Showmare

Alright, so now I have a new scapegoat slave edit monkey editor. KommandoLando. So if you see something wrong with this, go wring his ass out. Cause I'm just too lazy to do it.

Trixie had to agree with Swift. Running was one of the most annoying ways to spend free time. She was only going for three miles, but one mile was all it took for her to get tired. Still, she had to keep going; her stamina had to be kept high. So, with a mile and a half to go, Trixie was panting her way through the exhaustion with determination. At least she wasn’t going overboard like New Guy had.

One thing Trixie had found about running, was that even with burning limbs and lungs, thinking was not deterred. Remembering New Guy only made her mind anchor itself onto him. And so, her thoughts turned towards the stallion, and the most recent conversation she had with him.

To be honest, she did not like what she had just agreed to. Training a potential opponent inside her league was not the brightest idea in the first place. Training him to fight a unicorn(which, last she checked, she was one) seemed even worse. Every rational corner of her head was clamoring for her attention, arguing the morbid and wholly realistic outcome of taking this course of action.

Yet, there was one thought. One stationary and relentless thought, that held back the waves of negative possibilities. ‘You are the only one I can trust.’ That one phrase stood its ground, anchoring itself in Trixie’s mind. It played over and over again, until she was almost sure she was muttering it.

‘Why?’ she kept asking herself. ‘Why would he think like that? Why would he say that?’ It had seemed so unreal at the time, and each time she thought of it, it only grew more strange. She could not think of any reason for him to trust her, or why she should help him simply because of it. She found herself thinking circles, and not making any new progress on the issue. In fact, she had been thinking so deeply, that the distance that she had run did not register to her, until she was half-a-mile past her goal.

Trixie slowed herself to a walk, allowing her breathing and heart rate to start settling back to their normal tempos. Setting her course to head back to her room, she came to a conclusion. She was asking her questions to the wrong person. Instead of frustrating herself, she decided that she would have to ask the source of her confusion. Tonight. Whether he wanted to answer or not.

**********

After her run, Trixie went straight to bed. Knowing that she would be up late, she figured that some extra sleep to tie her over would help. Not to mention, the added bonus of avoiding other fighters. Especially Swift and Gunner. She did not want to let it slip what was planned for the night. Not after what was said earlier.

Despite her fears that it would happen, Trixie’s sleep was unhampered by any nightmares, or even dreams. If it wasn’t for the slight numbness in her limbs, and the lethargy she felt, she wouldn’t have known she even fell asleep. Channeling the natural forces of magic through her horn, Trixie used an ancient, but common, spell to check the positions of the sun and moon. She found that she had conveniently slept through to half-an-hour before the training. With that knowledge in hand, she pulled herself out of bed, and headed out to the training room.

All the questions that plagued her mind during the run, came back in full force, as Trixie walked forward. Her anxiety steadily grew with each step, making her wonder more and more about how exactly she planned to confront New Guy. He didn’t seem to be that sociable, and hasn’t been too keen on answering questions from others.

‘You’re the only one I can trust.’

Though, she did seem to have an advantage over anybody else. At least, she hoped that was an advantage. It was the only way she could see him giving her any sort of answer. It was the only chip she had to bet.

So, with questions and a healthy amount of stress filling her mind, Trixie walked on until she found herself inside the doorway of the training room. By habit, she took a sweeping glance at the entire room. She didn’t find anything that she didn’t expect. The weights were in place, the bags were hanging, the practice ring was empty, and New Guy was laying down in the corner with his eyes closed. Almost exactly like he was yesterday. It made Trixie wonder just how long he actually sat there during the day.

Looking at him, she figured she might as well get his attention. But before she could speak up, New Guy’s ears twitched once, and his eyes shot open. Almost instantly, they focused on Trixie, burrowing at her with his typical icy stare. They sat there for a moment, Trixie not really sure how to react. Thankfully, she did not have to make the first move, as he stood up and walked over to where she standing. When he reached two arms lengths away from her, he stopped and nodded, signaling a greeting. She returned the gesture, nodding back her own greeting.

Then came the silence. Trixie started to notice that she was having a hard time coming up with something to say. She had been planning on straight up getting to the questions that had been bouncing in her mind. Though, she was finding it difficult to actually say. Especially when she was standing in front of New Guy, who hadn’t moved since their nod exchange. He just stayed where he was, staring at her in cold patience. To Trixie, it was unnerving.

‘Wait.’ she thought. Trixie was getting nervous. About talking to a guy. Nervous about talking to New Guy. ‘Meanwhile, you and whatever-his-name-is will be busy making out in some grungy hotel room.’ She was really regretting talking to Swift.

After a few long moments of silence, New Guy took the first course of action. “What do I need to do?”

The question jarred Trixie back to the situation in front of her. (And interrupted a nice fantasy of beating Swift.) Looking around, she settled her eyes on the empty ring that took up half of the room. It wasn’t much; The floor was just a big mat, which was roped off from the rest of the room by a thick wire. But it was perfect for what Trixie had in mind.

“Follow me,” she said, turning towards the ring. As she headed to it, New Guy fell in step behind her. After taking a moment to get over the wire, Trixie took position in the center of the ring, facing New Guy.

Putting the questions aside, Trixie looked straight at the stallion across from her, smirking confidently. “So,” she said, “You want to know how to fight a unicorn?” A single nod was the response she received. “Well then, Trixie hopes you’re ready. Because she will not play nice with you. To start with, Trixie will use some basic attacks. All you have to do, is defend. Think you can handle it?” Another nod. “We’ll see.”

A greyish-magenta aura surrounded Trixie’s horn as she channeled magical energy outwards. She focused on surrounding New Guy with the aura, who was tensing up in anticipation of an attack. Baring his teeth in frustration, he darted his eyes back and forth, reflexively trying to catch any sign of where the assault could come from.

With New Guy surrounded in the pulsing glow of her magic, Trixie watched as he tried his hardest to prepare for an attack he couldn’t see. In all honesty, she wanted to laugh. Though, she couldn’t blame him. Knowing that an attack was coming was stressful, but not being able to even guess what would happen was killer to instincts. But she wasn’t here to sympathize with him. She was here to train him. So, she attacked.

To Trixie, it was amusing. All she did was give a simple magical push to his side, but New Guy’s reaction was almost theatrical. His eyes widened, and his body flexed in surprise. Two of his legs lost contact with the ground, leaving him tilted in the air. After a brief moment, New Guy moved his hooves that were contacting the ground away from the push, in an awkward shuffle to reset his balance. After a moment of shifting, all four of his legs were back on the ground, planted back into a fighting stance.

After witnessing the entire debacle, Trixie could not help but laugh. It had just seemed to amateurish, especially compared to how he seemed during their fight. Though, she only used illusion magic then, and hadn’t used any to attack him directly. Seeing his reaction only made her wish she had.

New Guy, however, was not enjoying the laughter. Still cloaked in the magic aura, he turned a cold glare upon Trixie. He said nothing as her laughing slowed down into a low chuckle.

“Well, that was entertaining,” said Trixie, in a teasing tone. “Did you have enough to drink? Or should we order another round?” New Guy narrowed his eyes, signaling his distaste for the joke. “Alright, alright. Joking aside, we are going to do that again. Let’s see if you don’t trip over yourself this time. Ready?” She received a nod in response, and then started to apply the proper force again.

The exercise was repeated several more times, each with the same outcome as the last. What Trixie had found funny at first, was beginning to annoy her. She was applying a short shot of force, and it was throwing New Guy off balance too easily. She was sure that he should not be having this much trouble.

By the twentieth attempt, he had shown no signs of improving, and Trixie was running thin on patience. After his awkward recovery, New Guy stood still, waiting for the next push. Instead, the aura that surrounded him vanished, as Trixie cut off the magic channeling through her horn. He turned a confused look in her direction, questioning her silently.

“It’s hopeless,” Trixie said, shaking her head. “Trixie doesn’t even get it. You look like an inexperienced foal getting tossed around by his older brother. Have you ever fought a unicorn before?”

New Guy stood still for a moment, not showing any sign of answering, before slowly moving his head back and forth. “Besides you, no,” he said.

Trixie could not help but facehoof. It seemed obvious in hindsight, but she had been hoping that he would at least have some experience to work with. Starting from scratch was not something she expected she would have to do. But she didn’t want to walk out on this now.

“Alright then. Trixie guesses that she will have to run you through the basics, instead of going straight for the exercises. You might want to sit down. This could take a while.” New Guy did what she suggested, settling down on the floor beneath him.

“Now,” Trixie started, “obviously fighting against magic is different than pure physical fighting. The same basic principles apply, like attacking and defending. But, the major difference is in the perception and reaction that the opponent has to apply. Like this, hold out your arm.”

New Guy complied, holding one of his arms in front of him. He looked at Trixie, waiting for whatever she had up her sleeve. Without warning, she shot her arm out, aiming to collide her hoof against the side of his arm. The moment before impact, he reacted, letting the impact push his arm back with minimal effect. New Guy focused a glare at Trixie, obviously not enjoying the surprise attack. She smirked back at him, reveling in the annoyance she caused him.

“See that?” she said. “Now, let’s do that again.” New Guy raised an eyebrow, showing his apprehension at following her command. Rolling her eyes, Trixie motioned for him to continue.

After a reluctant moment, he held his arm in front of himself again, giving Trixie a wary look. This time, his arm was surrounded in the aura of Trixie’s magic. As soon as he realized it, New Guy tensed up, and sat ready for an attack. Trixie watched as he squirmed slightly, trying to anticipate what was coming. She allowed herself a small grin, as she applied force to the arm encased in her magic.

New Guy’s eyes widened, as his arm moved from the invisible push. It moved less than when Trixie had physically hit his arm, but the way he looked at it showed that it felt worse. Good. She was getting to him.

“Did you feel that?” she asked. New Guy, who was examining his arm intensely, looked up at Trixie and nodded slowly. Through the cold gaze, she thought she could see an inkling of understanding. “Good. Your instincts are sharp. However, that’s just the problem.” New Guy raised an eyebrow, questioning the statement. “You see, when Trixie hits your arm, you relaxed and let the arm take the shock. But when she used magic, you tensed up. You locked your arm in place with your shoulder. That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s important. You see, it shifted your-”

“Balance,” said New Guy, cutting off Trixie. His gaze turned to his arm, then back at her in understanding.

Trixie smiled, glad to see he was getting it. “Exactly. It wasn’t much because your arm was out, but remember when it was your whole body?”

New Guy nodded. “I couldn’t stand straight.”

“Right. You tense your muscles, so that you can take the attack. That doesn’t work as well as you would think. Do you know why?”

New Guy took a moment to look to the side, shifting his eyes around, as if literally looking for the answer. Looking back at Trixie, he shook his head in a definitive no.

Grinning, she took her arm, and pointed it to her face. “This. Your eyes. Well, your senses in general, but for the most part it’s your sight. When you can see where the attack is coming from, you have a better chance of reacting, and letting the hit not affect you. Your instincts tell you to tense up, and take the hit, or block it. That sometimes works in the ring, but it certainly won’t work against magic. If you can’t sense the attack, then you can’t react. Do you understand?” A nod. “Perfect. Now, how to fix this. Well, there is good news and bad news. How long do we have before your fight?”

“Six days.” New Guy said.

“Ah,” said Trixie, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, that’s the bad news. This will not be fixed in that amount of time. Trixie can certainly get you to improve, but this is much more difficult than just simple techniques.”

New Guy looked down at his hooves, silently staring in concentration. After a few silent moments of thinking, he brought his gaze up to meet Trixie’s. “And the good news?”

“That might be all we need.” said Trixie, grinning once again. “Most unicorns can’t summon up more strength than they can physically push. They can barely manage to knock over a full-grown stallion, and they certainly won’t use up their magic by going all out. It’s not like they’re up against an Ursa Major, or something like that.”

A raised eyebrow from New Guy indicated that he didn’t fully understand. Rolling her eyes, Trixie explained. “You see, we need you to relax. Tensing up against magic will only let you get pushed around. Your instincts are telling you to react to an incoming attack. Well, we now need to get you to react to an attack while it’s happening. Do you understand?”

New Guy nodded with hesitance, which made Trixie wonder just how much he actually got. “Basically, instead of relaxing right before the attack, you need to relax all the time. When in stance, when you anticipate an attack, and even when attacking. We need to override your instincts and let your consciousness take control. Now do you get it?”

This time, New Guy’s nod had more confidence behind it. “Great. Now, let’s get back to what we were trying earlier. Trixie will push you with her magic, and you will try not to fall on your ass. Sounds reasonable?”

One final nod was given, as New Guy stood up for the next round of training. Trixie couldn't help but smirk, as she lit her horn with magical energy, surrounded him with it, and started the exercise anew.