> Dealing With an Introverted Princess > by Crimson_Moon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > With great confidence… > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Okay Twilight, no big deal! You’ve done this before, it’s just tea with Princess Celestia.” Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself in a bit of nervousness. Trying to take her mind off of it, she triple checked the list of questions she had for her mentor. Usually a visit for tea from the Princess would be a welcome distraction from the chaotic nature of being not only a Princess, but the principal for the only known school of friendship. Today however, her invitation she had Spike sent out had her in jitters. “Just… cast the spell when she arrives and ask the stupid questions on the paper, sparkle!” She spoke to herself. Ever since parent teacher conferences ended, Twilight had been looking for ways to boost her confidence. Herbal remedies, meditation practices, and self-help books occupied her free time most days, but nothing worked. However, an idea came to her recently thanks to her number one assistant. “Why not just use a spell?” He asked one day. From then on, it was obvious to her what the solution was. Using her alicorn magic, she could alter her brainwaves to perform a more positive response in her decision making. In other words, she was going to cast a spell to give her a confidence boost. Unfortunately, there were no recorded spells of that nature. Mind-altering magic was considered taboo among the magic using population of Equestria. Seeing no other alternative, Twilight began to pour all her knowledge into creating a spell to do so. After months of painstaking work, she finally perfected the spell and did a small trial run with Spike as a test. Using him as the subject, she asked the dragon topics regarding Rarity and his thoughts about her. She asked the same questions both before and after the spell and recorded the results. After some adjustments, Twilight was confident she would be able to test the perfected spell on herself. However, there was a new challenge facing her: She didn’t know of anypony in Ponyville or nearby that she wasn’t confident with. Seeing no other alternatives, the alicorn contacted Princess Celestia under the guise of having tea with her in the afternoon. That would give her plenty of time to create a list of questions that would be embarrassing to ask her mentor and role model. Most of them were mellow, and only embarrassing for fillies at their first truth or dare during a sleepover. Who was your first crush? Did you ever kiss anyone? So on and so forth. None were overly embarrassing for a centuries old ruler such as Celestia, but for Twilight to be asking them? It was unheard of. knock knock knock “Twilight?” Spike asked on the other side of the door leading to her study. “Not now Spike!” She yelled back. “I just gotta make sure everything is right for-“ “For what, Twilight?” An all too familiar voice asked. “We’re only having tea!” Princess Celestia giggled. “Aah!” Suddenly startled, Twilight’s horn lit up and shot a spell, bouncing around the room until it hit a certain pearl alicorn square in the nose and knocking her to the floor. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Princess Celestia!” Rubbing her nose, she got up from the ground. “It’s quite alright, Twilight. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been hit by a rogue spell. Now, about that tea…” A few minutes of apologies and a fresh hot batch of tea later, both Celestia and Twilight met on the balcony of the Castle of Friendship overlooking the town. “I’m so sorry Princess Celestia, I-“ “For the last time my faithful student, it’s okay!” She chuckled. “I should have waited until you were ready instead of just teleporting in like that.” Celestia took a sip of her tea. “Now tell me, why have you been so flustered?” “W-well it’s a bit embarrassing, really.” Twilight rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve been trying to create a confidence spell to prepare me for the next parent teacher conference for the school of friendship, s-so I came up with a plan to a-ask you embarrassing questions to see if it would work please don't be mad at me." "O-oh. Is that all?" Celestia felt a bit flustered by that. "I'm not mad, Twilight. I am just a bit shocked is all." She smiled at her protege. "You can ask me anything, my faithful student." "O-okay, good!" She nervously chuckled. "First thing's first, I need to cast the confidence boosting spell." Closing her eyes, Twilight concentrated and her horn glowed a bright violet. Slowly it grew in intensity until the color almost looked red. It wasn't until her horn itself started glowing a bright white that Princess Celestia had cause for alarm. "Twilight, are you sure you've tested this spell thoroughly?" "Y-yes, I tested it on Spike this morning!" the young alicorn said through a strained voice. "Just a few more seconds..." Celestia, worried for her student, quickly began trying to cast a counterspell and aimed it towards Twilight. Reaching new horizons was always something she actively encouraged with Twilight, but sometimes she took it to the extreme. Even at the entrance exam, she transmogrified a full grown pony into a cactus and hatched a baby dragon, so she knew there were no limits to Twilight's determination. It wasn't until something neither one of them happened that the spell stopped. The door to the balcony burst open and in came Spike carrying refills for the tea. "Hey Twilight, I thought I could see how you two were do- Sweet Celestia!" Shocked out of her concentration, Twilight's spell went haywire and went towards the nearest target instead of being internalized. Unfortunately, the nearest target just so happened to be Celestia, and this wasn't like the spell earlier. Not only did it knock down her mentor and friend, but it also seemed to knock her unconscious. Twilight only hoped the Princess would be forgiving when she woke up... A few hours later, in the guest bedroom... Celestia slowly awoke, her head pounding and her hooves hurting. "Ungh, where am I?" Her vision was blurry and her mouth tasted like cotton. "Celestia?!" a figure asked near her bedside. "Thank goodness you're okay." She didn't need her eyes to fully focus to know it was Twilight Sparkle. "Indeed I am. What happened?" "Oh it's all my fault! I lost concentration and the spell was redirected and aimed at you. I'm so sorry!" Twilight began to cry. "Shhh, it's okay my faithful student. Accidents happen." Her vision cleared enough to grab a tissue from the nearby nightstand and held it up to her protege's nose. Taking the hint, she blew her nose and wiped the tears away. "Now why don't we go over your spell's notes and see if we can reduce it's energy?" A few minutes later, both Twilight and Celestia were in the castle's study comparing and making notes for the confidence spell. It took them a good hour or two to remove the flaws and perfect the spell. " I think we're ready to give this another try, don't you, Twilight?" Going over the notes one more time, she simply nodded. "Let's go outside and have another cup of tea, Princess Celestia. The sun isn't low enough to make the day completely wasted!" She chuckled. Celestia smiled. "Lead the way." It took only a few minutes to get to the balcony once more, where an apologetic Spike awaited with a fresh batch of Earl Grey on a serving tray. confidently, Celestia began to take the lead as she was used to, until they reached the doors to the balcony itself. For some reason, she stood there with trepidation; the outside didn't seem as warm and inviting as it used to. Was the sun always that bright? And the balcony, what if some nearby pegasi happened to be nearby? What if- "Are you alright, Celestia?" Twilight asked. "I-yes, I just... wanted you to take the lead is all!" Celestia shook herself out of the trance. A Princess doesn't get jittery, especially one that loves the outdoors. Once they sat down, Spike poured both of them tea and left but not before being reminded by Twilight to knock next time. "Okay Celestia, let's give this one more shot!" Twilight smiled. Nodding in approval, Celestia readied a counterspell in case things went awry for a second time. This time when the spell was cast it wasn't as intense as before. The aura didn't shine as bright and her horn only glowed a dim white instead of almost blinding like it was before. The spell washed over Twilight in a red hue and then it was over. Sighing a breath of relief, Celestia cancelled her spell. "Do you feel any different?" Celestia asked. The young alicorn looked herself over. Nothing seemed different, and she didn't feel different. "Not really. I just feel... normal." "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, my faithful student!” She giggled. “Now, go ahead and ask your questions.” “O-of course, Princess. Ahem! First question: do you or have you had any crushes?” She gasped. “Oh my gosh! I asked it and didn’t stutter!” Celestia chuckled internally. Of course Twilight would think grade school crushes would be hard to ask. Confidently, she cleared her throat, opened her mouth and… Nothing came out. “Uh, Celestia?” She waved her hoof in front of her mentor. “Are you still here?” She chuckled nervously. The pearl alicorn shook her head. “S-sorry about that Twilight I was… thinking. I’ve lived centuries old and it’s hard to remember all the suitors I’ve liked.” She dodged the question. “That’s okay! You answering the questions would only be redundant data, since me asking them is the embarrassing part!” Twilight giggled. “Next question: who was your first kiss?” Immediately upon being asked that, the Princess’s cheeks turned slightly pink. Why would she want to know that? Do I even remember? What about those nearby pegasi that I thought about before?! “M-my first kiss?” Even talking seemed impossible right now. “I-I don’t… H-how is this relevant to your data?” “I said it wasn’t, Princess. Don’t you remember?” She looked at Celestia with concern. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You did take two strong spells point-blank. Maybe you should lie d-“ “Nonsense, I’m fine! Go on with the next question, we’ll come back to this one later!” Celestia huffed. I’ve never been flustered when being asked questions, especially coltish ones that little fillies ask at slumber parties! “O-kay, moving on then. Have you ever experienced intercourse?” Celestia’s rosy cheeks were now a thundering red. “I-I U-um, m-me? Heh heh, Ha Ha Ha!” Every word out of her mouth increased her blush’s hue. “Y-y-y-yes…” “What was that? I couldn’t hear y-“ “I SAID YES OKAY GO TO THE NEXT QUESTION!” Celestia shouted in the Canterlot Voice, surprising both of them. Silence permeated the air afterwards, neither one able to break the tension. “Are you sure you’re okay-“ “Itwasnicecatchingupimgoingtogonowbye” Celestia lit her horn and vanished, teleporting back to Canterlot to hide her shame in her room. > Local Anxious Alicorn Embarrasses Self > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia teleported to her room in a mild panic. She's never experienced anxiety like that, much less with Twilight of all ponies. Something must have gone wrong with the spell. The alicorn took a few minutes to calm down and slow her breathing. She was hyperventilating; another strange experience she was not used to. Lighting her horn, she did a quick scan of her body for magical anomalies, but even that proved challenging. Nagging thoughts plagued her mind now. What if I find something dangerous? Will anything even show up? What if one of the maids come in and start worrying about me? I hope there's nothing wrong with me. IS there something wrong with me? The thoughts in her mind completely distracted her from analyzing the results of her scan. Sighing, Celestia decided it would be best to just stop for now and lower the sun for her sister. A good night's rest should help clear her mind from whatever these feelings of anxiety were. Lighting her horn, she nudged at the orange colored sky to will the sun to make way for her sister's moon. Usually the process was organic, her sun in perfect harmony with her magic. However, this time it fought back. It felt hotter than anything possible, and pushed against her like a bully in a schoolyard. As a result, her horn began to feel like it was on fire. Grunting, she exerted herself to show that molten brat in the sky that she wasn't going to be easily pushed around. Relenting, the sun finally began to inch its way off the horizon and Luna's moon began to peek up. Sighing in relief, the pearl alicorn took off her regalia and crawled into her bed. It never seemed as warm and inviting as it did now. Once Celestia drifted off to sleep, her sister Luna began her nightly patrol of the dream realm. Most nights were peaceful, and gave no cause for her to be on guard from the nightmares plaguing denizens of Equestria. Tonight was different, however. Walking through the dream realm, she always noticed minor nightmares just on the outside of many dreams. Everypony had their worries and dark thoughts, but most never let them twist their precious dreams. It was organic, and knowing what she knew from her experiences from the Tantabus incident, Luna contended to let them be. A pony's mind doesn't need coddling, but will seek guidance when necessary. This time however, none of the minor nightmares were present with the residents' dreams. Instead, they seemed to flock around a particular dream bearing the sigil of her sister's Cutie Mark. many were still trying to pierce the dream, but some had succeeded, forcing the Princess to intervene. Stepping closer, she peered into the orb of the evolving nightmare: "But I'm being honest, Ms. Cheerilee! My dog really DID eat my homework!" A young unicorn filly with a pink mane and tail whined. "No excuses young lady! Now I expect you to write an apology to the principal on why your homework wasn't turned in." a stern looking Cheerilee glared at the child. Many of the students in the filly's classroom began to chuckle and guffaw at her being ousted in front of the whole class. Tears began to run down her face as the background of the classroom faded like a smudge on parchment paper. "Strange, Celestia has never dreamt of nightmares such as this before. Most times it is painful memories or her flank's impossible proportions." Luna mumbled, glancing back into the dream: The dream evolved into a large door bearing the words "Principal Twilight, school of friendship" and the young filly stood before its menacing presence, parchment in hoof. Three knocks, intending to be silent echoed like sledgehammers to concrete. "Come in." A voice spoke on the other side. Taking a deep breath, the filly turned the knob and instead of walking in, the door collapsed into mist and transformed into the Principal's office around her. Behind the impossibly tall shadowy desk sat the Principal of the school, reading and stamping various essays with her seal of approval. "Sit." A chair materialized underneath the young unicorn, and she began to shake with fear. Clearing her throat, the Principal set her stamps down and peered over the desk at the young filly. "Ms. Cheerilee tells me you've neglected to turn in your homework. Can you tell me why?" She peered through the child like she was nothing. "I-I was going to, b-but my d-dog snatched it out of my bags a-and-" "I will stop you right there, young lady." Principal Twilight interrupted. "Not a single word of that sentence was true and you know it." "B-but I wasn't-!" "You know that it's false because I used the same excuse when I was your age, remember?" "N-no, Twilight, I didn't-" "BELIEVE ME?!" Well, now you know how it feels to have YOUR homework eaten by a dog!" The dream began to crumble, Celestia was waking up. "Remember that next time I say my dog ate my homework!" "Noooooooo-" "Ooooooo-oh?" Celestia awoke in the dead of night, sweat matting her sheets. Her heart was beating like drums, each thump making her gasp for more air than the last. the Princess of Equestria rarely has bad dreams, and when she does Luna is normally there to help her through them. Tonight however, not only was the nightmare stranger than her usual annual repertoire of past mistakes and bad memories, but her sister was not there to guide her through the problems she was having. In fact, she elected to call the dream a fluke, nopony, especially one of her standing would ever dream her student was berating her for having a dog eat her homework. "I-I'm a Princess of Equestria, I wouldn't let a dog eat my homework, made-up or not!" She huffed. "Regardless, it's almost time for the sun to rise." Igniting her horn, she willed the sun to rise, but nothing happened. Growling, Celestia put more effort into her spell. Still, the moon shone down and the sun remained stubborn and defiant. If it was like a schoolyard bully yesterday, today it's like the bully became bold and began to shake her loose of any lunch money. There would be no milk to drink today, it seemed. Sighing, she opened her nightstand and used the Sundial that was created eons ago to lower and raise the sun and moon before she and her sister appeared in Equestria. "I can't believe i have to use this..." Turning the dial with her magic, the sun rose with ease. "Here's hoping Luna didn't notice..." Once the sun was up, Celestia began her morning routine. She bathed herself, combed her ethereal mane, and donned her regalia. Unfortunately, no matter how many times she tried, her mane refused to cooperate and her regalia chafed and itched like it was the first time putting them on. In fact, looking at her overall appearance in the mirror set her nerves on edge and once more, those nagging thoughts burst forth. Will anyone notice? What would the Royals think? What would my SISTER think?! Oh my, I hope I can fix this... Huffing, she decided it was good enough for the public and walked out her bedroom and into the halls of Canterlot Castle. The thoughts didn't vanish, but were muted for now. Going through the halls was a routine she was used to centuries ago, but being greeted by the various staff walking about unnerved her in ways she had never experienced. Every "Hello" and "How are you?" added another layer of anxiousness to her psyche. It was as if she became an entirely different pony overnight. Even going outside to visit the gardens, a wonderful experience she used to adore, became a frightening thought to consider. It was as if the world was a new and terrifying experience to behold. She dreaded how the requests in the throne room would be, but nevertheless Celestia pushed on, trying to bury the new and strange thoughts she now has. She was almost to the throne room, a few more turns and- "Good morning, Sister!" Princess Luna greeted from behind her. Celestia leapt in fear, clutching to a chandelier several feet above the floor. Shaking like a leaf, she looked every way out of paranoia before settling onto her younger sister's eyes. "O-oh. It's you, sister." Clearing her throat and gaining a nice rosy hue to her cheeks, the once regal looking alicorn flew back down to greet her sibling. "G-good morning. Y-your'e up early for a change!" It was worse than Luna thought. "Yes. I was...Concerned about you." Her blush worsened out of embarrassment. "M-me? I'm perfectly alright!" Celestia stamped her hoof indignantly, setting her tiara askew. Clearing her throat, she continued. "It just so happens that I am on my way to Day Court, sister. So if you'll excuse me-" A blue wing blocked her escape route around her sister. "You had a nightmare last night." The pearl alicorn had no words, only another blush of embarrassment. "...I did." Luna inched closer, arching an eyebrow. "And it wasn't your usual nightmare, wasn't it?" "M-maybe, but that's not-" "Furthermore, your dream was the only one plagued with nightmares. Care to elaborate?" The midnight Princess crossed her hooves. "I-I...N-no, not really." Celestia avoided eye contact as her sister inched even closer. It looked almost comical from an outsider's point of view, where the older of the two practically shrank away, despite the size difference between them. Luna didn't buy her sister's fib. "I see. Shall I fetch the Principal then, so she can lecture you on being an honest student again?" It might have seemed harsh, but the mare knew better. A little tough love would sort this out. Normally, Celestia would have stood her ground, chewing Luna's ear out for being so bold, but the words wouldn't come out. She was frozen in fear, not because of her sister's defiance but because of how Luna might think of her acting this way. Suddenly a blue aura washed over, and she instantly curled down on her hooves and huddled her head close to her body. "Stop! I'm sorry!" she practically yelled out. The spell instantly ended once she heard her older sister cry out like that. "Are you alright, sister?" "Don't send me to the moon, please! I'm sorry, I'll be better." It was like she regressed into a filly. Now Luna knew where her sister's student got her knack for overreactions. "W-what? Why wouldst thou think We would do that?!" The reaction was so shocking, Luna spoke in old Equestrian. "Y-you seemed mad at me..." Celestia spoke above a whisper. "Celly, I would never be as mad as to send you away..." Choking up, the white alicorn began to hug her sister tightly. "S-something's wrong with me!" The roles were completely reversed; the older sister was comforting the younger in a warm embrace, using soft and welcoming words. "Shh, it's okay, Celly. We'll cancel Day Court and see what exactly is going on, okay?" The two stood there silently for a time, just taking time to embrace one another. > Doctor's Prognosis > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Day Court cancelled and the embarrassing scene over with,Celestia told her sister of the experiment Twilight had conducted and how she's felt different ever since. She neglected to mention the embarrassing questions she asked, but nonetheless Luna understood the gist of it. Celestia now sat in the Royal Physician's office, with Luna tightly holding her hoof. Usually a routine checkup was a walk in the park for an alicorn, but the different things plaguing her senses set her nerves on edge. The smell of a sterile room, the sounds of the wall clock ticking, and the various tools and instruments throughout the room were overwhelming her senses in a manner she was unused to. Even the door opening to reveal the nurse coming in to check her vitals made her jump a bit, and every time she had jittered or shook had made her sister's look of concern deepen. "I don't mean to startle but, is there a chance Twilight's spell had backfired? She did hit you with a rogue spell, after all" Celestia shook her head. "No, I ran a scan myself. I know for certain nothing affected me." Suddenly the door opened again, startling the alicorn. "Good afternoon, Princesses!" An older unicorn stallion with a silver coat entered. His eyes were worn behind the glasses he donned on, and his beard had grey hairs peppered about with his mane not long behind. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he began, looking over Celestia's charts for any physical abnormalities. "My sister, Doctor Script." Luna spoke, clutching Celestia's hoof slightly tighter. "There seems to be an affliction causing her to... Well, I don't quite know how to describe it." She glanced into her sister's eyes. "It is like she is nervous around... well, everything." "Please, call me Silver." he chuckled. "And when did this start?" The Doctor levitated over a tongue depressor and readied his stethoscope. "Around a few days ago, Silver." Luna said. "Thank you Luna," He said politely. "But I need to see these 'symptoms' you're talking about." Turning back to his patient, the Doctor readied the depressor. "Say 'aah'." Glancing at the wooden instrument as if it was an animal out to kill her, Celestia flinched and shook her head. the grip on Luna's hoof became tighter. "Hmm, that's most peculiar." Putting away the depressor, Silver Script stared at his patient, studying her for anything his nurse might have missed. "Celestia, do you mind if I ask a few questions?" The mare shook her head. "Excellent." He smiled. "Are you ready for my first question?" Doctor Script had to change his usual routine with the Princess this time around. Normally, Celestia would be the type to list anything that's happened to her in the past week in excruciating detail without him needing to even ask a question. For her to be nervous at not only simple routines such as inspecting her tonsils but also at him asking questions, he needed to have a delicate approach. "What day is it?" Gulping, Celestia spoke in a whisper. "W-wednesday." "Good!" Script chuckled. "That wasn't so hard! Now for my next question: Do you mind if I do a quick scan of your body?" Celestia nodded her head vigorously. "That's okay, I don't want to upset you." He smiled, though without her knowledge he silently cast a scanning spell on her. His talents allowed him to mask his magical signature to cast spells on his patients without their knowledge. Very rarely did he have to resort in methods such as this, but if a patient is at magical risk, it was better to suffer the consequences later if he could figure out the cause now. The questions went on for a bit until his scan was done, and he observed exactly how extreme Celestia's reactions were to certain ones. "There, all done Princesses!" he smiled. "You're free to go now, Celestia." Sighing a breath of relief, the alicorn got up from her seat and began to walk out the door. "Luna? Can I have a word with you?" The alabaster mare began to look nervous again, until her sister reassured her it was going to be quick. "Have you determined what is the cause of this most unusual behavior?" Luna questioned. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure." Doctor Script sighed. "I used a silent scanning spell, something that I never use unless the patient is in grave danger or has high anxiety, on one of the most confident and influential ponies on Equestria. The results showed nothing, except for a spike of magical influence in the prefrontal cortex. Given what you told me in confidence before your arrival, I would have to say it's magic-oriented." "So why didn't you cast a counterspell?" she questioned further. "Surely you have enough information to create one, Doctor!" She exclaimed. "I-it's not that simple!" He yelled back. Noises outside reminded them both that yelling wouldn't be good for anypony right now. Clearing his throat, Script continued. "Whatever spell backfired on her, it's magic didn't just leave residual energy, it's still functioning." Luna was taken aback. "W-what does that mean?" Doctor Script sighed. "It means that until the magic wears off, your sister cannot interact regularly with the outside world. Doing so would overstimulate her, and she could have another outburst like she had earlier. My official advice as both a doctor and a friend is to give her some time away from the stresses of royalty. Contact Twilight and explain the situation, maybe one of her friends can host the Princess for a few weeks." "I..." Luna sighed. "Okay, I will."