Knock knock knock
Trixie slammed her hoof against the front door to Twilight's castle. Her lungs burned from the non-stop running she’d done since she found herself on Applejack’s farm.
“C'mon, Twilight,” Trixie said through her teeth. “Answer the door… please?”
After a few more seconds of knocking, the door finally opened. “Trixie?” Twilight asked with a hint of surprise. “What brings you here?”
“Applejack! Her hat… it took over my mind!”
Twilight stared blankly at Trixie, simultaneously baffled by what she had just heard and unnerved at how genuinely frightened Trixie sounded—and looked. “Her hat took control of your mind?” she asked after a few moments of silence. “Exactly how did it do that?”
“I-I don't know!” Trixie shifted around fearfully. “Mind if I come inside? I don't want it to come back… I don't want to know what it might do if it does.”
Twilight nodded and stepped aside. Once Trixie had come in, she closed the door behind her, to which Trixie slumped down against it. “So… tell me, where did you find her hat?”
Trixie took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. Once she had, she spoke up again in her traditional style. “Trixie… heard Starlight call her from along the pathway to your castle. She said that she had a spell that she wanted to show Trixie.” She looked up at Twilight with watery eyes. “Then Trixie… became a puppet in her own body.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. She still couldn't figure out whether or not she believed Trixie’s story. She had a plethora of reasons to be skeptical of her, and to question her motives. Yet… nothing about the way she spoke or looked screamed that she was going to pull the rug out from under her hooves.
“And… you're sure you didn't just hallucinate this?” Twilight asked. “Did you accidentally mess up a spell? Perhaps touch Poison Joke?”
Trixie shook her head repeatedly. “Trixie knows what she saw, and it was Applejack's hat!” she said adamantly. “Her hat spoke to me in Starlight’s voice and lured me into the woods, took over Trixie's mind, and spoke to her at her farm in Applejack’s voice!”
Twilight's eyes widened. “I'm sorry, what?”
“It said ‘boo’ to Trixie,” Trixie replied, attempting to mimic Applejack's accent. “And it tricked the Great and Powerful Trixie into following it! But not in that order of course.”
Twilight held back a giggle upon hearing Trixie's feeble attempt at a country accent. “You… you're joking, right?”
Trixie glared daggers at Twilight. “Trixie would never lie about something like this!” she growled. “Trixie knows exactly what she saw, and it was the Element of Honesty’s hat. It had eyes just like hers and a mouth like hers, and it spoke to me just like she does when it's on her head!”
Twilight's mouth hung open. The words that had come out of Trixie's mouth repeated over and over inside her head. Each time making less sense than they did the previous time. It wasn't until she saw Starlight walk up alongside her that she broke out of her stupor.
“What's wrong?” Starlight asked.
“Twilight doesn't believe Trixie's story!” Trixie said, visibly insulted and upset. She turned her head and explained the situation to Starlight, which caused her to look like an exact mirroring of Twilight mere seconds before.
Twilight shook her head. “Trixie, I… you seem distraught, but I just…” Twilight rubbed her temples and let out a sigh. “I can't possibly question a friend like that. Especially one who's been by my side for years! Applejack has been one of my best friends, and is an Element of Harmony.”
“I... agree with Twilight,” Starlight said as she slowly broke out of her own stupor. “Tell you what though, what if I go with you to Applejack's farm and we investigate together? That way, you can put this behind you and don't have to worry about it.”
Trixie felt a wave of relief and fear fill her. She gulped and nodded. “Okay. Trixie would greatly appreciate that.”
“Great!” Starlight turned to Twilight and smiled. “We’ll be back momentarily.”
Twilight nodded. “Don't get mind controlled!” She said with a giggle as Starlight and Trixie left.
“Trixie isn't lying!”
Starlight groaned as she and Trixie approached Sweet Apple Acres. “Trixie, I'm not saying you're lying,” she replied, frustrated. “I'm saying that your claim is… rather insane. It's really difficult for me to believe that this thing, whatever you claim it to be, has Applejack under its influence!”
Trixie grit her teeth and ran in front of Starlight. “Are you saying you don't believe the pony who became your friend when nopony else would?”
Starlight narrowed her eyes. “I never said that, Trixie.” She walked past Trixie and continued on. Up ahead, she could see Applejack bucking trees.
“Applejack!”
Applejack turned her attention away from her farm work. “Howdy, Starlight!” She wiped away some sweat and approached the two mares. “What brings you two here?”
Starlight pursed her lips and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It's… about your hat,” she said, still not quite able to believe what she was about to say.
Applejack chuckled. “My hat? What, y’all want one just like it?”
“Not exactly,” Starlight said. “Trixie… said that it did something to her.”
“Well, ya know what they say, Starlight,” Applejack said with a smirk. “The hat makes the pony.”
“No, no... you see.” Starlight turned to Trixie, who looked as fearful of Applejack as she did concerned for their safety. “Trixie claimed that your hat took over her mind and brought her here, and that it spoke in my voice before doing so.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”
Starlight nodded. “She also said that it said ‘boo’ in your voice.”
“Right…” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “I… don't know what to say exactly. It's been a mighty windy day and I can't tell ya how Trixie would've been able to keep my hat on her head without it flyin’ away.”
“That's because it seeded itself into my mind and held on!” Trixie protested. “I felt it wrapped itself around my head!”
Applejack and Starlight stared at Trixie, their mouths agape. Applejack took her hat off and held it against her chest. “If… that's how you feel, I'll let Starlight wear it,” she said, visibly hurt at the accusation thrown at her.
“That'd be most appreciated,” Starlight said. She put the hat on her head. She stood there for a few moments, tapping her hoof as she waited to feel herself lose control of her body. "See, Trixie?" she said after nothing had happened. "It must have been your imagination. You probably drank something you didn't mean to and blacked out."
"B-But... it..." A tear ran down Trixie’s face as she watched Starlight levitate the hat off and give it back to Applejack. "No!” She stomped a hoof on the ground and shot Starlight a glare. “I swear, it took over my mind! It had eyes! It spoke to me!"
Applejack tapped her chin. “I think yer gettin’ the flu, sugarcube,” she said, eyeballing Trixie. “Ya look flushed. Go home and get some rest before ya hallucinate something that gets ya hurt.”
Starlight nodded. “I'm with Applejack,” she said. "C'mon, Trixie," she said, frustrated. She grabbed Trixie with her magic and dragged her off.
Trixie fought tooth and nail, but did little more than annoy Starlight more than she already had. Once she gave up, she looked back over at Applejack with a terrified expression. Her heart sank as Applejack shot her a wink and a smirk before waving goodbye.