//------------------------------// // Playing Favorites // Story: A Glimmer of the Past // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// After about forty-five minutes of watching Starlight play with the blocks and plushies in her oversized playpen, Sunburst noticed that her diaper had gotten quite wet, with just a visual check. "I think a certain little filly needs a change." Sunburst said, picking up the foal with his magic, and they took her back into her room. While Twilight had been looking forward to this weekend as well, Starlight really didn't seem to be taking to her too well in her current mindset. Since this was her weekend above all else, the Princess of Friendship had largely resigned to a support role for Sunburst; which so far had been food preparation, then giving it to him to feed her, and cleaning up whatever messes their temporary foal had left behind. The Princess was trying her very best not to take it personally. That would be blowing it a bit out of proportion; of course Starlight wouldn't purposefully be giving her the cold shoulder; her adult side was locked away until Monday morning, so there was really no telling what she would be like. The only taste that Twilight had ever gotten of Starlight's past was when she used the map to send them back to Hoofington. The brief glimpse she got of Starlight and Sunburst in their younger years, combined with the dream Luna had showed them, suggested that her parents being involved in her upbringing was something of a rarity, so if she spent most of her time with Sunburst, it was no wonder she was fussy whenever Twilight tried something. Twilight shrugged it off. It wasn't like this was an absolute one-time deal. Maybe when she wanted to do this again, Sunburst wouldn't be available, and she'd get to try again. For now, she was pushing herself to be content with being backup babysitter. So Sunburst took charge throughout the day, with her blessing. Besides, when she wasn't fussing, Starlight was, quite simply, adorable. The day passed rather quickly; after a quick change, Starlight was returned to her playpen for another half-hour before lunch. Afterward, Sunburst gave her a coloring book, and she seemed to enjoy coloring even more than the blocks. She had a quarter of the book finished by the time dinner rolled around, which was accompanied by a warm bottle of milk, which made her sleepy in no time at all. They returned her to her bedroom and got her tucked into her crib, setting a monitoring spell next to her crib before leaving. "I wish I knew why she's not taking to you, Twilight," Sunburst began as they exited the bedroom and softly closed the door. "If it's any consolation, you've been an absolute great help today. I wish I had that kind of support from the guards when I'm looking after Flurry." "It's not a big deal," Twilight replied as they headed down the hall to the guest bedroom, where Sunburst would be staying. "As long as she's enjoying herself, that's all that matters, right? It's her weekend after all." "Well, I don't know about that," Sunburst countered. "We're half of the equation, and I don't think it'd be fair if you don't get any satisfaction or enjoyment out of it." "Maybe..." Twilight replied as they reached the guest bedroom. "If you really want to, we can do the same thing tomorrow, or if you want to take a more active role, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to help you the way you've helped me out today." "Thanks Sunburst. Let's both sleep on it. That is, if she lets us get a good night's sleep." Twilight said, the two of them chuckling afterward. Bidding each other goodnight, Sunburst retired into the guest bedroom, and Twilight headed further down to the opposite wing, to her bedroom. Spike, who had spent the day with Rarity, was already out like a light. Silently checking the monitoring spell in Starlight's room, Twilight climbed into bed, and was dreaming barely before she got the covers over her. To her complete astonishment, the next time she opened her eyes was to the sunrise peeking through her window. Yawning, she got up and quickly ran a comb through her mane before heading down the hall. Checking the monitoring spell en route, she saw that Starlight hadn't begun to stir just yet, so she had time to go see if Sunburst had gotten up to greet the morning yet. He had to be used to this by now, what with being Flurry's crystaller for this long and what not. Or maybe not; if Starlight slept through the night, maybe this was the first full night of sleep Sunburst had gotten in quite some time. Crossing over into the east wing, she went around the bend to see a scroll had been magically adhered to the front of the guest bedroom door. She took hold of it, and read the hoofwriting. Dear Twilight, You'll find I'm not present this morning. I didn't want to wake you. Unfortunately, something came up with Flurry Heart's magic overnight. Cadance sent a royal chariot with the news, and now I've got to watch her while our repair team works on fixing the nursery wall... And the adjacent ten walls. So I don't believe you should expect me back. Besides, this will give you the chance to get some one-on-one time with her that you didn't really get yesterday. If it becomes too overwhelming, you can always use the Spell Breaker scroll, which you'll find on my bed. I'm sure Starlight will understand if you have to use it. Best of luck, and I hope you have fun with her for the second half of your weekend. Sincerely, Sunburst Twilight rolled up the note and opened the door, and indeed found that Sunburst was nowhere to be found, yet he had taken the time to make the bed and place the Spell Breaker scroll in the center of the bed where it could easily be spotted. She picked it up, and headed back out into the hall and headed towards Starlight's room. It looked like she was getting that one-on-one time after all, whether she was ready for it or not...