasted an impressive amount of willpower as they felt their heads spinning and crashing, as if two metal balls were striking each other incessantly and without mercy. Eventually, Twilight felt her dominance asserting itself as Trixie's magic yielded, becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, the intensity fell, a calm falling over Trixie. However, this wasn't a calm of relaxation, but one of surrender. She felt her magic completely drained. Trixie's eyes bolted open at the realization that Twilight Sparkle had rendered her completely impotent. At first, she felt a swelling of pride. Her own student had become strong enough to best even the Great and Powerful Trixie. However, her emotions caved at the shallow expression, realizing the façade in her own thoughts. She had been bested by Twilight Sparkle again. She was rendered useless once again. First, Trixie wanted to run away again. Then, as moisture began developing in her eyes as the realization came to her again, she wanted to cry. No, all I have left is my dignity, thought Trixie. I swear I won't give that up! Trixie felt the tears diminish as she forced a smile, lowering her face and expression into one with ever so much of a hint of anger. She finally brought her attention away from her own situation and focused on Twilight Sparkle, who had a look of confusion on her face, accompanied by a red mark on her cheek. Trixie looked down at her own body, momentarily wondering what would cause Twilight to have such a look. As she realized their position, feeling Twilight's hooves against her own, Trixie matched Twilight's expression. Twilight looked down at her fallen opponent. Trixie's face changed emotion several times over the course of a few seconds, but eventually ended with a look of surrender. Indeed, even in defeat Trixie still managed to look smug. I can't win with this pony! I dodge her attacks, she's smug. I tackle her, she's smug. I hold her down and…pin her legs on the ground and…. Twilight felt her cheeks burn red hot. The position she held her ‘teacher’ in was bad enough, but the only thought that could come to Twilight's mind now was: Gosh, she has soft skin. Sweaty, obviously, but so… Immediately, the gravity of their situation sank in. She saw Trixie match Twilight's own intense blush. Twilight's expression changed again as her mouth contorted into a mixture between a frown and a smile and her hooves went stiff, falling onto her back, hooves straight into the air. It's true that Twilight Sparkle is powerful, but why must she be so cute at any other time? Trixie sighed to herself, catching her smile before it turned from one of smug defiance into one of surrendering contentment.