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.
i love it how you write celestia's behavior ^^
Oh Celestia, you done fucked up now. You may have thought you won the battle but you likely just lost the war.
There are very few things in existence more stubborn or spiteful than a human when they have completely had enough and had their back pushed against a wall with no way out, something that you've literally done here.
My my my Celestia, you sure have quite the temper temper.
And clearly doesn't respect Asher's wishes as well.
Be glad that Celestia has such a long fuse, and such a level of restraint. I imagine that some creatures have been on the wrong end of that.
Celestia choosing to die on the most asinine hill possible, and none of this even gets to the main problem; Asher is the wrong species, wrong gender, on the wrong planet. What's being done to help that situation? Can anything be done? I recall Celestia not even giving it any thought, but that doesn't necessarily mean there's no way to undo the damage...
11066185
Celestia told Asher before that she thinks a worldgate brought him here and that he's supposed to be a girl because worldgates are never wrong and know the contents of your heart. That's why she's not doing anything (minus the issue with transformation magic because season 1 Twilight < season 9 Twilight)
11066212
SMH how could she? Good thing that Lofty and Holiday aren't convinced by what Celestia told them, saying that he'll accept being a girl eventually.
11066218
lol, I already deleted my comment because it wasn't very organized, and not even I was sure of the point I was trying to get across.
Anyways, sunhorse should stop being so obtuse, yadda yadda yadda.
There's something about her rant that got me thinking. She says Asher isn't her equal, yet he kinda is moreos than anyone alive other than Luna. He grew up and lived a life without her rule, and benefited from her rule in no way. All he wants is to be sent home or at least called the right name for starters, yet Celestia can't even give him that.
Really, someone needs to beat her down several pegs. Being so unapproachable has left her unable to handle being told "no."
11066209
Has there ever been a fic where gender dysphoric mc goes through portal to pony world and doesn't get genderflipped? Or where they do get genderflipped but they had being a pony so much that they decide being the right species is more important than being the right gender.
Nice, Asher gets additional points for making Celestia break and getting Twilight "suffer" from it as a bonus.
Anyway, I am glad Asher is getting back his backbone as an adult. His new body foal brain is really a pain in the ***. But it seems that his true self makes it mature quicker. ^^
11066225
I have a story like that coming up soon, where MC gets genderflipped to the right gender but would rather stay as a human because they think it feels like roleplaying more than it does being their correct gender, however, Asher didn't have gender dysphoria to begin with. He has dysphoria now because he was turned into the wrong thing.
Actually this is very important, either Celestia acknowledges he's an adult alien who she's been antagonizing and mistreating, or she's a delusional filly who she is traumatizing for no reason. Here's to hoping Celestia breaks.
Asher really needs to spend a day or two to recenter though. True there's a difference between concession and steamrolling, but it's clear there is not going to be an instant "everything will be as I want it right now" solution so being flexible until things can be manipulated into place will cause less friction and progress things faster.
But seriously, everyone's hills they're dying on... 😂
11066152
That's just a shitty meme. In reality, most people fold under enough pressure and the underdog doesn't win.
Personally, I'm tired of this glorification of spite and rage-quitting attributed to humans in this fandom, in particular.
Asher is NOT your subject. IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT FOREIGNERS? AMBASSADORS TOO?
11066185
I vaguely remember her giving Asher the option of being a he in body and Asher turning it away because God.
11066469
That's... entirely possible. I forgot that was part of his character.
Someone might have said this before, but this story could be taken as a nice exploration of the Riddle of Epicurus with Celestia as the god-being.
Any chance we'll see some theodicy with a final boss of Alvin Plantinga?
11066469
I believe his exact words were that if it was a possibility he didn't know what he would do. But then again, at that point, he hadn't decided that it was okay to be called a male despite his filly body
Did not expect that outburst from Celestia...
I don't think the Spirit of Harmony will appreciate how conniving Celestia is
11066469
Isn't it canonical that gender swap spells are impossible ( citing the magical duel episode)
11067203
So are cutie mark removal spells; until they did happen. Just because Twilight, the poor sheltered student, says its impossible doesn't make it so. I am inclined to believe that Celestia has kept the truth away from her. Or somepony someplace else found a way.
11067234
I thought it was Trixie who said it was impossible? And that's one of the reasons why some say Starlight is a Mary Sue. She is better at magic than the actual elements of magic
11067295
I'll have to rewatch but Trixie is even worse example as she (to my knowledge) was never had the same level of education as Twilight or anyone in her class. She was also quite unknowledgeable in magic in general.
In fact it was only Sunburst and Starlight that seemed to show any proficiency at all. Even Twilight never seemed to have learned anything more than a handful of spells and referenced books she read from her time at the Tree Library; as if a decade of tutelage taught her next to nothing.
11067315
I thought that non-cutie mark magic was supposed to be so difficult to be near impossible (citing Boast Busters)... Until Starlight was introduced...
11067333
non cutie mark magic? you mean cutie mark removal? it was impossible. Still kinda is without a container to put the mark in. (though I suppose Starlight could manage a few days until passing out)
11067360
Shining Armor's cutie mark magic is shield magic so he is supposedly terrible in other fields of magic
Cadence's cutie mark magic is love Magic so she is most likely terrible and other fields of magic
Rarity's cutie mark magic is the gem location spell and she has stated she is terrible in other fields of magic
Twilight's cutie mark magic is magic so she is supposedly good in all fields of magic
The reason why the cutie mark removal was so damaging was because without their cutie marks they are terrible at everything. And Starlight broke the established continuity of magic
11066455
You realize that trope exists because it DOES happen in real life? People with nothing left to lose do some insane things. Personally, the protagonist here seems to really lack the spinal fortitude to pull it off though, but the outburst against what is effectively a demigod and leader of a country can't be over looked. Do you realize how disruptive Asher could be if they really put their mind to it? I'm not talking violence, I'm talking merely suggesting shall we say alternate forms of government. Much of the change in the world has come from a small group of dedicated people. Take someone who is literally an out of the box problem and tell me they couldn't get back at Celestia if they tried? Especially with what is effectively alien knowledge, I can think of several subtle ways Asher could really muck things up without much effort. But that is of course up to the author to decide.
11067365
...are you trying to explain to me why Starlight is OP?
I feel the conversation drifted someplace I have already thought to death...
11067435
I'll just say this: the types of spells a unicorn could learn, originally in the show, were tied to their special talent AKA their cutie mark. That changed with the introduction of Starlight. Before Starlight, magic was more special and unique to each ponies.
in season 1 and 2, magic was more specialized for the unicorns as they were tied to their cutie marks, in Seasons 8 and 9, any unicorn can learn any spell so long as they took the time to study. I love Starlight as a character but she breaks the show
We went from the impossibility of a spell to the nature of unicorn specialities to the canonical nature of magic in MLP
Fascinating spin on Celestia, I’m excited to see where this goes! I’m guessing somewhere along the lines of Celestia becoming a tyrant of some sort
Wishing really hard for Celestia meeting God the same way the Pharaoh did after trying ot get Abraham's/Isaac's wife.
I mean, as much as Asher doesn't like it, The Bible demands us to treat others with respect and to respect our authorities and, as of now, Celestia IS an authority he must respect, so I see Celestia's outburst as justified.
What I don't see justified is Celestia imposing herself while ignoring the thoughts and desires of others.
Siding with Asher on this one, but I think he might be going a bit too far on this, sad he didn't have a Bible with him when he was teleported.
Celestia would have a much easier time of all this is she just gave a good reason why Asher should live with Twilight. Though of course she can't, she's basically just telling someone turned into a child that it has been decided he should live with someone who doesn't like him instead of someone who does.
11071787
well, that god used an mentally unstable unwilling mortal as pawn. throw him into her realm to mess with her plan to save luna.
her evaluation of god will likely take nosedive after she read the bible.
Okay! So both Twilight and Celestia are wildly out of character. As if Twilight would openly disobey a direct order from Celestia in front of her face, or Celestia would be unable to handle someone disagreeing with her after Sunset Shimmer! Think it's time to bow out of this one. Shame, it had some potential what with the interesting take on trans issues and all.
11067203
I think the corrupted Trixie was surprised that the 'empowered' Twilight was pulling it off. Age spells are also supposed to be highly advanced.