The clouds had already begun to gather in the skies above, much to Twilight’s chagrin. She stared out of the windows of her carriage, travelling along the main train line out of Ponyville, and, above all else, trying to keep herself as calm as possible. She knew what she was planning was risky, but deep down, she also knew that it was something that needed to happen. Unlike many of the other train rides that the young unicorn had been on recently, none of her closest friends were with her. No Rainbow Dash, nor Pinkie Pie, nor Rarity, nor Applejack, nor Fluttershy and not even her adopted son, Spike. Instead, only one pony was accompanying her today, and that was who she now turned to look upon. Sitting on the other side of the carriage, looking out of her own window, was none other than Trixie Lulamoon, former show-mare and Twilight's personal student. The blue mare seemed quite occupied with something, not really paying much attention to the scenery outside, prompting Twilight to think things over for a moment. Eventually, the broke out into a small smile and cleared her throat, gaining Trixie's attention. With her eyes now on her, Twilight patted the seat beside her, silently inviting Trixie to come over. Although hesitant at first, the student eventually went over to her teacher, smiling in appreciation over the invite.

With the two sitting comfortably together, Twilight felt herself relax, albeit only a little. For soon, she could see mountains out of the window, and that, as she knew all too well, meant that their destination was close at hoof. Sure enough, there it was soon afterwards; Canterlot, the capital of their great nation. Although the sight of her hometown usually caused Twilight to smile, today, that did not seem to be the case, as she instead took on a look of slight worry. Glancing to the side, she saw that Trixie had at last paid attention to where they were heading, and had moved out of the seat and towards the window, smiling at the sight of the approaching city. As for Twilight, she was busy taking a few calming breaths, knowing that it would be mere minutes before they arrived at that station. Those minutes passed by pretty quickly, and they felt the train slow down considerably, with its brakes letting out that distinct steam train screech. Only when the thing had stopped entirely did the two mares start to head towards the exit, with Twilight out in front. After waiting patiently, they watched as the doors slid open, allowing them to leave the train at last. Once they’d taken in the scenery around them for a few minutes, Trixie looked to Twilight, seeming more than a little nervous at something, before speaking up.

"Um...Twilight? What are we doing here exactly?"

Twilight looked to her, half nervous and half assured, and adjusted the saddle-bags upon her back before finally speaking up.

"Trixie...let's walk."

Although somewhat irritated at Twilight's non-answer, the former show-mare nevertheless did as requested, and within moments, the two of them started to walk towards the exit of the station. Soon afterwards, they were out onto the main street of Canterlot, which was bustling with activity, even on a somewhat overcast day like today. As they continued to walk amongst the other ponies, Trixie kept looking to her teacher, with the latter very much aware of it. After some time of nothing but silence between them, Twilight finally spoke.

"Trixie...we're friends, right?"

Trixie raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well...yeah?"

Twilight kept looking ahead, her face bearing some determination as she continued speaking.

"And friends...help one another, yes? They help...even in ways those friends might not know they need help with...yes?"

Trixie just kept staring at her, clearly not sure where this was going.

"Um...sure?"

Looking down at the ground as she walked, Twilight let out a sigh.

"Trixie...there's been a part of your life that you've never known about. I don't know if it's because you never chose to seek it...or perhaps some other reason. And if I am your friend, truly your friend...then I have to help you regain that part, at least in some small way."

Upon hearing that, Trixie stopped dead in her tracks, with Twilight soon afterwards. As the latter looked to the former, she watched as her blue friend look at her with confusion.

"Twilight...what are you talking about?"

For a moment, the young unicorn hesitated, debating with herself on whether to just come out and tell Trixie what she wanted to know. But, after much of that, she kept her mouth shut, and instead kept on walking in the direction she'd been going in this whole time. Trixie looked on, still confused as to what Twilight was doing, and yet continued to follow her. It wasn't long before her confusion increased, as the two of them found themselves walking further and further from the city's centre, heading for the outskirts. The homes became smaller, less ornate, and there was a general feeling that this was just a less prestigious part of the city. Even so, both Trixie and Twilight remained silent, and just kept on walking. Eventually, they came across something one wouldn't expect to find in a busy city like Canterlot, a large green field, safely fenced off from the rest of the city. Although, Trixie let out a brief gasp when she understood why. It was covered in row upon row of cold stones, each engraved with the names of ponies. This place was a gravesite. Needless to say, the blue mare looked to Twilight, hoping she would have some answers for her. Instead, there was only silence, as the later walked over to a nearby gate in the fence and carefully opened it, only to stop and look to Trixie.

It was clear that Twilight wanted her to continue to follow her, but, given their current surroundings, one could forgive Trixie for not wanting to proceed. Even so, she did, and as she passed through that tiny gate, Twilight respectfully closed it behind her. And so it was that Twilight began to lead her further onwards, with nothing but silence between them. After a good long time of journeying through this grave-filled field, Trixie watched as Twilight looked down one stone in particular, which caused her to stop walking. She approached the stone, reading what was on the far side of it, and let out a sigh. Looking up, Twilight said no words, but her meaning was clear; she wanted Trixie to come over and read it. In the pit of her stomach, the blue mare had a foreboding feeling of what she would find there, but her legs would not obey the warnings of her mind as she started to walk forward. Moment by moment passed, and soon afterwards, Trixie was on the same side of the stone as Twilight, looking down upon the inscriptions it bore. I was clearly weathered somewhat, but, after studying it carefully, she understood what it said. And when she did, her eyes widened with shock.

"Here...here lies Trix and Grace...Lulamoon?"

Twilight watched her as she read it, with Trixie dropping onto all four knees as she did so.

"Loving husband and wife. Loving Father and Mother. Died together...as heroes?"

Trixie paused for a moment, her words catching in her throat, before looking up to Twilight, her expression practically demanding an explanation from her mentor. After letting out a sigh, Twilight gave one.

"When you had only just been born...there was a fire in downtown Canterlot. The three of you lived in an apartment block together. That was one of the places hit, in the middle of the night. Your parents asked a friend of theirs to get you out safely. As for them..."

Twilight turned to the stone beside them, placing a hoof upon it before continuing.

"...they stayed, doing all they could to help everypony else get out. They managed to do just that, but..."

She paused, looking to Trixie with saddened eyes.

"...the fire finally took its toll on the building. It collapsed...with your parents still inside."

Silence fell between the two mares after those words, with Trixie looking back to her parents' headstone, gently placing a hoof upon the inscription. Twilight looked to her, doubt gnawing at her, making her question whether or not she had done the right thing here. In time, Trixie finally spoke up again.

"How? How did you find all this?"

Twilight sighed at that.

"It wasn't easy. With the chaos caused by the fires in that district, a lot of information got lost. Records and papers burned along with nearly the whole neighbourhood. Even now, there's probably a whole lot still lost, despite everypony's best efforts to piece together what happened. But...in the end...I managed to find out what happened to these two."

Sadness crossed her face with her next words.

"Are...are you...do you need some time alone?"

Trixie considered that for a moment before shaking her head slightly.

"No, I...I never tried finding out before. I mean...I guess I was curious, but I was always afraid that...they just didn't want me. But now...I'm here...with them. I know now. They...they saved others. Like the stone said...they're heroes."

Trixie then turned to Twilight, a small smile forming upon her face.

"I'd have never known this without you. But...why? Why do this?"

On that count, Twilight had an easy answer, as she broke out into a small smile and placed a hoof upon Trixie's shoulder.

"Because...I'm your friend."

Yet again, there was silence between them, as they simply stared at each other. As with all things, Trixie knew Twilight had meant every word of that, and so found herself deeply thinking over what it was that she'd just learned. As one would expect, it was a lot to take in, and as such, Twilight gave her all the time she needed. She waited patiently, watching as Trixie got back to her hooves, and turned to look upon the place where her parents were buried. Placing a hoof upon the stone once more, Trixie wore a warm mile, before leaning forward and planting a single tender kiss upon it, a silent farewell to the parents she never knew. As for Twilight, Trixie now turned to her, and for the first time in all of this, the blue mare started to form tears in her eyes, all while wearing that same genuine smile as before. Twilight watched her and was then taken aback when Trixie leapt forward, embracing her in a hug. A few moments passed, during which, Twilight returned the smile as well as the hug. The two mares stayed together, and did not even care when the grey skies above at last started to let forth their rain. As the drops of water fell upon them both, Twilight listened as Trixie whispered softly into her ear.

"Thank you...friend."

Twilight smiled at her friend's words, however, as time passed, her smile faded as she began to hear a new sound in all of this. It was unmistakeably the sound of uncontrollable sobbing. Trixie was crying, perhaps more strongly than she ever had in her life. All of the bottled up emotion she'd felt over the years at merely thinking about her parents and what might have happened to them, it was all now overflowing, being given released after too long a time. Twilight knew, deep in her heart, that this kind of heartache was only natural after having learned something like this. For one to learn that they not only had loving parents, but also lost them, and for them to have gone out as heroes, she had no doubt that Trixie was overwhelmed by it all. But still, Twilight stayed with her, giving her the time and comfort she needed to simply let it all out, like she knew she needed to. And through it all, through the sobs and the tears and the rain, the former show-mare kept on speaking those same words, over and over, with her voice wobbling all the way.

"Thank you...thank you...thank you...thank you..."

Author's Notes:

With me having Twilight destroy the alicorn amulet earlier on in this story, I was debating a few things as to what I could have Twilight and Trixie do during what would be the "Magic Duel" part of the timeline. Then I remembered that I had her established as an orphan fairly early on, so I decided it was high time for me to expand on that backstory a little.

I hope I did it okay here.