Starlight Glimmer and Trixie, the genius and the dropout. (minorish spoilers from S7 premiere)

Ever have those moments when you watch a show and a random line from a character makes you realize something and appreciate the scene itself in a new way? I had that when I watched the second episode of S7. Starlight is teaching Trixie magic and the great magnificent manages to turn an apple into a teacup. Trixie is adorably ecstatic about it and says that it is the first time she has ever managed to do real magic.

That line and the rest of the episode made me think. Starlight and Trixie do have the whole former villain thing going with them, but I never thought how they are polar opposites in almost every other sense.

Starlight is a genius when it comes to magic, yet that is also the only thing she is good at. She is nervous, tends to doubt herself and is so worried about the flaws in her own judgment that she is relieved to have somepony like Twilight around her to tell her is she doing a right thing. With a good reason, one might add. Starlight is also socially awkward and constantly fears the judgment of people around her. She only has confidence in herself when it comes to magic, which is why her first reaction to any problem is to fix it with magic, the only thing she trusts herself with.

Trixie is... a very different kind of pony. At this point, it is pretty easy to see how she became how she is today from what we know of her. She was sent to magic school just like Twilight and judging from that line I mentioned, wasn't there very long. One can only imagine how horrible it feels to be a failure in the most prestigious school in the capital of your country (the school that is personally managed and named after your immortal empress by the way).

No wonder Trixie became a street magician with a bloated ego who can only scream at the world how magnificent she is, desperate to convince both them and herself. No wonder she hated Twilight, the succeeding student with natural talent who to her seemed perfect (No Second Prances). She still dreams of gaining Celestia's personal approval (S6 finale).

Can you see it? The dropout failure who refuses to even acknowledge what others say about her in a desperate attempt to protect her fragile sense of self-worth, being best friends with a natural prodigy who after her reformation spends 80% of her screentime worrying about what Twilight or other think about her?

I think this is why I like Trixie and Starlight Glimmer so much, and also why the show has given them this much spotlight. They are flawed. Both have deep personal issues that define them. They struggle with their issues and are actually becoming better people as episodes go.

Characters who are flawed and struggle in their lives are inherently more interesting than those who do not. I think it is a better idea for the show to introduce new characters with new problems, rather than visit the old "fluttershy is shy" or "rainbow dash is arrogant and inconsiderate" plots we have seen time and time again.

The mane six have learned to overcome the issues they had at the start of the show (or in the case of Applejack, didn't really have any to start with, the reason why some people find her least interesting of them), and shouldn't go through the same thing over and over again.

I would still like to see new villains though, Sombra is next on the line, I can hope for a villain team-up between him and Chrysalis for the finale.