Ch2 - Learning

Celestia’s Tiny Student

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Chapter 2

Learning

Ch 2

Celestia’s Tiny Student

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Chapter 2

Learning

Half a year had passed since Twilight’s life-threatening experience in the bathroom.

It was no surprise that Twilight had developed a fear of the place, such that Celestia had begun to clean her regularly in her own bedchamber with a clean bowl of warm water. Afraid of another incident occurring without her mentor’s supervision, Twilight instead immersed herself in the vast world of books whenever Celestia left for her royal duties.

When Celestia was present, however, the two trained Twilight’s magic. Power surges became common occurrences, yet the filly barely seemed to mind, her determination seeing her through their discomfort.

Twilight became close with the princess, placing her unconditional trust in the giant alicorn. The habits of earlier times had almost died out.

The incident was kept as secret as that of Twilight’s condition. Only her parents, who visited every week, the two Royal Guards constantly at her side whenever the princess was gone, the doctors, who repaired the internal damage from the surges, and a few castle servants, who regularly cleaned Celestia bedchamber, knew about the tiny filly living with the Royal Princess, and all of them were sworn to absolute secrecy.

Twilight sat on her mentor’s bed, so absorbed in the giant book propped up by her pillow in front of her that she failed to notice the door of the bedchamber open.

A light-yellow unicorn servant with a bucket and mop cutie mark slowly entered the room. She levitated her cleaning materials in after her and began busying herself with making the room spotless.

Twilight had turned the page with her magic, easily flipping over the light paper of her book, before she noticed that she wasn’t alone in the room.

The unicorn maid took a quick look around and noticed that the tiny unicorn was nowhere to be found. “It’s me, Clean Room. You can come out now,” the maid called out cheerfully.

A few seconds passed before Twilight emerged from behind the pillow, plopping down at the edge of the bed with her head low, “I uhh... I’m sorry.”

The maid gave her a warm smile, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure your tiny size gives you enough problems without me adding to them.”

Twilight flinched as Clean Room began to approach the bed, but quickly regained her composure. She’d seen the maid often, and there was no reason to fear her.

The maid took a look at Twilight before examining the bed, frowning. “Again?” she sighed and shook her head a few times, “What am I going to do with you?”

Twilight blushed as she looked down at the small holes peppering the eiderdown bedding, and pillow, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof, “S-sorry.”

Clean Room simply sighed and levitated a thread and needle out, prepared for such an event. “How many times must I tell you? Practice your magic on the floor,” she said, already beginning her work. For such a tiny filly, Twilight seemed to have an unusually large number of surges, especially when she practiced on her own. Even if the power surges were nearly inconsequential at that size to larger ponies, they still wreaked havoc on the soft bed.

Twilight watched silently as the maid worked swiftly and efficiently before taking a breath and squeaking out, “Could you teach me?”

“Could you speak a bit louder, dear?” Clean Room did not shift her focus from the substantial rip in front of her.

“Could you please teach me!” Twilight yelled, ignoring all of the volume levels in between.

The surprised maid’s telekinetic grip on her needle faltered for just a moment before she recovered and looked at the filly, “Teach you? Teach you what?”

“How to sew!” Twilight replied enthusiastically.

Clean Room’s eyes widened, “I must refuse this request, my dear! Sewing requires a lot of concentration and precision and even with magic, working with a needle is no walk in the park.” She didn’t mention the danger of Twilight accidentally pricking herself with a needle.

“But it can’t be that hard! The needle is half as tall as I am and the holes you’re patching are easily the size of my head; I won’t need that much help if I can easily see what I’m working on!”

The maid frowned, “You have a point, but wouldn’t the needle be too large and unwieldy to—” Clean Room resisted the urge to facehoof as a needle and thread floated easily to Twilight’s side, wrapped in a light purple aura. Of course. How did I forget that she’s the *Princess’s personal student*.

”See? It’s not hard at all! I can do this easily, so can you teach me? Pleeeeaase?” Twilight looked up at Clean Room with the best puppy-dog eyes that she could manage.

“But but but, it could be dangerous! I’ve been doing this for a while and I still prick myself sometimes. Who knows what it could do to you?” the maid stammered out in desperation.

“I promise I’ll be careful! The princess says I need to adapt to my new life, and sewing would be perfect for that. And I can practice focusing on controlling my magic! You’ll be here the whole time, so please please please please pleeeaase?” Twilight’s pleading expression could break a stone wall.

Clean Room looked desperately to the two Royal Guards flanking the door for backup. Both of the heavily-muscled guards continued staring straight ahead, like statues, although the charcoal mare looked like she was suppressing a grin.

Clean Room turned back to the filly and sighed, her head down in defeat, “Alright, you win. I’ll have to ask the princess for permission later, but I’ll teach you to sew. For now.”

Clean Room looked on with a sense of pride as Twilight began on a new hole. It had been only half an hour since they began, but the filly was an exceptionally fast learner, already fixing holes with extremely high precision.

The maid frowned, suddenly worried, “Twilight, dear, I think you’re getting a bit close to the needle. Perhaps you should back up a little.”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Twilight reassured her, still concentrating on the hole in front of her as the needle continued on its path down.

Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened. “AAAAAAAAHHHH!” Twilight swung her hoof, flinging the needle that had pierced it aside and revealing a large, profusely-bleeding gash. Her screams startled the pegasus guard, who immediately burst out of the room, flying straight to get medical assistance.

Clean Room froze, her face a picture of shock and horror, before she quickly wrenched over the closest first aid kit, quickly extracting disinfectant and a roll of bandages from its depths.

“Ssshhh... Everything is going to be all right,” the maid cooed uncertainly as she attempted to calm the filly down.

Twilight kept her bleeding leg held out awkwardly, now bawling as she attempted to stay upright. Clean Room straightened out the leg with a golden glow of magic, resisting Twilight’s renewed attempts to yank her leg back as she began to disinfect the wound.

Twilight’s screams began anew as the disinfectant bubbled against the blood around the puncture point, but they quickly petered out as the maid swiftly wrapped a bandage around the leg, using her telekinetic hold to keep Twilight’s leg out.

A stressed Clean Room began to cradle Twilight in her translucent yellow magic, unable to ease her pain. She began to panic as the situation set in, fluctuating between reassuring Twilight and looking to the distressed guard mare at the door, who was desperately scanning for any sign that help would soon be arriving.

Princess Celestia lumbered back to her chambers, exhausted from a day of dealing with bothersome, self-serving nobles and from raising the moon. She pushed open the double doors and passed the two nervous-looking guards to see the little purple filly perched in front of a thick open book. The princess opened her mouth as soon as she entered, but her greeting died on her lips when she noticed the bandage wrapped tightly around her student’s foreleg.

It didn’t take long before Celestia managed to get the whole story from Twilight, who had threatened to break down into tears before the princess wrapped her up in a warm embrace.

“I’m glad you’re okay and I’m sure your hoof will heal in time. Such an accident won’t happen again, right?” Celestia stated, nuzzling a slightly blushing Twilight.

“No. It. Won’t. Because I’m never try sewing ever again,” Twilight responded, sounding every inch like an impetuous child.

Celestia sighed, “No, my faithful student. It won’t happen again because you will be careful in the future when dealing with needles. It does not mean that you should be scared of needles and it does not mean you should never try sewing again. You can’t stop trying just because of a few setbacks.”

Twilight looked up confused at her mentor’s words as she was set back down on her pillow, “W-what do you mean?”

“Twilight, half a year ago, you nearly drowned trying to clean yourself in my bathtub, but you cannot avoid the bathroom for the rest of your life because of that. Today, you caused a serious injury to yourself because you were too hasty with your needle in an art that requires patience, but you can’t isolate yourself from danger your whole life.”

“I won’t always be here to bathe you or to protect you, so you will need to overcome your fears. I’m sure you’ll be great at sewing when you grow up, so don’t quit now just because of what happened today.”

“Sooo... I shouldn’t be scared of bathrooms and needles?” Twilight cocked her head to the side, still confused.

Celestia gave another sigh, “I’m just saying that you should learn from your mistakes rather than let them take over your life. I can teach you how to sew and how to use the bathroom, but that means you’ll have to confront them, one way or another.”

Twilight looked down meaningfully and nodded. It wasn’t long before Celestia put a drowsy Twilight to bed, deciding to hold off on the magic lesson originally planned for the evening. She’d already learned her lesson for the night.

Two years had passed since Twilight became the student of Equestria’s beloved princess. While she continued to improve her magic and occasionally constructed fortresses of books on Celestia’s bed, she began to open up to the ponies around her. She conversed often with the servants and even succeeded in starting a conversation with the stoic guards at the door. Partially. Twilight learned that the muscular pegasus stallion was named Steel Blade, who bore a cutie mark of a single intricately-decorated sword, while the lean charcoal unicorn mare was named Overwatch, whose cutie mark was, strangely enough, a single apricot with a leaf. Overwatch, who also wore a non-regulatory heavy scarf patterned with wide stripes of gold and scarlet along with her armor, seemed to have no issues with conversing openly with Twilight while Celestia was not around. Steel Blade, on the other hand, seemed flustered whenever Twilight tried to talk to him and instead preferred to remain silent and listen, despite his co-worker’s teasing.

It became fairly obvious to Celestia that Twilight could handle having a foalsitter to keep her company, but she was disappointed to find that her trusted friend, Cadence, was already busy working disguised as a unicorn in the Manehattan Press. Though she soon found another foalsitter that she could trust to keep a secret, a good second best.

“Now Twilight, my faithful student, I’ve found a foalsitter to take care of you while I’m away on royal business. I hope you’ll be able to get along with her, alright?” Celestia stated encouragingly to Twilight, smiling softly.

“Alright then! But why couldn’t you have found my BBBFF? Couldn’t he help take care of me?” Twilight asked to the apparent confusion of her mentor.

“B-B-B-F-F?” Celestia replied slowly, trying to decipher her student’s meaning.

“Big Brother Best Friend Forever?” Twilight explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Celestia was floored, “Your... big brother?”

Twilight nodded energetically, “Yep! He joined the Royal Guard about uhhh... four years ago, I think. It was about two years before you took me up as your student.”

The princess blinked, “I-I’ll look into it. In the meantime, be nice for your foalsitter, alright?” She rushed past the foalsitter at the door and took flight, moving straight for the nearby barracks.

The baby-blue earth-pony mare at the door entered and sat, exchanging an awkward stare with the little purple filly sitting on the pillow.

“I uhhh... H-hello?” she began, giving a hesitant smile.

“H-hello,” Twilight replied quietly, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

A few more awkward moments passed.

Twilight began squirming nervously under the mare’s astounded gaze until the foalsitter broke the silence, “M-my name is Calm Song. Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. It’s nice to meet you too,” Twilight replied, relieved that the awkward moment had passed.

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that, dear?” Calm Song took a few steps closer, her ears pointed towards Twilight.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle! Nice to meet you!” Twilight yelled at the sitter, cranking up her volume to far above an inside voice.

Calm Song reeled back stunned, but quickly reasserted herself, “Errr... I’m sorry; the princess has already informed me about your condition, but I still find it hard to believe. It must be a terrifying life for a filly as young as you are.” She had watched over a wide variety of fillies and colts, but this one took the cake. She knew magic could do some impressive things, but this was the first she’d heard of a shrinking spell being used on a filly.

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not that bad. I’ve had a few accidents in the past, but I’m used to it now! I spend most of my time reading books anyways, and it’s not that dangerous to read books! I don’t even need to squint at the tiny words anymore with my size!” Twilight responded cheerfully and sincerely.

Calm Song looked pitifully at Twilight. Awwww, pooor thing. Hiding her fears like that and staying cooped up in this room all the time. She really needs to have fun. Calm Song considered her approach. “I’m sure that reading books is really fun for such a curious, young filly,” she started. “But I’m sure we can find something else to do.”

Steel Blade, with the encouragement of Overwatch, approached Calm Song upon hearing those words and began whispering into her ear. Calm Song listened, confused, before her eyes widened in horror.

Twilight barely had time to react as she was swept up in a carefully not-quite-bone-crushing hug. “Oh you poooor thing, getting pricked in the leg like that!” Calm Song cried. “It must have been horrible!”

“I’m fine! I’m fine! Really!” Twilight attempted to push herself out of the embrace. Futilely.

It took ten minutes of seemingly never-ending foalsitter drama before Twilight was able to convince Calm Song to release her. Still worried for the filly’s safety, Calm Song spent the next few hours playing “safe” games with Twilight, such as pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, hide-and-seek, and several rounds of checkers.

After a long day and a bit flustered with her nearly continuous losing streak, Calm Song calmly asked the filly, “Are you tired, Twilight?”

“Nope!” Twilight yelled, not wanting to be sent to bed quite yet, “Best out of seventy-five?”

“NO!” Calm Song nearly shouted before resuming in a calmer, more cheerful tone of voice, “I mean, perhaps we should go out and explore for a bit?”

“B-but what if I get hurt?” Twilight stammered, suddenly a bit frightened.

Calm Song paused momentarily, thinking of a response to convince the filly to leave her gilded cage. She took a look around and noticed the guards at the door, “I’m sure it’ll be safe. After all, you’ll have these two strong guards here to ensure your safety.” Steel Blade shifted uncomfortably in his stoic stance. The blush blossoming across his face did not escape the notice of the mare next to him, who gave him a wry grin.

Calm Song smiled and continued, “Now then, Twilight, is there anywhere that you’ve always wanted to visit, but never had the chance to?”

Twilight responded quickly, a wide smile across her face, “The LIBRARY!”

Calm Song’s hoof swiftly met her face, This filly *really** needs to find a hobby outside of reading, but at least she won’t be in Celestia’s bedroom all the time*.

Steel Blade flew swiftly to the barracks where Princess Celestia was scheduled to make some sort of inspection, returning with permission from the princess to visit the library under the condition that Twilight’s size be kept secret and her safety certain.

And so, Twilight sat comfortably in Calm Song’s saddlebags as they were escorted to the Royal Library. Curious, the little filly peeked out of a small opening at the top of her hiding place, noticing as they passed pockets of disinterested nobles, busy servants, and statuesque guards.

Twilight’s brow furrowed as something caught her attention. All of the pegasus guards had white coats and sported dark-blue manes, exactly like Steel Blade, while the unicorn guards had grey coats and bleached manes, exactly unlike Overwatch, whose amber mane and golden eyes contrasted greatly with her dark coat.

When the group arrived at the library and Calm Song approached the librarian to explain the situation, Twilight poked her head out and called quietly for Steel Blade. Once she had his attention, she asked, “Why are all the guards the same color?”

Steel Blade thought for a moment before tapping his armor with a hoof. “Enchantments on the armor. They change our appearance as soon as we put them on,” he smiled, sounding much more confident than his other interactions with Twilight. “The uniform of the Royal Guards goes beyond just the fancy dress.”

Twilight glanced over at Overwatch, “So why is she a different color?”

Steel Blade shrugged, “No one really knows. Transformative magic just washes off of her. Hasn’t stopped her from being an exceptional guard.”

Twilight gave him an innocent smile, “Like you, right?”

A blushing Steel Blade was saved from responding when Calm Song turned back to them, stating that the library would be closed as long as the Princess’s Student wished to stay. The mint green librarian with a blonde mane gave them a warm smile, reaffirming the foalsitter’s words before trotting to herd the rest of the ponies in the library out and placing a “Closed” sign on the massive doors.

It took the good part of the hour before the group maneuvered through all of the rows, looking over the contents of most of the shelves. When Calm Song asked Twilight where she wanted to begin reading, the tiny filly guided them into the aisle devoted entirely to books about magic.

Twilight scanned the shelf in front of her quickly from her new perch on Calm Song’s head. It wasn’t long before she found what she was looking for, and with a surge of pink magic, she selected the thickest, heaviest tome from the top shelf and dropped it roughly on the table with a loud thump.

Twilight hopped down to her prize, an encyclopedia of nearly every subject in magic, and popped it open to the table of contents. It took a moment of complete silence before Twilight looked up and into the astonished face of Calm Song.

“H-how did you do that?” Calm Song asked, clearly still impressed, “Most of the unicorns I know can barely lift their own body weight.”

“Um... Practice? Princess Celestia makes me levitate heavy objects a lot. This book isn’t really that bad.”

Calm Song looked at Twilight in astonishment. If Twilight was the same size as a regular pony, she’d probably have no problems levitating a giant brown bear. Slightly embarrassed at the attention, the tiny filly turned back to the book in question, flipping rapidly through the pages on Transformation and Transfiguration. She turned back to the shelf and attempted to float out a large mass of books on the same topic, but was soon stopped when her field of vision was blocked.

“Only one book at a time, miss,” Steel Blade stated. “You know what happens when you try to carry too much.”

Twilight huffed and put back the books, selecting only one to begin flipping through. The librarian was nice enough to reserve the entire library for her, and she didn’t need to have a magic surge next to all of those precious books.

For the next few hours, Twilight spent her time reading books she had picked out. Calm Song felt more than a little bored as she watched the little filly reading books with an impressive speed, although her boredom was replaced with awe every time Twilight seemed to effortlessly float a book through the air with her magic. After all, if she were as small as the tiny filly, such a feat of strength would be well beyond her abilities.

To the relief of Twilight’s companions, no accidents occurred throughout the reading session outside of the one minor incident where Twilight had lost her focus over her magic, causing a book she was levitating to land on her instead of the table that Twilight had annexed. Thankfully, neither Twilight nor the traitorous book were harmed outside of a scuffed cover and a bruised pride. The guards had never felt so grateful for Celestia’s protection spell as they had then.

It was not long before the moon was raised. Calm Song returned the book that Twilight was currently reading to its correct spot and tucked the filly back into her saddlebags, motioning for the guards that they were ready to return to the princess’s bedchambers. Twilight gave little more than a soft whine, already lost in magical dreams of the adventures of Fort Book.