//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: To be Young Again // by Chatterjoy //------------------------------// Twilight began to open her eyes. Everything that was a blur began to come into focus, and the first thing she saw was the caregiver. She had a bad face, an extremely bad face, the kind of face that made Twilight want to snuggle with the caregiver and make the face go away. If Twilight could get caregiver to come closer maybe the filly would do just that. The pain in her stomach flared, so the filly held off the snuggling to get food. The caregiver was extremely fast with the bottle this time. Twilight guzzled happily, and she began to plot her next move to get rid of caregiver’s bad face. The caregiver walked towards her, and she began to nuzzle the filly’s face. Twilight loved when the caregiver did this, and it made her guzzle a little bit faster. When the caregiver pulled back, Twilight could see something pool in her eyes. Was the caregiver broken? No, if the caregiver was broken then Twilight would have known. Still, the filly couldn’t help but look up at her with curious eyes. The caregiver gave the filly a smile, but it looked different. Strained. This would simply not do at all! Twilight quickly finished her bottle and lifted her hooves. “Up! Up!” As usual and of course was there ever any doubt; the caregiver lifted Twilight and set her snugly on her back. Instead of flying like she had originally wanted, the caregiver produced a golden flash. The caregiver had brought them to the big room where other thingies met with the caregiver. Why? Were they trying to steal the caregiver from her? They must be punished! After, she chewed the delicious object atop of the caregiver’s head. The caregiver had a bad face. Soon, the giant door busted open and two more thingies appeared. One had stars upon her flank. The other had one similar to Woona’s. He stole her mark! He must be punished. The one with stars seemed to appear directly in front of her. Something was off, but something was also familiar. Who was this mare? She was enveloped in green magic. It didn’t feel right at all! It was all wrong! The one with stars was supposed to be gentle and kind! This magic did not feel gentle and kind! A conversation was being held by the caregiver and these newcomers. Suddenly the caregiver burst out into laughter. Maybe these strangers were not too bad after all if they could make the caregiver smile. Still, the filly couldn’t place what felt wrong with them. The caregiver made a comment about Woona, and Twilight heard a muffled sound. She must investigate! The one with stars had set her down, and now was the perfect time to investigate what made that sound. Picking herself up Twilight walked behind a secret door, or had it always been there? She discovered all her toys. Were they hiding? Oh! Twilight understood now; they were playing a game. The caregiver had seemed to follow her, or noticed her disappearance. Woona was unprepared, as the caregiver whispered something into the dark one’s ear. Suddenly, Woona had disappeared in a blue flash. Twilight looked up and saw her stuck to the ceiling. Woona was so amusing. Her toys, the newcomers, and the caregiver began to laugh at Woona. Finally, the tension seemed to be gone from the room, and she curled up and giggled. Twilight loved this kind of mood. The Woona copycat mentioned something to the caregiver, and the mood seemed to take a dip in the merry mood. The one with stars had been making faces at her, and it was interesting at first, but now she was not so sure today was going to be good. Copycat touched stars and the mare exclaimed something, and before Twilight knew it she was on the back of the mare and walking away from the caregiver. Were they all going somewhere? The caregiver wasn’t following, and the filly seemed to instantly understand what was happening. “TIA!” The caregiver closed her eyes and turned her head away. NO! The caregiver must understand that she cannot abandon her. She must look at her! She must…love her. Twilight teleported to the caregiver’s side, and she hugged her leg. Twilight looked up with teary eyes. She was pleading to the caregiver to take her back. Did she do something wrong? Twilight promises to be a good filly! Twilight felt the magic of the one with stars, but Twilight held fast onto the caregiver. The caregiver looked at her with an intense glare. “No, Twilight.” That was that needed to be said for the filly to let go. The caregiver turned her back to her, and Twilight wailed louder. The caregiver needed to look back! Twilight needed to know if there was still love. The caregiver never turned back, and Twilight wailed louder. She wailed in the hallways. Shinies looked at them, and these new ponies smiled nervously. She wailed outside. Others looked at them, and some even glared at them. The one with stars tried to calm her down, but it did nothing. The caregiver was angry at her, so the caregiver didn’t want her anymore. Soon, the filly knew black as she cried herself to sleep.