//------------------------------// // An Audience With the Princess // Story: Why Did I Choose to be Trixie? // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// The morning light filtered in through the window of the guest room, waking Twilight and me from our sleep. I turned over to see her still behind me, but the narrow width of the bed had me muzzle to muzzle with her, causing me to blush. "Mmm, give me a kiss, Mikey," she cooed. My blush deepened. I gave her a very quick kiss and pulled away, causing her to moan. "No, Mikey, I mean a real kiss!" "Twilight!" I exclaimed in exasperation. She giggled, her cheeks also a light rouge. "Twi, we gotta get up! I got stuff to do today!" "Please! Just one more good kiss? We can get ready after that!" she chuckled. "You're almost as incorrigible as the Trixie from the other universe," I chuckled. I pushed my muzzle against hers and opened my mouth to give her a real kiss, one which we shared for a good minute or two before I pulled away. Trixie saw us kissing and cleared her throat loudly. "Told you so," I said smugly to Twilight. "I don't want to see you two doing that again," Trixie said, glaring at us in disapproval. "Sorry, Trixie. I promise I won't do it again, unless I get your permission," I stated. She snorted at this. "When pigs fly," she retorted. "Twilight! Don't do that again!" "Sorry, Trix," she grinned sheepishly. "You mind if I take a quick shower?" I asked. "I have breakfast waiting downstairs, that's why I came up here," Trixie said. "Michael, you're welcome to have some food, I made extra for you. You can have a shower after you have breakfast. I insist." "Thanks again for your hospitality." "No problem, Michael. If you don't mind, I'd like to spend some time with you to learn more about your home world," Trixie stated. "Tell us some more about your experiences as a human over breakfast, please." We went downstairs to eat and I told them about different things I did in my past, how I met my wife, certain jobs I held in the past and other things. Both Twilight and Trixie were quite intrigued about my employment at a library and wanted to know a lot more about that, so I told them about that as well. We finished eating, the discussion still going as we decided to visit the Sun Goddess of this realm in order to get some advice regarding my future. "So is Princess Celestia in Canterlot here? Or is she in the old Castle in the Everfree?" I asked. "She is in Canterlot here, but it was in a bad state of disrepair when we got there. She has had many ponies working on rebuilding the Castle, but the last time we were there, it looked pretty close to being fully renovated," Trixie explained. "So how do we get there?" I asked, even though I probably should have known the answer. "The train station, of course. First thing that was done to Canterlot was to re-establish train service there," Trixie chuckled. "We can discuss more of your human past on the way there, as well!" "A little exercise to get the blood pumping," I mused. "It'll be good to stretch these legs out again. Please let me freshen up before we leave, if you don't mind." "I'll help him in the shower," Twilight offered, grinning mischievously. "Don't even think it," Trixie admonished her sternly. "If anypony's going to help him in the shower, it'll be me!" she chortled. Twilight gave a quick shrug. I went back upstairs to use the bathroom and freshen up, using soap and shampoo to clean my coat, mane and tail. I toweled off and checked myself in a mirror, using my magic to style my mane and tail so they looked presentable. I brushed out my coat as best I could, but Trixie was starting to get impatient and called for me to hurry up. "I need to look somewhat presentable for the Princess," I stated. "I would at the least like to give her a good impression." "Let's get going to the train station, the ride to Canterlot takes several hours and there are only three rides per day," Trixie explained. "Um, I don't have any money for a ticket," I said sheepishly. "Twilight? Can you fetch that bag of bits for me? I think I might have enough for three round-trip tickets," said Trixie. "Thank you for your generosity, I'll try to find a way of paying you back for it," I offered. "You're quite welcome, Michael. We'll see about that later -- right now, we have to get going, and quickly at that -- don't want to miss the next train out. We may need to gallop all the way there, so let's get going!" exclaimed the blue unicorn. Twilight took a pair of saddlebags with her, putting the bag of bits in one of the pouches and a book in the other, along with a small bottle of ink, a couple of quills and a roll of parchment. Trixie placed a pair of saddlebags on her back as well, but put nothing in the pouches. We then left the Library, galloping quickly towards the train station. Various ponies milling about, doing their business gaped at us as we went along, doing our best to dodge, weave, and otherwise avoid direct collision with quite a few ponies. Many of them gawked at the sight of two Trixies, which made the run to the station a bit more difficult. Rainbow saw us galloping and joined up with us. "Hey, where are you guys going? May I join you?" asked the cyan unicorn. "We're headed to the train station -- we're going to Canterlot to meet with the Princess," Trixie answered. "Oh. I'll go back to the boutique, lots of orders to fill!" Rainbow said sheepishly, turning around and cantering back to her shop. "What's up with her? I would have thought she'd want to come along with us," I mused. "I suppose she would have, but she has been rather busy lately -- her business has really increased quite a bit since the Nightmare was defeated, not to mention I don't have enough bits for four tickets," Trixie explained. "She would love to join us in Canterlot, but every pony there is still busy with residual clean-up," Twilight added. We made it to the train station and got our tickets just as the train was pulling into the station. We boarded quickly, taking a row of seats in the first coach behind the engine. "So you said this ride usually lasts several hours," I addressed Trixie quizzically. "More or less, yes. I have only visited the Castle three times since Nightmare's banishment and each time, it's taken several hours to arrive in Canterlot," she explained. "I suppose that will give me some time to tell you more about my home world, and maybe even sing a couple of songs if you'd like," I offered. "I'm curious to hear what sort of songs humans would sing," Twilight mused. "If your singing voice sounds anything like mine, I think I'll pass," Trixie chuckled. "Well, I have hummed some songs while going about my business when nopony's been watching or listening, I think," I said. "If they have heard me, they didn't say anything to me about it." "Okay, Michael, sing something for us!" Twilight goaded. I proceeded to start singing "Walk on By" by Dionne Warwick, just to see if my singing voice was worth listening to. An odd magical sensation washed over me as music to complement my singing started playing as I sang the song, reinforcing my resolve to complete it. Upon finishing, both Twilight and Trixie clapped their hooves in approval, broad smiles on their faces. "That's kind of a sad song, but you did really well with it," said Trixie. "Did you write that song, Michael?" asked Twilight. "No, that song was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach," I explained. "They wrote quite a few songs for Dionne Warwick, many of which are just as beautiful as that song." "Do you know any others?" Trixie asked me. "Yes, quite a few. I'll have to admit that there are a great many that I only know a few words to, and just a hoof-full that I know all the words to." "I'd like to hear some more songs," Twilight mused. "You actually have a nice singing voice, Michael, even if you happen to be in my body!" Trixie chuckled. "You must have practiced for a long time!" "I do have quite a bit of practice, but then again, I'm 49 years old, so I've had lots of time to sing in my spare time!" I grinned. I sang a few more songs during the trip, interspersed with more exposition about my human life and more information about Earth. When I was asked about governmental structures and politics, I started explaining in excruciating detail about what was wrong with the government and how the established political parties kowtowed to large corporations and very wealthy individuals, largely due to the overweening greed of those entities. Trixie and Twilight quickly grew bored of that, so they changed the subject to hobbies and other interests. After a few more discussions and a few more songs, we arrived at Canterlot's train station -- this was quite a bit smaller than in the "good" Equestria and the number of ponies waiting for trains was substantially fewer as well. "Okay, let's head to the Castle," Trixie stated and started trotting towards it, Twilight beside her and me following not far behind. "Keep up, Michael, I want to make this quick." "Sure thing, Trixie. I can't wait to meet Princess Celestia again." We continued toward the Castle -- I was rather surprised to see that it was quite a bit smaller than the other one. The gates were simple wrought iron and there was a single guard standing before it. "We seek an audience with the Princess," Trixie stated. The guard was puzzled by my appearance, but allowed us in. "Okay, Michael, it won't be long now." We walked through the Great Hall and along a relatively narrow corridor. We met up with another Royal Guard, who escorted us the rest of the way to the Throne Room. I noticed a distinct lack of stained glass windows, and decoration was quite sparse. There was no carpeting on the cobblestone floors and our hoofsteps echoed loudly through the hallways. Eventually we made it to the large double-doors leading into the Throne Room. There was a single guard standing in front of the doors. "One moment, please," the guard stated. She entered the room to announce our arrival and then returned a moment later to allow us to enter, whereupon we saw the regal white Alicorn sitting demurely on her throne. "Ah! Michael! Good to see you once again! You left in such haste I was unable to thank you properly for your assistance! Thanks to you, I was finally freed from my imprisonment in the sun! I would like to know why you chose to come here and also why you chose to assume the form of Trixie -- I see you have ... Twilight's cutie mark? How unusual," mused the Sun Goddess. "Princess Celestia, I must say it is a great honor and pleasure to make your acquaintance once again. I would like to tell you my story, though it is one which will take quite some time to tell. Be that as it may, though, I have come to ask you for some advice. Upon returning to my home world, I discovered that everything I owned had been sold, stolen, or otherwise disposed of. I have nothing left to my name, not even a home to call my own, no job, no means of transportation, and rather obviously, no money. I was wanting to know what I should do at this point." "Did you not say you were married? Did you find your wife?" "No, your Majesty, I was unable to find her. Everything I had worked all my life for is gone," I explained, my voice tinged with sadness. "Do you wish to remain in THIS universe? Would you like to go back to being a human? What is it you desire?" "Truth be told, your Majesty, I am not quite sure. What I do know is that being a human, though rather convenient at times, is something I don't particularly desire. I have been considering one other possibility -- and that requires me traveling to the other Equestria, the one your counterpart rules over. I am not certain if I can teleport there myself, but I suppose I could give it a try." "Michael, I would like to know why it is you would choose to return to that other universe. What is wrong with this one?" "This universe is not how I imagined it being -- it doesn't reflect that with which I am familiar. And anyway, there is the matter of a certain blue unicorn in that other universe I need to talk to -- one who looks identical to me." "You mean the one who attacked you and nearly killed you?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, your Majesty, THAT one. There's something about her that ... I don't know ... makes me feel ... special? Maybe it's my destiny to meet up with her again." "But she tried to KILL you!" Trixie and Twilight shouted at me, interrupting the Sun Goddess. "She was under the corrupting influence of a magic amulet -- otherwise, I don't think she would have tried to kill me," I explained. "You mean, the amulet you were wearing when you defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord?" Trixie asked. "Yeah, Trixie had tricked the other Princess Celestia into giving it to her, thinking that she was me." "Why did she do that?" asked the Princess. "How could my counterpart have been so easily misled?" "Keep in mind that both of us are in identical bodies -- and she was able to fool your counterpart into thinking she was me. She can be rather devious when she needs to be," I mused. "And you want to go back to her? WHY?" asked Twilight. "Because she told me she loves me," I stated flatly. "And to be honest, I think I love her as well." "Are you sure about this? What if she tries to kill you again?" "I don't think she will. I was told she's being punished for that, and I'm pretty sure she'll be happy to see me when I return." "Don't you think that her punishment will instill feelings of resentment towards you, that she'll be even angrier upon seeing you? I seriously doubt she would want to see you again, Michael. I would suggest you remain here in this universe -- you're something of a hero here," Celestia said, smiling at me. "Well, in either case, I don't think I can remain in Trixie's body any longer. If I choose to remain a pony, regardless of which universe I decide to stay in, I will need a transformation. Unfortunately, my vehicle was taken from me as well, so I have no way of changing into anything, regardless of whether it's a human or another pony. I still remember what Pinkie Pie from the other universe had told me -- that I should be my own pony, and not try to be somepony else." The Sun Goddess smiled at me. "Diane's counterpart spoke great wisdom, Michael. I believe I can transform you into a pony of your choice -- just let me know what you would like to look like and I can arrange it for you immediately." "I appreciate your offer, your Majesty. I believe I would like to remain a unicorn -- being able to wield magic is a wonderful gift, one I try to use with great responsibility. I also remember telling the other Trixie that I would choose to be a male unicorn. I suppose a coat color of a deep magenta, with a mane and tail of pale yellowish-green would make a nice contrast. I would also like to have a relatively tall and lanky build, if that's not too much to ask." The Princess had already lit her horn, working a transformation spell upon me. I felt her aura surround me, and then my body started changing before my eyes, though without a mirror to watch the process, I could only stare at my hooves as my coat color deepened into a deep burgundy, and feel myself get a bit taller as well. Being a stallion was going to take a little getting used to, after having been a mare for as long as I was. Celestia released me from her aura, her smile broadening a bit as I craned my neck around to see my tail, which was a nice shade of chartreuse. "Do you have a mirror, your Majesty? I would like to examine the total package, as it were," I chuckled. My voice had taken on a much deeper tone with quite a bit of resonance to it. It sounded pleasant to my ears. Twilight and Trixie snickered at what I had said, both of them blushing ever so slightly. "Certainly, Michael," the Alicorn chuckled, conjuring up a large mirror for me. I examined myself, noticing the short forelock and medium length mane. I stood almost a head taller than Trixie and Twilight, who were now grinning at me. Their blushes deepened a little more. I turned around, noticing ... oh. That's what they were giggling at. "Your Majesty, must ... that ... be so obvious?" I asked, my cheeks a deep red. "Clearly you have something on your mind, Michael," she smiled mischievously, trying her hardest to stifle her laughter. "I thought you wanted to be well-endowed as well!" And then she lost her self-control, laughing really hard. Twilight and Trixie also laughed a little as well. I scowled at them. "Remind us to think about you when we go into our heat cycle," Trixie giggled. "TRIXIE!" I shouted at her. "That's enough!" "Michael, I can't change ... that ... for you. Think clean thoughts, it will diminish in its size," the Sun Goddess chuckled. "Maybe I need to relieve the pressure on my bladder. Is there a washroom nearby?" "This wouldn't be a proper Castle without one, Michael! Please, allow me to escort you," Celestia said, still smiling. I trailed the Alicorn to another room adjoining the Throne Room and took care of my business, returning a moment later. "Feeling better, now, Michael? Oh, and by the way, you will need to choose a new name for your new identity. You might also notice a distinct lack of a cutie mark." "Maybe THAT'S what they were giggling at," I mused. "I think I might be a blank flank for awhile, I'm afraid. I never really specialized in much of anything, other than being a delivery person when I was a human. I delivered newspapers when I was a kid, then went to doing pizza delivery, then package delivery for a courier service. I suppose you could say I've been a delivery boy all my life!" I chuckled. "But you worked in a library!" Twilight protested. "Well, yeah, I did -- but I already told you about that," I stated flatly. "Michael, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Celestia asked warmly. "Have you thought of a pony name yet?" "I suppose I should have done so while I was running around as Trixie, but no, your Majesty, I haven't thought of a name -- I just assumed I could continue using my human name despite my appearance. I'm open to suggestions, though." As those words were leaving my mouth, I felt something weird occur -- apparently, I had received my cutie mark -- a slice of pizza. I chuckled at the irony of it. "That was quick," Trixie giggled. "Twenty-five years. I should have known," I said, rather dejectedly.