“We interrupt this program to bring you important news from the Royal Equestrian Government. In light of the increase of attacks by the terrorist organization, the League of Justice, Equestria is now under martial law by royal decree until further notice. Complete cooperation with the royal government is strongly advised. Thank you for your patience and may Celestia bless Equestria”

Trixie walks through the mess that was once her father’s loft. She carefully steps over shattered glass and splinters that were once his exquisite collection of dishes and furniture. The howling wind blows through the gaping hole in the glass patio doors, pushing up the expensive curtains and blowing in specks of rain and pushing away light pieces of garbage.

Trixie looks down at the floor and sees a streak of dried blood stopping just shy of the patio door, or what’s left of it anyway. She remembers how she felt joy upon hearing her father had “passed away” and how she had shown up late at his closed casket funeral. She arrived just in time to see him buried and that was so she could show her last and greatest way of showing how much she hated him. She also remembers how she was one of only six at the funeral, and not a single tear was shed. It actually pleased her to see such reactions to a vile pony like Eclipse, but now that she’s looking at the blood all over the smashed loft, she is overwhelmed with grief.

Her eyes water and she brings her hoof up to her mouth as she scans the room, ears drooped and legs shaking. The lump in her throat is choking her, but as much as her body demands she cry so she can breathe, she refuses. No one should have to cry for the late Eclipse Lulamoon. None should have to show remorse to the monster he became.

Then the memory of her throwing Pinkie Pie off the edge of the construction site flashes by and Trixie closes her eyes tight and tries to get rid of it. It works, but Pinkie Pie’s promise of her saying how expandable she is to the League of Justice bounces around in her mind. She does not understand why Pinkie Pie thought she could stop the League, stop the ponies that saved her from Sunshine and took her in so she can learn to defend herself. She has absolutely no idea where such an idea came from, but now that she has the blood of a corrupted Element on her hooves, she is hoping that her family will rescue her, soon, for she killed a national icon and she doubts the state will show her mercy.

Though, a part of her believes that she has been abandoned. Again.

The League could have rescued her at the hospital when it was easy. They could have freed her on the road when it was easy. They could have saved her while they were still in Ponyville. They could have done all these things, and yet, they didn't. Just as her father had predicted, no one has bothered to help her, and the only reason the League let her join their ranks was because Gray Muffin appeased them, and now he is dead.

Trixie slumps to the floor and stares at the bloody streak leading to the patio, whimpering and shaking with tears trailing down her cheeks. She wants to believe that Adanz and Wazza are looking for her or are planning her escape. They were like brothers to her, and a family does not abandon their own. They stick with each other through thick and thin, that is how it is supposed to be! That is how it is supposed to be and yet after the death of her mother, all she has seen is the fallacy of family and friendship.

Trixie takes a deep, ragged breath, wipes some tears from her face and then looks up to see the great view of the capital of Equestria after forcing the lump in her throat down. The tall buildings that shroud the older, smaller structures light up the sky with tiny dots from their windows, and a single zeppelin flies in lazy circles over the Royal Palace. She then looks at the full moon and the stars that accompany it and finds their beauty mesmerizing. Luna has done a great job with the night sky tonight.

Trixie walks towards the patio and notices the railing is splintered where her father had hit it before tumbling to his death. She gulps, hesitantly walks towards the edge of the patio and looks down. She doesn’t know how high she is, all she knows is that she’s on the very top floor and the building stands easily thirty stories high. The passing vehicles look like glowing ants and the ponies walking around for a casual nightly stroll are barely visible dots that can only be seen when they pass under the streetlights.

“Are you still thinking about ending your life?” asks a familiar voice from behind.

Trixie knows who it is, so she doesn’t give them the benefit of eye contact.

“Every day,” mumbles Trixie.

“I see."

The Shadow Stallion takes a spot next to Trixie, and she waits for a moment to see if there is anything more, but seconds of silence convince her to add to the conversation.

“Are you going to say something encouraging?”

“You lasted this long without taking your life. Let's see if you can go another thirty years.”

Disappointed with the answer she received, Trixie huffs and slumps over the railing to watch the dots below do their thing, all while the Shadow Stallion stares at the heavens. The two silently listen to late night noises of the city and enjoy the wind blowing around their bodies, but even in the oddly peaceful silence, Trixie can’t help but think about what happened at Ponyville.

The more she tries not thinking about what she did, the more vivid the recollection becomes. She remembers all the colors, the textures, smells, and worst of all: Pinkie Pie begging her to stop Roar Shock before he hurts innocent ponies. But Trixie does not understand how Pinkie Pie can ask her of such a thing when she knew that she was the one who had to murder her. She does not understand how Pinkie Pie can ask her to betray the very ponies that helped her. Worst of all, she does not understand how can she protect the innocent if she is killing off Elements and being driven mad by revenge and a lust to be loved.

“You know, when I killed Pinkie Pie, I... I thought- I thought I was doing the right thing, but I am only confused, now. Everypony seems to be a bad guy in some way, and I don't know whose side I should be on,” says Trixie distantly. She sniffles and wipes stray tears from her eyes and continues watching the ant sized ponies down below going about their business. “I wish it was back to the simpler days when I had my stage and ponies adored the Great and Powerful Trixie and I didn't have to worry about being killed or killing or somepony trying to hurt me. I wish all of this wasn't... here. I wish everything was black and white like it is supposed to be.”

The stallion puts his hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “Trixie, even back in the days you long for, not everything was black and white.”

The suffocating lump returns in Trixie throat, and she sniffles and blinks the tears out of her eyes again. "It was to me."

The Shadow Stallion's hoof slides off of her shoulder. “Everypony has a story, Trixie. Everypony does what they do because, while all of you are born with pure hearts, the events and your reactions to them shape you. They shape your thoughts, your heart, even your soul. It is hardly as clear as many assume.”

Trixie looks at her companion, trying to search his featureless face for signs of deceit, but with a pure black mass staring back at her, she gets nothing. During her staring, her tears flow freely down her face and her heart beats heavier in her chest.

“What are you saying?” says Trixie.

“If you carry on to fight injustice, then you cannot let your demons control you,” says the Shadow Stallion. “You have already seen what turmoil did to Roar Shock and Gray Muffin, and if you let your anger and sadness control you, you will become like them, blinded by hate and confusing the lust of blood for justice. You don't know everypony's story, and mercy is your greatest tool, and if you use it properly, you can save yourself as well as many others.”

“I don’t know... Maybe... Maybe some ponies don’t deserve mercy. Ponies like me!”

The pain becomes unbearable, and Trixie collapses on the patio and weeps into her hoof. All this death is haunting her in ways she never thought possible. She never really thought about how her mother had died in the hospital with her, for she spent so long trying to suppress that memory. Trixie was glad to hear of her father’s death, and just when she thought someone could take his place, he gets blown off the roof by the one pony that took everything she had left away from her. Then with Sunshine, his lifeless eyes and bloodied, mangled corpse is forever burnt into her mind. Now she killed the very living embodiment of laughter. She became a killer like Gray Muffin, Roar Shock and the others. It seems that death follows her wherever she goes like her own shadow.

Trixie cannot form coherent words cannot from her weeping, and her heavy breathing makes it hard to breathe. Through her sobbing, the Shadow Stallion gently shushes her and brings her close for a hug.

“Everything will be right in the end,” says the Shadow Stallion gently in her ear as he strokes her mane lovingly.

Trixie looks up at the Shadowy Stallion with her eyes red and coat soaked in tears; his features are still nonexistent. This only makes her feel worse, her only source of comfort in the Hell she had built herself has no face.

“I promise in the end you will find happiness,but you need to carry on and fight through the days as you have always done,” continues the stallion.

As much as she wants to, Trixie does not believe his words. She knows she’s been forsaken, ever since birth she had been the target of Celestia and her games of torment, from taking her mother from her, then her father's love and the life she wanted, to being lost and abused in the world's true, ugly form. All attempts to make her life better after her failed career have been met with failure. From hopping between jobs and being downright homeless and resorting to theft and other means to survive, and the one pony she thought of as the father she could have died right in front of her by Twilight's wrath. Thinking about the fury of Twilight brings Trixie to thinking Pinkie Pie and how she had to kill her for abandoning her role as a defender of all things good so she can protect a corrupt mayor. Then she thinks about how she kicked the Element over the edge and the prophetic words of betrayal by the League's hoof that came before it. Which brings her back to Gray Muffin.

Gray Muffin said the first kill was the hardest, but now that she thinks about it, he was right when he told her when he said that she would think twice about him if she knew him more and that the League was not for her. She saw the anger he carried with him and how he became numb with killing, like killing came as easy as breathing for him.

Trixie already killed in the name of justice and ending corruption, and she hates it. She hates the burden it has on her shoulders, she hates the suffocation and crushing heart that comes with her thinking about killing Pinkie Pie. How anyone can continue to kill willingly is beyond her, and after seeing the pain and lust for blood in Twilight and the shell that Gray Muffin became because of his demons, doesn’t want to be a killer. But she knows that she can't get what she wants because there is no taking back a kill. She will have to live with the guilt of killing the Element of Laughter until her days end, and even then, she doubts she will be forgiven in this world and the next. There is no such thing as forgiveness for villains.

Villains like Mayor Ivory Scroll.

Villains like Eclipse Lulamoon.

Villains like her.

Trixie tightens her grip on the Shadow Stallion and buries her face in his shoulder, her body shaking more and her sobs muffled in his body as tears soak her cheeks and shoulder. Her lungs and eyes hurt, and her cries are barely heard over the storm.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” whimpers Trixie.

“I know,” say the Shadow Stallion.

He tightens his hug around her and Trixie suddenly feels a new sense of warmth and comfort on the cold patio, despite the rain beating against them. Eventually her breathing slows down and her sobs turn to sniffles as the rain calms to a light patter. Soon after her breathing slows, her eyes remain closed, but not tightly. Instead they are shut like they are taking a much needed sleep. Trixie snuggles against the mysterious stallion’s warm embrace, keeping her ear pressed against his chest so she can hear his beating heart and steady breaths, and hoping he will never let her go. She doesn’t know who this pony is, why he is a shadow, or why he is in her dreams, but she feels safe in his embrace.

She feels loved.

She feels forgiven.

They sit there, together in a comforting silence for a length of time that is unknown to Trixie, but when she feels a warmth wash over her and sees a light burn through her eyelids, she cracks her eyes open to see the source. Her eyes are still red and wet, much like how her face is still damp with her tears, and she looks up at the glowing white orb above the Shadow Stallion's horn.

“Its time for you to wake up,” says the Shadow Stallion.

Trixie wakes up in a pitch black room. All the warmth and comfort disappear from existence and become replaced with nothing but cold and fear.

Trixie stands up, feeling the slight pinches of pain all over her body from her brawl with Twilight just last week. Or maybe it was two. She does not know and last time she tried etching tally marks on her jail cell's concrete wall using her hoof it only left her sucking on it to get rid of the pain.

Trixie winces as she paces around the cell, marked 5-05-L, trying to pass the time. Like every time she wakes up in the total darkness of her cell, all she sees a black void with a faint silhouette of her bed and the small bathroom. If she looks up she can make out a square of lights in the ceiling, and if she tries rubbing her horn, the thick cuff around her base will zap her. It only took her three tries of poking and trying to pull it off before she gave up. Lastly, there is the thick collar around her neck and the thin, orange jumpsuit that has 11112010 stitched on it in bold, black patch numbers. The collar feels like a yoke and the jumpsuit is so thin it is like wearing a bed sheet. And not the comfortable kind, either. It is the kind that always pops out of the corners and brings people close to insanity.

As Trixie paces around her new home, she comes to a stop by the massive, steel door keeping her in. Her hooves trace the grooves, finding the slot for the food delivery and the other for viewing. She frowns and presses her ear against the food slot, which is the thinnest part of the door, and listens. The only way she can get the position to work even remotely well is if she tilts her head down and raises her rump slightly, and even then, she can barely hear the guards patrolling outside. She hears them talking, but cannot make out what they are saying.

With her head tilted, she is looking to her side and has her brows scrunched as her ears strain for clarity. She hears a little bit more, which proves to be an uninteresting conversation about some Canterlot hotshot dropping by. However, Trixie's eyes snap wide when she sees something shift in the darkness out of the corner of her eyes.

“You look gorgeous, darlin',” says Sunshine.

Trixie gasps and backs up into the corner, trembling and eyes brimming with tears as panic overloads her speeding heart. The shadowy figure in front of her expands its one wing and a faint, red, toothy smile expands and an equally weak flare of red for his eyes appear.

“Didja miss me?” says Sunshine.

Trixie shakes her head, whimpering.

“Daww, where's the feisty girl from those weeks back?” taunts Sunshine.

He steps closer, his hooves sounding very real and solid as the clip-clops echo in the room. Trixie whimpers louder and tries to make her escape by running along the wall, but Sunshine's hoof slams on the wall, blocking her. Before she can react, his other hoof pushes her back into the corner.

“I love a submissive mare, but you got a fire in you that I adore. So beautiful, so unpredictable,” says Sunshine. He moves his hoof down her chest and stomach, panting like a dog over her thumping heart and raspy breathing as he anticipates what he’s about to do to her. “Can I see that spark again?”

Suddenly a bright light turns on and Sunshine’s shadow vaporizes into nothingness and forces Trixie's hoof to her eyes so she is not blinded, but they prove to provide minimal protection. Her eyes feel like they had been burned out of their sockets and the aches and pains all over her body are not making this unpleasant situation any easier to cope with.

A minute later, a series of locks click, some gears turn and the thick door scratches against the floor as it slides into the wall, making a horrible grinding-screeching sound. The sound hurts Trixie’s ears and yet the mares that walk in do not appear to be affected by the noise at all. Both of them are Royal Guards, unicorns, and behind them is an escort party of six more heavily armed Royal Guards.

One of the mares pulls out a chain clamps it on Trixie’s collar with her magic, saying as she walks in: “Time to go.”

She gives it a quick tug and Trixie lurches forward, taking the hint to follow the guards down the hall without any resistance. As they walk through the soulless environment, they pass more solid steel doors with numbers painted on them, like “5-04-L”, “5-03-L” and so on and so forth until they reach the end of the hall, which has an elevator guarded by two more Royal Guard unicorns.

Without saying a word, one of the guards turns around to pull down a lever, which makes the elevator door open. The elevator door is actually made up of three doors. The first being the standard slide to the side one, and the second is a gate that the other guard pulls up using a pulley, and the third is another sliding door that required another lever pull to open.

Trixie is pulled inside the elevator, but due to the compact space in the elevator she doesn’t go far, and only her and the two unicorns that picked her up from her cell can fit inside. When they are snug inside the dimly lit elevator, the multiple doors seal shut and it slowly descends the structure. As they go down Trixie tries to disappear into the wall, but the cold metal keeps her locked inside with the two stoic guards. The lights from the elevator shaft lazily slide past them and each pathetic ding indicates when they go down a floor. After a dozen dings, the elevator comes to a jolting stop, making Trixie stumble for a second in her spot, but the others barely flinch. Trixie quickly recollects herself and when the doors open she is once again in the presence of a group of heavily armed Royal Guards.

The escorts lead Trixie outside where the rosy colors of dawn color the sky and give the towering prison walls an interesting hue. Trixie looks around nervously and sees the Royal Guards replacing the Night Guards on the walls and in the guard towers. The unkempt courtyard is bare of all activity and the way the barbed chain link fences surround and cut pieces of the courtyard into sections reminds Trixie of a labyrinth from Hell.

The escorts move Trixie through the passages made from the fences and take her towards a medieval type structure in the back with a large clock tower overlooking everything. The windows to it are barred and an Equestrian flag is hanging down from the bottom of the clock and going down about five stories. Above the main entrance to the little castle, which is a couple of large steel doors, is a preserved engraving that says: FORT SINGSONG.

They stop in front of the door and talk to a guard on the other side via intercom, and a few seconds later there are a series of clicks and the door open up. It groans and grinds against the pavement as it opens and the first thing Trixie notices are the dozen guards patrolling the lobby floor. Then she spots a dozen more on the upper level, some of them looking at them suspiciously and aiming their weapons towards them.

The group keeps walking towards their destination in silence. They pass through a few more checkpoints and walk down more hallways, and pass through more steel doors. Unlike the tiles and concrete of the outside, this section is carpeted and lit with warm lights. Trixie guesses that they are trying to give off a comforting feel, but all she feels is worry and sickness down in her stomach.

A couple of minutes of walking later, and Trixie is led inside a rectangular room that has an elderly pegasus mare surrounded by four unicorns wearing all black. The pegasus has an ice blue coat with a fading blue mane and tail with light gray streaks running through them, and her cutie mark is a scroll and hammer crossing over each other. The room, like the hallway, is carpeted and well lit, but Trixie also notices a one way window on the wall and four standing rings bolted to the floor. The guards also have cuffs and chains hanging around their necks. Trixie gulps and is tugged further inside the room, despite her knees trying to lock her in place.

“Director Brisk Wind, we have the requested prisoner,” says the unicorn holding Trixie’s collar.

Trixie lowers her eyes and the pegasus steps forward, sporting a victorious smile.

“There’s the mare of the hour. How are you doing, Lulamoon? Did you enjoy your cell?” Brisk Wind says.

To Trixie it sounds like a verbal warning of an oncoming kick to the ovaries, but despite the harsh undertone of the voice, Trixie remains is silent. She is letting her glare show everyone that she is not amused by Brisk Wind’s so called joke, instead.

Brisk Wind tuts and casually orders the guards to cuff Trixie to the floor, which they do very quickly and efficiently and leave her in such a way that her back is to the door. Trixie tests the chains and finds that they barely give her enough room to move her hooves. She looks at Brisk Wind again, and the pegasus flashes a thin smile and approaches her. When she is in front of Trixie, she shakes her head in disappointment, then excuses the unicorns that brought her in. After they leave she turns to her guards and orders a couple of them to grab a nurse named Golden Heart. The two agents leave without a word and the other two stay put, completely still and stone faced. If Trixie's hooves had not been cuffed down she would have waved in front of their eyes just to make sure they were not mannequins.

“Lulamoon, I want to talk to you about your most recent choices in life,” says Brisk Wind in a terrifyingly cold voice.

Not wanting to say anything, Trixie swallows nervously and splays her ears back as she tries to back away, but the chains hold her tight.

“According to our files, you were a small time traveling magician,” says Brisk Wind.

Trixie nods, her eyes brimming with tears and her throat getting a lump from the memories of the good old days with her cart, fireworks and stage garb that everyone loved. She tries yet again to free herself, but the result is the same as last time.

“It also says that your grades were very poor in the Royal Academy for Standard Magic. With some of the teacher comments politely saying how much of an idiot you were. Still are, in fact, since you thought you could get away with murder and terrorism with the EIB keeping watch over Equestria,” says Brisk Wind.

With her heart banging against her chest and her throat clogging, Trixie shifts her teary eyes between the guards and the pegasus. She really does not want to remember her grades, or the tongue lashing her father gave her because of her “lack of intellect”.

“Lulamoon, I'm talking to you, not the floor, so focus on me,” says Brisk Wind, annoyance spawning in her tone.

Trixie snaps her eyes back at Brisk Wind, trying to blink the tears out of her eyes and to keep her legs from wobbling. The older mare looks quite intimidating for her age. It may be the lighting, or the small, disgusted frown on her face, but whatever the case is, Trixie really does not want to be stuck in the room with Brisk Wind, especially cuffed to the floor with no way to move.

“I don't think you have any common sense in that pathetic brain of yours,” says Brisk Wind, her tone growing more insulting. “From the looks of it, you had a lot of talent in the magic show industry, but refused sponsorship. You relied solely on the change ponies tossed in your silly hat to feed and cover yourself and restock, and then you just disappeared after one bad review? You didn't have the money to pick yourself up and you chose to run. We got you on jail time for selling stolen goods, stealing food and blankets, and even selling yourself for a quick bit to an undercover in Appleloosa, and now you are a terrorist. Did the League promise you a nice paycheck, Lulamoon?”

Trixie shakes her head. “N-no.”

“What was it, then?”

“I... I just wanted to matter. I wanted a family,” whimpers Trixie. “They gave me that. They helped me.”

“You wanted a family?”

Trixie nods.

Brisk Wind nods and looks around the room, lips puckered in mocking thought. “Oh, a family. That's... That's good.”

Brisk Wind starts circling Trixie, being sure to stay uncomfortably close so the trapped unicorn can smell her shampoo and feel her breath when she speaks.

“Who wouldn't want a family?” asks Brisk Wind. “Who wouldn't want that special connection of having a supporting father and loving mother? Who wouldn't want some brothers or sisters to play with or talk to after a long day or school or work? Who can condemn such an innocent dream of wanting a family? Even if that dream leads to murder and chaos.”

The close proximity and the voice brushing all over her body and rubbing inside her ears sends crippling shivers along Trixie's spine and limbs. Even her throat and lungs feel like they are filled with sludge as she gasps for air from the growing tears, and she finds herself fighting to stay standing, despite wanting to sit.

Brisk Wind stops when she is in front of Trixie and hardens her mocking looking into a cold gaze of an unforgiving nature.

“Lulamoon, I am going to be honest with you. I love order. I love being able to control things because where there is lack of control there is chaos. I hate chaos and anypony that tries to bring it. You fall in that list that I hate, and I will get what I want from you to ensure that this discord ends,” says the Director dramatically.

Trixie wordlessly stares at the pegasus, following her movements with her ears drooping farther and her heart thumping harder in her chest as she senses a coming pain.

“It is basic fact that things cannot advance from chaos,” continues Brisk Wind. “It is only through the powers of harmony that we can see advancement. The tricky part, however, is perfecting harmony so that advancment comes quicker. And in order for there to be perfection, rats such as you and your anarchist friends must be rooted out, and believe me, I will find them all and they will either die or spend the rest of their lives behind bars. It really depends on how much they want to fight.”

Trixie remains silent, and Brisk Wind studies her face, her impatience becoming more and more visible with each passing second.

“Lulamoon, you are going to be here for a very long time, but I am willing to go easy on you if you just tell me what you know about the League of Justice,” says Brisk Wind.

Trixie shakes her head and Brisk Wind starts pacing around her again, as if thinking that the answer is somewhere tattooed on her body or hidden on her collection of scars.

“No? It's easy. Just give me some names, some places you visited or heard, some descriptions, anything really. The more you tell, the less pain you will face,” says Brisk Wind.

“I-I don't know... I don't know anything,” mutters Trixie quietly.

“Speak up, Lulamoon, I cannot hear you.”

Trixie pathetically whimpers. “I don't know.”

Trixie forces herself to look at Brisk Wind as she leans towards her. The unicorn's nose wrinkles when the stench of the strong, minty mouthwash Brisk Wind uses burns her the hair out of her nose. With their noses nearly touching, the Director wraps her hoof around the back of Trixie's head and holds her tight.

“I said speak up!” screams Brisk Wind, her gaze and voice becoming more ornery by the second.

“I don't know!” cries Trixie.

“You don't know anything about the ponies that trained you to kill an Element? Do you think I'm an idiot!”

Trixie shakes her head quickly, whimpering and trembling as she tries to back up, but with the chains holding her down, she can only fall on her rump and feel trapped, just like when Sunshine had his way with her.

Trixie stammers: “N-no, I-I-”

“Then why are you treating me like one!?” says Brisk Wind.

Brisk Wind searches Trixie’s face, and when she tries to look away, the EIB Director yanks her head back and forces her prisoner to look at her. Trixie squirms but that only makes the situation worse for her.

“LOOK AT ME!” barks Brisk Wind.

Trixie’s eyes lock on to Brisk Wind’s, trembling, whimpering and sniffling and trying to keep her wet eyes from blinking so she does not look away.

“You know everything I want to know, Lulamoon, and if I have to crack your skull open and pick apart your brain for that information then I will,” says Brisk Wind in a quiet, menacing voice over Trixie's sniffling. She wraps her hoof around Trixie's mane and tugs the unicorn's head back so her head is tilted painfully far and Brisk Wind peers into her eyes. “You can cry and beg and sob and weep and do whatever it is you little fillies do when you're afraid, but guess what? That will not save you. It is just you and me, and when I am through with you, I will be your bucking goddess, are we clear?”

Before Trixie can squeak an answer, the door opens up and a few ponies walk in, but she is too terrified to look away from Brisk Wind to see who entered. Brisk Wind, however, sighs tiredly and with drooped ears and eyelids and turns to the doorway to observe a unicorn mare in a nurse's outfit with a pale coat and dirty blonde mane walk in, pushing a metal cart with her magic. Seeing the nurse actually brings a smile to the Director's face.

“You better start talking, and start talking quickly or I will hurt you,” says Brisk Wind. The nurse stops and Brisk Wind opens the cart to have a peek at its contents, and without looking at Trixie, she continues. “In fact, just so we get some ground rules so you don't get cute with me, I will tell you right now that if you lie to me, I will hurt you. If you give me partial information, I will hurt you. If you do not cooperate with me in any way that is not satisfactory, I will hurt you. Are we clear?”

Brisk Wind carefully holds up a syringe in the light, and Trixie tries to see what it is, but all she can make out is a red tint and a very long needle. She gulps and tries to sink into the floor when the Director nods approvingly and gives it back to the nurse. The nurse steps forward, levitating the syringe, and Trixie's eyes shrink as she tries to back up, but, just like last time, the chains keep her down.

“Wha-what is that?” asks Trixie.

“That is the pain I was telling you about if you continue to be a bad filly,” says Brisk Wind. She looks at the nurse and points at Trixie. “Nurse Golden Heart, if you'll please.”

The nurse nods and steps forward, but stops when the door is pushed open by magic, much to the surprise of Brisk Wind. A bigger surprise for everyone in the room appears as four royal guardponies clad in gold armor with lavender trim walk in, and between them is the pair of ponies that left earlier.

“We're sorry, Director, we tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen,” says one of the ponies.

Before Brisk Wind cannot play the pronoun game, for the speaker is moved aside by a hoof and a white unicorn stallion nearing his fifties limps in, wearing a sturdy splint on top of his thick cast. If not for his thick, wrinkled, black bags under his eyes, his military appearance would have been perfect with his combed, electric blue hair and tidy red and white cuffed uniform. He even has the scowl down to par. However, while Trixie feels intimidated by this newcomer, Brisk Wind merely sports a cocky smile and coolly approaches the stallion.

“Captain Shining Armor, I'm surprised to see you are walking after such a dreadful injury,” says Brisk Wind.

“Is there a reason why you are doing this interrogation behind my back?” says Shining Armor, his voice weighed down by fatigue.

“Behind your back? Captain, this is not behind your back. This suspect has been captured by EIB, therefore the EIB will handle everything regarding her.”

“Nice try.” Shining Armor looks at one of his escorts, and the escort's horn lights up to levitate a folder with the Equestrian sun on it, and it flips open to the proper page and is turned to Brisk Wind. “Do not think of me as an idiot, Director. Trixie Lulamoon stands accused of being a member of the League of Justice, therefore is to be handled by the military as an enemy combatant, as stated by Royal Decree Fifteen-Fifteen Two, Section A, Clause One.”

Brisk Wind frowns, closes the folder and pushes it back to the guard while it is still floating in front of her face. “Well, if this is such a big deal then why are you here and not one of your fancy lawyers?”

“Because you're here.” Captain Armor looks at the levitating syringe that Nurse Golden Heart has. “And what is that?”

“None of your business.” Brisk Wind slides in front of Shining Armor, places her hoof on his shoulder and turns him to face Trixie, ignoring the slight wince he makes. “But now that we are here, why don't we have some fun, eh? Why don't you have a crack at Lulamoon? After all, she is your toy as well as mine since she is a terrorist, which gives me as much jurisdiction as you, as stated by the second clause of that Royal Decree.”

Brisk Wind tilts her head up and slides her hoof around Shining Armor's neck to pull herself up a bit higher while forcing his head down to meet her eyes.

“It's good to share, Captain. So let's share,” she says with a husky voice and a wicked smile.

Trixie's eyes shift between the two, her brain dying from what she is seeing, from the bordering flirting look of a succubus from the Director and the uncomfortable shifting of the Captain. Seconds of awkward silence later, Shining Armor frowns and pulls away from the pegasus and limps towards Trixie. The disgraced pony stares back at him pathetically. She has no words to say to him or Brisk Wind. She just wants to go back to her cell and put this day behind her.

As Trixie looks up at Shining Armor from her spot on the floor, the Captain of the Royal Guard stares down at her. His gaze is still tired and she can see the anger in his tired eyes, but it is restrained very well. Probably due to his injuries, or maybe it is his military bearing. Whatever the case, Trixie is glad that he and his guards are not beating her to a pulp.

“Do you have a lawyer?” asks Shining Armor.

Trixie lowers her eyes and shakes her head.

“Do you want a lawyer?” asks Shining Armor.

Brisk Wind snorts rudely, and Trixie keeps her head down, contemplating on the lawyer option that Brisk Wind conveniently left out. However, as she thinks about it, she remembers how her father was a lawyer at one point, and how he charged a hoof and an ear for everything, only to give them the short end of the stick if they were poor. And seeing as how she is dirt poor...

“The lawyer will be paid by the state,” says Shining Armor, like he got a peek in her mind.

Trixie shakes her head again. “I don't want one.”

Trixie looks up just enough to see Shining Armor and Brisk Wind exchange looks before the stallion sighs and hobbles closer to her. When he is directly in front of her, Trixie lowers her eyes again to stare at the floor. Her throat and mouth feels like all of the moisture has just been sucked out and her heart feels like a slow banging drum filled with rocks.

“Trixie, do you realize how much trouble your in?” asks Shining Armor wearily.

Trixie nods, whispering: “Yes.”

"So, you know you can stay in Singsong Prison for life without parole because of your affiliation with the League of Justice?”

“Yes.”

Shining Armor nods. “Okay, that’s good. Now, Trixie, I’m going to be honest with you, staying in here for the rest of your life is probably what will happen to you unless you give us something. Anything, really. You help us, we help you.”

Trixie looks down, wondering how she will fare with her life behind bars. She becomes even more uneasy when she realizes that she will lose all sense of privacy and will have to put in a two hundred percent effort to not drop the soap. If the past week of shower room encounters have been any indication of anything.

“We know you were one of their newest members, but everything you know can help us, and I promise you, if you give us anything in regards to the League that proves valuable, I will help you out of this,” continues Shining Armor.

“Oh, goddess,” groans Brisk Wind. “What kind of soldier are you?”

Shining Armor ignores her. “What can you tell us, Trixie?”

Trixie keeps her head down. She knows that the League of Justice targets only bad ponies, and knows that their methods are extreme. She’s seen what they are capable of just from word of mouth and actual experiences. But she also knows that they are only doing what the Equestrian government cannot or will not do. The government had its chance to stop corruption, to stop the gangs, the cartels, the violent rapists and murderers. The Equestrian government had its chance, now it is time for the shadows of the innocents to be the sword and shield, and Trixie is willing to give her life so ponies like Sunshine are kept off of the streets. Permanently.

“Nothing,” sniffles Trixie. “I won't tell you anything.”

Shining Armor sighs and runs his hoof through his mane while Brisk Wind arches an eyebrow.

“Are you sure about that, Lulamoon?” asks Brisk Wind skeptically.

“They're my family. I... I won't betray my family,” says Trixie.

“Bad news for you, Lulamoon. Your family abandoned you. You're alone with us, now.”

Shining Armor glances at Brisk Wind and Trixie's heavy heart sinks as the EIB Director motions Nurse Golden Heart over.

“I am on a tight schedule, and so is the Captain, so we are going to speed things up,” says Brisk Wind.

Nurse Golden Heart approaches Trixie with the syringe, and the former showmare's heart races when she sees the thickness of the needle and the brown, semi-pulpy liquid in the container.

“What is that? What are you doing?” asks Trixie, her voice shaking with her whole body and her muscles tensing as she tries to pull away.

Nurse Golden Heart's horn glows and she whispers a quick apology before zapping Trixie with a spell that freezes her body in place. All Trixie can do is move her eyes and watch helplessly as the nurse rolls up the front sleeve of her jumpsuit and prod her hoof for a good vein. After she finds a good spot, she positions the needle over it and Trixie whimpers and tries to move, but she feels like a soul stuck inside a rock, unable to move and do anything to anyone.

“You see, the benefit of being the director of the Equestrian Investigation Bureau is that I get privileges. Lots and lots of privileges,” explains Brisk Wind.

“What are you doing, Director?” demands Shining Armor.

“Interrogating.”

Nurse Golden Heart injects Trixie, and the unicorn's eyes bulge as the pulpy liquid shoots inside her veins and dissolve in her bloodstream. From there, the feeling of dozens upon dozen of little bugs chewing on her veins spread from its injection point. Tears pool in Trixie's eyes, and she manages a grunt as she stares at the ponies in the room. Specifically at Brisk Wind and that terrible smile of satisfaction she has.

“Are you going to talk, now, Lulamoon?” asks Brisk Wind, still smiling.

Trixie shakes her head. “No.”

Brisk Wind's smile disappears instantly. “Really? Well, that's okay. The EIB is always prepared. Nurse Golden Heart, inject Lulamoon again.”

“No! Nurse Golden Heart, stand down!” orders Shining Armor.

The nurse stops, but-

“Ignore him. You are not employed by the Royal Guard,” says Brisk Wind.

Nurse Golden Heart reluctantly levitates another syringe of the brown liquid to her and after another quick search, she injects Trixie again. This time it feels like a dagger has been stabbed her in the point of injection. The unexpected increase in pain makes Trixie scream in pain, and she falls to the floor when the imaginary blade twists in her veins.

“What you are feeling is the sanitatem fungus, also known as the ‘healing mushroom’,” says Brisk Wind while looking down at Trixie's trembling form. “They really are great. They can be used for medicinal purposes, or as a poison if used at the proper point.”

Brisk Wind lays in front of Trixie, cups her head in her hooves and forces her to look up. Trixie seethes painfully with sweat dripping down her forehead and muzzle, and glares at the Director.

“What you have inside is near expired mushrooms, ground up really good so they dissolve in your blood,” says Brisk Wind. “In due time it will fade, but the more we put in, the worse the pain will get from your nerves overloading. So, how about you tell us what you know about your so called family?

“You can’t-You won’t make me talk,” says Trixie, the pain is clear in her shaking voice.

Brisk Wind smiles and stands up. “I’ll admit, Lulamoon, I kinda like you. Most ponies could only go through two before saying they’ll talk, but you’re still clinging to your false sense of hope. It really is making things quite interesting. It’s no matter, though, I will break you. Me and Captain Shining Armor will get what we want, but the question is: How much pain are willing to go through to protect the ones that abandoned you?”

“Go to Hell!”

Brisk Wind sighs and shakes her head. “Nurse, inject her again.”

“Director, that is enough! This is torture!” says Shining Armor.

Brisk Wind frowns at Shining Armor. “Pull your head out of your ass, soldier boy. If you want to stop the League of Justice, this is the way. Now let me work and keep your damn morals out of this!”

Nurse Golden Heart injects Trixie with another dose of the fluid in a fresh syringe. Trixie feels the fluid slither into her body and spread out, just like the previous ones, then she feels the pain. This time it feels like someone stabbed her in the point of injection with a blade and the blade is spreading open like a flower right under her skin. Trixie shrieks and thrashes in her chains, sobbing and begging in her incomprehensible babbles to make the pain stop.

“Please! No more! Make it stop! Please!” sobs Trixie.

The agents and guards in the room exchange worried glances, and while Brisk Wind stares at Trixie without a shred of decency or sympathy, Shining Armor runs to her side and lays next to her with his hoof on her back. She can barely see or feel him, though, since her eyes are squeezed shut and every time she opens her eyes, it is just a crack and everything is a wet haze. Her body feels like it is splintering and her injected hoof might as well be stuffed with jagged, hot rocks that shift around inside her, cutting up all her muscles, bones and veins.

“It will stop when you talk to us,” says Brisk Wind.

“Trixie, please tell us what you know,” says Shining Armor.

Trixie remains quiet, save for a weak sniffling and the chains rattling from her shaking. Seconds later, she mutters something and Shining Armor and Brisk Wind both lean closer.

“What did she say?” says Brisk Wind.

“Trixie, can you repeat that?” says Shining Armor.

Trixie lifts her head up and forces her eyes open so she can stare at Brisk Wind with her bloodshot eyes. Her sweat soaks through her jumpsuit and large beads drip from her ruined mane and off her muzzle, but she still stares defiantly at the Director and grits her teeth as she shifts in her spot.

“They're my family...” seethes Trixie agonizingly with strands of thick drool bleeding past her teeth. “I can't betray my family.”

Brisk Wind hums. “Such a shame you're on the wrong side. I would have loved to have somepony like you on my team. Nurse, inject her again.”

Shining Armor scrambles to his hooves to approach Brisk Wind, cringing from a sharp pain in his injury. “You can’t be serious!”

“Captain, I think it is time for you to leave.”

“I am not leaving her here with you!”

“But you've let me do quite a bit to her despite you standing in here, so all you're doing is wasting space and getting on my nerves.”

As the two officials bicker, Nurse Golden Heart sits next to Trixie and prepares her hoof for another injection. Trixie’s whimpering, quiet begs and weak thrashes do nothing to faze her, and when she is injected again, the feeling of the hot, sharp rocks inside her explode to dozens of splinters that slice and rip apart everything inside her hoof. Trixie's eyes snap wide open and she feels her lungs struggling to work as her throat closes off as she chokes for air to scream, but then everything becomes dull. Her heart tightens, her lungs harden, and her eyes roll to the back of her head as she collapses to the floor. Then the darkness claims her.

Author's Notes:

Edited on 03 May 2015