//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: The Siren // by McPoodle //------------------------------// Princess Celestia looked around with satisfaction at the faces of the other ponies and dragon in the basement, all of them committed to getting Luna and Sonata re-united. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” she said. “Let me know if there’s any other way to help. And keep that book for as long as you need.” She suddenly looked uncertain, remembering her recent discovery. “I’ll go back to the Archives to look for the missing section.” “Oh, you mean this?” Twilight asked absently, telekinetically removing a carefully wrapped packet from a drawer without looking. She looked over at the Princess with an almost disappointed expression. “That big warning note you pasted onto the front weighed down the pages so much that it was inevitable that they would fall out eventually.” Celestia picked up the packet, which like the book was wrapped in a long-term preservation spell, this one tied to its bindings instead of to a lectern. “You, uh…didn’t read it, did you?” she asked with a hint of fear. “Only far enough to confirm that your warning was legitimate,” Twilight said simply. “What is it?” Rarity asked, almost afraid to learn the answer. “It’s an ascension spell,” said Spike. “Cast it, and you turn into a princess.” This elicited a unified “WHAT!?” from five ponies. “Well, it’s not like it will actually work in its original form,” Twilight explained. “Casting it in its current form will have calamitous effects on not only the caster, but also everypony they know or love. That’s why I never cast it. You didn’t actually think that just because it was the ‘legendary lost last spell of Starswirl the Bearded’ that I wouldn’t be able to resist casting it?” Celestia gave a sheepish shrug. Spike on the other hoof gave Twilight a withering stare. “You totally would have cast it without Celestia’s warning.” Twilight wavered for a bit before giving in. “Yeah…I probably would have cast it.” Applejack looked carefully between Twilight and Celestia before settling on the latter. “But you do want her to fix it and cast it one day, right?” The others, especially Twilight, looked with surprise at Applejack. “Yes,” Celestia said in a small voice. Which surprised the others even more. “How did you guess that?!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Twilight’s her student. They get along really well. And Princess Celestia’s really lonely.” “You’d probably get along well with Luna when she grows up as well,” Celestia admitted. “You…you want me to be immortal? To have near-limitless power? To rule beside you?!” Twilight became more and more incredulous with each question. She dropped down into a sitting position to try and process all of this. “Well, I didn’t want any of that right now,” Celestia said. “Not while you’re so young. You should have time to enjoy your life, before I would ever ask you to make such a choice.” She looked pointedly over at Applejack. “Which is why I was hoping to delay this conversation for a much later date.” “Oof,” Pinkie commented. “I…This is so far away from anything I imagined for myself,” Twilight said, her voice distant. “At first, I just wanted to know everything. And then, as your student, I dreamed that one day I might become your Chief Wizard.” She looked over at the others to see their incomprehension, and then added, “that’s a pony who is the Princess’ magic expert, and the one who comes up with new spells and coordinates magical attacks any time that Equestria is faced with a magical foe. The position hadn’t been filled for several hundred years, or else that would have been the pony who would have been sent in to face Nightmare Moon.” She looked up at Celestia. “And of course, there’s the PPP and the monster-hunting thing. That’s what I dream of for myself. Or…did, before I discovered friendship. But now? I just want to live and be happy with my friends.” She frowned as she worked through the implications. “Friends who would wither and die of old age if I became a princess. Also, I don’t know the first thing about ruling a country! “I always avoided the politics when I was growing up. The ‘Countess of the Upper Reaches’ title refers to the nearly vertical side of the Canterhorn, where nopony can live. Six different ponies who were all younger than me and in excellent health would have to die before I inherited any land that actually mattered, or included any ponies that I would be responsible for. So why learn how to govern?” She looked once again into the eyes of Princess Celestia. “So, if you asked me today, if you told me right out how to fix the spell and become an alicorn, I would have to say: No. I don’t want the responsibility. I hope I’m not disappointing you.” Celestia nodded graciously. “Not at all,” she said. “This is absolutely your choice and considering that it’s irreversible, not one that I would ever expect you to make on such short notice.” “I don’t think I’m ever going to say ‘Yes’,” Twilight said quickly. “I respect that,” Celestia said. “And that being said, I am overdue to start the Night Court at the Palace. I am trying to set up affairs for Luna’s eventual return to power at my side. Goodnight, everypony!” Twilight and Spike ran up for a quick hug, before Celestia teleported back to her carriage and then her departure for Canterlot. Applejack looked around her. “I see that she somehow failed to take the ascension spell with her,” she commented acidly.