//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: To be Young Again // by Chatterjoy //------------------------------// A few days ago Twilight had been rescued from the clutches of the Changelings. Celestia slowly went back to her royal duties, at the insistence of her sister. By insistence Celestia meant that Luna pushed her out of her room, after finding out how to break her wards, and forced her to go back to work. Her sister had said that it might make her feel better, and to get her mind off of Twilight. The little filly had rejected Celestia when she had been rescued. The Solar Princess couldn’t blame Twilight. She imagined she must have looked quite scary when she was about to kill Chrysalis. Celestia had just felt so angry. Fortunately, Twilight had loved Luna from nearly the beginning. It made bonding to Luna much easier. Celestia couldn’t get rid of the jealousy in her heart. She longed to stay locked up in her room and just wither away. The Solar Princess could never have imagined that this jealousy in her heart could be so painful. Is this how Luna felt all those years ago? A filly’s giggle rang through her ears. Celestia lifted her head to spy her sister and Twilight walking together, though Twilight had to trot to keep up with her sister’s longer strides. The filly was getting much better at walking for her age. Was Luna training her? She was always the more physical of the two, preferring brute force to Celestia’s cunning. Luna spotted her first and waved a hoof excitedly. What were Luna’s thoughts on all this? “Good evening sister! We see that thou hadst kept the sun nice and warm for the months of the summer!” “Ah, yes.” Twilight had hid behind Luna’s back leg at the sight of Celestia. The little filly was still petrified when she saw her. Luna gave off a frown when she saw her sister’s frown go down even deeper. “Sister, thou shouldst see Pinkie Pie and partake in the fun she brings.” Celestia’s frown turned up a little bit. Luna always got a little awkward with the word fun. She wanted to let out a giggle. Celestia turned her gaze back to Twilight who was peeking at her behind her sister’s leg. “Ah, good evening little one.” Heavens! Why did she sound so distant? Was this the extent of her relationship with Twilight? Luna was giving her a neutral gaze as she watched the exchange. She turned towards Twilight and gave her a little nudge towards Celestia. Twilight let out a squeal and just teleported behind Luna again. Luna gave Celestia an apologetic gaze. The Lunar Princess had been trying to get Twilight’s and her sister’s relationship repaired. Unfortunately, Celestia was not helping with being so distant. She had a horrible habit of doing that when things went wrong. “Ah, I will see you at dinner little sister.” Celestia inwardly cringed. She was even being distant with her sister. Was she taking her jealousy out on them? She didn’t want to. Celestia loved Luna and she loved Twilight. Celestia did a head bow and continued down the hall. She was making her daily round around the castle. Normally, she would do this when things were bothering her. The guards knew to keep their distance and voices to themselves. Celestia thought back to last few days. After they, the mane six, her sister, and herself, had rescued Twilight from the Changelings, they took her to the castle. The doctors reported nothing wrong with her besides the minimal weight loss. Fortunately, her weight loss was not dangerous. In the few days that she had been back she had easily regained that weight. ~A~ Twilight’s real parents had arrived the day after the rescue. The Changelings had done a great job impersonating the filly’s parents as the conversation was almost exactly the same one with the imposters. The only lack of the previous conversation was Twilight being energetic. She kept to Luna, and when her parents had approached her she cringed away. Twilight Velvet had acknowledged that she raised her once, but she would not get the chance to do so again. Without trust Twilight would remain that way forever and now it seemed Luna was the only hope for the filly. Velvet had also confirmed Celestia’s suspicions. Twilight was a fast learner, but according to her parents she was progressing faster than she had before. It was also confirmed that Twilight was in fact a chewer. Twilight’s parents left with a farewell and good luck. Mostly they looked at Celestia. Was her broken heart that obvious? Cadence had also sent a letter asking if she could foal sit Twilight again. Shining had later sent one himself saying that she wouldn’t be able to make it. Some crisis was happening in the Empire at the moment and they couldn’t make it. Celestia had heard of growing excitement in the Empire, but she didn’t hear of any crisis. Whatever the case Celestia trusted their judgment and let it be. It was probably for the better. Celestia didn’t want anymore competition. ~A~ Celestia finally arrived at the dining hall. The others were already seated and waiting for her. Except Twilight she was drinking her formula, while looking at her cautiously. The Solar Princess sighed sadly. She walked over to the head of the table. Once she sat the others wasted no time into digging into their food. Except for Luna, she was staring at her. Celestia scrunched up her nose in defiance. Luna’s stare only turned her stare into a glare. The others at the table stopped eating to see the scene unfolding before them. “Thou needst to eat thine dinner.” “Not Hungry.” “And We have webbed hooves. Or art thou admitting thine guilt of stealing into the cake stores of the chefs?” “I do not steal. They cook it, I eat it.” “So thou admits?” “No!” “Then eat.” “I hate broccoli.” “Tis a lie. We know that thou enjoys broccoli particularly with cheese.” Celestia huffed and looked away. The chefs had made this meal particularly for her. Celestia couldn’t stay away from broccoli and cheese. It was one of her favorite dishes. She hadn’t thought that lie through. Suddenly, her mouth exploded with the delicious flavor of broccoli and cheese. She looked to see the fork enveloped in a purple glow. Looking over she saw Twilight with her horn ignited. Celestia slowly chewed her food and swallowed. Twilight had removed the fork from her mouth and had already scooped some more food. Luna and the others laughed out loud. “It seems fair sister that Twilight wishes for thou too stuff it, as they say.” The mane six’s laughing became booming at the pun Luna had made. Twilight giggled but resumed the task of stuffing food into Celestia’s mouth. The Solar Princess had tried in vain to stop the filly. Twilight continued to stuff the face of the Princess. Unfortunately, she was not giving Celestia enough time to chew and swallow, soon cheese was leaking from Celestia’s mouth. ~A~ Later that night Celestia walked to her chambers. Her heart felt lighter. It seemed that Twilight was beginning to like her again. When she entered her bedroom it was a mess. Things were littered all over the floor. Holes were bitten into paper and books. Saliva coated every object. Worst of all there was a giant brown stain on her bed. It reeked and the Princess heard a snore. Twilight without her diaper lay on her pillow. It had somehow ended up into the corner of her room. It was stained yellow and covered in the drool that continued to puddle around the filly’s head. Celestia couldn’t help the giant booming voice that left her mouth. “LUNA!” Luna had finally managed to calm the filly. Celestia’s outburst had woken up Twilight, and she had begun to wail. Celestia was now awaiting the explanation of Luna. “Well, We had left her in the care of the pink mare Pinkie Pie. As thou know We have night court. We assume Pinkie has fallen asleep on the job. Then We art here. With you screaming at Us.” Celestia face hoofed. Her room was a mess and there was no way she was going to sleep in her bed now. Twilight just stared at the Solar Princess who was trying to keep a straight face. ‘I will clean Twilight. The maids can clean this mess up tomorrow. I don’t want to disturb them this late at night. You continue with court. Pinkie Pie will be dealt with tomorrow as well.” Luna nodded and headed back to her court. Twilight began to cry for Luna. It broke Celestia’s heart to think that not long ago Twilight would cry for her. “Ssh Twilight everything will be all right.” ~A~ Twilight continued to sniffle all the way to the bathroom. Celestia had already taken a bath, but she figured that another one couldn’t hurt. Twilight especially needed one. She was covered in grime and other things Celestia didn’t care to think about. When the tub was filled Celestia had lowered both herself and Twilight. Unlike the first time Twilight had a bath, the filly went into the tub without so much of a fight. The Solar Princess tried to imagine what was going through Twilight’s head at the moment. When both were clean Celestia headed for the guest rooms to sleep in. She would watch Twilight tonight. The filly could get in lots of trouble but running away was her worst habit. Fortunately, the filly enjoyed sleep and Celestia prayed she would stay asleep. Celestia swaddled the filly into her star blanket. She had summoned it from Luna’s room. The thought of stealing Luna’s bed sounded appealing, but it would probably be a bad idea. Luna was grumpiest when tired. Twilight snuggled close to her barrel. Celestia’s heart lifted; perhaps Twilight was learning to love her again? Twilight yawned and looked expectantly at her. What did she want? Luna had mentioned that Twilight enjoyed listening to her sing when she rose the moon on some nights. So the filly loved lullabies did she? That was probably what she was expecting right now. Clearing her throat she got ready to sing a lullaby. She tried the most common lullaby in this time that she could think of. “Hush now quiet now.” Twilight glared at her. Okay maybe not that lullaby. Perhaps it was too generic, and she heard it a lot? She would sing her a legend. One that if she was an adult she would feel embarrassed about. Celestia let a giggle escape her lips. “Sparkling like stars in the night. A mare is born in the twilight. Her eyes like beds of lavender Her heart a flutter She saved ponies from many a villain Her heart dead set on learnin’ With every care in the world-“ Celestia looked at the tiny mare next to her. She was sleeping soundly, and Celestia let out a sigh of relief. Curling around her charge, Celestia followed Twilight’s example and went to sleep. Celestia felt a nudging on her face. Tiny breaths puffed in her ear. Small hooves ran and jumped across her body. Celestia cracked open one eye to see who dare disturb her sleep. There was still time before the sun would need to be raised. It was Twilight scampering on top of her. She had her legs crossed and was whimpering. “What is it Twilight?” Celestia asked, as if the filly could answer her. To her surprise she did. “Ma..Mama, pee-pee!” Celestia just blinked in dumb confusion. Did Twilight just call her mama? Did Twilight just say she had to go to the bathroom? “Mama pee pee!” Celestia immediately got her hooves and escorted the filly to the restroom. She attempted to help the filly use the toilet considering that Celestia or Luna for that matter never taught the filly how to use one. Twilight had other ideas, however as she shut the door in Celestia’s face and locked it. Celestia perked her ears and heard shuffling in the bathroom. Trickles could be heard in the echoing bowl of the toilet. A guard walking past doing his nightly rounds spotted Celestia listening at the bathroom door. He blushed and quickly pushed on. “Are you okay in there Twilight?” Celestia called. “Yes, Princess! I’m just trying to figure out how in Tartarus I got in the bathroom with a diaper!” Celestia’s eyes widened when she heard the older Twilight. “Uh, would you believe me if Luna pranked you?” “No.” “That you got drunk?” “No.” “Okay you got me you were abducted by strange aliens that drive cars and watch moving pictures on a flat screen.” “Let me think about this. NO!” Twilight had opened the door and was glaring at the Princess. “All right follow me and we will all explain what happened.”