Chapter 3
"Contact Lenses"
Princess Celestia had a tough decision to make concerning her eyesight. She had always been nervous about wearing glasses as it make her look old in her mind, but at the same time, she was worried about the consequences of having surgery on her eyes. Dr. Eyesore and Luna both waited for an answer from her and after a few moments, she came to the decision.
"Well, what are you planning on doing, my sister?" asked Luna, her wings raising in suspense. "Tell us, please."
Celestia had a lot to consider and was not very quick to respond right away. She had always attempted to consider herself a perfect pony and she had to put her stubborn pride aside. Finally after a few moments, Celestia finally gave up her fight and decided to face her dilemma horn to horn.
"It's not what I wanted to do," sighed Celestia. "But, I will take the glasses. I can't risk myself with the surgery."
"Very well then, your highness," said Dr. Eyesore, opening the door to the office. "If you will just come with me, I will find a pair of glasses that suit you."
So, Celestia and Luna followed Dr. Eyesore down to a small optical shop underneath his office. This was the place where ponies would come to get their glasses that suited their needs. Of course, Luna had to help guide her older sister since the damage to her eyes was still there.
"You made the correct decision, my sister," remarked Luna as they walked into the shop. "It won't be so bad to wear a pair of glasses and even I have been thinking about getting a pair myself."
"Since when did you think about wearing glasses?" thought Celestia, a look of shock on her face. "You're not that old, dear sister."
Sitting down at a desk, Celestia awaited the first of several pairs of glasses for her to try on. She could tell that this was going to take a while, since she needed a pair that she could rely on with her injured eyes. Dr. Eyesore brought forth several pairs of glasses that reflected Celestia, including a few pairs of reading glasses and a few pairs of moon shaped glasses.
It was then that Dr. Eyesore remembered something that he had forgotten to mention that would make Celestia feel slightly better.
"I just remembered something that might make you feel better and help your eyesight at the same time," he said, catching Celestia's attention quickly. This made the princess of the sun feel like that there was a better way after all.
"You forgot to mention something?" cried Celestia, her voice filled with shock as unknowingly slammed her front hooves on the desk. "Tell me what it is!"
"Calm down, your highness!" he replied, trying to keep the pairs of glasses from falling to the floor. "I was so focused on the damage to your eyes that I forgot to mention that you don't have to wear glasses all the time. Let me show you."
An impatient Celestia waited while Dr. Eyesore went to find the alternatives. Luna was still shocked over her sister's sudden outburst and demanded know why she would do such a thing.
"You must calm down, big sister!" cried Luna, clutching Celestia's right front leg. "It was just a matter of miscommunication."
However, Celestia saw otherwise and wanted to make Luna see sense. In her mind, she thought that leaving this important detail out was intentional just to sell glasses and make money. The doctors who are supposed to tend to the princesses were to have every available resource necessary for their health and benefit, not the doctors' own benefit.
"Luna, it is much more than miscommunication," Celestia replied, angrily. "He was trying to intentionally embarrass me in front of my subjects by not offering me something other than glasses. Remind me to have him fired when we are done here."
Luna wanted to protest, but just then, Dr. Eyesore returned with what appeared to be two round objects in his magic aura. Celestia couldn't be cross as her attention was fully focused on the two objects.
"What are they?" asked Celestia, her voice lowered as she calmed down.
"They are called contact lenses," explained Dr. Eyesore, still fearing another outburst from his royal patient. "You place them over your eyes and they help give you a clear vision without the need for glasses. However, you must understand, that they cannot be in your eyes all the time. So, you will need to receive glasses either way."
Celestia took this matter into consideration and was happy that there would be some kind of compromise to her situation. Getting contact lenses would mean that she would not have to wear glasses in public, which was her greatest fear.
"Why don't we try them on you and see what you think of them?" suggested Dr. Eyesore and he placed the contacts on Celestia's eyes. Once the contacts were secured, Dr. Eyesore directed Celestia to look into a small mirror on the desk which showed the contacts reflecting in the light.
"I can see better," replied Celestia, seeing no change in her vision. "It's like if my eyesight had never been damaged in the first place."
Once her trial run had ended, Dr. Eyesore removed the contact lenses and placed a pair of moon shaped glasses on Celestia's face. Prior to putting the glasses on, Celestia took an enormously deep breath, trying to keep her fears and anxieties out of her mind. Both Luna and Dr. Eyesore nervously waited for a response to how Celestia would react, thinking that she would go bananas.
Amazingly, Celestia smiled warmly at the glasses and let out a small chuckle as she stared at herself in the mirror.
"I must say that these glasses don't make me look old at all," she remarked. "They actually make me look…younger."
Hearing her say this caused both Dr. Eyesore and Luna to let out sighs of relief, now that Celestia was actually enjoying the glasses that she was now wearing.
"But, those are only for reading, your highness," advised Dr. Eyesore. "You wouldn't be able to wear them out in public."
"I am aware of that," replied Celestia, turning away from the mirror and facing Dr. Eyesore. "But, I love them very much. Now, I don't have to squint when I have to do interior work or write out decrees."
As Celestia playfully admired her glasses, Luna realized that at last her sister had faced and conquered her momentary fears. But, it would only be a matter of time before Celestia would realize of her greatest fears…aging.