As the sun slowly rose from the horizon, Starlight groaned while burying her head deep into her pillow. She had hoped that the night, however short it may have been, would have brought her a clear mind to tackle Trixie's problem. Unfortunately, Starlight had been completely unable to get any rest at all, turning in her bed repeatedly as her mind played a multitude of scenarios. And now, with her alarm bell mere minutes away from ringing, Starlight reluctantly stepped out of her bed and headed toward her bathroom.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she saw the deep bag under her eyes and her frazzled mane. Mechanically going through the motion, she began her morning routine with the addition of a splash of cold water to help her stay sharp. Observing her face dripping with water in the mirror, Starlight knew that she'd have to drink an obscene amount of coffee to get through the day.
After taking a quick shower, brushing her mane and applying makeup to hide the bags under her eyes, Starlight took a deep breath. While she did not know the depth of the troubles Trixie found herself in, Starlight had formulated the outlines of a plan for the day. First off, she needed to investigate without arousing suspicions. She would have to go with her regular schedule while pretending that nothing was wrong. This would mean spending most of the days inside her new office in Twilight's school of friendship, dealing with whatever administrative matter that would come her way.
All the while, Starlight planned on trying to get as much information as possible from her colleagues and the students at the school. Any news, rumors, scandals and whispers could contain clues to help Starlight figure out the puzzle of Trixie's crime. Above all else, Starlight needed to know who was buried near the edge of the Everfree. If she couldn't get any lead by the end of the day, she would have to go back to the grave and dig up the bag to confirm the corpse's identity. She couldn't do that before the school day started, as she would've been left with no time to clean herself up — and a dirt-covered headmare would surely raise suspicion — and Starlight was unable to do so while burying the body with Trixie nearby.
Thinking back on her friend's attitude during the previous night, Starlight felt heartbroken. Trixie had obviously put up walls around her true feelings — probably to hide the depth of her guilt, or the trauma associated with the incident, Starlight thought. Starlight regretted not peeking inside the bag while Trixie stood watch, however, but she was unable to think rationally back then.
With one last look at the mirror, Starlight took a deep breath. Whatever happened today, she would find a way to protect Trixie.
Two hours later, Starlight felt like she was ready to keel over, die and be buried herself. As she sat at her desk eyeing her third cup of coffee of the day, she groaned slightly. Ever since stepping inside the school that morning, Starlight had managed to keep a straight face — at least, for now, but upon seeing the stack of files and documents piled onto her desk, she felt her soul leaving her body.
Starlight began to painstakingly sort through every file while mulling over her next step. She hadn't had the chance to talk with anypony else yet, but she would soon meet Twilight at lunch. Later in the afternoon, she also had planned on checking out the school's buckball team in preparation for a small local tournament organized later that month. Starlight planned on talking to the students then and seeing if they would have heard any interesting rumors. All she needed to do was to find a way to ask them without sounding too suspicious.
Starlight's train of thoughts was cut short by a weak knock on her door. Quickly straightening herself up, Starlight cleared her throat before speaking up. "Come in," she said while trying to act as natural as possible. The door slowly opened, revealing an anxious looking Fluttershy hesitating to step inside Starlight's office.
"Uh... Is this a good time?" Fluttershy asked while looking Starlight directly in the eyes.
"Of course, Fluttershy! What can I do for you?" Starlight responded with a forced smile. The yellow pegasus nodded, then took a few steps forward.
"It's just... Well, I hope it's not too much trouble, but... Uh... If I could... Maybe leave early today?" Fluttershy finally said. Her voice betrayed her anxiety, but there was a hint of another emotion, one Starlight couldn't exactly pinpoint yet...
"O... Oh... Uh, yes, of course, Fluttershy. Can I ask why, though, if you don't mind? Are you feeling unwell?"
Fluttershy took a moment before answering, her eyes scanning the room for a short moment. "I'm not sick or anything, but I do have an... Urgent issue I need to deal with at the animal sanctuary."
"Really? Nothing too bad, I hope?"
"W... Well, I'm not exactly sure yet, actually. When I woke up this morning, I saw that the padlock leading inside the storage room was broken. It may just have been an accident with one of the animals living in the sanctuary, but I need to make sure nothing is missing."
"Do you... Think somepony might have sneaked in?" Starlight tentatively asked.
"I don't know yet. When I saw the broken padlock, I was already running late, so I came here directly. I really need to make sure nothing was stolen, though. There are some potentially dangerous things stored there," Fluttershy said while maintaining eye contact with Starlight. Her emotions became clear to Starlight: the pegasus was anxious, sure, but there was also a tinge of anger and frustration.
"Oh dear... What kind of stuff do you store there?"
"Well, mostly food and supplies for the animals at the sanctuary, but there are some medical supplies also stored there. If it fell into the wrong hooves... Also, uh, it is kind of expensive," she added while blushing slightly.
"I see. You need to go and check, then. I'll go and see if I can get somepony else to fill in for your classes today."
"Thank you, Starlight," Fluttershy answered with a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry for springing this up on you so suddenly, since you already seem to be having a bad day..."
"E-Excuse me?! I'm totally fine! What would make you think otherwise?" Starlight began sweating profusely. Did Fluttershy see through her disguise this easily?
"Well, you're drinking coffee instead of your usual hot cocoa... Also, no offense, but you kind of look like a mess."
Starlight blinked a few times. While it was true that Fluttershy made great stride toward being a more assertive pony, it was still surprising to her to see her usually meek friend confront her so openly. Starlight gulped, desperately trying to maintain her facade. "Oh, don't worry about that. I just... Went to bed late last night. Lots of administrative work piling up... As you can see!" She waved toward the large stack of files on her desk. Fluttershy simply raised an eyebrow, clearly seeing through Starlight's lies, but decided not to confront her any further.
"If you say so... In any case, thank you for today. I'll go back to the sanctuary really quickly and, uh, maybe report a robbery."
With one last nod, Starlight watched Fluttershy carefully leaving her office. As soon as the door closed, Starlight exhaled the breath she'd been holding in for the past few moments. It didn't take a genius to guess that Trixie was involved with the break-in at Fluttershy's animal sanctuary. "But why would she go stealing medical supplies?" Starlight wondered aloud. Fluttershy did mention that some of the items stored there were potentially dangerous. Perhaps Trixie stole some drug and used it to kill that pony in the bag? But then, it could hardly count as an accident. In Starlight's mind, this whole scenario became much more complex. Trixie could hardly claim self-defense if she stole drugs and used them to kill somepony. What could her justification be, though?
Feeling her heart rate increase, Starlight focused on her breathing. She was already anxious enough as is. For all she knew, this could all be a huge coincidence. Maybe, just like Fluttershy said, it was simply one of the sanctuary's residents that broke the padlock during the night by accident. Maybe nothing had been stolen, or nothing dangerous, at least. Maybe it was a completely unrelated crime, one that wasn't linked to the mess Trixie found herself in.
Starlight finished her coffee in one gulp, then went to get her fourth cup of the day.
By lunchtime, Starlight's body was so caffeinated that she could almost taste colors. Almost. Heading outside for her lunch with Twilight, Starlight struggled to keep her eyes from twitching. After learning what happened in Fluttershy's animal sanctuary, Starlight's anxiety shot through the roof. If Fluttershy somehow found any incriminating evidence against Trixie, Starlight wasn't sure if she could do anything to help her friend. And now that she herself was involved with this mess, having helped bury a body in the middle of the night, Starlight knew that she could be in some deep trouble, especially given her new position as headmare of the School of Friendship.
As she approached the school's gardens where Twilight was awaiting her, Starlight thought for a brief moment about plunging her head in one of the fountains but ended up deciding against it. Right now, she needed to have lunch with her mentor and to stay sharp. Whoever was threatening Trixie, Twilight was close to them. If Starlight played her cards right, she just might be able to find a clue that'll lead her to not only solve the case, but to also find a way to save her friend from repercussions.
... But then again, should Trixie be spared any form of repercussion? Starlight's mind began to wander. Murder was, after all, a pretty serious event, even if in self-defense. And with the potential stealing of a murder weapon at the animal sanctuary, the 'self-defense' theory began to lose a lot of credibility. Was this murder premeditated? Was it really an accident, like Trixie claimed? And who was that pony threatening her? Did they know about the murder and wanted revenge, or to blackmail Trixie? Countless theories flooded Starlight's over-caffeinated mind until a voice called out to her, suddenly pulling her out of her intensifying worry.
"Equestria to Starlight, is anypony there?" Twilight asked while waving a hoof mere inches away from Starlight's face, causing her to blink a few times. Looking around, Starlight saw that she not only had passed right by the bench where Twilight was waiting for her, she was also just about to step directly into a fountain were it not for her mentor's call.
Shaking her head and blushing a little, Starlight turned her head toward Twilight. "Oh! Hi, Twilight! I, uh, didn't see you," she said before following with a nervous chuckle and a forced smile.
"I noticed. Is everything alright?" Twilight's tone exuded worry... And what Starlight understood as a hint of suspicion.
"Y... Yep, everything's tip-toppity top! I was just lost in thought, thinking about..." Starlight stealthily scanned the area around her, hoping to find a justification.
Slowly tilting her head, Twilight stared at Starlight. "Thinking about...?"
"... Ducks!" Starlight replied, as if she had an epiphany.
"... Ducks?"
"Ducks."
"... Right. Ducks. Do you want to elaborate, or—"
"I just think they're neat! With their... Uh... Beaks! And feathers! And, uh... Ears?"
"Ears?" Twilight asked, her face growing more incredulous by the second. "Do ducks even have ears?"
"Well, of course. That's how they can hear other ducks," Starlight beamed a smile at Twilight. She did not need a mirror to know she looked completely unhinged and needed to change the conversation topic, and quick. "Anyhow, how has your day been, Twilight?"
"Well, it's been interesting so far. Mind if we talk while eating, instead of just standing near a fountain?"
Starlight simply nodded before the two mares went to sit down to eat. As Starlight bit into her sandwich, Twilight spoke up again, talking about her day. While most of it was about Twilight's newest responsibilities as the soon-to-be ruler of Equestria and the daily challenges that came with such a position, Starlight kept an ear out for anything that might sound out of the ordinary. Eventually, Twilight mentioned something that piqued her interest.
"... And I will probably have to ask for more guards to be dispatched in Ponyville, what with the new school and the growing population. Unfortunately, just last night, Rarity heard a fight break out just outside her boutique."
"Really? Who was fighting?"
"No idea. Rarity couldn't hear much besides what she described as 'ruffians skirmishing with each other'. She was too afraid to go outside and confront whoever it was, especially since Sweetie Belle was right there with her. She did try and get a look through her windows, but it was too dark outside."
"Oh... Rarity is fine, though, right?"
"Yes, but this did frighten her a bit. That's why I'm asking for a few more guards here in town. Besides, with my new responsibilities, I won't be as often in Ponyville to protect everypony... Though, admittedly, I've been a bit of a trouble-magnet for the past few years," Twilight chuckled.
"Don't say that, Twilight. You've saved this town — and Equestria — dozens of times already. You're not a trouble-magnet," Starlight patted her mentor on the back with a shaky hoof, the coffee in her body still making her jittery. Twilight smiled at her friend before turning her head toward her hoof, noticing the shaking.
"... Are you sure you're alright, Starlight? You seem a bit... Out of it, today."
"Oh, uh, yeah, totally! It's just... You know, lot of work to do at the school. I've got some big horseshoes to fill, after all."
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do a great job as headmare. I can't think of anypony else better suited for the job. But if you need a day off today, that's perfectly fine. I'd hate to see you overwork yourself because of my reputation."
"Well, I can't really..."
"Starlight," Twilight cut her friend off with a stern, yet warm voice, "I recognize that look, you know. I've seen it plenty of times in the mirror during study nights. Paperwork can wait, you need to take care of yourself. How about you take the rest of the day off and go to the spa? I know Rarity's heading there today to unwind and forget about the fight outside her boutique."
Starlight was about to protest, but the prospects of relaxing at the spa definitely sounded pretty alluring. She could also ask questions directly to Rarity and see if Trixie was also linked to the fight outside the fashionista's boutique. Then, she could spend the rest of the day investigating other leads, such as checking on Fluttershy's animal sanctuary or the burial site. If Twilight herself gave her the day off, then Starlight had the perfect excuse to not remain locked up all afternoon in her office, letting her mind freak out by remaining inactive. So, with one deep breath, Starlight nodded.
"... You're right. I can finish filing everything tomorrow. Thanks for worrying about me, Twi."
"Don't mention it. Anyway, I've got to get back to work," Twilight said as she finished her sandwich. She stood up from the bench and was just about to leave before suddenly remembering something. "Oh! Before I forget, I need to ask..."
"Yes?" Starlight felt a pit form in her stomach. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this.
"Do you know where Trixie is?"
Starlight's body tensed up. Sweat began forming on her face. "Uh... Right now? Not really, no. Well, not exactly. She left town for one of her shows in Manehattan," she replied. Immediately, she regretted saying this much. Was Trixie's show actually real, or just a made-up excuse to leave town? What did Trixie say, again? Starlight's memories were already getting blurry due to the accumulated fatigue.
"Hmm. And do you know where she was last night?"
That was it. If Starlight wanted to protect Trixie, at least while she figured out what had occurred that night, she needed to find an alibi for her friend... Even if it meant lying to her mentor. "Oh, uh, last night? She was... She was with me, practicing for one of her tricks. We stayed up until pretty late in the night before she headed to bed, in her wagon."
"Really? How late did you two stay up?" Twilight asked, while raising an eyebrow.
"I'm... Not really sure. It was pretty late in the night."
"I... See," Twilight replied with a skeptical tone. Starlight felt like she was forgetting something important but couldn't quite place her hoof on it. Eventually, Twilight spoke up once more before leaving. "Well, next time you see Trixie, tell her I know what she did. Anyway, see you later!"
Twilight's voice was harsh, angry. Feeling the color drain from her face, Starlight simply stood there, mouth agape, watching silently as Twilight left. After a few minutes of stunned silence, Starlight muttered under her breath.
"... Buck."