Chapter 11:
Magic Duel
“Trixie...Trixie. Wake up!” said a voice, hazy and hardly distinct, and easily ignored. “Trixie!” it said again, at last loud and clear.
“Huh… what?” The mare was roused from her slumber, opening her eyes to find herself facing a book, a strand of drool from her lip leading to a damp spot on the page. Quickly she moved to wipe it away, shifting her eyes back and forth in the hope no one had noticed.
“Trixie. Can you please not fall asleep on the books?” said Twilight, giving a disapproving glance as she came to sit at the table. A magical aura gently set down two porcelain cups, one of which Trixie hoped to be coffee. “You’ll ruin the pages.”
“Perhaps if these books were not so dull,” she muttered in return, rubbing her bleary eyes with a hoof.
“Come on, it’s not even lunch time yet. And you’ve hardly put a dent in that one. Here, I made you some tea.”
Trixie only grumbled in response, taking the cup into her magical grasp and bringing it close to her lips, taking a careful sip but still finding it a bit too hot to drink. She set the cup down and looked back to the page, then looked up at the two piles of books before her, the one on the right being much smaller than the one on the left.
It was the morning of her third day in Ponyville, living under Twilight’s roof. She had spent the entirety of the day before reading, and already, on the second day of ‘training’, it was starting to become a taxing practice. Twilight had advised her to read in the second floor study to prevent anyone from coming in and seeing her, the place was a public library after all. Twilight seemed to mind her own business around Trixie, allowing the preoccupied mare to deal with the task at hoof. They occasionally exchanged a few words, but conversations were often cut short by Trixie’s general lack of interest or to prevent any unwanted awkwardness. There were times where Twilight would step out, but Trixie really couldn't care less for what Twilight did outside the library. All she had to do -or more like could only do- was read and continue to read.
It certainly wasn’t the most physically demanding or entertaining form of training, but Trixie had to admit some of the topic subjects were rather interesting every now and again. But only a few of them were in any way enlightening. Often, she found herself skimming over chapters that covered completely unnecessary information, anything she already felt adept at, or things she just found too stale to complete.
There were many books to choose from in Twilight’s selection. Some were older and more outdated than others, and these were the ones Trixie loathed getting through the most. Filled with irrelevant and trivial information which no longer pertained to her magical interests, Trixie had to put more effort into trying to get anything out of them. The current book before her was one of those cases. Luminaries of Magical Theories and Spells, was the title, which was identical to many of the others, which often translated into The History of Some Bearded Pony and Others With Less interesting Accomplishments. Trixie never took interest in any famous magicians of the past and most certainly not of the present. The only magician she cared about was herself, of course.
She forced herself to slowly turn the first few pages of the book, beginning to skim the bits of history she had already read in other passages that brought up similar subjects. She hadn’t made much progress into the old book, but she was determined to at least glance at most of the pages. And after a few more hours of silence, she managed to near a fourth of the tome before slamming the book shut and letting the side of her face lay upon its cool, hard cover.
“Ugh, why am I reading so much about these ponies? Why should I even care?” she complained to nopony in particular, but obviously to the pony that had bestowed such work upon her. Twilight was focused on her own work or studies, as she often was while Trixie read. Twilight looked up from her notes and cocked her head in questioning.
“Who?”
“All of these dead ponies… Some of them are in almost every one of these history books. Even if they have done so much for magic- as these books say- many of their theories and spells are severely outdated in this day and age.” Trixie slowly lifted her head and looked toward Twilight, keeping a slouched posture. “Their magic is utterly insignificant to me.”
“That is not true,” Twilight retorted quickly and sternly. “What about that afterimage spell you stumbled upon yesterday? I am sure you’ve read of Starswirl. He was one of the first ponies who used magic to manipulate light reflections and refractions. Much of the basic framework for many spells derive from his works -and many of those other ‘dead ponies’’. It’s good to know a little of where some spells come from. And maybe a little more respect to those magical visionaries. If you wish to be anything like them, maybe following their advice could be at least a little beneficial,” Twilight said shifting back into a cheery and optimistic tone.
“Hmm,” she grumbled unenthusiastically, “Practicing one spell will not help me very much to win,” Trixie said.
“And what about that fog spell you took interest in last night?”
“I was only pondering over it as a possible alternative to smoke…” Twilight raised her brow at the mention of her aptly used smokescreen. “What? It is useful to know such spells in a quarrel.”
“Right. Well, just bare with me a little longer, okay? Trust me, you’ll get some good use out of these books. I know I did!” There was a short silence before Trixie gave a loud sigh of acquiescence. She looked back to the book, in no rush to get going once again.
“Twilight!” called Spike from downstairs. “There’s a pony here looking for a book!” Trixie was sure Spike still wasn’t too keen on having her stay, so he seemed to try and avoid her as much as possible, and she didn't mind returning the favor.
“Coming, Spike!” Trixie watched as Twilight got up, moving quickly to greet the pony downstairs. Continuing to ignore the book, Trixie instead listened to the slightly indistinct murmur of voices coming from downstairs.
Twilight’s voice was distinct, yet Trixie swore she recognized that other voice as well. She couldn’t remember from where, but she had indeed heard it before. Listening intently, Trixie got up and moved towards the stairs. She moved down slowly and carefully, not wanting to be mistaken and accidentally reveal herself to another citizen of Ponyville who might be holding a grudge. Soon she came to see the open library space below, at last getting a glimpse of the visitor standing near the center table. Her coat was a light pink and her mane was blue. Trixie remembered this pony now.
“Oh, hey!” said Quill, catching Trixie on the steps and making her jump ever so slightly. “What in the hay are you doing here, huh?” She gave a toothy grin. Twilight seemed a bit surprised as well, taking a step back and looking between the two with a raised brow. Trixie didn’t respond, but only stared back.
“Umm, I’m guessing you two are acquainted?” Twilight asked.
“Of course!” said the pink unicorn. “It’s… Trixie, right?. Remember me? Quill? Gave you a ride to Canterlot that one time, not too long ago.”
“Oh… yeah,” Trixie said, taking the few more steps down to the bottom floor.
“Still a bit uptight, I see. So whatcha up to? Didn’t expect to find you in some small town library.”
“I could say the same,” Trixie said.
“Tsk, tsk, just answer the question, sheesh,” she said with a short laugh. “After all we’ve been through you’d think you could be a bit more casual. Well, if you’re so interested, after getting through that preliminary round I decided to keep traveling across Equestria until the tournament thing starts. Pretty cool, huh? I also kinda wanted to see if this library had that new ‘Daring Do’ book so I could read during my stay, but apparently they’re all checked out now.”
“So you passed into the first round, too?” Trixie enquired, a little surprised at the fact but easily concealing it.
“You betcha! It was pretty fun, huh? I’m guessing you got through too, yeah? It’s like us two meeting again was fate!” She gave a snort. “I had a hunch you were headed for the tournament. So this is where you’re staying. Got some pretty nice digs here. I can only imagine how cool it is to live in a library!”
“Right,” was all Trixie said in return. She had to admit that, in a way, she was indebted to this pony before her in some way or another. If it wasn’t for Quill she probably never would have made it to Canterlot on time. As Quill said, after something like that, Trixie should at least be able to trust her to some extent.
“Well, you’re as talkative as ever. So…,” Quill said, turning to Twilight, “you renting out rooms or something? I was thinking about staying here a few days, maybe.”
“Oh, no, sorry,” Twilight stammered a bit, “It’s just a regular library here. Not much room to rent out space.”
“Ah, I see. Only for special friends, huh?” she said with a playful smirk.
“No,” Trixie broke in quickly, “We’re… acquaintances. She’s letting me stay to prepare for the tournament.” Trixie gaze shifted back and forth, unable to keep eye contact with either Twilight or Quill. She never gave much thought as to what sort of relationship she shared with Twilight. They certainly weren’t friends, but acquaintance didn’t seem to fit any better.
“Ok…” Quill said with a drawl, “well, what sort of “preparations” you got going on here, huh? Maybe we can help each other out for a bit!” A hint of excitement was present in her voice, reflecting her now giddy demeanor.
“If you take pleasure from sitting there and reading book after book then be my guest,” Trixie said dryly, which seemed to withdraw Quill’s prior excitement. Trixie grumbled about this every now and then to Twilight, who swiftly quelled her protests. It was refreshing to complain to somepony else, even if it wouldn’t change things.
“Oh, come on now,” broke in Twilight, “You say that like if reading isn’t an enlightening experience.”
“I do not recall saying that. I am simply inviting Quill to an ever so exciting study session,” Trixie retorted with a flick of her mane, not afraid of hiding her blatant sarcasm.
“I heard what you said, it’s how you said it,” Twilight returned, a bit more sternly. Both Trixie and Twilight glared at one another as they took a step forward, completely disregarding the other pony in the room. A challenging smirk came on the antagonizing mare’s face as she looked upon Twilight, the slightest hint of agitation escaping her features.
“Hey, hey,” Quill interjected, “I didn’t mean to cause trouble in paradise. How about this… just for today you drop the books and do something else. Yeah?”
Trixie’s brow crept upwards in intrigue, looking away from the still bothered Twilight. “What do you have in mind?”
The corners of Quill’s lips moved into an ever so slight smile. “How about I challenge you to a magic duel?”
Trixie’s eyes widened, but initial shock quickly faded away, as a furrowed brow and intense glare mirroring the challenging mare’s own fervor. “I accept,” she said, a tight-lipped smile on her face.
“Wait, what?” Twilight said. “No-no, you can’t do that. Not yet. What if somepony sees you?”
“I do not particularly care if somepony sees me. My magic has recovered and I desire to make some use of it!” The two returned to their glares.
“Ok, I just have to break this up again,” Quill interrupted. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but Trixie and I are pretty up for this and that’s reason enough for me. It’s just some friendly fun!”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s such a good idea yet,” Twilight said.
“OK… how about this. It seems you’re hiding here because… of whatever. So why not have Trixie stowaway in my carriage, we get to an open field outside of town, have a quick duel, and come back. Simple as that. No more than twenty minutes, tops. That’s not too bad, right?” Quill said.
Twilight took a step back, eyes shifting between the two mares that stood before her. Quill nodded happily, Trixie only returned a half lidded stare, sure that Twilight’s answer would do little to the outcome. Trixie was adamant on jumping on the opportune chance that seemingly fell before her, no matter what Twilight said. And Trixie knew by the defeated expression on Twilight’s face that she thought the same.
“All right, fine. As long as nopony notices,” Twilight begrudgingly sighed in assent. Her stern frown set as she looked away from Trixie who now held the faint expression of victorious delight.
“Great! I’ll bring my carriage around to the front,” Quill shot Twilight a toothy grin before heading out the door. The front door closing brought silence to the room, which was only once again broken by Twilight’s words.
“Trixie-”
“You are not going to change my mind,” Trixie asserted, sure that the other mare would attempt to come up with some other reason to hold her back. She began moving towards the front door, only to be halted by Twilight’s persistent words.
“No, that’s not it. I just want to warn you… don’t be too reckless, okay?” Twilight spoke in a softer tone, as if she had let go of their prior enmity long ago.
“What?” was all Trixie could respond with, turning to look back at Twilight. Indeed her prior expression was gone, now replaced by a concerned gaze and an ever-so-slight frown. “What do you mean?” she had to question, unable to comprehend such caution.
“You shouldn’t take this pony too lightly… she passed through the preliminary-”
“As did I,” Trixie was quick to retort.
“I know, I know. I’m just telling you to be careful. It might be a friendly magic duel, but don’t let it get to your head, okay?” Twilight smiled. Trixie turned away, letting out a short laugh and sneer.
“I have been longing to put my magic to some good use. There is no need to worry.” Trixie opened the front door, quickly moving towards the carriage and a waiting Quill. Twilight stood there for a few seconds longer, sighing before following suit.
The warm, bright sun with the coolness of a soft breeze was a great pleasure of this time of season. Trixie was grateful for the rare dispersal of the seasonal clouds, perhaps organized by the weather teams as a swan song of warmth before the winter storms. The trees were striped clean of their green foliage, remnants of orange, red, and yellow leaves hung flimsily onto their branches. Twilight’s own Tree home had fared no better to the season, leaving only a rather impressive wooden skeleton. Trixie admired the outdoor freshness, only being able to observe the outside world from afar the past few days.
Quill was waiting a short distance from the library, waving her hoof high in the air, an excited smile on her face. Trixie took a few steps out of the library before teleporting the short distance into the carriage and finding herself at the side of Quill.
“Glad you could join,” Quill greeted. “Now, if you don’t want anypony seeing you, you’ll have to squeeze into the back with the rest of my stuff. Just… mind the bottles and don’t rip my roof, please.”
Trixie nodded, turning and ducking under the thin, canvas roof, stepping carefully into the cramped space filled with duffel bags, small boxes, and bottles, both empty and full. Quill watched with concern as her guest shuffled unceremoniously to the back of the carriage, luckily concealing her entire self without breaking anything. With a sigh, Quill turned to the approaching Twilight who had just finished telling Spike to take care of the library.
“You can have a seat next to me! Oh, and this is Robert,” she said, gesturing to the stoic bull. “He’s my traveling buddy. Ever-silent, but a great listener, y’know?” Twilight greeted politely but received no response. Preventing an awkward silence, she teleported herself to Quill’s side. “I’m usually not one to butt in, but I can’t help but wonder what one pony could have done to piss of an entire town. Ha, that must be story. But I’m sure this probably isn’t the place to ask. And we’re off!” On command, the bull trudged forward towards the edge of town.
Time passed in silence as the small carriage filled to capacity made it’s way through town as inconspicuously as possible. Twilight herself looked a bit awkward, sitting stiff with a near-goofy looking smile forced on her face. Quill rode along happily, occasionally swaying from side to side with the bumps on the road. With every passing minute, Trixie grew uncomfortable in her cramped position, failing to find anything more agreeable.
“Are we there yet?” Trixie said, slightly exasperated.
“Shhh,” Twilight hushed, “We’re almost in the clear.” Trixie rolled her eyes, rustling in the back some more. It was a few more minutes until they came to a full stop, to Trixie’s relief; the two ponies up front jumped off and the third was quick to follow. They found themselves before a wide open, grassy field, the edge of the Everfree was not far from sight. The silence allowed the cool breeze to whisper melodiously, causing the blades of grass to wave and ripple.
Trixie took a step forward, taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly. A smile crept to her face as she turned to look back at the other two. “Shall we begin?”
“Yes, lets!” Quill said, running past Trixie and off into the open.
Trixie looked to Twilight, who made a gesture to speak, but seemingly held back her words. She continued to hold a slightly anxious expression, but it was difficult for Trixie to read. She felt like saying something in return, perhaps even a few words to settle whatever qualms she might have been feeling. But she stayed silent, words escaping her as well. Quickly, Trixie averted her gaze forward, standing still a few more seconds before trotting after Quill.
Trixie caught up to Quill in the open field. Seemingly at the ready, she was already holding a tall and challenging stance. Her near glaring eyes watched almost menacingly so as Trixie came to a stop a short distance away, the flat, grassy land between them just far enough that Trixie could faintly see a glimmer of light reflecting from Quill’s violet irises.
“Now let me just set something straight,” Quill began, “This wont be… a regular magic duel.” Trixie’s brow rose in intrigue, inviting Quill to elaborate. “Y’see, traditional magic duels are pretty boring in my opinion. What I wanna do is something a bit more fast pace -yeah, that’s a good way to put it- but don’t worry, it’s pretty simple. You’ll catch on in no time.”
“Wait, what are we doing?” Trixie asked, only to be answered by a swirling beam of violet magic careening in her direction. Trixie’s eyes went wide before she instinctively moved to dodge, diving to her right and into the grass in a most ungraceful manner. She hastily got back on her hooves, only to face another flash of light coming towards her. Thinking fast, her horn shined before a burst of magic, teleporting her out of harms way. She reappeared to Quill’s left side the same distance away, at last able to take a second to get a clear sight of the mare’s own shimmering horn, ready to release another attack at a moments notice.
“What are you doing!?” Trixie said, already pausing for breaths. A scowl came to her face as her stance remained wide and at the ready.
“Having a magic duel, what else!?” Quill turned, her horn flaring once more. The ground began to glow in a distinct, telekinetic aura, it trembled beneath Trixie’s hooves, soon shaking with so much ferocity as to make the ground begin to crumble. Two jagged masses of land broke from the ground and levitated high at Trixie’s sides. The ground fell beneath her as rock and debris came inwards and collapsed from above, leaving only a cloud of dust covering the now misshapen landscape.
Trixie appeared in a flash, once again near where the duel had begun, already starting to feel the strain of her heart racing in her chest. She tried to breath deeply, quickly taking a second to compose herself knowing there wasn’t much time to recuperate. The dust cloud had spread, but was quickly thinning as Trixie spotted Quill turning and spotting her. A mass of dirt and rock was flung through the air with a telekinetic swing, giving Trixie little time to react. She braced her hooves as her horn shown as a violet, translucent shield came before her. They met with a heavy thud, the shield collapsed as the attack was reduced to rubble, only coming as far as to bury Trixie beneath a thick layer of dirt. She burst out, unceremoniously coming to her hooves and shaking the dust from her coat and mane, all the while glaring with a livid scowl.
“Come on now, show me what you’ve got!” Quill said, and, for a moment, pausing her barrage. Trixie made no verbal response, letting her horn flare, she manifested various streams of multi-colored magic in Quill’s direction. Her target’s eyes widened at the bright, colorful sight. With little more reaction, a translucent shield was summoned before her. The magic made contact in a flurry of blinding sparks; color burst into the air all around, forcing the shielded pony to guard her eyes with a hoof.
It wasn’t long before the lights subsided, allowing Quill to put up her guard once more. “Fireworks!” Quill said, only to notice Trixie no longer before her. She swung around quickly, just in time to see a beam of purple magic swirling in her direction. Still moving with her body’s motion, she whirled her horn into the air, bringing forth another force field. Energy crackled as it hit against the barrier that continued to hold strong. Seconds passed before the magic from both sides was dispelled in a hiss. Again the two stood motionless, a wide grin stuck on Quill’s face, looking almost giddy to keep things going. Trixie’s near threatening grimace held strong in return.
“That was a pretty decent attack. Must have taken a lot out of you,” Quill said. Trixie didn’t reply, her rapidly beating heart and quick breathing didn’t allow her to. Admittedly, she had hoped her attack would have landed, or even broken through the shield, at the very least reduce some of Quill’s stamina. But from the looks of things, it was only Trixie who was quickly depleting in fortitude. The multiple jumps of teleportation were taking their toll, and even more so was her last attack of pure magical energy. She had been careless from the start, but there was no use to dwell on the matter now. Trixie charged forward with horn flaring towards her opponent who only stood in anticipation.
“Rather bold!” Quill said, smiling almost wickedly as her horn began to glimmer once more. Trixie’s own horn shone brighter as she approached, quickening her pace. Quill swung her head back, only to hesitate as a tall wall of white fog rolled her way, engulfing her and her surroundings, rendering visibility almost useless past hoofs reach. Her eyes swung back and forth frantically between the white nothingness before she released her attack without direction. The force of it partially dispersed the fog, showing her a glimmer of clarity not so far passed the thickness of the cloud. Her horn began to brighten; a ball of light at the tip steadily grew in size. The magic was released, the ball dispersed in all directions, pushing away the fog in a slow, wave-like motion. A figure soon appeared through the thinning fog, Quill immediately aimed her attack and fired another beam of light without hesitation. The magic cleared away the rest of the fog before landed directly on target, only to phase through and hit the ground behind in a cloud of dirt. Quill’s eyes went wide as she watched the figure, now obviously a weak, static form of Trixie’s self, disappear in a flair of glittering magic.
Quill turned quickly to her right, ready to fire off another attack, only to feel her hooves lift off the ground. A glowing purple ribbon wrapped itself around her frame, quickly tying in her hooves into a tight bundle lifted off of the ground from where the trap protruded. Only her head was left free, her surprised expression quickly replaced by a joyful smirk.
Trixie trotted up to the bound mare, her horn still glowing furiously as she held her opponent tightly. “It was a trap. Neat,” Quill said, not even struggling to escape. Trixie’s breathing continued to strain, she took several deep breaths to compose herself to speak. Beads of sweat were visible over her furrowed brow as Trixie used her last ounces of energy to hold her spell steady.
“I win,” Trixie at last said in between breaths, a small smile creeping onto her face.
“I dunno about that,” Quill said, making Trixie’s eyes grow slightly wider and her stance widen once more. The trapped mares entire frame was engulfed in a bright, almost blinding light, intensifying for a few seconds before a burst of magic was set loose, sending out a sweeping pulse of magic and shattering the trap. Trixie’s magic dispelled as she was pushed into the air, flung a short distance from where she was standing and onto the ground. She landed on her stomach with hooves outstretched, head rattling at the feeling of her suddenly broken spell. With eyes shut, she shook her head as she tried to lift up off the ground.
“Now, I win,” the familiar voice said. Trixie opened her eyes, looking up to see Quill standing above her.