Trixie always feels like she's swimming upstream, what with money problems, family problems, alcohol problems, and whatever her problem is. For her kindness is scarce and support, even scarcer. As such she's been in survival mode for most of her life, which doesn't exactly translate to being kind or caring, or going out of her way to help others. She just wishes the world would change for her.

Starlight has always felt as though she were deep underwater, having been teased and disparaged all her life for being a blank flank well into adulthood. She doesn't see what's so wrong with being a blank flank, and why everypony is so mean about it all the time. When she finally gets her cutie mark she's astonished to find that Making Ponies Equal is her special talent, which kind of sucks the excitement out of the whole thing. Especially because now she has work to do.

Luna has had a lot of time to think, being stuck on the moon and all. She's seen Celestia's plans with Twilight and her friends, but she doesn't have high hopes. Her hopes lie with Starlight, Trixie and the select few other ponies who can truly understand the world as viewed from the outside. The same fatal magnetism that governs the Elements of Harmony govern Luna's chosen subjects, and when the time comes for them to meet, much much more than the tide will change.