Celestia watched as Discord paced back and forth across the ceiling. While she hadn’t been sure what she expected him to do or say when she had stated her request to him, she had to admit that seeing the draconequus stunned into silence had been at the very bottom of her list of possibilities. Now he was pacing on her ceiling with his arms crossed and wings twitching. If she hadn’t been so desperate for a response she would have found it hilarious. As it was though, his reaction caused her to sigh.
Discord walked down the wall and stopped right in front of Celestia, his chin resting on his paw. “Alright, j-just give me a second. You want me to do what, exactly? Because I’m sure I must have misunderstood you.”
Celestia smiled at the uneasy draconicus. “You heard me correctly, Discord. I’d very much appreciate it if you would turn me into an earth pony.”
Discord stared open mouthed. When Celestia had requested him to come to her quarters, he first thought that she was going to chastise him for turning all the food in the kitchen into candy the other day. It had been just the smallest amount of chaos. After all it wasn’t his fault Luna had gotten a tummy ache! When she told him why he was actually there, he was too flabbergasted to even laugh. He knew that Celestia could be quite the prankster, so the first thought that came to his mind was that she could have been playing an elaborate prank on him.
"Hold up a moment, let me see if I got this." Discord snapped his talons and a chalkboard with Celestia’s profile drawn on it appeared. "You want me do this?" He snapped again, which caused the wings and horn to be erased from Celestia’s profile. “To the real you? Why exactly do you want this anyway, Sun Butt? Wings too heavy? Horn making you too…horny?”
“Not exactly, Discord. It’s much more than just getting rid of my horn and wings.” Celestia rose to her hooves and walked over to her vanity, looking into the mirror which sat upon it. She let out a soft sigh as her long multi-colored mane flowed around her face where it was covering her left eye. She levitated her crown off her brow, placing it next to her mane brush and curry comb for her coat. After a moment she ran the brush through her mane, frowning as it felt more like brushing air than actual hair.
She watched her horn’s magical aura flow, as it manipulated the floating brush. Her horn, longer than even the most powerful of unicorns by far. She lifted a single wing. She had preened them last night. They still looked perfect. More powerful than the fastest pegasus. What was there of her that showed she was a third earth pony?
“Applejack came to speak to me about a tax I recently signed into law. On paper it seemed fair. But, once she explained it to me I could see just how much it was going to affect earth ponies. I realized something, Discord. I am an Alicorn, the paragon of all pony races in one. Yet I know nothing of what it means to be an earth pony.” Celestia frowned at her reflection. “For several millennia I have lived without realizing this! I use the magic of a unicorn, I fly as a pegasus. What do I do as an earth pony?” She frowned as she heard crunching. “Discord!”
Disord looked up after shoving a clawful of candy into his maw. “What? You were starting to ramble so I thought I might as well make myself a snack!” He offered her the bucket of her student’s cutie mark shaped candies. “Want some?”
Celestia shook her head. “Discord. This is important, please! For just a few moments can you not be you?” Discord shrugged, tossing the rainbow thunderbolt candy behind him where it vanished into a blue portal. Celestia blinked but shook her head. “I want more than just my horn and wings hidden, Discord. I want you to take my unicorn and pegasi magic as well.” Celestia smiled serenely at him. “That would leave me as a normal earth pony, would it not?”
Discord sputtered a bit. Could this really be happening? Was Celestia actually giving him permission, no, not just giving permission. She was asking him to turn her into a normal pony! “Really, Celestia? You would trust me to do this? What is to stop me from taking your power as my own?”
Celestia smirked, “Oh, that did cross my mind momentarily. But I’m certain you won’t do anything like that.”
"Oh? And why not?"
“Because Fluttershy wouldn’t like that.” Celestia grinned, showing her teeth, “Now would she?”
Discord opened his mouth and lifted a claw to object but quickly frowned, lowering his claw. Drats, if she wasn’t right. Fluttershy would be very irritated with him if he took Princess Celestia’s power as his own. Ah well, it was nice to dream.
Celestia nodded, satisfied he got her point. “Discord, I need this, I need to know what it means to be an earth pony. Think of how much better a ruler I’ll be once I have cleared this final hurdle. I may even be able to finally understand who I truly am.” Her shoulders slumped. “All these years I have been ruling unfairly! How can my ponies still trust me? How?” She turned to look Discord in the eyes to see him reach into an orange portal and pull out the candy bowl. “Discord!”
“What? You were going into a monologue! I was getting bored and it was either eat these adorable candy cutie marks or cause chaos. I would have thought you’d prefer me to eat butterflies.”
Celestia rolled her eyes. He had lasted longer than she thought he would. “Have you ever thought about it, Discord? What it must be like to be a normal pony? Without all your powers?”
Discord tapped a talon to his muzzle as he munched a few popcorn kernels. “Nope, sorry Sun Butt, can’t say I ever have.” He tossed the empty popcorn container in his mouth and chomped down. “Alright, so you want to be an earth pony? Why not just use an illusion spell on your horn and wings? Seems to me that would be the easiest way to handle this. No muss no fuss, right?”
“Really, Discord? If it were as simple as an illusion spell, do you really think I’d be talking to you about this? Even if I did think it was possible to use an illusion spell in that manner, it wouldn’t be practical! Think about it. I’d need to renew the illusion spell almost daily, and if I so much as slipped I’d be revealed to the citizens as Celestia. I can’t afford for that to happen.” Celestia closed her eyes. “Please, Discord... I need to know what it means to not have my wings or horn. To truly understand what that means I need to be actually without them; they need to be removed from me.”
“Alright, alright, I get it. You can’t take your own magic, why not ask Princess Moon Butt?”
Celestia frowned. “If you are referring to Luna, she isn’t capable of doing what I’m requesting you to do. She’s still recovering her power from when she was freed of the Nightmare.” Celestia got a little flushed, “I... um... did talk to her and told her what I meant to do.”
“From that pink in your cheeks, Princess, I’m guessing she didn’t take it well?”
Celestia coughed delicately, remembering her recent meeting with Luna.
Luna looked up as Celestia walked into her room, carefully shutting her door. “Ah, Tia, your guard informed me that you wished to speak with me as soon as you were able. What is it that I may do for you, my dear sister?”
Celestia smiled and gave her sister a nuzzle before sitting beside her and spilling out her heart. Luna watched with pursed lips. She listened to every word before she got up and began to pace. “Celestia, have you truly thought this through? Truly? Because I am wondering if you are thinking with your head or with your heart! This… what you plan... it is like something I may find in a foal’s story book. Do you realize how crazed you sound? Were you to speak of your plan to any other pony they would have you committed!”
Celestia stared down at her forehooves, blinking back her tears. Maybe… maybe Luna was right. Maybe. She felt a hoof gently lift her chin and she stared into the calm blue eyes of her little sister. Celestia blinked back her tears as Luna smiled.
“Tia, if you were not thinking with your heart I’d be much afeard. If this is what you need to do...
You have my blessing.”
Celestia smiled joyously, “Thank you, Luna! Thank you.” She cocked her head. “You still think I’m mad though, don’t you?”
Luna laughed, “As a hatter, dear sister.”
Celestia nuzzled Luna as they held tight to each other, both laughing and crying.
“...You could say that, she thinks I’m mad but she won’t stop me, as she knows this is what I feel I need to do.” Celestia smiled fondly, “She has agreed to take over my duties of guiding the sun while I am away, as well as any of my other duties that are unable to be reassigned.”
Discord sighed. “You really are set on this aren’t you, Sun… Celestia?” Celestia nodded a single time and Discord clapped his claw and paw together. “Well, alrighty then! Let’s do this!”
Celestia blinked. “Really? You’ll help me?”
Discord nodded with a grin.
A small smile spread across Celestia's muzzle. "Thank you, Discord. Thank you."
Discord levitated himself into the air, laying on his belly gazing down at Celestia. “Now. You are one-hundred percent certain about this? I mean, think about this. You won’t be able to fly, no unicorn magic. Have you ever even used your hooves to manipulate anything? Don’t forget that once I take the magic you’ll lose your majestic stature. Are you that sure you’re ready to get rid of that wondrously large flank of yours?”
Celestia’s cheeks turned a rosy red as she quickly turned to stare at the ground. “Sh-shut up…”
“I mean, look at that thing! So big and round, it must have taken years and numerous cakes to make it so!”
“That’s enough, Discord! You have well and truly made your point, I assure you! Hasn’t being friends with Fluttershy helped you learn how to speak with a proper mare?” Celestia grumbled while looking up at him.
"Not at all, Sun Butt!" Discord laughed as he snapped and was suddenly dressed in a dark blue vest, mirror sunglasses and a headset microphone. "Thank you for choosing Chaos Air. At this time I urge you to cast any remaining spells you may have the desire to cast and to spread your wings. If at any time during the process you want to stop, please be aware that may leave you with only half of your remaining power until I am able to fully transfer it back. And with that we have thirty seconds to go. Thank you again for flying Chaos Air!”
Celestia began to feel a slight fear as Discord’s chaotic magic wrapped around her. After so long fearing this touch it was hard for her to come to grips with the fact it was going to help her. A single bead of sweat fell over her right eye as she let out a subconscious whimper. What will it feel like? To lose everything I am? Oh Harmony, oh Sun and Moon, I’m so scared! No... no, I can do this, I have to do this! She steadied herself and gave the go ahead.
Discord snapped his talons, his eyes glowing as he stared straight into Celestia’s own.
The first sensation Celestia felt was of a coolness on her forehead. She glanced up to see that her horn had lost the normal glow that encircled it. Though it was difficult for mortals to see, it was always there as she guided the sun. With a final touch to the sun Celestia could feel Luna take over the guiding. Then her sense of magic went dead. It was a disconcerting feeling as she ran a hoof over her long horn, which had just been rendered inert. Suddenly she felt her horn pulling back into her forehead. She almost cried out in pain before realizing it didn’t hurt. In fact, she couldn’t feel her horn at all anymore. She just watched, entranced as her horn slowly but steadily pulled back into her forehead until just the tip protruded through her forehead, eventually becoming nothing. She rubbed her hoof over her forehead in shock. Nothing, there wasn’t even a bump to show that her horn had been there. She put her hoof back on the ground. It gave her the creeps and she was glad she knew what she was getting herself into.
She fluffed her wings out and let out a shiver as she watched several of her white feathers fall to the floor. She swallowed a gasp as more seemed to molt from her wings with every passing second, until her floor was covered by a thin sheet of brilliant white feathers while her wings showed only pink skin. It was terrifying to see. She quickly looked away to look up at Discord, who had sweat pouring down his face. She once more felt the chill that she had felt when the magic left her horn, but in this case it sunk deep into her wings. She felt a gentle pulling and forced herself to look as her wings slowly atrophied into her back. She could feel the muscles tense, then relax into nothing. Soon, just the wing tips remained poking out of her back, barely visible and then they too were gone.
Celestia let out a shaky breath as she was hit with horrible vertigo. It was as if she had been smacked across the muzzle. She closed her eyes and whimpered as she felt her body doing… something. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to describe it even if somepony gave her twenty years to think about it. It… it almost felt like she was curling in on herself.
Then just as suddenly as it had started, it was over.
Nervously, she opened a single eye and looked around. Everything looked so much bigger. She opened her other eye and gazed around the room with her mouth open wide. It was incredible what a few feet of size difference meant when viewing things she thought she knew by heart. She could even see under her bed now. She snorted a bit at all the multitude of objects she could see. Huh! So that’s where my old mane brush went. I’ve been looking for that!.
Discord wiped away the sweat from his brow and snapped the feathers into a brand new pillow, which he laid his head on. “Hmm... I must say, I think I did a fantastic job with the new you, Celestia, but go on, have a look!” He snapped and she floated up into the air so that she could see in her own vanity mirror. He grinned as she moved her legs uselessly before she finally went limp and lifted her head.
“Oh…” It was all she could think to say. Staring back at her was a beautiful if slightly plain earth pony mare. Celestia thanked any deity who was listening that Discord had turned her into a mare and not a filly. She had read enough friendship reports from Twilight on those Cutie Mark Crusaders, and she had no desire to become one. She turned her head back and forth. A long pink mane had replaced her multicolored one. She touched it and smiled brightly; it felt like hair. She was actually touching hair! Not air-like magic!
Her eyes were the same, yet they weren’t... No, they were different. No longer did they show her true age. Now they sparkled with a youthful vigor, the likes of which she had seen in the eyes of Twilight. She lifted a hoof to examine it. A small yet powerful a hoof that any earth pony would be proud of. Finally she looked at her flank. There, her normal cutie mark still remained, though it was smaller as to fit onto her new flank. Celestia looked up at Discord who silently shrugged in response.
“I tried to change it into something more ‘Earthy’, but it refused to change.”
Celestia considered then smiled. “That’s alright, I’m certain I can figure out a special talent for my earth pony self that would consist of my having a sun. Could I ask just one more favor?”
Discord rubbed his chin, then shrugged. “Sure, Sun Butt. Name it.”
Celestia rolled her eyes but smiled. And here we go...