Chapter 1
The Luxury Lotus Health and Beauty Spa Follies starring Twilight Sparkle and a special guest star
"Welcome to ze Luxury Lotus Health and Beauty Spa, Mees Sparkle!" said the pink-maned earth pony at the front desk as Twilight walked in. "Are you here for your yooshual treatment?"
The unicorn pony looked about shyly. "Uh, yes... yes please Bubbly."
Ever since the time when Fluttershy had become a model and Twilight had been stuck juggling secrets between her and Rarity, she'd gained a taste for visiting the spa - but she was worried that she would be teased by her friends after all those "Beauty is more than skin deep" lectures she'd given them
And anyway, just because I love books and reading and history and magic and all that sort of thing doesn't mean I can take some time off for a make-over, does it? she thought to herself. No, of course it doesn't!
Twilight sighed. Juggling those secrets had been a total nightmare! But by far the worst thing had been... She glanced nervously at the large mirror in the foyer as she waited for Bubbly Lotus to collect some towels and oil and other items for her to use in the bath. No Pinkie! She exhaled in relief. Sometimes that little pink pony scared her!
"Thees way Mees Sparkle!" After helping her to put on her spa robe, Bubbly led Twilight down a long corridor decorated with gorgeous photos of tranquil scenes: mountain glades in the Swayback Mountains, leaf-strewn paths in the Whitetail Woods, skies peppered with lazy little cotton-ball clouds, and all the while the soft tones of flute and shamisen music shimmered through the air. Twilight found herself relaxing at once, each hoof-step lighter than the one before it, the tightness in her chest from leaning over books for hours starting to dissolve away. She never used to be one for beauty treatments- she did like long baths, though, but only if she had a good book to read while she was lying in the tub. Each time she came to the spa she tossed up whether or not to smuggle in a book which she hadn't quite finished yet (this time it had been a book of Old Eqquish poetry) but each time she'd decided not to: she had to drag herself away from her books sometime, and a visit to the spa was an ideal excuse. Besides, she was nervous that the other spa-goers would laugh at her.
Soon they came to the sliding doors that led to the common bath - but Bubbly led her past it towards the part of the spa where the private suites were located.
"Oh, but I didn't..." Twilight started to say, but Bubbly turned to her and smiled. "Oh Mees Sparkle - you are a regular now, so please accept a private bath suite compliments of the Lotus Spa." She lowered her blue eyes shyly. "We all appreciate the great deeds you haf performed for Ponyville. Oh, I remember that evening you defeated ze fearsome Ursa! Think of thees as jost a little thank-you!"
Twilight smiled back at her, blushing. "Thank you," she said. She'd thought that nopony remembered the Ursa Minor incident! It had happened in her first week in Ponyville and like most things in this strange little town it had been forgotten as soon as the next threat had come along - wait, had it been the sleeping dragon or the parasprite infestation that had come next? Or had it been...
But Bubbly was already opening the door to a private suite open for Twilight. The unicorn pony had never been in one before, and as Bubbly led her inside she took in the low, square bath in one corner lit by a multitude of gently flickering tea-candles, the lotus flowers floating on its surface visible through thin tendrils of steam, the round mud bath on the other side of the room, filled with refreshing purple mineral-rich clay, the gorgeous fleece-covered massage couch, another massage mat resting next to it on the floor... it was all so, well - simply luxurioooos!
Bubbly gestured towards the bath that was sending out tendrils of steam. Oh, everything smelled so heavenly! Twilight slipped out of her bathrobe and put a testing fore-hoof into the water. It was boiling hot and she gasped initially, but kept her hoof in, swirling it about until she adjusted to the temperature. Then she eased the rest of her body in, the lotus blossoms fleeing from her as her lavender body slid into the water. The scent of ginger and lemongrass fluttered up to her muzzle and she sighed again. She glanced over to where Bubbly was busying herself at a small table arranging the towels she'd brought and sorting through a number of vials of facial and body cream and bottles of massage oil, and when she noticed Twilight looking at her the spa pony smiled back at her sweetly.
Twilight lay back fully and closed her eyes. The water felt so good! She scrunched all four hooves and swished her legs around in the water, which flowed about them in a most fascinating pattern. She marvelled at how the water reacted, flowing and swirling about her invisibly - it was certainly some complicated magic! Her fringe soon grew moist in the rising steam, lying on her forehead in strings, so she brushed it back past her horn and slid still deeper into the bath.
Twilight sighed again and let her body go totally limp, allowing the hot water to lift her up and support her weight. As always happens when one sense is removed, the others became stronger for Twilight. Floating in the black world behind her closed eyelids she listened to the swish of the hot water against the edges of the tiled bath, the soft burbling of fresh water pouring from the ever-running faucets. Over to the left of her, Twilight could hear the clink of bottles and the shuffle of material as the spa pony continued dutifully in her preparations for the massage and facial treatment she would be giving her later.
After what seemed a blissful eternity, Bubbly's voice wafted over to her. "Are you ready for ze massage, Mees Sparkle?"
"Mmmm?" Twilight had dozed off deep in that wonderful universe of steam, water and fragrant bubbles. She opened her eyes and got out of the water with yet another sigh - but when Bubbly took it upon herself to help her dry her coat, Twilight had to stifle a giggle. She'd always thought it felt a little strange to have somepony else dry her coat - it was like being a child again! But Bubbly smiled at her reassuringly, her touch gentle and sensitive, and Twilight was soon murmuring in pleasure.
Finally the spa pony indicated that she should lie down on the massage table. Twilight lay down, sighing as she rested her muzzle on the soft, fleecy surface. She'd almost dozed off again when she heard Bubbly open a bottle and she gasped when she felt a sudden flood of cool liquid onto the small of her back.
"Oh, pleese excoos me, Mees Sparkle!" said Bubbly, distraught. Twilight shook her head, but then she gasped a second time when she felt the spa pony's hooves touch her coat. They dipped gingerly into the little pool of oil, spreading it all over her back and down onto her rump as well - and she found herself blushed hot against the fleece.
Bubbly hummed to herself as she drew her soft but firm hooves across Twilight's back. She started at the unicorn pony's neck, squeezing away the pinches that had developed there after so many hours of pouring over books. Then the spa pony worked her way down Twilight's shoulders and withers, her hooves digging into the knots that had bunched everywhere there, and, already loosened by the hot bath, she eased them back into supple flesh.
Bubbly suddenly stopped humming. "Dos that feel good, Mees Sparkle?" she asked.
Twilight murmured in the affirmative, licking her lips to stop the drool that had pooled at the corners of her mouth from dripping onto the fleece.
Bubbly, obviously pleased by her lack of coherent answer, continued to hum. Twilight suddenly realised that she recognised the tune from somewhere, but where had she heard it? It wasn't so much a melody as some sort of fanfare...
"Would you like me to crack your spine for you, Mees Sparkle?" the spa pony asked.
Twilight nodded. Why not? But she gasped when she felt Bubbly reposition her body and nimbly climb onto the table on top of her. Hind legs on either side of Twilight's rump, she leaned forward and started to work on either side of Twilight's spine and with gentle but powerful pumps of her fore-hooves she made it crack.
Twilight's eyes flashed open. It felt amazing! And it wasn't just the pleasure from the cracking that she was feeling - for every time Bubbly leaned forward the spa pony would lift her own rump and haunches with every pump, and then she'd sit back down again on the small of Twilight's back and the base of her rump once it had cracked. Bubbly's coat felt so warm and soft against her own! Twilight soon found herself panting with pleasure.
"Are you enjoying that, Twilight Sparkle?" the spa pony asked in a strangely self-satisfied tone.
"Oh yes! Celestia, yes!" Twilight gasped with involuntary heat.
"Then perhaps you will also enjoy ze body slide?" Having finished with the cracking of Twilight's back, Bubbly was resting her haunches on the unicorn pony's rump.
"A body slide?" What in Equestria was a body slide? Twilight wondered. But since it was courtesy of the spa, she muttered yes. It couldn't hurt, could it?
Bubbly climbed off the table and taking Twilight's hoof in her own she led her to the mat lying nearby.
Twilight looked at the mat nervously. "Uh, what should I do? I've never... I've never had a body slide before..."
Bubbly smiled. "Oh, it ees simplicity itself, Mees Twilight! All you need to do is lie down on your tommy. I shall do ze rest!"
Twilight lay down as directed, and then she turned her head about to see what Bubbly was doing. The spa pony was standing on her hind legs and was in the middle of pouring massage oil from a bottle down the front of her body. She laughed at the shocked look on Twilight's face. "No peeping pleese, Mees Sparkle! I'll be ready soon. Pleese jos relax yourself for ze moment!"
Twilight swallowed nervously, but she did as she was told. Her heart was pounding as she heard the clip-clop of Bubbly's hoof-fall on the floor as she came up and lay down full length on top of her, and she gasped at the sensation of the spa pony's oil-covered coat touching her own. It was so soft and yielding, yet behind it the firmness of Bubbly's beautifully toned figure pressed down on her, and Twilight felt like she was being covered and enveloped in an impossibly luxurious pillow.
But then Bubbly slowly began to ease herself up and down Twilight's back, smearing the oil between them. With each slide the spa pony's hot breath trailed up and down from Twilight's neck to her rump and she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning with pleasure. The sensations going through her body were incredible! Why hadn't Rarity ever suggested they get a body slide? Was it too expensive? She'd have to check the spa menu later...
Soon Bubbly switched positions, turning herself around so that her haunches were on either side of Twilight's withers and she lay her forelegs along the unicorn pony's hind legs, reaching down to rub the oil over the sensitive soles of Twilight's hooves, all the while still sliding her oil-slick body all over her.
But this wasn't relaxing at all! In fact, Twilight was getting tight in the chest and her whole body felt like it had caught fire from the oil and the heat of the spa pony's rubbing. But it was nothing compared to the feelings that coursed through her body when Bubbly ran her fore-hooves over her rump and the inner part of her haunches. The slipperiness of the oil, the heat of the breath that was coming out of Bubbly's mouth in pants now, the feeling of the spa pony's haunches squeezing against her withers, the heady narcotic scent of the oil mixed with the sharp scent of Bubbly's coat - as the sensations enveloped her, Twilight's senses reeled.
"Oh! Oh! Bubbly!" she gasped. "I.... oh, I think you... you should stop! I'm... uhh, I'm..." It took all of Twilight's concentration to get the words out of her mouth as her mind was flooded with exquisite jolts of pleasure. Her horn, lit by the pooling of magical energy that was seeping uncontrolled throughout her body, started to sparkle of its own accord.
But Bubbly didn't reply. She was panting as well, and she gave no indication that she was going to stop - but then she got off and with oily hooves she flipped Twilight onto her back and lay on top of her again so that she was sitting with her haunches on either side of the unicorn pony's own. Twilight looked up at her and saw that Bubbly's face was now one of ecstatic abandon, her chest slick with oil, her pink mane sticky with perspiration, her mouth open, her face blushing a deep red. And at the sight Twilight's horn glowed ever brighter.
As Bubbly started to slide the front of her body against Twilight's, she rested on her elbows on either side of the unicorn pony's shoulders and brought her face down towards her. Twilight was in ecstasy now, and she barely struggled when the spa pony brought their lips together and kissed her. She found herself hugging Bubbly around the chest with her forelegs, involuntarily drawing her body closely against her own, and her hooves slipped up and down the spa pony's body as she continued to slide against her. Their haunches, so close together, seemed to be fusing together by the blistering sensations that were coursing through them, and Twilight was now so given over to the pleasure pulsing through her that she didn't notice that the purple glow flowing down her own horn had been joined by a similar lambent glow from the centre of the spa pony's own forehead.
Suddenly Bubbly's rubbing increased in intensity, and Twilight moaned against the spa pony's panting mouth as she felt herself peaking. And the taste and scent of the hot breath coming from Bubbly's mouth drove her over the edge, and she cried out in sheer ecstasy - and at the same precise moment the spa pony did as well, arching her back and crying out "Oh Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight's world was enveloped in purple light as the magic that had been condensing in her horn suddenly exploded out in a flash of brilliant energy, and Twilight felt the waves of pleasure joined with waves of magic spraying out in every direction. Her eyes glowed white hot as she lost herself in the magical ecstasy that she had only experienced two times in her life - once when she had been a filly taking her entrance exam and again when she had fought Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony. But as the pleasure ebbed away, leaving a warm, satisfied glow in her body, so did the magical energy - and when she could see again, she saw that the appearance of the pony lying on top of her had dramatically changed. No longer was she a pink-maned earth pony - her blue coat had become paler, her waterfall of a pink mane shrinking back to a single, arrogant wave of silver, and a horn had appeared on her forehead, still glowing with the last purple ebbs of magical energy. But the expression on Twilight's partner's face was still one of ecstasy, her mouth open, tongue partly extended as she panted in pleasure... but when she at last looked down at Twilight and saw the look of shock on her face, her own purple eyes went wide in confusion.
"Trixie!?!" Twilight cried in horror, slipping her body out from under the blue-coated unicorn pony's.
Trixie looked at her forelegs and swept her tail in front of her - and as soon as she saw it was silver-blue instead of Bubbly's pink, she yelped as well and scrambled backwards off the massage table.
"What... what were you trying to do to me?" Twilight demanded in a whisper. She stepped back onto all fours, face to face with the still confused Trixie, her horn glowing ready against the magical onslaught she was sure would come.
But Trixie's look of confusion was quickly replaced by one of haughty indifference. She reared onto her hind legs but made no move to prepare for battle, but instead began to fastidiously wipe the oil from her chest and forelegs with her hooves. At last she deigned to look at Twilight and grinned, her eyes glittering in derisive humour.
"So it seems that you have seen through the Great and Powerful Trixie's intricate illusion, Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie smirked. "It took you long enough to do so! Perhaps the much-vaunted magical ability of the heroine of Ponyville is slipping?"
"Wh... what in Equestria are you talking about, Trixie?" demanded Twilight through narrowed eyes. "Where's the real Bubbly?"
"Oh, she's quite safe," replied Trixie, a bored tone in her voice. "You might say she's all tied up at the moment!" She laughed. "But enough of such mundane trivialities! It is time for the Great and Powerful Trixie to exact her long-awaited revenge!" She fell back down onto four legs, her horn beginning to glow as well.
"Revenge?" asked Twilight. "Revenge for what? I've never..."
Trixie's face suddenly darkened in anger. "Have you forgotten? Revenge for the humiliation that you wrought upon the Great and Powerful Trixie of course!" Her lip curled in a disdainful smirk. "For upstaging her in front of all those slack-jawed yokels! She has never forgotten how you stole the limelight from her, Twilight Sparkle, with your flashy and artless telekinesis! So Trixie has been biding her time since then, watching your every move and waiting for the ideal moment to strike!"
"To strike? You mean, give me a massage?" Twilight wanted to laugh, but she was too busy trying to suppress the blush that threatened to turn her face crimson - she'd almost said body-slide, and she felt ashamed of the memory of the intense pleasure that Trixie had made her feel.
Trixie looked at Twilight as if she had slapped her in the face. "The... the Great and Powerful Trixie is multi-talented!" she cried, shaking her head. "Not only is she an expert in every kind of magic and illusion, but she is also a master stage performer who can sing, and dance, and..."
"... give massages?" This time Twilight couldn't suppress the mischievous smile that sprang onto her face.
Trixie glared at her. "Yes - and give massages as well!" She sniffed and turned her face away, her muzzle high in the air. "It is merely another feather in the most talented pony in Equestria's cap!" She suddenly turned back to Twilight and grinned haughtily. "Were you not brought to the screaming heights of pleasure by the firm and sensual hooves of the Great and Powerful Trixie, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight suddenly blushed. "Well, I... uhh." But then she shook her head and glared back at Trixie. "That's not what we're talking about here, Trixie." She sighed. "Look... I'm sorry, it's just that this must be the most ridiculous plan of revenge I've ever heard of!"
"Silence, lavender unicorn!" Trixie glowered in annoyance. "Just because your amateurish mind cannot conceive of the brilliant machinations of the Great and Powerful Trixie's superior intellect does not mean her plan was ridiculous! It is painfully simple, Twilight Sparkle," she sighed, looking down at the sole of a fore-hoof. "Trixie shall try and explain it in terms that even one as ignorant as you can understand! When the Great and Powerful Trixie learned of your habit of frequenting this..." She looked about the suite with a sneer. "...third-rate establishment, she realised that this was the perfect setting for her ultimate revenge!"
"So let me see if I've got this straight," Twilight lay back on her haunches and rubbed her forehead with a hoof as if she had a headache. Her horn had stopped glowing. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has been watching my every move, waiting for when I was at my most vulnerable so that she could... give me a massage?"
"It was no mere massage!" Trixie spat. "The Great and Powerful Trixie lulled you into a state of absolute defencelessness and had she not outdone herself with the most sensual of body slides, then she would have struck!" The silver-maned unicorn threw her fore-hooves into the air. "For once she has defeated you, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall parade you in abject humiliation before the gawking peasants of this miniscule town and her vengeance shall be complete!" Her exultant laugh echoed through the suite.
"That's quite some plan..." Twilight looked at her slyly though narrowed eyes. "If I didn't know the Great and Powerful Trixie better, I'd have thought that she had a crush on me!"
"Silence!" Trixie's eyes blazed with sudden rage. "The only pony the Great and Powerful Trixie has a crush on is the Great and Powerful Trixie herself! But she tires of talk - defend yourself, Twilight Sparkle, against the mighty spells of Trixie!" Her horn glowed suddenly brighter.
Twilight sighed. "OK - let's get this over and done with then, Trixie." And with that her own horn started to shimmer again.
Trixie struck first. Levitating the towels that she had so carefully arranged at the small table near the door to the suite, she flung them at Twilight - one wrapping itself around her face like a shroud, the others knotting together and twisting about her legs.
Trixie laughed in triumph - but it was short lived, for Twilight shook the towel from her head and floating a bottle of massage oil up into the air above her, she tipped it over so that the oil coated her from ear to tail - and with the extra lubrication she slithered out of the knotted towels, a smile on her face.
"A spa isn't the best place to try something like that, Trixie!" she smiled. And with that she lifted the mat from beside the massage table, rolled it up and floated it behind Trixie. The silver-maned unicorn pony tried to gallop out of the way, but Twilight was too quick - she swatted Trixie on the rump with it and she went sliding across the floor of the suite, landing face-first into the mud bath with a yelp. She vanished under the purple-grey surface and disappeared for a heart beat - but then bubbles appeared and she surfaced, now completely covered with mud. Her once-proud mane was sticky with the purple-grey ooze, hanging down and dripping, and the only parts of her that were recognisable were the horn that stuck up through the mud and her wide purple eyes that burned with rage and humiliation.
"You, you... how dare you!" Trixie cried, distraught. "My... my lustrous mane! My... my beautiful coat!" She shook herself all over, but although some of the mud flew off and splattered against the walls and the floor around the bath, most of it stuck fast, and she gasped in despair.
Twilight couldn't help but laugh at the sight, and Trixie scowled at her as the silver-maned unicorn pony struggled to wade through the mud. Every time she lifted her legs, the sucking clay tried to draw them back down into the mire, and she slipped and fell twice, falling flat on her face and coating her muzzle with more of the thick, gluey substance. But at last she reached the edge of the bath and clambered out, slipping onto the floor on her stomach and sliding a short distance, leaving a trail of purple-grey mud smeared on the previously pristine blue tiles.
At the sight of Trixie floundering on the floor and trying to lift her dripping, mud-coated body with yelps and gasps of breathless annoyance, Twilight's chuckling turned into open laughter, and she doubled over in mirth - but this gave Trixie the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. With a loud cry she leaped at the lavender-coated unicorn pony and fell on top of her, splattering her with the grey-purple mud that still clung to her. Twilight was driven back onto her rump, and Trixie fell on top of her, pinning her down, and as the haughty stage-magician looked down at the now equally mud-smeared Twilight with malicious humour, the purple-grey sludge dripped down from her face in thick strands, bespattering Twilight's face and mane as she struggled to escape.
Her face now splattered with mud, Twilight gasped in shock and anger, and with a blast of magical energy she pushed Trixie off her and slid on top of her, pinning her down. But Twilight's victory was short lived as Trixie kicked her legs from under her and turned the lavender-coated unicorn pony onto her stomach and straddled her, squeezing her hind legs together with her knees and locking her fore-legs with her own.
"Do you yield, Twilight Sparkle!?" cried Trixie. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has you in her power and there is no way you can escape! Yield, or else..."
"Or else what?" Twilight muttered. "Or else you'll give me another bodyslide?"
Trixie blushed crimson under the rapidly drying coat of mud on her face, and Twilight, sensing that she was distracted, bucked her off her back and again leaped on top of her.
And so the two unicorn ponies continued to wrestle, gasping and snorting as they rolled about on the tiled floor, each desperate to get the upper hand. The walls of the luxurious suite and all of its gorgeous furnishings were soon bespattered with blobs of mud, and wherever Trixie and Twilight rolled they left behind a thick trail of sticky purple sludge.
At last Trixie managed to pin an exhausted Twilight to the floor and, putting her whole weight on her, she gloated down at her, her face an ecstasy of victory obvious even through the layer of drying mud.
"Piece of cake!" she laughed. "I won't be falling for one of your tricks again, Twilight Sparkle!" She brought her smirking face down closer. "Well then, Twilight Sparkle - do you yield? Or must the Great and Powerful Trixie continue to demonstrate how she is an equine superior to you in every way?"
Twilight was exhausted, but she had one trick left up her sleeve. "I... yield," she answered with a sigh of resignation. "But... but before you parade me before the rest of Ponyville, I just want to say one thing..." She looked up at Trixie, her glistening violet eyes helpless.
Trixie's eyes flashed and she grinned in satisfaction. "Very well! The Great and Powerful Trixie is nothing if not merciful! She agrees to your pleas. What is it that you have to say, Twilight Sparkle?"
"I just... I just want you to know that...." Twilight lowered her gaze, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "I... I have a crush on the Great and Powerful Trixie." Twilight quickly lifted her muzzle and kissed the silver-maned unicorn pony firmly on the lips.
The change on Trixie's face was remarkable. Her look of arrogant victory melted away almost immediately into one of soppy infatuation: her ears went back as her own cheeks flushed red, and her wide purple eyes glistened with the beginning of tears. "You... you have a crush on m... on Trixie?" she asked, her voice soft and thick with emotion.
Twilight nodded shyly. "It's just that she... I mean, you... well, you are so great and powerful, after all. And..." She blushed deeply. "I... I've never had anypony make me feel like you did today - with your massage and your...." She swallowed, and her eyes glittered at the memory. "... your bodyslide."
Trixie looked down at Twilight, a blissful smile on her face. "You... you really feel that way about Trixie, Twilight Sparkle?"
"I do, Trixie," Twilight replied, but then her face turned suddenly anxious. "Do... do you think that you could ever be with... somepony like me? A pony much less great and powerful than yourself?"
Trixie nodded, wiping the tears that had started to run down her cheeks with a still-muddy hoof that left a smear of purple in its wake. "Of course Trixie could. That would make Trixie... happier than she has ever felt before in her life." She climbed off Twilight and helped her up off the muddy tiles. "You see, Twilight Sparkle... the truth is, is that Trixie..." She lowered her face, but looked up with glistening eyes, her cheeks turning red. "Ever since that day Trixie saw your amazing magical power, she hasn't been able to forget about you." Her eyes flashed open in adoration. "The way you defeated that Ursa Major..!"
"Ursa Minor," corrected Twilight gently.
Trixie nodded. "The Ursa Minor she means... it was magnificent! No, it was more than magnificent - it was spectacular!" She threw her hooves up into the air, and Twilight ducked to avoid the mud splatter that resulted. "Oh, Twilight Sparkle! Such heroism, such bravery, such drama! In that moment, you reminded the Great and Powerful Trixie of herself and..." Trixie looked at Twilight with glistening eyes. "...and so that is why she... she..."
Twilight brought a hoof to Trixie's face. The silver-maned unicorn pony's tears had started anew, and they cut little rivulets in the caked mud all over her face, revealing the blue coat beneath. "Shhhh....." she said, bringing her face close to Trixie's. "Twilight understands your feelings Trixie, and she shares them..."
Twilight's horn had started to glow, and the silver-maned unicorn pony's horn lit up as well, as if fire had leapt between them. And then their lips met, and as they did their horns touched as well, and magic sparked and flowed all over the two of them in waves of cold purple fire.
Trixie gasped at the intensity of Twilight's kiss, and one of her hind legs lifted up involuntarily - and so she was totally unprepared for what happened next. There was a sudden burst of magical power from Twilight's horn which blossomed forth in an almost pure white light, and it quickly surrounded Trixie... and with her eyes still closed, and her mouth still open and trailing the thinnest thread of their mixed saliva she was lifted clean up into the air.
Trixie's eyes flashed open, and realising what had happened she screamed.
"What ... what are you doing Twilight Sparkle?" she cried, all four legs kicking helplessly in the air. She looked down to see the lavender-coated unicorn pony doubled over in laughter.
"How does it feel, Trixie?" laughed Twilight. "You don't feel so great and powerful now, do you?" She clapped her fore-hooves together in glee. "I did it! I did it! I outsmarted the Great and Powerful Trixie! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"
Trixie's face collapsed, her expression twisting into one of rage. "Release the Great and Powerful Trixie at once, Twilight!" she shouted. "Now!" But tears still welled at the corners of her wide purple eyes, and behind her arrogant commands she choked back a sob.
Twilight smiled up at her in victory. "Not until she admits that I've defeated her fair and square!"
Trixie's eyes flickered in... sadness? But she turned her face away so quickly that Twilight was never able to tell if she had just imagined it, and when she turned back her expression had returned to that of her usual haughty disdain, but now mixed with an anger kept barely under control. "Very well. You... win, Twilight Sparkle." The words came through gritted teeth. "Congratulations. You've defeated the Great and Powerful Trixie. Now let her down. She no longer wishes to endure this... humiliation."
Twilight slowly floated the silver-maned unicorn pony to the floor and loosened her telekinetic grip. "Now remember, Trixie - you promised..." she began.
But Twilight never finished the sentence - for Trixie had reared onto her hind legs and with a disdainful laugh she cried: "You haven't won, Twilight Sparkle! Nopony can ever defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie! All they may hope to achieve is a draw, as you have done!"
And as Twilight stared at her open-mouthed, there was a sudden explosion of smoke and fireworks and when it dissipated away, leaving the lavender-coated unicorn pony coughing and wiping the smoke from her eyes, Trixie was gone, the door to the private suite flapping madly at her hasty exit.
Twilight slumped onto the cold floor of the suite and for a long time she watched the door until it stopped flapping at last. She half-heartedly wiped the mixture of mud and oil from her face, and then she touched her lips at the memory of Trixie's kiss. There were some things you just couldn't fake.
"Oh Trixie," Twilight sighed. She drew her muddy hoof across the tiles in front of her, absent-mindedly marking the shape of a love-heart. "If only I knew how you really felt about me. But your life is just one big magic act, isn't it? And I...I don't think I can ever trust you enough to love you."
To be continued