Signs of change weren't supposed to be quite so literal. Or at least, that's what Starlight thought.
But there was no denying that the one she was looking at - FOR SALE in bright red letters on a whitewashed board - was a signal of a shifting future.
Of course, her reaction to uncertainty was her old faithful standby: sarcasm.
"Not going to just find Hoo'far again?"
Beside her, Trixie let out a half laugh, half snort. "And go all the way to Saddle Arabia to give it to him? Trixie thinks not. She would lose bits on the travel expenses alone. Her wagon is excellent but even she understands basic economics."
"I'm still sorry about that, you know."
Leaning over, Trixie patted Starlight's shoulder. "Trixie knows. She will never let you forget it at any point where it is to her advantage to remind you of it, but she knows."
That got a proper laugh from Starlight. At least, before it faded away to awkward silence.
"Trixie will miss it. The wagon has served her well, but she doesn't need it anymore." Airily, Trixie waved at the gently bustling Ponyville around the Castle's yard. "Out there is sure to be a pony who will find it useful and return the wagon to its natural habitat of the open road."
Slowly, Starlight nodded in agreement. "I'm sure it will make some pony happy." She hesitated - but Trixie didn't launch a smarmy retort, leaving them instead in an awkward lull. "I... guess it doesn't make you happy anymore," came the lame silence-filler far too long later.
The showmare shook her head. "Oh no. It does make Trixie happy." A wain smile passed over her face. "She has a lot of memories with that wagon. Most of them are even good, which she never expected."
"Never expected?" The words lept out of Starlight's mouth before she put thought to them - much to her embarrassment. Of course Trixie wouldn't have expected good memories when she first got the wagon. She'd gotten it at one of the lowest points in her life, after the incident with the Alicorn Amulet and before meeting Starlight.
But rather than dwell on that, Trixie simply nodded. "Never expected," she repeated with a wistful sigh. "Like so many of the things that have happened to Trixie since." She leaned to the side, pressing her weight against the suddenly blushing Starlight. "But Trixie also understands that simply because something sparks joy, she is not beholden to it forever. What's that old saying? If you love something, let it go?"
Starlight shifted uneasily - but not too much, since she didn't want Trixie to move away. "I guess this just seems so sudden. I mean, without it how are you going to get all of the props to your next show?"
And that's when Trixie dropped her second bomb. "What next show?" She said it with simplicity and without guile - Starlight actually wasn't able to parse it for moment, leaving her simply struck dumb.
Until she managed to squeak out a question in response. "You're--" Starlight stopped herself, clearing her throat to get back to her normal timbre. "You're giving up performing?"
Trixie nodded, eyes not leaving her beloved wagon.
"Trixie, you can't!" Panic exploded into Starlight's voice. "Show business is your life! You've always been a mare of the road - how can you give that up?" Pulling away, she stared incredulously at her bestest bestie. "A-All those times! The energy of the crowd, the praise! That little thrill you get when you nail a trick perfectly!"
"Still amazing," Trixie agreed, her face as joyful as when she was basking in a crowd's adoration. "Trixie will miss it. There is indeed little that can match the energy of ponies who believe and are absorbed into a show. She can remember a great many days when that was what made her get up in the morning." For just a moment, her face went dark. "...Too many days where it was the only thing."
Almost instinctively, Starlight hugged her marefriend. This wasn't the first time Trixie's dark past had caught up with her.
But at least this time, it didn't stick. Trixie's smile was tinged with sadness, but it was there. "But that's the past." She kissed Starlight's nose. "It certainly isn't the future."
"But it could be!" Starlight squeezed Trixie tighter. "I mean, the performing part. It makes you happy and the passion you've got for it is frankly adorable and--"
Trixie put a hoof over Starlight's mouth to stop her. "Starlight. Did I ever tell you the one part of your dark past that always makes me feel better?"
Confusion washed over her face and Starlight shook her head.
"It was your trips to the future with Twilight," Trixie explained. She shifted back, moving out of Starlight's embrace. "Trixie-- I know that seeing those was horrible - and I know they still haunt you. I'm not blind enough to miss how you shiver in bed when the nightmares catch up with you. But every time you tell the story, it makes me feel better."
"From the schadenfreude?" Starlight snarked.
Trixie gave her a small shove. "No. Because every one of those horrible futures was the fault of some arch-enemy of Twilight's, like Nightmare Moon or Chrysalis. All of them caused one of those horrible, apocalyptic futures." Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. "All of them except me."
Starlight's lips went dry. "Trixie…"
Her concern was met with a small smile. "There's been so many times you've told me that I'm not a bad pony, just that I've made some bad choices. But that? That is so much more. In alternate futures, Discord destroyed the world. Sombra destroyed the world. Flim and Flam destroyed the world. Trixie… didn't." The tears started to flow - but happy ones, as Trixie choked out a little laugh. "In all those alternate futures, I'm the only one who didn't destroy the world."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Starlight got it. "Because you're a good pony."
Trixie nodded. "Because I'm a good pony."
The hug resumed as Starlight lunged. "I always told you that you were."
They held together for a minute more before Trixie pulled back again. "Yeah. And that's part of why I'm selling my wagon. Because of my future and because of who I am in my heart. It's…" She halted briefly, searching for the right words. "Who I am is not who I was, Starlight. I love performing. I always will. But my life isn't on the road anymore. It used to be that I was happy to hitch my wagon up and head to the next town for another show." Reaching out, Trixie took Starlight's hooves in hers. "Now I just think about how much I miss being home."
"But you always said the wagon was home. That the road was--" Starlight got halfway through the sentence before understanding the subtext.
Trixie took out the sub- part. "Equestria's greatest and most powerful wandering magician has put down roots. Because she found something - somepony - who was worth it."
The tender moment hung between them as they both gazed deeply into the other's eyes.
"That's you," Trixie needlessly clarified with a wink.
"I guessed that," Starlight admitted, voice thick with snark.
"I'll still perform occasionally," Trixie continued airly. "But the shows will be here." She laughed a little. "My dad always said that the last stage of a performer's career is when you start doing residency shows. I just always assumed it would be Las Pegasus in my fifties."
Slowly, Starlight nodded along with her. "Right, right. Makes sense." She paused. And couldn't help a little devil's smile. "So I take it you'll be looking to rent a room somewhere? Because I know that Friendship School Guidance Counselor doesn't pay that much. Maybe we could work out an extra stipend or something."
Trixie glared angrily - for about three seconds. Then they broke out into laughter again. "Just for that, you're making breakfast tomorrow."
Starlight mockingly saluted.
"Uhh, excuse me." They both turned to the speaker - a lanky bronze unicorn colt and his pudgy teal companion. The more squat of the two was inspecting the wagon while the taller had approached Trixie. "This is for sale?" He asked the question while standing directly next to the large sign that stated FOR SALE.
Instantly the performer in Trixie burst out again. "Why yes! This wagon has belonged to the Great and Powerful Trixie, the greatest magician in all of Equestria!" A small firework burst behind her as she swept her cape wide. "But as she is taking up new duties, this wagon is available for a steal!"
The colt's eyes narrowed in deep thought - an obviously unfamiliar situation for him. "How much is a steal?"
Trixie draped a hoof over his shoulder and failed to answer his question. "Come now, tell Trixie - what do you want to use this wagon for?"
"Well, I dunno if you remember but I'm Snails," he explained slowly and in spite of the fact that Trixie knew quite well who he was. "I'm a professional buckball player now! So me and my manager - that's Snips, if you remember him - we're gonna have to go on the road to games all over Equestria! So we saw the sign and thought maybe it could be our home away from home?"
Trixie smiled at him - a true one. "Trixie assures you - that wagon is perfect for that."