The prospect of having to serve as the Earth's Solar Regent hit me like a ton of bricks as I sullenly trotted away from the Sun Goddess. Trixie trotted behind me but caught up to my side.
"Michael, I suppose you know your way to the ball room -- if you do not wish for me to accompany you, I understand. Please remember what I requested of you. Do not be late, for your sake," admonished Celestia.
"Yes, your Majesty," I replied without turning my attention to her as I continued to trot towards the ball room.
"Trixie wants to know what you're planning on doing now, Michael," she said quizzically. She looked up at me almost expectantly. I was still lost in my thoughts and didn't answer swiftly enough for her liking. "Well, Michael? Trixie does not like being ignored!"
"Sorry, Trixie, I got lost in thought there for a few moments. I am thinking about what I can do to go back to being a unicorn. I do NOT want to be an Alicorn!" I exclaimed in exasperation.
"Why not? Trixie would be thrilled to be an Alicorn!" she giggled.
"You probably would until you realized what being an Alicorn actually entails -- a very high level of power requires a great deal of wisdom to use that power responsibly. And as you heard, Alicorns get to live practically forever. If I had known that my decision to be you would lead to my transformation into this form (I pointed a hoof to my chest) I would have thought twice about having my car transform me into you. I wonder if the Celestia in the other universe might have an answer for me -- perhaps I should get a second opinion," I mused.
"Trixie thinks she liked you better when you were her," she offered. "Trixie thinks you were happier when you were in her body."
"I enjoyed being you, Trixie -- it was quite a lot of fun, even if you did try to kill me," I chuckled.
"Trixie is sorry for that, Michael! Trixie's mind was under the control of that amulet! Please do not remind her of what she did! How many times does Trixie have to tell Michael that she is sorry?" she asked in exasperation.
"And I already told you I forgave you for attacking me." We arrived at our destination at this point. "Hello, everypony!" I smiled as we made our way into the ball room to meet up with the wedding guests. Pinkie Pie was the first to greet me.
"Hey, Mikey! Trixie! Did you two exchange vows and rings and things? Are you two officially married now? You wanna play pin the tail, Mikey?"
"I don't think they play "pin the tail" at wedding receptions, Pinkie, and sorry to disappoint you, but no, we didn't exchange vows or rings. Trixie is having second thoughts about getting married -- but we can still enjoy ourselves anyway. I have a lot on my mind, Pinkie, so I need to talk to the others for awhile. Hope you don't mind." The pink party pony seemed to deflate at this news.
"Okie dokie lokie," she said flatly. "But if you don't mind my asking, why not? Trixie? Don't you wanna marry him? He looks so nice like this, he looks almost like the Princess! I'm sure he'd be able to make you happy, don't you think?"
"Trixie just got rescued from somewhere -- and she has a lot to think about. Trixie thought she was ready to get married until that weird black pony attacked her and covered her with that icky green slimy stuff. Trixie will let Michael know when she is ready to marry him."
I trotted over to where Twilight was chatting with her friends and her brother and foal-sitter. They were discussing what had happened with the Changeling Queen and what had happened to me. Twilight saw me first.
"Oh, hi, Amethyst -- how did things go in the other universe? I see you didn't waste much time there," the lavender mare grinned.
"I guess I'm going by my human name until I find a good name for my new form, so you may address me as Michael. I managed to scare off the Queen and her army over there, but let them know if they ever decided to come back to Ponyville that I would ... dispose of them," I stated flatly.
"So how do you like the new you, darling? Your mane and tail look marvelous!" Rarity smiled, admiring my bright yellow and orange ethereal mane and tail which billowed in the solar wind.
"You might not believe this, but I did not want to be an Alicorn. It's too great a burden for me," I explained.
"You might think being an Alicorn means all work and no play," Princess Cadance offered, "but you'd be surprised that once you get used to the "workload," you will have considerably more free time than you'd imagine. If you're so concerned about maintaining a high level of decorum, Michael, it will come naturally to you as you adjust to your new status. Don't worry too much about it, it's not as bad as you think!" the pink Alicorn giggled. "And once you have become an Alicorn, I would recommend against wanting to revert to your previous status -- if you do, you might find yourself wishing you hadn't."
"Thank you for your reassurance, Princess Cadance. Maybe I should think twice about my desire to relinquish my Alicorn status. Celestia is going to teach me how to raise the Sun in the morning, if you can believe that," I grinned. This elicited a gasp from everypony who heard me say it. I chuckled softly at their reaction.
"Oh, your cutie mark!" Twilight exclaimed as she noticed it. "You have four suns as a cutie mark! No wonder Celestia's going to teach you how to do that! I can't believe you've become a Solar Regent! I am so happy for you!"
"Thanks, Twilight. Rarity, I'm sorry about the ensemble you made for me. I apologize that we couldn't have a proper wedding. And I also apologize for one other thing -- that when Celestia has finished teaching me what I need to know, I will no longer be allowed to stay here in Equestria." This statement drew more gasps.
"Michael, perhaps I might be able to persuade Princess Celestia to let you stay -- you have become a good friend and I don't want you to leave," Twilight stated with some sadness tinging her voice.