House of Owls and Ponies

by Universal Librarian


Chapter 6 - Polymorph

It had been an age since Celestia had last used a polymorph spell, but the magic still worked just as she remembered. Tentatively, she opened her eyes.

The others were staring at the sisters in amazement. Glancing around, Celestia caught a glance of herself in a mirror, and she had to admit that she couldn't blame them. 

Celestia now stood on two legs, a good six inches taller even than Eda. Her skin was now as white as her fur, her hair still rippled in an invisible breeze beneath her crown, and she still had pointy ears, though now they were closer to those of a witch. Her peytral was now closer to an elaborate torque, and her body was swathed in an elegant knee-length white dress, cinched at the waist with a golden chain. Comfortable sandals protected her feet, with light leather straps tied in elaborate knots up to her knees. In her hands, Celestia clasped a simple white staff, inlaid with gold filigree and topped with her own horn.

"It has certainly been a while since we took these forms," Luna said with a trace of nostalgia. Turning, Celestia couldn't help but smile at the sight of her sister.

Luna was wearing a loose tunic made of dark blue silk, with a matching skirt that had narrow slits up the sides that reached all the way to the tops of her thighs. A platinum chain-link belt sat low on her hips, its weight keeping the slits of the skirt from shifting around enough to expose anything too racy. Luna's regalia had changed too, her crown sitting proudly on her fluttering night-sky hair while her peytral had turned into an intricate medallion that rested just below her collarbone. Midnight blue sandals adorned her feet. Her own staff was black with silver filigree, again topped with her own horn.

"Classy as ever, I see," Celestia sniped.

Luna snorted. "That's rich, after what you were arrested for last time we were here."

"So were you!" Celestia countered. "Twice!"

"Pot, Kettle," Luna said flatly.

Celestia rolled her eyes, only to notice that Twilight was staring at her with bulging eyes. Aaand here we go

"Transformation spells? Arrests? Human forms?" Twilight listed incredulously. "Why in the name of Starswirl's bells didn't you tell me about any of this?!"

"It was a very long time ago, Twilight," Celestia replied. Determined not to answer too many questions just yet, largely because she didn't want an audience for Twilight's inevitable apoplexy when certain facts came to light, Celestia turned to Eda. "Satisfied?"

Eda grinned. "Not as satisfied as I'll be when you meet Lilith. The look on her face is gonna be priceless!"

"Lilith, your sister?" Twilight asked.

"Yep!" Eda said brightly.

Celestia sighed. "Let me guess, she will also recognise us?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Eda planted her thumb and forefinger under her chin. "In fact, that gives me an idea. How about we all take a walk into town? That way, you can see how the Boiling Isles has changed for yourself, and we can talk more along the way."

"Oh! Oh! Can I come too?" Luz asked, waving her hand in the air frantically.

"Sure, why not," Eda said brightly. "What about you, King? Are you coming?"

King squealed and looked up at Luna. "I'm coming! Can I ride on your shoulders?"

"Not a chance," Luna replied bluntly.

"You can ride on my shoulders if you want, King," Luz told him.

King sighed and scrambled up her legs and torso until he was perched on her shoulders like a toddler. "Your shoulders are inferior, but I guess they'll do."

"Okay, if we're all ready, let's head out!" Eda said brightly.

"Hold on!" Twilight cut in. "I want to try out that transformation spell."

Celestia shook her head. "That spell is more than a little complicated, Twilight. It took me years of study to-"

Utterly ignoring the warning, Twilight ignited her horn and drew a purple circle in the air. "Polymorph!"

A blinding purple flash filled the room.

Celestia blinked to try and clear her eyes. As her vision cleared, a bizarre sight slowly swam into focus.

Twilight was standing in the middle of the room. She was in a near-perfect human form, wearing a purple skirt embroidered with her Cutie Mark, a pale blue blouse, purple and pink leg warmers, simple black shoes, and a small golden crown. The only parts of Twilight's anatomy that truly stood out as strange, apart from her colouration, were the set of feathery wings sprouting from her back and the unicorn still poking out of her forehead.

"Almost," Twilight huffed, planting her hands on her hips. "I didn't quite manage to get the staff part right."

Waves of shock, awe, and, she hated to admit it to herself, jealousy crashed through Celestia. It had taken her weeks to learn how to do a decent polymorph spell in the Burning Isles, and Twilight had somehow managed to do it off the cuff. Of course, Twilight was a magical prodigy, but she still shouldn't have picked it up that easily.

"Impressive," Luna said, inspecting the younger Princess with a critical eye. "How did you manage to replicate the spell so well?"

"It was pretty simple, really," Twilight replied, driving a stake into Celestia's heart. "It somewhat resembles changeling magic, so I just used what I know of that while concentrating on the form I usually take when I enter the other human world."

Celestia barely managed to keep her jaw from dropping. Intellectually, she knew that the only reason that Twilight was neither as powerful or as skilled as her was the thousand years of experience between them. Emotionally, however, this was the first time Celestia had been trounced by experience since she had been a filly learning from Starswirl. She was proud that her student was so incredibly skilled, of course, but it still stung a little being upstaged so easily.

By the time Twilight reached Starswirl's age, she would truly be a force to be reckoned with. Celestia didn't even want to imagine how powerful she would be after a thousand years. Even Discord would have to tread carefully.

"How exactly did you get the staff bit to work?" Twilight asked.

Celestia let out a soft sigh. "I'll teach you later. Come on, let's head into town."