16 - Of Colts And Chimaeras (Trixie)
“Eyes On You”
Chapter sixteen: Of Colts And Chimaeras
“Ha! That's it?” said Trixie, smirking beside herself as she looked down on the three-headed creature. “That thing is tiny compared to the Ursa Minor! Twilight and Trixie will vanquish it easily!”
She flashed a smile over at her partner, only to receive a wide-eyed stare in response.
“Trixie, do you even know what that is?” Twilight said, nodding towards the beast in question.
Trixie tilted her head. “Um, no, not really. But--”
“That's right, folks!” yelled the announcer, over the din that had overtaken the stadium. “Before you stands none other than Mittens – a member of the elusive chimaera species, which is known not only for its rarity and its fantastic appearance, but also for its unique reaction to magic!”
“Unique reaction?” Trixie repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“...Did he say Mittens?” asked Twilight.
“As the more studious among you may know, chimaera hide has been proven to absorb all known forms of direct magic. No enchantments or hexes are going to get past Mittens, so our competitors are certainly going to have to think outside the box in this first event!”
Trixie's face fell. Immune to magic... was that even possible? All down the row, her fellow competitors shuffled and muttered in light of the announcement. Clearly, they were all just as uncomfortable as Trixie was. All except for two, that is – Twilight, who was simply frowning more deeply, as if her fears had just been confirmed, and Flaire...
He was just smiling. Typically, annoyingly, he didn't seem even a little bit fazed by the announcement that he was to face a creature utterly immune to his charms.
Determined to mask her own mounting anxiety, Trixie turned her nose up with a grunt and fixed the chimaera with a firm frown.
“Now, I think it's about time we unveiled just what this event entails, don't you?” said the announcer. “Kindly turn your eyes to the screens, and without further ado, we'll show you!”
As instructed, the competitors all turned to watch the water screen on the opposite side of the stadium. It depicted a red-uniformed pegasus stallion, flexing his wings experimentally as he waited on a balcony near the top of the stands. With his teeth, he held the strap of a small, one-sided saddlebag.
“Inside that pouch is a small amount of a very rare herb called 'nip',” the announcer explained. “I'm sure some of you can guess what it does just from the name, but let's have a little demonstration. Watch closely, and hold onto your seats!”
Trixie cocked her head in question as the pegasus stallion kicked off from his perch and took to the air, gliding down towards the centre of the arena. Once he'd taken off, it was easy to distinguish him from the still-seated crowd, so everypony turned to watch him, rather than the screens. Mittens the chimaera didn't seem to pay him any mind at all.
'What's he doing?' Trixie wondered, squinting to get a better look.
As if to answer her question, the pegasus suddenly flicked his head and flung the pouch towards the ground, just as he was passing over the chimaera. It landed with a near-silent thud at the northern edge of the arena.
Mittens' snake head turned to investigate, but beyond that, the beast still didn't look interested in the slightest.
There was a long pause as the pegasus stallion wheeled around in midair and returned to his perch, whilst the audience continued to watch the pouch. Seconds passed, and murmurs of confusion began to spread through the crowd. Trixie tried to maintain her casual pretence, whilst silently admitting that she was more than a little curious herself.
The snake head stuck out its tongue and hissed towards the pouch.
All at once, the lion head sniffed loudly and its ears perked up, the goat head's eyes steadily widened and the creature's entire body seemed to stiffen.
Trixie and Twilight both gasped as Mittens suddenly burst into action, kicking off from the ground and launching itself towards the pouch. It overshot, and it crashed into the northern wall with such force that it shook the stands. The audience let out yelps and cries, but Mittens didn't seem fazed – it just scrambled back to its paws and batted the pouch away from the wall.
As the creature turned, Trixie couldn't believe her eyes. She saw what could only be described as an excited grin on the face of the lion head as it bent down to try and nose into the pouch. The other two heads joined it a second later, and the three of them actually seemed to be fighting each other to get inside.
“You see, folks, the likes of Mittens can't get enough of this herb! It simply can't resist the smell, so keeping a chimaera and its nip apart is all but impossible. And that, fillies and gentlecolts, is where our competitors come in!”
“...What?” said Trixie shortly.
“Each pair will be given a pouch of nip, and they'll take it in turns stepping into the arena and trying to keep that pouch away from Mittens for as long as possible!”
Trixie's eyes went wide, and she instinctively looked to Twilight. For her part, the lavender unicorn managed only to mouth wordlessly and shake her head.
“Now, before anypony starts to worry, I've been told to assure you all that Mittens is completely tame and completely harmless – our competitors are in no danger of being flattened, eaten or otherwise injured during the event!” said the announcer 'reassuringly'. “But that's not to say that they'll have an easy time of it! Quite the opposite in fact, as they'll be operating under a special handicap--”
“A handicap?” came Earth Twister's voice from somewhere down the row. “What, facing down a frenzied, magic-proof monster isn't difficult enough?”
“The handicap,” the announcer continued. “Is that the use of telekinesis is forbidden. After all, it wouldn't be much of an event if you could just dangle the pouch out of Mittens' reach, now would it? Aside from that though, the competitors may use any magic in their repertoire to accomplish their goal!”
Trixie scoffed. “Aside from telekinesis? We might as well tie our hooves to our chests!”
“What's the matter, Trixie?” said Flaire, shooting her a self-satisfied smirk. “Surely your 'repertoire' extends beyond simple push and pull spells by now?”
Trixie glared at him. Her cheeks burned red from the barb, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of watching her turn away first. She waited until he coolly turned his gaze back to the chimaera – still smiling to himself – before viciously snapping her own head away to hide her blush.
“The event will commence in ten minutes' time with our first pair, so make sure you've all got refreshments, binoculars, etcetera. You won't want to miss a second of this!”
“Um... pardon me?” came a familiar voice from behind Trixie.
“What?” demanded the showmare, turning to glare at the red-scarfed guide that had brought them thus far.
“I'm to show you to the waiting room beneath the stadium,” the mare explained with a smile. “If you'll all follow me this way...”
Trixie groaned as the guide started to lead the way. “What is this, musical chairs?”
Beside her, Flaire gave an annoying little chuckle. “Trixie, I seem to--”
“Shut up, Flaire,” she snapped, stomping after the guide.
* * *
The place felt rather 'dungeon-like', with walls and floors of brownish stone lit by flickering candles which hung from brackets around the room. Aside from the door from which they'd entered, the only way out was a narrow staircase, leading up into the arena itself.
It was at this staircase that Trixie glared, as if doing so would somehow bring about her turn faster. It didn't seem to be working.
Tap, tap, tap.
Two pairs had gone up already, leaving three in the waiting room. Twilight sat quietly in one corner, having said all of two words since they'd gotten down there. She was probably saving her energy, which was a good idea. Trixie might've done the same, if she could've convinced herself to stop pacing.
Tap, tap, tap.
She kept casting glances across at the other end of the room, expecting Flaire to be shooting her another of his cocky smirks. But she never caught him – he was always wrapped up in hushed conversation with his marefriend. What was her name? Rose?
'Tch, supermodel indeed!' Trixie thought with a shake of her head. 'Typical Flaire.'
Tap, tap, tap.
Meanwhile, the smallest of the male competitors, Sandstorm, napped soundly in another corner. Right now, he and Twilight were about the only ones in the room who weren't ticking her off...
Tap, tap--
“Do you mind?!” Trixie snapped, rounding on Earth Twister.
The stallion stopped his hoof about an inch from tapping the ground again and threw a slightly-frightened look in Trixie's direction. She glared to show that she was serious, and he promptly sat down on his haunches and deposited his hooves safely on the ground.
Satisfied, but hardly becalmed, Trixie gave another huff and went back to her pacing. How much longer was this going to take?
“What's the matter?”
She had to double-check to make sure that it was Twilight who spoke. The lavender unicorn was still sat down on her haunches, but she was now watching the pacing showmare with inquisitive eyes.
“What do you think?” said Trixie indignantly. “I'm anxious to get out there.”
“It's about Flaire, isn't it?” said Twilight.
Drawing a faint, shocked gasp, Trixie hurriedly glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Flaire hadn't heard that. When she found, mercifully, that he was still deep in conversation, she turned back to Twilight and glared. “Don't say that so loud! And why would you think that, anyway?”
Twilight offered a lop-sided smile. “No offence, but that reaction kind of confirms it...” She got to her hooves and walked over to Trixie, lowering her voice as she came closer. “Sorry to be blunt, it's just that things aren't quite adding up between you two, and I'm getting curious.”
“What're you talking about?” said Trixie, cocking her head.
“Well, I know I only just met him, but so far he's been nothing but pleasant,” said Twilight. “From the way you talked about him, I had this image of him being a real... er--” She checked to make sure he wasn't listening, before leaning in to whisper. “--A real jerk.”
Trixie gave her a funny look. “Twilight, I told you before – he's very charming around mares. He's not that kind of jerk.”
“Then what is it?” said Twilight. “As far as I can tell, he's been perfectly civil to you, too--”
Trixie gawped. “What? Didn't you hear his comment about my repertoire?”
Twilight cocked her head. “No. What did he say?”
“He... well, it's not--” Trixie found herself struggling. “It's not what he said, it's how he said it...”
Before either of them had a chance to say anything else, another red-scarfed guide – a stallion this time – appeared at the base of the stairs. All eyes turned to him as he cleared his throat.
“Flaire and Desert Rose!” he announced.
Trixie rolled her eyes more heavily than she could ever remember doing. 'Ugh! More waiting...'
The vexatious Flaire and his lovely assistant happily followed the guard up the stairs and out of sight. Trixie could've sworn that she caught a half-faced smirk as Flaire disappeared.
“Trixie,” said Twilight, drawing her attention back to the matter at hoof. “If it's alright with you, I'd like to know the whole story.”
Trixie blinked. “The whole story? As in, what? 'The life and times of Flaire and Trixie'?”
“No, just... what were you two to one another?” huffed Twilight. “I mean, were you school friends or work friends or...” She waved a hoof by way of trying to make herself more clear.
She needn't have. Trixie understood the question perfectly. And it was a perfectly reasonable question to ask, as well. Twilight deserved to understand why her partner was at seemingly random odds with a 'perfectly charming colt'.
“Fine,” said Trixie, proud to hear the word leave her. “But you asked, so don't interrupt me.”
Twilight simply smiled and nodded, waiting eagerly for her to begin.
'The beginning, hmm...' Trixie turned her eyes to the ceiling in thought. Where to begin? There were a lot of memories – was a lot of history – but nopony needed to hear about all that. She wanted to keep this short...
“Flaire and I grew up in Hoofington,” she began. “As children, we were very close, like I mentioned before. So, naturally, we spent a lot of time together...”
She had to force herself to focus.
“...Even when I was young, I always used to show off my magic on whatever stage I could find, whether it was a fountain or a bench, my desk in school... sometimes the kitchen table--”
Twilight giggled at that, spurring Trixie on.
“Anyway, close as we were, I was happy to let Flaire join me for my... 'performances' sometimes. Only... 'sometimes' became 'often', and then 'often' became 'all the time'. The two of us were practically inseparable.
“Everypony loved our shows. Of course, it was just kids at first, but as we grew older, we started to perform 'officially' – in highschool plays, in talent shows... that's when we realised that our skills were good for a lot more than just 'fun'.”
She nodded to herself as the pieces started falling together. “When we were old enough, we set our eyes on the road. I always had a dream of becoming Equestria's most famous showmare, and he wanted to become the face of some... magazine or something, I don't know. Anyway, we didn't think twice – we just packed our bags and set out for the nearest village, determined to start making a name for ourselves.”
Trixie shrugged. “And we were a hit. The village folk we performed for paid us more than enough to get by, and we even stayed a while to enjoy their hospitality. We heard about a magic tournament in the next village over, so that's where we headed next. And from there we just... went with it.”
She couldn't help but smile as distant memories started flooding back. “We were still young,” she muttered. “And we knew that we had a long way to go, but it still felt like the start of a dream come true. I was-- We were happy...”
Trixie gulped down the nostalgia and shook her head. Now wasn't the time to get emotional. In fact, it was never the time to get emotional about Flaire.
Coldly, she forced herself to continue. “Somewhere along the line, that changed. I don't know when it happened, but we started getting... competitive. It was fun, at first, but before long it was like we were duelling, more than we were performing--” She cast a lop-sided frown at the ground. “--And it actually went down well with our audiences, believe it or not. They cheered a lot louder, and we got paid more for each show, so it seemed like a good thing at the time. But...”
'But Flaire always won,' a taunting voice inside her head reminded her. Every duel, every challenge, Flaire managed, somehow, to always beat Trixie in the end. Sometimes it was by a landslide, other times he would taunt her by waiting until the very last second before turning her spells on her head. And every time the audience cheered his name, he would tell them to give Trixie a round of applause as well, for her 'valiant effort' or something along those lines. As if it was all part of the show.
But it wasn't. Trixie had tried her hardest to counter those spells, to one-up Flaire's gambits and wipe that mocking smirk off of his face, only to be foiled at every turn. He was... better.
“But what?”
'Was better,' she told herself. 'He was better. But not anymore. I'm the strong one now.'
“Trixie?”
Snapping out of her reverie, Trixie turned to Twilight, who had her head tilted in question.
“But what?” the lavender mare asked again.
“O-oh!” said Trixie, shaking herself back into focus. “But, uh, it wasn't... 'good' for us. I can't remember any one falling out or argument that did it, but eventually I got sick of it. Of Him--” She glowered a little. “--We were more like rivals than we were anything else, and I'd had enough of him always hu-- always trying to humiliate me. So I left.”
Twilight's eyes went wide. “You just... left? After you'd known each other since childhood?”
Trixie shook her head. He wasn't the same colt she knew in Hoofington. And she wasn't the same mare either. Time and circumstance had seen to that.
“Ponies change, Twilight,” Trixie said coldly.
It looked like Twilight was making to argue, but only for the briefest of moments. She promptly pursed her lips and looked down at the floor with what could easily be mistaken for a smile. “I guess that's true,” she said. “...But it's not always for the worse.”
In light of the dark feelings beginning to creep into Trixie's mind, a warmth of sorts suddenly washed over her cheeks. It only lasted for a second, but it was a refreshing reminder that she shouldn't let 'the bad stuff' get the best of her.
“...Was it hard?” said Twilight, looking up at her again. “I mean... leaving him?”
“Not even a little bit,” said Trixie immediately. “It was the easiest and best decision I ever made. Without him leaning over my shoulder all the time, I could build up my own show, work on my own magic, and make a name for myself. I was the Great and Powerful Trixie, not some second-rate 'lovely assistant' to Flaire. It felt good.”
Twilight cocked her head and frowned. “That sounded a little... rehearsed...”
“Trixie doesn't know what you're talking about,” said Trixie defiantly.
Twilight licked her lips, obviously not certain how to proceed. “So... you really don't regret it at all?”
Trixie closed her eyes and shook her head with such confidence that, when she opened them again and met Twilight's gaze, she was struck by a flash of brilliance.
“I don't regret it,” she said, pausing only to flash Twilight the most self-assured smirk she could muster. “Because if I hadn't gone solo, I might've never gotten the chance to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.”
The lavender unicorn stared dumbly back at Trixie, blinking a couple of times as she took in the perfectly-delivered sentiment. She was obviously at a loss for words, but her reddening cheeks and the smile tugging at her lips spoke for her, just fine.
Eventually, she thought to turn away to hide these signals from Trixie, but not nearly quickly enough that the showmare missed them.
“...Stop doing that,” Twilight muttered quietly.
Trixie's triumphant smirk didn't falter. “I'll stop doing it when you stop blushing,” she countered.
In response, Twilight spun around completely, showing her tail to Trixie whilst muttering something to the effect of “Not blushing...”
Trixie couldn't help but giggle at the adorable display.
They fell into a sort of companionable silence, and Trixie's smile stayed contently on her face for the seconds or minutes that she waited. Her urge to seethe was gone now, and whether that was due to Flaire being out of sight or to her little exchange with Twilight, Trixie was grateful.
Earth Twister and Sandstorm were the next pair to be called up to the arena, but Trixie didn't really mind. They were obviously saving the best for last, which made sense, considering that this was a magic show.
Besides, the wait didn't take long at all – the guide returned no more than five minutes later and cleared his throat. “The Great and Powerful Trixie and--”
“Yes, yes, we gathered that,” said Trixie, masterfully managing an irritated tone despite her excitement. She trotted forwards, waiting only for Twilight to join her before following the guide up the staircase.
The narrow tunnel through which they ascended was also faintly candlelit like the waiting room. The whole place had a very medieval feel to it. For her part though, Trixie couldn't have cared less about the décor, not with what was waiting for her at the top of that stairwell.
Fame. Attention. Applause.
'And a three-headed, magic-proof monster,' she reminded herself. But Mittens didn't really seem like such a big deal, next to all that.
Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but notice the frown on Twilight's face. “What?” she asked.
“You didn't let him say my title,” Twilight pouted.
Trixie had to stifle a giggle at that. “Oh, my apologies, Educated and Well-read Twilight Sparkle. Getting a taste for it, are we?” she said teasingly. She leant in close and lowered her voice. “Maybe you'd like me to call you that from now on?”
“Oh, go away!” Twilight laughed, bumping into her side.
As they crested the top of the staircase, they came before a two-pony-wide metal portcullis, beyond which the late morning sunlight glared down on the grey stonework of the arena. The stallion leading them took up position beside a lever on the left-hoof wall.
A second stallion beside the grate drew Trixie's eye – the earth pony tamer who had introduced Mittens. He looked younger up close, Trixie guessed that he couldn't be much older than herself or Twilight.
“Howdy, fillies,” he greeted. “How're ya both doin'? Excited, I'm sure!”
“To win the event and rub it in our competition's faces? Of course I'm excited,” said Trixie, smirking to herself.
“That's the spirit!” cheered the tamer. “Now, I'm just here to answer any questions ya might have about Mittens or the event, so ya can go in there with a clear head, like.”
“Trixie has no questions. Let's just--”
“Um, actually,” Twilight broke in, stepping forwards. “There is one thing, if that's okay with you?” She glanced over at Trixie.
The showmare, feeling a little psyched out, hesitated before nodding dumbly.
Twilight flashed her a grateful smile before turning back to the tamer. “I just wanted to ask... isn't this kind of cruel? I mean, keeping the nip away from... Mittens. Won't it get mad?”
“Mad? Are you kiddin'?” chuckled the tamer. “No, Mittens loves it! He loves the sport, and the exercise does him a world of good to boot! Honestly, you should've seen his grins...” He shook his head and smiled beside himself.
“So... it really is safe then?” said Twilight doubtfully. “He won't get mad or overexcited or anything?”
The tamer shrugged and waved towards the arena. “He's never 'urt anypony yet. And I've been playing this game with him for years! Although, I haven't got any magic so it's not as challenging for him when I do it... But yeah, you're safe. I'll step in if anythin' does go wrong. Trust me, I'm a professional.”
With a proud smile, he turned his body to reveal his cutie mark – a lion, snake and goat head, underlaid by a bright, pink heart.
Twilight and Trixie each raised an eyebrow.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, thank you for your patience!” came the announcer's voice from outside. “It's now time for our final performance of the morning, and it's from a pair that I, personally, have been looking forward to!”
As if receiving his cue, the red-uniformed stallion suddenly pulled the lever, and the portcullis began lifting from the ground, opening the path into the arena. Trixie felt the excitement well up in her chest, and actually had to bite her lip to keep from squealing.
To Trixie's pleasant surprise, Twilight seemed to be smiling too, albeit much more modestly. It would do for a start.
Together, they put their best hooves forward and strode out into the sunlight, to roars and cheers from the crowd.
“And here they are! The Great and Powerful Trixie and the Educated and Well-read Twilight Sparkle! And it's just as much of a mouthful the second time around! Let's hear it for these two!”
Trixie took a deep, content breath and closed her eyes, revelling in the wondrous attention and reverence of her audience. It was an incredible feeling, louder and more fervent than any applause she'd had before. And she hadn't even won yet! The very thought of even greater cheers to be had brought a wide grin to her face.
The two of them came to a stop in the very centre of the arena and faced the giant portcullis in the western wall, behind which Mittens no doubt waited in the darkness. In the corner of her eye, Trixie caught sight of the competitors' box, and a certain stallion looking down at her from within. She felt more than she saw the smirk on his face...
'He won't be smiling when Twilight and I thrash his time,' she thought to herself. 'We'll see who humiliates who this time.'
With a smirk and a defiant grunt, the showmare lifted her nose and fixed her gaze on the giant grate again, just as it started lifting up from the ground. She could almost feel the tension coming off of Twilight, at her side. Trixie had to admit to feeling a little thrillful herself.
A heavy clunk echoed across the stadium as the grate locked itself fully-open. In the darkness, Trixie could just about make out three pairs of eyes...
A large paw crept out. It waited, then was joined by a second. The head of the lion was the first to emerge from the dark curtain, eyes trained solely on Trixie and mouth set in a firm line. Its brothers joined it – the eyes of the snake and goat heads surveying the stands as the chimaera stepped forth.
As the huge portcullis cautiously lowered itself shut, the beast took a few more steps forward, before coming to a staring stop.
Trixie's mouth suddenly became rather dry. Mittens really hadn't seemed that big from up in the stands...
At her side, Twilight made a gulping noise. “Um, ready?” squeaked the lavender unicorn.
Trixie managed a wide-eyed nod. “O-of course. Do you have any idea what we're going to do?”
Twilight gave a nervous chuckle. “Not a clue. It's kind of... exciting, really.”
“Exciting?” Trixie repeated, eyeing the beast's slowly-wagging scorpion tail. She lowered herself into a ready position. “You really are getting a taste for this.”
A single, strapped saddlebag landed in front of them. The pegasus who'd apparently dropped it was quick to fly away, back towards his perch atop the stands.
Mittens made an inquisitive snort.
“As before, the timer starts when Mittens makes his first move!” said the announcer. “I'd like to wish the two of you good luck from all of us up here in safety! Remember, absolutely no telekinesis is allowed. Stay calm, don't panic and-- Whoa, he's off!”
Without warning, Mittens surged forwards, shaking the ground with the sudden force. The lion head wore a crazed grin and its tongue trailed from its mouth, giving it a distinctly deranged look, the likes of which Trixie had never seen.
Getting out of the way suddenly seemed like a very, very good idea. But Trixie's hooves refused to do anything, despite knowing full-well that she was about to enter into a very painful situation...
Mittens bounded closer. It'd be on them in seconds.
Twilight was frozen, just as Trixie.
Trixie's mind started to fade into darkness. Speak. Scream. Move. Nothing worked! The only thing that made any sense was the slow-motion image of the charging chimaera and its crazy eyes.
Its stomping paws shook the stadium, but the sound was muffled. The crowd was a low hum. Her heart beat in her ears.
And then...
“Gah! Trixie!”
Twilight's voice pulled Trixie back to reality, but she didn't have time to react as the lavender unicorn leant down, picked up the pouch with her teeth and crossed their necks in a hug.
The showmare's eyes widened to accommodate the massive chimaera bearing down upon them.
And then it was gone. A flash of light, the world twisted, and the next thing Trixie knew, she was staring at a wall on the opposite side of the arena.
“Mmph!” Twilight spat the pouch from her mouth and drew back to meet Trixie's eyes with a look of panicked concern. “Trixie, are you okay?”
“Y-yes?” Trixie guessed. “What--”
“I teleported us,” said Twilight, turning to look at something over Trixie's shoulder.
Trixie followed her eyes to the other side of the arena. There stood Mittens, looking thoroughly dazed and confused as it stumbled around – as if it'd just hit its head against the wall. Heads, even.
“Wh-ow! For a minute there, I thought we were in for a five second round but... wow! Mittens didn't know what hit him! I haven't seen a spell like that in a long time!”
Shaking herself, Trixie finally managed to register just what'd happened during that split second. Twilight had saved her again. Not necessarily from harm, but from humiliation at the very least. And that would've been just as bad, if not worse.
There would be time later to scold herself for freezing up. For now, she offered Twilight a smile and a quiet “Thank you.”
Naturally, Twilight just gave a dismissive shake of her head and returned the smile.
On the other side of the arena, Mittens was starting to regain its balance. There wasn't a lot of time...
“Trixie,” said Twilight. “I think I can confuse it some more. I need you to run that way, over towards the grate. I'll take the nip and circle around the other way--”
“What? Why? It'll go straight for you!” said Trixie disbelievingly.
Twilight glanced tensely to the side. “Well, do you have any ideas?”
“I--” Trixie racked her brain, but nothing availed her. She supposed that she could try to throw Mittens off with some stage magic, but after that... It didn't make for much of a plan.
“It's a lot easier to teleport by myself,” said Twilight. “Going together would just take up more energy. You need to think of our next move while I distract it. Okay?”
Trixie opened her mouth, closed it, then looked towards the chimaera across the way, the lion head of which had already turned to face them. There wasn't time to argue as to whether it was the best plan. It was a plan, and it would have to do...
“O-okay. Okay,” Trixie managed, starting to take a few steps backwards. She kept Twilight's eyes in the centre of her view, reluctant to break away from those violet orbs. The words “Good luck” were lost on her tongue, but Twilight seemed to get the message.
A short, vigorous roar signalled Mittens' recovery.
Twilight broke eye contact.
As some spell seemed to break along with it, Trixie watched the brave and slightly-crazy lavender unicorn turn and gallop away, skirting the wall of the arena. The beast broke into a charge towards her, eyes locked determinedly upon the pouch. And so it began...
Forcing her hooves into action, Trixie spun around to gallop in the opposite direction, towards the largest grate, as Twilight had told her. She watched over her shoulder as Mittens advanced on her partner, who hadn't gotten very far at all by comparison.
In seconds, Mittens was upon Twilight again, lunging forwards to try and steal the pouch.
Twilight was gone in a flash, appearing again on the other side of the arena.
The beast managed to grind itself to a halt just before hitting the wall, and it only took a couple of seconds for it to recover before storming off after Twilight again.
Twilight herself kept it up for an impressive while. Mittens would charge her, she would vanish in the nick of time and reappear somewhere else. Each time, it would be a little bit closer, and each time, Mittens got a lot faster.
Trixie's attempts to come up with a plan took second place to her watching in awe of the lavender unicorn flashing around the arena, like lightning. The crowd cheered and applauded for every dodge, and Trixie almost had to fight the urge to do the same. It really was incredible.
'If I could do magic like that...'
But it wasn't to last forever.
Six or seven teleports later, Mittens drew itself up, let out another roar and unfurled its wings – three ponies long, each way. It leapt towards Twilight – to gasps and cries from the audience – covering the entire arena in a single bound and crashing down with such force that shook the ground.
Twilight was gone when it got there of course, but the chimaera didn't even pause to recover before jumping again. And again. And again. The lavender unicorn was having to teleport again almost as soon as she reappeared each time.
“Looks like Mittens has gotten wise to the trick!” yelled the announcer. “I hope these two have something else up their sleeves, otherwise they're in trouble!”
He was right. With slim to no time to rest, even the great Twilight Sparkle was going to wear herself out before long.
But what could Trixie do about it? She'd yet to come up with any kind of plan. Her own repertoire of spells really didn't extend beyond stage magic, and pulling a bouquet of flowers from behind Mittens' ear didn't promise to help very much.
Twilight's final teleport saw her appearing in the middle of the arena, breathless and obviously exhausted. True to form, the chimaera showed no such fatigue – pouncing again almost immediately.
With a gasp, Trixie hurried forwards on instinct, hoping to help... somehow. Maybe take the pouch and make a break for it?
But Mittens was much faster – it would reach Twilight long before she did.
From the centre of the arena came a surge of magic. In the time it took Trixie to blink, Twilight had become surrounded by a hemisphere of purple light. A shield spell...
Trixie ground her hooves to a halt, not even half-way there, as Mittens crashed down and rose to loom over the shell. With the same, excited grin as before, the lion head darted down to retrieve its prize, only to hit its nose on the forcefield and draw back.
The snake hissed at the shield, whilst the lion and goat blinked, as if dumbstruck. For a fleeting moment, it seemed like the beast might actually be given pause – which would give Twilight time to catch a breath – but it was not to be.
A few seconds was all it took before Mittens poked the barrier again with its nose. The other two heads moved in from different angles to do the same, whilst the beast started batting the sides with its paws, trying to find some way in.
Twilight was struggling – her body was low and she had her face screwed up in concentration...
“It looks like Twilight Sparkle is struggling, folks! And what is her partner up to? Could this be part of their plan--”
Trixie snarled, wishing he would shut up. As if wasn't hard enough to think already, with the stress of watching a vicious chimaera bear down upon her friend.
Mittens put its paws either side of the shield and started trying to lift it off.
That was it. There was no time. If stage magic was all she could come up with, then stage magic would have to do.
“Twilight, send it here!” she yelled, flailing a hoof frantically to get her partner's attention.
The lavender unicorn craned an eye open, saw Trixie's gesture, then closed it again painfully. She dropped the pouch. Her shield flickered ominously.
Then, with a faint flash, the pouch appeared in front of Trixie's hooves.
Mittens' curious assault stopped abruptly. An eerie, unexpected silence fell over the stadium.
As the beast sniffed the air and turned its heads every which way in search of its target, Trixie hurried forwards and scooped the pouch up with her mouth, determination burning in her chest. 'My turn...'
Mittens rounded on Trixie. Its eyes scanned her face first, then moved down to the pouch.
With its attention drawn, Twilight could finally drop her shield and catch a breath. Now all Trixie had to do was keep it distracted until the lavender unicorn could recover and get back in the game. 'All she had to do...'
The chimaera surged forwards.
Inspired or driven mad by Twilight's valiant efforts, Trixie felt a renewed confidence taking hold. She gulped, shifted her neck, then galloped straight towards Mittens, drawing more shocked gasps from the audience.
The announcer was yelling something too, but Trixie blocked it out. She needed to focus.
She lit up her horn and aimed it towards the ground in front of Mittens' paws, summoning forth a small, brown paper bag. When the bag hit the ground, it ripped open, and out rolled dozens of tiny marbles, spreading out in every direction.
But Mittens was too massive. The glass balls shattered beneath its paws and it charged on, unhindered.
Barely fazed, Trixie tried another gambit. She summoned a bouquet of flowers right in front of the lion head's nose. It collided with them headlong, sending out a cloud of petals and pollen which was enough to make it sneeze, but little more. It recovered and continued its charge.
'This is not my forte!' Trixie screamed inwardly, narrowing her eyes for one last spell before the beast reached her.
From her horn, she brought forth a brilliant, blinding flash of light, directed straight towards Mittens. All six of its eyes screwed up at once, and it let out wild howls of shock from each of its heads as one of its paws slipped out from beneath it.
Thinking fast, Trixie changed direction and galloped to the side as Mittens came crashing down to the ground, sliding to a halt where she had been standing just a second before. When the floor stopped shaking and the vibrations stopped making her ears ring, she heard roaring cheers from the stands.
The showmare felt a rush of euphoria as she realised that she'd actually just managed to land an attack.
With Mittens down for the moment – though it was rapidly blinking to clear its eyes and struggling to get back on its paws – Trixie chanced a look across at Twilight. The lavender unicorn was sat on her haunches in the centre of the arena, eyes closed and still catching her breath. That she hadn't seen Trixie's awesome spellcast was a bit of a put-down, but there would be other chances.
Another idea started to form within her mind as she darted towards the far wall of the arena. There was one trick she always used when she wanted to beat a hasty retreat, and if she could alter it just a little...
Trixie stopped, knelt down and hurriedly put the pouch to one side, knowing that she had to be quick. She channelled magic into her horn and touched it to the ground, pouring the spell into the stonework beneath her.
A glyph of glowing magenta appeared in the stone, fading into nothingness a second later. Trixie smirked.
With the trap laid, she grabbed the pouch and dashed onwards, making sure to keep a clear line between herself, Mittens, and the now-hidden magic trigger.
It was only seconds before the clueless chimaera started giving chase.
Trixie continued her run, slowing down when she neared the wall and finally coming to a very calm stop as she turned to face the approaching Mittens. Well, a kind of calm stop, but she hoped that she came across as very calm...
The beast thundered towards her, but Trixie stood her ground.
Mittens grinned and lowered its head, obviously thinking that it had her trapped. How wrong it was.
Just a few more steps and...
“Yes!” Trixie cheered, as her glyph lit up in front of the chimaera, who didn't even have time to react before a cloud of smoke blew up in its faces.
It reared up in surprise as each of its heads got a mouth and noseful of the fumes, sending them into fits of coughing and spluttering.
Pressing her advantage, Trixie sent forth a barrage of magical fireworks from her horn, setting them off between herself and Mittens. The colours never did show up well in the daylight, but the sound was perfect.
The chimaera drew back from the bombardment of noise, in obvious awe of Trixie's power. Trixie herself just smirked more widely. She was in her element now – using her magic to convince her audience that she had more power over it than she really did. And believing the illusion, in turn, made it true.
'What next? Lightning? Another light spell?' she wondered, as she took a second to let herself cool down from the rapid casting. 'Maybe I could try using its tail for some kind of rope trick--'
All of sudden, Mittens shook himself and hopped backwards, landing in a ready-to-pounce pose. Its wings shot out, its eyes all narrowed, and the lion head grunted air through its nose.
'Oh...' Trixie's smirk fell. 'It's looking at me.'
Mittens pounced.
It was probably bluffing. It wouldn't really try to eat her or squash her or anything. Even so, finding herself unable to think of a spell to counter the attack, Trixie's urge to run was prevalent.
And run she would have, if not for the vicious, completely-out-of-nowhere gust of wind that blasted her in the face a split second later. Her mane blew out of order, her cape billowed out behind her, she actually had to screw up her eyes to protect them. The gale was so strong that she feared simply lifting a hoof from the ground would be enough to send her flying.
With great difficulty, she managed to squint up towards Mittens. It was still in midair, and still coming straight towards her, though its 'flight path' looked a little erratic...
The only thing Trixie could think to do amidst her confusion and panic was to make herself as small as possible and cling to the ground for dear life.
The chimaera crashed into the wall overhead. The wind stopped immediately. Another eerily-still silence prevailed.
For one, heart-stopping moment, it looked like Mittens was going to collapse right on top of her. But, as the beast fell, it pushed off from the wall with one foreleg and twisted its body to fall backwards instead.
It crashed down with a ground-shaking thud and rolled. In a rather impressive display of deftness for something that size, it used the momentum to push off from the ground again and roll in midair. It tumbled once more before finally landing on all fours and grinding itself to a halt, some way away from Trixie, who simply gawped to express the blankness of her mind.
A familiar flash of light heralded the appearance of Twilight Sparkle at her side, the sight of whom woke Trixie right up.
“T-Twilight!” she said, scrambling to her hooves. “Was that you?”
“Yes – I used a wind spell,” said Twilight proudly.
Trixie blinked, then smiled. “Wind spell... that was quick thinking. How did you know it wouldn't fall on me?”
“Well, I-- Uh...” Twilight bit her lip and glanced to the side.
Trixie narrowed her eyes. “You did know it wouldn't fall on me, right?”
Twilight scratched her neck awkwardly. “Uh... Ah!” She pointed at Mittens. “It's coming this way!”
A quick glance revealed that the beast was, indeed, fully recovered and charging them again, and this time it was uncomfortably close already.
Panicking, Trixie turned to Twilight. “Can't you do something?”
“Like what?” said Twilight, shooting her a look.
Trixie shook her head hopelessly and started backing away towards the wall, eyes wide as plates as she watched Mittens bear down upon them. “Shield will do!” she blurted out.
Just in time, a purple dome shot up around the two of them – with barely enough room to take a single step in each direction. Trixie breathed a relieved sigh, not rightly caring about living space right now.
The chimaera ground its paws to a halt just short of the dome and twisted its body, bringing the goat head down like some kind of battering ram. It bounced off with a dazed “Baa” but the other heads promptly took its place, prodding, striking and looking for a weakness like before.
“What now?” grunted Twilight, giving Trixie a one-eyed look whilst she struggled to maintain the spell.
Trixie racked her brain...
A look up at the clear sky was all it took to spark her inspiration.
Hastily, she lifted her horn and poured her magic into it, focusing on the spot over Mittens' heads. Dark vapour began to swirl in the air, casting eerie shadows over the ground as it slowly clustered together. A black cloud took began to take shape overhead, and a spark of electricity arced through it, signalling that the spell was ready.
“Hurry!” Twilight pleaded.
Trixie didn't need telling twice.
She flicked her horn, and a bolt of lightning lashed down from the cloud, striking the ground near one of the beast's paws and scorching the stonework. Mittens jumped back in fright, almost tripping over itself to get away from the impact.
Seizing her advantage, Trixie brought another bolt down on its other side.
Mittens recoiled again, jumping further this time and letting out a distorted howl.
With some of the pressure taken off of Twilight, the lavender unicorn was able to open her eyes and see what was going on.
“...What's it doing?” she asked.
Another bolt crashed down just outside the dome, and Mittens dared not to approach.
“It's... afraid of lightning?” Trixie guessed. All she knew was that it was working, and she wasn't about to complain about the first sure-fire weapon she had against the creature.
Of course, no matter how scared it was, Mittens was driven. After the fourth bolt, he started shaking himself. Apparently, the shock was wearing off.
During the pause, it bounded forwards to make another pass at the nip. Trixie brought a bolt down in front of the beast, and it was enough to make it stumble and jump back again.
Trixie smirked beside herself. “Ha! Trixie has found your weakness! We have you now, Mittens!”
“You're doing really well,” said Twilight encouragingly. “Just be careful not to hit the shield.”
Trixie flicked back her mane. “Tch. I won't hit the shield. I happen to be an exp--”
Mittens interrupted her with a roar from the lion head as it recovered from the fright of the latest bolt.
“Hey!” snapped Trixie, shooting Mittens a glare. “Don't interrupt the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
She brought another bolt down, this one striking the beast straight on the rump. Instead of leaving a scorch mark as Trixie had intended, the lightning strike simply seemed to disperse harmlessly into Mittens' coat.
It gave a half-yelp, as if it'd been expecting to feel pain, but none came. When it realised this, Mittens glanced between Trixie, its own rump and the cloud, apparently putting the pieces together.
Trixie's self-satisfied smirk died on her face. When Twilight threw her the dirtiest of looks, the showmare responded with a sheepish grin. “Aha... oops.”
In one, terrible movement, Mittens reared up, batted the cloud with a paw and pushed it straight down onto the top of the shield. Trixie recoiled from the edge of the barrier as electricity began to course through it.
And then it shattered.
With a sound resemblant of smashing glass, the barrier broke into hundreds of tiny, translucent shards, which drifted downwards as they faded from existence. Twilight, after her spell had been so suddenly and unexpectedly overpowered, offered a dizzy smile and a giggle as she toppled over onto her side.
Now, the only thing that stood between Mittens and its prize was Trixie. And, by the looks on the chimaera's faces, it knew this. What it didn't know was that Trixie wasn't going to give up without a fight.
She planted herself firmly above the pouch of nip and started to channel another smoke screen spell into her horn as Mittens drew closer. “Trixie will not-- Ah!”
The goat head leaned across, bit down on Trixie's tail and lifted her into the air, without even the courtesy to let her finish her spell. Suddenly finding herself upside-down, Trixie squealed and flailed her hooves. “Hey! That's not fair! Let go!”
While she was... occupied... the lion and snake heads moved in towards the unguarded pouch.
“No!” Trixie cried.
“That's it!” the announcer confirmed. “Stop the clock, Mittens has the pouch! It's all over! What a spectacular show--”
Trixie groaned and let her head hang, even as applause rang out through the stadium. She knew it was her fault they'd lost – if she hadn't lashed out with the lightning spell, they might've got at least another twenty seconds on the clock. Of course, she knew that one of them would tire out and make a mistake eventually, but she was kind of hoping that it wouldn't be her.
Then again, she would never wish for Twilight to make a mistake on her first performance either – after all, her nerves were bad enough as it was. 'Ugh, maybe it would help if I wasn't looking at this upside-down,' she mused.
“Hey, you!” she called out, trying to look up at the goat head that held her. “Congratulations, you got your nip. Now put Trixie down!”
There was a short pause.
Next thing Trixie knew, she was on her belly on the stone floor and Mittens was bounding off to another part of the arena to enjoy its prize. Trixie grumbled to herself as she got to her hooves.
“Uhwah?” said Twilight, stirring in her semi-conscious state. “W-where am I?”
Trixie coolly brushed off the shoulders of her cape. “One graceful flop from where you were ten seconds ago. Wake up, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight complied, blinking the dizziness from her eyes and craning her neck to get a look around. When she realised that she was laying on cold, hard stone, she quickly got to her hooves. “O-oh, right, sorry. I--” Her eyes widened as they settled upon Mittens, across the way. “--Oh no! We lost?”
“Not necessarily,” said Trixie, determined to keep up her image of coolness for the audience. “We still don't know what our time was, compared to the others'...”
...But she didn't need to know in order to feel the sneaking, anxious sense that it wasn't good enough.
“An excellent performance, you two!” came the announcer's voice. “Some impressive raw power from one and some rather creative use of stage magic from another. Didn't I tell you these two were a pair to watch, fillies and gentlecolts?”
Trixie gave a start as the arena wall began to emit a low grumble. At first, she couldn't tell that anything was happening. But then several long, stone slabs started sliding outwards, forming a staircase which lead all the way up to the top of the wall.
“Please, come on up and rest your weary hooves! You've earned it, after that performance!”
Trixie cast a sidelong glance at Twilight before wordlessly starting forwards.
The lavender unicorn hastened up alongside to throw her a look of concern. “You seem upset,” Twilight said. There was a short pause, before her ears drooped a little. “Did I mess up?”
Trixie sighed. “No, you didn't. I did. And right in front of Flaire, too,” she added, shooting a glare up towards his seat. “No doubt he'll be rubbing it in my face the moment we get up there.”
“Oh,” said Twilight, clearly not sure whether she was allowed to be relieved as well as sympathetic. “Um, well, I'll stick up for you if he gives you trouble,” she said awkwardly.
At that, Trixie couldn't help but give a little chuckle. “I can handle Flaire, Twilight...” She shot her a smile. “But thank you.”
At the top of the stairs, they found themselves right beside the entrance to the competitors' box. The seats were all in a single row – just as before – which meant that they had no option but to file in. And, naturally, the pony sitting closest to them was the vexatious Flaire, offering his little, 'welcoming' smile.
Despite Trixie's assurances that she could handle it, she found herself clumsily pushed aside by Twilight, who clambered to get in first. The azure unicorn made to call her out on it, but quickly found that she didn't really want to. Instead, she settled for smiling at her friend's kindness and filing in behind her.
True to form, Flaire's voice kicked up as soon as Trixie's flank hit the seat. To her surprise, however, he wasn't addressing her...
“That, Twilight Sparkle, was a fantastic display of magic,” he said, flashing the mare a smile. “Particularly that wind spell – I've never seen anything quite like it! Where did you learn all of that?”
Clearly caught off guard, Twilight stammered. “O-oh, um, thank you. I-I learned everything I know from... the Princess. A-and books. I read a lot of books.”
“Fascinating,” said Flaire. “A student of the Princess...”
“Um, d-don't you think Trixie was good too?” said Twilight, leaning back and smiling expectantly as she gave them a clear line of sight to one another. “I mean, I thought her smoke screen trap was clever. I-I never thought of using glyphs.”
Trixie stifled an eye roll. She knew that Twilight was trying to be helpful, but--
“But of course!” said Flaire, turning his smile on Trixie.
'Here it comes...'
“I had my doubts, Trixie, but you really have improved a lot since our last encounter,” he said. “I'm very impressed. You know, after seeing that, imagining you fighting an Ursa Minor doesn't seem outrageous at all.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow.
“I certainly hope that we get a chance to test our skills against one another, later in the Display,” Flaire continued. “Just like the good old days. It'd be nice, don't you think?”
It was a rhetorical question – he turned to face out towards the arena a second later. When Twilight threw her a 'Did I do good?' smile, Trixie humoured her by returning it, before staring down at her lap to puzzle over Flaire's words.
'Why would he be so... nice?' she wondered. 'He didn't even tease me about the marbles, or the stupid mess up with the lightning. It doesn't--'
A disturbing thought crossed her mind.
She glanced at Flaire and the self-satisfied smirk on his face. Then she glanced at Twilight... and the content smile on hers.
Trixie blinked.
'Can't be,' she told herself shortly, forcing her eyes back down to the arena and thoroughly denying the train of thought.
“Well, fillies and gentlecolts, that brings us to the end of our first event,” said the announcer. “Let's all give a big hoof to Mittens for being such a great sport and not maiming anypony! Mittens, everypony!”
The chimaera, waiting beside his tamer just outside the open portcullis, puffed out his chest and smiled as the sound of applause reached his ears. Trixie grunted amusedly. Obviously, there was a bit of showmare in him too.
As the praise died down, he and his tamer turned and made their way down into the darkness, and the grate closed behind them.
“That was something, eh, folks? I'm exhausted just from having watched those performances! Thanks to our competitors for putting on such a great show – I think we can all agree that they each deserve another applause. But first, it's time to reveal the winners of the first event!”
Trixie sat up in her seat, ears perked up and eyes staring attentively towards the closest water screen.
“First up, with a difference of only three seconds between them, we have Violet and Nightshade in fifth place, followed by Bay Dasher and Cherry Blossom in fourth!”
A light applause started up as the screen blurred to show each of them in turn. The ebon-coated pair in fifth place looked a little dejected, which was understandable. As for the other pair, Bay Dasher was still sat with his fetlocks folded and a firm frown on his face, and Cherry Blossom just looked as serene and calmly happy as ever... What they felt, Trixie had no idea.
“In third place, by a margin of seven seconds, the brothers Earth Twister and Sandstorm!”
“Third, not bad!” Twister commented, bumping hooves with his brother in the midst of their slightly louder applause.
Trixie rolled her eyes. Who, in their right mind, could call third place 'not bad'?
“And in second place...”
Trixie's eyes snapped wide, only just realising that her name hadn't been called yet.
“...by a margin of nineteen seconds...”
She glanced over at Flaire, who looked just as calm as ever. For her part, Trixie's heart was starting to hammer faster. The shaky frown on Twilight's face said that she was in the same ship.
“...this lovely couple, it's Desert Rose and Flaire!”
“Ha!” Trixie let out a noise somewhere between a gasp, a giggle and relieved sigh as applause broke out around the stands. At her side, Twilight cupped her hooves over her mouth to hide a similar noise.
“But, that means--”
“That's right, folks, you all know what that means! Taking first place by an utter landslide of thirty-seven seconds more than the closest pair, I give you the Great and Powerful Trixie and the Educated and Well-read Twilight Sparkle!”
The applause that broke out for them now was even greater than the one that greeted them when they'd stepped into the arena. Trixie flashed her most gracefully amazing smirk as the camera turned to her, drawing her beautiful, triumphant face onto the screens for everypony to see.
And this was still just a stepping stone... The real applause and adoration would come right at the end. There was still a ways to go yet.
She turned her smirk to the side and saw the beaming grin on Twilight's face as she gazed around at her adoring audience.
“Ha,” said Trixie shortly, snapping Twilight out of her daze and drawing a questioning look. “I knew there was a showmare in there somewhere.”
Twilight opened her mouth, closed it again, then simply gave a little, mirthful chuckle before going back to her revelling.
Trixie leant forwards to get a look at Flaire, hoping to catch a glimpse of a pout or a snarl or something. What she saw instead was a smile as Flaire clopped a hoof against the stonework. He was clapping...
“Congratulations, Trixie,” he said, pausing to offer a wink. “You earned it.”
Trixie literally had to fight herself to keep her jaw from dropping. Whether it was in shock, outrage or something else entirely, she didn't know. Whatever the case, she managed to overpower herself after a moment of staring and pulled herself back into her seat.
'What's he playing at?' she asked herself. 'Why is he being so...'
“Congratulations to you as well, Twilight,” came Flaire's voice. “You truly are very talented.”
Though Trixie outright refused to turn and look, she saw Flaire shaking Twilight's hoof out of the corner of her eye. Something started to boil in her chest...
She kept a lid on it. This wasn't the time to let him get to her. She'd just won. She'd just beat him. Not directly... but it was still a start.
And a start was enough to smile about.
“Alright, alright, let's settle down! Congratulations to our winners and another warm thank you to everypony for their spectacular performances. And to those of you who didn't do as well as you'd hoped, don't fret! Tomorrow is your chance to redeem yourselves!”
Trixie's ears perked up again.
“That's right! The second event will be held tomorrow! The unveiling will be at noon this time around, to allow for our competitors to rest up a bit. But that's the only break they'll be getting! Following the unveiling, they'll be thrown straight into the event! No practise, no preparation, no warning! ...Well, except that one. Good luck to you all, now go and rest up!”
With all the information she needed in tow, that was one suggestion that Trixie was all too happy to take to heart. She rose to her hooves, rolled her neck and smiled towards the sky.
“Got a plan?” Twilight guessed, still in her seat.
Trixie smirked and shook her head. “No. After that--” She nodded towards the arena. “--I just need to do something to relax.”
Twilight quirked a brow. “Something like?”
“Like going home and collapsing on my couch,” said Trixie lightly.
Twilight giggled. “Well, that doesn't sound like a lot of fun.”
“Oh?” said Trixie, throwing her a sly smile. “Then maybe Trixie should keep our room's complimentary bottle of champagne to herself.”
Twilight's eyes widened a little. “O-oh...”
Trixie proffered a hoof and an inviting smile. “Shall we?”
* * *
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Flaire, you stay away from Twilight!
I'm with Trixie. A well deserved drink is in order for our pair. Trixie's right to keep an eye on Flaire. He's up to something.
I'm sensing that Flaire has some sort of a romantic interest in Twilight. Trixie, you can't let anything come of it!
Very nicely done!
I want a Mittens!
And it's beginning to seem like Flaire is a genuinely nice guy with a great deal of talent, and Trixie was too sensitive. I'd rather not find out that that was the case. I was looking forward to hating him.
I hope Flaire isn't up to what I think he's up to
I'm sorry but, is Flaire hitting on Twilight or something, or is that just trixie making it seem that way. either way, this chapter was awesome dude. nice job. cant wait for the next chapter.
I dont really like that word. Fillyfriend always sounds as if the girls are about the CMCs age and that is definatly too young to be in a relationship. I prefer Marefriend but maybe thats just me^^
Ohhh, drinks, eh? Wonder how that'll turn out.
2338287 No, I agree. Mare is more mature, and it makes sense, seeing how most semi-normal females don't start dating until they're in their teens. (Which is kinda like adult and a mare is a grown pony/horse, so yeah. My logic is messed up, I think. I don't care.)
now having read the whole chapter.... that was pretty awesome work there dude^^ I especially liked Trixies Glyph trap^^ Kind of reminded me of Skyrim^^ (There are similar spells in that game in case you did not know^^)
on a side note.... Why is everyone thinking that Flaire is hitting on Twilight? He just shook hooves with her. And even if he IS hitting on her... does anyone here honestly thinks she'd do something like that to Trixie and allow him to go through with it?
Yay! This was epic!
Still great.
Yeeeeesss. Go and celebrate by drinking champagne. Lower your inhibitions. Get sleepy. Go to sleep IN THE SAME BED.
And then we shall have cuddles. Yeeeessss.
All is going as I have forseen.
Also, Flaire starts hitting on Twilight, I am gonna force lightning his ass.
2338378 good to know that someone out there agrees with me^^ Thanks^^
Trixie managed a wide-eyed nod. “O-of course. Do you have any idea what we're going to do?”
It's not like they just had time to prepare in the dungeon or anything...
Quite a gaping plot hole if you ask me.
i see what you're up to flair encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRjUY0skSDukFEv8jCPslaaSqz5S9spR8YMIOv5HUXQCsR9Kph-1w
I get a feeling that Flaire might secretly not be a jerk after all and that he might actually wish the best for Trixie, for her to improve enough to beat him in this thing. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic. The one thing that I didn't understand though is why nopony seemed to even try and come up with their strategies before the event, in the waiting room. Was everyone afraid that the others would overhear and steal their ideas?
Also, to be anal about it all, the rules of the event should've been a bit more strict, I don't think Twi was technically forbidden from teleporting the nip deep into the ground or something.
And all the interactions between the duo are adorable 
But in any case, another fantastic chapter - you are pretty great at creating just enough tension, not too much so it becomes unpleasant to read, and enough to be thrilling. I was genuinely expecting Team T&T to not win this event.
Nifty event. One could argue that Mittens was tired by the time Trixie and Twilight had their turn, but it seems the creature had boundless energy. Must have been the nip.
Also, I thought the snake head was the tail for a chimera, not a scorpion's tail. Though, different versions of chimera exist (including Discord) so I'll chalk it up to creative licence.
But yeah, exciting event! Not violent like how I originally feared (Fluttershy will be so happy!
) but still action packed! Odd how the two didn't plan beforehoof, but then again, ponies have shown to be a little slow in the battle department.
Oooh, and some flirting from Flaire I see. Interesting...
Till next time!
STAY AWAY FROM TWILIGHT FLAIRE! Kick his ass Trixie!
I'm greatly looking forward to the moment when Flaire asks Twilight out and she laughs in his face, telling him she already has a very special somepony. Then his marefriend Desert Rose walks in and kicks his flank. Onwards to victory!
As soon as the event was described I had three ideas on how to proceed, teleportation, shields, and doppelganger illusions(which given the smell of nip would likely not have worked...although perhaps using that wind spell to disperse the smell of it throughout the arena...hmmm), and you made great use of the first two. The other tactics were rather clever, especially Trixie's solar flare, though she seem very outclassed by Twilight's abilities...She should really read some books or learn a few things from Twilight.
I look forward to the next event, not sure how they'll top a game of keep-away with a chimera but I'm sure you have something in mind. I kind of hope there's an actual duel at some point, Twilight would own given how much combat experience she has, backed up by Trixie's natural ability to cause distraction.
Also Flaire is kind of creeping me out...I don't know...I just get a sociopathic vibe from him.
I got the Shaun of the Dead reference. Anyone else?
On the topic of Shaun of the dead, Flaire reminds me of David. He's after the lead female too.
Good chapter, I want a Mittens now.
2317857 Thank you for the well wishes. I'm feeling much better now
You say 'only a few weeks since the last update' but to me that feels like forever! I wish I could write more quickly 
Glad you liked the story and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!
2337055 Time for Celestia to break out the maternal instincts (read: twelve gauge) and chase him off? Hmm... maybe I'll save that for another story
2337252 After that exhausting chapter, I so can't wait to write a nice, relaxing drinking scene. Projecting onto the story a bit here
Anyways, yeah - looks like Flaire is up to something! But what? 
2337427 And so the love dodecahedron continues to grow... As if Rainbow Dash wasn't enough, right?
Hehe, thanks for the comment!
2337529 Good, good - let the hate flow! Uh, I mean, 'don't judge a book by it's cover'? Hmm... Well, we'll have to wait and see.
I'm glad you liked my chimaera. There was originally some character building for Mittens towards the end, but it got cut - had to try and keep things on track with the already-crazy word count! I feel like he got kind of a raw deal though... er, oh well, I'm rambling now. Thanks very much for your comment!
2337545 Time will tell!
2337660 Haha, thanks! It is a really nice pairing, it would be nice to see more Twixie stories about. Well, I mean ones that didn't stop in the middle
(Unfinished Twixie fics, you know who you are! 
)
2338064 Could be either way right now, you'll have to wait and see what Twilight makes of him. Thank you very much for the comment!
2338287 2338378 I tend to use the two interchangeably. To me, fillyfriend sounds more cutesy, though it's also kind of clumsy to say. Marefriend, on the other hand, flows better and is definitely more mature, but that's not necessarily always what you want to show. Hmm... I'm curious as to what other people think now. Maybe I'll make a blog post about it.
Anyways, as I said, I use them interchangeably so I have no preference. Marefriend it is!
2338374 Hopefully, very cutely
2338443 Thank you! I love magic, in any universe. With FiM in particular, I've found that there's a load of room for creativity, with the unique approach of it being fueled by the bonds between people. There's some more exploration of it (magic) coming up later in the story, if you're interested. Not in-depth or anything, but it should be interesting, at least.
But yes, the idea for the glyph came from my drive to explore magic. Unfortunately, I never played Skyrim. It's one of those games that I should've played, but didn't, and now I hardly have time
As for Flaire, we'll all have to wait and see whether he's really up to anything or not. Trixie's POV is obviously biased, since she knows Flaire. But whether that means she's more liable to come to the wrong conclusion or the right one is anyone's guess. For now, anyway.
2341514 If Flaire were David though that'd mean that he's actually after Trixie and not Twilight since he has pretty much just met her.
2346817 That's actually true^^ Most magic in the show is actually just simple telekinesis^^ Now I'm really looking forward to see what you have in mind with magic in later chaps^^ hehe^^ (sorry for the short reply^^; it's 01:40 am over here right now^^; )
2346817
Well, if you want to correct Mittens and give him/her (not sure if it was specified) more character development, maybe you could have Twilight go to meet up with the trainer the following morning (with Trixie following) before the next challenge to find out more about Mittens, and maybe that could develop into Mittens getting more development and possibly showing a playful side. Also, the way the trainer handled Mittens makes me wonder if he's related to Fluttershy...or possibly a potential ship for her?
2338445 Thanks! Glad you liked it!
2338497 Thank ya kindly
2338539 That comment made me chuckle
Your prophecy has given me an idea for cuteness, so thank you!
2338617 That is a very good point. I guess I would argue that Trixie was distracted by Flaire, and Twilight was distracted by that, whilst also struggling with her nerves a little, so she felt that trying to spark up conversation about a plan was awkward.
Maybe they came to the silent decision to not make a plan of attack, and to rely on their instincts instead. That doesn't sound very 'Twilight', now that I think about it, even if it did turn out rather well.
EDIT: Or maybe, as someone mentioned below, they're just very slow in the battle department and had no idea how to approach it.
Anyway, thanks for getting me thinking about it. As gaping plot holes go, it could be a lot worse
2339044 Whoa
He'd better watch out! 
2339402 Nice to see some thoughts on Flaire coming out. Overly optimistic is a good state of mind - it's nice to look for the good in people.
Strategy-wise, I don't have a decent answer. I put a couple of thoughts above in my reply to Myrandall, if you want to take a look. That's just the way it ended up
I agree with you on the rules. Half-way through the last editing pass I thought I should add a rule that said 'Competitors have to stay in the arena, as does the pouch of nip'. But half-way through that last editing pass, it was also something like 1am and I was very sleepy. I'll give it some thought and see about weaving something in.
Thank you very much for the kind words. I was afraid a big action scene like this, with very little character interaction, would get boring or dull, so it's great to hear that you liked the way I portrayed the tension! But now, hopefully, I can get back to focusing more on adorable character interactions
2339500 I've taken a lot of bits and pieces from everywhere for my chimaera. As far as I know, the chimaera from mythology is indeed usually depicted as having a snake's tail, as well as breathing fire from its lion head. My one is more like an Everfree manticore with extra heads that cooperate just like limbs (except for when trying to get at the nip, which drives it a little crazy).
In the original draft, I had Twilight do some research and learn a bit about chimaeras in Equestria - including that they don't tire easily, having been known to go without rest for days. But all of that got cut in favour of the more nicely-flowing chapter that was published. I could probably have the tamer mention it, so that they don't have to worry about having an unfair advantage due to going last.
Glad that you liked the event, thanks! 'Action-packed but not violent' wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! Exhausting to write though
As for the lack of planning, I'm honestly not too sure how it ended up that way. I like your explanation best so far 
And I certainly hope that the Flaire angle will be interesting! We'll see! Thanks for you comment as always
2339549 I laughed out loud
Uh, despite this being a matter of the utmost seriousness! At least watch him like a griffon, Trixie! 
2339760 Sounds like a fun exchange! Poor Flaire, but maybe he has it coming? Thanks for the comment!
2339765 Thank you very much! Doppelganger illusions occurred to me as well, but I wasn't sure that either of them were capable of it at this point. As well, like you said, they'd have to do something about the smell.
Trixie is indeed rather outclassed when it comes to magical power. She might pick up a few little things from Twilight, but intentionally learning from her (a student-teacher type thing), that's a story for another time. A story I still very much want to write, I might add
Also, thanks for the vote of confidence that I have something in mind
Kind of shot myself in the foot, starting with the chimaera, but I wanted the introduction to be interesting. Still, I'm sure I can tweak my plans for the other two events to be just as interesting, if not quite as unique.
As for Flaire, no sociopaths in my story, don't you worry. Not saying that he isn't a bit shifty though
2341514 Grr, David
Yeah, when writing that bit I was like 'Hmm, that's cute, but I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before...' Had to leave it in, 
Thanks a lot! And Mittens plushies are coming soon to a Poni-mart near you!
evenespecially after I remembered where it was fromDisclaimer: Mittens plushies not actually coming to a Poni-mart near you. Poni-mart should be a thing.
2347140
Cool, cool. I think I'm gonna keep thinking of him as a sociopath though, makes it interesting.(Not to say he isn't interesting, because he is.)
When thinking of event, perhaps try and work backwards. Start with Twilight and/or Trixie doing some kind of magic in a really clever way to solve a problem, and then build the challenge up from that. Working from a solution can possibly lead to an interesting and complex problem.
2347140
I actually sometimes skip over the action scenes in some fics, maybe because the outcome usually is pretty much binary and nothing important happens during them. However, I enjoyed reading through Twi and Trixie's performance a lot because I was actually very interested in how they'd handle the challenge, and there was still room for some interaction and character-centered moments in that whole scene too. And it didn't get boring throughout.
Great!
2337427 Flaire's probably trying to steal twilight away as a partner because of her raw magical talent.
Hah, all right, you two!
Thanks for having them take first. A rather good subversion of what most would expect. Great action and scene with the chimaera, too.
I kinda feel bad for not commenting more on this story.
We don't have many well written Twixie stories after all, so i should support all the authors
A very nice chapter. The magic part was well written and it was interesting how Flaire developed. First i really thought he is just a dick. After this chapter i thought he could be a nice guy. But the more i think about it the more i doubt it. He has this creepy vibe. In most other stories i would be concerned but this story has only a romance tag on it. I guess we wont see a Flaire cupcake story and any attempt of him to get his hooves on Twilight would end in a 10.000 year banishment on the moon...twice.
Roundup! I'll put replies to comments on earlier chapters at the top, to prevent spoilers
2355296 Yup, totally fine! Good thing these ponies are so open with one another
Thanks for the comment!
2362812 Good guess, that's certainly a factor, but is there more to it?
Thanks for the comment - these kinds of things get me thinking back to the earlier chapters, which is always nice.
2368347
Do it for Equestria! I mean... run, Spike, run! 
Hehe, cheers for the comment!
2392026 Thanks, fixed it!
2347040 That's a cool idea. I may just do that, though I'm trying to keep things focused on Twilight/Trixie and keep the Display moving forwards at a constant rate. If it doesn't get weaved into the published chapter, I might write it anyway and offer it later as a deleted scene or something.
Potential ship for Fluttershy? Now you're talking!
Could be, but that's a tale for another time, as they say. Thanks very much for your comment!
2347325 Ah, work backwards from the solution - that's an interesting idea. I've never been very good at planning stories back from the ending, but it might work with something smaller scale like this. I'll give it a shot! Thanks!
2350789 Thank you!
2360294 Thanks very much for the kinds words! Very glad to hear you liked the action scene, and that they won as well. How could they not, with the two greatest, powerfulest (also cutest) unicorns in all of Equestria?
Hehe
But they might not have it so easy with the next task...
2360518 Hurrah! Thank you
2376028 Well thank you very much
Indeed, support the authors - Fimfiction needs more Twixie!
Flaire does seem to have a creepy vibe. He just sort of came out that way
You never know, he could be totally innocent...
...Maybe.
Wait, wait...let me guess what the next chapter will do to grab our attentions: Cop-out kiss, More development on Flaire, and a common romantic-comedy cliché. To the next chapter!
This chapter was awesome! It has everything you could ever want: comedy, romance, adventure, and a crap load of action! This is by far one of the best stories in general I've ever read!
A bottle of champagne and two mates who are undoubtedly in love with one another, alone in a room.... What could possibly go wrong?!
You know, besides ruined friendships. ...Darn it unintentional pun!I was honestly expecting Trixie and Twilight to lose, but I guess that's the way this genre goes, peaks and valleys. Next they'll either suffer a devastating loss or Flaire will execute his plan to charm Twilight away
AWESOME! Some very impressive spellwork from both of them! Wonder what Flaire's deal is?