It was during the course of the next two years that Marina continued to increase her knowledge and skill with the use of her magic, outstripping every other unicorn foal her age. There was a part of me that wondered if she had some Alicorn genes in her make-up, though I had been completely assured by Celestia that she was definitely NOT an Alicorn. Considering the fact that the Sun Goddess had lied to me before, I felt compelled to take her words with a grain of salt. Even though Summer Song would stay near and help in just about every way possible, Marina eventually came to know that the blue unicorn mare wasn't truly her mother, but she treated her as such.
Twilight would often stop by to visit with the filly as well, who would always canter excitedly to the lavender Alicorn. The librarian would split her time between Ponyville and Canterlot, but still pleaded with me to provide her with a foal, informing me that any foal she would have by me would indeed be an Alicorn, regardless of gender. I urged patience on her part, reminding her of my marriage. The lavender Alicorn would confide to me all her feelings, even those she had for me, and I would let her know that I was thinking of her as well. I told her about Trixie's travels whenever I checked on her progress, but after the first year, I lost contact with her. I had ponies reporting on her to me, so at the very least I was able to stay informed as to her whereabouts. Six months later, even they lost track of her.
The business of raising and lowering the Sun, coupled with the rigors of Solar Court had a tendency to occupy my days completely. I asked Luna if her sister was going to return some time, but I was told to be patient, and that Celestia might be gone for ten years or so. I asked Twilight if she might be interested in covering the responsibilities of being the Solar Regent, but she would always tell me she was too busy at the library with her research projects, leaving me in charge. There were quite a few times where Luna would ask me to cover her court duties as well so she could take an occasional break. I told her what I was willing to do was raise and lower her Moon for her, and set the stars in the sky as well, but Lunar Court would not be held in her absence. She agreed to this on principle, acknowledging that so much responsibility would be too much for me to handle until I had more experience as an Alicorn.
"You realize, Amethyst, that Alicorns don't need to sleep or even eat, except every once in awhile," Luna explained. "We regret having to impose upon you, but We desire a break as well."
"Very well then, Luna, but please return soon. I understand there aren't many petitioners for Lunar Court, but there are some who cannot make time for Solar Court. I suppose I can extend the hours of Solar Court to accommodate as many petitioners as I am able, though their concerns are little more than petty trifles," I stated flatly.
"You have Our deepest and sincerest gratitude, Amethyst. We promise to make Our return timely, for your sake," the Lunar Princess smiled and departed for ... somewhere.
I was left in charge for three weeks before Luna returned, and it was during those three weeks that I requested Twilight's company during a moment of weakness on my part. The librarian was all too eager to assist me with my needs and desires, though I felt a bit dirty afterwards. The two of us shared a passionate kiss, but tears streamed down our faces at having performed the deed. I could only hope that Trixie might forgive my weakness, but I had no idea where she was and no idea of when she might return. Truthfully, I could have checked on her if I had been willing to put more effort into it, but I let the words of others convince me that Trixie no longer loved me, and having put her out of my mind, I allowed myself to succumb to my desires during the Royal Sisters' absence.
Twilight seemed to have designs on marrying me, occasionally asking me to contact Celestia for the sake of annulling my marriage to Trixie. I told her I thought that was a bad idea, but there was always that nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I should try a bit harder to find my wife. I told the lavender Alicorn that she should be patient, that a marriage to her would come in due time. Content in the knowledge that eventually she would become my wife, she kissed me and giggled a little upon hearing that revelation from me. There was a part of me that screamed at me to respect Trixie, but because she was gone, I ignored that part.
We held a birthday party for Marina to celebrate her third year of life -- Pinkie Pie had planned this party about a month in advance, inviting as many ponies as she could to the party, which was held in the Royal Ballroom, owing to the number of ponies who showed up. It was during that party that Trixie finally made her return. She was escorted to the ballroom by a Royal Guard unicorn, and upon seeing me, cantered over excitedly, grinning broadly.
"Amethyst! I have returned!" she exclaimed and hugged me tightly. I forced a smile and hugged her gently in return, though her smaller size made for a rather awkward hug, as I was wearing my regalia. "Would you mind making yourself my size so we can share a proper hug?" she asked.
"Um, Trixie? You're no longer speaking in third pony?" I asked, almost hesitantly.
"Oh, that! I gave that up more than a year ago! I've been traveling by myself, mostly doing odd jobs and the occasional magic show, but things have been going pretty well for me. So how's my little Marina doing?"
I was taken by her appearance -- she seemed rather gaunt, as though she had seen a great many dangers and had not been eating all that well. I had a sneaking suspicion that her exuberance was merely an act, that she was hiding something. My ethereal senses picked up on this as I almost subconsciously scanned her, checking her aura, trying to ascertain her physical and psychological health. I may have hesitated a bit too long as she cleared her throat to get my attention.
"Oh, yes. Today is Marina's third birthday! She is doing quite well, Trixie," I smiled, looking for our little navy blue filly. "Marina! Your mama is here!" I called out. The little filly came cantering over in great excitement, giving a squeal of delight upon being reunited with her biological mother.
"Mama! You're here! I've missed you so much!" she cried. Trixie and I smiled warmly at her.
"So tell me, Marina, how have they been treating you here? I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you, but I'm going to stay here now. I have been traveling for a long time, but now I feel confident in myself enough to stay and be a real mother to you," she stated warmly.
"Mama, you look so ... weak," the little filly stated somewhat sullenly. Trixie's condition seemed readily apparent at that point, the light shining through the large windows of the ballroom illustrating quite starkly how slender the show-mare had become.
"I'm okay, Marina -- it's been a little rough out there on the road. Amethyst was supposed to come and help me when I pushed the button, but he never came," she said, a tear trickling down her face. "Trixie -- I ran into some trouble and had to use my wits to escape the Everfree with my life," she added. She turned around, lifting her cape to show a large scar that ran lengthwise along her right side from her flank to her withers as it crept up her back. Everypony gasped at seeing this, and I flinched a little.
"Oh, Trixie, I am so sorry," I stated. "But I told you to take care of that device, if you remember."
"I know. I tried to, but things kept happening. I wanted you to think I was okay, but ... well ..." she said softly, letting her words trail off. She slowly trotted over to me and hugged me very tightly, tears trickling from her eyes. "Amethyst, please hold me -- please don't let me go," she whispered, choking back sobs.
"Mama, don't be sad! I will try to make you happy," Marina said, trying to encourage her. The little filly also wanted to get in on the hug, wrapping her forelegs around her mother's left hind leg as I had wrapped my forelegs around her withers.
"Shh, Trixie, it's gonna be all right," I cooed softly to her. I held her close, trying to reassure her of my faithfulness and fidelity to her. I felt a sick nagging feeling in the back of my mind, worried about what might happen if she were to find out about what Twilight and I had done while she was gone. I breathed in her scent, but that was unmistakable. She needed a bath. "Um, Trixie, would you like to freshen up a bit?" I asked gently.
"Yes, I would like that quite a lot," she smiled warmly. "Please tell me everything that's gone on while I was gone."
"Well," I began as I escorted her to Celestia's private bath, "things have been pretty much normal around here -- nothing much has happened, at least, nothing major. Anything that might have come up was dealt with by Twilight."
"Ah. That sounds good. I wish she had been around to help me when I needed it," she stated sullenly. Marina came trotting along behind us.
"Marina, the party is for you -- Trixie needs to freshen up, and I'm taking her to do so," I said to the little filly.
"But I wanna talk to mama too!" she pleaded, giving me her best sad-eyes look, something that seemed to be instinctive.
"Okay, but you might get bored listening to us talk," I said in acquiescence.
"You can tell me what you've been doing, Marina," Trixie offered. She brightened up considerably, giggling a little.
"Twilight's been teaching me magic and how to fly better and how to speak better," she stated quite cheerfully.
"What else have you been doing?" asked Trixie. I drew a tub of warm water for her, selecting certain soaps and shampoos for her.
"Twilight has been teaching me how to read and write, too! Daddy has been so busy doing things with other ponies and sometimes can't play with me," she said with some disappointment.
"Well, I guess running Equestria can be pretty busy -- he has to be the Princess while she's away," Trixie explained. "So, Amethyst, are you doing everything by yourself? Do you have any help?"
"There's been quite a bit of help -- I have a few ponies whose job it is to open and read the mail that shows up, and if something really important is needed, it's brought to my attention. I have appointed a magistrate to address the more trivial matters of state that arise on a daily basis, but the more important petitioners are brought before me. I have delegate some other tasks to other ponies. Frankly, I can't even imagine Celestia trying to do all of this by herself," I chuckled. "I just hope she doesn't take too much longer. This is one of the most boring jobs I've ever held and now I understand why she was looking for a replacement. Imagine doing these things for decades on end without a reprieve in sight, and here I come along, providing her with a responsible alternative. If I were in her hooves, I'd be jumping for joy as well."
"Amethyst, I had no idea it was like that. I'm sorry to have left you for my selfish desires, but I'm here now, and I'm not going to leave you!" Trixie smiled warmly at me as she gently entered the tub. I turned off the water and offered her some sponges and brushes.
"Do you want some privacy? Or would you like me to help?" I asked.
"I wanna help too, mama!" Marina chirped, and leaped up to hover around the tub, flapping her wings gently. We chuckled at her enthusiasm.
"Of course, Marina, you can help," she offered. I soaked a sponge and lathered it with some shampoo. Marina's horn glowed a dark blue as she enveloped the soapy sponge with that dark blue aura and tried to soap up Trixie's coat of fur. Her fine-tune control needed some more practice as the sponge fell into the tub. The show-mare giggled, but used her telekinesis to take the soapy sponge and run it along her body. She was very careful around the scar, a fact that did not escape my notice. Trixie enjoyed my careful ministrations with the sponges, brushes, soaps and shampoos as I gently washed and rinsed her body, her mane and tail.
"This water feels so nice -- it's been too long since I last had a nice hot bath," she smiled. "Thanks for helping me, Amethyst."
"It was my pleasure," I said, returning her smile. "How long ago did you get hurt?"
"It's been about five months or so," she replied. "A rather big Timber Wolf got too close to me as I was trying to fend off about a dozen of them. Tr -- I -- I wish you had been able to help me, Amethyst."
"I'm sorry," I said softly, hanging my head in shame.
"Trixie -- I don't want to be reminded of what happened," she stated with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I notice you still sometimes slip into third pony speech," I mused. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed me. I --"
"Enough, Amethyst. Trix -- I know you're sorry, you don't have to keep saying that. What's done is done, and we still have more than sixty years we can share with each other!" she exclaimed cheerfully. I could sense something was wrong with her and that she needed some medical help. She got out of the tub and dried herself off. "I'm pretty tired, Amethyst -- I think I need to get some sleep."
"You may sleep in Celestia's bed -- I can only suspect you suffer from extreme fatigue, and I believe Celestia's bed can restore some of your lost strength," I offered and escorted her to the huge bed. Marina trotted behind us.
"Can I sleep with mommy?" she asked.
"You still have a birthday party," I said, smiling at her.
"I wanna stay with my mama," she protested. I nodded my head.
"Okay, Marina, you can stay with your mama," I stated, maintaining my smile. I left the two of them to sleep together as I made my way back to the ballroom where her party was still in progress.
"So, Ammy, where's the little birthday filly?" asked Pinkie.
"She wants to stay with her mama -- I'm sure you could understand her desire after being away from her mama for three years," I said, still smiling warmly. "I'm sorry to have to call the remainder of the party off, but we can reschedule it for later when Trixie's feeling better."
"What's wrong with Trixie?" the pink pony asked.
"There are some health concerns," I stated flatly. "I will have a medical team evaluate her and see about healing her if they can."
"Ooh, I hope it's nothing too serious," Pinkie said optimistically. She then rambled on at length about a relative of hers who had fallen ill at one time and that she had worried herself sick over that issue and was afraid she might have to throw a going away forever party before that relative died, but recovered from what turned out to be just a minor illness, so she held a "Congratulations, you didn't die and you made it back to Ponyville" party for that relative.
"I believe Trixie is in good hooves and that there's nothing to worry about," I responded.
"Okie dokie lokie," Pinkie chimed and wrapped up the party. Everypony departed to return to what they had been doing earlier, offering their farewells to the pink party pony.
"All right, Pinkie, seeya later," I said and returned to Celestia's bedchamber to check up on my wife.