//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: To be Young Again // by Chatterjoy //------------------------------// When Twilight awoke she was surrounded by a number of buzzing thingies. They smirked at her and licked their lips. Immediately the filly did not like them at all. Their piercing blue eyes stared at her hungrily and it struck fear into the filly. “T-TIA!” Twilight wailed for the caregiver but no answer was given and it only caused louder wailing. The buzzers, Twilight would call them, began to panic and run around crazily. They yelled at each other, when finally a buzzer flew to her and showed her a bright red apple. Twilight stared at it for a while, but resumed her wailing. The buzzers just didn’t understand! She needed the caregiver! Twilight refused to believe that the caregiver had abandoned her to such creatures. The buzzer that had offered her the red apple looked at the others in defeat. He clearly did not know what she wanted. The other buzzers just looked at him and shrugged their shoulders. How could they not understand one simple word? “TIA, TIA, TIA, TIA!” Twilight screamed. She bucked and flailed her legs in her tantrum. Her magic began to flare up and cast magical shots across the room. It destroyed the rocks in the chamber, and the buzzers began to panic. One of the buzzers yelled something, and soon the entire chamber filled with the black creatures began to scream and panic. None of it helped Twilight’s magic tantrum as she continued to fire shots. A voice that Twilight adored had soon rung out through the chamber. The buzzers immediately stopped and parted. It revealed the caregiver in all her glory. “TIA!” Twilight got up on her feet and with the strength she could muster and with the grace of a filly was able to run towards her. The caregiver smiled at her widely as Twilight approached. Too widely. Twilight’s grin faded as she stared intently at the caregiver. It looked like the caregiver, but the filly got a bad feeling about this caregiver. She said something and her horn flashed green, as she picked Twilight up. Now Twilight knew something was definitely wrong with this copycat. The caregiver’s magic was calm, soothing, and warm. This magic was chaotic, cold, and caused fear in Twilight’s heart. This was not the caregiver. Her suspicions proved true when the caregiver looked down on her and her usual magenta eyes flashed a draconic green. “NO, TIA!” Teleporting out of the grasp of the fake, Twilight made her escape. The filly could hear the fake caregiver growl and yell after her. She would not be fooled by this fake thing! She was the filly, and the world revolved around her and the caregiver. The fake Tia called out to the buzzers, and they began to chase after her as well. The fake wanted to play a game? Very well, as Rawr-y would say, it is on! Using her teleportation magic, Twilight would seem to be in multiple places at once. She confused the buzzers, and when one would think they caught her, she would break free and stick her tongue out at them. One buzzer grabbed her with his magic, and Twilight made the biggest, cutest, and most irresistible face she could muster onto the unsuspecting buzzer. He didn’t stand a chance as he cooed at her and began to tickle her. The buzzer swore the filly grew horns, as she grinned evilly and bit down on his leg, causing him to release the loudest howl she had ever heard. The buzzers had stopped chasing Twilight for now but night was approaching. She was beginning to tire, and the filly could already hear the buzzing from the buzzers approaching her. She would rest here. They wouldn’t be able to find her. Twilight made sure of it by crawling into a crevice and curling up. Her coat and mane were dark enough to pull it off. The buzzing got louder and became similar to a lullaby and the filly fell asleep. When Twilight woke up she realized she wasn’t in the crevice anymore. Instead she woke up next to a giant white figure. The only giant white figure she knew was the caregiver. The filly sprang up, but remembered that the caregiver had given her away. Twilight also remembered the copycat caregiver. This white figure was awake and staring at her. Twilight stared into the magenta eyes of this stranger. When they flashed draconic green again Twilight began to panic. She was so confused! This caregiver was like the caregiver but not like the caregiver because she was not the caregiver! In her confusion the filly began to get a headache. Twilight began to cry at the pain. The copycat frowned and attempted to silence her by offering food. No! She needed the pain gone and food would not help it! What was the word that Dash-y used all the time after she would bite her? It was a simple word. “YOW!” Twilight screamed. She pointed to her head and wailed even louder. Yelling made it even worse. The copycat grimaced and glared at the filly. She muttered something and stood up. Twilight was getting irritated. Copycat or not this thing must learn to obey and help her at all times. That was the job of all those bigger than her. “YOW!” Twilight screamed again. No pony answered and Twilight wailed even louder ignoring the growing headache. She was getting scared now. The filly was all by herself without any pony. The copycat returned with the white triangles and other objects the filly had seen the real caregiver using all the time. How were those objects going to make the pain in her head stop? Twilight was so confused. She was picked up in the copycat’s cold magic and the filly was being changed. How dare this copycat try to take up the job of Woona and the real caregiver! Twilight would not allow this! When the copycat had taken off her diaper, Twilight had failed to notice it needed to be changed, the filly broke the magic hold and zipped away. The air felt awkward to her bare flanks, as she zipped farther and farther away from the copycat. Buzzers began to chase after her again. Twilight was not in the mood for a game. She wanted to go to the caregiver. She wanted to go home. It was not long when she was caught again. The copycat gave her a bad face and put on a clean triangle after she had cleaned Twilight. The filly had managed to fall into mud and of course have her accidents without a triangle on. The filly had no regrets. This was how she spent her days. Twilight would be a struggle to feed. She only wanted the real caregiver or Woona to feed her. She would be a battle to change. The filly had lost a little weight in her fights of being fed. The filly was curled up away from the copycat, when she heard a giant boom. Color spread throughout the sky. It filled Twilight up with happiness at the sight of the all the colors. The copycat was furious. Did she not like colors? Twilight continued to look up into the sky. Buzzers began to fall by groups. In the distance the filly could see the one she loved so much. The real caregiver was swooping down to her location. Twilight knew the caregiver would never abandon her! The caregiver crashed through the ceiling of rock. She looked furious and Twilight was frightened by the anger radiating off of the caregiver. She was not wearing the shiny things and her wings flared. The caregiver’s eyes were broken because they were glowing fiercely. Was this another copycat? The other copycat smirked and before the filly knew it the two copycats were in a fight. They locked horns and the new copycat had reared up and swung her head at the old copycat. It knocked her a few feet away. The old copycat got up and shook herself free of dust. Charging up her horn a green blast went to strike the new copycat. She retaliated with her own golden blast. Its magic was familiar, but it was not kind, it was angry. A golden bubble formed around her. Twilight was scared. She wanted Woona! The rest of the battle seemed to go by quickly. Dust flew and blocked her vision. Through the dust she could hear the voice she really wanted to hear at that moment. It was Woona. Her calm voice pierced the battle, and the dust was clearing giving the filly a clear view of what the new copycat was about to do. The old copycat was revealed to be a giant buzzer. Twilight couldn’t quite place what the new copycat was going to do, but it terrified her. Woona talked calmly to the new copycat. If Woona was talking to her then it must have been the real caregiver! Twilight was truly scared. The caregiver could be this cruel? The caregiver seemed to be struggling with a decision. Finally, she said something to the giant buzzer in a commanding voice. Woona and the other toys, she had just noticed the others, their faces showed relief. The caregiver attempted to walk towards the filly. No! The caregiver was scary. Woona! Twilight teleported to the darker toy. She hid her face in her sparkling mane. She trembled at the voice of the caregiver. She heard a sad sigh, and Twilight wanted to comfort the caregiver. The only thing stopping Twilight from doing that was the memory of the caregiver coming through the rock like an angry color comet with broken eyes.