A Pony's Guidebook to Becoming a Grand Duchess

by RuanQingSi

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Luna, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Comedy, Raven Inkwell, Discord, Princess Celestia, Human
Length: 7122

Now retired and unshackled from the burden of ruling Equestria, Celestia accidentally finds herself transported into another world. The ponies-no, creatures, are very strange, the world around her is very strange, and she is very strange.

It was just another ordinary day for the retired sun princess in Silver Shoals, who was busy watering her flowers and imagining another prank she could pull on her dear sister when a blue magical portal suddenly showed up in her garden. The rift in space seemed to be another one of Discord's concoctions.

Unfortunately for Celestia, she was sucked into the portal even when she placed only one hoof in from curiosity. Now finding herself stuck in a world filled with creatures Celestia remembered Twilight calling "humans", can Celestia survive and figure the interlockings of this new world all the while searching for a way back to Equestria?

Not to mention, why is her sister Luna a 'Crown Princess'? What's the deal with Discord and his title as 'Archduke'? Finally, WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BODY!?

This certainly wasn't one of Celestia's plans, but she's been through worse before. She can handle this. Right?

Published 2022-04-02 22:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-07-27 16:15:57 UTC

Through Space and Sanity

What prank should I pull on Luna today? Should I tell her she's....No, that would be too mean. Though it's not like she doesn't deserve it...

Celestia's mind wandered back to the moment she witnessed Luna stuffing her mouth full of Celestia's delectable double chocolate fudge cake, her hooves stained with the brown substance and crumbs as evidence of her crime. Luna cannot be forgiven easily. Her crime is beyond atrocious, it's terrible! If I don't make her pay my name's not Celestia!

Her thoughts rambled on as she sprayed one of her last daisies with a water can, the devious part of her brain spinning like cog wheels to form the perfect scheme. It was just that Celestia used up too much of her attention to realize her flowers were now overwatered, the pot she was working on threatening to unload the muddy liquid.

"Oops!" Said Celestia with surprise, then a grimace. She had spent a considerable amount of time taking care of these flowers, but now some of them were destroyed, by her. Sighing, she teleported some of the messed up daises to another part of the garden, and walked out of the front porch. As her bare hooves (which for the first time parted from her royal regalia in 1,103 years) grazed over the soft green Equestrian grass she had long become accustomed to, Celestia looked up at the sun.

Unlike other ponies (and alicorns), locking her eyes with the sun did not cause her to blink furiously nor flinch, in fact, she would smile at the warm light every time she glanced up towards the Equus sky the fiery orb shone on. Ever since she and Luna handed over to Twilight the control of both celestial bodies, every sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset looked the same. Though, she couldn't blame Twilight. After all, despite the fact that a small part of their powers rests in the amulet, the artifact had no way to imitate the two's artistic touches each gave towards their work.

There was no change to the proportion of their lighting, colors, nor the night's number of stars and constellation patterns that Luna so prided herself with and would gloat to Celestia every time somepony complimented the stars she arranged. Celestia smiled. Painting and music were always Luna's strong suit. Even if Celestia forcefully fit her head in the compartment that is known as the arts, she could never understand the depth of the subject nor display the ability to execute those compositions as adequately as Luna could. Though this excludes the theatre department of course; acting as a ruler for more than one thousand years required her to possess a large amount of skill in the art of lying akin to that of a mountain.

Before Celestia could reach this morning's destination (which was unsurprisingly a dessert shop)to fill up her grumbling stomach, she sensed strong magic manifesting around her. Turning her head back, her horn flared with golden magic, and her wings unfolded at the ready, Celestia's eyes widened as a magical circular portal formed, the contents inside it was dark and colorless, similar to a void.

The portal spun slowly, its movements imitating a clock, a wheel, and its colors gave it a portrayal of a lone galaxy in the midst of the large universe. A few seconds passed before the pale alicorn's muscles relaxed, and the glow of her horn faded. However, Celestia didn't dare approach the new creation, yet.

Observing the portal suddenly made Celestia remember a moment when she was still Princess of Equestria, when she had invited Discord to the Grand Galloping Gala to incite some harmless chaos. The rift Discord had tore between space and dimensions at that time looks awfully similar to the one standing before her now. Is this another one of Discord's concoctions? Pranks? Celestia raised a hoof to her chin, pursed her lips, and narrowed her eyes.

If this portal is the result of Discord's magic, then what is he even planning? Helping Fluttershy with her animal sanctuary and monitoring magic all over Equestria should keep him busy enough to prevent him from bothering her and Luna...Celestia looked back at the portal, not noticing any differences even as time progressed. After glancing left and right, Celestia carefully walked towards the portal, her steps so delicate as if one loud noise would provoke an earthquake.

"If this isn't Discord's doing, who's creation is this? Perhaps another manifestation of dark magic?" Celestia asked aloud, despite being well aware there was no one around to answer her. Ever since the incident with Starlight Glimmer and the dream realm, Celestia often found herself slipping into states of soliloquies. She couldn't help talking to herself, it gave her a sense of false-companionship when she was without any company.

Walking around the portal, Celestia frowned when she couldn't find any magical fluctuations or an essence of darkness within the portal's outer surface even as she was so close. Should I touch it? She knew it was dangerous to prod a magical construction without a proper understanding of its uses and effects, but it wasn't like standing around observing was doing anything for her currently.

After contemplating for a few minutes, Celestia hesitantly poked a tiny part of her right hoof into the portal, and immediately a force powerful enough to crush mountains impeded on her, hauling her whole body into the portal. The sound of rustling leaves on immobile trees disappeared along with the views of her surroundings.

Celestia didn't even have time for resistance as it sucked her in, her body constantly stretching and elongating from the magical pressure. As her body traveled and twirled in spirals through and to the end of the void-like pathway, for the first time in her life, she felt the opening light to be too bright.

All Celestia could see for a brief moment was the color white. Everything was white, as if she was trapped in a colorless box, with only an unpigmented color as her host. Thankfully, the chalky abyss faded, and Celestia could finally discern some colors in her field of vision.

Though, there was another matter of more importance to concern herself with, and that is, she was losing consciousness. She could feel it, given the number of times she allowed herself to be kidnapped, it was like a natural emotion to her, which did not ease her anxiety. This was not part of one of her plans, and definitely not a part of some grand scheme. Who would ever expect that they'd be sucked into a random portal when they parted from their house in the morning!? She definitely didn't!

However, in addition to recognizing some colors, at least Celestia could still make out some sounds in spite of her contemporary inability to move. Those sounds were voices, voices calling out a name. She tried her best to perceive the name so as to collect some kind of information that could guide her to her questions of what, where, and why, but her brain continually seemed to dislike the idea of cooperating with its master.

No...Ugh...Why is it so hard to breathe, and why is it so hot in here? It's like...like...I'm having a...a...a...feve...fever....

Celestia's brain and body was telling her to rest, that she was too tired. Too exhausted to continue thinking.

There's no harm in taking a quick nap, right? It asked her. Celestia indeed felt worn out, and her body was so heated that she suspected she might be on top of a furnace. She agreed.

Celestia's mind then slipped out of consciousness.

Author's Note

This story was inspired when I read "Discord the Archduke", written by AkumaKami64, soooo....enjoy? :pinkiehappy:

Not Proportional Dimension

"Ugh," groaned Celestia, whose body was sore and searing from top to bottom. She could feel the pain and discomfort hitting her with full force immediately the moment she regained her consciousness. It was not a good feeling; then again, the sensation that your muscles are being shred into strings, your brain craving for a hole to be punched to the back of your head, and the desire to vomit out all your organs never was pleasant.

It took a while for Celestia to muster up any strength to move, the action surprisingly demanded more effort than she would ever thought she'd need to shift a limb. Before she could bother to place anymore bit of thought into that matter however, another detail quickly captured her attention when her vision finally demystified. It was...her hooves. They looked bewildering, strange, baffling, perplexing, abstruse, and plainly...weird.

At the end of each of her forehooves were five uneven sticks extending into a curved square of which was carved with multiple vague lines. When Celestia's eyes reached the ten sticks, she noticed small glassy rectangles that felt like porcelain upon contact. However, the source of Celestia's flabbergasted reaction weren't these...parts, since she'd seen them on monkeys before, but it was the notion of her change and possession of such oddities that shook the former sun princess.

Celestia, who was still processing the changes her hooves went through, stared lost in thought at her new limbs. If my hooves changed, what of the rest of my body? Celestia then placed her new hooves on her muzzle, and found that her nose and mouth were a bit, if not, considerably different.

Slowly, Celestia explored her new face, and found that instead of stretching out horizontally, the range of it was greater vertically. That was even not mentioning the conversion of texture and shape her ears went through. They were once soft and shaped like a rose petal, but now, they're firm and molded into something that resembles a half moon in structure.

The next feature subjected to Celestia's detection would be her old hindlegs, which similar to her forehooves, had five things sticking out of each of her back limbs. They're stubby little things, not even proportional to their neighbors or upper counterparts. What's worse was looking back and forth between her new forehooves and hindlegs caused the ex-alicorn to squirm.

The reason for Celestia's movement was how uneven her limbs were. They used to be proportionally slender and round, but presently, they look eerily and annoyingly outlandish. Celestia sighed. Although her desire for perfectionism among any material did not surpass Twilight's, the casual misplacement would irk her should it ever stand out, not to mention disproportionate limbs that were hers. Hers.

A sudden idea came Celestia's mind, and she quickly checked for other oddities. Fur? No. Horn? No. Wings? No. Cutie-mark? No. Flowing mane? N-It was then that Celestia realized what creature she become, and the comprehension pained her to ever think she'd have to live with such not proportional hooves as much as the unforeseen metamorphosis scared her.

A voice Celestia suspected was the one she'd heard before she blacked out interrupted her deep and totally not nonsensical contemplation. "G-Grand Duchess? You-you've...awaken!" Glancing at the interloper, Celestia saw that they too were a human, but one that occupied no familiar qualities she could use to recognize their identity. The alien human, who presented herself in a maid's attire, had an auburn mane paired with green grassy eyes which matched with one another quite well.

The title used to address the former sun princess was what followed the maid in seizing Celestia's attention. Grand Duchess? Yes, she's heard others address her using many titles: Your Highness, Your Majesty, Ma'am, Your Holiness, Keeper of the Light, Guardian of Ponykind, Goddess of the Sun, etc. Yet, she never heard anyone call her "Grand Duchess".

"Grand...D-Duchess?" Celestia asked quizzically at the human maid.

"Yes Your Grace! I can't believe you've awoken! Everyone in the grand duchy will be so glad to hear this! Especially the Old Madam!" The maid exclaimed with loud volume, a Twilight-happy smile, and Pinkie Pie-excitement. Celestia took a glimpse at the object the maid was pushing, which seemed to be a food cart, before returning to the real subject of import.

"Wha-what?" Sputtered Celestia. She's a Grand Duchess? When? How come she's never heard of this? The grand duchy? Is the grand duchy where she's currently lying in? Is this where that darn portal dropped her? Why is she a human? Was what she experience the phenomenon called inter-dimensional travel? Is this an alternate universe? Ugh! Everything's just so confusing!

"Did you just say I'm a-" Before Celestia could finish her question, the maid ran out of the door she used to enter.

The maid who left a food cart and a confused Grand Duchess behind to their own devices lifted up her dress and sprinted with surprising speed for a bipedal creature, all the while yelling, "Old Madam! Everyone notify the Old Madam! The Grand Duchess has awoken from her coma!"

"-a Grand Duchess?" Celestia, former sun princess, now Grand Duchess, looked toward the door like any other lost pony seeking for answers or directions. Celestia didn't want to stay like this, she didn't want to be lost, she wanted to move on to another thought. Thus, she surveyed the room she was currently laying in, and discovered the chamber to have similar aesthetics to her old resting place in Canterlot castle, though more luxurious and extravagant.

The blood red curtains that were made of the softest silk did nothing to dim the sunlight glazed room despite its bold color, the windows and door frames were made of the purest gold, and from the floor to the ceiling, everything was inlaid with marble. In the center of the vast room was a symbol of the sun, the rays shining from the image of the yellow orb sharp and almost realistic. Celestia was sure the symbol was also crafted from real gold.

As for the bed, she didn't realized it when she had just regained consciousness, but oh, on it has to be the softest mattress and pillows Celestia had ever slept on. She now honestly suspects the material to be made all from silk, she wouldn't place it past the owner of this room considering how outrageously lavish everything in the chamber is.

Everypony likes to occasionally live a life of splendor, Celestia didn't know anypony who wouldn't wish to, even she who is so idolized by others loved the perks of wealth. However, back in Equestria, never in a thousand years would Celestia decorate her royal chamber with such luxuries and spend bits that her former subjects labored so hard to create on a life of wasteful opulence. It wasn't her cup of tea, so she couldn't understand why the owner of this chamber wanted such a cup of tea. If what she wanted was extravagant goods, it would be from her private savings. However, she wasn't sure half of her more than one thousand years worth of savings could afford everything in this room. Everything in here was just so...expensive.

After Celestia was done with her observation, the only thing left for her to remark upon was the food cart the maid left behind. On the food cart were several dishes served with golden plates which were embellished by gems of all colors, red, purple, green, etc. The dishes itself were made up of entirely new cuisines Celestia had never seen before. Though there were some aspects in one cuisine she could recognize, like tofu, lettuce, and...is that...meat?

Meat. Meat! These creatures consume other living things. They consume others like them who can talk and walk! Twilight never informed me of such a thing! Wait...Since I'm also a human now, does that mean-

It was then that the perception of everything smacked Celestia on the face. However, Celestia, being the normal human she is, now, released her emotions calmly like any other transformed pony would.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Possibly Mother

"Oh my little Celly! You're fine! You've finally woken up! You don't know how worried your mother was!" A mare with a pastel pink mane-hair tied up in a bun ran crying to Celestia as fast as any fifty year-old mare-woman could. The woman had a delicate nose, the lower part of her face adorned with peachy lips, and she wore rimless glasses over a pair of gentle amber eyes. These features probably acted as testament to the beauty the woman had in her youth.

The dress she wears looks similar to that of a stereotyped teacher, one with a white button-up blouse and a black skirt which stretches from her waist to the very bottom of her feet. One stylish addition to the ensemble would be the grey shawl wrapped around the woman's back and arms.

"M-mother?" Celestia asked. Though it would seem the women misunderstood Celestia's question for some sort of recognition, as she dawdled on with her talk.

"I'm so sorry Celly! I'm such a bad mother! I didn't know the Second Prince would do such a thing...if only I did, perhaps I could've stopped everything from going too far...and...you wouldn't have to suffer," the woman confided, crying on Celestia's shoulder, "But don't you worry, now that you've woken up, everything's going to be better. I promise." Breaking out of the hug she forced on an unsuspecting Celestia, the woman placed her hoov-hands on Celestia's shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

It was a strange moment for Celestia. She had always been the elder one, the mother figure for others, the one who sets the example, the one ponies expects to be benevolent, kind, and caring in times of their strife. The last time somepony-someone wrapped her in their hoov-arms and whispered words of maternal reassurance was when she was...but a filly, only seven years of age....

It took a while for Celestia to snap out of her trance, and when she did, she looked at the woman doubtfully. "You're...my mother?" No, to be exact, the mother of this body. The time Celestia used to realize that she had possessed a noble human from another dimension wasn't substantial. When the former sun princess had finally calmed down, she could easily pinpoint the truth based on the maid's reaction and words.

After Celestia uttered her question, the woman look shocked. Her eyes widened and her lips trembled. "Celly, are you alright? Don't you recognize...me?" Celestia glanced at the watery reflection in the woman's eyes and hesitated, but ultimately shook her head. She was not the woman's daughter, so she could not claim herself to be. She had lied many times in her long life, but she was not willing to lie to save a stranger's feelings.

The woman was shaking, restraining her dam of tears from spilling, and her entourage of maids and attendants in the room was silent. After recovering from the shock, the woman scanned Celestia with expectant eyes, desperate to find some sort of clue that could indicate what condition had occurred to her daughter that the doctor had not informed her. Celestia turned her head sideways. She was afraid that if she even took a glimpse of those amber eyes, she would be overtaken by the woman's emotions.

Celestia honestly didn't know if the woman had lost her daughter. Celestia had possessed her, so it was likely the woman wouldn't see her child again. She wasn't sure. Though, there was a chance she was related to owner of the body's dissappearance. The possibility brought a tinge of guilt to her heart. Then there was empathy. She was compassionate towards the woman who lost her daughter, yes, but would feeling bad for someone help?

In the chamber, there was only silence. The woman who called herself the body's mother was busy struggling to stabilize her mind, and so too did the maids and butlers. As for Celestia, she was not willing to be the one to break the impasse. How could the one who has possibly caused this woman the loss of her child, be the one to comfort her? Furthermore, it was not as if she could spill the truth of the matter. Even she, who comes from a magical world full of mysterious wonders and has lived for more than a millennia finds her current circumstance unbelievable, not to mention the audience of maids and butlers before her.

It was not until a while after that the woman's grasp over Celestia's arms finally loosened as she turned around slowly. She then quiveringly gave instructions to who Celestia infers is the head maid based on her attire. "Summon the doctor." Celestia peered at the woman, surprised. In the end, the woman concluded that she was...ill? Then again, body swap was not a usual deduction for one to end up with. Thinking along the standard lines, illness is a reasonable presumption.

"Right away, Old Madam!" Responded the head maid as she dashed toward the door serving as the exit out of the chamber. The woman titled Old Madam reverted her eyes back to Celestia, her hands engulfing the former sun princess's hands entirely, their warmth unexpectedly touching the bottom of Celestia's heart. Celestia, resigning to her fate, subsequently and tentatively allowed herself eye contact with the woman before her.

"Celly," the woman croaked as tears stained the corner of her eyes, her hands rubbing hers affectionately, "Don't worry, no matter what happens, you'll always be my daughter." Celestia's eyes widened. These words were beyond Celestia's realm of expectation. Suddenly another voice echoed in Celestia's mind. The voice was distant and soft, its volume too low to fully comprehend, as if the one muttering was on their dying breath.

"Don't worry, you will always be my daughter."

Unbeknownst to Celestia herself, droplets of liquid began pouring from her eyes, their speed like a waterfall's. Although she didn't bawl, it was still childish, crying when she was supposed to be over a thousand years old. However, she wasn't the only one surprised by these tears, as the deed sent the pink haired woman spiraling in panic as she hurriedly tried to console the crying Celestia.

"Ah-d-don't cry Celly! It's mother's fault! It's mother who is wrong for making you upset! You can do whatever you want, even marrying the Second Prince! Mother will seek an audience with His Majesty for the marriage of you and His Highness! How's that?" Hearing the woman's clumsy words of comfort, warmth filled Celestia's heart. Perhaps deep in her heart, she still desired the sentiment a mother can gift her child. Though, what was the purpose of agonizing over a matter permanently lost in the past? Such acts would only spark pain.

Thinking to this, Celestia was awakened from her silly emotional outburst and began scolding herself. What retired ruler would cry like this? It was puerile! To prevent herself and the woman from further humiliation, Celestia quickly expressed that her emotional condition was well. "I'm fine. There's no need to go so far."

What Celestia meant as 'going so far' was the woman's recommendation of marriage. When Celestia was young, she did somewhat yearn for a partner to spend her life with, but when she ascended to the position of Princess, she later dropped the idea. Even till this day, Celestia had never experienced marriage, and she did not have any plans to regain that youthful dream.

Although the woman seemed a bit unconvinced with her confirmation, she reluctantly dropped the matter and sat down on a white cushioned chair crested with a golden phoenix on its top together with Celestia all the while tightly holding her hand. Celestia knew what they and the other maids and butlers in this room were doing; they were waiting for the arrival of the doctor.

Celestia too was curious on what the doctor of this world would diagnose her with; or, would they would be confused by her circumstance? She didn't know what to do in this unfamiliar world, in this strange situation, so she could only do what ponies call "go with the flow", and wait.

Author's Note

I'm SO SO SO sorry for taking so long to upload ONE chapter! Due to studying, and taking exams, and a recent trip to Southeastern Asia, I was rendered practically unable to write or post until lately. It took quite a while for me to finally get into the spirit fit for writing again after a moderately long pause. I was seriously wondering if I was experiencing writer's block :twilightblush:. Anyways, my serious apologies to anyone who wanted me to keep up and I ended up failing your expectations...

Amnesia

"Old Madam, the doctor has arrived." Celestia was busy with her thoughts until these words were said. Immediately, she turned to observe the figure entering. The figure had ruddy orange hair and tannish skin, with placid black eyes. Although the moment was brief, she could see a flash in those eyes when the doctor directed his sight unto her, almost as if he was surprised to see her. However, nobody else seemed to notice it.

The doctor reverted his gaze back to the Old Madam, who had already stood up and walked towards him. When the doctor finished his greeting, she asked, "Doctor Votano, my daughter has recovered from her fever and illness, but when she woke up, she couldn't remember anyone...not even me. Can you examine what's wrong with her, and if there's a cure?" At the end of her question, the Old Madam's voice became hoarse, and she reached into her sleeves for a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

Looking at the crying woman, Celestia was helpless. She wasn't familiar with the woman, so she didn't know how to assuage her, but she wasn't inclined to endorse the woman in her sobbing. Witnessing this, the doctor brusquely walked towards Celestia and said, "Your Grace, allow this doctor to feel your pulse."

Celestia was just about to lower her head when she saw the doctor pull out a handkerchief and placed it on the table, then say, "Your hand, Your Grace." Celestia was bewildered for a second before she came to a realization. She wasn't a pony anymore, so her pulse naturally wouldn't be along the inside of her jawbone. Restraining her expression, Celestia moved to rest her hand on the handkerchief amidst her glances aimed to spot any noteworthy aspects of the doctor.

The doctor began the medical checkup by positioning two of his fingers, the middle and index fingers, onto her human pulse. His movements remained the same for quite a while before he stood up with a complicated expression and requested, "Your Grace, may you allow me to examine your eyes and tongue?" Before the Old Madam could respond, Celestia nodded. She was accustomed with the processes of a medical examination, so there was no need to hesitate since she also didn't view herself as so divine that a touch to her body was disrespectful even if the purpose was for a physical health exam.

The doctor drew closer and used his fingers to stretch each of her eyes. When that procedure was over, he signaled for Celestia to open her mouth for a tongue inspection. After these methods are finished, the doctor retreated to where the Old Madam stood, accompanied by a frown on his face. Clenching her handkerchief, the Old Madam asked, "Doctor Votano, how is my daughter?"

Shaking his head, the middle-aged doctor said, "The Grand Duchess's body has become immensely weak due to the fever and prolonged coma. Although Her Grace's well-being is temporarily stable, it is imperative to restore her health lest another illness strikes. As for the Grand Duchess's memory dissipation, my knowledge is too limited to safely arrive at a conjecture for this matter. My only guess is that the Grand Duchess is suffering from...amnesia as a result of her lengthy illness."

The news was like being struck by lightning for the Old Madam. "A-Amnesia?" She questioned, alarmed. The Head Maid who was beside her, also didn't have a good expression. As she supported the Old Madam to stand steadily, she asked the doctor twice if what he said was true.

Celestia, one of the recipient of this news, was sitting undisturbed. If one were to think ahead, the excuse of amnesia was advantageous for her. The explanation justified her inability to remember or know any and everything in this world, as well as provided her time to adjust to a different dimension should the extent of her stay be longer than intended.

She didn't want to linger in this world; she wanted to return as soon as possible. However, with no magic and no knowledge, was her current goal achievable? Obviously no. Therefore, Celestia could only settle here impermanently until she found a way to solve this problem. Deliberating to this, she broke the silence in the room by saying, "I have amnesia? No wonder then...no wonder I can't remember anything..." Her voice was moderately quiet, but contained enough volume for everyone in the chamber to hear.

As soon as the Old Madam heard it, her heart wrenched, and she could no longer contain her heartbreak. She rushed to Celestia and embraced her, shedding tears in the process. "Celly...my Celly...why are the heavens so cruel?" Celestia's heart thumped at these words, and she hesitantly extended her hand to pat the woman's back. Here this woman was, grief-stricken for her daughter, yet she was exploiting and lying to her....

Celestia gulped before softly saying, "I-I'm...hungry." In response, the room and the woman froze. After a moment of stillness, some of the maids, including the Head Maid, broke into small smiles.

When the Old Madam released Celestia, she sniffed back her cries, wiped her tears, and curved her lips upwards in attempt to illustrate a cheerful spirit, as if she was unaffected by any previous words and misfortune. Unfortunately, her efforts fell short when faced with Celestia, whose expertise in reading expressions were not just for show.

Noticing Celestia's gaze, the Old Madam indistinctly felt uncomfortable, so she hurriedly suggested with a forced smile, "Since you're hungry, how about dining now? Although the dishes are probably cold by now, they won't taste bad." This reminded Celestia of the food cart from earlier. Her mind was instantly filled with the images of meats she had seen in those meals.

About to gag from the notion of consuming meat, Celestia subdued the sensation and was on the verge of proposing to remove the horrid substance from the dishes served when a part of her brain advised her to further contemplate the decision.

If she suddenly urged to remove meat from the dishes, wouldn't that arouse suspicion? Judging from the dishes in the food cart, the previous owner of this body did eat meat, if not, why would the ones cooking serve it? Adding to that, with a doctor's presence here, she couldn't make up medical lies like "sick people should refrain from eating meat".

Only after thinking from all angles did Celestia nod and say, "Okay." When they received her approval, some of the maids gathered in the chamber stood forward to clean the golden and silvery table, then proceeded to cover it with a blood red satin tablecloth. The food cart was opened once again, and several hands were needed to transfer the dishes to the table.

On the table were seven dishes, and the notable ones were a boiled salted chicken leg porridge and boiled fish soup. Celestia stared at the food, wondering how she was going to overcome this.

The Old Madam, who was still stressed about her daughter's misfortunes, began to walk out of the chamber, intending to discuss with the doctor about general precautions for a patient to be aware of. Just when she reached the door, Celestia opened her mouth to suggest, "How about we eat together?" The Old Madam and the maids turned to Celestia, surprised.

Celestia perceived their stunned looks and added, "I can't finish all of this alone." The Old Madam's eyes held bewilderment for a while before a happy smile emerged on her face. She turned around to remind the Head Maid to review with the doctor on matters of Celestia's health before plopping down next to her.

Celestia glanced at the woman's delighted expression and reined in a smile. It seems her push to lighten the melancholic atmosphere was not in vain.

She diverted her attention elsewhere when she saw the doctor departing. She somehow felt that this world was not so simple.

"Celly, eat this, it's good for your health." Celestia's focus was recaptured when she saw the Old Madam using a ladle to scoop chicken porridge for her. She panicked. Although she was no longer a pony, there was no way she was going to eat meat. Wouldn't that be akin to cannibalism? Thus, she hurriedly and messily utilized her upper limbs to scoop out all the meat dishes and pushed them in front of the Old Madam. Some of the chicken porridge and fish soup had splashed and stained the tablecloth as a result of Celestia's amateur use of her hands.

"You must be tired, worrying and taking care of the duchy and me at the same time. Eating more meat rejuvenates the health." Celestia said, her tone laced with concern. When the Old Madam heard this, her heart was melted by the warmth. As for the maids behind, they were all shedding tears of joy and gratitude when they saw how considerate the Grand Duchess became after she woke up.

Although the Old Madam was touched by Celestia's thoughtful attitude, she was still able to resist. "You've just recovered Celly. I would be fine, but you need the nutrients to recuperate efficiently." The woman's behavior was gentle, as if she didn't think her body constitution was of any significance compared to her daughter's.

Celestia smiled mentally. "If you don't take care of your health, how are you going to take care of me?" As soon as this question was uttered, the Old Madam widened her eyes in astonishment, and the hearts of the crowd behind her were screaming. AHHHHH! Her Grace has finally grown up!

Seeing the exchange ending in her success, Celestia only smiled lightly, venturing forward to clumsily scoop a piece of broccoli onto her spoon for consumption. It was a shame her arm 'accidentally' knocked down both bowls of remaining chicken porridge and fish soup, and pieces of porcelain and thick condensations of liquid were splattered all across the pristine marble floor.

Celestia chuckled silently. Oops.

Relearning History

Unsteady sounds of clip and clop rang throughout one silent hall as the footsteps of one person continued, the absence of any noise only enhancing the volume of Celestia's steps. Halting, the former pony turned to her right to face a succession of windows, which was lined up from the door she exited to another door at the end of the hallway. What greeted her was both an unfamiliar and familiar appearance.

Celestia's new face was pale, very pale, almost pure white to be exact. Compared to the other humans with a more tannish skin tone she saw before, her skin would've looked sickly if not for the slight blush of pink in its color. If the substance covering her body was fur, Celestia wouldn't even spare her effort to worry about it, but this was skin. How was she supposed to know if this was healthy?

Although the former pony knew nothing about human beauty, she knew the owner of this body shouldn't be considered by others of her kind as having a bad appearance. The face she saw in the windows clearly proved this. Her reflection showed someone with natural peachy lips, violet phoenix eyes, and wavy aurora hair that stretched down to half her two legs.

Celestia was deeply surprised when she first saw the features of her new appearance; it was very similar to her appearance as a pony: pale fur, violet eyes, and a cyan, green, blue, and pink mane. She had asked herself if this was her in an alternate world, and after contemplating the odds for awhile, it should be very likely.

Done with her appraisal, Celestia returned to her walk down the hallway, but her golden heels was increasingly becoming an obstruction to her ability to appropriately walk. It was already challenging for her to move without stumbling, but to walk with these high things, it would be impossible if she wasn't using her hands to hold on to other objects for her dear life.

Luckily, Celestia had came up with the pretext that due to her long coma, her body was weak and unable to walk properly, which was true when she first woke up, or else she didn't know how much suspicion she would attract.

It wasn't that Celestia wanted to make her experience as a human more arduous, but the previous Celestia had no other footwear except a large, large collection of high heels, from different colors to different styles.

WHAT WOULD YOU NEED THIS MANY HIGH HEELS FOR!? If she were still alive that is, Celestia really wanted a peaceful, calm, conversation with the previous owner of this body face to face. Yes, peaceful.

When Celestia entered through a tall hollow arch, which couldn't even be called a door, she saw her "mother" and a strange man who she guessed was some kind of librarian from his clothing. The room they were in was three times the size of the chamber she woke up in. To say it was spacious was an understatement.

Looking at the decorations of this place, one of Celestia's eyes twitched. There were twice as many golden and precious objects in this room than in the chamber. Across the walls were several paintings of different people framed with gold, and a huge glistening pearl that rested in display next to one painting. The top of all the pillars in the four corners of this room was made of gold, the chairs were partially made of gold, with valuable stones emblazoned on it, and even the tables were wholly made of gold.

Celestia wanted to ask. Are they not afraid of these things being stolen!?

Noticing Celestia's entrance, her "mother" immediately stood up from her chair and walked forward to hold her hands. "Celly, you're here," said the woman as she lead Celestia to the table she sat, "You don't know this, but after the doctor diagnosed you with amnesia, I've been telling Thrifty Scroll to compile together a list of history books for you to read." The woman then tenderly pushed Celestia to sit on a chair with a table full of books and stacks of paper. "Who knows, maybe reading could somehow evoke your memory!" She added enthusiastically.

Celestia did not refute nor did she find an excuse to escape, but instead complied and smilingly said, "Thank you, mother." There was a flash of astonishment in the woman's eyes, and despite her quick recovery, Celestia was still able to discern the change.

She was actually quite nervous, did that sentence give anything away? Pretending not to notice, she picked up a large, dusty, random book from the pile.

"We are family, there's no need to be so formal." Said the woman with a slightly forced and bitter smile. Celestia then smiled and responded with an 'okay'.

The title of the book she was holding was 'Anecdotes of the First Empress'. Celestia restrained herself from raising an eyebrow. So, the term used to call one's ruler in this world was Empress and Emperor then?

Does this mean that the place she was currently residing in was an empire? After all, when the Griffonian Empire still existed, the griffons did called their rulers Emperors.

Seeing Celestia staring at the book, her body's mother asked, "Celly, do you remember anything about our empire's history?" Celestia shook her head.

Smiling, the woman explained, "Around 80 years ago, our empire was still a weak puppet kingdom of the Griffonian Empire. We were ruled by a fatuous king, broken and battered by war, with corruption rampant due to the rotten officials and nobility."

Celestia was a bit stunned. There was still a Griffonian Empire here?

"That was until the then unknown General Nightlight rose up in rebellion. He waged war against the corrupt king and aristocracies, allying himself with peasants and angry local powers. To create an alliance with the Crystal Empire and gain their support, he made the king's relationship with them turn sour, then married his son to their princess.

He managed to gain control of the central and eastern part of the kingdom in six years. Later, his daughter was able to defeat the nobles and warlords in the west and south after four years of strenuous fighting. Unifying the country, she proclaimed herself Empress Twilight, or, as she is better known, the First Empress."

Celestia lowered her head to hide her shock. Before this, she had infered that this world's history would be somewhat similar to her world's. She was proven wrong however as besides parallel identities, there was almost no resemblance!

The librarian who had been standing silent commented with regret, "General Nightlight spent most of his life on the battlefield, it was a shame he could not witness the unification of his homeland."

Her body's mother heard this and nodded, saying, "Luckily, he had an outstanding daughter who was able to fullfill his dream and establish a prosperous empire."

Based on Celestia's observation, it seemed these people had a high opinion of the First Empress and her father. Though, judging from the Empress's title and their words, she wondered whether the First Empress was still alive.

"Mother, who is the current ruler of our empire then?" Celestia inquired.

Again, there was that layer of sadness that appeared in the woman's eyes when Celestia spoke these words. It was only her speculation, but it seemed the word 'mother' was a bad word to use when she talked with this woman.

The woman hastily hid her emotions, answering, "The current ruler is Emperor Macintosh Pierre de Renaud, or Emperor Pierre I. He is the eldest child of the First Empress and one of her consorts."

"C-consorts?" Stuttered Celestia. This time, she really was not able to contain her shock at all!

"Yes," Replied the woman as if they were just discussing about the weather, "The First Empress bore His Majesty in a barn when she was on one of her campaigns. After his birth, the First Empress gave his father, who was a farmer's son, the title of consort as a reward."

Celestia's eyes twitched.

"Oh, and the First Empress already had 5 consorts when His Majesty was born."

Eh!?