After her friends explained that the “magic” Trixie had referred to was nothing more than smoke and mirrors, Sunset Shimmer immediately began to conduct research on the subject, drawing up a list of tricks that she wanted to perform for the showdown.  Before she could start practicing, however, Rarity had insisted that she needed the right outfit first, so Sunset had spent most of the evening at the boutique Rarity worked at being measured and fitted for her new outfit.  Fortunately Rarity worked quickly and had it finished before the day was over.

“I don’t know Rarity,” said Sunset as she examined herself in the mirror.  “I feel naked, and where I come from, people generally don’t have a concept of nudity.”

The costume deviated greatly from the traditional tuxedo of the typical magician.  The bottom half consisted of an extremely short gold-colored skirt that just barely covered her seldom-seen parts.  The only thing that protected her modesty was a pair of skin-tight bicycle shorts worn underneath, and even that was cut scandalously short, exposing a great deal of leg.  The top consisted of a short-cut, bedazzled black jacket worn over a tiny form-fitting golden tank top, leaving her midriff and most of her back exposed.

“Nonsense darling, you look absolutely fabulous,” said Rarity, adjusting the glasses she always wore while she worked (Sunset privately suspected that they were just for decoration).

“Well yeah, that goes without saying,” said Sunset.  “Still, is it really necessary to show all this skin?  I’m facing Trixie in a magicians’ dual, not a fashion show.”

“Precisely!” said Rarity.  “The art of illusion as all about misdirection, is it not?  Well then, this will draw everyone’s attention to your gorgeous body so that they won’t notice what you are doing with your hands.”

“Good point,” Sunset admitted.  “And I certainly have no objections to people admiring me.”

“That’s the spirit!  Now for the final touch.” said Rarity.

Pulling a golden hat from its shelf, Rarity placed it on sunset’s head.  “Viola!” she said.  “Now you look just like magician.”

“Looking like a magician is the easy part.  Actually being able to perform like one is going to be another matter altogether,” said Sunset grimly.

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“Alright, for this trick, I’ll use what appears to be an ordinary top hat,” said Sunset, holding up said hat for everyone to see.  The gang had all gathered at Rainbow Dash’s house to help Sunset practice.  “What everyone doesn’t know is that it’s actually a trick hat with a collapsible bottom.”  Sunset demonstrated by sticking her arm through the hat.

“Now I’ll place my hat on this table, right over this hole that’s been cut out of the top, leading to a special compartment hidden within the table.  It’s from there that I will retrieve the rabbit, thus creating the illusion that I created it out of thin air.”

“Aw, that’s boring!” Pinkie Pie whined.  “Can’t you at least pull out something cool, like an alligator?”

“Pinkie’s right, this is kids’ stuff,” said Rainbow Dash.  “There’s no way you’ll be able to beat Trixie like that.”

“I know that, but when learning a new skill, you always have to start with the basics,” said Sunset.  “Don’t worry I’ll be working my way up as we get closer to the big day.  Now prepare the rabbit, Fluttershy.”

“In you go, Angel Bunny,” said Fluttershy gently as she set her pet rabbit into the table’s secret compartment.  Closing the hidden door, she joined the others on the lawn.

“Alright, abracadabra, presto create-o, rabbit in my hat,” Sunset chanted randomly, waving a plastic wand over her hat.  Reaching through it into the secret compartment, she grouped around, only to find nothing.  After a minute, she pulled her arm out and looked inside.

“What’s the matter with you; didn’t Fluttershy explain what you’re supposed to do?  What’s that?  What do you mean you want to renegotiate your contract?  Hazard pay?!  I’m pulling you out of a hat for crying out loud, that’s hardly-you know what, I am not having this conversation with you, get over here-OUCH!  Did you just bite me?!  Oh, it’s on now!  Come here you little…OW!  Hey, let go…WHAOH!  AAAAH!  GET HIM OFF ME!  GET HIM OFF ME!  HELP, HELP, HEEELP!  OW!  OW!”

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“Okay, I think we can all agree, no more acts involving live animals,” grumbled Sunset as Fluttershy treated her cuts and bruises.

“Right,” said Applejack with a neutral expression.  The others nodded in agreement, their faces equally blank.  After a moment, the dam broke and Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all burst into hysterical laughter, falling to the ground and clutching their stomachs.  Rarity was the only one who even tried to hide her mirth and failed miserably, unable to suppress her giggles even with both hands clasped over her mouth.

“Yeah go on, laugh at your friend after she got beat up!” Sunset snarled.

“C’mon Sunset, we’re not laughing because you got beat up,” said Rainbow Dash.  “We’re laughing because you got beat up by a bunny!” she finished, sending everyone into fresh peals of laughter.  Even Fluttershy let out a few small chuckles.

“That bunny’s the devil!” Sunset shouted, her cheeks burning.  Taking several deep breaths, she managed to regain some composure before continuing.

“Obviously, this is going to be harder than I thought, so we’re going to have to accelerate things and skip to the more advanced acts.  I think next I’ll try…”

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“I don’t want to do this!” Flash Sentry cried, digging his heels into the ground as Sunset and Rainbow Dash pushed him towards an open box full of silted holes.  Pinkie Pie stood next to it with the others, holding a bundle of long, curved swords in her arms.

“You promised you’d help us out with this, Flash,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, well, that was before I knew that you were planning to turn me into a human shish kabob!” said Flash.

“We’re not actually going to run you through with any swords, Flash,” said Sunset, rolling her eyes.  “It’s just a trick.  You’re perfectly safe.”

“If it’s so safe, why isn’t one of you guys volunteering?” Flash demanded.

“Because we tried to decide by drawing straws, but forgot to make a short straw,” said Pinkie Pie.  “Besides, this scene is usually funnier if it’s done using a guy.”

“Look, you OWE me Flash,” said Sunset before he could protest again.  “I let you use my journal to talk to Twilight for six hours last week, and you spent two of them just writing ‘you hang up first, no YOU hand up first, no YOU hang up first…”

“Fine, I’ll help you with this stupid trick!” Flash grumbled.  Climbing into the box, he knelt down and allowed it to be closed up around him, leaving only his head sticking out.  Taking a sword from Pinkie Pie, Sunset held it up in the air and turned to face an imaginary audience.

“Now I will run this boy through with this enchanted sword!” she announced, ignoring Flash’s groans.  Lowering the sword, she aimed its tip at one of the holes and shoved it in.

There was a horrible, sickening wet sound, almost like fruit being cut.  Sunset’s guts turned ice cold; looking up, she saw an expression of shock and agony on Flash’s face.

“Pinkie Pie,” she said slowly.  “When I asked you to get the swords for this trick, you did understand that I meant fake, collapsible, plastic swords that cause no actual damage, right?”

“Oopsies,” Pinkie Pie squeaked.

“If one of you girls could call for an ambulance in the next five seconds, that would be great,” Flash hissed through gritted teeth.

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The next day, everyone gathered at Applejack’s farm.  After the incident with Flash, Rainbow Dash’s father had forbade them from ever practicing on his lawn ever again, and it was only after much pleading that they were able to convince him that it was safe to allow his daughter to continue helping them.

“So the good news is that Flash has decided not to press charges against us, if only because that gaping wound in his gut completely healed before the ambulance even arrived,” said Sunset as she paced back and forth in front of the other girls.  “Seriously, that was incredible; I’m starting to wonder if we’re not the only ones who inherited some Equestrian magic.  We should look into that sometime.

“In any case, the BAD news is that we still don’t have any tricks ready for the showdown, and we’re running out of time.”

“Don’t worry Sunset, we still have twelve days left,” said Fluttershy.

“You mean we ONLY have twelve days left to prepare,” said Sunset.

Fluttershy frowned.  “Well yes, but…”

“Then let’s stop wasting time and keep practicing,” said Sunset.  “Next on the list is…”

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“So explain this trick to me again,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Well, first you bind me with these chains,” said Sunset, holding up a bundle of chains for emphasis.  “Then you put me into that barrel and seal it up.  From there, I will proceed to escape from both on my own.”

“How are you going to do that?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“It’s all about flexibility and hiding something to pick the lock with on your person,” said Sunset.

“You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?” Rarity asked flatly.

“What’s your pint?” asked Sunset.  “Look, this is how I learn.  I jump in and figure it out.  Now stop yapping and chain me up.”

Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash took the chains and wrapped them tightly around Sunset, locking them in place.  Then she and Applejack helped her into the barrel and, after double-checking to make certain that it had air holes, sealed the lid.  Once finished, they took a seat with the others and waited.

Time passed by.  Occasionally, they would hear a muffled curse and a thump, but otherwise there was no indication of any progress on Sunset’s part.

“Do you think we should let her out now?” asked Rarity.

“She’d probably get mad at us if we did,” said Fluttershy.

“Are we sure she doing it right?” asked Applejack.

“Let’s check and make sure,” said Pinkie Pie, grabbing the instructions.  After looking them over for a minute, she slapped her forehead.  “Well no wonder it isn’t working!  We forgot the most important part!”

Before anyone could ask what she meant, she threw the instructions away, stood up, lifted the barrel up in a shocking display of strength (eliciting a muffled cry of surprise from within), and carried it to the forest bordering Sweet Apple Acres.  After sharing a glance, the others quickly followed her.  For over an hour they all marched through the woods in silence, save for Rarity, who stumbled her way through while constantly whining about “nature getting all over her”.  Finally they came to a stop at a large raging river, its waters foaming from the violent currents.  Off in the distance, the ground dropped off into a cliff, creating an unseen waterfall.

“We’re here!” Pinkie Pie announced.

“Care to explain exactly why we came here, Pinkie Pie?” Rarity grumbled as she picked twigs and leaves from her hair.

“Simple, I’m going to throw Sunset into the river,” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

“WHAT?!” everyone shrieked.  The barrel emitted a muffled shout of protest.

“Why the heck would you want to do that?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“Well, the instructions said that the trick needed to be performed in a river that ends in a waterfall,” explained.  “Sunset tried to perform the trick without the river and couldn’t do it.  So obviously, Sunset has to be in the river in order for the trick to work.”

“That’s terrible logic!” cried Fluttershy.

“Worth a shot,” said Pinkie Pie as she hoisted the barrel up.  Before the others could stop her, she threw it with a mighty heave.  A scream sounded from the barrel as it flew through the air, cutting off when it landed in the middle of the river where it disappeared under the water with a splash, resurfacing a minute later.  The girls watched as it floated away with the currents.

“She’s not coming out, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said flatly.

“Just give her a minute,” Pinkie Pie said confidently.

“She’s still not coming out,” said Fluttershy after another moment passed.

“It’ll happen,” Pinkie Pie insisted.

“Are you quite certain that she wasn’t simply holding off on this part until she figured out the chains and barrel?” asked Rarity.

“She said it herself, this is how she learns,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Ah can hear her screaming,” said Applejack.

“Tough love girls, tough love,” said Pinkie Pie.

“She’s getting awfully close to the drop,” said Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie held out for another moment before her smile turned into a frown.  “She’s not going to get out in time, is she?” she asked.

“Nope,” said Rainbow Dash.

Yelling in panic, the girls began to chase after the barrel.  Reaching into her hairspace (her name for the enigmatic pocket in her massive pink mane that seemed to hold- an almost infinite quantity of whatever she needed), Pinkie Pie pulled out a lasso and tossed it to Applejack.  Twirling it expertly, she flung it through the air and managed to snare the barrel just before it disappeared over the waterfall’s edge.  The girls all sighed in relief as Applejack pulled it to shore, but that quickly turned to horror when they saw that the lid had popped out and the barrel was empty.  There was a loud whoosh as Pinkie Pie’s hair deflated, turning flat and straight.

Climbing hastily down the cliff (which turned out to be even bigger than they had imagined), they began to call out Sunset’s name while searching the riverbank for her.

“I don’t see her anywhere!” Rarity cried desperately.

“Do ya think she floated down stream?” asked Applejack.

“T-that must be it,” said Pinkie Pie.  There were tears welling up in her eyes.  “Yeah, Sunset is totally as light as a feather.  I mean, she eats even less meat-based stuff than Fluttershy.  Well, at least she did when she first came here, b-but then she started eating meat after a few months.  B-but I d-don’t think she eats it that often!  She’s still totally light enough to float.”

A gasp from Fluttershy interrupted Pinkie Pie’s rambling.  Following her trembling finger, everyone saw a golden colored magician’s hat floating towards the shore.  After a moment it rose up into the air, followed by a mass of gold and copper hair and then the rest of Sunset’s body, free of chains, her face obscured by her soaking wet hair.  As she walked up to the others, they all stepped back, save for Pinkie Pie.  She reached out and brushed the curtain of wet hair away, revealing Sunset’s scowling face.

“Next trick?” she asked nervously.

“Next trick,” Sunset growled.

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“Is this your card?” asked Sunset as she drew one from the pile on the table and showed it to Rarity.  After getting cleaned up, everyone had moved into Applejack’s kitchen to continue practice.

“No,” said Rarity, shaking her head.

Sunset sighed and threw the card away and then drew the next one.  “Is this your card?” she asked again.

“No,” Rarity said again.

Growling, Sunset threw that card away as well and drew another one.  “Is this your card?” she repeated in a more demanding tone.

“No,” said Rarity.

With a snarl of frustration, Sunset violently drew yet another card and shoved it in Rarity’s face.  “THIS is your card, ok, say that this is your card!” she shrieked.

“It is not,” Rarity said simply.

Sunset screamed and threw the deck into the air.  The cards all fluttered down around them as Sunset banged her head against the table.  “How could this not work?” she moaned.  “I’m sure I shuffled the deck just like the instructions said.”

“Darling, I’m not entirely sure you could call what you did shuffling,” Rarity said delicately.  “It was more like you were mashing them all together.”

“Well, I-I’m still getting used to the hands, ok?” Sunset insisted.

“Yet you’ve been using them just fine for the last two and a half years,” Rarity pointed out.

“Shut up!” snapped Sunset, burying her face in her hands.

“Perhaps it’s time we called it a day,” Rarity said gently, patting Sunset’s shoulder.

“Yeah, alright,” Sunset muttered.  She turned to the others, only to find that they had all fallen asleep.  “Wake up!” she snapped.

“I’m not cupcakes!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, bolting upright.  “Oh, it was just a nightmare,” she said, sighing in relief.

“We’re calling it quits for the day,” Sunset announced as everyone else roused themselves.  “Be here the same time tomorrow.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention, I won’t be able to come tomorrow,” said Rainbow Dash.  “I promised Scootaloo that I would help her practice for the big competition.”

“Well, tell her you have to cancel,” said Sunset.

“I can’t do that, she’s counting on me,” said Rainbow Dash.

Sunset could feel her temper starting to rise.  “What about me?” she demanded.  “You promised that you would help me out with this, remember?”

“Well, yeah,” said Rainbow Dash, fidgeting in her seat.  “But I also promised Scootaloo that I would…”

“So the moment a better deal comes along you just go and abandon me?” Sunset snapped.  “Some friend you turned out to be!”

Rainbow Dash flinched and hung her head.  In the back of her mind, Sunset realized that she was being extremely unfair to her, but at the moment she was just too frustrated and angry to care.

“Leave her alone, she shouldn’t have to drop everything just for you!” shouted Pinkie Pie, getting in Sunset’s face.

“Well excuse me if I assumed that the Element of Loyalty would understand the importance of keeping a promise,” Sunset retorted.

“Oh that is the lowest of low blows,” Pinkie Pie growled.  “I mean the low-low-lowest-low-lowest of the lowest!”

“OK, let’s not reenact a visit from my grandparents,” said Rainbow Dash, pushing herself between Sunset and Pinkie Pie.  “Sunset’s right, I did promise to help her first, and I’m sure Scootaloo will understand.”

“Good, then I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Sunset as she walked away, unaware of the looks everyone was giving her.

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The next day, everyone gathered at Applejack’s farm again.  Sunset felt like she should apologize to Rainbow Dash for losing her temper the other day, but she didn’t seem like she was holding it against her, so Sunset decided to just let it go.

“So what’s this contraption for?” asked Applejack, pointing to the machine Sunset had brought with her.  It was rectangular in shape, a foot and a half thick, and about the size of a small mattress.  Four legs and wheels propped it up like a table.  On the top where six fans, and at the head of the table was a tiny switch that was almost impossible to see unless you knew where to look.

“It’s a special air compressor I built for the levitation trick,” said Sunset.  “The instructions called for a bunch of wires, but I thought I could do one better.  When I turn it on, the vents will emit highly pressurized air, pushing anything on it up into the air and hold it there; and YOU, Pinkie Pie, are going to be my volunteer this time.”

“OK!” Pinkie Pie said brightly.

“How come Pinkie Pie gets to try out the cool machine?” Rainbow Dash whined.

“Because this is a test to make sure it’s safe, and Pinkie Pie threw me into the river yesterday,” Sunset said flatly.  “Now get on the table, Pinkie Pie.”

Once Pinkie Pie was positioned on the table, Sunset turned the machine on.  For a moment, nothing happened.  Then with a powerful roar of rushing wind, Pinkie Pie was blasted high into the air, her screams fading as she became a dot against the sky.  Everyone just stared in shock at what happened until-

“It’s alright, I’ve got my umbrella; I’ll be down in a few minutes!” Pinkie Pie’s voice called out from above.

Everybody breathed a sigh of relief before turning to glare at Sunset.

“Alright, I know what this looks like, but I swear that was not intentional,” said Sunset.

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“Why do I have to be the one to climb it?” asked Fluttershy as she gazed fearfully at the long rope that was hanging seemingly from thin air.

“Because you’re the only one light enough not to break the wire,” said Sunset.

“But it’s up so high,” whimpered Fluttershy.

Sunset groaned.  “What’s the big deal?  You grow wings when your magic is active, so it’s safe to assume that the Equestrian version of you is a pegasus-pony, and they live in the sky.”

“Good for her, but I’m a human, and I prefer to keep my feet on the ground as nature intended,” said Fluttershy in a semi-insistent tone.  “I-I mean, if that’s alright with you,” she added meekly.

“It’s not alright,” Sunset growled, getting right in Fluttershy’s face so that their noses were practically touching.  “Now get your butt up the stinking rope.”

With a frightened squeak, Fluttershy grabbed hold of the rope and started pulling herself up.  Everyone shouted words of encouragement for her as she climbed higher and higher.  When she was halfway to the top, she glanced down and immediately started to panic, somehow getting her foot tangled up in the rope.

“Fluttershy, just hold still, we’ll get you down!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy didn’t listen and continued to struggle and thrash around until she was wrapped up from head to toe.

“One butterfly joke and I ending you,” snapped Sunset just as Pinkie Pie opened her mouth.

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Things only got worse over the next few days.  When the hose for the inexhaustible bottle malfunctioned, it drenched the girls with root beer.  After that, Sunset cut the wrong scarf while practicing the cut-and-repair trick, ruining Rarity’s favorite scarf.  Then she tried the dove pan trick but forgot to add air holes.  Fluttershy was inconsolable for hours.

Sunset tried trick after trick, only to mess up each and every time.  Before she knew it, a week had already passed, and she still hadn’t learned anything.  

Everyone was lying flat on the ground, exhausted from the long slew of tricks they had tried that day.  Even Rarity was too tired to complain about getting dirt on her clothing.

“Alright, I guess this is as far as we’re going to get today; we’ll try again tomorrow,” said Sunset.

Everybody groaned.

“Come on Sunset, we’re exhausted,” said Rainbow Dash.  “Can’t we take tomorrow off?”

“No, we can’t,” growled Sunset.  “We only have seven days left and I still haven’t mastered any tricks.”

“Perhaps some time off will help you with that,” said Rarity.  “I know you’re frustrated right now, but if you simply allowed yourself some time to relax and clear your head, you’ll have much more success.”

“That isn’t going to work!” cried Sunset, throwing her hands up in exasperation.  “We need to spend every second we can if we want to be ready.”

“You mean if you want to be ready,” said Rainbow Dash.

“You know what I mean!” Sunset snarled.

“C’mon Sunset, we’re tired and behind on our school work, and yer’ acting like yer on th’ verge of a meltdown; we all need a break from this,” said Applejack.

“WE ARE NOT TAKING A BREAK!” Sunset screamed.  Why couldn’t her friends understand what was at stake?  If she didn’t win, she would have to say that she cheated to win the talent show.  Even if Principal Celestia didn’t believe her, it would be impossible to convince her classmates that she was capable of winning anything by fair means.  If that happened, then what was the point of everything she had done to make amends with everyone?

“Now listen here you lazy bums!” she snarled.  “I am not about to lose to Trixie just because you five wanted to give up when things got rough.  I don’t care if we have to start going without sleep, we are going to put everything we have into this, and I don’t want to hear anymore whining, or you’ll all regret it; are we clear?”

For a moment everybody just stared, dumbfounded at Sunset.  Then Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes.

“Crystal clear,” she said in a low whisper.

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The next day was the start of the weekend, so everyone agreed to meet in the park bright and early for practice.

Sunset tapped her foot impatiently.  She had been waiting for over half an hour and nobody had shown up yet.  She swore that they had better have a good excuse for being so late.

Finally, everybody arrived at the same time.  Sunset noticed that they all had somber expressions on their faces, but she didn’t really care.

“About time you guys got here,” she snapped.  “Let’s not waste anymore time, I’ve got a lot of new tricks I want us to try out.”

“About that, we need to talk,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Unless it has something to do with practice, I’m not interested,” said Sunset as she turned to open her duffel bag of tricks.

This time it was Applejack who spoke.  “The thing is, we’re calling it quits, and we think you should too.”

Sunset dropped her bag and rounded on her friends.  “What?!” she shrieked.  “How can you…wait, first tell me why on EARTH should I call this off?”

“We just feel that this whole thing is messing with your head, darling,” said Rarity.

“My head is just fine,” Sunset snarled.  “The only problem I have is that my so-called friends are balling out on me!”

Pinkie Pie stepped forward.  “It’s not like that, Sunset, it’s just that…”

“What?  It’s just what, exactly?” Sunset demanded.

“W-well, t-truth is…” Pinkie Pie stammered, before Fluttershy pushed herself forward.

“You’re acting like the old you!” she cried.

Sunset felt like she had been slapped.  She wanted to deny it, to tell everyone that they were overreacting, but then she thought of everything she had done over the past week; taking advantage of her friends, ordering them around, screaming at them and threatening them.

Something inside Sunset shattered.  She fell to her knees and began to bawl her eyes out.  She had no idea how long she stayed like that, but when she finally calmed down, she found all of her friends gathered around her and were hugging her.  It didn’t make any sense; after everything she had done, they should have turned their backs on her in hatred and contempt.

“Guys, I-I’m so sorry,” she whimpered.

“We know, darling,” said Rarity soothingly as she stroked Sunset’s head.  “Don’t worry, we’ll think of another way to get Trixie off of your back.  But we really think you should call this off before you do something you’ll regret.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Sunset.  Sighing, she got to her feet.  “Let’s just go home.”