Burning Twilight’s notes was the most liberating thing I’ve done in a while. I hated being constrained by others, and all those scrolls, checklists, schedules, and everything else just felt like a bunch of anchors weighing me down. Not like I’d need them anyways—I knew what I was doing, like always. I was going to make this Hearts and Hooves Day great, and I was going to show everypony exactly why I was Twilight’s student.
Once the embers cooled, I headed to Ponyville’s town hall with Spike at my side to meet with the Hearts and Hooves Day committee. If everything was going to work the way I wanted, then I needed to get everypony on board with my ideas. That would be simple enough; once they heard my arguments, they would see I was being perfectly logical and right, and everything would follow after that.
“...so glad ye could make it fer th' day, Rarity,” I heard Granny Smith say as I entered the town hall. “Applejack's had nuthin' but good to say about yer work, an’ Ah can see why.”
“Why thank you, darling.” Rarity beamed at Granny as she hung strings of paper hearts up along the walls. “I do think some of my designs were quite smashing.”
“Rarity is a blessing like that.” Mayor Mare smiled up from a scroll she’d been examining. “It’s a relief to not have to worry about how everything will look when she’s on the case.”
Rarity tittered. “You’re too kind.”
I trotted up to them, looking around the interior of the town hall. It looked like Rarity had jumped right into the decorating. The building was now thoroughly covered in Hearts and Hooves Day decorations, with hearts in red, pink, and white strung around that somehow managed to look classy despite being all over the place. “Huh, this does look pretty good.”
“Thank you, Starlight.” Rarity turned to face me with a smile. “Now, Twilight said you'd be going over the plans with us?”
Spike slipped off my back to beam at Rarity. “Yup!”
I returned Rarity’s smile. “That's the idea. And I've got some big plans to go over.”
“Ya do, eh?” Granny leaned forward and grinned. “Well, don't keep us in suspense.”
“I'm sure Twilight's checklists are as extensive as ever,” Rarity said as she puffed up her mane with a hoof.
My smiled widened as I puffed out my chest. “Actually, I did away with the lists.”
“Yeah, she did,” Spike added, scratching the back of his head. It was nice of him to make sure I got the credit for this. He was a real team player. “I think she wants to take things in a different direction this time.”
“Oh?” Rarity’s tone had a hint of worry when she spoke. “Well, that sounds intriguing.”
“What sort of direction?” Mayor Mare asked in a much more wary tone.
Excellent, time to reveal my grand vision for a better Hearts and Hooves Day. “Glad you asked. I'm thinking it's far past time we took this holiday in a bold new direction, and show everypony what Hearts and Hooves Day should be.”
“‘Should be’, eh?” Granny’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “And what exactly is that?”
Rarity rubbed her chin. “Hmm, I think I see what you mean. We have been sticking to some of the more traditional ways of handling the holiday. You don't set new trends by sticking to the same-old same-old.”
Rarity’s way of thinking wasn’t quite what I had in mind, but I’d take it for now. “Hearts and Hooves Day has emphasized the wrong thing since its inception. We're always celebrating romantic love instead of showing all the other types of love as equally as important. You know—love for a friend, love of family, love of self, or for your community. Stuff like that, and so much more.”
Mayor Mare’s frown deepened. “Maybe, but isn't it a bit last-minute to shift in this ‘bold new direction’? These type of things are normally determined well in advance. We don’t want ponies getting upset because of a bunch of last-minute changes.”
Granny snorted and nodded. “Especially when there's nuthin' that needs changin'! We've done jes' fine with the holiday as is fer decades now, an' romantic love's what it's always been about!”
Ugh, great. I was dealing with a politician who was more worried about upsetting her constituents than making real change, and a traditionalist who wanted to do things exactly the same because that’s how things had always been done. There was no imagination, no daring, no desires for a better world.
Rarity bit her lip. “So ... exactly what sort of change did you have in mind?”
“I'm happy you asked that,” I said, trying to regain my momentum. “We're just going to shift things a bit. We probably don't need to change most of the decorations, though we have a huge problem in that this holiday is incredibly unfair to single ponies. We're going to shift the focus from romantic love exclusively and encourage ponies to embrace all forms of love equally, celebrating the other types of love in the world.”
Rarity tilted her head slightly. “What exactly do you intend on doing? I'm all for allowing a bit more room for activities for single ponies—goodness knows there’s a reason why we had the arts and crafts table for the children, but...”
“What I mean is that we should change what Hearts and Hooves Day is,” I explained. “For one, I think we should cancel the romantic dance set for seven o'clock. And the romantic walk, and the traditional flower exchange will need to be adapted, and ugh, the couples’ dining has got to go. We need to rebuild this whole holiday from the ground up to make it more equal to everypony.”
Granny snorted derisively. “That's ridiculous! What'd even be the point of havin' a Hearts an' Hooves Day celebration then?!”
I glowered at the traditionalist neighsayer. “So that nopony feels excluded, of course. You know how much this holiday sucks if you’re single? Or just had a breakup? And what about those ponies that just aren’t interested in romance?”
Spike placed a claw on my leg, his face contorted into a grimace. “Um, maybe there's a better time? And place? And ... way? Just saying, there’s all those other non-romantic holidays out there for everypony else.”
Rarity nodded. “And what's the point of even having a romantic holiday if there's no romance?”
I frowned and stomped a hoof. Why weren't they getting it? “That's the thing—it shouldn't be a romantic holiday. It isn't fair and equal to everypony, and its mere existence excludes some ponies and forces them into feeling like they have to conform or risk being ostracized and shunned.”
Granny’s brow crinkled as she scowled. “That's—Ah never in all mah years—Ah don' even—WHAT?! Whatever hooey yer talkin’ ‘bout, it sounds like crazy talk. We’ve been doin’ things this way years and years and nopony’s complained ‘bout nothin’. Yer just stirrin’ up trouble where there ain’t any!”
Rarity daintily cleared her throat. “Now now, I'm sure we can find a way to fit both romance and a celebration of other forms of love into the day's festivities.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “None of you get it! Romance is the most unequal thing of all. It's all about putting one person in the whole world above anyone or anything else. There's a whole community, a whole world out there to consider, and everypony is letting themselves get tied up with worshipping one individual. We need to set a new standard to set an example for all of Equestria for how things should be. And unfortunately, that means we need to do away with the romance for a bit to balance things out.”
Granny stared at me like I’d grown a second head and declared my undying loyalty to Discord with a song and dance number. Then to my surprise, she burst into a cackle and slapped her knee. “Hooee, you had me goin' fer a minute there young 'un! Ah mean, Ah've never seen a jokester keep a straight face that long before! That showmare friend o'yers picked the perfect partner!”
Spike’s shuffled his feet. “Um ... she's ... kinda sorta, actually serious.”
I glowered. I would not tolerate being made a laughingstock over my views. “Yes, I am serious, thank you Spike. I'm serious, and this is happening. Twilight gave me royal authority to run this holiday, and I'm going to do it the way I think is best.”
“Just ... completely setting aside romance?” Rarity shook her head. “That hardly seems like the right way to do things, and I can't imagine that's what Twilight had in mind. I mean, what would the holiday be without celebrations of true love like the story of Goldstar and Far Seeker?”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “You mean that old romance story where some noblepony put the world and the lives of thousands of ponies in danger only so he could selfishly save the one other noblepony he loved? Please.”
Rarity’s eyes narrowed and a hint of tension entered her voice. “I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I happen to think it's one of the most wonderfully romantic tales ever told. A story of true love overcoming the odds.”
Spike pulled on my leg and hurriedly whispered to me. “Um, Starlight? Rarity really loves that story. Maybe you shouldn’t—“
Whatever he was saying wasn’t important. I had an argument to win. “It’s a derivative, trite, dumb, and selfish tale of two ponies putting themselves over everypony else, if you ask me.”
“I see.” Rarity put aside the decorations she had been fiddling with and cleared her throat. “Mayor Mare, would you hold me back, darling?”
Mayor Mare eyes flicked between us and she placed a reluctant hoof on Rarity’s chest. Then to my surprise, Rarity snarled and tried to jump me. “How dare you?!”
I took a step back, surprised by the sudden fiery outburst. “Rarity?!”
“Rarity, please!” Mayor Mare pleaded as she actually struggled to keep her hold.
“Let the mare go, Mayor!” Granny called out. “Let ‘em sort it out themselves!”
“RARITY NONONONO!” Spike grabbed my leg and tried to drag me towards the door. Given how much bigger I was, he didn’t get anywhere. “Wewerejustgoingpleasedon'tthinkthiswasmyidea!”
“Starlight, thank you for sharing your ideas,” Mayor Mare said, still trying to maintain her cool despite holding Rarity back. “But I think perhaps we should just stick to Princess Twilight's plans.”
I glowered at the lot of them. I should have known things would turn out this way. Of course they didn’t understand what I was going for—nopony ever does. This was my village all over again. I try and explain how I was trying to help everypony, and they turn against me. But you know what? That was okay. I had a way to deal with this.
“You know what?! Forget all of you!” I smirked with self-satisfaction. “I'm going to run this holiday how I want to. I've got Twilight's authority backing me up, so it's going down my way. If you won’t be part of the solution, then you're all dismissed!”
Mayor Mare started as though she had been slapped. “Excuse me? We're dismissed?”
“Git yer hide outta mah sight!” Granny Smith spat. “Mayor, let the damn mare go already! She ain’t right in the head.”
I wasn’t intimidated by some old apple farmer. “You heard me, you're dismissed. As in, you’re fired. I'll make this work on my own. I don't need all of you getting in my way anyway. Twilight left me in charge because she trusted my judgment, so I’m using it right now.”
Rarity stopped trying to get past Mayor Mare as her face twisted with incredulity. “Can ... can she do that?”
“Eenope.” Granny shot me a scowl. “Ah’ve been helpin’ with this here festival for decades, and Ah’m not bein’ shooed away like some varmint.”
Mayor Mare pressed her lips together. “I... don't think she can do that. Not without some kind of written statement from Her Highness.”
I snorted. “Of course I can. Princess Twilight said I'm in charge. Are you going against her orders?”
Rarity narrowed her eyes. “I'd like to see Twilight's written orders saying you're allowed to destroy all the traditions of Hearts and Hooves Day. As I said before, I really don’t think this was her intention when she put you in charge. I know Twilight, she wouldn’t authorize something like this.”
Granny stomped a hoof. “An' Ah say phooey on them if she did! Ah don' think you git the point of all of this.” Granny waved a hoof dismissively. “It don' matter—this holiday's happenin' the way it always has, an' that's final! You can’t make everypony stop celebratin’ it the way they always have anyways. We’re all gonna do things how we like, and you can eat craw if ya try and tell us otherwise.”
I stiffened as I realized this was not at all going the way I wanted. It was dawning on me that I was in real danger of getting locked out here unless I turned things around and fast. “Um, Spike! Twilight left a paper saying that I could run this my way ... right?”
“Not that specifically, no.” Spike crossed his arms over his chest. “And whatever proof of authorization she did leave would have been with her notes. Um, which you got rid of.”
I took a moment to think that all the way through. “You mean with all the scrolls we set on fire?”
Spike frowned deeply. “Yeah, those papers.”
Mayor Mare’s jaw dropped. “You burned the Princess's notes?!”
My ears wilted as I realized I might just have undone myself. “I didn't need them. I was going with a completely different plan. I wanted to do this my way.”
Rarity huffed and tossed her mane. “In that case, you're hardly acting with Twilight's authority.”
I opened my mouth, but no retort came out. These ponies weren’t going to listen to me, and I’d literally burned up any official authority I had over them. Dammit, it had felt so good to burn all that paperwork too. This wasn’t fair … but what could I do? I could ask Twilight to give me some fresh paperwork, but that would lead to some awkward questions, not to mention it’d take time to get from her. It might even cause Twilight to come running back to Ponyville to try and fix everything. Once she heard what happened and that I couldn’t handle the situation she was going to be so mad at me.
So that left me with ... nothing. Nothing but another failure in the long list of failures that had made up my life.
Granny covered her mouth as she snickered. “Ah ain't gonna say that worked out badly for ya, but Ah’m thinkin' it mighty loudly.”
Mayor Mare frowned as she said, “I think we're done here. You can go, Miss Glimmer.”
Spike tugged on my leg. “Come on, let's go already.”
My shoulders hunched as the crushing weight of everything fell on me as I turned and left the town hall.
After the disaster at the town hall, I’d come back to the Castle to rethink what I was doing. Thus far I hadn’t come up with anything productive. I didn’t want to go back to the Hearts and Hooves Day Committee and beg them to take me back. That’d be too humiliating, and I’d still just have to do things their way. Despite my appeals to the heart and logic, they hadn’t agreed with my way of doing things. So that was a bust. Somehow I doubt beseeching the common pony would work out any better—not on such short notice anyways. The average pony wanted their bread and circus of a romance festival, and it was going to take a lot of work to convince them otherwise. And as my attempts to convince the committee had shown, my conversational skills weren’t up to snuff. Not without using magic, which ponies would get really mad at me for using, Twilight included.
I was well and truly screwed unless I come up with something radical and quickly. Thus, I paced about the Friendship Castle’s library and fumed. Spike had dutifully followed me home, and Trixie had decided to join me, though she seemed to be more interested in her bag of peanuts than me at that moment.
“I can't believe them! They kicked me out! Twilight put me in charge, and they actually kicked me out!” I cried as I stomped about. “This is—argh!”
Spike frowned as he watched me pace around. “Well, you did kind of go against Twilight's plan.”
I grumbled under my breath. At the rate I was going I was going to create a furrow in the floor. “Twilight just wanted to turn me into her proxy for running Hearts and Hooves Day. She had intructions for her instructions!”
“Uh, yeah,” Spike said, not sounding the least bit moved. “And if you’d done what she told you to do, none of this would have happened.”
“But I wanted to do it my way! I wanted to do something special, not the same old thing that's been done for centuries.” I groaned and pressed my face against the table. “This is a disaster. When Twilight finds out...”
“Does she really need to, though?” Trixie asked in between mouthfuls of peanuts. “Why advertise a failure when we can still find another way to ultimately succeed?”
“That’s … actually a great idea!” I ran over to a nearby bookshelf as neurons in my brain started firing. I couldn’t let past failures stop me. I could do this! “I can fix this! I can’t just give up so easily.”
“Exactly!” Trixie punched up a hoof. “Enter into action with boldness!”
Spike frowned deeply as he watched me pull several books from the shelf. “I have a bad feeling about this...”
I flipped one open and started combing through its spells. “Maybe I could just use a little mind control to convince the Hearts and Hooves Day Committee to agree with me? Once the holiday goes my way and everypony sees how great it is, they'll thank me afterwards.” I beamed as I considered the possibilities.
“No!” Spike smacked me on the nose with a scroll. “Remember how mind control is evil and wrong? Twilight gave you a lecture about it, and Rarity wasn’t exactly wild about you mind-controlling her the first time. I doubt she’d love it now.”
I grimaced at the painful memory of my last ... attempt, resurfaced. It’d all been working out really well before things suddenly took a turn for the worst. And everypony had been pretty mad with me afterwards. Right, that might make it a no-go. “This is different, it'd be for a good cause. This isn't like how I used mind control to make all of Twilight's friends do my bidding just to finish a friendship report. And it doesn’t need to be outright mind control—just a suggestion in the right direction. I might be able to make an artifact that suppresses romantic feelings. I’ve studied the Crystal Heart, maybe I could make something approximately the same to a different effect? It would probably burn out in a few hours but...”
Trixie frowned ever so slightly. “But are you really convincing them? Just saying, Trixie never had to make an audience cheer for her, they cheer themselves because she’s actually that good. Forcing ponies to do what you want doesn’t prove anything.”
My teeth clenched together. She had a point. “But...”
“No!” Trixie booped me on the nose. “Take it from Trixie, it isn’t fun to have your brain twisted around by magic and be made to do something you don’t want to do.” She huffed and ran a hoof through her mane. “Let's set aside the semantics for a moment and focus on the important thing: does it really matter?”
I scowled. “Of course it matters. I'm right and they're wrong! They don’t even realize it yet. It’s just...” I groaned. “I don’t want to fail another assignment. Again.”
“And why should their opinions matter? Or some dumb busywork assignment?” Trixie rolled her eyes. “If Trixie concerned herself with what every critic said about her and her shows she’d be a neurotic mess. They blew your ideas off. So what? Let them fret over it, I say—they've taken it upon themselves to do your job for you, so why not enjoy the day off with somepony?” Trixie grinned oddly, her eyes being half closed that put an odd touch to her friendly smile.
I bit my lip. “I don't know. What'll Twilight say when she learns I blew everything off?”
“Didn't you hate the idea of doing it in the first place?” Spike asked.
I grimaced. “Yeeeah.”
Trixie scratched her chin and then her eyes brightened. “Trixie’s got it!” She scooted next to me to wrap her leg around mine. “The holiday will probably just proceed like it always does, right? Safe and boring and uninnovative?”
“Probably,” I grumbled. “I can't imagine the committee will rock the boat.”
Trixie nodded. “Exactly. You delegated the busywork to the plebs. Let them deal with all the stress of running the holiday. Meanwhile, Trixie’s got a great idea for what we can do. With your day being free, now's the best time to get to better explore the meaning of the holiday.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why would I want to do that?”
Trixie’s smile grew oddly strained. “Maybe there's somepony you could spend it with? You know, a study buddy?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Or something like that?”
My ears twitched as I thought the idea over. “You really think so?”
“I think Trixie wants to spend the day with you,” Spike stated.
I blinked at the suggestion. “But didn’t you say you wanted to spend the day with your special somepony?”
Trixie’s eye twitched and she ground her teeth as she tried to maintain her smile. “Yeees, I did.”
“Oh...” After a moment of contemplation, I figured it out. “Your special somepony dumped you, didn’t they? I’m sorry about that, Trixie.”
Strangely, Trixie groaned loudly and facehooved. Spike joined her with the same motion.
I looked between them as I got the feeling that I was missing something. “What?”
Suddenly, Trixie grabbed me by the shoulders and started shaking me. “For Celestia's sake, mare, does Trixie have to spell it out in the sky with smoke and fireworks?! You—Trixie—Hearts and Hooves Day! Together!”
It took me a second before I could regain my wits to reply. “Okay, okay! I'll hang out with you on Hearts and Hooves Day!” Geeze, Trixie must really have been let down hard by her former special somepony. She must really have needed a friend to hang out with to make her feel better.
Trixie stopped shaking me and then blinked. “Huh. That was both easier and harder than Trixie thought it would be.”
“So you guys have plans now. Great.” Spike picked up a extremely large Hearts and Hooves Day card from the table, and sighed longingly as he looked at it. “I’ve got my own plans for tomorrow, so I'll let you two go do that.”
“Right right, shoo.” Trixie dismissively waved him away.
Spike scampered off, leaving the two of us alone. Trixie let out a sigh of relief and then gave me a coy smile. “Well, now that we're alone...”
I sighed and gave Trixie my full attention. “Right, let's make some plans for tomorrow.” I smiled. “At least we’ll each have a friend to hang out with for Hearts and Hooves Day. That’s something.”
Trixie’s smile stiffened until it turned brittle. “Yes, a ... friend.”
It was finally Hearts and Hooves Day. I didn’t feel good about giving up and letting the committee handle everything, but what could I do? They weren’t going to change their minds. Magic seemed to be out of the question, and even if it wasn’t, there just wasn’t enough time to change everything. So giving up seemed the way to go since bashing my head against a wall wouldn’t accomplish much. Though I didn’t like the idea of explaining everything to Twilight later. Hopefully she’d understand. She usually did. After all, she forgave me for nearly destroying Equestria and trying to break up her friendships. Compared to that, screwing up for not planning a silly romantic holiday was nothing. She forgave a lot of my screwups, honestly.
The good part of dumping my responsibilities for the day was that I would get to hang out with my friend Trixie. That should make me feel at least a little bit better. I certainly did after watching Trixie’s morning show. Her escape trick went off without a hitch and ponies were cheering for her by the end. It didn’t hurt that they were giving her plenty of bits, either. She had set up her stage next to town and had gathered quite the crowd of couples.
Once the performance was done I waited by the stage for Trixie to finish everything up. She had a few things to clean up and prepare for her night show, which she was pretty particular about as to make sure her next show would go off without a hitch. When she was done she trotted over to me with a proud grin. “Trixie is ready for a wonderful Hearts and Hooves Day with you. Are you ready to be wowed by her on this momentous occasion?”
I chuckled. Trixie being her usual elaborate self had a way of making me smile. “I think so. Looks like the show went over well with the crowd.”
“But of course.” Trixie snapped out her cloak with an elaborate flourish. “And that's just the warm-up.”
“Oh? Planning on doing something bigger for your night performance?”
“Far bigger.” Trixie grinned eagerly. “Tonight's performance will most certainly turn some heads.”
“How so?” I grinned back and nudged her side. “Or are you going to wait to show me?”
“Oh, I don't want to spoil anything.” Trixie hip-bumped me. “But trust me: you will love it.”
“I can't wait then.” I looked to Ponyville as the many couples walked next to one another enjoying the holiday. “Though that leaves us the rest of the day to hang out.”
Trixie scoffed. “You make that sound like it’s almost a bad thing. It’s you and me, on the most romantic holiday of the year. How could that not be wonderful?”
“It could be worse,” I admitted. “Well, what did you want to do first? I’m open to ideas since I’m here to make you feel better.” I bit my lip as I moved into uncomfortable territory. “I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I understand that getting dumped sucks. I just want you to know that I’m here for you as your friend, and want to help you forget all about this special somepony that dumped you.”
Trixie’s smile became so strained it even crept into her voice. “Right. I almost couldn't ask for more.”
“Happy I can help.” I looked around as I tried to think of something to do. “So, maybe we could get something to eat if you're hungry.”
That suggestion seemed to work, since Trixie’s ears immediately perked. “Excellent start! Hrm... I think something with chocolate—it fits the day.”
I rubbed my chin as I considered the idea. Chocolates were kinda in for the holiday, but that was fine. If it made Trixie feel better I was fine getting some. “Sure, why not? I could use a bit of comfort food after yesterday.”
“Mm, yes, I can imagine.” Trixie gave me a hug, and not just a quickie either. She wrapped me up in a very friendly hug complete with a platonic nuzzle. “Those old bores wouldn't know something good if it bit them.”
I grumbled as she reminded me of the Hearts and Hooves Day committee. “Part of me wants to try and prove that right now.”
Trixie wrapped her arm around mine and started pulling me along. “Let it go, Starlight. They aren’t worth it.”
“Fine, fine.” I let out a long sigh and reminded myself that this day was about Trixie. Not some backwards thinking holiday committee that I’d forget all about by the end of the month. “I'll drop it. Let's just get some chocolate and see if that improves my mood.”
“And enjoy ourselves a little, right?” Trixie held onto my leg as we walked. “That is part of a holiday, isn’t it?”
“I guess.” I nodded down the street to Bon Bon’s Bon Bons. The business was a madhouse with couples and kids trying to buy sweets, and it took us a while just to get in the store. I might have suggested going someplace else, but considering it was a holiday all the places serving food were probably just as packed.
I frowned as I checked the confections on display. It was now only a quarter full of Hearts and Hooves Day-themed candy in the usual heart-shaped boxes, bags, or just loose in the display. “Hm, looks like everything is holiday themed.”
“It is the day for it,” Trixie said. “It'd be bad business not to go along with it.”
“True.” I didn’t want to be a stick in the mud, so I decided to shelf my complaints and just try and enjoy myself. “How about I buy a box for you and a box for me?”
Trixie shook her head. “Nonsense, I'll buy one for you.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she put a hoof on my mouth to stop me. “I insist.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled despite myself. Trixie was being a bit silly, but what the hay? We were just trying to feel better, and if this helped her then so be it.
We stepped up to the counter and were met with a smiling if slightly disheveled Bon Bon. Her mane looked like it could use a brush or three and there were bags under her eyes, but she still managed to sound cheerful. “Hey there. What can I do for you?”
Trixie hummed loudly as she looked around and tapped her chin. Suddenly, she grinned and pointed at a particularly nice pink heart-shaped box with teal lettering that read For My Special Pony. “Trixie wants that one. It’s perfect.”
“Sure thing.” Bon Bon pulled the box off the shelf. “That’ll be ten bits.”
“Naturally.” Trixie started sifting through her recently-filled bitbag.
A pang of guilt hit me when I heard the price for the box. Trixie had only recently started to recover financially from some pretty hard blows over the last couple of years, and I didn’t like the idea of her spending all that money just on me. “You don’t need to get anything that expensive for me.”
“Nonsense.” Trixie handed over the box with a smile. “Trixie wants to. Take it.”
Seeing that I wasn’t going to win this one, I took the box with an appreciative smile. “Thanks.” Not wanting to hold up the line, I looked around for something to buy. I didn’t want to look bad next to Trixie, so I bought her one of the bigger boxes on the shelf. It was a big pink thing in the shape of a heart with big letters that read Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!. Thankfully, Twilight had given me a generous stipend as her student. It wasn’t anything crazy, but considering I didn’t have any living expenses I wasn’t doing badly for myself either. Twilight really was too nice to me, at times.
“Here you go,” I said as I gave her the box.
“Thank you.” Trixie nuzzled me as we stepped aside for the next customer in line. She opened up the box and popped a chocolate into her mouth. “Mmm! These are really good!”
“Told you Bon Bon had the best treats in Ponyville.” I opened my own box and tasted a chocolate. It melted in my mouth and made a shiver of pleasure run down my spine. “Mmm, and I nearly forgot how good.”
“Only the best for the pony in Trixie's life.” Trixie ate another chocolate. “And it’s made all the better by Trixie’s company.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “It's nice having a friend to hang out with.”
“On Hearts and Hooves Day?” I turned my head to see Lyra standing near us. Considering she was wearing an apron and cleaning a nearby table, she must have been helping Bon Bon manage the shop today.
“I don't exactly have a special somepony,” I explained. “Never have, really.”
“Aaah.” Lyra grinned as she looked between us. “Well glad to see this all worked out for you then.”
“I'm making the best of it I can with Trixie,” I agreed.
Bon Bon grinned at us from behind her counter, the massive line to her counter finally dealt with. “Yes, I can see you're hanging out as ‘just’ friends.” She said that in a weird way, though I didn’t know why. Egh, maybe it was a Hearts and Hooves Day thing.
Lyra grinned and leaned against her partner. “Aaah, those were the days. Good times, but it took us waaay too long to finally admit we were something more.”
Bon Bon snorted and slapped her chest. “Oh, stop exaggerating. It didn't take us that long to figure out we loved each other to death. Now figuring out everything after that...”
“Half the fun, love,” Lyra said with a hip-bump.
Bon Bon returned the hip-bump. “You could say that.”
Trixie grinned weirdly, and in what seemed to be the spirit of the moment, gave me a hip-bump as well.
All this talk of love was getting awkward, especially when Lyra and Bon Bon started kissing each other. “Um, maybe we should get out of the way to let them, um, do their business?”
“Sure, sure!” Trixie leaned in to whisper, “We can go somewhere more private.”
“Sounds good,” I agreed, and we headed to the door.
“Have fun!” Lyra winked at us as she waved. “But not too much all at once.”
“No promises!” Trixie declared as we exited.
We walked for a time, each of us enjoying our chocolates. Trixie was close enough to brush up against my side. Must have been because the street was pretty busy today. It was nice just getting to hang out with my friend, and I could feel myself relaxing as the minutes rolled by.
Once I’d finally had my fill of chocolate, I wrapped the rest up for later. “So then, what to get up to next?”
“Hm, good question.” Trixie looked around for a moment and then her eyes sparkled. “Oooh, that looks nice!”
I followed her gaze to a collection of tables near the town square. On them were a bunch of arts and crafts supplies available for anypony to use, with over a dozen or so ponies busy making each other cards and other decorations.
“Whoa!” Trixie suddenly grabbed me by the arm and dragged me towards it. “You want to make some decorations?”
“Why not?” Trixie asked as we approached one of the tables at a more regular pace. “Let's spite the old fogeys and come up with something of our own!”
It seemed a bit childish, but it wasn’t like I had any other plans. “Oh, why not? Let's go then.” I sat at the table and thought over what to make.
“Exactly!” Trixie grinned and settled in right next to me. She started vigorously working on her decoration, her tail brushing up against mine, either from the wind or her overexcitement with the craft.
We both sat there in silence as we went to work, though Trixie used her hat and cape to hide her work from me for some reason. “Hrm, teal and blue?” she mused to herself. “That's not bad...”
“What're you working on?” I asked, trying to get a look.
“Hrm?” Trixie looked up, but quickly moved her cloak to keep me from getting a peek. “Oh, some decorations for the show later tonight.” She shook her hoof in front of my nose. “No peeking though, it's a surprise. What about you?”
“I’m just fooling around.” I held up a grey heart saying ‘Love Equality’ with several equal signs. “How does this look?”
Something almost approaching a smile worked its way onto Trixie’s face. “It's ... so you.”
I cautiously smiled in return. “Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it.” I snorted. “Even if it’s just some silly decoration.”
“Oh.” Trixie’s ears wilted. “We can do something else if you're bored.”
I shook my head. “No, this is alright. I am having fun, in a way.” I frowned as I considered my card, then looked at the ponies around us. They were all smiling, talking, and exchanging cards and other crafts. There were even some kids making some paper decorations with great enthusiasm as they laughed and talked. It caused a stab of guilt as I studied them.
“We ... never did this type of thing back at my village,” I told her, thinking back to a time that felt like a lifetime ago. “I kinda ... forbade it.”
Trixie grunted neutrally. “Because it gave unequal attention to one pony over another?”
“Right.” My frown deepened as I studied my craft again, my little mockery of this dumb holiday. It was a spiteful and petty act against the occasion. I couldn’t deny that—at least not to myself. And at the end of the day it felt so empty and hollow.
I let out a long sigh. “It was just another thing I denied myself, so I denied it to everypony. If I’m going to be honest, I didn't allow myself to have any real friends. Not that I cared about that type of thing at the time. Or... at least I didn't think so. That’s what I told myself. I had to set the standard as the mayor of my village, and a truly equal leader couldn't have friends.”
I grimaced. How hollow did that sound now? Twilight was a princess, and she had a ton of friends. Despite all her struggles, she still held onto them. All Sunburst did was move to go to school and I wrote him off completely as a friend, just like that. After that everything in my life went to Tartarus. Nothing had worked out since then. I’d ended up running across half the world trying to outrun my failures. All I had to show for the wasted years of my life was nothing. Was there a single pony I had left happier with Equalism, happier even for just meeting me at all during those years of my life? It didn’t feel like it.
Trixie placed a hoof on my shoulder. “But you want friends now though, right?”
“Y-yeah, I do.” I gave her a brittle smile as I placed my hoof on hers. “It's ... it'd be really hard to go back to how things were. I really like being friends with you, Trixie. The idea of not having you as a friend isn’t something I want to think about. I know it's going to sound dumb and cliché, but it really is nice having a friend for once.”
“I know what you mean.” Trixie nuzzled me. “I spent so much time alone on the road that friends became an afterthought. Then of course you came along, and...”
I shook my head and chuckled. “Don't we make quite the couple?”
Trixie snickered. “Only the best, right?”
I grinned. “Sure, let's go with that.” A realization struck me. “Ugh! I'm so happy Twilight isn't here. She'd probably give some sappy speech about friendship if she saw us right now.”
Trixie grinned back and poked my ribs. “I won't tell her if you don't.”
“Thank you. I've had enough friendship speeches to last me.” Admittedly, the thought of Twilight gave me some inspiration to try something else, and I went to work with some scissors and paper. “Besides, I kinda like things how they are right now between you and me. You know, relaxed, no pressure. No having to worry about having my friendship levels examined and prodded at like an experiment.”
“Exactly! Some things just have to happen organically. Friendship, forgiveness...” She leaned closer, puckering her lips oddly. “Romance.”
“Exactly how I feel about it,” I told her as I focused on my cutting. “I'm not sure Twilight quite gets that. I feel a lot better just feeling and doing things how I want to.”
Trixie continued puckering her lips before she started frowning and sat back in a huff.
I studied her as she glowered at the table. “Is something the matter?”
“Nothing.” The single word was stiff as she returned to her work. Had I said something wrong?
Well, I had something I was sure would fix that. “Hey Trixie, I made this for you.”
“Hm?”
I gave her a pink-on-red paper heart I had cut out that read ‘Starlight’s #1 Friend’. It brought a smile to my friend’s face. “Thank you, this is very nice.”
Her smile made me smile. “That’s at least one Hearts and Hooves Day gift you’re getting. Well, on top of the chocolates.”
“Indeed.” Trixie finished up whatever she was doing, and added my gift to everything else she pushed under her cloak. “This is fun. We should do more projects like this.”
“I don't see why not,” I said. “It’s a bit silly but I don't think I mind. Not when I do it with you.”
Trixie’s lips curved into a smile. “There's plenty more projects we can work on later.”
“Sure, anything you had in mind?” I asked.
“My cart's always in need of some work.” Trixie waggled her eyebrows. “Maybe we can work on putting in a bigger bed sometime?”
I nodded. “I don't see why not. You made a lot of bits at your show today, so I wouldn't blame you for wanting a new bed.”
Trixie’s eye twitched slightly. “And when things finally work out, I wouldn't mind a little extra room for my Plus One.” Her hoof slowly slid down the side of my leg.
I raised an eyebrow. “Huh? You planning on getting a roommate? Or a ... cartmate? Whatever you’d call it when you live in a cart and ride around.”
Trixie groaned and slapped her face with her hoof. “More like a partner. Somepony that could live in her cart with her and go on tour with her. Quite cozily. Especially when it’s raining outside. Listening to the rain's lovely when there's no need to travel, and having somepony with you makes even the worst storm enjoyable, don't you think?”
I raised an eyebrow. “That does sound nice, yeah.”
Trixie leaned in to whisper, “Especially with a partner.”
I took a moment to think that over and blinked. “Oh! Right! I get it!”
Trixie smile widely. “Really?”
I nodded. “I’m sure a show partner would really help you rake in the bits. Or maybe you’re thinking of taking on an apprentice. That’d be good too.”
To my surprise, Trixie groaned and slammed her head against the table, muttering something I couldn’t hear under her breath.
I frowned watching her strange behavior. Was it something I said? “Trixie? What’s the matter?”
She groaned again. “Trixie realizes she has a lot of work to do for her show tonight.” Before I could say anything, she abruptly stood up from the table. “As much as I'd love to keep going, I should get ready.”
“I understand.” I stood up and stretched myself out. “I'll be sure to watch the show.”
“I'm counting on it.” Trixie leaned in briefly to hug me. “I'll see you this evening!”
“Sure thing!” I exclaimed as I hugged her back. I had a feeling Trixie was going to give me a fun show.
Trixie’s show started after twilight. The lights were dimmed, barely illuminating the light-blue and pink banners and ribbons that decorated the stage, and paper heart decorations dotted the benches. Couples engaging in soft conversations and leaning on one another surrounded me on the benches. In fact, there was hardly a single pony in the crowd. Yet another reminder of my own single status. More doubts about what I had been doing with my life crept in, yay.
The day got pretty boring after Trixie went off to prepare her show. That was one issue with having friends, you missed them when they weren’t around. Probably why I’d headed to Sugarcube Corner for a while to talk with Pinkie and get something sugary to eat. Most everypony else was too busy to hang out due to the holiday. I kept feeling like I was forgetting to do something that day, but I couldn’t remember what. There was just too much on my mind. The holiday, the committee, where my life was going, Twilight’s reaction to my failure, Rarity being mad with me, Spike, Trixie, my old history with Sunburst—just one thing after another to ruminate on. I liked doing; thinking and overthinking just put everything into doubt.
Thus, it was a relief when blue smoke started covering the stage and Trixie’s voice echoed from someplace out of sight. “Ladies and gentlecolts, welcome to another dazzling show on this most romantic of days, Hearts and Hooves Day! Turn to your partners and thank them for taking you to the highlight of the day, for the show will now begin!”
A brief flash of multicolor fireworks blinded the audience. When my vision cleared, Trixie was standing on the stage, hat and cape billowing as she wore a confident grin. Ponies started clapping and hooting as the show got underway.
“Thank you, thank you, you're so kind!” Trixie flicked a hoof and a bouquet of roses suddenly sprung into her grasp. With a flourish, she tossed the bouquet into the audience—where it landed right in my outstretched arms.
I giggled. Trixie could be so wonderfully silly at times. “Thanks Trixie!” I called out as I ate one of the flowers, which was really quiet fresh and tasty.
“You're the best Trixie could ask for!” Trixie answered.
Next Trixie disappeared into another puff of smoke, but appeared a moment later next to a box on the stage. “Tonight, Trixie thinks she should skip past the warm-ups and move to something more engaging. Could she have a volunteer from the audience?”
I raised my hoof alongside a bunch of other ponies. I’d joined Trixie on her stage plenty of times, and after the week I’d had it’d be nice to do so again. I was rarely bored when I joined one of Trixie’s shows.
Trixie pointed at me. “Excellent! Would you be so kind as to come to the stage?”
I headed to the stage as several of the audience members nudged one another, whispering as they wore strange, knowing grins.
“Thank you ever so much,” Trixie said once I stepped onto the stage. She guided me up to the box, which was about as long as a pony is tall if they're standing on their hindhooves. “Now then, one of Trixie's favorites: the Dividing Box. First...” She coyly went about removing her hat and cape and hoofed them to me.
I’d done this trick enough times to know how to hold everything like a pro, thanks in no small part to Trixie’s instructions, and placed them on a table just offstage.
Trixie grinned and sauntered over to the box. She stepped inside and gave her rump a single shake as she lay down. “And now, close the box!”
I did as she said, and Trixie’s voice became muffled. “Now! Take the sheets of metal next to you and put them through the box! They are sharp enough to cut through without issue! Separate it into three parts!”
I would have been nervous if not for the fact that I knew Trixie knew what she was doing. Thus I picked up the sheets of sharpened metal, each as wide as the box, and inserted them into their slots.
“Now then—tap the box!” Trixie called out, and I did just that. “Then open it!”
I opened the box, revealing it to be empty. The audience gasped and a murmur ran through the audience. I briefly wondered where Trixie had gotten to when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and found Trixie holding another bouquet of roses for me, with one rose held between her teeth.
Trixie’s grin widened. “Now for the next act, Trixie is going to steal somepony's heart!” To my confusion, she knelt in front of me. “Would you be her partner?”
I blinked and took a step back. “E-excuse me?”
She kept her gaze to the stage as she said, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is asking you—you, Starlight Glimmer—to be her partner.” This elicited a collective aaaw from the audience, applauses, and loud whistling.
Several things started to click together. “Y-you mean...?”
“Of course Trixie means it.” Trixie stood up and smiled at me. “She's been hinting at it all day.”
“Um, well, I-I-I...” I collected myself and smiled. “I’d love to be your full-time assistant!”
For some reason, the audience collectively groaned, with so many ponies facehooving at once the sound was almost musical, and more than a few were snickering. Weird. I thought it was sweet for Trixie to ask me to help her with her shows.
Trixie’s reaction was also not what I expected. Her smile became increasingly strained until it finally snapped with a scream. “Does—this—NO!” She stomped a hoof. “For Celestia's sake mare! What do I have to do or say for you to figure out I want you to be my fillyfriend?!”
My eyes widened. “W-w-what?!”
She grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard enough to make me dizzy. “Will. You. Be. My. Marefriend?”
My mouth hung open. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.
My answer took too long for Trixie because she shook me again, slightly less violently. “Do I need to be more clear?! Let me try and be more obvious!” She shot off a spell and fireworks went off. They exploded in the air, spelling out: ‘Will You Be My Special Somepony, Starlight?’
Okay, no way to misinterpret that. So I stared into Trixie’s eyes. This was all so sudden. Trixie wanted us to be together? How? Why? I thought we were just friends. It never occured to me that anypony could see me in that way. Not romantically anyways. Though as I looked at her, I saw her anger fade as she came to bite her lip, and doubt grew within her eyes. It was then I knew my answer.
I smiled. “Trixie, I’d love to be your special somepony.”
Trixie beamed at me and then bowed to the audience in one fluid motion. “Thank you all for coming! Trixie's afraid the show's ending early today. But Trixie will be performing again tomorrow, so please be sure to come by again for a full show then.”
“Huh?” I tilted my head. “You sure about ending the show early?”
“Yes,” Trixie murmured. “We have things we need to discuss. In private.”
Considering we had just become fillyfriends, that was probably an understatement. “Okay then.”
There was a murmur of discontent from the crowd, but it sounded half-hearted as ponies started dispersing. Trixie took the opportunity to wrap her arm around mine and pulled me off stage.
I felt my heart start to thump faster as we approached Trixie’s cart. “So, um, that sure was something. Didn’t quite expect that today.”
“The day was running out, and I had to do something. You are very...” Trixie’s ear twitched as she stared at me. “Never mind. It's fine, it's fine—it's all sorted now, and we've still got this evening.”
“What did you want to do?” Given the way she was hurrying us towards the little camp she had set up beyond the borders of the town, she must have had something in mind.
“Weeeell...” Trixie guided me to her cart and threw a couple of logs onto the campfire. Soon the light of the fire revealed that a quilt had been laid out and covered with rose petals, and on it was a bottle of champagne on ice, chocolates, and a nice salad. “I think we should have a nice evening in—just the two of us.” She emphasized her point with a pleasing nuzzle.
“Oh wow, look at all of this.” My eyes widened as I looked everything over. “You really outdid yourself.”
“Only the best for Trixie’s fillyfriend.” Trixie held out a hoof and assisted me with sitting on the quilt like a perfect gentlemare. “So ... where shall we start? Ooh, hold that thought!”
Trixie shook the champagne and popped its cork, causing the fizzy drink to overflow out of the bottle.
“Oooh!” I held my hoof to my mouth as I watched her fill a couple of glasses. “You're such a romantic, you know that?”
Trixie grinned and waggled her eyebrows. “I like to think of it as putting on my best show for a smaller crowd.”
I snorted at the corny line. It was extremely endearing in its own way. In truth, I’d never been wooed before. I’d never allowed myself to be. It wasn’t part of The Plan. The closest thing I’d had to a romantic experience was some basic physical relief with another pony. Nothing like this. And it felt good, I had to admit.
I chuckled as I watched Trixie give each of us a bowl of salad. “How long have you been planning this?”
“About two weeks,” Trixie admitted. “And I've been seriously thinking about it for a month or more.”
“That's ... wow. I never thought.” I shook my head. “I think I might have missed a few signs.”
“More than a few,” Trixie answered with a little irritation in her voice. “But that’s fine, everything’s worked out now. Now I have my favorite pony in the whole world with me on the most romantic day of the year. Things couldn’t be better.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said as I started chowing down. “Even if it is a bit surreal. I've never been on a real date before.”
“Me either, really. I'm just kind of making this up as I go.”
I took a sip of the champagne. “So, what's your plans for after Hearts and Hooves Day? I hope you’re not leaving again too soon.”
“Honestly, I didn't have any,” Trixie said. “Just ... um...” She trailed off as her light-blue coat took on a pinkish tone around her face.
Her blushing only caused me to blush in return. Here comes the awkwardness back in force. “Right. That's fair. Not that I can judge or anything. Not like I've got a whole lot going on these days either.”
Trixie looked up from her glass. “Just your studies, right?”
I grunted and nodded. “Pretty much. I mean, I like the magic studies. The friendship lessons? Not so much.”
“Oh?” She flicked her hoof for me to explain.
I frowned into my glass as I thought of how best to explain it. “They're... I don't know. A lot of pressure. And they seem so basic. I mean, friendship lessons, really? But on the other hoof, I’m not really that great at talking with ponies—considering how many villages and communities I’ve been run out of over the years. Some of them for good reasons.”
Trixie scoffed. “I’ve been run out of towns before. I wouldn’t care what the ponies of some backwater think of you.”
I let out an exasperated sigh and shook my head. “No, it’s... I haven’t exactly been the best pony out there. I’ve done some pretty rotten stuff, if I’m going to be brutally honest. I always told myself that I had good reasons for doing them at the time. It was so easy to justify anything I did since I wanted to believe it so badly, but … looking back on it?” I hunched my shoulders and tightened my grip on my glass until it almost cracked. “Saying I did it for the greater good rings pretty hollow when it was really all for nothing. In the end, I was left with nothing when Twilight ru—changed everything when she came to my town. I didn’t have any friends, lovers… anything, really.”
Trixie shifted closer to me and wrapped a leg around my shoulders. “But you’re better now, right?”
“I guess.” I leaned against her, enjoying her warmth. “After losing my village, I was just so angry. I let my rage fuel my magic and control my life. I suppose I’d always done that, but it was the worst leading up to my fight with Twilight. When I gave up on revenge and my rage...” I wrapped my arms around myself. “I just felt empty.”
Trixie frowned as she held me. “Maybe, but at least you have me now. I’m not going to abandon you.”
I smiled softly. “Thanks, that means a lot. This might not have been what I was planning for my life, but it’s not so bad.”
“Life's weird like that.” Trixie chuckled and nuzzled the top of my head.
I continued to lean against her as I watched the fire burn. “Do you ever feel like ... I don't know, like you're settling for something less? That there could have been so much more, but now all you’ve got is what you’ve got.”
“Sometimes.” Trixie squeezed me with her hoof. “But not anymore. And from now on, things can only get better.”
She leaned in for a kiss and I returned it. I couldn’t agree more.