Boast Busters
It was a quiet evening in Ponyville, except in the Carousel Boutique. Flashes of light emanated from the darkened windows of the store turned study. Inside, Rarity strained herself as she focused on a spell. Spike watched nearby; the changeling having taken his pony form.
He cheered, "Come on, Rarity. You can do it!"
With a grunt, the unicorn shot a pink oval of magic out of her horn. The magic flew out and squarely hit a potted plant that had been set in the center of the room. Pink magic rippled throughout the plant, making it shudder and... after a moment, brilliant pink flowers blossomed from the plant's green stem.
"Yes!" Spike laughed crossing off a spell on his list, "Blossoming spell, that's number sixteen. Sixteen different types of spells and counting. And I think this is the best trick so far." He picked up the pot and danced around with it before playfully asking, "Isn't she pretty?"
Rarity, who had sat down to recover, smiled, "She certainly is darling, though honestly, the green doesn't really work with the blossom."
Spike pet the plant and put it aside. "Quite a critic, aren't you?" Spike chuckled.
Rarity adjusted her mane, "It just comes naturally I guess."
Picking up his checklist again, Spike flipped through the pages, "Kidding aside, that's spell sixteen Rarity. Sixteen different kinds of spells and counting. I thought unicorns were only supposed to have a little magic that matches their special talents!"
Rarity waved a hoof, "Thats true, for ponies who cook or sew or something like that. But what if a unicorn's special talent is magic?"
"Like you Rarity? I'd say magic's your special talent."
"I wouldn't say that Spike," Rarity dismissively stated, "Most of my spells are mere party tricks."
"Really good party tricks."
"I'm not going to repeat myself again," Rarity said to Spike as the two walked through central Ponyville, "Though my magical skills are marvelous, they're not really anything useful and I'm certain there are plenty of unicorn's that are better than me, like Twilight for example."
"Eh," Spike replied, "I'd say you and Twilight are like evenly matched."
Suddenly, two unicorn colts shoved themselves past Rarity, "Gangway! Comin' through!"
Regaining his footing, Spike regarded the two colts, "Snips? Snails? What's goin' on?"
"What, haven't you heard? There's a new unicorn in town!" Snails exclaimed, the gangly orange unicorn craning his long neck at the changeling.
"Yeah! They say that she's got more magical powers than any other unicorn ever!" Snips interjected, the chubby opal unicorn hopping up and down.
Rarity was curious about this, "Really?"
"Please," Spike scoffed, "No unicorns better than Rarity here!"
Rarity shot a glance at the changeling's bragging before turning back to Snips and Snails, "Where is this unicorn?"
Snails blinked, "Oh, she's in the town square. Come on!"
"Yeah!" Snips laughed, "follow us!" The duo of colts left with Rarity and Spike following closely behind.
Before the Ponyville town hall, an elaborately decorated trailer had been parked. With snap and an extra bit of extra pizzazz, a makeshift wooden stage with dark blue curtains unfolded before the growing crowd of curious observers.
A voice echoed out from the stage, "Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
The audience oohed as a unicorn appeared in a flash of sparkling blue smoke. She had a blue coat and a silver-blue mane. Most apparent of all was her purple, pointed, mage hat adorned with a pattern of silver and gold stars with a matching purple cape.
"Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" The pony finished her announcement with a flair, before fireworks launched out from the stage. The audience cheered as colorful spirals and sparkles appeared in the air.
This Trixie pony had definitely impressed Rarity, but it seemed her friends, who were watching nearby, were not enthralled with the showcase.
"Come on," Spike complained, "No pony's as magical as Rarity!"
"I don't see any problem with this," Rarity admitted, "after all, a pony who uses their special talents to make other ponies happy is a good thing. And there nothing wrong with that is there?"
"Nothin' at all wrong with that," Applejack responded, "'cept when somepony goes around actin' like she's better than the rest of us."
"She is quite boastful," Twilight observed. The purple unicorn seemed less negatively inclined as the others, like she was mentally taking notes rather than watching the show itself.
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash chimed in, "Just because I can't use magic doesn't mean I can't be awesome! And we all know how awesome I am."
"Yeah, magic schmagic," Spike added, "there's only enough room in this town for one magical adept, and that's Rarity!" He directed his voice to stage, "Boo!"
Trixie overhead the jeers, pausing midway through her trick. With a bouquet of flowers hovering beside her, Trixie flamboyantly swept her gaze upon the audience. "Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience," she sneered, "Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?"
"She's quite rude as well," Twilight noted, furrowing her brow.
"Yeah!" Spike stomped his transformed hooves, "Rarity here could do-"
He was caught off mid-sentence as Rarity shut his mouth with a hoof, "Shush Spike!" But Spike had had it with Trixie. He batted her hoof away and stomped up to the stage much to the dismay of Rarity.
"You're not so impressive Trixie," Spike yelled out to the magician, "Rarity here could do twice the amount of tricks as you!" Just like that, all heads in the audience turned to Rarity.
"Oh, really little colt?" Trixie smirked, "You really think this Rarity has the magic to match the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
"I know it!"
"Well then," Trixie raised her hooves into the air, "I challenge this Rarity to come forth to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Given no other choice, Rarity sighed and stepped forward to the stage.
"So Rarity," Trixie remarked, her voice having dropped for a close-up conversation, "You say you have the magical skills to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
Rarity plastered a smile to hide her nervousness from standing before the peeved off Trixie in front of a crowd. "This is all just a misunderstanding darling," she said, "I didn't mean to or want to challenge you, I am simply here to watch your show like everypony else."
Trixie raised an eyebrow, "Really, you concede already and admit that Trixie the Great and Powerful is the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?"
"I wouldn't say that" Rarity stammered, "I know a fair bit of magic myself. In fact, we're both similar in that way. By that I mean we both perform with our talents to inspire joy in other ponies." Rarity shut herself up, she was yammering again, which she did when she was nervous.
Trixie stared at Rarity in silence for a solid three seconds, "You don't look like a magician."
Rarity gulped, "I'm not a magician persay, but I'm perform my magic tricks at parties and social gatherings."
Trixie laughed once, "Trixie doubts that your tricks compare to that of the Great and Powerful Trixie's."
"Well, I'm sure there both marvelous, um Trixie, but if you excuse me, I must take my leave." Rarity crept backwards in an attempt to get offstage. This attempt was immediately thwarted as Trixie dragged her back into the spotlight with her magic.
With a sweep of her cape, Trixie raised her voice and announced to the audience, "Ladymares and stallions! The magical spectacle of the Great and Powerful Trixie shall continue with a magical duel!"
Rarity gasped, her friends gasped, the audience gasped.
Trixie curved to Rarity, who had frozen onstage, "The rules are simple, we take turns performing tricks, and pony with the best tricks gets to say that their the greatest and most powerful unicorn in... let's say Ponyville."
Rarity harrumphed, "I never said anything about this! You can't just force me into a competition out of nowhere!"
Trixie leaned in close, "Let's get this straight Rarity, the way Trixie sees it; it's a win-win situation. You win, get to claim the title as greatest and most powerful unicorn in Ponyville and Trixie leaves your mane and never bothers you again. You lose, and you still get to entertain the entire town with our spectacular magic act, and you help to support Trixie's trade. And from what Trixie can gather, you don't seem to consider the title anyways."
Rarity groaned; Trixie had made it seem like a win-win. And she didn't really care about what other ponies thought of her, at least regarding her magic. Appearance wise was a whole other matter.
"Tick-tock Rarity, the crowd's waiting."
Rarity thought for a minute, then meekly grinned, "Trixie, please give Rarity a minute."
Rarity ran to the edge of the stage, where Spike looked up to her. "What'd you two talk about up there? A magic competition?"
Rarity waved off the questions, "Doesn't matter darling. Now quickly Spike, run back to the Boutique and fetch my azure-violet performance robe."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves; it had been nearly three minutes with nothing happening. But nopony dared to leave, for they all wanted to see the event. Think of that, a magic competition right in Ponyville!
"Ugh, this is taking forever," Rainbow Dash whined, "What's going on up there?"
"I don't know," Applejack responded, "But I bet my right hoof that that Trixie gal's up to no good."
The group feel into a silence until Rainbow popped up again, "Oh I know! We make Twilight go up there! Trixie can't compete with the two most magical unicorns in Ponyville!"
Applejack laughed in agreement, "Yeah yeah! I bet they both can zap that boastful bronco all the way to Appleloosa!"
Twilight, who had been silent the whole time, turned to give a dirty look at the duo, "Really girls, that would be gross misuse of magic. Trixie may be boastful, she may be rude, but she's also innocent at the moment, and 'zapping' an innocent pony goes against both my personal code and my official duty as a Canterlot representative."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances as Twilight went back into her deep thinking.
"Hey AJ," Rainbow asked, "What do you think Twilight's even thinking about over there?"
However, before Applejack could respond, magical lights appeared on the stage as Trixie's announcing voice rang out. "Ponies of Ponyville! Right before you, your eyes shall lay witness to a magical demonstration of the likes which you've never seen! A magical competition between the Great and Powerful Trixie against Ponyville's own beacon of excellence, Rarity!"
Rainbow's jaw dropped, "What? Rarity's willingly performing with her?"
The audience cheered as both of the unicorns stepped out from behind the curtains. Trixie still had on her purple hat and cape and bore a self-expression of certainty. Rarity, however, had on a brilliant violet robe that sparkled with jewels attached to the trailing ends.
Trixie paused for a second to study Rarity's overly extravagant robe before flexing her hooves, "Prepare to be amazed Rarity! For the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't hold back on her magic!"
Rarity stretched her legs, "Remember darling, I'm not doing this to show off, it's simply a friendly competition."
"Ha," Trixie answered with determination, "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't believe you!"
"Then shall I go first?"
Trixie shrugged, "Trixie will let you go first, only because Trixie knows she will win."
Rarity rolled her eyes, the unicorn's penchant for referring to herself in third person was getting old. She shook her head, that didn't matter, she needed to do this. She concentrated; this was far from her first public performance. So, she mentally tracked back through her previous magic shows, choosing one of sixteen tricks to start with. Something simple, she chose, create a nice flow for the performance.
With minimal effort, Rarity shot a white spark that spiraled up from her horn, exploding into a pink and blue firework up above. Magical sparks floated down to the awestruck audience before sparkling and vanishing.
"Cute," Trixie smirked, "but the Great and Powerful Trixie can do better." She jumped in place, sending out three blue spiraling sparks that wildly spun about. In the air above the crowd, the sparks curved and collided, creating a firework explosion that sent out a glowing halo.
Rarity was surprised, it turned out Trixie was not all talk. But that was only her starter.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie shall go next," Trixie said proudly, before her horn sparked to life. She spun her horn until a large bouquet of blue roses appeared in an implosion of glitters. Trixie posed as she worked her magic, making the blooming roses fold up and shrink down into bulbs as the audience cheered.
How relevant, Rarity thought. She adjusted herself to be in the same position as earlier. After a moment of concentration, the unicorn shot a purple orb of magic out of her horn that collided with the floating bouquet. Purple magic rippled throughout the flowers. In a moment, the blue melted away into a deep violet as the roses bloomed to twice the size as before.
Trixie's eyes widened only for a moment, "Impressive trick Rarity," she conceded, "but the Great and Powerful Trixie has only just started!"
The back and forth between the two magic users continued as each unicorn exhausted her own batch of tricks. But somehow, they each always found a way to one up each other. When Rarity used a spell to embroider a depiction of Canterlot Castle onto the curtains, Trixie used a spell to animate a sewn Celestia raising the sun. When Trixie pulled out a seemingly endless handkerchief, Rarity made it change color and spin, until it made a vibrant rainbow.
By the time each of the unicorn's tricks had been exhausted, the audience was on the edge of their hooves. Cards, rings, and other various stage magic equipment lay scattered around Trixie's hooves; Rarity's spells had been able the counter her illusions. It was the same with Rarity, who's spells, most of which were admittedly simple color-changing spells, had been countered by Trixie's magic and advanced slight-of-hoof.
"So, Rarity of Ponyville," Trixie said with a falter, "Do you admit defeat to the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
Rarity mentally searched for a retort but could find none. She had already done fourteen of the sixteen spells she knew, and the remaining two, Mistmane's Spell of Rejuvenating Color and the unknown warping spell were simply impossible to recreate at the moment.
Rarity smiled, "I guess I do Trixie."
The audience gasped as Trixie let out a cheer of jubilation. "Ha! You admit defeat to the Great and Powerful Trixie! That means that Trixie is the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria! Or Ponyville at least."
"Not so fast Trixie!"
Trixie twisted her head in surprise to see Twilight emerge and step to the forefront of the audience.
"You must not know there's a second magically gifted unicorn in Ponyville!"
Trixie scoffed, "Really? Two unicorns with a special talent in magic?"
"Mine's more like in the study of magic," Twilight corrected.
"Yeah, and Trixie's is in stage magic, what your point?"
"Well, you claim to be the most magical unicorn in Equestria, or at least Ponyville, yet you have only 'defeated' one of the unicorns, so therefore you can at most only be the second most magical," as Twilight finished, she cast a smug look at Trixie, who steamed at the purple unicorn's statement.
"Well then Trixie the Great and Powerful challenges you to a magic competition!" Trixie yelled down to Twilight, who shook her head.
"I'd rather not want to compete in a competition. After all, I wouldn't want to be a showoff."
Trixie, having been denied another test of her talent, gritted her teeth in anger. "How dare you say that Trixie isn't worth her talent?" She had completely lost her cool, yelling into Twilight's face. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you talent! She'll show magic! She'll show you worth! You will rue the day you crossed into the bad will of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
With a stomp of her hoof, the stage disassembled itself, folding back into the wooden trailer. Rarity hopped off the stage as it came apart, turning to see the seriously peeved Trixie storm away pulling the cart behind her.
"Rarity! Rarity! Are you okay?" Rarity's friends ran up to the white unicorn, who stood frozen in place.
"That was... abrupt," Rarity flatly commented.
"Meh, good riddance!" Rainbow Dash remarked, watching as the crowd dispersed.
Applejack nodded in agreement, "You said it Rainbow, that unicorn was just a bad apple."
A few minutes later, the group of friends had sat down at the nearby diner for an evening snack. Spike sat down with his usual enormous plate of food unfitting for a changeling who didn't need physical nutrients.
"So, how do you feel?" Spike looked over to Rarity, who sat in front of a plate with single sad, soggy carrot, "About the competition I mean."
Rarity sighed, "Really Spike, it's fine. Just a little bit of showboating."
"What?" Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof on the table, causing some of Spike's food to spill, "Trixie humiliated you out there!"
"Humiliated is such a strong term darling," Rarity replied, "and just because I lost doesn't mean I was embarrassed."
"I don't even think you lost," said Twilight, "I watched the whole thing and let me say, only five of Trixie's 'spells' actually met the official qualifications for a magic spell. The rest were just slight-of-hoof and parlor tricks."
"Of course they were, it was part of the show Twilight," Rarity said, "misleading and illusions are a vital part of the art of performance."
Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Are you implyin' that you lost it on purpose?"
Rarity laughed, "Of course not! I'm just saying Trixie has more experience in showmanship and performance than me. She knows what she's doing onstage."
"Why are you defending her?" Spike asked through a mouthful of food, "She was rude."
"Though her methods are, abrasive," Rarity sighed, "Trixie reminded me of myself. A pony who wanted to make joy for others with her talent, just less, egocentric."
Twilight looked over to apologetically, "Look Rarity, I didn't know you felt like that, I'm sorry if I messed things up back there."
"No need to apologize darling, her outburst at you was completely unwarranted. Now if you excuse me," she stood from the table, "All that spellcasting has left me utterly exhausted. I'd better head home to get some well-needed beauty sleep."
The others nodded and went into their own conversations. Rarity motioned to Spike who, in his pony form, toddled tight after her.
After the two had left the diner, Spike looked up to Rarity, "I guess you're not that impressive after all, right?"
Rarity laughed, "I never said that Spike! I only mean that Trixie was better at showcasing her talent. I'm, of course, still the superior in regards to fashion."
Hours later, it was the middle of the night at the Carousel Boutique, and Spike had settled into his makeshift nest whilst Rarity was getting some well needed rest.
That is, until a sound at the window woke her up. The sleepy eyed Rarity walked up and opened the window and looked down. On the ground below stood Trixie with a hoovefull of pebbles.
"Came back to gloat Trixie?" Rarity sleepily accused.
"No," Trixie hissed up, "Just come down!"
A minute later, Rarity had come down, tightly wrapped up in her sleeping gown. "It's far too late for a do-over Trixie," yawned Rarity.
"That's not why Trixie's here," Trixie said in an unusually humbled manner, "Trixie... I came here to apologize."
That certainly woke Rarity up. "Excuse me?"
Trixie took off her hat and clutched it with a hoof, "Trixie thinks that her anger earlier might have been, unjustified."
Rarity nodded, "Yes, I would certainly say so."
"It's just that, Rarity's the first pony to be accepting of Trixie."
"What, you've never had a yelling match or magic competition before?"
"Normally Trixie distracts the audience with her tricks and her highly thought out Ursa Major story. But you, Rarity, made the typically unbending Trixie want to compete."
"What are you saying Trixie?"
Trixie sputtered and put her hat back on, her fragility vanishing in an instant, "Just that the Great and Powerful Trixie harbors no ill will towards Rarity of Ponyville." With one last flourish and a bow, Trixie turned and walked away. "The Great and Powerful Trixie looks forward to meeting you again, if only to showcase her superior magical talent!"
With Trixie having left, Rarity returned to the Boutique. She smiled to herself, though Trixie may have been boastful and brash, deep inside she was a fragile pony, and perhaps, just maybe, a new friend.
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Feh. She should have thrown the competition at the start. If there's anything worse than a sore winner, it's a sore winner who wins without any real effort from the competition.
hmm..... different opinion than canon Rarity.
I bet Starlight Glimmer can beat you with 1 spell
NICE
What happened to that fake Defeating an Ursa Major story?
11412048
Hiatus!?
https://youtu.be/WWaLxFIVX1s
I like this change. This original episode showed how arrogant AJ, Rainbow & Rarity were and should have kept their mouths shut or chose not to stay at Trixie's stage performance.
11416775
Its an AU story, not everything is similar
11417330
She was bragging that she's better than everypony. Quite literally I believe
11431023
She's a stage performer. I mean actors and performers act different when they are on the stage where many viewers are watching them
I have read them all and I have to say that this chapter is my favorite for many reasons. The main one is that this is the one that I think most represents the spirit of the "What if...?" that this story is. The others start like the tv show, the difference occurs in the middle, but they end the same way as in the cartoon, but this is the first where the divergence leads us to a completely different path and even ending. I loved it and I hope you decide to continue with them.