Twilight's castle, day.
Currently at this moment, Twilight seemed to be setting something important up whilst Starlight just stood there, watching.
"First lesson of the day, we very carefully set the table without using magic, so that—" Twilight spoke, teaching Starlight. But her sentence was cut off when she noticed some forks and spoons flying near her, almost making contact with her head "Yikes!" Starlight set the table up by using magic despite Twilight telling her not to. Although, she did set it up perfectly. "Did you...?! How? When? What?!"
"What?" Starlight asked.
"I said no magic. You were supposed to do it by hoof so I could work in a friendship lesson."
"Oh, I heard 'set the table' and just kinda went for it."
Well, if you hadn't used magic, you'd have heard me say, uh..." Twilight placed her hoof on the plate and utensils, giving a short explanation. "This plate represents your head, this spoon is your heart, and the knives... are sharp! Always be careful with knives." Twilight sighed. "The metaphors make more sense when you're actually setting the table."
"Should I... change it back?"
"I just want to make sure you're ready for this dinner. Princess Celestia will be joining us tomorrow night to see how the friendship lessons are going!"
"If it's just you, me, and Princess Celestia, why are there four seats?"
"Well, the whole point is for you to bring a new friend. That way, the princess will see for herself just how far you've come. And how good a teacher you have." Twilight nudged Starlight.
"Well, I can't choose. I like all your friends."
"That's the best part! You have to make a new friend!" Twilight squeed with the widest grin on her face.
"New friends?" Starlight thought for a moment. "Hey, maybe I'll just force friendships by magically enslaving the entire population of Ponyville!"
"Starlight!" Twilight said in a disappointed tone.
"Kidding!" She laughed nervously. The mission to make a new friend was about to begin. Can't be that hard, right?
Ponyville. In all its colourful and vibrant beauty.
Starlight was getting a move on, searching for a new friend to make. But who? Out of everypony and Pokemon here, who would work as a new friend?
"Let's see. Make new friends in Ponyville, the friendliest place in Equestria. Shouldn't be hard..."
"Need to make a new friend, huh? I know just the pony for you!" Along came Pinkie Pie with her boundless energy as always, instantly picking up on Starlight's words. She had foalnapped the unicorn, bringing her over to the one place she believes the best of friends can always be made in an instant.
SugarCube Corner.
"Miss Starlight Glimmer, meet Mrs Cake!" Pinkie introduced Mrs Cake to Starlight for the first time.
At the moment, Mrs Cake was just adding a small bit of icing to the cake. "How are you, dearie?" Mrs Cake spoke to her.
"Are you baking? Can I help?" Starlight asked, using her magic to grab some pots, pans, flour and all sorts of baking essentials. In a matter of 5 seconds, she had managed to bake a cake with the items she had grabbed with ease. The fastest anypony has ever made a cake even though magic was involved instead of it being naturally made. Although it matched her mane colour which made it pretty neat.
"Wow, Mrs Cake! Look what your new friend made you." Pinkie exclaimed
"New friend. I like the sound of–" Mrs Cake looked up to see the magic-made cake hovering right over her. "Howza-wowza! A-Are you trying to put me out of business with your fancy magical-thingy-whatsit cake?!"
Starlight winced, letting the cake go. Unfortunately, since it was still hovering over Mrs Cake, it ended up dropping on her, covering her in the magic-made cake. "Sorry..." Starlight apologized.
Pinkie Pie, however, took a bit out of the cake, enjoying it anyways along with her Spinda. "In her defense, it is delicious!"
A second attempt was made. This time involving Applejack.
"I think I have just the pony for you, Starlight. Meet Big Mac!" Applejack introduced her big brother to the unicorn.
"Eeyup!" That was his way of saying hello. It may not look like it but it was.
"He's not much of a talker," AJ whispered to her.
"Nope." Big Mac said proudly.
"Oh, that's too bad. I love a good conversation." Starlight replied. Then something clicked in her head that might work. Her horn emanated an aura, sending the magic inside his mouth all of a sudden.
What did she do to him? Applejack had a confused face while Starlight a smug one. What she did was revealed to be something fairly overwhelming.
"Eeyup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-y-y-y-y-you did something!" Big Mac now had what is commonly known as motormouth. And the effects were hitting him hard. "Whoa! What's happening? I feel really weird! I'm talkin' so much! And I'm so articulate! Enunciating with such precise pronunciation! Annie Apple awoke and accidentally ate an auburn azalea!" He screamed in agony. Make it stop!"
"Mrrgh..." Applejack and Treecko turned around, growling at Starlight with no so pleased look on their faces.
"I can't be friends with somepony who doesn't talk." Starlight tried to defend herself.
"Mrrggh..." But it wasn't working.
"...And I guess my first instinct shouldn't be to magically command ponies to act the way I want them to?"
"Mrrrgggh...!" Applejack and Treecko went closer to Starlight, giving off a highly intimidating vibe. One that almost forced Hatterene out of its Pokeball due to its reaction to strong emotions.
"Alright, I'll change him back!" Starlight replied. It was a good call for two reasons. For Big Mac's sanity and Hatterene's restrain.
A third attempt might do the trick. This time it involved Rarity.
"The trick to finding a new friend is to render yourself radiant. First impressions count a great deal, you know." said Rarity, wrapping a scarf around her neck.
"I'm glad you all got past my first impression."
"Well, everypony deserves a second chance. Well...mostly everypony." Rarity referred to Ghetsis. "Ooh! Now, I have a top-notch idea. I'm thinking pastel silk here and here with a crinoline underneath."
"You really think a new outfit will help me meet ponies?"
"Oh, with the right outfit, you can do anything, darling!" Rarity had a strut as her Leavanny's placed her in a top-model dress.
"When will it be ready?"
"Three weeks."
"Dinner's tomorrow." Starlight sighed.
"Well then, how about a hat from the..." Rarity cleared her throat. "...clearance bin?" She took out a somewhat old looking hat, attempting to fit it on her fellow unicorn's head. Unfortunately, the piece of fabric had ripped when placed on Starlight's head ruining it.
"Ugh...Maybe not."
How does a fourth attempt sound?
With Rainbow Dash. Surely the excitement she brings can work out in Starlight's favour.
"Heh. Nopony's gonna make friends with you because of your outfit. The only thing you want a new friend draped in is coolness." Rainbow crossed her hooves together, laying back on her Altaria's cloudy wings.
"Like you?"
"Yeah, but you already know me, so..." Rainbow then thought of one pony in particular who she found just as cool if not cooler. "Spitfire!" She went up to Starlight, getting too close to her face. "Heh. Sorry."
"Who's that?"
"Only the Wonderbolt-iest pony in the Wonderbolts! Come on, I'll introduce you!" She returned her Altaria, taking off at the speed of sound, leaving behind a sonic boom. Not only that, but she also left behind Starlight, prompting her to fly back. "You coming or what?"
"I guess my first question would be, 'What's a Wonderbolt?'"
Those were the words that caused Rainbow Dash to gasp in shock and terror. "You've never heard of the Wonderbolts?! Where have you been?!"
"Enslaving villages, I guess..." Starlight replied nervously.
"Right..."
So the Rainbow Dash portion didn't go as well. But maybe, the fifth one involving Fluttershy might. How can you go wrong with somepony as pure as her? And with Pokemon involved, there was no way Starlight wouldn't make new friends. Her Hatterene would get involved. Since at the end of the day, who could hate a Pokemon?
Starlight was rubbing the bellies of both Angel Bunny and a Minun.
"Minun!"
Other Pokemon gathered around her to greet Starlight and a large majority of them were welcoming and good to her Mostly due to Fluttershy's influence over all of them.
"You're all so adorable and sweet, but probably not what Twilight had in mind." Starlight and Hatterene took their leave, making Fluttershy wonder where they went? What a shame. She wanted to give Starlight a brand new Pokemon.
Alright, so Fluttershy didn't exactly go the way it should've, unfortunately. So far, everything has been lackluster.
Starlight walked around in a populated area with many ponies and Pokemon chatting away. There were even some humans visiting, already getting along with the ponies.
"What is going on? This is Ponyville! If I can't make a friend here, there's gotta be something wrong with me! She sighed. "Okay, calm down. Nobody makes friends with a total stress case. What do you think, Hatterene?"
"Hatterene..." Her Hatterene wasn't exactly an expert on friends either. Mostly because Starlight was her first friend as well. She's still learning at the end of the day.
"Figured as much. Maybe if I just look at everypony else and learn from them?" Starlight began navigating her head, observing everypony and how they get along with each other.
You had some ponies decorating their Pokemon with laurels and flower hats, some were interacting with humans by trading some items from their own respected worlds. You even had some trainers interact in a small Pokemon battle for the sake of improvement.
Even Wild Pokemon who had no trainers whatsoever, somehow got along well with the humans and ponies as if it was nothing. The emphasis on 'Bonds with people and Pokemon' was really showing, now with ponies being added onto the mix. Everypony other than Starlight that is.
"Stop stressing... Stop stressing!" But it was no use. She had already reached the perfect amount of stress. Her voice echoed to a point where she grabbed everypony's attention. They all gave her awkward stares, making her feel uncomfortable.
"Hatt!" The Silent Pokemon gave them all a death glare with its infamous menacing eyes. Everypony was intimidated by Hatterene, immediately turning their attention away from Starlight so that they don't get torn apart by Hatterene's vicious claw.
"Thanks, Hatterene." Starlight sighed, glad that her partner Pokemon was there to make her feel better.
"Tterene." Hatterene over to Starlight, pointing her claw at the Ponyville Day Spa. A perfect place to relax Starlight's nerves and stress.
Inside the spa, Starlight had already been given a spa treatment, sitting back in a chair whilst the Spa ponies handle everything.
"This is just what I needed." said a relaxed Starlight Glimmer.
"Tell me about it." A voice responded to her. A voice that was familiar to mostly everypony in Ponyville but not Starlight.
"You ever have one of those days?"
"For me, they're all one of those days." She replied, making Starlight giggle. "I'm gonna start coming here every time I visit Ponyville. Does that sound fine Misdreavus?"
"Misdrea!" The Pokemon who belonged to this faceless trainer nodded in agreement. In fact, this Misdreavus was somewhat known in Ponyville. Mostly during the earlier days of the worlds crossing over.
"I'm not from here either. I've been trying to make friends, but it's not easy. They're not saying it, but I think everypony knows about my past. I may have been a tiny bit... completely and utterly evil? What do you think, Hatterene?"
"Hatt." The Silent Pokemon gave a simple nod to her question.
"Ponies judge me on my past too. Along with my precious little Misdreavus."
"Finally, a pony I can relate to." Starlight turned around to face the other pony. This unrecognizable pony could be the one that Starlight was searching for. Not only that, but their Pokemon seemed to compliment each other. Perhaps it could be the one.
Over at Twilight's castle, the young alicorn was setting things up perfectly as usual.
"Soup spoon, salad fork, pasta spoon, strawberry pick. I'm beginning to think that after friendship, the greatest magic of all is proper silverware placement!" Twilight giggled as her Minccino dusted off any dirt or dust that may nearby. Minccino's are known as clean freaks after all.
"Twilight, guess what? I made a new friend!" Along came Starlight, rushing indoors.
"That's fantastic news!" Twilight turned around, eager to hear about this new friend.
"She's great!"
"Great!" Twilight repeated what Starlight said.
"She's powerful!"
"Powerful?" Twilight was a bit confused about that part.
"She's—" Starlight was about to state her name, but the pony she was describing had made her entrance already.
"Hello... princess!" Trixie Lulamoon. The only pony to match Starlight's description.
"Misdre-dre-dreavus." Her Pokemon let out a tiny little ghostly cackle.
"Trixie?!" Twilight exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"Wait...you two...you know each other?"
"You could say that..." Twilight shifted her eyes to the side.
"We...had our differences." So did Trixie, walking up to who was essentially her rival. "What matters is Twilight gave me a second chance, and I appreciate it."
The two gave each other looks that can only be described as a combination of disdain and mutual respect. You can tell by the way Twilight cracked a smile. Not a nervous smile. But a smile that had physical and aggressive intentions behind them.
Her smile was essentially saying "I want to hit you and smack you around so badly with either my hooves, magic or Pokemon but I'm better than that."
Their Pokemon even showed a similar relationship as well. Trixie's Misdreavus lived up to its Ghost-Type status. A normal Misdreavus gets its energy from scaring people and soaking up their fear. Its personal favourite trick is hiding in an otherwise empty room and making a noise that sounds like someone weeping. However, after spending time Trixie and bonding as a trainer, Misdreavus has grown to become...well essentially the exact same as she always was, but, now she involves herself with magic tricks alongside Trixie instead of standard haunted house shenanigans.
The Screech Pokemon messed around with Minccy, getting dirt on the floor by shaking her spectral hair that had some dust inside of it.
"Dreavus!"
"Mincc!?" Minccy winced, immediately dusting away the dirt. But Misdreavus had a second go, causing more dust to fall on the floor, even getting on the Chinchilla Pokemon's tail and head.
"Espeon!" Eve attempted to put a stop to Misdreavus's little shenanigans, but being a Ghost-Type that wasn't about to happen. Not to mention that Misdreavus wasn't intimidated by Espeon since she held the Type Advantage over her. But Vulpix definitely intimidated her due to his flames, causing Misdreavus to back, returning to her trainer.
"So, um, what brings you to Ponyville?" Twilight asked.
"The Grrrreat and Powerful Trrrrixie has come to perform a new stage show of grand illusion! I am calling it "The Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour"!" She announced.
"That's kind of a mouthful." Starlight whispered at Trixie.
"It's a working title." She whispered back.
"Starlight? A moment? Over here?" Twilight requested a small little moment with Starlight concerning Trixie. She used her magic to pull Starlight towards her, keeping a wide grin the process"I know I said 'make friends with anypony', but, well, with Trixie's past, and your past, I'm not sure she's the best... first friend."
Starlight looked back to see Trixie waving at her with a sort of smug look on her face. "But whatever she did, you've forgiven her, right?"
"Of course. It's just... She wasn't the nicest pony."
"Well, you did say anypony, and I just assumed that you'd trust me to make my own friends the way Princess Celestia trusted you." She made Twilight feel a bit guilty from those words, causing the alicorn to sigh.
"You're right. I trust you. Just be back in time for the dinner."
"Thanks, Twilight! You won't regret it!" Starlight ran out whilst Trixie looked back at Twilight, still having that smug expression on her face.
"I hope not." Twilight sighed, having a bad feeling about this deep within.
Trixie had set up her performance stage out in the open of Ponyville. It looked a bit rickety and old from the appearance.
"This magic show's gonna be the greatest thing Ponyville's ever seen!" Trixie exclaimed. She and her Misdreavus were eager to begin and bedazzled everypony here.
"Misdrea!"
Unfortunately, some chatter and gossip travelled through her and Misdreavus's ears. And not the good kind. Both Misdreavus and Trixie don't exactly have the best reputation in Ponyville. One attempted to soak up the fears of everypony in Ponyville and the other used the Alicorn Amulet to establish a tyrannical rule over Ponyville. Clearly, they both were in the same boat together. But that is perhaps why they became trainer and Pokemon.
"Dreavus..." Misdreavus flew over to Starlight using her hair as hands to pat her trainer's head, telling her that she shouldn't mind them.
"Thanks, Misdreavus. You know...Everypony always says they'll give you a second chance, but deep down, they never forget."
"That's what I'm worried about." Starlight replied.
The blue unicorn let out a small sigh whilst Misdreavus wore her hat.
"What's wrong?" Starlight asked.
"I heard what Twilight said about me, and she's right. I wasn't very nice. So I'd understand if you didn't want to be friends."
"Are you kidding? You're the first pony I've met who has any idea how I feel!"
Trixie then looked around, getting close to Starlight. "Can you keep a secret?"
"What are friends for?"
"The things I've done? I did them because I was jealous of Twilight. She's just the best at everything, and I wanted to beat her at something!" Trixie stomped her hooves out of jealousy.
"Your secret's safe with me."
"Thanks." Trixie smiled at that response. "Want to help me unpack my wagon?"
The two were hitting off perfectly so far. Their Pokemon seemed to be getting along as well, in their own unique way anyways. To Hatterene, Misdreavus was a tolerable Pokemon to be around due to her mischievous nature.
"I spend a lot of time on the road with my wagon or even just rummaging through it when I'm teaching my magic class, so it might be a tad messy," Trixie spoke to Starlight, leading her towards the location of her wagon.
"Maybe I can help. I'm pretty good at organizing stuff. Magic props, brainwashed crowds..." Starlight laughed, causing Trixie to laugh as well.
"Pssssssst! Pssst! Psssssst!" As they were walking along, a voice called for Starlight. That voice being Twilight, who was hiding in a bush. "Shhhhhh!"
"Uh, I'll catch up. I think there's something in my hoof." Starlight stopped walking alongside her fellow unicorn.
"Sure. The wagon's right around the corner. Come on Misdreavus." Trixie went around the corner, leaving Starlight and Hatterene alone.
"Misdrea!"
Twilight poked her head out of the bush, letting out a grin with Eve, Minccy and Vulpix popping their heads up as well. "So, how's it going with your new friend?"
"Great." Starlight spoke sarcastically "Thanks for asking in a completely not creepy way."
"Because you know, if it isn't working out for any reason, I could introduce you to my friend here." She pointed her hooves at the bush next to her.
"Nice to meet you." Starlight spoke to the bush in a deadpan manner.
"No, no! You can come out now!"
Popping out of the bush was none other than Vinyl, listening to some dubstep as usual.
"You like music, right? DJ Pon-3'd be the perfect friend for tonight's incredibly important dinner with Celestia. You know, if you decide to make a last-minute change. Heh." Twilight seemed to be attempting to convince Starlight to change her mind about Trixie from the looks of it. "Plus, you and Goh are in the same boat. You're both learning so..."
"So back at your castle when you said 'I trust you', you meant 'I don't trust you'." Starlight seemed disappointed at Twilight whilst Vinyl just continued to bop her head alongside Vulpix who could hear the music, feeling the exciting beats.
"Who can really say who said what? I know I can't!" Twilight squeed as she then turned to Vinyl. "Can you?" But, Vinyl took her leave, heading off to do better things at the moment with the dubstep fading out from Vulpix's ears. "Starlight, I'm just trying to look out for you."
"I appreciate it, but you're wrong about Trixie. She's just like me. We have a real connection."
"That's kind of what I'm afraid of. Oh! What about her?" Twilight shifted her attention to Derpy and Wooper. The two of them had ended up bumping into a sign, causing Derpy to fall out from the sky with Wooper landing on his feet.
"Please, Twilight! I know you're trying to help, but I need to make friends on my own if I'm going to become a better pony."
"But do you really think Trixie's the one to help you with that?"
"Wow. Trixie was right. You're not really giving her a second chance. I wonder what that says about how you feel about me." Starlight's tone changed towards Twilight, feeling even more disappointed in her. She ran off, leaving Twilight behind, which made the Princess of Friendship feel some more guilt on her.
Twilight turned around to see Cranky sitting alone, having a Pidove fly by and snatch his moustache wig. "Oh! Now he'd be perfect!" She squeed, which only made Starlight groan even further.
Eve and Minccy could only slam their paws in their faces, feeling disappointed in Twilight as well. What a shame.
Back with Trixie, she was sorting everything out with Starlight now assisting.
"I was thinking. You said Twilight is better than you at everything, but that's not true. You're better at magic."
"Only when I'm wearing a soul-sucking evil amulet, so I don't think that counts. Funny story. Don't need to get into it." Trixie chuckled.
"I meant stage magic."
"Well, of course! Great? Yes. Powerful? Obviously. But I'm not the best. As great and powerful as I am, there's one trick I've never been able to do – the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive!" She exclaimed, looking up into the sky. "Only one magician has ever pulled it off – my hero, Hoofdini! You are supposed to blast yourself into the open mouth of a hungry manticore! After the manticore chews you up and swallows you, you magically step out of a box on the other side of the stage! Completely unharmed! But I want to go above and beyond. Further than a Manticore. I was thinking of diving myself into the mouth of a huge Pokemon!"
"That sounds very..." Starlight lingered on her words.
"Dangerous?"
"I was gonna say cool!"
"I knew I liked you for a reason." Trixie and Starlight gave each other a hoof-bump. "I don't know how he did it! If I tried it, I'd get chewed up and swallowed by any large Pokemon. They all seem to have pretty sharp teeth from what I've seen anyway."
"Not if you could use real magic."
"Obviously. Way to rub it in."
"No, I mean, I could help! You could start the trick, and right before you got chewed up, I could use magic to save you..." Starlight suggested, teleporting Trixie inside of her black box. "...and make you appear in the black box!"
"I guess that would work... But if you made one mistake, I'd be a goner."
"Hah. When it comes to magic, I don't make mistakes. Maybe I could be your... magic show helper pony!"
"We call it "assistant" in the magician biz. And... very few ponies have ever offered to help before."
"Who are the other few?"
"Ash and BigTime Ben. Those two offered to help when I was over at Nimbasa City when nopony else would. I earned myself a pretty neat-looking school with...one student. But you're the third pony to ever help me out. And at least you're not bumping into me when rushing out of doors." Trixie chuckled.
"Who's rushing out of doors bumping into you constantly?" Starlight laughed at that.
"Some human by the name of Barry. You should meet him someday. He's quite the character and a good friend."
"Well, I'd be honoured. About the assistant part. And the whole meeting part too."
"You may have just made my great and powerful magic show even better! Which I didn't think was possible! We're gonna blow them away tonight!" Trixie went up to her wagon, hugging her Misdreavus.
"Dreavus!"
"I can't! Tonight's this incredibly important dinner with Twilight." Starlight groaned.
"Oh."
"Can I vent for a minute?" Starlight requested.
"What are friends for?"
"Even after Twilight says she trusts me, she clearly doesn't trust me enough to choose my own friends." Starlight sighed. "I guess you were right. No second chances."
"Hmph, I wish I could say I was surprised. Well, lucky for Princess Twilight, I have my magic show tonight. If you have to go to the dinner, I completely understand." Trixie then started to speak in a dramatic manner to tug on Starlight's heartstrings. But Hatterene could easily tell she was faking it due to her being able to sense strong emotions. "I just hope I find a way to survive the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive without my new assistant!"
Back at Twilight's castle, everything had been set up and Celestia had arrived along with Passion and Arcanine.
"Starlight Glimmer should be here, heh, any minute, heh. Any minute now..." Twilight laughed nervously. Celestia could wait as she used her magic to twirl Passion's Mega Stone around. "How about I introduce everyone? Our friendship lessons are going so well! She made five new friends!" Twilight was referring to Derpy, Wooper, Vinyl, Cranky and even the Pidove that stole his wig who was currently on the donkey's head.
All five of them were currently here, sitting around the table. Goh was here as well since he had been dragged along into this dinner. He tapped his fingers on the table, eager to catch a new Pokemon already, Vinyl just kept listening to her music, Cranky was here for other reasons whilst Derpy and Wooper were just happy to be here.
"Wooper!"
"Pidove!"
"She has such great taste in friends. I don't know where she would've learned that"
"Starlight Glimmer? I thought you said 'nose-hair trimmers'! What's going on? I'm hungry! And my nose is too hairy." Cranky snorted.
"Ha-ha, Cranky Doodle! You're so funny!" Twilight nervously chuckled. "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna check the kitchen. Maybe she got lost amongst the, uh... artichokes!" Twilight slowly walked off until she galloped away in a panic.
"Kirlia..." Passion felt like falling asleep due to this waiting time whilst Arcanine licked both Wooper and Derpy as a sign of friendship.
Nighttime had arrived with many Pokemon that were nocturnal showing themselves. Especially Ghost-Types since this was their favourite time to be out. However, ponies were still outside, a pretty good amount of them.
"Starlight? Has anyone seen Starlight Glimmer?" Twilight asked, prancing about in a hurry. "I'm looking for her!" She came across a hill, getting a good look at what was occurring at a lower level. Trixie's magic show was about to begin with a few ponies gathered up along with some Ghost-Types, interested in this. "Trixie." Twilight said in disdain.
"So this is the Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour?" Pinkie Pie spoke.
"Ain't that a mouthful of molasses." Applejack replied.
"It's a working title!" Trixie poked her head through the curtains. "Oh, this is gonna be the greatest night of my life! Excuse me. Our lives." She spoke to Starlight, getting all giddy.
"I'm so glad we're not at that boring dinner." Starlight sighed, feeling relieved.
"Ahem? " Along came Twilight, hearing Starlight speak about the dinner as she entered the wagon. "You just decided to skip our dinner without telling me? Are you aware that, at this very moment, Princess Celestia is waiting for you at a table with exquisite silverware placement?!"
"Yes, but—"
"A-ha! You still don't trust me! But guess what, princess? It doesn't matter if you want to give me a second chance or not. Starlight had to choose between you and me, and she chose me! Your pupil chose me, so ha! I win!" Trixie scoffed, feeling as if she finally gained a major win over Twilight for once.
"You win? That sounds like you just made friends with me to beat Twilight." Starlight raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly!" Precisely one second after Trixie said that, she immediately realized it wasn't the wisest thing to let out of her mouth. "Wait! I mean, no! I got caught up in the moment. I like you. Beating Twilight is just a bonus." Yet again, she let out words she didn't mean to, gasping. "Saying that didn't help, did it?"
"I should've known. Nopony else in Ponyville wanted to be my friend. Why would you?" Starlight teared up, rushing out of the wagon in sorrow.
"Wait, it's not like that! I am your friend." Trixie groaned, failing to stop Starlight.
"Well, you won. I hope you're happy!" Twilight went up to her.
"Dreavus!" Misdreavus got in front between Twilight and Trixie, hissing at the alicorn.
"Leave it, Misdreavus..." Trixie called her partner off, sighing. "Looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie is back to a solo show. Come on Misdreavus."
"Trixie?" Twilight noticed Trixie's change in tone and emotion.
"Which is exactly the way she likes it! Thank you, Princess Twilight, for getting rid of that annoying pony who wanted to be my fifth friend! I am not sad at all! I definitely don't feel as if my heart is breaking into a million pieces!" Trixie had genuine tears building up as time as she went back to her wagon with Misdreavus how went over to comfort her partner.
Twilight at this moment felt very conflicted. Did she end up shattering a potentially strong bond between two ponies in that instance? She noticed that Starlight's Hatterene had teleported off to find her trainer so that she can do her best to comfort her. The same way Misdreavus was doing for Trixie.
The show was about to begin with many more ponies and Pokemon joining in. Trixie had gotten herself ready, stepping out into the stage with Misdreavus by her side. However, this time, she didn't have her enthusiastic and bombastic voice with her at the moment.
"Come one, come all. Come and see the Pathetic and Friendless Trixie's 'Way-To-Go-Dum-Dum-You-Really-Messed-It-Up-This-Time Repentance Tour'". What she announced only confused them about the title. "It's a working title! Behold, your fears come true. A pony-eating Pokemon." The Pokemon she had gotten for this was none other than Snorlax. The Pokemon that eats more than anyone else.
"Snor..." The Sleeping Pokemon was just laying on his back, not minding a single thing at the moment. As it usually does.
"For tonight, the Great and Powerful Trixie will be performing the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive. But in the form of a Pokemon instead of a Manticore." Even though her voice was unenthusiastic, it actually made everypony gasp in shock. "Now, now, save your gasps for when I defy the beast's jaws of doom and appear inside that black box. I was supposed to perform this trick with my great and powerful assistant, who was also my great and powerful friend!"
Sitting atop the hill was Starlight, being cared for by her Hatterene. The Silent Pokemon wasn't the best at understanding emotions but she was still doing what she could by using her claw to pat Starlight on the back. Along came Twilight to give out an apology.
"Hatt."
"Starlight, when I first came to Ponyville, Princess Celestia gave me room to make my own decisions and my own friends. I need to give you the same freedom. I shouldn't have tried to pick and choose your friends for you. Just like me, you have to make your own decisions and your own friends."
"But... what if Trixie really was using me just to one-up you?"
"From what I've seen, she's the real thing. But it's not my place to judge. It's all up to you."
Trixie had placed herself inside the cannon, putting a helmet on for extra safety. She lit up the cannon's fuse, preparing to fire herself forward. As an extra bonus, she placed berry juice all over her body, causing the Sleeping Pokemon to pay attention to her. In truth, Snorlax wasn't a Pokemon that ate ponies, but instead, if you have any sort of food around your body, chances are, it'll scarf you down in one go.
"Starlight? If you're out there and you still want to be friends, let's be great and powerful together!" Trixie exclaimed, heading deeper in the cannon as her voice echoed. "Please?"
The cannon had finally been fired, launching the blue unicorn forward. Her Misdreavus closed her eyes, unsure if Trixie would actually pull this off. The unicorn let out a scream as she had entered Snorlax mouth, much to everypony's surprise, causing them to gasp. Fluttershy fainted on the spot from the mere sight of it as Snorlax went back to sleep.
But, lo and behold, she was alright. A spark of magic hit the black box, revealing a somewhat tattered up Trixie who had her mane all ruffled up along with her hat and cloak.
Trixie spoke in a woozy voice, unable to properly let out actual grammar. "Behold, the Peat and Growerful Triskie...!" She fell right on the spot as there was a moment of silence.
That silence was broken when everypony had let out cheers for that performance. Misdreavus let out a sigh of relief, glad that her trainer was alright. Along came Starlight who helped her new friend up from the stage floor. She gave Trixie a wink, letting her know that indeed, they are friends still.
"And now, I'm proud to introduce my great and powerful assistant! And best friend. Starlight Glimmer!" Trixie closed the curtains as more resounding cheers filled the area. The two unicorns took a moment to give each other a hug similar to that of a reunion of some sorts. It felt like one anyway.
"Trixie!" Twilight came in.
"What do you want?" Trixie scoffed at her.
"I was wrong. I'm sorry. And I have to hand it to you. I could never have pulled off a trick like that." The words that Twilight spoke were enough to actually make Trixie smile, gaining some more respect between the two.
"Thank you, princess." Trixie took off her hat, bowing down to Twilight. Poking her head outside the curtain along with Starlight, the two had the pleasure of seeing fireworks shoot into the air. In Sinnoh, they say that fireworks are a symbol of relationships continuously building up to form an endless bond.
Speaking of endless, back at Twilight's castle, Goh had fallen asleep along with Sobble since Twilight hadn't returned. His Raboot was kicking up Passion's Mega Stone, Derpy and Wooper finished all the food here, Vinyl was so enchanted by her music that she didn't even notice how much time has passed and Arcanine and Passion were in the same state as Goh and Sobble. Asleep.
"How do you get your hair to do that all the time?" Cranky asked Celestia.
The Sun Princess could only sigh in response. It's a good thing she has her mother's patience.
The start of Starlight's path to making friends continues to grow on. With the newest friend of hers being none other than the Great and Powerful Trixie. An unexpected friend, but they say that the most unexpected tend to be the ones who can form stronger bonds with you. And that surely can be said for people ponies and Pokemon alike as the journey continues!
Chapter 204 End.