//------------------------------// // A Stop-over in Ponyville // Story: Why Did I Choose to be Trixie? // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// The trek to Las Pegasus took us back through Ponyville about a week after we left Manehattan. Word of our performances elsewhere had managed to filter back to town, so when we pulled the caravan in, we were practically given a hero's welcome. I was astonished by how well received we were, and Twilight and the others were quite excited to see us as well. We pulled up by the Library and I noticed my car had been left untouched. "Thanks for watching over it for me, Twilight," I stated with admiration in my voice. "You're quite welcome, Ammy," she said. "We were wondering when you two were going to make it back. We have heard so much about what you and Trixie have been doing! Will you be putting on a show for us?" "Yes, of course, Twilight, we wouldn't want to let down our hometown crowd, now would we, Trixie?" "Yes, Trixie will be happy to put on a show for Ponyville!" she nearly chirped. She had never been this well received in a town that had once shunned her with extreme prejudice. "Amethyst has taught Trixie a lot of new magic! She can hardly wait to show it all off!" "Trixie has taught me quite a few things as well, Twilight," I stated, smiling warmly. It was already fairly late in the day when we had arrived, but making it back to Ponyville before dark had been my objective that day, even though Trixie wanted to take it easy. "Trixie is tired from a long day of travel, Sparkle. We normally sleep in the caravan, but we would like a comfortable bed for tonight. Would you be kind enough to let us sleep in your guest room tonight? We can give you a small sack of bits," the azure mare offered. "Twilight, we're rather hungry as well -- we should have paced ourselves today, but I wanted to make it here before dark," I stated. "Please, unhitch your caravan and come inside," the librarian smiled. "Please let me know where all you've been! I'll have Spike make some dinner for you two." "Thanks again for your hospitality, Twilight," I stated softly. "Oh, please, anything for a friend! It's been more than two months since you were last here! How did Hoofington go?" "We met Trixie's mom," I stated calmly. "Though I have had some rather unsettling dreams about her." "You never told Trixie about those dreams!" she nearly shouted at me. "What were they about?" "Oh, Trixie. I dreamed your mama killed us both in a most brutal fashion," I said, putting my right fore-hoof on her withers. "Why didn't you tell Trixie about this? Was it really that bad?" the azure mare asked softly. "Trixie, I didn't want to hurt your feelings -- you might remember I had such a dream about Rarity -- it was that night that I chanced to meet you," I replied. "What does it all mean?" asked Twilight. "You have dreamed about Rarity AND Trixie's mom killing you?" "Laying strapped down to a table and being dissected in one case, and simply killed in the other. Very vivid dreams, deeply troubling. I don't know what they mean, though I have a suspicion about them. There's a part of me that sometimes wonders if I made a mistake in choosing to be a pony, though whenever I hold Trixie close to me, those doubts melt away with her touch," I smiled at my wife, gazing into her greyish lavender eyes. "By the way, I think she's pregnant." "What? Really? I'm so happy for you both! Trixie, when is the foal due?" "Trixie does not know, though she has been feeling sick for about two months," she responded glumly. "I don't think she's ready for motherhood just yet. I would like for us to be back here in Ponyville when she gives birth so everypony can be here to celebrate. As for being a new father, I am rather excited about it -- it makes me feel young again." "Well, Ammy, I think when the Princess transformed you, you became young again! You were an Alicorn for a little bit -- does the extended lifespan carry over to your new form?" Twilight asked. "You know, I never asked Celestia about it, so I have no idea. She told me I have seventy years to spend with Trixie, and I will cherish all the time I spend with her." I gave her a soft kiss on the lips for emphasis, which caused her to blush lightly and giggle. "I am also looking forward to helping her raise several foals." This mention caused Trixie to frown. "Trixie was meant to perform on stage! She does NOT want to be a brood-mare!" "I did NOT mean back to back as soon as possible, lover girl!" I chuckled. "My human ex-wife had six children whom I helped raise in some form or other. I believe I am fully capable of more and eagerly look forward to it!" "Ammy, you continue to impress me!" Twilight said, beaming a smile. "Maybe some time you could tell me your human life story! You DID say you had 49 years of experience as a human, didn't you?" "Twilight, I'd rather not dwell on that -- much of it was quite depressing for me. Much of it was spent working as hard as I could to make ends meet. Happiness was a fleeting thing for me back then, and even though Trixie and I are going to be hoofing it all the way to Las Pegasus as we continue our journey, I still wouldn't give up being a pony to go back to my human existence, most especially because I have TRIXIE!! to keep me company!" At this mention, the show-mare giggled enthusiastically. "Trixie is pleased that Amethyst loves her so much!" she grinned. Spike finished cooking in the kitchen and brought a few plates of food for us. We chatted over dinner, discussing where we had been. When I mentioned to Twilight that Trixie and I had competed in the Manehattan Display, she became quite excited. "What? The Manehattan Display? Why didn't you write me? I would have loved to see you two compete!" "Twilight, I am sorry, I didn't know. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time and I was so excited, I couldn't wait to compete with Trixie and the idea of writing you slipped my mind," I said kind of glumly. "Well, tell me you two won!" the lavender mare grinned. "Trixie is sorry to tell you we finished in second place," the azure mare said flatly. "Amethyst promises to take Trixie back next year and we will take first place." She turned toward me. "We'd better!" "That's why we're still traveling, improving on our show, adding new things, seeing what works. If something gets a good response, we keep it. If not, we drop it and move on to something else." "Please tell me you don't do any more boasting about your accomplishments, Trixie," said Spike. "Trixie does not boast, she tells the truth about what she and Amethyst have done," she stated proudly. "So, do you have any names picked out for your foal?" Twilight asked, beaming a smile. "Well, it's still pretty early for that, Twilight. I think once we get further along we might have a good name picked out, however, I was thinking that if the foal is female, I like the name of Lapis Lazuli, if the color of her coat matches," I said. "Amethyst, what is it with you and gemstones? Even your name is a gemstone!" Twilight grinned. "I equate gemstones with things that are precious, and nothing is more precious than life itself. If Trixie bears a colt, he might be given the name of a gemstone as well, depending on the color of his coat. It all depends, of course, but I'm also pretty sure Trixie will give birth to a unicorn foal, regardless of gender." "What if you got her pregnant while you were still in your Alicorn form?" the librarian asked facetiously. "Princess Celestia told me that such a conception would be genetically impossible, so I wouldn't worry, unless the foal turns out to be an Alicorn, which would truly shock me." "If Trixie gives birth to an Alicorn, she wants the Alicorn foal to carry HER name!" "You mean you would want to call her Beatrix?" I asked her. "That would please Trixie very much!" she giggled. "But wouldn't that cause some confusion?" "Trixie would still be Trixie, but Beatrix would be Trixie's Alicorn filly!" she laughed. I shook my head in disbelief. "Okay, Trixie, if that happens, then the foal will carry your name," I chuckled. We continued chatting as we finished dinner. I offered to help Spike with the dishes, but he told me it was okay. Trixie and I talked with Twilight a bit longer in the main room of the Library, discussing some more details of our future plans. She got us caught up on recent events in Ponyville, and told me the Cutie Mark Crusaders had tried playing around on my car, so she had to shoo them away. "Kids will be kids, regardless of age or species," I chuckled. "I remember when I was a human child, I liked playing around on my dad's car, which made him quite angry with me." "What did he do?" asked Twilight. "He took a belt to me and spanked my ... hindquarters ... pretty badly and told me never to play on his car again," I stated sullenly. "Ooh, sorry I asked," the lavender mare said softly. "That's okay, it happened more than 40 years ago." "Amethyst, could you tell me more about your human father?" asked Twilight. "I'm pretty tired -- maybe another time. It took a long time for me to stop being afraid of my dad -- sometimes I never knew if he was going to hit me out of frustration for perceived wrong-doing on my part -- my fear of him would cause me to cry, which annoyed him even further." "Sounds like he was rather abusive," the librarian mused. "I'm sorry to have dredged up all these awful memories, Ammy." "I suppose it can't be helped, Twi. I think it's time for bed, now. Trixie? You coming?" "Trixie is coming. Thanks again, Twilight Sparkle." "You still haven't changed much, have you, Trixie?" the librarian giggled. "Trixie is changing, but sometimes that comes slowly," she replied and trotted upstairs after me. We slept in the guest bed, with me cuddling Trixie from behind. We slept quite soundly that night, but I noticed Trixie's belly had gotten a little bigger over the past couple of months. I softly smiled and whispered to her as I gently rubbed her belly with my left fore-hoof. She sighed softly as I did this. During the night, we both turned over so that she was behind me. She returned my earlier gesture of affection by rubbing my belly with her right fore-hoof, though there was a bit more activity than that. I think I might have heard Spike or Twilight or maybe both of them telling us to keep the noise down during the night, but then again, I might have been dreaming. Trixie and I awoke muzzle to muzzle again and we shared a long kiss before getting out of bed. Twilight was gracious enough to offer us some breakfast before we left on our journey, so we went to the kitchen to join the librarian and her assistant for breakfast. "Hey, Twilight, you wanna have Spike send the Princess a letter letting her know we're doing fine and that Trixie is with foal? I'd appreciate it," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "Sounds to me like you don't want to leave Ponyville just yet," the librarian chuckled. "Well, we're going to put on a show for the townsponies today, but after that, we're going to be heading off towards Las Pegasus. Your estimation is correct, Twi, I don't wanna leave just yet. I would like to stay here for a few more days, but Trixie probably wants to keep going." "Trixie doesn't want to spend too much more time here in Ponyville -- so when we get done with our show, we will continue on our travel," she stated flatly. "Speaking of which, when are you two going to perform for us today? I would love to see what you've come up with!" the librarian said enthusiastically. "We will pull the caravan to town center in a little while. Normally, we like to perform during the late afternoon hours, but it just depends on when we arrive in a particular town. We got here just before dark last night, so it was too late for us to set up our performance. This should give us a little time to tour the town and meet every pony. It will be good to reunite with friends once again. Thanks again for your hospitality, Twi," I smiled. "My house is always open to you and Trixie, you're always welcome here!" she responded, beaming a smile.