//------------------------------// // 003. Cat-O'-Nine-Tails // Story: Spirit of the Arcane // by DuskIsGolden //------------------------------// 003. Cat O'-Nine-Tails -A few months later- Another shot of the nine bright-blue glass whips shot from Trixie's horn as she lashed out at a wooden ponyquin, leaving grotesque looking gashes on it. She was becoming pretty talented at using, learning, and possibly even creating her own spells, and from this stemmed the greed to learn more. Trixie was standing in a wide-open field, the sky definitely free of any kind of clouds, the trees naturally bending in the direction of the wind. Upon her head was a light-purple magician's hat, adorned with lightly stitched arcane circles, and a cloak to match. In her concentrated state, nothing could stop her. But she was also warned that in a duel, concentration was not the key- a quick and sharp mind is what won you the experience. That thought would become the staple of her thinking, and ultimately in her end. Several hours passed and Trixie was confident that the spell she had learned from an outside member of her personal circle would show the dedication she was putting into learning the arcane arts. After all, the field she was standing in was something that Absinthe had taught her to recall—generally as a place to go to when the world was dim and dark—not that it was any excuse to say that the world was always a dark place. Rather, it always seemed to be that way. Ponyville was several miles away from Absinthe's limited-space haven, and Trixie started off from her recalled field, slowly fading into the real world through a connection to the Phase, determined to show her mentor her skills. * * * When she reached Absinthe's haven, she popped her head through the door to see her mentor sitting around a pile of books, tirelessly going through them, reading off titles and setting them aside. "What are you looking for?" inquired Trixie, which was followed with a surprised shriek and a pile of books collapsing near Absinthe. "Trixie, you surprised me, dear," she stated as Trixie helped pick the fallen books up. Absinthe eyed her apprentice and noticed her beaming eyes and a quiet smile rested upon her face. "Did you want to show me something, Trixie?" Trixie's smile widened. "Sure!" She trotted to the center of the circle and requested that a ponyquin be brought over to her. Absinthe grabbed the requested object and placed it in front of her. With a silent grin on her face, Trixie released the energy from within her and the Cat-O-Nine-Tails burst from her horn, gouging every possible inch of the ponquin, relentlessly giving no time to break. The blue glass-like whips were slender and powerful, and Absinthe gawked as she saw her student perform the same skill she had used to nearly kill her opponent at the duel. She learn quickly, doesn't she? Absinthe thought to herself, still gawking. But don't worry, madness won't drive her insane. She smiled nervously at her apprentice and cast her an odd glance. "Where did you learn that, Trixie?" Trixie stared at the ground and answered dimly, "It was in one of the books you gave me to study from," Absinthe's mouth seemingly dropped to the floor and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She carefully walked over to her apprentice and looked directly into her eyes, stating firmly, "Now Trixie, that spell is extremely dangerous... I..." she sighed, "I know I no longer have that much control over how well you learn and what you can learn, but please, for the love of Celestia-" Trixie suddenly piped up in the middle of her mentor's comment, "Can I use it in a duel? Like what you used to do?" Absinthe narrowed her eyes and slowly turned away and closed her eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths in before answering, "What I used to do isn't much of importance as you think, Trixie..." she trailed off and Trixie sighed. "Bu- But they seemed so intense! You were amazing! You've learned a lot that way, why can't I?" the pleading in her voice didn't much change Absinthe's mind. "You're a young mare, Trixie! If I let you into the pigsty of that mess you'll never be the same!" Trixie sat on her haunches and thought over her mentor's comment. You'll never be the same, Trixie thought. That's quite the risk. She looked up at her mentor and Absinthe returned a glare back. "Everypony changes though, don't they? It's just a thing that happens, right? Even to those who learn this kind of magic? Things change, right?" Absinthe slowly reopened her eyes and blinked. The young mare is right, Absinthe, the voice leaked back into her head. She wasn't sure which voice it was, but she thought in reply, Indeed she is. She's still a child and likewise is her mind. So should we let her? Or shouldn't we? Absinthe shook her head and shut her eyes tightly. That is her decision, not mine. She slowly pulled herself out of her thoughts as she had frequently begun to sink into them and gave a thin smile towards Trixie. "Yes, Trixie... ponies do change, so if you wish to go out there, that's your decision. I'll be here with whatever you need," Absinthe answered her apprentice's two questions, and Trixie grinned. "I'll make you proud, Absinthe!" Absinthe gave a faint nod, and she turned around as she heard the door shut. A ripple shuddered through the room and Absinthe turned her head towards it. It didn't move, but it seeped through the crack in the door, and Absinthe glared after it. You bastard, if you steal my apprentice and drive her to insanity, I'll kill you with my bare hooves. * * * Trixie walked through the streets of some town she didn't see the name of, the daylight glaring off of every windowpane on the buildings. The thatched roofs seemed sturdy, and the town itself seemed cozy. She had to smile at it, it seemed simple enough and good enough to hold some good potential. The grass was soft and a lot like her recalled world of her own and the sky was the same blue and cloudless. As she walked, there was a hushed end of the town where several ponies were circled around three Unicorns, all waiting for the chance to get at each others' throats. Trixie smiled devilishly. They all look so young, she thought, I don't think they'll be smart enough to defeat me and take my soul from my body! She nonchalantly stepped into the circle and shoved forward. "You! You're not a part of this argument! Get out!" one of the larger Earth Ponies from the crowd yelled. Trixie narrowed her eyes at him and summoned one of her whips, shoving it deep into the Stallion's chest. He gasped for air, and when he was as close to death as he could, Trixie released him and threw a small vial of medicine in his direction. "I guess I am now," she declared, and many of the ponies in the crowd backed away. Now, she began her thinking process, How do I silently kill them without them killing me? Before she could think any further, however, the four were gathered into a small group, and one of the Stallion Pegasi flew by them, saying, "Now all four of you have just signed your death certificates. If you get killed, the final winner receives your souls and all of your learned spells, got it? You can use anything you know, any method. No rules." he made his statement, and when he had finished he flew off, leaving the four to their own measures. Trixie glared at her opponents, but two of them had already blinked behind her and attempted to kill by a swift cut to the neck, but Trixie was quicker. She blinked away from them and tried to recall her field so she could slowly pick them off, but she was interrupted by a buck to the side and she collapsed. Skillfully, as the Unicorn was jumping over her, Trixie rolled onto her back and gave a quick buck to the underside of the Unicorn. He flew back after the crack of most of his ribs resonated from his body. His shattered body lay in the dust, but he got back up, blood dribbling down his mouth. He started to summon an assortment of sharp objects from underneath the ground and after positioning them, he threw them, and before they could hit Trixie, she blinked out of the way and managed to catch one, tossing it to the side to hit another mare in the side of the neck. The mare tore it out and flung herself towards Trixie, but one lucky shot severed the mare's leg from her body. Blood gushed from the broken bone and a sheer cry of terror was heard. The third opponent who had cast the spell charged towards Trixie and plunged her horn into Trixie's side. Shrieking in pain, Trixie blinked, but got stuck halfway and into the Phase. She felt no pain when the unicorn tore the horn free of Trixie's flesh. But her eyes glowed and her body breathed, and the Unicorn tried to blink out, but she seemed to be paralyzed. She tried to flail and break free of Trixie's grasp, but all she could focus on was not falling into the same madness Trixie was. Slowly, the glass-like tendrils flowed out of Trixie's horn, and her grin was massive. Even before the mare could scream, all nine of the tendrils pierced the mare's body in several places and tore out of her body, leaving nothing but a pile of flesh and bloody pulp behind. Leaving the Phase, Trixie had a new-found feeling to kill. She swiftly blinked towards the last two of her opponents, who were decking it out with powerful spells meant for long distance killing, and she blinked back with the Stallion. Once back in the phase, the Stallion gazed right into Trixie's eyes, and when Trixie had absorbed her last kill's soul, the Stallion's soul imploded within him and his eyes sunk deep into his skull. He slowly shriveled up and every bone in his body cracked with a deafening roar. Pleased her with her kill and that the Stallion could do nothing, Trixie blinked back out into the open and was hit in the flank by the shoulder of the mare whose front foreleg was severed from her body. With her stub bleeding severely and wobbling stupidly about, she tried to lunge at Trixie again, but Trixie ended the mare's existence by piercing her skull with a tendril from her horn. At that moment, no words were spoken, no words had even been said during the duel. But Trixie came out alive and three dead ponies lay around her. She gave a brief smile of victory and she walked away, already having claimed the first three souls of her deadly and notorious career.