The Shortcut

Twilight blinked in confusion at the slowly spinning orb of light in front of her. She had not cast a spell to summon it, nor had she sensed an intervention in the magical plane close by. A few seconds ago, she had been staring out of the window, trying to order her thoughts for the project she was working on. Had she been so lost in them that she had missed its arrival altogether? Or had it only appeared this very second? But how could it be that she wasn't able to sense a magical disturbance such as this?

Squinting, she leaned herself closer towards the apparition. It did not stick to the wall behind it, like it would had it been cast from an external source. Propping herself up on her desk, she carefully reached a hoof out behind the sphere. The bulb remained unchanged, hovering silently up and down, independently, just anchored onto the air.

And then something poked at the edge of her mind.

Jerking backwards, Twilight threw the orb a frightened glance. She knew this feeling: the ability to communicate without words was a known branch in magic, albeit a difficult one which few unicorns mastered, not including herself.

For a moment, she found herself doubting her senses. Pivoting around on the spot, she examined the upper level of her tree home in as much detail as possible. She was, beyond a doubt, awake, as her mind would never be able to fill a dream which this level of detail, adding to the fact that she wouldn't be able to formulate thoughts unhinderedly if she were asleep. Contemplating this fact, Twilight slowly drove her tongue over her lips. Then, deciding to try out the easiest route, she spoke up.

“What are you?”

She had expected the sphere to answer with an emotion at best or nothing at worst, but instead, a crystal clear voice appeared in her head. It sounded strange, unfamiliar, and hard to categorize. The only thing that she could safely say about it was that it appeared to be female.

“I am the effect of a spell cast long ago. I am here to serve you a gift.”

“What kind of a gift?”

“I will grant you a wish.”

“How...” Twilight frowned. A wish? “Who cast you? How does she supply you with energy? Am I talking to the creator or a facet of the spell?”

“My creator is gone. I am an intelligence designed for the purpose of delivering the gift, and I have little information beyond that.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Twilight forced herself to stay calm. At the very least, she didn’t seem to be in danger. The most logical course of action now was to study the phenomenon as best as she could.

One thing she knew already was that it wasn’t simply a hoax. Covering up magical energy was so unfathomably difficult that the mere fact that the spell had gone unnoticed to her meant one of two things: either her understanding of magic was fundamentally flawed, or its creator had been more powerful than any mortal creature in Equestria today.

And if the spell truly sustained itself years after its creator had passed, then that would probably put him or her above the princess, too.

“I can request anything?”

“No.”

“What are the limitations?”

The sphere gave an answer, sending Twilight’s mind wandering, now fully focused on the subject matter.

“Alright...” she said after a while. “What if I wished for... say... canines to adapt the values of harmony the same way ponies do?”

“Declined.” The sphere gave a reason, and Twilight sighed. This certainly changed things. As if it wasn’t bad enough that, in every story where somepony was granted a wish (most of them being fairy tales) the protagonist would always choose something purely for himself. Now, it looked as though she'd be forced to do the same.

“Suppose I really wanted this for some reason,” she said next. “Could I wish for Rarity to discover a passion for singing, so strong that she gives up her current career?”

The answer came as a surprise. So it was possible to mess with other ponies’ ambitions. This was a frightening thought, opening doors which might have been better off closed.

And yet...

Twilight bit her lip, lowering her gaze to the floor. It was a silly thought, a selfish thought...

... but one which she had all the same.

“What if I wish for Fluttershy to fall in love with me?”

The sphere answered, and Twilight closed her eyes. For a moment, she imagined herself doing it. Not telling a word to anypony, just making the wish. Secret, silent, but with wonderful consequences...

Alas, it was a short lived dream. She would not take this wish, and she wouldn’t give into similar temptations either... indeed, it seemed wise to formulate this as golden rule for what would likely be her new project. She would not plant feelings... no, that wasn't the right way to phrase it. She would not alter... no, that wasn't enough. She would not change any of her friends' lives without asking for permission first – yes, that sounded promising.

Now that the door was locked, a sudden weight was taken off her breast, almost as if a part of her had been afraid of herself, afraid that she might not have been able to resist the temptation.

And yet...

“What if I... want myself to change in a way that would make Fluttershy love me... without changing anything about her?”

This time, the answer send a chill down her spine. This was a dangerous road to go down... if she really was going to change parts of herself in order to appeal to Fluttershy, then it had to be minor parts. The core of her personality was precious to her, and it had to stay intact.

Moving back to her seat, Twilight gave the orb a skeptical glance, but it floated backwards as soon as she got closer. Sitting back down, she called upon her magic, archiving her current project and floating a pile of empty parchment out a nearby shelf.

'I won't change the lives of my friends without asking them first' she wrote on the top of the topmost page. Rereading this phrase several times, she tested it for any potential loopholes. When she found none, she called upon her magic to erase the sentence, only to rewrite and underline it meticulously.

So far so good. Now - before approaching the decision itself, the logical course of action would be be to establish the underlying mechanics in as much detail as possible. Tonguing the insides of her mouth in thought, Twilight gradually lowered the quill, turning back towards the sphere.

“Say...”

An hour later, two pieces of paper lay on Twilight's desk. The first one was structurally perfect, written in her nicest looking font, and with not so much as a hint of a spelling or formatting error. It read:

I won't change the lives of my friends without asking them first.

Mechanics:
1. The sphere I communicate with is not alive, and neither is any asset of the spell.
2. The sphere won't show itself to others.
3. The wish must fulfill a 'personal desire'. This just seems to mean anything I really want for myself, regardless of whether or not I’ve thought of it before.
4. It cannot alter the aging process of ponies.
5. It must be a single wish. This means nothing which allows me to make further wishes, and not several wishes packed into one. I also cannot ask for information to base my wish on.
6. It can't be too general, e.g. I can't make myself as athletic as Applejack, just as good in one specific skill, like running.
7. Wishing something for somepony else is possible, but only if I want it enough myself for it to qualify as a 'personal desire'.
8. There is a fixed amount of energy available for the spell. The sphere eats on that energy while I decide, so the time I take for my decision decreases the energy left for the spell proportionally. The full amount equates to roughly 40 months, so this is unlikely to matter. Talking to the sphere will take up additional energy at a negligible rate.

8.1. I won't benefit from the energy it has left after fulfilling my wish, but somepony else might. I didn't get a clear answer on this.

8.2. Raising somepony's intelligence takes up huge amounts of energy, so much that it's unlikely to be worth it.

8.3. Teaching somepony a specific skill usually doesn’t take much, but there seem to be exceptions.
9. Whether or not a wish is feasible can change if my desires change.

The second one was written much more hastily, and at several parts words were crossed out rather than being properly eradicated.

Thoughts:
What do I do? I want Fluttershy. Celestia help me, I want her so much. ~~The sphere said I was chosen because I am a good pony. Doesn't this mean I deserve to follow my heart? This is stupid, I don't believe in that kind of ethic.~~ I hope it's true. It would help me to feel more confident that I'll make the right decision this time.

I'm kind of scared to tell the others about this. Or the princess. But I'll have to... I certainly won’t pretend like nothing has happened. ~~I just hope they'll be okay with it.~~ I know they'll accept it; they're my friends.

I really shouldn’t worry as much. I mean, all of this can only benefit me, right? I think I’m scared of making the wrong choice... but I won't do that. I have plenty of time. I'm not sure why I'm writing this down... I think I need to tell it to someone, so this is like a diary. ~~Who knows when I'll muster up the courage to talk to the others. It may take weeks.~~

I'll talk to my friends tomorrow.