The next day dawned, too early as ever; but they all did, nowadays. You had to be ready for an attack at any time, and leaving up protective spells overnight often left them drained the next day. So they had to go old-school, hiding their wagon in brush, climbing into trees to sleep, waking up before dawn, the works.
They left Chief Thunderhooves after a quick breakfast, loaded down with all of the supplies that the Chief and his herd could spare. It wasn’t a lot, but it was appreciated; it wasn’t like they could stop by the market in Appaloosa. Their trip that day was a long one, made longer because they couldn’t take the main roads. There was another small village up ahead, one that should be well ahead of the Storm Guard’s advance, one they hoped they could evacuate without the need for a lot of conflict. Trixie knew they needed to rescue the ponies, but Starlight Glimmer had explained that without the slave labor that the Storm King would extract from them, his army would be considerably weakened when it came to the inevitable battle with Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. (“... And because we need to rescue the ponies, of course,” Starlight Glimmer had added hastily.)
They hid the wagon a few miles away from town, and approached with extreme caution. They’d grown used to the Storm King’s army’s warning signs over the past weeks, as short of a time as it was. There would usually be signs of the road being tromped down by many feet, and deep tracks where their wagon wheels had ground into the dirt. They also favored fruit, and they’d leave peels and other waste along the roads they passed over. This road held no sign of any army approaching at all, and so while Trixie and Starlight Glimmer approached cautiously, it seemed to be for naught.
Still, the town was eerily quiet when they entered; there should have been foals playing, or markets bustling, or something.
“Something is wrong,” Starlight Glimmer murmured, her eyes darting from window to window. “Someone should be here.”
“Maybe they all went on vacation?” Trixie suggested hopefully, and when Starlight’s mood didn’t lift, she spoke a little more seriously. “Maybe the Storm King already came through here. Maybe we’re too late.”
“But we would have seen signs of the struggle, or the army,” Starlight Glimmer muttered, slowing as they crossed a broad plaza, made all the wider for how empty it was. “It’s almost too perfect, like - Trixie, RUN!”
But it was too late; by the time Starlight Glimmer realized what it must be, the net was thrown over them, trapping the pair tightly within. Starlight Glimmer fought ferociously, but her horn fizzled and sparked before it went dark. “Magic proof rope! Trixie - we have to get out!”
“I’ll chew my way out!” Trixie roared, her voice already muffled as her mouth was full of rope.
A group of Storm Guards rushed at them from the shadowed alleyways, quickly clamping the harsh, magic-proof chains around their hooves and horns.
“No!” Starlight Glimmer cried, thrashing in their harsh, simian grips. “You can’t! You - can’t!”
“You’ve been a thorn in our sides for some time,” growled an unfamiliar voice, “Starlight Glimmer.”
The Storm Guard that emerged from the shadows was larger, stood more upright, and had a cruel scar over his left eye. He wore a different color on his shoulder to indicate his higher rank, Starlight Glimmer assumed. “The Storm King had to send me personally to capture you two, and the Storm King can always count on his captain.”
“Mrrghph! Mrrph!!” Trixie snarled, her mouth still full of rope.
“Take them away,” the Storm Captain sneered, waving his hand idly as the Storm Guard grabbed a hold of the chains, and began dragging the pair away together. “No - take the purple one with the townsfolk. We’ll take the blue one with us. Keeping them at the same labor camp is just begging for an uprising. The Storm King will deal with their punishments personally.”
“NO!” Starlight Glimmer howled, twisting in their grips so fiercely it drove the massive Storm Guards to their knees trying to hold onto her. “You can’t! You - You can’t take Trixie away from me!” She scrambled on the cobblestones, scraping her knees and elbows as she fought to stay next to Trixie. “Please! I’ll do anything - don’t take her away!”
The Storm Captain was smirking as he slowly turned back to look at the pair, the purple one’s expression twisted especially with agony. “How embarrassing.”
“Please, I beg of you. I’ll - I’ll be quiet, I’ll do whatever you want, just - just don’t hurt her. Don’t separate us.” Starlight Glimmer’s humiliation was pushed so far into the back of her mind that she hardly even heard the words she babbled. Something had to make him listen, there had to be something to keep this from happening.
Trixie was looking back and forth between Starlight Glimmer and the Storm Captain rapidly, trying to gauge her play. “Yeah! Don’t split us up!!” she agreed, although her voice wasn’t twisted with the same heartbreak that Starlight’s was.
The Storm Captain watched for a moment, then rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively at their handlers. “Let them say goodbye, then, if it will keep the weeping to a minimum on the ride to the labor camp. Prepare my carriage.”
The tears burned hot where they suddenly broke through, and Starlight Glimmer’s body went slack as she wailed. Her head dropped, and it wasn’t until a soft hoof slowly lifted it up that she opened her eyes again.
“It’ll be okay, Glimmy. Don’t cry.” Trixie’s voice was soft, and Starlight could see that she’d accepted, at last, that they had lost. There were tears there, too, but she had swallowed them back for Starlight’s sake. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Tr - Trixie, I don’t - if I don’t - if I don’t see you again, you have to know. You have to!” Starlight Glimmer choked out, fighting to regain control of herself. It was hard, with her hooves chained and her heart breaking, but she managed to get her legs under herself. “I love you, Trixie. I love you so much.”
Trixie’s eyes lit with sudden recognition, and she offered Starlight Glimmer a tiny wink. “Oh! A Romantic Declaration?! How unexpected! How astounding! You cannot chain and enslave and separate Two Fated Lovers! The cruelty would be - astounding, even for you, foul villains!” Trixie proclaimed theatrically, enunciating and projecting for a crowd, gesturing with her chains.
“No - no, Trixie, this isn’t a gambit!” Starlight Glimmer insisted, and she reached out, grabbing her chained hooves with her own.
“True Love can never be a mere gambit, Starlight Glimmer!” Trixie intoned dramatically, tossing her mane despite the chains.
“Listen to me! I - I love you!” Starlight Glimmer gasped, and considered her warm grin for a split second before she reached up with both hooves to grab Trixie’s face and drag her into a kiss.
Her mouth was so soft, and so startled; it was so much softer than she ever could have dreamed of. And warm, too; she hadn’t expected the warmth. She could feel Trixie’s mouth open against hers in surprise, then slowly settle back down, returning the pressure. Something warm was burning inside of Starlight Glimmer, the same warmth she felt on her face whenever Trixie praised her, or shot her one of those special glances, the one that made her feel like they shared a secret. But this warmth felt like it was going to burn her up, and when Trixie opened her mouth to catch Starlight Glimmer’s bottom lip between her own, that warmth exploded into a wildfire that couldn’t be contained by her body alone.
When Starlight Glimmer opened her eyes to pull away, she was no longer in chains; they sat in the center of the square, but the Storm Guard had been knocked back almost thirty feet, and the Storm Captain was struggling to get upright.
“Seize them!” the Storm Captain roared, clearly rattled. “We cannot let them escape!”
“Kiss me again,” Trixie whispered, and something in her voice made shivers break out all over Starlight Glimmer’s coat.
Trixie’s mouth hung open a little the second time Starlight Glimmer moved towards her, anticipating her touch, and Starlight Glimmer could feel the sparks before their lips even met. As she took her turn to capture Trixie’s bottom lip between her own, she felt their horns connect, and this time she was fully aware of the magical shockwave that exploded from their connected bodies.
For a few blissful moments, there was no one else in the world; only Trixie and Starlight, connected in their kiss, their breath intermingling. Slowly, breathing a little harder, Starlight Glimmer pulled back, opening her eyes to look around.
They were no longer surrounded by Storm Guards; they weren’t even in the town. They were in a flowering meadow, somewhere up high, because below them they could see a valley where a tiny village stood in the distance. They could see the road to the village, and even further away, the silhouette of Canterlot on the mountainside.
“Wh … Where are we?” Starlight Glimmer whispered breathlessly, and caught a heavy look from Trixie. “It’s - it’s not on purpose!” she hissed, and cleared her throat, nervously pushing a strand of her mane behind her ear.
“Trixie wasn’t complaining.” Trixie offered, and her slow grin made Starlight Glimmer laugh, breaking some of the nervous tension.
“That was big magic.” Starlight Glimmer added after a moment, and slowly moved her foreleg, so she could lay her hoof over Trixie’s. Trixie moved her hoof in kind, so she could cradle hers. “Those were magic-proof chains.”
“It was.” Trixie agreed, and swallowed, trying to watch Starlight Glimmer from under her eyelashes. “It was the truth, wasn’t it?”
“... do you want it not to be?” Starlight Glimmer was whispering again, but this time it didn’t make Trixie shiver.
“No. Quite the opposite.” Trixie whispered back to her, and gave her hoof a gentle squeeze. “Did you try to tell me yesterday?”
Starlight Glimmer dropped her eyes away from Trixie’s face, but finally gave a small, tight nod. “I wanted … I just wanted to ask if you could ever like me. I thought - love might be too much at first.”
Trixie considered Starlight Glimmer for a moment, then reached out with her free hoof, slowly guiding Starlight’s face back to meet her gaze. “Love isn’t too much. Not if it’s you.”
Starlight Glimmer’s tense mouth curled into a smile, and she sagged visibly as relief flooded her body.
“I love you too, Glimmy.” Trixie murmured, relieved when Starlight’s wide, happy smile returned to her face.
“Really?” Starlight snuffled, rubbing away a few tears that escaped.
“Oh, don’t cry Glimmy! That was horrible - I hated it when you started crying.” Trixie murmured, her brows twisting.
“It’s okay, they’re happy - h-happy tears! Trixie!” Starlight Glimmer gasped, protesting weakly as Trixie leaned close to begin peppering her face with light kisses.
“Mm, it’s my job to kiss away your tears now, isn’t it?” Trixie giggled, peppering even more kisses over her muzzle, her jaw, and up to her forehead. “Because I’m your Grrrreat and Powerrrrful Fillyfrrrriend, -”
“Trrrrrrrixie!” Starlight Glimmer sang out the last word, laughing as Trixie bowled her over, smothering her with kisses. “If you’re not careful, we might make that big magic again and level the mountain!”
“Who cares? Maybe it’ll land on those stinky Storm Guards!” Trixie laughed, and Starlight Glimmer joined her, their laughter mingling in the sweet-scented mountain air.