Celestia’s Tiny Student

Chapter 22

Best Wishes

The alicorn sat down listlessly on the floor, her eyes wide as tears fell from them, too distraught to answer her concerned subjects. Did I... did I just eat my faithful student? Celestia thought, terrified about what she had just done. Determined to find the answer, she lit her horn and cast a scanning spell on her own body. Oh no, there’s… there’s a living creature in my stomach. What have I done?

Celestia turned to look at Twilight Velvet and Night Light, who, alongside many others, had asked her if she felt alright. Not bothering to stop her tears, she lowered her head. “I am so sorry... I failed you! I didn’t keep my promise!”

Everypony in the room was shocked to see the princess cry so openly and so uncontrollably. They looked at each other silently and confusedly, trying to gauge how to react to such a situation.

Overwatch choked, holding a hoof to her mouth as if she was sick. “Yeah, I don’t think I need to say this, but something’s gone really wrong,” she said, slowly backing off towards the door. “S-somepony ask her what she means by a broken promise. My gut’s not cooperating with me right now.”

Night Light turned to her, an eyebrow raised. “But what could it be? What promise could she have made to me? Promise... promise…” he murmured, before his eyes lit up in realization. “C-could it be?”

Night Light, Twilight Velvet, and even Shining Armor turned urgently towards the princess, though Shining was the first to speak. “D-did something happen to my sister?” he stammered, a note of fear in his voice.

“Princess, please, tell us! Did something happen to Twilight? We have to know!” Twilight Velvet pled, already beginning to panic.

“E-excuse me princess, could you please repeat yourself?” Night Light asked hesitantly.

“You at her? I don’t understand, princess” Shining Armor said, a confused expression on his face.

“I ate her!” Celestia burst out, shocking everypony with the sudden volume of her voice.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Twilight Velvet and Night Light laughed hesitantly. “I-I get it. It’s meant to be a joke, right? Princess?” Night Light asked hopefully, only for this hope to be completely crushed by Celestia's shaking head and defeated expression.

“What... but... how?” Twilight Velvet asked as everypony surrounded Celestia, waiting for an answer.

“My f-f-faithful s-student was in the p-piece of c-cake I ate... I am so sorry. If you wish to punish me, I will accept anything...” Celestia said as more tears fell from her eyes, looking upon Twilight’s family submissively.

The insulting words or physical action Celestia expected never came as Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and Shining Armor approached her and lowered their heads towards her belly, poking it with their hooves. “Twilight? You there? Please answer me,” Shining armor said as he put an ear to her barrel.

Celestia quickly understood their actions, but before she could explain the unfortunate interactions between their Twilight and her stomach acid, she felt something moving inside her belly. S-she’s alive! She quickly tried lowering her own head to her belly. “Twilight, is that you? Are you alright?”

“Wait, so Twilight actually is inside Auntie Celestia?” Cadence asked curiously, walking closer to Shining Armor.

Celestia turned an eye to her, keeping her head steady. “Yes she is, and she’s moving, but even if she’s saying anything, we can’t hear her.”

“Oh… oh dear,” Fancy Pants said as Fleur fainted dramatically right into his embrace.

“Coooool...” said White Path excitedly. “The super pony got eaten by her mentor! I can’t wait until she gets out so she can tell me what it’s like to be eaten by a princess.”

Spike crossed his arms. “Yeah, I have no idea what all this drama is about. So the princess ate Twilight by accident. Big deal. All she needs to do is teleport out and the problem’s solved.”

Blueblood sat on his flank, dumbfounded by the current circumstances, as Spitfire flew into the room and landed next to him. “Those featherbrains lost Twilight…” she muttered, before quickly noticing the unusual behavior around Celestia. “Why is everypony so gloomy? Did I miss anything?”

“Twilight got eaten by the princess,” Soarin’ stated, catching Spitfire’s attention. “Good thing she wasn’t in a pie. If I’d accidentally eaten her, I don’t think I’d ever be able to eat another pie again. Terrifying.”

“That wasn’t funny,” Steel Blade said, narrowing his eyes at Soarin’ as Spitfire looked at both of them as if they were insane. The pegasus guard raised a hoof menacingly at Soarin’ while trembling in anger, but a touch on his shoulder quickly deflected his attention.

“No need to be so uptight,” Overwatch said, her former grimace now a relaxed grin. “Ten bits says Twilight’s alright and probably having a lot of fun exploring her newest dungeon.”

“I thought by now you’d stop questioning it, Steelie,” Overwatch replied with a smirk.

“Okay, so even if Twilight’s safe, how do we communicate with her?” Shining Armor asked.

Celestia took a moment to think before lighting up her horn, catching Shining’s attention. “This spell is the opposite of a soundproofing spell. Instead of absorbing or reflecting all sound waves, it lets them pass through obstacles,” she stated hastily, despite her efforts to think calmly about the situation.

“But how do you know a spell like this?” Shining Armor asked curiously. “I had no idea that this kind of spell even existed.”

Cadence put a hoof on his shoulder, her face serious. “You’d be surprised what one might learn over hundreds of years.”

“Can I learn how to cast this spell too? Pretty please?” asked a muted voice from the alicorn’s belly.

“Twilight! Are you alright? Please, speak to me!” Twilight Velvet asked urgently.

Everypony heaved a deep sigh of relief. Cadence's head made contact with her auntie's belly as she spoke, “Listen Twilight, everypony is worried about you. Can you teleport outside?”

“I am afraid I can’t, I kind of... cast a spell to turn myself into a pegasus, and I can’t charge enough magic to teleport outside without my unicorn bones to support the flow of magic,” Twilight explained with a tinge of embarrassment.

“Can’t you transform yourself back to normal?” Shining Armor asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid not. I need to wait until the spell wears off, which should take at least a few hours.”

Celestia looked towards Twilight‘s family. “We cannot wait those hours,” she said anxiously. “Twilight may act as if she is alright, but I dread to think what the acids in my stomach might do to her. Time is not on our side.”

“You heard the princess, right Twilight? We gotta get you out of there. Can you climb up the same way you got inside?” Shining Armor asked.

“I can try,” Twilight said as Celestia felt something try to escape from her belly. It was not pleasant. “I’m not strong enough. The passage is too tight.”

“Shining Armor, can you use a levitation spell and get your sister out?” Celestia asked urgently, lighting up her own horn.

“I can’t without—” Shining Armor said, only to be caught off guard as the princess’ body became transparent like glass, his sister easily visible inside Celestia’s esophagus. “Alright, I can levitate her out, but it won’t be a pleasant experience for you, Princess,” Shining Armor warned.

Celestia looked at him angrily. “I don’t care if you have to make a bleeding hole in my belly to get her out. Just save my faithful student!” she ordered with a mix of determination and desperation. Shining Armor immediately did as he was told and levitated Twilight, squishing her up to the princess’s throat. In a few more seconds, Twilight was free, leaving Celestia to try and stop herself from puking.

***

Twilight sat unsteadily next to the cake she was sleeping in not too long ago, her fur and wings covered in tiny pieces of cake, saliva, and acid and her hooves, flank, and wingtips slightly singed and chewed on. A crowd stood before her, varied expressions on their faces as Twilight smiled awkwardly at them. “Umm... surprise...?” she said hesitantly, only to jump when a glass of water and a towel were suddenly being levitated towards her.

Without a moment to react, Twilight was swiftly drenched in cold water before being wrapped up in the levitated towel, wiping off what it could. After the quick cleaning session was over, Twilight was swept up into a hug by her giant, worried mother.

“Oh Twilight, I don’t know if I should jump with joy that you’re alright or ground you for half a year for pulling this on all of us! Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

Before Twilight could reply, her father joined in on the hug, a smirk on his face. “You are in big trouble, little missy.”

It wasn’t long before Shining Armor and Cadence joined in the hug as well, everypony else in the room unsure whether they should ‘d’awww’ at the adorable scene before them or feel pity for the little unicorn, who had just moments ago escaped after being baked and eaten alive only to be smothered by a four-pony hug as if they were trying to finish what the princess’s teeth and belly acids failed to do.

Celestia hung her head guiltily as she walked away, unnoticed by the others as they focused on Twilight. She lit her horn and shrunk herself, vanishing down into the shadows of the party.

“I... c-can’t... b-b-breaaaaathe…!” Twilight wheezed out as loudly as she could, causing the hug to almost immediately recede, much to her relief.

Twilight landed lightly on the floor as White Path eagerly appeared in front of her, a little bigger than the last time she saw him. “So was it fun? Exciting? Scary?”

Twilight gave him a confused look. “Being eaten alive, you mean?” she asked. White Path gave her an energetic nod, and the tiny unicorn put a hoof to her mouth in contemplation. “Well... I guess it was gross,” she said with an awkward smile.

The excited colt quickly wrapped Twilight in a hug, much to her sudden displeasure. “Wow, you’re so amazing! A super pony who was just eaten alive by her own mentor, surviving thanks to her super prowess, of course.”

Twilight tried to free herself from White Path’s hug, but found herself too tired to do even that, especially without magic to aid her, so she simply gave up and let her friend to squeeze her temporarily elastic pegasus bones as she protested, “But I’m not a super pony! I don’t have any super powers!”

“Sure you are, Twilight! You and Spitfire beat up the criminals who tried to filly-nap you, remember?” Spike stated, gesturing his hands as if trying to give her a secret message.

Spike is right, if White Path sees me as a superhero, it would be mean of me to ruin his fun. “Alright, so I am a super pony, but keep in mind that I’m still a super pony in training, so I would rather not go out and fight crime just yet.”

White Path smiled and released Twilight from his hug, giving her a moment to breathe before being wrapped up in yet another embrace. Hurt, exhausted, chewed, and now slightly annoyed, the now half-pegasus turned her head, only to find Princess Celestia herself hugging her, who, instead of the mighty giant who ate her just a moment ago, was now the same size as her.

“I’m so glad that you’re alright, Twilight! I am so terribly sorry for what I did, and I know that what I did is inexcusable!” Celestia said with tears in her eyes, ignoring the many ponies in the room looking at her in utter surprise. Personal image and pride were the last things she could care about at this point.

“Twilight, I am truly sorry. I know that I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and that you may fear me from now on, but there is something I must ask of you,” Celestia said, her emotionless mask simply gone.

“Y-yes, Princess Celestia. I’ll gladly do whatever you ask,” Twilight replied hesitantly, still processing what was going on.

“W-what? Punish you? For what? I can’t do that!” Twilight replied, taking a step back as she found the strength to free herself from the princess’s embrace.

“For what? For what! I swore to protect you and take care of you, and yet I still can’t protect you from danger. Two weeks after I took you in as my student, you almost drown in the bathtub. Several years later, you fall from my tower. I almost crushed you with my hoof during a game of tag!”

Twilight, now shocked, looked wide-eyed at her mentor, who simply took a deep breath and continued feverishly. “During your final exam, I pushed you so hard that you ended up in a coma for two days. When I sent you to the Wonderbolts Headquarters to learn about pegasus magic, you were almost filly-napped! And now, even for your own birthday, I’ve actually eaten you! I cannot stand it any longer, I want—no, I demand to be punished. I need at least some consequence for failing to keep you safe!” Celestia shouted, before suddenly deflating, taking a few deep breaths as the ends of her majestic mane dropped limply onto her back.

Twilight closed her eyes, thinking deeply as Celestia continued with a firm stomp of her hoof. “I shrunk myself to be more vulnerable for whatever punishment you see fit. I will accept anything, whether it be crushed under a one ton weight or thrown into fire or something. Just please... give me a chance to pay for my mistakes.”

Twilight Velvet looked between her bedraggled daughter and the rapidly deteriorating princess. “I relieved you’re safe, Twilight, but I still can’t help but agree with the princess on this. I should feel angry—furious even—that she ate you, but...” She breathed out a deep sigh. “This one’s on you, Twi.”

Celestia turned to look at Twilight desperately, pleadingly as images of her sister raced through her mind, another ugly reminder of her inability to be there for those she cared about. I’ve gotten away with condemning Lulu to a thousand years on the moon, even though I was the one who didn’t stop her from becoming Nightmare Moon. But for this, I don’t want to go away unpunished for hurting my student over her faithful and forgiving years with me, for failing to be with her when she was in danger. I can’t stand this guilt anymore! I don’t want to get away with hurting the ponies I love the most.

Twilight finally opened her eyes, giving Celestia a warm smile as she wrapped up her mentor in a hug instead. “I’ve come to a realization, Princess, and I cannot punish you for something that wasn’t your fault. If anything, the past years as your student have been the happiest years of my life.”

Celestia sat dumbfounded, her eye giving a small twitch. No no no no no. I’ve tried to protect my subjects, yet I always end up hurting them instead, and no matter what, I am never punished for it. Why am I not allowed the privilege of paying up for my mistakes? Why?

Velvet looked down uncertainly at her hooves, trying to process her daughter’s words through the turmoil of emotions in her mind. She was brought out of her shaky contemplation when Night light gave her a simple nuzzle. Velvet looked up at him, breathing out a deep sigh before looking back at her daughter, silently acknowledging Twilight’s decision despite finding difficulties understanding it.

Twilight guided her mentor to a small tabletop with a few flaps of her wings and a tug, seating the princess down with her at the center. “Gather around, everypony. It’s still my birthday, and so much more has happened during my years here than just a few of my accidents, so I’d like to hear a bit about the good points of life from everypony, whether it be heartwarming or simply amusing.“

Everypony looked at each other uncertainly until Velvet walked forward and sat down, providing the precedent for everypony else. “Twilight, as much as I would like to listen to a good story,” she began, as the table was soon surrounded by friends and family, “shouldn’t you first tell us how you ended up inside the cake, much less why you suddenly look like an alicorn?”

Cadence let out a giggle. “She’s not quite an alicorn. Alicorn wings are far bigger than pegasus wings, allowing us to focus a great deal more pegasus magic into them. This allows our bones more leeway in resembling those of a unicorn, which, in turn, allows us to channel magic into our horns,” she said, gesturing to the size difference between Celestia’s and Twilight’s wings. “You see, if Twilight was an alicorn, she would have no problems casting her spells.”

Spitfire gave an amused snort, grinning. “She said as much when she was still trying to develop her spell to change earth pony or unicorn magic into pegasus magic over at headquarters. Still, for a fresh pegasus, she’s not that bad,” she said with a smirk. “But hey, if she manages to turn all her magic into pegasus magic, she might be able to fly even faster than the Wonderbolts. Well, after several years of training, that is.”

Twilight returned Spitfire’s grin before turning to her mother. “Well, I guess I did suggest a storytelling circle, so I guess I’ll be the first and start from the beginning,” she said happily.

***

“It ended up being a rather disorienting experience, waking up lodged in the princess’s throat, but I think you ponies know the rest of the story from there.”

“Twilight,” Velvet said, a concerned look on her face, “I understand that you would prefer to stay small in order to challenge yourself, but I was wondering when you planned on returning to your normal size.”

Twilight shook her head. “There’s still a lot for me to learn, so it’ll have to wait, even if I do get myself stuck in strange situations. Either way, I was able to figure out the shrinking spell by repeatedly watching the princess cast it, and even though I don’t think I can cast it, I’m fairly certain I can dispel it, even at my size, so I’d prefer to wait until a serious emergency came up before I return to my normal size.”

“How can you say that, Twilight?” Celestia said, her eyes still red from her tears as she moved to sit in front of her student. “Your life has been in danger so many times, and you haven’t lifted your curse even once to protect yourself.”

“Princess, do you remember when you taught me how ponies adapted to the world around them? How we strengthen our magic to enhance our bodies?” Twilight asked.

“Every accident I had, Every adventure or painful experience I’ve gone through, has helped me grow not just physically, but mentally as well.”

Twilight looked into Celestia’s eyes, an encouraging hoof on her mentor’s. “After my first power surge, I was... afraid to use my magic. But that changed when my own power surge rescued me from drowning in the bathtub.”

Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight was faster. “When I hurt myself with a needle, I learned to be more cautious and not so overconfident in myself, though perhaps that’s a lesson I should relearn for my own good,” she said with a giggle. “When I survived the fall from your tower without breaking a single bone, I’ve learned that I don’t need to be afraid of heights.”

Celestia cut off Twilight with a hoof. “And the game of tag where I almost killed you?”

“It was a terrifying experience, but to be honest, I should probably thank you for that,” Twilight said cheerfully.

“Well first off,” Twilight said, lifting her forearms in a grand gesture, “I’m not dead. Second, if your hoof can’t squish me, what pony can?”

“And your final exam?” Celestia protested. “Or the day when you almost got fillynapped? Or today when I ate you?”

Twilight gave her mentor a warm smile. “I would not have done nearly so well on my final exam if it weren’t for everything you taught me. I would’ve failed to help Spitfire defeat those criminals if it weren’t for everything I’d learned under your tutelage and in the hospital. I wouldn’t have tried to stay calm in the oven if it weren’t for our training exercises and a few choice fireballs.”

Twilight looked down contemplatively. “And even today, I think I learned something,” she said, before turning back up to look straight at Celestia. “Princess, don’t blame yourself for the dangers I keep getting into. It’s strange, but my experience in that oven made me realize that I may not always have others to help me when I get in trouble. You’re not always going to be around when I encounter a problem, and I should be stronger so that you don’t have to worry so much. I need to be able to take anything thrown at me so you don’t need to guilt yourself over my hardships.”

Celestia looked at her student speechlessly as Twilight shed a few tears. “ But all those years with you, not only was it fun and enjoyable, but it’s helped me to be stronger in the end, even all the bad and painful experiences. There’s still so much I can work on, so many ways I can improve myself, but if I can face the world as a tiny unicorn, there’s nothing I can’t overcome when I return to my original size. Who I am today, it’s all thanks to you. I love you, Princess. You’re like a mother to me,” she said, wrapping up the princess in a tight hug.

Celestia returned the embrace, her eyes once again teary. “I-I love you too, Twilight.”

Once she freed the princess from her hug, Twilight jumped towards Cadence, hugging the alicorn’s neck tightly. “And you, Cadence, you’ve been the best foal-sitter I could ever wish for, and I’d like to thank you for teaching me so much about illusion, love, and age-changing magic!”

Cadence lifted her hoof towards Twilight and touched her gently. “You're very welcome, and I’ve truly enjoyed foal-sitting you. I hope you’re still not too old to be my little charge,” she said as Twilight climbed up towards her nose.

Cadence breathed out a contented sigh, and as soon as Twilight jumped from her nose, she ducked down with the motions, not bothering to reduce her age as she usually did. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake,” they chanted as part of their adorable welcome dance, Cadence clapping her hooves even more lightly against Twilight’s due to her size. While the last clap sent Twilight flying as a part of their performance, the little pegasus ended up flying in a confused circle before crashing to the floor, not used to her temporary wings. I think I'll stick with my backflip as usual.

“I understand them doing this when Cadence was the size of a filly, but this...” Night Light said, looking at them with an astounded expression.

Shining Armor chuckled lightly. “Age spell or not, I don’t think a size difference can stop them,” he said, before he suddenly noticed the princess surreptitiously walking away, her head low. Before he could call for her, however, he was interrupted by a tiny unicorn tackling him.

“I love you too, B.B.B.F.F. You were always there for me, even before I became Princess Celestia’s student, and I’ve always enjoyed your visits. Not to mention how much safer I feel with all those defensive and offensive spells you’ve taught me,” Twilight said cheerfully, hugging her brother’s belly as hard as she could as his hoof lightly hugged her back.

Twilight trotted over to her parents as well, wrapping each of them in an embrace. "Mom, Dad? I know you’re both concerned about my safety, but you don't have to worry. I'm growing up so much under Princess Celestia, but no matter how grown up I get, I'll always be your daughter, and I’ll always love you no matter what, even if I do spend most of my time with my mentor."

“We love you too, Twilight,” Twilight Velvet said sincerely, resisting the urge to hug her daughter again as the tiny unicorn moved to hug her father.

“She’s growing up so fast,” Night Light murmured as Twilight broke from his hug and walked to White Path.

The tiny unicorn beamed up at the colt. “We sure had a lot of fun together. Considering that most of my friends are far older than I am, it’s nice to have a younger pony as a friend too,” she said enthusiastically, lifting her tiny foreleg towards him.

White Path bumped his hoof against hers. “Are you kidding? Not only have I met a cool pony like you, I got to meet the princess herself as well as her niece! And what pony can say that he met a dragon too? It’s thanks to you. I just wish we could see each other more often.”

“Perhaps in the future, we can spend more time together, White Path,” she said, giving him a warm smile before walking towards Blueblood. “Thank you for being a friend as well. You’ve completely changed the nobility’s behavior towards me thanks to that party. Despite some of your actions, I can say that during the snowball fight, you helped teach me a little about courage and self sacrifice,” Twilight said respectfully with a small bow.

Blueblood gave an amused snort as he remembered escaping from being bombarded by a hailstorm of snowballs for half an hour. “You’re welcome, and if I might add, you taught me that life is more than just popularity and wealth,” he said, giving a knowing look to Shining Armor and Spitfire, who returned it with an innocent smile.

Next, Twilight walked to Fancy Pants and Fleur. “Thank you for all the hospitality you showed me in my time of need, for all the wonders I had the pleasure to see at your residence, and for letting me play with your son. It is an honour to be your friend.” Twilight gave a deep, respectful bow, which Fancy and Fleur reciprocated as best they could.

“And you are such a charming, well-behaved young lady. The pleasure is all ours,” Fancy Pants said.

“It was indeed, and I am glad that our son found a friend to play with who likes him not only because he came from a rich family. It can be very hard to find a true friend sometimes with our status,” Fleur said, before adding hesitantly, “though I hope that our son will not take the whole ‘super pony’ business too seriously. F-for his own safety.”

Twilight nodded happily before walking towards Spitfire and Soarin', but this time, Spitfire beat her to the punch. “You can spare me the emotional speech. The last thing I need is to start tearing up from all the sentimentality. Long story short, you’re cool, a good friend, dependable team member, and the first unicorn friend I’ve ever had. Well actually, I guess I now have two and a half unicorns as friends,” Spitfire said, glancing at Fancy Pants and Blueblood before giving an amused snort, “If somepony told me a year ago that I would befriend such a nerdy gal like you, I would’ve laughed.”

Spitfire gave him a happy nod. “Yep! You’re just weird. If you ever decide to stop acting like a jerk whenever you’re around nobles or at your fancy parties, I may consider accepting you as a friend, but until then, you’re going to be a half of a unicorn friend.”

Twilight and Soarin' shared a laugh before the stallion lowered himself to Twilight’s level. “I’ve had quite a bit of fun too, and I hope the saddle we made together will serve you well, but please, never hide in a pie. I don’t want to live in fear of eating you by accident.”

Twilight rolled her eyes with a grin. “I promise,” she said, before she walked towards Spike.

“Yeah, it was fun being your friend, whatever, just don’t go all sentimental on me. Far too much drama today if you ask me,” Spike said with crossed arms, closed eyes, and a pout.

Twilight raised an eyebrow amusedly before turning to walk away, only to be grabbed in a hug from behind. “Oh forget it, I don’t care about all the drama. I love you, Twilight. You’re like a mother to me. Just please, let me protect you whenever you go on another crazy adventure? Don’t leave me behind,” he said worriedly.

Twilight’s eyes widened. With so many friends, studying, training, reading, and adventuring she’d done, she’d also spent less time with her adoptive son than she used to. Twilight nuzzled Spike’s hand with her head. “I’m sorry Spike. We’ll go on our next adventures together. I promise.”

Once free from Spike’s embrace, Twilight moved towards her two guards. “And I would like to thank you for always being there with me, for always watching over me. I know that you were ordered to be my personal guards, but I hope that one day we could become friends as well,” Twilight said calmly, before she was swept up in yet another crushing hug. Will these hugs ever end? Good thing turning myself into a pegasus gave me their elastic bones, or they would’ve broken already. On the other hoof, I should be thankful that nopony decided to use a knife to cut the cake, or I doubt my endurance would have been much use.

“Of course we’re your friends, Twilight,” Steel Blade said, tearing up. “Don’t you ever think otherwise.” Overwatch sat there silently, a small smile on her face as she stared wistfully at the loving embrace.

“Alright then,” Twilight said, returning the hug before extricating herself from his embrace. “Now, I suggested that we all tell stories, so who’s going to be next to share?”

***

While everypony enjoyed the cheerful atmosphere of the party, one tiny alicorn sat separately from the rest of the group, watching their smiling faces as she wrestled with her own turbulent emotions. Why? Why is she so forgiving? Any normal pony would have yelled at me, but Twilight...

She breathed a deep sigh. I haven’t opened my heart to anypony like this in a long time. In just a few short years, she has done what no other pony has been able to do for nearly a millennia. Thanks to her, I’ve been able to breathe freer from my royal trappings and enjoy life as any other pony, not to mention the joy she’s brought to all of us. The princess turned to look at her faithful student, surrounded by family and friends, all of whom treasured her in their own way. She hadn’t thought it was possible for ponies like Blueblood and Spitfire to share each other’s company, yet here it was, happening despite all their former animosity.

In just a few short months, I will be sending that same pony to face Nightmare Moon. Into a peril that dwarfs anything she’s ever encountered so far.

Celestia looked down absentmindedly at the table she was sitting on. Could I do it? Could I consciously send the pony who refuses to punish me for my actions against her into a danger I know about?

“Cake?” Overwatch asked, causing Celestia to jump. The guard levitated a large piece of cake in front of her, and though Celestia would have jumped at it earlier, all she could see now was green.

“Suit yourself, Your Majesty,” Overwatch said, a happy smile as she speared the slice with a fork, taking a large bite before trotting back to the rest of the group. Celestia watched her go, and as soon as she was sure that nopony was watching, she collapsed on the table, feeling as if she was going to puke.

Celestia's Tiny Student

by CommanderX5

Ch22 - Best Wishes