Babysitting and boys
“Yaaaay! Ride on Celeste! Ride on Celeste! Yaaaay!” Jing-a-Ling and Ting-a Ling hopped up on the frustrated filly’s back, digging their hooves in to get her to trot around the room in a circle.
“This is so humiliating!” The teenage mare cried in frustration. “I can’t believe I, of all ponies, have been reduced to giving foals ponyback rides!”
“Now, Celestia! This is the kind of experience thee wanted!” Lunette chuckled from the kitchen, while frying up a cheese casserole in the oven. “Thou must take the good with the bad, if thee wishest to experience a youthful life most fulfilling!” The dark blue filly pulled the casserole out of the oven. “Kids! Lunchtime!”
After having the exhausted white pony canter around the room several times, the two foals hopped off Celeste’s back, and galloped into the table.
“Ugh! Babysitting! Babysitting!” Celeste wailed. “How my aching head is splitting!”
“Caring for a cuddly tot takes a lot, Celeste!” Luna shook her head. “Your nerves get shot!”
“Foals cause all kinds of trouble!” Celeste agreed, pulling herself back up to her hooves. “And with twins, the trouble’s double!” As Jing-a-Ling and Ting-a-ling hungrily wolfed down the casserole, the frustrated filly reflected on the past few days.
Ever since their parents had dropped those troublemakers off yesterday, the twins had been wreaking havoc on Celeste’s ‘perfect’ life. She had spent her whole holiday off chasing the two around, tripping over scattered toys, and falling on her face. They had already knocked over and broke an expensive antique lamp, and had smashed the TV screen into a million pieces while playing ball!
“Taking care of our own foals was never this hard!” An exasperated Celeste gasped, when the twins were out of earshot.
“That beith because we had servants who handle the difficult tasks, sister!” Lunette reminded her. “They did take care of the discipline, while we and their fathers got to spoil the children!”
“I had never thought about that before.” Celeste replied sadly. It was at that point that they heard the sound of breaking plates, being tossed out of the china cabinet. “ Oh no! We’ve got to get these little bundles of energy out of the house, before they wreck every piece of furniture we have!”
“On that, we both doth agree.” Lunette replied with a nod, galloping over to where the two foals were messing around. “Young fillies, those plates doth certainly not beith Frisbees!”
“Say girls, how would you two like to go to the park?” Celeste asked the two fillies, as Lunette pulled them out of the cabinet.
“Park yaaay!” The two of them exclaimed, racing towards the door , before the two teen fillies could even start to get ready.
“Hey, you two!” Lunette yelled, as the two of them followed the twins down the road towards the community park.
…
Coltonville community park was a favorite gathering spot for all of the towns families and their foals. Built by volunteers for local orphan ponies a year ago, the new playground equipment was the perfect place for two troublemaking foals to hide from their babysitters,.
“Hey, where’d they go?” The rainbow-maned filly asked, looking around at the playground equipment and Picnic Pavillion.
"We hast best find them sister!" Luna replied nervously. "Before they can get themselves into any trouble most perilous!"
As the two looked around frantically, a Frisbee suddenly flew over the two ponies' heads. It landed in the soft grass behind them.
"Hm, now this is odd." Celestia mused curiously, picking up the Frisbee. "Where did this come from?"
"Excuse me, ladies." Three colts about there age came trotting up, and one pointed to the small red disc with his hoof. "I don't mean to bother you, but that happens to be our fris... Celeste?"
"Ace?" Celeste whinnied back in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Lunette!" A colt with a fluer-de-lis mark on his flank waved to her. "Good to see you again!"
"Lancer?" Lunette asked in shock. "W-what bringest thou here?"
"We were just playing some Frisbee toss, and we'd like to get back to it, if ya don't mind!" An impatient teddy snapped.
"Teddy, show some manners!" Ace snapped at him, before turning back towards the girls. "What're you girls doing here!"
"We were foalsitting Jing-a-Ling and Ting-a-Ling, and we lost them!" Celeste replied in a panic, remembering why they were out here. "Boys, could you please help us find them?"
"Melody’s baby sisters?" Teddy asked in shock. "You dorks! How could you just lose two little defenseless kids like that?!?"
"Calm down, Teddy!" Lancer chided him. He turned back to Celeste and Lunette. "Of course we'll help!"
"Excellent! Celeste, Ace, thee shall scour the playground." Lunette commanded. "Teddy, Lancer, thee shall scearch with me in yonder woods!" She then quickly galloped off.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Teddy yelled, as he and Lancer galloped quickly after her.
"Looks like it's just you and me..." Lancer replied nervously, scratching the back of his neck with his hoof.
"Yeah..." Celeste replied nervously back, her face going a deep red.
The two of them looked all over the jungle gym and swings finding no trace or clue of where the twins could possibly be. As the search continued , Celeste finally decided to say something to the colt helping her.
"So, Ace..." she started, while he was looking under the picnic tables. "You're really into sports, huh?"
" Huh? Oh!" He looked up in surprise. "That's why I've got this soccer ball for a cutie mark! It's my special talent, and I hope to play professionally someday!"
"I've seen you on the field... you're really good at it!" The white filly smiled at him. "Have you always liked sports so much?"
"Yeah, ever since I was little, kicking a ball around has always been my way of expressing myself, ya know?" He started looking through the lockers be the parks dug out. "Like Lancer with his poetry and brainy writing stuff, or Teddy with his mouth- it's how I tell ponies who I am!"
"That's so cool!" Celeste replied, trotting up to him, and nuzzling the athletic colt. "It's so sad everypony else thinks sports ponies are nothing but big muscle headed jocks!"
"Thanks, Celeste." The teenage colt replied, nuzzling her back "It's so nice to have somepony not see me as a big, dumb jock!"
"Oh, come on now! You, a big dumb jock?" Celeste snorted, sitting down on the teeter totter for a moment.. "You're the most popular boy in school!"
"Yeah, but none of the others see me for who I really am. Not even...." He stopped and stared at the ground. "Not even Starlight."
"It doesn't surprise me that little miss stuck up doesn't understand you." She invited him to sit down on the teeter totter beside her, then pulled off the wig she had been wearing over her 'fashion disaster mane. "She wasn't very friendly towards me, when she thought I was moving in on you."
"Wait, Starlight did that?!?" Ace snorted in shock. "I can't believe she'd.... I'm so sorry, Celeste!"
"She dyed my coat an off color, too... though my sister and I were able to dye that one back to it's normal color last night." The white filly sighed. "And don't worry about it, it's fine really."
"Celeste, let me make it up to you!" Ace stamped his hoof insistently. "I know of a nice restaurant near here that serves the best hay burgers in Coltonville! After we find the kids, we can go there!"
"I dunno, Ace-" She replied nervously. "Maybe we should-"
The impulsive young colt suddenly rushed forward, and planted his warm lips on Celeste's. A warm fire flushed though her body, and she staggered backward from him.
"I'm sure Lunette and the boys can search here." Celeste replied, her horn glimmering from the rush of her emotions. "Why don't we go check in town?"
"Uhhhh, Celeste?" Ace asked her, his jaw dropping in shock. "What was that glowing on you head?"
The white filly's eyes went wide, realizing what had happened. Rushing forward, she kissed the young colt, and her horn suddenly began to glow even brighter...
...
"Jing-a-Ling! Ting-a-Ling! are you up here?" Lunette yelled, as the three ponies climbed the tree-covered hill. "We wishest thou wouldst emerge from thy hiding spots!"
The only response was a soft pair of giggles that echoed through the trees.
""Hey you two, this isn't funny!" Teddy called out. "This isn't funny at all!"
"Really, Teddy?" Lunette asked sarcastically. "I thoughtest thou didst enjoy pranks most humorous, such as this one!"
"There are certain things that aren't funny, Lunette! Like a pair of little kids getting lost!" The angry colt snorted. "I might pull pranks and be mean to other ponies, but I'd never let anybody actually get hurt!"
"Yeah, Teddy's not totally bad!" Lancer protested. "Sure, can be a jerk sometimes, but he really means well!"
"Oh, sure he does!" Lunette teased, while looking up through the trees. "I've heard from the other girls that he used to beat up the other foals and take their lunch money back in elementary school! And he used to tease Sweetheart and knock her face into her own lunch tray!"
Teddy looked at the ground at Luna's accusations, while Lancer trotted up between the two ponies.
"Hey, now that's not fair, Lunette! Teddy bought those kids lunch later, and apologized for what he did!" The angry earth colt snorted defensively. "He did that to impress the other 'bullies', so they'd leave him alone! Sure, Teddy may be a bag of hot air, and he might be thoughtless, but he means well!"
"And Sweetheart and I have a special relationship!" Teddy snapped, responding to Lancer's defense of him. "One that you wouldn't understand, loony Lunette!"
"It pleases me to see two friends stand up for one another so well." Lunette replied with a chuckle. "Now, let us return to finding the children!"
It was then that the laughter echoed through the woods again.
"Jing-a-ling?" Lancer called out. "Ting-a-Ling! Come back!"
As the three equines followed the laughter deeper into the woods, everything around them started to get darker and creepier.
"You know, ponies have seen straaange things in these woods!" Lancer whispered to the other two. "Some say that aliens pop up here, and take little ponies away!"
"Knock it off, Lancer!" Teddy barked, snorting at the other colt. "Now's not the time for that junk!"
"Thou hast been reading far too much science fiction- hasn't thou, good Lancer?" Lunette asked with a smirk.
"Yeah, I do read the stuff a bit too much." Lancer replied with a nervous laugh. "I've always read sci-fi, ever since I was a foal- patch and I always loved stories about other planets and weird civilizations!"
"Yeah, two nerds reading nerdy things!" Teddy chuckled. Lunette batted him up alongside the back of the head. " Ow! Hey!"
"I find it most glorious that thou art such an intellectual pony, Lancer." Lunette complimented him. "I too, have a love for the pursuits of the mind!"
"Yep, being a nerd, studying,... that's me!” Lancer smiled. “That’s why I get along so well with Bright Eyes, too… we both love science!”
It was at that point, that a weird, glowing light suddenly appeared out of the trees. It hovered over the group for a few seconds, then slowly began descending towards the three equines.
"W-what the hay is that?!?" Teddy asked in a panic, as the light grew closer and brighter.
"I-it must be the aliens!" Lancer whinnied in terror. "Everypony run!"
The two colts galloped away in terror, leaving Lunette standing there, staring into the light. As the illuminated sphere came up beside the stunned Lunette, the light suddenly died down... revealing two Pegasus, two earth pony foals, and an Alicorn.
"Aunt Luna!" The Alicorn cried, smiling at the sight of the disguised princess.
"Dazzleglow?" Lunette asked, shocked at the sight of Cadence and shining armor's second daughter. "W-what are you doing here?" She saw the tow giggling earth foals on the alicorn's back. "And what're you doing with Jing-a-ling and Ting-a-ling?"
"We were flying over the pony republic, tricking earth ponies into thinking we were aliens!" The pony beside the alicorn giggled. "We found these two wandering in the woods near here!"
Lunette shook her mane in disgust. She knew the habits of the trickster alicorn, and Starglow and Happyglow-her two ladies in waiting. The three of them and an unnatural bio-luminescent glow to their bodies; a trait that earned the three the moniker 'the glow n' show ponies'.
"Wait until I tell your mother what thee and thy friends were up to, young lady!" Lunette whinnied in disgust. "Scaring these poor earth ponies have to death!"
"Awww, but we were just having some fun!" Happyglow protested, as Lunette took one of the foals from her.
"Yeah, and the kids could've gotten hurt if we hadn't swooped in and picked them up!" Starglow protested, as Lunette took the other foal from her.
"Not another word! Who knows what kind of diplomatic situation it would cause, if thine presence were discovered!" Lunette commanded. "Now, the three of thee fly themselves straight back towards the Crystal Kingdom, and cause no more trouble around Coltonville!"
"Yes, miss worry wart!" Happyglow grumbled.
"Yeah, wouldn't want to upset the cranky old mare!" Starglow added in.
"Say, why are you out here in Coltonville, Aunt Luna, acting half your age?" Dazzleglow teased her, getting a final jab in.
"BEGONE!" Lunette roared in the royal Canterlot voice, causing the three glow 'n shows to fly away.
"You two make no mention of this to anypony." She gently told the two twins. "Understand?"
"Whatever you say 'aunty Luna'!" Jing-a-ling and Ting- a-Ling giggled together.
"Children!" Lunette grumbled, rolling her eyes.
...
"Ohhh, my hoofs are so sore!" The dark blue filly grumbled. "I can't wait to soak in a nice warm bath!"
It was several hours later, that Lunette had gotten the two little troublemakers home and to bed, when she remebered she hadn't heard from her sister since before they had started searching. Noticing the door to her room ajar, Lunette trotted over to the open doorway.
"Ah, sister! I see you made it back before I did." Lunette said with a tired laugh. "Thou wouldn’t believe what I've been- AIEEEEEE!"
There, asleep beside Celeste on the bed... was Ace, gently nuzzling the white filly. Although the colt didn't stir, Celeste woke up at her sister's scream.
"Celestia, what is this madness?!?" Lunette screamed in a panic. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!"
"He saw my horn, so I really didn't have a choice." Celestia mumbled, hopping out of bed, and trotting over towards the door. "And could you be a dear, sister, and draw me some bath water? My flank is extremely sore for some reason.."