//------------------------------// // Visitors from Another Universe // Story: Why Did I Choose to be Trixie? // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// It had taken two more weeks of recovery before I was able to sit up in bed, and two more before I was able to walk around slowly. Physical therapy was going to take longer, though receiving regular visits from Twilight and the others made me happy. I had been informed of Trixie's punishment and felt somewhat satisfied that she was going to pay at least some price for her actions. What angered me most was the fact that she had betrayed my trust, and I vowed never to let her come close to me again. To think I had actually considered marrying her! That was simply too much for me to take -- a moment of weakness, just as it was with my wife when I met her. Love makes ponies do strange things. I no longer needed an IV and was able to consume soft food, though my stomach was still quite weak and it was going to be awhile before I could go back to a normal diet. I was brought plenty of books to read to keep my mind occupied between regular physical therapy sessions. There was a part of me that wished to have my computer or PS2 system to play my favorite video games on. Twilight expressed a curiosity about those games and I told her about Final Fantasy XII. Even though it was an older game, it was still quite fun to play it, not to mention that it was also a very time-consuming game. It was during my stay in the hospital that I received a most unusual visit -- Trixie and Twilight from the other universe showed up at my bedside. "We were worried about you, Michael," the other Trixie said, an expression of concern on her face. "Please tell me you're sorry for attacking me," I said, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "I never attacked you, Michael," was her stern response. "Why did you -- oh, I'm sorry. You saw me and immediately thought I was the one who did attack you. Look at my cutie mark, Michael, I am from the other universe." "How did you get here?" I asked. I sat up and saw Twilight standing next to Trixie. "Oh, hi, Twilight. Nice to see you again." "Our Princess Celestia sent us to seek your help -- Discord is making trouble for us in our universe, and since you did so well for us last time around, we figured you would be the first one for us to seek out. Your Princess told us we could find you here, so we came by to check on your status," Trixie stated. "We had no idea you were in such bad shape." "Unless the two of you can work a miracle on me, I'm not going to be going anywhere anytime soon," I chuckled weakly. "Twilight, come over here so we can work our magic on him. Michael, the two of us can use special healing magic and restore you --" "Wait. If Princess Celestia couldn't heal me with HER magic, what makes you think the two of you could do better?" I asked with great incredulity. "Just give us a chance, Michael," Twilight said softly. "Wait -- you don't have that voice box I gave you -- you can talk with your normal voice?" "When you and the others turned Nightmare Moon into a crystal statue, it broke the spells she had placed upon me, Michael. We want you to return, but we also request the other Elements return as well so we can banish Discord," Twilight explained. She and Trixie approached my side and both of them lit their horns. The auras mixed as they enveloped my body and I could feel a great warmth surrounding me. My vision blurred for a bit as the auras strengthened and my body tissue started mending much more quickly than normal. I was amazed by this effort by the two of them as they released me from their magic, their work finished. "We believe that we have successfully healed you, Michael. Get up and see if it worked," said Trixie. Truth be told, I felt quite invigorated. "Seems to have worked quite well," I said as I started trotting around. I gave both of them a hug for their help. Both of them smiled broadly as I appeared to have been fully healed. "Okay, now we need to see your Princess," Trixie stated. "Time is rather urgent, Michael." "We will need to go to the Library and have Spike send a letter to her," I stated. All three of us started down the hallway from my room to the hospital's exit when we were stopped by Nurse Redheart. "What is going on here? Two of you? Michael? Aren't you supposed to be in bed recovering?" "Nurse Redheart, Trixie and Twilight here are from the other universe I was telling you about. They combined their magic into a powerful healing spell which has fully restored my health. We need an audience with Princess Celestia as soon as possible. We are heading to the Golden Oaks Library to meet up with this universe's Twilight." "You still need to be evaluated before we can release you!" exclaimed the nurse. "Please, time is of the essence. We can take care of that paperwork later," I said rather hastily. We continued out of the hospital and headed towards the library. We passed by Carousel Boutique on our way there. I knocked on the door. "Rarity, can you make time for us?" I asked. "Michael, darling, is that ... two of you? Oh, wait -- Trixie? You have Twilight's cutie mark? Twilight? You have Trixie's cutie mark? Dear me, you must be from that other universe Michael was telling me about! What can I do for you?" "You are the Element of Generosity for this universe, yes?" Twilight asked her. "We need you to accompany us to our universe. Discord is running loose and we need to stop him." "Well, darling, we stopped him once before. I'm sure we can deal with him again! I'll be just a minute, darling." Rarity went back inside for a few moments and then returned to join us on our way to the library. We stopped by Sugarcube Corner to have Pinkie Pie accompany us as well. "What? Discord? That big meanie-pants is gonna regret having messed with you! I wanna meet my other self over there as well! Hey, do you think we can have a really super-big giganto-massive colossal party for all of us when we're finished with Discord over there? I wanna see everypony! We're gonna have so much fun!" She bounded alongside us as we continued, her frenetic energy causing Twilight and Trixie to chuckle. I continued to be amazed by the fact that she would get distracted by the least little thing and comment about it profusely. Rainbow Dash saw us trotting along and swooped down to meet us. "Hey, guys, what's up? I see ... two Trixies? Oh, that's right. Been awhile, Trixie, Twi." "We're heading to the library to meet up with your Twilight," Trixie said. "This is getting rather exciting, meeting all of you again. We're still missing a couple of you, aren't we?" "Looks like Fluttershy and Applejack are the only ones we need," I stated. "If we can get all of you together, that will make the mission easier," Twilight offered. "I'll go get Fluttershy," Rainbow offered. "I'll go get AJ!" Pinkie exclaimed. The rest of us made it to the library and I knocked on the door. Spike answered. "What? Trixie? Two of you? Oh, no, not again. Twilight? Oh, okay. What do you want?" "We need to speak to your Twilight, Spike. Good to see you once again, little fellow!" the other Trixie smiled. "What do you mean?" asked the little dragon. "Spike! I've missed you so much!" the other Twilight exclaimed excitedly, hugging him tightly. "In our universe, Spike, you died in the Crystal Empire," the other Trixie stated sadly. "I must admit that I too am quite happy to see you here. We miss you as our number one assistant." "Well, maybe Princess Celestia might be able to help you," he offered, smiling broadly at the compliment. "Spike, what is going on -- Trixie? The other ME? What brings you here?" This Twilight asked in surprise. "We need an audience with your Princess Celestia. Discord is causing trouble for us in our universe. We need your help and we sought out Michael for his assistance as well," the other Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "Michael, darling, I thought you were in the hospital," said Rarity. "Twilight and Trixie from the other universe healed me up," I offered, smiling sheepishly. "Spike, take a letter, please," this Twilight addressed her assistant. "Right on it, Twi. Go ahead." "Dear Princess Celestia, Twilight and Trixie from the other universe have told me that Discord is on the loose in their universe and request our assistance in banishing him again. We request an immediate audience with you at your earliest convenience. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."