The Unchosen One

by MagnetBolt


Pugna Cum Maga

The Unchosen One
Chapter 7: Pugna Cum Maga
by MagnetBolt

Trixie shivered as she looked up at the Smooze monster. Deep in its chest, she could see a dull pulsing glow from where Twilight had been enveloped by it, the monster itself twisting into a parody of her form. It didn't look like her exactly, the face featureless except for the eyes of crimson fire, the mane just a dripping mess, and the whole thing as soft and flowing as the ooze it was made of.

“Trixie does not like this,” The mare whispered. The monster was almost the size of the Ursa Minor that had destroyed her cart all that time ago. A mouth opened, strands of ooze connecting the upper and lower jaw for a moment before snapping. Fangs of sharpened black stones glimmered in the limited light, and the thing bellowed with a sound like a rockslide.

“What don't you like about it?” Babbidi Boo asked, from her throne. “I might not be able to hurt you with my magic, but that little trick of yours didn't seem to keep you safe from the more mundane threats of my maze. Your friend is providing the perfect power source for the Smooze, too.”

“It's a poor imitation of the real thing,” Trixie said, trying to sound sure of herself. Maybe if she was smart she'd be able to talk Babbidi down before the witch had this monster eat her. “Let her go and I'll consider looking the other way while you flee.”

“Flee? Flee?!” Babbidi laughed. “Why would I ever leave? I've never been so powerful! With all of the might of an alicorn princess at my hooves, I could even crush Celestia! But of course we'll start with you. Tell me again how you're so great and powerful!”

With that, Babbidi's horn lit up with red light, and the construct's eyes flashed as it surged to life, lunging for Trixie. A massive hoof swatted her aside, sending her tumbling across the muddy floor. She was lucky enough to slam into one of Babbidi's minions instead of something harder, and it still felt like something inside her was twisted up in a knot.

“Trixie really doesn't belong here,” she whispered. “This is a job for a princess or ten princesses or the Elements of Harmony or something else!” She got up on shaking legs and ran from the giant monster, trying to figure out some way to slow or distract it. “I'm just an actress!”

“The strength of an earth pony!” Babbidi yelled, leaning over her throne to watch. The construct spread its wings wide and jumped into the air. Trixie would have bet any amount of bits that it would just fall apart on leaving the ground, but it held together, the ragged edges of the wings of mud leaving a trail of sparks and drips of ooze as it flew above Trixie, circling for a moment as if to establish just how doomed she was.

“The agility of a pegasus!” Babbidi laughed as the construct dove. Trixie threw up a shield, trying to pour all of her magic into it. She couldn't manage a directional shield, forced to make a bubble when she reflected it from her coat. The alicorn landed heavily on it, the sphere deflecting the force just enough that it was forced to the side before the spell shattered, Trixie propelled out of the way by the recoil. She coughed and picked herself up off the ground before the next attack by the huge monster.

“And of course, the magical strength of a top-level unicorn,” Babbidi concluded. Trixie watched as magical energy gathered along the thing's horn, sparks shooting up as a sphere of light gathered at the tip. Some theories said that the size of a unicorn's horn was a measure of how much power they possessed. If so, this thing, with a horn the size of an entire pony, was surely far beyond anything anypony had seen before.

A bolt of energy lanced at Trixie, red-hot and scything over the ground, leaving molten rock in its wake. She closed her eyes at the sudden brightness before it struck, rebounding off into the wall. Trixie was slowly pushed back along the floor just by its force. She gasped as she felt her armor starting to heat up. Even as enchanted as it was, it couldn't hold out against the tiny fraction of the spell's force it was absorbing. She threw herself out of the way as it started to burn, rolling in the mud to cool the metal plates off.

“You have power,” Trixie confirmed. “But you're not very creative. You're just a thug with a little extra muscle and you think that makes you special.” Trixie stood up and raised an eyebrow. “You've got raw power, but you don't have what actually makes Twilight dangerous. She's smarter than you. I bet that in a few minutes you'll be on the ground begging for forgiveness and she'll be starting some lecture about how she broke out on her own and then rattle off some lesson about friendship.”

“If she does, you won't be around to hear it,” Babbidi said. The huge construct took to the air again. Bolts of red lightning shot from its horn to grab at the stalactites in the cavern roof. A trio of them orbited the huge pony before launching at Trixie like javelins. The unicorn's eyes went wide. She couldn't block those with her magic reflection, and her armor would be as useless as tissue paper. Bracing herself against recoil, Trixie tried to deflect them with her own magic. To use an analogy that an earth pony might understand, picture trying to shine a lantern off of a mirror on your chest so the reflected light hit, well, giant stone spears being thrown at you.

It was, in a word, difficult. A weak or inexperienced unicorn could never have managed it. Even somepony with a lot of talent and training might not have been able to do it. Trixie was neither of those things. She was an average unicorn who had three very important advantages. The first was that she didn't want to die. The second was that she was extremely good at improvising. The last, and most important, was that she was intimately familiar with shoving rocks around.

One of the stalactites crashed into the ground to Trixie's side, raising a wave of mud that made her stumble. The other two were sent flying. One slammed into the steps leading to the dais Babbidi had mounted her throne on. The other was more accurate, stabbing into one of the Smooze-alicorn's wings. The limb tore free with a wet snapping sound, and the creature spiraled down to impact with the ground, landing heavily. Mud splattered from its form as it started to lose cohesion.

“Hah!” Trixie yelled. “How about that? Not so tough now, is it?”

“You haven't even hurt it,” Babbidi said, snarling. Her horn lit up, and the creature pulled itself to its feet. With a wave of energy from deep within, where Twilight's magic was being drained, a new wing formed, and all of the damage Trixie had done was mended almost instantly.

“Trixie can do this all day,” Trixie said. She fought to keep her breath even and from passing out. She was starting to get tunnel vision from how much magic she was using.

“Hm. Maybe you could,” Babbidi said. “You certainly are annoying enough to do it.” Her horn glowed, and the monster stomped over to her, lowering its head as if bowing to her. Babbidi Boo jumped up onto its head and turned to face Trixie. “So I think I'll take more direct control.” The amulet she wore lit up, and sparks cascaded down from her horn into the creature under her.

“Wonderful,” Trixie mumbled.

“You wanted dangerous?” Babbidi yelled down at Trixie as the monster rose up to its full height. “I'll show you my own mastery of magic! I've never been afraid of getting blood on my hooves,” Babbidi Boo said, from atop her monster. She idly cleaned a hoof as she spoke, as if looking for said blood. “Most unicorns are, you see. They think of themselves as being above hard work. My ancestor spent years studying the subtle magic of earth ponies, but other unicorns just ignored it as being too primitive and slow.”

“So that's what all this is?” Trixie asked, trying to catch her breath. “Earth pony magic?”

“It would be more accurate to call it geomancy,” Babbidi replied. “My ancestor found it was her special talent. But because of it, the other unicorns mocked her. They said she was a disgrace to their ruling elite! They had no idea what kind of power she had! She was going to show them and put those fools in their place with the greatest working of geomancy ever attempted! The Smooze!” The red flames around the cavern erupted with extra light. “They'd stop mocking her when they realized their magic was gone, when Bibbidi had it all! But instead those two arrived on the eve of her triumph and destroyed her!”

“Of course they did!” Trixie yelled. “She was going to destroy everything! Trixie knows from experience that trying to force people to respect you is a foal's errand. Trixie tried it herself and did things she'll never stop regretting.”

“Well I won't need to regret anything, because I'm going to win,” Babbidi said. Her horn flared with magic, and Trixie could see energy welling up from within the beast. Babbidi's spell collided with the energy crackling around the monster's horn and a wave of red light flashed out like a blade, mud slinging out of the horn along with it, fusing itself in the light into a giant sword of glass, an attack Trixie couldn't just ignore. The mare tried to block it, grabbing at the blade with her own magic. It shattered as the opposing forces twisted it, raining razor-sharp shards of glass down around the unicorn.

A splinter as long as a standard reference pear got through a gap in her armor, digging an inch into her shoulder. Trixie screamed and stumbled, her leg going limp with pain. Another shard tore open her saddlebags, all of the gear that Luna had given her spilling out in a tableau of junk and trinkets around her.

“Oh my, what happened to that confidence you had a few minutes ago? Did I accidentally kill it?” Babbidi giggled. “At least it won't go alone. You'll be able to pick it back up once you join it in Tartarus.”

“Don't be silly,” Trixie said, smiling and pretending she wasn't hurt. “Trixie is just getting warmed up. In fact, you've fallen right into my trap!” She just had to figure out what that trap was.

“Which trap?” Babbidi asked. “Maybe this one?” The giant construct knelt down and touched its horn to the ground. The rock rippled and split open, a rift forming and striking towards Trixie. The unicorn fell as the ground under her gave way, twisting to land on her good shoulder. Trixie tried to slow her fall by casting her slow-fall spell on her armor, but she wasn't able to focus properly from the pain. The rocks around her suddenly hung in midair.

Trixie grabbed onto one, pulling herself up and ignoring the pain in her shoulder. She ran and jumped towards another that was floating higher, rebounding from one to another, blood streaming down and making her hoof slip as she made her way up, getting back up to the cavern floor only moments before the rift slammed shut like a closing jaw.

“Impressive,” Babbidi said, with a smirk. “You know, if you weren't so pathetic in, well, so many other ways, you could have really been something. But you decided to make yourself annoying instead.”

“I am something,” Trixie said, with a smile. “I'm the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Her horn burst into light, and she reflected her strongest and brightest flare spells from her body, the mirror magic making them fly across the cavern randomly, a dozen lights as bright as the sun filling the space with blinding radiance.

“After spending all the time in these caves I bet that hurts!” Trixie yelled, the cavern's walls making her voice echo. Between the strange echo and the blinding light it was impossible for Babbidi to tell where she'd gone. “You know, Trixie finds this all pathetic. You claim you're doing this for your ancestor, but she knows a grudge when she hears one. You're just doing this for yourself!”

“Of course I am! That's what power is for!” Babbidi Boo yelled, shielding her eyes. Even through the closed lids the dazzling gleam was painful to her naturally-sensitive vision. “You can't imagine what it's like! I had to fight for everything I have! It wasn't just handed to me like it was to you!”

“You don't know anything about the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie shouted. The lights died down. “I know better than you think. I was a wandering performer before I lost everything. Until somepony came and knocked sense into me I just kept hurting myself and everypony around me.” Babbidi opened her eyes. Trixie was standing next to Babbidi's throne on the stone dais in the center of the room.

“What, you're trying to convince me to give up?” Babbidi asked, with a smirk. “You fool. Why would I ever stop when I've already won?”

“You haven't won. This?” Trixie gestured around. “This is pathetic. When I used an ancient artifact to gain terrible evil power, I at least had a sense of style. All you're doing is acting like a child. I'm just one unicorn and you're having all this trouble.”

“Oh, it's not that much trouble,” Babbidi corrected. The construct reared up and tried to stomp on Trixie. The mare rolled to the side, crying out as she moved onto her bad shoulder without thinking about it. The Smooze-monster stood tall over her, looming like death over the unicorn.

“I've been trying to go easy on both of you,” Trixie said. She tore the glass shard from her shoulder with more force than she'd intended, opening the wound more. It was getting hard to pretend it didn't hurt as much as it did. “I know Twilight always tries to redeem or befriend the enemies she fights. It's not really my style. The Great and Powerful Trixie prefers to crush her enemies spirits.”

“Befriend?!” Babbidi screamed, a pulse of magic making the entire cavern shake with her rage. “You have no idea who you're talking to! I spent my entire life chasing after this legend, this power! I've trampled everypony who got in my way! I don't need friends!”

“Trixie thinks what you really don't need is this throne.” She kicked it, chipping the stone. A burst of red sparks erupted from the rock. Babbidi screamed.

“Stop it, you idiot! You'll collapse the whole cavern!” The entire mountain seemed to rumble, stalactites falling from the roof, narrowly missing the mares. One landed heavily on the Smooze monster, dropping right through it and making it stumble before Babbidi regained control. “If you destroy the geomantic center you'll bury us all!”

“Then come down from there and stop me!” Trixie yelled. “That thing is too big and clumsy for you to use if you're so worried about me damaging this.” She kicked the throne again for effect. One of the tunnels leading into the room collapsed in a cloud of dust and rock. “Oh my, look at how clumsy Trixie is! Next she might accidentally buck it apart!”

Babbidi Boo seethed with anger, her expression twisted with rage in a way Trixie was unfortunately intimately familiar with, having seen it in her own mirror. She also knew that she had Babbidi Boo exactly where she wanted her.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Babbidi said. “You're barely standing up! You don't pose anything like a real threat to me! Why won't you just give up and die?!”

“Trixie is very persistent.”

Babbidi's eye twitched. She launched herself at Trixie horn-first. Trixie blocked it with her own, deflecting the deadly point to the side and meeting her in a headbutt. This time Trixie came out of it better-off, her helm protecting her better than Babbidi's thick skull. The witch was forced backwards, blood dripping from her snout.

“You hurt me!” She accused. Trixie smirked.

“I thought you weren't afraid of getting a little blood on your hooves?” Trixie asked. Babbidi screamed and threw a bolt of red fire at her, striking her helmet. Trixie thought for a moment that it had deflected, then realized her head was getting uncomfortably warm. Then it started to burn. She realized belatedly that her helmet had been the target of the spell. She quickly tore it off, the air filling with the scent of burned hair as her mane smouldered in spots. The helm sizzled as it hit the wet rock under her, the metal beginning to glow.

“I may not be able to touch you with my magic, but I don't need to.” Babbidi smiled. “There are so many ways I could get rid of you. Maybe I'll even just have you thrown in my dungeon. I bet after a few days you'd beg to serve me in return for the scraps from my table.”

“Trixie is amused you think you can do that when she just figured out what her trap is.”

“What are you-” Babbidi took a step and the stone slipped out from under her as her hooves met the marbles Trixie had managed to smuggle onto the dais. She screamed as she pitched forwards and hit her head on the throne she'd rebuilt hard enough to open another cut.

The rope that Luna had packed was bunched at Trixie's feet like a snake. Before Babbidi could react, it lunged on its own, surrounded in an aura of Trixie's magic. The hemp wrapped around the witch's legs and encircled her body. The unicorn pitched to the ground tied like a hog and with about as much grace.

“You impudent-” Babbidi snarled.

“Trixie is very good at being impudent,” She said, stepping over to Babbidi to look at the prone unicorn. “Now let Twilight Sparkle go or else.” Her eyes drifted to the amulet the mare wore. It was obviously magical, and probably powerful. Part of Trixie wanted to take it from her and put it on, to see what it would do. She felt like she was watching her body from outside as her hoof reached towards the amulet, whispers coming unbidden to her ears, just barely too faint to make out.

A spark crackled between the amulet and her hoof as her coat shimmered, and she pulled back suddenly. “What was I...” Trixie shook her head, the whispers vanishing.

DESTROY HER!” Babbidi Boo screamed. The Smooze-monster roared and slammed a hoof down, the dais cracking as Trixie ducked out of the way, carrying Babbidi with her. The witch laughed as red light poured from the rift it had opened. Trixie tossed her to the side and was blown back by another blast of magical energy, part of her armor tearing free as she hit the throne.

“Next time Trixie has to fight monsters she's going to ask somepony for advice before going off and getting herself killed.” Trixie pulled herself up using the throne for support and got a really bad idea. She jumped on it and waved her tail at the monster. “Come and get me!”

The beast roared again and pulled itself up higher to reach the throne. Babbidi saw what Trixie was doing, and her eyes went wide with shock.

“No, you idiot!” Babbidi gasped, before the monster put all its weight into a stomp. Trixie rolled off of the throne, gasping with pain as her shoulder wound opened more. The stone seat shattered in a burst of red magic, the Smooze-monster's leg exploding into a rain of hot mud. As it landed, the entire cavern started to shake as if in an earthquake.

“What- where am I?” Somepony asked. Trixie turned to see Babbidi's minions, blinking and looking disoriented. “Why do I feel so dirty?'

“You've ruined everything!” Babbidi screamed. “You destroyed my life's work!”

“Babbidi Boo?” Asked a pegasus mare. She looked at the others. “How did we get in this cave?”

“Why is there a monster?!” yelled another of the freed minions.

“Why is everything shaking?!” screamed a third. All of the mud-covered ponies started running around in a panic, as ponies in any sort of danger, real or imagined, are wont to do. The Smooze-monster made a sound like a bubbling bog crossed with a whalesong and laid down heavily on the remains of the dais, the ooze starting to lose cohesion.

“Everypony get out of here!” Trixie yelled. She pointed with a hoof towards the hole that had been blasted through the mountain, sunlight still pouring through. “Go that way unless you like being buried alive!” The freed minions started running for the exit. Trixie turned back to the fallen monster. She had to get Twilight out of there before-

“It's not over yet!” Babbidi screamed. The ropes around her burst into flames, leaving her coat scorched as she freed herself. Her amulet gleamed with red light and she jumped onto the head of the prone monster, pouring her energy into it. “Get up! Stop being so useless!”

The monster started to stand, a wing dropping off wetly. Trixie could see tears running down Babbidi Boo's face, clearing a path in the dirt that covered her white coat.

“It can't be over! I was supposed to win!” She said, almost sobbing in frustrated rage. The star sapphire around her beck burst into light and energy crawled across her body, then pulled away to reach into the monster. Its eyes started flashing between red and a dark pink.

Trixie backed up a step as the monster roared. Babbidi looked at it, confused, before screaming as tendrils of slime wrapped around her legs, dragging her into the beast's body.

“Trixie does not think this is a good thing,” the unicorn said, as she started to run for the exit. She felt a pang of sharp guilt and stopped, turning. She still had to get Twilight out, but she had only seconds and the cave was going to collapse at any moment.

The monster thrashed as if confused, its form twisting. Another horn rose up from its head, a new wing, webbed like a bat's, pulled itself free of one side of its body. The missing hoof was replaced with a grasping claw with talons of stone. Its features started to change and warp. It screamed and turned to see Trixie looking at it, then charged.

Trixie limped into the tunnel, moving as quickly as she could. The monster was behind her now, gaining on her, and the sunlight ahead was too far away. She looked back to see stalactites pointing at her like spears, the monster squeezing into the tunnel and filling it completely, just two baleful eyes and a grinding maw surrounded by spikes, all surging at her like a flood of rage.

“We've got you!” Somepony yelled. Trixie spotted one of the Royal guards flying for her, grabbing her by the armor at the scruff of her neck and pulling, the strong pegasus quickly turning and flying towards the distant light.

“Where did you come from?!” Trixie asked, shocked.

“We couldn't miss that blast! It must have gone halfway to the Crystal Empire!” He grunted and pulled her into a better position to carry her. “Where's the Princess?”

“Right behind us!” Trixie screamed. She used her magic to push the guard to the side, almost sending him crashing into a wall. A spike of black rock flew threw the space they had just vacated, the projectile bigger than both ponies put together.

“What happened?!” He demanded.

“The witch is using Twilight as a power source for her monster! I thought it would go away once I smashed her throne, but it ate Babbidi Boo and now it wants to eat Trixie too!”

“We can't just leave the princess like that!”

“Just- get it outside! Trixie will think of something!” The Royal Guard shut up and flew, Trixie deflecting another stone just before they got out of the cave. The other guards were there too, the rest of the squad circling and helping the earth ponies and unicorns that had escaped to get down the sheer cliffside the tunnel had opened into.

The guard carrying Trixie looked around and pointed. “Move!” he ordered, the other pegasai obeying without question, clearing the area just before the Smooze erupted from the mountain like a volcanic blast. Its roar sounded through the valley. The shapeless mass forced its way free and started to flow down the side of the mountain.

“This isn't good,” he said, completely unnecessarily.

“Thank you for that stunning report,” she muttered.

“What's the plan?” Trixie looked up to see that he was, of all things, looking to her for guidance. If Trixie had any idea of what to do, she'd probably feel great about that. As it was, she was just as lost as he was, but she wasn't going to let him know about that.

“We're going to...” Trixie looked around. There had to be something she could do to defeat a giant ooze monster without killing Twilight at the same time. There were trees, which weren't very helpful. Boulders, also not helpful. Grass? Clouds? A river? “The river!” She gasped. “We're going to lure it to the river!”

“How?” The pegasus circled.

“Trixie is a master of getting attention and annoying people.” Trixie shrugged, trying to change the way the pegasus was holding her shoulder. “Move between the monster and the river.” She pointed with a hoof. The guard complied without complaint. For a pegasus he was surprisingly strong. He didn't even seem tired despite carrying his own armor and Trixie in the suit she'd borrowed.

Trixie braced herself and took careful aim at the monster. It didn't even look like a pony now. After squeezing through the tunnel and erupting in liquid form, its body had been twisted into a long sinuous shape like a serpent. It still had those same burning eyes, and two horns moving around on its head like they were chasing each other, energy crackling between them.

Trixie's first shot went wide, hitting the rock face of the mountain without much force behind it. The next fell short and set a tree on fire. She swore under her breath. Trying to get the correct angle with a reflected bolt was harder than it seemed.

“What are you doing?” The pegasus asked.

“Trixie... doesn't want to hurt the Princess!” She claimed. “But Trixie supposes she is going to have to take the risk. It doesn't seem to pay attention to warning shots.” Closing one eye to try and clear her darkening vision, Trixie sent a bolt straight into the monster, hitting it between the eyes. It roared and focused on the unicorn, surging towards her like a lunging viper.

“Run!” Trixie yelled, squirming in fear. The pegasus needed no further prompting and flew towards the river. Trixie looked back as the Smooze-monster reached for her with a dripping claw as big as a house, the limb stretching until it tore, splashing down and bowling over trees. Animals fled from its path as it advanced, the forest at the base of the mountain being swept aside by the filth.

“It's working!” The guard yelled, surprised.

“O-of course it's working!” Trixie hit the monster again as it started to slow. Even with all her magic behind it, it wasn't enough to do more than make the mud bubble and hiss. Even without any real damage, though, it got the monster angry, making it speed up.

Just like the last time Trixie had planned on making someone angry enough that they'd make a mistake, it worked this time, too. She and the pegasus guard got over the river, and the Smooze creature came right after them, sliding into the fast-moving water before it knew what was going on.

“Hah! Take that!” Trixie yelled. The monster roared in despair as it began breaking apart, the flow of the water dissolving it. It tried to turn and get out of the water, ignoring another bolt of lightning. Trixie wasn't sure how many more she'd be able to manage. Her head was pounding from how much magic she'd used already.

“Bring..” she shook her head to clear spots from her vision. “Bring Trixie around to cut it off!” She forced herself to focus, using everything she had left in one spell. A flare burst in the monster's face, a flash bright enough to outshine the sun. Trixie went blind, and the pegasus carrying her yelled in surprise. She belatedly realized she should have warned him. She felt herself falling, then branches breaking under her before slamming into the ground on her bad shoulder, the pain bad enough to make her black out entirely for a moment.

The same pain didn't let her stay that way. Her eyes shot open and she moved, jerking and hissing, trying to make the torment stop. She heard the monster splashing, and as her vision cleared, she found herself looking up at the moment the beast finally gave up, the fire in its eyes burning out as its body slumped into a puddle, the river quickly carrying what was left downstream.

“It worked!” the guard yelled. Trixie looked back and spotted him in the tree. One of his back legs was twisted badly and caught in a branch.

“Hold on!” Trixie called up, tugging on the branch with what scraps were left of her magic. The guard grit his teeth and managed to get away.

“That was amazing,” he said, landing next to her on three legs, fluttering his wings to keep his balance as he limped. “No wonder the Princesses picked you to help with this.”

“Trixie was just...” This gave her pause. She had actually beaten a giant monster and an evil witch, practically on her own. “...Trixie was just doing her duty.” She smiled a little. It felt good. She had really done it. She'd done something heroic like in all those stories she told.

“You said Princess Twilight was in that monster, right?” he asked, looking to the river. Trixie gasped.

“I'd almost forgotten! Come on!” The two supported each other as they walked into the river, what was left of the smooze acting as enough of a natural dam to make the current less dangerous. “She has to be here somewhere! Start digging!” Trixie looked around, feeling panic welling up. What if she'd already floated away and was drowning somewhere?

Trixie spotted a mud-covered hoof sticking out of the mud. She ran over and pulled, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she freed the mare. The flowing water revealed a white coat under the mess. Babbidi Boo. Trixie almost threw her aside when the witch opened her eyes.

Her blue eyes. They had been red before.

“Where-” She asked, her voice cracked, sounding different. “Where am I?” Trixie looked at the mare's neck. The amulet she had been wearing was gone.

“I found her!” The pegasus yelled, from behind. Trixie turned. He was helping Twilight to her feet. Something gleamed darkly around her neck. Trixie's eyes went wide.

“Quick, get away! She might be-” The air rippled as Twilight spread her wings, a wave of force blasting the mud from her body. Trixie was knocked back into the water with Babbidi Boo. The guard was thrown all the way back to the river bank. Red sparks hissed around her as Twilight rose up into the air.

“That amulet!” Babbidi gasped. “It's just like the one in my nightmare!”

Nightmare?!” Trixie asked, confused. She felt a chill down her spine that wasn't related to the ice-cold river. Twilight turned her head to gaze down at her with cold, dead eyes.

“Much better,” Twilight said, with a voice not her own. “This will do nicely.” Her horn shimmered, glowing while bursts of light sparked along it like tiny novas. A wave of red magic pulsed out, slamming Trixie back to the gravel of the river's shore. The unicorn gasped, her vision going black, her body shutting down from the blood loss, the cold, and the exhaustion.

The last thing she saw when she looked up was Twilight vanishing in a burst of red magic like a bubble popping around her.