I was laid on a bed in the infirmary and was given an IV and had monitors attached to my body. I quickly fell asleep, my fatigue overtaking me as my injuries were still quite severe. I felt very disappointed that I had been pulled away from my approach to the other side, noting that selfish actions on my part had resulted in selfish actions by the Solar Princess. Her words still stung -- that I was supposed to be her permanent replacement. Who does she think she is, anyway? I mentally asked myself as I lost consciousness.
I spent the next few weeks recovering in the infirmary, drifting in and out of consciousness, receiving quite a few visitors. Trixie stayed with me as much as possible, worrying every time my monitors would beep in alarm. Twilight visited daily, but the tension between the lavender Alicorn and my wife was such that the two of them would try to keep their distance. Luna visited me almost nightly to ensure my dreams were peaceful, though she needn't have worried too much about that. Celestia would visit me whenever she could to ensure I was healing well. All of them expressed disappointment of various sorts over my suicide attempt, though I told them to stop talking about it. Trixie took it the hardest, her emotions causing her to act out -- at times, she would scream at me for being selfish, other times she'd cry and weep over me as the memory of seeing my lifeless body hanging from the bloody stone spike came back to haunt her. Celestia had already had the offensive construct demolished and placed wards on the stones to prevent another such occurrence.
Marina would come by to visit when she was not being schooled or doing other things -- there were a quite a few other foals in the castle she enjoyed playing with -- but whenever she saw me laying in my bed with the tubes and wires stuck in me, she would turn away, as the sight was a little too much for her to take. She begged me to get better and I would softly tell her I would. She asked me one time what had happened and I had responded by telling her that I had been feeling very sad, which caused her to start crying again and then tell me not to be so sad. Instinctively, I wanted to wrap a wing around her, but I was no longer an Alicorn so I couldn't. All I could do to try to comfort her was to softly shush her and let her know I was going to be okay pretty soon.
Twilight and Trixie from the other universe stopped by as well, but when the azure Alicorn encountered my wife, the two of them nearly came to blows again -- apparently, the other universe's Trixie still harbored regrets over not having tried harder to persuade me to be her stallion. Truth be told, there was a part of me that wondered what being married to her would be like. I wanted to tell her to be patient for me, but I wasn't really sure if I still retained the long life-span of an Alicorn or not, given my forced regression to unicorn status. The other universe's Twilight had to step in and prevent the two of them from getting too carried away with their animosity toward each other -- I told them it would be best if they returned another time when I was fully recovered, though I thanked them for visiting. Twilight told my wife there was a possibility they could use their combined healing to speed up the process, but the show-mare would have none of it and loudly told them to leave.
Toward the end of my recovery, I was starting to feel quite a bit better. I was told I would be put on a regimen of physical therapy to strengthen my muscles, though I assumed I'd still be able to walk or trot fairly well. There were a few times during my recovery when the Solar Princess would ask me if I had made any progress in resolving my inner turmoil, but my response was that it was still going to take more time. Again she requested I allow myself to be transformed back into an Alicorn, and again I politely declined her offer. She cautioned me that delaying that decision might prevent me from returning to being an Alicorn and that her patience was starting to wear thin. I responded by telling her that such admonitions did little to help my present mental state and by requesting that she exercise a bit more patience with me. I politely reminded her that she had initially given Trixie and me seventy years to be together, a fact she seemed to have overlooked but upon reminding her of it, she acquiesced to my request.
Trixie accompanied me during my physical therapy -- she tried to accompany me to mental therapy as well, something that Celestia had recommended, but something I balked at. During the first session of counseling, Trixie got to know me intimately well -- there was information she had never learned about me, which elicited sympathy from her. She was surprised to find just how many similarities there were between us, and expressed a deep gratitude that she was the one I chose to be my wife. When she was with me during my physical therapy, she would always shout encouragement to me, grinning, laughing, and reveling in my successes. I'll have to admit, seeing her happy like that made me feel good and I let her know this, which seemed to make her even happier. The mental therapy had become an opportunity for both Trixie and me to engage in confronting our inner demons and vanquishing them, something that we both deeply appreciated. It seemed to me as though I might finally have put an end to my internal conflict.
My diet had changed as well -- I was no longer eating large amounts of food, I was prescribed a regimen of healthy foods designed to improve my health and strength as well as my digestion. It took some doing, but I finally managed to acclimate myself to that diet. My excess weight dropped off rather quickly, some of it becoming muscle as my physical therapy had become weight training and muscle building, though I informed my trainer I didn't want to end up looking like Snowflake, which caused him to chortle loudly. I was also encouraged to spend my time in recovery by reading books. I was amazed to find that pony literature was quite a bit more interesting than I thought and requested that I be allowed to acquire certain books for a personal library. When Twilight found out about this, she practically deluged me with her suggestions!
My birthday came up again, and since it was also Trixie's birthday, we celebrated in style. The Royal Sisters practically demanded I allow them to transform me back into an Alicorn, causing me to laugh heartily -- they then suggested that I just allow it for my birthday, but I told them that such a frivolous use of magic seemed counterproductive to me. They dismissed my concerns and transformed me anyway, much to our chagrin. They then used their magic to transform Trixie into an Alicorn, but again, only for the day. She was absolutely thrilled to be given an opportunity to enjoy the experience and stated she was going to make the most of it! She was admonished to behave herself and I stated I would ensure she did. I had to teach Trixie how to fly, though for me it seemed almost second-nature.
Being returned to Alicorn status brought back some memories I had forgotten and a sense of giddiness -- I even toyed with the idea of informing the Royal Sisters of my intention to resume my previous position as Acting Solar Regent, though after some consideration, I dismissed that thought. Trixie seemed to enjoy flying, but tired out rather quickly and complained about muscles being too weak. We finished the day by having Pinkie Pie throw us a combined birthday and happy recovery party, which lasted long into the night. Trixie and I retired to our bedchamber after that to enjoy a quiet night of sleep together, as I had finally been allowed to leave the infirmary. My body had finished healing, though I would still be required to undergo continued physical and mental therapy until I had been cleared by the medical teams in both aspects of my recovery. What was supposed to be a quiet night of sleep proved not to be so, as my show-mare wife decided to provide me with a level of intimate affection we had not shared in quite awhile.
The next morning arrived to find us entangled in each other's embrace, our muzzles lightly touching. We kissed and greeted each other before getting out of bed. Upon rising, I noticed that I had not reverted to my previous unicorn form -- I was still an Alicorn, but Trixie was not.
"Trixie thinks this is most unfair!" she exclaimed dejectedly as she examined herself and nearly cursed the fact she no longer had wings. "Trixie wants to go back to being an Alicorn Princess!"
"I'll have a talk with Princess Celestia about it, Trixie," I responded, trying to console her. She trotted to me and embraced me again.
"Trixie hopes you can succeed in that task, Amethyst," she said optimistically, nuzzling me affectionately. I smiled warmly in response and suggested we head to the dining hall for breakfast, a suggestion she heartily agreed with. We trotted from our bedchamber and arrived at the dining hall while the Royal Sisters were eating.
"Ah, Amethyst, Trixie! Please take a seat, I would have words with you both," the Solar Princess stated, smiling warmly.
"Your Majesty, I am curious to know why it is that I have not reverted to my previous form even though Trixie has," I inquired as I took a seat a couple of chairs away from her. She seemed to give me a sly wink in response, though I think my eyes might have been playing tricks on me.
"Amethyst, I have a certain mission for you which requires your return as an Alicorn Prince," she offered softly, maintaining her serene smile.
"Princess, what about my desire?" asked Trixie. "I wish to be turned back into an Alicorn Princess!"
"That was a special gift for you, just for your birthday, Trixie. I would need to see a greater improvement in your judgment, your actions, your willingness to accept responsibility -- I would like to transform you, however you need more experience and you need to show me you can handle the level of responsibility wisely," Celestia stated firmly. Trixie pouted in response.
"In a way, she reminds me of my earlier self -- impetuous, impatient, impulsive -- it took me many years to overcome those weaknesses, and in some cases, I still have a tendency to display those negative qualities," I offered. "If it is your desire for me to return to your post, Celestia, then I shall accept it, much as it pains me to do so, given Trixie's current state of boredom."
"Amethyst, I have a different mission for you, one which I'm certain will prevent your wife from becoming bored. As far as providing me with a respite from my current duties, that will not be necessary -- at least, not for awhile anyway. I am assigning you a new location to govern for me, owing to its remoteness. You will be overseeing the governance of Las Pegasus," the Solar Princess stated flatly.
"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" I asked incredulously. "Have you any idea of just how much I hate that place?"
The regal white Alicorn grinned broadly at me. "Consider it a challenge, Amethyst. I have need to assess your skills once again, and this assignment shall prove to me whether or not you have matured enough to serve as my permanent replacement. Be forewarned, though -- poor governance will not be tolerated and the consequences for that will be most unpleasant for you."
"How much leeway do I have? Shall I insist on fair income distribution, allowing for a high quality of life for everypony who lives there?" I asked. "And how do you define poor governance? I won't run the place into the ground, if that's what you're thinking -- but I will insist on fixing the corruption in that town."
"You will have to trust your judgment, Amethyst. Depending on what word reaches me from there --"
"Begging your pardon, your Majesty, but many of those ponies are untrustworthy and will be tempted to speak ill of me, though I will do my best to govern fairly, despite my unfavorable opinion of that town."
"I will verify their claims, Amethyst. As long as you do your best, you should be fine. I will visit from time to time to assess your progress," she smiled warmly.