"Now Trixie, we're absolutely sure there's nopony in the trunk this time, right?" Starlight questioned her best friend (well, one of her best friends anyway. She and Sunburst had a friendship that was difficult to describe). The two had come back early from their planned trip to Saddle Arabia, only to find out that they'd accidentally brought along a passenger. And that had required them to go back along the road once again, just to return the stallion to his native village.
"Of course, Starlight. We even double checked the whole wagon before we left," Trixie nodded as she stepped out of the aforementioned vehicle, which also doubled as her home more or less. "Have a little faith in the Great and Powerful Trixie."
Starlight normally would've found her fellow unicorn's speaking in the third pony to be comforting and reassuring. But after what she'd been through on the road trip, and given her tendency to get into tight spots whenever Trixie was around, she was feeling a lot less assured this time around. "I'll just check the trunk again, just to be sure."
Trixie couldn't help but groan and roll her eyes. "You're sounding just like Twilight. Next thing you know, you're gonna start making checklists for everything."
Starlight didn't reply, she instead used her magic to pull out the trunk and examine it thoroughly. It was empty. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Now I can finally relax. At least until Twilight finds out the road trip's off and calls me back into the guidance counselor's office."
Just then, a voice instantly recognizable to Starlight called out. "Ooh, what's this I hear about a guidance counselor? You never mentioned that during your last visit."
Starlight froze right on the spot, much to Trixie's surprise. "Starlight?" She called as she gently tapped a hoof to her friend. There was no reply, it was like her fellow unicorn and number one assistant had become paralyzed with fear. Yet all Trixie could see was a unicorn stallion with a grayish-purple coat noticeably darker than Starlight's. He seemed to have gentle brown eyes, a moderate and pale light-grayish aquamarine mane and tail that looked like toothpaste, and a red jacket with a gorgeous yellow tie. His cutie mark was a flickering flame.
The stallion eyed Trixie curiously, before taking notice of the frozen Starlight standing next to her. "Honey bun," He lightly called. "You don't have to be afraid. It's me, your loving father."
"Wait, you're Starlight's dad?!" Trixie gasped in amazement. "Starlight never said anything about her parents."
The stallion just chuckled. "Yes, it's really me. The name's Firelight, the proud father of Starlight Glimmer. Who I just happened to hear, is officially a guidance counselor. Or was I hearing things?"
Starlight finally appeared to snap out of her panic stricken state, but her tone of voice indicated she still seemed to be on edge for some reason. "Dad? What are you doing here?" She questioned. "I thought we agreed to keep in touch."
"Oh we did, honey bun," Firelight spoke up in a warm (almost patronizing, you might say) tone of voice. "But it's been so long since we had any face to face time. And your last visit you spent almost half your time avoiding me because you were mad at me for treating you like a little filly. You promised to come visit more often."
"I've been busy, Dad!" Starlight whined. "It's not that I didn't want to come see you, but I'm a grown pony with grown up responsibilities. Between being a guidance counselor for Twilight's school, running it when she gets called away for any reason, being an assistant for a magic show, and trying to figure out what I wanna do with my life, visiting my childhood home isn't exactly high on my priorities list."
Trixie arched an eyebrow upward. "Starlight, why didn't you ever mention you had a family and a home? Trixie would've been more than willing to visit it with you. We could've added it to our tour."
But the unicorn with a coat of light-grayish purple protested. "It wasn't important, Trixie. Besides, our tour schedule was packed. I certainly wasn't going to add another destination to it," Then she looked at her father. "Why are you here now? Don't you and Stellar Flare have things to do back in Sire's Hollow?"
"Not anymore, we made all the changes you and Sunburst wanted," Firelight explained. "So now your old stallion has all the time in the world to devote to his precious little pumpky-wumpkin!"
Trixie let out an audible giggle, and Starlight felt her cheeks flush red from embarrassment. "Dad, we talked about this! You promised not to call me those names in public!"
The elder unicorn appeared to acknowledge the complaint, even as he too giggled. "I know, and I'm sorry. But I just couldn't resist. Part of me will always see you as that precious little filly I could never be there for," Then he flashed a bright smile. "It seems you've come a long way since your blank flank days though. I see you've made another friend."
Starlight nodded and motioned a hoof. "Yes, her name is-"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie proclaimed as she extended her hoof. "It's a pleasure to meet the father of Starlight Glimmer, Trixie's greatest and most powerful assistant and best friend."
"Funny, I always thought Starlight and Sunburst were best friends." Firelight innocently commented.
"Dad, I can have multiple best friends!" Starlight protested with a huff. "Sunburst is my best friend from childhood, Trixie is my best friend when it comes to magic. And of course, Twilight is my best friend who saved me from going down a dark path."
Firelight nodded. "I know, Starlight. You mentioned everything in your letters," And then he added. "I thought it would be nice if I came here to Ponyville to surprise you. Never in all my years did I imagine I'd hear you work as a guidance counselor at a school. And you do a pretty good job from what I hear."
"She's absolutely astonishing!" Trixie proclaimed. "You should see her office."
Starlight blushed anew and waved a hoof. "I actually tried to go for a more modest approach, thought it might help me connect with the students," A sigh escaped her lips. "It seems like I do my job a little too well. I seem to go weeks without anyone coming to me. I think the last one on one session I had was with Cozy Glow. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that filly was up to something."
"Oh, I wouldn't be underestimating her if I were you," Firelight said with a snicker. "You were quite the little demon as a filly from what Stellar Flare tells me. Always drove her crazy."
"Anypony who is impressed by the Great and Powerful Trixie's performances can't be all bad in my book," Trixie proclaimed. "She seemed well behaved enough the one time I was a substitute teacher. And all would've been well had a certain draconequus not interrupted with his idea of a better trick!"
At that Firelight's eyes seemed to light up with amazement. "You're an actual magician?!" He exclaimed.
Trixie nodded. "Only the best of the best. I'd be glad to give you a first hoof demonstration."
The stallion smiled again. "I'd be honored."
And so it was that a short time later, Trixie and Starlight are up on stage, performing for a crowd of one. Though in this case, the one pony in the crowd was enough to unnerve Starlight just a little.
Still, she performed as best an assistant could. It really helped to take her mind off of... other things. Things she would rather not think about.
The performance concluded with the Terrifying Trunk Escape, a much safer replacement to the Moonshot Manticore Mouthdive. "She's been in there a long time," Starlight dramatically exclaimed. "Do you suppose the Terrifying Trunk Escape is too much for her?! What if the Great and Powerful Trixie can't-"
"-Escape?" Trixie interrupted as she appeared behind Firelight in a puff of magic smoke.
"But if you're there, who's in here?!" Starlight dramatically exclaimed as she gestured to the trunk.
In another puff of magic smoke, Trixie appeared on the stage and opened up the chest. "Why, our volunteer, of course."
"Hey!" Discord growled as he poked his head up from the chest. "Just because we're friends, doesn't mean I like being shut in a dark and dusty chest! If I'd known this was the favor you asked of me, I would've said no."
Trixie just slammed the trunk lid shut once again. "My humblest apologies, mares and gentlestallions," She spoke with practiced precision. "It seems our volunteer woke up on the right side of the bed this morning. And for a spirit of chaos, that's not a good thing. Pay him no mind, he always seems to be in a foul mood."
Firelight seemed to take Trixie's advice, he just clapped his hooves and cheered. "Bravo! Bravo!" He applauded.
Trixie and Starlight both bowed and the curtain came down, signaling the end of another successful magic show. Which for Starlight meant it was time to get out of her assistant mentality, and back to her normal state of mind. Something she still wasn't looking forward to. But she knew it needed to be done.
"That was a most excellent magic show!" Firelight happily proclaimed as Trixie and Starlight came down from the stage. And then to his daughter he added. "And you did a fine job as an assistant. You've really made your old stallion proud, honey bun."
Taking a deep breath (so as not to say something she'd regret later), Starlight locked eyes with her father. "Dad, this kind of stuff is exactly why I've been so reluctant to come back and see you again."
"Whatever do you mean, my little star?" Her father innocently replied. His tone of voice and his body language indicated he really didn't seem to be aware of why his daughter was so upset.
Sighing, Starlight explained. "I mean your patronizing behavior. You still talk to me as if I'm a little filly," Holding back a growl she added. "Look, I know you feel guilty about always being away on work when I was younger. And now that you don't have that, you really want to be there for me. It's sweet of you to do that, really."
Firelight beamed. "I'm just doing what any father would do in such a situation. I don't mean to embarrass you."
"And yet you do," Starlight sternly replied. "I appreciate all that you do, but I'm not your little filly anymore. I have a job and adult responsibilities. What I want most from you now, is a father who realizes his little filly is all grown up and can take care of herself. It doesn't mean I don't have a place for you anymore, but it also doesn't mean I have to write to you all the time or come back to my old home. I know you agreed to treat me like a friend during my last visit, and as a friend I'm asking you to treat me the way I want to be treated. Not as the pony I used to be, but as the pony I am now. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Firelight's happy mood faded, his smile shrank and his shoulders began to slouch ever so slightly. "Yes, honey... er... Starlight," He quickly corrected himself. "When I learned about your village, and about how you became Princess Twilight's student, I started to realize that as much as I wouldn't admit it, I was partially to blame for what you'd become. When your mom died after giving birth to you, I let myself get distracted by my grief. It tore me up inside that I couldn't be there for you. And now, years later, I find myself wondering what would've happened had I helped you cope. Not just with the loss of your mom, but also with Sunburst's departure. Instead, I kept you sheltered and sealed off from the world. I tried to preserve the memories of what you were, and that blinded me to what you were becoming."
Starlight shook her head. "You can't blame yourself for the actions I chose to take of my own free will. Much as I wouldn't admit it, there was a time when I thought about running back to you. A part of me longed for the simpler times with you and Stellar Flare. It wasn't until Twilight reached out to me, that I realized I had to stop dwelling in the past," On a more upbeat note she added. "And look at what that's done for me now. I have more friends than I ever had during my childhood, and my life is as good as it could get. I'm sorry if I haven't made an effort to make you a part of it after promising to keep in touch. From now on, I promise I'll try to visit Sire's Hollow more often. Or have you come to see me in Ponyville. So long as you promise not to treat me like a filly anymore."
The elder unicorn nodded in agreement. "You really have grown up, Starlight. You've forgiven your own stallion for the mistakes he's made," A few tears streamed down his face as he embraced his daughter in a hug. "If only your mom were here to see what a fine young mare you've grown up to be. She'd be so proud."
"I'm sure she would, Dad. I'm sure she would." Starlight concurred. And for moments father and daughter shared a hug, a passionate and warm hug that they had not shared in years.
Trixie was content solely to watch. This was one of those occasions where the magician was willing to make peace with the fact that she was best suited to the role of an outsider, fit to watch but not to intervene.
When the hug finally ended, Firelight was the first to speak. "Well, I'm going to have a look around town. But I hope you'll give me a tour of the castle you're staying in, and also the school you're working at."
"For you, Dad, anything," Starlight obliged. "And it's only fair to warn you now, Twilight's castle is a lot bigger on the inside."
"Well at least that means the princess doesn't have to worry about you snoring," Firelight teased. "Though I'm glad you don't sleepwalk anymore. I remember it used to get so bad, I had to put a bell around you just so you wouldn't wander off in the middle of the night and give your old stallion a heart attack."
"Dad! You promised not to embarrass me anymore!" Starlight whined as her blush returned with a vengeance.
Firelight realized his mistake, and while he didn't blush he did look quite ashamed. "Sorry about that, Starlight," He apologized, finally addressing his daughter by her proper name and not one of the pet nicknames he had for her. "If I ever do that again, feel free to let me know. But I suppose a part of me will never stop being your father, and fathers always have embarrassing stories to tell about their children." And with that he trotted off, soon fading away over the horizon.
"I can see why you never mentioned your father before now, Starlight." Trixie commented once Firelight was out of sight.
Starlight nodded and gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah. It's kind of a bad habit of mine, actually. But as I'm sure Sunburst will tell you, I'm not the only who has a delicate relationship with their family," Then a thought struck her. "Speaking of family, Trixie. I don't believe you've ever mentioned yours. Is there any particular reason why?"
Now it was Trixie's turn to freeze and look panic stricken. She let out a gulp. "Um... well," She began to stutter uncontrollably. "I-it's... funny you s-should ask that. Er... I mean... that is to say... Trixie does have a family... b-but..."
"But what?" Starlight innocently questioned. "Is it something personal?"
Trixie just continued to stutter, unable to think of what to say. Should she tell Starlight the truth? Should she tell her what she knew about her parents (or at least, the one she knew she had)?
Author's Note
I'm actually kind of surprised that there aren't any stories yet involving Firelight meeting Trixie. I feel like there are lots of unexplored avenues to use for stories.
The detail about Starlight's mom is actually borrowed from milesprowe06's fic "A Glimmer of the Past: Daddy Issues". And due to the content of that fic, I won't link to it here.
And yes, that cliffhanger teaser at the end was intentional. I probably will do a sequel involving Trixie telling Starlight about Jackpot, unless something contradicts the more or less official confirmation from Jim Miller that he is Trixie's father.
