Starlight Glimmer and Trixie are trapped in-between worlds. Starlight confesses something to Trixie. Then, Starlight wants a do-over.
An entry in the dialogue-only and Sci-Fi competitions.
Era: Season 8. Index of my stories by Season. Index of my Trixie stories by how obnoxious she is. Here she rates a 1, the most civilized. 
Content Note: References to past encounters, but no detailed descriptions or in-scene intercourse. Consent is examined.
Ref: Schrödinger's Cat. (link).
Cover Art: by Caro Asercion with rights to the cover art discussed at this link.
Chapters (1)
I'd liked it and the unique way of portraying a relationship between Trixie and Starlight Glimmer; the situation of being stuck in a (form of) box worked well for the Dialogue-only contest.
And creating tension/suspense with that format.
Not a fan of the idea that pony biology can lead them to rape, but otherwise an interesting story and format
11907415
I certainly understand why people would not want that to happen! It is a very bad thing.
Some of my stories explore something like Cold in Gardez's tagline of "Stories about ponies are stories about people" but with additional examination of ponyish characteristics melded with human characteristics, to look at important matters from an additional angle.
Thank you for giving the story a try!
For anyone just passing by and seeing the comment before the story: no rape happens in this story but it and consent are discussed (And consent is quite important)! See the content note on the story's landing page.
11905886
Thank you!
11907471
I agree, but also disagree - you added in heat as a concept and reason for Starlight's bad behavior. That's not canon for the show, nor a thing that happens to humans. That breaks the "about people" part of your analogy.
Edit: Even if the claim is that Starlight had abnormal heat, that's *still* not a human-like thing. Humans don't do this. To push the concept over to human territory: Civilized countries have banned the practice of using drugs to suppress sexual urges as being both ineffective and inhumane; therapy and monitoring are considered the humane and appropiate treatment.
tl;dr This breaks analogy with humanity in an uncomfortable way for this version of ponies
11907471
For the record, I think you did a great job with this story. I enjoyed the dynamic between Trixie and Starlight, and the bit where Trixie has to let her down easy is a rough conversation that many humans have been through. I'm not entirely sure why the prior commenter didn't see that connection because it's 100% a very human thing to have happen.
hehe, good way to establish what is going on spatially under the constraints of the format
so true very Trixie
aww how romantic!
hahaha gottem
hehe this is a good bit
oh hey just like Schrödinger’s Box!
ooh, interesting! i am reading this as a serious take on Trixie as being only physically attracted to herself which is very fitting and valid. and maybe what she said earlier is a hint at split attraction, where she is romantically attracted to Starlight but not physically, and that dissonance is something she feels as confusing
and oof! there is a lot to unpack there
and ooh! i admit this is something i also have in my Equestria, and “like an animal?” is literally the exact line an average pony would say in reaction to human allosexuality being described. and dang, so Trixie and Starlight are on two opposite ends of the pony spectrum here
and great way to tie this into Starlight’s canon bottling-up tendencies
and oof! this is something that happens pretty much with complete certainty in human cults, and it is sad to see it happening in Starlight’s pony cult as well. and sad to imagine that it truly is an inevitability with the ingredients involved. (Starlight’s clarifications do shade it into the softer version that has a hope of preserving Starlight’s sympatheticness but she is very right about the power dynamics!)
oh, like seeing background ponies!
aww! and i guess Starlight gets the do-over in the shortdesc, if this really is them not retaining what happened inside the box?
this definitely feels like it is in the same thematic space as “Fairness In Our Town”, though not necessarily set in the same continuity. allosexuality as deviance in the world of the ponies is again a theme that i’ve only seen myself explore so far, and Starlight is a great character to explore it with given her whole deal with the brainwashed cult and all. though i am left wondering if the story ends exactly where it needs to be, having laid out its themes and contrasted its characters, or if there is more to be said here. in either case, i appreciate the themes and the skillful way that the story found to work with the constraints of the dialogue-only form!
11938436
Thank you! I sent some responses in a message; however, to hit some of the easier points here:
Indeed. I feel bad for Trixie on many levels here.
So glad someone noticed.
Yes! They don't remember what happened in the box... which is a Sword of Damocles hanging over their relationship. Their relationship itself is in a figurative Schrodinger's Box.
It has not started in some ways because they have not had the conversation they had in this box.
Once they have the conversation, though, if it goes poorly, they could lose what they already have because they are at opposite polar ends of the spectrum of their experiences. The two of them are a yin and a yang. There is a lot of narrative tension in their dichotomy.
The tragic flaw of their relationship is their personal dichotomy has a high risk of dooming their chance at togetherness.
So, they'd rather stay inside the box, where their chance at a deeper relationship is both alive and dead.
I hope they can get together, though, if not intimately, at least as best of friends for life.
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oh i was wondering what the title was about and that makes a lot of sense! somehow i did not make that connection myself.