A Great and Powerful Wrath

Chapters

The Invite
Arrival in the Crystal Empire
Secrets Revealed
A Departure and an Admission
A Great and Powerful Wrath
A Trip to Mom's
A Terrifying Discovery
Getting to the Bottom of Things
A Secret Revealed
Trixie's Discovery

The Invite

A Letter from Cadence

A new day was starting and like always, Starlight and Twilight were eating breakfast. While Twilight did not have a whole lot planned, Starlight had a friendship lesson scheduled with Pinkie to help run Sugarcube Corner in the morning and had plans to spend the afternoon with her best friend, Trixie. All of that would change in a hurry as the mail had arrived and a letter was addressed to both Twilight and Starlight.

Spike ran in and shouted, "Twilight, Starlight, you got mail from the Crystal Empire!"

While Starlight looked on in curiosity while Twilight's ears shot up, "What, we got mail from Cadence?"

Twilight grabbed the letter from Spike and began to read it. A mile wide smile developed on her face as she continued, "I can't believe it has been a year already!"

Starlight asked, "A year since what?"

Twilight shouted, "A year since Flurry Hearts' birth! She's turning one and Cadence wants all of us up there!"

Starlight asked, "So when would we be leaving?"

Twilight replied, "Tomorrow! Oh I'm so excited to get to see my family again!"

Twilight began to bounce around in joy as not only would she be able to see her niece, but also her brother and sister in law. Starlight seemed happy as well but wanted to know one thing. She asked, "I wonder if Cadence would be ok if we brought Trixie too?"

Twilight replied, "I'm not sure but given that she is your friend and we've all grown a bit closer with her, I'm guessing she could come."

Starlight squealed, "Sweet! Shall we go and tell all of our friends that we have been invited up for Flurry's birthday?"

Twilight replied, "Yes, we should." She looked at Spike and continued, "Come on Spike, let's go!"

Spike replied, "Okey dokey."

Telling Their Friends

Applejack

The three headed out to notify their friends and the first one they decided to notify was Applejack. As they approached Sweet Apple Acres they noticed that the Apple family was a bit more frantic than normal, working in a field that Twilight normally doesn't see them in. She saw Applejack and yelled, "Hey Applejack!"

Applejack stopped her work and replied, "Hi Twilight, Hi Starlight, Hi Spike!"

Twilight asked, "Applejack, I got a letter in the mail today inviting all of us to Flurry Hearts' first birthday party and I was wondering if you would want to come?"

Applejack pointed her hoof towards the orchard and replied, "I'd love to but the zapapples are coming in three days and you know what will happen if I'm not here to help harvest them."

Twilight sighed, "I know, I know, at the end of the fifth day they all zap away."

Applejack continued, "Well maybe some other time we could see if we could pay her a visit?"

Twilight replied, "Maybe." She looks at Starlight and continued, "Maybe our other friends won't be so busy."

Rarity

After leaving the farm the three headed to The Carousel Boutique. Spike's eyes widened in anticipation like they always do when they go to see Rarity. As they headed in they saw Rarity frantically saying to herself, "I'm going to have to find more gems than ever to get these outfits......" Before she could finish her sentence she saw Twilight and continued, "Twilight darling, Starlight, Spike, what brings you by?"

Twilight replied, "Well I got a letter from Cadence inviting us all to go up to the Crystal Empire for Flurry Hearts' first birthday."

Rarity gasped, "What, it has been a year already?"

Twilight asked, "Yes, it has and I was wondering if you'd want to come since Applejack can't?"

Rarity looked back towards her inspiration room and replied, "I'm sorry darling but I just got a huge order from both Sapphire Shores and RaRa. They need me to make outfits for their upcoming tours."

Twilight asked, "So when do they need them?

Rarity sighed, "Well Sapphire put her order in late and needs them in a week and RaRa's need to be done by the week after that." She threw her hooves up in the air and continued, "And unfortunately, Sapphire wants each of the six costumes done in a different gem pattern so I have to go out and find gems."

Twilight asked, "So I take it you won't be able to go?"

Rarity replied, "I'm sorry darling but I have to get these outfits made." She then began batting her eyes at Spike and asked, "And would my Spikey Wikey like to stay and help me gather gems?"

Spike dreamily replied, "Anything for you Rarity."

This did not sit well with Twilight. She raised her voice, "Spike, you've been invited to this and you know the crystal ponies would love to see you again."

While Spike would normally love to go to the Empire and receive the adoration of the citizens there he replied, "While I would like to Twilight, Rarity needs my help."

Twilight sighed, "Fine, you stay here with Rarity. Come on Starlight, maybe one of our other friends will come."

Pinkie Pie

Starlight nodded and they headed to Sugarcube Corner. Once they got there Pinkie immediately greeted them, "Hiya Starlight, hi Twilight."

Twilight replied, "Hi Pinkie, I have something I have to ask you."

Pinkie asked, "You have something to ask me? I have something to ask Starlight." She took a breath before continuing, "Starlight, you were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago! Where have you been?"

Starlight replied, "Well Twilight and I got some mail from Cadence and we have something to ask you."

Twilight added, "We got letter telling all of us that we are invited to Flurry Hearts' birthday party. We were wondering if you would want to come?"

Pinkie looked around and replied, "I wish I could but the Cakes are going to be gone for a week and I have to babysit and watch the store."

Twilight threw her hooves up in the air and sighed, "Well three down, two to go."

Starlight said, "Don't you mean three to go? We are asking Trixie too."

While Twilight did not want to take Trixie, she knew how Starlight would be if they didn't ask her. She replied, "Yes, I meant three."

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash

After getting done at Sugarcube Corner the two headed towards Fluttershy's cottage hoping that she would be able to go with them. Much to their surprise, they found not only Fluttershy there, but also Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy saw them and said, "Oh hi Twilight, hi Starlight."

Rainbow added, "Hi Twi, so what's up?"

Twilight replied, "Well I, I should say we, have come to let you know something. Cadence sent me a letter letting me know that Flurry Hearts' first birthday is coming up and we are wondering if you two would want to go up to the Crystal Empire with us."

Fluttershy replied, "Well I would love to but Angel isn't feeling very good."

The two turned their attention to Rainbow and Starlight asked, "What about you Rainbow?"

Rainbow replied, "Sorry guys but the Wonderbolts are going to be doing a couple of shows over the next week so I can't."

Twilight developed a scowl on her face causing Fluttershy to say, "I'm sorry Twilight, please don't be mad at me but Angel is sick and I can't just leave him alone like this!"

Twilight sighed, "Oh it's alright. I'm sure Cadence will understand." She turned to Starlight and continued, "Well, I guess we should go see if Trixie will come with us."

Starlight smiled, "Oh I'm sure she will. Her and I are best friends and if I'm going somewhere, she'll want to go too."

Twilight mumbled, "I know but I wish she wouldn't."

Trixie

As they headed towards Trixie's wagon Twilight couldn't help but have a look of disgust on her face. While her and Trixie were no longer enemies and did get along now, she still didn't like having to spend extended periods of time with her. As they approached her wagon Twilight sighed, "Well Starlight, do you want to knock on her door? You are much closer with her than I am."

Starlight nodded and knocked on the door. They could hear irritated mumbling coming from inside until Trixie opened the door. She grumbled, "Who are you and why are you disturbing The Great and Powerful....." It was then that she saw Starlight and her mood changed completely. She leapt out into Starlight's hooves and said, "Oh hi Starlight! I didn't know it was you!"

Starlight replied, "It's alright."

Twilight walked over by her and asked, "Trixie, I have a question to ask you."

Trixie sighed, "Oh and what is it you wish to ask The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at her response but continued, "Well I, I guess I should say we, received a letter from Cadence and she wants me, Starlight and our friends to go up to the Crystal Empire for Flurry Hearts' first birthday."

At first Trixie seemed very disinterested until Starlight chimed in, "The two of us are going to go up there and we were wondering, would you want to come with us up to Flurry's party?"

While deep down Trixie wasn't overly thrilled over the idea of attending, she knew who lived in the Crystal Empire and was quite certain that Starlight would likely meet up with him and that was something Trixie wanted to try to prevent or at least monitor. She smiled at Starlight and replied, "Yes, The Great and Powerful Trixie would love to come."

Starlight hugged her and said, "Thank you Trixie. I'm so glad you're going to join us."

Trixie asked, "So when are we going to be leaving to do this?"

Twilight replied, "Well we were going to leave tomorrow morning but since the rest of our friends can't go we thought we would leave today."

Trixie did have a show planned for that night to make some money but realized that she had to go. While she had never admitted it to anypony, she had a crush on Starlight and did not want to let her and Sunburst maybe grow close so she replied, "Trixie thinks that would be a good idea."

Twilight replied, "Well ladies, shall we get going?"

In unison Starlight and Trixie said, "Yes, let's get going."

After getting her trailer locked up, Trixie and her friends headed towards the train station. While Twilight's main concern was seeing her family, Starlight did look forward to talking to Sunburst again while Trixie's only concern was making sure that her crush would not be wooed away by Sunburst.

Arrival in the Crystal Empire

Arrival in the Crystal Empire

As they boarded the train they noticed that there was very few passengers going to the Empire that day so they would have their own car. Despite there being more than enough seats for each of them to have their own, Trixie sat next to Starlight so they could talk more easily. While this did bring about a bit of curiosity in Twilight as to why they would sit so close at first, she realized that given the closeness of their friendship, that they would do that.

The trip seemed to go by rather quickly for Starlight and Trixie but given that she had nopony to talk to, it seemed to take forever to Twilight. Once the train pulled into the station Twilight quickly rushed off while Starlight and Trixie disembarked at a much more leisurely pace. Twilight looked at the two and asked, "Well shall we?"

Starlight replied, "Sure. Come on Trixie, let's go."

Trixie nodded and they headed towards the castle. Like it normally is, several of the crystal ponies greeted Twilight in their normal, cheerful manner. Once they arrived at the castle the guards immediately noticed who she was and led the three up to the throne room. Once they arrived the guard said, "Your Majesties, you have company."

Immediately Cadence and Twilight rushed to one another and sang, "Sunshine sunshine, lady bugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Shining Armor greeted the other two, "Hi Starlight, Hi Trixie."

Starlight replied, "Hello your Majesty."

*Shining laughed, "You don't have to call me your Majesty, just call me Shining Armor." He looked at Trixie and continued, "And you as well. You can just address me by my name."

Starlight asked, "So Shining Armor, how has everything been?"

Shining replied, "Rather uneventful and I'm hoping that Flurry's birthday will be the same." He began to laugh, "Hopefully it will be calm compared to last year."

While Starlight knew exactly what he was talking about, Trixie was unaware of what happened during the crystalling. She asked, "Calm? What happened last year to make you say that?"

Shining replied, "Starlight never told you about Flurry shattering the crystal heart and the blizzard last year, did she?"

Trixie's jaw dropped open. She asked, "Starlight, how could you not tell your best friend about something like this? How could you not tell the pony you share everything with about this?"

Starlight replied, "Well uh, we've had so many other things going on that it never crossed my mind."

Shining added, "Well thankfully she has Sunburst as a friend and he had books that contained what we had to know." Trixie's eyes began to narrow as Shining continued, "He may not be able to actually do any of the magic he knows but he has a wealth of knowledge in his house."

Starlight asked, "Speaking of Sunburst, how is he anyway?"

Shining replied, "Well he is in the nursery. Follow me and you can ask him yourself."

Starlight enthusiastically agreed and the three headed to the nursery. While Shining and Starlight had smiles on their faces, Trixie couldn't help but have a scowl on her face. While she had never actually met Sunburst before, she already hated him and hated the fact that he and Starlight may spend some time without her around which made her angry and jealous.

Trixie Meets Flurry Heart

As they headed into the nursery they found Sunburst entertaining Flurry, making funny faces, talking to her in a baby voice and playing with her. While Shining and Starlight couldn't help but smile, Trixie had a look of disgust on her face. This was the first time she had seen him and was not impressed with what she saw. She thought to herself, "She is friends with him?"

As soon as he noticed the three were in there he ran to Starlight, hugged her and said, "Starlight! It is good to see you again."

Starlight replied, "It's good to see you too."

Despite being very upset and jealous over seeing their reaction, Trixie knew she better at least pretend to be happy so she faked a smile. As she walked up by Starlight Sunburst asked, "Who are you? I don't believe we have met before."

Trixie replied, "I am The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Sunburst asked, "Great and powerful?"

Starlight could see a slight look of disapproval on Sunburst's face over how Trixie introduced herself. She put her hoof around her and said, "You'd have to know Trixie better to understand why she referred to herself like that." She nudged Trixie, gave her a smile and continued, "Besides, we're besties and it is one of the things about her that I like so much. She has a lot of confidence in herself and isn't afraid to be herself in social situations."

While she still had her focus on Sunburst, Trixie couldn't help but smile over what Starlight said. Trixie looked over towards the crib and asked, "So, when is Trixie going to get to meet Flurry Heart?"

Shining led them over to the crib and said, "Trixie, I want you to meet Flurry Heart. Flurry, I want you to meet Trixie."

Trixie knew that she couldn't be her normal self in this situation so she leaned down and said, "Hi Flurry, aren't you the most adorable little thing!"

What would happen next shocked everypony. Flurry flew up and landed on Trixie's back. She wrapped her hooves around her neck and began to giggle. Shining gave her a smile and said, "Wow, it looks like she likes you."

Trixie smiled, "It looks like she does."

Sunburst tried to levitate her off of Trixie to put her back in the crib to get some rest but Flurry fired energy and stopped him. This caused her to cling to Trixie tighter so they figured it would be best to let Flurry cling to Trixie after what happened when they took her away from Pinkie last year.

Once it was clear that Flurry was going to stay with Trixie, Sunburst asked, "So Starlight, would you want to go somewhere and talk."

Upon hearing this Trixie's ears shot up. Given that she could not react negatively with Flurry on her, she was still not happy and would be more unhappy when Starlight reply, "Yeah, sure."

Trixie asked, "Starlight, can The Great and Powerful Trixie come with you?"

Starlight replied, "Well I don't know. Sunburst and I do want to just talk and catch up and besides, you have an adorable filly on your back anyway."

This was not the answer Trixie was hoping for but she still wanted to know where exactly she was going. She asked, "Starlight, so where are you two going?"

Starlight replied, "We're going to Sunburst's house...."

Trixie interrupted, "Where is it and what does it look like?"

Starlight began to say something but Sunburst interrupted, "Well it is a crystal house like the others. It is ten houses away from the palace on the right and it looks like it has a wizard hat on the top of it, kind of like your hat."

Trixie replied, "Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it."

The two nodded and headed off to catch up while Trixie stood there full of jealousy but also a little bit of heartache knowing that the pony she has such a crush on would run off and talk with another pony, especially a male. Shining noticed something different about Trixie and her last reply, that she did not speak like she normally does. He was able to get Flurry off of her, put her in her crib and asked, "Are you ok Trixie, something doesn't seem right."

While Trixie did her best to hide her emotions and sound strong she sighed, "Trixie is alright, The Great and Powerful Trixie just likes having her friend around."

Almost as soon as she had been put in there, Flurry flew out of her crib and landed on Trixie's back again, laughing and giggling. Shining laughed, "Well it looks like you have one new friend who doesn't want to leave your side."

Trixie gave a weak smile, "That is true."

Shining suggested, "How about we head to the throne room and see how Twilight and Cadence are doing. I'm sure Cadence will be thrilled to see Flurry has a new friend."

Trixie nodded and they headed towards the throne room. While Flurry had begun to nuzzle Trixie and cause her to giggle and talk to her more, her mind was consumed with Starlight going to talk with Sunburst in his house. While she knew that Starlight would never do anything with him, she couldn't help but worry that he may woo her and cause her to want him as her coltfriend.

Author's Note

* From this point forward Shining Armor will simply be referred to as Shining.

Secrets Revealed

Trixie's Secret Revealed

When Trixie, Flurry Heart and Shining Armor arrived in the throne room and both Twilight and Cadence were shocked to see that Flurry had taken such a liking to Trixie. Twilight was the most shocked given Trixie's personality and the ability of young fillies to sense negative energy coming from other ponies.

At first the only one talking was Trixie giggling as Flurry had began to nibble on her ear, "Stop it Flurry. The Great and Powerful Trixie is ticklish there!"

Cadence couldn't help but smile when she saw this, "Wow Trixie, Flurry has really taken a liking to you, hasn't she?"

Trixie laughed, "She has, I never imagined such an adorable filly would like Trixie."

Twilight rolled her eyes as she had hoped that in this setting Trixie would speak normally. She sighed, "Well she has taken a liking to other ponies in the past."

Shining commented, "Yeah, she took a liking to Pinkie Pie last year and had Cadence not taken her away from her, she wouldn't have been upset and broke the crystal heart."

While that moment brought a fair amount of stress to her, bringing it up and how she may have been responsible for it embarrassed her. She blushed, "How was I supposed to know she'd cry that loud when I took her away?"

Twilight replied, "That is true but I'm thinking when it comes to Flurry, we probably shouldn't take her away from whoever she seems to like."

Shining asked, "So I take it you're saying that if she wants to stay with Trixie until you leave, let her do so?"

Cadence said, "Yeah, probably so." She turned her attention to Trixie and asked, "So Trixie, how is life now that you're in Ponyville all the time?"

Trixie replied, "It is good and I will admit, Trixie has grown really close with Starlight." She began to blush as she continued, "When Trixie and her met we seemed to click but it was after we along with Thorax and Discord saved Equestria that Trixie decided to stay in Ponyville." Her face turned redder as she continued, "And I never imagined that I would finally find somepony that could truly relate with me. I never thought I would find a pony who would want to spend so much time with me."

All of them noticed something about Trixie, especially Twilight. It was the fact that she finally stopped speaking in the third pony along with the blush that prompted Twilight to ask, "Trixie, can I ask you a question?"

Trixie replied, "Yes, you may ask Trixie a question."

Twilight asked, "Trixie, for a moment there you were speaking normally. What was all that about?"

Cadence added, "And I couldn't help but notice how deeply you blushed when you were talking about Starlight." Cadence walked to her, put her hoof up to her face and continued, "Do you have a crush on Starlight?"

This was something that Trixie really hoped that nopony would ask her. She held her head down and blushed again, "Of course not! You should know that Starlight and I are only friends!"

Shining chimed in, "Yeah, uh huh Trixie. You are showing all the classic signs of a pony with a crush."

Twilight added, "And given that you stopped speaking like you normally do only proves it more!"

Cadence finished, "Trixie, you can tell us. We promise we won't tell anypony, alright?"

Trixie finally caved in, "Ok, I'll admit. I have a crush on her! She is the only pony I've ever bee able to relate with and she is so beautiful, so sweet and so sex......"

Cadence interrupted, "Alright Trixie, we get it. We know you think she's hot but you don't need to go telling us that."

Talking about Starlight brought up the thoughts of what she was doing right then, meeting with Sunburst in his house. Suddenly she became very sad and Twilight asked, "Trixie, what is wrong? You were so happy and now you suddenly look like you lost your best friend."

Trixie replied, "Well I suppose I'm just worried about Starlight meeting with Sunburst in his house." She began to become more frantic, "What if he was to woo her? What if he was to win her heart before I have a chance to tell her how I really feel?"

Twilight replied, "Trixie, I don't think that is going to happen. Yes they write back and forth but I don't think they are close enough for him to do that and besides, if I know Starlight as well as I think I do, I don't think she would be interested in a relationship with anypony."

While that did provide a bit of relief to her, the fact that Twilight thought that Starlight may not want a relationship with anypony kept her feeling sad. This brought out concern from the three, especially Cadence. Cadence hugged Trixie and suggested, "Trixie, I really think you need to tell Starlight how you really feel as soon as you can. Whether she feels the same or not I'm not sure but knowing will probably put you more at ease."

While this did not put Trixie any more at ease she figured that she had better at least try and act a bit less sad. She replied, "You are right, that would put Trixie more at ease."

The three could tell that Cadence's comment did help Trixie some given that she had returned to speaking like she normally does. Once she felt that Trixie was less stressed out, Flurry again began to nibble on Trixie's ear making her giggle, "Flurry, stop! Trixie is ticklish there!"

Catching Up

While Trixie was meeting with Cadence and Shining Armor, Starlight was catching up with Sunburst. At first the two were talking about ordinary, everyday things along with how Sunburst's role as crystaller had changed his life. Soon though, he wanted to know more about how Starlight's life had been.

He asked, "So Starlight, how has life been treating you since we last met?"

Starlight replied, "Well I've had some interesting things happen, some that I'm very proud of and some that I'm kind of embarrassed over."

Sunburst asked, "Oh, and what are you embarrassed over?"

Starlight replied, "Well once Twilight noticed I was ignoring my friendship lessons. I was able to wow her with my magic but when it comes to friendship, I still kind of freak out over the smallest things."

Sunburst asked, "So what happened?"

Starlight replied, "Well like I said I had been ignoring my friendship lessons and when she headed to Canterlot to speak to some of Celestia's students, she wanted me to tackle some of them. Well they all came over to the castle and after freaking out over everything I was supposed to help them with, I kind of thought casting spells on them would make things easier."

Sunburst gasped, "You did what? You cast spells on your friends?"

Starlight replied, "Yeah. I wanted to make things go easier so I cast a Cogeria spell on them. I combined it with Fiducia Compelus and added a bit of Persuadere to make sure that it wouldn't wear off."

Despite having no clue as to how to cast those spells, he knew what they would do. He asked, "So you did this and I take it things didn't go the way they were supposed to?"

Starlight hung her head low and replied, "No. In the end we wound up with a bunch of burnt cakes, tiny dresses, spiders everywhere, a failed attempt at scrapbooking and a castle full of water. Needless to say Twilight was disappointed and my friends were angry, very angry."

Sunburst asked, "Oh, and how did you eventually get back on their good side?"

Starlight replied, "I simply apologized and then did the activities with them that I was supposed to without using magic."

Sunburst said, "Well that's good."

Starlight interrupted, "And of course as far as what I am proud of is saving everypony along with Trixie, Thorax and Discord."

Sunburst replied, "Well that I can understand." Sunburst became a bit more nervous as he asked, "Starlight, can I tell you something? I really need to get this off of my chest."

Starlight replied, "Of course you can. You should know you can tell me anything."

Sunburst began, We-well, I've kind of had this on my mind since we got back in touch and especially after the incident with Thorax."

Starlight asked, "Yes, what is it?"

Sunburst knew that if he didn't just hurry up and tell her that he would likely never tell her. He continued, "Starlight, you know I like you and I can't just hide this anymore. I really like you, as in like, like you." He began to become more frantic as he continued, "Starlight, you are so beautiful and kind."

Starlight interrupted, "Uh, thanks."

Sunburst asked, "Starlight, I'm wondering if you'd be my marefriend?"

This shocked Starlight as she had never expected him to feel like this yet at the same time she didn't feel the same way. She replied, "Well Sunburst, I'm flattered that you want me as your marefriend but...."

Sunburst's face dropped when she said this. He asked, "But what?"

Starlight continued, "But I simply don't like you like that. You're a great friend but I just don't like you like that."

Sunburst pleaded, "Please Starlight, just give me a chance. You'll never know if you like me like that or not if you don't give me a chance."

He hugged her and tried to move in for a kiss when Starlight teleported out of his hold. She warned, "Sunburst, don't do that." Her voice became more stern as she continued, "Look, I said I like you as a friend but nothing more and by trying to kiss me, you're jeopardizing the friendship."

Sunburst's pleading turned into cries, "Please, please Starlight. I promise you that I'll be good to you and that you'll be happy with me."

Starlight finally had it. She yelled, "Look, what part of 'I don't like you like that' don't you get?" She looked up at the clock and continued, "Listen, I like you as a friend but nothing more. Now if you will excuse me I need to get to Flurry's birthday party."

Starlight slammed the door on her way out leaving a heartbroken Sunburst. Starlight could not believe that he would have the audacity to try and kiss her after being told multiple times that she didn't like him like that. As she heard him crying and shouting in his house she rolled her eyes. She sighed, "Ugh, can't he just listen? What part of my message did he not get?" She stomped her hoof on the ground and grunted, "Well hopefully he won't show up at the party after this. I don't think I could handle seeing him again."

A Departure and an Admission

Three days had passed since Trixie, Starlight and Twilight returned from the Crystal Empire. Things had been normal for the most part as Starlight continued to wow Twilight with her magic, she did well with her friendship lessons but one thing had changed. She had begun to spend more and more time with Trixie. While she was not concerned over it, Twilight couldn't help but wonder why.

During a magic competition the two were having Twilight decided she was going to find out why. She asked, "Starlight, I can't help but notice that you and Trixie have been spending a lot more time together since we got back from Flurry's party. What is all that about?"

Starlight had hoped that she would not notice but given that she did, she would have to come up with something that wouldn't give what happened away. She replied, "Well you know we're best friends and we just want to spend more time together." She gave Twilight a nervous look as she continued, "Is there something wrong with me spending more time with her?"

Twilight sighed, "No, there is nothing wrong with it. I just can't help but wonder if Sunburst did something to upset you and you feel more comfort being around Trixie than anypony else."

This was something that Starlight hoped would not happen, she hoped that Twilight would never suspect anything. She replied, "No nothing bad happened up there. Like I said, it is just a matter of Trixie wanting her and I to spend more time together."

Before Twilight could say anything Trixie came running in the door. This frustrated Twilight a bit. She asked, "Trixie, don't you know how to knock?"

Trixie ran over so she was a bit winded. She was breathing heavily as she replied, "Trixie is sorry Twilight but The Great and Powerful Trixie just wanted to tell Starlight that her mom wants her to go see her for a few days."

Starlight's ears perked up as she had been wanting to go somewhere with Trixie and just Trixie for a few days. She asked, "Trixie, could I come? I'd love for you and I to have a best friends' trip."

Trixie replied, "Trixie is sorry Starlight but when The Great and Powerful Trixie goes to visit her mom, she prefers to go alone." She winked at Starlight before continuing, "Maybe sometime we could go to Las Pegasus together."

Starlight said, "I understand about you wanting to see your mom alone and a trip to Las Pegasus sometime does sound fun."

Trixie replied, "Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie is sorry but Trixie's mom can be kind of intimidating." Trixie gave Starlight a tight embrace and continued, "Don't worry Starlight, we'll have a girls' trip before too long."

Starlight winked at her and giggled, "I certainly hope so!"

As Trixie headed towards the door she said, "Bye Starlight, bye Twilight."

In unison the two said, "Bye."

As Trixie left Twilight couldn't help but notice something. She couldn't help but notice that Starlight was making plans for an exclusive trip for her and Trixie and wanted to find out what it was about."

Twilight asked, "Starlight, what was all that about? Why are you and Trixie planning on having an exclusive girls' trip somewhere and why did Trixie mention Las Pegasus?"

Starlight replied, "Well you know how close of friends we are and Las Pegasus is a fun place for best friends to go."

Twilight asked, "And what were those winks about?" Her eyes grew wide as she continued, "Are you two dating now? Are you two suddenly a couple?"

Starlight's face turned red as an apple which caused Twilight to continue, "You are, aren't you? I should have known when you started spending more time with her than you do with your other friends."

Starlight blushed, "We aren't a couple but I wish we were."

Twilight gasped, "You do?" She nudged Starlight and continued, "You have a crush on Trixie, don't you?"

Starlight replied, "Don't tell anypony but I do." Her voice became more dreamy as she continued, "She is everything a pony could ever want. She is so lovely, she is so sweet, she is so caring and she is so sexy!"

Twilight gagged, "Ugh, gag me." Starlight gave her a glare and Twilight continued, "I'm sorry for my reaction Starlight but I have a much longer history with Trixie that you do and I just can't help but remember how she used to be. I remember how she was anything but sweet and caring."

Starlight replied, "I know you have told me about how Trixie used to be but she has obviously changed. She did help me in saving you and everypony else after you had been captured."

Twilight admitted, "Well that is true, she did help you save us all."

Starlight continued, "And if Trixie was still like she used to be, she would have wanted all of you, especially you, to remain captive and not have cared that Chrysalis may take over. She'd think she could take her on on her own."

Twilight again admitted, "That is true."

Starlight finished, "So I don't see what is so bad about it."

Twilight replied, "I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you to get heartbroken, take her cutie mark and revert to your old ways."

Starlight was becoming frustrated with what she thought was Twilight being overly concerned. She began to head towards her room and said, "Twilight, everything will be fine. I'm planning on telling Trixie about my feelings when she gets back and if she wants to be my marefriend, I'll be ecstatic. If she doesn't, I'll be sad but I won't let it turn me back into a cutie mark thief."

As Starlight got upstairs Twilight said to herself, "I hope not."

A Great and Powerful Wrath

As Trixie headed to the train station, she couldn't help but feel a large amount of confidence. She knew that taking out Sunburst would be a piece of cake, it would be getting into his house undetected that would be more difficult. She also realized one other thing, that she couldn't just take a train that directly went to the Crystal Empire, that she would have to take one that stopped in Fillydelphia along the way.

After buying her ticket and boarding the train, she settled in for what she knew would be an extremely long ride. While she was not thrilled about having to sit on a train all day, she did know that by going through Fillydelphia and several other cities, that her train would arrive after dark and that she could go and take care of her problem with ease.

A couple hours after dark the train finally pulled into the Crystal Empire and Trixie disembarked. Given how late it was, only a couple other ponies got off so she knew that despite the streets being nearly empty, that she would have to be very careful. One thing she did know though, was the street to take to get to his house, the one that headed straight towards the palace.

As she got closer and closer she looked off to the left since that is the side his house would be on since she was headed towards the palace. Eventually she saw it, the house with a top that resembled a wizard's hat. One thing she couldn't help but notice though was a tool shed on a neighboring property that had its door ajar. This gave her an idea. She thought to herself, "The Great and Powerful Trixie wonders if there may be something in there that may help Trixie make this punishment be brutal."

She looked around and saw absolutely nopony. She noticed that all the lights were off around the city so she headed into the shed and lit up her horn. She was shocked by what she found. In there she found a bat, some rope, some chains, a whip, some barbed wire and a hacksaw. She wondered why a pony that lived in the Crystal Empire would possess such things but did not worry about it. She grabbed the items in her aura and headed next door, to Sunburst's house.

What would surprise her even more is that like almost everypony in the Empire, Sunburst slept with his door unlocked. Trixie snickered quietly as she headed in and wandered around. Soon she heard snoring and realized that could come from only one place, Sunburst's bedroom. As she headed in she found him snuggled under his blanket in a peaceful slumber. One thing that would not impress her though was that he had a picture of Starlight on his nightstand. How he got it she was not sure of but it only fueled her desire to inflict a brutal punishment upon him.

She sat all her items down with the exception of the whip and began to snicker quietly. She levitated the whip to where it was right above him and then began the punishment as she began whipping him in the face. He quickly woke up and screamed, "Ah, ow! Who's there?"

Trixie stopped the whipping for a moment and snapped, "Shut up and do what you're told. If you behave perhaps The Great and Powerful Trixie will make your passing immediate."

He lit his horn up to see who his attacker was. He screamed, "It's you! It's that mare that is so close to Starlight!"

Trixie whipped him again and laughed, "Yes it is and The Great and Powerful Trixie has come to issue you a warning, 'Do not hit on Trixie's best friend ever again or you may not like the results.'"

While some ponies would likely fold and agree to do what was requested of them, Sunburst didn't. He replied, "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me who I can communicate with?"

Trixie decided that using the whip was not enough so she took the chains and began striking him in the face and broke his nose, causing him to cry out in angry. Trixie struck him with a great amount of energy and snapped, "Would you shut up? We can't have anypony knowing Trixie is in here."

Sunburst began to scream, "Help, help! Somepony help mpffff....."

His screaming was interrupted when Trixie rammed a book into his mouth. She sneered, "Oh, so this is how it's going to be, huh?" Trixie had hoped to hear him whine in pain the whole time but realized that his screaming would be heard by other ponies. She grabbed the rope and said, "What shall The Great and Powerful Trixie do next?"

Trixie tied him up and grabbed the barbed wire. She laughed, "Hmmm....maybe Trixie ought to wrap this around your neck!" She then looked down at the bat and continued, "Or, perhaps Trixie should do something far more brutal!"

Trixie began to wrap the wire around the bat and laughed, "Oh this is going to be so much fun....well for Trixie anyway!"

She kicked Sunburst to where he was on his stomach and levitated the bat to where it was facing Sunburst's butt. He began making noises again and this did not sit well with Trixie. She rammed the spiked bat into Sunburst's butt causing him to scream, "Mmph. mmph, mmmph!"

Trixie couldn't help but snicker has he was trying to scream out in pain and she began ramming him with the bat harder and harder, causing him to kick his legs and his moans to get louder and louder. She stopped with the ramming and kicked him in the head. She snapped, "Would you shut the hay up already? Trixie can not have you alerting the neighbors."

As he continued to moan in pain Trixie planted her hoof on his back and grabbed the hacksaw. She lowered it down to the base of his horn and began to saw it off. Given that unicorn horns are very sensitive, the pain from Trixie sawing it off hurt so bad that he was able to spit the book out and screamed "AAHH! OWW!"

This sent Trixie into a rage. She grabbed his head and began slamming it down into the floor as she yelled, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! WOULD YOU SHUT THE HAY UP!"

By the time he quieted down she had tore his forehead open and given him a concussion. When she noticed this she snickered, "This is more like it! The Great and Powerful Trixie can not have you making any noises."

To make sure that he did not make any loud noises she rammed the book back into his mouth and continued ramming the bat into his behind. With each ram his moans began to sound more pathetic. Once Trixie saw that he was bleeding quite badly, she removed the bat and noticed that not only was it covered in blood, but it was covered in feces as well. She removed the book from his mouth and began to laugh as she rammed the bat into his mouth.

As he tasted his own feces he began to spit and throw up. Trixie stuffed it further back in his mouth and sneered, "What's the matter Sunburst, don't like the taste of your shit?"

She removed the bat and shoved the book back in hoping that he would have no choice but to swallow his feces, which to her delight he did. She then took the bat back to his butt and shoved it as far as it could go. His body began to spasm because of the shock. As his body began to shake harder and harder and idea came to Trixie's mind, she decided she would mark him.

She headed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife and returned to her victim. She untied him and thought of what to mark him as. She then remembered about how Starlight told her once that he flunked out of Celestia's magic school. She decided to mark him with the word FAILURE.

Trixie returned to ramming him and is body began to spasm harder and harder. When Trixie realized that he was not going to last much longer. She grabbed the bat in her aura and sneered, "Now tell The Great and Powerful Trixie, will you ever hit on The Great and Powerful Trixie's best friend and soon to be marefriend ever again?"

He spit the book out and weakly said, "When Starlight finds out you did this she'll turn you in. She'll hate you and feel sorry for me. She'll come to me, she'll want me as her coltfriend."

Trixie screamed, "Wrong answer idiot! Now The Great and Powerful Trixie shall end you!"

Trixie kicked him in the head and rammed the bat so far up in him that the whole thing was inside him. As she did this, enormous amounts of blood began pouring out of his mouth and he let out one final sigh. Trixie stood there over the now quiet and motionless Sunburst and placed her hoof on his neck to feel for a pulse. Much to her delight there was none. Trixie snickered, "Sweet dreams Sunburst, may you rot in Tartarus for all eternity."

It was still dark when Trixie had finished her torture so she grabbed everything but the bat, headed out and returned the items to the tool shed. The city was still quiet as she returned to the train station. She waited at the station as calm as could be as she waited for the train to Fillydelphia. While she was unsure about how she would react, she had a nagging voice telling her that her entire future could hinge on whether she was visiting her mother or not.

A Trip to Mom's

As the train pulled away from the Crystal Empire Trixie couldn't help but smile. Despite knowing that Starlight was not interested in Sunburst romantically, she had accomplished her objective. No longer would the pony she loved have to worry about being harassed. She could not wear her smile for too long though as at each stop, more and more ponies got on board as daylight was approaching.

Several hours had passed before the train finally arrived in Fillydelphia. Despite not having been there for years, she still knew her way around the city like the back of her hoof. As she approached her mother's house she couldn't help but notice that she had done some remodeling since she left home. When she was a filly it looked like every other house in the city, now the roof appeared to resemble what her hat looked like. She laughed to herself, "Hmmm....mom has really butchered this place. The roof looks just like Sunburst's, or should I say how Sunburst's DID!"

She walked up to the door and knocked. She stood there quietly for a minute before knocking again. Almost immediately the door opened and she heard a voice ask, "Who is it? Who is it that is disturbing The Amazing and Powerful Moonrise?"

Trixie rushed to her and said, "Mom!"

Moonrise looked at her daughter with shock as it had been years since she had paid her a visit. She asked, "Trixie, is that really you? I haven't seen you but once since you went on to be a traveling showmare."

Trixie hugged her and replied, "Yes mom, it is The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

Moonrise frowned, "Trixie, when you are talking to me can you just say me or I. You know how I always felt about us talking like that to one another."

Trixie replied, "I know mom." She looked in the door and asked, "May I come in?"

Moonrise replied, "Sure." The two headed in and unlike the outside of the house, things looked exactly like they did when she was a filly. Moonrise ordered Trixie to sit down and asked, "So Trixie, why did you come to see me? Why has it been five years since you last came to visit?"

Trixie replied, "I'm sorry mom it is just that I'm on the road a lot and here over the past few months, I had the incident involving Chrysalis."

Moonrise sighed, "I know about the incident with Chrysalis but still, you couldn't take time out of your busy show schedule to come and pay your mother a visit?" She stared into Trixie's eyes intently and continued, "You didn't just come to see me to catch up did you?" Her voice became more intense as she continued, "You're in trouble, aren't you?"

Moonrise had always been good at seeing into other ponies' minds, especially Trixie's. Trixie sat there quietly for a minute before her mother continued, "Well?"

Trixie replied, "Well mom, I might be. You see, I had to take care of a problem that involved this pony I met in Ponyville and some other pony that I thought was a threat."

Moonrise sighed, "There is a whole lot more to this than meets the eye, isn't there?"

While Trixie didn't really want to reveal the whole truth to her mother, she knew she had better since she had always been able to read other ponies rather easily. Trixie replied, "Yes mom, this is a rather complex situation."

Moonrise sighed, "Well I'm listening."

Trixie continued, "Well you see ever since I met this pony named Starlight Glimmer, I have felt a genuine closeness to her and you know how I am, I have never felt a true closeness to anypony before."

Moonrise commented, "I know. As a filly you never even bonded with me that much and I'm your mother for Luna's sake."

Trixie continued, "Well at first Twilight wasn't real happy that I was growing close with her student,"

Moonrise interrupted, "Twilight? You mean to tell me that you have befriended a student of Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Trixie replied, "Yes I have. Well back to where I was, we have become very close and then after her and I aided in basically saving Equestria from Chrysalis, Starlight and I have grown even closer."

Moonrise could easily read her daughter's eyes and had a feeling where this was headed but decided to wait to say anything. She simply gave her daughter a smile and said, "Alright. Please continue."

Trixie continued, "Well recently Twilight, Starlight and I headed up to the Crystal Empire for Flurry Hearts' first birthday party and Starlight met up with a colt named Sunburst, an old friend of hers, in his house!"

Moonrise leaned forward and asked, "Oh, and I take it you weren't thrilled?"

Trixie uncharacteristically became emotional in front of her mother, "No I wasn't! Starlight is my best friend and I was worried that he would steal her away from me!"

Moonrise's smile grew wider as she commented, "Awww....my little Trixie has her first crush!"

Trixie was shocked that she would know this. She asked, "You know? How could you possibly know?"

Moonrise laughed, "Come on Trixie, you know I can read you like a book. From the moment you mentioned Starlight I could see it in your eyes that you are crushing on her, really crushing on her!"

Trixie hung her head in defeat, "You're too good at this mom, way too good at this."

Moonrise replied, "You should know it." She leaned forward and continued, "I'm tickled that you have your first crush but I know that you haven't only come to tell me that you have a crush." Her voice became more intense as she continued, "You've done something not so pleasant, haven't you? You're hiding a huge secret, aren't you?"

Trixie sighed, "I have."

Moonrise asked, "Well what is it? I have a bad feeling it is likely illegal but tell me."

Trixie began, "Like I said, when we were up in the Crystal Empire Starlight met with this pony and after she came back to the castle she was really distraught. Once we were able to get alone she told me that this friend of hers asked her to be his marefriend and tried to kiss him!"

Moonrise's eyes grew wide as she asked, "Oh, and what happened next?"

Trixie replied, "Well luckily she didn't let him kiss her and she told him that she wasn't interested in a relationship. After we got back from the Crystal Empire we became much closer and we began spending a lot more time together."

Moonrise smiled, "Wow, it sounds like this Starlight pony has a crush on you too." She began to laugh, "You know, I think you should admit your feelings to her because with everything you have told me, I am certain the feelings are mutual." Her laugh disappeared and she asked, "Enough about your crush on Starlight though. I still want to know, what did you do before coming here?"

Trixie sighed, "Well I'm sure you probably can already tell but I left Ponyville yesterday and told Starlight and Twilight that I was coming to see you."

Moonrise said, "Alright but that is obviously not where you went."

Trixie replied, "No, I took a trip to the Crystal Empire to take care of some business."

Moonrise developed a huge smile on her face as she asked, "And I take it that you did what any good mare would do? I take it you wiped out the threat that could take Starlight before you could get her?"

Trixie replied, "Yes, I did." She gave her mom an odd look and continued, "What is up with the smile?"

Moonrise motioned for Trixie to come to her and continued, "And this Trixie, is why you were always my favorite. Out of all my kids, you are the most like me, you were always the one to do what it took to get what she wanted."

Trixie rushed to her mother and hugged her. Moonrise said, "And I take it you are worried that you may be questioned about where you were when you murdered him?"

Trixie replied, "Yes, I am."

Moonrise smiled, "Well since you said yesterday that you were coming here, if they question me about it I'll simply tell them that you have been here since yesterday afternoon."

Trixie again hugged her mom and continued, "Thank you mom. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

Moonrise's stomach began to growl and she said, "You know Trixie, I'm thinking you and I should go out to celebrate not only your first crush, but wiping the pony out that could steal your crush away from you."

Trixie asked, "So where do you want to go?"

Moonrise replied, "I'm thinking we should go to The Hayburger since you loved it so much as a filly."

Trixie squealed, "Thanks mom! It will be just like our mother/daughter lunches of old!"

Moonrise smiled and the two headed out the door. Trixie couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as she was so worried that her mom would be upset with her. She was ecstatic that not only would her mother vouch for her, but that she was proud of her for killing Sunburst. While Trixie was certain that all of them, her mother included, would be questioned, she knew that her mother was the master at lying and getting away with it. She truly felt like everything would be perfectly fine.

Author's Note

Most of this chapter will be done in back and forth dialogue.

A Terrifying Discovery

A new morning was arriving in the Crystal Empire and like it is every other morning, Cadence and Shining were not woke up by the sun, but Flurry's cries. Shining immediately rushed to the nursery to change her diaper and get her a bottle. A couple minutes later Cadence headed in to find what she always does, Shining calming Flurry down and being a model father.

Cadence gave him a smile and said, "You know Shiny, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Shining replied, "Well I know you're always busy with your princess duties so I figure you may as well get a few extra minutes of rest."

Cadence said, "I know and given how busy both of us are during the days, it is nice to have Sunburst around to take care of her. I tell you, not only is he a great crystaller but Flurry seems to love him."

Shining looked at the clock and asked, "Speaking of Sunburst, where is he? He is usually here by now so you and I can have breakfast without worrying about Flurry."

Shining said, "You stay up here with Flurry while I go to his house and check on him. Maybe he simply doesn't feel good today or something."

Shining headed out of the castle and towards Sunburst's house. Like he normally did, he stopped to talk to several ponies on the way. After thirty minutes of mingling he reached Sunburst's house. He knocked on the door loudly and when he received no response, he yelled, "Sunburst, are you ok?"

Again he received no response and since Sunburst never locks his door, Shining went in and yelled, "Sunburst, are you home?"

He headed from room to room to find his crystaller and would be horrified when he checked the bedroom. There he found Sunburst's tortured corpse. "Aaaah!"

Shining was in shock when he saw what had been done to Sunburst. The marking and bruises were bad enough but when he saw the bat rammed entirely in him, he was horrified.

After soaking in what he was seeing for a minute he realized that he had to notify not just the guard, but his wife as well. When he arrived back at the castle he yelled at the guards, "We've got a killer on the loose, a real psycho, he's torturing ponies to death! Warn everypony to stay inside."

As the guards headed out into town to warn everypony that there may be a murder in the Empire, Shining headed up to the nursery to notify Cadence of what happened. When he arrived he was crying. Cadence saw this and asked, "Shiny, what is wrong? Why are you crying?"

Shining grabbed Cadence and continued, "It's Sunburst, he's dead."

Cadence's jaw dropped open. She gasped, "Dead, but how? He was a relatively young pony."

Shining continued to cry, "He was brutally murdered last night. I never imagined that anypony would ever be murdered here, much less in the way he was."

Cadence pulled Flurry closer to her and asked, "A killer here in the Empire? But the Empire is full of love and light! How could we possibly have a killer around here?"

Shining knew he had to pull himself together so he calmed down and replied, "The killer is likely not from here. The murderer likely came from outside the empire."

Cadence said, "Well we're going to have to find out one way or another." She thought for a minute and continued, "We need to go to the train station and see if they have any records of who may have came in and left last night."

Shining replied, "You stay here while I go over to the station and see if they know anything." As he was leaving he continued, "I've got it. We'll be able to maybe tell by what the security cameras saw. Don't worry sweetie, we'll catch whoever did this and make sure they are punished for this."

While Cadence remained in the nursery to protect Flurry Heart in the event the murderer was to breach the castle, Shining headed to the train station. When he arrived the attendant was shocked to see him since there was no scheduled departure for the royal train. The attendant could see a look of concern in Shining's face and asked, "Are you ok your Majesty? You look worried."

Shining replied, "I'm fine but I need to take a look at your surveillance footage from last night. We had something happen and I need to know who came in and out of the Empire."

The attendant said, "Well you can take a look but don't count on finding anything interesting, or anything at all. The cameras have been going a bit haywire recently."

Shining sighed, "Well ok but I still want to take a look."

Shining headed into the back and began to check out the surveillance from last night and was frustrated that there was absolutely nothing, nothing but a black screen from 1800 last night clear up until 0730 that morning. Shining threw his hooves up in the air and yelled, "Nothing, absolutely nothing!"

The attendant heard him yell and said, "I told you that the cameras had been going in and out."

Shining sighed, "Well, thanks for letting me check anyway." As Shining headed back to the castle he tried to think of who could have done this. Then it hit him, he remembered how nervous Trixie was over Starlight spending time with Sunburst. He said to himself, "I'm going to send a letter to Twilight and have them come up here. Maybe I can get answers if they come up."

Getting to the Bottom of Things

Departing Fillydelphia

Three days had passed since Trixie arrived in Fillydelphia to tell her mother about everything that had happened. While Trixie was expecting an unpleasant reaction from her mother and a rocky visit overall, her visit was very pleasant and the two had done things that they had not done since she was a filly.

As Moonrise was fixing breakfast that morning she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever get to meet Starlight. She asked, "So Trixie, am I ever going to get to meet Starlight...." she began to laugh, "or am I going to have to wait until the wedding?"

Trixie said, "Mom, don't jinx it! I haven't even told her about my feelings yet!"

Moonrise replied, "Well I would still like to meet your first crush."

Trixie suggested, "Hey, what would you think of coming to Ponyville with me. I don't think there will be anything special going on so you should be able to get to know her just fine."

Moonrise asked, "So would you want to leave right after breakfast?"

Trixie replied, "Of course I would. I really want to get back to Ponyville and see Starlight again."

Moonrise smiled, "Yeah and tell her how you really feel? After all, she needs to know so you won't have to worry about anypony else hitting on her and maybe taking her."

Trixie agreed, "I will have to do that."

After they finished their breakfast they departed for the train station and departed for Ponyville. While Trixie was simply excited to get to see Starlight after a few days away, Moonrise was anticipating much more. Despite looking forward to meeting Trixie's crush and hoping she held the same feelings, a voice in the back of her head told her that much more was going to happen than a mere meeting.

A Second Invite

Starlight and Twilight were finishing breakfast on another ordinary morning when the mail arrived. As Twilight looked through it at first there was nothing out of the ordinary until she discovered a letter that was not only addressed to her, but also Starlight and Trixie. Twilight opened it and gasped, "Starlight, my brother wants us to go back up to the Crystal Empire."

Starlight asked, "Already, this soon?"

Twilight replied, "Yes and he wants Trixie to come too."

Starlight celebrated, "Yes, I am so happy that she wants her to go too!" She gave Twilight a curious look and asked, "Twilight, did he say why he wanted her to come?"

Twilight replied, "No but the fact that I received a letter from him rather than Cadence does concern me because he never sends their letters, it is always Cadence."

Starlight said, "Well I guess we'll find out once we get up there."

Twilight sighed, "Yeah and now we just have to wait for Trixie to get home...."

Just as she said this there was a knock on the door and Twilight continued, "Perhaps that is her, perhaps she finally learned how to knock."

Twilight headed to the door and opened it. Before her stood not just Trixie, but a darker blue unicorn mare wearing the same style of cloak and hat as Trixie. Twilight looked at her and asked, "And you are.....?"

Moonrise replied, "Moonrise Lulamoon, The Awesome and Powerful Moonrise!"

Twilight asked, "So how are you related to Trixie?"

Moonrise replied, "Moonrise is The Great and Powerful Trixie's mother."

Twilight rolled her eyes in frustration realizing that now she would have not just one pony who speaks in the third pony, but two and she wanted to put a stop to it right then and there. She asked, "Trixie, Moonrise, I know you two normally speak like this but could you please speak normally. Having one pony do it is bad enough but having two of them do it is unbearable."

When Starlight finally heard Twilight address Trixie she rushed to the door and hugged her friend. She said, "Trixie, it is so good to see you're back. I was really getting worried about you."

Trixie replied, "I'm so happy to see you too. The Great and Powerful Trixie was very happy to visit her mom but she is even more happy to see you again!"

Moonrise watched Starlight closely and could see the love in her eyes. She could sense the energy between the two was full of love but her thoughts would be interrupted when Twilight shouted, "Trixie, did you even hear a word of what I said?"

Trixie asked, "What?"

Twilight again told the two Lulamoons that she wanted them to speak normally rather than in their normal way and while Moonrise could understand that it was annoying her, Trixie couldn't. She asked, "What, you really want The Great and Powerful Trixie to speak like you do?"

Twilight sighed, "Yes and besides, Starlight speaks like that too. Given you two are so close just think of it as speaking like that for her." Twilight looked at the door and continued, "Trixie, I know you just got back but the three of us are needed in the Crystal Empire. My brother has summoned all three of us."

Moonrise gave Twilight an intense look and said, "Well if my daughter is going up there, so am I."

There was something about Moonrise's stare that unnerved Twilight. Twilight replied, "Ok, well I'm thinking we should leave here right away."

She noticed that Starlight and Trixie were talking about her trip and not even listening. She raised her voice, "Ahem, Trixie, Starlight, we are leaving for the Crystal Empire now. Come on, my brother said he would be waiting for us at the station."

The two nodded and all four of them headed to the station to catch the next train to the Crystal Empire. While Trixie and Starlight obviously were focused so much on one another that they weren't even thinking about it being Shining Armor who wanted them to go up there, Moonrise was doing her best to get a good feel of Twilight and Twilight herself couldn't help but be very nervous over why it was Shining who invited them and not Cadence.

The Interrogation

There were an abnormally large number of ponies on the train that day and there were only four empty seats. Starlight and Trixie sat next to one another and Twilight found herself crammed next to Moonrise. Twilight felt very uncomfortable sitting next to Moonrise and she could sense it. For the whole trip Twilight could see Moonrise watching her out of the corner of her eye and it was really freaking her out. Just as they were pulling into the Empire Twilight snapped, "Could you stop it? Could you stop watching me out of the corner of your eye? It is really freaking me out."

Moonrise replied, "Oh I'm sorry Twilight, I just find myself doing that and trying to get a feel for ponies that I meet."

Once the train stopped entirely a whole flood of ponies left the train. As soon as they got off the train they were greeted by Shining, "Twily, it is so good to see you again!"

Twilight replied, "It is so good to see you too!" Twilight's happy mood changed to one of concern as she continued, "Shining, I am curious. Why was it you that sent the letter wanting us to come up here instead of Cadence? You never send the letters."

Shining replied, "Well we've had a disaster happen up here recently and Cadence and I need to talk to the three of you, especially to Trixie."

Twilight asked, "Trixie? Why Trixie?"

Shining replied, "You'll find out more once we get to the throne room."

This caused Twilight a great deal of concern considering that she couldn't think of any real reason why her brother or Cadence would need to speak to Trixie.

Once they arrived in the throne room they were greeted by Cadence but Twilight immediately noticed that one pony was not present, Flurry Heart. She asked, "Cadence, where is Flurry Heart? You normally have her with you when I come up to visit."

Cadence raised her voice and said, "We are having one of the guards watch her right now because we do not feel comfortable with her being around Trixie right now."

Trixie's ears shot up when she heard this. She asked, "What? Why would you not feel comfortable with Flurry being around The Great and Powerful Trixie?" She saw Twilight giving her a glare so she continued, "I mean why don't you feel comfortable with her being around me? She loves me."

Cadence cast her gaze at Shining and asked, "Do you want to tell her or should I?"

Shining replied, "I think it would be best if I did." Shining cast his gaze towards Trixie and began, "Trixie, last Thursday night we had a horrible tragedy strike up here. I don't know how it happened but somepony broke into Sunburst's house and brutally tortured him to death."

Twilight screeched, "What? Somepony brutally tortured Sunburst to death?"

Not only were Cadence and Shining Armor watching Trixie closer, but so were Twilight and Starlight. Once he saw that he had the attention of most everypony he continued, "Trixie, I don't mean to jump the gun here but not only do I, but also Cadence, have reason to believe that you killed him."

While Trixie was shocked that they would even think that she would do such a thing, she knew she had to be strong. She knew that if there was ever a moment to be like her mother, that this would be it. She asked, "Really, someone tortured Sunburst to death? Why would they do that?"

Cadence walked up to Trixie and replied, "Trixie, we all remember how you were distraught when Starlight went with Sunburst to talk and also given that you told us about your crush on Starlight, both Shining and I have reason to believe that you viewed him as a threat and wanted to take him out."

Before anypony could say anything else Starlight rushed to Trixie and hugged her, "You have a crush on me? Really?"

Cadence used her magic to pull Starlight off of her and said, "Yes Starlight, she did but right now is not the time for you to celebrate. YOUR friend was brutally tortured to death."

Shining locked eyes with Trixie and asked, "Tell me Trixie, did you or did you not view Sunburst as a threat? Were you worried that he might win Starlight's heart?"

Twilight added, "And don't even try to lie to my brother. He can spot a liar a mile away."

Trixie stared intently into Shining's eyes and replied, "I will admit that I viewed him as a threat but I certainly wouldn't kill him over it."

Shining asked, "Is that so? I know enough from Twilight about your history that you would probably have no problems doing it." He got closer in her face and continued, "After all, you did banish Twilight from Ponyville when you had that amulet."

While she was still not the biggest fan of Trixie, Twilight came to her defense. She interrupted, "Shining, when she had that amulet on, it corrupted her. When a pony uses the Alicorn Amulet, it corrupts them and the more she used it, the more it corrupted her so I don't think the amulet situation would apply here."

Everypony, especially Shining Armor and Cadence were shocked that Twilight would go to her defense. Shining did realize that he would have to ask something else. He asked, "Trixie, I want to know something. Where were you on last Thursday night?"

Trixie replied, "I was visiting my mother in Fillydelphia."

Shining looked up and said, "What a shame she isn't here to vouch for you, it would make you far more credible."

Moonrise spoke up, "Actually she is here. I am Moonrise Lulamoon, Trixie's mother."

Shining walked over to Moonrise and given that she is a taller mare, he was able to meet her eye to eye without bending down any. He asked, "Moonrise, I want to know something. Is what Trixie said the truth? Was she visiting you last Thursday night?"

Moonrise replied, "Trixie arrived in Fillydelphia last Thursday afternoon and has been by my side ever since then."

Moonrise's intense glare into Shining's eyes began to make him weak in the knees. He stepped back and said, "Ok, I believe you."

Cadence motioned for Shining to come to her and asked, "Shining, are you ok? That Moonrise pony seemed awfully intense."

Shining replied, "I'm ok honey." He then regained his composure and continued, "Well everything Trixie and her mother has said seems true but I want to see how they react to the crime scene and his body."

Cadence said, "Alright but I'm coming with you. I don't trust Trixie's mother."

Shining nodded and said, "Well, so far everything seems fine but follow me. I have a couple of things to show everypony."

Everypony nodded and followed Shining out the door. Moonrise walked by her daughter and gave her a smile as she knew that so far Trixie had the same toughness as her, the type of toughness that will get her through this.

Seeing the Evidence

A few minutes later they arrived at Sunburst's house, which had been roped off with police tape. Shining lifted it up and said, "Go on in everypony."

They all headed in and despite knowing it inside and out, Trixie pretended to be disoriented. Shining said, "Trixie, back here. Come back to the bedroom."

When they all crowded in there they all gasped in shock when they saw the blood stained floor. The one to be most affected by this though was Trixie. She began to cry, "Somepony killed Sunburst and spilled this much blood? That is awful, absolutely awful."

While Trixie's crying shocked Cadence and Shining Armor, what really surprised them was the solemn look on Starlight's face. Cadence asked, "Starlight, are you ok? I thought you would be really sad."

Starlight replied, "I am sad, I just try to appear strong in situations like this."

Shining put his hoof on Trixie and said, "Come on Trixie, I think there is one more thing we need to see."

Trixie asked, "What is that?"

Shining replied, "You'll see."

They all followed Shining as they headed towards the city morgue. While Cadence was getting frustrated that despite her belief that she did it, it seemed more and more like perhaps Trixie didn't do it. Moonrise was walking in the back with a smile on her face realizing that if her daughter can pass one more test, that she will likely get away with this.

As they entered the morgue the first thing they couldn't help but notice was how small and cramped it was. Starlight, who is no fan of cramped places, said, "How can ponies even work in here? It is so cramped."

Shining replied, "They just do."

As they headed into the large freezer where the bodies awaiting burial were located Trixie knew what Shining was going to show them and knew that she would have to try and cry real tears, that her tears could not be overly dramatic like that of Rarity. When Shining presented them with Sunburst's bruised, battered and tortured body, everypony except for two began to cry tears of agony, Shining Armor and Moonrise.

Shining saw the agonizing cries coming from Trixie and realized that their suspicions about her being the murderer were wrong. He bent down, stroked Trixie's mane and said, "I'm sorry for suspecting you of this Trixie. I know now that a genuine cry such as yours could never come from a murderer."

Trixie sniffled, "Thank you for believing me your Majesty."

Shining replied, "Just call me Shining Armor, it would make me more comfortable."

Trixie said, "Alright."

Shining stood up and suggested, "How about we get out of here? It is cold and I'm not sure about you, but I think we should get away from these bodies."

Moonrise said, "I agree. Being around so many corpses is very unnerving."

As they left the morgue Shining addressed everypony, "Well I am glad we were able to determine that Trixie was not the one who killed Sunburst."

Trixie sniffled, "Hopefully you'll be able to catch the murderer someday."

Shining replied, "I hope so but I have a feeling this will likely become one of those crimes that will never be solved."

Given that there was no longer any reason for them to be up there, Moonrise asked, "Shining Armor, since all of this is over and done with, could my daughter and I head back to Ponyville?"

Shining replied, "Yeah unless you want to have a good meal with us."

Cadence added, "And Trixie, I'm sure Flurry will be excited to see you!"

Moonrise sighed, "Alright, a good meal sounds alright."

Shining said, "Follow all of us to the palace then. I'm sure you'll enjoy all the delicacies of the Crystal Empire."

They followed Shining towards the palace and Moonrise nudged her daughter and gave her a smile. She bent down and whispered, "You're a chip off the old block you know that?"

Trixie whispered back, "I know. Now for the hard part."

Moonrise asked, "Hard part, hard part about what?"

Trixie replied, "Telling Starlight I love her, that I have a crush on her."

Moonrise couldn't help but laugh, "Trixie, your crush to her has already been revealed! I'm sure you two can bring it up during this meal and make your relationship official."

Trixie replied, "Oh yeah, you're right."

Moonrise said, "I know I'm right."

Moonrise was certain that her daughter could get through this easily and just as she expected, she did. She was very proud of her daughter for being as good of a liar and actress as her and now she waited for just one thing, for Starlight and Trixie to admit their love and grow closer and closer. While she would never admit it, she thought that Starlight was likely the only pony out there deserving of Trixie's love.

A Secret Revealed

As they all headed into the dining hall the mood was much lighter than it had been earlier, especially among the royal couple. Shining gave Cadence a smile and asked, "Honey, do you want to go get Flurry? I'm sure she will be happy to see Trixie."

Cadence headed off to the nursery while everypony else sat down to prepare for their meal and naturally Starlight sat next to Trixie. She remembered how Cadence had brought up her admitting she had a crush on her. She asked, "Trixie, is it true? Was what Cadence said about you having a crush on me true?"

Cadence was walking into the room as she asked this and before Trixie could reply, Flurry bolted off of Cadence's back and onto Trixie's back. Flurry immediately began nibbling on Trixie's ear causing her to giggle, "Flurry, stop! The Great and Powerful Trixie is ticklish there!"

Flurry stopped and Starlight asked, "Well, is it true?"

Trixie stared intently into Starlight's eyes and replied, "Yes Starlight, I have a crush on you, a big crush on you."

The first thing that Starlight noticed was how Trixie answered her. She noticed that she used I, and did not speak in the third pony. She pulled Trixie close and began to cry tears of joy, "You do? I have a crush on you too!"

The two gave one another huge smiles and moved in for a kiss but would be unable to as Flurry teleported herself onto Trixie's face and uttered her first words, "Ma-ma, no!"

Everypony in the room gasped in shock, especially Shining and Cadence. Shining said, "Honey, she said her first words!"

Cadence began to tear up, "I know but the first pony she called mama wasn't me. It wasn't me."

While this really flattered Trixie she knew that she couldn't gloat over it. She pointed her hoof at Cadence and said, "No Flurry, mama is over there. Go to mama."

Flurry took off towards Cadence and said, "Ma-ma."

While this did bring a smile to Cadence, she was still a bit sad given that it was Trixie that her daughter called mama first and not her. Trixie gave Cadence a look of concern and asked, "Are you ok? The Great and Powerful Trixie is sorry that Flurry called her mama first."

Cadence sniffled, "Oh it's ok. It's not your fault. I know she loves you."

Trixie replied, "Well The Great and Powerful Trixie loves her too. She is so adorable and sweet." She then turned to Starlight and continued, "And I love you too!"

Starlight beamed, "I love you too Trixie! I love you so much." She pulled Trixie close and asked, "Trixie, since we both love one another I am wondering, would you be my marefriend?"

Trixie squealed, "Yes, yes I'll be your marefriend!"

The two pulled one another into a loving kiss but one wasn't overly thrilled, Flurry. She took off, fired energy at Starlight, breaking the kiss. Again she landed on Trixie's face and said, "No!"

Cadence couldn't help but laugh, "You know Starlight, I think you have competition when it comes to Trixie. Flurry seems very protective of her."

One pony in particular couldn't help but snicker, Moonrise, "You know Trixie, perhaps Flurry could wind up being the flower filly when you two get married."

Everypony in the room laughed, except for Trixie and Starlight. Trixie said, "Mom, like I told you back home when I was telling you about Starlight, don't jinx it!"

Starlight added, "I can tell you are excited for us being a couple but it is way too soon to be talking about marriage. We just now professed our love for one another."

Everypony's attention turned to Moonrise and in her normal fashion, she was unfazed by it. She asked, "What? Can't a mother dream?"

For a moment everypony stared at her in silence before nodding in agreement. Cadence's stomach growled loudly so she said, "Well now that Trixie and Starlight are a couple, how about we eat some supper?"

Twilight asked, "So what are we having?"

Cadence replied, "How about we let the new lovebirds decide?"

Everypony's attention turned to the new couple waiting for a response. At first they stood their in silence until Trixie suggested one of her favorites, "How about we have hayburgers, hayfries and cider?"

Starlight put her hoof around her and added, "That is my favorite!"

Moonrise chuckled, "Aww....my little Trixie and my soon to be daughter in law have the same favorite food."

Trixie shouted, "MOM, I SAID DON'T JINX IT!"

Moonrise sighed, "Oh alright but like I said, "A mother can dream, right?"

Cadence added, "Well it is a rather common meal for a royal meal but if that is what you want, we'll have it."

Cadence summoned the chefs and told them what they were having and everypony sat down waiting for their meal. While Cadence and Shining Armor were happy that Trixie's crush wound up crushing on her too, they still couldn't help but be frustrated that they had no clue who killed Sunburst. Everypony else was ecstatic that Starlight and Trixie were a couple but Moonrise was by far the happiest as she never imagined that Trixie would find a special somepony. She could only hope that Starlight's family would be as happy as she was.

Trixie's Discovery

Starlight's Return

When Starlight arrived back in the throne room she had a look of frustration on her face. As she approached her friends and the royals Cadence was the first to say anything. She asked, "Starlight, are you alright? You look awfully frustrated."

While Starlight was incredibly frustrated and even angry, she figured that Flurry's birthday party was not the place to vent or air any dirty laundry. She lied, "Oh, I'm doing alright. I think it may have been something in the cucumber sandwiches that Sunburst served because my stomach is really rumbling."

While Cadence took her reply at face value, Twilight knew it was a lie because Starlight doesn't like cucumber sandwiches. She sighed, "But Starlight, you don't even like cucumber sandwiches so how could it be that?"

Starlight again lied, "Well I tried one of them and it just didn't sit well with me." Her mood changed a bit as she laughed, "I guess that will teach me to never eat those nasty things again!"

Twilight sighed, "Uh huh Starlight, whatever you say."

Despite laughing as Flurry continued to ride on Trixie's back and nibble on her ear, Trixie finally heard Starlight and rushed to her, "Starlight, you're back!"

Starlight embraced Trixie as well as she could and replied, "I'm glad to be back and after everything I've went through, a nice birthday party will improve my mood." She then nuzzled Flurry and continued, "The birthday party of the most adorable filly in the world!"

Cadence heard her say this and asked, "Starlight, you're back but where is Sunburst? I thought he would have come with you."

The very mention of him maybe coming back with her made her cringe. She replied, "I wouldn't count on him making it. I'm not sure what happened but he started having an emotional meltdown for some reason."

This caused everypony to give her curious looks, wondering what could possibly cause that to happen. Twilight gave her a stern look and asked, "Starlight, you two didn't have some sort of nasty argument, did you? You didn't take his cutie mark, did you?"

Starlight replied, "No I did not take his cutie mark but regarding an argument, I don't think Flurry's party is the place to discuss it."

When Trixie heard this she became very concerned. She asked, "Starlight, if you two had an argument, you know you can tell Trixie about it."

Starlight replied, "I'd love to tell you what happened but I think we better do it in another room," she then cast her gaze at Flurry and continued, "and I think it would be best if Flurry didn't join us."

Trixie nodded and said, "The Great and Powerful Trixie is sorry Flurry but Starlight has to talk to Trixie about something in the next room so you'll have to go back to mama."

Starlight and Trixie's Discussion

Surprisingly Flurry flew off of Trixie's back and to Cadence. The two then headed to the next room where Starlight began, "Trixie, what I am going to tell you needs to stay just between us, alright? I don't want anypony, not even Twilight knowing about it."

Trixie's eyes grew wide as she asked, "Did he do something to you? Did he do something to The Great and Powerful Trixie's best friend?"

Starlight replied, "No but he tried."

Trixie lit up her horn in anger and yelled, "What did he try to do to you?"

Starlight replied, "Well I'll tell you how it began. We were talking about how I cast a spell on my friends for those friendship lessons and then how you, Thorax, Discord and I saved Equestria and everything seemed to be going fine. Then he tells me that he like likes me and asks if I would be his marefriend."

Again Trixie lit her horn up in anger and snapped, "He did what? He asked you to be his marefriend?"

Starlight replied, "Yes he did but I told him that I didn't like him like that, I told him that I wasn't interested." Starlight began to become angry as she continued, "But he wouldn't listen. He kept on saying I should give him a chance because maybe I would like him like that." She lit up her horn in anger and continued, "But I told him again I wasn't interested and he still wouldn't listen!" She fired a bolt of energy at the wall and screamed, "And then he tried to kiss me!"

Trixie too fired energy at the wall and yelled, "He tried to kiss you?"

Starlight yelled, "Yes, he did but I teleported away before he could." She began stomping her hooves on the floor as she continued, "What part of 'I'm not interested' does he not get? Is he really that dense or what?"

Trixie replied, "Well The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't know him very well but Trixie is glad you were firm with him. Hopefully he will not try this again."

Starlight sighed, "I hope not but I have a feeling he will. He will probably try to persuade me in his letters to give him a chance or" she gasped, "show up at the castle and try to persuade Twilight to make me give him a chance."

Trixie replied, "Trixie doesn't think Twilight would try to force you into a relationship but if she does, just let her know you're not interested."

Starlight gave Trixie a wink and replied, "Oh I will." She began to head towards the throne room and continued, "I think we probably better get back to the party. I don't want everypony interrogating us over what we talked about."

Return to the Party

Once the two returned to the party they were in much better moods after talking and like she had before, Flurry immediately flew back to Trixie and landed on her. Starlight couldn't help but laugh, "Wow Trixie, she really likes you!"

Twilight, despite still not being overly fond of Trixie, added, "You know, it seems like she likes Trixie even more than she does Pinkie."

Trixie asked, "I take it she really likes Pinkie."

Twilight replied, "Yes, she does. Like we said not too long after we got here, it was Cadence taking Flurry away from Pinkie that caused her to cry so loud she broke the crystal heart."

Shining, who had been very quiet, chimed in, "Yeah so I'm thinking we probably should just let Flurry fly off Trixie's back when she's ready. After all, we don't want to have a storm like the one that hit when she had her crystalling."

Starlight added, "And with that meltdown Sunburst had, I don't think he would be in any shape to bring the books we would need to fix it either."

Everypony nodded in agreement and continued to discuss everything that had happened with Flurry over the past year until the sun was lowering towards the horizon. Twilight saw this and said, "Well it is getting late in the day. I'm thinking we should probably get going."

Cadence replied, "Probably but it will be Flurry who ultimately decides when you leave. Remember, we don't need her crying with me trying to get her off of Trixie's back."

Trixie took this as a cue, "Well Flurry, The Great and Powerful Trixie has really enjoyed your company but the time for Trixie to go has come so fly back to your mama."

For some reason Flurry listened to Trixie very well and flew back to Cadence. Both Shining and Cadence's jaws dropped open. Shining said, "Trixie, how did you do that? She never listens to us like that!"

Trixie replied, "Perhaps she just likes The Great and Powerful Trixie! Maybe there is something about Trixie that she likes!"

Everypony had a good laugh over that before Twilight said, "Come on ladies, I don't want to be late catching the next train."

Starlight and Trixie nodded in agreement and they followed Twilight towards the train station. As they walked towards the station Trixie counted the houses. She remembered that Sunburst's was ten houses away from the castle to the right. As they passed it the wheels began to turn in her head. She thought to herself, "Well, given everything he did to Starlight, The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks it is time that Trixie comes up her and pays Sunburst a visit." She couldn't help but smile as she continued, "And The Great and Powerful Trixie shall unleash A Great and Powerful Wrath upon him!"