24 - Eternity is Incomprehensible
My apologies, your majesties,” Rarity excused herself as she walked into the room. It baffled her why such royal company would choose to meet in such a dreary part of the extensively decadent castle, but she knew better than to ask such a thing. “And Twilight. I'm afraid I let my personal interests get the better of me.”
“No need for such formality,” Celestia answered first and gestured for the mare to take a seat. “I'm glad you're here. Spike, welcome back.”
“Hey,” the dragon waved casually as he followed the unicorn mare. He decided to sit next to her on the room's last seating, a small worn royal blue sofa, rather than join Twilight. Rarity didn't seem to notice since she was too busy picking up on the mood of the room. It was something all society-minded ponies needed as a skill and, goodness, the room was rank with a marked nervousness.
“We were discussing the matter at hoof,” Luna offered as catch-up for the two arrivals. “This is for your ears only. We do not wish any of this to be made public.”
“Unfortunately,” Celestia added. “I would have preferred we discuss this over a walk in the castle garden, but we simply cannot allow the possibility of eavesdropping. Even by the servants.”
“I'm still uncomfortable about Chrysalis being present, though,” Luna spoke the rest of her mind.
“And I have already allowed it,” Celestia turned to her. “I trust Twilight now just as I did when she told me she saved her.”
“Why's it such a big deal to keep hush?” Rainbow jumped in.
Twilight looked at her sideways, to which the pegasus shrugged.
“I got to fill in for AJ, right?” she defended herself.
“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia responded. “I understand your curiosity. Let's just say that we believe the information may lead to more bad than good as far as the general public is concerned. As difficult as it is to admit, not all of our subjects are of good intention.”
“That's an understatement,” Chrysalis muttered to herself. It went either unheard or ignored.
“As we have explained,” Luna got back on track, “there are some beings that are immortal by nature. Draconequui are one example. Some dragons are another while others simply live for thousands of years. There are other beings outside of Equestria that also lack finite lifetimes. Alicorns are, as you might expect, immortal by birth.”
Twilight tried to again skip over the part about Discord, seeing Rainbow wince for the second time at the revelation they had all suspected anyways. “Some dragons are immortal?” she decided to go with instead.
Celestia looked over to Spike, who was wide-eyed in interest and had a hard time deciding whether he should look to the sisters or to Twilight. Clearly he knew how important it was for him on a personal level. He always was smart for such a young dragon, Celestia smiled with the thought. Luna stopped and gave a knowing look to her sister, who she suspected wanted to speak on this particular matter.
“You must find it at least a little vexing,” Celestia landed her soft gaze on Twilight. “You've come here for one thing and so many other matters demand your attention. I never meant to withhold this from you forever but perhaps now is the time I put Spike's mystery to rest.”
Twilight cocked her head and didn't know whether to feel anxious or neutrally curious.
Celestia looked back to Spike, who had not dropped his expectant gaze. Such innocent eyes, Celestia smiled again a little sadder this time.
“Spike, I only kept from telling you about what I know because I didn't want you to be burdened with it while you were still so young. But you are the most valiant dragon I have ever met and your maturity continues to grow beyond your age,” the white princess praised.
Spike, not expecting it, gaped in wonder with a tiny blush.
“You may still be young, but let me tell you something,” Celestia continued. “Among every dragon I have ever seen, heard of, or befriended, you have had more integrity than any of them. Others may have thousands of years behind them, strength to move mountains, and riches to buy kingdoms, but only you have had the heart to give up all of those things for your friends. Both my sister and I are honored to share eternity with you, Spike.”
Rarity's mouth opened by a tiny crack that she couldn't manage to prevent even in her esteemed company. Her head snapped around to find the small dragon at her side on the short sofa. Spike himself had no unusual expression yet, working the words in his head to figure out what everyone else already had.
Twilight didn't know what to do. Words did not come out of her mouth any more than the others and she was left looking on at the Spike that she had raised. Their eyes finally met and she felt hers water for some reason. It was funny in a way. She had hatched his egg and raised him like a mother. Maybe it wasn't her that had given him his strength of character or maybe it was. It didn't matter, though, because she felt proud of him. If anyone would live past her and bear her legacy to the world it would have to be the little dragon she had loved since birth. He may have been greedy and infantile at times, but he never failed to pull through in the end. The fact that he always gave his all to fix and learn from his mistakes made him the strong individual that he was.
“H-how...?” Spike finally grasped for answers.
“Have you not felt it in your heart?” Luna mirrored with another question.
“The quiet flame,” Celestia supplied him when he looked at a loss. “It burns inside of you and nothing in Equestria can douse it. It is the immortal flame of your kind, the magic dragons. It shouldn't surprise you. You've wielded your own magic since birth.”
“My kind?!” Spike prompted at the edge of his seat. He was growing desperate for the answers right in front of him.
“There is a long story to tell,” Celestia sighed. “Too long to tell now, but let me give you at least some part of it for clarity. I cannot tell you where those dragons are or even if they still exist, but I was the one that saved your egg.”
The alicorn paused to let the dragon hear what she had said. He leaned back on the seat, eyes wandering as he took it in.
“I was across the world,” she continued. “It was a very bad time and I was well away from Equestria. My sister was still on the moon, the outer world was in turmoil, and I had to leave Equestria defenseless. But I couldn't just ignore a plea for help. The magic dragons had old ties to my sister and I because we had agreed long ago to assist each other when one of us was in dire need. Their plea arrived and I set out, but by the time I got there...”
Spike paled and his stomach ached at what he knew was about to be said. Twilight watched on with a depressed spirit for his sake.
“They were not there,” Celestia explained, “though there had been a great battle. They had resided in a mountain ridge with nests among the cliffs, which was very near to a powerful source of magic. But the entire ridge was broken, as if the mountains themselves had been torn apart and rearranged. I found no sign of the dragons themselves except for one - the one that I had known personally. She was also the one that had sent the emergency summons.”
“She...?” Spike asked cautiously.
“Your mother,” Celestia said in a quiet voice.
“I had a mother...” the small dragon wasn't sure whether to be happy or distraught.
“She was valiant like you,” Celestia offered encouragement and a smile to lift his spirits. “She sacrificed herself to save your egg and I knew when I found it that she had endured what had happened for your sake. Unfortunately, any hope I had of finding the others passed with her.”
There was a moment of respectful silence. The princesses left Spike to be the one to break it.
“What was her name?” the small dragon's voice came out just as small.
Luna answered first. “All of their names are from the old dragon languages. You would not find it as sensible or pronounceable as the Equestrian ones you are used to.”
Celestia nodded minutely to her sister and then regarded Spike. “It was Greelenth, though I butcher it horribly with my pronunciation. In their language, it means 'a dragon who foolishly gives up their horde for another dragon.' A most fitting name for such a selfless mother as she was.”
Spike had never heard of her until now. He hadn't even known he had a mother. But though he had little emotion to hold beyond the shock of the revelation, he still felt a burning inside. Perhaps it was this “quiet flame” inside of him but he felt angry. He was frustrated that someone or something had taken away his first family before he even had the chance to know them. What evil could destroy a life so that it would never have the chance to happen?
“My sister has informed us,” Luna spoke up, “of certain clues she found, but they are nothing that would help us solve the mystery except for identifying the attackers.”
Twilight straightened up at this while Spike crossed his arms and lowered his gaze.
“Our suspicions are pointless,” Celestia stopped her sibling. “We don't wish to waste all of your time with useless speculation. You all still need answers to other questions. Twilight, you wanted to know if you are now immortal?”
Twilight's friends all shifted where they sat. One of Rainbow's forehooves touched her queen's and made her look over. The pegasus was showing her hidden side in a flash. She was worried about what was to come and Twilight only wished she could give her some assurance.
“Yes,” the purple alicorn returned to the princesses. “It won't change my friendships or how I view them, but I still need to know.”
“Twilight is right,” Rarity agreed in clipped punctuation. “Immortal or not, she is still our dear friend. Though I admit my curiosity is quite difficult to control right now.”
There was a giddy sound from the purple-maned unicorn that acted as Celestia's cue.
“The answer is not so simple, I'm afraid,” the Mare of the Sun tried sounding positive in spite of it. “You have likely guessed by now, Twilight, that you were not born immortal. As my sister said, only those born as alicorns are immortal by nature and only Luna and myself were conceived this way.”
“Then what about Cadance?” Twilight dared to ask.
Luna looked away to one of the windows and fell silent while Celestia winced.
“Cadance,” the Mare of the Sun said the name with a marked sadness, “is somepony I'd rather not speak of for your sake, Twilight. Please understand.”
Everyone but Luna stared in mixed confusion and worry at Celestia.
“My sake?” Twilight parroted. “What is it? What's happened to Cadance?!”
“No, no,” Celestia backpedaled, seeing her former student was now concerned about some unintended implication. “Cadance and your brother are both fine. Perhaps even better than fine. I didn't mean to suggest they were in any danger.”
“Then what did you mean?” Rainbow Dash cut in. Twilight looked sideways at her for the rash tone of her question but then looked back to Celestia for the answer, who shifted her lips in a vain attempt to get some kind of sentence constructed behind them.
Luna spoke up instead, returning her serious look to Twilight. “Alicorns are not made, Twilight Sparkle. They are born. Or, at least, they used to be.”
Celestia was now the one to give her sister a sharp look. Luna disregarded and kept speaking.
“You're 'acquisition' of wings was not natural,” Luna proceeded.
“Luna!” Celestia interjected.
The dark alicorn looked at her sister with some lack of understanding on her face, as if she was surprised Celestia had interrupted her.
“I apologize,” Celestia looked to the others in the room. “Luna and I need just a moment.”
With that and nothing more, the two sisters exploded out of sight in a flash of pale yellow teleportation magic.
Twilight remained sitting where she was, brows furrowed and mind racing. She quickly noticed everyone else was now looking at her for an explanation of what was going on. However, she could do nothing more than shrug and give a “beats me.”
“What is the problem?” Luna asked point blank from where she was now standing in her own bedroom. She was very familiar with the feeling of her sister's teleportation magic and didn't flinch in the slightest. The midnight blue of her bedroom walls, the sparkles of the magical star projections upon them, and the overall cave-like darkness of the abode did, however, put her at more ease than the room they had just been in a second ago.
“I am,” Celestia said soft and sadly from her spot on Luna's double-sized bed. “I'm getting cold hooves, Lulu. I don't know if I can tell her.”
“This is ridiculous,” Luna rolled her eyes and stepped up to her own bed. The constellations and nebulae etched upon them were almost as familiar to her as her own sibling, who was acting less than herself. “Since when does my sister of all ponies get cold?”
“Twilight has always seen me as...” Celestia tried to find the word without sounding egotistical.
“Infallible,” Luna finished as she climbed up onto her bed and laid sideways with her sister. She put her hoof around her neck to encourage her. “It is best for her to know the truth, Tia. And anyways, your mistakes have been nothing compared to mine.”
“But after what she just did in the Crystal Empire?” Celestia looked to her smaller sibling and argued worriedly. “This is going to hurt her deeply, Lulu. I've betrayed her trust. And I cannot tell the whole truth because of her brother.”
Luna knew where the worry was coming from. The feeling of betraying her own sister had been a searing wound healed only by time and forgiveness. “I may not have been involved with Cadance's ascendancy but, for what it's worth, I did consent to Twilight's. She can blame me too if she has a problem with it.”
“You were busy directing a meteor shower when I talked to you about it,” Celestia pouted. “And you were half asleep anyways.”
The Mare of the Night sighed. “I did drop one on a poor pony's home...nopony was hurt, though,” she rushed to add. “And I fixed his house personally. It's even better now. I added a second story and-”
“Lulu.”
“Yes?” the mare slowed down sheepishly.
“Thanks,” Celestia said as she nuzzled her sister.
“I did nothing,” Luna dismissed it. “But I'll still take that 'thank you.'”
The white alicorn laughed and then steeled herself once more. “Let's not keep them waiting.”
Even though it felt like a much darker day, the sun was shining through the shutters quite eagerly and only the occasional cloud in the sky gave any kind of shade to the sun-stained land below. The day had also started off rather cool, but now the heat could be felt pouring into the tower room where the ponies, dragon, and changeling undertook their off-the-record meeting.
There was the same flash again and both sisters were laying right where they had been before on the old sofa. A round of apologies and dismissals were had to accommodate the unusual break. Not wanting to drag things out unnecessarily, the original conversation was quickly resumed.
Luna let her sister lead now, which she did with a deep breath of courage. “You've been such a perfect student, Twilight. I never wanted you to see or know how terrible the world could be. You've been like...like my own child.”
Twilight bit her bottom lip. She hated how much those simple words affected her. She wanted to keep a strong face in front of her former mentor.
“I was lying to myself,” Celestia admitted. “I kept telling myself it didn't have to end. That I could keep you safe in Equestria, a world of my own making. But then you told me that night about finding Chrysalis along the road. About how you saved her. I knew everything was going to change then. I couldn't keep you ignorant of what lies out there and really I never should have. I just wanted you to live a long happy life. One without pain or sorrow.”
Luna massaged her sister's back with her forehoof, encouraging her. Twilight swallowed and knew there was something more to come.
“I was the one that was responsible for everything that happened at the wedding,” the white alicorn stated flat out. “I was the one who deteriorated relations with other races after banishing Luna to the moon. I was distraught and depressed. I just wanted to seal myself away from everyone. But it cost Equestria dearly and some, such as the changelings, even worse. They were reliant on us for food-”
“That's not possible,” Twilight cut her off with a frown. She knew Celestia couldn't be serious. There were never any records of it and all of Equestrian history showed relations with the changelings to be sparse at best. “The changelings came from the South,” she began her argument but then stopped on that. Chrysalis had mentioned the northern wastes earlier. Something was off.
The one changeling in the room found herself leaning forward subconsciously. In spite of being the former leader of the foremost changeling hive, she had not exactly disclosed this to Twilight. Her new queen had already been suspicious of being kept from certain things and this was just a nail in the coffin as far as that was concerned. Her own mother had a habit of withholding certain things for political machination but Chrysalis had only failed to disclose it out of fear. She knew Twilight was smart and one question would lead to another. Nothing could afford to come in the way of their relationship and Chrysalis feared that the past just might do that.
Luna shook her head, wishing she instead had some words of comfort to give. “I'm afraid my sister will have to explain everything. I was not present at the time.”
Celestia winced, knowing she bore the full burden of it. “The changelings,” she tried, “were around long before Equestria was ever formed. My only defense in breaking ties was that they were an unpredictable race that could hold a fierce sense of retribution over multiple generations, partly in thanks to their hivemind.”
The two immortal sisters looked at the former changeling queen, who had forced as much of a neutral face as she could. She decided that she would have to let the white princess say what she will and then defend herself later with Twilight should the need arise. She trusted Twilight, however, and doubted that even Celestia could cook up a convincing lie about her. The whole matter was a mess regardless, much alike what happened the first night in Twilight's hivemind.
“Equestria was our dream,” Celestia looked back to Twilight with an earnest expression. “Luna and I desperately wanted to make a place where ponies and creatures of all kinds could live in peace and safety. It was all we wanted after our unfortunate past. But we were never the perfect rulers our subjects came to believe and, after a while, we were sucked into the image. After Luna was gone, all I had left was our glass dream. It could break so easily. I did some things I'm ashamed of now in order to protect it.”
Twilight started to feel small again. She had been Celestia's closest student and yet she was constantly finding out how much deeper the alicorn's life and power went. There were likely entire lifetimes she had lived that had shaped parts of the world she had never heard of.
“I'm only telling you this because you deserve to know. Just as you deserve to know the truth about us alicorns. Since you decided to adopt Chrysalis as your...friend,” she struggled with the word, not sure if it was the right one, “you must know this along with everything else. The changeling invasion was nobody's fault but my own. It was a tragedy that I could have-”
“Princess Celestia,” buzzed the unexpected voice of Chrysalis. This time it had been her to do the interrupting. All eyes became riveted upon her and the room became a vacuum of noise for the changeling's next words. “There's no need to trouble my queen with endless, petty details and assume blame for everything that went wrong.”
A few brows raised at the mention of “queen.” Namely Rarity's and the two sibling princesses.
“My ancestors,” Chrysalis kept up a quick pace to keep from getting herself cut off as she had done to Celestia, “were as bull-headed as I was. They didn't look to reason and acted only on emotions from stupid accidents. Now, explain what you did with that foal prince's magic before I smack your self-loathing mouth until it gets to the point.”
“Chry-” Twilight started to object angrily while processing the out-of-place reference to King Sombra. But she was instantly drowned out by somepony's laughter.
Luna was busting a gut on the sofa, waving occasionally at her sister between bouts. Rarity stared in horror while the others tried looking for the lost joke. Pinkie Pie joined in, not getting it in the slightest but never being one to miss a good laugh either.
“It's not so funny,” Celestia whispered to her sister.
“Oh, but it is,” Luna finished her fun. “She is right, Tia. You are terrible at answering one specific question.”
“Fine,” Celestia exhibited a rare display of pouting as she stuck her bottom lip out. She retracted it when she turned back to Twilight but continued to be indignant. “Since my sister and Chrysalis both seem intent on a simple answer without any crucial explanation to back it up, you will get the bare facts first. But please listen to what I have to say afterwards.”
Twilight gestured that she would always listen intently anyhow and would have voiced as much if Celestia hadn't declared the next thing so pointedly.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, upon your transformation into an alicorn, your lifespan has been altered. You are now immortal.”
Rainbow paled even as Twilight herself stared on blankly. She didn't see anypony as her eyes glazed over. Her logical mind went into overdrive trying to tie up all of the implications. It failed.
Rarity's heart ached but she put on her brave face. “C-congratulations, Twilight,” she encouraged her friend. “I'm so happy for you!”
That was the final straw for Pinkie Pie, who had only kept as grave-silent as she had because of her queen's explicit trust. But she could stand it no longer. Instantly, she burst off of the chair she was on, spraying a cloud of confetti that seemed to come from nowhere. She shouted “congratulations” and “I can't believe it my bestest best friend is an immortal alicorn princess queen” multiple times. She ended only with a declaration of all the planning she had to do for the Super Fun Annual Queen Twilight Sparkle Ascension to Immortality Party. She then started hyperventilating when she realized that, being immortal, Twilight could have an innumerable number of such parties. Once a year for all of eternity and that was not even to mention all of the birthdays and birthday cakes.
Spike clutched his chest. A lot of emotions rolled inside because of his past and his future. It was one he knew now in relief that he would have with Twilight always around. Celestia spoke up again in a way that made those feelings pause.
“Twilight,” the princess broke back in and snapped the purple mare back to reality. “There is much you have to know. This is why I didn't want to say it before I explained more. First of all, immortality is not the same as invincibility. You may live forever but you can still die should something terrible happen.”
“You mean if somepony was to harm her?” Rarity asked with alarm.
Luna nodded grimly at that and spoke. “We have lived only because of fate, though my sister would prefer to say 'heart' or 'determination.' I believe there are greater things at work that determine what happens to us.”
“Which brings me to my next point,” Celestia picked up. “I have begun considering what I used to believe was Luna's own superstitions. What has happened during your lifetime, Twilight, has been one extraordinary event after another. There have been so many disturbing coincidences that I have even considered taking leave of Equestria to find answers in the outer world.”
“What coincidences?” Twilight hazarded.
“Everything that you and your friends have done,” Celestia replied while finding her former student's lack of self-realization surprising. “You have gone far beyond merely using the Elements that Luna and I obtained from the Tree of Harmony. You have actually embodied those elements. You have tamed Discord and taken a former changeling queen under your wing. You even defeated King Sombra and saved the Crystal Empire. Then the magic I used to transform you was difficult to control...almost as if it wanted you...”
Twilight felt praised at first for what Celestia was saying but then felt ill at the last part.
“What about the magic had to do with Sombra?” she asked carefully without actually wanting the answer.
“It started with Cadance,” Celestia sighed deeply. “In short, all of it was his. I found hidden studies hundreds of years ago scattered through the northern wastes. There were journals describing strange and powerful magics that I had never seen or heard. Eventually I figured out who the studies belonged to, but only because his name had been made famous by the extreme nature of his disappearance. It was a part of history that I had personally covered up in the hopes of preventing unrest. Such powerful magic put the ponies of the time in a great panic.”
Luna rested her head on her forehooves as she listened to the words for the second time. Her sister had brought her into the knowledge after her return amongst many other events and happenings unknown to the greater populace of Equestria. It was only after her restriction on the moon that Celestia had begun changing the books.
“The dark magic you used when you were explaining the Crystal Empire to me...?” Twilight began to realize.
“Yes,” Celestia admitted. “It wasn't an imitation. I learned it. All of it.”
Chrysalis and Luna, both older and more intimate with the more dangerous parts of the world, didn't think it such a big deal. Twilight and her friends, however, began feeling uneasy about the possibilities.
“But you taught me to stay away from it,” Twilight backtracked in worry. “When I first became your personal student. You told me to stay far away from dark magic.”
“I know,” Celestia pressed on, trying not to lose her strong face in front of her old student. She still cherished Twilight even now that she had grown up and become a princess in her own right. Having spent so much time with the girl as she was still growing up was what made it so difficult.
“Then why...?”
“I'm weak, Twilight,” the white alicorn trembled, losing a bit of her control. Luna leaned over to her and nuzzled her in encouragement. “I thought I could handle everything on my own but, after I lost my sister, the years ate away at me. Decades. Centuries. My body may be immortal but it felt as if my heart was dying. I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed somepony around me – somepony that would last as long as myself. Maybe it was because it had always been Luna there with me, but what I wanted most was family.”
Seeing a growing realization on Twilight's face, Luna tried to keep the suspicion from blowing up. “My sister did not see the far-reaching implications,” the younger sibling disclaimed.
“There was one young filly,” Celestia pushed forward, fighting to get stability back into her voice. She succeeded for the most part. “A pink unicorn as young as you were when you took your entrance exam. She was smaller, even, and she seemed to have a natural talent for love and understanding, which is why I knew I had found the pony I was looking for.”
“You didn't,” Twilight barely even voiced the words. She didn't want to picture her perfect image of Celestia casting dark magic on an unsuspecting filly.
In spite of the concern on the faces of Spike and the four Elements of Harmony, Celestia said what they already suspected. “I used King Sombra's dark magic to make Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or, as you all know her, Cadance.”
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Ah, the things we do when we're desperate and alone.
Did not see that coming
4370854 Desperate and
4.bp.blogspot.com/-eszw344IOC4/URZNALfLEEI/AAAAAAAAAIc/W4lGmQ7h730/s320/ForeverAlone.png
is a powerful combination indeed when you're talking about an immortal.
While I wish the nature and complications of Sombra's particular brand of magic were elaborated upon beyond 'oooooh dark', this is great. Celestia doing deeply fucked-up things to cope with losing her sister and having to protect Equestria from the outer world is a story element I just can't get tired of.
(taking notes for the My Little Exalted game I want to run...)
Oh, Celestia, I can't blame you for that.
Christ this is getting confusing, let me get a notepad...
Heh, do continue Celestia. I love to hear what dark deeds you have committed. After all, the sun must surely cause the darkest shadows.
There was that one book were Cadance was a Pegasus before being an alicorn...
So you've changed Cadence's original pony type? As far as I remember, she was a pegasus before her ascendance in canon.
Cadence is fine with it, so Twi has no grounds to get any more than a little peeved at Tia. The problem with dark magic isn't some inherent evil, it's massive abuse potential. I'd tell a student of mine to avoid it just so there wouldn't be any tragic accidents before they were ready to handle it.
4371073
That's gonna have some weird mechanics for an Exalted game. Exalted is all about over-the-top anime stuff in a nearly grimderp world.
Hold on, did she make Cadence an alicorn or did she make Cadence?
Oh yeah, things are getting good.
thanks for the update!!
Wow. Darkmagic is not inherently evil but the use of it causes coruptio. In weilder and target creating disbalence with wite magic creation a balance and new base fourm for the charicters.
4371644
In regards to what type Cadance was before becoming an alicorn, I must reference Note #2 up in the description. Hive Alive runs only off canon from the show up through season two and does not include canon from any material outside of the show (i.e. comics, previous generations, interview material, etc). I try to limit inclusion of canon in all my work in this manner because it's inevitable that something somewhere will at some point in time cause a contradiction. Heck, keeping stuff straight just within a single story can be hectic. Just ask anyone that's had to keep the Star Wars canon in order. I pity them.
4374710
Ah. Gotcha.
So what's the problem? Judging by Twi and Cady, stuff that gets made with dark magic is not inherently corrupted.
Honestly, this entire chapter I was just wondering why Celestia just can't spit out the truth, that she was being so evasive over nothing...
4375348 Sometimes it's not the products of magic that make it dark, but the reagents or processes. If, for example, the energy used to transform Cadence was channeled through blood sacrifice or charged from the pain of the eternally damned, well... I'd still call it dark magic.
If I am getting it right, Celestia is thinking that magic itself is controlling a few things. As for the dark magic, it is dark because of it being a corrupting influence.
What will tip the scales for me will be did Cadence agree or was this forced onto her.
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4375348
Damn same avatar but mine is sharper
I just found this story yesterday, and now I'm all caught up on it, and I've really enjoyed it.
This has probably been brought up before and I'm sure it will be addressed in the story at some point, but my biggest question so far is why hasn't Spike been brought into the hivemind yet? He's slept in the magic circle thing with Twi & Co. two of the three times they've been pulled into the hivemind. So is it just not configured to work with dragons right now or something?
4401169
Ah, so you noticed. Perhaps something will happen in regards to that in a future chapter...something potentially significant...
Cool story so far, cadence being created doesn't really throw me off that much though, since twilight was made the same way.
4372419
Artificial Alicornification.
OKAY I'm goona say it right now. CELESTIA DID NOT TRANSFORM TWILIGHT, SHE DID IT TO HERSELF! THE MAGIC CAME FROM TWILIGHT'S BODY NOT CELESTIA! At most Celestia is responsible to clearing the way for Twilight to transform seeing the potential there. but ultimately it was Twilight who made the new magic and thus accend.
5472125 agreed. That is also my assumption/headcanon in my own stories (alicornundrum, the great alicorn hunt) if for no other reason than the ethical implications of Celestia having the key to eternal youth and not sharing it....
i'm sorry you brain is not available right now please try again later when no information needs to be processed.
5472125 yes maby in cannon but this is a diffrent AU so all bets are off also this neither this story or its prequel state how twilight got turned into an alicorn it might not have been starswirls book this time celestia could have summoned twilight and then changed her
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Ok. First things first. The whole "Make new magic = Aliconhood" is BS. Canon proves that. Cadance didn't invent love magic / relationship ability. She had a resistance to love magic. That was all. Flurry Heart was born; Solar and Lunar Magic existed before Luna and Celestia were a thing. And they took up the mantle of raiser of the Sun and Moon after the forming of Equestria.
Sunset Shimmer is a weird one; she's had horn and wings before; alicorn-human wings (both made of light, and once made of fire). But the movies treat her being an Alicorn as a hit or miss / maybe thing. But Sci-Twi became an Alicorn by making Tirek-mimicing radar and taking in a huge dose of Equestrian Magic. All of that debunks new magic = alicorn. Then you have the fact that all the new magics made in the past. If such a thing made new alicorns there would be hundreds or thousands. Not only 5 in all of Equestria's history.
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That said. Celestia in this fic never said she made Twilight. Rather that her life has been altered. But she did use said magics on Cadance. And a case can be made to say that The Elements of Harmony were what transformed Twilight, using Star Swirl's Destiny Spell. Or that the entire thing was set up by Celestia in a huge smoke and mirrors deal to get Twilight to that one plane she was in to kick start the process.
Huh, heavy.
So, Celestia elected changelings from Equestria originally...
You're 'acquisition' of wings wasnotnatural
Your.
Wow. Too many things get unveiled all at once. It's crazy.