Upon pushing open the creaky, wooden front door, Twilight surveyed the area within. It was complete disarray. While the outside of the wagon looked clean and well cared for, the inside did not. Dishes were piled high in the sink. Bags of alfalfa chips were crumbled and strewn about the floor, lying next to smashed steins of what once held Sweet Apple Acres cider. The smell was horrendous, an odor of Limburger cheese and eggs wafted through the air to Twilight's nose.
Ignoring the alarm bells her obsessiveness to clean was setting off, Twilight turned her attention towards the bed. Trixie lay in the bed. Her clothing was disorganized, her hair a mess, and she held a huge half-eaten tub of ice cream purchased from Mooela's Local Creamery. The thing that caught Twilight's eye the most, however, were the twin trails of tears streaming down the mare's face.
"Welcome to *hic* the worthless and powerless Trixie's ugly wagon!", Trixie greeted Twilight in a broken English accented with a few distraught hiccups. Twilight's mind began to replay a past conversation she once had with Starlight: "You do realize the only reason Trixie refers to herself as a 'Great and Powerful' being is because she is trying to boost her own confidence, right? Sometimes, it can come off as cocky but she actually suffers from an extreme sadness of who she is and where she is in her life."
Twilight stood there pondering what to do as her mind raced considering the facts at hoof. She raised her foreleg to stroke her chin with her hoof in thought, when she thought of it. Working quickly Twilight began to use a nearby pot to brew a special clarity potion that Zecora once made her. She poured the warm dark brownish liquid into a teacup and turned towards Trixie with a warm smile. She spoke: "Trixie, please drink this, it will help."
Using her magically imbued unicorn horn to hold it for her, Trixie gingerly sniffed the strange aromatic mixture. It had a pleasant smell of some exotic beans having been roasted. She took a sip and discovered that though the taste was extremely strong and semi-bitter, it really was quite palatable. With each sip, she calmed down more and more. Her thoughts originally muddied, became quiet and more tolerable.
Twilight saw the shaking in her form slow down and could see that Trixie had relaxed considerably. She smiled and spoke in a gentle manner; "Trixie, you are not powerless. Nor are you worthless. You are a wonderful magician and what you did tonight truly proves how courageous you are when a friend is in need. You were determined to put aside our feud just so Starlight and you could have a future together."
Trixie's eyes were glued to her and so she continued: "You risked everything. You know how I felt, yet you still attempted to reach out a hoof and bury the hatchet. I may be the princess of friendship but even I am not a perfect example. Tonight I almost let my own pettiness and unwillingness to let go of the past, almost destroy any hope I had of calling you, my friend. You have every right to refuse my words after that display, however, I came here to apologize for my mannerisms. I am sorry Trixie."
Trixie stayed quiet and took another sip of the wonderful liquid. Taking a deep breath she finally responded, looking Twilight in the eye: "I accept your apology Twilight, we have been at odds far too long. There was a time when me being stronger meant something to me. Starlight showed me, using your own lessons actually," Trixie let out a tiny laugh before continuing; "that maybe me relying on other ponies isn't so bad. The reason I came to get your blessing wasn't at Starlight's request, however, I felt it would show you just how serious I was in putting the past behind me. I want to be your friend, not your rival. This may sound strange but I have always felt a certain connection with you. By the way, this tonic tastes amazing."
Twilight's face filled with complete relief as she responded with a knowing laugh, "Zecora made it for me after I drank a tad too much cider last gala. I like it too! Especially when I wake up in the morning after one of Pinkie Pie's parties. As for being friends, Trixie, I would love to put all of our past history with each other under the bridge. I would very much like to be your friend."
With that, Trixie sat there for hours upon hours, just talking with Twilight. Twilight listened and responded while tidying up Trixie's haphazard wagon. At last, it came time to say goodnight. The wagon sparkled inside and out, Trixie was very impressed: "the Great and Powerful Trixie is amazed at your cleaning skills!" Twilight looked at her and both broke out into loud laughter.
As she was leaving, Twilight heard Trixie say her name and slowly turned around. "Yes?" she asked. Trixie scuffed her hoof and looked up at Twilight as she asked; "would you be my bridesmare?" Twilight was caught off-guard. "Y-you want me to be your bridesmare?" Seeing Trixie standing there with intense determination, she then said softly, "It would be my honor."
------6 Months Later------
"I now pronounce you Mares for Life, you may kiss the bride", the voice of the Mayor was heard throughout the court square, amidst the loud cheering and hoof-stamping for applause. Twilight stood on the second step of the courtroom stairs watching proudly as Trixie embraced Starlight. After a loving kiss on her partner, Trixie turned to Twilight and said, "You have no idea how happy you made me being here today Twilight, thank you."
Twilight said, "sometimes everypony needs a helping hoof, and every lesson needs a review." She ended the statement with a small knowing wink to Starlight who then giggled. Twilight continued: "You are one of my best friends Trixie, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."
Celestia glanced at the young unicorn beside her. The small filly was looking at her. "Is there something you wish to say, Starshine?", she asked. Starshine had the look of somepony who was very deep in thought. After a few moments, Starshine spoke: "mommy this is amazing. Who knew that Twilight was so down-to-Equestria? You say this actually happened, but how would you know?"
Her muzzle shook as she let out a laugh; "Oh Starshine, how else? I was there at the wedding. Twilight may have been Trixie's bridesmare but I had the honor of being Starlight's. If you are referring to the other parts, the authors asked the ponies themselves for their first-hand accounts."
"Did you know them too?", inquired the curious unicorn.
"Yes, I did indeed. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetiebell. The Cutiemark Crusaders, they originally called themselves in their youth. Upon achieving their cutiemarks they vowed to help everypony learn of what made them special. Once they reached marehood, they decided to undertake a huge project and together they learned of and documented the entire history of Ponyville's heroines. From their efforts seven books were created, each one detailing a different pony's life like the one I read to you from tonight. Sadly through time, the books have been misplaced, though your Aunt Luna and I have recovered three of them currently, aside from Twilight's; Pinkie Pie's, Rainbow Dash's and Rarity's."
Starshine pondered this for a moment before asking the one question Celestia feared to answer the most: "Mommy, you said Princess Twilight was my ancestor. If I truly am the descendant of the Princess of Friendship herself, if she truly did exist and you knew her over two millennia ago, how is it you are my mommy?"
Celestia's mane had dulled considerably and her face took on a slightly somber tone as she heard the unicorn ask her that question. Her mind raced, should she tell her? what if Starshine resented her? What if-
Once again she heard those familiar voices, "be brave, be honest, smile, be generous, be daring, be true to yourself and tell her." Celestia took a deep breath, steeling her will and spoke once more: "It is time you knew Starshine, who you are, where you came from and -", she paused to wipe a tear away, "who your mother truly was."
Elsewhere in Ponyville, a small blue earth pony was tossing and turning in his bed as the midnight hour tolled in the nearby clock tower. His dreams were turning rather sour fast and as a lover of sweets, he was not enjoying them. He ran but could not escape, the wind howled as the creatures closed in. Lightning flashed and the rain came down. "Help me!", he screamed, terrified and all alone.
Suddenly the nightmare vanished. He was in a starlit room under the wing of a tall black alicorn whose mane flowed with the stars in the midnight sky. She smiled warmly and said, "don't worry young colt, I'll protect you."
"Princess Luna! I don't know what happened! I was throwing a party and I guess it didn't go over so well with those monsters." Luna stared at him, amused at his antics and was reminded of a certain pink earth pony and how that particular pony had made a certain nightmare smile as well. "I know what will cheer you up, would you like to hear a story about one of the greatest party ponies ever to grace this town?"