//------------------------------// // Hello little one // Story: Of Raising Alicorn Foals // by Guardian Talon //------------------------------// Princess Celestia sat in a meeting. And would have been bored to tears if she didn't have so many centuries of experience in dealing with such situations. She had reached a decision in the first ten minutes, but had to let the mare keep talking just in case she said something actually important. Then she felt it. It almost went unnoticed, but she had been expecting it and knew what to look for. A presence that had been muffled and hidden from her, had an unmistakable flare. She already knew it was in the city. Now her next search would actually be worth the time and effort. It was only through so many years of practice that she managed to hide her excitement for the rest of the day. She finished her list of meetings and appointments before quickly eating her dinner. She retired to her private quarters with orders that she was not to be disturbed. After sitting down in front of her balcony doors, her magic reached out across the city to find what she was looking for. A white pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail, suddenly appeared in an ally just outside the castle gates. She checked herself over before looking around the area to see if anypony was watching her. Satisfied that she was alone, she took off into the air and flew low over the roof tops. It was a short trip to Canterlot General Hospital in the lower district. Being in Canterlot in Equestria meant that it was still top of the line with some of the best equipment and practices the world had to offer. The receptionist didn't even glance at her as she passed by. Even in the hallways, everypony ignored her as she made her way to the nursery. The nurse monitoring the newborn foals, only gave a glance at what must have been a family member who just got off work or into the city. It only took a moment for the mare to find who she was looking for. A motherly smile graced her lips. "Twilight." She left the hospital just as quietly and disappeared into the night. Two days after getting the family home from the hospital was the start of the weekend. They were settling into the living room and thinking about lunch when there was a knock at the door. A moment latter, Night Light answered the door to find a white pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail standing there. "Hello?" "Hello." She smiled at him. "You must be Night Light. May I come in?" He noticed the royal guard badge hanging from her neck but missed the serial number being a stylized 0 with eight wavy points coming off of it. "Is something wrong?" "Not at all. But I do have some important information that I think we should keep quiet about for now." She took a quick look around, as if checking to see if anypony was listening to them. He hesitated for a moment before stepping back to let her in. "Thank you." She stepped inside and his magic closed the door behind her. "Sorry about the deception but like I said, it would be best if nopony knows that I'm here or why." "Deception?" Then he watched as a powerful illusion melted away to reveal a much larger mare. He gasped and dropped to a bow. "Your Highness!" "None of that." She motioned with a hoof for him to get back up. "That's not what I'm here for." "Honey?" A mare called out from the other room. "What's going on?" Princess Celestia looked at the nervous stallion. "If you would lead the way, please." She held out a leg and pointed towards the entrance to the living room. "O-Of course." It only took him a few steps, and even fewer for the princess, to get into the room. "Can I get you something to drink, or... anything?" "No, thank you." She shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't stay long today." "Princess Celestia!" Twilight Velvet started to get up, but a raised hoof and gentle push of magic from the princess kept her seated. "Please, don't get up. You have a little one to take care of." She sat down in the middle of the room, facing the mare, while the stallion stood next to the rocking chair his wife was sitting in. She settled back into her seat and bowed her head. "To what do we owe such and honor?" Her smile had never left her face, but it seemed to get a little brighter. "Well it's not everyday that another alicorn is born." She glanced down at the bundle the mare was holding in her forelegs. From where she was, she could just see the tip of a tiny horn poking out. The two parents were stunned for a moment before looking at their newborn foal. They started to get nervous. Velvet swallowed before looking the princess in the eye. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Your Highness. But we're just unicorns here." The answer they got was a bit of laughter. "Trust me when I say that I know my own kind." She held out her forelegs. "May I?" With a bit of careful shuffling around and stabilizing magic, the foal was passed over and the princess held the tiny pony against her chest with a foreleg. A large, golden shod hoof, on the end of a white coated leg, reached out to the bundle. A tiny blue hoof, on the end of a white coated leg, reached up to it in turn. "Hello, Shining Armor. My name is Celestia. We're going to have a long time to get to know each other. I hope we can be friends." The colt went from looking at the giant, shiny hoof, to staring at the huge eyes looking down at him. The two alicorns just looked into each other's eyes for a minute. He turned to look at his mother. "Baa." And stuck a hoof in his mouth.