Grand Finale

The Grand Finale

Friday, June 16th, 4pm. Waiting backstage, behind the Canterlot High School Theatre, Starlight Glimmer put her phone away and took a quick breath. It was now or never. She had to face Trixie and find some way to make up for her dreadful mistake.

Before she could knock on the dressing room door, she got interrupted by a loud cough.

“Can I help you?”

“Eek!” Starlight gasped, nearly jumping out of her skin. She spun around and came face to face with a small, silver-haired girl, clad in her iconic outfit - blue jacket, purple skirt and purple shoes. Little, white stars criss-crossed her clothes here and there.

Trixie Lulamoon, Starlight’s now ex-friend. “Oh, there you are, Trixie,” Starlight said, rubbing the back of her head. “Good to, erm, see you again?”

“Yes, it is a pleasure,” Trixie said, flipping her hair back and folding her arms. “It’s always delightful to be around the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Starlight put on a forced smile. “I was just coming to find you and-”

“And what?” Trixie snapped, her voice still tinged with the venom from their last encounter. “Finish what you started? To ruin another of my magic shows with your brash aversion to talent?”

Starlight gulped. Well, this is off to a fantastic start… she thought, looking down at her shoes. Here she was, bland as always. Black boots, tight jeans, teal shirt and black jacket. The very epitome of commonality, just as she had always emphasised. Perhaps it’s useless after all, she told herself. Maybe I don’t deserve friends, least of all Trixie.

“Well?” Trixie asked again, tapping her foot impatiently. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Starlight clenched her fists and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Trixie.”

“Sorry?” Trixie cocked an eyebrow. “For what, exactly?”

“For trying to hijack your show!” Starlight blurted, fighting back the tears. “For ruining everything that made your show – no, everything that made you special, all because of my selfish insecurities. You deserve better.”

The silence that followed seemed to go on forever. The two stood there, looking at each other as if frozen in time.

“I watched your show tonight,” Starlight piped up, her arms behind her back. “All of it. That was quite a sight to behold.”

“Really?” Trixie asked.

Starlight wondered if Trixie played her for a fool, but neither her expression nor tone gave anything away. Just like a master magician, Trixie kept her true intentions concealed.

“Uh-huh,” Starlight continued. “All those new twists on classic tricks were amazing! Just when I thought Twilight would be stuck in two pieces, but then her legs jumped out and pulled the two halves back together again! Then there was the audience participation. That one guy catching a knife with a playing card, it blew me away! I never thought I’d see someone with dexterity like that!”

Trixie hung on Starlight’s every word.

“Then there was that twisting body trick. I always thought I knew how it was done! Y’know, with the whole fake legs inside one box? But then you made Twilight step out, and her head was on backwards, and the box was on fire and-”

“Starlight,” Trixie’s soft tone ended her near-endless ramble. “Why are you telling me all this? I thought you hated me and my stupid magic shows.”

“I…” Starlight sniffed. It was all coming back to her now. The same gut-wrenching twist from the day she uttered those words. “I’m so sorry, Trixie. I know what I said, and it was a stupid thing to say. I was so frustrated and… I don’t have a good excuse, okay? I was just wrong!”

Trixie placed a hand on Starlight’s shoulder, but Starlight rebuffed it. “I don’t deserve you!” she wailed. “I’m such a terrible friend!”

Pulling out a key from her jacket pocket, Trixie unlocked the door. “Let’s talk in here,” she said, gesturing inside. Starlight’s just gave her a simple nod. Even as she took a seat on the bench next to the lockers, she still couldn’t bring herself to look Trixie in the eye.

“Okay, Starlight,” Trixie remained calm. “Start from the beginning.”

Starlight opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She just sat there, gripping her jeans in a vain attempt to stop her hands from shaking.

“Starlight,” Trixie grabbed Starlight’s hand. “Please, talk to me. Trixie has been yelled at many times in her life, so I can handle that much. It’s the fact it came from you that got to me. Everyone only sees the Trixie on stage; the lead performer. But you? You’re the one who came to me back stage a year ago. You wanted to know about the Trixie behind the curtains. You wanted to know why I started doing magic. And then, last week…”

“I threw it all away,” Starlight replied. Tears rolled down her face. “All because I wanted a wider audience for your show.”

“I don’t understand,” Trixie cocked her head to one side. “How would making my tricks simpler get more people invested?”

“I know it sounds stupid,” Starlight sobbed. “But it made sense in my head! I thought, maybe if the show were simpler, more people would be comfortable watching us.”

Trixie gave Starlight a tissue from her pocket. “Starlight, I know you meant – wait, did you say ‘us`?”

“Yeah,” Starlight said after blowing her nose. “I’ve never felt special before. Not since they transferred Sunburst to a prep school for his achievements. That’s why I bullied so many people, trying to put them down. I felt like, if I couldn’t be special, then no one should. I can’t believe so many people followed my example.”

Trixie glanced around the room. All her magic props were here, including the star-spangled cape and wizard hat she wore to every show. The same ensemble she’d stopped wearing after the fight. “I don’t understand,” her tone remained flat. “Starlight, I want to be your friend. You’ve been an incredible assistant! I need you to give me a straight answer: why did you have to change my tricks? Why did you try and change me?”

“Because I didn’t think people wanted to be challenged, okay!” Starlight blurted, slamming her fist on the bench hard enough to bruise. “I didn’t think they’d accept you – accept us – if all we did was new stuff. They’d probably just think it’s the same old ‘Great and Powerful: Trixie` pretending to be bigger than she is!”

Trixie stared at Starlight, mouth agape.

“But you’re not like that,” Starlight continued, finally lowering her voice. “I know you’re not like that. As you said, I wanted to know the Trixie behind the curtain. I wanted to know the real you and have everyone else see it. That’s what I like about you, Trixie. You gave me a chance. You let me prove that I was more than just a bully from a cult of conformity. Just like how listening to me ramble proves you’re more than just an egotistical jerk.”

“Oh, Starlight!” Trixie threw her arms around her. Now it was her turn to start crying. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!”

“Huh?” Starlight replied, dumbfounded by what she’d just heard. “Trixie, you can’t be serious? No one has ever been nice to you at all?”

“No, no, it’s not like that,” Trixie corrected. “Sunset Shimmer has been nice to me. Her friends have too, when prompted. But I don’t know if they’re being honest with me. Are they really my friends, or are they just being polite? I know they don’t like trouble, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they forced their smiles to avoid fighting.”

“But, why?” Starlight asked, closing her eyes as she returned the hug. “Why would anybody treat you like that?”

“Because I have an ego problem,” Trixie said, cringing. “First, it was just part of the show, like how my dad taught me. ‘Never look weak in front of a crowd,’ he’d say to me every day. From the moment I could speak, he taught me magic, always emphasising how I’d carry on his family legacy.”

“Wow,” Starlight’s eyes went wide. “I can hardly imagine what that’s like.”

“Yeah,” Trixie said, blushing. “Soon enough, I started taking the tough-girl act off stage. I became a huge jerk, because I was afraid of what people would say about me if I wasn’t.”

“That’s how it was with me, too,” Starlight admitted and sat away from her, but didn’t break eye contact. “I guess once you set yourself up as a character, it’s kind of hard to stop.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Trixie replied with an awkward chuckle, looking away for a moment. “I guess I should thank you for being so honest with me.”

“Trixie…” Starlight began. Her heart was thumping a mile a minute. It was time to say what was really on her mind. “You know how I said that I want to be your friend?”

“Yes?” Trixie asked, her expression dropping. “Please don’t tell me you were lying.”

“Absolutely not!” Starlight took a deep breath. “In fact, I, kinda, sorta see you as more. Than just a friend, I mean.”

Trixie blinked. “More than a friend?”

“Uh-huh.” Starlight paused. “Trixie, I…”

Say it, you fool! Her mind screamed.

“I love you.”

Another moment of silence passed until, at last, Trixie spoke up. “You love me?”

“Yes, I love you,” Starlight repeated.

Now it all made sense to Trixie. The long stares, the smile that lit up whenever she entered the room, the dedication to assisting her show.

Trixie cleared her throat. “Starlight Glimmer,” she announced. “I love you too.”

Starlight all but leapt on her new-found love, planting her lips on Trixie’s.

Trixie didn’t put up any resistance. In fact, she kissed back just as hard, wrapping her arms around Starlight.

“I guess this means we’re on good terms now?” Starlight asked after a full minute of kissing.

“Hmm, let me think about that,” Trixie said, making a show of rubbing her chin. Then she pressed her finger on the tip of Starlight’s nose. “The Great and Powerful: Trixie says, yes!”

“I think I can live with that,” Starlight said, leaning back into her kiss.

So, the two lay there in a silent embrace, sharing each other’s warmth with only the ticking wall clock to remind them of time’s passage.