Chapter Seven – Casting
The door had hardly been closed five minutes when it reopened and Celestia stepped out.
“Come, Twilight. We have made a decision.”
The unicorn obeyed, and followed her teacher into the darkness beyond the door. The room brightened the moment she passed the doorway as if a veil fell away from her eyes. The room was about half the size as the one she just left, and decorated with the same bare stone. There was no furniture. It was replaced by a large circle of emerald powder that was surrounded in strange runes made of finely crushed ruby. The circle glittered and sparkled – and strangely enough, glowed slightly.
The alicorns each stood in a corner, facing inwards to the center of the circle. Clockwise from Twilight’s left was Luna, Cadence, Chrysalis, and finally Celestia on her right. The unicorn paused just inside the door before shutting it behind her. The clang as it fell into place filled her with a sense of finality. This was the end for her. Either her future as an alicorn or future as a mortal unicorn would end here.
She noticed four empty rings of emerald dust in the center of the circle, spaced perfectly as if for the hooves of a perfectly average sized pony. Twilight slowly clopped over to them, being careful to avoid stepping on any of the gemstone dust on the floor. Her hoof gently lowered into the rings one by one, each fitting perfectly and not requiring her to stretch to fill them all. After checking that she was in place and had not ruined any of the casting circle she turned to her mentor, located behind her rear-rightward flank.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia’s voice filled the room, seeming to come from both everywhere and nowhere. Her mouth did not move, but her horn was glowing slightly. Twilight glanced around and saw the others had a similar light around their horns. “We, the alicorn council, have assembled today to invite a newcomer into our fold. She has shown her merit and is now presented to you, sisters, for you to vote upon. I, Princess Celestia of the Sun, vote in favour of Twilight Sparkle.”
Princess Luna spoke next. Well, not really. Her voice filled the chamber next, but her mouth was also not moving. “We, Luna of the Moon, vote in favour of Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight turner her head around to follow who she assumed was the source of each voice. “I, Cadence of the Heart, vote in favour of Twilight Sparkle.”
“I, Chrysalis of concealment, vote in favour of Twilight Sparkle.”
“The votes have been cast, and Twilight Sparkle has been found eligible to continue.” Celestia’s voice continued. Magical tendrils spread from each of the alicorns and intertwined around Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle, do you swear to use your enhanced powers for the defense of the weak and serving your fellow pony? To protect the inhabitants of Equestria, be they under your rule or not?”
Celestia’s white head signalled the unicorn to answer. “Um… Yes? I suppose?” she cleared her throat before trying again, “Yes, Princess.”
“Then show us what you have learned, Twilight. We will be here to guide you in your efforts, but the magic will be under your sole control.” The white alicorn levitated out the box that contained the Elements of Harmony and opened it in front of Twilight. “Twilight, take your element.”
She obeyed and gently placed the jewel encrusted tiara on her head. She stared forward at the stone wall while she awaited further instruction. The box was pulled away and put down near the door.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Chrysalis spoke this time. “We will not think less of you if you choose to stay a unicorn. At worst you will have to come back should you change your mind.”
This was it. Twilight’s choice. Her really, really, really big choice. She was not sure if she wanted this change. How would her friends react? She closed her eyes to aid in her concentration and she started sweating slightly from the stress.
Rainbow Dash would stay loyal to her, and by extension her decision. On the other hoof, she might see it as a betrayal of her loyalty.
Pinkie Pie would throw a party in celebration of her new form. Or would she see it as losing a friend, complete with the mental breaks that accompanied Pinkie Pie losing a friend?
Rarity would be eager for an opportunity to create dresses for Twilight Sparkle the Alicorn. However, she might decide contorting oneself into an alicorn is ‘unfabulous’ or some such.
Applejack would see the practical purpose of changing to continue her studies, but might not understand the need for more magic, an already foreign concept to the earth pony.
Fluttershy would be happy for Twilight to advance, especially if it made the unicorn happy. The risk was that her new form would intimidate the timid pegasus and scare her further away.
Twilight saw potential for both good and bad result with her friends. Was the risk of losing her friends worth gaining more power? No matter how they treated her after Changing, she would eventually lose them to the slow decay of time.
She assumed that Spike would stand by her, especially if they were both going to live for eternity. Then again, he might leave when he got older. He would have no need for a caretaker.
What about if she didn’t change? Would her friends think she made the wrong choice? Would it be right to tell them that this meeting even occurred? Could she live a lie to all of her friends?
These thoughts and many more plagued Twilight as she stood there in the middle of the magical casting circle. A significant amount of time had passed, though the alicorns around her remained impassive.
Eventually Twilight opened her eyes and looked into the faces of each of the alicorns around her in turn. She had made her decision.