Trixie awoke with a sudden jump. Her dreams had been filled with visions of hell and heaven. One minute would be filled with fire and pain the other drinks and handsome stallions all wanting a piece of her. When she woke, she found three different tubes on her body. Two of them were stabbed in veins on her left fore leg, the other was half way down her throat. Her gag reflex initiated immediately and she coughed out the one in her mouth.
She looked about. She tried to remember what had happened to her. It soon came back in a sort of flash. She remembered collapsing on the street and being chased as she crawled. After she got up the steps she blacked out. She felt the top of her head with her hoof and felt a bump followed by a horrendous pain. She yet out a small yelp. She realized the covers of the bed she was in were pulled up to her neck , every part of her was covered except her left fore hoof and head. She looked around the bedroom. It was moderately furnished. A full slide open closet, the bed was against the far wall from the door. A book shelf was next to the door on one side and the other was a large dresser with many photos in standing frames. She could make out a happy couple. One was a tall Golden yellow Unicorn stallion, the mare in the photos was a dark blue Pegasus mare with a long wavy black mane. She realized her beloved cape and hat were no where to be found.
She called out for her savior or anypony willing to answer. "Hello? Is anypony there?"
She heard hoof steps, just beyond the room's closed door. The door slowly opened, the tall golden yellow stallion from the pictures entered.
"You're up." He said with a smile. "You nearly died on my door step. Not a very polite entrance to make, but I suppose somepony would eventually make that sort of entrance." Trixie saw he was holding her hat. It looked brand new, all the stains, rips, and bends were gone. It looked like it had just been bought. The golden stallion noticed her eying it. "Oh yeah, you had a cape and this funny hat on you when you were at my doorstep. I just finished fixing the hat up. Took me an hour or two but it's done, if you want it back you can have it again. I'll be done with the cape in less time." He said, walking over to Trixie's bedside and holding out the hat.
Trixie took the hat quickly and checked it over to make sure he didn't make a mistake and ruin it. He didn't. She was breathless, having already prepared and angry scolding in her mind. "Th-thank you." she said unable to think of anything else.
"Anytime." He said, his smile went to a serious facial expression. "Now, I'm going to run a basic sort of examination." He levitated a note book and pencil from a room down the hall. The pencil and paper ready he asked her his first question. "Can you remember your name?"
"Yes. I am The Great and Powerful Trixie." She said trying,and failing, to put the same amount of strength she usually would.
"Okay. That's quite a mouthful. Care if I just call you Trixie?" He asked.
"If you tell Trixie your name, then maybe." Trixie said as if she were negotiating some deal breaking condition.
"It's Golden Heart. A lot of my friends like to call me Gold." He said making note of something. "Do you always do what you just did there, the referring to yourself in the third person?"
"Not always." Trixie said shyly.
"Okay now, do you know why you were dying last night? What led you to my doorstep?" Golden Heart asked.
He noticed a tear in her eye, which she attempted to wipe away. "I-I have sold off everything....just for food. My traveling cart. Before, I loved to travel around Equestria, entertaining many and making a fairly nice living off it."
"Mmhmm. Now I have a question, do you ever get suicidal thoughts? Be honest with me, dear." Golden Heart asked.
Trixie drew back about to declare she had not,in any situation. It was just, something about the way he said "Be honest." it was almost hypnotic. A way to make somepony be honest. Trixie slumped forward and lowered her head, looking to the floor. "...yes..."
Golden Heart sighed and his pencil wrote out a few sentences. He looked at her with a solemn, yet compassionate expression.
"When was the last time you had these thoughts?" He asked his voice displaying a tone of concern.
"Last night and most of yesterday." Trixie admitted, still slumped over.
Golden Heart reached out at first. His natural instinct as a gentlecolt was to comfort the clearly upset mare before him. He at first hesitated to comfort her with his reaching out, but countered this and gently put his hoof on her shoulder. Trixie looked up to meet his eyes and weakly smiled.
"Th-thank you, Mr. Gold." Trixie said with her weak smile showing her appreciation of his actions.
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Golden Heart said. "I believe you making your way to my doorstep was miracle for you an I. You kept your life....I made a friend." He said with a hopeful and happy facial expression. "As soon as your capable, I'll help you with what every single personal, or financial problems you may have."
"Trixie....can not think of any way to thank you, other than...." Trixie said this quickly and quietly. After 'than' she leaned forward in an instant and kissed Golden Heart on the lips. He, at first, accepted the kiss happily, then his normal mindset came back and he broke away from her.
He looked at the smiling blue mare in his bed. His face showed his embarrassment and confusion and even a little astonishment. "That was.....unprofessional of me." he admitted bashfully rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh please, I felt a little tongue there. You enjoyed it. If you let her, Trixie would rock your world." Trixie said putting as much possible lure as she could put in her body language, tone of voice, and expression. "Sometimes, it just takes a kiss." She looked at the photos on the dresser again and felt the embarrassment Gold felt. "You're married aren't you?"
"No, Trixie, not anymore. Now I'm just.....me." Golden Heart said looking at the same photos Trixie was looking at.
"Divorce?" Trixie asked.
"No. Death. She...........everypony was puzzled by this......but she caught smallpox. We quarentined her, I did everything in my power to fight with her. I studied Smallpox more than one could imagine. Had dreams or nightmares, made a few major breakthroughs that could,on a less severe case, save a life, if it were to ever happen again."
"I'm-I'm so sorry. You poor dear, you do need Trixie." Trixie said placing her hoof on his. Golden Heart smiled.
"My daughter would probably agree with you on that." He said. "She thinks I spend a bit too much time looking at old photos and delving deep into my work. She's been pushing me to get back onto the dating scene."
"As soon as Trixie feels capable again, she will treat you to a date!" Trixie declared to him, her words gave him some hope.
___________
Later that day.
"Trixie! I finished your cape." Golden Heart said coming into the bedroom where Trixie was reading one of his many mystery novels from his bookshelf.
She looked up from it and displayed her happiness for this. "Excellent!" She had donned her hat once again and would now, with the help of Golden Heart, don her cape again.
"Looks good." Gold said with a smile.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is back!"
"Not until she has a normal body fat level again."