//------------------------------//
// Chapter Nine: Passing Days 
// Story: The Princess is a Filly 
// by Art Inspired 
//------------------------------//




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.