Trixie's Requiem

by theseventhdoctor

Chapter 4

tanding there bathed in a blue light faintly glowing was Star Tome or at least his ghost. “Grandfather!,” Trixie exclaimed feeling joyous tears in her eyes as she went to be near the spectre

“Ahh Trixie my little filly.” He replied his tone neutral.

“Why are you here? How are you here?” She asked.

“The how is unimportant the way is simple before I can rest I must tell you something.”

“Speak it Grandfather,”

“It is simply this Trixie, ever since the Canterlot express derailed and your parents passed away you have been nothing but,” His tone shifted growing cold like the space between stars, “A burden to me.”

Trixie felt her whole world break as her heart shattered in her chest, even when it felt like something in her hat got lose and now rested warm on her scalp but she barely noticed, eyes brimming with tears all she could do was ask, “What? Pop pop?”

“Don’t Pop pop, me you disgrace of a Lulamoon,” The ghost’s tone now as hot as the surface of a star, “Can’t even win a crowd in a farming town and you get so hung up on that one pony town that you buy a dangerous amulet and try to take it over.” Venom began to drop from his words as he finished with, “Fool! that is all you are!”

Trixie reeled back as if struck, crying openly now as what was left of her heart sunk even further from the ghost’s words but soon the world began to be tinted green and before she could even react to it her eyes fell on the apparition and where sadness once ruled anger took it’s place because under the green haze Trixie saw not her grandfather but the animated corpse of the pegasus, Righteous.

Now shaking with anger, not hearing the lier’s words or giving him a reading that she knew her mind briefly flashed with that griffin monk again and a spell suddenly formed on her lips, “ Xel’lotath Nethlek Aretak” she all but screamed as a green bolt struck the apparition and shattered the illusion of her grandfather revealing the projection of the liche.

The liche’s apparition showed surprise for the briefest seconds before saying, “The monk’s creation? You're more resourceful than I thought, but no matter I-,” Trixie interrupted him with another blast from that spell and another.

“No talking, Think you can twist my heart?” Tears falling from her eyes that blazed with fire, “Hear this you ancient bitch! I am going to kill you and I am going to buck in the teeth of your god! FACE ME! and despair.” again the liche was stunned into silence at her tirade and before he could react Trixie screamed the incantation, “Xel’lotath Pargon Antorbok Pargon Aretak!” a column of focused green energy leapt from her circle and struck the liche in his chest causing the apparition to scream before it dissipated into nothingness than Trixie was once again alone.

She slumped to the floor and while there took her hat off to see what fell from it’s place to discover it was the green rune she just got from the safe, “Great if it wasn’t for dumb luck I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between an imposter and my own grandfather, I am a failure.” She finished dejected.

“Failure you say? Well that’s just an opportunity to learn,” came a far too jovial voice Trixie looked up from where she was sulking to see her grandfather again this time sitting by the stairs, with a groan Trixie responded between clenched teeth with, “I have no time for games Righteous, Xel’lotath Nethlek Redgormor!” Trixie almost blacked out from the energy the spell needed but she didn’t allowing her to see the wave of dispelling magick rush from her, towards the ghost to do...nothing.

“What?” she feebly asked, “How?”

“Oh stubborn filly, It’s me, Pop pop.” He responded with a smile as he went and knelt down by her, ‘And you have been pushing yourself too hard.”

There was no point in trying to hold anything back Trixie wept and told her grandfather everything and the old ghost listened and when she was finished he said “I'm so sorry Trixie, you’ve suffered so much in so little time.”

“It's not your fault Pop pop, I wanted to find who killed you and kick their teeth in,” they were silent for a time till Trixie asked her speech slurred with fatigue, “Why is the world all woshi wagi?”

The old stallion smiled as he spoke, “Because channelling the ancient's power is a strain on the mind and body and you did just rapid fire spell slapped the liche.”

“Alright alright,“ she was silent for another moment before asking, “What did he mean by the Monk’s creation?”

“There was a griffin monk who found the tome over a millennia ago, who was a scholar of the occult by the name of Gudmundur and when he fought against righteous he devised new ways to use the runes much to Righteous’ annoyance.”

“I’m so tired but still so much to do, the last essence and a path to the city and-”

“Quiet Trixie, you’ll find them in time I have faith in you but for now rest and dream of Darren Do. I’ll wake you in an hour or so.” And with that the world went mercifully dark for Trixie and her dreams took her grandfather’s advice and insured she was part of the adventure of one of her favorite book heros.

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Trixie awoke suddenly and bolted straight up, as she took quick inventory of herself and surroundings and noted that she couldn’t have been asleep long on the floor or else she would have had more aches she saw an old wine bottle full to the top of some faintly glowing elixir as she went to examine it she found a note tied to the neck of the bottle, it read Well not my favorite tipple but just a swallow should help you feel rejuvenated. Love Star Tome.

Smiling Trixie put the bottle in her bag and stretched, but as she did something her grandfather said kept bothering her. “Darren Do?” She asked herself, “Haven’t thought about him since I was a filly.” Her gut kept telling her that it was a clue and so she made her way up from the basement and towards the library.

As she entered the library, a wall in her mind she didn’t know was there broke, causing the storm of memories of the previous bearers of the tome to flood her mind. She felt herself fall to the cold wood floor of the room clutching her head at the pressure and weight of these personalities and their drives.

As she laid in the fetal position trying to ease the pain, she felt talons rest on head and thought her end had come. But it didn't; the talons just rested there. She could feel a warmth radiate from them that gave a sense of ease and security that made her think of a favorite shirt or a foal’s blanket, and soon the storm in her mind relented, once again behind the rebuilt wall.

Trixie looked up to see who had helped her and was greeted by the blue translucent form of the griffin she had seen earlier, with his talons on her head with his own bowed repeating a prayer. “The good monk Gudmundur, I presume?” She asked her voice rough and creaking like she had been crying.

He stopped his prayers and smirked as he replied, “I am a monk but as to being a good monk that is more up to debate.”

“What?”

“Well most monks weren't a former Godi or rune-carver of The Allfather.”

“But you're a monk of Faust.”

“Aye but I was not born a monk,” He laughed to himself. “No one is and it was because of my pagan upbringing that I was able to be such a thorn in the liche’s side if only for a short time.” He paused and looked up as if watching the movements of things that Trixie could not herself see. "But we must hurry, our time is short and I fear you couldn’t handle the stress if the wills of the old bearers overtook you again.”

“But what can I do?”

“Find the last essence and make your way to the corpse city and end this nightmare!”

“I don’t even know how to get to the city and even if I did I don’t think I am strong enough to beat him!"

“Little one," He said his tone like warm tea or maybe for his case mead. "You are strong enough. There are not many how can claim to have paid such impudence to Righteous and live to tell of it. And as for traveling I am sure you grandfather has left you the means for that aswell. He was the sort to be ready for most things.”

“But where would I even look for the last essence?”

As the monk’s spirit dissipated Trixie could hear as if spoken from a long tunnel, “Remember his last words before your dreams.”

And with that Trixie was alone with her body shaking from the stress of it all. Yet with her mind now calm she thought furiously trying to decode any hidden meaning in her grandfather’s words about Darren Do, but not finding any she decided to find the old books and see if a clue was there.

The books were where she remembered them being kept and lo and behold the entire Darren Do series by C.S. Yearling was there along with the books by his daughter A.K. Yearling but as her eyes skimmed the titles one didn’t fit, a story called Darren Do and the demon of Gouxia. Trixie had read the entire series cover to cover and had no memory of this story and as she pulled the book out she found that it’s dust cover was just a mockup and the real story was Darren Do and the Monk’s Legacy. as she was about to put the book back she saw that the book was hiding a small that was almost flush with the wall. Curious she pushed it and heard gears whir and some levers click and then part of the wall paneling nearby opened up.

She peered in the secret compartment smiling as she saw a black heart floating in a bell jar and purple rune and a seven point circle of power and more of her grandfather's notes. “Well, now I just need to find a way to the city.” She said as she put the final essence in her saddle bag and put the rune with the others and the circle on her cape. As she thought on her next course of action she began to read notes on this magick her grandfather had left. As she read on it became clear to her that Star Tome was building on the work of another, perhaps the work of Gudmundur and the work theorized the possibility of using this magick to create a teleportation spell that should deliver the caster safely to whatever destination they wished provaded she had something that resonated with the desired location.

She made her way back to the secret study to look of anything of use and found in odd fragment of stone on the desk but as she looked at it and the lines upon it she couldn’t help but feel she has seen something like it before, her gut told her to hold on to it as well as go back to the study proper.

Her gut was right the stone she first thought was a paper weight matched the stones and designs in the painting of the city, which meant she now had her resonance and in another dash of insight took the painting from it’s mount to find on it’s backing a completed version of the teleportation spell with all many of figures, formula and power calculations already finished, quickly she began to construct a proper magic circle with a piece of chalk she found in the saddle bag along with writing out the runes and insight of the notes on the painting's back and soon it was done and she sat in the center of the circle holding the stone fragment.

Before she cast the spell she made sure she had everything she would need and even grabbed the elephant gun and the shells and with that slung on her back she took her place in the center of the circle and began to chant, “Ulyaoth Pargon Tier Pargon Pargon Santak Pargon.” The spell’s energy enveloped her and the stone and both began to pulse and soon the energy released and the world of the study around her faded away.