Why Did I Choose to be Trixie?

by Mike the Red

Checking Up on Trixie

To say I was distraught would be the height of understatement. A more appropriate word to describe my emotional state when I heard the news would be disconsolate. Without further word, I trotted out of the hospital with my foals on my back as I fought back tears. A doctor followed me out, pleading with me for understanding, though his words had no meaning to me. I teleported to my vehicle and strapped Marina and Jade in the back seat, then teleported to Canterlot Castle. Everypony who saw my expression moved aside for me as I strode angrily, my hoofsteps having taken an almost thunderous quality to them as I made my way to the Throne Room. The line of ponies awaiting their turn gawked at me and some of them visibly shuddered when they saw my face. Even the guardsponies who normally wore stoic expressions showed a degree of fear as I trotted up to the huge doors and threw them open with my magic, using enough force to cause them to slam violently against the interior walls of the room. Celestia glowered at me, but when she saw my expression, her attitude changed to one of concern.

"I take it something bad happened to your wife," the Solar Princess observed.

"Princess, I am trying really hard to control my temper. I got the report from my security detail yesterday and they determined that Strong Arc owned not only the hospital itself, but the construction company which built it as well as the architectural firm which drafted the blueprints for it. I also discovered that a great many of the hospital's staff were forced to give him a percentage of their wages in order to keep their jobs there. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find out that Trixie would suffer complications from her surgery," I stated sullenly. My anger left me as I fell to my hocks on the floor, my tears fighting their way to break free.

"I am so sorry to hear this, Amethyst," she said softly as she came over to me and wrapped her right wing around me. She held me in her embrace for about ten minutes while I wrestled with my emotions. Marina and Jade whimpered quietly as a few tears trickled down my cheeks. "I will do what I can to help you -- it pains me to see you like this."

It took awhile for me to regain my resolve as I held my daughter close, my son still strapped to my back. Eventually Celestia stepped back and addressed me again.

"Amethyst, you will need to be strong for Trixie -- go to her, be with her -- she will need you to be there with her as well as your foals. If there is anything else you need, please let me know. If you need Summer Song to help, I shall have her summoned for you."

"You have my thanks, Celestia -- I would hate to impose on her, she's done so much for us already. May I visit Twilight? I'm curious to see how Garnet is doing."

The words hadn't even left my mouth when Twilight trotted in -- I was amazed to see she still wore her tiara with the Element in it. She had a carrier strapped to her back, but Garnet was being carried in front. Upon seeing me, she smiled warmly and nearly cantered up to me.

"Amethyst! It's been so long! How've you been doing?" she asked, a big smile on her face.

"I wish I had better news for you, Twilight -- Trixie has slipped into a coma at a hospital in Las Pegasus," I replied glumly.

Her smile fell immediately. "Oh ... my ... I'm so sorry, Amethyst! Is there anything I can do?"

"Unless you have some magic you can use to wake her from the coma, I don't know, Twilight." I hung my head, my ears flat. Marina clung to my right fore-leg, tears leaking from her eyes. She looked up to the lavender Alicorn and saw little Garnet and trotted over to look at the little filly. The two made eye contact, causing my daughter to smile.

"Looks like Marina's made a new friend," Twilight observed, a small smile on her lips as she looked down to see my dark blue filly. Marina cooed to Garnet, who cooed back in response.

"I hope to come back here when they're older, Twilight -- I think they'll get along quite nicely," I mused, returning her smile with one of my own. "I'm have to return to Las Pegasus soon -- Trixie needs me more than ever now, and I don't know how long she's going to be in a coma. There's one other thing -- Velvet Rose is our newborn filly, and without her mama to nurse her -- I should have thought about that before coming -- she's in the hospital too -- aagh! I've got to go back! NOW!"

"Amethyst, wait! I'm going with you!" the lavender Alicorn implored, trotting beside me.

"If you're coming, we need to teleport to my vehicle. Take my left forehoof, Twilight," I said, raising it for her. She took it and smiled at me warmly in an attempt to cheer me up. I flashed a half-hearted smile in return as I teleported us to my car.

"You've changed it a little," she observed. "What happened to the van?"

"Long story, Twi. Let's get going," I replied tersely.

"Perhaps you can tell me later? I want to see Trixie as well," she stated as she climbed into the front passenger seat while I strapped Marina, Jade, and Garnet in the back seat. The little light purple filly cooed at me, perhaps mistaking me for Celestia, perhaps it was just her nature -- I smiled warmly at her, though my smile betrayed my mood. I closed the rear passenger door and got into the driver's seat and had the car teleport us back to the front entrance of the hospital Trixie and Velvet were staying in.

"Magic battery level, 58 per cent," came a voice from the speakers.

"Thanks, TS," I muttered as I turned off the vehicle. "Okay, Twi, let's go. I just hope we're not too late."

"Too late for what?" asked Marina.

I paused for a few seconds, taking a sharp inhale. "I don't wanna think about it, Ray," I answered softly. We entered the hospital with grim expressions on our faces. Twilight and I were both wearing our regalia, causing everypony to bow and address us as "Your Highness" or "Your Majesty." I strode to the front desk almost too impatiently and glared at the hapless secretary. She cowered under my harsh gaze.

"Twilight and I are here to see my wife Trixie and my newborn foal Velvet Rose," I stated firmly.

"Y-yes, y-your H-highness," the pale blue pegasus responded meekly as she trotted to the file cabinets to look up the records. "Trixie is in room 7234 and Velvet is in 13112 --"

"Thanks," I offered curtly and turned to go down the hallway towards the elevators.

"Excuse me, you need an escort to accompany you before you visit your wife and foal," said somepony as they accosted me. I turned around to see who would treat me in that fashion, a scowl marring my features. One of the doctors from earlier had placed his left fore-hoof on my right shoulder to get my attention.

"How much did you have to give Strong Arc to keep your position?" I asked coldly, maintaining my scowl. I watched the dark red unicorn stallion blanch momentarily before he regained a little composure.

"T-that's immaterial, your Highness," he replied almost fearfully. "I would request you refrain from asking more questions like that if you wish to see your wife."

My scowl deepened. "You are in no position to make threats against royalty," I hissed through clenched teeth. "You may have been working for Strong Arc in the past, but he's in the dungeons now. Take me to my wife. NOW."

Do I have to turn this town into a pile of ashes?

"Amethyst, he's just trying to do his job," Twilight offered as she tried to soften my mood. Marina looked up at me quizzically.

"I understand, Twi, but -- Trixie needs me! I'm in no mood for trifles!" I exclaimed, my exasperation making itself evident.

"My apologies, your Highness -- this way, please," the doctor implored impatiently, trotting quickly towards the elevators. Marina had to canter very quickly to match the pace and complained about having to run. I lifted her onto my back so we could get to Trixie's room more quickly, though having to wait nearly five minutes for an empty elevator car was nearly intolerable. Adding to the time needed to reach Trixie's room was the fact that the elevator car we were on made stops at three different floors for additional staff to get on or off at each stop. Upon reaching the seventh floor, we trotted along two hallways to reach the wing her room was located in. We entered to see a white pegasus mare wearing a nurse's uniform by my wife's side. The monitors showed her vital signs stable but weak.

"Nurse Good Heart, what is her status?" asked the doctor. He took her chart in his aura and gave it a quick glance before returning it to its previous spot at the foot of her bed. He frowned and turned to me. "Your Majesty, her prognosis does not look good."

"Princess Twilight! My cousin Red Heart speaks very highly of you! It is an honor to meet you!" the nurse gushed, causing the lavender Alicorn to blush slightly.

"Thank you, Good Heart," she said softly, offering a warm smile.

"Doctor, how much time does she have left?" I asked as his words hit like a ton of bricks. My anger had fled, only to be replaced by deep concern. My scowl had softened into a frown.

"I'm not sure, your Majesty -- but I believe she might only have a few weeks left at most. Her coma seems to have worsened," he replied sullenly.

"What about my daughter, Velvet?" I asked.

"She is being kept in the nursery while her mother is in a coma -- we have special nurses to attend to her needs, considering the fact she is only two days old."

"I'm one of her nurses," Good Heart added, smiling warmly. "You must be Prince Amethyst -- I am honored to meet you as well!"

"Thank you, Good Heart. Please make sure Velvet gets everything she needs -- I would hate for something bad to happen to her as well," I said, heaving a sigh of resignation. I approached the bed and stood beside the nurse, examining the show-mare as though I could do something to help her. Her breathing was regular but slightly labored as a respirator was assisting her. Her pulse monitor showed 40 beats per minute, the heart monitor showing relatively weak activity, but it too was stable.

"I want to see my daughter," I intoned sternly. "I need to see for myself. I will come back here for you, Trixie," I whispered softly in her ear.

"Why won't mommy wake up?" asked Marina as she peered over the bed rail to see her mother. Tears started spilling over her cheeks as her lower lips began quivering. I hung my head as a feeling of hopelessness washed over me.

"Please follow me, I will take you to see your daughter," the doctor offered. I glanced over at Trixie and saw Twilight whisper something into the show-mare's ear before she turned to follow us. Her expression had turned dour as well.

"Amethyst, if there's anything I can do to help you --" she began, but let her words trail off.

"I appreciate your offer of kindness, Twilight -- and if there's anything I can think of for you to assist me with -- I know you're probably busy with your duties, but it would mean so much to me if you could stay with me and Trixie," I answered softly.

"I'm here for you, Amethyst," the lavender Alicorn offered as she sidled up to me and nuzzled against my neck, a gesture I returned half-heartedly.

"Thanks," I responded sullenly. We trotted silently the rest of the way to the elevator, up to the 13th floor and to the nursery. The doctor called on one of the nurses to bring Velvet to us, surprising me with just how small she was. The pale pink filly was still asleep, her eyes closed, and a somewhat peaceful expression on her face.

"She is very cute, Amethyst," Twilight mused, a demure smile on her face. She seemed to gaze lovingly at the little filly. "You know, I wouldn't mind having another foal myself."

"This is a bad time for such a request, Twi," I stated flatly. I gazed at my little filly, but my concern for her safety and my mood regarding Trixie's deteriorating state of health had me wearing a neutral expression. Twilight gave me a sheepish grin as she apologized for her tactlessness. I caught this and softened my attitude toward her. "That's not to say that there may not be a time in the future for that, though right now is not good."

"My apologies, Amethyst. Your little filly is so cute, I lost my head there for a moment."

"That's okay, Twilight," I offered softly before turning my attention to the doctor. "Please return Velvet to her bed and take us back to meet up with Trixie again," I stated, my tone one of dejection. He nodded his head in acquiescence and had us follow him back to Trixie's room. Nothing had changed about her status since we had left her room some 30 minutes ago. I entered the room, Twilight and Marina behind me.

I closed the distance to my show-mare wife and leaned over her, placing my head on her barrel. I could have sworn I saw her smile ever so slightly at my gesture of affection -- that, or perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me. I rested my head on her body until the doctor cleared his throat. Twilight watched with a look of concern -- it appeared to me as though she was trying through sheer force of will to heal Trixie. Marina peered over the rail again.

"Mama, please wake up! I want you to wake up! Please!" the blue filly almost wailed, tears continuing to trickle down her cheeks. This sight caused a tear to leak from my eyes as well. I glanced at the lavender Alicorn and noticed her daubing her eyes with a forehoof as well.

"Ray, we've got to be strong for her," I said softly. Twilight trotted over to us and wrapped a wing around me.

"I will return to Canterlot and check the library and archives to see if there's anything I can find to help, Amethyst. I want to help you -- I can't stand seeing you or her like this. Let me know as soon as possible if her condition worsens."

"You're not going to teleport all the way back there by yourself, are you?" I asked, giving her a puzzled look.

"I can do that and it will take a bit out of me, but this is very important. I'll be okay, don't worry about me!" she grinned, focusing magic through her horn and disappearing in a puff of purple smoke, a loud popping sound echoing through the room as she left.

"Daddy, I wanna learn how to do that too!" Marina chirped, her eyes wide at seeing the lavender Alicorn teleport away.

"I'll teach you how to do that later, Ray -- that's a high level unicorn spell which takes quite a bit of practice," I responded, giving her a soft smile. I turned to face the doctor. "We would like to stay with her for as long as possible."

"Of course, your Majesty," he replied tersely and left the room. I sat down on a chair facing my wife and silently watched the monitors as they continued to register her vital signs, the regular beeping being virtually the only noise in the room aside from the respirator.

"Oh Trixie, I wish there was something more I could do for you," I stated in a flat monotone, my emotions a tangled mess as I pondered the possibility of a bleak future without her by my side. "You know I can't live without you, Trixie -- I don't know what I'm gonna do if you die on me --" I began before Marina climbed into my lap and hugged me as tightly as she could, her sobs wracking her body as she wept, the tears streaming down her face. I held her close and cooed softly to her.

"Ray, be strong for me -- it's no less than what your mama would want," I whispered in her ear.