//------------------------------//
// What?! 
// Story: The Trixie Clause 
// by TCC56 
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Trixie's funeral was a somber affair - even though the weather was perfect. It was the least Twilight could do to pull a few strings and make sure that Trixie's last moments before being laid to rest were bright and full of sunshine. 

The curse wasn't her fault, after all. She suffered through it too, and after a few days of it? Twilight had a new appreciation for what the magician had dealt with. 

Starlight should really have been the one giving the eulogy at the graveside, but she'd declined. A glance over made it easy to see why - the poor mare was hidden behind a veil and was certainly barely holding together. Likely the only reason she was still standing was the rock-solid frame of Maud Pie. But even for herself, Maud seemed subdued and silent. 

The only one who wasn't was Pinkie Pie - her eyes were full of tears and she sobbed loudly, but the party pony wasn't as grey and flat as she usually was when sadness abounded. Twilight supposed that the wake she had planned for later was enough to buoy Pinkie's spirits.

Taking her place at the head of the closed coffin, Twilight shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel the stares of the crowd on her - on the hat and cloak that had been Trixie's. Her friends knew about the curse, but most of those present? To them Twilight was either paying deep tribute or was unspeakably cruel. Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid it other than to not be here. And while they might not have been best friends in life, Twilight would not do such a terrible thing as hide from Trixie now. 

Her wings fluffed out, making the star-clad cloak billow. And Twilight began. "Trixie first came to Ponyville and didn't give the best impression. Her second time to Ponyville was even worse. But Twilight Sparkle would like to think that Trixie was simply an acquired taste - we needed the chance to get to know her before we found where she fit in our hearts."

"When Trixie returned to Ponyville the third time, she found that place. It was Starlight Glimmer who did it first, becoming Trixie's most faithful and loved friend." Twilight opened her eyes again, turning them to her former student. Starlight was shuddering behind the veil, obviously wracked with sobs. "Starlight in turn introduced Trixie to the rest of us and made our lives richer for it." 

Now she looked out to the crowd - a little bit of Twilight's heart broke. While she saw everypony who had been there for Trixie's final, fateful show, there were two others who were missing. Trixie's parents hadn't arrived. That they would miss their own daughter's funeral was poignantly tragic atop the already sad state of things. 

"The Great and Powerful Twilight Sparkle cannot speak for others, but she can for herself. And she says that Trixie was a special kind of friend. At times abrasive, at times infuriating. But those are not negatives. No! Trixie was there when Twilight needed her and often with an attitude that other friends hesitated to have. She kept Twilight Sparkle grounded. Humble. Reminded that alicorn wings do not make a pony better than another - that only what is in a pony's heart can show their true worth." 

Twilight paused, taking off the hat - her hat, now - to dab the tears from her eyes with the brim. "Twilight Sparkle shall miss Trixie for that. She was strong. She was brave. She was Great and she was Powerful. She was a hero and she was--" 

The eulogy was interrupted as sniffles became gasps. One pony in the crowd fainted. Pinkie Pie started to giggle like she'd lost her last marble. Twilight was perplexed at the crowd's reaction until she saw one of them pointing a hoof. And then she turned her head. 

The star-spangled hat hovered beside Twilight in her magic. And Trixie's head was emerging out of it with a manic grin.

Later, Twilight would insist that she did not scream. She may have been briefly startled, but Princesses of Equestria do not scream in terror. Every other pony would also agree that she did not, since 'shriek' was a much more appropriate descriptor of what Twilight did. 

The hat fell slightly as Twilight's magic let go and Trixie's took it instead. And then the silver-maned magician continued to pull herself out of her own hat until all four hooves were on the ground again. And she took a bow. "Thank you, ladies and gentlecolts! As Trixie said, she has demonstrated her mastery over death itself! You have been a wonderful audience, and the Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for your patience to see this final trick through to the end!" The shock had worn off and the audience - realizing this was somehow still part of the show they had thought ended a week before - erupted into wild cheering.

Twilight was still screaming startled, laying on her back and staring at the dead returning to life. And that was when Starlight Glimmer - wonderful, brilliant, beloved Starlight Glimmer - leaned in, flipped up her veil and said one word into her mentor and redeemer's ear. 

"Gotcha."

It finally clicked. Trixie was bowing and soaking up the crowd's adoration. Starlight was looking intensely smug. Pinkie Pie was giggling like an even greater lunatic than usual. And Maud had the slightest hint of the possibility of a faint smile just at the corners of her mouth. 

Twilight mechanically rotated her head to look at Starlight. "what."

"Gotcha," Starlight repeated. "What, you thought only Rainbow Dash could prank ponies?"

Several hairs sprang lose from Twilight's mane. "But... but Trixie! The Punchtastic Crushterenator! Splato!" She edged ever-closer to gibbering. 

Starlight clicked her tongue. "Crushtastic Puncturenator," she corrected. "And that part was easy. Trixie might have had a magic suppression ring on, but I didn't. So I swapped her out at the last possible second with one of Pinkie Pie's piñatas."

Helpfully, Pinkie bounced into view. "I filled it with strawberry marmalade!" And then just as quickly she was gone in a flurry of laughter. 

Part of Twilight's brain melted like ice cream in August. "Twilight Sparkle saw how you were acting, Starlight! How upset you were!" She stumbled over her own thoughts. "And--and the drinking!"

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Trixie and I partied a little too much to celebrate her having a successful show. After that I just had to make sure to be frowning around you." She laughed. "I guess I'm a better actress than I thought!"

As the shock subsided, Twilight started to bring her mental state back into line. "But the curse! Twilight Sparkle is speaking in the third person still!"

"Oh, that." Starlight's grin spread wider. "I made up the whole story. And you were so busy looking for an ancient and complex dark magic curse, you completely overlooked the tiny and relatively benign Fiducia Compelus I placed on you while you were asleep. Plus a little Returnio Obscurum on the hat to keep putting it back to your head when you took your eyes off it." 

Instantly, Twilight's horn lit to dispel the compulsion. Relief flooded through her as her ability to think in first person returned. "But that doesn't make sense - Princess Celestia would have spotted that immediately! I don't understand how she missed that!" 

Starlight shrugged. "She was in on it."

"SHE WAS WHAT."

"She was in on it," Starlight repeated. "I knew that when you couldn't solve it yourself that you'd run to her for help, so I made sure she was in on the joke. All she asked was to get a picture of you--" Maud's camera snapped, capturing the look on Twilight's face. "--Right about now."

Twilight went dangerously silent as she grasped the fullness of the scheme. 

Fate decided that this moment was the perfect one for Trixie to approach. Oozing smug like the Smooze, she lifted her cloak off of Twilight's back and put it on herself again. "Well Princess, how was the show?" Trixie repeatedly nudged Twilight, beaming. "Impressed? Stunned to silence? I know, I know, I really am amazing. You even admitted in in that speech! And I must say, it touched my heart to know you think so highly of me, Twilight. Your words were inspiring, even to the Great and Powerful--" 

Trixie lept back just in time to avoid being burned as Twilight Sparkle erupted into flame. 

"TRRRIIIIIXXXIIIIIEE!"

As an experienced showmare, Trixie knew how to spot a cue and this was hers. Yanking a large firework out of her hat, she lit the fuse on Twilight's flaming mane, hopped on board and rocketed off to the horizon. Starlight opted for a safer and quicker option - teleporting away. Maud impassively stood there, because she was innocent aside from taking a picture. 

Full of flame and fury, Twilight Sparkle - no longer Great and Powerful but still Absolutely Furious - charged out of the graveyard to chase down Trixie and Starlight.