//------------------------------// // The Tragic Truth // Story: We Remember Everything // by Thunderscourge //------------------------------// A/N: Special thanks to The_Whovian16, D48, Evowizard25, Killabyte, Drgnwolf, King Sombrony, ZeroInfinity, Cadmium, Rebel Badger, PhantomPhoenix, Mutie Genic, and Jade Skysong for your comments last chapter! Your support means a great deal to me and it is what keeps me writing so much so quickly. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments below! I know I had a lot of fun making this chapter, so I hope you can at least have part of that! Despite it being nearly midday the second prince of Asgard was still in bed. He had nothing to do, no guards pestering him to attend this or that event, and his mother could not be visiting him at every point. Even with her ability to project herself through illusions, and thus talk and listen to him from elsewhere, a queen did have her own duties to tend to. Even in spite of his isolation, Loki found himself better off. Hard conversations awaited his inevitable talks with the Allfather and others who would inquire just as to what happened to him. Questions Loki feared he could not answer truthfully in his own interest, not that he had never lied before. Looking down at the jewelry in his hand, a blue necklace with a moon symbol on it, Loki felt a pang of regret. Lying semi-maliciously to those who had wronged him was second nature to the prince. Not to those who had only done the best for him. But what could he say? That, when offered, he had left the door open? That he had taken their powerful scepter, it being under the guise of an act of good faith? That it could only bring out the worst of someone, not bring forth a monster that previously had not existed? Yes, they had threatened Frigga. Then they threatened Luna. Then their interest grew to include the previously ignored mare, who had demonstrated her powers in the presence of Loki. The more heralds they could control the better. Not a day later Loki gave himself willingly to them, hoping to divert their attention to himself. The nightmares had ended, the mental torment subsided whenever they deemed him on task, and all was fine. Threats were not what made Loki bow to them though. He had put himself on that road because of his anger. His jealousy. And now they would be coming at their first convenience to punish him. Loki lowered his head into his hands, the necklace’s cool surface brushing against the side of his face. The images shown to him were maddening before, and now without the scepter’s influence he was free of them. His handler however stated that he would wish for death after what they had in store for him should he fail. The prince would rather just be put under an axe an executed than see what they had in store for him. What could possibly be worse than unending images of your friends and family tortured, beaten, killed? Or feeling every sensation they do as it happens? Loki had long thought Asgard to be the pinnacle of power in the universe. The master he had served pushed that idea out and instead made him realize just how mortal they were. Thanos. The Other. One a genocidal monster and the other his ruthless advisor. Thanos could kill Loki, Thor and all of Asgard’s finest single handedly if his plans went unchecked. And then there was his army. Or rather, armies. He accepted only the strongest and useful under his command. Loki ignored the drop on his hand as he thought about how he almost enacted one of the madman’s other purges. Thanos would not have actually given Loki control of his army as promised, he would have turned it on him the moment his usefulness ended. Asgard’s prince desired to know the reason for the slaughters enacted by Thanos, but it was all he could do to learn even his name and overall objectives. The Tesseract was only one of a set. A set research had revealed to be of six. The Tesseract was said to have unlimited power…and the powerful omnicidal being who desired it was not hoping to acquire one. Loki was not at all surprised to hear the door push open and a familiar silver armored and blonde haired warrior to enter unabashedly, not caring if Loki wanted him to enter or not. “Brother,” Thor greeted, nodding to Loki as he shut the door behind himself. Loki looked not to Thor but to the many locks that had just been broken by Thor’s strength. Nothing a little magic could not fix, but a bothersome task to handle nonetheless, “Brother.” Thor one handedly grabbed a seat from Loki’s reading table and lifted it off the ground, plopping it next to Loki’s bed in the place he had seen his mother place it many times before bed centuries earlier, “How are you faring?” “As fine as I can in this cage.” As he sat, the one who would win all of their brute force competitions was a bit puzzled by Loki’s labeling of the room, “This is your own room.” “One that I may not leave,” the one who would always win all of their finesse related competitions retorted, “What, does the Allfather not trust me for some reason?” Thor waved his hand around aimlessly, “He intends to have us clean up this whole mess, and by that I mean the both of us. The Nine Realms are beginning to fall apart without our guidance, what with the Bifrost destroyed.” Having absolutely no ulterior motives whatsoever, Loki rose a single brow and sat up straight, “How is that going by the way?” A smile cracked on the warrior-brother’s face. He could not pass up the opportunity to rib Loki, “Is that desire to see your lover I hear?” “No more than you yours,” Loki responded dryly. Thor was no doubt pining to see his lover Jane after not having the opportunity to do so on Earth recently. Loki remembered an offhand threat thrown her way being said by him in an attempt to get at Thor, so the younger son feared he may have brought the conversation the wrong way. Thor seemed determined not to devolve this conversation into a bickering match, as he instead kept smiling at Loki, “Then very much indeed. Tell me Loki, however did you find such a…woman?” “What, is she too good for me?” Loki questioned smarmily. Thor leaned over and point his index finger at his brother, “Bluntly, yes,” he sat up and held his hands up in peace when Loki instantly glared at him, “Not that I am not happy for you.” Loki rolled his eyes before bringing them to look at the necklace in his palm, “I am sure she has told you the whole situation between her and myself. From what I gather she has to keep explaining it often so that others do not kill me.” Thor went back to pointing a finger at Loki, “That is not true. My intention was only to harm and maim, never kill.” That wrought a small laugh from Loki, who after everything that had transpired between them was fully surprised Thor was even willing to speak with him, nonetheless jokingly. He would have to inquire about that the first opportunity he had. As Loki pondered his brother’s jovial attitude, Thor changed their topic to an extent, “I have grown better at detecting your lies, Loki, and so I will ask you this and I expect a truthful answer. What are your intentions with her?” Loki lifted his eyes from the necklace to the wall past his bed, “I honestly did not have any but a few days ago. I had hoped to leave her behind in her world with the idea that I was a wicked villain.” Thor nodded as Luna’s recounting of the tale played in his mind, “But she followed you and never once faltered in trying to protect you, even from yourself.” Loki glanced over to Thor and nodded hesitantly, “Precisely. I would honestly rather never put her through all of this. That was going to be my final gift to her, keeping her away from those who would hurt her.” With crossed arms and a grim face, Thor had something else he wanted to talk about, “You have not spoken of those that manipulated you to great detail. Could you share some more information by chance?” Thinking back to Thanos, Loki’s green eyes fell down to his similarly green sheets. Even without a single Infinity Gem Thanos could stomp on Thor, even if he had his merry band of friends from Midgard supporting him. And telling Thor or anyone who would tell Thor about Thanos would make the elder prince go off and try to slay the monster for his crimes not only against Earth, Asgard, and his family, but for his crimes against the universe at large. Loki stared his brother straight in the face, doing his best to convey the seriousness of what he had to say with a voice free of any joke or humor. “If I reveal everything you will die the moment you try to do anything about them. That is what I know,” Loki’s eyes fell down to the hammer at Thor’s side, “We think ourselves gods amongst men…the man they follow makes us appear no better than mortals ourselves. I am grateful every day that I have managed to keep them from this realm and from Luna’s.” Thor frowned. For something to frighten Loki to this degree was impressive indeed, to the point Thor was questioning his own abilities. Make them appear mortal? What could possibly have such power? “Did they have an interest in Luna or her realm?” “For precisely the reason they held me in such high regards. Powerful magical outcast who has resentment towards their world and family,” Loki clenched the fist not holding Luna’s necklace, his pale skin growing paler from his own grip, “They care not which realm burns, only that as many die in the process as possible.” Thor leaned towards his brother and brought a hand out to touch his shoulder. Loki winced at the touch, but Thor ignored this. “Loki…do not let her go.” Nervous due to their proximity, Loki cast a fake smile and scoffed, “As if I could, even if I did try.” Thor narrowed his eyes, and went back to pointing a finger while keeping the one hand on Loki, “I am serious. Asgard deserves a Queen as great as mother.” His brothers words only baffled Loki, who now found himself genuinely amused at the ridiculous things being said, “What makes you think I will ever inherit the crown now?” With a deep breath, Thor leant back and removed his grasp from Loki, “You and I both know that I am not fit to lead. Not yet at least. But you have the intellect and cunning called for, as well as some mediocre fighting capabilities that will be passable as king.” “But why her? Rumor has it that our own people are not too fond of her,” it was a valid question after all. Why would his brother think that someone hated by their people would make a good queen? Not being allowed to leave did not stop Loki from talking to those who visited. Namely, his mother. Thor shrugged nonchalantly, “Astounding magical potential, similarly passable combat abilities, and a boldness that is required,” he sighed again as he addressed the reason why Loki questioned him, “And that is only select crowd you speak of, mostly amongst the guards. But the majority have fallen for her after hearing of how she managed to best our friends in combat.” Loki had to admit his brother could be right every now and again, even if he was not right about the line of succession. However there was something else he was curious to know, not being privy to all of the details about Luna’s recent combat experience in Asgard. “How did she fare against Lady Sif?” He had fought alongside Lady Sif and the Warriors Three in many adventures and quests of heroic glory long before he tried to prove his worth by destroying Jotunheim. Of the four Lady Sif had always appeared the most capable, being more of a leader than the silent Hogun, more graceful and serious than the boisterous Volstagg, and more powerful than the pretty boy Fandral. If any of them were to give Luna a good fight, it would be Sif. Not win of course, of that Loki was sure, but a decent fight nonetheless. Sif could only possibly win in combat if Luna had no access to any of her magic, but otherwise he was sure the talking horse could find a way to slip a spell or two past anyone’s attention. Thor shook his head sadly, having been informed about the fight only afterwards and sad to have missed it, “They never drew blades against one another. Fandral did not wish for things to devolve into a woman-woman fight in the eyes of the onlookers. While Sif is an impressive warrior, to have such a combat would only belittle both in their eyes no matter who won.” Logic had once been beyond Thor’s capability. To be able to explain such a situation and give insight on what might have happened was utterly stunning in his brother’s eyes. Loki was the one to point a finger this time, “You are not the brute I grew up with. Where is he?” Thor laughed and gave a hearty slap on the back to Loki, “And you are not the wallflower hiding behind mother’s skirt.” As Loki recoiled from the slap, Thor stood up and kept laughing, “So, you may not leave your room, but this does not mean I can not bring you a selection of rings from the treasure-” “Did mother put you up to this?” Loki cut him off with exasperation evident in his voice. Thor preferred flustered Loki to crazy Loki, so he kept up the good cheer while calming his own laughter, “No, be she and I happen to agree that this mare of yours is quite possibly the best thing to happen to you in recent times.” Before Loki could form a retort, the object in his hand caught Thor’s attention, “Is that her necklace?” Loki moved it away from Thor, holding it out towards the vacant half of the bed as he asked guardedly, “And what if it is?” “So, should I have the ring fashioned for a hand or a hoof? And what type of gem would she prefer?” Loki began counting on his fingers silently before looking to Thor quizzically, “How many times have I tried killing you personally?” Thor thought back as well “Two, if the Destroyer does not count. Our fight at the Bifrost and you dropping me out of a vessel.” “The humans have a saying along the lines of ‘third time is the charm’. Do not tempt me,” Loki responded with a sneer, although his attempt to sound threatening only made Thor laugh again. Thor crossed his arms as he thought back to what an ‘interesting’ human he met on Earth told him, “I too have learned things while on Midgard. There is a term for desiring two characters in a fictional work to be together, known as shipping. While not fictional, you will find that I ship you and this Luna quite hard. I will do what is necessary to bring you together.” Realizing his brother’s insistence would not wane without reason, Loki attempted to bring forth his reason. Or rather just one of them. “Thor, I am not marrying her. We have been in a relationship a whole month.” “It took mother and father weeks, and me a few days to fall in love. I am sure you in your many months have done the same. What can it hurt?” Thor jokingly asked his brother, now with arms spread out. Loki brought his face down into his hands again, really not wanting to get into this topic any further, “I am not going to have this conversation. Thor, please respect my wishes and leave the issue alone.” The god of Thunder pointed a finger at Loki in a jokingly-serious manner, “For now. Do not expect this to be the last you hear of this.” Given that both his mother and Thor were in on this together now, Loki was far from off the hook, “Oh, I am under no illusions that it will. After all, our dear mother has a great deal of free time.” Thor began to laugh again, but Loki silenced him with a glare. He had had enough of this merriment from his brother. “What has you so amused? I care to know so I can end it.” Thor’s radiant smile beamed down to Loki, “Despite your claims to the contrary, you still consider us your family.” That word gave Loki pause. He had been born and left to die by his own parents. He had given up everything to prove himself to a man who had almost just executed him if not for the pleading of Loki’s adoptive mother. Here near him was a brother he had tried killing thrice, the Destroyer incident included, and who looked as if he would embrace Loki at the slightest provocation. And then there was Luna, who had decided one night to reach out to him despite his sour attitude because he needed someone. The thought now of losing someone so supportive… Loki sighed as he thought over his life’s circumstances, both their ups and their downs, “Family are those you choose to care for, not those you are born to.” Given the provocation needed, Thor brought himself over to Loki and pulled him into a forceful hug. No resistance would be allowed, and knowing this Loki gave none. He did not return it, but his not pulling away said enough to Thor. They were brothers, even if things had been tense between them in recent times. Nothing could change that bond, even despite everything each had done to wrong the other. After a moment of complete silence, Thor relinquished the hug and gave Loki’s back a break from the pressure it had been put under. Before turning to leave, Thor had one last thing to say. The real reason he had come. “Before I leave, there is one other matter I wish to discuss. Father would have you assist in the Bifrost’s reconstruction.” “About time I can leave-” Loki began to get off the bed until Thor held a halting hand out to him. “You will be staying here and studying the necessary information to direct us better in building it.” His chance at freedom squashed instantaneously. Loki was ever so pleased, “Lovely.” Thor waved to Loki in a similar manner to when he abandoned him nights prior to their mother and Luna, “Fret not, the sooner we have the Bifrost finished the sooner you may steal more jewelry.” Loki summoned a paper and quill to his side from his desk across the room. Maybe sending Thor a list of a hundred ways Loki could have him killed at any point in the day would stop this nonsense. After sleeping in to the early afternoon, Trixie could say that she was going to very much like the schedule her teacher kept. Stay up all night and sleep from early morning to afternoon. Ever so perfect for a now former performer who had always been up late anyways, either traveling or performing late into each night. Luna too was pleased to be back to her regular sleeping habits, as she found having a regular night’s rest gave her a clearer mind. More controlled. She needed that until she could find a way to rid herself of the alteration to her body. The two had decided to meet in one of the castle’s gardens, Trixie arriving early both out of excitement and anxiety. She even beat Luna there, who had slept a little past when she had intended due to her previously distorted sleeping schedule and amount. The entire wing by the garden was deserted, with Luna having dismissed every single nonessential worker and shooed out all others who may have lingered. She did not want anything distracting Trixie from what she had planned. The first day should be as perfect as possible after all. “Before we start, tell me, what is your preferred method of learning?” Luna questioned Trixie as the latter looked around the courtyard nervously. A large variety of objects, including boulders, had been added to it quite conspicuously. What did Luna have planned for her she wondered? While observing the various additions to the garden Trixie cleared her throat, “Well, because I’m a performer I like things that I can learn everything about before using it on stage. Any unaccounted detail or unexpected event can ruin a show after all.” Luna nodded, having done the exact same process herself albeit for her own benefit, not the amusement of others, “So reading?” Trixie flushed embarrassedly as she thought about how mentioning that might draw a comparison to Twilight, “Yes, but it is by no means a hobby. After developing my routine some time ago I have not had much need to expand my knowledge. Why change what is not broken in a routine?” It did not call for much change in what Luna had planned. In fact, it did not change what Luna had planned for that day at all, “Well then, I see that a varied approach is called for.” Using her telekinesis, Luna brought forth one of the various odd additions to the garden. This first one was a very large brown sack that was tied at the top and had a strange and lumpy texture to it towards the bottom. She dropped the object in front of Trixie, who was unsure what it was for, “This sack is filled with useless things. Pick it up with your telekinesis and bring it across the courtyard.” Not thinking too much of it, Trixie picked up the sack only to notice that it was actually quite heavy. More so than it looked like it should. Her magic around it became visibly strained as she turned her attention to the distance she would have to carry it. Her eyes widened when she realized that this courtyard was long. Very long. And the way Luna was looking was not the short way across, but rather the longer way. Trixie laughed nervously as she fought to keep the bag under control, “Can I move?” That, Luna smiled, was the true test. Holding it could be difficult for Trixie, yes, but to extend her magical power the entire distance would be extremely enervating for her. Quite possibly too much for the unicorn to handle in fact, given that the measured distance Luna had of the garden was three hundred meters. Luna shook her head with a reassuring smile to Trixie, “No. Stand still.” Trixie fought the gut reaction to gape at her teacher’s response, not wanting to appear to be a complainer. With a gulp Trixie called forth everything she had to strengthen her hold on the bag. Luna watched with interest as Trixie began to force the bag across the landscape as quickly as she could manage, not having been told to do so slowly. Just watching the light blue mare as she concentrated was of interest to Luna, as she could note how much it was draining from her and just how hard she was trying to keep up her appearances by not breathing too heavily or wheezing. The bag almost fell halfway when Trixie let out a long breath, only to be caught a moment before contacting with the ground. With a huff Trixie lifted it up again, her teeth biting her lip as she fought to keep it up in the air. It wobbled again before quickly straightening out and moving forth once more, Trixie’s eyes straining as the horn’s purple glow began to intensify. Luna moved beside Trixie and placed a hoof softly on her shoulder, Trixie catching with a glance the smile the princess was giving her. The fact that Luna was not looking at her critically, as if she was failing, soothed Trixie’s nerves and it did not take much longer for her to move the heavy bag the remaining distance. “There,” Trixie announced with a deep breath accompanying it, her front hoof wiping some sweat off her brow from below her damaged purple hat. Luna lowered her hoof from Trixie and looked over to the bag. She was impressed that Trixie had made it the whole distance. She would have at least passed her at half of the full garden, given that this was a preliminary exercise anyways, “You have very impressive control, but your raw power is lacking. Fixable, but something to keep in mind.” Trixie removed her scraggly hat to the ground beside her self-consciously, realizing that such a worn piece of clothing might not be suitable in the presence of a princess. That was not all she was self-conscious about, for she felt both proud and embarrassed by the princess’s praise, “All of my tricks are complex spells, but don’t really call for much magical power.” Luna turned back to Trixie and without even focusing on it teleported the bag in front of them. She caught sight of Trixie’s hat removal and thought back to the damage it sustained the day prior, giving her an idea, “This useless waste of space in a bag, roughly the weight of a heavyset stallion who has been eating Celestia’s cake, was a struggle for you to sustain. If we are going to have you master the most powerful spells, you will need to build up your power.” Trixie only nodded, not wanting to interrupt her most generous teacher. She was determined to not screw this opportunity up. Given the opportunity to speak, Luna continued on, “Twilight lifted an Ursa minor before her ascension. This would no doubt be impossible at your current level,” she gave as Loki a smirk as she could, “By the time I am done with you, lifting an Ursa Major should be of no issue.” The sheer audacity of what had been just said shocked Trixie, “Wait, how?” Luna nodded to the other objects in the area she had brought, most notably the different sized boulders whose largest dwarfed even her in size, “Gradual power growth through exercise. Set your own pace, but I will not be teaching you anything specific until you can do what Twilight did when you first met her.” As if to show off, Luna effortlessly lifted all of them by herself simultaneously and made them go around one another like a Ferris wheel. Trixie could not fully keep herself from gaping at the spectacle, impressed by the power her princess and teacher wielded. Just as quickly as she had lifted them, Luna dropped them to the ground with a crash. She chuckled at the sight of Trixie’s amazement, bringing a blue shoed hoof to the top of her student’s head, “And who knows? I can move the moon, so the sky is literally the limit.” Trixie blushed from embarrassment once again even as Luna removed her hoof and turned to leave. Somepony was appreciating her talents again, and a princess no less. “When you think you are ready to progress in your studies, let me know. I will expect results within one month from now however.” Trixie nodded feverishly even if Luna could not see her, quickly turning and bowing to her teacher as she departed, “Yes, of course. Anything else, Princess Luna?” Luna turned to her disciple and smiled at the sight of her bowing. It was nice to see some old fashioned respect for once from one of her subjects rather than familiarity or disrespect. “Focus on this solely for the week and see what progress you can make. Then I will introduce the administrative tasks you will be taking on in my absences.” “How is your new student settling in?” After tending to some backlogged paperwork from her absence, Luna had arranged to sit down and meet with her sister over dinner. Celestia had booted out Discord so that she could spend quality time with her sister, although promising that this time it would not leave him without a bed for the night. Topics began with things like the reconstruction efforts that were going well with Discord’s grudging assistance to the nice lack of disrespect from Prince Blueblood in each of the two princesses lives that day. Celestia, however, had thought of something else to speak about. While taking a sip of tea Luna thought back to her instructing of Trixie and the exercise she had her working on, “She seems to be just fine. Possibly overwhelmed, but eager to please.” Celestia smiled at her sister as brightly as the sun, “I think it is wonderful that you are taking somepony under your wing.” Luna smiled back at her, not about to say just about everything she had in mind with Trixie, “I have my reasons, but I agree. It is quite nice to have her around.” The elder sister nodded and took a sip of her own tea, a content sigh escaping her lips as she thought back across the years she had advised Twilight, “Teaching is no easy task. It took me many centuries to find an effective method.” “Letting her teach herself and only intervening when she seriously screws up?” Luna jokingly questioned, having noticed her sister’s favorite way of making Twilight learn something new. Celestia unflinchingly rose an eyebrow and returned the jab, “And where is Trixie now?” Luna realized that she was in no position to mock her sister for that type of teaching when it was how she was starting things with Trixie. As such she laughed in return, “Doing just that. I do intend to be more direct after she grows her powers.” “I see. It is not common that one is as gifted as Twilight, so I suppose some catching up needs to be done,” Celestia responded softly, still smiling but with a small glint in her eye. A glint that told Luna everything she needed to know: Celestia was on to her, although to what level she did not know. As such Luna just rose an eyebrow and decided to let Celestia reveal how much she had found out. “Oh come now, don’t be surprised. I’m not so oblivious to notice that you took in Twilight’s rival as a student of all ponies. I can recognize a challenge when I see one.” Luna rolled her eyes, glad that she was only partially on the money with that observation, “Well, it isn’t much of a challenge what with Twilight being an Alicorn now. I just intend to let Trixie meet her potential.” Celestia continued to knowingly smirk at Luna, even though she had not ascertained anything else from her sister, “Oh is that so?” “Whatever do you mean, sister?” Luna innocently responded before letting out a small laughing snort. “No other reasons?” Celestia jokingly pressed. “Of course. What, do you think me some nefarious schemer?” to emphasize her point, Luna brought a hoof to her own chest. She had trouble keeping a straight face because of the look Celestia was giving her. Celestia shook her head and took another tea sip, “Me? Never. I mean, you look nothing like a villain.” Both of them long having since finished eating, Luna stood up to leave, “I think I am going to go see how Trixie is doing.” Celestia nodded to her sister, “Thank you for eating with me. I daresay this was nicer than whatever Discord would have had planned.” Luna snickered on her way out, giving no other verbal response. It was on the black coated mare’s mind that her sister might be having yet another Royal Canterlot Wedding on her hooves, only this time for it to be Celestia’s own. Discord was living with her now after all. As Luna left, Celestia thought back to their conversation on Trixie. The idea of Luna taking somepony, even Twilight’s former rival of sorts, under her wing was quite precious. She had not thought her sister to be the type to be so generous in this way, but she was happy for them both. “I think you will both do just fine,” she whispered to nopony in particular. Maybe having somepony else close to Luna other than Loki could help her in her state of high emotions. Upon reaching the courtyard Luna could not see any sight of her apprentice. She had not set a time for her to stay, but Luna’s gut feeling was that Trixie would not have left after only about six hours. It took her a moment to realize that she maybe should not be looking at the height she was, instead lowering her gaze a little to find Trixie laying on the ground nearby. “Trixie?” Luna questioned her student, who was laying on her side as the night began to grow dark. Her face was exhausted, and with a quick check Luna noticed that one of the boulders she had brought was lying on the opposite side of the garden. The smallest of them, but the fact that Trixie must have worked her tail off to do it brought a proud smile to her face. “Oh, hey Princess…” Trixie weakly stated, her lungs huffing from the work she had done some minutes prior. She had been practicing nonstop, even if the bag of useless things had grown more unruly over time. Having correctly assumed that Trixie would not have left, Luna lowered the food she brought with her down in front of Trixie, “Here. It’s important to keep yourself properly nourished.” At the sight of food, despite her exhaustion, the starved magician tore into it. Her hoof, not her exhausted magic, shoved a full bread roll in and she inhaled it so quickly Luna found herself chuckling again. The rest of the food was quickly disposed of as Luna questioned, “How did it go?” Trixie yawned and mumbled something before her head fell on top of the plate she had just sucked up like a vacuum cleaner. Luna smiled down at her as her student drifted off to exhausted sleep, having taken her duty seriously that day. Luna levitated the now sleeping mare gently on top of her back and looked back to her. While initially being a little dubious, Luna was quite certain she had made the absolute best decision. She craned her head back so that she could see some of Trixie. The blue mare’s tattered purple cloak reminded Luna of another piece of clothing Trixie had brought, and soon enough Luna levitated Trixie’s hat over to her sleeping head. “Keep up the good work. It’ll pay off, I promise.”