Unexpected Revelations
Of all the reactions I could have expected to arise from my magician friend getting to meet my dear neighbor, this was not what I had in mind.
Trixie kept screaming, but then she did something that perplexed me further. She started forward rather abruptly, looking as though she wanted to embrace Moonlight, and actually threw her forelegs around her neck. Moonlight let out a yelp of surprise, but before she could do more than that, Trixie had flung her back. She looked from her hooves to Moonlight, then back again, and then backed rapidly away until she bumped up against my legs.
Moonlight, knocked off her hooves after that, stood up again, looking just as confused as I felt, if not more so after that abrupt hug and push. She looked at me, as though begging for an explanation, but all I could do was shrug helplessly, while Trixie continued to hyperventilate, one hoof over her heart. I bent down and gripped her by the shoulders.
“Trixie, what on Earth’s gotten into you?” I asked.
Trixie didn’t answer. She continued to gasp, but she didn’t say anything.
“Not that I don’t like hugs,” said Moonlight, sounding a little indignant, “but I’d rather not get thrown to the ground after one.”
“Mrwrble” Trixie croaked, sounding like nothing I’d ever heard from her before.
“Trixie?” I asked, concerned. “Are you ok?”
“Her!”
Trixie pointed a trembling hoof at Moonlight, who looked more confused than ever.
“What about her?” I asked.
“She’s...But I thought...She’s alive?!”
“What? Of course she’s alive! Why would you even ask that?!”
“I mean, I know my coat’s pretty pale,” Moonlight muttered, looking down at herself, “but come on.”
“Her! Rocks! Ghost? Hug! No ghost! Gotta go! No, stay! Yes.”
This was getting ridiculous, and downright alarming. Beyond the fact that Trixie was acting as though she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, if she kept on like this, she’d really hurt Moonlight’s feelings, when she (and I) had no idea what this was all about.
Trixie turned around to look at me. I felt a bit cowed at the intense light burning in her shrunken pupils, and the twitch in her left eye.
“Trixie? Are you ok?” I asked again. “Do I need to take you to the hospital again?”
She stared at me long and hard, reminding me vividly of our argument when she was getting sick. Eventually, however, her features relaxed a little, as though she started to realize just how crazy she was acting.
“No, no hospital” she said. “Can we go inside? I need to lay down, and get something to drink. I’m feeling a little woozy after a shock like that.”
“O-Of course,” I said.
“Right...You’re the one who’s shocked,” said Moonlight, dryly.
***
I soon had Trixie resting comfortably on my couch, supplied with a glass of water, which she gulped down quick as thinking. Moonlight had followed us in, though she still looked very dubious and a little disgruntled. I couldn’t blame her; I’d promised her the chance to meet a new friend, and the result was less than satisfactory.
At last, when Trixie seemed recovered (she had asked for at least two refills), she sat up.
“Feel better?” I asked.
“I’m getting there,” she said, patting my arm. “Thank you, Dave.”
Trixie swallowed hard, looking from me to my miffed neighbor. There was a pause. At last, she said to her, in a trembling voice and with tears in her eyes,
“I’m so happy you’re alive, Star. I suppose you must hate me now, after what happened. I don’t blame you if you do.”
Star? Who was Star?
Moonlight looked just as puzzled as me.
“Um, I don’t hate you,” she said, uncertainly. “I mean, what happened out there was surprising, but I’m sure you had your reasons.”
“What?” asked Trixie.
“What?” asked Moonlight.
“What, what?” I asked.
“You don’t hate me?” Trixie asked. “Then why didn’t you follow the caravan?”
Moonlight blinked.
“Caravan? What do you mean?”
“I feared the worst for you, but I still wanted to be sure you could find me. I’ve been leaving a trail for you ever since I left, but when you didn’t follow it...I thought you died.”
A tear rolled down Trixie’s cheek. As touching as this sounded, I felt completely lost. Judging by Moonlight’s expression, she was as clueless as I was. Or, so I thought. Her eyes had grown wide with excitement.
“You’re a deja vu!”
Trixie and I stared at her.
“A what?” I asked.
“A deja vu,” said Moonlight. “I was in the hospital a long time ago, before I came to Ponyville, and a nurse told me a deja vu is what you call something you feel like you did before, even if you didn’t. I sometimes have problems remembering things that I feel like I should, so my nurse told me to just call it a deja vu whenever it happened.”
She was looking rather proud of herself.
“I’ve cracked the case!” she said, in a way reminiscent of Shadow Spade.
Apart from that being something straight out of a Shadow Spade novel, a ‘deja vu’ was a very odd thing to call Trixie.
“You must have known the old me!” Moonlight said to Trixie. “The me I don’t remember!”
Trixie stared, some of the color draining from her face again.
“The...you you don’t remember?” she echoed. “I think you’ll need to explain, because I’m more confused now than I was before.”
“That makes two of us,” I said.
Moonlight brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Her expression, once so triumphant in discovery, now looked faintly troubled.
“Like I said,” she said, “I don’t remember very much. The first thing I can recall is waking up in a hospital in Manehattan, with my head hurting very badly. I don’t know how I ended up there, or how long I’d been there, but from what my nurse told me, somepony had very kindly paid for my hospital bills. I often said that I wish I could’ve known who it was, because it was so very generous of them to do that for me, even if I didn’t know who they were.
“When I was feeling better, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, since I didn’t even remember my name or where I lived. I didn’t even know who my parents were. I was all alone.”
Trixie sniffled beside me. I was feeling rather misty-eyed myself. I had never heard Moonlight talk about her past like this, and I had no idea that she had been so alone, though I still didn’t see where Trixie factored in.
“A very nice stallion from Foal Protective Services picked me up from the hospital and set me up in a foster home. They were nice ponies, and since I couldn’t remember my name, they gave me the name ‘Moonlight’, because they said I was ‘as bright as the moon’. I should’ve been happy with them, but I didn’t like Manehattan. It was too noisy, too crowded, and so full of rude ponies. Worst of all, it had the most terrible thunderstorms whenever it rained, and they always gave me so much anxiety, mixed together with the rest of the noise. I didn’t want to disappoint my foster family, but I just couldn’t bear being in Manehattan any longer.
“They were very understanding, though, and one day, they helped me get a home here in Ponyville. Technically, it was purchased in their name, and they said I was looking after it for them, to avoid complications. I don’t like tooting my own horn, but I was, I think, a bit more independent than most fillies my age, and I knew how to look after myself. With all of that taken care of, I moved to Ponyville, where I hoped I could find myself. Even if the doctors said I might get my memories back, I never did. I still want to solve the mystery of the old me.”
Here, Moonlight looked away, her eyes full of nostalgia.
“Wow,” I breathed. “Moonlight, I had no idea you had such a...tumultuous history.”
“I know,” said Moonlight. “I’m sorry I never told you before, Dave. It just didn’t feel important to, and I never really thought anything of it before.”
“I understand,” I said, patting her shoulder kindly.
A loud honking noise made both of us jump. Trixie had produced a handkerchief that seemed to be made out of the same material as the ‘never-ending rope’ trick magicians loved to perform, and was blowing her nose violently into it.
“Anyway,” I went on, “you came to Ponyville for a fresh start? Then why did I find you a shut-in?”
Moonlight’s ears drooped.
“I guess you could say I got stage fright,” she said. “Or, street fright. I was so used to the pushy, rude, noisy ponies in Manehattan that I was scared to mingle with the ponies here in Ponyville. I only went out when I had to, but I don’t think anypony ever remembered me when I passed. I stayed shut away otherwise, until you came along.”
She laid her hoof on my hand, a teary smile on her face, and I grasped it gently, smiling back. She then turned to Trixie, who had raised her puffy eyes from her handkerchief.
“You know me, Trixie, even if I don’t know you but should. Can you please tell me about the me you know I was?”
Trixie stared at Moonlight for a moment or two, her mouth slightly open, a quivering light in her eyes. At last, she asked,
“You really don’t remember anything? Not me? Not yourself?”
Moonlight shook her head. Trixie’s lip quivered, and she closed her eyes momentarily. When she opened them again, she said,
“Even if you don’t remember, you still deserve to know the truth. I will tell you, and you, Dave,” she added, turning to me. “I think you’ve been in the dark long enough.”
I couldn’t agree more, but I said nothing, and waited for her to continue. She sighed and shook her head with a grim smile.
“I never thought I could introduce my first friend to you, Dave, and certainly didn’t expect to introduce her to herself.”
I blinked, bewildered.
“Your first friend?” I echoed. “What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the night when I told you my history, about how I became the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
Why was she bringing that up?
“Yeah, I do,” I said, slowly. “Why?”
Trixie’s horn flared, and Moonlight ‘oooh’-ed as a spectral image emitted from her horn. With a slight giggle, Trixie asked us to ‘hold our applause’. The image was rather crude and simplistic, like a child’s cartoon drawings, but it resembled, from my point of view, Trixie’s wagon. Floating above it were stick-pony figures of a younger Trixie (I could tell because of the hat) and another pony, a white pegasus with blue hair.
“Do you also remember me telling you about an old friend of mine? A very dear friend?”
I couldn’t help but notice Trixie’s eyes becoming quite bright at this, and I thought I saw the beginning of fresh tears as well.
“I do remember,” I said. “Star...Glimmer, was it?”
“Glider,” Trixie corrected.
“Right, right, Star Glider.”
At first, I wondered why Trixie was bringing up her old friend, especially when she was a touchy subject for her. Her first telling me her story was enough to prove that to me. As I wondered about it, the scene changed, now resembling a packed theater, with Trixie on stage.
“You remember I told you about our stay in Manehattan?” Trixie went on, looking fixedly at me. “The trials I faced?”
“I do,” I said, thinking. “You were having trouble with hecklers, and I think you said that...that Star Glider wanted to stand up to them for you.”
“She did,” said Trixie, with a wan smile, “against my better judgement.”
The image changed again, and Moonlight and I gasped at its contents. It now showed the pony figure who was clearly Star Glider getting struck in the head by a massive stallion in the crowd, Trixie on stage all the while, looking horror-struck. To add to the effect, there was a window to the outside in this image, showing a fork of lightning behind its panes. There was even a clap of thunder that accompanied the image. Trixie gulped, looking pained.
“And so she did stand up for me...and...was punished for her good heart…”
Moonlight’s ears had gone flat. She looked faintly sick. As for me, seeing the image of what Trixie had described to me all those months ago was even worse than hearing about it.
“I remember,” I said, in a hollow voice.
The scene changed again, now showing Star Glider, with a bandaged head, lying unconscious in a hospital bed, and Trixie running in the opposite direction, a hefty sack of bits sitting at the bedside, while a doctor and nurse tried to call her back.
“She was sent to the hospital for her injury,” said Trixie, her voice constricted. “The doctors couldn’t be certain whether or not she’d pull through. I should have stayed by her bedside, as I had always done when she was with me, but I was too cowardly. I ran away. I consoled myself by saying that I had to keep going, to earn more for the day when she caught up to me, even if it may not happen. Since then, I couldn’t bear to set hoof in Manehattan again, but I still made sure to leave a trail of my wanderings to ensure she knew where to find me one day, if she was still alive, and didn’t hate me for what happened.”
She turned her wet eyes on Moonlight, who sat as if transfixed. As for me, my jaw fell open, as I began to understand the truth at last.
“You mean,” I said, slowly, “Moonlight...is Star Glider?”
Trixie nodded slowly.
This...this couldn’t be real!
This was unbelievable!
What kind of soap opera world had I fallen into?
Trixie’s long-lost friend, thought to be dead, had been my dear friend and next-door neighbor all along?
Serendipity knew no bounds!
I gazed, open-mouthed, from Trixie to Moonlight, who still looked nothing short of mystified.
“Star Glider?” she muttered. “My name...was Star Glider? I guess it’s pretty, but I don’t know...”
“Wait here,” Trixie said. “I want to show you something.”
She got up from the couch and walked out the door, leaving the two of us behind.
There was an awkward silence between me and my friend. It wasn’t an easy thing, finding out that someone you thought you knew had such incredible secrets. This wasn’t nearly as unbelievable as figuring out that other worlds exist, or that Pinkie Pie had saved the world, but it definitely ranked high on my list of unbelievable things. What did one say after a revelation of this magnitude?
Soon, Trixie returned. She was carrying a framed photograph in her magic.
“Here,” she said, holding it out to us. “Look at that.”
Moonlight and I leaned forward to look, and both of us gaped.
A slightly younger Trixie, her mane shorter, wearing a different cloak and hat than the one I was used to, was giving a one-legged hug to an even younger mare who was unmistakably Moonlight, both mares beaming at the camera. The Moonlight in the picture had the same slim figure, the same white coat, the same forget-me-not blue color in her mane, tail, and eyes. Even the mane style was the same: a loose ponytail.
And the cutie mark?
A winged star.
The exact same that adorned Moonlight’s flank.
I looked numbly at Trixie.
“It is her,” I murmured. “I can’t believe it…”
Moonlight stared into her own face, looking from it to Trixie.
“This is a nice photo,” she said.
Trixie smiled fondly.
“That’s who you were: Star Glider, a sweet, gentle lamb of a filly, full of kindness and affection. You were my traveling buddy for a time, keeping me company on the road. You used to call me Trix. You came to see all of my shows and always cheered the loudest for me.”
Here, Trixie’s smile vanished.
“But then...I lost you,” she went on, sorrowfully. “At least, I thought I had, and I did by my own doing. That’s why you ended up in the hospital, and why you woke up all alone. It’s because I gave up too easily. I should have been there for you, so you wouldn’t have felt so alone. I’m so sorry...”
Tears began spilling down Trixie’s cheeks again as she looked down at the floor. She looked up, however, when Moonlight gently wiped her cheek with her wing.
“Don’t cry,” she said. “You still made sure I wasn’t left wanting with the money you left behind. Even if you became a deja vu to me, you still cared about me, Trixie, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Trixie’s lip trembled again.
“You really are the same filly I remember,” she said, with a sad smile. “Always doing your best to cheer me up when I was down.”
Moonlight smiled back. Trixie put her hooves to her shoulders and looked her up and down.
“And just look at you,” she said, warmly. “You’ve grown into such a pretty mare since I last saw you. You’re still so thin, though,” she added, with a chuckle, looking at Moonlight’s flat stomach. “You always had such a good appetite, but you never gained a pound. You were one of the lucky ones.”
Moonlight giggled. I could feel my heart growing warmer and warmer at how well they were getting along, even if my pegasus friend couldn’t properly recall her old friend.
“I thought you were a little odd at first,” said Moonlight. “Screaming at the sight of me and acting like I was a ghost.”
“Not one of my finer moments,” Trixie mumbled, blushing.
“But you really must be a kind pony to care about me so much,” said Moonlight, smiling gently. “I just wish I could remember what it used to be like.”
She then looked at me, her smile fading a little as she asked,
“Do you think I’ll ever remember who I was, Dave? I know the doctors said I might, but it never hurts to have a second opinion, right?”
I felt my own smile fade away. It hurt me to disappoint her, but what could I say?
“I don’t know,” I said, sadly. “I’m not a doctor, so I can’t really give a professional opinion. Sometimes people do get their memories back, but not after a long time. Not every case of amnesia is the same.”
Moonlight’s ears dropped. So did Trixie’s.
“Oh,” said Moonlight, quietly. “So, we can’t be the friends we used to be, before I forgot?”
Trixie looked downcast.
“Well, now, I wouldn’t say that,” I said, a new idea striking me.
They both looked up at me.
“I know it won’t be the same as it was, but it doesn’t mean you can’t still be friends now. It might mean starting over from the beginning, but you can still be there for each other, like you used to. And who knows?” I added, hopefully. “Maybe someday, you’ll remember things from being with Trixie. Having her around could help your memory.”
Trixie and Moonlight looked at each other, looking more hopeful.
“Would that be all right with you?” Trixie asked. “Starting over? I mean, it might take me some time to get used to your new name, but-”
“It’s ok,” said Moonlight. “Even if I’m Moonlight, you can call me Star Glider if you want. I’m more than willing to be your friend, even if it’s for the first time all over again.”
Trixie beamed, her eyes overflowing again. Wordlessly, she opened her forelegs to Moonlight. My young friend was not slow in her response.The two embraced, tears spilling down Trixie’s cheeks.
My heart was feeling warm inside at the sight. I thought it best to leave them to it and give them some space, but I felt a pull at my wrist. Trixie was beckoning me over to them with her magic. I knelt down beside the two of them, both smiling warmly at me.
“Thank you, Dave,” said Trixie, “for looking after my dear friend, even though you didn’t know who she was. I owe you for so much already, but this is something I shall never, ever forget.”
“Thanks, Dave,” said Moonlight, “for being the first friend I ever made as the ‘new me’. I’ll never forget when you comforted me through that terrible storm.”
They both put a foreleg around me, pulling me into their hug. I drew an arm around both of them in turn, returning their sweet gesture as they nestled up against me. If I said I didn’t shed a tear or two in that moment. I’d be a liar.
"Wait,” Trixie said, while in the embrace, “does this mean that you don’t remember when I accidentally scorched your mane with one of my fireworks?"
Friday, March 15
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Noice
Yay! They finally meet again.
I always suspected that Moonlight was Trixies long lost friend. The author went to too much trouble to keep them apart.
and?
And the last line in the chapter: Oooooh shiiiiiit.
Hah! to that ending question. XD Adorable chapter.^^
Well, talk about a heart-warming plot twist.
I'll be honest. This chapter almost had me in tears, but then Trixie's last line at the end just made me laugh. Well played, and well written, buddy.
Dick move, man! Dick move!
It'll probably take another decade before I can even entertain the possibility of the events of Cutie Map coming up.
I've been waiting for this for so long! When Davie told Moonlight was visiting, and I saw the next two chapters titles, I made sure to go reread Trixie's history. I'm so glad they've finally been reunited. This was the chapter I was looking forward to the most for the last several years
Ah.... so the fear of thunder is directly related to the injury suffered way back when, eh? Good connection.
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thank you for recognizing me and my memes
oh god
9858120
yea, you don’t wanna mispronounce Starlight Glimmer’s name, or confuse it with TwiLIGHT Sparkle or Sunset SHIMMER,
would make for a fun name tho, Starlight Shimmer/Sparkle, hm, :/
that being said, i-think-i’mma-run-Faster-then-Rainbow-can-fly-now, CYA!
Is this still alive?
Sorry to say I know it for a bit it was prediction of mine
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[AGREEMENT]
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Well, of course they were glad. Then why did they get mad? Dave may have gone to the rescue recklessly, but, hey, he's alright, and Scootaloo's with him! If they thought he might not come back, the more their joy should be! Instead they lash out!
Imagine, if Dave got lost. Everypony in panic! How could this have happened? Woe was everypony! And then they found him. They'd been worried sick, because Dave couldn't even have stayed with everyone, but should he be scolded for being a nincompoop? Absolutely not!
In our case Dave doesn't get lost, he does the reckless thing, but the point applies still.
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These earlier chapters were written when I hadn't had an editor yet, so I know they might be a bit rougher to read. That's hardly an excuse, I know, but I'm always willing to hear constructive feedback and look for things to improve in my own work. I can try to go back and see if I can make the events flow better emotionally.
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Oh, about that chapter, where Dave finally meets Twilight? So far Dave hasn't thought of it, but I have!
Wow, it has been a long time since I read a story that lasted so long. Please continue ASAP
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I'd love to continue, believe me, but my editor for this story's dropped off the face of the Earth, and I don't know how else to get in touch with him. He's helped shape together a lot of the plot elements for this story, so I don't know if I can continue as well without his input. I'm sorry.
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It's okay, just try your best
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.
But... dreams are indistinguished from reality until waked up... And crazy things can happen in dreams... Freak-out-worthy things... And not once have I freaked out
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Careful there: it's easy to be arrogant the way you speak.
How can one expect respect, if one is not ready to give it?
Very well done, a nice twist there and it made the story even better; I laughed at the end bit with Trixie saying that bit about the firework.