Fruition is not pronounced how it looks.
“You know, Starlight, under different circumstances, I would ask how you manage to navigate this place.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I mean, it's such a big castle.”
“Yep.”
“And all of it looks the same.”
“Yes it does.”
“So, I'd imagine that you'd have some clever trick or system for making sure you know where you are.” I sighed heavily when we rounded a corner and saw yet another row of identically green doors. “I didn't think the system would be 'start walking and hope you get lucky'.”
“I swear it's on this floor,” Starlight insisted. She pulled open and promptly closed a door to what looked like a bathroom. “I know it is. It has to be.”
“You're only saying that because we've checked all the others.”
“Actually we haven't. There's another two levels on the main tower. I think. And the basements. I swear to Celestia this place is rearranging itself when I'm not looking.”
“Pft! It's just a castle.”
“Not really. According to Twilight this whole thing grew from a crystal chest that sprouted from the roots of the Tree of Harmony, then flew over to Ponyville on a rainbow, planted itself in the ground and sprouted up in less than a minute.”
“What?”
“Ahah!” Starlight threw open a final door to a bedroom. “Finally! I thought that last bathroom looked familiar.”
“This place grew? How does a castle grow?”
“Magic?” Starlight offered. “I wasn't there. That whole thing happened before I even met Twilight. There's still a lot I don't know about Ponyville. I maaay not be getting out as much as I'm supposed to,” she added sheepishly.
“When I'm here I usually only leave my wagon to work, to buy food or to spend time with you. The spa visit was a spur of the moment thing.”
A moment of slightly awkward silence followed which Starlight mercifully broke.
“So! This is my room. It's, uh… a room.” She wasn't wrong. “A bedroom.” Again, accurate. I could see the bed. “And, er-” Okay, that was enough of that. Time to intervene.
“Starlight?”
She turned eagerly, relief written all over her face. “Yes?”
I levitated my hat off and pulled the small, blue-and-snowflake wrapped box from within. I stuck it out a bit too close to her muzzle.
“Happy Hearth's Warming.”
Starlight stared at the gift in bewilderment. Her horn stayed conspicuously unlit.
“You,” she began, voice oddly flat. “You got me a present?” I ignored the bead of sweat that decided this was a wonderful time to take a trip down the side of my face. I kept my hooves planted and tried not to flick my tail visibly while I waited. And waited. And waited.
After far too long, she charged her horn and took hold of the box instead. Slowly, methodically, she undid the bow, unfolded the wrapping paper, and set both aside. She took a deep breath and pulled the top half of the flat, white box off.
“...Are these--?”
“Vouchers for a full course of treatments at the Ponyville Day Spa?” I asked excitedly. “As a matter of fact, yes!” My new smile faltered when her expression registered in my brain.
Starlight wasn't smiling.
She was cringing.
“Starlight?” She turned away, present still held in her magic as she walked across the room and sat down on the floor. This wasn't how she was supposed to react. She was supposed to be happy. Ponies were supposed to like getting gifts. I knew Starlight liked the spa because she'd told me that herself when we'd first met there. Why wouldn't she like a free visit? What had I done wrong?
“Don't you like it?” I asked. She winced.
“I… it's great, Trixie. Really, it's great.”
“You've got a funny way of looking grateful then,” I snapped. “I went out of my way to do something nice and-” Starlight flinched harder than ever. “Starlight, what's going on?” She looked over her withers, and all at once her face was a mask of rage.
“What's going on!?” she snapped. “You hauled your wagon all the way to Ponyville in the snow. You bought me a great gift. You even tried to make peace with one of my other friends! And all I did was- was-!” She looked away and slumped forward. The anger drained out of her along with her magic, letting the present drop onto the floor next to her. “...was give you a lousy tour.”
Plan B it was. Quickly. I started to walk across the room towards her.
“It wasn't that bad,” I said. “It was pretty funny when all those brooms fell on you.”
“Gee. Thanks. I feel sooo much better now.”
Stupid mouth! Stupid stupid stupid--!
“What I mean is… thanks.” I stopped next to her and sat down a hoof or two to her right. Starlight looked up. “For inviting me to the party, and for…” Her dresser had some very interesting workmareship now that I gave it my undivided attention. “...not letting me chicken out or ruin it.”
“I should have invited you weeks ago,” she countered. “I should have gotten you something.” There it was. Time for the final gambit.
“You still can.”
“It's kinda too late to go shopping. I'm pretty sure most of the shopkeepers in Ponyville are downstairs right now.”
“Well… I am rather fond of some of the local businesses, one of them in particular. You might have heard of it. The Ponyville Day Spa? And, well, I couldn't help but notice that you have an extra voucher on your hooves...”
She blinked at me. Her eyes darted down to the pair of vouchers on the floor then back up to my face. I raised an eyebrow and flashed her a lopsided smile.
Come on... come on…
The vouchers floated off the floor in a pale green aura, one of them drifting over towards me. Starlight smiled hesitantly. “You… wanna go to the spa with me?”
Victory!
“Well..." I took hold of the voucher. "If you're offering.”
“Happy Hearth's Warming?”
I grinned and gave her shoulder a playful bump with my hoof. “Happy Hearth's Warming.”
She hesitated a moment, then leaned across and threw her foreleg around me and pulled me into a tight hug and… nuzzle. Heat immediately flooded my cheeks. Sweet Celestia, what if somepony walked in on us? The two of us, sitting on the floor in Starlight's bedroom, on Hearth's Warming Eve, hugging and nuzzling? I'd never live it down. I'd be the Soft and Sentimental Trixie! The... Huggy and Nuzzly Trixie! Little Miss Friendship would have a field day!
...But, on the other hoof, Starlight Glimmer.
I put my own foreleg around her and, a little awkwardly, nuzzled back.
No contest.
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- Epic Fable · 3.1k words · 538 views
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A very cute, worthwhile story! I liked how both Trixie and Starlight were handled and all the awkwardness of two ponies with stunted social experience. These two still have a ways to go but it's little steps like these that gets them to journey's end.
Thanks for it!
8669213
I'm glad you enjoyed it. A theme of the series I've noticed is the understanding that nopony ever truly gets rid of their faults, they just learn how to manage them. That's what I was hoping to illustrate in this story. Trixie is always going to be a little self-centered, leap before she looks, and say things that she really probably shouldn't. It's a matter of being self aware enough to catch herself before she hurts anyone. ...Or learning to apologize afterward and help clean up the mess. She and Starlight both have room to grow on those fronts.
Thanks again for reading!
8669375
When it comes to power magnitude we can only make guesses which then get complicated when you try to account for circumstance, skill, and whatever rock/paper/scissors effects might possibly be involved. Then the whole "strengthened by emotions" thing...
It's probably safe to assume though that the average pony thinks of an alicorn as being at the top of ponykind simply by virtue of it being a status that has to be earned and, as you said, by looking at Celestia. The laypony might well not be any better informed about the details than a viewer of the show. They just know alicorns are in some way stronger, even if it's just because they can do more than just one kind of magic by virtue of having wings and horns. Plus, like Spike said, most unicorns only bother with a few spells related to their talent. Pegasai seem to treat and use theirs like physical exercise and I'm not sure what, if anything, has really been said about earth pony magic beyond "strength" and vague implications of farming prowess. Not sure they've ever addressed how Spike's magic works and I get the idea that nopony has the slightest idea about Discord's.
End of the day, the nature and strengths of magic just aren't the main point of the show so fan writers just have to kind of muddle through on their own best instinct.
The Huggy and Nuzzly Trixie it is!
8675925
Yeah. Imagine if Tirek had been able to do things like teleport and Discord's reality bending abilities. Twilight would have been screwed. All he would have had to do is snap his fingers and bye bye horn and wings. Heck, if he had full control of Discords powers, he could have just snapped his fingers and taken the alicorn magic that way.
I wonder if the sisters and The Mane 6 ever realize just how lucky they are that Discord never takes anything seriously.
9305267
Hey, no worries! This is the kind of story I wish we'd see more of on the site, so good job, and I'm glad my suggestions are helpful to you! Happy Thanksgiving!
9305313
Extremely helpful. I'd been having trouble focusing on anything for weeks and I've just spent the last hour writing and editing. Thank you so much!
Happy Thanksgiving!
That line was cute.
"I actually rather liked this one. You write Trixie really well, and..." *realizes this is a multiple chapters story and not a one-shot* "Um... hold on a second, I appear to have missed a passage or two..."
Double LOL.
Aww, poor Twixie.
"I know that feel, bro."
*stifled snicker*
Haha!
That's Fluttershy alright. 
I have a friend who read that book! *Imagines myself as instantly perceived as a more refined and cultured an individual*
Starlight:
That ending.
Awwwww! 
Okay, that's gotta be like... the best Trixie and Starlight friendship story ever. Very well-written, engaging, and sweet. Not to mention all the delightful, on-point bits of humor throughout. 
Your Trixie is really likeable, actually. And you incorporated a bunch of these little details about her memory of episode events from her point of view, many of which would be easy to overlook or forget when you're taking things in from simply an audience perspective.
This story is easily, crazily underrated.
Terrific work! 👍
9680681
Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I actually started working on an overhaul of this one a while back following some very detailed critique I was given in the comments of Chapter 1. I got distracted by other projects but I take a stab at it from time to time, but I never quite decided if I'd ever post it or how.
This was wonderful. Trixie's first-person voice was excellent. You did a great job with Starlight and Trixie's relationship. I really enjoyed this, grammatical flubs I mentioned in Chapter 1 notwithstanding.
9683742
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thank you for all the feedback. I'm especially glad to hear that Trixie's voice worked in first-person. I debated a lot about going first or third back when I wrote this. I'll keep working on my grammar issues.
The awkwardness between Trixie and Starlight was really well handled, as was Trixie meeting (and avoiding) everyone at the party. Nicely done :)
11677658
Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.