The Dead Magician

"Starlight?" Twilight knocked the door a few times before letting herself into the room. "Are you ready to talk?"

"Go away, Twilight." Came another one of Starlight's cheery responses since she had gone into her bedroom three days ago.

Twilight sighed as she stepped into the room. "Listen, I know you’re still upset about Trixie, and I am too. But the funeral is today and you can’t just hide from the world in here forever. It’s time to say goodbye to-"

"No, Twilight! I WON'T say goodbye!" Starlight yelled at her friend as she sat up in bed with a fire in her eyes. "I loved Trixie more than anything else in the world, and you and your friends all treated her like manure. Yet I never had the guts to tell her, and I just watched her beautiful body blow up before my eyes, and all you and the girls are doing is sitting around, waiting for her to get buried six feet under ground so you can all go back to your lives like nothing ever happened."

"That’s nit true!" Twilight said, tears starting to form in her eyes as well. "We all loved Trixie, and we're all going to miss her. And I know you and Trixie loved each other so much and neither of you ever told the other, and it can be hard, but it’s like Rainbow Dash learned one winter with Tank: sometimes it’s better to just let go and move on."

Starlight didn’t say anything. She just fell back on her bed, and muttered "Go away, Twilight.” The princess sighed and left, closing the door gently on her way out. It was worth a shot.

***

The funeral was held that afternoon in the park. It rained, of course, and multiple ponies brought umbrellas and gifts for Starlight. Almost everyone who had attended Trixie's final show days prior was in the audience mourning the magician. Twilight and her five friends were one of the first to show up, and, to nopony's surprise, Starlight was one of the last to arrive.

As the unicorn made her way down to her seat next to Twilight, she could feel everyone’s eyes burning into her. They knew how depressed she was over Trixie's death, even if she had decided to not show it today.

The service was short. Twilight and a few of her friends said some words, with most of them in tears, especially Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who said she always loved how Trixie used to rip her mouth off of her face, which confused most of the crowd. Starlight chose not to talk, because she knew that if she trotted up there and started talking, she was going to either cry hysterically or throw up.

She did, however, scan the crowd around her once in search of one particular pony. "Where’s Trixie's father?" She asked, nudging Twilight, who wasn’t expecting to even hear her talk. "You know, Jack Pot? The magician from Las Pegasus?" She looked down and cried as she muttered sadly, "Trixie always wanted to go there."

Twilight just hugged her friend and said, "No, I don’t think I can see him. Maybe he just didn’t hear the news. Or maybe he was too busy to come."

Starlight made a disgusted face as Twilight released her grip. Who would be 'too busy' for their own daughter's funeral?

She thought about him until after the funeral, when most of the crowd cleared out, some of them still in tears as they gently laid flowers next to Trixie's grave, and, at Twilight's suggestion, a few fireworks, and a few stayed back to comfort Twilight and Starllight. Princess Celestia, who had attended the sad memorial as well, even cast a special spell around the coffin to keep Trixie safe for all eternity.

Lastly, Starlight pulled out Trixie's purple magician's hat, which was still ripped and tattered from the explosion, kissed it gently in between sobs, and placed it on top of the grave.

After a few ponies gave their condolences, she was approached by Discord, who was dressed as an undertaker and dragging The Smooze along by a leash, which was now playing with a toy airplane. "Um, Starlight." He said as he dabbed at his eyes with a tissue. "I just wanted to say I’m so sorry for your loss. Smoozie and I never really knew Trixie, but..."

"Discord, she’s the one who helped us defeat Queen Chrysalis when the changelings were evil, remember?" Starlight said, as she started to remember some funny memories. "I remember you guys were arguing the whole time about how incompetent you both were."

"Yeah, remember our code words if we got separated? 'Klutzy Draconequus'." Thorax said, which made everyone laugh, even Starlight. Discord scoffed. "I never did like that name. But you see? Sometimes remembering funny stories can help cheer you up."

Starlight gave a little smile that only Twilight noticed. "Wait, was she the one who I almost killed with an Ursa Major at the school?" Discord asked.

Starlight's brief happiness didn’t last long, however, as she spent that night up in bed, poring over pictures of her and Trixie in her scrapbook hanging out like good friends. She couldn’t help but get tears on the pages as she looked at Trixie and her smiling while being pampered at the Ponyville spa, where they had first met. If only Trixie knew how much closer Starlight wanted to be.

She fell asleep the same way she had the past few days- crying herself into unconsciousness wishing she could hug Trixie just one more time.

Before long, Starlight found herself in an odd dream. She was walking around in a star-filled sky, like she was on some sort of invisible platform. She had no idea where and why she was walking, but no matter how hard she strained against the motion, she couldn’t stop it.

Then, she heard a familiar voice. It laughed and echoed somewhere in the distance. "Trixie?" Starlight whispered, already feeling like she was going to cry. Suddenly, large pictures began to appear out of thin air, and passed by her as her big, tear-filled eyes gazed up at them uncontrollably.

Some of them were animated visions if her and Trixie going on adventures together, like when they were in Saddle Arabia arguing with each other, and when they were in the Everfree Forest, running from monsters and screaming like little fillies. Starlight just laughed and sobbed at the same time. This wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare. And she wanted it to end right now.

After a few more minutes of watching the nostalgic- yet heartbreaking -photographs, Starlight's laugh-crying was shattered by a sudden loud flash as the moving pictures disappeared and the world went black. "Wha-what’s going on?" She said with a hiccup.

A pony suddenly stepped into view. He was a tall, handsome stallion, a blue unicorn in a purple-and-yellow top hat and a similarly coloured coat. He had a white mane like Trixie's and a cutie mark of three stars. Starlight wiped the tears out of her shiny eyes and gasped. It was him. Trixie's father, Jack Pot. She couldn’t believe she was finally meeting him.

But now she wanted to rip him to shreds.

"You! You’re Trixie's father!" She said, her voice slowly going from miserable to angry.

The stallion chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I am. You can call me the Spectacular and Marvellous Jack Pot if you’d like! That’s what the fans call me."

Starlight snorted angrily and felt her face start to burn. "Well I’m not a fan, and i’m not calling you anything, shitface! Where were you earlier when your daughter- my GIRLFRIEND- was killed? It was horrific and sad, and you weren’t even there for the FUNERAL, you ASSHOLE!" Starlight didn’t care if this guy was real or not. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind.

Jack was unfazed. "Oh, so I’m the asshole here now! I may have left my daughter but at least I told her how much I loved her!"

Before he could continue, Starlight growled and immediately fired a bright blast of magic at the chuckling stallion. "We were going to be together and you know it!"

The blast disintegrated the grinning stallion, but even after he disappeared she could still hear his voice taunting her from the black abyss. "Admit it, Starbright. She only wanted you because you knew a princess, not because of your pussy. Even if you had made an effort, you never would have stood a chance."

"No! It’s not true!" Starlight yelled at the top of her lungs as Jack appeared before her again and laughed. "I’m going to find you and I’m gonna make you wish you were never born!" She hissed through her teeth.

"Oh, really? And how exactly do you plan on doing that, hmmm? You’re all the way over there in Ponyville, collecting dust in that wet trap of yours, and I’m alllll the way over here in Las Pegasus, living my life, without. My. Daughter!"

A loud boom of thunder woke Starlight from the hellish nightmare, as she looked out the window and snarled menacingly. "Not for much longer."