//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: You Can Be King Again // by Mikleo //------------------------------// Trixie looked to the ceiling, nodding her snout up and down while tracing a hoof to the grooves of the marble floor, her lips pressed together. “Yes, my plan will be perfect.” She rolled her eyes, snorting. “To start, give me that ridiculous thing.” Sparks of magic tugged at the corners of Starlight’s newly claimed hoodie, forcing a squeak out of the purple mare. Her grip tightened around the sleeves. Starlight’s brows furrowed. “Why do you need it?” she huffed, glaring at Trixie’s lit horn. Sparks of magic fizzled away. “If you’d place just a bit of trust in the total love guru Trixie, she will help you find love,” Trixie grunted, pulling harder at the sweater. Starlight froze for just a second, feeling her hooves wobble. Trixie pursed her lips. Starlight’s muzzle wrinkled, her whole body aching while her nose tickled with each passing moment. She was sick. She needed warmth and comfort! A second passed, her frown fading. Trixie deadpanned. Surely she could trust Trixie, even if she’d be a bit cold without the hoodie. Her hooves relaxed, allowing for the garment to slip over her head and towards the blue mare. Trixie simpered, wasting no time to bring it to her forehooves. Starlight’s teeth threatened to chatter in the frigid air of the castle. “Thank you. I’m sure this will work,” Trixie murmured, trotting away from the throne. Starlight stood up, bounding to the ground, a soft clack echoing. She started to move forward. At least, until a blue hoof stretched out in front of her. “Oh, I’d like you to stay put, by the way,” she said, moving further away while Starlight’s legs froze. “The plan requires it.” Starlight felt her scowl come creeping back on her face. What kind of plan needed Trixie to trot off with her-Thorax’s sweater? He gave it to her, not Trixie. And she already missed the warmth. She pressed her hoof forward, ready to go after her. Seconds ticked by. She had turned her glare to her hoof, still stuck in the same spot. This is ridiculous, she thought. Trust in something so stupidly simple should be easy. She was just taking a stupid sweater to do whatever with it. Her hoof back stepped. Trust Trixie. Besides, both her love life and friendship could benefit from this. Even if her one insecurity she’d just conquered was slowly coming back into her mind. A small sigh pressing from her lips, she looked down. Too many years had been spent in her foal mindset of equality among other things. Even now, as she encountered new things, she was still transitioning to a normal state of mind. This was not high school. This was, on the other hoof, the real world, where friends aren’t snotty teenagers stuck in their own small world views and value appearances over most anything else. Trixie wasn’t plotting something terrible. She was helping. Starlight forced herself to smile. Just then, her ears swiveled towards the staircase, pressing forward to catch the sound of hooves clicking against the stairs. She raised her head up, trailing the green silhouette of Thorax, book held in his magic right beside the goofy grin plastered on his muzzle. “Hey! I found this while browsing for my other book and found it to be fascinating,” his voice chirped, tinged with the happiness he’d always carried since she’d met him. Her smile grew a bit bigger. The sound of his cheery voice helped ease her worries. “I still can’t believe how complex ponies are down to the smallest details.” Her eyes scanned the cover of the book as he came closer. “Earth pony magic is fascinating. I especially liked the description of how earth ponies experience the crops they work with,” he continued, allowing her to gently hold it with a forehoof. Her brows creased. “Oh. Earth pony magic?” she questioned, flipping through the pages. A quick read through showed mostly boring descriptions of basic pony anatomy laced with a few earth pony related facts. She stopped on one of the pages, reading a line. It was talking about how corn reacts to earth ponies. “Uh, no offense, but isn’t this a bit… well, boring?” She closed the book. Surely unicorn or even pegasus magic would be far more interesting? It wasn’t like earth pony magic was bad or anything, but it seemed rather simple in comparison to most other magics. All it worked with was plants, and it was relatively weak in what it could do. He beamed. “I thought you might say that.” He traced his hoof on the cover. “I personally like how simple it is. It kind of reminds me of how us drones are. Well, I’m not a drone anymore.” His cheeks flushed red. “But even if we-they’re viewed as simple, there’s so much more to how changeling drones work and function. That is if you take individual personality out because that already makes drones unique. The way out magic works, out shapeshifting abilities, everything.” He took the book back in his magic. “Earth ponies seemed relatively plain to me at first, but after looking at this book among a few other things, I realized how amazing even their smallest magical feats are. Even if they aren’t spectacular or eye-catching, they’re still pretty cool. Just like my drones.” The book twirled in his magic, his goofy smile everlasting. “But you probably already know that. I just wanted to share.” Oh. That’s right. Starlight’s smile struggled to keep up with his words, threatening to break. The ways Thorax managed to impress her was part of his allure; from becoming king to small things such as his insights. She, on the other hoof, was not like that. She was quick to judge his book, quick to make reckless decisions. She had so many flaws that brought to where she was, even if she was in a better place now. It was the reason she never received a stallion’s hoodie, or why her dates always left her a little more lonely. These thoughts crashed their way into her head all too fast, like the fragile barrier she’d put against them had broken once more. But maybe she was taking too much out of this. She sniffled, rubbing her stuffy nose. “I’m more than happy to listen to what you have to share.” “Yes! There’s so much more I’d like to get into-” The sound of Trixie’s rather loud voice cut off his thought, drawing both Starlight and Thorax’s attention to her. She came from the other room, bundled up in a certain sweater. Starlight’s pupils dilated, her ears falling back. Thorax perked up, trotting forward. “Ah! I was just about to ask where you were,” he chirped before his eyes fell on her body.“Oh. How come you have my sweater?” “Oh, this?” Trixie commented, lifting a hoof draped in black fabric. “I think I might be catching Starlight’s cold, which is leaving me kind of chilly, so she lent it to me.” “Ah, alright. Yes, a cold, which is a sickness. Though you were also cold.” His brows furrowed. “ I have that down. Alright.” He levitated his book forward, presenting it to Trixie. “Anyways, I was just talking to Starlight about this. I was comparing…” The rest of the words fell on deaf ears. All Starlight could do was stare, trying to keep her eyes focused on them. She couldn’t resist, not even if she wanted to. She didn’t know why, but there was a memory from her filly days swirling inside her mind’s eye, blotching out most of the world for a minute. It could’ve any of a thousand different memories she had of a similar scene unfolding. There was a filly, green fur and two red french braids paired with black glasses approaching her. She wore a sheepish grin, backpack strapped to her. “Starlight, guess who I just talked too…” The sun breaking through the leaves of a towering oak tree illuminated Starlight’s book, highlighting the words she read while lying by its base. Her eyes moved up, if only for a second. “Who?” The filly was new and had been trying to be her friend ever since. Starlight played along for the sake of not wanting to deal with how she’d react if she flat out told her to bug off. “Cinnamon,” the filly whispered, narrowing her eyes with a devious smile. In record time, the book carefully placed in purple hooves slammed shut, a small squeak emanating from the bright red filly that was Starlight. One such thing that came with this forced friendship was sharing secrets. Secrets that Starlight was less than proud of. “C-Cinnamon?” she said, stuttering. “What did you two… talk about?” She struggled to form her words into a coherent sentence, feeling her tongue get caught in her throat. The filly who was probably named Rose snorted, waving a hoof. “Nothing about you, silly. We’re actually meeting up this weekend to see a movie. The look on your face was priceless though.” Starlight’s ears fell back. “Oh.” Her demeanor switched in seconds, her book finding its way back in her hooves as she shifted her weight back against the tree, snuggling against it. Rose rolled her eyes. “C’mon. I know you like him, but it just wouldn’t work out. Anyways, let’s hang out at the new corner store down the road-” “I think I’m perfectly okay staying right here,” Starlight growled through grit teeth, flicking her tail to the side. “In fact, why don’t you go there with Cinnamon. Then it would be even better to make watch you two go there since you know how much I like him but clearly don’t care.” Rose stepped back, furrowing her brows. “Geez, angry much? Maybe I will go.” With one a final huff, she turned away, soon becoming a dot in the distance. Resting by her favorite tree just in front of the school, Starlight continued her reading. The new filly was barely here for three weeks and had already betrayed her just like any other “friend”. Whether it was stealing her crush, finding another friend or just flat out starting to hate Starlight, every pony turned out to be the same. They’d find other ponies had better personalities, better clothes, better grades, better looks than her. No “friend” would stick around her when there was somebody better. Or the pony would do her dirty. It didn’t matter how, but they did. A page flipped in her book. Things would be different if everyone was on equal footing. No competition to keep friends or crushes or anything. The memory faded as soon as it came. Starlight closed her eyes, tuning out the world around her. She wasn’t making another memory to add to the bunch she already had. That moment mixed with the many others of similar nature meant nothing in this situation. Trixie was probably pulling something with her so-called plan. She wasn’t a petty teenager. She was different. She was a real, true friend who wouldn’t sweep away her crush or be taken by someone else. She reopened her eyes. The high school had no place in the real world she had now. Thorax and Trixie were still talking, and all she needed to do was join the conversation and let Trixie pull whatever stunt she may want. Starlight breathed in the castle’s cool air through a stuffy nose, walking towards the two. Their words began to make sense in her jumbled head. “...Honestly, though, I don’t really understand what love is despite needing it to survive. All I’ve ever learned is that I need it, not what it does. Cadence gave me snippets here and there, but I really want to know more in-depth details about it.” “Really? Perhaps Trixie could help you understand sometime.” Starlight’s eye twitched. Clearing her throat, she sat down beside them in the middle of the throne room. The empty space seemed to close in on her. “Hey, why don’t we move this somewhere, uh, more comfortable?” She gestured around herself. “The middle of the floor is a bit awkward.” They all looked around the large, relatively empty place there were sitting in. “Is this not normal?” Thorax asked. “Yeah, the floor is kind of dirty to sit on. Why not head to the balcony for a bit? I heard the weather is supposed to be nice tonight,” Trixie stated. Thorax tapped a hoof to his chin. “Would this be fitting for this ‘sleepover’?” He turned to Starlight. Freezing up, Starlight averted his eyes. “Oh. Yeah.” She looked to Trixie. “There’s a linen closet right next to the library if you guys want to pull out some blankets to lie on. I’ll get some snacks to eat. You can go on ahead.” “Alright.” Trixie wasted no time springing to her hooves and facing the staircase. She walked forward, giving an oddly sly look to Thorax over her shoulder. “Well, come on. I have some new magic tricks I could show you while we wait.” “That sounds like fun! Fun is part of a sleepover, I think!” The two quickly disappeared upstairs, leaving Starlight alone, in the middle of the floor. Shivering without her sweater, she stood up quietly and walking to the kitchen with her ears pinned against her head. She froze in front of the countertop, dragging her hoof against it absent-mindedly. Snack, snack, snacks. Would something salty or sweet taste better with betrayal? Seconds passed. Then, suddenly, her hoof slammed down. What’s wrong with me? Trixie wasn't pulling anything. Irrational thoughts echoing in the back of her mind said otherwise, but these were just mixed feelings. The same mixed feelings she had for Thorax. What was making her feel so… Worthless. Where had that word come from? Her hoof began to slump, growing limp as it dragged against the counter. Right. The school fillies, that didn’t matter, had implanted that word in her head so many ways she could barely remember all of them. Whether it was with betrayal or not, the effects of those methods stayed with her. It was brought up when her parents wished for her to marry. It came when a crush like days before entered her mind. It came up when the fear of her friend betraying her like so many others became her sole train of thought. This was ridiculous. She was not some special snowflake who had unfixable problems caused by childhood bullying or anything of the like. She was a normal pony who experienced normal pony feelings and, like any other pony, had to get over them. Even if her childhood was just a little bit messed up her her whole ‘equal’ phase. Her hoof moved to the fridge. She would make snacks. She would treat her guest and friend properly. She would not shove her feelings for Thorax aside and she would face them head on. Even if her cheeks were a little red at the thought. She would tell her parents the honest truth of nearly every stallion or mare out there sounding repulsive to date. Real-world thinking and confrontation. Filly mindsets needed to be gone. Cheese and crackers; simple, tasty, and the best guess she could come up with for what a changeling might want to eat. Balancing the plate with her magic, Starlight wasted no time trotting up the stairs. Her pace quickened when she saw the balcony doors half open. It wasn’t because she was worried, no, just concerned about her friend’s hunger. Maybe she wanted to see if Thorax was okay too. Rays of moonlight just barely peeked through the doors, though her eyes locked on them like a target while she borderline galloped. Her purple hoof wrapped around the door, pulling it open with just a tad too much enthusiasm. The view was jaw-dropping. One thing Starlight picked up about Ponyville was how cloudy it could be, from a combination of a small weather team and stray clouds drifting in from the Everfree. But tonight was spotless, allowing for the stars to peek out in their entirety. It was gorgeous, really. Tiny white flecks among the sea of blackness, all seemingly revolved around the glittering full moon on a warm summer night. Even the smell of the newly added flowers in front of the castle doors below mixed with the flowery smell of Thorax. Thorax, who was currently snuggled against a sweater-clad Trixie. Both were among a sea of blankets and pillows. Her heart dropped while a grimace found its way on her face. Of course, just as always, she had been betrayed. A hot, bubbly feeling boiled in her chest. At least, that’s what she would’ve expected from such a situation happening to her for the thousandth time. Yet what was happening was quite different; she silently put the snacks in front of them, biting her tongue. Trixie spoke. “Oh, thank you!” She put on a sheepish grin. “We kind of made a mess. Wanna sit down?” “Sure,” Starlight uttered barely above a whisper, lying down on the edge of the blanket-pillow mix. Her chest felt tight and heavy like weights were tied to it and dragging it down into the ground. Her neck fell down, followed by her head resting on one of the various pillows. She kept her head to the stars. At least they never changed for the worse. Trixie cleared her throat. “It’s a beautiful night out, isn’t it?” “Yes, stars look much different than where our hive is.” Thorax fluttered his wings a little. “Fascinating how much I’ve learned about astronomy, especially with Princess Luna’s letters.” Trixie nodded, snuggling closer to Thorax. Thorax didn’t seem to notice. Starlight inched closer to the edge. The blue mare’s eyes lingered on Starlight through the dark of the night. “Ah, do tell me a bit more about the constellations here?” Thorax piqued in, turning to Trixie. “Why don’t we ask Starlight? I mean, her name implies she knows something about stars.” Trixie giggled, turning to the laying mare. Her head turned away from the pair. “I’m sure Trixie would do a much better job than me,” she spat, rolling her eyes before a sneeze forced its way out of her snout. Thorax tilted his head, eyes gleaming while his brows creased. “Is something the matter?” Trixie quickly shook her head. “No, no! I just think…” Her ears started to fold back. Trixie stared at Starlight. “Uh… she’s cold! Yes, why don’t you come lie down between Thorax and me?” Thorax shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll admit it's strange, but if ‘spooning’ as you called it is how ponies keep warm, be my guest.” Trixie stood up, gesturing to the empty spot next to Thorax. Starlight closed her eyes, entirely turning her back on the two. “I’m sure Trixie likes it a lot more than I do.” Trixie’s brows furrowed, a sad frown creeping on her face. She turned to Thorax, whose face was speaking of his confusion. Trixie sighed. “Hey Starlight, I have to go to the bathroom. Come with me.” “I-” She didn’t have much time to respond, instead squawking as a forceful magic tug pulled her to her hooves. Thorax raised a hoof like a colt in class. “How come she must accompany you?” His eyes sparkled with the star’s reflection in them.Trixie grunted. He was annoying sometimes. “Oh, it’s a mare thing... Yeah. We’ll be back in a minute, have some snacks.” She shoved a hoof to the plates in front of him. Cautiously, he leaned forward, sniffing a cracker. Neither mare got to witness much more when Trixie proceeded to drag Starlight away, all the way down the hallway until they both were far enough from the balcony to have a private conversation. Starlight’ was bug-eyed, staring at Trixie with her eyebrows raised as high as they could be. Trixie kicked her hoof into the floor. “What are you thinking?” she exclaimed, leaning close. “I offered you a perfect opportunity to get in with Thorax and you completely missed it!” “What am I thinking?” Starlight closed the gap between them, shoving her muzzle into Trixie’s with a glower. “You cozied up to Thorax the moment I took my eyes off of you two! And you know I like him. Like I could trust you…” the words came out as a hiss. She turned towards the staircase, making a move to have a rather dramatic exit. Trixie quickly maneuvered around, blocking off any potential escape. “I just wanted to make you jealous so you’d do something!” she huffed, stomping a hoof down. “You were supposed to make a move or something with Thorax. What the heck is all this?” She gestured toward her. “I actually thought you’d catch on too. This is weird.” “I-I…” Starlight swallowed, swiftly rubbing her eye with a forehoof. “...oh. That’s obvious now that I think about it. I just got kind of upset. Woops.” An awkward chuckle forced its way out of her, a self-conscious grin set on her face. “I’m sorry. Just jealousy and anger because I like Thorax. Yep.” “That’s one weird way to be jealous then,” Trixie grumbled, running a hoof through her mane. “At least you admit to liking him now.” She watched Starlight shuffle her hooves. “Is there something else that’s wrong?” Starlight backed away from her piercing gaze, rubbing the back of her neck. “Just was jealous. That’s all, nothing. Really.” Trixie pressed forward. “Starlight, you know we’re best friends. You can tell me anything.” Starlight met her eyes. How was she supposed to tell her any of this? Oh, I just have some unresolved childhood issues that have manifested into a whole bunch of other problems! I feel the pressure of my parents weighing me down along with having no idea how to confront my feelings for Thorax or how to deal with my self-doubt. Yep, that’s all. Nothing else. Perfectly fine. She sighed. Talking about her feelings wouldn’t fix anything. Pushing aside her jumbled thoughts, she forced a smile. “I’m fine. Really.” “Well, alright.” Trixie shrugged her shoulders, flicking her tail. “We should probably head back to Thorax.” “Yeah. Right.” Starlight followed behind her, averting her eyes to the floor. Of course, she could trust Trixie. She was her friend. A pretty good one who had saved Equestria with her. What worries were to be had? The bad memories of her childhood have to be purged. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath, shoving any thoughts of high school to the very back of her mind. Sure, she wasn’t nearly as amazing as Thorax was and was probably way out of his league, but she could try, right? For her parents and for herself. When they came back outside, all they saw was Thorax passed out with his face lying on a plate full of cracker crumbs. Trixie instantly stuffed a hoof in her mouth, suppressing a snort while Starlight grinned. This was a new chapter of romance for her if anything was to happen. Just go with the flow. She turned to Trixie. “Want to help me carry him to his room?” Trixie groaned. “He’s so… big. How are we supposed to carry him?” Starlight rolled his eyes. “Surely the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magic combined with mine can easily carry him to his bed?” Trixie grinned. “Of course.” It may have taken a few minutes, but eventually, Thorax was set up in his room, the mess on the balcony cleaned up. The two mares headed to the kitchen, grabbing a quick midnight snack before heading to bed. Starlight rummaged through the cabinets for chips, leaving Trixie to hang out at the table. “You know, I can tell something’s up.” Starlight’s ears swiveled back behind her. “Hmm?” “But don’t worry; Trixie is here to help you with love!” Starlight craned her head over her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow. “Just what are you talking about?” Trixie blew a raspberry. “Trixie is no stranger to emotional problems. You don’t have to talk to me about what’s up, but I know something’s going on with you.” Starlight waved a hoof dismissively. “Please, I’m fine. I told you, it was just me letting my emotions get the best of me. It’s all cool now.” She turned back to grabbing bowls with her magic. “Whatever you tell yourself.” Trixie kicked her hooves out from her chair. “I have the perfect plan for you and Thorax tomorrow, though.” “Oh?” Trixie nodded to herself, touching her chin with her forehoof, watching as Starlight joined her at the table with chips. A bowl slid towards her. An audible crunch came from Trixie’s mouth. “I was thinking taking Thorax to the farm. It’ll help him with his curiosity and be perfect for a romantic picnic!” Trixie proceeded to much on more chips. “Hmm… that’s not bad. Thorax did say he was curious about farms.” “Then it’s settled!” Crumbs when flying across the table. “Tomorrow, the great and powerful Trixie will be a love guru.”