Second Look: The Student and Assistant
The excitable lavender filly made a sound that was maybe a little too high pitched to be heard comfortably, but adorable all the same. "Spike Spike Spike Spike Spike! I haven't seen him in forever!"
Celestia just continued to wear her small, patient smile as she led her student up the spiraling stone staircase. It had, in truth, only been three days, which was pretty well nothing to one who had seen centuries pass, but was just ever so unbearably long for a filly of Twilight Sparkle's age.
It had been a mere matter of months since Celestia had taken Twilight Sparkle in as her personal student, first one since Dawn Riser several centuries ago, and she could already tell that it was a good decision. Over the last few months, little Twilight Sparkle had shown both raw power and incredible aptitude in magic. Those lessons were going far more smoothly than Celestia had ever seen them pass before.
But in certain other aspects of pony life, Twilight Sparkle was sadly lacking, even at this young age.
This was the reason for these sojourns to the eyrie. While there were only two ponies the young filly ever truly bonded to--her older brother Shining Armor, and foalsitter Princess Cadance (Admittedly, even Celestia was rather surprised to learn that her distant niece had such a connection to the little one. After all, what were the odds?)--but there was one creature with whom she formed an instant bond.
A large iron door awaited the pair at the top of the tower, which Celestia opened a mere moment before a violet little blur darted through. On the other side of the door was actually a rather comfy nursery, with a cheery paint job and a large number of (magically fireproof) toys. However, the pleasantness of the room was somewhat marred by the splatters of tan paste that seemed to completely cover one corner of the room. In a sturdy stone high chair sat a little baby dragon, his purple scales covered in the same stuff that covered both the walls and his caregiver, a middle aged mare named Patience, who was obviously about to run out of her namesake.
"Have we come at a bad time?" the Princess asked with an amused smile.
"I just don't know what to do with him today," Patience complained, her frustration keeping her from quite noticing with whom she was speaking. "All he wants to eat is gemstones, and he's refusing anything else! Have you ever tried keeping a dragon from doing what it wants?"
"I have a time or two, yes," Princess Celestia responded with a chuckle. "And, though I may be bragging by bringing it up, they weren't infants, either."
Patience at that point dropped the bowl of baby dragon food she had been attempting to feed to her charge, her eyes wide and pupils small. "P, Princess Celestia! I'm so sorry, I didn't quite realize..."
Celestia raised a calming hoof as she responded. "There is nothing to apologize for, Patience. I do have some understanding of how frustrating it is to take care of one so young." She looked down at Twilight, about to suggest they perhaps return after feeding time was over, but the suggestion died in her throat when she saw her student wearing that look on her face. The one that said she'd just learned a new bit of information and was trying to process it, one eyebrow quirked upward, and her mouth puckered just a little. "What is it, Twilight?" the Princess asked.
The young foal looked up at her teacher. "Did she just say Spike eats gemstones?" she asked, the tone of voice indicating she wasn't quite sure she heard what she thought she did.
Celestia chuckled softly. "Yes, Twilight. All dragons do. It is in their favorite food in the whole world. It's one of the reasons they hoard them so fiercely."
Twilight Sparkle nodded as she thought that over. "Then why not just let him eat them? It's not like they're rare, especially here in the palace."
Celestia sat down and assumed her teaching role. "Let me ask you something, Twilight. Why do the grown-ups keep children like you from eating nothing but ice cream, and cupcakes, and other similar sweets?"
"Oh, that's easy. It's because they're just junk food. They don't have suff...suffisss...enough good things in them to help ponies grow up healthy."
"Well, gemstones are the same thing for dragons. They love the taste, and they do get some nutrition out of it, but they need to eat other things to grow strong and healthy. Gemstones simply lack sufficient nutrition. Which leaves us with something of a problem."
"What's that?"
"I know how much you were looking forward to your playtime with Spike today, but at the same time we can't reward him for being naughty, either. So what are we to do, hmm?"
Twilight thought for a moment, then perked up. "How about I try to feed him?"
Though Celestia smiled at that, Patience's expression showed... doubt, to say the least. "Are you sure that's such a good...?" she began.
"I don't see any harm in it," Celestia replied airily. "The worst that will happen is that they'll... make a mess." Even Patience had to chuckle at that, upon realizing just how bad this corner of the nursery was.
Twilight took the bowl of baby food in her magical grip and approached the little chair. Lifting a spoonful of the stuff to Spike's mouth, she spoke very sternly. "Alright, Spike. I know you don't like this, but it's good for you. So eat it."
Spike glared at the spoon for a moment before whacking it, sending it flying through the air. The flight was short lived, as Twilight instantly caught both the spoon and the baby food and brought them back into position as if nothing had happened. Patience's jaw dropped and Celestia chuckled. "Now Spike," Twilight admonished. "That was not nice. Now I'll have to do this!" Twilight quickly took her hoof and poked Spike in the side, complete with saying "poke!" aloud. Seeing a smile form on his reptilian face, Twilight went in for the attack. "Poke! Poke! Poke! Poke!"
Finally Spike burst out laughing, and the spoon instantly swooped in and deposited its payload. Spike glared and made to spit the food out when a lavender hoof pressed itself against his mouth. "Ah ah! Swallow it," its owner ordered. "Swallow!"
The baby dragon glared at the little foal, but complied. Twilight smiled widely, squeaking as she did so. "Good going, Spike. Now for another bite."
Patience's jaw dropped again as she watched little Twilight Sparkle continue to feed baby Spike, with each bite seeming to come a little easier. "I don't believe it," she stammered. "I've already tried all manner of different versions of just that little game. It was one of the first things I tried. How did she pull it off so easy?"
Celestia was gracious enough not to laugh at the caretaker's plight, but her smile did widen ever so slightly. "Sometimes, Patience, it's not the technique that's important so much as it is the pony."
Both of the adult mares then had to cringe (not without smiles, mind you) when Twilight let loose another high pitched cry of triumph when she fed Spike the last spoonful.