Chapters "Once every ten thousand years," Celestia said to herself while her voice echoed serenely, "I grow too old for my body to sustain itself any longer. If I don't act soon, I'll be lost to Equestria forever."
She sighed, "It's not even going to matter by the end of the day... whether I eat this one last cookie or not."
That's what Celestia told herself while holding up the chocolate chip cookie to her muzzle by her magical, yellow aura. Its sugary edges seemed to shine like never before. She bit into it, and savored the delectable taste, and soft texture.
"Mmnh... Oh, I had forgotten what this tasted like."
Unfortunately, watching her weight throughout her life also inevitably meant cutting back on the sweets, but that didn't matter very much anymore. This was, after all, her very last day belonging in this world. Along with a cup of hot cocoa mixed with extra sugar, she sat within the walls of a soothing, stone structure found at the very highest point of Canterlot Mountain. Nopony but the Princesses even knew about the hot springs built there so very long ago.
"It's too bad I won't remember anything. I won't... even remember Twilight Sparkle. Nopony's even going to know about what's happening this time around... From what I gather, the legends of what happens to Luna and I somehow got lost to most of the land as time went on."
She took another bite, and inhaled deeply, her joints aching somewhat. "Luna," she quietly said to herself with a shiver. As she spoke, she also wrote everything down on a scroll just in case Luna really didn't manage to show up in time. "I can't wait this out for very much longer... Believe me, I wish I had more time, but I'm sorry. I know you thought it wouldn't happen so suddenly, too, but I can already feel myself becoming weaker, and more feeble by the minute. You and I both know what'll happen if I don't go through with this."
Just then, a figure emerged from the open, arched entrance. "I'm here," Luna voiced loudly, fighting the blizzard that roared just outside. "Don't go into the pool just yet!"
Celestia gasped with relief, and smiled at her sister who was now landing before her. She threw the scroll and quill aside, and embraced Luna one last time. Upon the hug ending, Luna would notice that Celestia had started to cry. "Luna," she said sadly. "I'm so glad that you made it."
Luna nodded, and said, "It's finding this place that slowed me down. I had forgotten how fierce the blizzard can be. Err... what is this? Cookies? Cocoa? Is that really necessary, Celestia?"
She nodded confidently, and then gobbled up what was left of the treat. After washing it down with the last sips of her cocoa, Celestia would defend, "I'm going away... Don't you think I have the right to this? Come now, Luna."
Luna glanced away at that remark, and even felt herself begin to form tears of her very own. "I'm going to miss you a whole lot."
Celestia seemed to be calmed down by now, and although she still cried, she still smiled as though everything was going to be just fine. Looking back into her eyes, Luna could see that now. "In only three thousand years, I'll be at that age. Is... i-is there any advice that you can give me? Anything at all?"
Celestia breathed, and said as clearly as she could, "Don't be afraid. We've done this a multitude of times, actually, so be strong when the time comes... just like I have to be, right now."
She turned around, and gulped her frustrations away. Luna stared onwards at the dense fog that enveloped what was justly in front of Celestia. She knew that beyond it was nothing but relaxing waters, like it were a normal bathing house. However, it was anything but normal for the two siblings.
While Celestia wandered off, and disappeared behind the curtain of smoke, Luna bowed her head with grief. Just like that, the Celestia she had known for the last several thousand years was gone. She started to stare onwards at the mist, waiting for the aftermath to emerge.
Slowly, a small, white hoof could be seen reaching out. Then another, and then her head took shape. The young Celestia was much smaller than her fully grown self, and much cuter. Still, Luna couldn't stop her sobs from overpowering her. She collapsed then and there, right before the filly that was cautiously walking towards her.
Neither said anything at all to one another at first. Luna was far too choked up by current events to hardly even acknowledge the pony now standing directly in front of her. She simply allowed the tears to flow from her eyes, but upon one of those small hooves reaching out for her, she'd stop momentarily to hear her new sister speak up for the very first time.
"Hello?" she asked curiously, her voice sounding much less mature. "Why're you crying? Did you hurt yourself or something?"
Luna did her best to hold back even more tears, and shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine. I just... had to say goodbye to somepony that I loved very much." She sniffled, and said, "That's all..."
Celestia smiled blithely, and said, "Oh, well, nice to meet you! My name is Celestia, and... that's all I know, really! I'm not exactly sure what's going on." She looked around with confusion on her face, but unlike Luna, she still smiled. Looking back at Luna, she asked her, "Who might you be?"
Luna breathed before saying, "I'm... your sister. My name is Luna, and there's much for us to..." She stopped talking for just a second, her lip quivering. "There's much for us to go over, Celestia."
Using her magic, she lifted the young princess up and onto her back. Carefully, Luna would deliver this new Celestia back to Canterlot. All the while, Luna wouldn't be able to stop thinking about how everypony was going to take this. Coming out of the blizzard finally, she'd state aloud, "Months of preparation, and I myself still don't feel as ready as I thought I would've been for this day..."
The young Celestia didn't pay much mind to this, however. She was too busy taking in all of the sights the world had to offer. From her perch on Luna's back, she could see practically everything from Las Pegasus to Ponyville. "Wow," she remarked. "There's so much out there!"
Luna giggled, and said, "Yes, sister... You and I rule as far as the eye can see. We try and bring harmony to the world to the best of our abilities, but more on that later." She gave another powerful thrust from her wings, and came floating above the palace. "For now, we need to get you situated. Not to mention, after such an ordeal, I'm sure you're just as hungry by now as I am."
Chapter One: Somepony To Watch Over Her
The glass doors leading into Celestia's room opened, and light shined through, eliminating the darkness. As they entered, Luna placed the filly princess down on the floor, and said, "This is where you'll be staying. At least, for the time being that is, until I see about those notes your former self left for me to read."
Celestia had herself a good look around while saying, "Huh, so this is where I lived?"
"As I said on our way here, you once ruled these lands, but your mind and body grew too old. The same thing will eventually happen to myself as well one day, and because we're required in order to lift both the sun and the moon, we unfortunately must be reborn again and again."
Celestia grabbed hold of an already opened box of delicious looking chocolate chip cookies from the nearby dresser. Out of a total of twenty, only one was missing in the very first row, and seeing this, Luna realized that Celestia's former self must've done this intentionally.
Celestia bit down, and munched while mumbling, "Nmh-hmm!" Swallowing, she said, "Right, I got that. It happens every ten thousand years. My question is, how do I fit into-" She was cut off by what she saw upon looking back up at Luna. "A-are you alright?"
Luna merely nodded, holding her muzzle, and fighting back even more emerging tears. "Just when I thought I had gotten my emotions under control... Excuse me, Celestia. I need a moment alone."
Just before headed off for her own quarters, Luna made sure to grab everything that she would need from her sister's. Once all alone, the young Celestia would lay all by herself on top of the bed that she had slept in so many times before. She moved around in it for quite a bit, and wrestled with the sheets for several minutes before stating, "I don't remember... any of this . Like, at all."
Meanwhile, Luna sat comfortably on her bed. Another tissue was tossed to the floor, and she sniffled several times before finally being able to think clearly. The notes that she needed to read were still all rolled up, and sat at the edge a good distance away from her. "She could've..."
She growled, but tried to settle herself down. "She could've at least informed me a few thousand years earlier. Then, maybe I wouldn't have..."
Flashes of Nightmare Moon entered her mind, frightening Luna to her very core.
"Maybe, I wouldn't have..." She exhaled, another set of tears escaping.
She stayed like that for a few more minutes, thinking about recent events. Finally, in time, she'd find the strength to look over those notes. As she did, she'd drop her jaw at how intellectually the future plan was laid out for this new Celestia. "Right," Luna said, however she didn't wear a smile one bit. "Just... how exactly is Twilight going to react to that? If Celestia's to be mentored by the Princess of Friendship on friendship , then Twilight must know of this right away..."
With a heavy heart, Luna faced her fears, and sent word to Twilight immediately letting her know that her presence was needed within the Canterlot palace as soon as possible. At first, Luna considered coming up with a ludicrous lie, but she soon abandoned those notions. Despite how displeasurable it really was, Twilight deserved to know the truth about what had happened to her former mentor.
In a matter of hours, Twilight would arrive after her long flight from Ponyville. Upon entering, she'd look up the stairs where Luna stood, and ask her, "What's going on? You said it involved Celestia!" She came galloping up the steps all too quickly. "I came as fast as I could, but why didn't she message me herself?"
Every question was like a dagger being pressed up against Luna's loudly beating heart. "Twilight, please... You should calm thyself."
"No," Twilight responded, half-way up the stairs now. "I will not! Tell me what's happened to Celestia! Was she kidnapped? Is she alright? Do you know her whereabouts?"
Luna couldn't stop herself after those last set of questions. Again, she was sobbing profoundly. "No, no... Twilight, I... I'm so, so sorry . I don't know why she wanted it to be a secret. I just... I don't know .
Coming up to eye level with the princess, Twilight asked sternly, "What happened, Luna?"
She blinked, and widened her eyes at the words that were about to leave her lips. "She's... just... gone , Twilight." She shivered, and continued, "The Celestia that you and I knew is gone."
Twilight's reaction was a typical one. She backed away a few steps down while saying, "No... Y-you're making that up! I want an explanation, Luna!"
Turning her back towards Twilight, and coming up to the pink, shimmering window behind herself, she said as best she could, "It... h-happens... e-every ten thousand years."
"What happens?!" Twilight was all too anxious by now. She pleaded, "Just tell me!"
Luna summoned yet another tissue for herself, and one for Twilight as well. Then, she inhaled a lot of air before saying anything else. "Look, Twilight... I know you loved Celestia almost as if she were a second mother to you, but... try and understand, we don't have a choice in this matter. When Celestia and I grow old enough, we must be reborn."
"Reborn?" Twilight asked.
Luna corrected, "As fillies, Twilight." After those words, Twilight would start to realize the gravity behind this situation. "Our memories... our experiences ... It all goes away when the time comes, and then, we must start all over again." Luna stared deeply into Twilight's confused eyes. "This time, she wanted it to be a secret. She didn't even tell me about it until after the events of Nightmare Moon had passed."
Twilight asked, "How do you know about this?"
Luna revealed forwardly, "There's a historic ledger hidden within Canterlot that details important milestones of our overall lives. Only Celestia and myself are allowed to read it."
Twilight looked away, and asked with pain in her trembling voice, "So, that means..."
Luna nodded, and sighed with bagging eyes, "Yes... I'm afraid that she's now nothing more but a harmless, little filly. At this state, even if she gave it her best effort, I understand that she wouldn't even have the strength to lift her very own sun. I've been training for months now, preparing, so until she's able to do it herself, that responsibility falls to me."
Twilight was now starting to sniffle. She almost wasn't even paying attention anymore. "Why?" she asked. "Why does it have to be this way? Why didn't she tell me about it?! She..." Twilight gasped at a startling realization. "She didn't even say goodbye to me. Did... D-did she say g-goodbye to you?"
Luna solemnly nodded, and answered, "Y-yes, she did... and, I'm sorry that it has to be this way. The reason why has been lost to us for the longest time..." She blinked with worry now visible in her expression. "We're just not willing to take that big of a risk. I mean, would you?"
Twilight found herself shaking her head without hardly thinking about it. "No," she said quietly, almost in a whisper. "No, I wouldn't... I see, then."
She looked down, tears still dripping from her cheeks, and chin. Luna spoke up, "I know you feel that now is definitely the time for mourning, but we have a filly that needs our attention, love and care. Before Celestia went away, she left behind a few instructions. That's why you're here."
Twilight just blinked while looking back up at Luna. "Instructions?"
Luna nodded, and continued, "Celestia would've wanted you to teach her the ways of friendship above all else."
Twilight nodded in acceptance, of course, and said, "Alright... I sort of felt that coming, actually."
Luna smiled at last. "I thought you might... Follow me, Celestia's right this way."
Twilight seemed startled, and asked quite realistically, "Wait, we're doing this now ? As in, like... right now ?"
All Luna chose to do as a response was begin to walk away, and down the hall. Twilight would naturally follow along. After all, it wasn't as if she had much of a choice. Although she would've rather go back home and cry her eyes out for the remainder of the day, she still persevered. After all, by now she was curious as to what this new Celestia looked like.
The door opened, and Twilight came in feeling light headed, followed by Luna. Everything almost seemed perfectly the same. The windows, the fire place, and even all of Celestia's jewelry hadn't changed. The only difference in the room was who occupied the bed. She sat there with three cookies left in the box, and a coloring pad. Nearly each and every drawing was of the pools that she had left behind earlier that day, and some of them were of Luna.
Twilight just stood there at the entry way, looking at the filly who was now currently busy with observing everything else that was happening just outside the window. She turned to Luna, and asked, "I'm just supposed to... take her under my wing? After what Celestia's done?"
Luna blinked with concern flashing within her eyes. "What?"
"Celestia's just... left us! She left me, and you, and... everypony , and didn't tell anypony?! Nopony? A-a-and in her place, she leaves behind... her ?"
Luna looked disheartened by Twilight's reaction, but she still said, "I, uh... lost her, too, you know."
"But, at least you knew it was coming! You had time to prepare emotionally. How can I just... After what she's done? I can't, Luna... I just..."
Twilight seemed ready to up and leave when Luna said, "Think back to the last memory you have of her, then. What was she like?"
Twilight stopped her bantering for just a second, and thought about that. It came loftily floating back to her as if Luna were asking about a dream instead. "She..."
"Yes?"
Twilight bowed her head, hiding her eyes with her mane. "She hugged me before departing from the castle of friendship, for no apparent reason at all. At least, that's what I thought at the time."
She sniffled while looking up, and then back at the filly still sitting serenely on the bed. "Go on," Luna said calmingly.
"And then," Twilight continued while rubbing the water stains from her cheeks. "Celestia frowned at me, and she seemed... so sad all of the sudden. I didn't realize why that was... up until now. She told me that... S-she told me about how special she felt, to have me in her life. She held me tightly, and I think..." Twilight was having a hard time breathing by now, but she kept going. "I think she wanted so badly to cry . She wouldn't, though... No, she couldn't let on what was really going on, could she?"
Luna shook her head, and said, "This is the plan that she has laid out for her future, child self, and you're greatly involved in it. I'm not going to lie. I think it was foolish of my sister to decide to keep it a secret, too, and how everypony has forgotten these instances in history by now are beyond me. Still, what's done is done... For tonight, we'll get some rest. Unfortunately, tomorrow..."
Luna looked away, out at the shimmering city of Canterlot. Twilight, however, took her chance to simply ask, "We're going to have to tell everypony about what's happened to Princess Celestia ourselves, aren't we?"
Luna looked back, and nodded. "I'm certainly not doing it by myself. That's another good reason why you're here."
Soon, she would finally start to see Twilight's attention being redirected towards her new student. She came up to her, and got her attention with a hoof. "Hmm?" Celestia asked with that new, sweet voice of hers.
"So," Twilight said. "Y-you're... Celestia?"
The filly princess nodded, and smiled back at Twilight welcomingly. "Yep! That's me, but... who are you?"
"Oh... I'm Twilight Sparkle. You..." The smile that had begun to form went away with the following question, "You don't remember me, or anything else, do you?"
Celestia shook her head innocently, and looked back out the window before saying, "Sorry, but everything before getting out of that pool is just one big blur for me."
Twilight choked after hearing that, and she fought back her tears. She merely laid down on the bed next to Celestia, and asked, "Can I... get one of those?"
Celestia nodded, and said, "Yeah, sure. I certainly can't anymore!"
Twilight thanked her, and began eating her cookie. Just as she did, Luna would begin to exit the room, leaving the two alone. "I assume you know where your staying tonight."
Twilight said, "Yeah, sure... Although, I might just end up staying with Celestia for the evening. Is that alright?"
Luna sighed at that, but gave in quickly. "I suppose that's fine." She stayed by the door for a little while longer just to say, "I'll see you two in the morning, then. After we announce to the city what's happened, Twilight? You and Celestia can head on out whenever you feel ready for the voyage."
Twilight had finished her first cookie, and was already onto her second. With sleepy eyes, she groaned, "It'll probably be earlier, if anything. Good night, Princess Luna."
"Good night, Princess Twilight Sparkle," Luna replied right before gently closing the door.
The two of them would stay in the bed together for the rest of the night, and it wasn't until the following morning that Celestia would be the first one to get up. After awakening within Twilight's hooves, and the sunlight shining brightly through the window, she'd stir, and wander towards the balcony glass doors.
As Twilight also awoke from her own, deep rest, she'd hear Celestia wonder aloud, "Hmm...? How does that big, yellow thing manage to get all the way up there? I want to know more about how that works. I mean, the colors it makes are just so... pretty looking to me ."
Chapter Two: As Innocent As Can Be
Without a doubt, to lose somepony like Celestia was one of the worst things that could've ever really happened to Twilight.
To have her replaced with a filly version of herself, however, and to know that this filly couldn't even remember her left Twilight feeling more than just saddened. There's no easy way to describe it, but to put it simply, she was going through emotions that probably nopony should ever have the displeasure of going through. Confusion would be an understatement. Sadness just wouldn't describe it well enough.
"What is it that I'm feeling?" Twilight asked herself, lost within a bright, blinding light. She was asleep, of course, but the dream felt different. It didn't quite feel like a dream at all.
Suddenly, she'd feel the hooves of her former mentor wrap around her tenderly, and it was as if Celestia had never left Equestria.
"Oh, Twilight," she said kindly. "I think that's melancholy you're going through."
Twilight looked up to see the smiling princess above her. "I think it's deeper than that, though..."
Rolling her eyes, Celestia merely placed a hoof on Twilight's troubled head, and said, "No, it's not. You act as if I'm gone completely... I'm not. Do you know why?"
Twilight blinked a few times, and looked down before asking, "Is it because you're a filly now? You don't even remember me."
"Actually..." Celestia said, "It's because I'll always be with you. I'll always be in your heart, and in the hearts of everypony that knew me."
Twilight sighed, "How could you just... not tell me? Or anypony?"
"Because," Celestia said. "What do you think happened all the other times ponies knew what was coming? All everypony did was behave sadly for the remaining years of my life... As selfish as it is, I didn't want my final years to be filled with grief, and sorrow. For all that I do for this world, didn't I at least deserve that much?"
Twilight's eyes opened sharply, and she took in a large amount of air as she got up from her deep slumber. She just kept gasping for air before nervously saying, "That's why... Oh, of course that's why she didn't tell us! That's easy enough to figure out..."
She laid back down, and soon saw the younger Celestia standing by the window. "The colors it makes are just so... pretty looking to me ."
Twilight got out of bed, and made her way to the door while saying to Celestia, "I'll be right back. Stay here while I'm gone, and when I get back, we'll all have breakfast. How's that sound?"
Celestia gave Twilight a cheeky smirk. "Okay, sounds good!"
Twilight left shortly thereafter, and made her way down the hall towards Luna's room, who by then was returning from her own balcony after lowering the moon, and raising the sun.
Entering, Twilight questioned her, "Did you know that she didn't tell anypony about this... because she knew how sad they'd all be?"
Luna looked stunned, but nevertheless, she shook her head painfully. "Makes sense, though, doesn't it? I just wish that I had that opportunity for myself, too. I have three thousand years to work with, while she has seven. For her, she has plenty of time for ponies to forget. She... Well, according to the ledger, I didn't find anything that said Celestia's ever actually tried this before, but it definitely is recorded about how sad everypony is nearing the end of our days."
Twilight seemed upset again, but grumbling to herself, she soon managed to voice her opinion. "I suppose... in a way, she deserved that last luxury."
Luna agreed, "I believe so. Now, as hard as this might be, we must inform everyone of the tragic news. Are you ready?"
Twilight shrugged at that question. "About as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. After that, we'll have breakfast with Celestia, and then I think I'm going to head on out. No hard feelings to just up and leave all of the sudden, but if it's alright with you, I feel as if the faster I get her friendship lessons started, the faster I can stop feeling so depressed about this whole experience."
Together, Luna and Twilight announced to Equestria what had happened. Needless to say, the nation was hurt by the sudden loss of their former ruler. However, in time, they would come to accept her new form, and all the possibilities that came with this development. Now, Twilight rode along with her Highness directly across from her. They were within a golden, royal chariot which was painted red.
She glanced yet again at the young filly curiously, and then at the driver just barely visible behind her, and wondered, "You won't let everything that's happened today upset you, will you, Celestia?"
The filly just gave Twilight an equally curious face, and said, "Everypony's really depressed about... whoever I was. She must've been a really great pony."
Twilight sighed, and agreed, "She was..." She blinked while lowing her head, and said, "We should, uh... find something to take our minds off of that, though."
The young Celestia nodded, and asked, "Like what?"
"Well," Twilight pondered while looking out the window to her right. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that they were passing by what looked to be an ice cream parlor. Twilight then asked, "How about some ice cream?"
Celestia giggled coyly. "You'd think I wouldn't be into frozen treats one bit seeing as how I'm the princess of the sun, but that's actually sounding absolutely irresistible!"
Twilight immediately reached for the driver, and asked for them to be pulled over. "But, we have a tight schedule, Princess Twilight."
At that, Twilight responded with, "This is more important. Now, pull over."
He did as he was told. Afterwards, he was ordered to stayed with the royal chariot and wait for them just outside the shop. "Of course, you can come inside and order something if you want," Twilight offered just before going inside herself.
"I'm fine, your Highness," he said shrewdly.
Twilight tried not to allow this to deter her from trying to cheer up. After all, the nation did just lose somepony quite important to them, so in she went, and they were immediately bombarded with colorful lights, and streamers decorated everywhere within the establishment. The temperature also dropped significantly, making celestia's tiny teeth chatter.
"It's... c-c-cold in here," she mentioned while looking back at Twilight. "P-pick me up, and p-put me on one of t-the stools, please?"
Twilight smiled, but dared not speak herself. She was too scared of her lips not being able to open due to them being frozen solid, and shut together. Nevertheless, she proceeded with putting Celestia on one of the near by stools, and she was then promptly greeted by one of the ponies from behind the counter. "Can I get you anything?" he asked kindly, and Twilight noticed just then that there were also a few foals and colts working behind him as well, just beyond some of the counters.
Twilight nodded excitedly, and managed to said, "Yes! One s-sunset scone for her, and I'll have a stellar shake please."
"Comin' right up!"
They all got to work on the treats, and while they did, Twilight and Celestia was watched over by the one who had taken their orders. He leaned in, and questioned quietly, "So, that must be Princess Celestia, huh?"
Twilight blinked, and observed him a bit more. Although he wore a pleasant get up, and had approached them kindly at first, he now just seemed down right intruding towards Twilight. "Huh? Excuse me?" She asked.
He mostly looked at Twilight the whole time while saying, "Oh, no offense...! I just... noticed is all, and thought I'd ask about it. Since I'm pretty sure it is her, I'd also like to ask..." He leaned in while Celestia seemed to be perfectly distracted. "You haven't been, like, crying in front of her all that much, have you? Because... it's pretty obvious you've been crying, your Highness, by the darkness underneath your eyes..."
Twilight just backed away with a harsh sniffle, but it wasn't caused by the cold temperature. "I've... Tried not to cry in front of her, but... it's been hard."
He nodded, and pointed out, "It's always hard to hide our sorrows. Look, I just thought I'd ask, and I hope you get to feeling better after enjoying your ice cream."
Twilight nodded, and was soon served followed by Celestia. "Sorry for the wait," a young colt said after dropping it off. "This one took a bit longer to make because it's such a special order!"
Celestia just stared at it for a second, especially the yellow, hoof-baked cookie propped perfectly on top of all the delicious looking vanilla, sprinkles, and chocolate bits. The cookie was in the shape of her cutie mark. She started with that first, of course, and slowly worked her way towards everything else, savoring every sugary bite as she went along. Twilight managed to finish hers in a fair amount of time as well, but had it been a race, then Celestia would've still beaten Twilight long before she'd even gotten half way with her very own delectable dessert.
After they were done, Twilight would lead Celestia back to the royal chariot. Before getting there, though, Celestia would notice the swing set located close by to some of the trees surrounding the dirt roadway. "Say, that looks like fun!"
Twilight soon enough saw the swing set as well, and asked, "Do you... wanna go play? I could give you a push."
Celestia looked over to Twilight as soon as she said that, and asked, "Can I?"
"Of course!" was Twilight's answer, and off they went. The carriage driver just reached out a hoof in disbelief, and frowned. However, the more he watched the two having fun, the less glum he'd appear to be while standing still over there.
As for Twilight, she spent roughly fifteen to twenty good minutes with Celestia, pushing her and helping her go higher and higher. Eventually, this would bring the young filly to burst out laughing with glee. Then, she said, "This is fantastic!"
"Yeah?" Twilight asked in the middle a push. "I thought the same thing when I was your age. I wonder when you'll be able to fly, or raise the sun for that matter..."
Celestia just kept swinging, eventually reaching a certain height that began to frighten Twilight. "Only one way to find out," the young princess said after her final push. "Let's see if I can fly!"
Twilight gasped as Celestia leaped forth bravely, and off the swing set she went, right into the open air. There was little chance that Celestia would stay afloat like that for long, and Twilight knew this, so she acted quickly to teleport herself just in time. She managed to save Celestia from falling head first directly into a tree, and grunted from the sudden impact. They fell to the ground, and twilight seemed a bit scuffed up.
"Ouch..." Twilight winced, and she said, "Don't try that sort of thing, Celestia... That was very dangerous!"
Celestia merely nodded, and was slowly walked back to the carriage. The whole while, she just kept apologizing by saying, "Sorry for doing that, Twilight. I didn't mean to get you hurt in the process!" Although Twilight was disappointed in Celestia's brash moves, she was also impressed with how long she managed to control herself while she was caught so high up in the air.
Had a tree not been completely blocking her path, she might've even been able to keep gliding right ondown to the soft grass perfectly, and safely. Possibly even without hardly any effort, too. Still, she shouldn't have be trying these sort of stunts at such a young age in the first place. At least, that's what Twilight kept thinking to herself as they enjoyed the rest of the ride home together.
She also thought about how long it might take Celestia to learn how to raise her very own star in the sky. Also, of course, there was still the matter of introducing this new Celestia to everypony that head been previously familiar with her, such as Twilight's seven closest friends.
Chapter Three: As Powerful As Ever
Twilight held her right hoof where a scrape could clearly be seen. She just kept observing it modestly, and then proceeded to use her magic to heal herself. "Mmh, it... still hurts slightly, though."
Celestia just blinked curiously, and asked, "But, it's all better, right? You used magic and everything. I saw you."
Twilight breathed in deeply before saying, "I can still feel the tingling sensation. It's... hard to explain."
She looked around, and tried to find something to take their minds off of her injury. That's when Celestia remarked, "I wonder how difficult it is for me to learn how to do something like that." Twilight just stared with interest. "Also, the way you somehow popped right in front of me back there was really cool, too! Seems like it might be useful for me to know how to do these sort of things, huh?"
"Oh, Celestia..." Twilight began to smile. "It might not be right away, but there's all sorts of spells for you to learn. I... doubt, though, that you're ready for that spell particularly. It's pretty advanced magic even for myself."
Celestia just blinked merely one time at Twilight's grinning face, and sighed. "Oh..."
"Plus," Twilight continued, "you'll eventually be raising the whole sun! Although, I don't think Luna said when exactly that'll be." She trailed off in thought for a second, and while she did, Celestia had a chance to look out the window and see where they were headed.
"Didn't you say that you lived in Ponyville?"
Twilight nodded, and said, "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Looks like we're here."
Twilight glanced, and asked, "Already? Huh... We got here faster than I expected. Well, alright then. When we get to the castle of friendship, I'll settle you into your room, and then we'll have something to eat. I don't know about you, Celestia, but I wore myself out after pushing you back and forth on that swing set today."
they both laughed, and felt the chariot run over a rock. Looking at Celestia just then and there with silence suddenly surrounding the two of them save for the chirping birds just outside, Twilight thought about how every time she used that name for this filly, it reminded her of her old mentor in some remarkable way. She even began to lip the name to herself while sitting there in her seat, and accidentally questioned aloud, "C-celestia...?"
They went by some of the houses located just on the outskirts of town, and coming up to the castle of friendship, Celestia replied, "Hmm?"
Twilight gulped before saying, "Sorry, it's just... going to take some time getting used to this. You have to understand... you were..."
"I know," Celestia said, looking away, but still smiling. "It only just happened yesterday. What else is there to say? I figure nopony gets over something like this in just one day. Right?"
Twilight couldn't stop herself from sniffling. She then complimented the princess, "You're pretty knowledgable for just a little filly."
Celestia blushed, and mentioned after looking out the chariot window, "This must be your home, huh? It's awful sparkly!"
Twilight corrected her, "It's your home now, too."
As they both got out, the carriage that they were just inside of soon took off, and Twilight turned to the foal. While they began walking, Twilight mentioned before opening the doors, "It still took us an awful long time just to get here. The sun is already going down."
Celestia looked towards the sunset before heading inside, and asked, "It is?"
Twilight nodded, and Celestia followed along. They wandered through the castle with the crystal walls beside them shimmering their respective reflections, and Twilight said with a laugh, "Luna's taking care of it right now, so you really don't need to worry."
The further they went, the more questions Celestia came up with. "Are you the only pony living here?"
"No," Twilight answered forwardly. "I also have a dragon living with me. His name is Spike, although, by now he's probably either reading his comics or he's fallen asleep while waiting for my return."
Twilight continued to lead the filly princess through the halls of friendship, and into the throne room. This is when Celestia finally stopped, and stood before the wide, round table, and all of the thrones. She breathed to herself for a second, not really feeling the need to go any further.
"Celestia?" Twilight echoed from the other side of the room. She stood next to a doorway, but wouldn't proceed. "Are you coming?"
Celestia, however, failed to respond right away. She was too transfixed on observing the room. To the east was a single window stretching all they way up to the ceiling. It had a sizable platform for the sill as well. Celestia thought about how it was perfect for her to fit in, but then Twilight asked curiously, "Don't you want to see the room I've picked out for you?"
Celestia sighed, and before leaving, she looked up towards the roof where bright beams of light could be seen shining through. She was soon once again directly behind the princess of friendship, wondering what her actual room was going to be like.
Twilight opened the door, but Celestia would not go in there with her. She stood right at the line, blinking with uncertainty. "What's the matter?" Twilight asked sheepishly. "Celestia?"
"This... won't do." Twilight just stared at her, confused as to what she could possibly be talking about. What came next was nothing short of a surprise for Twilight. Although, this was something she was going to have to learn to live with: being surprised by Celestia.
Slowly, Celestia pointed with a hoof at all the walls. "Not a single window for me to watch the sunrise or sunset from. Not only that... even if there were windows, this room is primarily facing the south which has a terrible view. I could see practically everything from the earlier room." Twilight blinked at first, but after hearing this, she'd simply stare at Celestia with wide eyes. The filly continued, "I need to be able to see the outside, and preferably something with a nice view."
Twilight knew there was no such thing inside the castle except for the throne room. "Wait one moment," she pleaded. "First of all, how do you know that you're facing south? Second, I don't think we have a spare bedroom like that. Not one that you're describing, at least. This is the best one that I had to offer because it has the most space!"
Celestia shook her head, and said, "I don't need that much, Twilight. And, it's not that hard to look at the sun, and figure out which way is which based of where it's at. Look, why don't I take the window back there?"
Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at the lone set of white comforters she had brought in for the time being which sat on the bed, and sighed. "You've got to be kidding. I mean, Celestia, that's... not even a room . It's where I go to work, and a lot of other ponies tend to visit there, too. You can be there for the night I suppose, but later on, you'll have to choose something else." She looked around, and persisted, "I think this room is still the best for you, though. I might be able to simply make you a window if you just give me a few days."
Celestia rolled her eyes with a hint of sass, and walked off. This caused Twilight to squeeze the bridge of her nose in frustration, and then, just as she looked back up to grab hold of the sheets, she noticed that they were already gone. Somehow, they had been folded, and were underneath Celestia's hoof. Twilight just knew that she hadn't seen Celestia grab them. She never even came into the room for a split second.
Following along, Twilight felt defeated. Not only that, but she also felt amazed that Celestia was already able to use her magic. She was smart, too. These things ran through Twilight's head just as she returned to the throne room only to find Celestia hard at work preparing her cozy little spot beside the eastern window. There was no doubt about it, too. That was definitely the nicest view the castle had to offer.
What really caught Twilight's eyes, though, was how Celestia went about her business. Again, she was using not her hooves, but her magic alone. Twilight wasn't sure how to feel about this. "Do... you know what you're doing right now?"
Celestia stopped abruptly, and looked over at Twilight innocently. "What?"
"I thought you couldn't use your magic yet. You made it sound as if you hadn't a clue how to do even the basics back there on the chariot."
Celestia simply shrugged while still holding everything including her pillow up above her head. "I just... sorta... started doing it. Isn't it neat?"
Twilight nodded with her mouth agape, and then asked, "I suppose tomorrow we'll have to figure out where you are exactly on your magical aptitude."
Celestia quickly made a funny face, and asked, "Huh?"
Trotting on by, Twilight explained further, "We're going to lift some more pillows using your magic. We might even get to see you lift a chair to two!"
Laying down after finishing up her work, Celestia chimed, "Oh... Okay...? Well, it's late, and, uh..." Celestia gave Twilight her best shot at acting, and tried to make it seem as if she was yawning. It didn't necessarily impress Twilight, but it did however get the job done.
"Yeah," Twilight sarcastically said. "You sound so tired ." She chuckled, and then began walking off. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night, Twilight."
"Good night, Celestia..."
With the sound of the door closing behind her, Twilight was gone for now, and Celestia was left with just a little bit of alone time all to herself before falling asleep. She thought about the day she had recently gone through, and wondered what tomorrow was going to be like. Out the window, she could see stars, something she knew about but didn't necessarily understand just yet. There were also the clouds, the rain that was approaching Ponyville, and the thunder that Celestia could faintly see beyond an even denser haze way off in the distance.
"So many things... I wonder how it all... works ..."
Her head dozed slightly while her eyes began to struggle just to stay open, and then her head fell onto the pillow underneath. Celestia had finally gone to bed, and with her sleep came many dreams. She dreamed of Twilight a little, but Luna was there the most. Little did the filly know, that's because Luna made it a point to be present for Celestia's very first slumber.
Mostly, she just observed while Celestia played, wasting no time after having discovered such a blissful place. She tried to soar over that tree from earlier, and managed to do so successfully, and then she went on to enjoy even more ice cream with Twilight. This time, however, these scoops would be twice as large, and packed with even more tasty flavors.
"I see," Luna remarked from outside the establishment. "Twilight must've taken her here. Can't say that I would've done the same, but it seems to have had a naturally positive effect on the girl." She laid down some distance away atop an egg shaped hill, and continued to watch as the dream ended. "Seems she's waking up already. I'd better be going, too. If I don't, ponies will badger me all day long about there not being a proper sunrise."
Meanwhile, as Luna got herself out of bed, Celestia was doing the same. The filly stood beyond the shimmering glass, it reflecting the pure beauty of all the stars above. Nothing could compare, though, to the beauty that was just about to arrive. Celestia, with sleepy eyes, rubbed some morning tears away, blinked, and then smiled at the looming horizon well beyond Ponyville.
It was instinctive. There's no other way that Celestia would've been able to describe the feeling that was suddenly washing over her. It was time for the sun to show itself, and all she had to do was give it that little push it so desperately needed. She had known this within her heart the whole time. Nopony even had to tell her what to do. With extreme ease, she managed to ignite the entire equestrian sky with a blazing flash of red and yellow lights. Luna, who was at the time approaching her balcony gasped at what she saw next.
Her eyes lit up with multiple, different colors due to the nearly blinding sight happening in front of her. Celestia had pulled this off all by herself, and on her very first attempt, too. Luna was petrified to say the least. She wasn't sure how to go about this, but something had to be done. Meanwhile, Celestia sat calmly with one of her front hooves sinking into her pillow.
Celestia's horn dimmed once her work was over, and she looked outside to see everypony marveling at her performance. Equestria had never seen the sky possess such radiance before. Unfortunately, Twilight slept in, and didn't manage to see the spectacle. However, Spike was just then coming around the corner. He commented to himself, "Wow!" The filly turned around to hear him continue, "I didn't think Princess Celestia could make the sky do something that beautiful !"
Just then, he spotted the younger Celestia sitting there majestically, and all by herself. It took him a moment to figure out what he was seeing, but once the filly introduced herself, Spike would become utterly speechless.
"Hi! I'm Celestia, the Princess of the Sun! I don't believe we've met. Who're you?"
Spike stood perfectly still, and at first, he didn't speak what so ever. She looked like the Princess, of course, but Twilight hadn't yet had the chance to tell him all about her. That much was apparent by the shocked expression on his face. He just blinked with curled eyebrows, and waited. "Don't you have a name?" Celestia asked.
Spike then asked abruptly while completely ignoring her question, "Is that so?"
"Huh?" Celestia asked with confusion in her voice.
"You're Celestia?" Spike asked.
"Oh," she sighed. "Of course I am. Twilight told you about me, right?" She glared at him with a hopeful smile, but Spike didn't let up.
"If you're Celestia, then... what're you doing here, and why're you a filly?"
Celestia looked down, her smile fading away. "Err, well... It's complicated."
Suddenly, Celestia realized that she still wasn't exactly sure how to explain her very own origins at all to anypony. Spike merely shook his head, and finally walked up to her from across the room. "I don't get it, but if you say you're Celestia, then..." He took a good look at her from a much better distance, and finished, "I'm Spike."
Celestia also looked at him with obvious interest, too, and said, "You're... that dragon Twilight mentioned last night. Wowie, Spike! I've never quite seen a real, live dragon before!"
As she continued to look at him, and chuckled merrily, he also took the chance to comment, "Those wings look pretty real alright... if only a bit small for a princess, but that horn... I mean, Celestia had a sharp one, but not that sharp! Geez..." He backed away from it slowly, and said, "That's probably the main reason why I'm beginning to believe what you're saying. You really do look like Celestia. That is, if she were turned into a filly."
Celestia giggled some more, and still sitting on her pillow, she stared at Spike with the friendliest of smirks. "If you must know, I seem to... remember a bathing house, and Luna... Oh, that's right."
"What?" Spike asked. "What is it?"
Celestia breathed, and in her own way, explained,, "I'm the new Celestia. The old one... She, err... How do I put this? She got a little too old, and that's why I'm here... pretty much."
Spike shook his head while groaning. "I can't help but feel as if there's a whole lot of details that you're forgetting about. Look, I suppose I'll just get the full story from Twilight later on. For now, it's very nice to meet you! Although..."
Spike brought a claw up to his bottom lip while glancing at where Celestia was nestled. "What is it?" Celestia asked kindly.
"Well, your Highness, it's just that... of all places, what're you doing sleeping inside of the throne room?"
"Oh," Celestia said while waving a hoof at the question. "The room Twilight had selected for me didn't have a window. Not only that, but I had already seen this room that we're in right now while passing through, and had already decided that this window right here would be the perfect place for me. Wouldn't you agree? I mean, isn't it lovely?"
Spike chuckled, and admitted rather openly, "You've got to admit, it's not exactly the most private place in the castle. Twilight told you about that, right?"
Celestia sharply closed her eyes, and said, "Won't matter to me, because most of the time, I'll probably be out playing."
Spike began to back away once again, and said, "You seem a little protective of that window... Well, alright, Celestia. If you insist." He then gasped, and out of nowhere, asked, "Say? Do you remember anything? Anything at all? You probably don't, huh, because you certainly didn't remember me one bit when I came through the door over there."
Celestia innocently shook her little head. "Nope! Not a thing. That is, it's not like I'm completely clueless. I know what everything is... somewhat."
Spike nodded, and said, "Yeah, you definitely know how to speak. Do you know what hide and seek is? Or tag?"
Celestia smiled at that question, and said, "Nope. Never heard of it."
Spike sighed, "Huh... Well, you know what hiding is, right?"
Celestia nodded. "Basically, it means to stay out of sight."
"Uh-huh," Spike continued. "And, what's seeking?"
Celestia had a bit more difficulty with this one, but eventually came up with, "It means the opposite of hiding. To... to look for somepony!" Spike didn't even need to give any more hints after that. To put it mildly, Celestia was dazzled by the activity Spike was suggesting they do together. "So, I go and hide, and then you come looking for me!"
"Yep," Spike said. "We can even take turns."
"Oh, wow, Spike. That sounds like an awesome game!"
Hopping down, she began walking on over to where the map of Equestria was. With it merely being a table for now, she was told to shield her eyes over it, and to count to twenty. She began, "One, two, three..."
Immediately, Spike was off to find himself a good place to hide. Meanwhile, Celestia kept counting, and once she was done, she'd pop her little head back up to have a look around, and to shout, "Ready or not, here I come!"
The words just came so naturally to her, as if she had played this game before, but as far as where or with whom she had played it with would be forever a mystery to her. With haste, she checked underneath the table, and her window where she had slept the previous night. No such luck came from investigating these areas, so she was quickly onto the next room which just so happened to be the room that Twilight had picked out for her; the one that she refused to enter at first. These, however, were different circumstances.
He wasn't in that room, however, so Celestia kept looking. Eventually, she'd find herself staring down the hall with a few doors on the left, and a few doors on the right. One of those doors, though, was slightly opened. Celestia figured that this was where Spike would most likely be hiding. As she warily wandered into the room, she noticed that it definitely had much more furniture than the last, but even so, she quickly noticed Spike's tail clearly sticking out from behind the couch.
Celestia simply walked right on over to where he was located, but made sure to keep her own whereabouts a secret. Then, as gently as she could, Celestia voiced, "I probably would've just left the room... but I can see your tail."
In a panic, Spike made a shrill sound, but admitted defeat, and came rising up. "Eh, hehe," he laughed while scratching the back of his head. "You got me! That was quick, too, but I just so happen to know this castle like the back of my claw."
Celestia chuckled, and asked, "Does that mean you intend to find me right away? You won't even know which room I'll be in! Unlike you, I close doors behind myself."
Spike snickered at that, and confidently boasted, "Oh, don't worry. I'll still find you."
He then began wandering back to the throne room, and still smiling. That gave Celestia a bad feeling. "What? Is he that good at seeking or something? There's no way... "
She began running, knowing all too well that she hadn't much time. She picked out a pretty random enough room, but before entering, she looked to the left of it to see another door to another room directly next to it. "Hmm," Celestia hummed aloud. Then, strategically, she creaked the other door open ever so slightly enough that Spike was sure to notice it. That way, he'd go into the wrong room by mistake. Then, as quietly, and as quickly as possible, that scheming filly headed on into the actual room that she had intended on using.
She found some shimmering, white curtains next to a northeastern window, and proceeded to get behind them. Then, she waited as silently as ever. For a good ten seconds or so, she breathed nervously, but then managed to settle herself down. She soon heard the distinct steps that only a dragon could make. "By now ," Celestia thought, "Spike's hopefully noticing the other door ."
She stayed perfectly still, and even closed her eyes, waiting to hear just the creaking. However, that didn't sound. In fact, what she did hear was another door opening . It wasn't any of the other doors, such as the ones just across the hall, either. It was the door that was directly behind her. She could just tell by how it echoed within her eardrums. "Hehe," Spike laughed, which in turn caused Celestia's heart to skip a beat.
That's when she noticed that her tail was sticking out. It was just like when it was her turn to seek, so she knew the game was over. "Aww," She sighed in her defeat.
"What was that you said earlier when you found me? That I won't even know which room you'd be in?"
Celestia came out from her cover, a stunned look on her face, and asked, "How'd you manage to do that?!"
Just then, somepony timidly came wandering into the room. Who better to answer that question other than Twilight Sparkle? She held her nose with a hoof, and said, "I can answer that!"
"Huh?" Celestia asked, confused by the way Twilight was acting.
"Hate to break it to you, but you stink , Celestia!"
"Hey," Celestia complained. "I thought it was a pretty good hiding spot!"
Spike agreed with Twilight by saying, "Actually, that's not what she means. Also, she's right. That's how I found you." He looked to Twilight, and asked her, "When's the last time she was bathed?"
Just hearing that word was like lightning coursing through her whole body. Her eyes widened, and while the others continued their blabbering, Celestia began backing away.
Twilight turned her head towards the filly, and voiced, "Blabber... blabber gabble? Dabble bath time dabble! So get ready, okay?"
"NO!" Celestia suddenly shouted. "No, no, no! NO way, nuh-uh! There's no WAY that I'm tanking a b-buh... A b-bath !"
"But, Celestia," Twilight pleaded. "You don't want to be a stinky princess, right?"
That's when Celestia took a chance, and leaped into the air right in the nick of time. Spike tried to grab her, but somehow, she managed to slip right through those jagged claws of his. She ran down the hall, and passed the throne room again. At that point, however, Twilight and Spike had figured out a way to once again trap her.
Just as she went by her window located to the left of her, Twilight teleported to the door that would've brought Celestia to the next room. While Twilight did that, Spike blocked the other exit, and waited on Twilight to do her thing. "Now, Princess Celestia..." Twilight voiced slowly, and maturely. "Don't make me chase you all over town. Think of what Luna would say..."
That seemed to get her attention somewhat, but still, she tried to run in which ever way she could. Although, that failed to bear any fruit, as all she could do was run laps around the thrones surrounding the equestrian map. Eventually, she gave up, and stopped her resisting completely while at the same time panting for a minute before finally being able to say anything at all.
With a slight rasp in the way she sounded, Celestia said, "I... just... really, really don't want to take a bath."
"But," Twilight said, regardless of how much begging the filly did. She paused for a moment before continuing, "Now you're all sweaty, which makes you even more dirty. Look, you've gone at least a whole day without one. Plus... you might end up liking it."
Celestia folded her hooves, but soon enough, she was gestured by Twilight to follow along. She also followed up with, "Don't make me have to carry you by my magic."
At last, those words seemed to have made Celestia abandon her tendencies of reluctancy for the time being. She was promptly brought directly to one of the bathrooms within very little time, which to her great dismay, the tub had already been prepared for her. It was filled practically to the brim with warm, steamy water. Foaming at the top, and some of it dripping onto the floor below, the white, soapy bubbles were pretty much the only inviting part of this whole fiasco.
"I... still don't want to do it, Twilight," Celestia pleaded.
Twilight looked at Celestia, annoyed, but then, she simply smiled. "Celestia?"
"Yes?" The foolish filly questioned.
"Have you actually smelled yourself lately?"
Celestia was naturally way too young to have thought to do this already, so her answer was, "Umm... N-no? Not really..." She then took one last look at the tub, and then down at her torso. Moving her muzzle closer to her shoulder, she continued to sniff here and there, until finally, she realized what they were talking about. She pulled her head away sharply, and tightly curled her eyes closed. Then, she blurted out, "Whew!"
She waved a few times above where she had detected the odor, and Twilight asked, "Now do you understand?"
"Whoa, hold on. Is that seriously... me!?" Celestia asked, and then, she came closer to the tub. "Alright! Fine," she pouted. "I'll take the stupid bath..."
Up one of her front hooves went, and then the other, until finally, she had at least three of her appendages touching the water. She hopped a few times, but just couldn't seem to get herself in there. That's when Spike suddenly secured the single hoof of hers that was still on the ground, and assisted her Highness up, and into the sudsy abyss.
All in all, it didn't turn out all that dreadful for Celestia in the end, like she had anticipated it to be. The waters were nice, warm and calming, and the bubbles only added to her amusement. She played around with the bubbles some, and began to realize why Twilight was so keen on her doing this. The stench that had once been looming around Celestia was gone in no time, mainly because Spike and Twilight had insisted on helping her scrub.
Once it was all over with, and Celestia was out of the tub, she'd say while still drying herself off, "That... wasn't all that terrible, actually!"
Twilight seemed gleeful, and asked in a hopeful tone, "Does that mean I won't have to fight you whenever it's time for your bath, like this morning?"
Celestia walked on by, and laughed before questioning Twilight quite clearly, "What's the fun in that?"
Twilight stumbled for a bit, and with confusion, asked, "E-excuse me?"
Celestia continued to use her magic on the towel while chortling, and dried off her back side, right below where her wings were. In a sassy manner, she asked Spike with a smile, "I didn't stutter?"
Twilight had expected Spike to be on her side, but instead, she saw him walking along with Celestia. Out the doorway they went, and he replied to her, "I don't think she got the message, actually." He chuckled before continuing, "Whenever she wanted me to take a bath, I always used to give her a hard enough time back when I was real little, too!"
They scampered off together, leaving Twilight behind while she shouted to them, "Hey! What's the big idea, Spike?! Don't encourage her!"
The day went on merrily afterwards, and Spike taught Celestia many more games that the two of them could enjoy together. Twilight prepared the two of them meals throughout their play sessions, and while they both had their fun, Twilight made sure to teach Celestia a thing or two as their time with one another progressed such as which utensils were used for which dish.
Also, she showed Celestia how to hold a spoon, and a fork properly especially whenever she was choosing to use her magic instead of her hooves. Spike made sure to be present in order to help Twilight despite seemingly against her at random times. A fair example would be of Celestia's attention getting diverted periodically, and whenever she wasn't necessarily focused on what Twilight intended on teaching her, Spike was there to correct such incidents.
One or two snaps of his claws, directly in front of Celestia wandering face, and she'd be brought right back on over to what Twilight had to say. Although, Twilight respectively tried not to overwhelm Celestia, too. After all, she was still getting settled in. Twilight had planned to put off her more rigorous tutoring courses for next week, but at the rate Celestia was excelling at, she would have to reconsider possibly starting tomorrow.
This would be put into irreversible motion by Luna's fast approaching letter. It was to inform Twilight of just how much potential Celestia might actually have considering it had to be her who rose the sun that fateful day.
Chapter Five: Meeting New Ponies
Luna trotted down the hall within the Canterlot palace. She was accompanied by three trusty guards surrounding her. They were acting as her personal security for the day, to make sure the paparazzi didn't give her Highness too much trouble.
The paparazzi was comprised mostly of fact collectors, and news ponies. One of them questioned her, "Can I ask something?"
"Yes," Luna said with a moderately welcoming tone. "But, enough inquiries of Celestia's current whereabouts. Nopony needs to know that right now. What's a filly to do with the title of Princess anyways? I don't want ponies bothering her, so put it in the papers that those were my exact words on the subject."
"Very well," the news pony agreed while jotting everything down on his notepad hastily. "Actually, my question was on her pet bird, Philomena."
Luna nodded. "Mmh, yes, and what about Philomena?"
"Is Celestia going to still care for her?"
"No," Luna said rather directly, and to the point. "At least, not for a good, long while. As I and Twilight have already stated, there's a ledger that accounts certain details of Equestria's overall history. Or, more specifically, it accounts our progression throughout these... transformations . This has been presumably going on for the last one hundred, thousand years or more. Every time Celestia was first introduced to Philomena in the past, she's consistently failed to make friends with it right away. I'll have to be the one to care for her phoenix, at least until she's older."
"Ohhh," the pony said.
Then, somepony else brought up the question, "What you're saying is, this whole fiasco with the sun and the moon princesses turning into fillies has been going on... how long again? Is it only you two sisters?"
"Possibly over one hundred, thousand years," Princess Luna said. "During these last ten thousand years, the knowledge was lost to everypony with time, and yes, it's only myself and Celestia that transform back into fillies. We had been testing out our magical capabilities, and managed to coronate other Princesses. The purpose of their existence is to simply preserve, and assist Celestia and myself whenever we must undertake the transformation yet again. Or, parent us , in other words... They also have other responsibilities, though. For example, Princess Cadance is and probably will always remain the ruler of the Crystal Empire."
Somepony questioned, "The whole foal alicorn being born in the Crystal Empire thing...? That was just an unexpected addition to all of this, eh?"
Luna nodded, and answered, "Yes. Flurry Heart being an alicorn wasn't exactly planned, although thinking about it now, we should have anticipated the possibilities of that happening. At any rate, what's done is done."
"Do you know... why it's like this? Like, the origin's of said ledger?"
Luna gulped, and revealed, "No. The ledger becomes cryptic after a certain point, and I'd rather not lead this discussion towards the ledger itself. You see, it simply serves as a sort of history book for me and Celestia. What we can take from it... Well, there's only so much in there that's legible. Some of it seems to be inconsistent, too, but that's why things are the way they are right now."
"What do you mean by... inconsistencies?"
Luna began to sweat, but chose to answer honestly. She took a deep breath upon reaching her room, and said, "Whenever Celestia has gone through her transformation in the past, and was turned into a filly again, the amount of magic she possesses at the start is always random. My magic is consistent every time, and after only a few days of training, I'm able to lift the moon quite easily. There's been instances for her, though... Apparently, there's been times where she's gone her whole life requiring my help to lift the sun each and every single day, and then the next time she transforms, she's just fine to lift the sun all on her own, and after only about two weeks had gone by, too. "
Everypony was taking notes, and they were all open mouthed. In time one of them asked, "Is there anything else, then, that you might like to add?"
Luna said firmly, "No. I've just been so caught up in today's business, and responding to inquiries that I haven't had the chance to relax one bit. If you ponies don't mind... you may wait outside, if you'd like, with my guards."
One of the guards gave a pretty nasty growl directed at the general crowd. "Uhh," one of the reporters said nervously while hiding his face beneath his hat. "We'll be right down the hall!"
Luna nodded at all of them coyly. With all of her loyal guards keeping the door well protected, Luna proceeded into her quarters. Closing the door, she thought to herself, "Actually, if anything, this is the one thing that I had wanted to accomplish earlier. I just got so caught up in dealing with everything else that I completely forgot..."
She grabbed a note, and a quill, and began writing down her message. With it all written out, she signed the parchment, and then held onto it for a good second before realizing, "Celestia never did write down how in the world I'm supposed to send this to Spike with my magic. She's always just... told me how to do it. I don't..."
She grabbed hold of her poor, overworked head, and said sadly with pity, "I don't remember how to do it!" She then made a pained face, and sighed, "I suppose... I could try and do it off of memory muscle, but then, nopony should just leap into an experiment knowing they'll probably fail."
She looked back down at the letter she had completed only moments earlier, and said, "I have no choice. It's either this, or I'll have to fly all the way to Ponyville, and I am not flying all that distance just to deliver a stupid letter."
She flared her horn, and without another moment of consideration, she sent it on its way.
Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was hard at work baking cupcakes for all of her customers that were rolling in that day. Beads of sweat dropped from her head despite the temperature being turned down. She commented for a second to Ms. Cake while cooling herself off with a rag, "Is it just me, or am I burning up?"
Ms. Cake simply nodded, and said, "Yes, dear. You certainly seem to be hotter than usual all of the sudden!"
Pinkie huffed, and backed away from the counter while her cheeks became blistering red. "Oh," Pinkie hiccuped. "What's going on? I feel like I'm about to-"
All of the sudden, Pinkie belched intensely, spewing pink flames out and towards the roof where some of the customers were being served. She coughed while breathing sharply. "What the?! D-did anypony else see-"
She burped again, this time the flames being a bit smaller, but what came out were the remnants of Luna's message. It was completely ruined and charred by the ashes, and unreadable. "That?" Pinkie moaned, and then, she shouted aloud, "What the hay, Celestia?! Be careful where you send those things! Had it been anypony else..." She cringed for a second before continuing, "Luckily for me, I just so happen to eat a lot of spicy food."
Luna gasped, and huffed to herself over what she had just done. "Okay, then," She said, trying to calm herself down. Then, with vigor, she realized something. "Oh! Wait a minute... What was it that Celestia said? It's been a long time..." She thought for a second, and then asked herself, "Was it...? Oh, now I remember. I need to focus not on a place, but a pony ."
She closed her eyes keenly, and concentrated. A few seconds went by, and then, she reopened her eyes again. "I've got him," Luna said with a sneer. Looking down, and around to deliver the message once more, she gasped. Then, she said, "I have to rewrite it all over again! You've gotta be kidding me..."
In due time, Luna would have her letter sent to the right being. Spike coughed it up, and reading it over, Twilight found herself unsure what to make of it. She also had Celestia directly in her sights at the time, and the sunset was right behind the filly. It disappeared slowly, and beyond the window, but Twilight hadn't yet figured it out; that it was actually Celestia controlling the sun, and not Luna. She connected the dots upon getting that letter just then, and seeing Celestia's horn lightly glowing. The rays of light had merely been making it that much harder for Twilight to see it happening.
She placed the note down on the map, and just breathed. Words escaped her lips without her even realizing it right away. "She's... already that powerful?"
She gasped, and became silent, but Celestia seemed to be far too preoccupied with Spike's drawing of their home to pay any attention to Twilight. "I guess ," Twilight thought. "Celestia has an interesting future to look forward to ."
She left shortly there after, knowing the two would respectively go to bed eventually. It still baffled Twilight, though, to see a filly doing something like that, even if it was Princess Celestia. The next day, Twilight would have plans to venture forth, and find out just how powerful Celestia really was. Those plans, however, would be dashed by Pinkie Pie and her suggestion to introduce Celestia to everypony. The reports of what had recently happened had finally reached Ponyville's very own news stands that day, and Pinkie Pie made sure to not to waste any of her time after reading about it in the paper.
All Celestia remembered from that morning was a huge cake being wheeled in by two steeds. The cake was mostly made of pink frosting, and on its side spelled out in big, bold letters was Celestia's name followed by three exclamation mark.
After they left, from the top of it launched out none other than Pinkie Pie herself, who started singing her "welcome to Ponyville " song. At the end of it, confetti even shot out from the back of Pinkie Pie which helped in waking up Twilight. By the time Pinkie would have a chance to ask if Celestia wanted to meet everypony else around Ponyville, Twilight had reached the bottom of the stairs.
"So?" Pinkie asked excitedly while panting.
Celestia just stared with her mouth hanging open. "Wow," she said. "I've never seen so much pink before."
Pinkie giggled, and said, "I made it myself! Try it!"
Celestia breathed calmly while leaving her window, and coming up to the humongous thing, she asked, "What is it? Also, I was talking about your mane."
"It's cake, silly, and thank you. It's tricky getting the swirls just right!"
"Oh," Celestia said enthusiastically. "So this is cake!" Then, she scooped a hoof full right into her mouth, and went limp for a second as she savored the delicious, and highly sweet taste. It wasn't just the taste that she thoroughly enjoyed, though. It was also the vibrant color. It inspired her a little bit, and gave her a crazy idea to ask Twilight about later on. For now, however, Pinkie seemed to be getting ready to ask her a particular question.
"So, Celestia? Would you care to meet the others?"
Celestia nodded her head, and of course, Twilight stepped in, asking, "Pinkie Pie?! What're you doing here? Why is there a humongous cake in my castle?!"
Pinkie had this strange charisma over Twilight that Celestia picked up on right away. Celestia watched closely as she talked Twilight into believing this was the best thing for her.
"No worries, silly willy! It's for Celestia mostly, obviously , but chances are that Spike will definitely be helping her finish it."
That's when the dragon came down as if he were summoned by a magic word. "CAKE!" he yelled in excitement.
All of the ponies laughed as he immediately began enjoyed a slice.
Then, Twilight hoofed at Pinkie, asking, "No, but seriously, what're you doing here?"
"Oh, Twilight! Relax, will ya? I just wanted to show Celestia around, and introduce her to all of our friends."
Twilight seemed agitated at first, but failed to put up much of a fight. "Well, what could it hurt? But, seriously Pinkie Pie, once we're done with the tour, I want to bring Celestia right back here for some studying."
After that, for Celestia, time seemed to speed up as the grown ups began talking about grown up stuff. They went out the door shortly after, and for most of the morning following her bringing up the sun, they walked through the town while Pinkie pointed out several landmarks for Celestia to check out. She also introduced Celestia to Rarity while she had the chance.
From the moment they entered, Rarity had a confused expression on her face. "Err, welcome! To the, uhm, Carousel... Twilight? What's going on with Celestia, and why is she a filly?"
Throughout Celestia's day, that question came up more times than she would've liked. Although she did a fantastic job of keeping in her temper, it was actually turning into a great annoyance for her that this question had come up so often throughout her day. "Haven't ponies read the news yet? " She thought to herself as they passed by the very stands that told the whole story.
Fluttershy happened to be home, and her cottage was very welcoming, and Applejack's farm was vast to say the least. Celestia could tell that she would have fun exploring the town, and would be visiting the apple orchard often. Finally, Rainbow Dash showed off a little bit for Celestia, demonstrating how great of a flyer she was. "I'll have to show you some of my best moves sometime!" Rainbow Dash said before leaving to clear the day of its clouds.
All in all, Celestia enjoyed visiting everypony, and getting to know more about them. She still wanted to do more sight seeing, but Twilight was beginning to recommend them heading home after so much walking around. Pinkie admitted defeat, and hugged Celestia goodbye upon them reaching the castle once more.
Celestia and Twilight headed inside, and Twilight yawned. Celestia, being the filly that she was, asked innocently, "Are you getting tired again already?"
Twilight nodded, and walked into the throne room only to end up sitting down at Fluttershy's spot. Then, she fell asleep once more rather quickly. As for Celestia, she came wandering into the room, and did something a bit different. For a long time, she examined the shelves of books before finally taking one with her magic. She opened it, and found that she was able to somehow read it with great ease. Celestia then quietly pulled up next to her window while looking back to the category she had chosen it from.
"Fiction?" she asked aloud before continuing to read. "Huh..."
Chapter Seven: Everly Free
Rays of light gleamed through the wet leaves of the tall standing trees marking the entrance to the Everfree Forest. Although Celestia would've hated to admit it, she was getting cold hooves about going in there. "Spike?" She asked while following behind him.
"Yes?" Spike asked while turning around, and stopping. "You've barely spoken this whole time. What's up?"
Celestia tried to hide how scared she really was, but it still showed with every word she spoke. "This... forest just doesn't sit well with me." She gulped, and then said, "You say there might be timberwolves in there?"
Spike nodded, but then he said, "But, hey, no worries! That's why I'm coming along. So that you and Twilight don't have to worry."
He then spat some of his green flames into the open air, and as it sparkled into smoke above them, the intensity was more than enough to make Celestia feel much safer about going in there. Still, there was this ominous feeling about this forest than any of the other places she had ever heard of before. Considering how much she enjoyed studying, too, she had already known of many places, but this location felt different. The closer she got to it, the more it seemed like it was calling out to her.
"That's... very impressive, Spike..."
Her vision trailed off from Spike to the entrance behind him, and she frowned with fear. That's when Spike decided to grab hold of Celestia's hoof, and get this over with. In they went, and Celestia discovered the inside of the Everfree Forest to be just as calming as it was intimidating.
"Wow," she commented. "This is exactly as I imagined it, only a lot more welcoming."
The corridor of arching trees made the way, mostly. There was a spooky aura about the environment, but years of visits to and from Zecora's hut from everypony by then had left a path filled with wonderment. To the left of them was a tiny waterfall, and it was Celestia's height. It was coming down from a pillar shaped rock that seemed to blend in with the trees. The water was running all the way along the side of the path. Pink butterflies looped within the tree branches back and forth, and even though there seemed to be abnormal sounds every once in a while such as wolves howling, Celestia could also hear birds chirping, and insects humming peacefully.
She lost herself in wonderment thanks to the sudden exposure of the mystical forest, and said to Spike, "The Everly Free Forest is simply breathtaking."
Spike had been smiling the whole time. It was right up until Celestia had gotten the name wrong that he stopped smiling, and asked, "Huh?" He looked at Celestia, completely confused by what she had said. "No, no," he said with a chuckle. "It's the Everfree Forest."
Celestia just looked at him vaguely, and said, "I... remember a name, though. It's Everly Free, Spike. H-have you ever heard of that name before?"
The look in her eyes made Spike feel bizarre, as if this might be a prank or something. "No," he said with a smirk. "Have you?"
Celestia looked away, and although she wanted to say that she did, she answered, "No..." She began to look away.
"Then," Spike said, catching her attention. "Maybe you just misheard me the first time I said it. Plus, this place isn't named after somepony."
"What's it named after, then?"
As they began to walk through the forest, Spike told her what he knew. "Apparently, this was a clear meadow at one point, and no trees ever grew in it. Then, one day, it just... became the forest that it is today. It grew vast, strong, and quickly, but it only got so big. I think there was something about... it making a nearly perfect circle? The tale itself is said to be the oldest folklore in history that's still told in Equestria."
Celestia nodded, and asked, "So, not Everly Free, huh?"
Spike shook his head, still holding onto her hoof, and said, "No. It's called the Everfree Forest, Celestia."
She nodded to herself as they walked together slowly. "Right... Everfree..." She grunted, but then said, "Got it."
Eventually, Spike let her hoof go, and continued to scout ahead. Just as he did, Celestia began walking along more slowly, admiring the beauty that was surrounding her. Soon, she'd find herself looking at the rows upon rows of tree trunks to her right that ascended to the sky. Her head tilted ever so slightly while she continued watching them go by, and as the spacing between all of the trees flickered in her sights, she even began to smirk a little bit. She focused more towards the beams of light that were escaping in between all of the bark, but then, she saw something that stopped her in her tracks.
She stood stock still for a second, her head focused straight, and forward, and her lip was quivering. Celestia looked again towards where she had been gazing at previously, and steadily began to back up. Just like before, but this time in the opposite direction, she saw it peering at her again, right through the trees. Celestia saw what could only be described as a single, giant, oddly shaped rock of some kind with moss and ivy covering it completely, and it was just sitting there, right beyond the trees that had originally been hiding it perfectly.
She tried to make a sound, but nothing escaped her lips despite them still hanging ajar. She actually wasn't sure what she was seeing, but it scared her more than anything else before that day. She began trotting back along the path hastily, shaking her head, and saying to herself suddenly, "N-no... No way am I going over there!"
While she began to gallop away, she heard spike yelling for her, and this brought Celestia to another stand still. "Celestia? Where are you?" the dragon called out.
She acted quickly, and carefully used her magic to silently carve a gigantic "X" on one of the nearby trees. She wasn't even really sure at the time why she had done something like that except to hopefully make sure that she could find that spot again, just in case she needed it for in the future. "Perhaps, someday, I'll come back and see what was up with that rock, or whatever that was back there," Celestia thought to herself as she trotted off in order to regroup with Spike.
As she ran into him, Spike sighed with relief, and said, "There you are!" He grabbed her with one of his claws again. "This time, I'm not letting go."
Celestia nodded, and said, "S-sorry for getting separated."
Spike shook his head at her, and pointed out, "Actually, it was my fault. I shouldn't have let go of you... What's wrong?" He looked at Celestia awkwardly, and said, "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
Celestia blinked shrewdly at Spike for that remark, and said, "Of course I didn't see a ghost...! This forest is just creepy, okay? Can we please get going now, Spike?"
He nodded hastily, and continued walking. Soon enough, they had arrived at Zecora's hut, and Spike entered while Celestia stopped for a second to look at the masks that hung from the thatch roof. Coming inside finally, Celestia observed her surroundings, but she didn't come any closer than the entryway at first. Everything seemed taboo enough, especially the cauldron sitting in the middle of the room, but then, in came Zecora from the hallway.
Celestia hadn't actually seen a real, life Zebra yet, so of course, she just stared with wide eyes. As for Spike, he stood next to the zebra, and said, "Zecora, meet the new Celestia!"
Celestia simply said, "Wow... so that's what a zebra is? Cool..."
Zecora laughed, and said, "Goodness, Spike! Look at this! She really is a filly, and here I thought you were just being silly."
Celestia laughed, and asked, "You only talk in rhyme?"
Spike answered her, "Yep."
Then Celestia asked Zecora, "Umm, so, what do you do here?"
Zecora said while placing a hoof on her cauldron, "I tend to use plants to help Ponyville. At first, they failed to accept me, but Twilight remained my friend still. Now, they accept me, and treat me like a fellow townspony.
Celestia smiled at Zecora's story, and watched as she made her way into the other room for a second. When she came back out, she held onto a white dress by her maw. She gave it to Celestia, and said, "Here, this is yours."
Celestia observed it modestly. The bottom of it had pretty, sparkling sunflower designs, and it seemed to be just her size. "Wow," she said, smiling, and putting it on.
Zecora then finished her rhyme with, "I doubt you'll be able to find anything like that inside the ponyville stores."
Celestia looked very nice in her new dress, and found herself a nearby mirror to use. As she continued to twirl herself around and around while looking at her reflection with absolute admiration, Celestia said, "I love it! Thank you so much , Zecora!"
Then, Spike came up next to Celestia, and said, "That's really all we needed to do here. I was also told to inform Zecora about what kinds of special ingredients Twilight needed today, so with that out of the way, we can head home if you'd like."
As they began to head out, Celestia curtsied at Zecora, and then noticed that they were taking a different route out of the forest this time. It would still land them right back inside Ponyville, but it was nowhere near the mysterious rock that Celestia had seen earlier. Although, for some reason, Celestia was feeling much more calmer about them going up this alternative path the more she traversed it. While the time went by, Spike made sure to hold onto her hoof the whole way. Although nothing dangerous ever happened during their visit to and from Zecora's hut, he still felt it necessary since they had already gotten separated once.
They came out of the bushes together, and even though Spike managed to move most of the greenery out of her way, he noticed Celestia had some how gotten a lone twig stuck inside of her mane. He stopped her, and while he pulled it out carefully, he asked, "So, which one did you like the most?"
Celestia looked up at him oddly, and asked, "Huh?"
"Oh, sorry," Spike apologized. "I meant... which pony did you like more? Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie...? Or Rarity? "
Celestia inhaled deeply at that question, and modestly said, "Oh, that's a toughie... I suppose Pinkie Pie was the best, because she was so bubbly, and happy all of the time... Her mane is all over the place, and... She, uhh..."
Spike stopped walking, and looked at Celestia as she stopped, too. "What?"
"You weren't there, so you didn't know, but..." She glanced off to the side, and curled her eyebrows furiously. "The others treated me as if I was the old Princess Celestia." She looked down, and continued, "They didn't even read the newspapers, but Pinkie Pie did..."
Spike giggled, and said, "Pinkie's cool like that... a-and, I'm sorry about what happened, but that'll wear off on ponies in no time."
Celestia smiled again, and looking up at Spike, she said, "Yeah, maybe sooner than you think. When I was at her boutique, I told Rarity that my honest opinion of her new dress was that it looked like barf. When she heard that, she said that the old me would never say something like that!"
Spike laughed, and asked, "What? You actually told her that?"
Celestia laughed along, and began running while saying, "You bet! You should've seen it! It was all green, and red!"
Spike began running, too, and as they raced towards Twilight's castle, Celestia marveled at how amazing the silk of her dressed felt as it rubbed against her coat. Twilight didn't know it yet, but thanks to that dress, Twilight was in for a real headache when it came time for Celestia's bath.
Chapter Eight: Equestria is Complex
Strung up against the wall by several pieces of tape were all the photos of Cozy Glow that Celestia had managed to find within the castle. She wore her sunflower dress as usual, and had just put up the very last picture with her magic. "There," she said tiredly.
Underneath it all was Celestia's new journal that Twilight had just gotten her as a gift. However, within only an hour or so, Celestia had already filled it thoroughly with many entries detailing her life, and she was just about to write down her overall thoughts on Cozy Glow.
"The best way to summarize what went wrong with Cozy Glow, " Celestia thought to herself while staring at the photos in front of her. "Is that... she, uh... I suppose one could say that she had at one point gotten confused with what friendship really is, and how it greatly differs from manipulation, only in the worst way. "
She flipped the pages, and wrote that down while continuing, "Also, it's not like anypony even attempted to do any proper counseling with her after the fact. According to the reports, they just sent her to Tartarus without much waiting around. "
She laid the pen down within the crease between the pages, and lipped, "Come to think of it..."
She watched as Starlight Glimmer walked on by, and called out to her, "Say, Starlight?"
"Hmm?" She turned around. "Yes, Celestia?"
It had been about a month or so since Celestia had officially moved in, and anytime she needed counseling, she always turned towards Starlight whenever she needed to talk to somepony about something. Although, she had thus far neglected to talk to Starlight about Cozy Glow. So, while breathing in deeply, she asked, "Did... you do anything to try and help Cozy Glow out?"
Starlight came closer towards the window, and said, "No, actually... because when I did, she refused to talk to me about Friendship. You have to remember what she did to me, too, but she... actually said that she could understand friendship better than anypony else, and that's when Luna made the suggestion to escort her to Tartarus."
Celestia blinked, and asked timidly, "Wait a minute... Starlight, you're saying that it was Luna's big idea all along?"
Starlight nodded, and said, "I was right there when it happened. Celestia... That is... You were hesitant to go along with it back then, but at the time, it seemed like the best thing to do." She looked at the photos, and said, "Uhh, although... You know what? You probably still shouldn't fall for those kind smiles, by the way. That's what almost messed up Twilight's School of Friendship."
Celestia looked from the photographs on her wall to Starlight, and said, "Don't worry." She looked back at the photos, and said, "She's not smiling the way Pinkie does. You see? That's how I can tell... I've been practicing just imagining Pinkie in my head, and then, I can see right through Cozy Glow's mask."
Starlight smiled, and asked, "Despite that, what I'm getting from this is that you think she didn't deserve it, huh? You're not... planning anything, are you?"
Celestia looked at Starlight, and said, "Not really... Not yet, at least."
Starlight laughed, and looked around to make sure Twilight wasn't nearby, and then said quietly, "Right, because you don't have enough to go on."
Celestia smiled back at Starlight, and said, "Something like that. Still... I've... got to ask you something, Starlight."
"Hmm?" Starlight had started to leave, but before going, she asked, "What's up?"
Celestia sighed, and said, "I've been wondering how you felt about this, actually." She looked at Starlight seriously, and asked, "Do you think she deserved it? Being sent to Tartarus, I mean."
Starlight's eyes dilated in a way that was far too obvious for Celestia to ignore. She then looked away, and didn't say anything for a long time. When she did, all that came out at first was, "Uhh..."
Celestia waited for that answer patiently, but in time, Starlight would say, "Of course not, your Highness... S-she was just a filly. I, uhh..." She even began to tear up a little as she spoke, but she continued, "I maybe should've told Luna... to..."
"To just be quiet?" Celestia offered.
"To just... shut ... up ...!"
She had this real serious gaze in her eyes all of the sudden, and as she looked off towards the floor, she moaned stressfully. "She, uh... ensnared a few ponies. Myself included, and I'm sure you've researched what she did, but at the time, it just..." She then looked up at Celestia, and said, "It had been a rather upsetting time for me, too, so I just went along with whatever the sentencing might've been." Then, she turned back around, and said, "Sorry, Celestia, to be so conflicting. To answer your question, though... Well, that's not what happened to me or Trixie. Why did a filly have to be banished to Tartarus?"
Celestia suddenly felt a sense of guilt wash over her, and said, "I'm sorry."
Starlight shook her head, though, and said while smiling, "Mmh, no, your Highness... You've given me a lot to think about. Thank you..."
She walked off slowly, and then to the right of her as she headed out the doorway came Spike. He greeted Starlight as he hastily went by her, and then quickly made his way towards Celestia. As he did, he noticed all of the pictures dangling in front of her, and asked teasingly, "Thinking about Cozy Glow again, huh?"
Celestia sighed, and said, "If it wasn't for the fact that I'm the one who ultimately made the call, Spike, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. I just found out from Starlight that it was Luna's suggestion all along, but again, ultimately ... it was totally my call to make." She shook her head while chuckling morbidly, and commented, "You'd think I would've been more willing to give friendship a try, but apparently not. Isn't that just so lazy of me?"
Spike rolled his eyes, and said while poking her slightly with his claw, "Things were complicated back then. That's why it turned out the way it did, but does all of that really matter now? There's nothing that we can do about it. She's in Tartarus, and we're here in Equestria. I just..." He looked away, and then looked back at Celestia to say, "I care about you a whole lot, and I'm worried that you're stressing yourself out over something that you have very little control over."
Celestia nodded at that, but then said, "Spike... Things weren't just complicated back then... Things, I think... have always been complicated in Equestria."
Spike tilted his head at her, and asked, "What do you mean?"
She pulled out a few books, and said, "Well... for starters, let's take a look at the stars, and what we know of them thus far. From a scientific point of view, stars start their lives as clouds of dust and gas. We've seen that they can have planets orbiting them, and most stars don't orbit planets. The planets orbit the stars... It's not the other way around like it is for Equestria, Spike."
She looked at Spike, and he looked at her cluelessly. Then, she pointed out, "Has nopony noticed that our sun is literally the only star in existence that moves only because it requires some magic in order to do it?"
Spike's eyes went wide with an odd sensation of realization, and he slowly voiced, "Uhh..."
"Gravity has been proven, but it clearly works differently here in Equestria. Our star is different. Why? Nopony can accurately explain that. Not only that, but I've been researching, and researching... I asked Twilight, and Starlight a while ago, and they couldn't answer me, either... What's magic?"
Spike looked away, and said, "Uhhhhh..."
"Like, I know that it's some kind of energy, but where in the world did all of this random, and amazing energy come from?! It just poofs right into our beings, and determines the way we develop. Unicorns have the most magic because of the fact that they can actually summon it in the form of mystical aura, and they can do even more things with it, and pegasi are built lighter for better speed... Finally, earth ponies are the strongest physically. All of these things have to do with magical influences. This much has actually been scientifically proven. Now, why does it seem to only accumulate onto this planet? The other suns in the sky don't require magic in order to work! Theoretically speaking, that means that magic is an odd, and mysterious type of energy that we literally are just playing around with... and... and ... we don't even know where it comes from, Spike!!! "
The dragon was suddenly being grabbed by both of her hooves, and as she shook him back and forth, he could only respond by saying, "Uhh..." He laughed once she seemed to have finished, and said, "Well, eh heh... It's n-not like it hasn't been noticed. Pony scientists all over the world are looking into these sorts of things as we become more and more aware, so relax! Although, I've gotta congratulate you, Celestia. I, umm... certainly haven't ever considered all of this up until just now. It's... rather impressive."
He seemed distant now, so Celestia decided to drop it by saying, "Look, whatever..." He looked back at her, and she continued saying, "Equestria is complex; plain and simple. Let's not dwell over it too much, I guess..."
She hopped out of bed while Spike said to her, "Sounds good to me, but you're definitely onto something, I think."
She nodded, and said, "I think I might be over thinking it... Anyways, hey, look... Twilight and Luna both have been talking, and Luna thinks it might be a good idea for me to go to a more general, public school instead of Twilight's special friendship academy. I'm... thinking we may not get to hang out together as much as we used to once that happens, so..."
Spike finished for her, "You want to go play some more before you have to go to some boring school, huh?"
She smiled, and blushed. "What do you say?"
Spike merely grabbed hold of her hoof, and said with the dorkiest accent he could muster, "Of course, your Highness... Anything for a fair Princess like yourself!"
Celestia laughed as Spike brought her away from her window, and out of the castle. Along the trail, she shouted out to him, "You can be such a dork sometimes!"
The two of them ran through the streets of Ponyville merrily while trying desperately not to run into any of the ponies that were in the middle of their every day activities. They were in the middle of a friendly game of tag when Spike finally started to feel fatigued, and chanted to Celestia, "Hey, wait!" He huffed, "Let's take a break."
As they did, Celestia noticed a small shop that they could peruse while cooling off. "C'mon," Celestia said to spike as he caught up to her. "I've been inside of here once before with Twilight. They might give us drinks again!"
While they wandered in, Spike questioned, "Do you think they might also feed us while they're at it?"
Celestia came up to the counter only to see two other adult ponies next her, and she rang for the cashier. After that, the Princess then overheard the two of them talking to one another. To Celestia's great surprise, it turned out that they were in fact discussing Cozy Glow . Spike gasped once he realized this, and looked away while Celestia listened in on their conversation bravely.
"I believe she's better off where she is now," a stallion wearing a top hat said with a raspy voice.
"Oh," the mare grumbled, the feather on her bonnet wiggling with her every movement. "But, she's just a filly after all. If anything it's the parents who should be blamed."
"If that were true, rest assured, they would've been involved. I'm telling you, that Cozy Glow was a hopeless case, and you know it."
Celestia cut in then and there, and asked, "What makes you think so?"
"Huh?" the stallion said while looking around, and then looking down. "Oh, Princess Celestia... Well, to put it bluntly, she was a brat!"
"Oh come now," the mare pleaded. "She just needed some help."
Celestia nodded, and said, "I agree with her, actually. Why should she be in Tartarus?"
The stallion leaned down before leaving, and said something that Celestia simply couldn't bring herself to accept. "Because, my dear... She was just that evil. Alright? She was so, very relentless, and cunning, and disturbing that nopony felt any sympathy after the fact. Oh, but now that it's all said and done with, she deserved some compassion?" He got back up, and said in a distasteful way, "My dear... Something like compassion can be rather expensive. That's why she couldn't be trusted." He looked away for a moment, and then said, "Then again, she might've changed by now. Perhaps she has reflected on her misdeeds, and then again, what if she hasn't?"
He then saw that the cashier had arrived, and tipping his hat to the other ponies in the store, the stallion took off with his set of groceries. Celestia had been watching him the whole time, thinking deeply about his words, and the way he saw things. Still, she couldn't bring herself to disregard Cozy Glow as a true, hopeless villain even with all that she had heard about the pegasus. With all of her strength, she told herself to stay true to her beliefs. Then, the cashier startled her by asking all of the sudden, "Bottled water???"
"AH!" Celestia shouted suddenly while backing up. "Oh, sorry... Y-yes, we'd, uh, love some water please."
The mare behind the counter nodded kindly, and as she went back behind the store once again, the other mare that had still been standing closely next to Celestia said, "I don't care what that nut says." She looked towards Celestia, and said, "Now you, however... You seem to have the right idea. After all, Tartarus is a place for monsters... not little fillies, no matter how monstrous their behaviors may be."
As she walked out, Celestia said to Spike, "Everypony has some good in them. Right?"
He just looked at her blankly at first, but then, he closed his eyes while answering, "I've always thought so. With Cozy Glow, though... Somepony like that, you see... If you were really wanting to be her friend, and have her be a friend back to you... Well, it would've been challenging. I mean, like... really challenging , Celestia."
Celestia then asked, "But not impossible, right?"
Spike breathed while the cashier gave them their bottles of water, and said, "Nothing is impossible."
As they walked out of the shop that day, rather than playing more games with Spike, Celestia thought long and hard about what Spike had said to her back at the store. They sat together under a nice, shady tree enjoying their drinks, and with the wind breezing on by, Celestia said aloud, "If anything is possible, then there has to be a way into Tartarus."
Spike looked at her with wide eyes, but then, he relaxed himself all of the sudden. "I suppose... it's unavoidable, huh?"
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.
Spike put his claws together tightly, and spoke silently, but loud enough so that only Celestia would know what he was actually saying. "There used to be a physical opening to Tartarus located here in Equestria, but it was closed off forever right before Cozy Glow was imprisoned. I remember hearing that Luna has the power to go to and from Tartarus freely, but there's rules..." He gulped, and said, "You didn't hear it from me, but Twilight just so happens to own a book that'll tell you everything you need to know about Tartarus, and what the rules are. Rule number one states that only alicorns may freely summon portals to and from Tartarus."
He then got up rather nervously, and said, "I... don't know anything else, and I don't really even know where Twilight might be keeping that book. Also, I've never actually read it all that much. I've only ever glimpsed at it, and I've seen Twilight holding onto it with her magic, like... once or twice . I know I can't stop you, too, Celestia. I've been watching you perfecting your magic while training with Twilight, and I don't think that even Twilight could stop you. Just... y'know? I-if you have to do something crazy, make sure that you know that it's the right call to make."
Celestia had been looking into Spike's eyes the whole time, and she had been paying attention to what he had been saying very closely, and didn't look away for a second. "I promise... I know what I'm doing," she said. "I just... can't do it yet. I'm not ready, but eventually, I think I will be." She exhaled some air, and said, "Thank you so much , Spike... for the information."
Spike nodded with doubt in his movements. He then began leaving her, and said to Celestia, "I'll see you back at the castle."
Celestia smiled at Spike while he took off, and she then yawned. She eventually would begin thinking for a little while longer about the three main mysteries that had started to encompass her entire life. Firstly, there was the haunting puzzle involving Everly Free and the Everfree Forest. Secondly was the conflict between real science and all of the magical properties that had somehow taken hold of Equestria, and the third thing was whether or not it was a good idea to attempt to rescue somepony like Cozy Glow from the formidable clutches of Tartarus.
Finally, soon, Celestia was also supposed start going off to school everyday.
"Ugh," Celestia grunted while she scratched the back of her head. "I'm only a filly...! I don't know what to do. Hmm..." She began thinking to herself, "Maybe I should go back to Starlight for more advice. "
Then, out of the corner of Celestia's eye, she spotted three other fillies playing happily together just off in the distance. As she watched them all busy at work fixing up their tree house, Celestia wondered if she might see them at school someday soon. "Come to think of it... Perhaps that's what I need, actually, " she thought leisurely. "More fillies roughly around my own age and height that I can talk to about all of this might actually turn out to be really beneficial! " She smiled while she allowed her thoughts to wander, and looked down while remarking, "Or, maybe they'll end up helping me take my mind off of everything instead. That would be nice, too, I suppose."
Celestia would spend the next few minutes underneath that tree, but eventually, she'd be on her way back to the castle. On her way back, she gulped just before coming up the stairs, and a strange thought happened to loft into her head. "I wonder what the other kids at school are going to be like. "
Chapter Nine: Passing Days
First Flight
The glass that separated Celestia from the outside had just been cleaned on both sides, and as Twilight came back into the room, she asked, "How're you holding up?"
Celestia looked down, and away from the glass towards her injured forehoof, and said, "I'll be okay... but, seriously. Pain sucks, Twilight!"
Celestia breathed as calmly as she could, and gulped before lifting the cloth up, exposing her wound to the open air. Twilight could see the red color still coming out rather easily, staining the cloth. Immediately, Celestia clenched it back down, and pressed while wincing. "Keep it on the cut, Celestia," Twilight said firmly. "The pain will go away eventually, but not if you keep doing that."
Celestia nodded, and sniffled slightly. "I really thought that I was gonna take off, and fly, too... a-and take off like a bird." She sighed, and said, "Instead, I came plummeting to the ground... Had you not caught me with your magic..."
Twilight then said softly, "By the way, why didn't you use your magic? Did you just get too nervous to think straight?"
Celestia nodded as Twilight kept approaching her, and once she was directly next to the filly, Celestia rested her head on Twilight's chest to say, "It all just happened so quickly... One second, I'm in the air, and I'm actually flying! Doing it, you know? The next second, I'm just falling."
Twilight pointed out, "You did great... right up until the whole falling part. I..." Twilight scoffed, and said, "I could've done better at protecting you, too."
"No," Celestia said in denial. "You acted as fast as you could've! I was just falling too quickly, and it happened before we even knew it."
Twilight held onto Celestia tightly. "Don't worry, Celestia... You'll get it next time," Twilight said assuringly.
Although Celestia could tell that Twilight was determined about what she had said just then and there, Celestia felt a bit differently. She watched as Twilight slowly left the room, and whispered to herself, "I don't think... that I care about learning how to fly all that much anymore." She looked down at her short wings, and asked while Twilight wasn't in the room, "Why hadn't I ever noticed how tiny these things really are...?"
She then looked down at all the recent books that she had been reading. All of them were about aerodynamics, and all that research now seemed like a waste of time. She stayed like that for several minutes, holding onto her hoof gently while looking at all those books below her gaze. Soon, Twilight would come back to redo the bandages. As she was in the middle of wrapping it for Celestia, the filly questioned shrewdly, "This had to happen right before school? It's only in two days!"
Twilight sighed with a smile, and said, "Wounds like this will heal faster if you hold it still... It's too great for me to use my magic on it." Then, Twilight looked closely at Celestia, and knew that they were thinking the exact, same thought. "Err... I suppose you could... study the spell with my books...?"
Celestia looked at Twilight sharply, and asked, "What spell books?"
Twilight blinked, and almost seemed as if she wasn't going to answer. She had even stopped wrapping the bandage. With an awkward smirk, she said, "They're someplace safe."
Celestia then blinked as well, almost mimicking Twilight. "You mean somewhere that I can't reach, because I've searched this whole castle, and all I've ever found were the very basics over there across from the map of Equestria."
Twilight hiccuped, "Yes." Then she said, "No!" She looked left, and then right, and then back at Celestia with guilt. Then, she sighed, and looked down oddly for a few seconds. She began to explain to Celestia, "Listen... You have a lot of magic hidden deep inside of yourself." She continued to wrap the bandage while saying, "I'm just... scared that you'll get your little hooves on one of those books, and not be able to stop with just the healing spell."
Celestia sat there looking at Twilight for a long time. Her mouth was somewhat ajar, but the look in her eyes was subtle. She nodded at that, and said, "I did happen to wear myself out the first time I actually picked up a book, huh?"
Twilight answered, "You've already finished nearly every book in this room... Just a little."
"Still," Celestia said hastily, "m-my hoof... hurts ."
Twilight sighed, and considered her position for a little bit longer. While she finished wrapping Celestia's hoof, she asked slowly while looking at Celestia, "I was hoping to start teaching you this kind of magic later on, but you have to promise me that we'll take it one spell at a time." She looked at Celestia, and said, "No sneaking advanced magic without me knowing. Okay?"
Celestia looked from her hurt hoof to Twilight, and said, "Okay... I promise."
Twilight then asked Celestia to see how her hoof felt after it had been all wrapped up, and although it was difficult for Celestia to walk even one step at first, she was soon traversing through the castle once more that very same day. She only limped a few times, but immediately, she'd be coming up to Twilight in order to ask her, "So about that healing spell?"
It goes without saying, but Celestia managed to learn the spell immediately, and even healed her own hoof with Twilight's help. Just as Twilight went to put the book back, however, Celestia saw how she was doing it. Twilight's horn glowed lightly, and right in front of her, Celestia saw a tiny, black hole open up right in front of Twilight's face. It's not as if Twilight had expected Celestia to be nearby while she did this, and checked her surroundings while the portal was open. Celestia managed to evade Twilight's sight, though, and in went the book. The hole disappeared after that as Twilight trotted off.
Celestia's heart began to race as her imagination went wild. "That's probably where the book about Tartarus is ," Celestia thought to herself. "Not only that... but... "
She came closer to where the hole had been summoned just recently. Twilight was nowhere in sight, and although Celestia had given Twilight her word that she wouldn't steal magic, she stared at the still visible ripples floating in the air. They weren't going away, either, so Celestia breathed to herself. She began to attempt to open it up, and with her horn shining brightly, but silently, she gasped as it unraveled.
It was like watching the world unravel right before her very eyes. Twilight wasn't just keeping books. She was keeping an entire room dedicated to the most impressive archeological finds throughout equestria hidden away. From one glance inside there, she saw that Twilight was housing just about every dangerous historical item that she had ever heard of. One small example would be the alicorn amulet sitting right across from where Celestia was standing nervously. Twilight wasn't just keeping spell books from Celestia, but everything else as well. Anything that might be somewhat harmful, or misused was stored there.
Then, Celestia saw something else as well. Beyond the haze, in the distance, she could see Luna through another set of ripples. As they closed behind her, Celestia acted hastily, and closed the portal leading into Twilight's castle, and after that, the filly collapsed to the floor. Some sweat slid down her forehead from the strain of opening and closing that black hole, and she looked around herself once more. Twilight was still nowhere in sight.
She got back up, and thought for a second about this. "That means... that Luna's also working to hide away all of that junk. " Then, she thought, "In fact... I bet that this was all Luna's idea in the first place! What do they think I'm going to do? Blow everything up? "
"Ooh," she exhaled with frustration. "Those two... Like, what do they think I'm going to do with any of that stuff?" She pointed towards the ripple, and noticed the bandage that was still on her hoof. Removing the bandage, Celestia sighed, and said, "I suppose they're just being precautious. Plus, for all I know, they might've been doing that since before I was born."
She looked around awkwardly, and said, "That is... before I was reborn ..."
While she walked off, she considered her promise, and said, "I'll only take spell books, and only if I really need to. Still, Twilight..."
She looked off towards the hall where Twilight had wandered along just recently, and said, "You shouldn't hide things like this from me... Just when exactly was she and Luna going to tell me that they had been working on this anyways?"
Meeting Discord
The next day, Celestia wandered around the front lawn of Twilight's castle by herself. She was taking in the fresh air while hovering three orbs of water above her head with her magic. At the same time, she was reading a poetry book comprised of mostly sonnets, and enjoyed the breeze as it ruffled the bottom of the dress that she was wearing.
She didn't know it at the time, but directly above her was also Discord, leisurely watching the filly while holding a newspaper and resting on a high cloud. "Hmph," he said to himself while adjusting his back side. "Took me forever just to find her... And now that I'm here... I don't even know what I'm supposed to say!" He grumbled, "I should've known she'd be babysat by Twilight Twinkle Sprinkle Sparkle !" He laughed, and said, "Try saying that five times fast!"
Slowly, he came loftily floating down. Despite his slow entrance, though, he still managed to scare Celestia, and forced her to lose control of her magic. The water would've ruined her sunflower dress had it not been for Discord stopping it, and transforming the orbs of liquid into a heaping ton of dandelions. As all of it exploded peacefully above her head, Celestia bounded back, but then gasped at the dazzling sight. All of the dandelions began flying away from them in the wind, scattering themselves all over the town of Ponyville.
She just stood there, mesmerized by the chaotic magic that Discord had performed in front of her. She glanced his way, and he looked at her nervously while saying, "P-pretty, isn't it?"
Celestia smiled while blinking at him. As she walked over to him, she asked kindly, "What... are you?" She giggled at the end of her sentence playfully, and extended her hoof curiously. "You look like a pony... and a snake... and a tiger... and an eagle... and a-"
Discord had begun to laugh, and said, "I'm Discord, and a while ago... we were..."
"Friends?" Celestia asked. "I've read about you. Although you've had a troublesome past, you came out on top." She graced his talon, and said, "You're a... draconequus , right?"
He smiled, and just nodded.
"Well then, nice to meet you, Discord."
He looked away, and frowned. "Of course... you probably don't remember me at all."
Celestia continued to smile, though, and said, "I don't, but I definitely want to get to know you." She looked him up and down once again, and as he bended down towards her, she said, "You don't strike me as a bad pony."
He blinked, and looked back at her face to face. "Huh..." While Celestia raised her hoof for his paw, he said, "That's exactly what you said to me when I first met the older you."
Celestia felt his fur, and said, "Didn't work out?" Discord didn't answer, so she said, "Promise me you won't ever do evil things, then, Discord."
He giggled, and said, "I've already done that! However, if you insist... I promise to be good , your Highness..."
The filly looked at him gratefully, but then, she said, "Just call me Celestia."
"Celestia it is," Discord replied politely.
It might've been the perfect scene had Twilight not come into the picture. "Discord!" she shouted while running up to them. "Get away from her," she commanded after stopping in front of the two.
Celestia looked at Twilight while blinking a few times. Discord just looked at her with this unsure expression. "It just... I-it just happened, Twilight," he said modestly.
Celestia said then before Twilight could reply, "He saved my dress from getting wet!"
Twilight stopped to look at the dry filly. She then noticed also that the orbs of water were missing, and she asked, "What... happened?"
Celestia pointed towards the town where all the white sparkles could still be seen glittering above all the establishments, and as Twilight's eyes widened, Celestia said, "Discord turned the water into dandelions."
Twilight nodded with her mouth agape, and said, "Well, then... Thank you... Discord ."
He snickered at Twilight, and then said, "Don't mention it. No, really, because ponies down there are probably going to want to know why there's so many dandelions cropping up all of the sudden!"
He then grabbed hold of Celestia and placed her on his back. Then, Twilight said, "Would you mind the two of you coming with me?"
Discord and Celestia both shook their heads, and back inside the castle they went. Twilight went over the various rules of how Discord should treat Celestia seeing as how she was a filly, but most of her suggestions were common knowledge. Time went by, but eventually, Discord and Celestia would be released from the castle in order to resume their enjoyment.
Confrontation
Luna sat at her bed, her hoof resting on its soft surface. That's when the door knocked, and she said, "You may enter." In walked Starlight Glimmer. Luna was surprised to see her, and said, "You could've lettered..."
Starlight said, "This... isn't something that can be done through a letter."
Luna left her bed, and approached the mare. Majestically, she asked, "What do you require of me?"
Starlight breathed, and said, "It's about the day that you suggested to Celestia that you take Cozy Glow to Tartarus."
Luna's eyes widened at that, and she backed away. "What about it?" she asked seriously.
"Why?" Starlight asked with a shrug. "Why did you recommend something like that?"
Luna breathed, and said, "Would you believe me if I said that it was intended as a joke...?"
Starlight just stared at Luna. "How could she say that? " she thought, but she could tell that Luna was being serious about what she had just said. "You're telling the truth," Starlight voiced.
Luna nodded, and said, "I didn't think that Celestia would've even considered it being the proper punishment." She took a deep breath before continuing, "Still, perhaps it really was for the best."
Starlight shook her head, and said, "I disagree."
Luna looked at her curiously, and asked, "You think it was unwise to have done that?"
Starlight looked away, and said, "It's questionable at best."
Everything fell silent after that. Starlight stared at Luna sternly, and luna eventually looked away while scoffing. "I suppose I've got my answer, then," Starlight said, and that's when she left.
After she closed Luna's door, Luna turned back towards her bed. She sighed, and said, "I can't sleep..."
The First Day of School
"So? How do you feel?"
"Words cannot express what I'm going through right now, Discord," Celestia said from her opened window. She sat at the sill while he stood outside. "Thanks for coming to see me this morning."
He smiled back at her, and said, "I've got somewhere to be just like you do, but hopefully, once we're done, we might... hang out again."
Celestia giggled sweetly at him, and said, "I'd be insulted if I didn't see you again real soon."
As he took off for wherever he had to be that day, Celestia closed her window, and inhaled some air afterwards. She kept it in for a second, and then, as she exhaled, she sighed along slowly. Soon after, she stretched a few times before hopping off of her well comforted bed and away from her well made space. It was almost time, and as she looked to the entryways, she wondered when Twilight would be showing up to escort her.
She looked at her journal, but said, "I've already written everything..." She felt her dress, and thought to herself while checking everything off in her mind, "Twilight washed this yesterday, so what I'm wearing will do for my first day, but still... Twilight will have to take me shopping sometime soon. Also, I've showered, brushed my teeth, and my mane looks pretty good in the reflection of my window. "
She looked away from the bushes outside, and just before she could continue speaking to herself, Twilight stole her line as she wandered into the room. "Yep! You look as ready for today as you're going to get, Celestia."
"Heh," Celestia laughed quietly. "Thanks, Twilight... Umm, can we talk?"
"Sure," Twilight said. "What's it about?"
Celestia felt Twilight's hoof as it moved some of her hair out of her eyes. "I was thinking about getting my mane... dyed ."
"Oh," Twilight said while frowning, and drooping her ears. "What color?" she asked.
Celestia simply gulped, but said forwardly, "Pink..."
Twilight nodded with her mouth ajar. "Ah... like Pinkie."
Celestia looked away while chuckling a little. "Yeah, she... might have something to do with it."
Twilight looked away with an awkward smirk. "Who am I to stop you?" she asked.
Celestia's smile had been wavering, but once Twilight had said that, her smile would only keep widening. "Oh... Oh! Thanks, Twilight! I-if it's done right, y-y'know...? It'll look amazing, I just know it!"
Twilight laughed along, and then said, "Hey, look, we've got to get going. Your classes will start soon, so let's hurry up and go if you're ready."
Celestia smiled brightly, and said, "I'm ready. Let's go, Twilight."
She followed her guardian down the hall, and once they were outside, Twilight would say, "The school is just south east from our castle, and you can see its shiny, loud bell from here."
Celestia looked towards where they were headed, and saw the red pillar, and said, "Oh, oh! I see it! Do you think I'll get a chance to ring it?"
Twilight sighed, and said, "I'm surprised Pinkie hasn't already taken you there to ring it, actually." Soon enough, they'd be close enough that Twilight would suggest Celestia going off without her. "You just head on inside, and find yourself a seat!"
Celestia looked away at Spike, who was headed into the Carousel Boutique just off in the distance, and said, "I'd rather just do this tomorrow."
In response, Twilight suggested, "Try to look at it like this. You'll be meeting all sorts of new ponies, and you'll make all kinds of new friends!"
Twilight stood still while Celestia kept walking, stopped, and turned around. "Do I really have to? I'm feeling scared all of the sudden."
Twilight snickered, and said, "There's nothing to be scared of. Spike's not gonna believe me when I tell him about the way you're acting."
Celestia looked away for a second, and said, "Well, if there's nothing to be afraid of... then, okay..."
She slowly walked off, and soon blended in with the other fillies and colts that were headed towards the school. Twilight was eventually on her way back to her castle, and as she walked away, Celestia made sure not to make eye contact with anypony . She just kept trotting closer and closer towards the door. In she went right when there wasn't anypony nearby, but the inside shocked her. It looked like an ordinary classroom except that there weren't any students inside to speak of.
"Huh..." That's all Celestia managed to say before she began hearing the loud gong of the bell just outside. In came a few ponies followed by more, and Celestia hastily made her way to the back of the class room. As she sat down, she began to realize something, and thought, "That bell must mean that class is in session. I'll have to remember that for the next time I'm here. "
She looked down at her desk and realized that unlike the ones at the front of the classroom, the one that she was now sitting at was rather worn-out. She watched the ponies coming in, and although some of them looked at her, nopony really said anything to the Princess. She smiled, and thought, "Maybe I really can get through this day... if I just mind my own business. "
She grabbed a book that was sitting next to her, and began reading it without even paying attention to what was happening all around her. As she read, she could hear a few neighboring fillies and colts sitting down, and asking one another about the new kid in class, but so long as Celestia kept her face hidden behind those pages, perhaps nopony would ever even talk to her. That's simply what her thought process was at the time.
Then, from the front of the classroom, she heard Ms. Cheerilee say, "Attention everypony! I hope you all are having a wonderful morning, and I have some very exciting news to share with all of you."
Celestia looked up from her book. "Uh-oh..."
"Today," the teacher resumed excitedly. "We have a new student! I'd like her to come on up and introduce herself!"
Celestia suddenly sank down into her desk with a groan. After a few ponies started looking at her, she realized that she didn't have much of a choice, and got out of her chair while putting the book down, and looked up at the whole, wide classroom. With every step, she could feel her heartbeat speeding up. She frowned while looking straight at Ms. Cheerilee, and once she had reached the front, she turned around gracefully. She looked at each and every single pony slowly, and then said, "Err..."
She looked at Ms. Cheerilee once again curiously, and the teacher merely offered, "Tell the class about yourself."
Celestia looked down while saying, "Right." She then looked up, and said nervously, "I'm... Celestia."
The reaction was just what she had feared. Ponies had already been observing her horn and wings, but now, nearly all of the kids stared at her with shock. Sweetie Belle blurted out, "So my sister really was telling the truth!"
Celestia sighed, and said, "I know... that... there was a Princess Celestia before me, but now... it's just Celestia."
Ms. Cheerilee was the one to insert, "She's been transformed into a filly so that she can continue to raise the sun."
Celestia gulped, and said, "If that's... all I needed to do, then I'll be returning to my desk now."
Ms. Cheerilee nodded with a hopeful smirk, but Celestia didn't return the kind gesture. She felt too scared to do so, and while she slowly made her way back to the desk that she had recently been using, she saw from the corner of her eyes a purple maned filly with an orange coat staring oddly at her. That is, more specifically, she was looking at Celestia's wings. The Princess didn't pay it much mind, but once she sat down, she noticed that the filly was still staring at her from the front. She was just a seat or two away from Celestia, but even so, it wasn't like this filly hid what she was doing. She just kept looking over at Celestia for a long time before finally turning to speak to the earth pony in front of her.
Celestia shook her head, and scoffed while thinking to herself, "I really didn't want to do that. I wonder how long it's going to take for somepony to come up to me and start asking me dumb questions. "
As she loftily dozed off on her desk, the teacher kept on talking about the assignment for the day, and when Celestia finally came to, she'd find the room empty except for Ms. Cheerilee shaking her by the forehoof. "Celestia? It's recess time," she said sweetly. "You really shouldn't be sleeping during class, though."
Celestia stood up, and started going for the door while saying, "Sorry, Ms. Cheerilee."
She yawned, and walked out the door. She heard Ms. Cheerilee say just before leaving, "Try and make some friends while you're out there. Okay?"
Celestia, however, didn't respond to that. Actually, once outside, she'd scoff to herself, "Yeah, right, make some friends ... With who?"
She looked around for a couple of seconds, but then started wandering off towards a lonely tree south of the school playgrounds. Little did she know that she had attracted the attention of three particular fillies, and the bravest of the three was already about to try and introduce herself.
Chapter Six: Twilight's Golden Hour
Twilight woke back up in the middle of the day, and lifted her sleepy head from the table which had her drool on it, visually creating a new pond where there isn't one. She quickly cleaned it up, and looked around, questioning if she was seeing everything around her correctly or not.
"C-Celestia?" she asked the other sleepy pony in the room. To Twilight's left were books stacked high on top of one another, and to the right of her were almost empty shelves where those books had once been. Twilight's senses came back to her in time, and she simply said, "Tell me that's not what you were able to read today..."
Celestia blinked at Twilight with obviously tired eyes, and just nodded. "It's all... very interesting."
Twilight gulped, and said, "It's only been... maybe two hours."
Celestia smiled at that, and said, "I just couldn't stop. My favorite category was history, though, if you can believe it." She then sighed, and looked to Twilight with the most animated face that Twilight had ever seen before. From Twilight's point of view, she even looked sad, or injured.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
Celestia began to cry, and sob. Twilight leaned in with a concerned look in her eyes, but she didn't say anything. Actually, Celestia began to answer her question. "Tell me... the truth ," She said. She then looked at Twilight in the eyes, and asked, "Did I really lock up some filly in Tartarus during my previous life?!" Twilight's face became stunned. "Or was that just some sick joke put in there to scare me?"
Twilight tried not to appear too bothered by this subject, but this was Cozy Glow that they were talking about after all. "I, uhm..." She cleared her throat, and continued, "The pony you did this to was guilty... of many bad things , Celestia. There's no other way of putting it."
"So it's true, then," Celestia said. "I really did trap Cozy in there."
Twilight felt herself shivering by then, but pushed herself to question further, "You... don't know what she did, though, do you?"
Celestia surprised Twilight by saying, "Actually, I do." She sobbed some more before saying, "She tried to manipulate the whole school and use friendship for power. D-doesn't mean that she should've been imprisoned for it."
Twilight then said, "No... It's way worse than that! Celestia, her actions were showing no sign of her giving up those ill ambitions. She was unstoppable, too, and charismatic. If you hadn't done what you did back then, there's no telling what she might've been able to pull off next time we encountered her!"
Celestia shook her head vigorously in denial, and started to shout over Twilight's argument, "No, no, NO!" She erupted in tears, and even managed to turn on the royal canterlot voice for little bit. "YOU'RE WRONG! YOU JUST DIDN'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE WORK OF BEFRIENDING HER ! I didn't... want to go through the work..."
She hiccuped, and Twilight said after regaining her posture, "Maybe you're right, but there's nothing we can do about it now."
Celestia looked back up at Twilight seriously, and calmly asked all of the sudden, "What're you going to do to stop me?"
It was more like she had come to a startling realization rather than a genuine question for Twilight, and the Princess of Friendship wasn't answering right away. She had gone somewhat blank in the face, but then, she closed her eyes tightly. Scoffing with tears escaping as well, Twilight opened them again, and staring just as sternly back at Celestia, Twilight said, "I suppose... I'll have you be your mother, won't I?!"
Celestia blinked, and frowned. "But, I don't-"
"Yes, you do," Twilight said, sitting there now more beautifully than ever. She appeared even more calm than Celestia could've ever been at that moment in time, and yet, so mysteriously seriously, too. "I've been wondering... if I should have you call me mom from now on."
Twilight's words must've been just right, because just then, Celestia giggled, and said, "I don't think I could ever call you mom , Twilight. You're more like my sister, if anything."
Twilight found herself blushing somewhat by that remark. She then lowered her head, and said, "Just don't go and grow up on me too soon, Celestia."
The filly looked away while hopping down. Once on the floor, she said, "I'll try and stick around for as long as I can. To be honest, though, I wouldn't mind living in the Canterlot palace. Not that this isn't a nice place to live in! I just... really liked being over there for some reason."
Twilight nodded, and said, "Look, about Cozy Glow... She's not somepony that you should be concerned with."
Celestia nodded, and said, "I'm still feeling sorry for her, though."
Twilight did her best to counter with, "Try not to be. I sometimes find it hard not to feel sorry for her, too, because she was my very own student."
Celestia nodded, and said, "She just... I feel like she didn't deserve that, you know, Twilight?"
Twilight finally admitted, "She didn't, actually." She breathed heavily, but continued to say, "But there's nothing we can do about it now." She then reached a hoof out to the filly, gesturing for her to come to her. Celestia understood what Twilight wanted perfectly, and came walking up loosely only to feel Twilight's sweet, caring embrace. She held onto the filly tightly, and said, "I know how you must feel... I just hope you don't mind me changing the subject, but did you read anything else?"
Celestia curled her head into Twilight's chest as she muffled, "Yeah, I read a lot... Maybe too much..."
Although Twilight couldn't understand a word Celestia was saying by then, she still decided to summon the two of them some napkins. All Twilight could think of to say was, "There, there..."
Some time passed before the hug ended, but once it finally did, Twilight remembered what she and Celestia were supposed to be doing. "Oh," she voiced. "I suppose that right about now would be the best time for us to begin our study session! Also, I'd like to find out more about how much magic you might actually possess."
Celestia wiped her tears away, and said honestly, "Despite being a little bit upset by what I just found out, I'm actually still excited, and looking forward to this activity of yours, Twilight. Although, I've read way too much today, and my eyes hurt. I also think I have a slight headache..."
Twilight frowned, but then promised, "No reading. We'll just go outside instead, and practice our magic. How does that sound?"
At first, when Twilight had awoken for the second time that day, Celestia seemed drowsy at best. Now, she seemed much more brighter, and leisurely said, "Perfect."
The two alicorn princesses could be seen leaving the castle. They trotted next to one another, cheeks cleaned of any tears, and as they found the perfect spot to practice in, Twilight said, "Okay, this'll do. Don't you agree?"
Celestia laughed, and said, "Seems cool to me."
Twilight nodded while smiling, and began with a few buckets of water. She discovered that Celestia perform very well at lifting different, and multiple items, so they moved onto other exercises. Although, every exercise was met with vigor, and it's not like Celestia needed second tries or anything. She was a natural at magic, only impressing Twilight that much more.
"Okay," Twilight said while huffing. "So, you know what you're doing! That much is obvious by now..." but Celestia hardly seemed phased by this rigorous routine. In fact, she was frowning by then, and appeared disappointed by all of this.
"Twilight?" Celestia said with a cute tone.
"Yes, Celestia?"
"Not to be insulting or anything, but this has been kind of... boring ." She looked away, and confessed, "You made it sound like we were going to play a game together."
Twilight blinked a few times, and then said, "How about we do just that, then?"
It hadn't really occurred to her that Celestia had been standing there, in the same spot since they arrived, and hadn't moved an inch. When she said that they were going to play a game, Celestia finally moved slightly to Twilight's left, and asked, "Really?"
Twilight nodded, and looked around. "Uhh..."
"How about we pass a ball back and forth using only our magic?" Celestia offered. "Spike and I did that earlier, and it was fun! I used my hooves, though. I'd like to know what it's like to use my magic for that instead."
Twilight nodded, and walked on over to the side of the castle to find the ball that Celestia had mentioned. When she came back, she was holding in her magical aura a purple orb. On it were very large, green dots, and she asked Celestia, "This one?"
Celestia yelled back, "Yeah!" Twilight threw it towards Celestia, but noticed something interesting. For the first time, Twilight had found something that Celestia wasn't getting right away. "Mmh!" she cried out in frustration as she tried to catch it with her magic, but she was also trying to catch it with her hooves making things that much more difficult for herself.
Twilight laughed mostly to herself, and then gave Celestia a tip. "If you're going to use your magic, then you need to stop using your hooves, and predict where the ball is going to be. You should still keep your eyes on it, though."
As Celestia picked the ball up using her own magic, she nodded, and threw it back to Twilight rather well. The second time around, she caught it. Their time together went on like that for another good three to four throws before Celestia missed again. Twilight was more surprised, however, by how much fun she was having as well.
She was also still concerned about how Celestia managed to find out about Cozy Glow, but she shook that feeling off as she caught the ball once more, and threw it back again. Once she had managed to tire Celestia out for the time being, she offered that they go inside, and rest up for a bit. Upon reaching the door, Celestia asked, "How did I do?"
Twilight opened the door, and before they entered, she said, "You did great with my activity! As for our game, what matters is if you had fun."
Celestia smiled gleefully, and nodded while saying with closed eyes, "I did, I did!"
Twilight chuckled, and the two of them re-entered the Castle of Friendship.
Time for Celestia went by quickly following that hour with Twilight. Celestia enjoyed her meals, had another bath, and to Twilight's surprise, she even resumed reading a few more books before the day had ended. Of course, she played with Spike some more when she could. The next day, she'd wake up early, raise the sun, and be right back to reading those books of hers.
By then, she had finished most of what the throne room had to offer her. She was starting to get into other places which contained even more pieces of literature that she could read, so consequently, one of the very first things Twilight simply had to talk to her about that morning was how crucial it was to take good cake of ones belongings, and to always restock the bookshelves whenever she finished reading.
Later that day, she'd be resting by the window reading up on even more of Equestria's history. Most of it was regarding herself. Spike came up to Celestia, and asked, "How're you doing this morning?"
Celestia smiled kindly, and said, "I just... can't get over you know who ."
Spike looked around, and up at the ceiling before sheepishly asking, "Are you possibly talking about Cozy Glow?"
Celestia gave off a sigh, and said, "I didn't... really even want to hear her name. Sorry, Spike, but I've been trying to put her out of my mind, but..."
Spike welcomingly placed his claw on her hoof, and said, "It's okay, Celestia. You opened up to me yesterday about Cozy Glow after you came back inside with Twilight. You can talk to me about it now, too. Nothing leaves this room. I promise."
Celestia felt really good after hearing that, and positive that what Spike was saying was nothing but truthful, so she continued. "It's just... so weird , y'know? Just when you think you know yourself... I mean, like, everything that I had done before that was pretty alright. I even understood the need to banish Luna to the moon, but to banish a filly to Tartarus was just... Just ..."
Spike finished for her, "You think it was out of line, huh?"
Celestia nodded, and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"
Spike gulped, and although he did his best to hide the truth this time, Celestia could still tell when he was lying. "I, uhh... don't think so , actually." He averted his eyes nervously, but then, when he looked back at Celestia, he seemed a bit more like himself. "Hey, why don't we go visit Zecora? I bet nopony's introduced you to her yet! Besides, I already cleared the idea with Twilight last night. She said that so long as you stick with me the whole time we're inside the forest, it's alright."
Celestia tilted her head modestly, and asked rhetorically while shrugging, "Why not?" She then got up, and began trotting along with Spike behind her. "It'll help me take my mind off of things."
Spike cheered behind her, "That's the spirit!"
He then caught up with her, and the two of them left the castle together, side by side. Out in the grass where the wind blew nicely against the two of them, Celestia asked Spike curiously, "Where does this... Zecora pony live anyways?"
Spike laughed as if Celestia was fooling around, and revealed, "She's not a pony. She's a zebra, and she also happens to live in the Everfree Forest."
While Spike kept walking at the pace that he was going at, Celestia slowed down her trot with a curious look on her face. Then, she thought to herself, "Everfree? I remember... something , but it wasn't Everfree. It was..."
Then, her lips parted as she struggled her hardest to pull this one, single memory out from the unrelenting void. With shivers running down her spine, she quietly voiced, "Everly Free ...?"
"Hey!" Spike called out from the distance. "Are you coming?!"
"Yeah," Celestia called out to him. Before she began galloping his way, she yelled to Spike, "Wait for me!"
