> Princess Celestia Wears Glasses
>  by twilightsparkle3562
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Trouble with Eyesight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Princess Celestia Wears Glasses"

By TwilightSparkle3562

Chapter 1

"Trouble with Eyesight"

Being a ruler of a nation is never easy. There are many things that you need to attend to in order to rule your nation properly. For Princess Celestia, the bulk of what happens in Equestria rests entirely on her shoulders. For 1,000 years, Celestia ruled over Equestria with fairness and dedication to her subjects. Alas, she was like any other pony and had her weaknesses as a result of her age. In fact, it was starting to show and that there were her peers that could see something was wrong.

It all started one morning following the defeat of King Sombra in the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia sat on her throne filling out the latest of laws and declarations that needed to be sent out. However, when it came to producing the announcement for Twilight's eventual coronation, she suddenly began to start squinting at the words that were on the paper.

"Your highness, is everything all right?" asked a servant pony. "Something is wrong with your eyes."

Of course, Celestia wanted to always pretend like nothing was wrong with her and sure enough, she did just that.

"Nothing is wrong with me," she sighed, struggling to hold the quill with her magic. "I just didn't sleep well last night."

Signing the document, Celestia levitated the paper to her assistant who then walked away from her side. Suddenly, she could see that something was indeed wrong with her and noticed a blurred vision coming from her eyesight.

"The duke and duchess of Maretonia wants to know if the summit is still on," replied Celestia's assistant. "Shall I inform them that you and Princess Luna are attending?"

"You may," ordered Celestia, stepping off of her throne, but missing a step and falling on her chest, letting out a sharp yelp. This caused several of the guards to run over to the princess' side and help her back to her feet.

"Don't worry about me," Celestia said to the guards. "I am fine. If anypony needs me, I will be in the Crystal Empire."

But everypony in the throne room knew that their leader was not fine and as Celestia continued to stumble to the door, they all knew that something needed to be done.

"Has anypony noticed that her highness doesn't look well?" remarked a guardspony. "Something must have happened to the Princess that she doesn't want to share with us."

"It has to be her eyesight," said Celestia's assistant. "I think the royal optometrist needs to be notified of this at once."

Later that day, Celestia returned from the Crystal Empire once again struggling to find her way as she felt her eyesight starting to give out. Celestia's eyesight problems also caught the attention of her sister, Princess Luna, as she went to start her duties as Princess of the Night.

"My sister's eyesight must be giving out," she thought to herself. "I've always feared the day that this would happen."

At this point, Luna watched as Celestia began to lower the sun with her magic from one of the balconies on Canterlot Castle. She saw her sister struggle with the lowering of the sun and at certain points, Celestia closed her eyes and sweat began to form at the tops of her head.

"Sister?" asked Luna, flying over to her as the lasting rays of light disappeared with the sun. "I fear that your eyesight is leaving you and something needs to be done."

Luna was thinking that Celestia would start to deny her feelings, but to Luna's surprise, that wasn't to be.

"Something does need to be done," cried Celestia, constantly blinking her eyes. "My eyesight isn't what it used to be and I fear the worst."

"It appears so does our inner circle," remarked Luna as she helped Celestia back into the castle. "There is talk that you should meet with our royal optometrist about your eyesight."

Celestia's face began to quiver upon hearing this, for there was a secret about her eyesight that only herself knew.

"It's only for the best," remarked Luna. "You shouldn't be worried about it, dear sister. We both knew that the time would come for you to wear…"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" snapped Celestia, sharply, causing Luna to back away in shock.

Realizing her mistake, Celestia trotted over and draped a wing over Luna's neck. Celestia was not known for raising her voice, except for when she was provoked by anger or threats to her friends and family.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, regretting her actions. "I didn't mean to yell, little sister. It's just that if I end wearing glasses, then our subjects will start to think that my time will soon be coming to an end."

But, this didn't matter to Luna, for all she wanted was for her sister to be well and continue to reign over this great land of theirs. Unfortunately, that would mean that sacrifices needed to be made and that Celestia would have to face her greatest fear.

"Our subjects wouldn't think of you any other way," she said, as Celestia removed her wing. "Besides, we have been meaning to meet with the royal optometrist for some time now. We can't be immune to everything forever, big sister. Our bodies are only mortal, vessels to only keep us in our world for a short time."

Celestia was amazed how mature Luna was in this situation and felt at that moment that she had to give herself a chance. Still, it was something that was going to uneasy to deal with. Celestia didn't want to wear glasses as she said, it would make her subjects think that her time was coming to an end.

"I will order the royal optometrist to look at your eyes in the morning," continued Luna. "But for now, you must rest and let me assume my duties."

After a brief embrace, Celestia allowed her sister to assume her duties as Princess of the Night while she retreated to her quarters, slightly stumbling to the point where several of Luna's night guards had to come and guide Celestia to her quarters. It would only be a matter of time before Celestia would face one of her mortal fears and that was wearing eyeglasses.
> Visiting the Eye Doctor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

"Visiting the Eye Doctor"

Celestia was still unsure of wearing glasses when she visited the royal optometrist the following morning. But, as Celestia sat in the chair waiting for the doctor to arrive, she knew that this was something that needed to be done in order to rule her kingdom properly. Furthermore, the last thing that the elder princess wanted was to be pushed around for her bad eyesight by her critics or be the subject of rumors that her eyesight was indeed going away.

"Good morning, your highness," said a middle aged unicorn pony who walked into the office with a gray mane and who wore a white doctor's coat. "I see we are trouble with our eyesight, aren't we?"

Celestia wanted to tell the optometrist that she wasn't having problems, but Luna raised her eyebrow and this was a sign to Celestia that there was no turning back now. She had to come clean.

"Yes, I am having trouble with my eyesight, Dr. Eyesore," sighed Celestia. "I think it is because of my age, although I am afraid to admit it."

"Afraid of what?" asked Dr. Eyesore as he washed his hooves. "In my profession, we tell all our patients that it is not afraid to admit when we are losing our eyesight. Although you are both alicorns, you are not immune to life's troubles."

Dr. Eyesore then activated a screen with his magic and a group of letters appeared on a screen. Bringing a machine towards Celestia's face, he placed them in front of her eyes and then pointed at the screen with a stick.

"Now, I am going to point to a line of letters," he explained. "I'd like you to read them out loud to me, your highness. This is the first of a series of tests that we will be doing."

So, still squinting, Celestia attempted to read the words on the screen. Almost immediately, she struggled to read what was in front of her.

"A…F…O…T," she stuttered, her face dripping with sweat. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to see them."

"Well, let's try this," he replied, turning the lenses to try and make them better for Celestia. "Try it again and remember that you don't have to be perfect."

Celestia then took an enormous gulp and once again, attempted to read the words off of the screen. Despite what Dr. Eyesore had said, she was still trying to be perfect and the more she tried, the more she struggled.

"A…F…O…T…G…." Celestia said, again and Dr. Eyesore then proceeded to fiddle around with the machine again, fixing one lens at a time, beginning with Celestia's right eye.

"Hmm, is that better or worse?" he asked.

"It's worse," replied Celestia as he fixed the left lens for her left eye.

"Is this better or worse?" he asked again and again Celestia, gave him the same answer.

"It's worse," replied Celestia and Dr. Eyesore pulled the machine away from Celestia's face.

By now, Celestia's anxieties were starting to creep in and she knew that her fears were going to have to be face. Dr. Eyesore then continued his procedures when he levitated a small bottle.

"Now, I am going to put these drops in your eyes," he explained, holding the small bottle in front of Celestia. "These will dilate your pupils and give me a chance to fully examine your eyes. This might sting a bit, so be warned."

Nodding nervously, Celestia pulled her head back as Dr. Eyesore grasped Celestia's eyes with his magic, pulling them up like window shades and dropping each drop into Celestia's eyes. Celestia whimpered slightly as the dilates worked their magic on her eyes.

"It's all right, sister," reassured Luna, placing a hoof on her sister's hoof. "It will be for the better. Just trust Dr. Eyesore."

Celestia continued to struggle and felt the sharp pain of the dilates for a few more moments. Once the medicine had done its job, Dr. Eyesore looked at Celestia's eyes, her pupils now widened for him to see.

"All right," he said, picking up a stick with a light at the tip. "Now I'm just going to flash this light into your eyes, so I can see whatever damage is inside. Please, hold still."

Doing as she was told, Celestia nervously sat still as Dr. Eyesore flashed his light in her eyes. The light continued to be flashed for a few more moments and Dr. Eyesore pulled the stick away.

"Well, what did you see?" asked Celestia, nervously, her voice slightly panicked. "Tell me, please."

"Calm down, sister," said Luna, calmly. "Nothing is going to happen to you. Let's just listen to what thou has to say."

Dr. Eyesore cleared his throat and rubbed his glasses as the two royal sisters listened into what he had to say. They both could tell that Dr. Eyesore had found something in Celestia's eyes that Celestia wasn't going to like.

"What I have discovered," said Dr. Eyesore, sitting down at his desk. "Is that your eyes are not damaged by age, but by of a sharp flash of light that has damaged the cataracts."

Both Celestia and Luna looked at each other with worried glances as they both could remember that there was indeed a flash of light that had damaged Celestia's eyes and it came during the Changeling Invasion that had happened not too long ago.

"Now, it isn't seriously damaged, but it is a cause of concern to me," continued Dr. Eyesore. "The flashes of light have permanently damaged several of the nerves that hold your eyes together, but haven't damaged the critical nerves."

Celestia took in a sigh of relief, thinking she was out of the woods. But, Dr. Eyesore still had several more words of importance he needed to say.

"It is my opinion," he said. "That you have become nearsighted as a result of the damages. I can perform surgery in the next few days, but you will be unable to rule over Equestria for an extended period of time. If you want to continue ruling Equestria, then I would recommend being fitted for glasses. The decision is yours."

Now, Celestia was left with a difficult decision that she couldn't get out of: either face her fear of wearing glasses or undergo cataract surgery and be unable to rule over Equestria for an extended period of time.
> Contact Lenses
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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.
> Fear of the Future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4

"Fear of the Future"

In the days that followed since getting her contacts and reading glasses, Celestia could only think of what her future was like. Sure, she got over her fear of wearing glasses and having bad eyesight, but was it a sign of things to come? Celestia had to remember that she was unable to defeat Chrysalis in front of her subjects and was not like the same youthful pony as before. Why else did anypony in her inner circle think of why she took Twilight Sparkle under her wing to begin with? Nevertheless, she was enjoying her new moon shaped glasses, which made her feel young again as she had said.

"Sister, may I come in?" asked Luna, from outside of Celestia's doors to her private quarters.

"Let her in," ordered Celestia to the guards on the other side and they opened the doors to allow Luna to enter.

It was the first time in a long time did Luna see her sister feel relaxed and serene, sitting in front of her fireplace reading the latest in a series of endless letters from her faithful student, which she got back following Discord's rampage on Equestria.

"If you want me to come back," suggested Luna. "Then…"

"No, you are welcome to stay in here," interrupted Celestia, placing the scroll in a pile with the other letters. "I needed to take a break anyway. Whenever I am having a bad day, I always look at Twilight's letters on friendship to make me feel better."

Luna smiled warmly at this and joined her sister down at the fireplace, snuggling up to her. There were times that Luna enjoyed being with Celestia before she was banished to the moon and this was the first in a long time did both Luna and Celestia enjoy each other's company.

"This kind of reminds me of our youthful days," remarked Luna, getting herself comfortable. "It's too bad they can't go on forever."

"That is true," sighed Celestia, lowering her head slightly. "I have ruled Equestria for a thousand years, little sister and I can't go on forever. If my eye problems were a sign, then it means I would soon have to face my greatest fear."

"Mortality?" asked Luna, who sudden felt a little nervous herself. "But, we are alicorns, dear sister. Don't we live forever?"

"On the Earth of Equestria, we can't," answered Celestia, opening her right wing to let the heat of the fires warm the right side of her lower body. "I will one day ascend to the true Equestria that nopony will ever see, but I want to delay the inevitable as much as possible. There is so much for Twilight to learn before she is ready."

Celestia then levitated Starswirl the Bearded's journal from a shelf to where they were sitting and placed it between them. For both of them knew that their mentor had an unfinished spell that needed to be completed and the only pony to do it was none other than Twilight herself. Once it was completed, then Twilight would move on to the next stage of her life as their equal.

"Look inside this book, little sister," suggested Celestia, showing the written words in the book to Luna. "Can you see what needs to be written?"

Luna looked at the book and tried to make sense of why Celestia was doing this. In her mind, she was thinking of why Celestia was acting this way. But, she would quickly find her answer as Celestia explained the reasoning.

"Yes, I do," replied Luna. "But, why are you showing me this?"

"Because of what happens for when the time comes," answered Celestia, closing the book. "Once she becomes a princess, my time will start to come to an end. My eyesight was only the beginning of my troubles."

Celestia then placed the book back in between her and Luna and grabbed a small handkerchief, wiping down her glasses. Again, her glasses were off and she had trouble seeing as she tried to clean the glasses.

"Why don't I do them for you, big sister?" asked Luna, taking the glasses from Celestia with her magic.

It was only for a minute, but Celestia was already starting to once again see the blurred vision that came out of her eyes. It was then that she also felt her fears coming back, but it was a new fear that was befalling her. Fortunately, Luna gave Celestia her glasses back before the new fear could come creeping in and consume her mind.

"Thank you," replied Celestia, feeling slightly panicked. "They look clean."

"You're welcome, my sister," said Luna, taking note of her sister's worry. "But, it's all right. You have nothing to fear as long as those around you are present."

"I hope so, Luna," cried Celestia, placing the glasses back on her face. "Up until the moment I fought with Chrysalis at Cadence and Shining Armor, I thought that my life would always be free of harm upon us and our subjects, but I fear that is not to be. I cannot rest until Twilight learns all that she has in front of her."

"It takes time, my sister," replied Luna, wisely. "I've learned already that you can't worry about the future or the past and only focus on the present. I know you fear of being unable to see or being able to one day not rule over our subjects, but that's just the way life works."

Celestia let out a deep sigh upon hearing this, even though she didn't want to hear it. But, it was true, the loss of her eyesight as a result of the Changelings was a sign of her future and the clock was working against her.

"I'm aware it works, sister," she replied, "I know I said that these glasses make me look young, but will it last? That's what I am going through, right now."

"And that is why I will always support you, my sister," added Luna, placing her hoof around Celestia's. "No matter what happens, whether you are going blind or not, I will support you and you will not be alone."

Eventually, Luna had to leave her sister's side to assume her duties as Princess of the Night, but Celestia felt a sense of comfort for the first time in her 1,000 years of ruling over Equestria.

Despite all that had happened to her recently, there was one thing that she would never lose and that was the love of her sister and her subjects, who would support her through anything and that was a fact.