Chapter Six
The remaining few days flew by for the ponies. Whether they were relaxing in the sophisticated comforts of Canterlot, or hard at work in training or business, they could hardly believe their time was already up. The six friends piled into the train with gusto; they were all in a much better mind than when they had arrived. Settling down in a train car of their own, it wasn't long before they left Canterlot behind them, and set off to the far south of Equestria.
“ I've never been to a ‘pygmy’ city before,” Rarity said, making a face. “I sincerely hope it won’t be as bad as it sounds.”
“They do live underground, Rarity,” Applejack retorted.
“All that dirt,” the unicorn spat, shuddering at the thought. Applejack rolled her eyes.
“These pygmy things are supposed to be pretty tough,” Rainbow Dash added, admiring one of her muscles. “I’m not so sure they’re as good as they’re cracked up to be, though.”
As the ponies continued to discuss the coming adventure, Twilight sat quietly by herself, her head resting on the window sill. The unicorn was far too distraught to relax as her friends did. Celestia’s words during their most recent session continued haunt her.
“There may come a time when peace and compromise cannot solve all our problems, Twilight Sparkle,” the illustrious Princess of the Sun had said, her gaze deadly serious as she loomed over her student. “When that time comes, you must be ready.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight replied innocently. The unicorn’s own words echoed ominously in her thoughts, as if she were seeing it all for the first time.
“You must decide: one life, or the lives of many.” Such simple words had caused her so much stress.
Twilight and her friends were no strangers to conflict, and even serious injury. So far, however, their ventures had never required them to take the life of another living creature, even if said creature did not give them the same courtesy: a manticore was subdued and relocated to the wild; a tribe of harpies was convinced to leave Equestria before they built their nests; even their most recent venture had ended without the loss of life. After the treants had been immobilized, Twilight had cast a spell to release their essence from their physical bodies. As elementals, this essence returned to nature, where it may one day take shape once more. The ponies had done them justice by releasing them, judging by their condition at the time.
And now, her mentor told her that it would not always be so. Was she talking about their current assignment? Was it far more dangerous than they realized? Or perhaps she had more gruesome tasks in store for them in the future? Twilight didn't know what to think. It was all so complicated…
Twilight’s thoughts were violently interrupted as the train’s emergency brakes screeched into life, almost hurling the six of them from their seats in the process. Luggage spilling from above, it was as if they were but a few pebbles inside a tin can being shaken violently back and forth. Before they could begin to understand what had just happened, they could already hear the sound of confused and frightened voices outside their car.
“What in tarnation was that?” Applejack said what they were all thinking, getting to her hooves awkwardly.
“Nothing good,” Twilight replied, putting the discarded luggage back into its rightful place with a short use of her magic.
“Woo! Let’s do that again!” Pinkie yelled excitedly, rocking back and forth in her seat.
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, forced down a nearby window and hung her head outside. The pegasus’ irritated gaze quickly turned into one of confusion.
“Anythin’ Rainbow?”
“There’s a wall on the tracks,” she replied as she looked back at them, expecting some sort of explanation. They were just as confused as she was.
“Why would there be a wall right in the middle of the Equestria Railway?” Applejack retorted, moving over to the window to look for herself. The train shuddered a moment later; the sound reverberated from the opposite end of the train this time. Looking back, Applejack’s eyes widened. “There’s one behind us too!”
“Somepony doesn't want this train to go anywhere,” Twilight thought aloud, frowning. Their little journey just got a lot more complicated.
“What are we waiting for?” Rainbow Dash said, hovering a few feet away from the window. “Let’s get out there!”
“Maybe we should stay here?” Fluttershy suggested lowly, finally pulling herself up from the floor. “I’m sure the train will get moving soon…”
“I’m not so sure,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “Something doesn't feel right about this. I agree with Rainbow Dash; we need to investigate.” Rainbow and Applejack voiced their approval; Pinkie continued to rock back and forth in her seat with a grin on her face; Fluttershy and Rarity seemed hesitant to follow as their friends left. Eventually, the two ponies conceded and departed with Pinkie hopping obliviously in tow.
Outside, they were immediately greeted by the rolling lowlands of Southern Equestria. Only a few miles from Appleloosa, the lowlands would swiftly turn to desert the further they traveled. For now, though, the flat ground seemed to stretch in all directions, with no immediate signs of life anywhere.
“Huh,” Applejack said thoughtfully as she took in her surroundings. “I was expectin’ somethin’ a bit more dramatic, like a bunch of bandits ransackin’ the train.”
“It seems some Great and Powerful disaster has befallen you!”
“Oh no…” Twilight said, covering her face with a hoof. “Not her. Not now…”
“Oh yes, Twilight Sparkle,” the voice replied as a crackle of energy appeared not far from where they were standing. A moment later, Trixie, in all her ridiculous grandeur, stood posed before them, grinning smugly.
“You again!” Rainbow Dash cried, taking an aggressive step toward the new arrival.
“Yes, it is I, the Great and (much more) Powerful Trixie!” the magical mare declared, rearing up on her hind legs dramatically.
“Why did you place a wall in the path of a train?!” Twilight interrupted, stomping a hoof for emphasis. “You endangered everypony on board with your little stunt!”
“Please,” Trixie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “The barricade was placed far down the track. The conductor had more than enough time to stop.” The egotistical mare grinned. “Why do you think you are all still alive?”
“What do you want?” Twilight retorted angrily. “We don’t have time for this!” By now, the other passengers were exiting the train, mumbling in a mix of confusion and irritation.
“Then you will make time, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said, her expression growing more serious. “You and I have unfinished business, remember?”
“You did all this just for another shot at Twilight?” Applejack cut in, giving the mare a strange look.
“What’s the hold up?” a nearby stallion cried from the forming crowd, earning shouts of agreement from his peers.
“I've got business in Appleloosa!”
“Why is there a bunch of bricks on the tracks?”
“Be silent, peons!” Trixie warned, her horn glowing menacingly. “This does not concern you!”
“Girls, try to take down those walls so the train can get moving again,” Twilight said suddenly, though her eyes remained on Trixie. “I’ll deal with her.”
“No way!” Rainbow Dash replied, shooting in front of Twilight with the aid of her wings. “I can take her down in thirty seconds, tops!”
“I agree with Rainbow, Twilight,” Applejack added, moving to the pegasus’ side. “Most of it, anyway. We’re a team, remember?”
“I remember,” Twilight said with a smile. “I don’t think it will be that easy, Rainbow. Besides, we could beat her now - as a team - but she will just keep coming after us. If I beat her now, in a fair fight, she may be gone for good.”
“I think you’re bein’ a bit too optimistic here,” the earth pony replied, frowning. “But if you wanna fight her by yourself, I reckon I can’t stop you.”
“It’s for the best, trust me. Just get those walls down, OK?”
“Fine!” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh, fluttering lazily toward the barricade at the rear. Rarity soon joined her, while Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack moved to the head of the train.
“Are you ready yet?” Trixie called, clearly annoyed.
“We can start over there,” Twilight replied, pointing further out into the field. She did not want the train or its inhabitants at risk in their duel.
“If you insist.”
In a blink of an eye, the two disappeared in bright flashes of light; the two unicorns reappeared opposite of each other a moment later, now a few hundred yards away from the immobilized train. The two stood in complete silence, with only the wind breezing through the grass to keep them company.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“What?”
“We don’t have to fight,” Twilight elaborated, frowning.
“Oh, is the almighty Twilight Sparkle afraid of little old me?” Trixie sneered, grinning smugly.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Twilight retorted. “But I don’t want to hurt you either. This whole rivalry is pointless.”
“Rivalry?” Trixie repeated with a scoff. “Don’t flatter yourself. You are but another step to greatness. I have spent the time since we last met honing my skills, and testing them upon the greatest mages in Equestria and beyond!”
“You would risk the lives of hundreds of ponies just to sate your ego?” Twilight asked, giving her an odd look. She couldn't believe how ridiculous the mare was acting. She was definitely a far cry from the arrogant, cowardly creature she had known before.
“Look, I didn't come here for your approval,” Trixie snarled, throwing her hat to the ground. The mare’s horn began to glow, and soon a bright blast of magic was sent rocketing toward Twilight. A translucent barrier appeared for a moment in front of Twilight, deflecting the attack into the ground harmlessly.
“You truly are a hopeless fool.”
In response, Trixie sent three more blasts at her opponent. Twilight deflected the first two into the ground with a few casual sweeps of her head, but - much to her surprise - the third cut through the barrier with a loud crack. The bolt of energy shot past the unicorn’s face, singeing her skin and her mane as it passed. She looked up at Trixie, her eyes wide. The arrogant mare only grinned.
“This might take longer than I thought.”
After a moment’s pause, the two disappeared once more, and - for a moment - all was silent again. With a bright flash, they reappeared in full gallop, lobbing missiles of magical energy at each other as they ran. Twilight ducked as one of Trixie’s attacks shot over her head and hurled herself back to avoid another barrage. As she landed, the unicorn disappeared; a number of Trixie’s energy blasts exploded against the ground where Twilight had been standing moments later.
Trixie gasped as her hooves were knocked out from under her. Before her foe's name could even enter her mind, a spire of earth smashed into her ribcage, forcing the air from her lungs. Snarling, perched upon the tiny tower of dirt and rock, Trixie’s horn began to glow; a flurry of tiny spikes of rock began to shoot out of the side of the spire at her foe in rapid succession, gradually eroding the width of the structure in the process. Twilight, surprised, raised a thin barrier to protect herself from the attack. As the barrier began to break apart like brittle glass, the unicorn disappeared in another flash.
Reappearing, Twilight prepared another spell, but found her foe's perch vacant. In her moment of contemplation, she found herself curiously growing shorter. As she looked down, the unicorn found herself in the unforgiving grip of quicksand; no matter how hard she pulled, the liquidized soil would not release her hooves. It didn't take long for Twilight to remember what to do in such a situation: the mare ceased her struggling, slowing her descent, and prepared a spell. A sphere of magic shot out around her, pushing the quicksand away in the process. Twilight, still suspended inside the bubble of magic, moved herself over solid ground before dismissing the spell.
Almost immediately as it disappeared, a loud shriek resonated overhead. Looking up, Twilight found herself staring into the face of a dragon; one comprised entirely of flame. As the molten reptile descended toward her, Twilight used a quick burst of her magic to hurl herself away. Upon contact with the ground, the dragon exploded into a raging inferno, propelling Twilight further with the blast. Smoke trailing behind her, Twilight clenched her teeth and righted herself in the air with her magic. Twilight slid a few feet as her hooves touched down; despite the pain, she immediately began searching for her attacker.
Trixie appeared with a crack a few feet above the ground - suspended by her own magic - and sent a whirlwind of energy bolts at Twilight. Thinking quickly, the unicorn deflected the first few shots and launched herself at Trixie, using her magic to propel her toward her target. While she was still sailing through the air, the unicorn began to rotate; flames began to shoot from her body as she neared and soon nothing remained of Twilight but a spiraling maelstrom of fire. Try as she might to intercept her attacker, Trixie's attacks disappeared into the flurry of flames without any apparent effect.
Trixie had no other option: the mare threw herself away with her own magic, narrowly avoiding the flames as she did. Twilight, caught in the blazing tornado, crashed into the ground. The spell dispersed into a wild flash upon contact with the terrain, revealing the unicorn within, unharmed. Twilight was barely able to catch her breath before the ground began to rumble around her. A moment later, three massive chunks of rock shot up below her; the unicorn barely threw herself out of the way in time to avoid the first two, and collided painfully with the side of the third before she was finally out of danger.
Much to Twilight’s dismay, the attack was not yet over. The hunks of rock slowed to a halt a few meters above her head and shattered. Rather than fragments of stone raining down on her, however, the unicorn found five foot spears of stone descending upon her instead. Spawned from the three gargantuan boulders, they were easily a hundred strong, and falling fast. Summoning a vast amount of magical energy, Twilight forced the spikes away at an angle, which sent them soaring toward Trixie instead. The arrogant mare didn't seem too bothered by this, and soon the two disappeared in another blaze of energy.
To any onlookers by the train, it was as if the two had completely vanished. In reality, the two reappeared in the midst of the hail of spikes; each was perched on a spear of their own. Undeterred by her dangerous environment, Trixie fired a blast in Twilight’s direction, trying to destroy her adversary’s mount. The unicorn teleported to another spike and responded with a spell of her own: an invisible wave of energy knocked a group of the lances of stone off course, sending them crashed into Trixie's position. By now, the momentum – the only thing keeping the spikes aloft – of Twilight’s throw was beginning to fade; the spears at the front of the group began to dip down into the ground.
As the smoke cleared, Twilight found her foe missing. The unicorn found herself knocked forcefully from her perch a moment later; Trixie appeared before her, riding the spike instead, as she moved further and further away. Manipulating her fall with her own magic, Twilight evaded the spears whipping past her until she was completely out of the line of fire, just as the end of the group began to impact with the ground – Trixie apparently included.
Of course, Twilight was not foolish enough to believe her enemy had met her end. When Trixie appeared behind her with a spell at the ready, she was waiting for her. Twilight ducked underneath the mare’s blade of energy and breathed out deeply at the ground beneath her. As Trixie adjusted to bring the blade down onto Twilight’s head, she swung dangerously off course and almost toppled over; the terrain below her had become solid ice, courtesy of Twilight. Exploiting her adversary's vulnerability, Twilight brought her hoof up into Trixie's stomach, winding her, before bringing her other hoof down onto her back, alternating between the two limbs to prevent herself from falling over. Trixie’s mouth was agape as she tried to recover, stumbling wildly to put some distance between the two.
As Trixie slowed to a halt, a split in the ground began to snake toward her. The mare’s horn began to glow, using a counter-spell to direct the cracking earth around her in a circle. Having freed a chunk of dirt and rock, Trixie used her magic to levitate the platform into the air. In response, Twilight began to lob bolts of energy in Trixie’s direction. The arrogant mare’s control over her perch was impressive, however, and she evaded them with ease. Twilight continued her bombardment undeterred, causing a few close calls that sheered away some of the rock that made up Trixie’s mount. After a few minutes of this assault, Trixie barely had to move to avoid the attacks.
“Are you growing weary, Twilight?” Trixie called tauntingly from above, evading another bolt. “Would you like to take a break?” The unicorn’s arrogance seemed forced, as if she was barely maintaining her composure.
Twilight’s attack did not let up. Trixie did not even bother moving to avoid the attacks at this point, and watched in amazement as the magical energy shot harmlessly beside her. Either Twilight was more injured than she seemed, or there was something very wrong. Almost instinctively, Trixie looked behind her, and what she saw made her choke on her breath. An armada of projectiles – every single one that Twilight had fired – was sitting idly around her, surrounding her from every conceivable angle. Trixie cried out in horror as she realized what her enemy had done. Desperate, Trixie’s horn began to glow as she tried to teleport herself out of the situation, but it was far too late.
The magical energy around her converged as one, bombarding her with hundreds of the projectiles. Trixie screamed into the still air as she disappeared inside the maelstrom of attacks; the crowd near the train - which had been watching the duel without ever saying a word – gasped. Each projectile was like a hoof blow to her hide; she was swiftly and decisively overwhelmed. Twilight sat in silence, watching the culmination of her efforts with a frown.
Almost as quickly as it had begun, it was over. A cloud of dirt and dust – created by the projectiles blowing apart the mare’s platform – hung over Trixie’s position. This lingered for several minutes until a strong breeze swept it away, revealing to all the Great and Powerful pony's condition. Trixie stood on a tiny speck of rock, covered from head to toe in bruises, with her teeth bared as if she had gone feral. The unicorn heaved in place; she was absolutely livid. The rock beneath her wobbled uneasily, as if about to slip out of her control at a moment’s notice.
“I don’t understand…” Trixie growled to herself, temples throbbing in her forehead. She glared intensely at Twilight; if looks could kill, the purple unicorn would certainly be dead. “I have trained…for years…” Trixie continued, tearing off the tattered remains of her cloak. Suddenly, she screamed, but this was no ordinary scream; this was a scream of pure, violent anger. “Why?! Why is her power superior to mine?! I am the greatest unicorn to ever live! She should be kneeling at my hooves, begging for mercy!”
Twilight, in the heat of battle, hadn't realized just how deranged her opponent had become. With every attack, the arrogant mare had grown more desperate, and more angry. It was as if she had expected her victory to be easy, and Twilight’s own skill was an insult.
“I’ll show her…” Trixie growled, speaking as if Twilight couldn't hear her. “I’ll show them all…I will reduce this place to cinders! I will destroy everything, everything, do you hear me?!”
“It’s over, Trixie,” Twilight called up to her. “Please, we don’t need to continue this any longer!”
This only seemed to fuel Trixie’s rage. With another bloodcurdling scream, the battered unicorn released her hold over the rock and instead began to levitate her own body, climbing higher and higher into the sky. “Avoid this next attack if you can, Twilight Sparkle, but know that if you do, this entire area will be annihilated!”
“What?” Twilight replied lowly, her eyes widening. Just what was Trixie trying to achieve?!
“This duel is over!” Trixie cried as she slowed to a stop, cackling hysterically. A brilliant glow began to pulsate around her as she collected an enormous amount of magical energy.
“This has gone way too far!” Rainbow Dash declared suddenly, preparing to make a mad dash in Trixie’s direction. Before she could get very far, Applejack already had the pegasus’ tail in her mouth, anchoring her in place.
“It wouldn't…be smart to go up there…Rainbow…” Applejack said as she struggled to keep her friend in place.
“Let me go! Twilight needs our help!”
“You need to trust her, darling,” Rarity replied, looking quite distraught despite her words. “I know things look bad, but if Twilight needs our help, don’t you think she would ask?”
“She’s too into it!” Rainbow insisted, struggling against Applejack’s grip. “Trixie’s way out of control!”
“Please,” Fluttershy interrupted lowly, fluttering up to look her friend in the eyes. “You could get hurt out there. We need to wait for Twilight’s word…”
“Fluttershy is right. Whatever she plans to do might endanger you and everypony else here if you go up there now!”
Rainbow Dash’s thrashing began to slow. Eventually, the pegasus let out a loud “hmph” and descended back to the ground, glaring up at Trixie.
Meanwhile, Twilight’s mind was racing. Trixie intended to destroy her along with everyone else, just for the sake of her stupid pride! She had to stop her…but how in the world would she stop something like that? She couldn't risk a preemptive strike; if she wasn't there to intercept the attack, her friends and all the passengers could be killed. Twilight would have to meet the attack head-on if she had any hope of saving her friends.
“Now learn…” Trixie began ominously, the light around her burning intensely like a star. “Learn what happens when you challenge the most powerful unicorn in the universe!” the mare cried as she brought the full extent of her powers into one focused, jagged beam. The cascade of energy shot down like a comet toward Twilight, overshadowing the sun with its size and luminosity. It was as if the heavens themselves had been brought to bear against her.
With a startled cry, Twilight gathered what remained of her strength and raised a powerful shield above her. Moments later, Trixie’s attack crashed into it with an earth-shaking force, spilling light and energy in all directions. Twilight’s hooves immediately began to sink back in the dirt as she tried to withstand the terrible fury of the attack. A crater was forming beneath her as she struggled. Trixie was not bluffing; she could destroy everything around them with this energy!
“Lay down and die!” Trixie roared, sending a pulse of energy into the stream, pushing Twilight even further back. Web-like cracks began to spread all throughout the shield; soon it would shatter like glass and it would all be over. Twilight needed to act swiftly if they had any hope of survival.
Her eyes glowing brightly, the unicorn poured her own energy into the stream with a determined cry. The jagged waterfall of energy suddenly grew many times more violent; Twilight’s energy was making it unstable. Rather than a focused beam of destruction, it had become nothing more than a massive bomb.
“What have you done?!” Trixie screamed as the light coming off the attack reached blinding levels. A moment later, the energy erupted into a series of colossal explosions that shook the very earth itself for miles, obscuring the two combatants in a torrent of fire, smoke, dust, and debris.
Stats
Page generated in 0.039 seconds
Total duration
1,039 users online
1,998,443 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Well, that was completely random, the appearance of Trixie I mean. Not sure I approve.
2161458
All in good time.
2160758
Thank you sir
Happy writing and all that.
Well, trying to decide if shes the "vegeta" of the group or a straight up villain. You used lines from both, and even threw in some (blegh) GT.
2198638
...I used GT?
I'm...I'm so sorry...
I just have to do this.
0:00-0:35 (suspense)
0:36-0:46 When evil awakens, and trouble is aroused,
0:47-1:08 Only an elite group of ponies are capable of stopping it...
1:09-1:33 A group that demonstrates a magic more powerful than ever before...
1:33-1:55 (awesome pan of watching each of the six gearing up) Who fight for truth...loyalty...peace...happiness...equality...and...
1:56-2:18 (Epic slow-mo group-battle-stance seen in picture)...HARMONY
I'm too lazy to do the rest. Anyone care to take over?
2231633
Ay yo meng. Check dis out.
cold-moon.com/images/Motivators/GMs/CreativeLicense.jpg
Also did you judge an entire story based on two chapters. Because nothing is ever explained in the other four. Totally.
2231633
This was several months after the events in the Crystal Empire. This isn't their first assignment. As well, these same ponies who ran from Timber Wolves also chased after a gang of Diamond Dogs when Rarity was kidnapped. And yelled at dragons. And fought a crazy reality bender. And beat the crap out've an army of bug ponies.
This next bit is an issue that I've encountered numerous times, and I am flabbergasted every time. I think I can explain this best through an example: Recently, I read a few chapters of the book "Zoo", by James Patterson I believe. I read the little blurb on the cover, talking about animals going crazy and killing people. I read the prelude and the first three chapters of the first section, and it basically involved zoo lions suddenly thirsting for human blood. Nothing about why they are acting that way is explained. Its hinted in the first section of the book proper that something really bad is happening to animals all over the world, but again, its not explained. When I see this, I go "Why are they acting this way?" and I read on to find the answer. It seems like you, and others like you, would instead cite it as a flaw in the writing itself, that the author had simply forgot to explain, rather than assume it will be explained later.
Rainbow being grounded was to establish character, and to add a little funny interaction between the group to start things off. As for the treants, they were described as "towering" and "gargantuan", and they were also described as essentially living trees. I feel that breaking out the ruler and saying they were exactly 22 feet tall would be hugely inappropriate.
Twilight's reaction to the magic immunity was a jab at her being an avid book reader, as well as establishing the fact itself (treants = magic resist). It was implied to be something recorded, hence why Twilight was like "I forgot oh crap!" Why do they need a reason to be immune to magic? These things are present all the time in fantasy. Why do Timber Wolves reform after they are broken apart? No reason is given, it's simply established as fact. This was the case with the treants. As for Pinkie, she was a driving factor behind the fight itself. It did add tension, but it also kept her in character. Even in danger, she is oblivious and bubbly.
Perhaps "priceless" was a poor choice of words on my part. I meant it as a quality of a gem, not in that it was literally worth an indescribable amount of currency. I just wanted to use another descriptor for "gem", basically. And why did she have it? The same reason it was used: its useful. She carried a few sharp gems in her bag, for the express purpose of using them on assignments. The arm size, meanwhile, was mentioned numerous times: it was described as a branch. The legs were described as "stumps", basically the thick part of trees. Hence, the legs are much wider and thicker than the branch-arms.
Rainbow did not intend to break the arm. As described, they couldn't just break it off entirely, as it would undoubtedly harm Pinkie. They broke it off at the hand instead, allowing them to catch it before it hit the ground, and prevent any splinters from hurting her. And do branches on a tree have the same thickness all around? They don't, last I checked
And they were never killed. As described in chapter 6, they were not dead, just immobilized. Why didn't they struggle? Well its a gargantuan mobile tree without a leg. They probably didn't even need to break the legs off to stop them from getting up.
Twilight had a role; not only did she continue attacking in other ways, she directed the others effectively, and demonstrated her ability as a leader. Fluttershy? Well, she's Fluttershy. She isn't really one to launch herself into combat. Even then, she still helped by catching Pinkie when the hand was broken off. Without her, Pinkie could've easily gotten hurt in the fall. Just because her role wasn't huge, doesn't mean it wasn't important.
Chapter 2 is establishing character, and explaining some of the things you had issue with in chapter 1. Now it's a bad thing?
The bit about the sickness: refer to the second paragraph of this post. Just because something isn't expressly stated does not equate to a plot hole. Have patience. These things are explored later on.
And both Twilight and Rainbow insisted the treants release their friend. They responded with trying to wack Rainbow out of the air. If that isn't a declaration of hostility, I don't know what is. And who said Celestia was not concerned? The treants being sick is actually a major plot point, that will add to things later in the story. Again, just because things are not stated right now doesn't mean they will never be addressed.
DISCLAIMER: This gentleman decided to write up his thoughts about the story, and I am just responding with my own reasoning! I am not dismissing his criticism, I am merely explaining my side of it! I've gotten flack in the past for defending my own work. Please do not take this the wrong way.
2232023
I'll check it out.
This story will get more complex as it proceeds. Even though it didn't start from their humble beginnings, its still early on in their experience. There will be trials and tribulations yet to come. It may even qualify for a dark tag at some point
Well, it's looking like Celestia's prophecy has come true: The only way to contain this is to seal the energy up... in a spherical container... with the creator of the discharge. Goodbye Trixie, hello a few free-floating carbon, hydrogen and oxygen ions. For what it's worth, Twi, she brought it upon herself. Madness had turned her into a threat and you had no choice but to end this in a way that minimised the loss of life.
Nice work on the duel, though. It's a real Wizard Battle, using direct and indirect magic plus wit to use magical and mundane effects in unexpected ways.
2234182
Twilight learned combat magic mostly from Celestia. Their interactions were said to start almost immediately after the assignments began, so that should give you an idea when it began.
And who said Fluttershy is ok with it? In chapter 6, it is said that they have solved every assignment thus far without killing things. Many of them were solved through less violent means, where Fluttershy shines. In chapter 5, she demonstrates her reluctance to learn combat techniques, so that should indicate that she is still not ok with it.
Hope that clears a few things up.
Reminds me of the Kamehameha vs Galick Gun.
2236727
Like Rarity said, the gold is just for looks. A thin layer, just for shininess.
2236734 Yeah, still not the best thing, I mean, you should never go into battle, wearing something for looks, it is a waste, and when the armour gets damaged, you will have to pay even more to get it repaired.
2236786
Well that is true, but in a world where gems seem to be as common as toilet paper in our world, I can't imagine it would be THAT valuable
2236993 Okay, you got a point there.
Related...
For a plain, practical pony, Twilight sure puts on one hell of a flashy magic duel.
When she pulled that Piccolo moment, it was easy to imagine her saying, "Your reign of terror ends today, showmare!" The Super Namek Theme even started playing in my head. The fight was explosive and all, but if it isn't tied firmly into the plot of the story, it's just gonna end up being a great big digression. It already felt pretty out-of-the-blue, so maybe some vague foreshadowing would have prepped us for Trixie's random appearance.
When the train screeched to a halt, I was kinda hoping it was Spike catching up. I was disappointed, but the presence of my other favorite character made up for it. Problem is, it's difficult to believe that Trixie would be this petty (or insane, as the case may be), especially after her appearance in Season 3. Twilight is going on missions to safeguard her country and Trixie's still holding a grudge? Did further events transpire between the episode and this fanfic?
As for Spike, I make it known occasionally that I have zero interest in anything that focuses exclusively on ponies while forgetting that Spike is Twilight's closest and oldest friend (not to mention that he can handle danger). Seeing him in the character list gives me faith, but it's absolutely ludicrous that, with four days of shore leave, none of his closest friends visited him in Ponyville or invited him to his own hometown to meet them. I'm sure there's a reason for it in the story, but you should subsequently provide a reason for Twilight's failure to at least correspond with one of the most important people in the world to her. You had four freakin' days, Twilight!
Last of all: when you reply, make sure your browser is showing you the chapter. It doesn't work if you're on the page that shows the synopsis and list of chapters. I don't know if it's the same throughout the site, but it never alerts me when someone replies.
2237937
I'm glad you liked it. Trixie's appearance is indicative of something far more dire than petty revenge. She actually wasn't lying when she told Twilight that she did not hold a grudge. As for the episode in season 3: I haven't decided completely yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to consider it canon in the fic. As the description says, only up to the Crystal Empire episodes are 100% confirmed canon in this universe.
.
As for Spike...well, you'll see
2236721
Because Friendship is Magic and I don't think that the name of the sixth, uniting Element has ever actually be confirmed on screen. It seems odd that the other five should be virtues or personal qualities and the sixth a special ability. 'Friendship' fits better into the sequence than 'Magic'.
Erito Senshi, TWILIGHT TOKUSENTAI!
Tokusentai!
Tokusentai!
TOKUSENTAI!
This entire chapter i kept imagining this
images.wikia.com/dragonball/images/7/76/Goku_Vs_Vegeta_by_gvbn10.jpg
This is epic please continue
2239100It has been said on screen, on the second episode, Twilight says that the five elements unlock the sixth element, Magic.
Yep, this just crossed the ridiculousness threshold I'm willing to put up with. I'm out.