True Magic

by CodeMonkey

Chapter 26 - Journey’s End

Chapter 26 - Journey’s End

Trixie struggled in vain against her love-struck attacker as Silver might as well have been made of stone, easily pinning her to the whining floorboards. The wild look in his eye turned her blood to ice, chilling her to the bone. With the odds of her escape swiftly dwindling, her fate seemed at the mercy of the scarred pony on top of her as he leaned in for another show of affection…

Suddenly, the lights went out, sending them into pitch blackness. Silver’s affectionate assault ceased, presumably while he tried to figure out what had happened. She didn’t know either, but was glad she could at least no longer see the psycho in front of her. The reprieve only lasted for a moment, however, before the lights returned. Despite everything, Trixie found it strange, since they were oil lanterns, and there was no wind.

With the lights back on, Trixie could see Silver scanning the room, checking every inch before disregarding the occurrence and returning to her with a maniacal smile. He leaned in for another embrace as she shut her eyes, turning away, unable to control her shaking body.

“Having fun?” a voice said from out of nowhere, immediately stopping Silver, his eyes growing wide.

Trixie’s eyes shot opened as she heard the voice, her breath stalled. Before she had a chance to look, Silver was flung off of her and sent slamming into the far wall, crashing into the frail, wooden containers. A cream pony stepped over her and stood at the ready, stretching his sworn fetlock hooves out like a protective barrier around her.

“Magus?” she asked as her eyes fell on her master’s scowling face, staring down the pony who stepped out from the destroyed boxes.

“How dare you show your face here!” Silver said, glaring back at him as he cradled his head. “How dare you interfere with true love.”

“Stay away from my apprentice,” Magus replied, readying several bladed appendages of flame that sprang from his back.

“Apprentice?” Silver replied before his blank gaze shifted to Trixie. “…You…you idiot! You led him right to us. How…how could you?” He drew his sword and said, “No, matter. It’s better this way. I can kill him right here, right now and finally redeem you.”

“Hide,” Magus murmured just loud enough for her to hear as his glare remained fixated on Silver.

Without question, Trixie crawled out from under him and took cover behind a stack of boxes, peeking around a corner just enough to see the two.

Silver twirled his sword as he gave Magus an unsettling grin.

“At long last I can finally see you die,” he said, taking up a battle stance. “Are you ready to pay for your crimes?”

Magus said nothing, continuing his death stare with sparks of fire erupting at his hooves.

“Good,” said Silver as he slowly reached behind him.

In a blur, Silver launched a barrage of razor-sharp daggers, flying like hungry sparrows towards Magus. They barely made it halfway before being turned to ash. Undeterred, Silver dashed towards him, lunging in as he came within range.

“Die!”

Magus deflected the strike with ease, using one of his fire-borne tentacles like a smoldering shield.

With screeching metal and the roaring of fire, the two exchanged blows at lightning speeds with neither one gaining an edge over the other. Silver’s blade glowed white each time it made contact with the fire, swatting the flames away like they were a minor nuisance as he pressed forward. For as much as Silver attacked, his sword found no target as Magus moved around his blows like water before striking back with fiery spears. The way Magus moved, it seemed as if he were performing a dance.

“You took her from me,” Silver shouted, gritting his teeth as he continued to swing wildly. “You and your accursed Order took her. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you all!”

Through some unknown strength, Silver was beginning to break through Magus’ defenses, cutting his way past the burning shields with little effort.

“What’s wrong?” Silver said with a laugh. “Feeling tired!?” With a wide swing, he sliced through a wall of flames, narrowly grazing Magus’ face.

Magus grunted as he spun away, readying himself immediately for another assault. At first he seemed unharmed, before a red line appeared, blood dripping down his cheek.

“You’ve gotten weaker,” Silver said. “What’s the matter? Running out of fire? Seems your Fates have deemed you to die here tonight after all.”

As Silver continued his offensive, Trixie noticed that Magus’ power was indeed weaker than what she was used to seeing. The fire he created was small and only appeared in quick bursts, not at all like the igniting air or the sea of flames that he was prone to using. She knew if this kept up, it wouldn’t be long before…

She looked around and, almost instantly, her gaze fell on the brightly burning lanterns around the room. Trixie looked back at the two as a plan took shape. The hastily put together puzzle of a plan was insane, but it was worth a shot.

Taking a few quick breaths to collect herself, she jumped out of her haven and took one of the lights in her teeth, tossing it towards the two fighters.

Like an egg, the lantern shattered into thousands of tiny glass shards between them, sending burning oil everywhere. Feeding off the wood and flammable liquid, the flames tripled in size as it started to spread with Trixie throwing another light into the still hungry inferno.

“What the hay are you doing?” Silver shouted as she threw the last lamp she could get to. “Are you crazy? You’re going to burn the whole place d—!”

Just then, the fire abruptly stopped its unwieldy movement and began to collect around Magus like a dog returning to its master. To Silver’s awe stricken face, Magus began to breath heavily as the flames followed suit, rising and falling as if they were breathing with him.

“Fires that slither and breathe, hunger and see, awaken from your ethereal sleep to feed,” Magus said as the flames grew larger.

As he spoke a red circle formed around him, calling forth two streams of flames from the rest that sprang to attention a few feet in front of Silver. The flames swirled and danced unnaturally, growing bigger, taking the shape of two massive, fiery serpents that hissed and snapped at the sword-wielding pony.

They slithered towards him, making quick, sudden strikes as he dodged out of the way, eyes frantically shifting from one to the other. A noticeable bead sweat accumulated on his forehead as they surrounded him.

With the threat occupied, Magus stood and clapped his hooves together, closing his eyes as he began to chant in a strange, echoed language not like the magic words she had heard before as the flames around him grew brighter, filling with a deep red with each repeat.

Trixie watched the display as embers passed by her like fireflies. The heat was becoming hard to bear as she wiped the sweat from her brow, lightly panting in an attempt to gather what air was left in the room. The floor itself felt as if it would burst into flames at any moment as her lungs dried out. She started to regret throwing so many lanterns.

Just then, an immense power flew past her, almost knocking her off her hooves and she searched for the source. She suspected it was Magus at first, but as another burst came, she realized that it was the flames surrounding him, now almost completely tinted red. It felt erratic and scorching hot, she could practically feel it in her bones it was so intense.

Magus continued to recite his entrancing mantra as he maintained his unflinching stance. The flames had now almost completely turned red with small flickers of yellow and orange remaining at the peaks.

“No!” Silver shouted, swatting one of the serpents away. “Not again. You won’t use that on me again.”

Throwing caution to the wind, Silver cut a path through the snakes with one mighty swing before dashing past them. The serpents snapped at his flank with one managing to sink its blazing teeth into one of his back legs. His eyes tightened, howling in pain before quickly swinging his sword back to dislodge the beast, slicing its head in two. Before the second snake could attack, he slipped away and ran head first at Magus, sword at the ready.

“Magus!” Trixie shouted, trying to warn him of the impending attack.

Before she could utter another word, it was too late. Silver’s sword passed through him with little resistance, only stopping due to the hilt getting caught against Magus’ limp frame as his head fell on Silver’s shoulders. The snakes vanished as the fire around them died down, blanketing the room in a soot-filled fog.

Her heart raced as she covered her mouth, trying to control her hastened breaths. Her body trembled as her bulging, unflinching eyes refused to look away from the scene, unprepared to accept what had happened.

“Magus?” she said softly, hoping for a response. ‘This can’t be,’ she thought. ‘He can’t be…’

“…It’s over,” Silver whispered, almost not believing it himself before a wide grin stretched across his face. “It’s finally over. I killed him. He’s dead!” He laughed hysterically, twisting the blade to ensure the attack was fatal. Magus didn’t move. Glancing to Trixie, still with a cynical smile, he said, “My love, you’ve been avenged.” He laughed again as he looked back at his fresh kill. “I killed hi—!”

Just then, his eyes widened as his body almost buckled from under him as if all the joy in his body was torn away. As the smoke cleared, he began to stammer, uttering nonsense and half complete words, trying to make sense of what he was witnessing.

Trixie collapsed to her haunches, feeling a massive weight lifting off her chest.

From the black smoke, Magus stood tall like a statue. His hooves remained clasped as he scowled at Silver, appearing not to have moved at all.

“Wha—But, how?” Silver mumbled, eyes shaking as if unable to believe what he was witnessing. “You should be—” He slowly turned his head and looked at what he had run through. The impaled pony snapped back to life, wrapping its hooves around him, like a snake constricting around its prey.

“What sorcery is this? What—what are you?”

Slowly, the head of the figure rose up, turning Silver's face pallid when he saw what was gripping him. Whatever it was, looked exactly like Magus save for the hollow eye sockets that held a furnace of flames within them.

He gasped as he attempted to back away until Magus slammed his hooves down, causing the clone to explode into a pillar of bright red flames, sending Silver flying across the room, leaving a smoke trail. He hit the ground with such force that the wooden planks cracked and splintered, almost sending him through them if he hadn’t grabbed the edges of the newly formed hole.

Black and crimson fires erupted behind Magus, roaring like a dragon as they rose to life from the smoke and ash of the old inferno, becoming silent as they achieved their full height. Everything about them was eerie, from their coloration to the controlled way they licked the air, not at all like the chaotic fire they should be but more as if each wall, pillar, and cluster were soldiers silently waiting orders. Trixie could practically sense the destructive power they possessed despite the lack of warmth coming from them.

The crimson fires danced in a peculiar manner as they remained at an even height, appearing as a solid wall while small, black embers rose up from their base. Magus’ eyes glowed as a crackle of fire crossed over the wounds on his wrist and face, healing them as it dissipated. The entire room was flushed with red, as if a second sun had been born within the small space.

It wasn’t long before Silver recovered and bolted to his hooves, throwing off his burning cloak just before the famished flames consumed what was left of it. Wasting no time, he dove for his sword, but was quickly smacked away by a crimson whip of focused fire that sent him crashing through a support beam.

Magus didn’t move as the flames jumped in front of him, collecting into a ball before launching towards Silver at lightning speed. In a dazed state, Silver barely had time to retrieve a small metal trinket from his wings, holding it before himself against the oncoming attack. The cerulean symbols on the object glowed brightly before the ball of twisting flames crashed into him, detonating as it made contact.

The charm screamed and wailed under the assault, producing a shield around him, which instantly collapsed, shattering like glass along with the mystical talisman as the force propelled him towards Trixie.

She dodged behind a small row barrels just before he slammed against the wall, cracking the surface and sending chips of wood everywhere. Silver groaned as he dropped to the floor with a solid thud.

Under wavering legs that didn’t want to stand, Silver got up, wobbling before he gained his footing. He growled as he faced Magus, throwing what was left of the enchanted trinket away.

Magus calmly took a few steps towards him as three giant serpents slithered out of the inferno that followed him. They hovered around him, much of their bodies remaining attached to their crimson nest.

Silver looked on with bulging eyes as the snakes ogled him like a trapped mouse, hissing and licking their lips at the tantalizing meal. Hastily, he looked around for an escape before his wild gaze caught Trixie poking her head out.

She took notice of his infuriated eyes and scrambled to get away, but Silver lunged towards her, grabbing her by the neck as she struggled and shrieked. The flaming beasts sprung forward with jaws agape, molten saliva dripping from their fangs. Getting her in a chokehold, he quickly brought her up between him and the charging serpents, holding a small knife against her throat.

Desperately, she tried to break away, but all she could do was yelp as the creatures flew towards them. With inches to spare, they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks and observed the mare while she watched them with wavering, panicking eyes, hypnotized by their slow swaying in light to their abrupt hesitation.

“Well? Come on!” Silver sneered, peering around her head. “Kill me!” The snakes oscillated around before backing away, as if a wall stood between them. Magus stood perfectly still, glaring. “You can’t, can you? Growing a soft spot for this little piece, are you?” he said, bringing the knife closer to her.

Trixie struggled as much as she was able, attempting to pull his foreleg away from her neck to no avail. She hated being helpless in his grip, especially with Magus so close to getting rid of this demented animal.

“Careful my pretty filly,” Silver whispered. “Wouldn’t want me to slip and cut that pretty neck, would you?”

“Let go of me you bast—!”

“Shhh, Shhh, Shhh. There’s no need for that kind of language. Be a good helpless damsel and stay quiet. We’ll be in each other’s loving embrace soon enough.”

Trixie snarled, wanting nothing more than to see this pig put in his place. She attempted to call on her magic again but found that the potion was still blocking her attempts. As she tried to figure a way out of this, she took a step back and felt his hind legs directly behind her. Trixie, great and powerful or not, wouldn’t be treated in this way and was more than happy to play rough.

Baring her teeth, she growled. “I’m, not, helpless!”

With a quick swing of her back legs she kicked him in the joints, making him howl in pain and loosen his grip. Grabbing hold of his weakened foreleg, she bit him as hard as she could, tasting the bitter blood in her mouth before shoving him away. Immediately, she dove for cover.

Before he could finish uttering a single curse, the serpents struck in unison, passing by like a locomotive of fire, leaving a railway of embers in their wake as they crashed through the wall. Wood splintered into burnt fragments as the creatures continued to pass by, removing any signs of Silver or the wall.

When the snakes finally vanished, a cool, salt-filled air swept into the room. The small red flames that still burned around the opening shrank, becoming normal wisps of fire as Trixie approached and gazed out at the dark ocean where small pockets of fire still burned atop the waves.

She expressed a thankful sigh when she couldn’t locate her captor in the black water, a relieving thought to know that the crazed pony was gone. The chill air felt nice against her face as she took a deep breath, listening to the waves and the crackling embers around her. It was finally over.

Hearing hoofsteps approaching behind her, Trixie swallowed her hesitation and slowly turned to face Magus. It wasn’t clear if he was still the same pony or something else, but, before she knew it, he was upon her, pushing her against a wall and forcing her onto her hindlegs.

“What did I tell you about coming here?” he shouted, holding her tightly by the shoulders. “Do you realize that you could’ve died?”

She dared to look into his eyes, and was shocked to see them dull and lifeless. There was nothing behind them, not even Magus himself. Up close, she could see dried stands of black liquid on his chin as he breathed heavily. He was a mess with his wild mane and tattered clothing that, while the wounds were healed, still carried dry blood on the torn sleeves.

“You’re lucky you didn’t freeze or worse,” he shouted, baring his teeth.

“Freeze? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t taunt me. Why can you never do as I ask? Just listen to me for once in your life Crystal!”

At that moment, he gasped as his eyes widened and his hold on her weakened. She looked at him, unsure.

Returning to his hooves, Magus shielded his mouth as he continued to retreat, refusing to look away from her. Even as Trixie got back on her hooves, she stared at him.

Suddenly, he fell back, slipping on something and before she could do anything, he had already hit the ground. As he groaned, a strange music began to play, like something out of an old music box. The sound caused Magus to break out in a sweat, gasping as the melody resonated through the room.

Looking down next to him, Trixie saw the glimmer of the silver locket that was once around her neck. The chain had broken in two, and the cover had snapped open. Trixie felt around her collar to find it was missing, assuming that it must’ve fallen off during the struggle.

She looked closely at the object as it continued to play its mysterious, eerie tune. Two pictures were held behind dusty glass frames, one of Magus in the cover and the other a shadowy mare. Magus looked no different than now, but the mare next to him was a curious sight. It could’ve been just the heat in the air or the dramatic events that transpired, but she could swear it was a picture of her; the body at least. It was certainly a mare who posed with a lapis coat and a long mane of starlight practically the same as hers. It was difficult to make out her face as the glass cracked right over it.

She took a step closer to get a better view, but a red aura encircled the locket and closed its lid, putting an end to the music. Magus sat up as he levitated it into his hooves and held the treasured object close to his heart.

Suddenly, he began to cough and gag as he fell forward, catching himself with a hoof. He began to violently heave up the same black fluid as before, refusing to release the locket from his grasp.

All she could do was stand there and watch as the events unfolded. The thought of him throwing fire at her again came to mind when she saw the pooling ooze, but she remained as he coughed up the last drops. She didn’t know whether she should run while she had the chance or stay.

‘Stay? Why would I stay?’ But she felt something… was it concern?

After a few exhausted huffs, he looked up at her with eyes that were now alive, yet clouded as he continued to pant. Hastily glancing around the room, he took note of his surroundings, taking a special interest in the charred hole next to them, before looking back at her.

“Tri…Trixie?” he breathlessly asked, “Where—where are we?”

“What?” she replied, almost falling over at his question, “You mean…you don’t know?”

“No. I can’t…” he answered as he took another look around. “What happened? What did you do?” He quickly noticed the bandages on her legs as he began to shake uncontrollably again, staring intently at them. “What did I do?” When she hesitated, he spoke again in a more assertive, if trembling tone, “Trixie! What did I do?” He reached out his hoof to her. “Tell me!”

Instinctively, Trixie flinched and stumbled away as her heart rate spiked. She got the impression that he wasn’t as crazy as he was before, but the idea of being singed again struck a cord on her reflexes, like being burned by a stove as a filly. Backing up as far as the wall behind her would allow, she watched him closely, expecting to see fire eject from his hoof.

Magus turned pale as he watched her hasty reaction before retracting his foreleg, looking away, appearing to be at a loss for words. He stared at the floor.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said in a flat, monotone voice. “I’m so sorry.”

She didn’t know how to feel towards him now. He’d saved her life, but the way he’d acted afterwards made her question if he’d meant to protect her or whoever this Crystal was. Nothing she could say would repair their shaky companionship and, honestly, she didn’t know if she wanted to. All was silent between them but for the sounds of Horseshoe Bay, both unwilling to look at anything or anypony else.

A sudden creaking sound directed their gazes upwards, just in time to see the support beam for the roof crumbling apart. With a thunderous roar, the ceiling came crashing down, flinging scorched wood and still burning embers everywhere.

Trixie only had enough time to raise her forelegs in a feeble shield, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Magus leap towards her. Tightly embracing her, flames instantly erupted around them, completely engulfing them both moments before the ceiling struck as she shut her eyes, waiting for the blow of the beams or the fire to incinerate her.

It got very warm around her, but not unbearable. The fire seemed to ignore her as not a single flame touched her, not even singeing a hair on her head. The deafening crashing noise ceased suddenly, and the salty smell of the sea disappeared with it as a new atmosphere took its place.

Still feeling Magus’ hooves around her, they hit a solid surface as if they’d fallen from the sky, both landing on their sides with a grunt. Before she could open her eyes, he released her, and she heard the hollow sound of his hooves echoing away from her.

Her eyes shot open and found that the old, burning warehouse was gone, now changed to the warm, still destroyed interior of the foyer within Magus’ caravan. Everything was a mess with chairs turned over and part of the floor burnt to a crisp. The only thing that was normal was the blazing fire in the hearth across from her.

Magus seemed to have disappeared into thin air until she noticed a silvery tail snaking out from around the corner of the fireplace. The enchanting melody of the locket sounded moments later as she approached his hiding spot.

“Master?” she quietly said as she neared the corner. “Master—”

“Don’t call me that!” he demanded, stopping her in her tracks. “I don’t deserve such a title. I’m no more a master as I am sound of mind.” A clicking sound put an end to the music.

“Mast—What I mean is—Back at the warehouse you called me—”

“Crystal. I know.”

“Can I ask why? Who…”

“Crystal is…was everything to me. She was a mage who traveled with me for some time. And then…” he paused. Trixie couldn’t see what he was doing, but waited patiently, not wanting to do anything that might make him stop. “Why?” he finally asked. “What have I done to deserve this?” He seemed to be talking to himself. He shifted around, glancing around the corner at her with only a single red eye trained on her from the dark.

“And then you came. A reminder of my foolishness. Like a sick joke to punish me further.” He disappeared again as he said, “I can’t understand it. Why? Why do you have to have that face?”

“A-and the potion?” she asked, trying her best to move past what he said, “What could you possibly gain from doing something like that to yourself?”

“It’s not what I’ll gain…but what I’ll lose.”

“Lose?”

“The potion was meant to alter one’s memory. To make them forget…everything.”

“You mean, you wouldn’t even remember who you are?”

“I had tried making it target a specific memory, but if it ends up erasing everything, then so be it. It’s better than the alternative.”

“But to forget everything about yourself…That’s crazy.”

“To be honest, after everything that’s happened since the start of my research, I would gladly welcome forgetting it all.”

“Your friends, your magic, your way of life? You’d just let all of that go?”

Magus went silent again.

“Trixie, do you remember when you asked me why I try so hard to be alone?”

“I do. You said that you wanted to be alone because you deserved to be.”

“Are you content with your answer now?”

“What?”

“You saw what I became. A blood thirsty monster, wallowing in the past of its own sins. A creature that disregards any violence or destruction it causes while I helplessly watch behind the windows of its eyes. I deserve to be alone so that others may be protected from the animal I become and, deep down, will always be.” He sighed before saying, “Fates, why didn’t I put a barrier around the lab? And tonight of all nights.”

Trixie paused and thought back to the lab and the creation that spawned from it.

“Will you…Will you try it again?” she said, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

“…I shall.”

“After all that? After everything that happened tonight and could’ve happened, you’re actually saying that you’d willingly do it all again? Why? How could you—”

“Trixie, I’ve done this many, many times before your arrival. And each time, I never intend to harm anypony. I’m disgusted by the sheer thought of doing harm whilst in this state. But, I will try again and again, as many times as it takes until I get it right. Until all is forgotten.”

“How? How can you do this time after time? What’s so important that you’d throw away your own life?” She stomped her hoof, now demanding an answer from his reckless behavior.

“…I’m not a kind pony. I left my sense of morality behind long ago.”

“Do you even hear yourself? You are a just pony. What about the Shade. Was that just a fluke?”

“Trixie…” he said, before going briefly going silent. “…The night I first saw you, running through the forest, being chased by timber wolves. Do you know what I was doing before we met?” He was silent, awaiting an answer that he didn’t expect to come. “I was watching you, running, the whole time I watched. I hoped the wolves would take you. Do you hear me? I wanted to see you die!”

Her jaw dropped as she took a step back, shaking her head. She had to have misheard him, he couldn’t be telling the truth.

“You can’t mean that,” she said, openly staring.

“I do. That night I thought I was hallucinating, a trick of my demented mind meant to drive me further into insanity. By helping you, I would only be digging myself deeper into its hold. I thought that when you died, when the delusion died, the nightmare would end. And even if you weren’t an illusion, I still wished you would go away.”

“Then, why…why did you protect me?”

“You used magic. You were no hallucination and I’m obligated to protect you. But, it’s almost over now. My oath to you will be at an end soon. We can finally go our separate ways.”

“What are you talking about? I still have three more days.”

“Three days?” Magus said solemnly. “And do you know how long you’ve been asleep?”

“I…uh…?” She thought for a moment and realized that she really had no idea. It could’ve been a week for all she knew. “I’m not sure,” she reluctantly answered.

“…At sunrise, your time will be up.”

“Sunrise!? But that’s…” she looked to the floor, thinking on how much time she may have left. It could’ve been less than hour away. Discounting the time, she stood tall and said, “I can still make it.”

“Why try? Cut your losses and give up.”

“I won’t!” Her defiant statement got his attention, and he glanced around the corner again. “You told me to trust you, to believe that I would be fine. Isn’t that what you said? I won’t be a failure, no matter what you say.”

“You should be proud. You made it this far, please, just give in to fate.”

“I don’t give a flying feather what fate says. I’m not done!”

He stared at her for a moment before disappearing behind the fireplace again.

“None of us can fight fate. As much as we may want to.”

“I can and I will. You can’t stop me.”

He sighed as he mumbled something to himself.

“Tell me, do you know how our bond works? Do you understand what the ritual we first did was for?”

She didn’t reply and awaited the answer.

Magus’ hoof appeared, rising up as if he were holding an invisible object. With a swift tug at the air, Trixie suddenly felt a pulling sensation take hold as her heart skipped a beat. The motion didn’t move her so much physically, but she could feel something change as if her own spirit was yanked towards him. With wide eyes, she looked down at her chest, trying to find what was attached to her.

With a murmur from Magus, a black chain materialized, leading from her chest to him as it wound around the corner. The chain seemed to be made from smoke, the form of the links rising and moving in the still air.

“This is the mystical link that connects us,” he explained, getting her attention. “Through it, I can feel your pulse, your magic, and even where you are. It is how I knew where you were in Trottingham.”

“This? This is what formed back then?” she said staring at the link protruding from her chest.

“When this chain is severed, your magic will be sealed away and you’ll forget all that you’ve seen, all that you’ve done. Everything will be replaced with false memories and be as if none of it ever happened at all. I only wish that it would do the same to me.” His hoof disappeared again as the chain dissipated.

A pit formed in her stomach and her chest grew tight as it all started to sink in. With a wrinkled brow, her gaze fell to the floor as she clasped one hoof over her foreleg.

‘Where would I go? What would I do?’ her mind raced, jumping from one thought to another. ‘I can’t go back to performing, not after all this. Why…why is this happening…?’

“Please Magus,” she said, tears beginning to well in her eyes, “Don’t do this. Don’t force me to leave.”

“This is for the best.”

With a jingle, a bag flew from the hiding spot and landed a few inches in front of her. The top opened as it hit the ground, spilling a hoofful of shiny gold coins from the generous sum. She looked at the bits for a moment before returning to him.

“That should be more than enough for you to go anywhere you want with plenty left over to start a new life,” he said, “Now please, don’t postpone this any longer. Leave.”

Trixie was speechless for a moment before a fire rose up inside of her.

“You think that money will make this right!?” she said, kicking the bag aside, coins spilling loudly across the floor, “I can learn, just give me a—”

“And when I kill you? What then?” he shouted, dousing her aggression instantly. “You have talent, there’s no denying that. If you had more time and a different teacher, I’d have no doubt of your success. But, sadly that’s not the case.”

A pulsation of magic stirred her senses as a dim, red light illuminated from around the corner of the fireplace. The sensation led her gaze to the front door where a large enchanted circle surrounded the entryway, rotating slowly for a moment before vanishing.

“When you leave,” he said, “the chain will be broken and that will be the end of it all. You’ll wake from a brief daze and be on your way. With luck we’ll never cross paths again.”

“But, Magus…”

Finally, he stepped out from hiding. Taking a few steps towards the stairs, he stopped and glanced over at her.

“I can’t force you to leave till morning, but please, don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

Lowering his head, he made his way to the stairs and when his hoof touched the first step, Trixie took a few, hasty steps in his direction.

“Wait!”

He stopped and looked back at her.

“I…I can’t…” It was all she could get out.

“Trixie, you’re not a failure. I meant it when I said you were a fast learner. You have more potential than you know. Don’t squander it like I did. But I beg you; go, before I hurt you further.” Continuing up the steps, he disappeared.

Trixie watched the top of the stairs, praying that he would come back and wake her from this horrible dream. He didn’t return. She glanced back at the bag of money before taking one last look up the stairs. For the first time in a while, she didn’t know what to do. She dropped to her haunches as her neck appeared to shrink, her head going limp.

“Please…Don’t do this to me,” she whimpered, choking down a sob, “Please…”

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[Omega Delta]

?

[swyrl]

You think you can, but you can’t, you just can’t Crystal!”

oohh nooo. You had me going up until this part, then you had to ruin it by ripping off Finding Nemo.
Referencing stuff is fine, but appropriating one of the most emotional and important scenes and using it as a crutch for your own story just kills it for me. If you want to do something like that, at least bother rephrasing it, though it would be preferable if you worked out your own way of doing it.
I still love your story, but please don't do that again.

[CodeMonkey]

5858355
Wow! Well, I feel foolish.
Honestly, I didn't even notice that. I apologize if it came off that way. Referencing Pixar was not my intention. Thanks for letting me know. I guess I've got some correcting to do. Excuse me...

[swyrl]

5859983 oh sorry, I didn't realize it was unintentional I guess that's partly my fault. Finding Nemo is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I know a lot of it by heart.

[CodeMonkey]

5860940
Oh, don't worry about it. I actually checked out the video for that scene after I saw your comment. It's similar, but it's creepy how close it is. I would've probably guessed the same.
Still, I went ahead and changed the line all the same as, looking at it, the line was a little too similar for my liking. But thanks for telling me regardless. Hopefully I won't accidentally reference something else in the next chapter.