What’s wrong with the dialogue that was presented in the actual scene?

@Phantom Rider  
I think your missing the point about the whole methodical masochism thing, but its okay that we drop it.
 
True, but its the only piece of context we have toward the alternative. Its not much, and like I said before, I blame the writers not giving more context and making the situation, at least for Trixie’s perspective, as close a suicide scenario as one gets. Of all the characters that they could have chosen, they chose a character that knows rock bottom more then most people and just lost the only friend they ever had. Even without the what-if suicide, its already a grimdark emotional place for any person to be in.

@CronoM  
Well, what was said was that she’d been torturing herself with this thing every night. And that’s what was happening.
 
I have trouble believing Trixie would bring an untamed pony-eating predator onto stage with a crowd. The manticore even bowed. >>1143099

@Phantom Rider  
Of course they glossed over it. What was seen was spelled out but the actual implications. They especially didn’t delve into the implications of her punishing herself every single night, it was just discussed as a matter of her forgiving herself. I don’t think I need to tell you that such methodical abuse isn’t that simple.
 
Where’s the leap? The dangerous trick WAS stated to be suicide without their plan. Trixie felt like she lost the only friend she ever had, and actually the dangerous trick without their plan right after publically stating how much she screwed up her life and her friendship. That’s CALLED suicide. We can guess there was more to it, but it will only be guesses. We have to accept that.

@CronoM  
Except they didn’t gloss over any of that. What happened to the Arimaspi and what the Tantibus was made for were clearly spelled out.
 
This, on the other hand: Trixie’s performing a dangerous trick. Leaping from that to public suicide is… well, leaping.

@Phantom Rider  
As long as it was avoided and nobody treated it like a suicide, they can easily get away with it being what almost happened. Its actually pretty common in earlier shows.
 
Similar to how they don’t have to directly address the Tantabus being a twisted type of emotional masochism, they can get away with it.
 
Similar to how they can kill off a character and even show its corpse, its okay if it happens in the past.  

 
We can all speculate that Trixie had safety precautions, and we’d probably be right, but at the same time it was never stated at all. We can’t bash people for simply following what is given in the show, even if it is a little grimdark.

Does everybody really think she was going to have herself eaten alive on stage?
 
Yeah, no way. Just ‘cause fans are obsessed with grimdark doesn’t mean the writers are.

@Background Pony #59B4  
That I blame more on the writing, and that they assumed she wasn’t going to commit suicide. To be fair, its not a common thing in Equestria, let alone Ponyville. Regardless, without the clarity the episode never gave on its safety, I certainly wouldn’t take the chances.
 
…On the other hand, while it is a bit morbid….one does have to admit that Trixie is a pony far more acquanted with rock bottom then any other character. Not that Twilight or Starlight would know/understand that, but still.
 
Poor, alone, ostracized for something that wasn’t her fault mostly, tries to take revenge but becomes a monster she hates with terrible crimes due to the amulet, is barely starting to go on tour again when she finally finds a friend but she fucks it up and can’t entirely blame Twilight for it.
 
I’m not saying that that’s a formula for suicide… but that kind of is a formula for suicide. Maybe not completely, but enough so that ‘if I really did screw this up with the only person who cared about me, then sayonara world’
 
Nobody said that Trixie’s life was rainbows and sunshine.

@CronoM  
Given how nonchalant she was when she congratulated Trixie on the trick, I got the impression Twilight did not think she was in much real danger at all, and thought it was just a magician trick (as obviously Twilight could do the same thing teleporting, her saying she couldn’t only makes sense if she thinks teleporting was not involved).
 
Heck the scene only makes any sense if one assumes that neither Starlight or Twilight thought Trixie’s life was in danger.
 
The whole talk on the hill was basically about whether Starlight should give Trixie another chance or not at being friends and to help out with the show, it was far too calm for it to be about letting her die or not.

My headcanon is that Trixie wasn’t really trying to kill herself, but she planned to try to do a teleport spell once she’s in the Manticore, even though she knew that she was no where near good at that spell to rely on it.

@Inkan1969  
@Background Pony #59B4  
I admit that the trick was only as dangerous as Trixie set it up to be so it likely had a few safety measures, but Starlight and Twilight don’t have that information. Starlight was emotionally hurt but I expected Twilight to be a bit more urgent about the situation.

@Starswirl  
If it was anything but practical suicide, I would NOT call what Twilight ‘asked’ of Starlight to be leaving it up to fate.
 
The issue is that is WAS practical suicide, and Twilight was not treating this like a seriously urgent issue that was largely her fault. In the same conversation, she admitted that Trixie was a real deal friend. Those two combined elements should mean that Twilight should be jumping for one of them to save them, plus a great GREAT deal of urgent guilt. That would be the responce in ANYONE.
 
So yeah, we’ll have to agree to disagree.

@Background Pony #59B4  
Maybe those two didn’t think that, but brother, everyone on the chat rooms sure seemed convinced that Trixie was committing suicide.

@CronoM  
Twilight was most upset that Starlight skipped the party WITHOUT telling her, not that she chose to not go to the party (albeit skipping a meeting with Celestia would certainly be a big deal).
 
It’s also questionable if Trixie was actually in danger of anything more than being humiliating (the manticore appeared to be in on the act, did not chew Trixie, and could well have spat her out if Starlight hadn’t intervened). Certainly neither Starlight or Twilight act as if they think Trixie’s life is actually on the line.

@Inkan1969  
XD !

@Phantom Rider  
Something like this.
 

@Inkan1969  
Variant, we’re waiting!

I’m waiting for the comic that shows that Starlight was planning to teleport Trixie anyway, but because Twilight kept talking and talking Starlight got distracted and forgot to save her.

@CronoM  
So, let me get this straight.
 
Twilight telling Starlight to give Trixie another chance is… leaving it up to fate?
 
No. Just no. Leaving it up to fate would be doing nothing. I’m sorry, but you’re demonising Twilight here. We’re not going to find a compromise like this, and I’m withdrawing from this debate as a result.

@Starswirl  
Making sure? She left it to fate of Starlight finding forgiveness quick enough even though she was the instigator of their falling out. To hammer that point in of her being the instigator, even Twilight admits Trixie is a real deal friend, so Trixie’s suicidal actions and her sturring up Trixie’s old wounds is all on Twilight. Of course their schism was a result by Trixie’s repressed retaliation, nobody’s saying otherwise, but it certainly wasn’t the instigated cause.
 
@Starswirl  
She enforced a surprise party with Celestia on her pupil that she had to make a new friend within a day. There is zero shame in missing it beyond Twilight’s own dependency on pleasing Celestia, similar to how she pressured Pinkie in the Yak episode and Pinkie got zero credit from Celestia, but this time it isn’t about diplomatic relations, its for Twilight to look good to Celestia.
 
Was Twilight ever an empathy-driven protagonist?
 
Heck, the episode itself even drew attention to how terrible the idea was by Starlight basically saying ‘okay, this setup is only causing me stress. I’m not going to make any progress while stressed. I’m going to take a step back from Twilight’s lesson for a while because forcing it isn’t going to achieve anything.’

@Xolcm  
Other than making sure the pony who could keep Trixie safe kept Trixie safe, thus saving her life.
 
You know, nothing at all.

She also nearly drove a pony to suicide and did nothing to stop it.

Sounds about right.

@Background Pony #6CEC  
Yup.
 
@Tragiclady  
She left Twilight hanging during Princess Celestia’s visit which was super-important to her, without telling her, gloating about it until Twilight caught her.

@Tragiclady  
Starlight got Trixie to fall in become her friend and convinced Twilight that she really can be trusted to make her own decisions.
 
Just as planned.