The room we appeared in was one of the deluxe accommodations in the Castle -- in fact, it was the suite Trixie and I had shared shortly after we got married. Trixie lay in the bed, unconscious, still in her coma, a breathing tube attached to her muzzle, a heart rate monitor, an IV tube, and a few other devices also monitoring other functions doing their work. A nurse was standing watch over her to make sure her condition didn't worsen. Upon seeing the three of us teleport into the room, she let out a shriek. The head doctor in charge of Trixie's health trotted in hurriedly, then gasped when he saw my parents.
"Who -- what -- what -- who --" he stammered.
"Doctor, these are my parents -- they are human, just as I was at one time a human. Mom, Dad, this unicorn stallion is the lead doctor of the medical team here at Canterlot Castle. He is keeping Trixie safe for me. Doctor, I have arrived with the needed medicine for her," I stated, levitating the pill bottle over to him. He used his magic to try to open the bottle, but failed. "Doctor, that is a two-action lid -- you have to simultaneously push down on the top while twisting the bottle," I offered.
"Why is it like that, Amethyst?" he asked. He performed the task and succeeded in opening the bottle. "Huh," he mused.
"That's a child-proof bottle, specifically designed to keep children from opening it and accidentally overdosing on the medicine," I stated.
"So these two ... humans? Are your ... parents?" he asked. "Please forgive me, I've never seen humans before."
"That's quite all right," my dad responded. "So how is my daughter-in-law doing?"
"She has a severe laceration along her right side which has become critically infected. She has been using nearly all her magic to keep herself alive, though the infection seems to have been stabilized by a combination of our magic and the best medicine we have to help her. These pills here might actually reverse the infection," the doctor stated. He had the nurse fetch him a medicine kit to convert the pills into a powder to be dissolved into a solution to be added to Trixie's IV drip. He inserted a syringe from an additional IV setup to allow the medicine solution to mix with the saline solution in the main IV to further dilute the antibiotics.
"Now we must wait to see if the new medicine has a beneficial effect on her," the doctor stated flatly. "I just hope this works -- she doesn't have much time left."
"She looks so peaceful," my mom mused. "She looks very cute. Mike, I wish I could have been there on your wedding day."
"You would have been shocked if you had been here on that actual day," I chuckled. "Trixie had been replaced by an impostor and there was quite a bit of chaos before we got things back under control."
"An impostor? Really? Who was it?" asked my dad.
"She called herself Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings. We dealt with her appropriately," I stated flatly.
"Changelings? As in, change their appearance?"
"That's right, yeah. The Queen called on them to attack the wedding attendees, but Celestia, Luna, and Cadance stopped them in their tracks. There's more to the story, but we were able to defeat Chrysalis before she was able to carry out her plans," I replied.
"Sounds intriguing. I would have liked to have seen it myself," my dad mused. "I'll bet it was very exciting."
"That would be an understatement! There was a part of me that was scared, as that Queen was standing right next to me when --"
"Mmm, Amethyst, don't leave me," Trixie moaned. The doctor's eyes went wide as saucers as he gasped and turned to me.
"Amethyst?" asked mom and dad.
"I told you, that's my pony name," I grinned. "Trixie? I'm so sorry," I said softly to her. "Doctor, don't unhook that IV just yet -- we have to let the medicine finish off the infection -- I don't wanna see the bacteria develop an immunity to those antibiotics!" The doctor nodded and trotted to the left side of the bed Trixie was laying in and examined her once again.
"Amethyst? Who -- what --" Trixie asked as she saw my parents.
"Trixie, this is my mom and dad -- they are human, I brought them from my home world so they could meet you in person," I smiled.
"Amethyst? Why don't you look like them?"
"Did I not tell you, Trixie? I used to be human before I had my car transform me into a copy of you," I replied flatly.
"How did your car do that?" my dad asked in exasperation. The doctor and nurse looked up at me in surprise, as did my mom. Even Trixie showed some surprise.
"Trixie, you remember when I had the car drive us to the train station some years ago? Scaring all those ponies on the way there?"
"Oh, so that was YOU who was responsible for that!" the doctor stated in an annoyed tone of voice. "You caused quite a bit of panic in Ponyville when you did that. I was working in the hospital that day when a large number of admissions came in and I had to deal with that little problem. I was late for dinner that night, thanks to you!"
"I apologize, doctor. I had magically enchanted my car a long time ago, giving it abilities I hadn't even considered it capable of doing. When I asked if the car could change me from a human into a pony, it told me that it could. When I asked to be Trixie, I heard soft laughter coming from the speakers as the car enveloped me in its aura and transformed me," I explained. My parents stood slack-jawed at the revelation.
"I remember you telling me that story, Amethyst. I can't believe I forgot about it, but -- I wish you had been with me to keep me safe. Trixie is going to have nightmares about those timber wolves for the rest of her life!" the show-mare stated.
"Trixie, did you just refer to yourself in third person?" my dad asked.
"Oh, sorry. I sometimes fall back into that old habit of mine, usually when I'm thinking about things that really scare me or worry me," she replied. My dad had absentmindedly walked over to Trixie's right side and scratched her behind her ears. "Ooh, that feels nice -- could you keep doing that?" she smiled. My dad seemed to have an almost nervous energy to him as it appeared he might be having a little trouble mentally processing the fact that he was now in a world of talking ponies. My mom stood silently transfixed by all the activity going on before she asked me a question.
"So how long have you two been married?"
"It's been close to four years, mom," I replied.
"Why did Trixie ask you not to leave her? What happened?"
"I believe a little explanation is in order, mom. You might notice I have both wings and a horn, and as I told you, I'm an Alicorn. I also happen to be Acting Regent for Equestria, which means I'm supposed to be sitting in the Throne Room adjudicating the more pressing issues of Solar Court. My duties also require me to raise and lower the sun here."
"That's impossible!" my dad shouted.
"Trixie has seen him do this," she said softly.
"You mean -- you can -- raise and -- lower -- the -- SUN?" my mom asked incredulously.
"Trixie, I'm going to take my parents to meet Twilight -- she's acting in my stead right now, but I think I should show my parents what I'm capable of doing. It should be fairly close to time for Luna to raise the moon, so I need to check up on that matter. I shall return shortly. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"
"Amethyst, please hurry back."
"I will, lover girl!" I grinned. She smiled back at me in response. "Okay, mom, dad, the Throne Room is not far from here, so follow me, please." They nodded in acknowledgement and followed me as I left the room and trotted slowly down the hallway, my hoofguards clinking lightly on the carpeted floor.
"That's some nice jewelry you're wearing," my mom mused.
"This is my regalia which is proof of my station. If Celestia were here, I'd still be wearing it, but hers is a little more ornate than mine. I hope she returns soon, I grow weary of the tedium of Solar Court. Now I know why she was so desperate to have me stand as her replacement, though I hope she doesn't expect me to be a permanent replacement for her," I opined.
"I would like to meet this Celestia you speak of," my dad stated.
"She looks somewhat similar to me -- you see these marks on my flanks? Hers is a single sun, considerably larger than the four suns I wear as a cutie mark."
"Cutie mark? I could understand mares having those, but stallions?" my dad asked.
"All ponies in Equestria have them. Those who don't have them are either too young to have one or haven't found their special talent yet, or might not even BE ponies!" I replied, softly chuckling as I spoke the last few words of that sentence. My mom marveled at all the decorations adorning the walls of the castle. Presently we reached the Throne Room, two Royal Guards standing in front of it.
"Kind of reminds me of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace," my dad mused aloud. "Stern expressions on their faces --"
"I know you might be tempted to do the sort of antics I've seen American tourists do to those Beefeaters, but I request you refrain from doing that. These ponies take their jobs very seriously, and playing with them is ... a bad idea," I stated flatly.
"You have returned, your Majesty!" one of them stated, smiling ever so slightly. "And you have ... visitors?"
"Yes, these are my parents. I would appreciate you showing them the same respect you show me," I said to the guard.
"Yes, your Majesty," he said, bowing. My parents were quite impressed.
"Your Majesty?" my dad asked.
"I am considered Royalty here, dad. It's part of my station as an Alicorn," I replied nonchalantly. I opened the doors with my magic and spotted Twilight sitting on the throne, Marina curled up on the dais beside her. I smiled at seeing them. "Mom, Dad, this is Twilight Sparkle. My daughter is sleeping on the floor next to her."
Upon hearing my voice, the little dark blue winged unicorn woke up and smiled broadly. "Daddy! You're back!" she shouted, cantering over to me excitedly. She stopped short when she saw my parents and gasped loudly. Twilight showed some surprise at seeing my parents as well.
"Did she just call you ... daddy?" my mom asked incredulously.
"Amethyst? Did you just call ... whomever it is behind you ... mom ... and ... dad?" asked the lavender Alicorn.
"Yes," I replied flatly. "My dad, Stan, is the taller one. My mom, Martha, is the shorter one."
"This is so fascinating! I don't believe I've ever seen you as a human, Amethyst! Yet your parents are both human! I remember you telling me about your time as a human, but -- wow! Um, they look kinda ... old?"
"I suppose you might remember I told you how old I was when I had my car transform me into Trixie? It was my 49th birthday, remember? It's been more than four years since that happened, and my dad is 23 years older than me. Yeah, my parents are old, but they're in good health. I'm actually quite happy they got to meet you and Trixie."
"How is she doing? She's not gotten worse, has she?" asked Twilight. My daughter had slowly approached my mom and was nuzzling against her left leg. My mom had bent down and started scratching the little filly behind her ears, a goofy grin on her face as she was clearly enjoying the sensation of having her head scratched. I heard soft cooing coming from her as she sat down on the floor, allowing my mom to devote her full attention to scratching her, then moving to her little wings.
"Trixie's doing better. I went to my home world and got some antibiotics for her, but decided to visit my parents as well. They expressed an interest in meeting my new wife. It would appear my mom has made a new friend," I chuckled.