The early morning sunlight shining through the window woke me from my slumber. Trixie and Marina were still in the typical mother/daughter embrace, the little filly snoring lightly, the show-mare breathing softly.
"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," I cooed to my wife and daughter.
"Amethyst? You're back! Thank Celestia, I was so worried about you!" exclaimed the azure unicorn.
"Daddy!" Marina cried happily, cantering over to me and trying her best to hug me. She managed to wrap herself around my left foreleg very tightly, sniffling a little.
"Yeah, we took care of Sombra -- I enlisted the assistance of a certain Nightmare Moon, whose help didn't come cheap," I stated somewhat sullenly. "She made certain demands..."
"Do you think you could have defeated him without her help?" Trixie asked, giving me a quizzical look.
"She taught me how to wield dark magic -- without that, I have my doubts about how well we'd have dealt with him," I mused.
"Dark magic? That's dangerous!" she exclaimed, exasperation coloring her words. "That can corrupt the caster!"
"That's why I used it sparingly -- I know the dangers associated with dark magic -- Nightmare showed me."
"Well, as long as you succeeded and returned safely, that's all that's important -- what are these bite marks on your withers? Where did those come from?"
"She likes to bite," I offered, grinning sheepishly.
"Was the price that high?" she asked, her exasperation in full bloom.
"She stated rather bluntly that her assistance demanded an exorbitant fee," I replied flatly. "Trust me, I took no enjoyment from it. She bites pretty hard, and you already know how much I hate pain."
"You still love me, don't you?"
"Trixie, you are the apple of my eye -- I have told you before, remember? My love for you -- I can't put it into words," I said softly as I gazed into her eyes. "Whatever may come to pass, I need you by my side. Those three years you were away were very hard on me."
"Who bit you, daddy? Did it hurt?" asked the little filly. I smiled warmly at her.
"It happened in a different universe, Marina. There is a black Alicorn named Nightmare Moon who sometimes does bad things, like bite certain ponies if they make her angry. It hurt a little, but it will go away."
"Do you want me to punish her when I get older?" Her question caused me to chuckle and Trixie to giggle softly.
"She's very powerful, Marina -- I don't know if you'll become strong enough to challenge her, let alone defeat her," I replied softly.
"But she's a bad pony! She bit you!" she exclaimed petulantly.
"Calm down, little one, your daddy will be okay," I cooed softly to her, wrapping her in my forelegs for a hug. She smiled as I hugged her and she responded by hugging me as tightly as she could.
"Daddy, please don't go away like that again! You made mama cry!"
"I'm sorry, Marina. Trixie, I apologize for leaving the way I did -- Celestia can sometimes be a bit ... insistent," I opined.
"Please tell Celestia not to drag you along on her adventures anymore, Amethyst. Trixie needs you now," she said softly as she crawled on the bed towards me, flashing me a sly grin.
"I will address your needs and desires tonight, my love, but for now I think we should have breakfast. I will see to my parents' needs as well," I offered. Trixie pouted at me, giving me her sad eyes look again. Marina copied her expression. "Oh, Marina, not you too!" I chuckled. "Go find Auntie Twilight and play with her for awhile -- your mama and I need to have a little time together, please."
"Okay, Daddy!" the little filly chirped and galloped off in search of the lavender Alicorn.
"Well, Trixie, looks like it's you and me now," I said, laughing softly.
"Trixie has been wanting this for a long time, Amethyst," she cooed, embracing me, giving me a kiss on my muzzle.
"I'm sure my parents are probably still asleep -- they can wait a little while longer," I mused as I returned her embrace and kissed her on her lips.
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"Honey, do you think Mike's made it back?" Martha asked Stan.
"We should probably check with Trixie to see if he did." My dad got up from the bed and went to the bathroom. "We can take a shower in here -- it seems as though they thought of everything we might need," he called out from the adjoining room.
"Sounds like a good idea, dear," she responded as she rose from the bed to her feet to walk to the bathroom. The sound of the shower running drowned out the louder cries from the adjacent bedchamber Trixie and I were in as we engaged each other intimately. Trixie's eagerness for our activity had heightened her sensitivity, thus causing her to be considerably more expressive than normal. Even though I was an Alicorn, the previous day's activity with Nightmare Moon had reduced my stamina somewhat, though Trixie didn't seem to mind. My parents finished their shower about the same time Trixie and I finished our passionate round of activity.
"Trixie wants you to do this with her again -- tonight!" she exclaimed, smiling warmly.
"I promise you I will," I replied, giving her a big smile in return.
"Trixie wants another foal -- this time she will be a good mother and not abandon her," she stated solemnly.
"We shall see about that, lover girl," I chuckled. "Summer Song had to fill in as a surrogate mother while you were gone."
"You didn't ... um ... with HER, did you?" she asked as she gave me an accusatory stare.
"You have my word of honor that we did not engage in that sort of activity. She does bear a resemblance to you, though it's only superficial."
"Okay, good. Trixie does not want to find out you cheated on her," she stated flatly.
"Must you be so possessive? I had that problem with my last wife -- she was always accusing me of cheating on her, though I --"
"You are Trixie's stallion! You are married to me, remember? When I was away from you for those three years, I did not take another stallion to mate with," she protested.
"What about when you went into your estrus cycle?" I asked, flashing a grin.
"Um ... well ... Trixie would rather not talk about that ... Amethyst," she said softly as she hung her head, her ears drooping.
"See, that's just the point. You don't want me cheating on you, but when you were weak, you decided to ... satisfy your urges, my fidelity be damned," I said flatly. "So if you give yourself to fulfilling your needs, you shouldn't hold me to a higher standard. The fact that you attacked me and nearly killed me when I mentioned the possibility of having Chocolate Sweetness, as she prefers to be called, join a herd --"
"That was different!" she shouted at me.
"Don't be difficult, Trixie. It's virtually the same and you know it -- you just want to be able to have your cake and eat it too. But since you were willing to admit to weakness on your part while you were gone, I too will admit to weakness on my part. If you are willing to forgive me my weakness, I shall forgive you as well. Let's resolve not to cheat on each other anymore, okay?"
"Who was it? You said something about Nightmare Moon -- was she better than Trixie? Who else?" she asked as she glared sternly at me.
"Before you returned, I had lost track of you for a year. I had no idea of whether or not you were still alive. It was during that year that Luna took a three week leave of absence, during which time I was forced to pull double duty. It was during that time that Twilight came to me one night --"
"WHAT? Sparkle? You ..." Her fury caused her to assume her elemental form, a cold chill filling the air of the room as she turned ice blue, her breath causing small clouds to form in the air. "I can't believe you!" she screamed. "How could you?"
"I confessed to you -- now you confess to me. Tell me, Trixie. Who did you give yourself to during your estrus cycles? You were gone for three years, you had quite a bit of time to do whatever you wanted in my absence. Tell me," I stated coldly. She returned to her normal form and tears started welling up in her eyes.
"Trixie told you she did not want to discuss that matter, Amethyst. Why must you force her to do so? You cheated on Trixie!"
"And you told me --"
"All right! I give up! I went back to Hoofington to visit my mama! There was a very handsome stallion I remembered from my childhood -- he helped me during a hard time in my life when my father abandoned his family! He had become fairly successful and wanted to share his good fortune with Trixie! In response to his kindness, Trixie offered herself to him as a token of gratitude -- but he hurt me! But THAT is the ONLY time Trixie cheated on YOU!" she sobbed.
I held her in my embrace, cooing softly to her. "Shh, it's okay. I forgive you, Trixie. Remember what I told you -- I love you very much," I said very softly and kissed her on her lips.
"I see you made it back safely, Mike," my dad observed. Apparently, my mom and dad had entered the room while Trixie and I were having our little argument. "I hope the two of you can resolve your differences -- I would hate to see either of you two unhappy."
"Thanks, Dad." I smiled at him. "Mom, Dad, would you two like to join us for breakfast before I take you back home?"
"Yes, that would be nice, Mike," my mom said as she smiled at us.
"Trixie, are you coming too?" I asked as I tilted my head towards her.
"Yes, Trixie is hungry," she replied as she dried her tears.
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We discussed several matters over breakfast, with Trixie bringing up the prospect of having a second foal. My parents were a little surprised to hear this and questioned the show-mare about providing proper care for her second foal. Trixie was disappointed to hear that I had told them about how she abandoned Marina and gave me a hurt look. I apologized to her about that, but told her that they had asked me lots of questions, and offered a, "What was I supposed to do? Lie to them?" in addition to my apology. Trixie hung her head in response to that, but also promised to be a better mother in future, which seemed to satisfy my parents.
Presently we finished eating and my parents expressed their desire to return home, though they gave compliments to the chefs for such wonderful food, the best they had ever tasted. I told them there were welcome to return any time they wanted to and gave them a device with which they could contact me whenever they wanted. Trixie waved them goodbye with her right forehoof as I teleported them back to Earth, more specifically, the front porch of their house in Sarasota, Florida.
"Thank you very much for letting us visit you, Mike. Take care, and treat your wife right," my dad advised.
"Would it be possible for us to stay there a bit longer some time?" my mom asked.
"If you can clear out your schedule and take care of matters here, I can arrange for a longer stay for you. There's quite a lot to see and do there," I replied. "Anyway, I've got to go back, so take care and farewell. Hope to see you again soon." With that, I teleported back to the dining hall to meet up with Trixie.
"That didn't take long," she observed.
"Now that my parents can contact me whenever they want, the good-bye was rather short -- at least, they know I'm easily available now. So what do you want to do? You have recovered from your injuries, we have a full day to do whatever -- I'm open to suggestions ..."
"Trixie wants you to prove your love to her," she stated flatly. "It's one thing to tell Trixie you love her, but until you --"
"Enough, you!" I giggled, swooping her up in my forelegs. I teleported the two of us back to the bedchamber she had been recovering in and magically closed and locked the door behind us before I released her. "How badly do you want me to prove my love for you?" I asked, giving her a sly grin.
"Do you have to ask, Amethyst?" she replied, flashing a grin in response.