I had retired to bed, making sure Marina was safely sleeping in her crib. I was deeply indebted to the foal-care team, who were doing an absolutely wonderful job. One of them was a blue unicorn mare who bore a close resemblance to Trixie and was able to serve as a surrogate mother, though her cutie mark was quite different, a copper colored quarter note couplet. Her name was Summer Song, and her lullabies to Marina were so beautiful I asked to record her singing for my benefit as well. I had brought my car from Ponyville to the Castle, the vehicle standing in a courtyard opposite the Royal Gardens. My music library had been saved to a hard disc storage for the car's entertainment system and I taught the blue unicorn some human songs, some of which she liked quite a bit. Her voice did a number of the songs justice, though it lacked the sort of soulfulness of Aretha Franklin's voice. There was a part of me that wondered if I could track down Chocolate Sweetness to see about having her sing some human songs. Summer Song's voice seemed to resemble Laura Nyro's.
Trixie continued to travel around Equestria and I was making sure to check up on her quite often to ensure her safety. I informed her of Marina's progress and that she was eating well, learning to walk, trying to speak, using rudimentary magic, and learning to fly as well. She asked me if I was sleeping okay by myself, and I told her I missed her company, but I was now regularly substituting for Celestia, performing her duties on an almost daily basis. It was true that she would oversee things to make sure I was performing competently, but as I progressed in holding Solar Court, receiving and answering the many letters that would arrive, raising and lowering the Sun on a daily basis, the Sun Goddess continued to place more trust in my judgment and more confidence in my abilities. I'll have to admit to being pleasantly surprised to receive reports from Celestia regarding activities she was engaged in, giving me deeply sincere thanks for allowing her to enjoy herself for the first time in centuries as she now had a competent replacement for her. That last part had me worried, as I wasn't sure if she meant for me to be a permanent replacement, but she told me she was traveling to other universes, same as I had been, and thoroughly enjoying her experiences, some of which burned my ears when I heard what she was doing.
I was sleeping in Celestia's bedchamber while she was away -- as long as I was going to be her surrogate, I might as well avail myself to her bed. There were quite a few times when I'd wake up to find Twilight having snuggled up to me, leading to some rather awkward glances and stares, the lavender Alicorn grinning sheepishly when she discovered it was me in her mentor's bed instead of the Sun Goddess. She took it in stride, though, and expressed an interest in having a foal of her own. I asked her if she was really ready for everything that entailed, considering Trixie's decision to leave Marina behind. She told me she wouldn't have asked me if she hadn't anticipated every contingency, considering how obsessive she could be when it came to attention to detail. I told her I would be willing, but we'd have to keep it secret from Trixie -- she would never forgive me again for another indiscretion of that sort. I asked her if breaking my promise to Trixie was worth the risk involved, as well as how deeply such infidelity would hurt her. Twilight simply responded that if she truly loved me, she wouldn't have abandoned her daughter and left me to stay in the Castle alone instead of traipsing about Equestria like the rolling stone she was. I told her I would have to give her request very careful consideration and would let her know when I had made a final decision, though I did ask her if she would rather wait about a decade or so before having a foal, to which she responded in the affirmative, which made me smile.
Twilight would often stay at the Castle and help raise Marina, who was continuing to grow and learn rather quickly. I was amazed to see her progression occur as quickly as it was, as by the time she was a year old, she was able to speak a few words, fly around the room giggling and laughing, use more magic, though I think Twilight might have been teaching the filly how to use her magic. I told Twilight to be careful about which spells she taught her, but she told me she was being extremely careful and only teaching her some basic spells. I was amazed to see how proficient she was at certain things, considering she was only a year old. I smiled proudly at her, which elicited an innocent smile in return. She had learned how to call me "Dada," though she was referring to Twilight as "Mama." I was somewhat concerned by this, but I told her that when her real mama comes back, I would show little Marina who her mama really was. She would giggle when I told her this, though I wasn't sure if she understood my words or just liked the sound of my voice.
Trixie contacted me from Las Pegasus and informed me that she was being given trouble once again. I would have thought she'd have known better than to return to that city, but I suspect she had figured that they would have forgotten about her. She had gone to one of the casinos once again and had tried her hoof at the blackjack tables, only to be given a quick trip to the police station. She used that opportunity to contact me, to which I had to have Twilight cover for me while I attended to the matter. I teleported to the police station from the Castle and talked to the receptionist at the front desk.
"May I help you ... your Majesty?" the mare asked.
"I am here for Trixie," I stated flatly.
"She is being held on certain charges --"
"Please release her to my custody, if you don't mind," I said firmly. It was not so much a request as it was a demand. I gave a rather stern look to emphasize my demand, implying certain consequences if that demand was not met.
"Uh -- there's some paperwork to be --"
"I care not about that. Release her at once," I stated, a hint of anger creeping into my voice, making my demand a bit more insistent. The receptionist seemed to shrink back before the station chief showed up.
"Your Majesty! What brings you to our fair city?" he asked.
"I am here for my wife, Trixie. She has contacted me and informed me that she is being held here. I request her immediate release, whereupon I will place her in MY custody," I stated impatiently. I maintained my scowl.
"Um, your Majesty, we must fill out the necessary paperwork before we can release her --"
"RELEASE HER AT ONCE!!" I bellowed, my Royal Canterlot Voice causing the walls to tremble slightly. Everypony cowered low to the ground at my outburst, the station chief very hurriedly cantering to the holding cells and returning very shortly with Trixie, who was still in hoofcuffs.
"I am terribly sorry, your Majesty," he apologized effusively. I continued to glower at him.
"Remove her hoofcuffs and if she is wearing an inhibitor ring," I said, taking another look at her, noticing she did indeed have one on her horn. "Remove that damned thing," I growled at the chief. The station chief bowed before me again, sputtering some more apologies before quickly removing Trixie's hoofcuffs and inhibitor ring. "Thanks," I nearly barked at him.
"Trixie, what brought you back here? I want you to stay away from this city from here on out. Everywhere else is fine, but Las Pegasus is off limits to you, understood?"
"Trixie goes where she wants! If she wants to visit Las Pegasus, let her do so!" she nearly shouted at me.
"I can still return you to their custody, if you'd like," I said sharply to her. She gave me a hurt look and the sad puppy dog eyes, pursing her lips into a pout. "That's not going to work with me this time, Trixie." I turned to the station chief again, who was quickly filling out paperwork. "Do you have her caravan in your impound lot? If so, return it to her. NOW." The chief looked up at me fearfully again, and dashed off to retrieve the wagon, delegating the task to a pair of unicorns who used their magic to wheel the wagon around to the front of the station.
"Her caravan is waiting in front of the station," the chief stated, bowing deeply before me again.
"Come on, Trixie, let's get out of here," I said in a condescending manner, glaring at the chief one more time as we left.
"Thank you, Amethyst. Will you be traveling with Trixie from now on?" she asked.
"You interrupted Solar Court to have me come rescue you," I stated flatly. "I must return to the Castle, Twilight does not want to be kept waiting."
"What are you doing with Sparkle?" my wife asked in an almost accusatory tone.
"She is covering Solar Court in my absence -- I told her I would return shortly. We take turns with Solar Court and Lunar Court, so the Princesses can avail themselves of some free time. They are quite pleased with our performance in their stead."
"You are taking good care of Marina for Trixie, yes?"
"She is in good hooves, Trixie. She can say a few words now. You've been gone from her nearly a year now -- when are you returning?"
"Trixie does not know, yet. Maybe soon," the show-mare mused.
"You still have the summoning device?" I asked her. She nodded and showed me the little black box, which appeared a bit beaten up. "Take better care of it, Trixie -- I don't want to have to replace it, nor do you want to find out it won't work when you really need it."
"Trixie still wants you to join her, Amethyst," she said somewhat sullenly.
"My obligations await me in Canterlot. I must take my leave, Trixie. See you later," I said, then teleported back to the Castle.
"Trixie HATES it when you do that!" she shouted to the air behind me. She hopped onto her caravan and used her magic to propel it in the general direction of Ponyville, taking a moment to give an obscene gesture using her fore-legs to the police station behind her.