Chapter Fifty One: Of Hate and Spite
Written by TheCrimsonDM
Trixie knew that today was a stupendous day. She'd woken up, gotten ready for her Saturday, a day where the she didn't have to attend a thousand classes and deal with miss smarty pants Twilight Sparkle. She could be free to pursue her own objectives, her own life, her own goals. After all she served a higher purpose, one even more important to serving their god princess Celestia.
Trixie had done what she did every morning after waking up. She ignored the mess her floor was in from clothes, shoes, and books to go focus on brushing her mane in the mirror and to put on some makeup. After all she needed to be presentable if she was going to show just how important she was. Not that she could tell anyone about how important she was, but they should still know by virtue of her existence.
Once prettied up she left the room and locked the door behind her. No need to let any of the pranksters here at the school have a chance to mess with her room. There might also be a few dark secrets in there that she'd have to silence a pony if they'd discovered, and no it wasn't the back massager she kept hidden under her bed. It was a few of the reading materials that Shadow Heart had imparted onto her.
Going out into halls she was remiss to find that it was rather empty in here. Despite what ponies on the outside might expect, the older you got here in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns the less ponies were left. The trials at the end of every year were tailored to each pony and challenging. She had heard rumors of Twilight's last trial from the year before and shuddered to think the mare was forced to fight a manticore all by herself.
Not that she couldn't do it. She was Trixie after all, and as Shadow Heart's student she could probably defeat an Ursa Major all by herself if she wanted too. After all he had done that. So why not her as well?
With a trot in her steps she made her way through the quiet halls of the dorms and down to the courtyard. The school itself was adjoining the castle, so that Celestia could keep a closer eye on the students. It also meant that there was an amazing courtyard here for her to explore and meet with various nobles, other students, and if lucky Princess Celestia herself.
In the courtyard she found it was mostly empty of ponies but where it was empty of ponies it was filled with life and beauty. Giant hedges forming walls on either side of cobbled roads. Arches built into the sides of the hedges would reveal water fountains, statue gardens, and even watch towers to oversee the entire hedge garden. Though she had been warned to stay away from one particular lookout tower. Lookout 11-11, was rumored to be haunted and with what she'd learned the hard way, such rumors were not to be taken lightly, especially now that her eyes were open as some would say.
Still she had a special place all to her own that she enjoyed spending time in to practice her tricks. It was a small section of the courtyard that led to a large water fountain that had a statue carved into the shape of Canterlot mountain. She could always find some solace and some peace there. Going there today was no different than any other. She took a seat on a bench nearby the fountain and relaxed as she let the sunlight warm the fur on her back, and the gentle breeze carry a cool sensation from the nearby fountain.
It was utterly relaxing here. Which was why it was the perfect place to practice her art. As her horn lit up she summoned forth a swirling mass of dark gray clouds larger than herself, larger than Celestia even. Lightning spat out of the sides of the cloud threatening to burn and smite any fool stupid enough to cross its path. She practiced with moving the mass of dangerous clouds around keeping them contained and not unleashing their full danger.
A voice crawled out from behind her like a smooth blade being cut across her leg. "What are you doing?"
Trixie glanced back at the purple unicorn who stood there with a pair of square rimmed glasses on her face, and her eyes staring judgmentally down at Trixie. "Oh, it's you. Twilight."
Twilight huffed and walked toward the swirling mass of clouds and lightning. "How very astute of you... fellow student. You know you can't practice dangerous spells here."
Trixie glared at Celestia's pupil. "I can do what I want. Nopony is here."
"I'm here."
"Like I said, nopony is here."
Twilight's lip curled up into a devious smile. "Well I suppose if I were to leave that would be true. After all, you don't even have a name do you? Just some country bumpkin to get in my way."
Trixie's eye twitched. "Excuse me, Miss Smartypants."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "I am no doll, and you are not excused. Now drop this foolish attempt at wizardry now and maybe I will not tell Princess Celestia on you."
Trixie stood up on her bench, standing taller than the annoying Twilight before her. "I am not going to stop practicing just because you tell me to, tattletale."
Twilight was only a few feet away from the storm now. Yet she turned to fully face Trixie. "I may be a tattletale, but at least I get to be Celestia's pet. What do you get to be? Some forgotten scrap that hangs around clinging to some hope you might become something here?"
Trixie roared. "Why are you such a bitch?"
"Because you are always causing trouble and I am sick of cleaning up your messes. You unleashed a horde of mutant frogs the other week, and guess who got to kill them all?"
Trixie smirked. "I was freeing them from captivity like a hero."
"You unleashed magical constructs that could have hurt somepony. I spent all night wiping them out."
Trixie's smile faded significantly. "You... killed them?"
Twilight's smile seemed to grow more genuine. "Ah, now you’re seeing my true power. You couldn't hope to stop them with your meager..." She waved a hoof at the vortex of lightning death next to her. "Whatever this is. So I had to clean up your mess like always. If it's a problem, I will destroy it."
Trixie's anger soared. She really had tried to free the frogs before they could be dissected by some horrible experiment. To hear that her attempt wasn't just crushed but it was murdered enraged her. Trixie wasn’t going to let this fly. "How dare you!"
Twilight met her eyes, there was a flash of baleful green light in those hateful eyes. "Oh, did you actually like them? Is that why some of them had name tags? Like Greeny, Smellybelly, Twibutt Smartypants, or even dare I say, Trixie Two? I had fun spending my time slowly killing Trixie Two."
Trixie roared. That was it. She was going to make that bitch pay. She dragged the lightning storm over toward Twilight and unleashed the spell's furry into a blast of lightning and thunder so loud, so destructive that it sent a shock wave that knocked Trixie back off of her bench. Yet she saw it, a purple blur flew out to the side as it exploded and sent Twilight flying over into the nearby hedge.
Trixie rolled over onto her back and stood up. The ground had a massive crater in it yet, Twilight was gone. Good riddance too, that stuck up noble could take her history and shove it where Celestia's sun don't shine. The hedge shifted. Trixie's eyes widened and she saw a purple leg stick out of it. Followed by another and then soon Twilight's head came out. Twilight's face had black streaks across it, as well as a few burns on her side and legs, her glasses were cracked and her mane brunt at the edges yet she looked otherwise untouched. That was Trixie's most powerful spell and it hardly effected Twilight.
Twilight crawled out of the hedge. Her horn glowing with an angry red light. "You, you, you CUR!"
Trixie spun around to try and flee but found there was no other exits to this part of the courtyard. It was the most unused part of the maze and so it was just the two of them. Trixie wasn’t going to get any escape. She spun around to see Twilight marching toward her with angry steps. Rage clearly expressed upon her snarling face. Her eyes glowing green.
Trixie's ears folded back. "Twilight, I'm sorry. It was an accident. Your right, I shouldn't be practicing dangerous magic out here."
Twilight continued to march. "I will hurt you."
Trixie stepped back. "Please, forgive me. I'm sorry."
Twilight's horn summoned forth a sphere of green hateful light. Trixie wasn’t sure what that energy ball would do, but she knew she didn't want to find out. She took a few more steps back. Twilight continued a slow steady march toward her. Soon Trixie’s rump brushed into the wall of the hedge maze.
Twilight cackled. "No escape now. No one to save you this time. No Celestia to stand up for you and cover up for your mistakes like she always does."
Trixie blinked. "W-what do you mean by that. Celestia doesn’t even know me."
"You would think so, but no," Twilight growled. "All I hear, is how proud she is you've come so far. I hate it. She should be proud of me. Me! Not YOU! Who are you anyway, some random pony from some backwater town that nopony cares about?"
Trixie pressed herself hard against the shrubbery. It was clear that Twilight didn't just hate her for the messes that Trixie made. For some reason, and she couldn’t fathom why, Celestia knew her name, not only that, Celestia actually approved of Trixie. Was Trixie truly amazing? She liked to boast sure, but to catch Celestia's eye was something she couldn't fathom.
Twilight was only a few feet away. That green malevolent ball of energy floating above her head. The heat coming off of the green orb was intense. It was like a miniature sun and Trixie was suddenly positive that if it touched her, she wouldn't just be hurt, she'd be melted away.
Trixie fell to her haunches and pressed her back firmly against the shrubbery. "Please, Twilight. I'm just trying to be a good pony. I'm just trying to keep Celestia safe from the shadows, just like professor Shadow Heart. I just want to serve the good of Equestria. Please don't hurt me."
Twilight glared hateful daggers into Trixie, so deep was that hatred it penetrated her very soul. "I will do as I please. I am princess Celestia's pupil, her protégé, her chosen!"
The ball of energy grew ever closer. Sweat fell down Trixie's face from the heat and the fear. The orb was going right for her horn. Trixie's horn.
A cold breath of air covered the entire area and the heat from the orb was sucked away in an instant. The orb itself vanished and Twilight gasped. Her breath was pulled from her lungs as a white steam, and soon Twilight stumbled backward, clawing at her throat and trying her best to suck in breath. Yet she couldn’t breathe. Trixie knew what this was, she'd seen it before.
She looked to the entrance to the courtyard and Shadow Heart stood there. Just behind the hedges, almost entirely blending into one of the shadows. If Trixie hadn't seen him do this before, been besides him standing in the shadows in the past, she would not have been able to see him. As it was it was hard to focus on him, as if her mind wanted to look anywhere else besides directly at him.
Soon Twilight fell over, unconscious. The cold air vanished in a sudden flash and the normal warmth of the sun returned. Trixie stared down at Twilight, was she dead? Twilight sucked in a deep breath in her sleep, and soon was breathing like normal. She was only knocked out with the spell, and as she breathed in and out her wounds left by Trixie's spell healed themselves as if they were never there.
Trixie looked over to where Shadow Heart had been and noticed he was gone. She got the message. She had been saved but she needed to follow in his hoof steps and get out of here too. She prayed that when Twilight woke up, her anger would have cooled. Not only cooled, but perhaps that she would think this all a dream. Destruction in the courtyard aside, ignoring the crater and the scorch marks, she could hope that Twilight would forget all about this... hope, but hope was often times foolish.