Be Destroyed
Trixie saw her arms in front of her once more. “Oh, Trixie is back to her beautiful self!” she said and stood up. She was many stories in the air atop the spire that towered in the room. Without a levitation spell, she wouldn’t be getting down on her own.
Everyone else had reverted to their human forms as well.
“Noo!” cried an angry Nepanox. “Kill them! We’ll just take their place!”
Arrows flew at Trixie and she dove back to what little ground she had.
“Keep them distracted Trixie!” Lina said. “Gourry, cover me!”
“Got it Lina.” Gourry replied and unsheathed his sword to fend off Nepanox’s soldiers.
Trixie then aimed just above the mass of enemies that had sent the volley of arrows. She cast a fireball at them. At first, the bowmen looked on in confusion at the fireworks, only for the explosion to knock them back.
Lina then grabbed one of the downed soldier’s spears and put something at the end of it.
Is that chalk? Trixie thought.
The sorceress began drawing on the floor with the implement. All the while, Gourry stayed close with Lina, parrying each attempt on the sorceress’ life.
“Uh, Lina, now’s not the time to be drawing stuff on the floor, is it?” Gourry asked while swatting away spears that came racing forward.
“Silly girl.” Nepanox said. “I thought the great Lina Inverse would be fighting back.” He shot a freeze arrow.
Lina! Trixie gasped and incanted a fireball. As the spell made its way speedily to its target. Her sparkling spell collided just in time to cancel out Nepanox’s.
The duke glared at Trixie. “You little thief! You stole my map and now you’re even trying to steal my glory!” He shot two more freeze arrows.
“Oh no!” Trixie said “Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson. Gather thy power in my hands. Fireball!” she incanted with both arms forward.
Two smaller fireballs came forth and intercepted Nepanox’s magic.
“Gah! Stop doing that!” Nepanox yelled. He then shot off more of his own spells to which Trixie blasted.
“Good job Trixie, show him who’s boss.” Lina said, while still trying to evade Nepanox’s men.
“It would really help if you cast your magic right about now.” Gourry said.
“That’s it, I’ll put an end to you right now!” Nepanox yelled. “You know, I’ve noticed all you can use is the fireball spell. You’re quite the one trick pony.”
“Trixie can do many tricks!” the apprentice replied. “And many more as a pony!”
Nepanox recoiled in confusion. “Eh, anyways, I’ll just use something with a little more power than a fireball then.” He gathered energy into his glowing hands and held out a deep red orb.
The spell looked far more intimidating than her own fireball. “What is that?” she asked.
“Oh, something I know you won’t be able to cancel out.” Nepanox said and then turned to Lina. “Oh, Ms. Inverse!” He called out.
Lina turned to looked at the duke. “Yeah, what do you want? Is my apprentice really giving you that much trouble?”
“Oh, I’m quite sure a Gaav Flare will be enough to overpower a fireball.” Nepanox said.
Trixie looked nervously at the spell and then at Lina.
“I’m going to toast your little friend here if you don’t give up this instant.” Nepanox said.
Lina then put down the spear she had been holding and clapped her hands of dust. “It doesn’t really matter anymore.” Lina said, earning a confused look from Gourry and Trixie. “Go ahead. Hit her with a Gaav flare for all I care.”
Nepanox smiled. “First her, then you!” He fired off the spell, only for it to completely phase out of existence. “What?!”
“For a guy who’s obsessed with monsters.” Lina said. “You’d think you’d have known that Gaav was killed. That spell doesn’t work anymore.” She then grinned evilly. “But this one does! Explosion Array!”
The crystal floor beneath the soldiers and Nepanox erupted, scorching everything that was contained within the shape Lina had drawn.
Thank Luna. Trixie thought. But before congratulations were in order, the ground began to shake and something began to ascend from the structure Trixie was standing atop.
“Levitation!” Lina incanted and brought Gourry to the top.
“What’s happening?” the swordsman asked. “Lina, I thought you said you didn’t want to blow this place up?”
“No, I only contained my spell to that area.” Lina said.
“This thing looks like it’s the horn of…something.” Trixie said, taking into account the strange structure emerging from the floor.
The ceiling began to crumble. “I don’t think it matters what this thing is if we don’t get out of here!” Lina said. “I’m going to cast the dragon slave to blow a hole open above us.”
But before the should begin the incantation, the party and the crystal structure vanished.
////
The party found itself atop a giant crystal creature in the middle of the sky. The spire that originated from the chamber was actually a horn on the massive construct.
The trio had a better view of what had emerged from the palace. It had the torso, head, and arms of a man, but the rest of it was the body of a horse.
“A giant crystal centaur!?” Lina asked incredulously.
“What a a strange combination of bodies.” Trixie said.
Then there was an intense sensation of heat at their feet. “This isn’t good.” Lina said. “Jump!”
“Where?” Gourry asked.
“To its back!” Trixie said and the party leapt.
As they descended, the centaur’s horn shot a beam of energy that leveled a nearby mountain.
“What’s wrong with this thing?” Trixie asked. Another beam fired, causing the forest to be engulfed in flames “No!” she began an incantation. “Fireball!” she sent her spell to back of the massive beast’s head.
It collided and made the surface of the creature ripple. The movements transferred the ripples to the air around them and everything went black.
“What the heck did you do?” Lina asked.
“Trixie couldn’t let it keeps firing!” she replied. The sky around them returned to daylight, but this time the landscape around them was that of a desert.
“How did we get here?” Lina asked. “Is this thing warping us?”
Moments later, the creature then pulsed with energy, and another beam began charging.
“Maybe we could leave it here.” There’s nothing for it to destroy.” Lina said.
The centaur fired a beam, causing sand from a nearby piece of land to fly into the air.
“Sure, but what’s to stop it from moving again?” Trixie asked.
“Fine. Let’s wreck this thing!” Lina said.
Gourry brandished his sword of light and stabbed it into one of the facets of the crystalline beast’s body. Just as with Trixie’s spell, everything seemed to stop before they warped again.
This time, they were in a snowy wasteland. “Brrr. It’s too cold here.” Lina said. “Flare arrow!” she incanted and sent her magic to damage another part of the creature’s body.
After the sky darkened and the party was warped again. This time they were miles above a sea. “Digger volt!” Lina incanted and blasted another part of the centaur.
As the warp began again, Lina asked. “So this thing is just going to take us everywhere until we finally destroy it? We could just jump off before it takes us somewhere we’ll never be seen again.”
“Come on, Lina.” Gourry said.
“We set this thing loose, we’ve got to stop it!” Trixie said.
“Alright.” Lina said. “On the next go, we’re going to destroy it in one shot! Gourry, I’m going to need the Sword of Light.”
The group warped back into reality. They were miles above a frigid taiga forest.
“Levitation!” Lina incanted and brought the party up in the air.
“I don’t want to give this thing another chance to get away.” Lina said.
“Can Trixie help?” she asked.
“As a matter of fact, I was just going to ask.” Lina said. “But you won’t be casting a fireball.”
Trixie quirked a brow. “But Trixie doesn’t know any other spells.”
“Gourry’s lending me his sword to channel my spell into, and I’m going to use these talisman to amplify my magic.” Lina said.
“How does Trixie help?” she asked.
“Hold onto the sword with me and add your magic to the spell.” Lina said.
Below them, the construct was pulsing with energy once more and was preparing to fire blindly once again.
The four monster talisman Lina wore began to glow. “Hold on you two.” She said.
“Lords of darkness of the four worlds, grant me all of the power you possess.” Lina incanted, and energy began to visually draw into the sorceress.
Trixie could feel all of the magic as it passed by. It’s so strong. It’s like being near one of the princesses.
Then there was a pull towards Lina, as if she were a well of darkness drowning light.
“Darkness beyond twilight. Crimson beyond blood that flows.”
Trixie began adding her own magic into the spell. She could feel it being drawn out of her through her hands. It felt like they were about to burn. Trixie isn’t really that strong. She never really was.
Lina continued her incantation. “Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows.”
Trixie won’t be useless, she has to try. She has to be good at something for once!
“I pledge myself to conquer, all the foes that stand.”
Even though she was only adding her own magic, Trixie could feel the buildup of power at the sword.
“Before this mighty gift bestowed, in my unworthy hands.”
A point of energy manifested from the Sword of Light. Gourry placed his hand on Trixie and Lina’s
“Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed, by the power you and I possess!
Thank you, Lina, for helping me find a reason.
“Dragon Slave!”
A deep, crimson energy blasted out of the sword. It started out narrow, but the beam widened to the size of a small village, which still did not encompass the size of the crystal centaur. The magic changed the color of the sky around them from the blue of daylight to a deep maroon.
Unlike any of the spells they tried before, the Dragon Slave pierced through the crystal body, sending a massive shockwave throughout the centaur before its own beam could be fired.
Then the great crystal construct shattered, sending faceted pieces everywhere, each with their own distortion of air around them. They all began to blink out of existence in the same darkness that enveloped the construct before.
Below, the remainder of the Dragon Slave just barely blasted the forest and left a crater imbedded into the ground. The energy from the explosion shook the trio apart while they were still in midair.
Trixie held out her hand. “Lina, Gourry!”
And then the sky around her darkened.
////
A certain, purple haired monster stood on a rock, looking up at the sky with a hand placed to his head like a visor.
“Oh dear, this simply will not do.” He said in lament.
The sky then rippled and a couple of figures emerged. Before they hit the ground, they were slowed by a levitation spell.
Xellos warped over to where the figures landed. “Well, well, Lina Inverse.” He said. “It seems you managed to have unearthed what Fibrizzo had hidden from us for so long!”
Lina shot up and grabbed Xellos by the collar of his cloak. “A giant, murdering centaur?” Lina asked, exasperated. “That’s what you were after?”
Gourry got up and shook his head. “Why would anyone want that? It was really dangerous” the swordsman then looked around. “Hey, where’s Trixie?”
“I only saw the two of you fall through the sky.” Xellos said.
“Trixie…” Lina said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry.” Xellos began. “I’m sure she’s fine. You’ve met your share of resilient compatriots.”
The monster then turned around casually. “Oh well, I suppose it’s time for us to part ways.”
“Oh no you don’t!” Lina yelled. “You promised to pay us for this!” She began to berate Xellos.
Amid her rant and demands, Gourry sighed and looked towards the sky. “I hope you’re alright Trixie, wherever you are.”
////
Trixie fell down towards a forest, luckily and unluckily crashing through the treetops. Thankfully, none of the branches had impaled her as she eventually came to a stop.
“Ow.” She said and tried to rise to her feet. There was an awkward imbalance before she fell back down.
“Trixie must have hit her head hard.” She said. The apprentice attempted to rub her head, but clonked herself with a …hoof?
“What the?” Trixie looked at herself to see that she was once again, a unicorn. “Trixie is back in Equestria?”
She looked around and saw a forest that didn’t look as dreary as the once before. The colors were more vibrant.
“Trixie is home!’ she exclaimed. “Lina…Gourry.” she wondered if they’d made it out alright. “No, Lina is strong. They definitely made it. If the Great and Powerful Trixie made it, so did they.”
She got to her hooves and noticed that the forest was essentially uninhabited, but in the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. Somepony had abandoned a certain possession of hers.
With grass already beginning to grow around it. Trixie made her way to her wagon. “But Trixie left this on the airship.” She noticed there was a scroll nailed to it. “I need a good home.” She read aloud.
Trixie then took the scroll, crumpled it, and threw it away. “How dare anypony not take Trixie’s wagon. Its perfectly fine!”
Just before she was about to become more enraged, she sighed. “Oh well, good to be home.” She opened the door to the inside and saw herself in the mirror. “At least nopony stole anything from her wagon.”
She then noticed her reflection. She still had her rod on her back. “Trixie wonders.” The mare then trotted back outside and levitated her rod in front of herself and pointed it towards the sky.
“Source of all power. Light which burns beyond crimson. Gather thy power in my hands. Fireball!” she incanted.
A small series of sparks came forth from the rod. “Ponyfeathers.” Trixie said. “Wait.”
She then began to recast the spell. “Gather thy power in my hooves. Fireball!” Nothing.
Another recast. “Gather thy power in my horn. Fireball!” Again, nothing.
“Darn it, Trixie has lost her powers.” The mare said, defeated. “Great, no awesome spells.” She levitated her rod onto her back.
There was a tinge of sadness within her, but she remembered her mentor scolding her for letting disappointments get the better of her.
“Trixie will be back. No matter what. Even if she’s made mistakes.”
Now, things might have continued on as normal in more normal Equestria. But this Equestria was a bit more fantastic.
Moments after stepping back to her wagon,Trixie heard a loud sound. Something speeding through the air. It wasn’t a pegasus. This sound was more ethereal.
And then a movement of light spread over the trees and into the clearing.
“AHHH!” Trixie screamed and began running form the energy. It chased her through the woods until the showmare tripped and the light flew before her.
Trixie screamed as the energy stopped short in front of her and then picked her off the ground.
Equestria is in a time of need. A voice spoke. You are needed to help. There are others that you will meet soon enough. Use this light to help. Within the Tree of Harmony, the spirit of a warrior. The Light of Destruction. Black Mage.