Trixie inhaled deeply, letting the cool evening air fill her lungs, before exhaling smooth and slow. Breathe, Trixie. You’ve only got one shot at this.
The next day had come and gone after Trixie’s heart to heart with Discord, and she had ruminated an idea to explain her feelings to Starlight. A lump seemed to have taken permanent residency in Trixie’s stomach, as her nerves had not one relaxed in the last twenty-four hours. This was going to be difficult.
With a final check to make sure everything was where it needed to be, Trixie began her short trot back to her wagon. Having gotten only a few hours of sleep the night before, Trixie was under constant paranoia that tonight was going to be the last night Starlight and her would be friends. It was a “go big or go home” moment for her, and as Starlight had so often mentioned, Trixie was only familiar with one of those two options.
Still, for all the confidence Trixie had when she was on stage, a situation like this left her meek and doubtful. What if Starlight absolutely hates her afterwards? What if she can never find a friend like her again? Not to mention a marefriend. These thoughts permeated every single second of Trixie’s day, even at her best moments. She took note of the stars appearing in the night sky. Regardless of her worry, her moment was coming either way.
Finally making it back to her wagon, Trixie took a quick look inside to see what time her cuckoo clock displayed. Seven p.m. on the dot. Any minute now.
“Hey, Trix!” Starlight’s instantly recognizable voice called behind her. Just the sound of it sent Trixie’s heart into a tizzy, both out of excitement and out of worry. Okay, Great and Powerful Trixie. Time to make your greatest performance to date!
She spun around. “Starlight! It’s nice to see you!”
Her friend trotted up to the wagon, an optimistic smile on her face. “I got your letter telling me to meet you here at seven. Um, although, you know you didn’t have to send me a letter, right? I live, like… forty-five seconds away from you.”
Trixie put on a boisterous air of confidence. “Trixie knows perfectly well that she didn’t have to. She just thought you would appreciate the professionalism of it all.” In reality, it was because she was too afraid all day to invite Starlight to her wagon in person. But she didn’t need to know that.
“Hmm,” Starlight shrugged. “Well, I suppose it was a tad more professional than you usually are. That is to say, you’re never really professional when you’re around me.”
Trixie chuckled. “I’ll remember that for the next time I ask for a beautiful assistant to help me perform a trick.”
“Ha ha,” Starlight replied. “You know you wouldn’t dare do something without me anymore. You’d miss having me around.”
“I suppose you’re right,” said Trixie, trying hard not to show just how right Starlight was. “Besides, I need to know I’m working with someone I trust when you help me pull a manticore out of my hat.”
“You mean be there to fight it off for you?” Starlight asked with sarcasm.
Trixie waved her off. “I don’t know about all that. Doesn’t matter. Anyway, I hope my letter didn’t interrupt you at work today or anything.”
“Oh, no!” Starlight quickly corrected. “Don’t worry about it. I read it at the end of the day, anyway. Pinkie Pie showed Silverstream the magics of baking with high doses of sugar today, and, uh… things got a little bit… busy… to say the least. I wasn’t able to chill out and read my mail until class was over and I stayed in my office for a few hours.”
“Sounds like a real hoof full,” Trixie giggled.
“You have no idea,” replied Starlight, massaging one of her temples. “But anyway, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What did you want me to meet you here for? Just want to hang out?”
Trixie sighed. Great and powerful. She turned to Starlight. “I… wanted to show you something.”
Starlight looked genuinely interested. “Oh? Like what?” She grimaced. “Wait, this isn’t like that time you wanted to show me that giant ursa major turd you found, is it? ‘Cause I’ll remind you, I do not like poking fossilized poop with sticks.”
“No, no, no!” Trixie insisted. “Nothing like that. I just wanted to… um…” She broke eye contact, instead finding peace within the bushes and trees that surrounded them. “Say… you trust me, don’t you?”
Starlight seemed taken aback, noticing only now that Trixie was being serious. “Trix, of course I trust you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Will ever have.”
Trixie nodded. “Good.” She turned to Starlight and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Then trust me with this. Close your eyes.”
Taking a moment to scan Trixie’s face and see what the magician was planning, Starlight closed her eyes and nodded her head accordingly. “I trust you.”
Following suit, Trixie closed her eyes and ignited her horn, letting the blue magic flow outward and encompass the two of them like water flowing over a rock. Trixie breathed. It’s okay. You trained for this. With a modicum of effort, and a surge of her magic, Trixie allowed the two of them to be enveloped before disappearing altogether, leaving only a memory behind.
After a brief moment of worry, Trixie found clarity, as the two of them quickly reappeared somewhere else entirely, a babbling brook creating beautiful music for them in the background.
Starlight opened her eyes. “What was—” She stopped to look around. They were still in the forest near Trixie’s wagon, no doubt about that, but at a much higher elevation and near what seemed to be a waterfall. Taking a moment to walk to the edge of the cliff the river cascaded off of, Starlight found a familiar sight.
“Trixie. That’s… the pond we fell into yesterday.” She turned to face her friend. “You figured it out! You can teleport with one-hundred percent accuracy!”
Trixie smiled with pride. “It took me a lot of practicing last night, but I figured it out. Thanks to my amazing teacher, of course.”
Starlight ran up and enveloped Trixie in her arms, giving her the tightest hug she could muster. “Oh, I’m so proud of you! I knew you could do it! And you didn’t even use that weird, little catchphrase that you use.”
“Heh, don’t make fun of my method,” smiled Trixie. Starlight let her go, beaming all the while, filling Trixie with even more pride, confidence, and love. No matter how things turned out, she would always remember this feeling.
“I’m so happy for you! And for me, since I didn’t get coated in water this time,” Starlight joked. “Oh, I’ve got to tell Twilight about this when I get home.”
Trixie laughed nervously before wrapping an arm around Starlight. “Don’t head home just yet. The great Trixie still has something to show you.”
“Ooh,” Starlight wondered. “Another surprise for me, hm? You’ve sure been full of them lately. Most of them good.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” Trixie returned. “Come with me.” She led Starlight around a bushel of trees into what usually would be a small clearing. To Starlight’s awestruck surprise, the clearing was currently filled with a small stage, complete with rigging, lights, and a theatrical curtain.
“Trixie,” she began. “Are you going to put on a show here?”
Trixie nodded. “A… special type of show. A one-pony show.”
Starlight seemed confused. “Isn’t it always?”
“Let me clarify. It’s… a one-pony audience kind of show.” She grinned, giving Starlight a moment to understand what she meant.
Starlight’s eyes went wide. “Trixie…” she said, seemingly touched by the effort. “You’re going to put on a whole magic show just for me?”
Trixie hemmed and hawed. “Mmm, something like that. Just… sit here and watch. The show is about to begin!” In what was probably another effort to show off, Trixie teleported herself backstage, leaving the awestruck and impressed Starlight to take a seat near some prearranged drinks and snacks.
Backstage, Trixie’s heart felt like it was literally about to explode. She’d performed in front of thousands of ponies before, not to mentioned saved thousands more in acts of heroism. But this show, this audience, meant more to her than all those ponies combined. It was time to give the best entertainment her heart had to offer.
After a few minutes of serene silence and light management, two spotlights at the side of the stage magically turned to focus on the central curtain, as beautiful, dream-like music began to play. Starlight sat quietly, sipping her juice box, as a voice began to echo out over the loud speakers.
“Seven years ago, I thought I had my life in order. I was a licensed magician and stage performer, traveling Equestria and amazing all who were there to witness my greatness.” A firework shot out from the top of the stage rigging, igniting in a bright and beautiful image of Trixie’s wagon. Starlight’s face perked up in wonder.
Trixie continued. “But, as we all know, greatness has a way of catching up with you. I let my ego get the best of me, in the worst possible way. I hurt a lot of ponies, and got cast out of society because of it. I deserved even worse.” Another firework, displaying a crude amalgamation of Trixie wandering alone in a deserted landscape.
“I thought my life was over, that I had hit rock bottom. I was shown first hand that being who I was wasn’t going to cut it, and nopony would ever care about me again. I spent years alone, moving from town to town, doing whatever odd-job I could find. I tried to show ponies that it didn’t get to me, but it did.” An image of Trixie looking sad with a cartoony teardrop falling from her eye lit up the sky.
She went on, secretly peeking out at Starlight’s reactions as she spoke. She looked sad. “But then, everything changed. Somepony gave me a chance. She was kind, and sweet, and funny. And smart. She made me look like a donkey compared to her. Uh, not that I have anything against donkeys, hehe. She was everything I wanted to be and more, and she showed me that there was more to life than just wallowing in self-indulgent pity. She showed me that I could be better. And I went out to prove that I could.” A firework exploded into the two of them walking side by side, innocent smiles on their faces. She could see Starlight wipe away a tear from her cheek. Good so far.
“We baked food, and told stories, and went to the spa together. And maybe gossiped about Twilight Sparkle here and there.” The two of them chuckled at that. “We even went on adventures and helped save the world once or twice. Or, at least, we saved Ponyville. Which is probably what mattered most. And through it all, I discovered something that I never thought I’d find in my entire life. A best friend.” Another explosion, this one an almost portrait-like look at Starlight, based off of a picture Trixie had once taken of her. In a flash, Trixie teleported to the front of the stage right in front of Starlight, a headset microphone clearly ornamenting her head. “That pony is you, Starlight Glimmer. The best friend that I will ever have.” Starlight put a hoof to her chest, clearly emotional about it all. Time to see just what emotion that is.
Trixie turned around, making her way towards the back of the stage and in front of the curtain. “In the many months that we’ve know each other, Starlight Glimmer taught me to be more humble, respectful, and selfless than I ever would have learned on my own. She’s taught me new spells, new tricks, and new ways to talk to ponies that I never even considered before. It’s taken me the entirety of my life so far, but…” Emotion caught in her thought. “But… I’m finally becoming the mare that I’ve always wanted to be. And there’s nothing I could do that could ever, ever pay you back for that, Starlight Glimmer. I have no words to thank you for it.” A similar portrait of Trixie emblazoned the sky, symbolizing the mare that she had become over the years. She noticed Starlight now had a torrent of tears flowing from her, unable to take in all that was happening. Good. Time for the home run.
Trixie slowly began to tread closer to Starlight once more. “But that was not all she had shown me. After all this time together, all that we’ve shared, I started noticing there was something… else. And I don’t know if it was the way you look at me, or how you speak to me like I’d never done anything bad in my life, but… something happened, and I started seeing you as somepony different. Somepony more than just the mare I met.”
“What…” Starlight muttered.
Batting tears from her eyes, Trixie made it to the end of the stage as another firework exploded—bigger than before—showing an immense heart, the two of their cutie marks intertwined within. “I… I’m in love with you, Starlight Glimmer. So, so very much. It took me a while to realize it, but once I did, I knew it was the truest thing that I have ever said in my life. I am in love with you. And there’s nothing I could do to stop me from saying it.”
Starlight put a hoof to her mouth. “Trixie…”
“And yes, I… know that this will probably ruin our friendship, and probably throws everything I just said out the wagon window, but… after some convincing conversations I recently had with a—erm—friend, I knew that I couldn’t hold it in any longer than I had.” She summoned up all the courage she had. “So yes, give me your worst! Cast me aside! Demonize me all you want. Because at the end of the day, I was, am, and always will be the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She calmed herself. “And Trixie doesn’t just sit around not telling the pony she loves exactly how she feels.”
Without waiting a second, Starlight blinked herself on stage and leapt into Trixie, wrapping her arms around her and giving her a hug that made her last one feel like child’s play. “Trixie…” she sobbed, digging her eyes into Trixie’s shoulder.
Trixie returned the hug earnestly. “Starlight…” she began, making sure the mare could hear her. “… When I was alone, time went by like it was nothing. It’s like, sometimes I would blink, and a whole week had magically gone by. I had nothing to live for, no day by day object willing me to get myself up in the morning. Those years passed almost instantly. They were completely filled with nothing.” Starlight looked up, and Trixie put a hoof to her cheek. “But… when I’m with you… time slows down. Every second counts, and I feel like the world is finally showing me all that it could be. After all this time, I’m finally savoring every minute of the day.”
Starlight let out a genuine, snotty, tear filled giggle. “So… is this all because I called our dinner last night a date?” She grinned that grin she does so devastatingly well.
“Well,” Trixie laughed, “I’m not going to lie and say that didn’t spark some things in me I didn’t think were there. But, uh… I’d say you’ve got a whole lot going for you than just that.”
“Hmm,” comforted Starlight, placing her head back into Trixie. “I can’t believe you did all this for me. Trixie… you’re the sweetest mare I have ever met.”
Trixie’s heart leapt at just those words. “So… does that mean… you’re interested?”
Starlight sniffed, leaning back with a look of contentment on her face. “I’ll admit, I’ve thought about it before. Like, a while back, when we first met, but I kinda put those thoughts away because I didn’t think you’d be interested. Heck, I didn’t think you even liked mares.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Trixie responded, worried that Starlight hadn’t answered yet.
“And, those little flirts I was sending towards you were mostly innocuous. Not to say that I didn’t think you were cute, I definitely did, but I was just joking around and didn’t think you’d respond to them. But, for the record, I haven’t flirted like that with anypony else.”
“Well, Trixie will consider herself lucky, then,” Trixie smiled.
“But,” Starlight continued, getting her face closer to Trixie’s, “I’d also be lying if I said the flowers, and the dinner, and all of… this,” she gestured to the stage, “didn’t make me feel some things that I never thought I could feel.”
Trixie tensed up. “Does that mean… you’d like to… date me?”
Starlight grinned. “I’ll show you what I mean.” At that, Starlight pressed her lips into Trixie’s, her hoof gently caressing Trixie’s cheek.
The knot in Trixie’s stomach finally released, and the bundle of nerves and excitement therein spread all throughout her body, heightening every nerve ending and every feeling that she had in a single instance. Thinking she was about to cry, all Trixie could do was press herself deeper into Starlight, letting her instincts take over as their lips coupled and parted with one another over and over again. In an almost subconscious effort, Trixie’s horn glowed blue as she activated the stages emergency celebratory fireworks show. Soon, the sky was on fire with bursts of red, blue, white, pink, purple, and turquoise. She had spent all those years learning tricks she could perform on stage and spells she could induce with her horn, but for the first time in her life, Trixie had truly felt magical.
They parted, a loving glow on both of their faces. After a few moments of silence, Trixie decided to break the ice.
“So… I take that as a ‘yes,’” she teased.
Starlight shook her head in bewilderment. “You silly little weirdo.” Once more, she brought Trixie into a kiss, savoring every second she had the mare in her arms. Trixie lost herself in the blissful, beautiful happiness as the cavalcade of colors bounced off of them in the late-night skies.
“So, Trix,” Starlight said, once their second bout of amateur kissing had ended, “now that we’re together, I guess you’ve got to take me on a real first date. Somewhere fancy?”
A bead of sweat formed on Trixie’s brow. “Uhh, maybe you can take me on a date this time. Trixie’s bank account is, um… less than good.”
Starlight chuckled. “Really? After all that money you save on taxes?”
Trixie swatted Starlight’s butt with her tail. “You are not allowed to bring that up.”
“Hmm,” smirked Starlight. “Am I allowed to call you Beatrice, now that we’re together?”
Trixie tensed up. “You can never, ever, call me that again.”
“Hahaha!” Starlight guffawed. “Whatever you say, Trix. The way I see it, you’re all mine now.”
“Was there ever any doubt?” Trixie asked with a smile. Slowly, she brought up Starlight’s chin before locking her lips with hers once again, savoring the feels and flavors as they shared their love. Looking out into the nearby forest, Trixie noted a certain draconequus floating smugly by himself. Trixie gave him a subtle wave, before he nodded his head and disappeared from sight. She’d let that interaction go unmentioned, for his sake alone.
The past forty-eight hours had been some of the most transformative in Trixie’s entire life. From a lifelong best friend to the love of her life, Starlight had altered everything Trixie thought she would ever know about ponies and about herself. Her dark cloud’s silver lining had become so much more than that, and Trixie knew that she was going to spend all the time she had finding new adventures, holding her tight, and not letting her go for anything.
And she was going to enjoy every, single second of it.