Twilight took a breath. Just beyond the hallway leading out of the green room stood the ring. She could not see Trixie from the other side, just the darkened path that led to Class 1-B’s green room. She took a few steps and was almost into the light of the arena when she heard hoofbeats behind her.

“Hey!” Celestia called all. She paused to cough into one of her shriveled legs and then walked closer to Twilight. “Just wanted to see my student off.”

“Princess!” Twilight gasped. She glanced out at the colosseum and up towards the royal box. “Shouldn’t you be up there?”

“An advantage of having attendants’ magic sealed is that it makes pulling off illusions much easier,” Celestia chuckled. “I wanted to also congratulate you on gaining better control of the Elements.”

Twilight blushed. “It’s still nothing compared to you though…”

“Now, no need to be modest. This is your chance to shine! Plus, your handling of the Elements is completely different from my experience, so any advancement is a positive!”

“R-right.”

“So be positive.” Celestia chopped Twilight on head with a hoof. Staggering back, Twilight shook of the light tap just as Celestia took on her empowered form. “If you’re worried or nervous, that’s the time to smile! You’ve come so far and now’s your first real chance to show that progress to Equestria.”

Twilight managed to summon a shaky grin and nodded. “Okay. I’m off.”

“Think your daughter is up for this?” Firelight mused.

“Oh, this is just a warm-up for her.” Jack Pot tossed some popcorn into his mouth. “It’s her own classmates I’m more worried about. They don’t know how to handle her Talent.”

“Still, that Twilight has power and ingenuity on her side.”

“Hmph! When it comes to magic and Talents, power is only part of it.”

A few rows down, Night Light leaned forward to peer into the hall that led to Class 1-A’s green room, but shadows and the angle kept him from getting a view of Twilight. Velvet pulled him back.

“She’ll be out soon, dear.”

“Oh, but I’m just so excited for her.” Night Light swerved toward Velvet, his face suddenly pale. “You don’t think she’ll get stage fright, do you?”

“She just dove into a thunderstorm and exploded herself across the arena. I think we’re dealing with the opposite situation here.” Velvet put a hoof to a chin. “I just hope it doesn’t go too far beyond that.”

Twilight stepped up to the ring. Rockhoof XII stood in the center, but Trixie had yet to emerge. Fireworks then burst out of the hallway connected to the 1-B green room. A serpentine dragon formed out of the purple fireworks and slithered above the crowd, spewing out multicolored bursts of flame. A spiral of pink flares expanded out into an elephant that twirled over the audience. Flocks of fiery birds zoomed around the colosseum while fish of every shape and hue swam over the other half. Flares of magic shot up from the ground in front of the hallway, creating a shower of sparks.

Trixie strode through the display, basking in the audience’s oohs and ahhs. When she stepped up to the ring, the menagerie of animal fireworks gathered behind her. All their flaming eyes glared down at Twilight. Trixie jabbed at Twilight from across the ring and declared in an amplified voice, “Prepare yourself, Twilight Sparkle! You’re about to be quite the helpful assistant to the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Now that’s an entrance!” Jack Pot cheered.

“Okay okay,” said Rockhoof. “I don’t mind a bit of boasting, but kindly cancel out any spells before the match starts.”

Trixie bowed her head. With a poof of smoke, the fireworks vanished. Trixie answered with a regular voice, “Of course.”

“Alright folks, it’s time to get the first match started!” said Vinyl. “On one side, we’ve got one of our first-place winners, Twilight Sparkle! Let’s see what other crazy moves she might pull out! On the other side, we’ve got Trixie Lulamoon! She showed off quite a unique Talent in the first round, let’s see what other tricks she’s got!

“Rules are pretty straightforward,” Vinyl continued. Rockhoof backed out of the ring and summoned up an earthen chair to sit and preside over the match from. “Ring your opponent out, get them to say, ‘I give up,’ or immobilize them. We’ll start a ten-count if immobility is questionable. Don’t worry about injuries, we’ve got CSGP’s own Nurse Redheart on standby! If something looks too dangerous though, Rockhoof will step in, so feel free to cut loose!”

Trixie glared at Twilight. “Your participation is appreciated.”

“I won’t let you boast this whole time.” Twilight focused her attention on Trixie’s horn and thought back to the race. Allowing Trixie to employ whatever spell or part of her Talent that lets her separate her limbs will create too many openings. Still, magic is magic. Even if her Talent does allow her to disassemble and remotely control her limbs, it must take some time to charge a spell like that.

Rockhoof hefted his shovel and clanged it against the side of his chair. “Begin!”

Which means I have to keep her on her hooves! Twilight charged at Trixie.

“Bold.” Trixie jumped aside to dodge Twilight. “Short range spells are easier to cast, after all.”

Twilight charged up a shot with her horn, but Trixie was faster, and a flash stunned Twilight. She jumped back and summoned up a shield. Her eyes quickly cleared, but when they did, a giant bear with a body shimmering like the night sky loomed over her.

“For Trixie’s first act…” Trixie declared, “… let’s see how long our participant can last against an ursa!”

The ursa raised a massive claw and brought it down on Twilight. Twilight took up a stance and kept her shield strong. Yet, her eyes were not on the ursa, but on Trixie. Too many issues with summoning and controlling something like a ursa. It must be a tri—

The claw slammed into Twilight’s shield with enough force to crack it. It continued to press down, and the cracks grew. While Twilight kept the ursa at bay, Trixie rushed towards her with her horn ablaze.

“Darn!” Twilight cursed and brightened her horn. Her shield continued to degenerate under the ursa. In a flash, Twilight vanished and appeared behind Trixie. Trixie spun just in time for a hoof to connect with her face and sent her tumbling across the ring. The ursa faded into the air.

Twilight caught her breath. Her horn stung a bit from performing a last-second teleport while maintaining her shield long enough to keep the ursa’s claw from crushing her. She got to work casting a spell to fling Trixie out of the ring, but something decked Twilight across the face. She rolled across the ring, came to a stop, and got back onto her hooves. Her heart sank when she saw a leg floating by Trixie.

“Well, couldn’t have you go down in just the first act. Time for the second act and Trixie’s personal favorite. Our lucky participant gets to face off against Trixie while she’s down a leg!” Trixie smirked and raised her left foreleg. It rocketed off her shoulder and both legs hurtled towards Twilight. “Or how about two?”

Twilight bent back to avoid one leg jabbing from the left and then sidestepped to avoid an uppercut from the other leg. Trixie watched the battle unfold with a grin like she was a spectator. Twilight snorted and made a break for her. Trixie yawned even though she no longer had forelegs to cover her mouth. Twilight blocked and dodged the onslaught of blows from Trixie’s legs and closed the distance between them.

Twilight raised a hoof high and slammed it down on Trixie. Her legs caught the blow first. Trixie grinned. “Trixie was expecting a lot less physicality from you, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie has heard you’re such a talented magic user. You’re not holding back on Trixie, are you?”

Twilight’s horn flared and she poofed from existence. She reappeared behind Trixie again and slammed into her back.

However, she continued to crash down when Trixie’s back split apart leaving her hind end on the ground while her torso floated up and spun around so she could sneer down at Twilight while she flew higher and higher.

“The same trick won’t work twice,” Trixie snickered. “Time for the third act! Trixie doesn’t like to admit it, but she’s falling to pieces! Although, you’ll be the one broken up by the end of this, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight managed to stick her landing but was caught off balance when she was forced to dodge a leg. She tried to spin around so she at least fell on her hooves, but another one of Trixie’s legs slammed into her side.

“Guh!” The blow sent her tumbling. Yet, when she struggled to get up, no attacks came at her. Her head spun a little from the close-range teleports, but she managed to focus her sight on Trixie. Her torso hovered above Twilight. Her hind end had separated, so now her four limbs floated beside her.

“This must be quite impressive,” Trixie jeered. “Trixie hopes you’re not thinking about giving up. We’ve only just begun!”

All four limbs rocketed towards Twilight. She ran forward to dodge the forelegs in the lead. They swerved and came back around to tail her. Meanwhile, Trixie’s hind legs moved in a pincer formation. Aura flowed over Twilight’s right hind leg and she managed to kick away one hind leg while protecting her own. She summoned aura to her left foreleg too and blocked the other hind leg.

Trixie’s legs assaulted Twilight from all angles, but carefully timed blocks, shields, and dodges kept them from dealing any major damage. Like earlier, Trixie’s head yawned while watching the proceedings.

Darn! Twilight spotted Trixie up above and grimaced. Looks like we had the same idea, but how did she manage pull her spell off so fast? Does it allow dismemberment for her whole body once she’s cast it? Think! Thi—

A misstep sent Twilight falling. A leg smacked her head from the right and she rolled onto the ground. The blow and the fall momentarily staggered her, but she managed to recover and got back on all four hooves. Legs were coming from straight ahead and from the side. Twilight began to charge up a shield spell strong enough to block both, but she felt something latch onto her horn and block her magic.

She saw no glow around her horn to indicate foreign magic, but something jerked it left and right, keeping a spell from properly forming. Twilight reared back and the pressure on her horn vanished. Before she could move away, her leg slipped, and she went crashing to the ground just as Trixie’s legs converged on her.

A leg slammed into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Another uppercutted her chin, forcing her eyes to roll back and launching her into the air. The other two legs landed blows to her left shoulder and right thigh. All of them flew above Twilight and then crashed into her back, pounding her into the ring.

“And Trixie delivers a brutal beatdown!” said Vinyl. “I’ve seen a lot of fights with ponies, but Trixie has taken four-legged fury to a new level!”

“You could say that,” Tantabus mused.

“Hmm?” Vinyl sidled a little closer to Tantabus. “Something you’re seeing that I’m not?”

“Just a unique display of magic and a Talent.”

Back in the ring, Twilight laid flat on the ground. Her head swam, and it felt like Trixie had dislocated her shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she tried to get up, something held her down. She glanced left and right and saw that Trixie’s limbs had pinned her.

“Time to start the count!” Trixie cackled.

“Right,” said Rockhoof. “One, two…”

No! Twilight screamed at herself. After everything Dash said, after all the training, after everything…

Twilight focused, and rainbow light flickered around her eyes. Her horn lit up and aura swelled around it. A sheen of magic exploded off her body and knocked Trixie’s limbs off. Trixie stopped laughing and Rockhoof ceased his count. With rainbow aura pouring off her, Twilight glared up at Trixie. “Sorry, you came at me full force from the start, I should have put everything else aside and done the same.”

“Well, aren’t you being a rude participant?” Trixie snarled and sent her legs at Twilight again. Instead of dodging, Twilight planted her hooves and took a blow straight to the face.

The audience gasped. Velvet clenched her seat rests. Trixie’s hoof dug into Twilight’s left cheek. A bit of blood spilled down Twilight’s lips. Trixie grinned, but then paled upon seeing the blaze in Twilight’s eyes. For a brief second, teal aura appeared around the leg and was then overtaken by purple aura. The leg went limp and deflated like a balloon.

Twilight glared up at Trixie and then down at part of the ring. Her eyes shimmered with aura. “So that’s it.”

“S-so that’s what?” Trixie yelped. The leg that Twilight had seized fell out of her magic’s grasp and back up to Trixie. It regained its musculature and shot back at Twilight with the other three. Trixie’s horn grew bright and an array of ursas surrounded the ring. “How do you like this?”

“Pathetic,” Sunset snorted.

“Well, I thought it was quite the good strategy while it lasted.” Rarity grinned. “I knew Twilight would figure it out.”

“A kindergartner would figure it out,” Sunset grumbled.

“Uh, are we missing something?” Spike scratched his head. The rest of Twilight’s friends stared at Rarity and Sunset with similar expressions.

Twilight did not flinch and charged at the spot she had glared at. The ursas brought their claws down on Twilight, but she dodged some and ran through others. Trixie’s torso shot down to join the fray. She cloaked her head in aura and rammed Twilight, but Twilight swatted her away with a barrier. While she charged, smoke rose from the tip of her horn. A bit of its alicorn darkened.

“That wasn’t just dispel magic,” Twilight huffed. “I did analysis and trace spells too. I see you, Trixie!”

“Y-you triple-casted?!” Trixie gasped. However, her voice did not come from her mouth, but from the spot Twilight was rushing toward.

“I don’t know why an accommodation was made for you, but it’s over!” Twilight lit up her horn. Trixie’s body zoomed in front of the spot Twilight was aiming at. Twilight unleashed a massive blast of magic, but centimeters in front of Trixie, it fractured into bolts that struck all of her at once.

Sparks exploded off Trixie’s limbs and torso. After a second, her jaw slackened but she managed to shriek. A few of the audience members turned away when Trixie’s eyes shriveled up and her limbs deflated. Yet, others were wondering why some of the bolts had converged on the spot behind Trixie. More curious, the bolts directed on that spot caused smoke to rise out of thin air.

After a second, a bit of dust rose off the spot Twilight had attacked. She ceased her attack and went to her knees with sweat spilling down her face. The tip of her horn was now black.

Rockhoof peered over his seat at what remained of Trixie and looked up at the announcers’ box. “Uh, is this legal?”

“It is,” Tantabus declared. “Though I would watch your step. The real Ms. Lulamoon is just a few feet to your left.”

“Huh?” Pinkie and a large amount of the audience exclaimed. “Has teach gone loco in the coco? Trixie is right there… looks like her act fell a little flat though.”

“Allow me to explain,” said Tantabus. “Unfortunately, the unicorns and earth ponies won’t be able to tell, but the pegasi in the audience may be able to detect Ms. Lulamoon’s actual body. Ms. Lulamoon has suffered from a certain impediment since the time she obtained her cutie mark, which gave her the Talent of illusions and glamours. When she first achieved it though, there was an accident, rendering her permanently invisible.”

“What?!” Vinyl gasped.

“Did you not read up on the students?” Tantabus sighed.

“Er, uh…”

“Regardless, Twilight Sparkle managed to see through Ms. Lulamoon’s duplicitous tactics and secured her victory. Winner of the first round: Twilight Sparkle!”

“D-darn,” Trixie coughed. She blinked and saw a purple hoof extended out to her.

“Can you stand?” Twilight asked.

Trixie batted the hoof away, though to the audience it looked like Twilight had flung it back. “Trixie does not need your pity, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie has lost, and her time on the stage is over.”

“Sorry, just thought it was the right thing to do,” said Twilight. “You put up a really good fight, Trixie.”

“But it’s over now,” Trixie sighed. “Who will want to take on somepony that can’t even win the first match?”

“Well, I would.” Twilight dared to smile. “That took a skillful use of telekinesis, misdirection, and throwing your voice to pull off that dismemberment trick. Plus, using your suit for more than just appearing visible and hiding part of it in that first ursa illusion really threw me off.”

“It was quite a show!” Vinyl exclaimed. “Both participants showed off magic in unique ways that highlights its versatility! Let’s hear it for them!”

The audience roared with applause.

Nopony but Twilight could see it, but Trixie looked the other way when she reached out and took Twilight’s leg. “N-next time, I’ll win, Twilight Sparkle. Now, you had better put on a grand performance in my place.”

“I’ll have to stay sharp then.”

With the audience cheering them on, Twilight and Trixie walked off the stage.

“Well, we’ve seen what skilled unicorns can do,” said Vinyl. “Now, let’s see what some pegasi have got!”

Trixie Lulamoon
Talent- Glim Glam: Trixie mainly specializes in illusions that can confuse an opponent’s eyes. However, her ultimate strength comes from the effect gaining her Talent had on her: invisibility. For others to see her, she either must constantly cast dispel on herself or wear a specialized suit. When her magic is applied to it, the suit mimics what she would look like if she were visible. It uses her residual magic when worn normally. If she detaches and channels a spell into it, it can become a useful blunt weapon. Thanks to her training as a showmare, Trixie can turn the suit into a powerful puppet fighter.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Horikoshi-sensei for throwing off Trixie's scent with Tokage. Yep, Trixie is actually this fic's Hagakure.