Twilight woke up to the smell of something delicious. She walked out of her room to see Spike up and about and cooking eggs and toast, balancing himself on one of his crutches while he handled a frying pan with his other hand.
"Morning, Twi!" he said. "I thought I'd do the cooking today. I mean, with your condition you shouldn't be stressing your magic too much, especially not in the early morning. I hope you like it!"
"I appreciate it, Spike." Twilight sat down at the table.
Spike pulled out a knife and a cutting board, to cut up some tomatoes and an onion. "So I couldn't get to sleep last night because I was thinking about this, and I had a lot of time to think."
Twilight had slept like a log after her harrowing day yesterday, but she couldn't share that story now so she just nodded.
Spike continued. "The grand galloping gala is coming in a couple of months. You should go!"
Twilight's ears perked up. "What? You know I haven't gone there in years."
"Well..." Spike mixed the chopped vegetables in with the eggs. "You know that Princess Celestia sends us invites every year. I know you always return them, but now... things are different."
"I don't know where you're going with this."
Spike popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster. "The Princess of course! She can set you up with the best doctors in Canterlot. The most advanced treatment available. She owes you that and she knows it."
Twilight grimaced. "No, Spike. I appreciate the thought but... it's not as simple as you think it is."
"I know that you and Princess Celestia have your differences, but can't you just put it aside for now? Isn't this more important?"
"I'm sorry. I can't explain this in a way that will satisfy you, but Princess Celestia is not an option."
Spike got a couple of plates and divided the eggs and toast up between the two. He carried them to the table and set them now. "Twi, I really think you're making this more complicated than it actually is."
"I'll tell you the whole story some day when I'm ready. But that's all I've got to say for now."
-
Pinkie Pie fidgeted nervously behind the counter at Sugar Cube Corner. It was a Tuesday, and Sugar Cube Corner was always open on Tuesday. She owned the place, so she could close up shop while Trixie was tied up in the basement, but Tuesday was the busiest day of the week and too many ponies would ask her about it. And Pinkie was a bad liar. Perhaps not as bad as Applejack, but damn close. So there was no choice but to carry on with business.
"Pinkie?"
She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound, and realized she was looking directly at Cheerilee. "Oh! Hi! Didn't see you come in!"
Cheerilee looked confused. "You were staring right at me when I walked in."
"You're about the same color as the door. It was like camoflauge. You're a door ninja! Sneaky!"
Cheerilee chuckled. "Oh, Pinkie, you're a riot! Now, do you have any of those delicious crystalberry pies today?"
"Nope, no crystal spark pies today, we're out. Berry! I meant berry! Wait, yes, we do have crystal, crystalberry pies. On the third shelf behind you on your left. No! My left!"
There was a strange, awkward silence between them for a moment, but Cheerilee just smiled and turned around to pick up the pie. Pinkie brushed some sweat from her forehead and tried to concentrate on looking normal. She noticed that she was shaking a bit. Hopefully not enough to be visible. She tried to make herself stop.
Cheerilee put the pie on the counter and asked "How much is the dead Gilda?"
Pinkie Pie gasped and stuttered. "W...w..what?"
"I said how much is the pie?" she replied, and that was probably what she had actually said the first time too.
"Four bits! Thank you for shopping at sugar cube corner! Come again! Nobody's in the basement! Bye!"
"I haven't paid yet... and what was that about the basement?"
"I didn't say anything about the basement, silly!" Pinkie smiled nervously.
After the transaction was complete, Cheerilee walked out the door, and Pinkie collapsed to the floor. "Come on, Pinkie! Get it together!" she said to herself. "You can do this! Just act natural, like nothing's wrong..."
She suddenly heard the ringing sound which meant the door to the shop had opened. She quickly stood up, bashing her head against the bottom of the counter.
-
Twilight saw Cheerilee leaving Sugar Cube corner as she walked there, and waved as they passed each other. Cheerilee waved back with a big smile. Twilight opened the door and walked in. She didn't see Pinkie in there, but heard a loud thud from under the counter.
Pinkie popped up from under the counter, holding a hoof to the back of her head. "Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner. How may I help you? Oh! Twilight, you're here!"
"How long until closing time?"
"Two hours, but the midday rush is over. I can close up early."
"Please do. We have to deal with our problems."
Pinkie walked to the door and opened it. She looked around for any potential customers who may be approaching. Seeing none, she hung a closed sign on the door, then shut it and locked it.
Twilight paced back and forth slowly. "Problem one: Gilda. A dead 150-pound griffon that we need to get rid of. I think I have an idea for that, but problem number two is somewhat more complicated. That is, unless her status has... changed?"
"Trixie's still alive."
Twilight closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "We can't let her go."
Pinkie looked at Twilight uneasily, a look that made Twilight feel ashamed of herself.
"Pinkie, I know this sounds horrible, but we've got no choice here. Our lives, our friends' and families' lives are on the line here. She's too dangerous to let go."
Her mind made up, Twilight pulled open a kitchen drawer and levitated out a large knife.
"Wait!" yelled Pinkie. "We have to think about this more!"
Twilight ignored her and walked down the stairway to the basement, the knife floating behind her.
-
"She's too dangerous to let go." Trixie heard Twilight's muffled voice upstairs.
Her heart began beating faster. After a night's sleep, her mind was functioning clearly. And with that clarity came the full realization of how bad of a situation she was in. From what she heard upstairs, Pinkie and Twilight were coming to the inevitable conclusion that Trixie would have to die.
No. Don't panic. They're not killers. They won't be able to go through with it.
She tried to reassure herself, but heard an ominous sound of a kitchen drawer opening and a sound of metal objects in the drawer being moved around. She knew it had to be a knife, but wouldn't let herself believe that.
"Wait" came Pinkie's muffled voice. "We have to think about this more!"
A light shown across the stairs as the door opened, and she saw Twilight walking down the stairs.
Look, she's unarmed. You're okay. You're okay. Don't panic.
When Twilight was halfway down the stairs was when she noticed the knife floating behind her.
It was now time to panic.
"No! Twilight! Please! Don't do it! I won't say anything to anypony! I'll leave town! You'll never see me again!"
Twilight didn't even look at Trixie or break step. She walked the rest of the way down the stairs and turned toward Trixie, eyes down to the ground.
"I swear to Celestia I won't say a single word! You have to believe me!"
Twilight kept walking towards Trixie, still looking at the ground. She had obviously made up her mind not to listen to Trixie's pleas. Her heart racing, she desparately struggled against the yoke, her neck already bruised from last night. Twilight was only a few feet away. Trixie charged up her horn and let a blast of magical energy loose at Twilight, but Twilight had sensed it while it was still charging, and had thrown up a temporary purple force field that fizzled the energy bolt harmlessly.
"Please! No!" Trixie squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth.
Twilight stopped right in front of Trixie, the knife levitating in the air, drawn back, ready to strike.
Trixie began to cry. "I'm sorry!" she squealed, her eyes still shut, anticipating a short and painful end.
It didn't happen. Trixie opened her eyes and saw Twilight frozen in place like a statue. Twilight's eyes seemed to be clearer, as if she had just woken from a trance. She stumbled backward, looking bewildered, and the knife left her field of levitation and clattered to the floor. Twilight sat down and stared at Trixie, slack-jawed.
A wave of relief washed over Trixie as she saw the knife fall. She relaxed and just let the tears flow. "I'm so sorry for everything. I can't ask you to forgive me but... please..." Trixie sobbed. "I'm not the Great and Powerful Trix. I've never been great at anything. My magic is barely kindergarten level. I just make it look flashy. I'm addicted to Spark and I live by myself in a cheap little traveling wagon. I'm nothing. I got nothing. Please.... just let me go... I'm not worth any of this."
-
The shock to Twilight's system left everything spinning around her. With Gilda it had been an immediate life-or-death situation and she had simply reacted. But just now with Trixie she had come dangerously close to cold-blooded murder, and the horrible realization had her feeling sick and ashamed.
"...Please... just let me go... I'm not worth any of this."
The room kept spinning around Twilight, coming in and out of focus. "Why... why is this happening? How did it get this way?"
"I don't know." cried Trixie. "I just wanted to make some money. Needed to make some money."
"Any way possible." answered Twilight, understanding where Trixie was coming from.
"I was a magician. I had a travelling show. I was making a good living of it. I know I belittled your friends and lied about the Ursa Major. But it was just a show! It was a stage persona! But thanks to you, I became the laughing stock of Equestria. My name became a joke!"
"I never meant to do that, Trixie!"
Trixie sobbed deeply. "I... I couldn't do it anymore! I spent a few months homeless! I... I didn't have any... any f..friends to help me... I started taking Spark... I couldn't stop taking it! And I needed money, so I got in with some drug dealers! I'm not a bad pony, Twilight!"
Twilight stood up slowly and walked away from Trixie, and walked into an adjoining storage room. On the floor was Gilda's dead body. Next to it was a table with Trixie's cape and hat, and a small brass key next to it. She sighed and levitated all three items, and walked back to Trixie with them.
"I'm not a murderer, and I don't believe you are either." said Twilight.
Trixie smiled at her. "Thank you so much! I can't tell you how much this means to me. I'm going to change my life for the better!"
Twilight levitated the key to the yoke around Trixie's neck, inserted it in the hole and turned it. It clicked and released Trixie.
"You brought my hat and cape. I guess I can walk out of here with some dignity."
Trixie levitated the cape and placed it around her shoulders, partially covering up the bruises in her neck. She levitated her hat to her head.
At that moment, Twilight instantly had a feeling that something was completely wrong. A subtle change in Trixie's eyes the moment the hat came on. She also sensed a tingle of energy in the air. Trixie had no further use for levitation after that moment, but if she were to pick something else up, the glow around her horn would be hidden by her hat.
A horrific realization hit Twilight and she reacted before her conscious mind could process the information. She ducked as the knife that she had dropped and forgotten about flew past her, and Twilight let loose some telekinetic energy to alter the knife's trajectory while keeping its momentum.
Trixie's eyes went wide as the knife slammed into her chest, and the wave of telekinetic power knocked her off her feet into the wall. Twilight walked up to Trixie, who was slumped against the wall, blood gushing out her wound. Trixie gasped for breath and struggled to focus her power on taking the knife out. But Twilight seized the knife with her magic and drove it in further. Blood came out the sides of Trixie's mouth. She fixed her eyes on Twilight, a look of pure hatred. Twilight yanked the knife out, and Trixie's expression changed to a dazzled bewilderment. She tried to take in a couple of breaths, but her eyes rolled up and she passed out.
-
Pinkie Pie gasped as a blood-spattered Twilight emerged from the basement.
"W... what happened?"
"Problem number one is solved. Now we have to deal with problem number two."