A few days passed as Marina was left in my care, though as Celestia had promised, a team of experts assisted me in feeding, burping, changing diapers, bathing, and playing with little Marina. She was quite happy to be the center of attention, though sleeping was still somewhat troubled for me as I did not have Trixie to sleep with me. I was very careful when it came to Marina's sleep needs, making sure she was comfortable and snug in her little crib, which I made sure was quite close to my bed. It was a few more nights later when I felt somepony snuggle into the bed with me.
"Mmm, Trixie, you've returned," I cooed. I woke with a start when I felt a wing brush against my face. I lit my horn to see who it was. "Twilight? What are you doing in my bed?"
"Oh, Amethyst, I get so lonely sometimes -- I have ponies keeping tabs on Trixie's location, so you don't have to worry about her finding us together --"
"Twilight, as much as I would like to have you snuggle beside me, I cannot do that --"
I was interrupted as the lavender unicorn gave me a passionate kiss on the lips. "I need somepony to keep me company -- don't tell me you haven't been lonely since Trixie's been gone -- and besides, you and I were meant to be together! We're both Alicorns, we're going to live forever, we're going to rule Equestria together, we might as well get to know each other better!" she grinned.
"Do you remember how badly I suffered the last time Trixie attacked me for my indiscretions? I can't take that risk again, Twilight. Not until after she passes away can I accept your intimate companionship," I stated. "But if you want to snuggle for tonight, I guess I can allow for that."
The lavender Alicorn responded by giving me another kiss on the lips. "Thank you so much, Amethyst," she cooed and laid beside me in the bed, snuggling very close to me. I silently wondered if she was this close to Celestia sometimes. My thoughts were interrupted by her next statement. "You know, I used to snuggle with Celestia like this, and quite often as well. It allowed me to sleep very comfortably."
"I hope it's just cuddling -- though your counterpart in the other universe would snuggle with me on the few occasions when I spent the night there," I mused softly.
"How much like me is she?"
"She seems like a mix of you and Trixie, but Trixie's counterpart there is more like you than her, but there's still some of this Trixie in her as well. The two of you over there have been so close to each other for so long that your mannerisms have rubbed off on each other. They both run the Library and they both asked me to return to provide them with some ... companionship," I explained.
"What was my counterpart like in bed?"
"Well ... she was very nice, but she could get a little ... excited at times," I chuckled softly.
"Did you two ever ... um ... do ..."
"No, Twi, we didn't, though she expressed an interest in doing so," I laughed. "Trixie got mad at her for kissing me."
"Your Trixie or her counterpart?"
"Trixie's counterpart, believe it or not. She seems to be rather protective of your counterpart over there, but then again, I think that goes back to when Nightmare Moon silenced her for five years. After I gave her that little voice box, she returned to her ... rather mischievous ways. She seems to have an almost indomitable spirit and a very inquisitive nature to her as well as a youthful exuberance that makes her almost as irrepressible as Pinkie Pie."
"In other words, she's kind of like what I almost wish to be -- I think perhaps Trixie and I were meant to stay together in this universe -- her eyes seem to be so close to mine -- and I sometimes wonder what my life and hers would have been like had we lived together for twenty years. So ... that other universe is like a window to what might have been for me and Trixie. That is so interesting! I would like to spend a lot of time over there getting to know the two of them better!" she said with enthusiasm.
"They're both Alicorns now and they're about Luna's size. They still retain their youth, but it will last a long time for them now. I just hope they don't get too bored over there," I mused.
"Celestia gave me that little piece of advice not too long ago -- the worst thing that can happen to a pony who gets to live forever is if they get bored with what they're doing -- there's no telling what they might do to relieve that boredom."
"She basically gave me the same advice as well," I chuckled. "Let's get some sleep, Marina's going to need to be fed again pretty soon."
We both laid back down and I allowed the lavender Alicorn to snuggle very closely to me, her left foreleg and wing draped gently over my barrel. I heard her light breathing and fell asleep, her warmth making me feel quite comfortable. I allowed myself to picture her as Trixie, and I suppose she pictured me as Celestia. We slept quite soundly together that night.
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I was awoken by a knock at the door. It was still dark outside and I wondered what time it was. Twilight was still asleep in the bed as I gently maneuvered from under her grasp. I gave her a light kiss on her muzzle and softly cooed to her. I opened the door to find a Royal Guard Unicorn who told me to visit Celestia immediately. I heard Marina start crying and gave the guardspony a certain look. She silently nodded to me, so I trotted over to the crib and gently slung my filly under my neck, holding her close. She stopped crying at that moment and started cooing softly.
"I think she's hungry," I stated flatly.
"We'll get right on that, your Majesty," she replied. "The Princess wishes to see you now."
I trotted beside the guardspony as we made our short way to Celestia's bedchamber. Her bedsheets seemed to be in disarray as the Solar Princess seemed to be very worried.
"Where's Twilight?" she asked.
"She decided to sleep with me last night, Celestia," I stated flatly.
"Sometimes I have a hard time figuring her out. I certainly hope you two didn't do anything foalish," she admonished.
"No, she just cuddled against me, that's all. I told her about my concerns with regard to Trixie, but I figured it all we did was simply cuddle, it would be okay."
"There is no need for you to be jeopardizing your marriage, Amethyst. Oh, and I need you to raise my Sun for me," she added.
"I think there might have been another reason you requested my presence so urgently," I postulated.
"I have some bad news for you about Trixie," she stated, lowering her head slightly, her ears slightly drooping, her smile vanishing.
"What? Please ... don't tell me ..." I stammered.