Shine Brighter

The garage echoed as Trixie wrestled the guitar solo out of her Flying V. Her knuckles were turning white from how hard and fast her fingers moved across the fretboard, her whole body trembling as she shook the instrument like it owed her money. As she let her last chord ring out, Trixie struggled to catch her breath and her face was pouring sweat. But the noise and effort didn't make her feel good; it only made her feel worse.

She was angry, and her two bandmates could tell. Lavender Lace looked over to her dear friend and wore a worried frown on her face. “Trixie, maybe you should take a break.”

She couldn't. Even though her fingers were crying out from the guitar strings slicing them up, Trixie simply couldn't stop. And yet…

Tired from the singing, playing, and standing, Trixie relented, “Yeah, I guess we can call it there.” She lifted the strap over her head and set the guitar in the A-stand nearby. She walked over to a bean bag chair and collapsed into it, staring up at the garage ceiling. Lavender grabbed a dry rag and handed it to Trixie, who began unconsciously wiping sweat off of her face and neck as she stared at nothing.

She, Lavender, and Fuchsia Blush had been practicing in every spare moment the three of them had. It had been a week since the Musical Showcase; A week since the Rainbooms had upstaged Trixie and the Illusions! And all throughout the week, Trixie had been trying to hone her skills so she could wipe that smug grin off of Rainbow Dash's face! But there was no clear goal in mind, the fire had gone out, and all that was left was a smoldering ember!

Lavender tried to comfort Trixie, “Don’t feel bad, Trixie! Your solos sound amazing!” Even if it was an obvious fact, it did little to satisfy the talented guitarist.

Trixie sighed, but said nothing. She didn't have the energy to be her normal level of braggadocio, and she could tell it was making her friends uncomfortable.

Fuschia Blush spoke up next, “Is something on your mind? You know you can tell us anything.”

“Trixie is just… Frustrated. Not just that we should have won, fair and square, but also that The Great and Powerful Trixie just can't find that same joy-- the passion she felt when we were battling it out!”

Fuchsia Blush looked confused as she pressed, “But why though? I thought you liked practicing and trying to make shows better?”

“Trixie isn't sure. It feels like something's been missing ever since. I'm not feeling the same…” She trailed off, trying to find the word.

“Accomplishment?” Lavender guessed.

“Catharsis?” Fuchsia offered.

Trixie thought about it, but both words were simultaneously close and nowhere near fitting for what she was feeling, or rather not feeling. “Kinda… I think? Whatever it is, Trixie isn't getting it, and she's just left with the frustration, chasing after whatever the other feeling was.”

She sat up and put on a smile for her bandmates, “Sorry for calling for practices so often. Trixie's very thankful that you two are able to put up with her when she's working through stuff.”

Fuschia Blush shrugged as she said plainly, “It's no problem, Trixie, but I think we should start wrapping up. I gotta finish some make-up work for History or my mom's gonna kill me!”

Trixie rose to her feet and agreed, “Yeah, we can pick this up sometime after next week. Maybe some time away will help clear Trixie's head. Lace, can I…?”

Batting a hand to shrug it off, Lavender reassured her, “Don’t worry, I'll keep our equipment safe until our next practice. And I can also hold your guitar for you; it looks like you've got a lot on your mind, so you probably do without lugging it home.”

Lavender always did a great job at knowing when Trixie needed to take it easy. There was no one Trixie could trust more with things like her guitar, her textbooks, or even the occasional hat. Trixie briefly pulled her friends into a hug one at a time, before feigning a smile and walking out the side door to the garage. The three of them said their goodbyes and then Trixie and Fuchsia started walking home in opposite directions. It was only when she was out of sight of both of her friends that Trixie let her demeanor sink and she mulled it all over in her head again.

The Battle of the Bands had been declared, and everyone who had competed just moved on, with only a few bands staying together. Nobody denied that the Rainbooms had saved the school with their stupid rainbow magic, but Trixie knew in her heart that she was cheated out of a well-deserved victory! All throughout the Battle of the Bands there had been a star shining brightly within Trixie, and the fiery core was hotter than any flame her opponents had in their hearts.

But no matter how hard she tried to recover from defeat, Trixie couldn't find that fire. It had been so easy when the Dazzlings were around, but nobody had seen them since they were booed off the stage. As soon as they got blasted by the Rainbooms, Trixie lost that shining star within her, and the fire went out. Rumors circulated in the days after, many of them blaming the Dazzlings for the whole thing going wrong. Trixie wasn’t sure she believed any of them, though. She had a feeling that everyone was just sour about losing and needed it to be someone else's fault. For all Trixie knew, there was no such thing as a siren, and the only magical mischief going on was the Rainbooms using magic to steal the Dazzlings’ voices!

Still, Trixie couldn't stop wondering why the fire went out when the Dazzlings lost their voices. And her daily band practices haven't been rekindling that drive to win, only exacerbating the frustration of losing to Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Sunset Shimmer-- as well as their less-important bandmates. What could really be so special about Adagio and her two backup singers?

Adagio. Something about the memories of her derailed Trixie’s train of thought. Sure, she may have had the idea to turn the showcase into a competition, but Trixie couldn't help but feel respect for her. She had been the frontwoman of the Dazzlings, so clearly she was the brains of whatever was going on during the Musical Showcase. Maybe she had answers about how Trixie could find her fire and be a shining star again.

Trixie looked around, realizing she had walked out of the suburbs and into downtown, where a lot of the shops were. Although she was taking the long way, she could still make the journey home with only a few more turns. Without thinking about it, Trixie veered around the corner, bumping headfirst into a blazing wall of orange fluff! Trixie and the girl stumbled and struggled to catch their bearings, wincing from the collision.

“I'm so sorry about that! Are you…?” Trixie trailed off and gawked as she recognized the leader of the Dazzlings, rubbing her forehead, clothes covered in some kind of spilled drink, and looking like she had been through hell.

Adagio growled with bitter frustration as she bit back to nobody in particular, “Can I get one day where things go right in this miserable world?! Just one?! Is that too much to ask?!”

“Adagio?”

Adagio snapped out of her anger and looked at the blue girl with a slightly confused scowl. “Oh hey, Trixie, right?

“You remembered my name?”

Adagio shrugged. “Well yeah, you almost took out the Rainbooms.” She sneered at the name despite her casually ambivalent tone towards Trixie.

Trixie regained her composure and bragged, “It was nothing, really! Rainbow Dash has often been a nuisance for The Great And Powerful Trrrrrixie!!!”

Adagio seemed to be a bit underwhelmed by the magician, and instead fussed over the spilled iced coffee all over her top. “Great, I guess this outfit is ruined forever! Just perfect!”

Trixie abandoned her dramatic pose to rub the back of her neck and apologize, “Sorry, I was lost in thought. I'm sure if you soak that outfit before you wash it--!”

"I live in a van with two morons; we can't afford to go to the laundromat for another few days at least! So I guess this top is just gonna be stained!”

Trixie opened her mouth to speak, but no words came to mind. She racked her brain to think of how to make this better, idly putting one hand in her pocket. She felt a small device in her pocket and got an idea. “Allow me...” Clearing her throat and pulling the device out of her pocket, she held up a smoke bomb and declared, “Behold: The Magician's Exit!”

Trixie threw the smoke bomb to the ground, and with a loud bang and a cloud of smoke, Trixie and Adagio found themselves standing where the other had been standing. Adagio was visibly confused, not only in how she had gotten to where she was, but also how her clothes were now dry while Trixie's blouse had the spilled drink transferred onto it.

Striking a pose in spite of the mess on her chest, Trixie proudly proclaimed, “Voilà!”

Still examining her clean, dry clothes and the mostly empty cup in her hand for good measure, Adagio struggled to piece together a full sentence. “You… But what did--? Why am I--? And you're--? What?! How?!” The frazzled yellow girl widened her eyes and pointed at Trixie as she raised her befuddled voice slightly, “How did you do that?!”

“A Great and Powerful magician NEVER reveals her secrets!” Trixie gave a sly grin to cover up the fact that she wasn't fully sure how her own prestidigitation worked sometimes.

Adagio softened her expression and let out a soft chuckle, “I guess you're full of surprises!”

Trixie's grin widened as she boasted, “Careful now, you almost sounded impressed!”

With another chuckle, Adagio shook her cup of iced coffee and joked hopefully, “Got any tricks that'll top a girl off?”

Trixie quickly pulled out another smoke grenade and threw it at the ground. When the smoke cleared, she was holding a full cup of iced coffee that was clearly from the same shop that Adagio had purchased hers. “Caramel Iced with the drizzle?”

Adagio was elated and accepted the second cup, but she looked confused as she asked, “Why does this one have the name ‘Lyra H.’ on it?”

On cue, the door to the nearby cafe opened up and Lyra Heartstrings pointed to Trixie with an accusatory shout, “Hey! You stole my order!”

“Run!”

Adagio wasted no time in following after Trixie as they both ran back the way Trixie had come, ducking down an alley and making a few turns to try to lose the disgruntled coffee shop patron. After a sufficient amount of running, Adagio and Trixie staggered to a halt in an alley behind a random bookstore. After a few seconds of catching their breaths, the two girls looked at each other and began to laugh.

Adagio had to keep from spilling either of the clear plastic cups of iced coffee as she cackled, “That girl was so mad!”

Trixie chortled, “I know! She and her girlfriend are probably gonna give me an earful when we see each other at school!”

The two panting and sweating girls shared another breathless laugh as Adagio took a victory sip of the stolen coffee. After appreciating the flavor, the leader of the Dazzlings mused, “Mmm, it's just how I like it! Lyra H. has good taste!” She met Trixie's gaze as she remarked, “I didn't take you to be the type, Trixie!”

“Someone as Great and Powerful as I am does not trifle with matters of right and wrong! If I want something, I get it, plain and simple!” In reality, Trixie didn't prefer to steal-- maybe from the occasional vending machine-- but she thought it made her sound cooler and more confident.

“Well, in any case, thanks for hooking a thirsty girl up! You look like you're still out of breath, would you like a sip?”

Trixie felt how dry her mouth was and only paused momentarily to wonder why Adagio was offering it so freely. Then again, she did get it at a five-finger-discount, so perhaps she was just being polite in giving her a cut of the loot. Deciding she was more thirsty than curious, Trixie accepted the cup and tried not to suck it down too greedily. The sweet cold coffee was refreshing, given how dehydrated Trixie was from sweating through band practice and then running in a mad scramble. She handed the cup back to Adagio, who sucked half of the large cup down in one go. Her hand was covered in water from the condensation, so Trixie used that hand to wipe her brow. Even the slight moisture and cold was welcome in the early evening heat!

“I'm more of a Black and White Mocha Frappe kind of girl, but I do have to admit, that does taste good!”

Adagio looked at the first cup, and had an awkward look on her face as she offered. “You, uhh… You want this one, since you're kinda wearing it?”

Trixie laughed as she remembered the wet brown spot on her blouse, wondering how much work it will take to keep it from staining. Accepting the cup of sweet coffee diluted by melted ice, Trixie boasted, “A little elbow grease and some magic, and it'll be like it never happened!”

Adagio seemed to react to that in a minute way, but she closed her eyes and shook her head. Her face looked forlorn when she shook away whatever thought she had. Trixie pondered that reaction for a moment as they both sipped on their drinks.

Adagio broke the silence, “So, this magic that you have… It’s definitely not Equestrian magic like the Rainbooms.”

Trixie scoffed at the comparison, but didn't let her disdain bleed into her voice as she proclaimed, “The Rainbooms may have rainbow lasers, but they will never be able to compare to the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrrrixie!!!”

Adagio let out a soft chuckle, remarking, “Maybe I could learn a thing or two about this kind of magic; It certainly wouldn't hurt to learn how to adapt to this miserable world--!” She cut herself off and threw a hand to her mouth as her wide eyes glanced over to Trixie.

Trixie chose to ignore that odd slip. “I-- Uhh… Err, well… I suppose, if you wanted to learn how to use magic, there is something we can do to help each other. You see, the Great and Powerful Trixie has been in a bit of a slump ever since the Battle of the Bands. Something is missing and Trixie was hoping you could help her find that spark; the passion, the thrill I had during the competition. You were one of the few people Trixie went up against who recognized my greatness!”

Adagio again had a subtle reaction to something Trixie had said, but that only convinced Trixie that she knew something about why the fire went out. This was Trixie's chance, she couldn’t let it slip away. Trixie crossed her arms and tapped her chin, making sure to look Adagio over just long enough. “Perhaps Trixie could impart some of her knowledge, if you were to meet her in the drama club room tomorrow.”

Adagio’s face fell into a scowl again. “At CHS? Yeah, no. I’m not taking the chance of running into Sunset Shimmer again! If I show my face there again they’ll run me out of town!”

Trixie simply blinked. “Oh, good point... Well… How about you come over to Trixie’s place this weekend? I keep most of my tricks in the garage anyway. What’s your number?”

“Ooh! So forward, Trixie! If I didn't know better…” Adagio’s smile curled into a cheshire grin and she leaned into Trixie, whose blue cheeks were quickly going scarlet. Her heart was starting to pound again, causing her to nearly drop her phone as she fumbled for it in her pocket.

“Er-- I, uh..” Trixie stammered.

Adagio simply laughed, reaching two fingers into her purse and producing a pen and notepad, scribbling a few digits onto it before ripping a note off, folding it up, and gently tucking it into Trixie’s pants pocket. It seemed Adagio was making sure to gently brush her fingers against Trixie’s hand. “It’s a date.” She said, grinning mischievously.

Trixie felt as though her face would combust from the immense heat in her cheeks. She lost the ability to speak or even think. Adagio chuckled as she backed away, leaving Trixie to stew in her feelings. When the world came back into focus, Trixie was alone in the alleyway. Only the empty cup still in her hand and the small note in her pocket could prove to her that it wasn't some dream.