Principal for a Day

by TheGJ90

Chapter 2 - Morning Duties

Early next morning…

Starfire was sitting on a sofa in the living room of the house owned by Celestia and Luna, nervously twiddling his thumbs while thinking to himself;

“Me and my big mouth… there are some risks I don’t have to take!”

Despite his reservations, of which he had many, he was not one to bail out of an agreement. Of course, this was specifically with agreements that he could actually honor. Whether or not this one had fit the bill, he had not decided yet. He also didn’t know which part of the upcoming scenario was more outlandish: him becoming Celestia or Celestia becoming him! Before he could mull on the details any longer, he heard two sets of steps echoing from the nearby hall that was to his right. He looked in that direction to find the Principal and Vice-Principal walking over to him together, with the artifact that inspired this whole situation in Celestia’s right hand. With a resigned sigh, Starfire stood up to greet them. His boss and idol was the first to speak while giving him an understanding glare;

“You are nervous, I see.”

Hearing her recognition of his mental state helped him calm down enough to nod at her, to which she replied with a smirk;

“So am I, honestly.”

Finding out that, in some way, she was in a similar boat to him eased Starfire’s nerves even more, enough for him to give the Principal a genuine smile. He then noticed that little twinkle in her eyes that usually appeared when a student or colleague showed that they would be okay. Celestia was always the caring type, a fact that he had noticed early on in his tenure as her assistant. With a polite cough, Luna had gotten the two adult’s attention. She then asked them;

“Are you two ready to proceed?”

Starfire still had his reservations, but he also knew that he wasn’t going to do this alone. That fact proved to be a great motivator as he joined Celestia in giving her sister an affirmative nod. The trio stepped away from the sofa to find a spot in the living room that was some distance away from furniture, gave each other some space, and waited quietly. After a few moments, Celestia raised the artifact up to her face and explained its function in greater detail;

“Utilizing this artifact is simple: start by saying aloud who you want to change to who, then give its center carving a good spin, and let it do its thing.”

Before Starfire could overthink the instructions, she demonstrated them without hesitation. She began by declaring her intention clearly;

“Change Starfire to Celestia!”

Once that was done, she placed her left index finger on the center carving and used just enough force to make it spin like the wheel from a certain word puzzle game show, only without the loud spinning noise and fabulous prizes. It took about five seconds for the spinning to end, letting the carving sit sideways in front of Celestia’s eyes. One second later, the artifact was covered in red magical energy that glowed and sparkled for a moment before it spread out from the top of the item with the speed of a bullet. It careened through the sky and directly onto Starfire before he could even blink. It slowly spread throughout his body, which produced a warm sensation that he would have found easy to relax into if it weren’t for what he knew was going to happen.

No turning back now.

He kept his breathing steady, trusting that the Principal and Vice-Principal would honor the promise they had made the day before. Soon enough, the magic was covering his entire body. For a few seconds, nothing else happened. The young man had a quick thought that this artifact was not working, only for it to be proven incorrect in a most intense fashion. His vision was instantly covered by a blinding light for what felt to him like an eternity, even though it was only for a second or two. To Luna and Celestia, that light had exploded from within his body, obscuring it from sight as the magic did its work. Once finished, the light vanished along with the energy, revealing a sight that, to the average person, would have been absolutely outlandish. Starfire took a moment to let his vision settle itself along with his mind. For some reason, he felt a tad taller than usual. Once he looked over at Celestia and the artifact, however, he remembered why he was here. With a gasp that revealed a voice that was not his, he darted over to the bathroom. Once there, he gazed at the mirror, only to see… Celestia! The artifact had done exactly as the Principal and Vice-Principal had claimed: Starfire had become Celestia! The first thing he really took in was the size difference. His boss was always taller than him, after all, so this took some getting used to. Along with everything else about this transformation, to be sure! The second thing he took in was his, or rather, her face. It was one thing to see it everyday, it was another to have it! So, he had gotten a fresh perspective on Celestia’s facial appearance. He already knew this before, but now, it was clearer than ever that she looked beautiful. Her, or rather, his eyes were wide with shock as his mind tried to process the sight before him. Her hands were now his, along with the rest of her limbs. Goodness, that artifact had even gotten the hair right! As he looked over his new appearance, another fact became clear: he was still wearing his actual clothes, which felt understandably tight-fitting. Thankfully, the size change was not so extreme as to destroy his shoes, but he could still feel how strained and stretched they were. As he tried, and failed, to get accustomed to their tightness, not to mention his new body, the real Celestia had walked up behind him and told him with patience in her voice and smile;

“Take your time, my faithful assistant.”

She winked at him playfully while adding with a hint of excitement;

“When you’re ready, you get to watch me go through this too.”

Once Starfire had gotten a good sense of how his new body looked, he returned to the living room where Celestia and Luna stood. After dealing with Luna’s barely contained laughter at the sight of him wearing clothing that could barely fit him at best, they helped him get one of Celestia’s spare set of work clothes. He ran back to the bathroom, switched outfits, and returned to find that Luna, to his relief, had calmed down. With that done, the Vice-Principal was given the artifact by her older sister, who looked quite excited over what was about to happen. Luna was too, mainly because she was going to be one to start the process. After taking a few steps back, she raised the item up to her face with her right hand and declared aloud;

“Turn Celestia into Starfire!”

She gave the artifact’s carving a good spin and watched as the magic inside of it fired out again, this time at Celestia, and did its work. It took a few seconds for the process to finish, allowing Luna and Starfire to gaze at the Principal’s new appearance. Now, the assistant towered over his boss, who now bore his original size and body, her clothing now clearly too loose-fitting for her. It looked, to Starfire, as if a tall teenager was trying to masquerade as an older, taller adult. He had to stifle his urge to chuckle to remain polite. Celestia slowly walked over to the bathroom mirror to check herself out. While he himself was stunned by his own transformation, hers had driven her to giggle at the humorousness of it all;

“Oh, it is a good thing that we can keep our minds!”, she exclaimed with mirth while feeling her new hair, which was noticeably shorter and less prominent in color than her original style. Starfire could hear Luna almost letting herself guffaw outloud of the hilarity that was her sister as he made sure to double-check that he did, indeed, still have his own mind. He did this by thinking of something that only he would know to think;

“Hinkle-thinkle-dinkle-doo. I’ve got a lovely bunch of scientific theories for you.”

Relief poured into his being when he became certain that his mind was his own. He also suspected that a certain lavender student with the biggest brain he had ever seen would appreciate that thought of his.

Once Celestia had become adjusted to her new face, she had switched over to a more comfortable men’s outfit that, apparently, she had acquired beforehand. The trio then came together in the living room once more, this time to plan out the day ahead. Luna took the lead on this with a voice of well-versed authority;

“Given how frequently the two of you have worked together, it is reasonable to assume that you can at least pretend to be each other?”

Celestia and Starfire nodded intently before she explained further;

“That will make keeping up appearances easier on us. However, let us not forget that Starfire here works in his office during school hours and only shows up in our offices when we need his services. This is typically when students are not in the halls.”

The assistant, with Celestia’s feminine voice, added to Luna’s point;

“Which means that most of the student body does not know about me.”

A realization had struck him, one that could pose a problem for him and Celestia;

“So, if students suddenly start seeing me in the halls…”, he began to note with concern in his voice. Celestia, with his masculine voice, finished for him;

“That would rouse curiosity in them at best.”

“Suspicion at worst.”, noted Luna before she took a breath to prepare herself to address the elephant in the room, or rather, the pony. She glared at the recently transformed Celestia when she spoke again;

“Going back to the ‘pretending’ aspect of this plan of ours, a certain former queen bee will no doubt catch any deviances in my sister’s behavior.”

Both Starfire and Celestia knew precisely who she was referring to. It was the latter who name dropped this person with a sigh;

“Sunset.”

Starfire’s memories of that girl came flooding back like a river of foolish mistakes and magical triumphs. Sunset Shimmer: a senior in Canterlot High. Rhythm guitarist of the Sonic Rainbooms band. Once the wrathful terror of CHS, now a veritable treasure of the school who was beloved by her peers. She was smart, empathetic, known for having anger issues…

And, much to the young man’s dismay, notably perceptive.

Luna elaborated on her point with calm seriousness;

“Sunset is quite familiar with the mannerisms Celestia exhibits on a typical school day. Any perceivable change in them is liable to rouse suspicion in her.”

She glared at Starfire before telling him;

“It is of great importance that you emulate such mannerisms well enough to satisfy her discerning eyes during your time as my sister.”

Tempting as it was to ask Celestia and Luna why they hadn’t brought this up before anyone transformed, Starfire felt it best to not poke and prod on that potentially temperamental bear for now. He told Luna honestly;

“I understand, ma’am.”

With that settled, Celestia began explaining with an excited grin;

“Okay then, let’s plan out how we’ll handle the day-to-day work. There are no meetings or surprise visits from higher-level staff today, so we won’t have to worry about, let’s say, a visit from Superintendent Neighsay…”

The three adults went on to discuss and agree upon their plan before it was time to get to the school.

---

Before he knew it, Starfire, as Celestia, was sitting at her desk in her office with Luna standing to his right. Celestia, and Starfire, was already preparing for work in his own office. The morning bell was not set to ring for another five minutes. By this point, the new Principal was nearly ready to get started, with Luna explaining a few more details before the bell could ring;

“The morning announcements are written on the paper you’ll find in the drawer under the desk’s left side. Celestia made sure to prepare them ahead of time, which is-.”

“One of the things she always does before the morning bell.”, Starfire habitually finished. Upon realizing that he had interrupted Luna, he covered his mouth with worried eyes. She responded to this with a soothing grin and encouraging words;

“It’s okay, you understand how Celestia handles things. That will serve you well during the day’s events.”

Hearing this calmed his nerves, allowing him to smile right back. With that, she went right back to explaining things while pointing at the small speaker and mic on the table;

“The microphone has two buttons on its stand. Push and hold the red button to speak through every speaker in the school that’s connected to the PA system. Push and hold the black button only when someone speaks to you from their end, so that only they can hear you respond.”

Starfire remembered seeing how Celestia used the mic and its buttons, but this was a good refresher for him regardless. He nodded in silence as his partner went on;

“As a reminder, do be careful when dealing with Diamond Tiara. I know, she has not bullied anyone for quite some time, but the last thing we want is to face the wrath of her mother.”

“Who just so happens to be a Canterlot School District board member and one of the school’s investors.”, the new Principal added solemnly while thanking his lucky stars that Diamond was far less antagonistic than she was during her Freshman Year. That should make it easy for him to avoid inciting Spoiled Rich’s financially-backed fury. Before he and Luna could speak further, the morning bell rang, which meant that it was time for Starfire to make his first morning rounds through the school. He stood up, moved around the desk, and was about to take his leave when Luna called out to him;

“One more thing!”

He turned around to face her. She was giving him a neutral expression at first, only for it to melt into a smile as she declared with confidence;

“Have a pleasant day… Principal.”

He showed her a confident grin in return while responding as professionally as he could to hide his growing glee;

“I say the same to you… Vice-Principal.”

He then turned to face the door and walked through it, ready to take whatever CHS could throw at him.

Comments

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

He kept his breathing steady, trusting that the Principal and Vice-Principal would honor the promise they had made the day before. Soon enough, the magic was covering his entire body. For a few seconds, nothing else happened. The young man had a quick thought that this artifact was not working, only for it to be proven incorrect in a most intense fashion. His vision was instantly covered by a blinding light for what felt to him like an eternity, even though it was only for a second or two. To Luna and Celestia, that light had exploded from within his body, obscuring it from sight as the magic did its work. Once finished, the light vanished along with the energy, revealing a sight that, to the average person, would have been absolutely outlandish. Starfire took a moment to let his vision settle itself along with his mind. For some reason, he felt a tad taller than usual. Once he looked over at Celestia and the artifact, however, he remembered why he was here. With a gasp that revealed a voice that was not his, he darted over to the bathroom. Once there, he gazed at the mirror, only to see… Celestia! The artifact had done exactly as the Principal and Vice-Principal had claimed: Starfire had become Celestia! The first thing he really took in was the size difference. His boss was always taller than him, after all, so this took some getting used to. Along with everything else about this transformation, to be sure! The second thing he took in was his, or rather, her face. It was one thing to see it everyday, it was another to have it! So, he had gotten a fresh perspective on Celestia’s facial appearance. He already knew this before, but now, it was clearer than ever that she looked beautiful. Her, or rather, his eyes were wide with shock as his mind tried to process the sight before him. Her hands were now his, along with the rest of her limbs. Goodness, that artifact had even gotten the hair right! As he looked over his new appearance, another fact became clear: he was still wearing his actual clothes, which felt understandably tight-fitting. Thankfully, the size change was not so extreme as to destroy his shoes, but he could still feel how strained and stretched they were. As he tried, and failed, to get accustomed to their tightness, not to mention his new body, the real Celestia had walked up behind him and told him with patience in her voice and smile;

I'm surprised he's still in his usual attire after the artifact turned him into Celestia.

“Oh, it is a good thing that we can keep our minds!”, she exclaimed with mirth while feeling her new hair, which was noticeably shorter and less prominent in color than her original style. Starfire could hear Luna almost letting herself guffaw outloud of the hilarity that was her sister as he made sure to double-check that he did, indeed, still have his own mind. He did this by thinking of something that only he would know to think;

minds!" She*

“So, if students suddenly start seeing me in the halls…”, he began to note with concern in his voice. Celestia, with his masculine voice, finished for him;

halls..." he began*

“Suspicion at worst.”, noted Luna before she took a breath to prepare herself to address the elephant in the room, or rather, the pony. She glared at the recently transformed Celestia when she spoke again;

worse," noted*

Before he knew it, Starfire, as Celestia, was sitting at her desk in her office with Luna standing to his right. Celestia, and Starfire, was already preparing for work in his own office. The morning bell was not set to ring for another five minutes. By this point, the new Principal was nearly ready to get started, with Luna explaining a few more details before the bell could ring;

Celestia, as Starfire,*

“The morning announcements are written on the paper you’ll find in the drawer under the desk’s left side. Celestia made sure to prepare them ahead of time, which is-.”

which is-"*

“One of the things she always does before the morning bell.”, Starfire habitually finished. Upon realizing that he had interrupted Luna, he covered his mouth with worried eyes. She responded to this with a soothing grin and encouraging words;

bell," Starfire habitually finished.*

“The microphone has two buttons on its stand. Push and hold the red button to speak through every speaker in the school that’s connected to the PA system. Push and hold the black button only when someone speaks to you from their end, so that only they can hear you respond.”

Wait, how would he hear the response if he's in Celestia's office?

“Who just so happens to be a Canterlot School District board member and one of the school’s investors.”, the new Principal added solemnly while thanking his lucky stars that Diamond was far less antagonistic than she was during her Freshman Year. That should make it easy for him to avoid inciting Spoiled Rich’s financially-backed fury. Before he and Luna could speak further, the morning bell rang, which meant that it was time for Starfire to make his first morning rounds through the school. He stood up, moved around the desk, and was about to take his leave when Luna called out to him;

investors," the new*