The night was cloudless, not too chilly, and there was a slightly sweet smell from the warm summer air as it carried the scent of hundreds of flowers through the meadow. Trixie’s mane bobbed every so often as a warm breeze blew past. Laying flat on her back, her hooves resting behind her head as her hind legs stretched out. She was using her cape as a makeshift blanket, laying on it like as if she was at a picnic, and her hat rested a few inches to the side, looking a little sad as it flopped over.
Trixie breathed in through her nostrils, enjoying the flowery air. Night had closed in quite some time ago, and with the sky being so clear she could start to see all the stars winking into view. As the sky great brighter and brighter, with the light of countless stars, Trixie smiled to herself. A lovely night was about to begin.
“Hey, you!” said a voice from behind Trixie. Caught off guard by the sudden noise, Trixie sat up and swiveled around to see the approaching pony.
A twinkle passed through Trixie’s eyes as she realized who it was. “Hey, Twilight,” she said, smiling at the other pony as she stood up to greet her. It looked like Twilight must have flown in because she was still tucking her wings away when she approached Trixie.
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting you, but I was on my way home and happened to see you here, so I thought I’d say hi,” said Twilight with a nervous laugh. She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, grinning at Trixie.
“Are you always on your way home so late?” asked Trixie with a sly grin, her eyebrow raised slightly.
Twilight laughed softly. “Well, actually, I was just trying to collect some samples from the lightning bugs in the forest just over there. I’ve been curious about them for awhile, and they only come out on cloudless nights, so…” she trailed off. “It doesn’t really matter anyway.”
Trixie put a hoof over her mouth, giggling quietly. “I’m sure it was all very interesting,” she said.
Twilight took a few steps closer to Trixie, casting her eyes up at the sky where Trixie had been looking previously. “So, what are you doing out this late? And where’s your caravan?”
“Oh, it’s just down the road,” said Trixie, waving her hoof in the direction Twilight had come from. “I just like to come stargaze some nights when it’s warm is all.”
“Really?” said Twilight, cocking her head to the side. “I didn’t really expect that from you.”
Trixie cocked her head back at Twilight, returning the gesture. “Why not?”
“It’s a little…” Twilight made small circles with her hoof as she searched for the right word. “Boring, I guess?”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Really? I think it’s really interesting,” she said with a little shrug.
Twilight quickly waved her hooves back and forth. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean—I think it’s really interesting too, actually. I just meant that I didn’t think you would…”
Trixie’s eyebrow rose a little further.
Twilight chuckled. “Actually, forget I said that. I think it’s interesting too.”
Trixie gave a little chuckle along with Twilights and then turned her gaze back towards the sky. A smile played its way across her lips as she watched yet another dozen and a half stars shine their light bright enough to finally be seen. “I started doing this when I was really little,” she said, not necessarily to Twilight, but perhaps just to the night itself. “When I was a kid, I used to come out at night, after my parents had gone to sleep, and would sneak off to a clearing in the woods to stargaze.” Trixie’s gaze fell back to the ground as she absentmindedly played with a pink flower by her hooves.
Tracing Trixie’s gaze back towards the sky, Twilight took a few more steps closer to Trixie, now only a few inches away. “I know how that is,” she said. “I didn’t exactly sneak away like you,” she said with a giggle, “but I’ve been stargazing for a long time as well.”
“My older sister,” Trixie began, glancing sideways at Twilight, “she used to joke and say that someday I was going to be a star.” She gave a slightly bittersweet laugh. “I suppose I became something like that.”
Twilight watched Trixie silently for a bit, waiting for her to continue.
Noticing Twilight watching her, Trixie turned back towards the sky, quickly saying, “Sorry, I don’t mean to give you my whole life story. I just feel nostalgic whenever I stargaze. It reminds me of growing up.”
“No, it’s fine,” said Twilight, shaking her head. “You don’t need to apologize.” Taking a little step closer to Trixie, and putting her hoof comfortingly on her back, she added, “I know how you feel.” With a wistful look in her eye, Twilight, said, “My brother and I used to stargaze on nights like this. When the clouds are gone and the summer air warms your heart, nothing feels better than lying on the grass and stargazing.” She gave a warm smile to Trixie, and received a warm smile back.
Trixie let out a subdued sigh. “The truth is, Twilight, I came out here to think.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Twilight, taking her hoof off Trixie’s back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can leave if you—”
“No,” said Trixie, suddenly turning back to face Twilight. “I mean, no, that’s okay. I don’t mind you staying here.” She gave a half-hearted laugh. “I was a little lonely out here anyway.”
Twilight’s face lit up with a wide smile. “Oh! In that case, would you like to stargaze together?” Trixie nodded, and Twilight trotted up beside her. The pair of ponies sat down on the grass and turned their gazes skyward. Resting on Trixie’s makeshift picnic blanket, it wasn’t too uncomfortable, all thing considered.
They were quiet for a minute or two before Twilight finally broke the silence by saying, “Hey, do you wanna know something cool?”
Trixie turned her head to look at Twilight. The other mare’s face looked like a schoolfilly’s with how excited she appeared. Trixie couldn’t help but smile in return. “What’s that?” she finally asked.
Twilight lifted a hoof, pointing to one of the brighter stars in the sky. It sat at the bottom of a constellation that Trixie couldn’t remember the name of, but she recognized the star in any case.
“That’s Polaris,” Trixie said, nodding at the star. “What about it?”
Twilight grinned. “Have you ever wondered how far away it is? Sometimes, doesn’t it just look like you could reach out and grab it with your hooves?”
A confused expression crossed Trixie’s face. “I’ve never wondered, no. I just know it’s really far away is all.”
“Well,” said Twilight in the tone of voice that sounded like she was about to give a lecture, “you were correct in saying that is Polaris. Polaris is the closest star to our solar system, and it’s about the same age as ours as well, but even though it looks very bright, it’s actually twenty-four trillion nine-hundred twenty-five billion three-hundred seventy-two million two-hundred ninety-four thousand eight-hundred and ninety-three miles away. Or, four point two-four light years for short,” she said with a chuckle.
Trixie stared at Twilight for a bit. “Do you just know that?”
Waving her hoof nonchalantly, Twilight said, “I memorized the distance years ago to impress my classmates when I was a filly.” She looked at Trixie. “Did it work?”
Despite herself, Trixie gave a hearty laugh. “Yes, it did.”
The two ponies shared a good laugh and then silence fell again for a short time. Eventually, as she watched a star shoot across the sky, Twilight asked, “What were you out here thinking about?” She turned her head slightly to look at Trixie as she answered.
However, Trixie didn’t look back at Twilight. Her gaze was fixed on the sky, like she was lost deep in thought. Twilight considered asking her again, but before she had much time to think about it, Trixie finally replied, “I was thinking about you, actually.”
Twilight was slightly taken aback. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Trixie, her eyes still not turning to meet Twilight’s, scanned the canopy of stars above them. A breeze rustled past. “You’re the Princess of Friendship now, right?”
“Well, I have the horn and wings for it, so I guess so,” said Twilight lightheartedly.
Finally, Trixie turned around and looked at Twilight. Her face was serious, but her eyes soft. “Do you think you could teach me about friendship?”
Her voice like a bell, Twilight laughed goodnaturedly. “Of course I can, silly! That’s basically my job description.”
Trixie’s cheeks tinged with red as she smiled back at Twilight. She was about to respond and thank Twilight when the other mare stepped in with a sudden question.
A deadly serious look in her eyes, Twilight suddenly unfurled her wings and stood up. Looking down at Trixie, her expression softening slightly, she said, “First lesson then, trust.” She winked at Trixie. “So, do you trust me?”
Trixie stood up with Twilight, looking a little confused. She glanced around, then back over her shoulder at the sky. Her gaze finally falling back on Twilight, she finally said, “What do you mean?”
Twilight repeated herself. “Do you trust me?”
With a firm nod, Trixie replied, “Yes.”
Her serious expression fully softening into a warm smile, Twilight held out her hoof and said, “Then take my hoof.”
Trixie was about to ask why, but then thought better of it, figuring that she would likely find out why in just a moment anyway. Lifting her hoof and placing it in Twilight’s, Trixie couldn’t help but blush. Twilight’s hoof was warm to the touch and it somehow made Trixie feel good.
“Hold tight,” said Twilight, locking eyes with Trixie and giving her a reassuring smile. “This might get a little rough.”
Before Trixie had a chance to ask any clarifying questions, the scenery around her melted into the air, and then the air itself melted into a pure white blur. The blur encompassed them, swirling around at impossible speeds as Trixie occasionally caught glimpses of colors other than white. All the spinning was starting to make Trixie feel a tiny bit nauseous when suddenly, poof!. Everything came to a grinding halt and Trixie suddenly noticed they weren’t in the meadow anymore. In fact, they didn’t even seem to be in Equestria anymore.
“Where are we?” asked Trixie, regretting the question almost instantly as she finally got her bearing and started to look around. The grass beneath her hooves, the warm summer air, the slightly sweet breeze, all of it was gone. Instead there was black. Trixie tried to turn around and found that she had no grip on the ground, or anything for that matter, and it was only at this precise moment she realized she was upside down relative to Twilight.
Twilight looked down at Trixie, smiling as she stuck a hoof out for Trixie to grab onto. “Well, you might not believe it, but we’re at Polaris,” she said as Trixie grabbed her hoof and was spun around.
As she recovered from her spin, Trixie finally got a good look at her surroundings and realized that, almost inconceivably, Twilight was right, or at least she probably was. The massive ball of burning gas slowly rotating before them really could have been any star for all she knew. The bigger issue of course was she was now floating in space near a star. Trixie’s eyes shot wide open.
“Twilight, what did you do?”
“Well…” Twilight began, blushing a little as she lazily spun around. “Funny thing about that, heh. You know that unicorn teleportation spell? So, it turns out that all you have to do is manipulate the equation a bit, adjust the variables to account for extreme distances, solve for relativity, add in a little breathing spell so you don’t asphyxiate, carry the one, and well…” She threw her hooves out wide. “Here we are!”
Trixie’s brow furrowed as a comet shot past her in the distance. Having spun all the way back around to being roughly on the same axial plane as Twilight, Trixie said, “But how does—actually, nevermind.” Trixie waved her hoof dismissively. “I think it’s best if I don’t know.”
Her mane spreading out like it was underwater, Twilight extended one wing and gave a tiny flap to spin back towards Trixie. “To tell the truth,” she said, pausing a bit. Her gaze drifted as lazily as her body, but stopped when she locked eyes with Trixie. “You’re the first pony I’ve gotten to share this with.”
Cheeks reddening, Trixie didn’t break her gaze from Twilight, though her body continued to spin around. “That’s... “ she trailed off. Finally, with a little smile and a wave of her hoof to swipe her flowing mane from her face, Trixie said, “Thank you, Twilight.”
Grinning ear to ear, Twilight extended both wings and propelled herself into a loop, tumbling through space. With a little laugh, she said, “I’ve been able to do this for awhile now, but there was nopony to share it with.” Her hooves splayed out like she was doing a backstroke through water, Twilight rolled over and gazed at some of the more distant stars. “It’s a little lonely being out here by yourself.”
Brushing her mane from her face again, Trixie lit up her horn and shot a tiny bolt of magic to spin herself back towards Polaris. She watched as the flames writhed across the surface of the star, occasionally little tufts curled outwards like a tentacle, then quickly dissipated into the inky blackness of the surrounding space. “I know what you mean,” said Trixie, continuing to watch the star’s surface pulsate as fire danced across it.
“It’s kind of wild to think that this star is made from the same stuff as you and me,” said Twilight, flapping her wings until she glided up beside Trixie. “Somewhere out there, there is a star dying right now, but in dying it’s going to give life to countless other celestial bodies, and maybe even if it’s really lucky, something like us.”
Trixie didn’t respond. She didn’t really know what to say. All she could do was meet Twilight’s gaze and give her a smile back when the other mare smiled at her.
Reaching her hoof out towards Trixie, Twilight said, “Do you want to see something else?”
Trixie nodded happily, putting her hoof in Twilight’s. “I’d love to.”
In a second, Polaris melted away into space as everything formed into a white ball like before and began circling them at incredible speed. This time, however, Trixie didn’t feel dizzy. In fact, she wasn’t even watching to light spin around. Instead, her eyes were fixed on Twilight’s concentrated face as she cast her teleportation spell. The determined look in her eyes, the way her horn glowed with powerful magic, and her soft, warm hoof all kept Trixie’s attention away from the teleportation spell.
Everything snapped back into place in an instant as Twilight finished casting and her the light surrounding her horn faded away. Trixie shifted her gaze away from Twilight and towards the star they had just arrived at, though she didn’t let Twilight’s hoof go. Not just yet.
Whether she specifically noticed it or not, Twilight didn’t let go of Trixie’s hoof either, but she did let out a soft chuckle when she saw Trixie’s surprised expression. Her voice filled with wonder, almost a low whisper, Trixie said, “What is that? It’s not like Polaris was at all.”
Indeed, Trixie wasn’t wrong. Unlike Polaris, which was a ball of burning gas, this star was totally different. The star was small, relatively anyway, and it looked as though it were caged in light, with massive beams firing out of either end as it slowly rotated. Surrounded by swirling matter, the star seemed like it was pulling the energy in and then spitting it back out from opposite poles. It was unlike anything Trixie had ever seen.
Still holding onto Trixie’s hoof, Twilight grinned. “That, Trixie, is a collapsed neutron star, a pulsar.”
Not daring to look away from the pulsar, Trixie repeated, “A collapsed neutron star?”
The pulsar continued to emit light and spin slowly, like some impossibly slow cosmic ballerina. “Well, it’s a little complicated,” said Twilight, watching the pulsar, “but basically when a star with very high rotational energy collapses into a supernova, it has a chance of becoming a pulsar. You see those beams of light shooting out of either end?”
Trixie nodded.
“It’s actually extremely dangerous and deadly radiation being emitted by the pulsar as it spins. Don’t worry though,” she added quickly, seeing Trixie’s surprised expression, “we’re safe from the radiation under my spell. I just wanted to show it to you because I thought you might appreciate its beauty.”
Without even realizing it, Trixie had started to grip Twilight’s hoof a little harder as she stared at the pulsar. Watching it spin around, it looked graceful, in a cosmic sort of way. “It’s incredible,” Trixie said, finally finding her voice.
“Did you know,” Twilight said, turning back to look at the pulsar, “that you could set your clock by the pulsar’s emissions it’s so constant?”
Trixie giggled a little, seeing Twilight’s excited expression. “No, I didn’t know that.”
“Oh!” said Twilight suddenly, her grip on Trixie’s hoof tightening. “I just thought of something else really cool to show you.”
Before Trixie even had a chance to say anything, they were getting sucked back into the teleportation spell, though by now Trixie was getting used to this more extreme version. Again, she took the opportunity to look at Twilight, her gaze softening with each passing microsecond. In the blink of an eye, the universe fell into place around them as Twilight cut off the spell. This time, however, there was no warm glow from a nearby star. In fact, Trixie felt a shiver run down her spine as she turned to see where they had arrived. This time, Trixie didn’t need to ask where they had ended up. She knew exactly what this was, and she suddenly understood why she was feeling just a bit chilly.
Sitting before them like a great inky mark in the middle of an ocean of stars was a black hole. The black hole itself was obviously dark, but somewhat surprisingly to Trixie was the fact that it was ringed by a halo of light that seemed to encompass the entire vortex. Perpendicular to the poles of the black hole light was stretched out on either side, like someone had taken the black hole, pinched the edges and pulled them away from each other.
Twilight, noticing Trixie following the light’s curves, said, “See how the light bends around the black hole and stretches out at the edges? That’s called the accretion disc. When matter is pulled into the black hole by the extreme gravitational forces at the center, it does so at an angle. As it gets closer to the singularity, the spin of the black hole causes the matter to also spin around and become stretched as the centrifugal forces pushes the matter away and the gravitational force pulls it in. During this process, even something like light can get sort of… stretched out, like spaghetti almost.”
“It’s unbelievable,” said Trixie, her voice almost breathless. “I’ve heard of black holes before, but seeing one in person like this. It’s…” She trailed off, looking back at Twilight.
With a little sigh, Twilight said, “Actually, I wanted to show you this for a specific reason.”
Trixie cocked her head to the side, her mane flowing behind her like a wave of silvery blue water. “What do you mean?”
“You said you wanted to learn about friendship,” Twilight said, her eyes reflecting the black hole behind Trixie. “Well, this is what life is like without friendship.”
Raising an eyebrow, Trixie said, “I don’t understand.”
Twilight pulled Trixie by the hoof until they were almost touching and then spun her around to show her the black hole again. As Trixie watched light disappear beyond the event horizon, Twilight said, “Imagine that your heart is a star, like Polaris from before. It burns with passion and love, but… if you don’t have friends to share that passion and love with then you sink deeper into yourself, like this black hole. Eventually your heart is crushed under the weight of loneliness and all the happiness and light around you gets pulled into it like the light over there.” Twilight pointed towards the accretion disc. After a moment, she spun Trixie back around to look her in the eye. Both mares’ manes and tails floated freely in space, and Twilight took a moment to sweep the mane from Trixie’s eyes. “Without friendship,” she began, “your heart becomes like a black hole of cold selfishness and resentment.”
Trixie started to speak, but she stopped, not knowing what to say. Instead she simply stared into Twilight's eyes, trying to find the right words. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait very long before Twilight said something instead.
Pulling Trixie into a hug, Twilight said, “I don’t want that for you.”
Her body felt warm against Trixie’s, and she didn’t even notice the cold of the black hole anymore. Spinning slowly and gracefully through space, Trixie and Twilight remained embraced for some time before Twilight finally let go. Her expression calm and pleasant, Trixie felt a sudden surge of heat to her face as she realized she was staring at Twilight. “Thank you for showing me this,” said Trixie. “I don’t know what I could possibly do to return the favor.”
With a smile, Twilight said, “Actually, I just remembered that there’s one more thing that you could share with me. It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for awhile now.”
Catching her tail before it flowed up in front of her face, Trixie blushed and said, “I would love to.”
Nodding, satisfied, Twilight made sure her grip on Trixie’s hoof was steady, then lit her horn up again. With a flash of light they disappeared, popping back into existence somewhere else entirely. Trixie had expected they would be back in Equestria now, but was pleasantly surprised to see they were still somewhere in space. Though, when she looked around she couldn’t see anything that particularly stood out to her. “What is it you wanted to show me?” she asked, glancing back at Twilight.
“I’ve been tracking it for awhile,” said Twilight, ignoring Trixie’s question. “It should be any moment now, but before it starts I’m going to need your help.”
“What do you mean?” asked Trixie, turning her head slightly to the side.
Twilight grinned coyly. “I don’t want to spoil it for you, so just come stand—er, float next to me. I’m going to need you to combine your magic with mine so we can make a shield.”
“A shield?” Trixie repeated, moving closer to Twilight. She followed Twilight’s motions and started to feel the magic inside her welling up to a point in her horn. “What for?”
“You’ll see,” said Twilight. With a nod of her head, both mares let go of their magic at the same time. Beams of purple and blue light shot out in front of them, stopping suddenly just a few feet away from them. As if they had hit a wall, the beams splashed against empty space and started to fill up a rectangular area in front of them, like water being poured in a glass. As their magic continued to cascade like a brilliant waterfall of light, the rectangle grew larger, and started to take on a third dimension, eventually stretching out to encompass both ponies. With the spell completed, Trixie and Twilight’s horns dimmed and eventually the light totally faded.
Trixie was about to ask what was next when a sudden burst of light caught her eye. It started off small, just a tiny pinprick of light way in the distance, but in seconds it had ballooned out to become a massive ball of ever-expanding light. Dazzling with a dozen different colors, the light stretched out farther and farther, gas and matter mixing into an almost milky texture that quickly washed over them in a wave of electrically-charged light. The shield they had made only seconds before crackled with energy as the light enveloped them.
Twilight smiled, seeing Trixie’s face light up with all the colors of the passing light. It was like being inside a cosmic fireworks display. Little particles of matter bounced and skidded across their shield, creating a glittering display of resplendent light. Trixie’s jaw hung open, occasional flashes of light illuminating her face as she watched the display.
“That,” said Twilight matter-of-factly, “was a supernova.”
Still stunned, Trixie slowly managed to reply, “I never thought I would see anything like this in my life. It’s beautiful.”
With a warm smile, Twilight said, “I’m glad I could share it with you, Trixie.”
It was hard to take her eyes off the shimmering exploded start around her, but Trixie managed to meet Twilight’s eyes. “Why me though?” she asked, feeling a slight sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “You have so many friends you could have shown it to.”
“Trixie,” said Twilight, her eyes lit up by the passing light particles, “you are my friend.”
Tears welling up in her eyes, Trixie did her best to wipe them away before Twilight noticed, instead giving a wide smile back to her friend. With a little burst of magic she propelled herself towards Twilight, catching the mare in a tight hug. Twilight giggled, hugging Trixie back. “Thank you, Twilight,” she said. “Thank you for everything.”
Nuzzling Trixie’s head to her chest, Twilight stroked the other mare’s mane. Light exploded all around them and as time passed, the supernova started to expand further and further out until its light became just a bit more dull. Leaning down slightly, Twilight whispered in Trixie’s ear, “C’mon, there are so many more stars I think you’d like to see.”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Trixie smiled wholeheartedly at Twilight, nodding.
Her horn gathering energy, Twilight collapsed the world around them, the supernova fizzling away into a wisp of brilliant light, and with a quiet pop they disappeared.
