//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 - The Undying Truth 
// Story: Trixie's Plot 
// by AdrianJNovelle 
//------------------------------//

	"Hiding? I'm not hiding anything," Shining Armor whined.
"Likely story," Trixie protested, hovering over him. 
"Honey, what's going on here?" Princess Cadence asked, entering the room. She noticed Trixie and gasped. "Trixie! N-no! It can't be!"
Twilight stepped closer to her brother and her sister-in-law. "I could ask you two the same thing."
"It's...not important."
"Not important, huh? Then why not let Trixie and me in on it? What's going on? What are you ponies hiding?"
Princess Cadence frowned and walked over to Twilight, towering over her.
"It's a long story," she said.
"Trixie and I have time."
"And I won't begin until you let go of my husband."
Trixie got off Shining Armor, and helped him up to his hooves.
Princess Cadence sighed. "It's about your father, Twilight. A forgotten memory. A concealed secret. And a questionable sexuality." She seemed to have paused.
"Go on," Twilight said.
"Do you know why you and I are so distant in our ages, Twilight?" Shining Armor asked. "And how I already had my cutie mark and graduated from school by the time you came along?"
"I just figured Mom and Dad took a while with me."
"They did," Shining Armor rubbed the back of his neck. "But...there was also a child born between us. And she's standing here with us."
All eyes turned to Trixie.
"Her?"
Shining Armor and Princess Cadence nodded. 
"So, you are my flesh-and-blood sister!" Twilight exclaimed to Trixie.
Shining Armor shook his head. "Not exactly, Twilie. You see, after I was born, and long into my childhood, Mom, who was the working pony at the time, had to go on a long business trip to Manehattan. Dad...he didn't like being alone. So he spent a lot of his time around other mares to fill in the gap that Mom usually filled. Unfortunately, he got a little too comfortable. He ended up falling in love with one of them, and the next thing we know, the mare was pregnant. Nine months later, this little filly joined the family." Shining Armor pointed right at Trixie. 
"Mois?" she asked, putting her hoof to her breast. 
Shining Armor nodded. "Yup. After you were born, we got another letter from Mom, and she said that she'll be a while longer. Dad was devastated. He became very scared. So he said farewell to the mare he met - I don't even remember her name - took you and me, tried to raise a normal family, and pretended like nothing happened. That was...easier said than done. While you were a little girl, Trixie, you were very curious about your mother and why you never heard about her and never saw her. Dad lied to you day after day about her. He kept coming up with excuses and very elaborate stories, even though all the while, he was simply avoiding her, because, for all it matters, you were just a mistake. You were a bastard child, and if you weren't so gifted at magic, I'd imagine your fate would've been worse than it was."
"I don't remember any of that!" Trixie exclaimed. "That's another thing - how come I don't remember anything? I know that early childhood memories are impossible to remember, but if all this was happening for years, I should at least remember some of it."
"Isn't it obvious?" Shining Armor asked.
Trixie scoffed. "No!"
"Dad used his magic to blank your memory of nearly everything that happened. That was way back when magic was his forte, much like it is yours today. He left bits and pieces, so it seemed like simple memory loss, but not enough for you to really understand what had gone on. All the lying, the fornicating - everything under those terms was blanked from your memory so you wouldn't become curious and, well...prevent this very conversation from happening. The three of us hoped this day would never happen. I guess our luck finally ran out."
"The three of you?" Twilight inquired. "You, Dad, and Mom?"
"Him, your father, and me," Princess Cadence replied. "I was let in on everything when I started foalsitting you. Your mother finally returned from her business trip, and the first thing your father did was insist on having another child. That's where you came along, Twilight. Your mother quit her job so she could take care of you, and instead, guilty out of his mind, your father insisted on finding work instead. During my briefing, Shining Armor and I swore never to tell anyone about this, for fear it would slingshot back to us and end up causing lots of avoidable and unnecessary trouble, especially if your mother ever found out."
Shining Armor clenched his teeth. "Ooohhhh, what Mom would do if she found out Dad had Trixie..." He shook his head. "I doubt she'd forgive him. There is no excuse for such an act."
Both Twilight and Trixie were paralyzed. 
"So...who knows about all of this?" Twilight asked.
"Just me, Cadence, Dad, and now you and Trixie," Shining Armor answered. "Just us and Dad now. And, though we swore ourselves to secrecy, I guess we knew deep down that this wouldn't be a secret forever. From the moment Trixie got her cutie mark, we knew we would end up in hot water. We forgot about it from time to time, but, somehow, it never completely escaped our thoughts...another reason why Dad blanked your memory, Trixie."
"I'm guessing me getting my cutie mark was included in what was blanked of my memory," Trixie retorted.
"You got it," Shining Armor replied. "Too much evidence was revealed with your cutie mark. It looks way too much like his to simply be a coincidence. So the most precious moment of your young life had to be taken away from you in order to prevent Dad's dirty laundry from being discovered. Believe me: he tore himself up after he blanked your memory, Trixie. He was not happy with himself. He wasn't until long after Mom got back from her trip. I think after Twilight was born did he finally calm down and be happy, figuring that since he had a second child with Mom, he would be in the clear for the rest of his life, and he wouldn't have to worry about this matter anymore." 
"How did Twilight's mom never find out about me?" Trixie asked.
"You were taken to a foster home. We knew it was perfect because the family's mother had passed away, and they had an older brother. It was an exact replica of the family you were losing. Anything about your father or me you remember is not actually about your father and me, but is about your foster father and foster brother."
"I hardly remember them."
"That was not Dad's doing. He left you alone after that. He didn't try to further sabotage his horrible deed. He hoped and prayed that what he had blanked of your memory was enough to have you assume that your childhood was spent entirely with the folks who took care of you after Dad gave you up. Mom never met you. She doesn't even know you exist. Well...when she went to see Twilight's show, and happened to see you in the audience (which I doubt), she knows you exist, but would not at all recognize you because she knows absolutely nothing about you. As far as she knows, you don't even exist."
"What about my real mom?"
"We don't know what happened to her," Princess Cadence continued for Shining Armor. "Once Twilight's mother returned from her trip, your father lost complete contact with her in an effort to ensure that the two mares never even looked each other in the eye. If they ever met, there's no doubt that he would've been found out by his wife, and...I can't imagine how horrible your life would have been if that had happened. He did it all to protect you two. As fate would have it, you two met, connected the dots, and now you all know the big secret that's been haunting this family for years."
"Dad went on about blanking your real mom's memory, Trixie," Shining Armor began. "But he never acted upon it. He felt that blanking her memory would just be a step too far and would cause too much damage. It would just be easier to avoid contact altogether. Since the problem never came back until now, I guess his plan worked. We lost track of your real mother, but, as far as we know, she's alright. We doubt anything happened to her that would bring any real pain to you. She's probably married to another stallion by now, and has kids of her own which were not accidents."
"So...my entire life...was an accident?" Trixie started to tear up.
"Hey," her brother approached her and put his hoof on her shoulder. "Dad loved you, Trixie. It was your foster father, we believe, who turned you into a braggy maniac. Had he not gave you up to them, you'd be just like Twilight - even more than you are right now! Your father loved you! You were the most beautiful foal he had ever seen, and though you were more outgoing than Twilight, everything that he loves about Twilight, he saw in you as well. Trust me, giving you up was not easy. It killed him on the inside. But he did it to protect you. He never forgave himself for what he did. And it was his love of you, Trixie, which made his life so painful. In one way, he resented his actions, but, at the same time, he also didn't resent you, and that's probably the hardest part of it."
"My dad...loved me?"
Both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence nodded. "More than anything except me and Twilight."
Trixie started crying. Twilight approached her and gave her an affectionate hug.
"Thank you, Twilight," Trixie uttered through her tears, though she did not return the hug. "You too, Shining Armor...Princess Cadence..."
"Our pleasure, Trixie," Shining Armor replied.
"I think that if you connected enough dots to come to us and know that we're keeping secrets," Princess Cadence began. "You deserve to know the truth."
Trixie wiped away her tears, Twilight retracting her hug. "So...what does this mean between Twilight and me? Are we sisters?"
"Sorta," Princess Cadence answered. "You're half-sisters, which is anyone who was born from one of the same parents. You and Twilight have the same father, but not the same mother. Therefore, you two are half-siblings."
"What about Dad?" Twilight asked. "What are we gonna do now that we know everything that has happened with him?"
"Well," Princess Cadence began. "As I see it, there are two things you can do: you can either go to him, let him know that you found out - you don't even have to mention that we told you - and see what he says, or you can just go home and pretend that nothing happened. If I were you...I'd tell him. I think he deserves to meet his daughter again."
"Can we both go?" Trixie asked.
"Of course."
Trixie looked right at Twilight, signaling nonverbally that she desired her company. Twilight nodded, both mares said goodbye to Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, and then made a polite egress from their suite.