Possibly, Probably, Positively Platonic
Starlight felt like she was forgetting something incredibly important, but she had no idea what it could be. Sitting across the table from Trixie and Sunburst, she stared down at the breakfast that they had prepared for her. She had been surprised to find that by the time she had woken up that morning, the pair had already snuck into the castle and cooked up a large meal for the three of them to share together, which is where the problem arose. On the table in between Starlight and her friends was a stack of extra-large pancakes that had the words “Happy Anniversary” written across the topmost pancake in chocolate fudge.
Normally, Starlight would be all-too happy to dive into a stack of jumbo chocolate pancakes, but the ominous message across the stack’s face left her frowning in confusion. As far as she was aware, there was no notable event for this day that warranted an anniversary celebration, but clearly her memory was failing her. Glancing up at the pair across from her, she saw that by now, their beaming smiles had lost much of their mirth, and were practically forced.
The two looked at each other, and dropped the act altogether. Their faces became marked with worry and concern before turning back to Starlight, with Sunburst finally breaking the silent tension that had built over the past minute.
“Starlight, is something wrong? You look upset.” He adjusted his glasses to get a better look at her, wiping away a small smudge of what appeared to be pancake batter on the edge of one of the lenses.
“Did we do something wrong, Starlight?” Trixie’s voice carried a guilty tone, her ears flat against her head. “We weren’t sure how to celebrate today, so we decided to make you breakfast. Do you not like pancakes? We can make you something else.”
Starlight shook her head, giving a small chuckle and a reassuring smile. “No, no. The pancakes look delicious, and neither of you did anything wrong. It’s just that, well…”
Pausing to think for a moment, Starlight furrowed her brow, looking at the pancakes and then back to her friends who seemed to grow more nervous by the second. She wracked her brain for a possible explanation for the pancakes that lay before her, the chocolate words atop beginning to distort as they seeped into the food.
“I guess I’m just confused. What exactly are we celebrating?”
Now it was Trixie and Sunburst’s turn to be perplexed, with the pair exchanging baffled expressions before looking back at Starlight.
“Wait, Starlight, do you really not know what today is?” Sunburst’s worry seemed to evaporate, replaced with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
Trixie leaned in slightly, eyeing Starlight with apprehension. “Are you really Starlight, or are you an evil changeling drone here to enact revenge against Starlight and those closest to her?”
Starlight scrunched her muzzle disapprovingly towards the blue mare. “What? No, I’m not an imposter. And I feel like what you just said was really offensive, but I’m not sure how yet.” Turning to Sunburst, she shrugged and gave an apologetic smile. “As for remembering what today is, I really don’t know. Nothing comes to mind at all… Sorry.”
Trixie settled back into her seat as she raised an eyebrow at Sunburst, who returned her skeptical look. She then pulled Sunburst close, huddling with him as she whispered something into his ear that Starlight couldn’t hear. Now it was Starlight’s turn to worry, watching her two best friends conspire right in front of her. She glanced down at the pancakes again, the writing on top almost completely illegible now, with the chocolate fudge having run down the sides of the stack and pooled at the bottom of the platter.
Finally, the pair broke and looked at Starlight again, both looking incredibly amused. Sunburst gave Starlight a cheeky grin, adjusted his glasses, and then proceeded to nearly floor her with what he said next.
“Starlight, you are aware of the fact that we’ve been dating for a year, right?”
The lilac mare blinked a few times, her eyes darting between her two friends several times as her mouth hung wide open in utter shock. She tried to say something in response, but only managed a sputtering stutter, completely blindsided by this revelation. As the pieces began to fall into place in her head, Trixie joined in the teasing.
“And because you clearly need everything spelled out for you, you’re dating me too, Starlight.” As Trixie and Sunburst shared a giggle together, Starlight finally managed to gather herself enough to properly respond.
Pushing aside her befuddlement, Starlight gave the pair an incredulous glare through squinted eyes. “How could I possibly be dating you both without realizing it? Isn’t that something that typically requires, you know, consent? I don’t see how we can all be dating if I was totally unaware of it.”
“Now you might have a point there,” replied Sunburst with a smirk, “If it wasn’t for the fact that you’ve been completely on board with doing everything that comes with dating.”
Starlight crossed her forelegs and raised an eyebrow at him, scoffing. “Oh really? Please, enlighten me, ‘Mister Knows-Everything-About-Dating.’ What do we do that normal friends don’t do?”
“Well for one,” interjected Trixie, “We all exchanged Hearts and Hooves gifts this year. Friends might give each other cards or treats, but only lovers give each other flowers, poetry, and take each out for dinner.”
Starlight looked at Trixie in disbelief. “What are you talking about? The Cutie Mark Crusaders totally did all of those things this year, and they’re not dating! I had to give them the day off from teaching at the school because they were so insistent about it.”
Trixie and Sunburst both shared a hearty laugh before the blue mare clarified Starlight’s mistake. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders have been dating each other longer than we have, Starlight! Besides, what about the custom enchanted fireworks I made? They exploded into portraits of the three of us kissing.”
Starlight frowned at the magician in annoyance. “Trixie, you fired those fireworks inside the castle. They exploded against the ceiling and nearly turned the second floor into the ground floor. We spent the rest of that day doing repairs.”
Waving a hoof dismissively, Trixie maintained her signature smug grin. “That was a mistake on my part, but it doesn’t change the fact that those other things are totally romantic.”
Changing the subject, Sunburst offered his example. “What about the fact that everytime we see each other, we hug and kiss? Or how every time we leave, we tell each other ‘I love you?’ That’s rather decidedly romantic.”
Starlight began to sense her argument falling apart, but decided to stand her ground. “Sunburst, creatures all over the world treat that as a standard greeting. Just because it’s a little unusual for ponies doesn’t make it romantic. And there’s nothing wrong with telling your friends that you love them, Twilight does it all the time!”
Sunburst gave her doubtful smirk. “I’m fairly certain that when other creatures kiss as a greeting, it's usually on the cheek, and they definitely don’t use tongue.”
By now, Starlight’s face was turning bright red as she internally struggled to find explanations for their examples. Even now, she was completely at a loss for words. At the time, it just felt like the appropriate thing to do; she never considered it a romantic thing, even when in hindsight it seemed clear as day.
“Well to be fair I- You know that-” Starlight stopped herself again as she watched the pair in front of her laughing again. It stung a little to see them making fun of her inner turmoil at the moment, but she couldn’t help but smile a little. Seeing the two of them having fun like this, even at her expense, really did make her happy.
“Just admit it, Starlight,” said Trixie as she wiped a laugh-tear from her eye, “You’re the Headmare of Friendship, but you’re clueless when it comes to love!”
Starlight groaned as she tried to hide her face behind her hooves. “I cannot believe it never occurred to me until today.” Sunburst and Trixie both made their way around the table to sit beside their marefriend, each putting a hoof on her back to comfort her.
“To be perfectly honest, I’m just as shocked as you are, Starlight,” assured Sunburst empathetically. “To think it's been a full year since we asked you out, and at no point did you put two-and-two together. Better late than never, I suppose.”
Starlight lifted her head, frowning again. “Wait, you two asked me out at the same time? When was this?”
Trixie nuzzled Starlight’s neck affectionately as she explained, “When Sunburst moved to Ponyville, we began to spend more time together. We always got along well, and with us working together at the school, we had a lot of time to discuss things… Like our mutual crush on you.” Starlight’s face flushed red again, feeling once again embarrassed over her inability to sense what were apparently overt romantic tensions.
“We sort of began competing with each other to woo you, but you never seemed to notice,” continued Sunburst as he placed a gentle kiss on Starlight’s cheek. “We realized that over time, we started to like each other too, but still liked you as well. Eventually, we just both asked you out to a dinner date between the three of us, and you finally reciprocated. But now I realize you probably still didn’t understand what we meant back then.”
Sighing, Starlight looked down at the pancakes that had gone cold, the loving message now just a dark smear on the surface of the sweet treat. She then leaned back, pulling the pair into a tender hug. “I’m sorry for being a total idiot, you guys. When you two started being more affectionate, I just thought it was another kind of friendship. I just did what felt natural, and followed your leads. Not that it didn’t mean anything to me, I just didn’t realize that this was… dating. In hindsight, it really should have been obvious, huh?”
Trixie gave a sly grin as she mischievously licked Starlight’s muzzle, earning a cute noise in response. “I really thought the message would have been clear when we started sleeping together, but I guess there are some things even you don’t understand, Starlight Glimmer.”
Whimpering in defeat, Starlight returned to hiding her head under her hooves as her face heated up in shame once again. “I thought that was the ‘friendship with benefits’ thing that I’ve heard of. I’m so dumb.”
Trixie and Sunburst shared another laugh as their marefriend did her best to pretend not to exist, but eventually stopped to give her a reassuring hug together.
“At least now, we’re all officially on the same page, Starlight,” offered Sunburst as she sat back up to meet his loving gaze. “If you want, we can call today the day we started dating.”
Starlight looked at her two best friends, thinking about all the happiness they brought her together this past year. She thought about the meals they shared, the nights spent in their embrace, and the memories made that she would cherish for the rest of her life. Finally she shook her head, giving each of them a happy smile.
“There’s no need for that. This doesn’t change how I felt this past year. All this does is recontextualize what was already there.” Pausing, she looked down at the pancakes that although cold and soggy, still looked delicious. Picking up a fork and knife with her magic, she cut off a piece, and stuck it in her mouth, smiling at the flavour.
She quickly gave each of them a kiss on the lips, truly savouring the feeling for the first time. “You’re both still my best friends. I just have a better word for it now. Now I know for certain that I love you both romantically, not platonically.”
Sunburst and Trixie exchanged a quick glance before they both leaned in and kissed Starlight at the same time, each planting their own mark on an opposite cheek, before responding in unison; “We love you too, Starlight.”
With everything that needed to be said finally said, the three of them silently decided to finally get to work on eating their anniversary breakfast. It was messy, it was sweet, and in the end, it was theirs to share.
Author's Note
Dedicated to and inspired by my wonderful girlfriend who thankfully only took two weeks to figure out she was dating me and our boyfriend. Thanks for keeping my life interesting, love. 
