"Michael, please wait -- and turn your wife back into a human. I have something very important to say to you," Celestia stated, her tone quite serious. "I have been pondering your actions just now, and I have come to the conclusion that you are simply too dangerous to visit my realm. I am hereby rescinding my invitation to allow you to visit Equestria, effective immediately. Brenda, I apologize if this disappoints you, as I suspect you were looking forward to attending the party that Pinkie Pie had invited both of you to attend. Michael, your act was a display of recklessness which cannot be tolerated."
"Princess Celestia, I --" I began, trying to explain my actions.
"Michael, you are not permitted to call me by that name any more. You must henceforth refer to me as either 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Royal Highness'." She maintained the serious tone to her voice as she said this to me.
"Your Majesty, I see I have displeased you. That having been said, again I apologize for my rash decision. In my defense, I would like to state that as a human, I was raised with certain religious beliefs, and the sight of Discord impersonating the most important figure in all religions was too much for me to take. I understand that it was not my authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner -- however, as I stated before, I claim righteous indignation in my defense. If that sounds like a rationalization, I suppose it qualifies as such. I beg your forgiveness, your Majesty. I am still a fledgling Alicorn, and my human emotions got the better of me. Please believe me when I say that this was a truly rare occurrence, as my wife can testify that I have scarcely ever lost my temper in that fashion."
"Michael, I would like to believe your sincerity, however, I cannot allow such a risk to my realm. I believe that in due course, you will mature to a level commensurate with your power, and you will be able to control your emotions with more discretion. As such, I appreciate your honesty, but I simply cannot allow one as dangerous as you to enter my realm." Celestia's face showed some degree of sadness and disappointment as she continued to lecture me.
"Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, might I inquire as to your decision to refer to me by my human name, as opposed to the Alicorn name I chose? I still retain my ability to change back and forth between forms at my leisure, or as such circumstances warrant -- unless you believe I represent such a danger that you would dare to consider removing my Alicorn status. If so, I am curious to know how you might be able to do so -- and by the same token, does that mean that I possess enough power to do the same to you?"
"Your hasty action belies the stability required to serve honorably as an Alicorn, therefore, Michael, I can no longer refer to you by the name you have chosen. Requesting that I call you that name is a privilege, one which I am not obligated to honor if you bring dishonor to the ranks of the Alicorn." I saw her visage start to darken. "And if you think you possess enough power to remove MY Alicorn status, I would strongly suggest you reconsider such thoughts, lest you provoke MY ire."
"Your Majesty, I would never consider such action -- I have far too much respect and admiration for you to even countenance such actions -- that, and the fact that your subjects require your deepest admiration and strongest abilities to provide them with what they need. I apologize for even broaching the subject, but would request you understand what is sometimes referred to as 'The Golden Rule' -- 'Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You'."
I watched as the Elements shifted nervously on their hooves, silently watching this conversation with rapt attention. The atmosphere hung heavy with the gravitas of two Alicorns having a deep philosophical disagreement. Brenda was bored, still in her Zebra form, and chatting with Rarity, perhaps discussing the idea of having a fabulous new outfit to wear.
"Michael, I know full well that Golden Rule of which you speak -- we have a similar variant in the same vein as your human equivalent. Be that as it may, to continue even with the consideration of possible threats is yet another element of your lack of good judgment. As for your concern about losing your Alicorn status, you need not worry about that. You have certain duties and responsibilities in this realm which require you to maintain that status. However, should you choose to visit MY realm without my permission, I will be forced to strip you of that status." Celestia showed visible anger.
"Very well then, your Majesty. I have a simple request, since I will no longer be able to see any of the Elements from this day forward. With your permission, your Majesty, may I give a final hug and last goodbye to each of them?"
"You have my permission, Michael. Make sure your good-byes and hugs are short, lest you displease me further."
I returned to my human form, and restored Brenda to her human form.
"Why did you do that, Mike? I was just starting to enjoy that," Brenda said somewhat dejectedly.
"As per 'Her Royal Highness' suggestion, I have returned you to your human form. Twilight, would you please be kind enough to approach me? You shall be the first I say my final good-bye to. My dearest Twilight Sparkle, I have the utmost respect and admiration for you, and it is with great sadness that I say my final adieu. I will cherish the memory of my experience in your body for the rest of my life -- and if that means I may live forever, then so too will my memory of being you. I am very sorry to have disappointed you or possibly even frightened you by my over-zealous display of power, and I can only hope that maybe you will forgive me my egregious excess. Please give me a quick hug, as this may be the final time I have an opportunity to see you. It is my fervent hope that maybe some day in the future, your mentor will soften her attitude towards me and allow me to return. I wish that we could have spent more time together discussing matters regarding magic, mathematics, science, and other subjects. I would appreciate you giving me your take on Calculus, a subject I could not wrap my brain around. Please forgive me if I shed a tear or two, I will deeply miss you."
"Oh, Michael, I wish it could be different to say good-bye like this -- I might be able to persuade Celestia to let me come and visit you here, but not for awhile yet. Calculus is easy once you get the basics down, and I would be happy to teach you the finer aspects of that subject," she said, smiling through a couple of tears. Just barely above a whisper as I held her she said, "I love you, Michael." I whispered "I love you back." She smiled, and then left my embrace.
"Rarity, you are next. Please approach me, so that I may give you a fond farewell. My dearest Rarity, it is a shame that I displeased every pony with my actions. I am disappointed that I will not be able to visit your boutique, as I was curious to see what sort of fabulous outfit you could whip up for me and my wife -- I am willing to pay you handsomely for such finery -- but unfortunately, such a possibility is off limits now, for at least the foreseeable future. Please give me a quick hug, I will miss you dearly."
"Michael, darling, I will be happy to take your measurements here, and work on your clothing in my shop. I will have Princess Celestia send them to you once I have finished. My dear, you will absolutely fall in love with my creation! I am curious to see what sort of payment you will make," she said, smiling, a tear falling from her right eye. I handed her a small purple velvet bag with ten gold coins in it. She used her magic to open this bag, and a look of shock came across her face as she examined the large gold coins, each one about the size of a half-dollar, bearing a walking figure of Liberty on the obverse and a large eagle in mid-flight on the reverse. "Michael, darling, I simply cannot accept such a generous payment!"
"It is my honor to give you these coins as suitable payment for your finest creations, my dearest Rarity." I smiled at her as we broke the embrace.
"Please allow me to inspect those coins," Princess Celestia said, showing a degree of curiosity. She took a look at them using her telekinesis to closely inspect them. "These are quite beautiful," she said. "May I have one, please?" I took another pouch from my pocket and handed her a coin from it. "Perhaps I might have been a little hasty in passing judgement against you, Tasavir," she said, a smile trying to make its way onto her visage.
"Tis quite all right, your Majesty. Pinkie Pie, you are next. Please approach me --" I began. She bounded her way into my arms, and gave me a quick kiss on my lips. "Pinkie, was that strictly necessary? I am going to miss you dearly, and I am deeply sorry for not being able to attend your party. I know you went to a great deal of trouble to accommodate me and my wife, and I'll bet you even went so far as to acquire a small Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness cake just for the occasion. Again, I apologize, and if Her Majesty allows it, perhaps I may return some day to have the biggest, best party in Equestrian history! I am sorry to disappoint you this way."
"Mikey or Tasavir or whatever it is you want to be called, I am going to miss you -- you have been a lot of fun to be around with, and I want to thank you for rescuing us from Discord again. I will try to talk the Princess into allowing you to come to a party, and I guess she'll have to keep a watch over you to make sure you don't cause any trouble, but I know you will behave yourself, right? I know you will, won't you! My Pinkie Sense tells me that you are kind and honest, and you would never do anything to hurt any of us, I know that! There's so much more I want to do with you! Like do some more pranks!" she giggled, then jumped out of my arms, and bounded her way back over to Twilight and started chatting with her.
"Okay. Applejack, please come here. I know you probably may not want to hug me, but that's okay. I would have loved to have come to your farm and talk to all the rest of your siblings and kinfolk, even Granny Smith, as I'm sure she has lots of stories to tell. I would have loved to sample all the fine cooking you and your folks make, even if that means I would have gained ten pounds at one sitting! I am going to miss you, my dear girl, and I also want to apologize for tricking you into thinking I was Twilight about a week ago or so, but I guess the matter was urgent enough to do what needed to be done."
"That's okay, Sugar Cube, Ah'll give ya a hug!" she gives me firm hard bear hug, holding me tightly in her fore-legs. She relinquishes her grip, and says, "Ah'm gonna miss ya too, ya big lug! Ah know ya meant well, and we're all safe once again. Ah remember what ya done to save us from Discord, and without yer help, we'd still be in those cages."
"I tried to set the best example I could whilst in Twilight's body. I just wanted to make good," I said.
"Ya done great! Trust me, Ah wouldn't mind if ya went back ta bein' her again!" Applejack offered.
"Okay, Fluttershy. You're next. Do you wish to approach me?"
"Um, Michael, if that's okay, I will just simply say good-bye, and again, let you know I will miss you too. Thanks again for rescuing us from Discord! Oh, and I was impressed with how you managed to keep up with me when I was leading you to Cloudsdale."
"Fluttershy, I am the one who should be thanking you for your guidance. Without your assistance, I doubt I would have encountered Discord in pony to get him to reveal your location, and things would be dire indeed back there. I apologize for leaving you unattended, but I believe it worked out for the best, as we were able to defeat Discord once again."
"What about me?" asked Rainbow Dash. "You're not gonna forget about ME, are you?"
"No, Rainbow, of course not. I regret not being able to spend more time with you and your friends, but what's done is done. Please give me a hug, if you wish, as I am going to miss you every bit as much as I will miss Twilight and the rest of you all. I will let you know that you can still outpace me in my Alicorn form, I have never seen anypony fly as fast as you. Now I see why you hate trees!" I chuckled. She came over and hugged me tightly, a single tear tracing its way down the left side of her muzzle.
"Okay, Tasavir, that's enough. We shall be taking our leave now. By the way, you are still free to communicate with me as you wish, and I will let you know soon enough when I feel you can handle your power responsibly enough to return to visit the Elements. Provided you are on your best behavior, I would like a further audience with you to discuss other matters, as your intelligence is quite remarkable. I am sure my sister Luna would love to talk to you as well."
"I appreciate your generosity, your Majesty. You have my word that should I ever be granted your permission to return to your realm that I will maintain my highest order of decorum as befitting one of my stature. Please understand that this particular instance was one which I should have handled better. Again, I apologize for disappointing you, and humbly request your forgiveness. I sincerely hope that we may be able to meet pony to pony once again."
"I gather from your remarks that you indeed are deeply remorseful for your brashness. You have my forgiveness, Tasavir. I will let you know when I feel confident enough in your sincerity to allow for your return to my realm. Believe it or not, I shall miss you as well -- and once again, you have my deepest gratitude for rescuing the Elements from the clutches of Discord." She gave me a genuine smile, one tinged with a bit of sadness, and then enveloped herself and the Elements in her golden aura, teleporting back to Equestria with a flash of light and a golden POP.