//------------------------------//
// 1 - A Stormy Night 
// Story: Covering for a Magician 
// by Chromentazol 
//------------------------------//

Rolling around in her bed, Starlight struggled to fall asleep. The past few days had been increasingly stressful, especially since she became the school of friendship's new headmare. While Twilight had assured her she'd be the best pony to fill her horseshoes, Starlight couldn't help but feel anxious at the prospect of being in a position of power, something she did not have the greatest track record for. And yet, she accepted the position and had been slowly taking over though the added pressure certainly didn't help the already stressed-out mare.

Thankfully, in order to help her cope with her new stress-inducing role, she knew she could rely on the close friends she made ever since moving to Ponyville. However, her best friend Trixie Lulamoon had been strangely distant for the past week, barely speaking to Starlight and remaining mostly holed up in her wagon. Starlight knew she needed to check on the showmare at some point to see if everything was fine, but her recent obligations prevented her from paying her friend a visit. With a sigh, Starlight promised herself to go and visit Trixie the next day.

Starlight's nightly ruminations were cut short by a cold gust of wind suddenly entering her room, from the opened window. Shivering a little, she glanced toward the night sky and noticed dark clouds slowly forming as rain began to pour. Starlight then remembered what Rainbow Dash had told her earlier that day, about the weather team's night crew plan to bring in some rain clouds while everypony was asleep. She grumbled as she stood up from her bed and walked toward her window, sparking her horn and using her magic to close them. Sitting down on a comfy chair next to her window, Starlight observed with half-lidded eyes the raindrops impacting the glass, the soothing pitter patter slowly helping her mind relax as she waited for sleep to finally take hold of her.

Looking at the darkened streets of Ponyville for a while, Starlight glanced at the nearby houses. Most were devoid of lights, but a few windows were still lit up, either from ponies struggling to sleep just like she was or from those for whom the day hadn't quite ended yet. With a last yawn, Starlight slowly stood up from her seat and was just about to head back to the soft comfort of her bed when something strange caught her eye.

Further in the streets, covered in the night's darkness, two large shapes were slowly moving inside an alley. Starlight raised an eyebrow, wondering who would be out in the middle of the night — and during a scheduled rain pour, no less. Focusing on the shape, she managed to make out some interesting details.

One of the shapes seemed to be lying on the floor, being dragged by the second one. They both seemed to be about the same size, and, despite the lack of light, Starlight could discern that the shape pulling the other was a pony, their drenched mane laying flat on their body. A horn protruded from the pony's head, indicating to Starlight that this pony was a unicorn, though they were not using any magic despite struggling to pull this large mass near their hooves.

The large mass seemed formless at first, with no discernable feature. Starlight quickly understood that this form was a large bag, though its contents were unknown. Finding the scene unfolding near her window highly suspicious, Starlight's horn glowed with her turquoise aura as she focused on a spell that would improve her vision. With a quick flash, her eyes were filled to the brim with energy for a moment, allowing her to see in the dark as if it was the middle of the day.

Starlight's jaw dropped upon finally identifying the suspicion unicorn lurking in the night. There, in the middle of the streets stood nopony else but Trixie Lulamoon, her best friend, struggling in the mud as she pulled a large bloody bag, roughly pony-size. Trixie's face was bruised, and tears were streaming down her cheeks, the magician looking incredibly distraught. Starlight blinked multiple times, her brain trying to process the scene unfolding in front of her. Surely, this wasn't what it looked like, right?

Shaking her head, Starlight's mind began to race. What was going on? Why was Trixie out in the middle of the night just as a storm was forming overhead? And what was inside the bag she was carrying away? Starlight decided not to wait any longer to check on her friend. Based on the look on Trixie's face, Starlight knew that something terrible must've happened to her best friend. And so, with a turquoise flash of light, Starlight teleported next to her distraught friend, completely ignoring the slowly intensifying rain.

Appearing a few meters in front of Trixie, Starlight's sudden arrival caused Trixie to yelp. The startled magician immediately groveled in the mud, her body shivering from the cold and the fear.

"P... Please!" Trixie begged. "It was an accident; I didn't mean to..."

"Trixie, it's me, Starlight," her friend answered as she rushed to her side. "What's going on?!"

Lifting her head from the mud, Trixie's face quickly went from terrified to relieved. "Oh, it's you! You're here just in time, Starlight. The great and powerful Trixie... May have messed up just a little," Trixie said as her voice broke a little.

"I... Can see that," Starlight replied while throwing a quick, worried glance at the bag at her side. "Trixie, what did you do?"

"Listen, it's a long story in which the great and powerful... In which I am completely innocent. So, please, help me drag this away from town before anypony notices..."

"Trixie... You can trust me. Tell me what happened," Starlight placed her hoof on her friend's shoulder, looking at her directly in the eyes.

"I don't... I don't want to talk about it," Trixie glanced to the side, her face growing visibly ashamed which caused Starlight's heart to break. Starlight looked at the pony-sized bag and the bruised and battered face of her friend, making her fear for the worst. Taking in a deep breath, Starlight decided that answers would have to wait. Right now, her friend needed her help.

"... Alright. Let's see what we can do," Starlight said as her horn sparked once again, grabbing the bag with her aura and carefully lifting it above the ground. She tried to ignore how wet and stiff the thing inside the bag was, though she wondered for how long Trixie had been struggling with... The bag's contents.

"Great! I knew I could count on you," Trixie excitedly said, causing Starlight to shush her so as to not wake up anypony nearby. "Now, all we need is a shovel... I don't suppose we can borrow one from Twilight's place?"





One hour later, the two mares were standing near the edge of the Everfree forest. The rain had been intensifying consistently, slowly turning into a storm as the night went on. Starlight was sweating profusely as she focused on digging a hole with the shovel she had 'borrowed' from Twilight's castle. Though she used her magic to dig with the shovel, Starlight felt physical exhaustion slowly taking hold. Looking from the side, a drenched Trixie was keeping an eye out, making sure nopony could see them.

"... Trixie," Starlight started as she took a moment to catch her breath, "Do you think we can... switch places, for a bit?"

"What, and do manual labor? Come on, Starlight, you know the Great and Powerful Trixie is above all that... Though, uh, she is infinitely grateful for your assistance."

Ever since Starlight offered to help Trixie, the azure unicorn's mood had drastically improved and returned to her usual theatrical self. Usually, Starlight would have felt annoyed at her refusal to help, but the situation caused her to rethink things. Something traumatic must've happened to her best friend, which Trixie could be coping with by forcing herself to be her usual self... A way to cling onto a feeling on normalcy, Starlight supposed. And so, focusing on the task at hoof, Starlight remained silent as she kept digging.

Answers would have to wait. For now, all that mattered was to protect her friend while she figured out what exactly had happened. She knew that Trixie was a good pony, deep down, and that she wouldn't willingly commit a crime of this caliber. She thought about peeking inside the bag, to at least see who might be inside, but doing so in Trixie's presence could have disastrous effects, Starlight thought.

Eventually, Starlight finished digging a hole deep enough for the bag. Quickly and carefully placing it inside, she then began the process of burying the bag, a pit forming in her stomach as she looked at the grave she dug for her friend's sake. Starlight couldn't help but feel guilty as intrusive thoughts began to fill her head. She had been so busy with the school of friendship to the point where she started neglecting her best friend. Trixie must've found herself in trouble during that time, Starlight guessed, and had to deal with it herself... Which must have led to this situation.

The least Starlight could do, she thought, was to help Trixie deal with this mess.

"Okay, I think it's done," Starlight said with a somber tone. "Let's... Let's get you home and warmed up. Then we can talk about... This."

"There's nothing to talk about," Trixie retorted. "We just need to pretend like this never happened and then we can go back to our regular lives where we never mention this ever again," she said with a strangely casual tone.

Starlight felt conflicted. Obviously, she couldn't just let this event slide — ponies were bound to notice a disappearance sooner or later, which would cause an investigation that would inevitably worm its way toward them. "No, Trixie, we need to get ahead of this. Whatever happened, I'm sure it wasn't your fault... And as difficult as it might be, you need to come clean, Trix," Starlight spoke with a soft voice, slowly stepping toward her friend.

"No, you don't get it," she replied with a more worried tone. "If word gets out of what The Great and Powerful Trixie has done, then... Then, she'd kill me, Starlight. I need you to stay silent... Please."

Starlight's jaw dropped. Trixie was in a much deeper mess than she'd thought and now, she herself was involved. At the very least, however, she now had a lead, though it wasn't much: somepony must be threatening Trixie, and that somepony was a 'she'. Taking in a deep breath, she stared at Trixie.

"... Alright, let's call it a night for now. But you need to tell me what's going on, Trixie. I swear I'll do everything to protect you."

"Fine, I'll tell you... Later, though. Not right now. The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a warm bath, right now... Do you think Twilight will mind if I use her bathroom?" Trixie asked with a small smirk, already back to her smug self.

Ignoring the twitch of her eye, Starlight stared at her friend with a deadpan expression, wishing that Trixie could remain serious. "I don't think it's a good idea... Unless you're ready to tell Twilight why you're using the bathroom in the middle of the night if she hears you."

"Well, I'd like a last proper bath before hitting the road."

"Wh... What?!"

"Well, I can't stay in Ponyville right now, duh. I need to get out of here for a few days, while this whole thing blows over... For my safety. Don't worry, though, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall be back soon... Once Ponyville is safe again. Besides, I've got a show planned in Manehattan next week."

Rubbing her temples with a hoof, Starlight felt the beginning of a headache appear. "... Fine. You stay out of Ponyville for some time, and I'll try to take care of whoever is threatening you in the meanwhile. You just need to tell me the truth. Do we have a deal?"

"I... I can't, Starlight. Sorry... My lips are sealed," Trixie dejectedly. This caused Starlight's mind to once again race, trying to figure out what was going on. If Trixie couldn't even say what was going on, then the mare threatening her must be incredibly dangerous. Yes, that must be it, Starlight thought. She couldn't see any other logical explanation.

"Don't worry, I think I've got it," Starlight replied after some time. If Trixie couldn't say anything in fear of retribution, then Starlight will have to investigate on her own. This was bound to be a difficult task, but for the sake of her best friend, she was ready to raze mountains if she needed to. Trixie's face lit up.

"You do? Great! I knew the Great and Powerful Trixie could count on you! I'll just quickly use Twilight's bathroom, then skip town in my wagon. I'll be back sometime next week. I'm sure a smart mare like yourself can take care of the Great and Powerful Trixie's little... Accident," she said with a wink. "After all, you're Ponyville's second smartest mare! After Trixie, of course."

Repressing a groan, Starlight nodded. "Right. Let's get you to Twilight's castle, then, but be quick."





Another hour later, the two mares stood in front of Twilight's castle. A now clean Trixie stood proudly in the middle of the street, styling her mane with a brush she 'borrowed' from Twilight's bathroom. Starlight stood next to her, completely exhausted, her face filled with worry. The night had been a long one so far and she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after everything that happened. At least, however, the rain had stopped, the storm had passed.

"So... I'll see you next week?" Starlight asked.

"Yup. I'm sure you'll have this whole mess under control by then, right?"

"I'll do my best," Starlight tiredly replied.

"Great, I knew I could count on you," Trixie said while hugging her friend. "Oh, and one last thing, Starlight... Please, don't talk to anypony about tonight. Especially Twilight."

"I... Why? You know you can trust Twilight as much as you can trust me, despite your, uh... Complicated relationship."

"No, you don't get it. If Twilight learns about it, then it will inevitably come back to her... If that happens, I'm done for, Starlight. Promise me you'll keep this a secret."

Starlight sighed. "...Fine."

With a last glance, Trixie began walking away, toward her wagon while Starlight headed back inside. As Trixie reached her wagon and began to leave the town, however, she began to wonder why Starlight acted so strange that night. Sure, Trixie may have screwed up extremely badly, but Starlight had been acting like if Trixie had killed somepony.

"... Pfft, no, that's ridiculous," Trixie said aloud. "She wouldn't believe something crazy like that."

And so, without a care in the world and with the confidence that Starlight would fix her mess while she's gone, Trixie left Ponyville, headed for another of her famous shows.