Downgrade

by deadpansnarker

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Princess Luna, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Princess Cadance
Length: 1572

When Twilight has returned from limbo as an Alicorn, Celestia also underwent a big change. This one was not quite so... expected, though.

When Twilight has returned from limbo as an Alicorn, Celestia also underwent a big change. This one was not quite so... expected, though.

Published 2024-04-10 20:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-04-10 20:40:01 UTC

1. In Which Celestia Wakes Up To Her New Reality.

Mmm… Mmm… *Prod Prod*

“Luna, leave me alone! I’ve raised the sun this morning, spent all afternoon judging that elite cake competition and helped Twilight Sparkle discover her destiny this very evening! Surely you can’t begrudge me a good night’s rest after all that, surely…”

*Poke Poke*

“If you wanted to talk to me about something, you could’ve mentioned it earlier. Aren’t you supposed to be on dream duty, anyway? What are all the little colts and fillies going to say, if you’re not there to stop their nightmares? And that’s to say nothing of the older generation…”

*Nudge Nudge*

“...Okay, you are really asking for it, sister. I saved you a piece of your favourite licorice allsort cake from the contest earlier, but you can just forget about having it now. That is, unless you have the good sense and compassion to leave me alone in the next… yawn.”

“Um, Celestia… this isn’t Princess… well, I suppose I am a Princess now, but it’s not Luna, it’s Twilight. We’ve sent for her though, and she’ll arrive as soon as she can. Just relax for now, and rest…”

What, it’s not… but Twilight shouldn’t be… what’s going on? Contrary to her favourite student’s wishes, Celestia broke out of her stupor straight away to open her eyes and lift her head to look around, a decision which only added further confusion to her already disorientated state of mind.

“T-Twilight? Why am I in your treehouse? I should be back in Canterlot by now, and… ow.”

A major headache had apparently set in while she was sleeping, and a nervous newly-created Princess Twilight Sparkle standing nearby winced at seeing her mentor in such a sorry condition. “W-Would you like me to fetch you a glass of water? I would ask Spike, but he’s been up with us all night and I felt he deserved some shuteye…”

“Forget the water! J-Just tell me what’s going on! The last thing I recall is assisting you reach alicornhood, then coming back to Ponyville… and then… a-and t-then…” Why can’t I remember? And why do I feel so scared? T-This isn’t like me at all…

“P-Perhaps it’s best if we wait until Luna gets here, then we can discuss it together. I asked Cadence here too, but because the Crystal Empire is further away she might take a bit longer. W-We’ll be able to think of something as a group, don’t worry.”

‘Think of something’? What is she talking about? “Twilight Sparkle, I think this has gone far enough. Whatever has happened, I’m positive it doesn't require my sister’s invaluable nightly tasks being interrupted or Cadence travelling all the way to Ponyville. Thank you very much for looking after me, but if you don’t mind I’d quite like to go back to Canterlot now, and… huh?!

Celestia couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, but something seemed subtly different from the second she attempted to step out of Twilight’s bed where the purple alicorn had kindly been letting her stay.

For a start, the ground seemed a lot further away than she was used to, so instead of elegantly stepping out from under the covers, she crumpled into a multi-coloured mess the minute she tried descending onto the wooden floor. She instinctively shielded her face with her wings upon the unexpected impact… or at least, tried to.

Hang on, where are my wings? I-I can’t feel anything there! And my glorious mane, I don’t know what it is, but somehow it seems so much more… static? In fact, I no longer have the sensation of power anywhere in my body! Where has all my magic gone? I mean, I still have a bit, but nowhere near… “Twilight?”

Gulp “Y-Yes Celestia?”

“Fetch me a mirror, please.”

“W-What? Are you sure? B-Because I thought you might want to lay down for a little while first, wait for the others to arrive, and then…”

“Twilight, the situation is still going to be the same in one minute as it is in one hour. If I don’t know what’s happened to me, how can I possibly help devise a solution to it? Mirror please, now.”

Ulp “O-Okay Celestia, if you’re sure. I-It's only a tiny mirror, but... I hope you won’t hold against me what you’re about to see, that’s all.”

“I could never harbour any animosity towards you, Twilight Sparkle, so don’t concern yourself with that. I just think this charade has gone on long enough, and the quicker we solve it, the faster we can plan for your coronation and subsequent future role. Now, let’s see what we’ve got… h-here…”

You could say Celestia’s first contact with her new reflection turned her as white as a sheet, but for obvious reasons this was hard to tell.

So instead of judging the shell-shocked mare by her usual pale colouring, a mortified Twilight only had her teacher’s glazed expression to speculate about what went through her brain at the grand unveiling of her unfamiliar appearance to herself. Along with her following actions, naturally.

First, Celestia went to tap the strange pony’s muzzle with a shaking forehoof…

The image in the mini mirror did the exact same thing.

The hoof then reached up to the tip of the horn, that somehow seemed much smaller than it should be…

The reflection repeated the sequence without missing a beat.

Then, as if unable to contain the suspense any longer, Celestia squeezed her cheeks rapidly, began jumping around in a frenzy and began shouting random words at the top of her voice.

“Philomena! Sombra! Friendship! Cowbell!”

Whoever the mad mare was staring back at her was, she was involved in just as much deranged tomfoolery as the usual refined and reserved Celestia currently engaged in… in fact, you could easily say they were dead ringers for each other.

Almost like… we were related. Almost like… we were twins. A-Almost like she was me, a-and I am her. That’s inconceivable, though. I’ve been an alicorn for so many thousands of years, I’ve lost count. B-But the pony gazing back at me from this mirror copying my every movement isn’t royalty, she isn’t a Princess and she most definitely isn’t an alicorn. Why, she’s nothing but a common uni… unico… unicor…

The surprise and trauma at the discovery were so great for a quickly unravelling Celestia, she couldn’t even finish the thought. Instead, she completely caved into the insanity of her impossible predicament, cackling crazily and dancing wildly around as a beside-herself Twilight didn’t know what to do next.

“I-I thought this might happen. Oh no, why didn’t I listen to my inner voice, and… oh thank goodness, Luna’s here! A-And Cadence, too… she must've used a spell to get here fast when I emphasised the gravity of… anyway, you two have to help me! Celestia’s transformed into something else, I'm not sure how to reverse it, now she’s completely flipped out and I-I don't know what to do next…”

“Hi Sis! And Cadence as well! Sorry that I’m not quite myself today, but that’s what you get when you drop by unexpectedly!” Celestia had seemingly lost any semblance of sanity after being greeted with her new diminished look, and now appeared on the verge of a nervous breakdown in front of her nearest and dearest. “What do you think? Isn’t it great? No more wings to preen for hours in the bathroom! No more longer horn getting caught under narrow doorways! No more superpowers to set me apart from everypony else! No more weird mane blowing in my face when I’m trying to comb it! No more Sun Cutie Mark on my flank to signify… oh dear.”

It was noticing the loss of her precious fiery star symbol which ultimately led to the distraught former alicorn’s barriers of deniability finally being breached. Unable to cope with the devastating truth of what had happened to her old self, and mentally exhausted by her unstable antics ever since finding out, her consciousness simply slipped away again.

Fortunately, Luna was there just in time to catch her stricken sister’s new much smaller form. “Sister? Sister… what goes on here? Twilight Sparkle was supposed to become an alicorn tonight, but I was not expecting to see thou like… this.”

“Twilight, I came as soon as I could. Your brother mentioned it was an emergency, but I never thought…” Cadence’s amazement at seeing the foal she used to sit for as a full-fledged Princess was slightly overshadowed by Celestia’s much-reduced capacity. “Tell me, what happened to her?”

“Well, I don’t exactly know myself… but I can tell you events from me and my friends’ point of view.” Twilight scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, as if she didn’t even know where to begin. “It all started when I got back from… wherever it was. The girls and Spike were admiring my new wings, when we heard this sort of flump noise, and we looked back, when we were ‘greeted’ to none other than the sight of…”

Author's Note

Well, what can I say? I had this bizarre new idea for a story whilst working today, and wanted to write out the first part at least before my muse left me.

Still, what do you think so far? Should I continue? Let me know, and thanks for reading! :moustache: