Sunny gaped. She couldn’t even begin to form coherent thoughts. “Wait. Grogar said that all the creatures got magic in the early days of the world. If you gave it to them…” She rubbed her temples. “Wait, how old are you?”

The pony laughed. “Older than any can imagine, and yet younger than the new-born leaf. I am as old as time and as young as the future.”

“That… literally makes no sense. Okay. Next question. Who are you?”

The strange pony grew silent at that, and her gaze became distant as she stared off at some far-off past that only she could see. “I am many things, Sunny Starscout,” she said softly. “I am everything I am and everything I am not. I am who I am. The ancient ponies gave me a name, but it has not been uttered for many years.” She closed her eyes. “I am Trichia, spirit of magic. I gave my abilities to the first creatures because of their struggles in a rough, cruel, emerging world. I wished to aid them. I had no idea… I had no idea that it would transform so many things that were once fair and good into such deep shadows.”

Sunny lowered her head. “So it’s really true. An earth pony stole magic from other creatures, and that’s how alicorns are made.”

“No, Sunny Starscout. That is how one alicorn was made. And another. But it is not how all true alicorns are made.” She smiled fondly at Sunny. “True alicorns are given their magic. They do not steal it. Others grant it to them out of gratitude and friendship. The first ones were created because they had some skill with the natural elements of the world. Ponies wanted them to control the unpredictable chaos so that their society could be strengthened. A rather gifted unicorn sought to train them. He built Skyros beyond the borders of the world as a place to teach the alicorns about their powers, among other things. As time went on and the discord was managed, alicorns were not needed as much. They either laid down their magic and passed on or disappeared from the knowledge of all. They became fewer and rarer, because suddenly alicorns were governors over forces beyond any science or written knowledge: friendship, hope, grace, mercy, and love.”

“So… if my magic comes from you…” Sunny frowned. “Am I even a real alicorn?”

“You are perhaps the most real alicorn that has ever lived.” Trichia sighed. “Because you were able to surrender your power, you were granted greater power. I knew that Grogar would return soon, and I needed to both hide and end our centuries-long feud. It was long overdue. I chose you, Sunny, to be the bearer of my power. But now that the fight is over… I can no longer dwell in Equestria as I have been. I must return to where I belong. And that means…”

“That means that all my magic goes with you.” Sunny’s voice was suddenly husky. She swallowed a lump in her throat, wondering why her eyes were stinging. “And I’ll just be a normal earth pony again.”

Trichia laughed. “You have never been normal, Sunny Starscout. I chose you for that reason. In the face of the darkest nights, you still managed to find hope and faith and cling to them. If the sun would never rise again, then you would be the sun, and you would push the darkness back on your own.” She hesitated. “There is… another option.”

Something about the way that she said it made Sunny’s heart sink. She wasn’t quite sure she wanted to know what the second option was. But… “What is it?”

Trichia looked at her sorrowfully. Then she turned and walked away, gesturing for Sunny to follow her. After they had walked for a little way, they stopped, and Trichia whispered something in a language that Sunny had never heard before. But the very sound of it warmed her bones and made her feel light and alive in a way she had never felt before. Renewed energy coursed through her veins, and she felt like she was a little foal again.

The stars began to shine brighter around them. The air rippled and shimmered, like it was made of fabric, or water. Then it pulled back and revealed a vision more beautiful than Sunny could have ever imagined.

If Skyros was stunning, then the city that she saw before her denied any explanation. She doubted that there were any words in any language that had ever or would ever exist to properly explain what she was seeing right then.

The starry night sky turned to a smooth, glassy sea that lapped against the shores of a massive island that stretched far beyond the eye could see. The land was perfect in all ways, with grass that was a brighter green than was possible; trees that dropped gold and silver leaves, with branches laden with small glowing orbs that sparkled and glowed with their own inner light; rippling brooks that leaped and dashed through the land before they merged with the glittering sea and ran out to beyond the horizon. A path made of a glittering dust, lined with pure white stones that shone with glossy rainbows, wove its way through the gentle hills, until it came to the massive silver gates that stood wide open and glimmered so brightly that one almost had to look away.

And beyond the gates was a shining city of impossible size and unimaginable beauty and grace. Palaces and mansions were lined along the streets. The columns and pillars connected with arches stretched over the streets, with windows and balconies and such few walls that it felt like one was walking through air. The light poured from everything; there were no shadows, no dark places, nothing was hidden from its glory. Fountains and waterfalls and statues and sculptures stood in every square and on every corner. In the center of the city was a massive mountain, with more buildings built into its side, and the top so far up into the sky that it was hidden behind clouds.

Flying in and around the city were shimmering glowing forms just like Trichia, as well as some that looked like normal ponies and creatures, though they were filled with a new, abundant youth, and shimmered and shone with their own light, like they were no longer bound to the physical laws of the world but could display their own power in any way that seemed fit to them.

There wasn’t any place in the world that Sunny wished she could be in more than that place at that moment. She started to take a step forward, but Trichia held out a hoof to stop her. Sunny looked up at her, startled, and saw that her face was troubled and sad, with a glowing substance leaking out of her eyes that must have been tears.

“This is your choice, Sunny Starscout. This city is where the great powers of all of existence reside. It is unheard of for one of the mortal folk to be brought hither and be given this chance. Understand this, no mortal who re-enters the City of Glory can leave again. They are bound here. It is paradise. There is no sorrow or pain or unhappiness in this land, Sunny Starscout. If you wish, you may join them now. You would be counted among one of the greats, and you would never again know grief. But you could never again return to the lands of the living. Here, you would be given great power, but you would only ever be able to watch from afar.”

Sunny was quiet for a moment. “You… you want me to… to live here? With you?”

Trichia bowed her head. “It is the wish of many others as well. You have done great things, Sunny Starscout, and we wish them honored. But power always comes at a terrible price.”

“I… I would never be able to see my friends again?”

“Nor any who live in the mortal world. This is your choice. To be here, among the greatest and most powerful beings in the universe - to be counted among them - to be given magic and might beyond your wildest dreams - but forsake the realm of your birth. Or to return to the living lands. You would have no magic. Even the magic given to other earth ponies you would no longer have. You must understand, Sunny, that it would make you an outcast. You alone among all the creatures of the world would have no magic-”

“But there are other creatures who don’t have magic, right?” Sunny interrupted, her mind frantic and a bit numb. “I mean… most of the other creatures don’t have magic. It was stolen from them long ago. Right?”

“Yes. But it has been returned.” Trichia gave Sunny a proud smile. “Just as you awoke the magic that long slumbered and returned it to the earth ponies, you have also reawakened the rest of all magic. In the coming age, all creatures shall rediscover their powers and master them. The world shall be more as it should have been for these long years.” Her expression turned grave again. “You may either watch from a great distance or be forever separated from them.”

Sunny was silent. “If I stay here with you… I’ll never see my friends again. But if I go back… I won’t have any magic.” She turned to look behind her, at the sparkling starry night sky. Somewhere out there, her friends were in Skyros, or perhaps in Equestria, wondering where she was. But if she had no magic… it would be so hard. She remembered the fierce desire she had as a little foal: to see magic, to experience magic, to have some of her own. Then she got her own magic, and it was great and powerful and she was able to help so many ponies and other creatures with it. If she returned, powerless, then she would be unable to stop new foes who came. She would be unable to protect her friends. She would be unable to defend Equestria altogether. It would be all up to her friends… would they even still be her friends? Would they even still want her without all of her magic?

“I wish this choice did not have to be made,” Trichia said sorrowfully. “But because your power was mine and I must leave, then so too must your power. The other great powers wish for you to join us here, though I knew the choice would be hard for you. But here, you could still help Equestria. You could still make the difference that you have always wanted to make. But you would never be able to see your friends again.”

Sunny shut her eyes. When she opened them again, they were swimming with tears. “What would you have me do?”

Trichia looked at her thoughtfully. “I would say that I watched you live without magic, Sunny Starscout. I watched you have hope in a time when I doubt most would have been able to keep going. Your magic is not what made you strong, nor will it be what will make you stronger. Power is not always determined by what someone can do. But I also know your heart. And I know how much you wished for magic, and I know how much of a difference you will be able to make if you reside here. But I cannot see all. And your future is hidden from me. I cannot say which choice will be better.”

Sunny looked at her. Then she looked down at her hooves. She moved one of them closer to the city, and the closer it got, the brighter it grew. She felt life anew grow inside her, along with a stirring of power. She felt so empty without her magic… It was a part of her…

She took a deep breath. She closed her eyes.

“Hoof to heart.”

And she made her choice.

Author's Note

Trivia is the Roman form of Hecate, the Greek goddess of magic. Since old pony languages are similar to Latin, it made sense to me that they should have a name similar to that. Trichia is pronounced like the Scottish “loch”, with the “ch” making a sound like a “k”.

Sorry this one took me so long, I got really busy... AGAIN... Thanks for hanging with me!

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!