Why Did I Choose to be Trixie?

by Mike the Red

This Can't Be Happening

Hours passed while we sat in Trixie's room, keeping a close watch on her. Time seemed to drag by as my mood would shift from anger to despair and back to anger again, with a healthy portion of regret thrown in for good measure. I spent a fair amount of time contemplating possible strategies to help my wife, wondering which methods would bring her back from her coma. Jade slept comfortably on my back, seemingly blissfully unaware of the gravity of the situation. I wondered how he might act when he got older if his mama were to die here, then quickly forced that thought out of my head. I've got to remain positive -- I have to be strong for her, for my foals -- I refuse to let her die!

One of her doctors returned later to inform us that visiting hours were over -- I glared at him sternly and flared my wings, my eyes flashing an angry red to let him know I was in no mood to leave Trixie. He blurted out a terrified, "I'm sorry, your Majesty," as he quickly turned around and fled the room to leave us to watch over the show-mare. I heaved a sigh and closed the door with my magic, noting that Marina had fallen asleep and was laying next to Trixie on the bed. I gently placed Jade a little further down the bed from his sister, ensuring they would rest comfortably. As an Alicorn, I generally didn't need sleep, and my mood was such that I couldn't sleep anyway, so I maintained my vigil, keeping a watchful eye on my wife.

At some point during the night, I fell asleep as my fatigue had overtaken me -- I had tried to remain awake for as long as I could, and even though I was an Alicorn, the stress of the situation had taken its toll on my strength. I was woken by one of the monitors beeping more loudly than usual as Trixie's vital signs showed a marked deterioration from her earlier stability. In a panic, I found the emergency call button and pushed it, summoning a doctor to her room immediately. I scooped up Jade and Marina from the bed as the doctor lit his horn and summoned the rest of the medical team, calling on them to hurry as swiftly as possible. My daughter woke up crying as the team wheeled Trixie's gurney out of the room and down the hallway.

"Daddy, where are they taking mommy?" she asked, her renewed sobs punctuating her question with hesitant stops between words. I heaved a sigh as I carried her and Jade in an attempt to follow the team to wherever it was they were taking her.

"I think they may be taking her to ICU, Ray -- I don't know, but I intend to find out," I replied tersely, quickening my pace to catch up to the group. They had caught an elevator and the door closed just as I made it to the bank of elevators. I stomped my right forehoof angrily at having missed them by half a second, making a dent in the floor. I looked up to see the dial above the car move left, the numbers decreasing in that direction. I pushed the button for the next car to go down and ended up waiting three minutes before the next one showed up. I impatiently pushed the button for the main level, then repeatedly pushed the "door close" button in an attempt to get the doors to close faster. The trip down to the lobby seemed to take forever and I cursed aloud at the slowness of the elevator's doors to open.

"Come on, Trixie, be strong for me -- don't die on me!" I muttered under my breath. I followed the signs to the ICU and tried to enter. I was stopped by a doctor at the entrance to the unit, who sternly refused my entry.

"That's my wife in there!" I protested angrily, giving the doctor my harshest stare.

"I'm sorry, your Highness, but even you are not allowed in there while they're working on her," he stated firmly, returning my gaze with one of his own. "I know she's your wife, but the doctors must be allowed to work without distractions."

I huffed in angry protest at this restriction and stood at one of the windows to watch the team in action. A flurry of activity surrounded the azure unicorn as they feverishly worked to stabilize her condition. The tone of their voices caused me to sigh heavily and Marina to worry.

"Daddy, what's happening in there?" she asked, fluttering her wings and flying up to get a look through the window. She hadn't mastered hovering yet, so I held her in my aura, levitating her in front of the window so she could watch. "What are they doing? Are they trying to help mommy? What are they saying?"

"They're doing everything they can to save mama, Ray. They're having some trouble in there, though," I replied sadly, hanging my head as their voices seemed to become more frantic, their actions more desperate. Trixie went into cardiac arrest and they brought out the defibrillator -- I watched in shock as the heart rate monitor flat-lined and one of the doctors yelled "Clear!" while they tried to resuscitate her. They tried this about ten times before they put the device away and pulled a white sheet over Trixie's body.

"NOOOO!!!" I shouted as I witnessed this. My outburst caused the glass to shatter, the sound of my scream reverberating throughout the hospital. Marina started wailing when she saw the sheet being pulled over her mama's body, then climbed onto my back and hugged my neck as tightly as she could, burying her face in my fur, her tears wetting it up.

The lead doctor came out of the unit, the team wheeling the gurney out with the show-mare's lifeless body on it. "I'm sorry, your Majesty. We did everything we could to save her," the lead doctor offered solemnly, a grim expression on his face. "We will be taking the body to the morgue."

"I'll take her with me," I responded sternly, giving the doctor my harshest stare.

"There are certain protocols --" he began to protest before I cut him off very sharply.

"I said, 'I'll take her WITH ME!!'" I bellowed in his face, causing him to shrink back fearfully. My mane and tail had changed into their flaming mode, my eyes flashing bright red with anger. "Don't make me burn this hospital down," I growled at him, baring my teeth.

"Y-y-yes, y-your M-majesty! Do -- do as you please!" he whimpered, retreating to the relative safety of the team of doctors who were watching very nervously. I approached the gurney and pulled the sheet back to expose Trixie's lifeless body and heaved a very heavy sigh of resignation.

"I am very sorry to have brought her here for medical attention. I will take her back to Canterlot for a full state funeral with honors. I will send an emissary to retrieve Velvet Rose from the nursery and bring her to Canterlot as well. I understand you tried your best to save her, but you failed. I will apprise Princess Celestia regarding this turn of events," I stated solemnly, lifting my wife's body with my telekinesis.

"Daddy, what's gonna happen now? Where are we going?" asked my daughter as I began trotting slowly towards the entrance to the hospital. She cantered behind me as I heard a cacophony of apologies from the medical staff and pleas of mercy from them as well. I turned a deaf ear to their requests as I trotted outside to my vehicle. I opened the rear lift gate and laid Trixie in the back, then closed the gate. I opened the rear passenger door and strapped Marina and Jade in, then closed their door and took the driver's seat.

"Turn on, TS," I stated firmly, bringing the SUV to life, the engine idling quietly.

"There is an anomaly," came the dull monotone of her voice through the speakers.

"Trixie's dead, TS," I replied sullenly.

"WHAT?" came Princess Celestia's voice through the speakers. "What happened?"

"I'm on my way back to Canterlot Castle, Celestia. I will give you the full story when I get there. TS, please take us to Canterlot. NOW."

"Yes, Amethyst -- I am very sorry to hear this. Preparing to teleport."

The SUV disappeared in a blinding flash of white, then materialized in a courtyard at the Castle. "Turn off," I uttered, the vehicle complying dutifully with the request. I placed Jade on my back and levitated Trixie's body out of the back as Marina got out of the car. Tears continued to trickle down her cheeks as she followed me into the Castle, then to the Throne Room. The line of ponies today stood in stunned silence as they saw me trot slowly with my wife's body in tow. The guards silently opened the doors to let us in and I slowly trotted up to the Solar Princess, my hoofsteps becoming a bit shakier as I took those last few steps. I lowered Trixie's body to the floor, but Celestia halted me. She summoned a table from somewhere with her magic and laid the mare's body on it. She turned to me sadly and sighed heavily.

"Amethyst, I am so sorry to have sent you to Las Pegasus. Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, her words weighted with guilt and remorse. A tear trickled down her left cheek as she trotted to me. "Is there anything I can do for your foals?"

I sat on the floor, my head in my forehooves as the realization finally began to hit me. I allowed a wail of despair to escape my mouth as I succumbed to the tsunami of emotion, a wave of sadness that seemed to have no end to it. Marina hugged me tightly as I sobbed openly, my body heaving as I cried out, the pain almost too much for me to bear. The elder Alicorn wrapped her wings around me in an attempt to comfort me, but losing Trixie was too much for me as I continued to pour out my grief.

Comments

[spetsnaz pinkie pie]

Damn...

[LightningStrike34]

Why Trixie!!!