Chapter 23

A Mother’s Test

Grey, Eris, Trixie and Swift walked through the streets of the city. Swift constantly keeping an eye on the young enchantress. Trixie pretended not to notice. As they walked, Trixie took note of the crowds parting the way for them. “Nice to see Trixie getting some respect.” The woman smirked as she crossed her arms under her chest swelling with pride.

“They’re not doing it for you.” Grey said deflating her ego bubble. “Swift here is sort of a city councilmen.”

“So?”

“He also has enough mana to power the whole city for seventy two hours non-stop.” Swift chuckled at the comment.

“Possibly back in my prime, but not so much now. Paperwork and politics take their toll on you.” He chuckled pointing to his faded blonde hair that was once shining like gold. Now it was yellow as a field of wheat. The group soon arrived at an old, blown out building. It looked more like an old cathedral that had been neglected for years and fell into disrepair. The stain glass windows were shattered, the pillars lining the front had several cracks, some weren’t even left standing.

“What a dump.” Both men gave Eris a stern glare.

“You should have seen it during the glory days.” Swift said. “It was a symbol of hope for these people. Now,” He paused for a moment, lamenting about the past. “now it’s just a reminder of what we lost.” Grey walked up to the entrance to see it barricaded not just by rubble, but by a ward spell as well.

“What’s with the ward?” Trixie asked.

“Security. I found out the Guardians were activated not too long ago.” Swift said. “I sealed the entrance to prevent them from getting out.”

“Guardians?”

“They’re a security measure. Should some idiot break in, a series of golems are activated and deal with the intruders. A little something I came up with when it was still running.” He put on a pair of glasses and looked at the seal. “This may take some time to break through.”

“How long?”

“A few hours at most.”

“Trixie does not have time for that.” The woman walked forwards and pointed her wand at the circle.

“Why does she talk in third person?” Swift asked.

“I think it’s a speech impediment.” Grey shrugged. Trixie ignored the comment and put her wand on the seal. she quickly started turning the seals around and rotating parts of the circle that was cut up into eight parts. She sped up her wand movements and her eyes focused on the puzzle.

“And done.” She tapped the center of the circle and it crumbled away. Swift’s jaw dropped as he looked at his seal crumble.

“How in the name of Celestia’s beard did you do that? That was an eight barrier lock. Took me months to make that.”

“Trixie learned from the best.” She said proudly. Grey used and ethereal chainsaw to take down the boards blocking the doors. Grey put his hands on the faded bronze handle and pushed inward. The doors creaked open and sunlight poured through the entrance for the first time in months. The once great hall was in shambles, tables were broken, the large pillars had several cracks in them. It was like a knife in Grey’s heart to see his home like this.

Swift felt his pain as he looked at the rubble. “It pains me deeply to see this once great
hall reduced to this.” The blonde sighed.

“So this is the hall Aurora spoke of.” Trixie said a she looked around the halls.

“That reminds me, how do you know Aurora?” The man asked as he glared at the young woman.

“Trixie....was her apprentice for a time.” She said not wanting to tell him her true relation. “She gave the badge to me in her will.”

“Yes, I heard about that. Such a tragedy.” He said in a hurt tone. “I didn’t hear about it until a month or two after it happened.” The blonde wiped a tear out of his eye and cleared his throat. “Hopefully our presence will go unnoticed.” He said as they made their way through the hall. Eris felt a shiver run down her spine. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it felt as though they were being watched.

As they went deeper into the crumbling building Trixie realized that her, Grey’s and Swift’s badges started glowing. Swift halted and stood still. “What are you-”

“Shh!” He said as he put his hand on the ground. Eris looked down and saw some of the small bits of rubble started shaking. “They are coming.” The ground burst open and the group jumped back while pulling out their wands. A human like figure climbed out of the floor. It was made of rock and hand glowing yellow eyes. It changed it’s arms into battle axe blades and charged at the group.

“Well, time to get serious.” The blonde pulled out his badge and bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood. He wiped his thumb on the seal before slamming it on the ground. A large spell circle appeared under the man’s feet. Yellow light came from the badge and formed a tall man with white hair, with matching goatee. He was wearing a dapper looking suit. Coming from his head were a pair of long horns coming from the front of his scalp and reaching back into a curled formation.

“You rang sir?” It said in a proper tone.

“Capricorn, if you’d be so kind as to help with these pests.” The butler nodded and with a few swift kicks and punches, the golem shattered. Trixie could feel her heart beating and sighed trying to calm herself.

“Trixie,” The mage turned her head towards Grey. “can I have my hand back?” Trixie looked down and saw that in the sudden attack, she grabbed the man’s hand. Her face flushed red and quickly let go.

“L-Let’s just keep moving.” She said with a huff.

“So who’s the goat?” Eris asked looking at the dapper figure.

“He’s my partner you could say.” Swift started. “There were two types of badges in this guild; normal ones made of metal and ones like mine, Grey’s and Trixie’s. With these you can make a contract with a zodiac spirit. Hence the name of the guild.” He turned to the man. “Mine is Capricorn, the goat.” The butler gave a bow at the words.

“So how many of these things are there?” Eris asked.

“Twelve. Each representing one of the zodiac constellations.”

“So how do I get mine to do that?” Trixie asked looking at the figure.

“You have to prove yourself worthy.” He said as they continued through the ruined building. Their steps echoed through the empty halls of the once great guild. They encountered a few more golems but dealt with them quietly. The group soon came upon a large metal door with star constellations etched into the door. Swift pushed the large doors open to show a large stone round table with twelve seats around it.

At the far end of the table was a larger chair than the others. “What’s this place?” Trixie asked.

“The meeting hall. This is where the twelve captains would consult one another on important guild affairs.” Swift said as he touched the wooden surface. Eris looked around the room and saw several portraits hanging up. All the photos had at least twelve people in them. Eris didn’t recognize most of them, but the last three showed a girl with blood red hair, a man with black hair and sapphire blue eyes and in between them was a familiar white haired mage.

“Hey Grey, found your photo.” Grey walked over to the girl and looked at it. “So you were big shot in the guild huh?”

“That was a long time ago.”

“The date on the photo says it’s from five years ago.”

“For people like us five years is a lifetime.” Swift said as he put his hand on the desk. “We should keep moving.”

~~~

Canterlot Castle.

Royal Guard Training Ground.

The recruits were gathered in a ring around a sparring circle. A tall man with dark brown hair was kicked to the ground by Scarlet. The man panted and wiped his chin. “Enough.” The drill sergeant said. Scarlet relaxed and stood still. “You think you’re host shit don’t you girl? You think you have what it takes to be a Royal Guard just because you can fight?”

Scarlet was used to getting tongue lashed by the sergeants who didn’t like the fact that their noble relatives who couldn’t hold a sword straight were getting beaten by a girl of low birth. “Let’s see how you handle something a bit more difficult. Bolt, Crag, Comet. Spar with our little celebrity.” Three large, muscular men stepped into the ring. each of them cracked their wrists and neck. The group of recruits whispered about Scarlet’s odds.

“Ready? Begin.” The three charged at her and each swung a fist at the woman. Scarlet ducked and slammed her fists into two of the men’s ribs. Scarlet jumped back as the third one threw a haymaker at her. Scarlet relaxed her posture. Someone from the crowd tossed the three men some wooden sparring swords. The trio smirked and picked up the weapons.

“Good. Now its fair.” Scarlet smirked. The three grunted and slashed at her. Scarlet quickly side stepped the first one and brought her knee up to meet the man’s gut. He coughed and dropped the wooden weapon.

Scarlet turned and caught the sword before it his the ground. She turned around with just enough time to block another one of the men’s swords. The man was clearly stronger than the redhead and he was bearing down on her while the other man charger at her. Scarlet adjusted her footing and redirected his blow to the ground. She side stepped the charger and gripped his wrist and slammed her knee into his hands.

He grunted in pain and Scarlet bashed the side of his head with the hilt of the sword. He crumpled to the ground like a sack of bricks. She picked up his tool and turned her attention to the last one. Scarlet went on the offensive and unleashed a storm of quick jabs and slashes that the man could barely block. Scarlet kept up the pace and delivered a strong blow to the man’s hands making him drop the sword. She pointed one of the swords at the man’s chest. He grunted and put both his hands up signaling his forfeit.

Scarlet smirked and stuck the three wooden tools to the ground as she walked out towards the rest of the group. One of the men charged at her and slammed his fist into her right cheek. Scarlet staggered to the left as he came around for another blow. Her emerald eyes flashed and she caught the man’s fist in her hand that was black as night. There was a loud crunching noise as she closed her fingers around his fist.

“That hurt.” She hissed as she caught his other fist that was meeting the same result as his other hand. She applied more force and slowly bent him to his knees.

“Enough!” A voice bellowed. The recruits parted the way to show Captain Armor being escorted by two golems in guard armor. Scarlet and the rest stood at attention as he approached them.

“C-Captain Armor.” The drill sergeant said as he stood as stiff as a board.

“What is the meaning of this Sergeant?” His blue eyes piercing him like hot butter.

“This recruit was-”

“Defending herself from another recruit who obviously has some trouble controlling himself.” He said looking at the attacker who now had mangled hands. “Everyone is dismissed. That’s an order.” The recruits saluted and started going about their business. “Not you private.” Shining said looking at Scarlet. The redhead halted and turned to face the captain. “I want to speak with you.” He gestured for her to follow him.

“Of course sir.” She said as she started walking with the captain. The two golems lagged behind on Shining’s orders so the two might have some privacy.

“I apologize for Sergeant Iron’s behavior. He shouldn’t have pitted you against those three.”

“Nothing I can’t handle sir.” Shining chuckled.

“I can see that. You’ve got quite a talent. You certainly didn’t learn to fight like that from our instructors.” He chuckled.

“I learned from a crazy old buzzard.” She smirked.

“Now that hurts.” Scarlet and Shining both froze at the sound of a some-what familiar voice. They heard two slashing sounds and turned to see the two golems on the ground missing their heads. Scarlet’s eyes shrank as she saw Owl holding one of the golem’s heads.

“Owl?” Scarlet said in surprise.

“You just destroyed two prototypes that costs dozens of man hours into making.” Shining said with a huff. Owl looked down at the bodies and shrugged.

“Fancy toys you got here. Yet I can barely tell the difference between these puppets and actual guards.” He said as the head turned to dust in his hands. Shining bit his lip and clenched his fist. Owl reached into his coat and pulled out a flask and took a swig. “Frankly that’s not my opinion of people of your caliber Armor. You’re more of a dog on a leash.” A small crowd started to gather around the commotion.

“I suggest you shut that beak of yours before I do it for you.” Shining hissed.

“Scary.” Owl chuckled as he pocketed the flask and pointed his cane at the guard. “Let’s see if your bark is as big as your bite mutt.” Once second Shining was standing beside Scarlet, the next he was a foot away from Owl with his saber drawn. Owl swatted the blade away with his cane like it was a nat. Shining quickly started slashing at the older man. Owl simply adjusted his footing and dodged the blows with ease all the while holding his grin. Shining jumped back as Owl brought down his cane. A large crater formed as the cane’s end hit the stone.

Shining panted and ran his magic through the blade giving it a rose pink color. Owl relaxed his stance and made the bring it on gesture with his free hand. With grit teeth, Shining charged and aimed for the man’s chest.

“Captain Armor!” Shining stopped with the blade an inch away from the man’s chest. He turned to see Princess Celestia standing with her arms folded under her chest and an irritated look on her face.

“Princess Celestia.” He said as he lowered his sword.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“He started-”

“Don’t even try it. You attacked me.” Owl said taking another swig from his flask.

“Is that right?” Celestia looked at the captain.

“Yes, your highness.” He said through grit teeth.

“That’s a good boy. Maybe now she’ll give you a treat.”

“And you.” Celestia narrowed her eyes on the man. “We’ll discuss this in my office.” Shining ordered the group that had gathered to go back to their business before following Celestia, while Scarlet walked up to the man.

“Nice to see you kid.” Owl smirked at Scarlet.

“What are you doing here Owl?” She chuckled.

“I could ask you the same thing kiddo. Don’t tell me you joined these clowns.” Scarlet sighed and hung her head in defeat. “You’re too good a person to get involved with these people.”

“Owl!” Celestia barked.

“We’ll talk later.” He said as he ruffled her hair. Scarlet pouted and shook her head as Owl walked towards Celestia. The two didn’t say a word to another as they walked through the pristine halls of the castle. The doors to Celestia’s office opened to show Luna, Cadence and Armor waiting for them.

“What were you thinking?” Luna barked. “If you were in the Royal Guard you’d be courtmartialed and shot!”

“If I was in your guard I’d shoot myself.” Shining clenched his fist at the disrespect.

“Captain Armor, you should know better then to escalate the situation.” Celestia said as she sat at her desk.

“But-”

“However, you should know better than to goad him.” Shifting her focus on Owl.

“Sorry mom.” His tone was dripping in sarcasm. Celestia groaned and rested her head on her folded hands.

“Now why are you here?”

“I’m here because some of my birds have been squawking.” He took another sip from his flask. “In fact my reports say that something big is coming this way and I’m here to make sure you don’t botch this info like the last time I decided to help you.”

“What are you-”

“The Changeling invasion.” Owl cut Shining off. The Prince grumbled and crossed his arms. “I warned you about a possible invasion and what happened? Right, the Queen replaced your fiancé and almost took over Canterlot.” He took another sip from his flask. “You tightened your grip and that only made it easier for Chrysalis and her forces to slip through your defenses.”

“What were we supposed to do?” Luna interjected.

“What I told you to do; be patient and don’t panic. When you tightened the guard it put the people and your soldiers go on edge, which made it infinitely easier for her to slip behind your lines.”

“We have security taken care of. We’ve got some of our best recruits on he job.” Shining stated.

“Great. Green horns.” Owl rolled his eye. “Another thing, quit pestering my former students. Grey and Scarlet don’t need it.”

“Students?” Celestia said.

“Scarlet Rose is in the Royal Guard is she not?”

“Wait, you trained her too?” Celestia asked.

“You know how I work. I train them in pairs. Granted she started later than Grey did, but she was a good student.”

“So you know his past?” Shining asked.

“I do and before you even ask, no. It’s not my story to tell and if you pester the girl about it then so help me I will knock you down so hard people in Griffonia will feel the vibrations.” Shining hissed at the threat. “Why are you so obsessed with him anyway? The past is in the past and that’s where things should stay.”

“Just trying to make sure you didn’t teach another pair of lunatics.” All eyes fell on the guard captain and a long silence fell over the room. Owl let out a puff of air and vanished from sight. The next thing Shining felt was his own blade being pressed against his neck. Shining dare not gulp or move for he knew better than anyone how sharp he made his saber.

Owl hissed as he put a little pressure on the blade making a small bit of blood appear on his skin. The azure guard winced at feeling his own blade cut his flesh. Celestia stood up, her wings and eyes flaring. “Owl enough!” Celestia said standing up. Owl withdrew the sword and tossed it on the ground before storming away.

“Keep in mind that if you keep opening that big mouth of yours that a hawk might swoop down and take your tongue.” He hissed as he turned to leave. “I’ll be at the Gala on my own volition. Keep your people off me. There’ll be more vacant beds in the infirmary that way.” He left with a wave of his hand and the doors slammed shut behind him.

~~~

Swift and Capricorn stayed in the office trying to find a way to shut down the Golems while Grey, Trixie and Eris ventured deeper into the guild. Grey kept his wand out in the event of more of the automatons showing up. Sure enough, more of the golems came out of the rock and the group stated firing blasts from their wands.

Several of the golems changed their arms into cannons and fired blasts of mana at them Grey pulled out an ethereal blade and started deflecting them with swift circular motions. He managed to redirect several of the blasts back at the guardians, making them shatter. The group quickly ran through the hall before getting to a wide open area that looked similar to small sparring arena.

“Um Grey, we’ve got company.” Eris pointed to more of the guardians coming from behind the group. Eris and Trixie were doing their best to shoot them down before they got closer to them. One managed to slip through and slammed it’s stone fist into the girl’s stomach, knocking her wand out of her hand and her back to the ground. As the golem closed in, Trixie’s badge shined brightly and caught the guardian’s attention. As it stared at the shining object, it’s eyes turned blue and it gripped it’s head in pain.

The other golems stopped their assault as they saw the golem cry out in agony. The badge levitated a moment before latching itself onto the golem and swallowing it in blue light. The guardian’s form changed and gained a more feminine physique. It also grew long silver hair and light blue robes cloaked it’s body. It’s stone skin turned pale and more like that of a person. The golem dropped to one knee and raised a hand.

“Pests.” It said before snapping her fingers and making all the golem’s head shatter. Trixie froze as the figure turned it’s head, showing it’s light purple eyes, her face was flawless safe for a small scar under her left eye, yet it didn’t detract from her appearance. Trixie dropped to her knees and shivered. The words in her mouth turned to ash. “Hello Trixie.” The figure smiled.

“M-mom.” Trixie said as the figure hugged her. “H-How? How is this possible?”

“When you make a contract, like I did when I was with the guild, a piece of yourself remains inside.” Aurora smiled. “But now that I’ve exposed myself I won’t last much longer.” She sighed as she let go and walked away from the woman. “I wanted so much for you Trixie. I wanted to see you grow into the mage I always knew you’d become.”

“All thanks to your teachings.” Trixie sniffled. The woman smiled as she looked at her.

“Well I’m happy to see you’ve made some friends.” She said looking at Eris and Grey.

“Making a lot of assumptions there.” Grey kicked the woman in the shin. “Ow!”

“I suppose there’s only one thing I can do now.” The woman walked to the other side of the sparring area and let out a sigh. “Draw your wand.”

“Wh-what?” Trixie said in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“I can’t simply give you the power. You have to win it from me.” Trixie was shaking as she stood up. There were too many emotions running through her mind for her to focus. Grey took one step forwards but was stopped by Aurora putting up a dome shield around her and Trixie.

Trixie hesitantly pulled out her wand and tried to get her mind right. The figure pulled out her wand and shot a spell at the performer who dodged out of the way. The second blast made contact with Trixie and knocked her to the ground. “I taught you better than that.”

The performer shook her head and stood up before firing a magic blast. Aurora redirected the bolts back at her daughter with ease. Trixie threw up a shield at the last second. Her feet slid backwards as the blasts hit the barrier. Grey took a step forwards. “Trixie. I know she may look like your mother, but it’s not. It’s just a golem using her form to test you.”

“Shut up! Like you have any idea what it’s like to fight your mother.” Trixie hissed as she shot a more powerful blast at the golem. Swift scratched his chin as he watched the two carefully. Grey raised an eyebrow as he noticed the larger output of power. Trixie focused her magic and shot volley after volley at the golem that either deflected or dodged the blasts. Trixie counterattacked and managed to knock Aurora off balance just enough for her to gather a large amount of magic and shot the bolt at the golem.

Aurora felt h magic bolt his her and her body started to crack from the pressure of the blast. “Not bad Trixie, not bad. I definitely trained you well, but it’s going to take much more than that to beat me.” She stuck her hand out and Trixie’s badge flew out of her pocket and into her hand. The badge glowed brightly and slammed it down onto the ground. A large blue spell circle appeared from under her feet.

“Oh no. This is bad.” Cerulean gulped.

“What?” Eris asked.

“She’s summoning her partner!” A figure made of blue light soon hovered out of the circle and the circle vanished. The light faded from the figure faded and it took the form of a woman with long dark blue hair, her lower half was a long tail covered in rainbow colored scales. In her right hand was a large golden jar with two wavy lines etched into the side.

“It’s been a while Aquarius.” Aurora grinned.

“Never thought I’d see you again.” The spirit smiled. She turned her head to see Trixie. “Who’s the brat?”

“My daughter. She’s trying to take my place.” Aquarius looked back at her master and then back at Trixie before cracking a smile. The performer gulped as she stared at the creature.

“Oh this should be entertaining.” The mermaid put the jar on her shoulder and aimed it at Trixie. water swirled inside the jar.

“Trixie dodge!” Grey exclaimed as a focused stream of water was shot from the jar. Trixie summersaulted out of the way as the water blast hit the floor. The volume and force of the liquid chipped away the stone floor. Another blast shot at the performer. Trixie threw up a barrier, but the water cut through it like butter.

The water was boiling hot and singed Trixie’s right arm. She yelled out in pain as she felt the water scorch her flesh. Aurora looked away and grit her teeth at the scream. “Get up Trixie. You have to win this!” Trixie grunted as she stood up and shot a few volleys at the spirit. Aquarius smirked and sucked the blasts into the jar.

The spirit shot two bigger blasts back at the performer that exploded just in front of her, knocking her off her feet again. She winced as pain shot through her body. She propped herself up on one knee and panted heavily. “This is beyond Trixie.”

“Giving up so easily?” Aurora said with a shake of her head. “I suspected much more from you Trixie. If this is the extent of your power than you will never truly become great and powerful.” Trixie’s body shook as she clenched her fist. “If you’re just going to sit there like a frightened child then so be it! Aquarius, finish this.” The spirit gathered more of the boiling water and shot it at the performer. Trixie stood up and didn’t move.

The water enveloped the girl and the sound of hissing could be heard. Only a scorch mark remained where Trixie once stood. Heavy mist encroached on the arena. Aurora could barely see three feet in front of her. A blast of magic came from the mist that slammed into Aurora’s back. More blasts came from the sides and front.

Aurora kept her senses sharp and deflected more blasts that came from the mist. “Enough of this game!” She pointed her wand to the ground and fired a pulse that pushed the mist from sight. As the fog cleared, Aurora saw that there were at least a dozen of the performers standing in a circle around her. “Impressive,” She smiled. “but not good enough I’m afraid.” A pulse erupted from her body making all the clones burst into smoke. The real Trixie was nowhere to be found.

Aurora looked around to try to find her opponent yet only saw the empty floor along with the barrier. A bright bolt of pink lightning came down and shocked the spirit before it passed to it’s master. Aurora cried out in pain as she felt the magic rip at her body. The lightning made cracks formed along her arms, face and legs. Trixie reappeared on the far side of the barrier. Something was different about her, her body was tense, but not enough to hinder her and there was an air of power around her.

What was most different was her eyes. Where uncertain lavender once lay was now replaced by a pristine blue. Six tailed dots circled the lavender pupil with their tails pointing towards the center. A smile cracked across the older woman’s face as she stared into her daughter’s new eyes. “I see. So you’ve managed to finish what I started.”

“Finished and perfected.” Trixie said as she vanished from sight.

“We’ll see.” She looked at Aquarius and gave her a nod. The spirit understood and flew next to her. Their bodies started to glow and draw close to one another before becoming one. A blinding flash of light blinded the spectators and shielded their eyes with their arms. Grey blinked several times as his sight returned. “Oh no.”

“What?” Eris’s question was answered as she looked at the woman. The spirit was gone, but the woman’s lower half was now engulfed in a swirling cyclone of water. There were blue fins coming out from behind her ears and scale like armor covered her shoulders, hands and arms. She clutched a large vase in her left hand and a long trident in her right.

Her eyes were a deeper blue than any ocean and bore three spheres circling the pupil in an endless cycle. Aurora struck the ground with the back end of the trident and sent out a shockwave of water. The liquid splashed against Trixie’s form and with a wave of the trident, grabbed her by the leg and threw her against the barrier. Trixie coughed up blood and writhed on the ground in pain as she clutched her stomach in pain. The water user pointed the vase at the downed woman and blasted her weakened body with a torrent of magic. Eris looked away as she heard Trixie cry out in pain.

Grey made an ethereal sword and tried slashing at the barrier. The shield responded by blasting him against the wall. Grey shook his head and knew that Trixie’s pain was far more painful than the shock he felt. After the blasts subsided, Aurora fell to one knee and steadied herself on the trident. Trixie was on the ground motionless as the woman’s armor and weapons vanished.

Aurora walked closer to Trixie and looked at her body on the ground. As she knelt down the body vanished in a puff of smoke. Before she could react, a large spell circle formed under her feet. She spun around to see Trixie with her want pointed at her. Her breath was heavy and she was barely on her feet. “Trixie will surpass you!” The circle crackled with magic before it exploded in a light that could rival the stars.

Trixie dropped her wand and steadied herself on he knees. It had taken nearly everything she had to set up the trap. Balancing her illusion spell with a clone and explosive ward had taken it’s toll. Her magic was almost completely depleted. The woman felt conflicted. she should feel happy, proud and relief at vanquishing her foe, but the emotion she felt more than anything was despair.

“Was this the victory you imagined?” The woman’s pupils were the size of pin tips. She raised her head to see movement from the blast area. Slowly Aurora stood up with a long staff in hand. There were several more cracks along her body and face.

Aurora slowly strode forwards as Trixie who was in disbelief, she had put everything she had left into that attack. She backed away from the mage until her back was against the barrier. She attempted to raise her wand to defend herself, but little to no strength remained. The performer was shaking as Aurora drew closer and closer to her.

Aurora was inches from Trixie’s frightened face. Unable to watch, Trixie slammed her eyes closed and waited for the inevitable. She did not feel a crushing blow to her head, nor a blast of magic against her body, but a soft kiss against her forehead. She cracked open her eyes to see her mother smiling. “You did very well Trixie.”

More cracks appeared on her body. The barrier around the sparring arena started to crumble. Grey and Eris quickly went towards the two.“I knew you could do it. I apologize for being so rough with you, but it was necessary.” Trixie slowly reached up and hugged the woman as she cried into her shoulder. “I-I missed you so much.” She sniffled.

“And I you, but you mustn’t dread on the past.” Aurora ran a hand through her daughter’s hair.

“I-It was my fault that-” A slap to the face silenced Trixie.

“It was not!” Aurora said with fire in her eyes. “I told you to run and I protected you.”

“If I had gone with you-”

“You would have been killed and I wasn’t about to let an overgrown bear take my daughter from me.” She hugged her daughter and felt tears running down her face. “There’s so much I wish I could tell you, but I haven’t the time.” Trixie looked up at her mother as the cracks became more prevalent. “Just know that I love you and I’ll always be with you.” with those last words her body started breaking apart and crumbling like the other golems. Soon all that was left was dust and amidst the pile the was the badge.

The events of the day took their toll on the woman and she collapsed into unconsciousness. The two bystanders quickly went to check on the performer. The doors to the area burst open to show Swift with his wand drawn. “What in the name of Luna is going on around here?” He noticed the collapsed performer and put his wand back inside his coat pocket.

“Trixie just passed the test.” Grey said as he put his fingers to her throat and checked her pulse. “She’s fine. Just used up too much magic, again.”

“Can we please get out of this freaky place?” Eris whined.

“Agreed. You got rid of the golems?”

“Yes, I managed to give the order for them to stand down and not to attack anyone.” He said as Grey picked up Trixie and made his way out of the old guild hall.

~~~

Trixie groaned as she opened her eyes. She felt like she had been trampled by an elephant stampede. She was on a twin sized bed and hooked up to an IV. The door to the room opened to show the silver eyed mage, his chaotic partner and the former guild master. “Welcome back from the brink.” Grey smiled.

“What happened?”

“You pushed yourself too far, again. On the bright side, you won.” Trixie tried to move, but she recoiled in pain and cursed under her breath. “You need to rest Trixie.”

“Grey’s right. Your body needs to recover from the thrashing you received.” Swift said as he took a chair and sat beside her bed. He squinted and glared at the girl’s eyes.

“Trixie would appreciate having some personal space.”

“Your eyes. They’re the same as Aurora’s.” Trixie turned her head not in the mood for playing games. She could tell that he wasn’t going to back off with the questions.

“It’s common for a daughter to resemble her mother.” The man sat back in his chair and sighed.

“I suspected as much.” His eye held sadness and grief. “If what you’re saying is true-”

“It is true.” Trixie snapped at the man.

“Then I suppose that makes me your father.”

Author's Note

Here is a better look at what Trixie's eyes look like.

And here it the symbol in Aurora's eyes

I mostly based Owls character off of these guys.
Colonel Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

And this little shit.

Yeah I mean you. You drunk.
Qrow from RWBY.