Luna entered the chamber to wake me so I could raise the Sun. Ordinarily, I would be up early enough to do it without the indigo Alicorn's insistence, but I had been lulled into a deep slumber with a certain chubby pegasus who had provided me a great deal of pleasure. I wanted to spend even more time in her embrace, but the duties of a Solar Regent intruded at the worst possible time.
"Amethyst Flame! The time has come for thee to raise our sister's Sun!" she announced quite loudly. She illuminated the room with her horn and gasped in surprise when she saw Chocolate Sweetness in the bed with me. I grinned sheepishly at her reaction. "What hast thou done? Who is this thee hast in our sister's bed?! What of OUR concerns, Amethyst?!"
"Luna, I have a special favor to ask of you -- this pegasus mare is the one who was stripped of everything she owned by a rogue casino owner in Las Pegasus. If you give me a moment, I shall raise the Sun, but I will also need to have a conference with you regarding that favor. In return, I shall grant you a few favors --" I said, but let my words stop when I saw a very big smile grace her features when I mentioned said favors.
"Please, Amethyst, we shall hear thee out -- but first, thou must raise the Sun."
"Hey, Sweets, have you ever seen this done?" I asked the pegasus. She shook her head to indicate she hadn't, so I beckoned her to follow me onto the balcony where I used my magic to gracefully raise the Sun into position. This display awed her tremendously, a sight which brought a smile to my face. All she could say in response was, "WOW!" as she followed me back into Celestia's bedchamber. Luna had half a smirk on her face.
"Amethyst, we find thy taste in mares somewhat lacking these days," she stated, trying to stifle a giggle.
"Luna, this mare is the one I wish to give title to the Visage casino in Las Pegasus," I stated, then proceeded to tell the Night Princess the rest of the story. I finished by asking her approval to award the title to the pegasus.
"What is thy true name, Chocolate Sweetness? Thou must have a proper legal name in order to assume ownership of that casino," Luna stated flatly, her expression somewhat unreadable.
"Ah, yer not gonna believe this, Princess, but mah real name is Chocolate Rain," the pegasus replied glumly.
"Very well then -- dost thou wish to retain thy stage name as thy true name?"
"Yes, yer Majesty, Ah would!" she chirped. "Ah thought only Princess Celestia could do that."
"You're in luck, Sweets -- as acting Solar Regent, I can approve legal name changes as well, though I require Luna's final approval for those matters." I lit my horn and summoned ink, quills, and parchment to write out a proclamation awarding title of the Visage casino to Chocolate Sweetness, acknowledging a legal name change as well, and affixing my signature to the space reserved for Solar Regent. Luna signed as Lunar Regent, and the pegasus signed her name using her right hoof with great precision. She could barely contain her excitement and when the proclamation was declared law, she hugged me tightly and kissed me once again. It was at this moment Trixie and Twilight entered the chamber to witness this exchange.
"Amethyst? What are you doing? Who is that?" asked the lavender Alicorn. I grinned sheepishly at her.
Trixie's reaction was a bit more extreme -- she screamed in rage at me, assuming her elemental form immediately and launching her strongest magic attack at me. I raised my eyebrow at her and deflected her attack.
"Trixie, she is here to claim title to the Visage casino in Las Pegasus. Luna and I just finished the paperwork awarding her the title -- Sweets was just thanking me for the huge favor I have done for her," I stated, trying to defuse the situation.
"That's no excuse to let her hug and kiss you! Trixie is the only one allowed to hug and kiss you, Amethyst!" she screeched, readying yet another attack.
"Calm thyself, Trixie!" Luna shouted at her in her Royal Canterlot Voice, causing the show-mare to return to her normal form, the volume of the Alicorn's command disorienting her. I grinned at Luna, who returned a grin and mouthed the word "Later" to me. My grin grew a bit wider.
"What are you grinning about, Amethyst? What are you planning to do? How dare you do this to me! I thought you loved me! Why did you do this?" Trixie asked, her voice trembling as sadness threatened to overwhelm her. She fell to her haunches, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I hate to have this sound as cold as it may, Trixie, but -- your continued absence causes me discomfort. There are certain truths which you will have to confront, truths which will prove to be painful to you --"
"Stop making excuses to justify creating a herd! Trixie told you she will not share your love with anypony! You must choose now, Amethyst! Do you choose Trixie, or do you choose everypony else? You cannot have Trixie if you think you can have everypony else! Trixie will NOT be part of ANYPONY'S herd!" she shouted, tears now trickling down her cheeks.
I sat on my haunches facing her, my head and ears lowered. I sighed very heavily, my voice filled with resignation. "Trixie, I am so sorry to have caused you so much pain, and I am even more sorry to disappoint you like this. I understand you love me deeply and you wish for me to return your love with every ounce of passion I can muster -- but I have told you, I cannot have you running off to wherever it is you wish -- I have told you I need you with me when I lay down to sleep each night, but many of those nights, you have gone missing -- you have left me to sleep alone, you have gone to Celestia knows where -- and it is this uncertainty which causes me to question your love for me."
She started sobbing now, not bothering to control her wailing. "But Trixie told you she loves you! Trixie has not -- I would never -- Trixie loves you, Amethyst! Why won't you believe Trixie? What must Trixie do for you?"
"I don't know anymore, Trixie. I am so sorry," I replied sullenly.
"You say you're sorry, but you don't mean it! You can't be sorry! Trixie knows you cannot prove it!" she wailed as she lay face down on the floor, her tears making a puddle around the base of her head, the stream of tears seemingly unending.
"You have no idea of just how sorry I am to tell you this, Trixie -- I want you to know that I love you deeply and that I desire you to remain by my side, but I know that you cannot do that -- you are unable to do so -- so I must let you go your own way and find your own way from here on out. It pains me deeply to say this to you, but you will have to mature a bit more before you can return to my side to be my wife. I told you four years ago, when we were on that train ride, that I needed time to myself to decompress from my previous marriage -- but you were so impatient, you wanted me, perhaps because I had shown you true affection at that time -- I wanted you, too, Trixie --"
"NOOO! Don't leave Trixie! Please! Trixie cannot be without you, Amethyst! Trixie needs you!" she wailed, her sobs wracking her body as she gave in to her depression. The two other Alicorns simply watched in silence as this spectacle unfolded. Chocolate Sweetness looked extremely uncomfortable and gave me an almost timid expression, one which expressed her desire to leave. I simply nodded my head in her direction and she left, scroll tightly tucked under her left wing. I heard her exhale a sigh of relief once she was out in the hallway leading out of the bedchamber.
"I need you too, Trixie --" I stated as I approached her in an attempt to console her. As soon as I was close enough to wrap my wings around her, she bolted upright and turned to face me quite angrily.
"You are too late, Amethyst! Trixie no longer wants you!" she screeched, pushing me away with her forelegs. She tried to ready another attack, but her previous attempts had drained her magic. Her horn fizzled and popped and she cursed. I backed away from her, readying a magic barrier.
"Go then, Trixie. I will await your return when you are ready for me, however long that takes. One thing I must tell you before you take your final leave, though, is that I never stopped loving you, Trixie. I apologize for disappointing you," I stated solemnly.
"Sparkle, are you coming with Trixie?" she asked, glancing at the lavender Alicorn.
"Are you taking your foals? Or am I supposed to watch them while you're gone?"
"Trixie does not care," she replied flatly and left, galloping away as fast as she could. I could hear her sobbing again as she left.
"Amethyst, why did you do that to her?" Twilight asked, glaring at me almost angrily herself.
"Have you any idea of how many times she would leave me in the middle of the night to go off to wherever? Have you any idea of how much time I've spent sleeping without her? You know, I believe your assessment of her may have been correct and that I should have married you instead of her -- but I allowed my compassion for her to color my opinion of her -- I thought I could tame her fiery nature -- I guess I was wrong. Twilight, I am truly sorry for all this disappointment I have caused."
"Amethyst, thou hast requested a favor of us and we have granted it. We now retire to our chambers, but request that thou accompany us to provide us with the favor thou hast promised us," the Lunar Princess stated serenely, a warm smile gracing her lips.
"Amethyst! What favor is she talking about?" asked a very exasperated Twilight.
"Luna assisted me with matters pertaining to Chocolate Sweetness -- a legal name change and title transfer of the Visage casino. I will travel to Las Pegasus later today to inform the owner that he has been stripped of his title and that his former star stage performer is the new owner. He's not going to be happy," I said, grinning mischievously. "Since Luna did this for me, I promised her a favor in return -- you're probably aware she has requested I provide her with a foal -- I hope you're not too unhappy with me for agreeing to do so."
"Oh, Amethyst, you're just too much to take. Now I see why Trixie is so upset with you. She will be back soon, I can guarantee you that -- my guess is that she'll be seeking revenge for you wronging her like that -- do you think you can face down an Ursa Major? She might bring one of those here," the lavender Alicorn mused.
"Luna has assured me she knows how to calm such a beast," I replied confidently, dismissing her concerns.
"I'll tell you this much, Amethyst -- you have disappointed me as well. I hope you're satisfied with what you've done -- and as far as marrying me is concerned, I will need some time to think about your offer," she stated flatly.
"Sorry," I responded, grinning sheepishly yet again. She turned and left, presumably to address the needs of our foals. I trotted down the hall to Luna's bedchambers and entered to find the indigo Alicorn lazily stretched out on her bed, eagerly awaiting my arrival.
"We were wondering what hath kept you, Amethyst," she grinned. "We desire that thee show us how thou makest love, as we hath heard that thou were human at one point in thy previous life."
"Thou hast heard correctly, Luna," I grinned, climbing onto her bed to lay next to her. I drank in her beauty and planted a kiss on her lips. She responded by kissing me much more passionately, embracing me tightly in her wings.