Coneigh Island was no stranger to festivities. The peninsula was the site of many amusement parks, had an extensive beachfront that attracted tourists during the summer months, and was generally the go-to place for fun and enjoyment.

Today, its capacity for fun was tested to the limit, when it had become ground zero for a genuine Pinkie Party.

And not just any Pinkie Party. Pinkie Pie had called in all her resources and all her fellow party ponies. Music played in every corner, in a dozen genres, enough to entertain anypony. Vendors from all over Equestria had been called in to serve up a mountain's worth of food and drink for all the guests. The amusement parks, game parlors and cafes had been opened for the public. Banners and posters hung everywhere, while a blonde pegasus in a Wonderbolt suit flew around and handed out balloons to anypony who looked sufficiently balloon-deprived. And there were ponies (and non-ponies) of all kinds and colors everywhere; locals, visitors, vendors, staff, and one wide-eyed VIP.

Trixie stared at the spectacle before her. For a moment, she could find no words. It was a party. No, it was a Party. An event that outclassed the Grand Galloping Gala in scope, if not taste. It was… garish, even a bit tacky, and yet… it seemed fun.

She blushed a little as she noticed that most of the banners and posters held her name, or depicted her cutiemark, or even herself in full. She had never ever been so narcissistic to show off to this extent (discounting that time, of course), but it seemed somepony had a different idea. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"How?" she asked hoarsely. She cleared her throat and tried again. "How in all Tartarus were you able to book Coneigh Island this quickly?"

"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said simply.

"Yes," Octavia concurred. "Apparently she, and I quote, 'knows a guy who knows a guy'. Like the music?"

Trixie's ears perked up as she managed to pick out a few sweet strains from the din. She swallowed hard. "It's…"

"It's some of the stuff we used to play, back in Canterlot," Octavia said. "Fun times, huh? You'll hear better from inside."

"Hey! Hey!" Rainbow shouted, her voice barely making itself heard over the crowd by the entrance. It seemed practically half of Equestria was here. "Guest of honor coming through! Make way! Make way!" Ponies turned their heads their way, and with a few cheers and a lot of flashing cameras, the crowd parted before them, with the exception of a wine-red mare who seemed a little too preoccupied with her drink to pay attention.

The four ponies walked down the path, everypony's eyes on them. Coco looked like she could die from embarrassment. Curiously, despite being the very center of attention, something she usually loved, Trixie was not in a good mood. As far as she was concerned, there was only one pony she wanted to meet right now; one pony who had some explaining to do.

And there she was. Princess Twilight Sparkle, resplendent in her blue dress, flower bouquet in her hoof, wings twitching nervously as though she was half trying to take off. She looked absolutely gorgeous. And a nearby sound system was playing that music.

It wasn't fair. This was psychological warfare. This was torture.

Trixie steeled herself and marched up to her enemy, fighting off the urges to run, or attack, or embrace her. The others hung back. "Well, well, well," she said as calmly as possible. "If it isn't Twilight Sparkle."

"Hi, Trixie…" Twilight said, blushing. "You look nice."

"Why, yes I do," Trixie said, lifting one sock-clad hoof to brush away a stray lock. The marvelous outfit fit her wonderfully, from the dress to the socks to the jewelry. The fabric hugged tight around her bodice, yet allowed her legs to move freely, just the way she liked it. She felt magnificent. By comparison, her usual hat and cloak seemed downright spartan and utilitarian. She wondered if Coco had made it herself, or if Rarity had had a hoof in it. Maybe they both had. "You look pretty good too."

"Thank you," Twilight said, blushing deeper. If Trixie wasn't so upset, she would have found it incredibly cute.

"So…" Trixie gestured around her. "Is this your latest attempt to snare Trixie's heart? A lavish jubilation to her honor? Do you really wish to spoil her rotten this way?"

Twilight shook her head. "Actually, no. This is all Pinkie Pie's doing. She's been itching to throw a party since we got here, and… well."

"This is her usual kind of party?" Trixie asked, arcing an eyebrow.

Twilight looked around at the activities and shook her head again. "No, this is actually excessive even by her standards. She's been preparing for this all week. I was worried what might happen if she didn't get to do it."

"Pies are weird," Trixie muttered. "So where's Cheese Sandwich? This whole thing stinks of his meddlesome antics."

An unusually large balloon descended from above – courtesy of the pegasus party patrol – and popped, disgorging a lanky party pony. "My ears are burning, somepony must be talking about me!" He took out a small spritzer bottle and soaked his ears. "Hey, Trixie! So glad you could make it! This party wouldn't be half as fun without you, seeing as it's kinda your party!"

"Cheese—" she began, but he put a hoof to her mouth.

"Before you say anything, I have something on my heart." He took a deep breath. "Trixie, you're bags of fun, and I'd love to be part of your growing circle of friends you apparently don't think exists…"

"Are you… breaking up with her?" Twilight asked.

"Let me finish," he said somberly. "Thing is, you're way too intense. I'm a fun guy, and you're a fun gal, but what you need isn't something I can really give you. I thought we matched pretty well, but it's just not going to cut it. Besides, Twilight genuinely loves you, whereas I honestly just fancy you."

Trixie pushed his hoof away. "That's it?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry to come across as a little shallow, but…" He waved his hoof over his head. "I'm way in over my head here. And no offense, but I always got the feeling you were only dating me so you wouldn't have to deal with commitment." He smiled. "So… friends?"

"...Friends," Trixie said after some hesitation. "Mind you, I'm not good at keeping in touch."

"Don't worry, you won't lose me that easily." He grinned. Then his eyes widened and he gasped in childish wonder. "They have cotton candy! Wait for meeee!" He bounced off into the crowd.

For a moment, both mares contemplated with bafflement the pony named Cheese Sandwich. Trixie then shook her head vigorously. "Never mind that. I think you have something to tell me, Twilight."

"Oh?" Twilight blinked in surprise. "Oh! Right. Um, I love you."

Trixie gave her a dumbfounded look. "You set up all this just to tell me that again? I appreciate it, but I don't—" Her words were cut off when Twilight put a hoof to her lips.

"I wasn't finished, Trixie," Twilight said with a touch of annoyance. "Like I said, I love you. You've been on my mind for… well, I don't really know how long. It might have started when you left Ponyville the last time… or the first time. I don't know, it might have happened the first time I saw you, the novels talk a lot about 'love at first sight', though I'm not entirely sure that actually works, and…" She took a deep breath. "Point is, it's been going on for a while. For the longest time I didn't even know it was love – I just couldn't get you out of my head. But I love pretty much everything about you, I think, and now that I've actually gotten to know you better, I love you even more. Even if you're capricious and a tease and a little mean and you make up tall tales – and I love that, too."

Trixie didn't say anything.

"I love you," Twilight said. "But that's the thing, isn't it? It's just my feelings about it, and there are two ponies in this relationship. I don't know if you love me, and I can't make you love me. I can only do what I can to maybe make you happy, and maybe you'll fall in love with me, somehow. I wasn't trying to impress you with everything I did… okay, maybe a little, because it was kind of fun, but mostly I just wanted you to see how special you are to me."

Trixie carefully plucked a flower from Twilight's bouquet and nibbled on it. "Go on," she said.

"But that's not enough either," Twilight said. "And last night Pinkie Pie told me something. She was… she…" Twilight decided that it would not help her case to explain Pinkie's… whatever she had done. "She said that your wagon was important to you. That it let you be you, and that it was important for you to be you."

"It's broken now, by the way," Trixie said. Twilight looked shocked. "Never mind that for now. Deal with it later. Go on, go on."

"Ah… um…" Twilight took a breath and pulled herself together. "You're free, Trixie. You go wherever you want and do whatever you want and you don't call anypony your master."

"Except for the audience," Trixie pointed out with a smile.

"Except for the audience," Twilight agreed. "I like that. I guess that's why you were so torn up when—"

"Twilight?" Trixie interrupted. "Don't drag up the past. Okay?"

"Okay," Twilight said quickly. "I… it's like you're a bird, always flying free, and then I showed up and said that I loved you, and I acted like I had the right to just take you home and, and put you in a cage."

Trixie's eyes widened. Her heart started beating faster and she was feeling suddenly warm all over. "You got it."

Twilight nodded. "I think I do. Trixie, I would never hurt you. I love you. And… I can't simply make you mine, but will you… will you let me be yours?"

Trixie stared at the mare before her… this beautiful, loving, gentle mare whom a simple stage pony like her would never deserve, yet was giving herself to her so freely… and cursed herself when the first thing she thought was how much more dramatic this would be if it were night and fireworks burst across the sky. Instead it was just a sunny day. But Trixie had not become the pony she was by letting the weather interfere with her performance.

Trixie took one deft step forward, and laid her left foreleg around Twilight's neck while her right hoof rested against the right side of the mare's head, caressing her cheek gently. For one drawn-out second, she gazed into Twilight's eyes, noticing for the first time how similar in color they were to her own. Then she leaned in, and their lips finally met for the first time.

As it turned out, there were fireworks after all.

A while later, the two mares had retreated to a park bench conveniently placed in a hedge nook, keeping the hubbub of the party away a little. Twilight was curled up against Trixie's side, sighing happily as the magician stroked her mane.

"Okay, we're definitely going to have to work on kissing, Twilight," Trixie said. "You're not supposed to pass out when you do it. I'm not that good, honestly."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said, despite smiling wide. "You just excite me."

"Of course I do," Trixie said proudly. "But you're going to have to grow out of it, or you'll miss out. Particularly when it comes to the really fun stuff."

"Ooh!" Twilight squeaked, blushing. Yes, now that Trixie thought about it, it was almost unbearably cute. "I'll, I'll try my best." Twilight sighed again, while in front of them Pinkie Pie led a conga dance past, with a grey pegasus, a white unicorn, a navy blue pegasus and the drunken earth pony from before hanging on. "Trixie, do you love me?"

Trixie pretended to think about it for a moment. "Yeah, sure."

"Trixie…" Twilight insisted.

Trixie laughed. "Yes, Twilight, I love you."

"Really?" Twilight asked.

"Yes! Of course I do!" Trixie said.

"Really really?" Twilight insisted.

Trixie puffed herself up proudly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie says that our love will be spoken of in ages to come! We will be immortalized in song and story! We shall live forever in the stars!"

Twilight giggled and booped Trixie on the nose. "And what does the real Trixie say? The one who's not putting on a façade all the time?"

"She thinks you're being just a bit too clingy," Trixie said with a laugh. "I love you, okay? Or something close to it, anyway. At the very least, I can be happy with you. I trust you, Twilight." She ran a gentle hoof across Twilight's cheek, causing the mare to shudder a little. "I still don't really know why you love me so much, though. I'm not very nice, and I'm rotten friend."

"You're better than you think," Twilight said, sniffing Trixie's mane. It smelled like fireworks and magic, and made her heart race. "And your friends must agree if they're willing to go as far as they do for you."

"Heh," Trixie said. "If you say so."

"I'm a bit of an expert on the subject," Twilight said with a knowing grin. "I'll show you how it works."

Octavia stepped into the nook and looked at them. Vinyl was passed out over her back for some reason. "Oh, there you are. How did it go?"

"Just fine," Twilight said. "What's with your friend?"

"She's a lightweight," Octavia said. She poured the unconscious unicorn onto the park bench next to Trixie before squeezing herself in. "It'd be a huge smear on her DJ persona, so don't tell anypony, but… one bottle and she's out."

Trixie carefully checked Vinyl's hoof for a pulse. "One bottle of what, though?"

"Funny, Vinyl didn't think to ask that," Octavia said with a smirk. "So what's next for you two?"

"Who knows?" Trixie said blithely. "We could date, see the sights in Manehattan…"

"Trixie…" Twilight said. "My friends and I really need to get back to Ponyville. And… I was really hoping you'd come with me."

"Mmm… I'm not sure," Trixie said. She gently stroked Twilight's wing. "I've grown so fond of my friend, Coco Pommel. It wouldn't be fair to leave her all alone."

Octavia smacked Trixie on the head. "Stop being an idiot, idiot. You can keep in touch anyway, you know? Letters? Visiting? I wouldn't mind hearing more from you, either."

"Well…" Trixie considered.

"Don't you trust me?" Twilight asked.

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Well, when you put it like that…" She smirked knowingly. "Trixie is in need of a vacation. Ponyville is nice this time of year. Maybe I'll stay awhile. Until I grow bored and decide to travel again."

"I'll just have to keep you from getting bored, then, will I?" Twilight said with a playful smile.

"I guess you will," Trixie agreed, smiling back. "Of course, there might be room for one more pony in my wagon. I've never thought about it before, but traveling can get lonely sometimes, and my bed gets a little cold at night."

"Ooh," Twilight squealed happily.

"Right," Octavia said. She stood up and threw Vinyl over her back. "Time to get this girl up and running again, because she has to work in five minutes. See you later, Trixie." She started to walk away, then stopped. "By the way, Heartstrings lives in Ponyville."

"Really?" Trixie said, surprised. "Must have missed her last time I… uh, visited. What's she doing there?"

"Busking, last I heard," Octavia said. She shrugged and wandered off.

"Huh, nice," Trixie said. "She owes me fifty bits. Aagh, but then I'll have to explain why I had that evil amulet…" She groaned.

"No, you don't. I said I explained about that to everypony, didn't I?" Twilight said. "Now that I think about it, I didn't know then why she only said, 'Yeah, that figures'…"

A comfortable silence fell over the duo as they cuddled up against each other.

Cheese Sandwich wandered past, his hooves around both Minty and Surprise, who giggled. "…Not saying I'm into older ladies, but what do you say we try to bridge the generation gap? I'm definitely…"

"Hmph!" Trixie snorted derisively. "Cheese doesn't seem too broken up about losing me. At least I have you to fall back on."

Twilight rolled her eyes at what she hoped was Trixie joking again. "You know, most ponies would think that dating a princess was a big deal."

"I am a queen," Trixie pointed out. "A princess is, huh, just about enough for my standards."

"I'm not sure you still get to keep the title if you flee the kingdom," Twilight said. "And even if you do, I'm pretty sure the Diamond Dogs have impeached you by now."

"They're dogs," Trixie said derisively. "They'd have to find peaches first, and those aren't in season for another month."

Twilight couldn't help but laugh. "You know, it's things like this that makes me realize that I'll never be able to discount anything you claim."

"Good. Trixie is supposed to keep you wondering, because Trixie is wonderful." Trixie grinned impishly and wrapped her hooves around her lover. "And so are you, my love. Now, let's see if you can keep from falling apart when I kiss you this time…"

"So it all worked out, then?" Coco Pommel asked. She, Rarity and Spike were currently strolling idly across the outer party grounds as the sun started to approach the horizon.

Rarity was balancing a stuffed toy on her back, courtesy of Spike; the ball-throwing booth operator thought that he had been smart by banning telekinesis, but failed to account for the improved precision afforded to a species with proper grasping claws. Rarity thought that the toy was a bit garish, but loved it nonetheless. "Oh, yes," she said. "I couldn't hear what they said, but the kiss at the end spoke volumes. They're an item now, I'd bet my next lineup on it."

"Bleh," Spike muttered.

"Oh, Spikey-Wikey, don't be that way," Rarity admonished. "Surely you saw it coming."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," he complained. "I'm gonna have to move into the basement or move out or something. And I'll have to deal with Trixie everyday."

"Trixie's not so bad," Coco said. She grinned. "She's a sucker for hay shakes, by the way. She'll do anything for them."

"I'll remember that," Rarity said with a mischievous grin. "Oh, it's a shame we had to split you two apart, though. You've been a great friend to her."

"We'll still be friends," Coco said. "I'll just have to stay in touch, one way or another. And it was nice to get acquainted with Miss Melody… I mean, Octavia. She said she'd spread word of me to her contacts in Canterlot, and that might mean some serious work."

"Nice!" Spike said. "Guess you're getting something out of the deal after all."

"So when will we be seeing your own designs, Coco?" Rarity asked. "You're a good seamstress, but I can tell that you'll want to break into the big league eventually."

"Well…" Coco began.

"…Ah'm just sayin', any stallion ah'm interested in better accept they're gonna live an' work on the Acres, because ah'm not budging on that," Applejack said, strolling past. Rainbow Dash followed her, carrying Pinkie Pie on her back as the party pony blew on a noisemaker and threw confetti into the air. "Not ev'ry stallion wants that kinda life, see?"

"AJ, there's a difference between dating and getting hitched for life," Rainbow Dash said. "You can have fun now and then. You know fun, right? What we're having now? Right, Pinkie?"

"Yeppers peppers!" Pinkie cheered, blowing her noisemaker again. "Oh, hey girls and Spike! Are you having fun?"

"Yes, thank you," Coco said happily. "I've never had a party like this."

"Neither have we," Rarity said. "I doubt we shall see a party of this scale again."

Pinkie grinned. "Is that a challenge? I think it is! Giddyup, Dashie, we have work to do!"

"Oh, just have some cake and relax for once, Pinkie," Rainbow muttered. "I have enough work waiting for me back home. C'mon, AJ."

Applejack shrugged. "Yeah, yer right, we've done our chores. If Twilight still ain't hooked up by now, I ain't helping no more."

Rarity smiled and turned back to Coco as the other group wandered off in search of more excitement. "I'm sorry, dear. You were saying?"

"Oh, nothing important," Coco replied. "I'll think about your suggestion, but right now I just want to take the opportunities I've been given. It'll give me a chance to visit Ponyville, too."

"You're welcome anytime," Rarity said. She suddenly sighed. "I'm a little sad, though."

"Why's that, Rarity?" Spike asked.

"Oh, all this love and romance and flowers and candy and singing has just made it so clear to me how empty my own love life is," Rarity complained. "When will Rarity get her soulmate? When is it my turn?"

"Oh, I'm sure your time will come, Rarity," Coco reassured. "I just know he's out there, somewhere."

"Yeah…" Spike said under his breath. "Closer than you think."

The sun set majestically against the Manehattan skyline. Fluttershy admired the sight from her perch on the big ferris wheel, leaning against a handsome beige earth pony stallion with a long beard and oddly yellow-tinged eyes. If asked, he would introduce himself as Doctor Oxide, or however his name was pronounced: a specialist in probability theory, Brownian motion, and the quantum impact of butterfly behavior.

"So you knew all along?" Fluttershy asked.

The stallion chortled. "I had a certain feeling, my dear. That little blueberry is quite adept at stirring up chaos. A real troublemaker, that one."

Fluttershy frowned. "That's not nice to say."

"I meant it as the purest of compliments," Dr Oxide said gregariously. "I do so appreciate a pony who can make things interesting. Not that you're not interesting, of course, Fluttershy."

"No, I see what you mean," she said.

"And of course it made the headlines," he said. He took out a copy of the Manehattan Gazette from… well, he must have taken it from somewhere, since newspapers don't appear out of nowhere. It bore the headline Royal Rumble Of Romance! and had a large picture of Trixie, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich facing off on Trixie's stage, as well as a smaller picture of Twilight looking awkward. "What, you thought something like this could happen right in the Big Orange without anypony noticing? Preposterous."

"The princesses know, then?" she asked. "What did they say?"

"You know, I came here with a most curious pair of girls," he said, seemingly ignoring her question. "Called themselves Sunny Daze and Moonlit Nights, I think. Don't know where they went, but they seemed quite intent on enjoying the party. Said they had looked forward to something like this for a while." He chuckled. "Oh, the princesses? Oh, I suppose they're happy that Purplesmart Sparklybutt is finally growing up. Wouldn't know. Didn't ask."

"I see," Fluttershy said. "I suppose things would have become too complicated if they had gotten involved directly."

"Mmm," he said. "That's admittedly their standard excuse for, well, everything. Haven't you ever wondered why Twilight has to do all the work all the time? On the other hoof, it was quite a sight to see all of you giving it the ol' college try. A real team effort, yeah? Remind me to hire you all next time I go a-courtin'. And that's of course why we had to keep the pink one out of the game."

"The pink… Princess Cadence?" Fluttershy asked. She realized that they had been up by the top of the ferris wheel for quite some time now, even though it seemed to be turning. She didn't mind, though; the view was wonderful and she was in good company. "Yes, I suppose she'd want to get involved somehow."

"Oh, you don't know half of it," he said with a laugh. "She can smell a love situation across half of Equestria. She's like a shark, except she doesn't eat the pony she finds. I hope. Anyway, if she had gotten involved, she'd have tried to run the whole show, and where's the fun in that? Not to mention what her husband might've done if he found out that his little sister had run off to Manehattan to hook up with a showgirl. No, we had to keep them out of the loop. Some misdirection, a little interference. Locking Cadence in a closet, metaphorically speaking… and literally speaking, once or twice. Sending Shiney Hiney to look for possible minotaur incursions to the west, or fetch a bundle of left-hoofed spears from the armory. And so on and so forth."

Fluttershy couldn't resist laughing. "You're incorrigible."

"Now, I think you've proven that quite wrong, my dear," he said, giving her a pat on the head. "I did have some fun, though. So… did you have fun?"

She thought about it. "Yes, I did. It was tough at times, and… Twilight got really heartbroken a few times, but all in all, it was fun. Even if I didn't do much."

He smiled warmly at her. "I think you did more than you'd believe. You usually do."

As night finally fell and the moon rose, a great barrage of fireworks was loosened on the sky, to the delight of almost everypony below.

And in a discreet, out-of-sight nook in the gardens, two lovers paid them no mind at all as they held each other tight with no intention of planning to let go in the nearest future.

"Twilight?"

"Yes, Trixie?"

"I hope you're aware that you'll have to live with me on a regular basis from now on."

"Yes, that's what I've been hoping for, Trixie."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading To Romance A Magician, and I hope you've enjoyed it!

Coming up next: More stories!