WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?

SEVEN HOURS LATER

The entire population of Ponyville was gathered in front of the town hall for an announcement by Mayor Mare in the middle of the night. While the townsfolk were still wondering what exactly the purpose of this meeting was going to be, pretty much all of them were certain that it had something to do with the gruesome murders that were committed by an unnamed pony or creature earlier that day. It had been several hours since the ear-deafening explosion that had utterly destroyed Sweet Apple Acres and killed nearly every member of the Apple family residing there. All the citizens were then forced to return to their homes for not just their own safety, but also be searched by the royal guards for any possible suspects. On top of all that, the said royal guards were actually sent to the town much earlier in order to investigate another murder that had taken place in the Carousel Boutique.

So, needless to say, the every single one of the citizens had become extremely frightened of these recent developments and were heading towards the town hall with the desperate hope that the one responsible for all this was finally caught. They were all whispering amongst themselves about what each of them went through that day, as well as what they were suspecting to hear at the meeting, continuing to do so even as they gathered in front of the town hall and only going quiet upon seeing their mayor exit the building.

The said mayor then trotted on to a podium with a rather bright smile on her face, cleared her throat, and began, "Fillies and gentlecolts! I sincerely apologize for calling you here at such a late hour, but I do have some very good news to share with you all. I am pleased to announce that the pony who committed all those atrocities earlier today has finally been arrested by the royal guard!"

The entire audience erupted into cheers upon hearing this news while also talking to each other about the fact that they can finally go about their daily lives without further trouble and the possible identity of the murderer, as well as their motivation for all these terrible acts. However, they all went silent once again when Mayor Mare banged on the podium three times before continuing, "Furthermore, the captain of the royal guard has allowed us to see the face of the culprit in order to prevent any more speculation and put our minds at ease. So, without further ado, I present the one responsible for all the chaos and dread that we experienced today: Trixie Lulamoon!"

The mere mention of this name filled every single member of this audience with both shock and horror, made only worse by the sight of Trixie herself exiting the building with a manic grin on her face while also being chained by her front hooves and a royal guard on each side holding the said chains. However, despite being chained, she actually managed to make her way towards the audience while performing a little dance for them along the way, with the guards accompanying her struggling really hard to hold her steady in the process.

Once she was right beside the podium that Mayor Mare was standing on, she gave a complimentary bow to a befuddled, but also terrified audience before waiting patiently for the next announcements. She did not have to wait for long though, as a few seconds after her bow, an unamused Mayor Mare asked, "Well, Miss Lulamoon, do you have anything to say before you depart for Canterlot in order to face judgment for your heinous crimes?"

Trixie's smile disappeared as she took a moment to think about what she was going to tell the audience and as soon as she figured it out, she proceeded to clear her throat and say, "Knock. Knock."

This caused some of the audience members to whisper with one another about what she had meant by that, while others kept staring at her with even more confusion on their faces. Mayor Mayor then curiously inquired, "Um... Who's there?"

In response, Trixie's smile suddenly came back as she announced, "It's me, mom. Dad accidentally fell off our balcony just now. His skull is all over the sidewalk! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!"

The mood of the entire audience shifted from confusion to utter disgust, as the ponies in attendance were either groaning or facehoofing upon hearing this joke. Meanwhile, the guards holding Trixie's chains were not only doing both, but also contemplating about why they were assigned to this duty in the first place and even going as far as questioning their life choices. In the midst of this swirl of negative emotions, however, Trixie was still smiling from ear to ear while also still giggling at her own joke.

That is, until three hits on the podium from a visibly exasperated Mayor Mare finally restored order to the audience and caused to become completely silent once again. She then declared, "If you are not going to take this situation seriously, Miss Lulamoon, then it probably is best that you leave our town immediately to face the appropriate punishment for your petty acts of vengeance. Guards, could you please escort her to-"

"VENGEANCE?!" a now gobsmacked Trixie suddenly interrupted her with a shout before hitting her own head on the floor of the podium four times.

Then, she turned her attention towards the audience and asked, "You actually still think any of this was about getting back at those ponies for insulting me and driving me away when I first arrived here? Are none of you capable of using your freaking brains for even a minute? If I really wanted revenge, I could've simply broken into their houses in the middle of the night and sliced their throats with a tiny knife while they were asleep. And then what? Back to living inside my miserable old carriage that's still parked just outside a disgusting chemical factory? What do you think could've possibly changed about my comedy of a life if I had just gotten something as trivial and pointless as revenge?"

Most of the audience were intently listening to her words while the others tried to come up with a counter argument before eventually giving up and directing their concentration back towards her. Just then, Mayor Mare once again inquired with immense curiosity in her tone of voice, "If the reason for your return to our town wasn't revenge at all, then what exactly was it? Why did you still end up tormenting Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, if you had no intention of getting back at them for what they did you whatsoever?"

As soon as she heard these questions, Trixie turned her heard towards Mayor Mare and took a deep breath before solemnly explaining, "I seek the one thing that every pony wants in this cruel and unforgiving world of ours: acknowledgement. I wanted not only those three ponies, but also this whole town to understand exactly what I was feeling after you drove me away from here. I wanted your so-called 'heroes' to understand what it feels like to lose the one part of yourself that helps you find your purpose in the world, as well as protect the ones you hold the closest to your heart."

"Oh, yes, it wasn't just my horn that I lost during my first visit to your town. I also lost the only family that I had left. Who would that be you may ask? Well, let's just say if I had never gone through what happened that dreadful night, I might have actually had a decent shot at saving him from dying all alone at such a young age."

As she heard the sounds of gasps out of pure horror from not only the audience, but also Mayor Mare and the guards, a genuinely satisfied grin appeared on her face for a split second before suddenly disappearing. She then continued, "In addition, I wanted them, as well as you lot, to understand how it feels to be responsible for the loss of the ones you not just care about, but cherish with all your heart. To put it simply, fillies and gentlecolts, I wanted this whole town to get a glimpse of the pain that's still burning my very soul, so that I could make you all realize just how much you took from me, and also what happens when mentally depressed loners like me are abandoned and treated like trash by the society."

The audience once again dissolved into murmurs after Trixie wrapped up her speech. While some of the ponies were still staring at her with widened eyes and dumbfounded expressions on their faces, the vast majority were busy discussing what they had just heard, with several of them could be heard saying how shameful the actions of their resident protectors truly were and that they were the ones who had brought this misery upon the town in the first place. It was only after they heard an equally shaken Mayor Mare clearing her throat that they turned their attention back toward the town hall, which was followed by her announcing, "Well, it seems you have given us much to consider, Miss Lulamoon. I think we all understand the reason why you did the things you did now and we are all truly sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, as deplorable as our behavior towards you were, that does not change the fact that you still committed horrible crimes and simply must face their consequences sooner or later. So, gentlecolts, if you could please escort her to-"

"Hold on, ma'am. Before we do anything, there's something very important that you should know," one of the royal guards still holding her chains suddenly interrupted. "If what this mare has just said is indeed true, then what we have learned so far should be thoroughly investigated. Then, we shall report our findings directly to both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who will no doubt carefully review the situation before passing any judgment on Miss Lulamoon here."

Mayor Mare became absolutely shocked upon hearing this and even gasped in horror, but then managed to say, "Y-You're reporting this to the p-p-princesses?"

"Afraid so, ma'am," the other guard replied. "In fact, it's very much possible that, in order to pass a fair judgment on all parties involved in these recent crimes, they'll personally arrive here in the near future and begin an investigation of their own. If that ever comes to pass, then there's really no guarantee that they're going to be all that forgiving towards to either Miss Lulamoon or those who participated in her mistreatment. May all of you have a nice day."

Right after saying all this, both guards pulled Trixie's chains to move her from the podium and then, proceeded to walk with her through the onlooking crowd and towards the edge of the town, where their carriage was waiting for them. However, just as they had reached the exact center of the crowd, a visibly panicking Mayor Mare began trotting towards them and although, the guards tried to block her path, she nevertheless pleaded, "Trixie, wait! I know you have every reason to be angry with us, but I am begging you, please try to convince the princesses to show some mercy to Ponyville and its residents. If they ever hear the full extent of what we unintentionally caused, there's simply no telling just how brutally they're going to punish us for it."

Unfortunalely, right after hearing these truly desperate pleas and contemplating them with a stoic expression on her face, Trixie's maniacal smile returned with a vengeance and she even started snickering as she said, "Oh, I know... How about another joke before then?"

As Mayor Mare looked at her with an expression that was a mixture of anguish and befuddlement, she continued, "When I was a little filly, my mother constantly told me to smile and put on a happy face. She even told me I had a great purpose in this world: to bring happiness and laughter to every pony."

"And you know what?"

"I haven't been happy... for even one minute... OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!"

As soon as she shouted those words with immense rage, she leaped straight at Mayor Mare and plunged the broken horn deep into her neck, spraying several gallons of blood everywhere and causing the crowd to run away screaming. Even though Mayor Mare herself was unable to shout or even speak a word, she made a series of gargling noises before passing out from blood loss.

All the while, the guards were struggling to keep Trixie back, but she was simply too strong and erratic for them to handle properly. Thankfully, a much larger group of royal guards, who were all patrolling the empty streets at the time, had heard the commotion and successfully restrained Trixie before carrying her towards the carriage headed for Canterlot while a couple of them stayed behind to bring Mayor Mare to the hospital.

As for Trixie herself, she was swiftly tossed inside the carriage, which started moving as soon as the door was shut tight and locked from the outside. As she stood back up, she touched the blood stain on her horn and stared at it in deep thought for several seconds before finally deciding to touch it with her other hoof and sliding both stains across her mouth, drawing a smile made of blood on her face in the process. Trixie then maniacally smiled once again, confident that no matter what was going to happen to her in Canterlot, she was going out with a bang.