The Rise of Passion

"Trixie is not quite sure what you're talking about..."

It had been three days since Cozy had agreed to help Starlight and Gallus. In that time, Starlight had spent all of her spare time learning techniques and theory from Cozy, who had also opted to put together a string of events that had all led to bringing Trixie back to her place.

"I know it's a bit tricky," nodded Starlight, opening the front door. She glanced upward and saw a shadow in the window nodding at her. If anypony else had looked up there, they would not see the shadow, but the decorative mesh that looked like a pair of closed curtains. If she hadn't been specifically looking for it, she wouldn't have seen it. "That's why I called you here. I need your help."

Trixie did glance at the window, but she couldn't see anything. "Something wrong?"

"I saw the curtains move just a bit. Probably just a little draft. I'll have to look for it later, your time is too valuable to waste looking for it."

"Nonsense! Trixie would be glad to help with this problem!"

"I'm sure you would, but let me rephrase my statement. There are more important things I need your help with than finding a draft. I can always find it later and patch it up."

Trixi nodded slowly. "If you're sure..."

Starlight led Trixie upstairs and into a small guest suite. The bulk of the room was taken up by a bed and wardrobe, but there was a sitting area with tea and cookies in the middle of the room. If Trixie were more cautious, she would wonder how there was hot tea and warm cookies, given that Starlight had spent the last six hours at the school, fulfilling her duties to the academy.

Thankfully, she cared more about pouring herself a cup of tea and eating the cookies than how Starlight had managed to prepare them. "Now, then. What is this secret project you've been working on, Starlight, and how can Trixie assist you in completing it?"

Starlight nodded. "Trixie, I've heard tell about who you were before I joined up with Twilight and the gang. Apparently, you were a force to be reckoned with."

"Trixie does not like to talk about it," she answered. "Trixie was going through a dark time in her life. It's much better now."

"Well, I don't want to make you uncomfortable by reopening old wounds, I just have some questions, purely from an academic standpoint. If you tell me, we can prevent other ponies from treading the same path."

There was a brief pause as Trixie had another cookie. She seemed to be considering the offer.

"Okay," she finally said. "Let it not ever be said that Trixie does not care for those who may be suffering in the same way she has."

Starlight smiled, but not too much. Convincing Trixie to share her experience was only the first step. Cozy had said it would be the easiest one, but the anticipation of what was to come of it excited her. She had to hold that in, or it would betray her real intentions.

Over the next hour, Trixie went over the events that saw her first meeting Twilight and her friends, what with the ursa minor and the bragging. She then went over the humiliation that followed, being chased out of town over and over. During this time, Starlight pretended to be interested in what Trixie was saying, inching closer and closer and lightly touching her. First her shoulder, then a hug, letting her hoof slide behind her back against the opposite hip. Cozy had told her to make herself a place of comfort, so that when Trixie made herself vulnerable, she would look to Starlight for strength.

Then Trixie began talking about her time with the Alicorn Amulet. This was the challenging part, and this was where Starlight had to act decisively and swiftly.

"So, I immediately returned to Ponyville. This was the site of my original humiliation, and I decided that it had to be where my redemption started."

"I can see that," responded Starlight. "It was Twilight that had been the first to beat you down, and you wanted revenge. I bet you thought that if you could only break her down and show her that her ways were wrong, that you could find happiness."

"That's exactly what I thought!" shouted Trixie. "So I challenged her, and thanks to the Alicorn Amulet, I won with little issue!"

"Wow. How much power was in that amulet?"

"Oh, it was huge! I don't think I even made it to ten percent of what I could have done!"

"Do you know what happened to it?"

Trixie shook her head. "It's locked in a vault under the castle, along with a lot of other artifacts. There are five keys that have to be used to unlock it, plus a bunch of enchantments. You can't open it, and I would advise against that, anyway. That thing's not right. It... does things... to its wearer. And I care about you too much to allow you to be corrupted by that thing."

Starlight shook her head. "I wasn't going to put it on. I just needed to know it was safe. I don't want it to hurt you again, either." To accentuate this, she gently nuzzled Trixie's neck. This was a probative move, to allow her to make a better judgement as to how much progress she'd made with Cozy's advice.

To her shock, Trixie nuzzled back, practically cuddling with her. This was an excellent return. Starlight had always been interested in Trixie as a romantic partner, and establishing that connection had the capacity to bring them closer. Not to mention that having Trixie wanting her would allow her to employ her in her plans much faster.

Then again, it could all go wrong. A bad bedroom experience was all it would take to drive a wedge between them, and that meant that they would have to contend with Trixie when the time came.

Luckily, it did not matter which of these paths they were sent down, as Cozy had accounted for both of them. Trixie would either be a fine ally, or a magnificent scapegoat. That choice is what made her a spectacular test of Starlight's abilities at this stage. No matter how she performed, it would all go according to plan.