//------------------------------// // Magic Duel // Story: The Tale of the Second Alpha // by Bergen //------------------------------// One day earlier, in a pouring rainstorm, a unicorn mare dressed in a black cape was running through the alleyways of Ponyville looking for a specific shop in the city. The mysterious mare came across the shop that she was looking for, a small shack that many wouldn't take a second at. But not this mare. The mare entered the small store, the bell on the store's door signaling her entrance. "May I help you, traveler?" The shopkeeper asked the cloaked mare. "Hmm, something drew you to my shop... something powerful." The shopkeeper said, as the cloaked mare pointed at a glass case on a shelf behind him. The glass case containing a black necklace in the design of a alicorn with a red gem in the middle of the necklace. "Ah, you have a keen eye. The Alicorn Amulet is one of the most mysterious and powerful of all the known magical charms. Uh, ah... I'm afraid this is... far too dangerous." The shopkeeper said taking the said glass case on the table separating him from the mysterious mare. Explaining the necklace under the glass to the cloak mare. The cloaked mare then placed a bag filled to the brim with golden bits. The shopkeeper's eyes widening at the placement of the bag. "Would you like that gift-wrapped?" The shopkeeper said quickly, accepting the mysterious mare's money. A devilish smile spreading across the face of the mysterious mare, ideas of revenge against a certain purple unicorn floating around in her mind. In the early morning of the next day Fluttershy was helping out Twilight with a spell that she had been practicing for a while. "Don't be scared, little friends. Twilight is wonderful with magic." Fluttershy said to her small animals. "Anything happens to them, Twilight, so help me..." Fluttershy said to Twilight. "Aww, don't worry, Fluttershy, Twilight's magic has gotten a lot better since she accidentally crushed me and Applejack with a giant snowball." Spike said, reassuring the yellow pegasus. Twilight's face flushing in a blush at the mention of her screw up during the last winter wrap up. "Continuity!" "Of course she's good with magic. Twilight's great with magic. I guess I just don't want my little friends to be scared. Oh, oh, look how scared they are!" Fluttershy said, still worried that something bad will happen to her animal friends. Her words were then followed by the various chatter of Fluttershy's animals. The yellow pegasus' face beginning to sweat. "I promise, Fluttershy. Nothing bad will happen to them." Twilight said to Fluttershy. "I know!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Stop, stop! They can't take it!" Fluttershy cried out as Twilight's horn glowed with her magenta magic. Fluttershy dropped to the grassy ground. Twilight just rolled her eyes, continuing with her spell. Twilight used her magic to lift Fluttershy's animals into the air, and had them create a double circle, similar to the infinity symbol in the air. "Twilight, that looks amazing!" Spike said, congratulating Twilight for completely her spell, placing the animals back safely on the ground. "Phew!" Twilight said, wiping some sweat off her forehead. Twilight's words met with the happy chatter from Fluttershy's animals. "That's all for now, little ones. Maybe we can practice again later, if Fluttershy says it's alright." Twilight said as Fluttershy's animals ran off. "Your magic has really improved since we came to Ponyville, Twilight. Princess Celestia's going to love it." Spike said to Twilight. "Thanks, Spike. I have to be at my best when she arrives with the delegates from Saddle Arabia. I can't believe she's trusting me with the entertainment." Twilight said, Celestia expected to come to Ponyville the following day. Twilight was then tackled to the ground by Rainbow Dash in a flash of rainbow colors. "Twilight! Come quick! It's an emergency!" Rainbow said to the purple unicorn, Twilight's eyes widening. In the center of Ponyville the cloaked mare from earlier was having fun causing havoc amongst the townsfolk. "You beast! This shade of brown should only be used for accents!" Rarity screeched at the mysterious mare, as she used the red magic of the Alicorn Amulet around her neck to dress Rarity in an ugly dress of mismatched colors. "Come on, Applejack. We've got to get her in a nice, soothing pink, stat." Pinkie said as Applejack caught the fainting Rarity. "What's going on here?" Twilight said, running to the front of the ever increasing crowd. "Well, well, well. If it isn't... Twilight Sparkle." The mystery mare said taking off the hood of her cloak. Revealing herself to being Trixie. A cocky light blue unicorn that was outshone by Twilight when she took on a Ursa Minor when Twilight first came to Ponyville. The crowd erupted into an universal gasp. As Twilight challenged her former rival. "Trixie!" Twilight snarled at her former rival. "What's she doing here?" Spike said to Trixie, with the same animosity as Twilight. "You call that great and powerful?" Rainbow said to Trixie, not impressed by her attack against Rarity. Trixie's purple eyes flashed red as she used the Alicorn Amulet against the cyan pegasus. Trixie's spell caused one of Rainbow's wings to become much larger than the other, throwing her flying off balance. "Oh! She's Rainbow Wobble, now!" An overweight light blue unicorn colt about the same age as the CMC by the name of Snips said, laughing at Rainbow's misfortune. "Yeah! Ha ha ha ha!" Snips' friend, a yellow slender unicorn colt by the name of Snails, agreed. Rainbow then slammed into the ground. Her disproportioned wing making it impossible to fly. "Good spell, oh Great and Powerful Trixie!" Snails said, him and Snips going back to how that worshiped the light blue unicorn the first time she came to Ponyville. "You two! Quiet!" Trixie barked at the two colts, casting a spell on the both of them. "Uh, hey! W... What happened?" Snips said, as his horn was now attached to the horn of snails. The blue unicorn hanging above his yellow friend. "Get off of me!" Snails said to Snips. "Let go." Snips said, as he flipped upside down so that he was now on the ground. "Go this way!" Snails said flipping back around so that he was now on the ground. "Stop picking on my friends, Trixie!" Twilight ordered at Trixie. "You and I have some unfinished business. My magic's gotten better since I was here last. And I'm going to prove it! Me and you, a magic duel. Winner stays, loser leaves Ponyville forever!" Trixie said to Twilight, challenging her rival to a duel. "Forget it! I'd never make a deal like that!" Twilight said, refusing Trixie's challenge. "Hm. Your choice." Trixie huffed, as she used the power of the Alicorn Amulet to levitate Spike a few feet above the ground. She also used her magic to turn Spike into a the shape of a ball, and bounce him off the ground. "Trixie! Put him down!" Twilight ordered at Trixie. Trixie did as she commanded as she tossed Spike harmlessly through a open basket. "Two point field goal to Trixie." "Why are you doing this?" Twilight asked Trixie. "Why? Because you humiliated me! After you showed me up with that Ursa Minor, I became a laughing stock!" Trixie said to Twilight using her newly acquired magical power to play the memory of what happened after her failure to all the citizens of Ponyville. "Everywhere I went I was laughed at and ostracized. I even had to take a job on a rock farm just to earn a living!" Trixie said as she earned a job working for Pinkie's parents, the image of her past evaporating. "A rock farm!" Trixie repeated herself. "Hey! You're lucky a rock farm would take the likes of you!" Pinkie called out to Trixie, soon coming to regret that decision. Trixie used her magic to literally pull off Pinkie's mouth and put it in a trash bin, deleting it. "And I thought Pinkie broke the fourth wall." "Now I want revenge! And I'll just keep casting spells 'til you agree." Trixie said using her magic to take Twilight's library out from it roots and shake it, many of Twilight's books falling out from its open windows. "Well? What do you say?" Trixie challenged Twilight again. Twilight looked over at all of her hurt friends and made her decision. "Alright, Trixie. Let's duel!" Twilight said accepting her rival's duel. "Excellent." Trixie said, knowing that despite Twilight's great power she was no match for the necklace around her neck. She reversed all of her, aside from Pinkie's mouth, and readied for the duel. "If I lose, I won't set hoof in Ponyville again. But if you lose, you're the one banished from this one-horse town!" Trixie said, stating the stacks if Twilight was to fail. All of Twilight's friends gasped at Trixie's words while Twilight kept a stoic face. "Draw!" Trixie exclaimed as she fired her red magic from her horn. Hitting a cart filled with goods, making it go falling. Twilight used her magic to catch the cart and its contents before it could crush a helpless pony. Placing the cart back safely on the ground. Twilight gasped as Trixie use her magic to fling six pies at her. Twilight, thinking quickly, summoned a brown parasprite to eat the incoming pies. Quickly eliminating it before she would've had two separate problems. Trixie used her magic to dump a cloud full of snow on top of Twilight, covering her completely with the white substance. Twilight used her magic to quickly melt the said snow and fired her own magical beam at Trixie. Hitting her in the muzzle and creating a large moustache on the blue unicorn's face. The rest of Twilight's giggled at the sight, as Trixie summoned a pair of scissors and cut off the said moustache. "Snips, Snails, step forward." Trixie ordered at the recently freed unicorn colts. "What is it Great... and Powerful Trixie." Snips said to Trixie, fearing what the deranged unicorn would do to the both of them. Trixie used her magic to cast a spell that she knew would guarantee her victory. Her red magic surrounded Snips and Snails in an aura of red magic that lifted them off the ground. When the two unicorn landed back on the ground they were very different. With Snips being a baby, and Snails an old stallion. "An age spell." Twilight began in disbelief. "But... but... how could you do an age spell? That's only for the highest levels unicorns." Twilight not believing that an unicorn that could barely accomplish basic levitation could successfully pull off one of the hardest spells for any unicorn. "Well..." Trixie began, using her hoof to polish the Alicorn Amulet around her neck. "Twilight... do you give up." Trixie said, her words filled with even more smug than usual. Twilight let out a heavy sigh as her horn erupted in her magic. Twilight grunted as she tried to reverse the spell that Trixie had seemed to effortlessly cast on Snips and Snails. Twilight's horn seeming to hum in magical energy, only for it to die out as Twilight collapsed to the ground, unable to reverse Trixie's spell. Submitting her defeat. "Trixie IS highest level unicorn!" Trixie bragged as she broke off into her own fit of maniacal laughter. "And now it is time for you to leave Ponyville." Trixie continued, taking a certain delight in her victory. "FOREVER!" Trixie yelled, her eyes flashing the same red as her magic. "That's enough, Trixie!" Applejack called out to Trixie, the rest of Twilight's friends standing protectively in front of the exhausted unicorn. "You proved your point, but you can't possibly expect Twilight to leave Ponyville!" Rarity said, coming to the defense of Twilight. "You foals! She's already gone!" Trixie said, as she used her magic to levitate the weakened Twilight off of the ground, and brought her to the outskirts of the city. Twilight landed in a patch of dirt on the outskirts of the city, as Trixie summoned a large translucent dome that looked like a glass bowl over the city, and placed it over the city. Making it impossible for Trixie to return. The placement of the dome, causing a small earthquake to shake the area around Ponyville. "It's ok guys, I'll figure something out." Twilight said to her friends on the other side of the dome, placing her hoof in the same location as Spike. The translucent dome being the only thing separating them. "Just take care of each other. And keep an eye on Trixie, there's something strange about her." Twilight said as she ran off into the Everfree Forest that marked the border of Ponyville. Over in Canterlot, the arrival of the new dome over Ponyville didn't go unnoticed. "Delta... was that you?" Luna asked the giant dragon above her. "I don't think so. But... I think I what caused it." Alpha said staring off toward Ponyville. Seeing the small town now being covered by the large translucent dome. "Ugh... Do I ever get a break." Alpha roared in annoyance. "Theta you stay here. I'll be right back." Alpha roared as he opened his massive wings and launched into the air. Heading towards Ponyville, not happy that he had to stop another hostile takeover in the same month. Alpha's roar didn't go unnoticed as Twilight was doing her best to cast an age spell on a small pink flower. "Ugh! It's impossible! How was Trixie able to know such advanced magic?" Twilight grunted in frustration. Her thoughts were interrupted as the roar of Alpha shook the area around her. "Alpha..." Twilight said in awe as an idea came to her. "Alpha! Down here!" Twilight called out to the giant dragon overhead, catching Alpha's attention. Alpha noticed the purple unicorn and went in for a landing. His claws digging into the dirt ground as he slid to a stop. "Miss Twilight Sparkle. What gives the pleasure of your acquaintance?" Alpha said down to Twilight. "Not a good one. You see that dome over Ponyville." Twilight said, pointing her hoof at the dome in question. "I, along with the other princesses have taken notice of it." Alpha said, slightly surprising Twilight, as she believed that Celestia was in Saddle Arabia. Twilight disregarded the strange new information, Trixie being more important at the moment. "You see... well you see. sigh It's really complicated." Twilight said, not finding the best way to describe Trixie's actions. "Then uncomplicate it." Alpha said bluntly, him becoming with the unicorn's antics, either being intentional or not. "Well you see. I have this friend named Trixie. Well she not really my friend, more a friendly rival. But anyway, I 'humiliated' her with my magic a few months ago, and she hasn't gotten over it. And because of that she has been able to increase magic to points that not even I can muster. She challenged me to a magic duel, and I lost. In punishment for my loss, she banished me from Ponyville, and placed this dome over the town preventing me from returning." Twilight said, explaining the situation to Alpha. "Hmm... I see." Alpha said, rubbing his chin with his claw. "Can you show me this... Trixie that you speak of?" Alpha asked Twilight. "Well I would... but you know..." Twilight began, pointing her hoof at the dome that covered Ponyville. "There kind of that in the way." Twilight said sarcastically, only getting a laugh out of Alpha. "You underestimate my power Miss Sparkle." Alpha said, standing on his hind legs. His massive claws covering down on the dome covering the small town. The dome beginning to crack from his seer weight. A few minutes earlier Twilight's friends were thinking of a way to get Twilight back into Ponyville. "Ok girls, does anypony have any ideas for getting Twilight back in here?" Applejack asked her friends. The six ponies, and Spike, hiding out in the barn of Sweet Apple Acres, the looming threat of Trixie everywhere. "I don't know AJ. I mean even if we are able to get Twilight back in Ponyville, there's no guarantee that she would be able to stop Trixie. I mean we saw Trixie beat her." Spike said, his words tasting like acid as they came out of his mouth. "I guess you're right Spike." Applejack sighed in agreement. "I just hope that she is ok." Fluttershy said in defeat. "Same here sugar cube, but we all just have to hope and pray she she will be to find a way that will be able to beat her." Applejack said embracing the yellow pegasus in a hug. "Ugh... I'm sick of waiting. I want action." Rainbow grunted frustrated, flying out of the barn in a flash of rainbow colors. "Darling wait..." Rarity began to call out to the cyan colored pegasus, stopping when Applejack spoke to her. "Let her go, I mean how much damage can she really do." Applejack said, and in almost perfect timing the ground began to shake. The five ponies, and one dragon, ran out of the barn and looked up at the cyan pegasus hovering above a few feet above the ground. A look of shock across her face. "Rainbow what is it?" Applejack asked Rainbow." "AJ, remember when you said that had to hope and pray that Twilight would find a way to defeat Trixie right." Rainbow said to the cowpony below her. "Yeah. What about it?" Applejack asked Rainbow Dash. "Look." Rainbow said simply, pointing her hoof toward the Everfree Forest. The five ponies, and one dragon, all shifted their eyes toward the direction Rainbow was pointing, and they all gasped at the sight in front of them. "That should work." Spike said noticing the giant body of the Alpha standing on his hind legs above the town. The dome that covered the town beginning to crack, pieces of the dome even beginning to fall toward the ground, from the Alpha's seer weight. On the other side of town, Trixie was enjoying new placement as the de facto ruler of Ponyville, with Snips and Snails being servants (slaves) for her. The two unicorn colts pulling the blue unicorn in a golden chariot that could rival that of Princess Celestia's without any wheels. "Ugh... Great and Powerful... grunt... Trixie, don't you think... grunt... that could've made this... grunt... thing with wheels." Snips asked Trixie, grunting in pain as did him and Snails did their best to pull the said chariot. "No. The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't such simpleton inventions like 'wheels'." Trixie said in her usual third person. "Now... go faster!" Trixie barked, summoning a whip to get the two colts to go faster. The gold chariot only growing in size, now the size of a small house. "Yes Trixie." Snails grunted at the sudden increase in weight. "What was that?" Trixie questioned the two foals, her purple eyes flashing the same red color as her corrupted magic. "That Great and Powerful Trixie." Snips corrected. "That's better." Trixie said, her magic dying down, and a devilish grin appearing on her face. Trixie's 'happy' state was interrupted when the ground beneath her beneath her began to shake. "What was that?" Trixie thought out loud. "I don't know Trixie, but look." Snips said, pointing his hoof up at the dome over the city. It beginning to crack. "That's impossible! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, no pony can break my spells." Trixie said in disbelief. Her staring down at the necklace around neck in disappointment. "You stupid thing, you were supposed to grant me victory over that... Twilight Sparkle." Trixie thought to himself. "Well I don't know about ponies, about what about dragons." Snails said pointing at the giant red dragon that was standing over the town. The dome Trixie created beginning to completely fall apart. "Nopony, or dragon, makes the Great and Powerful Trixie look like a foal." Trixie grunted in frustration, her eyes flaring red. "Well except that one time." Snips began to say, only to be silenced by Trixie. "Silence you foals! I will take care this myself." Trixie barked at the two foals, teleporting herself to the edge of the city. Ready to battle the Alpha, even through how ridiculous it would seem to an outside observers. "Great job Alpha! You're almost through!" Twilight called up to the giant dragon that towered above her. "Got it." Alpha roared as he slammed his forelegs down on the dome covering Ponyville, completely destroying the dome. Shards of the clear dome falling towards the ground. Them shattering all glass when they hit the ground. "Now where is this Trixie that you speak of." Alpha said, more to himself than to anypony else. "Right here!" Trixie said, teleporting into the grassy ground that marked to border of Ponyville. Trixie was a little wobbly from her first ever teleportation, but recovered quickly nonetheless. "You believe that you.. can best... the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie called up to Alpha. Alpha just stared down at the blue unicorn in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me." Alpha said, getting a soft chuckle out of Twilight. "Hey, I must say that I defeated Twilight Sparkle with ease." Trixie called up to Alpha, not happy that the giant dragon wasn't taking her threats seriously. "And I defeated an army of changelings single handedly." Alpha roared back. "Ugh!" Trixie grunted frustrated as she fired a red magic beam from her horn. The beam hit the lower part of Alpha's left foreleg. His scales only becoming slightly warmer from the attack. "Hmm... that tickles. Do you have anymore." Alpha said sarcastically, only adding to Trixie's anger. "Ugh! That's it!" Trixie roared as her horn erupted brightly, the alicorn amulet growing a bright red, as Trixie fired a massive beam of fire magic out of her horn. Hitting Alpha directly in the face, covering his entire head in a cloud of thick red smoke. "cough... cough... Oh dusty." Alpha coughed, blowing the red dust away from his face. Him being completely unharmed. "What... that's not possible. I am the most powerful unicorn in existence. I have this." Trixie said to Alpha, pointing her hoof at the necklace around her neck. "The alicorn amulet." Alpha said, genuinely impressed that the blue unicorn processed one of the most powerful magical objects in the world. "What's the alicorn amulet?" Twilight asked. "One of the most powerful magic weapons in existence." Alpha explained to Twilight. "But it is no match for me." Alpha roared, his chest beginning to glow a bright orange. Alpha then let a burst of his orange escape passed his mouth, the fire circling Trixie in a blaze of orange fire. Trixie's eyes switched from their raging red to their original purple as she began to understand just how badly she had bucked up. "Ah!" Trixie yelped out in pain, one of the Alpha's flames cinching her tail. Trixie stared down at the necklace around her neck, the red gems that made up the alicorn's eyes seeming to burn through her much like that orange flames that were encircling her. Releasing the errors of her ways, she torn the amulet from her neck, tossing it into the fire. Alpha seeing this couldn't stop himself from having a satisfied grin appear on his face. "Alpha! What are you doing!?. Trixie may have done some terrible things, but that doesn't mean that she deserves to die." Twilight said to Alpha, now coming to the defense of her rival. The ever increasing crowd of ponies now feeling pity for the pony that had ruled over them with a topaz fist. "Yes, I'm sorry!" Trixie cried out, large tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I know." Alpha said, taking all of the ponies present by surprise. "What!?" An unanimous chat from the crowd said as Alpha opened his massive wings. Flapping them with the power of a hurricane, extinguishing his fire. "I... I don't understand." An utterly confused Trixie said up to Alpha, tears continuing to flow from her eyes. "The alicorn amulet can only be removed by the one using it, and the easily way to get somepony to question their motives to have them staring death straight in the face." Alpha explained to the blue unicorn. "I... I'm sorry. I truly am. I put my need... I mean want for revenge over everything else." Trixie said apologizing to the citizens of Ponyville. "It's ok sugarcube. We forgive yay." Applejack said, sending Trixie a genuine smile. "Thank you. But I am really sorry to you Twilight Sparkle." Trixie said, shifting her attention to the purple unicorn. Taking Twilight a little by surprise. "Me!?" Twilight questioned, pointing at herself with her hoof. "Yes. You are the most talent pony I have ever met, it took me to find an stupid necklace to beat you, and for what. Only for me return back to where I started, a pathetic excuse for an unicorn. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for tearing you away from your friends. I'm sorry... I'm sorry for everything." Trixie apologized to Twilight, leaving the purple unicorn completely speechless. "Could you ever forgive me?" Trixie asked Twilight. Her being to ashamed to look Twilight in the face. Staring down at the dirt ground, whimpering to herself. A warm smile appeared on Twilight's face, as she approached the whimpering unicorn. "Trixie look at me." Twilight said to Trixie in a calm voice that could even rival that of Fluttershy's. Twilight waited for Trixie to turn her head to face her directly and said to her. "I already have." Twilight said embracing Trixie in a tight hug. Trixie was at first surprised by the purple unicorn's actions, but quickly accepted the hug. Tearing flowing between the two unicorns. Twilight began to pull away from the hug, only for Trixie to force her back into it. "Um... Trixie you can let go now." Twilight said, bringing Trixie back to the land of reality. "Oh... sorry." Trixie said quickly pulling away from the hug. Twilight couldn't stop herself but giggle at Trixie's actions. "Yeah you think you could join me and my friends for a picnic or something?" Twilight offered to Trixie, the rest of her friends cheering, Pinkie's mumbled as she still didn't have her mouth. Trixie's eyes lighting up, only to dim as she remember what she had done. "I would love to Twilight. But... I still need to pay for my mistakes, and spending an afternoon you guys won't do it." Trixie said to Twilight, staring off into the distance. The sun beginning to set across Equestria. The purple unicorn's ears dropping a little bit. "I'm sorry to hear that Trixie, but I hope that whatever you seek you will be able to find it." Twilight said, wishing Trixie the best of luck. "Thank you, and wish the onto you. And hope that we will be able to meet again. On better circumstances than this time." Trixie said to Twilight, getting a light chuckle out of her. "I guess my work here is done." Alpha said, opening up his wings, and taking off into the air heading back to Canterlot. Trixie trotted out of Ponyville eager to make a better pony of herself, the slight charred alicorn amulet sinking in the mud of where it had landed, becoming nothing but another mistake that Trixie had committed. A mistake that Trixie wanted to fix as quickly as possible. "Hmm!" Pinkie mumbled pointing at her mouth. "Oh right." Twilight said her horn lighting up with her magic. Pinkie's mouth returning to body. Pinkie breathed in a deep breath, only the writer of this story to finish the last of this story. Cutting off Pinkie.