//------------------------------// // Chapter Six: This Foal Looks Familiar? // Story: Finding Sunburst // by Foal Star //------------------------------// The white coated crystal pony mare was now looking over the two foals with big velvet eyes as she greeted, “Oh, hello you two. Out for an evening crawl?” Sunburst and Flurry Heart both giggled as the mare picked them up in her magic and added, “Well I don’t know why or how you two got here, but I’m sure that Princess Twilight is looking for you, Flurry Heart.” Flurry Heart blushed, as the mare placed her and Sunburst inside the foal buggy with her son. The mare then turned to Sunburst and replied, “Hey, I saw you at the daycare.” Sunburst placed his hooves over his face, making the mare giggle and nuzzle him, “Now, now, don’t you worry little ones,” She cooed. “I’ll get you two to the palace. I don’t think you're crawling with each other by coincidence.” Sunburst clapped his hooves and babbled something, making the mare laugh. “Oh yes, don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you two are safe,” She then pulled a foal blanket over the three babies and cooed, “Now you two just relax, my little Pumice would love to have company.” Sunburst started to feel something hurt in his mouth and tried to suckle his hoof as he began to whimper. The mare gave him an odd look and asked, “Can you say ah?” She then opened her mouth, making loud sounds. Sunburst imitated her and opened his mouth. The mare peered in and cooed, “Oh, looks like some teeth are coming in. No wonder you were getting all fussy.” She then went into her diaper bag and pulled out a teething ring, placing it in Sunburst’s hooves. He gave it an odd look, until she gave one too Pumice who squealed, instantly shoved it in his mouth, and started chewing on it, drool pouring all over the place. Sunburst, seeing Pumice chewing his rubber ring with satisfaction, followed suit. He slowly put the rubber ring in his mouth and began to gnaw on it. Pumice’s mom dawwed as she watched them suckle on their teething rings. Flurry Heart started to cry as the mare sighed, “Oh don’t worry, you want one too, Flurry Heart? I suppose there’s no harm giving you one even if you don’t have any teeth yet,” She then took another one, and gave it to Flurry Heart making her giggle with joy as she chewed on it. “Alright now, you two relax. We’ll be back at the palace in no time.” As the foals were chewing on their teething rings Sunburst asked, “So Pumwice why do ya suck on the teethin wing?” Pumice garbled, “My mommy told me my teeth awe gwoin, and we gots hewp gwow them by sucking un owa teethin wings.” Curious, Sunburst placed a hoof in his mouth and felt little bumps all around his gums. He then took his hoof out in surprise. He turned to Flurry who was looking around her mouth as she replied,”I don feew anythin.” Pumice turned to Flurry Heart and explained, “Well my mommy only stawted to make me use teethin wings, ya teeth awen’t gwoin yet.” Flurry shouted, “Na uh! I bet mine will gwow fasta then youws!” “Not uh! I five months olda the ya!” Pumice shouted back. “In tact, I awmost a yeaw owd now.” Flurry instantly placed the teething ring in her mouth and started to suckle on it as Pumice placed his teething ring in his mouth and they started to chew on them while glaring at each other. Sunburst, still feeling a bit of pain, just suckled on his ring contently and it made him feel so much better. He looked up at the sky hoping he’d soon be back at the palace where Twilight can finally make him normal again. Suddenly he turned his head and gasped upon seeing Starlight Glimmer walking down the road, asking ponies question about where she was. Starlight suddenly turned her head and gasped! Sunburst gulped and looked down to see he was in a foal carrier, with a big blue foal blanket, suckling a teething ring. The audible crinkling of his diaper just made him feel so much worse. He sunk into his foal blanket, completely embarrassed, and threw the blanket over his head, hoping Starlight wouldn’t see him in such a state. “I’ll never live this down if she sees me in diapers.” He thought, instinctively blushing at such a thought. Starlight Glimmer herself was looking around groaning, “Oh, I knew I took a wrong turn. And now everypony is giving me different directions! Ugh, I didn’t think any place could be more confusing to navigate than Twilight’s castle.” Just then, a white coated mare with a foal carriage approached Starlight and asked, “Hello, are you lost?” “Yes I am,” Starlight nodded. “I know the Crystal palace is somewhere nearby. But I guess I must've walked down the wrong street,” She replied with a blush. “Quite embarrassing considering this isn't the first time I’ve came here. By the way, I’m Starlight Glimmer.” “Delighted to meet you, Starlight,” The mare replied, shaking Starlight’s hoof. “My name is White Streak, and I was just on my way to the Crystal Palace myself. Why don’t you accompany me?” “Okay, I guess it’s better than asking everypony I meet for directions,” Starlight replied and gazed at the stroller as she asked, “Oh, you have foals?” White Streak laughed, “Only one. The other two... well it’s a long story.” “You don’t mind if I look at them, do you?” Starlight asked as she stared down at the stroller and saw a white coated colt, and a foal hiding underneath a blanket. The third foal she recognized immediately as Flurry Heart and asked, “Oh my, what is she doing here?” “Long story short I found her and a orange coated colt crawling down the street like they were all grown up. It was really cute actually.” White Streak explained. Starlight laughed, “Wow, but if that other foal is with Flurry Heart I shouldn’t be surprised. I came to the Crystal Empire because I was actually supposed to help care for her. But...I missed my train and got a little lost,” She looked down at the foal hiding underneath the blanket and lifted the covers,to see the orange coated foal blink his blue eyes at her. He tried covering his diaper with his forehooves, but Starlight giggled, “Oh, you trying to be modest?” She placed the foal blanket over him and he held it close trying to cover his diaper, making her laugh, “Wow, didn’t know foals can be embarrassed about their diapers. He doesn’t look like he’s old enough to be potty trained, he looks like he’s only slightly older than Flurry Heart and I know she’s only a few months old.” White Streak replied, “He’s just a shy little colt. I’m sure he’s scared from being out all by himself. Poor little thing.” Starlight looked back at the colt as he pulled the covers over his face again, making her laugh again, “I guess he is.” White Streak nodded and replied, “Well, let’s get going and get him back home. His mommy and daddy are probably very worried about him. I know I’d be worried half to death if my little Pumice was crawling around all by himself.” While the adults were talking to each other, Flurry Heart looked over at Sunburst and asked, “Why ya scawed of Stawwight? She seems nice.” Sunburst turned and mumbled, “She my bestest fwiend, I don wan hew to know I Sunnybuwst, it’ll be vewy embawisin.” Flurry Heart laughed, “Good wuck with hew not findin out. She wecognized me easiwy, she’w pwobaby figure who you awe befowe wong.” Pumice laughed too and replied, “Yeah, I don see the pwoblem. I thin that shew wove ya bein a fowl.” “No, I don wan hew to know I got tuwned to a fowl!” Sunburst shouted then took his teething ring and began suckling it. Pumice replied, “Well, sompony woke up on the wong side of the cwib dis mowning.” Flurry Heart rolled her eyes as her stomach grumbled and she whined. “Oh I stiw hungwy, I onwy had hawf a baba.” “Don wowwie, my mommy keeps wike a biwwion, twiwwion babas undeath my stwoalla.” Pumice replied, and began to cry along with Flurry Heart. Sunburst shook his head until White Streak cooed, “Oh, they must be hungry.” ”You can tell just by them crying?” Starlight asked. “I mean, what if they need a change or just need a nap.” “It's just a mother’s instinct. When you have foals of your own you start learning how to pick up on when they need something.” White Streak explained, as she went underneath the stroller, took two full bottles of milk and placed them into Pumice’s and Flurry Heart’s mouths. ”Wow, that was fast.” Starlight exclaimed, surprised at how quickly the foals emptied their bottles. White Streak then tucked the foal blanket around Pumice, Flurry Heart, and Sunburst, as she sniffed, “Oh, looks like one foal messed themselves.” Flurry Heart and Pumice looked down at their diapers and saw that they were clean and turned their heads to Sunburst. He then threw the foal blanket back over his head. White Streak giggled and whispered, “Looks like our mysterious colt is the stinky culprit.” She turned to Starlight and asked, “Darling, can you be a dear and change our guest? I don’t want to keep these two out of my sight.” “Of course I wouldn't mind.” Starlight replied, she was used to the smell of dirty diapers from the many times she’d seen Pinkie or Mr. and Mrs. Cake tending to the twins. Not that it made the stench any more tolerable. Sunburst groaned and could only scream in his mind, “No, this isn’t happening! I just messed myself in front of my childhood friend! I haven’t done that since I was two and a half years old!” He was then lifted from the stroller, and he tried (in vain) to cover his now messy diaper with his hooves. Meanwhile, Starlight nervously said to White Streak, “Um, I’ve never changed a diaper in my life. Not even one.” She was starting to regret not offering to learn from Pinkie and The Cakes. White Streak kindly replied, “It’s easy. Here, I’ll get you a diaper bag.” And when she grabbed said bag, she placed some foal supplies inside it. Starlight cradled the messy Sunburst and eyed the white pommel on his nose prompting her to whisper, “Wow you look really close to Sunburst, are you like a relative of his or something?” Sunburst just put his hooves over his face and babbled incoherently, making Starlight daww and snuggle him, “Oh well, if you are Sunburst’s cousin or something, he has some explaining to do for keeping you from me.” Sunburst groaned as White Streak came over with the diaper bag in tow, “Here, I packed all the necessary changing supplies into the diaper bag, now we just need a good place to change him before he gets a rash.” The two mares went to a nearby park bench and placed Sunburst on it. Starlight began un-taping Sunburst’s diaper. He began whimpering and kicking his legs as Starlight whispered, “Oh, he’s getting fussy,” She bopped him on the nose making him suddenly giggle for no reason. Sensing that he liked that, Starlight bopped him again making him squeal with laughter. Starlight then carefully removed the front of his diaper, barely able to keep her composure as she dropped it into the trash, “How Sunburst and Pinkie can do this so many times without trouble I’ll never understand, “She said to herself, and began wiping Sunburst’s rump. Sunburst cooed as he looked up at Starlight, now powdering his rump with foal powder. But upon seeing that she was going to put another diaper on him, he squealed in horror, rolled off the bench, and started crawling away! That prompted Starlight to shout, “Hey, get back here! I’m not done changing you yet!” Sunburst didn’t care, messing himself and Starlight changing him was bad enough, but he wasn’t about to let the first friend he’d ever had put a diaper on him. He crawled under a park bench, with foal powder flowing behind him. He then turned and watched Starlight who was looking around and frantically shouting “Hey umm...foal, where did you go?! Come out, please! I’m sure somepony’s looking for you!” Sunburst giggled putting his hooves to his face as he thought, “This is kind of fun actually, it’s like playing hide and go seek,” He then heard a voice asking, “Have you seen an orange coated unicorn foal? He’s only a few months old and I’ve lost him.” The voice didn’t sound like Starlight, to Sunburst’s surprise it sounded like his parents. Peering out ever so slightly from his hiding spot he could see his parents asking a mare with a foal carriage about him. He suddenly got nervous, turning back to Starlight as he sighed, Well if I want to become an adult again I will need my friend's help. She may find out who I am, but it’s better than my parents getting a hold of me. I can’t believe they’d turn me into a foal without asking!” So he reluctantly crawled up to Starlight, and started patting her back legs, babbling and pointing to his parents. Starlight looked down and when she saw Sunburst she shouted, “Oh, there you are, little one! I thought I’d lost you!” She picked him up in her magic as he began to tremble. But she giggled and held him close, “Aw, I can’t stay mad at you. But you almost gave me a heart attack! Didn’t anypony tell you it’s not polite to run off on grown-ups like that?” Starlight lectured. But Sunburst was more concerned with his parents. He began fussing and babbling, pointing to them with a hoof. Starlight then turned to see the light orange coated stallion and the dark orange coated mare walking down the road. “Wait, are those your parents?” She asked Sunburst. Sunburst began to whimper and shake his head, as Starlight looked back at the couple and gasped, “Wait, they look like Sunburst’s parents! What are they doing here?!” She looked down at Sunburst (who was shaking his head), as she looked back at the couple. Something felt off. Starlight had little time to be concerned this though, as she took Sunburst back to the bench and quickly strapped a new diaper around his rump. She then asked, “Are they after you? Do you not want to be found, is that it?” Sunburst nodded his head as Starlight reluctantly sighed. Most foals would be happy to be reunited with their parents, so for a foal to want to avoid them was most odd. But she didn’t have much time to dwell on it. “Alright, I’ll hide you back in the stroller, but you don’t make a peep, got it?” She asked him. Sunburst nodded his head, as she took him and slipped him back under the foal blanket. “What’s the problem, you look worried.” White Streak asked, as she observed Starlight hiding Sunburst under the foal blanket. “You see that couple over there?” Starlight asked, pointing to the nearby unicorn stallion and mare. “My goodness, are they this colt’s parents?” White Streak asked in reply. “They look so alike.” “I know, but that’s not the problem,” Starlight explained. “The poor colt got scared when he saw them. So assuming they are his parents, I don’t think we should hoof him over to them just yet. Not until we know why he would run away from them.” Starlight added, as she finished putting the teething ring back in Sunburst’s mouth. White Streak turned to the cowering foal and replied, “I guess we can hide him for now, but if they’re his parents then we can’t keep them from him for long. It’s not right.” ”But they’re probably not,” Starlight said seriously. “I know those two, they’re a friend of my parents. And I don’t think they had more foals, Sunburst would’ve mentioned if they did.” White Streak turned and murmured, “They do seem worried. I’m going to go over and talk to them. Then I’ll make the decision about whether or not to turn the foal over to them, alright?” Starlight nodded, as Sunburst turned to Flurry Heart and whispered, “I sowie bu I gots ta go.” “Bu why? We whewe goin to the pawace.” Pumice whined. Flurry Heart sighed, “I sowie Pumice, bu Sunbuwst’s pawents awe the ones who tuwned to him into a fowl and want to take him away.” Pumice’s eyes went wide, “They di wha?!” Sunburst started packing his teething ring, a diaper, and Flurry’s foal bottle as he babled, “Alwight, we gots ta go. Now come on, Fwuwwy!” Starlight turned her head and saw that while White Streak was talking to the couple, Sunburst and Flurry Heart crawled down from the stroller and started to crawl away as fast as possible. “No! Where are they going?! Starlight shouted and was just about to chase after them, when White Streak came up to her. ”Starlight, you're not going to believe this! That coated orange foal... is Sunburst!” White Streak told Starlight. “Where is he?” Starlight’s mouth dropped opne in shock as she then replied, “Um...he...just ran off with Flurry Heart. I was about to chase after them” In her mind she thought, “That foal is Sunburst, huh? That actually explains a lot. But why doesn't Sunburst want to go back to his parents? What did they ever do to him?” Sunburst was now crawling away, and he and Flurry Heart were now back at the park where he had been turned into a foal. He shouted. “Wook, Fwwwy Heawt, the pawace is not faw fwom hewe! I thin we can get thewe by owaseves.” Flurry Heart turned and said to Sunburst, “Yea, bu that stwoollla was vewy nice, cwaling on the stweet huwst my hooves.” Sunburst turned to Flurry and mumbled, “I sowie, bu White Stweak would’ve gave us to my cwazy pawents.” “Is okay I’m jus happy tha we awe togetha!” Flurry replied, as she hugged Sunburst and they resumed crawling down the road. Suddenly, they heard, “Oh, there he is with Flurry Heart!” Sunburst and Flurry Heart turned to see Sunburst’s parents running towards them! Sunburst shouted to Flurry, “We gots to cwawl fasta! We can’t wet them catch us!” And the two foals tried crawling faster, but the parents were nearly on top of them. Suddenly they were picked up and placed on Starlight’s back as she shouted, “Don’t worry you two, I’ll get you to the palace!”