"Today you will take all of it. My love, my anger and all of my sorrow!"
Magical fatigue did nothing but kill the body. Having poured out more power at once than she could safely handle, Trixie's body rebelled against her. Out of convulsion than any helpful bodily function she vomited out a gout of blood and mucus from her mouth. The tangy feel of the blood irritated her lungs and throat and the taste was terrible. Her breathing was labouring and with her profuse sweating, she couldn't help but thirst for some water. Everything about her ached, as the muscles and veins that channelled her magic frazzled with excess of their endurance. No doubt internal bleeding had occurred to such an extent that she would need immediate medical attention after this. But despite herself she was kind of happy. She had gone to lengths she hadn't gone before, beyond what she thought was possible. But the price of such a thing could be too dear for her to attempt twice.
Her head pounding with a migraine and body weakened with fatigue, she couldn't help but smile wry at her achievement.
At any normal time she would think the usual lie of never again. But given the grave situation and the prize at stake, she let herself have no mood for humour. Sniffing her nose free of bloody phlegm, she began the process of relaxing her body and recharging her magical endurance. It was a strange process that unicorns use to endure far beyond mortal limits. Magic was not natural in nature as it warped the fabric of reality and even the make up of living flesh. As a result the body naturally rejects it and unicorns have evolved horns to discharge this energy out of themselves. However over the millennia unicorns have learned how to harness that energy, as they used it to regenerate the damage magic caused to an intuitive cycle of birth and rebirth.
Drawing from the ether, she draw more magic that would harm her but channelled the discharge in such a way that they also aided in recovering from the given damage. In this age of war healing spells were no longer spells, they were a unicorn's instinctive ability. It would only take her a few moments to fully recover, being so well-practised in the art as it is. But it wouldn't do to not be cautious, despite the impossibility of it, Twilight Sparkle may have survived that monstrously painful discharge. Her body didn't care to listen to her intent to focus. Feeling another bout of fatigue, her vision blurred severely as her brain tried ever so hard to return to a state of normalcy. Deep breathes Trixie. Slowly.
Every so often her mind wanted to black her out into her unconscious, but as the urge came she shook the desire off furiously. Dammit, slowly I said! Trixie risked closing her eyes. She needed to as it helped her focus on the task. Listening to her heart she heard it begin to beat slowly into her relaxed state. And then it sped up again with the sound of a single word.
---
Twilight's body filtered through the screen of kinetic energy Trixie summoned, as the blue emerald around Twilight's neck glowed a pink heat. It took all the endurance of the delicate gem to not shatter right then and there, as it powered the protection spell that saved his sister's life. A bubble had formed around Twilight sparkle to protect her from certain death, violently scratching against and then needling through the surface of the death screen. Thank you brother,
Now safe from death she inspected the blue emerald around her neck with a careful hoof, cautiously inspecting the thing for any damage. Never again, Twilight said as sincerely as she could muster, but she just knew it wasn't a promise she could keep. As much as losing her brother's soul would be a great tragedy, she simply feared death too much to selflessly kill herself so that a rare blue emerald wouldn't shatter to pieces from magical strain.
Half expecting another wave to come from the blue filly, she let the barrier stay up until she was certain it was safe. The magic had taken it's toll as Twilight predicted. There she was perfectly ready with magical energy to spare and a tired filly just asking to die. She grimaced in disgust as the little filly loudly vomited out Celestia knows what out of her. The child was completely oblivious to what had occurred to her foe. Her eyes looked right at her, but by the dazed hazy eyed expression on that little face, Twilight could tell the filly couldn't see anything through those tired eyes. She could tell the filly was ready to fall over and out herself from exhaustion.
All she needed was a little... push.
"Funny..." Twilight Sparkle found herself saying, trying her best bravado to sound amused, taking the near brush with death in stride and empowering her with confidence. Killing her would be much too easy. The near death experience, Twilight self confessed, excited her, it had been such a long time a challenge presented itself. After all, for a mare powerful enough to single-handedly destroy a city. What could possibly be interesting?
---
By that single word Trixie's vision cleared, her mind bemused but focused and her stomach clench tight. The shot of adrenaline pumped through her veins and numbing all her previous pains. The sobriety that had brought her to attention was something Trixie had to admit, was not something she was not use to. Fear had overtaken her and she didn't like it one bit.
Now a dilemma came to her as instinct screamed at her logical mind. It told her to run, as fast as she could, honour be damned! This mare was going to kill her. But nay, as much as a part of her screamed "fool" into her mind's ear she couldn't run away. A part of her was excited. All that hate, all that pent anger and this euphoric joy she felt in her heart. The feeling of death staring her in the face practically made her spine twinge with delight.
"I've heard those words before. I find it so funny how each and every one of you lack such originality." Twilight spoke. Trixie, powerless as she was, waited for it but was refused the honour of death. "Broken records the lot of you!" Trixie wanted to attack but she simply too weak at the moment. She needed a few more moments, just a little more time. Talk like the rambling old mare you are!
"It sounded so noble once, but hearing it the umpteenth time. It's gotten quite sad how meaningless they were proven to be. Funny that." Trixie was ready now and with a roar she managed to fire off a few wild shots. The moment she did her body screamed in pain, the cold peeling sensation of regret washing over her. And then she felt it, in one instant she realised the peril she was in. How naive of her! Twilight was no foal, she wasn't just boasting. She was distracting her!
Twilight made no move as the waves went wide.
"Talking about a better future that never come, making promises to a child you couldn't keep. You Trixies are a pathetic lot cursed by the will of a dead mare who has sealed your fates for the rest of time!"
Light began to burn onto the ground at Trixie's feet. It's too late to dodge this!, thought Trixie as a ten meter wide pillar of flame burst forth from the ground like great fiery geyser. Twilight in reaction merely snorted with small embers bursting from her flared nostrils. Watching indifferently at the burning ground lighting up the once dark night into semblance of a midday afternoon. She was looking for something beyond the flames. A signal, a sign, a... a kinetic wave that sliced through the flames and aimed for her neck. With a contemptuous will, Twilight easily ripped the offending projectile to shreds with telekinesis.
A cloud of mist and darkness came over the flames extinguishing them in seconds. It was no natural mist either, as the misty substance twinkled with a thousand stars and the endless darkness of the night. Trixie's eyes were aglow with power indicating where she was in the darkness. She wore the darkness like a hat and cloak, looking almost exactly that of her distant ancestor. Albeit fractionally more impressive.
Twilight half expected the little filly to be drooling out her innards with such a discharge of magic. But nay, something about the mist had empowered her, regenerated her and even went as far as transforming her.So you've learned Nightmare moon's trick. This is an incredible first, Twilight thought. Somehow, she had harnessed a power only alicorns could tap into. No pony should be able to fuse with the ether, such things intruded on the realm of gods!
"Recovered then are we?" Twilight shouted out to the little filly. her only reply was a pair of snaking misty tentacles rapidly coming to entrap her. But summoning forth a tiny solar flare in her midst, all vision for a moment had turned white with light evaporating Trixie's little trinket. What was left was the original hat and cloak Trixie wore around her. An heirloom that surprisingly survived the ages. If survived meant ragged and torn and in horrid disrepair. Rarity would simply faint at such a sight.
"You ruined my hat... NO ONE DIRTIES THESE CLOTHES!" Trixie flared with renewed power, power flowing through her like a second wind. As if sensing this surge in energy in the air Twilight's blue emerlard began to glow. Calm brother. Save your strength. I can handle this.