//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The Great and Powerful Mission- a Genetic Research story 
// by peacevic 
//------------------------------//

Ch. 1

The show was perfect, Lulamoon thought to himself, water dripping off as he climbed from the tank. Just like they all will be perfect.
The audience was on their hooves following his escape. The death-defying trick was the finale of his act, capping off a series of stunts that nopony would've guessed the young earth pony was capable of. And indeed, most earth ponies wouldn't be able to do it. They weren't creative enough to design a performance like this.
"Thank you, thank you!" He bowed to the crowd. "Once again, I am Lulamoon the Magnificent. Have a good night!"
Not the most imaginative stage name. Just his real name and a suffix. Pretty basic, really. But that was his appeal. A basic pony, albeit one who was better than everypony else.
And with the reception his first show was getting, he was sure this fame thing was going to be so easy.

The show was perfect, Trixie thought to herself as the last illusion faded from view. Perfection was what the audience had paid good bit for, and Trixie made sure her fans got their money's worth.
But Trixie had other matters weighing on her mind. While she had followed her tour schedule in the week since she and Fluttershy had parted ways in the Griffin Kingdom, she made a slight alteration to the journey. Now whenever she visited a town her dad had performed at, she asked about his visit. About any possible... indiscretions.
Discrete or not, Lulamoon the Magnificent was memorable. And if there was one thing she'd learned from all those times he'd dragged her along with him to bars after performing, it was that drunk ponies loved to talk about the memorable things that happened to them.
Which is why she was here, at the counter of a tiny bar, sipping a smoothie the bartender had been more than happy to whip up for her.
"Lulamoon the Magnificent? Oh yeah, I remember him. Used to perform here every couple years or so."
"Trixie can remember coming here once, when Trixie was little." She said between sips. "But only the once. Are you sure he came here multiple times?"
The stallion next to her nodded enthusiastically. "Sure as shootin'! I went to every one. Say... How come you want to hear about yer dad's old shows?"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is worried she may not know all of her relatives." It was a pretty safe move to let him in on her reasons, as he was unlikely to remember them. He was quite inebriated.
"What, like a soap opera?!" He laughed pretty hard at that, nearly falling off his chair before he was down. "Like you have a long-lost sister somewhere?! Can you even imagine?"
"Trixie can imagine a lot of things..."
The stallion wiped some tears from his eyes, calming down a bit. "Oh, I needed that. 'Long-lost sister'... The Ponyrazzi'd love that."
"So, do you remember if there was anypony who...?" Trixie prompted, trying to refocus the conversation.
"Who your dad was sweet on? No, not around here." The stallion drained the last of his drink before continuing. "Old Lulamoon never stayed around for very long, and he certainly never had a drink with anypony like you're doing now. He showed up, set up, performed, and left. I don't think Lulamoon the Magnificent thought much of this little town."
As he said it, a mare stumbled toward them. "Hey, are you guys talking 'bout Lulamoon the Magnificent?"
"Yeah we are! Sit yourself down."
"Have I got a story for you!" The mare took the seat the stallion'd pulled up. "Now I was always out of town when he came around, so I never caught a show of his here. But!" The mare paused for effect, and also to take a swig of her drink. "But! I saw him in Detrot! It was like his second show, before he got famous, and I was there."
That last bit piqued Trixie's curiosity more than anything else the mare had said. "Excuse Trixie, but did you say 'Detrot'?"
"I did, why-" The mare suddenly realized who the third party in the conversation was. "Wait, you're Trixie! Can I get your autograph?"
"Trixie's father used to bring Trixie along on tour, and would tell Trixie stories of old shows whenever things were insufficiently exciting. But he never mentioned anything about Detrot. As far as Trixie knew, he'd never performed there." As she spoke, Trixie surreptitiously signed a napkin for the mare and passed it over.
The older mare lit up when she received the signature and quickly slipped it into a nearby saddlebag, then shrugged when she caught Trixie's meaning. "I don't know what to tell you, Ms. Trixie. I definitely saw him there."
"Maybe nothing happened there that was interesting enough to tell you about." The stallion offered, feeling left out of the conversation and wanting to be included again.
Trixie doubted that was the case, judging by the kinds of things Dad had seen fit to rot her ears with. No, this was something else. Something...
She quickly settled her tab, thanked the two ponies by paying for the next three rounds, and left. She had to send a message to her agent, one telling him to suspend the current tour.
Trixie was going to Detrot.