Ch. 2: Forces Collide

The opposing unicorn known as Trixie approached Twilight, the air of confidence about her heavy in the air. "Of course, who else do you think it would be?" She scoffed a little, yet gave Twilight a piercing glare.

Twilight took a few steps back. "Well I- but that means it was you who dragonnapped Spike and left that note !" The surprise was apparent in her voice, though her expression quickly changed to that of confusion. "..but why!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Trixie responded, a heavy tone of sarcasm to her voice, as she circled the unicorn. "I needed to separate you from the rest of your so-called friends. This is between you and me, and Trixie doesn't want any of THEM interfering."

Twilight gulped hard as she kept an eye on Trixie the best she could. So many questions were rushing through her head, very few which she could answer herself. Was she wrong for going out into the forest without her friends? ..maybe, but the letter had said to come alone - what if she brought the others and hurt Spike? But since it's Trixie, would she really hurt Spike? And why was Trixie back anyway? Was she angry over the incident with he Ursa Minor? It's possible that-. Her thoughts were cut short, as the blue-coated unicorn placed its forehead against hers, causing her to back up slightly.

"Trixie is going to make you pay for what you did, you worthless little foal. For all the pain you caused me!" There was a certainty to her words, which were laced with venom so powerful it could make even the largest, most fearsome of creatures from the Everfree Forest back down from their strength. Her eyes were filled with a rage unlike anything Twilight had experienced in her life, causing her to avert her gaze and back away - just looking at those eyes made her feel like she was being cut clear to her soul.

"I-I'm sorry.. if this is about the Ursa Minor thing, I really didn't-"

"The Ursa Minor? Do you really think Trixie is angry over THAT? Oh no no no." She stepped forward towards the equine, intensifying her glare. "This is about MUCH more than that stupid bear!" Her horn glowed, as the rocks and twigs around her lifted, aiming towards Twilight. "This is about me getting revenge for ruining my life!"

"B-but wait! We didn't even meet before then, how-" She was cut off as one of the levitating rocks flew by her, grazing her cheek. She flenched a bit, placing a hoof to it to stop the small trickle of blood that began flowing. Twilight braced herself - she didn't know what Trixie was going on about it, but she knew things were getting serious.

Trixie threw more of the forest's items at her, which Twilight dodged in a clumsy fashion. This caused a rather wide grin to creep across Trixie's face - her foe was nimble, but obviously not very athletic, something which worked to her advantage. A few of the items she threw met their marks, though they cased only light scratches.

Twilight took a moment to catch her breath - Trixie was skilled with her telekinesis, something she had forgotten from their last encounter. Whatever her reasoning, she knew that she was serious. She had to fight back, if not for her own safety then for the safety of Spike. Her horn glowed as she lifted the objects Trixie had attacked with and threw them back at blinding speeds aiming for her head. She didn't want to hurt her, but if she could at least knock her unconscious..

..but Trixie was already prepared for that as a puff of smoke appeared. When it cleared, the rocks and twigs had missed their target, which was currently standing above the cave's entrance again. 'Ha! You'll have to be faster than that if you ever hope to win against Trixie!" she taunted, jumping back down. Almost on-cue, one of the rocks flew back, smacking her in the back of the head, and pushing her hat over her eyes. Her horn glowed as she readjusted it, only to be met with one striking her in the forehead. This only seemed to infuriate her, as she slung the debris back.

"Wow, she's stronger than I thought.." Twilight muttered to herself, moving a piece of bark between her and the projectiles. "I'm really going to have to..." She braced herself, her horn glowing a bright shade of white. There was a rumbling noise, as a nearby tree was pulled from its roots. Twilight was already visibly sweating from the sheer amount of effort it took to muster this sort of power, but she threw the foliage at Trixie full force.

Trixie was surprised by the amount of magical force behind such an action, so much so that she barely had time to dodge what would have been sure to be a crushing blow. Some of the branches and bark caught against her, giving her some cuts around her flank and back, tearing her cape. "Rrrr.. you... .. Trixie is going to get you for that!" She screamed in rage, and charged headfirst at Twilight.

Twilight barely had enough time to catch her breath from her efforts before she saw Trixie right on her. Her horn glowed a bright shade of purple as she shielded her self with a telekinetic barrier. Trixie's horn glowed a similar color as they locked horn to horn, barrier to barrier. The two unicorns focused their power into the barriers.

"You're as powerful as she said you were." Trixie growled, pressing harder. "But the problem with YOU is that YOU don't know how to use your power. Not like Trixie does. You still don't have full control over it!"

Twilight flinched - was it true what she said? Had they known each other before and she just.. forgot? Either way, she knew Trixie was right. She knew a wide variety of magic, but couldn't exactly say she had a mastery over any one of them. She could barely even teleport a few feet at any given time. She had the power, but not the control over it, but that didn't mean she was going to back down.

The two unicorns continued pressing against each other, the raw magical energy sparking off and striking the landscape around them. They seemed to be evenly-matched - the raw power and focused power colliding with such violent outbursts that Twilight feared they might set the forest on fire. However, Twilight felt herself begin to waver, the overwhelming stress of the situation causing control over her power to begin to wane. She felt herself begin to crack under the pressure as her field began to destabilize.

Finally, it collapsed. Twilight's telekinetic barrier crumbled, but the equine hadn't the chance to react to this. Before she could even try to recollect herself, Trixie focused the magical energy she was putting into her defense and repurposed it into an enormous telekinetic blast. The force of it sent Twilight flying through the forest, literally breaking through a tree or two, before slamming into a large boulder.

The equine crumbled to the forest floor. Her body was sore from horn to tail, and she was sure she could feel a wet spot forming at the base of her skull. She tried to stand or even heal her injuries, but her body wouldn't respond. The fight had taken a lot out of her, and she would have to struggle if she were to at least manage to put up a defense.

She didn't have the chance, however. Trixie appeared on the scene. The unicorn slowly walked towards her, relishing every moment of her certain victory. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do this." she spoke in a cold tone, dropping the stage act in lieu of an oddly-chilling regular way of speaking. " Here I thought I was finally managing to get over it in Ponyville, when your name popped up." Her horn glowed, as Twilight was lifted from the ground, pressed against the boulder. "Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn who replaced me as Celestia's star student."

Twilight coughed slightly, but managed to look Trixie in the eyes. ".. replaced..? I didn't.."

Trixie's horn flashed blue, causing a squeak of pain to come from Twilight's throat. ".. so here we are. I can't believe what an opportunity I had. You're so gullible, Twilight. Brave, but stupid." she spoke, her sarcasm returning for a brief moment before fading. She concentrated, and piece of circular glass appeared from beneath the unicorn's hat, breaking into a number of sharp pieces, slowly spinning in a circle around Trixie's horn as she neared Twilight. "So, Celestia's prized pupil. Any last words?" she asked, the same venomous quality to her voice.

Though a bit light of breath, Twilight managed to speak. "... I'm sorry ... I didn't know ... what I did to you. I'm sorry.."

Trixie closed her eyes. Twilight could sense an emotional pain welling up inside her adversary. "... 'sorry' won't undo what you did, Twilight. But your death is a good start." The shards of glass turned on an invisible axis, aiming straight at the injured unicorn. She almost fired the shards, when a powerful voice echoed through the forest.

"Stop, this instant!"

The familiarity of it caused Trixie to both drop the glass and her victim. The voice - it was familiar, one she hadn't heard in years. She turned slightly to look at its source..