Writing fillies is so much harder than I thought it'd be. But they grow up a little from here on out. This was originally going to be Twixie but a lot of you seem to think that it's more of a one-sided thing. To be honest, unrequited love sounds better anyway so it can be one-sided. Twilight wouldn't be the kind of marefriend to leave her love behind, anyway.
Celestia delivered an enthralling lesson on showmareship. All through the tales of the royal court being entertained by mares who performed wondrous magic acts, Trixie listened and diligently took notes. She knew now what she wanted to do. Being a showmare sounded so wonderful! The thought that went into each performance, the ease with which grand shows could be put on, and the delight of the audience all sounded so amazing to the little filly.
"Isn't Celestia great?" Twilight commented dreamily on the way home that day. They were going to Trixie's house as Twilight's parents had to attend a meeting that ran late and her brother was away learning to be a royal guard.
"Yeah, and being a showmare sounds so interesting," Trixie nodded. "The audience, the spells, the splendour! It sounds so wonderful, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Twilight enthused. "Those spells aren't easy for me, though. You saw what happened last time I tried to make a smoke-screen." Of course Trixie remembered- it had blown up a small portion of the school courtyard.
"Don't worry, your talent is with other kinds of magic. But maybe it can be my special talent," Trixie smiled. "I want to start practicing right away!"
"And I can be your practice audience," Twilight decided. "I always love those shows, my parents always take me whenever one's in town. Shining Armour used to take me but then he got a fillyfriend and he spends all his time with her now."
"I'd better go ahead and set up my show," Trixie decided, breaking into a gallop. She always felt awkward whenever Twilight talked about her family, maybe because her own hadn't been that close lately. Her parents always left early and came home late, so there was little time left for being a family. And Trixie spent all her time studying or practicing spells.
Back at home, Trixie set up a temporary stage in the living room with sheets, couch cushions, and a little magic. Then, she sat on her makeshift stage, which was the floor, and thought up a nice little magic act. She wanted to amaze Twilight just like Twilight amazed her every day with her talent. And she wanted to use her book for inspiration...
When Twilight entered the house, she smiled and trotted into the living room upon seeing the stage. She'd seen plenty of real stages but this one was smaller, less extravagant. It was infinitely more charming in its humbleness.
"Welcome to Trixie's Tricks starring me, Trixie!" Trixie cried, jumping onto the stage with a smokescreen. Twilight applauded the ease with which she pulled it off. "Today, I'll be showing you one of the mysterious creatures of the Everfree forest..." She concentrated for a moment and suddenly a terrifying Minotaur appeared. Twilight gasped and stepped back in fright as the beast roared and lunged at her, but it disappeared as soon as its paws breached the boundary of the stage.
"The Minotaur is a terrifying creature that lives in the Everfree Forest. Its terrifying lion appearance is to help it catch unsuspecting ponies but, if you try to escape, its scorpion tail will make you paralysed so it can eat you up without needing to chase you," the blue unicorn explained, her magic working to illuminate the terrifying scenes. "So if you see a Minotaur, run away! That is, if it doesn't see you first..." Again, the Minotaur appeared but this time it turned and its gaze locked on Twilight. She screamed as it jumped off the stage, but luckily it vanished in a blue mist.
"Wow! Trixie, that was amazing!" Twilight applauded, jumping up and giving Trixie the thunderous hoof-stomping that usually greeted the big magic shows.
"Thank you, you've been a wonderful audience," Trixie beamed, bowing in Twilight's admiration. After deconstructing the stage, the two fillies continued with their homework and chatting for the day.
After that, Trixie put on a show for Twilight every day after school. She even once put on one for her parents after dinner. They were amazed and her mother even commented that it was the best magic show she'd ever seen and truly the highlight of her day.
Finally, it was at one of the shows for Twilight that Trixie's cutie mark appeared. This time, there were a lot more flashy spells that Trixie had perfected (and Twilight had ruined several sets of perfectly good curtains while trying to perfect) as well as a few more creatures that she could put on shows about.
At the end of the rousing, fascinating show about Timberwolves, Trixie noticed a flash on her flank.
"Is that...?" she gasped, unable to contain the grin on her face. "It is! I got my cutie mark!" She cheered and jumped around Twilight, who was looking on in excitement. She'd never seen another pony get their cutie mark before. But the star wand and magic dust on Trixie's flanks really showcased her special talent for showmareship and Twilight couldn't be prouder of her best friend.
"Yay! Celestia helped you get your cutie mark!" Twilight cheered, joining Trixie in jumping around the room. If Celestia hadn't told Trixie about showmareship, the little filly wouldn't have felt the drive to become a showmare herself.
"You helped me a lot too," Trixie enthused, stopping her excited bouncing to look at Twilight seriously. "You were my test audience and even though you weren't so good at the showmare spells, you still tried so I wouldn't feel left out. So thank you, Twilight. Thank you for everything." And she threw her hooves around her in a hug.
Looking back on it, that may have been the moment when Trixie first started falling in love with Celestia's star pupil. She hadn't realised it back then, being so caught up in the excitement of getting her cutie mark, but that was the moment when Trixie had first looked at Twilight with love as well as friendship and awe.