Choice

by IMN

The Choice That Started It All. *

Princess Celestia had to make a choice, and soon.

After one of the most dangerous rescue operations in pony history she finally had them. The soul of her departed friend now laid quietly in a magic jar, if opened, she would haunt the opener for all eternity, and an egg.

Now her choices weren't many, especially because of the amount of creatures who wanted exactly those two artifacts.

There was the Dragon Arch-mage, the one whom the soul and the egg were originally stolen from. He was not aware that they came into her possession, for now, and would probably be grateful if they were returned to him. But the Tyrant of the Dragon Empire was not someone with whom a proper negotiation can be done.

She could give them to the dragon rebels, the ones who originally stole from the Arch-mage. Had it not for the disruption of the peace they caused in Equestria, the egg would probably still be in their possession.

Or she could do what the letter that came with the egg says:

“Need to find a host soon, Star can’t be dead yet, she still has her hatchling to take care of. I know the risks of reincarnating the Mage of the West, but I owe it to her, I owe it to them not to let their memories fade. You were friends with the Mage of the East, Torch. I don’t need to remind you of the debt you owe to him as well. I don’t know what you do but we need to have their kid hatched and soon. Our entire civilization depends on it.”

Star, the Mage of the West, her husband Fall, the Mage of the East, and Dark the Arch-mage of the dragons.

Now there was a quagmire that no one wants to delve into. Despite Princess Celestia once calling the two mages her oldest friends, she never offered her help when they went to war against the Arch-mage, or more precisely, she could not. It was suicidal going against Dark, seeker of the end times. No one expected them to survive.

And they didn’t.

She was now a spirit in a jar and there has been no trace of the Mage of the East for the past fifty years.

Princess Celestia considered her options carefully.

She had little time, for what was worth. She had till the next noon before the Arch-mage’s spell could locate the egg. If he found that she had both the egg and the soul, Equestria would be in deep trouble. But if he only found the egg, then there was a chance she could smuggle the soul somehow, somewhere without him noticing.

She read the letter again and mused her options in the silence of the throne room. The moon hanging low on the horizon. “Oh Luna, what would you have done in my place?” She lamented to the mare in the moon. Her silhouette ever so present looking from above and afar on the ponies below.

She thought about all that she lost and in that moment, she found her resolve.

“I have lost too many,” She claimed. She turned her back from the window and went toward the door.

She lit her horn, then with a strong pull, she opened the jar. But nothing happened.

So she waited.

And waited…

And waited…

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” She noted.

“I’ll say,” Came the reply from thin air.

Celestia jumped at the voice, she turned left, and then right, but saw no one. “Star?” She yelled, “Is that you?”

“Seriously, Celestia, could you not have pulled so hard?” Star noted, “And here I thought ponies were the less violent of us two.”

“Very funny Star,” Celestia said grimly, “Would you please show yourself? I’d rather not feel like I’m talking to myself.”

Celestia was unsure from where the apparition would present itself, but a cold tingling on her neck was enough of an indication.

A purple light emanated from behind her and soon after a shape was getting formed. “Better?” Star asked nonchalantly, as if ghosts are a natural things to talk to.

To Celestia, her friend looked exactly like how she was alive; gorgeous purple scales lined perfectly her body, a light lavender crown with curved edges adorned from her head to her tail, and deep purple eyes lazily laid upon Celestia.

The only difference would be the wounds that are not bleeding. And there are a lot of them.

“You have definitely seen better days,” Celestia replied jokingly.

“Yes, like when I was alive,” Star replied mockingly, “What do you want Celestia? I’m sure you didn’t release me on a whim.”

“I…” Celestia’s thoughts ran rampant, why did she opened the jar in the first place? Was it because she was talking to her sister? “…was lonely,” she concluded with an honest thought.

Star stared flabbergasted at the princess. “And here I thought ponies were the wiser of the species.” Star replied cynically, “You do realize that I have to haunt you now, right?”

“I was aware of the implications, yes.” Celestia stood in front of the dragoness with a smile. “I was hoping that by releasing your soul, you can pass on and meet with Fall on the other side.”

Star snorted, trying her hardest to suppress. But Celestia wasn’t amused, her scowl would drill holes in the apparition. “My husband isn’t dead,” Star noted, “If he is, I would have known.”

“Considering that he is the most recognizable dragon of his generation, there has been no trace of him for fifty years.” Celestia pointed out, “I have not heard even a rumor of an activity from him, and I have never stopped looking.”

Star waved her claw in dismissal. “Then allow me to rephrase that, Fall can’t be killed. Though, I agree, something must be keeping him from returning.” Celestia raised an eyebrow at that; she knew Fall can escape seemingly inescapable situations, but there is a limit to how much one can stretch that. She was about to point that out when Star gave her a grave look, “Besides, I still have a pretty good reason why I shouldn’t leave.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

Celestia watched in silence as the soul of her friend walked slowly toward the unhatched egg. “My little Spike has yet to hatch.” There was warmth in Star’s eyes. Celestia could feel a mother’s heart hurting in her.

“How long have you had him?” Celestia asked.

“It takes fifty years for a dragoness to lay her egg, and a decade if both father and mother are incubating it.” Star chocked a little, it was clear to Celestia that her tears have long since dried. “I barely incubated him a year before I got killed, and that was ten years ago.”

“Wouldn’t he had petrified by then?”

“Goodness No. However, it will take longer for him to hatch,” Star mused, “A century perhaps? I had never heard of an instance where an egg was left without incubation for so long. I guess mine is going to be the first.”

“If you’d like, I can incubate him for you,” Celestia offered.

Star chuckled, only this time, Celestia didn’t feel any jeer from it. “Thank you, Celestia, you are too kind. But a dragon hatchling only responds to his parents’ flames. It is believed that our soul and that of our hatchlings are intertwined, and that only by our flames that we can breathe the fire in theirs.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“If you have freed me, Celestia, then you must wish something of me first, right?”

Taken aback by Star’s willingness to bargain her soul away, Celestia soon realized that this is the dragon way. “I called you my friend once, Star, and I dislike losing friends. I am willing to offer your soul a boon, and I will grant your hatchling a safe place to develop until he is a grown dragon. In exchange, I will call upon you to help me save Equestria in the future.”

Star stared at Celestia for a moment. “I have read in the books you gave me that you have a sister that hates you.” Celestia nodded. “So, in reality, You are asking for my help to prepare for Nightmare moon’s return some twenty years from now. Aren't you?”

“That is exactly what I was planning,” Celestia extended her hoof, “Do we have a deal?”

Star thought for a moment, “I have a request, though it’s not one to take lightly.”

Celestia thought for a moment, then lowered her hoof, “I’m listening.”

---

Celestia walked in the corridors of Canterlot’s hospital. The smell of anesthesia numbed her senses causing a slight interference with her cloaking spell. But she made her way to the maternity ward unseen. She stopped in front of a recently delivered female unicorn foal that was kept in an advanced ventilator linking her to every machine in the book. “Is this what you are looking for?” She whispered.

Star did not materialize when she replied with a hushed voice, “Yes, she feels perfect.”

A nurse was passing by, doing checks on her clipboard. Unbeknownst to her that Princess Celestia had snuck into the hospital without anyone noticing.

Celestia removed her cloak and stood in front of the nurse, “Excuse me,” she asked.

“It’s late.” Her nose in her file, the nurse said without looking, “Visiting hours are way over, so please leave.”

Irked by this lack of respect, Celestia stood taller. “If you ever looked from your folder, you will see that I am not here for a visit.”

With a sigh, the nurse closed the file, “Look, it’s the middle of the night, if you think… sweet Celestia!”

“Please, remain calm, it’s as you said the middle of the night.” Celestia hushed, “I am here on important business and would like some information.”

“Yes, your highness!” the nurse stuttered, “Anything you say, your highness.”

“I won’t, now please focus.” Celestia lowered herself and asked calmly, “Do you see that newborn over there, in the ventilator? Can you tell me what’s wrong with her?”

“She’s, uh, she’s… number six!” The nurse sifted through the files until she found the one belonging to her. “Her parents have yet to name her, you see. There were several complications before her birth due to the mother getting ill. We had to do a premature C-section to save the mother.”
Concern grew in Celestia. “What are their chances?” She asked.

“The mother will make it,” The nurse said with optimism, but no sooner did the words leave her mouth her ears dropped, and she looked at the baby. “As for the foal, the doctors don’t believe she’ll survive tonight.”

“Thank you, you may return to your work.” Celestia dismissed the nurse who bowed and was about to run when Celestia stopped her with her wing. “Oh, and please don’t tell anyone that we are here.”

“Alright,” The nurse nodded fervently before scampering.

Celestia waited until the nurse is out of sight. She turned back toward the foal and whispered to Star, “So you wish to reincarnate as this foal?”

“Not reincarnate, merge.” Star corrected, “I will heal whatever illness she has and then merge with her spirit.”

“But Star, Soul merging is a dangerous magic that was never done successfully before.” Celestia voiced her concern, “and besides, what do you hope to gain from doing such a thing?”

“With regards to the risks of Soul merging, I think in this case there are minute.” Star explained, “I will be using my memories to fuel the healing spell. So I will most likely lose my ‘self’ in the process. That way, no trace of the current ‘me’ will awaken from this merging. And with her being a newborn who have yet to experience even her first breath, she is far less likely to refuse me from merging with her. Yet, she will have my soul for all intended purposes so she will most likely develop my character as well.”

Celestia mused for a moment, “So basically, she’ll be an antisocial workaholic who keeps her nose in the books all day.” A mocking smile appeared on the princess lips, something that went completely unnoticed by Star.

“Exactly,” She replied, much to the princess’s amusement. “As for the benefits; we’ll be ready to face Nightmare Moon as adults far better than just me, alone, as a ghost, against an alicorn.”

Celestia could see the logic in her train of thoughts, but there is one thing that kept bugging her, “What about Spike?”

“I will leave him to my darling husband,” Star flashed a silly grin at Celestia who had doubt written all over her face. Star chuckled at Celestia’s expression. “No need to be so defensive, Celestia. I already told you, our souls are intertwined.” Star stared at the wall as if she was looking at something far away in the distance. “We’ll meet again someday, and we’ll be a family then. You’ll see.”

Star smiled at the princess. Celestia have seen many smiles like that before; honest smiles that are brim with hope. She could never say no to that smile. “If you believe this is for the best, then I will believe it as well.”

With a final head-shake, Star turned to Celestia, “See you soon, Princess.” She phased through toward the foal. “Here goes nothing,” She said before her eyes starting glowing purple. She touched the foal’s horn and forehead with two of her front-fingers, and started chanting in an ancient tongue. Her form started to fade as the foal absorbed the dragoness' ether. Until finally, the pair of glowing eyes completely disappeared.

Celestia waited in silence. Her heart heavy as she lamented on the final hours of her friend. After a few moments she decided to return to the castle. She activated her cloaking spell and turned her back to the foal, making her way toward the exit. Suddenly, a loud cry came from the chamber.

No sooner had the cry came, another nurse appeared. “Which of them is crying at this hour?” She complained to no one in particular.

But the moment she saw who was crying, she dropped everything and rushed to the nearest phone. “Hello, Doctor! It's number six! She’s Crying!”

With a blink of an eye, the once deserted hallway became crowded with all sort of ponies. The doctors were amazed by the miracle that caused the infant to heal overnight. The family were thankful to Celestia and to whomever else was out there for healing their daughter. One foal was unable to hold his excitement, he kept jumping up and down in celebration of his new sister’s recovery.

Celestia leaned closer as the family huddled together and chose a name for the newborn. She giggled at the reason they chose her name. She turned toward the baby and with a final farewell she said, “I will see you soon, Twilight Sparkle.”

Author's Note:

A little story I came up with, I don't really have the time to develop it into an actual story, so I hope you enjoy this one shot.

Comments

[Bojack H]

Daaaw

[IMN]

7380064

Thank you, I was hoping for such reaction.

[CaioCoia]

Awesome, before the begin. I liked the interaction of the characters! Good job.

[ASGeek2012]

This was a neat little story. I don't think it needs a "tragedy" tag, especially since it effectively had a happy ending. Maybe "drama" is more appropriate. In either case, I liked it.

[IMN]

7380081

Thank you for pointing it out.

[IMN]

7380438

First of all, I'm glad you enjoyed my story.

Regarding your criticism,

This is the first time anyone pointed the problem with the tone in my writing, so I'll be keeping it in mind for future work.

Unfortunately, I am not going to write a future chapter with a flashback in this story simply because I need to focus on my other works. Though, in hindsight, including it in this one might have been a good idea if only I thought of it before posting the story.

Thank you for taking your time to point out the flaws in my story, I highly appreciate it.

[Fury of the Tempest]

I have to agree with StrangeReasoning here. This is more world-building that character piece. Without getting to know Star and Fall before hand, without getting to know this Dragon Arch-Mage that even Celestia herself cannot go against. There is little emotional weight behind everything here, and the timing off it is odd... after all, you would of expected that someone like Dark Seeker of the End Times would of come up way, way sooner than it has in the show...

Good idea, but the execution needs more work.

[IMN]

7383149

Then, if I may be so bold to ask, how much emotional stake should I add in this story?

Bearing in mind that this is to remain a oneshot. What would you suggest I do in order to fix that particular problem?

[Fury of the Tempest]

7383242
Not have it as a one-shot.

[IMN]

7383442

I would love to, but I don't have time to juggle three stories at the same time, maybe in the future. Just not now.

[Fury of the Tempest]

7383453
Probably for the best.