It had gotten late in the night and the festivities outside had died down some time ago, leaving everything quiet and serene. In the silence of the night, the three fillies and Ancient Scroll slept in several cots laid out for each of them downstairs.
Or at least, most of them slept.
Trixie wanted to sleep, but she couldn't.
It wasn't the beds that were the problem -- though they were little more than little cots on the living room floor, they were still fairly comfortable. It wasn't Sunset's terribly loud snoring -- Rouge had given them both something to take for that after Twilight had made a complaint to Ancient Scroll.
The problem wasn't so mundane.
The reason she couldn't sleep was because of what Twilight had told them earlier. She really had remembered everything, and she had managed to tell them everything, even though it had obviously hurt to do so.
Now that she had heard both Twilight and Sunset's stories, she couldn't help but compare them to her own -- specifically regarding their parents.
Sunset was raised in an orphanage and had never even known her parents.
Twilight loved her family and they were all ripped away from her by the same monsters that killed Abilia Lulamoon.
Trixie... still wasn't quite sure how to feel about her own situation regarding Luciano and Abilia.
She was certain she despised them, and overtime she had realized that she was glad they were gone... but she still wasn't sure if it was okay to feel that way given how they died.
Trixie had killed Luciano in a fit of cold rage and, looking back on it, she felt no remorse for the deed.
Did he deserve it?
Of course he did, and Abilia deserved the same -- or so Trixie told herself.
But was it okay to feel that way? She was only a foal after all and she was sure regular ponies didn't feel this way about murdering ponies -- let alone a foal feeling this way.
What about if another pony wronged her in some terrible way? Would it be okay to kill them too? Would it get easier and easier until she didn't care who she hurt or killed?
Wouldn't that make her just like Luciano and Abilia?
Wouldn't that make her just like the Razor Twins?
What would she and Twilight do if they ever ran into the two murderers again?
Trixie had no desire to avenge the death of Abilia, but they did nearly kill Trixie herself -- and if they really had killed Hoofdini...
And then there was Twilight.
She had all the reason in the world to want revenge against the twins, but would she go through with it?
If she had the power to, would she be willing to kill her family's killers?
She couldn't help but think back to the Razor Twins and how they had killed Abilia, almost killed Trixie herself, and -- now that Twilight had all but confirmed their involvement in her family's murder -- possibly killed Hoofdini as well.
The thought pained her... greatly, but it was nothing she hadn't already considered and agonized over countless times before. After all, she had passed out from what she now knew was blood loss before she could see what had become of him.
Still, there was some hope left.
Just because the Razor Twins were alive didn't necessarily mean Hoofdini was dead. For all Trixie knew, the magician could have easily escaped the twins.
Trixie had decided then and there, to trust that Hoofdini had made it out okay and was alive and well, putting on more spectacular shows somewhere out there in Equestria.
She would believe that until she was proven otherwise.
"Trixie?"
Trixie turned to the cot opposite the one she was laying in. Twilight had turned to face her with a worried and somewhat contemplative frown.
"I guess you couldn't sleep either, huh?" she asked with a wry smile.
"No," Trixie replied with a shake of her head, "Trixie has too much on her mind."
Twilight sighed quietly and turned to face the ceiling above as she spoke.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," she muttered, "after telling you both about what happened, I couldn't stop thinking about it."
"You were pretty upset by the end of everything," Trixie said with eyeing the lavender filly, "are you okay now?"
"I don't know, Trixie," Twilight answered with a shake of her head before looking back to the azure filly, "it's a lot to take in. I'm never going to see my family again and... I don't think I'll ever stop being sad about that."
She looked away for a moment before turning back to Trixie with a small smile.
"I know I have you, Sunset, and Uncle Scroll to look after me... and that might be enough... for now." her smile faltered and she looked away again, "I just wish I didn't have to lose mom, dad, and Shiny to meet you all..."
They were both quiet for a moment and Trixie reluctantly decided to ask the question that had been on her mind.
"Twilight, do you..." she hesitated and Twilight looked over to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Do I what?" she asked curiously.
Trixie opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.
"What would you do if... if you ever met those two again?" the azure filly asked, "the Razor Twins I mean?"
Twilight was quiet for a long moment.
It got to the point where Trixie thought she might've made a mistake in asking. She was about to apologize and move on to something else when Twilight suddenly spoke again.
"Well..." she finally replied, "what would you do, Trixie?"
"Me?" Trixie asked in surprise, "why would you ask m... why would you ask Trixie such a thing?"
"Well, why not?" Twilight responded, "from what you told us, they killed your mom too."
"Twilight," Trixie answered with a frown, "Trixie's mother was a horrible pony. Her and Trixie's father both," she shook her head, "Trixie had a lot of time to think about how she feels, and she's decided that she doesn't regret what happened to them."
Twilight looked at Trixie sadly before she sighed and turned away.
"Yeah," she murmured, "I guess that makes sense after what they did to you..."
"You still haven't answered Trixie's question, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight winced and looked back to see Trixie wearing an expectant frown.
"I..." Twilight swallowed, "I'm not sure what I'd do, Trixie. It's not like I haven't thought about it since I remembered, in fact I was just thinking about it earlier."
She went back to staring at the ceiling.
"...In reality, I'd probably try to run away out of fear," she continued, "but I don't know if I'd make it."
"Would you try to fight back if they attacked you?"
"I don't know, Trixie," Twilight replied, furrowing her brow, "maybe."
"Would you try to avenge your family?" Trixie asked, deciding to throw caution to the wind, "would you kill them if you had the power?"
"I don't know!" the lavender filly cried as she glared at Trixie, "I thought about it, okay? I thought about taking revenge on them for what they did to my family, but I don't think I could. I'm not that kind of pony, Trixie."
She grit her teeth in frustration before shifting her cot so that she was facing away from the azure filly.
"I want to say that I would," she muttered quietly, "I want them to pay for what they did, but I don't think I have it in me to do it myself."
Trixie stared at Twilight's back for a moment before looking at her own hooves.
"...I think I would've killed them if I had the chance."
Twilight turned back to the azure filly in surprise, but Trixie didn't notice as she continued.
"If I had a loving family like you did, and that was taken away from me," she clenched her teeth in anger, "I would've done everything I could to make sure the pony responsible suffered for it."
"Trixie..."
"I know it's wrong, Twilight," Trixie continued with a shake of her head, "I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I can't help it."
"It wouldn't be worth it, Trixie."
Twilight and Trixie both turned to the other cot across from them to see Sunset eyeing Trixie with a disapproving frown.
"Twilight's right not to even attempt it," the orange filly continued, "all revenge will do is get you killed."
"Trixie knows revenge isn't the answer, Sunset," Trixie replied, "but she can't help but feel this way regardless."
"And would you still feel that way if say, you dragged us into it and got us killed in the process?" Sunset retorted.
Trixie blanched at the thought and looked away.
"...No," she said quietly after a moment, "no I wouldn't."
"I didn't think so," Sunset replied with a knowing nod, "revenge is not a road you want to take, Trixie... ever. It does nothing but hurt you and those close to you."
Sunset turned away, her eyes growing distant.
"There was this one colt I knew back at the orphanage who learned that lesson the hard way..."
She went quiet for a time.
Twilight and Trixie looked at each other worriedly before turning back to the reminiscing orange filly.
"Um... Sunset?" Twilight asked in concern, "are you okay?"
"Uncle Scroll told me about the filly he had taken care of way back before I stayed with him," Sunset replied suddenly, "according to him, this was years ago."
Twilight blinked in confusion before her eyebrows raised in realization.
"That's right," Twilight replied, "Dahlia mentioned something along those lines and you said you'd tell us about it."
Sunset nodded and turned back to the other two.
"The filly's name was Frigid Gale," she began, "apparently the Princess did something really bad to her, like with me."
"What did she do?" Trixie asked curiously, "was it as bad as what she did to you?"
"I don't know," Sunset replied, "all I do know is that it was bad, very bad. Bad enough for her to run away from Uncle Scroll and try to get revenge on the Princess."
"Wait," Twilight said holding up a hoof, "you're telling me she actually tried to get revenge on Princess Celestia?"
"I know," Sunset answered with a nod, "I couldn't believe it either, but Uncle Scroll showed me her journal and it's all there. From what I read, it sounded like she was serious."
"Trixie... doesn't know if she'd go quite that far," the azure filly muttered, "even Trixie isn't that stupid."
"Revenge is a stupid idea to begin with," Sunset responded, "this is what I'm talking about. If you or Twilight were to face the Razor Twins as you are now, they'd kill you in an instant -- and they'd probably enjoy it."
She shook her head and looked between the other two fillies before laying back down and pulling her blanket back over herself.
"The best thing you could do is try to let it go," she continued, "I know it won't be easy, and it might take some time, but you'll live longer if you do."
The orange filly turned away from the two and was quiet once more, making it clear she was done with conversation. Twilight and Trixie turned to each other before laying back down on their own cots.
Each filly contemplated Sunset's words as they got comfortable. Trixie tried to take her words to heart, but when she put herself in Twilight's position, she found she couldn't agree with the orange filly.
She still couldn't help but feel the same deep down.
Twilight had agreed with the orange filly for the most part, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel the slightest hint of bitterness at the back of her mind.
Sunset had never known her parents, and so hadn't felt the pain of losing them. It was easy to say that revenge was wrong when she hadn't experienced that kind of heartache.
Yes the Princess had done something terrible to Sunset, but in Twilight's opinion, it didn't compare to losing all of her loved ones -- not even close. Contrary to what Sunset had said, the lavender filly didn't think she'd ever be able to just let her family's murder go.
She thought back to Trixie's question of whether or not she'd take revenge if she had the power to. The more she thought about it in fact, the more uncertain she became.
She may have been against revenge as she was now, but given the chance and the power to do so...
Would she take justice into her own hooves?