Magical Mystery What If

by ninevehorion

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike
Length: 1520

Twilight has an unexpected answer for her mentor the night she becomes an alicorn.

Twilight has just ascended and become Equestria's newest alicorn. Her friends are in awe, and Twilight herself is in shock.

So when Princess Celestia arrives, she isn't sure of what to say to her mentor. But she is sure of one thing, whether Celestia is prepared for it or not.

Celestia's response is not what Twilight ever expected to hear.

Published 2020-11-19 00:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-11-19 00:40:00 UTC

An Unexpected Response

Twilight's head was spinning from all that had happened to her that day. First, she switched her friends' cutie marks, fixed that, rewritten a spell by Starswirl the Bearded, gotten a rather nice song by Princess Celestia about how it was time for her destiny to begin.

And now she was an alicorn, apparently. What the friggety?

Her friends were taken it rather well, all things considered. Rainbow had already declared Twilight her "New flying buddy!" Twilight wasn't sure how to respond to that, even if her wings were starting to feel more and more like a natural part of her. Maybe this was normal?

Pinkie had just declared an "Alicorn party!" But one look around the group showed that none of the girls or Spike were really up for a party. Not after all that had happened today.

Fluttershy summed it best, it seemed. "Wow... You look just like a princess!"

"That she does, Fluttershy. But let us ask Twilight herself before we start handing out titles," Princess Celestia said as she calmly flew down to join them. Her pride was evident as she looked at Twilight with a motherly smile.

Twilight blushed under the gaze, but her mentor's statement finally connected to her brain. "What do you mean?"

Celestia walked forward and placed a hoof on her student's shoulder. "You are now an alicorn, and all of what that means is now a part of you. That cannot be taken away, for no magic exists that can undo what you have become."

Twilight nodded, a part of her unsurprised to hear this. But that didn't really answer all of her questions. "And what about me being a princess?" She pointed at one of her wings. "Doesn't this make me one?"

Celestia shook her head. "The title of princess is earned, Twilight. Not because of what you are." She leaned down till she and Twilight were eye to eye, her smile growing. "Since you first came to Ponyville, you've displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and of course, the leadership of a true of a true princess."

Twilight blushed under the praise she was getting. She really couldn't argue with all of those points. "But what if I don't want to be a princess?"

Her friends gasped in shock, Spike quick to catch Rarity as she fainted at the very idea. Princess Celestia though only chuckled. "And that, my Faithful Student, is what I had hoped you might say."

Twilight blinked in shock, taken aback by what her mentor had just said. "Wait, really?"

Celestia nodded. "Indeed. Do you want to be a princess, Twilight?"

Twilight thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. "No. At least. Not right now. I don't know what I want to do with my life. This is just all so sudden. I'm not ready for it."

Celestia giggled as she stood straighter. "Very few who were in your same position have ever been ready, Twilight. I myself was not ready. Nor was Luna, or Cadance."

"But you've ruled Equestria so well. You never make mistakes," Spike said, as he rushed to Twilight's side, as did the rest of the girls.

Celestia shook her head sadly. "I have made many mistakes, Spike. My biggest cost me, my sister, for a thousand years. Despite what some ponies think, I am not omnipotent or omniscient. Nopony is."

"Nopony's perfect. Just never thought I'd hear you say that princess," Applejack replied, while Rarity shot her a scathing glare at daring to talk to the princess like that.

Celestia didn't mind though, as she chuckled. "Indeed, Applejack. I will not make the same mistake here. If Twilight does not wish to be a princess. Then I will not force her to be."

Twilight though was still worried. "But. You said it was time to fulfill my destiny. You had a song and everything!"

Celestia gave her a wink. "I never said what your destiny was, now did I?"

Twilight went to argue that, but then stopped as she thought about it, and looked rather sheepish. "Good point."

Celestia giggled. "That you do not want the title of princess speaks far more than giving it to you ever would, Twilight. If you ever change your mind, you have more than earned it."

Rainbow though still had a question. "So now what, then?"

Celestia looked toward Canterlot. "I must return to Canterlot soon. Luna will want to know what has happened. And I would find a way to make sure that Starswirl's spell is hidden away so that nopony but you, Twilight, can ever get to it."

She leaned down and whispered in Twilight's ear. "And if it's all the same to you, one new alicorn in Equestria is enough, thank you very much. We don't need anymore. Especially Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash."

Twilight giggled. That was a horrifying thought. Anypony who honestly thought making all of her friend's alicorns was a good idea was an idiot. Fluttershy though might have been the safest. But that was something to think about later. "Agreed. But, does this mean I'm no longer your student, Princess Celestia?"

Celestia pulled Twilight into a hug, one Twilight was more than happy to return. "You will always be my student Twilight. That bond never truly goes away. No matter what you decide to do from here on. Just like every student before you. Even when they stopped being my Personal Student, that bond never truly went away."

Twilight sighed in relief, another weight off of her shoulders. "I'm not sure what I want to with my life. But I've got some ideas." She looked back at her wings, suddenly remembering something. "Um. Is there a book on what it means to be an alicorn? I don't know how to use any of this."

Celestia chuckled as she released the hug. "Unfortunately, there is no guide on how to be an alicorn. But there are several things that I can say that will help you. You should be able to feel your magic now. Try it out."

Twilight didn't know what her mentor meant, but closed her eyes and searched for her magic. To her shock, she found that her mana reserves had skyrocketed to a level she had never expected.

Celestia nodded, as she saw Twilight tense. "Your unicorn magic has increased a hundredfold. But there is more. You are now one-third unicorn, one-third Pegasus, and one third earth pony. You now have all the abilities of all three tribes." She smiled at Twilight's friends. "I'm sure your friends would be more than happy to help you learn all about them."

Rainbow threw a hoof around Twilight's shoulder and smirked. "Twilight is my new flying buddy. I'm more than happy to teach all of that."

"And I'm more than happy to show her the ropes," Applejack added, giving Twilight a playful shove.

Twilight rolled her eyes at the two of them. "You girls are the best."

Fluttershy though was inspecting Twilight's wings. "Um. I'm more than happy to help you learn wing maintenance, Twilight. If you don't mind that is?"

Twilight shook her head and smiled. "Please, Fluttershy. I know you can do it."

Fluttershy blushed at the praise, but Spike was confused as he looked around. "What happened to Rarity and Pinkie?"

"Twilight's wardrobe must be updated darlings! I shall get started on it at once!" Rarity's voice boomed from inside the Golden Oaks Library. "And I believe I saw Pinkie rush off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. She did say something about an Alicorn Party after all."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "A party does sound nice though."

The girls chuckled at that. "Are you sure you won't stay, Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy asked.

Princess Celestia shook her head. "I really must return to Canterlot. A party does sound like a fine idea, however. And Twilight," she said, looking at her pupil once more. "There is a Princess Summit in several weeks. While you may not have the title, you are more than welcome to attend. And I doubt Princess Cadance and your brother wouldn't mind seeing you all again."

Twilight smiled, relaxing for the first time tonight it seemed. "It does sound like a good idea. Maybe not the summit. But we don't see each other as much as we should. I probably will come up for that, Princess Celestia."

Celestia nodded, before taking flight and leaving in the direction of Canterlot.

"And besides," Twilight said as the group shared a hug. "What's the worst that can happen?"

Author's Note

Alright, I admit that this was inspired by What Is Destiny against Desire by SpectralFury. And a few other stories that I forgot the names for.

So now, Twilight isn't a princess. She is still an alicorn of course because that cannot be taken back (and she's more than earned it and the title of Princess of Equestria).

This only derails only the Rainbow Falls Trader's Exchange episode in Season 4. Equestria Girls still happens, as does most of the rest of the episodes.