I couldn’t help but glare and roll my eyes as I saw Celestia and Nightmare Moon sitting under a tree casually, speaking to each other like they didn’t have a care in the world. It was in stark contrast to what I remembered happening last night and the part I knew Celestia played in it, and it made me wonder just how much the latter played along with the former in causing that mess.
“What are the odds that she decided to come to the park at the same time that I do?” I couldn’t help but wonder to myself. “Slim to none, probably.”
“This is a conversation we will have to continue later,” I heard the blue pony say as Holiday and I approached, “and I do want to continue it.” With that, she stepped up to me and gave me a kind smile, greeting, “Hello again, Asher.”
“Hello,” I replied politely as I looked up at her, giving another look to Celestia before I asked, “What are you doing out here? I didn’t really expect to see you again so soon.”
“Nor I, you,” she told me, “and yet here we are. As for why I’m here, I do think it’s a nice change of pace to lay in the sun with my sister after being banished to the moon for so long.” With that, she looked down at her hooves and said, “I do want to apologize again for my actions last night. They are not the way I’d like to portray myself, and I do hope you find a better impression of me than what you received at first.”
“Well, you apologized, so that’s something,” I told her as I looked into her eyes, watching the princess’s ear flick at that in the corner of my vision. “Not everypony- err, everyone- has the strength to do that, so I appreciate that you did.”
“My sister is quite the strong pony,” Celestia commented as she stood up, making her way over to us now, causing me to roll my eyes again. She looked down at me and smiled, greeting, “Hello once again, Asher.”
“Hi,” I responded flatly, not returning it, hoping she understood how much I didn’t like how she was acting.
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, everyone looking at her to see if she would comment before she finally asked, “Have you gotten settled in with my student? I understand that the two of you didn’t seem quite so… tightly knit when you first met, but-”
“Nope,” I interrupted, wanting her to know upfront. “She was being disrespectful, and I told her I wasn’t going to be staying with her if she acted like that.” I sat down in the grass nonchalantly, moving in front of a tree to rest my back on. I was so done with Celestia at that point that I found myself itching a little bit to argue with her as weird as it was.
“I see. It sounds like I need to have a small chat with her. That’s not how a personal student of mine should be behaving. I assume it was the same issue you were complaining of before?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I was complaining since it’s something that’s actually happening and does bother me, but yes. I told her not to call me a girl, and it felt like she went out of her way to do it anyway.”
“I understand. I will speak to her as soon as I can. You and I can head over now to her library home if you’d like?” I watched Holiday smile at the conversation, clearly happy that what she said would happen was following through.
“Honestly, I’d rather not stay with her at all,” I said flatly, her smile dropping again as she flinched, seeming afraid of the way I spoke to the white pony. “Especially not after that, not after she was openly being mean. Why should I?”
“I can see why you should not want to,” she said, trying to sound sympathetic but falling flat, “and I’m certain that Twilight Sparkle would rather not either. However, I do believe it is in the best interest of both of you to be staying with each other.”
I decided not to poke at that argument, not right now, and instead simply asked, “What if I don’t want to?” Celestia tilted her head in confusion, and I asked, “What if I just don’t stay with her? What then? What happens if I just decide not to? Do I get thrown in jail or something? Sent to the dungeon?”
She opened her mouth to answer but stopped, not having one. I watched the black pony next to her smirk, saying, “We do not mean to intrude, but it does seem to us that the filly had you there, dear sister.”
“Honestly,” I continued, gaining more confidence, “I really don’t appreciate you acting like you can control everything. I’m an adult, and I don’t like being ordered around like a child.”
“Being an adult means doing things you do not like to do, Asher,” Celestia replied quickly. “I expect you to know this much, even if it’s upsetting to do, since you are an adult.”
“Being an adult also means not being patronized like you’re doing right now,” I shot back, not able to help myself. “You always talk to me in that patronizing tone, and it’s annoying to hear. Everyone here does it, and it's grinding me down to the bone.”
She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to gather herself as she said, “I’m sorry. I do not mean to come across as patronizing to you. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you would-”
“No. I’m not giving in on this like I did everything else,” I said with finality, sending a look her way that told her I meant what I said. “I’m. Not. Staying. With. Her. And that’s that.”
“I understand your concern, Asher,” she said, clenching her teeth slightly, “but I-”
“No, no buts,” I said. “I’m not doing it, so don’t start saying, ‘but’ to me.”
In hindsight, it was plain to see I was rubbing Celestia’s nerves completely raw, but I didn’t notice until she was already upon me.
“I’ve had quite enough of you barking at me as though we’re equals!” she snapped, sticking her wings out in anger as she put her muzzle in my face. It made me flinch in surprise, and I couldn’t help but be afraid as I pressed my back farther into the tree, staring right up at her. She could be downright scary when she wanted to be.
“I am not an acquaintance of yours to question and settle things with whenever you please in front of my subjects!” she said, speaking loudly, aggressively. “You are my lesser and you will stay with Twilight Sparkle! Do you understand?”
I could only nod in fear as she pressed her nose into mine, looking at me with absolute hate. I made a mental note not to push her this far again.
“Do not- do not- speak to me that way in public again!” she demanded, forcing eye contact with me for a long moment. "I expect not to be embarrassed in front of my student again, and will not allow you to address me as you continue to do!" It felt like we were locking eyes forever before she finally lit up her horn, teleporting away and leaving Holiday and I stunned. Nightmare Moon only sent a look our way.
“We thought we had a temper,” she commented casually. “Although we will admit that on a few occasions our sister’s has been shown to flash. It seems you've upset her more than I imagined. Are you okay, Asher?” I blinked in surprise for a second, hardly registering what the mare said before I answered.
“That… was scary,” I told her, still having my back fully pressed up against the tree. I shook my head clear for a moment before I continued, “But I meant what I said. I’m not living with her, and that’s final.”
The alicorn gave me a smile at that. “Quite the feisty young one,” she told me. “I can see how you might have turned my sister’s plans upside down and inside out.”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” I replied, “or to anyone for that matter, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was blaming things on me. From what I’ve seen from her, it seems like that’s her character.”
“It’s interesting that you feel that way,” she told me. “However, I won’t be able to continue with this conversation. It’s best that I get back to Canterlot. I do have things to prepare for tomorrow. I would like once again to express nothing but my deepest, most sincere apologies to you.”
“I forgive you,” I said simply. “Thank you.”
With that, she vanished, just as quickly as Celestia did, leaving Holiday and I in the park.
“That, uh…” she trailed off as she stared blankly ahead. “That was… quite something.”
“Yes, it was,” I responded, going back to scowling. “But I really did mean it when I said I wasn’t staying with her. There’s no way she can make me, even if she gets in my face and yells at me again.”
“Ah, well… she said she was going to tell that other mare not to call you a girl anymore, so…” Holiday smiled nervously, clearly unsure of what to do, likely afraid of the princess. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but you already know that being an adult means-”
“I already know what you’re going to say,” I interrupted, “but there’s a difference between conceding things and just straight up being pushed around. I’m not going to keep being pushed around by all these ponies. I don’t care.”
All she could do was sigh at that. “Okay, Asher,” she responded, taking a spot next to me under the tree. “If you say so.”
Twilight had just barely gotten to sleep when she heard knocking on her library door. It was all she could do to roll her eyes and get up to answer it with a grunt, her tired eyes taking a moment to realize that Princess Celestia was standing in front of her.
“Twilight Sparkle,” the alicorn started before she could speak, looking down at her with a mixture of anger and seriousness on her face, wanting to make known that she expected her to listen this time.
“I’ve asked you before to treat Asher with respect,” she said, letting her voice carry a bit. “I’m telling you this once more. Even if you disagree, treat her with respect. Have I made myself clear?”
“Huh? Oh, y-y-yes, princess,” the unicorn stuttered nervously. “I- I understand, but if you're t-talking about calling her a male, I think that-”
“No buts!” she interrupted, clearly angry. “I do not want to hear excuses! You will call her what she wants to be called, and that’s final!”
She didn’t wait for a response before she stretched her wings and took to the skies, heading back to Canterlot in a huff, Twilight watching with a little bit of fear, and some annoyance.
“How did that filly get to talk to her before I did?” she silently wondered.