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Trixie Finds Pixie4,195 words
Magic Duel, the Sequel6,888 words

Magic Duel, the Sequel

While it was true that the initial stages of their relationship had been a tad complicated and had its problems, meeting Pixie was working out in general for Trixie. Granted, part of that had been Celestia possessing her body and choosing to do something kind and merciful for her, but the wish had still worked out well in the end. After that day of Celestia in her body, she'd at least managed to put the Ursa Incident far enough behind her to do some shows without being chased off the stage by rotten tomatoes. Which in a way, had made her first wish somewhat come true.

Better yet, Trixie had managed to get a few good wishes in that had been a net benefit since then. Mainly simple things like wishing for a restock on her fireworks display (specifying they must be created, not given to her to avoid accidental theft...again) and things to help with a few acts. Even a few wishes that hadn't turned out quite as planned had pleasant secondary benefits thanks to Trixie being creative enough to make use of them in an act.

Thus, after a few successful shows, Trixie had decided to do something bold.

“So, this is the town this Ursa thingie happened?” asked Pixie, floating alongside Trixie as the mare trotted towards Ponyville.

“Yes. And where the Alicorn Amulet happened...but now that Trixie has began to rise again, it is time to wash that away!” Trixie announced with her normal flare. “Thus shall begin the Great and Powerful Trixie's 'The Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour!'”

Pixie cocked her head. “Why am I doing an apology tour?”

Trixie paused her trek towards Ponyville to facehoof. “Trixie as in me, not Trixie as in you.”

“Oh!...Kinda a mouth full.”

“It's a working title,” the unicorn whispered.

“Oh...”

As the two continued on, Pixie blinked, finding a letter suddenly manifest in front of her face. “Huh?” she asked, grabbing it and opening before giving an excited gasp. “I can't believe it!”

Trixie looked to her fairy with a raised eyebrow. “What is it?”

“It's a notification of my 1000th year of being a Fairy Godmother!” Pixie said, flying around excitedly so fast Trixie's eyes struggled to follow.

“Wow, quite impressive,” the unicorn sincerely replied.

“I know! I've been at this for a long time! One time I even helped a little girl who wanted to make the night last longer! Not sure how that turned out...Anyway, they'll be sending me a award for it soon!”

Trixie finally came to a stop on the outskirts of Ponyville and began setting things up. At least on the surface, the town hadn't seemed to have changed much: still a quaint, quiet little town. Little towns tended to be a good places to do shows. At least when children didn't summon giant monsters to ruin her life. “Hmm...wish we knew how much had changed since Trixie was here last...”

“Okay, though I haven't been here in a really long time!” Pixie called, swinging her wand around and firing a blast of fairy dust at her godchild.

Trixie's eyes widened as she suddenly felt her head rapidly fill with information. Likely several hundred years worth of it.

“How's that?” Pixie asked...but got no reaction. “Uh? Trixie?”

The azure unicorn merely stood there for a few moments, eyes wide, until Pixie snapped her fingers in front of her face.

“Ah! Vines! Crazy time adventures! The Cakes had babies!” Trixie rambled blindly before shaking her head to clear it. “...Thank you...”

“You're welcome,” Pixie said proudly.

The unicorn's head felt scrambled, having so much information dumped into it. It'd probably take her awhile to process it all. Even just narrowing it down to the last few years left her with a bizarrely huge number of events. How could one town have so many things happen in that short of a time period? It was like the most interesting things in Equestria all happened in this one area! Thankfully, most of the things now filling her great and powerful mind which were things she had absolutely no clue about or reason to care about. There was, however, one pony she was interested in out of all of them. What had Twilight been up to? This took her a few moments to sift through, but once she found it, her jaw dropped and she once more froze for several moments.

“W-What?!” asked Trixie in disbelief. “Twilight is...she's a...”

Pixie blinked, cocking her head. “A what?”

“Twilight Sparkle is an Alicorn Princess now!” Trixie exclaimed. Yes, she acknowledge it was ultimately her fault the Alicorn Amulet incident had happened, but she was still entitled to some envy. She felt that was perfectly fair.

“Oh, good for her,” the fairy replied, then noticed Trixie's expression and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Something wrong?”

“Trixie...Trixie is fine. She's not jealous or anything,” the unicorn said, trying to look confident and normal.

“Of course, I'm not jealous of anyone, why would I be?” Pixie noticed Trixie's expression and gave a comforting look. “I don't know who this Twilight is, but you're awesome too.”

Trixie looked back to Pixie, noting the genuine concern on her face. “...Trixie is pretty awesome, isn't she? Thank you.”

“You're welcome!” said the fairy with a smile. “So...you wanna wish to be an Alicorn yourself?”

The unicorn smiled widely and raised a hoof to make a wish without hesitation before a realization crossed her mind. “Wouldn't do much good, given your spells only last until sundown.”

Of course, she could always just wish to be an Alicorn every morning, but that could be problematic if she forgot or if somepony saw the spell fade. Besides, she'd seen the political requirements of an Alicorn very, very thoroughly while borrowing Celestia's body, and had no real interest in being involved in that again.

“That said, there may be a benefit to showing off a bit,” Trixie replied, giving a thoughtful look. “Trixie has always wanted to outdo Twilight at something.”

“Uh, I don't know who Twilight is,” Pixie replied, cocking her head.

“I meant me...Nothing bad, mind you. I remember what happened with the Alicorn Amulet...It was partially why I sought out your egg to begin with.” Trixie gave it a good deal of thought. What could she wish for that might allow her to achieve that without it backfiring? She was hesitant to wish for the most obvious thing to come to mind, but sometimes the first idea to come to your mind was the best idea.

Trixie took a deep breath. “Alright, I wish that I possessed the magical might to best Twilight! But also that my horn was tough enough to withstand the power of it and won't explode. And the magical stamina to use it effectively.”

Pixie nodded, not quite sure what was happening. She just saw it as her wanting to play with a friend or something else a kid would do. “Alright! One power-up coming up!” she said, swinging her wand and showering Trixie with pixie dust.

The mare cringed, just in case something like ending up in another body happened once more...but nothing. “Did it work?”

“Yep!”

Trixie turned and looked to a tree. “Let's test it then.” She focused, magic charging into her horn and firing a far larger beam than she'd been prepared for. She effectively blew the tree in half...and sent herself flying backwards several meters and crashing through a row of trash cans with an 'Oof!'

“...Oops, you didn't wish to be able to brace yourself...” Pixie said, quickly rushing over to check on her worriedly. “...Want to now?”

“...Yes...and I also wish to no longer have bruises...”

Twilight was sitting in her library, rubbing her eyes as she worked on the paper in front of her. “I need to come up with a friendship lesson I know Starlight won't ignore, but what?”

Before she could continue the lesson plan, the door suddenly flew open dramatically. “Princess Twilight Sparkle! The Great and Powerful Trixie has returned!” Trixie announced, standing on her hind legs with her cape billowing dramatically.

Twilight gave a shout and jumped several feet, spinning around with her horn glowing on reflex.

“Don't worry, Trixie isn't here to cause trouble,” Trixie said, confidently, but showing no malice. “Trixie is actually in town as part of an apology tour for her past transgressions!”

The Alicorn carefully powered down her horn, looking cautious, but giving a small smile. “Good. I'm glad to hear it.” Twilight didn't have much to go on when it came to Trixie. She knew her stage persona, sure, but otherwise most of her experience with Trixie had been when she was wearing the Alicorn Amulet. She wanted to give everypony the benefit of the doubt after all. “I hope everything goes well for you.”

“As does Trixie,” the unicorn replied with a smile. “But Trixie had a proposition for you.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

“Well, you see, last time we met, our magic duels were neither truly fair, nor was Trixie in her right mind,” Trixie answered. “So how about we have a friendly little magic duel later today? No stakes, no consequences for losing. Just testing our magical capabilities against one another?”

The Princess of Friendship raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? I mean I am an Alicorn now...”

Trixie gave a smirk, using her telekinesis to raise various things around the room, make them orbit her, and then placed them back down with little effort. “Trixie has been practicing quite a bit. She is pretty sure you will find her skills have improved considerably. Unless you're scared.”

Twilight rolled her eyes at that. She wanted to just say no, but if there was one thing she did know about Trixie, it was she was persistent. “Fine, I've got a few things, so let's do it later today.”

“As you wish, Twilight! This time the great and Powerful Trixie shall emerge victorious!”

Trixie and Twilight stood out in the court yard of the Castle of Friendship, the sun on the horizon in the background. A few ponies were watching, but Twilight had intentionally not asked ponies to come, not wanting to humiliate Trixie too badly if this went wrong.

Pixie watched from nearby, hiding in a bush but smiling widely.

Trixie kept a confident smirk, Twilight's expression being more reserved. “Alright, let's do this!” the showmare yelled, horn igniting with magic.

“Let's get this over with,” Twilight replied, preparing her own magic. Not wanting to hurt or humiliate Trixie, she held back quite a bit and being met with a surprisingly large beam from Trixie.

“Go Trixie!” yelled Pixie like a mother cheering for her child at a soccer game, then covered her mouth and hid when she noticed Twilight looking in her direction.

The two beams collided and Twilight's eyes widened as Trixie's beam actually began pushing hers back surprisingly well. Seeing this, Pixie cheered as Trixie's confidence grew.

Twilight, assuming she'd merely undershot too much, cranked up the power.

Trixie smirked, preparing for a decisive victory and putting more power into it...only to notice the sun dip below the horizon at the same time Pixie did.

“Uh oh...” both said simultaneously.

Her beam shrunk in size considerably right as Twilight cranked hers up. The end result was Twilight's beam piercing straight through Trixie's own and slamming into her chest. Trixie gave a scream as she was sent flying backwards, slamming into a wall of a nearby building hard enough to rattle it before sliding down to the ground. Giving a groan, the mare started getting up...only for a flower pot to fall and shatter on her head...then another when she stood back up. Then several dozen in a row until she was buried in it. “Ow...”

Twilight's eyes went wide as she looked up to find she'd launched Trixie into the flower pot emporium nearby, the owner glaring at her after the impact had knocked most of the display pots out of the windows. “Oops...”

“Trixie!” Pixie yelled in shock and worry, but had to hide when Twilight snapped in her direction while likewise checking on the hurt showmare.

While Trixie had to stay in the hospital for the night due to Pixie's limitation, she did note that Pixie had stayed by her side whenever the doctors and nurses weren't in the room. At least when Trixie was awake.

“...It's okay, Trixie forgot about the limitation,” Trixie muttered, feeling...odd.

“I forgot too,” Pixie admitted, looking down.

“Trixie really needs a timer or something.”

“Yeah, we do...but I can't make one to last more than a day.”

“We'll figure something out,” Trixie replied, thinking about how they might go about that. The unicorn looked out the window, noticing the sun come up. “I wish I was fully healed.”

“So, what kinda game are you and your friend gonna play next?” asked Pixie as Trixie was let out of the hospital.

“Well, we could try that again, but Trixie doesn't like relying on time sensitive means,” Trixie replied, tapping her chin. “Ah! If Twilight has agreed to a competition that Trixie can win, it doesn't matter if it goes over time, now does it?”

“Sure...but why do you want me to win?” asked Pixie, cocking her head. “We can't let her even know I exist.”

Trixie sighed, having to keep reminding herself they shared a name. “We want me to win...I have an idea.”

“Yes?” the fairy asked, leaning in close.

“I wish that when I challenge Twilight again, she will make the challenge something I'm actually capable of beating her in,” the unicorn recited, being somewhat careful. “Or does that break the rules?”

“I don't think so,” Pixie replied, swinging her wand around and throwing it skywards with a flash of light. “Alright, there we go!”

This made Trixie wonder just what were her limitations. Still, after the Alicorn Amulet, she wasn't too fond of the idea of overreaching. Especially given sometimes the wishes blew up in her face already and the fact even Discord had lost to Twilight and her friends. And as the info dump into her brain had taught her, now one of Twilight and company's friends.

Twilight blinked, emerging from the hospital. “That was strange, how could she be-”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle! Looking for the Great and Powerful Trixie?!” asked the azure unicorn, appearing in an explosion of fireworks in front of the Alicorn. Twilight gave a scream and jumped back several feet.

“Yes, I was worried about you! How are you already out of the hospital?!” Twilight asked as she took a deep breath. Trixie was surprised by the concern in her voice.

“Trixie is a fast healer,” was her simple answer. “But if you wish to make it up to Trixie, then she has a request.”

The Alicorn looked cautious, not knowing what to expect at this point. “And that would be?”

“Trixie wants another competition. Trixie isn't all about strength and power after all,” the azure unicorn replied, tapping her chin. “As Trixie chose the competition last time, you get to choose the next one. Trixie will do whatever you choose...on the condition that you likewise promise to not change your mind once you make your choice. No chickening out!”

Twilight gave an annoyed sigh, but acknowledged that she may have gone overboard and put Trixie in the hospital, so she did owe her. Plus, this didn't really matter much at all to her, so other than cutting into her scheduling time, it wasn't that much of an issue. “Fine. I Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

“A Pinkie Promise, it's how all of us in Ponyville make a promise we won't break no matter what,” the Alicorn replied, then looked at her expectantly.

The unicorn gave a raised eyebrow for a few moments, then sighed. “Fine...Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ey-GAH!”

“I did that a lot too when I started doing it.” Twilight rubbed her chin, giving it thought. Trixie noticed pixie dust flutter down around the Alicorn's head. Twilight's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, as if she were in a slight trance. “Let's do a 'Make a Fool of Ourselves' Competition...” she recited in a monotone voice. Twilight's eyes suddenly widened as it wore off.

“WHAT?!” they both asked in shock.

Trixie gave a disbelieving look aside to Pixie, who was once more hiding in a bush and looked just as shocked.

“Uh, I don't know why I said that, but what I meant to say was-” Twilight started, only for both to notice Pinkie Pie rise ominously from behind a fence and give both her 'No one breaks a Pinkie Promise' glare.

“...Since when is she so terrifying?” whispered Trixie, staring at the suddenly very intimidating party pony.

Twilight gulped. “This is why no pony breaks a Pinkie Promise...Uh, Pinkie, would you like to be the judge?”

Pinkie Pie's expression changed on a dime as she jumped with an excited chuckle. “Of course! No pony knows more about making ponies laugh than Pinkamena Diane Pie!” She then suddenly zoomed in front of Trixie's face without any warning, causing the unicorn to jump with a shout. “Oh! And welcome back to Ponyville, Trixie!”

The showmare raised an eyebrow “...Thank you... You're not mad about Trixie stole your mouth last time?”

“Eh, water under the bridge.”

“What happened?!” Trixie asked Pixie while they stood in an alley.

“You didn't say what competition to make it...” the fairy replied, looking a little sheepish. “But you're a showmare, right? You can do this, Trixie!”

The azure unicorn blinked, then gave it thought, tapping her chin. “True...Trixie does have experience making fools of ponies, just not herself normally. If she acts as a jester, she just might win. And seeing Twilight make a fool of herself will be quite amusing at least.”

“Uh, you're the one in the competition, not me, remember? I said not to let anypony know about me?” the Pixie asked, not noticing several ponies walking by and looking at them. As this was Ponyville, they mostly just shrugged and walked on without paying it any mind. “In fact, I think the rules might say if they do I'll have to leave forever...maybe. I can't really remember.”

Trixie's heart skipped a beat at that. Pixie have to leave her? Why did that make her feel so bad trying to imagine? “...I'll keep that in mind.”

“Okay, so, I guess we'll be taking turns?” Twilight asked, standing with Trixie in a clearing while Pinkie Pie stood at her podium. Neither of them had much interest in humiliating themselves in front of the entire town. Or was very enthusiastic about this for that matter.

Pixie floated in a tree nearby, watching excitedly.

“Yeah! Twilight, you go first!” Pinkie Pie called, sitting at a judge's table.

“Alright...hmm...” Twilight thought about it for a second, then decided to do the obvious thing and manifested a pie. She promptly slammed it into her own face and looked at Pinkie Pie with a forced smile through the whipped cream.

“Ha! Nice one, Twilight! Your turn, Trixie!” Pinkie Pie called, turning to the azure showmare.

Trixie took a deep breath. Making herself the butt of a joke wasn't nearly as easy as making somepony else it. Still, she steadied herself and jumped up on her front legs. She began trotting forwards until she finally forced herself to loose balance. Giving a yell, she flipped over onto her back with a 'Oof!' “Tada...” she said before having to quickly nurse her bruised ego.

Pinkie Pie gave a clap as Trixie got up and carefully tried to hide an embarrassed blush. She noticed Pixie laughing from her perch, but just thought it was a bird having a good time. “You're gonna have to try hard to top that, Twilight!”

Twilight hadn't really intended to try all that hard, but Pinkie Pie was watching extremely intently. If she dared not put effort into it, Pinkie would know. She materialized a bunch of balls and began to juggle them for a few moments before letting them fall on her head, one at a time and giving an oof with each hit. “How's that?”

“Classic!” the pink party pony called. “Trixie?”

Trixie came out riding a unicycle, keeping herself steady...until she finally forced herself to take a fall. This sent her flying and landing with her hindquarters in the air as her cape fell over her head. Pixie gave a cheer and applauded.

“Oh, good pratfall! Alright, Twilight, this is your last turn! Give it all you've got!” Pinkie Pie called with a laugh, not noticing Trixie actively trying to avoid drawing attention to her bruised ego.

Twilight sighed. “Alright...” She used a small to make a ice path with a snowbank at the end and jumped on it, intending to simply do a header into it...but tripped on her own tail. This resulted in her being launched over it. She went crashing through a pile of soap Trixie had been intending to use for one of hers and right into the nearby lake. Emerging covered in soap, the Alicorn shook herself off, resulting in her fur puffing out. “...Not what I had in mind.”

Pinkie Pie gave a big laugh. “Good one! Trixie! Time for your last act! You'll have to pull out all the stops!”

“Darn it, Trixie was going to use that soap!” Trixie muttered, tapping her chin and looking around. She then smiled, noticing Twilight's snowbank still in place. “Well, if you'll take Trixie's prop, she'll take yours.”

Trixie got out the cannon she was planning to use in her act that night and aimed it properly before jumping in after lighting the fuse. She ran through it in her head: she'd launch herself into the snowbank then with a little magic make herself come out looking like a snow pony, perfect. That was until the wheels on the cannon (which she hadn't gotten a chance to properly check, given how she'd had to rush here) rocked backwards. “Curse you, wheels!” she shouted, right before it fired.

She flew right over the snowbank and straight into a den in the ground. Twilight and Pinkie both came close to look...only to recoil with a gag as a horrible smell came out of the den. Pixie cringed with a groan at the sight.

Trixie groaned, emerging from the skunk den, face green and eyes watering. “S-So, who...who won?” she asked, coughing and gagging as several fainted birds fell around her.

“Hmm...” Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin as she put a clothespin on her nose. The two mares, both quite obviously wanting this over, just stared awkwardly as Pinkie looked back and forth between them. “Well, Twilight's had more parts to it, but Trixie's had more impact to it overall...” After several moments with the two leaning in to listen for her answer (before Twilight recoiled from the stinking Trixie), Pinkie Pie produced a notebook and looked over them. “Move the ha, carry the chuckle. Add and subtract a pratfall...” she muttered to herself before she finally raised a hoof to announce her decision with unusual formality. “It's a tie!”

“What?!” both mares asked in shock and annoyance.

“You both tried so hard! I can't decide! Just look at the score chart!” the party pony replied, showing her notebook...which was largely composed of nonsensical drawings that may have made sense to Pinkie but were the written equal of gibberish to anyone else. “Now, if Trixie had launched herself through the den and into the tomato stall across the street or Twilight had landed in the mud, then slid into the soap, that would've been a clincher! Good job, girls! And trust me, I know my comedy!”

With that, Pinkie Pie promptly dove headfirst into the snow, causing it to erupt upwards into a snow Pinke Pie that the original emerged from the nose of. “What? No pony else used it!”

“Well, at least it was a tie rather than a loss,” Trixie muttered, sitting in a tomato juice bath as Pixie scrubbed her, both having clothespins on their noses. Trixie would've just wished the smell away, but knowing her luck that would've resulted in it just coming back at dusk.

“And you did a really good job! You're really good at being funny!” Pixie praised, sounding like a parent praising their child.

“Thank you,” Trixie replied, giving a small smile. It felt...good getting honest praise. Even if the whole thing had been a bust. “Well, Trixie isn't giving up yet! She will claim a victory over her rival!”

“I never give up! I've been at this for a thousand years, after all! Even when I get a rough child! Like that one little yak who wished for a snow-day ever day! Got a wish to help?” the fairy asked, holding up her wand.

The showmare rubbed her chin. “I wish I knew a competition Twilight couldn't win, and if it doesn't exist I wish it did.”

Twilight groaned, finishing drying off her mane. “This is getting annoying...” On one hoof, Trixie wasn't trying to take over Ponyville or do something, but Twilight had Starlight's lessons she needed to plan. As she emerged from the bathroom, she jumped, finding Trixie waiting for her...with pink hair. The Alicorn just gave an annoyed sigh.

“That competition did not go as expected,” Trixie stated simply. “Trixie doesn't think you enjoyed it anymore than she did.”

“No, I didn't. Sorry about that, it was just what popped into my head,” the lavender Alicorn replied awkwardly. She tried to force herself to be polite despite her growing annoyance. The last one had been her bad and gotten Trixie skunked, after all.

“Indeed. Trixie, however, has a better idea for a replacement challenge!”

“...A 'Do Not Read' Competition?” Twilight asked as they stood, the two surrounded by books.

Trixie was honestly equally as uncertain, given this wasn't exactly a competition she'd been expecting to partake in. “It's a legitimate competition, complete with a rule book. Now let us begin!”

Spike gave an annoyed sigh. “Alright, start...whatever this is.”

Twilight sighed. “Wait! What exactly are the rules?!”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “They're simple, first one who can't resist reading something loses, didn't you read the rule book?”

“You didn't give me time!” Twilight complained. She was Twilight, of course she'd have read it in an instant if given the chance. “Is that all there is to it?”

“Yes, it very clearly says the rules right here,” Trixie said, opening the book and pointing to the rules. “First to read-”

“Uh, Trixie, you just read a book. You lost,” Spike interrupted, looking at his own copy of the rules.

Trixie's face fell. “W-What?! That doesn't count!” she yelled at the same time Pixie, hiding nearby, echoed her before hiding.

“Uh, yes it does. Doesn't matter how you end up reading it: you lose when you read anything from a book,” the baby dragon said, pointing to the text on the page. “You can even trick the other person into reading something to win.”

“Oh, so you have to try and get the other other pony to read, that makes a bit more sense,” Twilight replied, putting a hoof to her chin. “Might have to look more into this, but I'm very busy at the moment. I'm behind on Starligh-”

“B-But that's not fair! Trixie didn't mean that!” Trixie complained. “Trixie demands a rematch!”

The Alicorn gave a frustrated growl. Given the competition, it was obvious Trixie had been trying to ensure she'd lose. Had Trixie really changed at all? “Trixie, I don't have time for your challenges! We'll have some competition or another later, okay?...But it's my turn to pick.”

Trixie growled with a glare. “Fine, but don't keep Trixie waiting!”

“Pixie,” Trixie said, looking to her godmother.

Trixie noticed Pixie looking at her expectantly, ready to try and please her.

“...That was a good try,” Trixie finally said.

The fairy gave a proud smile. “Thanks! I always do my best to help my godchildren! Like the time I helped that little goat find a bell!”

The mare took a deep breath. “Now, as for this time... I wish Twilight would pick something I can win...again.”

Pixie gave a salute. “Will do...hmm, maybe I should try granting it a different way this time...” With that, she vanished into pixie dust.

Twilight sat in her library, finishing up the next Friendship Lesson for Starlight. Having a student, especially one with obvious issues, was a hoofful. She wondered if Celestia ever had this issue with her.

Speaking of issues, Twilight gave an annoyed sigh. “I guess I've got to find out what to do with Trixie's challenge.”

Trixie was beginning to get on her nerves. 'Reformed' or not, Trixie was still fixated on upstaging Twilight and putting herself on a pedestal seemed to be all she wanted to do. Had she really changed at all? Twilight wasn't sure.

Pixie peaked into the room. “Alright, Rachel told me about 'subliminal messages'...let's try some!”

Twilight reclined her head against the chair, thinking. What competition should she choose?

“You will choose an event where Trixie can win...”

Perhaps she should, just to get Trixie satisfied and get her off her back.

“Or she will be very upset and sad and would like to make your life miserable...but you ignore that because you want Trixie to be happy...”

Her subconscious had a point. Trixie could be a bit vindictive, but ultimately the entire reason she acted this way was because her entire life had been ruined by the Ursa. For as frustrating as she could be, Twilight didn't think Trixie deserved that. So perhaps letting her win was for the best.

“I mean the pony not me. Because I'm happy already being a helpful godmother... wait what was I saying?"

“Wait, what?” Twilight asked, eyes snapping open. Pixie quickly zoomed and hid behind a conveniently shaped lamp to hide. Looking around, the Alicorn Princess saw nothing. Her response was to shake her head in an attempt to clear it. “Maybe I need to take a nap...”

Trixie wasn't incompetent, she had some genuine talent. Thinking of something she could win with that talent that Twilight couldn't shouldn't be that hard. Maybe if done right, it'd show Trixie her strengths.

“Okay, Trixie, for this next competition, we're going to do what we call a 'Goof-Off,'” Twilight finally told Trixie.

“...Didn't we already do that?” asked Trixie, raising an eyebrow.

“No, that was...well, having to be fools,” the Alicorn replied, cringing at the memory. “With this, the rules are simple: we have to entertain someone and make them laugh. In fact, for this time, first pony to make the judge laugh wins.”

The azure unicorn raised a hoof...then put it to her chin. Entertaining was her thing, after all. “Hmm, entertaining somepony is something that Trixie can definitely do. A fine choice.”

“And the judge will of course be Pinkie Pie,” Twilight called, expecting Pinkie to come over. Making her laugh should be easy. Then Trixie would have her confidence and finally be satisfied.

However, instead of the pink party pony, they were greeted by another mare entirely.

“Maud?” Twilight asked, looking the eldest Pie sibling. “Where's Pinkie Pie?!”

“Sorry, there was a party emergency that needed her. I'm her replacement,” Maud said with her normal monotone.

“...Okay then,” the lavender Alicorn replied, giving it thought. Maud looked emotionless, but she wasn't truly. Perhaps this still wouldn't be so difficult. If worst came to worst, they could count 'laughing on the inside.' “Trixie, you start.”

Trixie gave a smirk. “Of course the Great and Powerful Trixie will begin!” she called, fireworks going off around her. Giving it a little bit of thought, she took her hat off and threw it into the air. In an explosion of magic, out emerged three doves...each of which were dressed in clown makeup and perched on Trixie's forelegs with a dramatic bow. On cue, one of the doves did a pratfall and landed on the ground. “Tada!”

Pixie, hiding on a nearby roof, laughed and raised a 'Go Trixie!' sign.

Maud, however, remained stone faced.

“Fine, your turn, Sparkle.”

Twilight sighed. She thought back to a joke book and tried to think of something that Maud wouldn't laugh at. “So, why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!” she said with a forced smile.

The oldest Pie simply sat there unchanging.

“Ha! Is that the best you've got?” Trixie asked, rolling her eyes. “Let Trixie show you how it's done!” she called. “What do you call an alligator in a vest?” she asked, manifesting a hologram of a familiar baby alligator and a vest. “An investigator!” she ended, the two melding together in her illusions to form a rather adorable little version of Gummy dressed like a private eye. The hologram instantly grabbed a magnifying glass and began looking around, climbing up and comically looking through Twilight's mane.

“Hey!”

Pixie once more laughed and cheered for her godchild. “You can do it Trixie!”

Maud, however, didn't budge.

“Tough crowd,” the showmare admitted.

Twilight admitted, if it were Pinkie Pie that'd probably do the trick, but Maud was...well, Maud. “Did you hear about the mathematician that was afraid of negative numbers? He'd stop at nothing to avoid them!” she joked, and genuinely laughed.

No response.

Trixie sighed. “Fine then, Trixie supposes that she will need to pull out the big guns,” she replied, preparing herself. “Trixie might be redeemed, but that doesn't mean she can't still upstage!”

= Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better – Annie =

“Anything you can do, I can do better.
I can do anything better than you!” Trixie sang, summoning illusions of a mathematician who followed numbers back to zero, only to stop with an over the top, cartoonish wild take when he saw the negative numbers beyond that. Pixie chuckled, humming along with the song.

Twilight rolled her eyes...then realized given Trixie's ego, perhaps calling her bluff might bring out the best in her.

“No, you can't,” Twilight sang back to her.

“Yes, I can!” Trixie sang back with a glare.

“No, you can't!”

“Yes, I can!”

“No, you can't!

“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!”

“The game is to fill the air with laughter,
And I know I'll make her laugh before you,” Twilight sang back, trying to match Trixie's bragging in hopes it'd bring out everything she had.

“No, you won't!” Trixie sang, getting face to face.

“Yes, I will!”

“No, you won't!

“Yes, I will!”

“No, you won't!”

“Yes, I will! Yes, I will!”

Twilight swung her horn around and summoned Angel Bunny dressed like a little bee.

“I can make this bunny,
A bee making honey.”

Twilight's eyes widened as Angel gave a growl and tried to kick her, resulting in her teleporting him back home (where Fluttershy fawned over how cute he looked in the outfit).

“Oh yeah? How about a skunk,
Dressed like a little punk?” Trixie sang back, pulling a skunk out of her hat dressed like a punk rocker complete with the little false leather jacket and Mohawk. She jumped as the skunk reacted naturally and tried to spray her, but managed to dodge and let him run, the outfit disappearing into illusion magic.

“My pun was much more clever,” Twilight sang, still trying to get the best out of her. She was admittedly impressed so far.

“Is that a fact?” the unicorn retorted.

“Yes.”

“Well, I used my hat.”

Twilight used a gravity spell to make herself float.

“Any height you can reach, I can go higher”

Trixie merely countered by summoning enough balloons to be slightly higher.

“Oh, I can go so much higher than you!”

Twilight floated a bit higher.

“No, you can't.”

Trixie added more balloons to be slightly higher.

”Yes, I can.”

“No, you can't.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can't.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can't.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can't.”

“Yes, I CAN!”

In the end, Trixie was indeed higher up than Twilight...but both realized they were very high.

“Any fall you can take, I can fall faster!
I can get down so much faster than you!” Trixie called, using her magic to summon a trampoline down below and popping her balloons.

Twilight reversed her gravity spell and dove.

“20 miles?”

Trixie used a few fireworks to dive faster.

“30 miles!”

Twilight merely dove faster.

“40?”

“50!”

Twilight's eyes widened and she looked genuinely worried at how fast they were going.

“No, you can't!”

“Yes, I can!

To Twilight's surprise, Trixie actually managed to land on the trampoline and bounce a few times before doing a flip and landing on her hooves with a bow.

“Yes, you can,” The Alicorn sung, genuinely somewhat impressed. Still, she decided to roll things back a little bit for Trixie's safety.

“Anything you can juggle, I can juggle more,” Twilight sang, making three rubber balls.

“I can juggle so much more than you,” Trixie sang back, manifesting and juggling four balls on a circus ball.

“No, you can't! Twilight summoned five and joined on a ball of her own.

“Yes, I can!

“No, you can't!”

“Yes, I can!”

“No, you can't!”

“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!”

By the end they were both juggling so many balls they lost count and finally lost the ability to keep track, resulting in them simultaneously getting hit in the head with one. The rest followed one at a time until they were both swaying dizzily.

“I can stay on this ball,
Even after it all,” Twilight sang, swaying dizzily.

“I think we will both fall,
But I'll do it slicker,” Trixie sang back, both falling off, but her doing it more dramatically.

Pixie gave a thunderous applause and cheer, before having to dive down when ponies looked her way.

After several moments of getting their wits back, they both looked to Maud. “Well?”

Maud, however, was preoccupied with Boulder. “Did you already start? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. My humor is more rock and Pinkie Pie based...”

“...So, I guess it's a tie then...” Twilight admitted, getting back to her hooves.

“Trixie demands another challenge!” Trixie exclaimed.

“Trixie, you tied twice, isn't that enough?” the Alicorn asked, trying to be civil.

“Not until Trixie beats you!”

Twilight growled, her frustration with this entire situation overflowing as her suspicions were confirmed about Trixie's motivations. “Well, I've got a friendship lesson to go make! I'm sorry, but this is all I have time for!” she said, turning and walking away.

Maud just shrugged and trotted off.

Trixie growled. “This isn't over!”

“...You did a good job, Trixie.”

The azure unicorn turned, looking at Pixie, finding her looking genuinely supportive. “...Trixie supposes she did. You know, if Trixie...I mean I made wishes mid-competition, I could easily win.”

Twilight, a good ways away, took a deep breath and did Cadence's breathing trick. “...Okay, that wasn't the best way I could've handled that situation.” Yes, Trixie was frustrating her, but that was no reason to lose her cool and get mad with her. She slowly walked back...then paused, noticing Pixie floating next to Trixie.

“But Trixie, remember?!” the fairy asked, being rather loud and dramatic. “If we do that, she'll know about me and then I might have to leave you forever!”

The Alicorn gasped, remaining hidden. She noticed Trixie look...sad. Worried. She didn't know who or what this creature was, but for her to react like that...

Pixie flew down, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “You don't need to beat Twilight, you're better than her to me.”

Trixie...looked genuinely moved by that. “...Thank you, Pixie.” The unicorn's eyes widened as Pixie hugged her...but put a hoof on her back.

Twilight slowly backed away. “...I'll just leave them be,” she said, not knowing what was going on but not wanting Trixie to lose a friend if she did learn too much.

After a few minutes, Trixie jumped and cleared her throat. “Perhaps you're right! Trixie has been obsessing too much over Twilight!” she said, turning to think.

Pixie smiled...then found a Breezie appear next to her. “Oh, hello.”

“You Trixie Pixie?” asked the little fairy pony.

“Yes! That's me!”

“Here,” the Breezie said, handing her an envelope. “Your reward for a thousand years of service.”

“Oh! I wonder what it is!” Pixie asked before opening it...and smiling from ear to ear. “Hehe! This is great!”

“Pixie, come along,” said Trixie, looking back. “We've spent so much time on Twilight Sparkle, we've neglected the reason we came here in the first place. Time to work on the show!” the mare said, turning to walk away. “Hmm...you are a great assistant, but I do wish I had one who could help directly on stage.”

Pixie swung her wand and it glowed, though Trixie didn't notice. “Wonder how that wish will be granted...” she said, then looked at what had come out of the envelope: a voucher reading 'One Permanent Wish.' “And what we'll use this for...”

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