//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Trixie - Saviour of all Equestria. What, you don't believe Trixie? // by Fimbulvinter //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Trixie saw Twilight notice her and rise to her hooves, making for the door. Trixie backed away from the window, becoming more convinced that this was a bad idea with every step. She didn’t get more than a few steps before Twilight got the door open and caught her. Twilight pulled Trixie into the library, yanking her almost off her hooves. “Trixie is that really you? I was hoping I would get to see you again. Shining Armour told me all about what you did and I wanted to thank you myself for saving his and my sister-in-laws lives”. Trixie found herself powerless to resist the purple mare and within moments was seated on a couch, looking nervously around the well appointed library. Twilight was seated opposite her, an eager expression plastered all over her face. “Spike, Spiiiike. Get down here, Now” She called out to the upstairs. “What Twilight? I’m busy cleaning up here” the baby dragon replied, stomping into view at the head of the stairs. “We have a guest, can you make tea?” “Fine Twilight, I’ll just drop everything to go and help you. Who is this guest anyw… TRIXIE!!!” Spike jumped back, dropping the cleaning mop he had been carrying downstairs. He quickly pointed an accusing claw at Trixie, who shrank back from him. Things were not going as she had hoped, having lost the initiative in this encounter. “What is she doing here Twilight. Don’t you remember what she did the last time she came through here?” Twilight shot a withering glare at her assistant, effectively silencing any further arguments. “Spike, Remember when Shining came over last, and mentioned the trip he and Cadance went on to the Changeling hive, about how they ran into a Chimera?” “Yea, kinda. I sorta slept through most of that” he admitted, eyes downcast. Twilight harrumphed at that. “Well Trixie here was the one who saved him, and the others as well. My BBBFF and Sister in Law could be dead if it wasn’t for her, and you will show her some respect.” Spike grumbled slightly but wandered off into the kitchen. The sounds of boiling water and moving pots came soon after. Trixie watched the exchange with a mild disinterest. No matter what she did, she could not take her eyes off Twilight’s cute body, and her starburst cutie mark. While still fit, her body was just a little bit on the pudgy side, and Trixie found it adorable. ‘How can I be having feelings for this mare? I hate her remember, I came here to show her up’ Zoned out of it, Trixie eventually became aware that Twilight was looking at her funny, as if she was waiting for a reply to a question. “What was that again, Trixie didn’t hear you?” she asked. Twilight didn’t seem to mind the fact that Trixie hadn’t been listening to her. “I asked if you were going to stay for a few days, I have space on the couch for you. I want to thank you properly for what you did, and maybe you can get the town for forgive you for the last time you came through here.” Trixie hesitated. Part of her wanted to take Twilight up on her offer. The mare seemed so genuine, she actually cared about what people thought about Trixie. The other part of Trixie wanted to turn tail and run out the door, leaving behind this rube filled town forever. “Tea’s ready” Spike called, appearing directly behind Trixie, and relishing the sight of the blue mare jumping up out of the couch for a moment. He put the tea pot and mugs down on the table between Twilight and Trixie, shoving Trixie’s down just a little bit too hard. Twilight didn’t seem to notice her assistant’s rude behaviour, still caught up in waiting for Trixie to answer her. Trixie looked from the steaming tea to Twilights eager face to Spikes disapproving scowl. She could not stay here, best to leave and forget all this ever happened. Go get her wagon and move on with her life, there had to be some town out there where she was still welcome. “Trixie is sorry, but she can’t stay. She has business to attend to in Canterlot you see.” Twilight seemed a little bit crestfallen but didn’t argue the point. “I understand Trixie. It was good to see you after all this time, say hi to by brother for me if you see him.” Trixie nodded and stood up to go, Spike getting out of the way all too eagerly, still shooting daggers at Trixie when he thought she wasn’t looking. “Hey Trixie, Wait for a moment” Twilight called out. Trixie paused, but did not re-enter the library, and an air of expectance on her face. “This may sound strange, but have you ever heard of a pony turning into a fireball before, aside from Spitfire I mean.” That question brought Trixie up short. Of all the things Twilight could have said, Trixie was not expecting this. “What do you mean? Like spontaneous combustion?” Twilight shook her head. “No, I mean that earlier today, just before you arrived, I burst into flames while snapping at one of my friends, but I wasn’t harmed by it and I don’t know how I did it. It’s happened to me a few times before but never as strongly as this time when I was really angry.” ‘NO, It couldn’t be her could it. Why her? Damn it universe, why are you mocking Trixie like this?’ Trixie turned back around and looked at Twilight, noticing clearly for the first time just what her Cutie mark represented – A magical starburst, or simply a 6 pointed Star. Based on the prophecy, and from what Twilight had just described, she was the Archon of Flame. Either Trixie had gotten very lucky in her quest or fate had a seriously twisted sense of humour. Trixie would have put down money on the second one. Trixie looked Twilight directly in the eye. “I think I may know what happened. We need to talk… In private.” That last comment was directed at Spike, who after getting a nod from Twilight, simply left out the door. Trixie could just make out something about going to a ‘Fluttershy’s house’. Twilight looked at him go. She knew that he would come around eventually, all he needed was to see that Trixie was a changed mare. The small dragon crested a hill and was lost from sight. No sooner had this happened when Twilight had turned back to Trixie, hope and expectation dancing over her face. “Now this is going to sound very strange but Trixie assures you it is all true. What happened to you also has happened to Trixie, but different.” Trixie began to regale her new tale, noting that even to her mind it sounded totally insane, and she knew it was true. When she got to the part about her taking on her Ice form, Trixie stopped. This was one of those things that would be better if she simply showed Twilight what she meant. “Come with me Twilight, I need to show you something. Is there somewhere outside that we will be alone?” Twilight nodded and led Trixie out the back of the library. Once they were both outside, she cast a visual and audio null spell. To the outside observer, the back of the library would appear as a black sphere. The neighbours had once complained about it, but had long since gotten used to the reality of having a magically gifted, somewhat unstable unicorn living next door. Contained within the sphere Twilight looked at Trixie with a question on her face. “Ok Trixie, we are alone. What is it you want to show me?” Trixie closed her eyes and focused her power on shifting to ice. As it had before, a wave of cold began to spread out from her body, coating the ground and causing Twilight to shiver slightly. The change happened faster than the first time, and Trixie was pleased to note that she felt in control over her change at all times. When she opened her eyes she was greeted by a view of Twilight staring at her, mouth open in shock, eyes bugging out of her head in disbelief. Looking at her own body, Trixie was very surprised at her form. While she was in the cave, her ice form had appeared as dull and cloudy. Out here in the light of the sun she was dazzling as if she had been carved from a gigantic sapphire. She could see right through her own limbs, and presumably her body was also translucent. No trace of organs or bones could be seen, she had converted her body totally to a single block of ice. Twilight watched in awe as Trixie conjured some strange kind of magic around herself, the blue mare being lost in a glow for a moment. Twilight quickly noted that the temperature in her sphere was dropping rapidly, and she started shivering. While she didn’t mind heat, she felt the cold very much. When the glow surrounding Trixie vanished, Twilight was shocked to see that she had transformed from the blue coated mare into something that more closely resembled an ice sculpture. The most freaky thing was that the ice appeared to move and bend as if Trixie was still formed of flesh. The frost creature the resembled Trixie turned its chilling gaze on Twilight, two eyes that at once seemed both unseeing and all seeing catching her and seeming to chill her to the core. Twilight suddenly realised what ponies meant when they said that that the blood in their veins turned to ice. She could feel her body temperature drop rapidly as the air inside her sphere plunged and approached freezing point. “T-T-Trixie” she got out as her teeth began to chatter against each other “What are you d-d-d-doing? Stop.” Puffs of steam emerged from her mouth as she spoke, the wave of frost rapidly expanding to touch her front hooves. Trixie seemed to notice the effect she was having on Twilight and recoiled from her, bumping against the back of Twilight’s barrier. ‘She is freezing. Gotta change back quick’ Trixie rapidly reformed herself back into her flesh form, fur reforming to cover her coat. As soon as she finished changing she rushed over to Twilight’s form and threw her cloak around the shivering mare. The cloak had been enchanted to keep Trixie at a comfortable temperature at all times and it would help to stabilize Twilight. At the same time, Twilight broke her barrier, exposing the pair to the warmth of the shining sun. Trixie’s wave of frost remained on the ground, but the edges began to melt under the heat. To Twilight, the power of Celestia’s sun was the greatest thing she had ever felt and she just stood there, basking in its rays. Only once she felt like she was getting back to her normal core temperature did Twilight speak. Blushing slightly she shook herself out of Trixie’s cloak and handed it back over to the blue mare. Their hooves brushed together for a moment and both retracted as if they had been shocked. “What the Buck was that Trixie? You just changed into a living block of ice. That’s not scientifically possible.” “Trixie knows you must have many questions, Trixie does fully understand it herself but she can give you the basics. There was a prophecy regarding three unicorns, each one gifted with the powers of the gods. One controlled lightning, another commanded ice, and the last had mastery over fire.” Trixie breathed in before continuing, trying to straighten out her story. “I met the ghost of the Prelate of Lightning in a cave. He showed me that I was the Scion of Ice and charged me to find the Archon of Fire, telling me that they would be known as ‘the star’.” At the mention of a star, Twilight turned to her side, gazing down at her cutie mark; a large 6 pointed starburst, which she had always thought represented her skill with magic. Could it also be a mark of something else? “So what does all this have to do with me?” She asked Trixie. “If you are the Archon, then supposedly I am meant to take you back to the tomb. Ixion said something about ‘uniting the three’ but Trixie does not trust him.” Twilight considered her words, but decided to press on. “So how did you change into ice?” “Trixie isn’t sure. She focuses on the power of ice and frost and she changes. Maybe it would also work for you if you focus on fire.” Twilight shut her eyes and focused her mind. ‘Fire, heat, the burning pits of Tartarus. That one time I drank hot sauce raw, huddling up against my fireplace with my friends roasting marshmallows.’ Twilight focused as hard as she could, blocking out all the other thoughts from her mind, an annoying smell of smoke trying to distracter her. A pleasant feeling of warmth spread over her body ‘Wait a minute. Smoke comes from fire. Does that mean…?” Twilight opened her eyes and look at her body. Her coat had changed to a bright yellow colour, almost white. Her tail was ablaze, flames replacing her hair. Reflected in a window of the library, her mane was similarly caught in a conflagration. Her normally luminous purple eyes had turned a deep shade of red, a fury burning in them that matched the rest of her body. Below her body, the heat radiating from her hooves was rapidly melting the remaining frost created by Trixie. Within seconds, the frost had evaporated and the grass was beginning to crisp and wither. Small spot fires began to emerge in different locations, some were put out by Trixie, others were close enough to the library that Twilight’s anti fire charms took care of them, but it was clear it was a loosing battle. “Trixie, how do I change back?” Twilight heard a voice that was not her own emerge from her lips. Wisps of black smoke rose from her nostrils and mouth. For a moment, Twilight though she knew what it must be like to be a dragon. “Focus on yourself, think about being a normal pony. Remember who you were before this happened.” Quickly Twilight’s body began to change back to its normal form, purple fur returning and her blazing mane and tail extinguishing and returning to their normal shapes with the two highlights. Twilight looked at herself in the window reflection and saw the purple toned bookworm pony she had always been, there were no signs on her that a few moments ago she had been fully caught in an inferno. She breathed a sigh of relief that she had managed to control herself as easily as she had. A runaway fire was a dangerous thing, especially in a town like Ponyville where almost everything was made from wood or straw. “That was intense.” She said, not to anypony in particular. “You think you had it bad? Trixie had her first full change while fighting off a monster.” Trixie chipped in, instinctively trying to one-up her rival. “Does this have any practical applications, or am I just going to burn anything I touch?” “Trixie was encased in ice and was not harmed, maybe you get similar resistance to fire.” Twilight had no desire to test such a theory at that moment, she could do without deliberately trying to burn herself. “I’ve never read about such magic before, my friend Rarity can change herself to look like a crystal pony, but for her it’s only cosmetic. You’re saying that we can change ourselves to be formed totally from our element?” Trixie nodded. “That is what it seems to be, yes.” “I think that the Princess needs to hear about this. I always send her a letter when I learn something new about friendship or magic, but I think that something like this needs to be discussed in person. You said you were planning to Canterlot, do you mind if we go together?” “Trixie was planning to go to Canterlot after leaving here. She supposes that she could take on a travelling partner for the trip.” “Great, just let me tell my friends I will be going out for a few days. Spike can take care of the library.” Most of Twilights friends had not reacted well to her announcement that she would be going to Canterlot with Trixie, but they had accepted it eventually. The dragon Spike had agreed to look after the library on the proviso that Trixie would not be there and that Twilight would pick him up a gem on the way back. It had taken the pair almost half a day to get Twilight ready. Every time she had thought she was packed for the trip, Twilight would remember some trivial thing or decide to triple check her bags for the twentieth time. Trixie was pleased to be getting out of Ponyville again. The townsponies didn’t like her, and she had no intent to try to change that mindset. Once she had her wagon, she would head on out to some other town and start fresh. Ixion could just wait until the next ‘chosen’ one appeared. The trip to Canterlot itself clearly wasn’t going to be a simple one. The moment Twilight had started walking she had extracted a quill and ink and demanded that Trixie retell her story from the top, so that she would have all the facts to give to her mentor. Trixie shuddered inwardly but began to recite her tale again. The trip to the Train station just outside of town was a short one, but full of questions and the sounds of a quill scribbling down notes. ‘If she keeps this up the entire trip, then Trixie may have to freeze her solid until she can find some other way to shut her up. Finally Twilight seemed to get all that she needed and turned the conversation to other matters. She was particularly interested in how Trixie had learned the spells she had used while travelling with her brother. This was a subject Trixie was more than willing to discuss as it was all about her. The train to Canterlot eventually arrived and the two mares boarded. Trixie noted that Twilight seemed to be sneaking glances at Trixie on a few occasions when she thought Trixie wasn’t looking. Trixie decided that it was ok, after all who didn’t want to check out her body? The train departed and Trixie left the town of Ponyville behind for what she hoped would be the last time. The border guards had been easily dispatched. They were inattentive and poorly equipped, soldiers in name only. The few that had attempted to put up a fight had been silenced rapidly. The remainder had surrendered when they realised that their situation was hopeless, choosing captivity over bodily injury. The highest ranking members were press ganged into service, a simple hypnotic charm turning them into little more than puppets. Equine shapes flooded over the border, entering the heartland of Equestria. As the invading army moved in undetected, a pair of glowing eyes observed the scene with satisfaction. This time it would be different. This time Celestia and her damnable ponies would not be able to resist the flood that would sweep over the land. Canterlot would fall and a new reign would blanket Equestria.