Chapter 1
“My name is Trixie Lulamoon. You may also know me as the Great and Powerful Trixie. I am a powerful Unicorn, who specialises in illusions and enchantments. I am also skilled at Judo, fishing, art, literature, singing (regardless of what Doctor may say)…Yep, I am indeed a mare of many skills. But my favourite talent by far, is my keen observation skills and logical reasoning, which allow me to be a great detective. In fact, if my mother hadn’t pushed me towards becoming a showmare, I would probably be out solving cases that have even the Royal Guard baffled by now.
“A few months ago, I wandered into a small town called Ponyville, where I attempted to wow the audience with my amazing magic and tales of heroism over the dreaded Ursa Major. Little did I know, that two foolish colts who looked up to Trixie would actually be stupid enough to bring an Ursa Major into town! Even though it turned out to be an Ursa Minor, it was still a scary situation, and I almost lost my life over it!
“Having lost my home and all of my possessions in the attack, I was forced to return to Ponyville and seek a job so that I could afford a train ticket to Manehatten. As luck would have it, an old friend of mine, Doctor Whooves, is a resident of Ponyville. Doctor is a genius inventor, or so he claims. The truth is, most of his inventions don’t work, and the ones that do aren’t really that useful.
“Anyway, he took me in, and is helping me to get back on my hooves. When we saw an advertisement about a trivia game show with a grand prize of one million bits, Doctor pulled a few strings to get me on as one of their contestants. When it comes to lots of information about random subjects, I am also number one at that, too.
“Finally, the moment has arrived for me to get back on my hooves! Tonight was going to be the night that the Great and Powerful Trixie would finally get the money she needed to jumpstart her showmare career once more! That was the hope, at least…But unfortunately, fate had other plans for me.”
“Trixie? We’re almost there.” Trixie opened her eyes and saw Doctor nudging her awake. She let out a loud yawn, and stretched her limbs to wake them up. “Rise and shine, Trixie!” Doctor shouted cheerfully as he got up and grabbed his saddlebags. “Have a good nap?”
“Hm…” Trixie responded, rubbing her eyes and slowly rising to her hooves. The entire room spun around. She still wasn’t fully awake yet, and Doctor had to wait a while before she was willing to give a proper answer. “Trixie had a terrible dream. She’s glad that she is awake now.”
“Oh, sorry to hear that.” Doctor said, passing Trixie’s saddlebag to her. “Well, let’s not worry about it too much. Come on, the train’s gonna be stopping at the Manehatten station soon!”
Trixie followed Doctor through the train, but was still weary, and didn’t notice the two ponies in front of her until she bumped into them. “Ow! Hey, watch we’re you go-” She stopped her yelling when she looked up at one of the ponies that she had bumped into. It was a tall stallion, dressed in a black overall trench coat, and wearing a black hat on his head. He had a long blonde mane, and a looked that sent chills throughout Trixie’s whole body.
“Ah, terribly sorry about that!” Trixie and the two ponies she had bumped into turned towards Doctor, who was helping Trixie to her hooves. “She’s still a little tired from the long train ride. No harm done, right?”
Doctor and Trixie walked past the two ponies and continued down the train. Trixie remained silent, and even kept her breath held in, until they had exited the train. ‘Those eyes…’ Trixie recalled the look that the stallion in black had given her when she looked up at him. ‘Those were the eyes of a killer!’ Trixie shivered when she remember the stallion’s eyes, and tried her best to forget about them.
“You ok?” Doctor asked, snapping Trixie out of her state and bringing her back to reality. “You look a little cold. Though I don’t know how you can be cold with that on.” He pointed to Trixie’s purple cape with a yellow star pattern on it.
Trixie nodded her head and began walking. “Trixie’s fine. Come, Doctor. Let’s make our way to the hotel.”
Trixie and Doctor went their separate ways after checking into the hotel. Doctor rushed off to the Manehatten Museum of Equestrian History. As well as being a great inventor, Doctor was a history maniac, and loved museums as much as he loved inventing.
Trixie arrived at the TV station and made her way to the backstage area for the game show she would soon be appearing in as a contestant. There would be another contestant competing against Trixie for the grand prize.
“WHAT!? What are you doing here!?” Trixie shouted as she saw Twilight Sparkle, the purple Unicorn who had showed Trixie up in Ponyville by “defeating” the Ursa Minor with her magic.
“Trixie? Is that you?” Twilight asked, staring wide-eyed at the blue Unicorn. “Wow! I never expected to see you here! How have you been?”
Trixie was taken aback by Twilight’s friendly tone. It was as if Twilight was meeting up with a friend that she hadn’t seen in a long time, but Trixie was sure that neither of them were on good terms with each other. “W-Why are you being so friendly with Trixie? Do you not remember how she humiliated your friends before?”
“Well, they did accept your challenge fair and square, although you kind of went overboard with Rarity…” Twilight walked closer to Trixie, keeping her smile on her face. “Anyway, ever since you left Ponyville, I’ve been wanting to talk to you. You see, I looked through the wreckage of your caravan and-”
Trixie’s face immediately became flustered and she cut Twilight off before she could go any further. “T-THOSE MAGAZINES AREN’T MINE!” Trixie shouted, placing a hoof to her mouth to calm herself down. Twilight looked at her confused, and Trixie realised that she may have made a mistake. “Um…I mean…So, what did you find?”
“Um…” Twilight shook her head, deciding to ignore what Trixie had just shouted for now. “I found a few books that, while a bit damaged, are still in readable condition. And I’ve gotta say, I was quite impressed by them! I had no idea you were such a good writer.”
Trixie realised that Twilight must have read some of the books that Trixie wrote in her spare time. “Oh, yes…Well, of course. Trixie is a mare of many talents, after all.” She then leaned her head towards Twilight, a cocky grin forming on her face. “You may be able to best Trixie in magic, but tonight, Trixie will prove that she is better than you in every other regard.”
Twilight returned the grin and levitated a pair of glasses onto her face. “Bring it.” She said, but then realised that they still had some time before they had to go on.
There was an awkward silence between the two, before Trixie tried to break it with some random topic of conversation. “So…You wear glasses?”
“Oh, no, not really…” Twilight said, scratching the back of her head and laughing nervously. “My friend Pinkie Pie said I should wear them. She said I’ll be smarter if I do…”
“And you believe her?” Trixie asked, looking at Twilight with surprise.
“Well, no, but if I don’t wear them I’ll never hear the end of it.” Twilight then looked over Trixie’s shoulder and waved a hoof, smiling at something behind Trixie. “Hey guys!”
Trixie turned around and saw a group of ponies approaching the two. Trixie recognised three of them: The white Unicorn, the cyan Pegasus, and the orange Earth Pony. There was also a pink Earth Pony with them that Trixie couldn’t remember, but she still felt familiar to Trixie.
The four ponies stopped when they saw Trixie and all except the pink Earth Pony started to frown and moan amongst themselves. “Well, Trixie thinks it’s obvious when she’s just a nuisance. She’ll be on her way now.”
“Wait!” Pinkie Pie shouted out, startling Trixie when she somehow managed to run up to her in less than a second. “You can’t leave yet! I still haven’t thrown you a party yet!”
Trixie looked confused at the pink pony, and turned to Twilight Sparkle. “Can Trixie receive an explanation, please?”
Twilight laughed and walked up the two, pushing Pinkie Pie back a bit to put some distance between the two. “She wanted to throw you a party last time you were in Ponyville, but you left so suddenly.”
Trixie was about to speak up, but the sudden yelling of two ponies behind her startled her, as well as the rest of the group. She turned around to see a mare and stallion arguing about something. The mare was a yellow Earth Pony with long, brown hair, and the stallion was a grey Pegasus with blue, spiky hair.
“I told you to stop bothering me! Just do you job and leave me alone!”
“But I need to know why! What’s he got that I haven’t!?”
“Well, for one thing, he knows how to please a mare. For another, he’s not some clingy, over-emotional wreck. And finally-” The mare stopped when another, taller mare, walked up behind her and whispered something into her ear. “Look, I’m really busy. Just stay away from me, alright?”
The two mares walked away, leaving the stallion all by himself, staring at the ground with a long face. “You bitch…You bitch!” He shouted to no-one in particular, startling many of the stagehooves around him.
Trixie turned to Twilight and Pinkie Pie, and noticed that Twilight’s other friends had moved closer to them than earlier. “Trixie forgot. What were we talking about?”
“Your party!” Pinkie Pie shouted out, once again in Trixie’s face, causing Trixie to back up and fall down.
Twilight pulled Pinkie Pie away from Trixie, and then realised that two of her friends weren’t present. “Hey, where’re Spike and Fluttershy?”
“Spike’s ill, and Fluttershy wanted to stay behind to look after him.” Rarity explained, before turning to Trixie and glaring at her. “In any case, since Trixie is here, I assume that she is your opponent?”
“That’s right.” Trixie said, returning Rarity’s glare.
“Heh, then you’ve got no chance!” Rainbow Dash said, floating in the air besides Twilight. “Twilight’s the biggest egghead in Equestria! Only the Princess could hope to beat her!”
“That so?” Trixie responded, grinning towards Twilight Sparkle. “Then if Trixie beats her tonight, does that mean Trixie is on equal footing with Princess Celestia?”
Twilight and her friends looked un-amused at Trixie’s joke, seeing it as an insult towards their beloved Princess. “That’s not funny, Trixie.” Twilight said.
“Who said it was a joke? Your friend seems to think that you are second only to the Princess, so Trixie was merely confirming what defeating you tonight means for Trixie.” Trixie walked up towards Twilight, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s warnings to back off. “Let’s make things interesting, Sparkle.”
“Interesting?” Twilight asked, not sure what Trixie meant.
“A bet. If Trixie wins, you must assist Trixie with her showmare career.” Twilight and her friends looked at her confused, and she explained. “Even if it is inferior to Trixie’s, your magic is most certainly impressive, and is sure to bring in a crowd when combined with my own great and powerful act.”
“And what if Twilight wins?” Applejack asked.
Trixie looked at Applejack for a second, and then turned to Twilight. “Well, Sparkle? What do you want from Trixie if, by some miracle, you win tonight?”
Twilight looked around at her friends, who were all suggesting she make Trixie do something embarrassing in front of Ponyville, except for Pinkie Pie, who was telling her to make Trixie attend her party. Twilight put a hoof to her chin, and then turned back to Trixie. “If I win…You have to come back to Ponyville with us and learn the values of friendship.”
“WHAT!?” Everypony around her yelled in unison, each one of them equally confused. Trixie in particular was very confused.
“Trixie, the truth is, for the last year now, I’ve been in living in Ponyville, studying the magic of friendship as per the Princess’ orders.” Trixie was surprised by this. Not just that Twilight was acquainted with the Princess, but also with what the Princess was making her study. Friendship? Was that really something the Princess needed to have somepony study? “In one of my more recent letters from the Princess, she asked me to help pass on my findings to somepony who was struggling with making friends, but I don’t know anypony like that.
“That’s why, if I win this game tonight, you have to come back and become my pupil.” Twilight had to resist putting on a smug grin at the thought of finally having her own pupil, but she wasn’t doing very well.
Trixie considered what Twilight had said, and then extended her hoof. “Very well then. It makes no difference to Trixie, since Trixie is going to win anyway.”
“Also you have to stop talking like that.”
“Don’t push your luck, Sparkle. One victory condition is all you get.” Trixie said, grinning at Twilight. The two of them shared a laugh together as Twilight reached out and shook Trixie’s hoof with her own.
Rainbow Dash floated up to Trixie and landed in front of her, a big grin on her face which made Trixie uncomfortable. “W-What is it, rainbow one?”
“Name’s Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow said, slightly annoyed, but still grinning as she leaned in towards Trixie. “And just thought you should know, your magazines are still in Ponyville. Wanna collect them sometime?”
Trixie’s eyes shot open as she moved back from Rainbow Dash, flailing wildly. “T-THOSE AREN’T TRIXIE’S! HONEST! THEY’RE-”
She was cut off by a loud scream that caused everypony in the room to fall quiet, before turning in the direction of the scream. “What the? What was that!?” Applejack asked, looking at her friends. Trixie and Twilight wasted no time running in the direction of the scream, quickly being followed by their friends.
They eventually reached a crowd of ponies around a door that led into a changing room, and Trixie and Twilight pushed through the crowd, using their magic to push the ponies apart. When they were finally through, they were shocked at what they saw. Inside the changing room, lying on the floor, was a body, holding onto a knife, with multiple stab wounds on its chest.
“Somepony call the police immediately!” Trixie shouted, entering the changing room slowly, being careful not to step on anything. “Hm?” She noticed something on the body that looked odd, and then realised something. ‘This was made to look like a suicide, but…’
Before she could finish her thought, Twilight, who was standing next to her, finished it out loud. “There’s no doubt. This is a murder.”
Thirty minutes later, the police had arrived and had started to examine the scene of the crime, which Twilight and Trixie helped keep undisturbed by standing guard. Inspector Megure, a buff, brown Earth Pony who wore a brown trench coat and a brown hat, wanted to keep all of the suspects together.
The suspects were:
Fossil Digger – The victim’s boyfriend, who was the last pony seen with the victim. According to him, he broke up with the victim prior to her death.
Stock Trader – The victim’s ex-boyfriend. When his business started failing, he was dumped by the victim, and is now working part-time as a stagehoof at the studio. It was known throughout the studio that he was desperately trying to get back together with the victim, and that she was treating him like trash. He was seen arguing with the victim and calling her a bitch prior to her death.
Tidal Wave – The victim’s brother, and a pro surfer and swimmer. He visited the studio to cheer his sister on. His hoofprints were found on the handle of the knife.
Juliet – A friend of the victim. She has a crush on Fossil Digger, but he rejected her because he liked the victim. She is an actor at the studio, who works alongside the victim. Her earring was found in the victim’s changing room, despite her claims that she hadn’t met with the victim that day.
The victim was named Shining Star. She was an actor at the studio. The one to discover the body at 20:55 was the victim’s agent, who was dropping by to check up on her client. She had an alibi for the estimated time of death, so she was not a suspect. After being held for questioning, she was asked to stay, in case they had questions to ask later.
Twilight’s friends wanted to leave, but everypony in the studio was asked to not leave until the investigation was over. Twilight and Trixie decided to pass the time by doing some investigating.
Twilight entered the room where the body was found and started to look around. She noticed that the room was in rather good condition. Certainly no signs of a struggle occurring. She looked over at the dresser and saw the earring in question that had been found. It had yet to be collected by the investigation team, and it was still in the state in which it was found.
She took a closer look, and then noticed a suitcase near to the dresser. It was locked with a key that Megure had found, but the contents were deemed irrelevant to the case. It was just a bunch of clothes belonging to the victim.
“Come on! This was obviously a suicide!” Twilight turned around and watched as the suspects tried to reason with the inspector to be allowed to leave. “Now let me go! My parents are waiting for me!”
“No, you see, this wasn’t a suicide…” Inspector Megure said, trying to keep the suspects from leaving. “Some of the stabs wounds are impossible to make when holding the knife in the way the victim did, and there’s no reason to stab yourself multiple times to kill yourself! We believe that this was a murder that the culprit tried to cover up!”
“Then it was Tidal Wave! His hoofprints were the only ones on the knife, besides the victims!” Fossil shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at Tidal, who was starting to back away in fear. “Just look at that face! It’s obvious that he’s guilty!”
“N-No! I didn’t do it! Honestly!”
Twilight watched the group argue amongst themselves, and then looked over at the dead body. ‘The blood was dry when the body was found. So the killer had plenty of time to remove the knife and clean it, assuming they didn’t act in the heat of the murder. But those wounds…They wouldn’t kill instantly, and after the first stab, you’d think Shining would start to fight back. But there’s no sign of a struggle, and if the killer didn’t recover the knife, I can’t imagine they went to the trouble of cleaning it up. Not to mention the blood splatter…’ Twilight examined the blood splatter and pointed out in her mind that, if the victims was killed by the multiple stab wounds, the blood should be all over the place.
She noticed a strange spot in the blood. It was a square patch in the middle of the pool of blood. “Excuse me, inspector?” The inspector turned around and looked at Twilight. “What’s this strange patch in the blood splatter here?”
The inspector walked over and looked at where Twilight was pointing. “Hm? Oh, that? We don’t know, but we assume that something was there and then removed by the killer.”
“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t they take the knife, too?”
“Maybe they didn’t think they had enough time. Whatever must have been here, it must have been pretty important. Too bad we can’t find it anywhere…”
Twilight leaned down and examined the patch closely. The inspector glared at her and asked who she was. “Twilight Sparkle.” She answered, concentrating on the strange patch on the floor. ‘Hey! There’re flakes of dried blood here! Does that mean…’
“Twilight Sparkle? I’ve heard that name before…” Megure put his hoof to his chin as he tried to remember where he had heard the name before.
Twilight rose to her hooves and looked over at the four suspects, and then back at the body. ‘This mare wasn’t killed by being stabbed. She was poisoned. I can tell from the purple marks on her throat. So in other words, somepony tried to frame Tidal Wave. But who? The murderer has to be one of the other three…And if my theory’s right, I might just have the evidence I need in this room, but…’
“Sparkle!” Everypony in the room turned to the entrance to see Trixie entering the room.
Trixie and Twilight entered the changing room of Fossil Digger. After examining the Juliet’s changing rooms for a bit, Trixie decided to enter Fossil’s changing room with Twilight so that they could share their findings together whilst investigating this last room. Trixie found something, and called Twilight over.
It was a sheet of paper with the Shining Star’s schedule on it. “Um, Trixie? How is this relevant? I mean, they were boyfriend and girlfriend, after all.”
“Look on the back, Sparkle.” Twilight turned the paper around and saw another schedule. “This is her agent’s schedule. And look. At this particular part.” Trixie pointed a hoof at a ring circling around two of Shining Star’s agent’s activities. The time gap in between contained the estimated time of the murder. “It seems Fossil was interested in when Shining’s agent would be away from Shining Star. It seems he wanted to be alone with her, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but…He was planning to break up with her. Maybe he just wanted to be alone with her?”
“That’s not all Trixie has found in here.” She turned around and motioned towards a cup of coffee on the desk. “This cup has been out for a while. And also…Well, go ahead and see for yourself.”
Twilight walked over to the cup and looked inside. “Um…I don’t get it. What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“You’re not. Try smelling, instead.”
Twilight took a whiff of the coffee, and then backed away, recognising the smell. “I see…But we still don’t have any evidence.”
“Wrong. We do.” Trixie said, smiling at Twilight as she pointed a hoof towards a saddlebag. “The coffee is still out, meaning that, if he is the killer, then he didn’t have enough time to destroy the evidence. That means…”
“I see…Actually, now that I think about it…That’s it! We have all the evidence now!” Twilight ran towards the doorway of the changing room and looked over at Trixie. “Come on! Let’s go! We have to tell the inspector right away!”
“What!? You’ve found the murderer!?” Megure asked, looking at the two mares in shock.
“Yes.” Twilight said, pointing towards the purple mark on the victim’s neck. “First, the method of killing. If you look closely, you’ll see a purple mark on the victim’s neck.” Megure looked closely and nodded. “This same mark is caused as the result of a certain slow-acting poison.”
“You’re saying this was the result of a poisoning? But isn’t possible that the victim struggled with the killer?”
“No, the room’s too clean for that, and the blood splatter shows that the victim was staying still when being stabbed.”
“But there was no poison found anywhere in the room, and victim’s water wasn’t even touched.”
Trixie stepped in and continued from where Twilight left off. “If you search Fossil’s room, you’ll find a cup of coffee that contains the same poison. You can tell by the stench alone, and if you have it examined at a lab, you’ll defiantly find the poison in there.”
Megure signalled for his officers to secure the cup. Trixie also requested for two more items to be retrieved from the room. Megure turned to Fossil, who was backing up against the wall. “So, does that mean that Fossil is the murderer?”
“That’s what we thought at first, but no.” Twilight said. “The witness who saw Fossil leave Shining’s room said that it was at 20:25. That was around the estimated time of death. If Fossil killed her, he would have had plenty of time to destroy the evidence in his room. And yet he didn’t.”
“That’s because the cup was left there intentionally, to put the blame on Fossil.” Trixie said, pointing down at the knife. “The same pony who came in after Shining had died, which was also after Fossil had left. They then proceeded to stab the body with the knife.”
“To also pin blame on Tidal Wave? Then I guess that earring was to-”
“No.” Trixie interrupted. “The earring was put there by the victim. If you check Juliet’s jewellery box, you’ll find strands of hair from the victim in there. Trixie guesses that the victim was attempting to steal the earring for the valuable diamond embedded within.”
“That bitch!” Juliet shouted, gaining everypony’s attention for a second. She covered her mouth with her hooves and tried to move the topic on. “S-So, then, who’s the killer? If it wasn’t Fossil or Tidal, then that means it was either me or Stock, right?”
“And considering your earring was stolen by the victim…” Tidal Wave said, eyeing Juliet suspiciously.
“No.” Twilight said, looking over at the four suspects. “It was a nice try, but you messed up big time. With a sound mind…”
“And a keen eye for detail…” Trixie continued.
Trixie and Twilight pointed their hooves forward, and spoke in unison. “Only one truth prevails! The killer…Was you, Tidal Wave!”
Everypony gasped and turned towards Tidal Wave, and then back at the two mares. “But…Why would Tidal Wave intentionally leave a knife with his own hoofmarkings on it at the crime scene if he was the murderer!?”
“The autopsy report would have shown the poison. Especially when its effects started to make the victim’s whole body turn purple, as opposed to just a portion of the neck.” Twilight explained, and then let Trixie continue for her.
“He was counting on you finding the poison, so that it would look like somepony was trying to frame him. That would, in his eyes, clear him of suspicion.” Trixie saw some police ponies enter the room with the items that were requested. “In Fossil’s room, we found a schedule sheet and a saddlebag. Chances are that the killer wanted to make sure the victim would die when they would be alone for a while, so that they could sneak into their room and continue with their plan.”
Twilight walked over to the bag and opened it up. “As I thought. Here’s the poison that was used in the murder, stored safely inside the bag…In a hidden compartment.” Twilight said, using a hoofkerchief to pull out the bottle of poison. “Isn’t it strange? Why take the time to hide the poison, but not do anything to hide the poisoned coffee?”
Trixie stepped forward once again. “Furthermore, Fossil was on-stage 25 minutes before the victim’s estimated time of death. That’s how long it takes for this particular poison to take effect. This would mean that it would be impossible for him to poison her. What actually happened is that Tidal Wave poisoned her in Fossil’s room, and then planted the bottle of poison into his saddlebag.”
“Now hold on!” Tidal shouted, outraged by these claims. “How can you just stand there and say I murdered my sister when you don’t even have any proof!?”
“The proof is the strange pattern in the blood splatter.” Twilight said. “When you stabbed the victim, you noticed that there was something on the floor. But by that point, it was too late. Because it was stained in blood.”
“Even if a little blood splatter hit you from the body, all you would have to do is wash it off in the bathroom of this changing room. However, if you got soaked in it, or tried to move whatever you found, things would become more complicated.” Trixie said, walking closer to Tidal Wave. “That’s why you waited for the blood to dry, so that you could pick it up without getting too much blood on yourself.”
Twilight approached Tidal alongside Trixie, a stern look on her face. “You didn’t have much time to hide whatever you took, and you didn’t have enough time to destroy it, either. There’s only one place you could have hidden it…So, would you let us check your coat’s pocket?”
Tidal Wave backed up and looked around for a way to escape, but when Megure approached, he saw that he had no choice. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a sheet of paper with bloodstains on it. “I had no choice. It was the only way I could be free.” Tidal Wave said, handing the paper to the inspector.
“This is…A blackmail letter?” Megure asked, just barely making out the writing on the unstained side.
“Yes…A few years ago, I…I made a terrible mistake, that cost the life of my friend, whilst we were swimming in the ocean…My sister was able to cover it up, make it look like an accident, but…” Tidal ducked down and held his head in his hooves. “I couldn’t take it anymore! She was controlling me! Using me to carry out her every will! Stealing, digging up dirt on other actors to ruin their careers, even helping her to cheat on Fossil!”
Fossil ran up to Tidal and grabbed him by his coat’s collar in a rage. “What did you just say!?”
“She was using me, threatening to reveal the truth if I stepped out of line! I had to do something! I had to make her stop! And the only way I could do that…The only way…” Tears started to pour down Tidal’s face as he remembered the moment where he stabbed his sister’s body multiple times. “I had to k-kill her, and to m-make sure I wasn’t c-caught…I tried to pin the blame on Fossil…” He turned towards Fossil and stared at him with a mixture of guilt and horror. “Please…Forgive me…I…I…”
Everypony in the room remained silent as Tidal continued to fill the room with the sounds of his crying.
After Tidal Wave confessed everything to the inspector, he was arrested for murder, and everypony else in the studio was allowed to leave. The game show that Twilight and Trixie were to appear on was called off, and Twilight and Trixie were paid a small compensation of 5000 bits each.
Since neither mare took part in the game show, neither mare had won the wager, much to Trixie’s disappointment. She was looking to combining her own magic with Twilight’s to create a performance that would attract even the nobles of Canterlot.
As Twilight and Trixie walked down the streets of Manehatten together, the two complimented each other on their skills, and found that they actually had a lot in common. They both liked a lot of the same books, they both attended the same magic school, and they were both very studious bookworms who felt the most comfortable when surround by literature.
As the two talked on and on, getting to know each other, Twilight’s friends walked a short distance behind them, at first watching with concern as their friend seemed to be getting along with the egotistical Unicorn that most of them didn’t like very much, but then their expressions changed to amusement at how well the two mares were getting along, and worry when they realised that Trixie was starting to seem like another Twilight.
One Twilight was fun at times, but could sometimes be a little hard to deal with. The thought of another mare so much like her worried Twilight’s friends, but they were at least happy that Twilight seemed to be having so much fun, so they talked quietly amongst themselves as the two Unicorns in front of them continued to get acquainted with one another.
“Really!? That’s the one Sherclop Holmes I could never find!” Trixie shouted in excitement.
Twilight smiled and nodded, a slight blush on her face as she realised ponies on the other side of the street looking over at the two mares after Trixie’s loud shouting. “Yeah, it’s probably my favourite one. If you’d like, I could let you borrow it sometime.”
“R-Really? You’d do that for Trixie?” Trixie wanted to grab Twilight and pull her into a tight hug, but she wasn’t sure if they were close enough for that yet. Yes they had been getting along fine during their walk through Manehatten, but Trixie wasn’t an expert on friendship, and she wasn’t sure how it worked. “Then-”
“Twilight.” Twilight and Trixie stopped walking and turned around to see that Twilight’s friends had stopped. Applejack stayed outside whilst the other three mares walked inside the hotel in front of them. “This is our hotel.”
Twilight looked at Applejack, and then at Trixie, and then back at Applejack. “But…Trixie and I still have lots of stuff to talk about…” Twilight said, a frown forming on her face as her ears dropped.
Trixie was also saddened at this. Trixie was staying at a different hotel, and also wanted to talk with Twilight some more. Trixie eventually let out a sigh, and was about to say goodbye to Twilight, when suddenly, Twilight’s face lit up.
“Oh, that’s it!” She shouted, grabbing Trixie’s front hooves with her own. “Why don’t you stay with us tonight!? Then we can talk more and more! It’ll be just like a slumber party!” Twilight clapped her hooves together excitedly, and didn’t realise Applejack jumping up and bolting inside at the mention of a slumber party.
Trixie looked at Twilight with a smile on her face, but it soon faded into a frown as she realised something. “Trixie…Has never been to a slumber party before. She doesn’t know how they work…”
Twilight put a reassuring hoof on Trixie’s shoulder and smiled at her. “No problem! I don’t mean to brag, but I’m something of an expert on the subject.” She said, pride obvious on her face and in her voice.
“Really!?” Trixie said with genuine amazement and admiration, and her face once again lit up into a smile. “Wow! You really are Trixie’s one and only equal!” Trixie turned around and got ready to start running. “Trixie has to go back to her hotel room to pick something up! It’s a book she thinks you will like! She’ll be right back!”
Trixie began running off down the street, and Twilight shouted to her: “Ok! I’ll be waiting out here for you! Don’t take too long!”
Trixie galloped through the streets with a cheerful smile on her face. ‘Trixie…Trixie has finally met somepony she can talk to! This feeling…Is this what friendship is? Trixie must research this further! She’s never felt anything like it before!’
Trixie noticed an alleyway that would act as a shortcut back to her hotel, and decided to cut through it. She slowed down to a walk both out of exhaustion, and because it was dark and she needed to watch her step. She stopped when she reached a T-junction in the alleyway, and heard voices coming from around the corner. Out of curiosity, and to make sure it wasn’t somepony suspicious, since it was dark outside, she poked her head around the corner.
She saw two stallions talking with each other. They were both dressed in business suits. One was a tall, thin stallion wearing a green suit, and the other was a short, somewhat chubby stallion wearing a black suit and a black hat on his head, his eyes covered by a pair of shades. Trixie recognised him as one of the two stallions from the train earlier that day. He was with the tall, scary looking one that…Just remembering that other stallion sent shivers down Trixie’s spine.
“Ok, I brought you the money, now give me the tape!” The pony in the green suit said, offering a briefcase to the other pony.
“First, let me check inside.” The pony in black opened the briefcase, smiled as he eyed the contents, and then closed it and took the briefcase, giving the other pony a VHS tape in return. “Alright, 200 mil confirmed. Here.”
‘200 mil!?’ Trixie shouted in her head. ‘That’s a lot of bits! This looks pretty shady…Trixie should go find a police officer, fast!’
“And you’re sure this is the only copy?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Destroy that tape, and all evidence of your smuggling will be destroyed.”
‘Smuggling? T-Trixie really should fine a police officer and-’
Before Trixie could finish her line of thought, she heard hoofsteps drawing closer to her. She turned around quickly, but not quickly enough to dodge an incoming attack as a pipe was smacked across the side of her head.
Trixie fell to the floor, barely staying conscious as she held her head in pain. “W-What the!?” The pony in black shouted, seeing Trixie falling down. He ran up to her, allowing his client to leave now that the transaction had been finished. “Somepony was spying on us!?”
From around the corner, another stallion dressed in black emerged. Although Trixie’s vision was blurry, she recognised him as the same stallion from the train who she had bumped into. He stared at his partner angrily. “You were careless. She could have revealed our transaction to the police.”
“Yeah yeah…” The other pony said, pulling out a gun and aiming it at Trixie. “I’ll take care of her.”
“No. There are police officers nearby after that murder incident earlier.” The tall stallion took out a small case from his coat pocket, and grinned wickedly at Trixie. “Let’s try this. The new drug, courtesy of the Organization. It can’t be traced in an autopsy, and we have yet to test it on anypony yet. She’ll make an excellent test subject.”
The shorter stallion nodded and put his gun away, and then noticed something. “Hey, that's the "Great and Powerful Trixie”, right?” He smirked as his partner leant down and slipped the drug into Trixie’s mouth. “Looks like her final act will be a grand and mysterious disappearing act, eh?”
Once the tall stallion had forced the drug into Trixie’s mouth and washed it down with some water, the two stallions gave her one final wicked look, before galloping away from the scene, leaving Trixie to die in the alleyway.
‘My chest…My chest is burning…Somepony, please…Twilight, help me…I’m…Going to die…’