//------------------------------// // 1. Trixie's Challenge // Story: Magic Duel by Mail // by Lise //------------------------------// Boredom by the barrage of a thousand words - the worst torture known to ponydom, and something the students of the School for Gifted Unicorns were all too familiar with. The entire morning was devoted to Parallel Magic Constructs - a highly theoretical course, aimed at helping students compose new spells by combining elements of familiar ones. Noonlight tapped idly on her desk. There was a time when she loved this course. She would spend hours deconstructing spells, then combining their elements in new and unique ways. At least, she used to, before the Autocorrect Incident. Now magic was all but out of her reach. For all intents and purposes she might as well be an earth pony. "Is the lesson boring you, Miss Bright?" an annoyed Endless Scroll asked. The youngest professor of the school, he tended to get easily agitated at even the slightest irritation. Tapping was among the worst offenses. "Apologies, Professor Scroll." Noonlight straightened up, quickly putting her hooves under the desk. "I was thinking of how double repetition of spell elements might affect the overall outcome. I am sorry if I caused any disturbance." "Please theorize in your own time, Miss Light," the professor said, annoyed. "Not all have your commendable grasp of the theoretical." Not again! Noonlight felt herself blush with shame, and not because of the compliment. This was the third time he had misspoken her name in as many weeks. It was bad enough he had made her his star pupil, and de facto assistant, in most theoretical classes. In other circumstances, Noonlight would have been pleased, even honoured, yet with the age gap between them being but a few years, ponies were starting to talk. Even now she could hear whispers in the back of the class. Using a teleportation spell felt pretty tempting. Gritting her teeth, she focused on her book, pretending not to notice. Class ended without further embarrassments. Noonlight took the opportunity to be first out of the door, before Endless Scroll could make any other comments aimed at her. Despite being a magical prodigy, the professor could be extremely annoying, given the opportunity. "Good day, Miss Bright!" Two first year fillies greeted her as she passed them by in the hallway. Returning the greeting with a smile and a nod, she trotted on forward. She couldn't place their names, but remembered them from her Assistance in Magical Theory after hours help sessions. The faculty, Professor Scroll in particular, had encouraged Noonlight to organize such activities in an attempt to improve her own academic knowledge. The way things were going, that was probably the only future she had to look forward to - a life of theoretical academia. Noonlight allowed herself a sigh. She had been doing that a lot lately. Theoretical magic was good and all, but it could hardly compare to real spells, even sloppy ones. Noonlight missed that. They might as well replace her with a book. That's what she had become - a four legged book, that couldn't cast the simplest of spells without fear of it backfiring in horrendous fashion. Arriving at her dorm, Noonlight hoofed the door open and went inside. Hardly had she done so when the entire room burst into fireworks of various colours and designs. "Surprise!" A blue unicorn hugged Noonlight before she could figure out what was going on. "Trixie?" she asked, surprised. "What the..." "How have you been, Noony?" The other didn't leave her a chance to finish. "Did you like my great and powerful fireworks display? A bit on the flashy side, but that's ok since we have lots to celebrate." "Wait, wait, wait!" Noonlight took a step back. It wasn't that she was unhappy to see Trixie, just that seeing her so exuberant set off alarm bells. "Oh, but silly me," Trixie chuckled. "I guess I should behave more properly in front of the SGU's soon-to-be teaching assistant. Well done, Noon! I knew you had it in you." "You still have a soft spot for gossip," Noonlight sighed. "And it's the unofficial assistant in theoretical magic." She emphasized 'theoretical' heavily. The clarification made Trixie lose her smile. It was her fault that Noonlight couldn't do magic, something the blue unicorn was trying to make up for, so far without success. "How are you holding up?" she asked supportively. "Fine, I guess," the other shrugged. "Still can't do proper magic. Endless is trying to teach me how to get through this, but progress is slow. But hey, at least they haven't kicked me out of school. That's always a good thing." She omitted the part of having a long conversation with the school's Headmistress on the matter. Using ancient artifacts without consulting a faculty member was stupid, to say the least. Not only was it harmful to her, but it could have put her fellow students in danger. Ultimately, an agreement was reached where Noonlight would continue her studies as normal, but would under no circumstances perform any magic, even simple levitation, unless in the presence of Endless Scroll or another appointed member of the faculty. The whole matter would remain secret, with only two unicorns in the SGU being fully in the loop. Naturally, Noonlight suspected Princess Celestia had been informed as well. Noonlight had never once mentioned Trixie's involvement during her painful talk with the Headmistress. As far as anypony was concerned, it was her own stupidity and carelessness that had brought this onto her. "I'm still searching for a counter spell," Trixie said, apologetically. "If it’s out there, I'll find it." "I know, Trix," Noonlight smiled. "Anyway, what brings you here this time? Last I read, you were taking Manehatten by storm." "Well," Trixie turned around dramatically. "City ponies simply lack the refinement to appreciate the majesty of the Great and Powerful Trixie. Their loss, entirely, I assure you. And they showed so much promise when I first got there." A dramatic sigh followed. "I am sure." Noonlight couldn't help but chuckle. Typical Trixie. Leave it to her to present failures in a positive light. "Anyway, when I was between performances I thought about you." Noonlight felt a sense of unease come over her. The last time Trixie said that, things didn't end too well. "'How could I make my old friend get better?' I asked myself. And then I got it! It was quite simple, really." "Trixie..." Noonlight turned a shade paler. "Remember when we used to laugh about how it would be if we could send mail the way Celestia does?" "It was just one time," Noonlight made a futile attempt to add some logic to the conversation. "And I only mentioned it because there is no way to keep in touch with you, once you start roaming around Equestria." "Well, consider the problem solved!" blue unicorn announced triumphantly. "Not only that, but - and this is the good part - it will let you practice magic again." Cold sweat formed on Noonlight's back and forehead. "What have you done?" she asked in horror. "I challenged Twilight Sparkle to a magic duel through mail!" Noonlight felt faint. "And she accepted!" Coloured circles appeared before Noonlight's eyes. This was the end. Forget fleeing Canterlot, she would have to leave Equestria if she hoped to get any peace. She would become the laughing stock of the land. Challenging Celestia's favourite pupil, and an alicorn to boot, was the surest way to get in trouble. Twilight would certainly confide in Celestia, who in turn would make inquiries at the school, resulting in Noonlight's immediate expulsion. There were bound to be consequences. No doubt it wouldn't even get to the duel itself. Twilight would ask Celestia about the challenge, who in turn would ask the Headmistress of the school, and that would result in immediate expulsion. "Noon?" Trixie asked. "Are you alright?" There was nothing Noonlight could say. In her mind she was already considering career change options. With her knowledge, she could probably find work as a frontier teacher in some small forgotten town. Or possibly a shop assistant? Anything far away from civilization, where news from Canterlot would be difficult to come by. "Hey, don't worry," Trixie placed a hoof on her shoulder. "It's alright. This time I've made sure of it." "Really?" Noonlight squeaked quietly, looking blankly at the floor. "Hey," the blue unicorn shook her gently. "Don't break down on me! I didn't use our real names, and I sent the letter while you were in class, so no one would suspect a thing." The last part didn't sound encouraging. It did, however, make Noonlight curious enough to look up. "You see, I have it all figured out," Trixie continued enthusiastically. "You can't cast spells, right? And as much as you'd like to match your skills directly with Twilight, that might cause a stir." "Wait, what?" Noonlight's ears perked up. "I never said..." "Dueling with her in the open is just too dangerous, Noony," Trixie went on, oblivious to what Noonlight was trying to say. "You can't be seen having a feud with Twilight on my behalf. Don't forget you can't attract more attention to yourself right now." That was preposterous! The mere arrogance made Noonlight get back on her hooves. She certainly never agreed on anything of the sort! Where in Tartarus did Trixie come up with such insane assumptions? 'Feud on her behalf'? If a pony didn't know better, they would assume all this to be Noonlight's idea. It was the Autocorrect spell, all over again. Only this time, Noonlight was not going to let herself be manipulated into doing what Trixie wanted! "Buuuut," the blue unicorn smiled, "there is a way round that! If you write down your spell on a scroll and send it to Twilight to cast on herself, we both win! I get to challenge her, and you get to practice real magic without getting into trouble. Isn't it a great idea or what?" No! It isn't! Trying to find an easy solution had caused Noonlight to almost lose her magic, in the first place! Relying on a quick solution to fix that could very well get her in who knows how much trouble? It wasn't worth it! No way would she throw away the little she had left, on a whim. "Trixie, will you just s..." Noonlight began angrily, but suddenly stopped. Looking at it objectively, it wasn't a bad idea. Hay, it was ingenious! A spell that the opponent would have to activate and then defend herself from. The spell delivery system would have to be different, obfuscated somehow so the caster had no idea what the effects would be. Also, a delay would have to be incorporated, along with some visual feedback to give an adequate amount of time for preparation. It was definitely going to take some work, but it was possible. Best of all, as Trixie had pointed out, it was entirely theoretical! At no point would Noonlight have to cast anything! "I know that look," Trixie said, hugging her tightly. "You're hooked. So are we celebrating, or what?" "You know what?" Noonlight smiled, then started concentrating. Please let it work! Please let it work! She began casting a sound isolation spell all over the room. Pale yellow light covered her horn, spreading to her surroundings. The spell complete without incident, Noonlight relaxed. "Let's!" she said, pleased with herself. "Quite the rebel you've become," Trixie giggled. "Aren't you afraid Endless might find out?" "The hay with him!" They both laughed. Funny how a single bit of inspiration could change a unicorn's mood. Moments ago Noonlight felt like her life had ended. Now the clouds of despair had disappeared, replaced by the shining light of purpose. Magic through mail was unheard of. A totally new area of magic she could excel in, as well as feel as if she were casting spells once more. It was indeed perfect. "So, want to do the honours?" Trixie floated a purple envelope in front of Noonlight. It was visible at first glance that the envelope had been opened, then clumsily sealed again. Noonlight pretended not to notice. She snatched it from the air, then gently tore it open. The letter inside was folded in four. The penmanship was among the best examples Noonlight had ever seen, second only to Trixie's. Noonlight's own writing was atrocious at best, even when using magic. Dear Starry Sun, the letter began. Immediately, Noonlight gave Trixie a disapproving stare. "Starry Sun?" she asked. "Seriously?" "Well it sounded so much better than Sunny Star," the other shrugged. "Besides, this way nopony will figure out who we are." I have no idea how you managed to slip your note in princess Celestia's letter, but I will definitely find out! Not the best start. To be honest, though, Noonlight also wondered how Trixie had managed to pull it off. Not just anypony could enter the palace. Then again, maybe she was better off not knowing such details. She kept on reading. The entire notion that there could be a magic duel through mail is laughable, to say the least. And even if it were possible, I don't do duels, be they magic or any other kind! Of course, if there is any merit to your claim, I will be interested to see such magic with my own eyes. For some reason Noonlight could feel her pace quicken. All of this seemed exciting. She had never considered anypony a rival before. Constantly focusing on creating the next Equestria-changing spell, she had rarely got in competitions or tried to outmagic anypony. This challenge filled her with so much raw emotion that she wanted to hop around the room. As requested, I am sending my reply to the address provided, in a purple envelope, and am eagerly awaiting your response. I would appreciate if, in the future, you kept yourself to standard mail. Respectfully, Princess Twilight Sparkle Noonlight put the letter away. It was too much to take in at once. She felt excited, she felt star struck, she felt like never before! For once Trixie had been right - all this was going to work out for the better. The only question was what sort of challenge to come up with. Something original, but not dangerous. A water flame blossom, perhaps? Casting it involved a double spell, but Noonlight felt confident she could easily make it into one. Add a mirror image vortex and basic rune changer and Twilight wouldn't know what hit her, quite literally! "Noon?" a voice said. "Noon? Are you still with me?" It was Trixie waving a hoof in front of her eyes. "What?" Noonlight snapped out of it. "Yes?" "You seemed somewhere else," Trixie laughed. "You've come up with a spell, haven't you? You always got that look when you came up with new ideas in class - completely oblivious to everything." "Did you bring any empty scrolls?" Noonlight asked eagerly, hardly paying any attention to the conversation. "Sure..." Now Trixie felt some unease. Being her former bunkmare, she had seen Noonlight’s obsession with spells, but back then, simple transfigurations seemed exotic. Both had improved quite a lot since then. "We are going to make the first mail duel spell!" she said glowing with joy. "And it will be the finest spell anypony has ever seen!"