Pipp's eyes widened. She slipped out of Sunny and Izzy's forelegs and slid to the ground with a shocked expression on her face. Her eyes turned white.
"Pipp! Pipp? Are you okay? What's happening to your eyes?" Izzy asked, frantic at first but then sounding curious. She cocked her head and her eyes clouded over with confusion.
But Pipp didn't hear her. She was somewhere else. Her mind was, at least.
Pipp was having...a vision.
Pipp Petals got up and shook her head a few times. "Ugh, what the hay just happened?" she asked, pressing her hooves to the sides of her head. "My head hurts..."
She opened her eyes. "Whoa! Where am I?!" She gaped at the pony sitting on a throne in front of her. "Who are you?"
The pony was tall, even taller than Sunny. Pipp wasn't intimidated, though. She used to be slightly shorter than other ponies, but since her transformation into an Alicorn she had grown taller and was now as tall as the others. Still, this pony was, like, as tall as Alphabittle. That was extreme.
Plus, the mare was an Alicorn.
She had a light-pink coat color, almost identical to Pipp's, except it was slightly pinker. Her eyes were a deep, brilliant violet color. She had a yellow, pink, and purple mane that curled at the ends, and her wings were pinkish-purple at the tips. A small, golden crown sat on the top of her head, and she wore a golden necklace and golden shoes. She was very beautiful. Pipp found herself staring at the Alicorn princess. Then she caught herself and blushed slightly. She apologized for staring.
The Alicorn laughed. "It's okay. I'm used to ponies staring at me." She introduced herself as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princess of Love. Apparently, she was the ruler of the Crystal Empire. Or, rather, had been. She was gone now, and the Crystal Castle was gone, too. When Pipp asked where they all went and how she was here now, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza closed her eyes and sighed sadly. She didn't answer. Pipp got the feeling that it was a sensitive topic, so she didn't press the princess. And anyway, the craziness of this was almost too much for her, and she really didn't need to know more. It wasn't necessary to know that, anyway.
"So, um, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-"
"You may call me Cadence," Cadence smiled. "After all, you are a princess, too."
"Wait. How do you know who I am?" Pipp asked suspiciously.
"I'm an ancient Princess of Love. I know things." She chuckled.
"Um. Okay?" Pipp was confused, but she got the feeling that it was the only explanation she would get. Besides, there were more important things to discuss. "So why am I here? How am I here, even? And where are my friends?"
“Pipp Petals, you are here for an important reason I’ll tell you later. And, well, you’re not really here. There’s this spell I cast. Basically, it…oh, never mind. The point is, you’re still physically where you were before. This is just a vision kind of, um, how do I describe it…happening in your mind, I guess. Don’t worry, you’re not imagining this or anything, you’re just not physically here…oh, Celestia would know how to explain it better. Maybe even Twilight." Cadence slapped her forehead with her hoof in frustration.
"Okay, forget all of that, it’s too complicated. You’re here because of magic. Yes, let’s go with that. And as for your friends, they’re still there, next to the Crystal Heart, and they’re probably staring at you, wondering why your eyes are white and why you’re ignoring them, but they’re all right. I believe I can count on you to explain this to them when you get back, yes?”
“Um, sure.” Pipp didn’t understand half the things the princess said, but it didn’t matter right now. “So what’s the important reason you brought me here?”
“You have a choice to make, Princess Pipp Petals,” Cadence said solemnly. “A choice that will affect all of Equestria.” She paused, and Pipp wondered if she was going to tell her the choice, or leave it a mystery like she had done with a lot of other things. She was just about to ask, when Cadence continued.
"The first choice is to...well, do nothing, really. As you know, when you reversed time, the Unicorn Izzy Moonbow became alive again. But the two kingdoms she saved were once again in danger, and they still are. The first choice is to do nothing. Of course, you can attempt to save the kingdoms, but trust me, it won't work.
"Unless if you choose the second choice."
"Which is...?" Pipp asked.
"To give up your magic and become a Pegasus like before."
Pipp's mouth dropped open.
"Now, I'm not saying you'll be giving up your title as Princess of Zephyr Heights, or your connection to the Crystal Empire, or even your connection to...well, me. But you will lose your horn, and your ability to use your own magic. And, um, you'll shrink to your height before the Alicorn transformation."
At this, Pipp blushed. But Cadence told her it was nothing to be ashamed of. "I do admit it is sort of...kind of...cute at times...maybe?"
"Um, okay, um, thanks?" Pipp said awkwardly.
Cadence decided to try to end the awkward moment. "So which choice will you pick? Will you choose to save the kingdoms and be known as a hero, or will you choose to keep your magic and be known as a powerful Princess of Equestria, or at least the Crystal Empire? You did earn your title, and it's hard to do that."
Pipp pressed her hooves to her head and closed her eyes to think. "I can't decide right now."
"You have to, dear. Your friends are waiting."
Pipp wanted to cry. Why was this so hard to decide? She had to save the kingdoms and save Equestria. But she loved her magic, and the feeling of being able to finally reach the top shelf without flying...
And then she thought of Izzy, and what she had done just to save the kingdoms. She felt guilty for even thinking about selfishly keeping her magic. Izzy was willing to die just to save kingdoms she had never heard of, and Pipp was agonizing over the same decision, except instead of dying, she would just lose her magic.
Wow. Just wow, Pipp thought, deeply disappointed in herself. Are you really that selfish?
But it's hard to become an Alicorn, her inner Pipp responded.
Think of Izzy. Think of Sunny.
True...
You'll be saving Equestria. Besides, it's just a horn you'll be losing. You have an awesome, wonderful marefriend with a horn.
I guess...
And a cool best friend who's an Alicorn.
Good point.
And a kind Earth Pony friend.
Hitch? Yeah, he's nice.
And an annoying sister.
I love Zipp, Pipp thought laughingly. But she really did love her sister, even though she could be annoying and bothersome at times. They were sisters, after all.
And suddenly, she realized she didn't care about the loss of her horn. True, being an Alicorn was nice. Really nice. But nothing was more important to her than her friends, and her city. And the Crystal Empire.
She suddenly realized Cadence was staring at her, still waiting for an answer.
"I choose...to save the kingdoms," Pipp said finally.