//------------------------------// // Ch14 - Home Visit // Story: Celestia's Tiny Student // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Celestia’s Tiny Student - Chapter 14 Home Visit “Please calm down, honey! It’s just a visit. There’s no need to stress yourself out,” Night Light said, looking on concernedly as his wife rushed feverishly around the kitchen. “Just a visit? Just a visit! Our dear Twilight is coming back home after over eleven years under the wings of our ruler at Canterlot Castle, and what’s more, she’s bringing friends with her! It’s not just a visit!” Twilight Velvet shouted, giving Night Light a stern, bloodshot glare. Her mane was in terrible shape and her eye was twitching every so often, typical for whenever she had a panic attack. Night Light sighed. “Come on, honey. We visited Twilight whenever we could. So what if we were too busy to visit her in this past year? This time, she’s coming to visit us, so what’s the difference?” Twilight Velvet shook her head furiously. “You don’t get it, do you? We’ve been visiting our daughter less and less each year, and though she’s very open about all the happy experiences she’s had, she’s always avoided telling us about all the accidents or horrors she’s bound to have while living in a world of giants. Today, our little filly will come back to her home as a mare, and I am going to get the truth out of her, no matter what,” Velvet proclaimed determinedly. A moment of silence between the two of them passed, until a loud rapping of hoof on door caused the high-strung Velvet to jump back into action “It’s her! Nononono, she’s too early! The house isn’t clean, the food hasn’t been served yet, and I still need to—” Velvet’s agitated soliloquy was swiftly interrupted by Night Light’s hoof. “Everything will be alright, dear, so just calm down, maybe fix your mane a bit, and I’ll open the door and make sure that our guests are comfortable.” Twilight Velvet hung her head in defeat before she walked dejectedly towards the bathroom, Night Light watching her until she was out of sight. He then turned back towards the door, his face beginning to show the nervousness he’d been trying to conceal from his wife as his visitor knocked a few more times on the door. “I’m c-coming,” Night Light said, taking a deep breath before he slowly opened the door, revealing a small group of ponies he recognized. Two of them were Twilight’s personal guards, Overwatch and Steel Blade, out of uniform but still very much attentive. A small baby dragon stood between them with a tiny Twilight stood perched on his head. “Hey dad!” Twilight shouted enthusiastically, jumping towards him. Night Light recoiled slightly as his daughter easily made the meter gap between them, embracing him with a hug much more powerful than he expected. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said, looking up at him. “It’s been a year since your last visit. What happened?” Night Light recovered from his shock, and he lifted his hoof towards his neck to lightly hug his daughter. “I’m so sorry, Twilight. We’ve been so caught up in our work that we just hadn't found the time to visit you. Can you forgive us?” Night Light said guiltily, though he slowly shifted his attention to the warmth of the embrace. I missed your hugs so much, Twilight. You may be tiny now, but the love and happiness you give us is so much more than you can imagine. “It’s fine, dad! I myself have been as busy as a bee for the past year as well, so I understand,” Twilight replied, before she freed herself from her dad’s soft hug, landing on the floor and running inside the house. “Where’s mom?” “Bathroom,” Night Light said as he turned to see his daughter disappear into the house. Is this really her? She’s… she’s changed so much. The familiar voice of a baby dragon knocked Night Light out of his reverie. “Hey dude, can we come in already?” Night Light promptly turned around to the rest of the party, still waiting outside of the door for permission to enter. “Y-yes... Sure, come right in. Make yourselves comfortable.” Twilight Velvet brushed her mane anxiously, looking at her disheveled appearance in the mirror. “Calm down, you silly old mare. It’s just a visit. It’s not like I’ve avoided visiting Twilight. Stupid chief editor, putting a mountain of work on me when my own daughter ends up hospitalized. And Princess Celestia. I swear, she’s made it so that Twilight is always unavailable every time I get free time to spend. When I meet her face to face, I—” “Found you, mom!” Velvet turned in surprise towards her unexpected guest as her tiny daughter pounced up onto the sink in front of her. “I missed you so much!” Twilight exclaimed before jumping to hug her neck. Velvet, already taken aback at being ambushed in the bathroom, lost her balance once Twilight tackled her and fell to the floor, slightly stunned. She cleared her head with a shake and looked at her attacker. “I-I missed you too, dear. I missed you too,” Velvet replied as she wrapped Twilight in a strong, bone-crushing hug, forgetting momentarily the size difference between them. Velvet released her quarry, nodding apologetically at a slightly winded Twilight as she placed her back on the sink, before she stood back up. “Oh, by the way,” Twilight asked as she looked around, “who were you talking to?” Twilight Velvet blushed. “I... was just practicing my welcome speech in front of the mirror. Yes, that’s what I was doing.” Twilight give her a suspicious glare, but Velvet quickly continued. “Anyway, we shouldn’t leave the rest of the guests waiting. I have a few snacks ready in the kitchen, if you’d like some,” Velvet said as she turned to go back down the stairs to the kitchen, Twilight happily jogging next to her. Velvet looked down at her tiny daughter as they moved to rejoin the rest of the party, placing her hooves carefully as not to step on Twilight. Unfortunately, she didn’t pay quite enough attention to the closed door in front of her until her face made sharp acquaintance with it. “Is anypony hungry?” Twilight Velvet asked, levitating a large number of trays bearing various fruits, salads, grains, and even one piled with gems, around her. Spike immediately ran over to Velvet from his conversation with Night Light. “Food? Now thats what I’m talking about!” “Oh Spike,” Velvet said, levitating the trays to the table before she swept Spike up like a doll to examine him. “I cannot believe how much you’ve grown since the last time I’ve seen you!” Spike wriggled in her hold, his attention still squarely on the large pile of gems taunting him from the dinner table. “I think I know where this is going, so can we skip the tweaking-my-cheeks part please? It’s really kinda embarrassing.” His wish was at least partially granted when a sharp knock at the door caused Velvet to drop him in surprise. Night Light stood up from his comfortable position on the living room couch. “I wonder who it could be,” he said, walking towards the front door. “I don’t remember us inviting any other guests today...” Night Light opened the door to find his son standing proudly on his doorstep. “Shining! Why didn’t you tell us you were coming to visit?” he exclaimed in surprise. It took a while before his attention shifted to the pink alicorn filly accompanying his son. “And who are you? Wait, Shining, please don’t tell me this is like Princess Celestia’s secret daughter or something.” Cadance’s hoof swiftly met her face, quickly aiming a glare at Shining Armor when he burst out laughing. “Oh no,” he began, regaining his breath, “it’s nothing like tha—” He was suddenly tackled to the ground by his mother before he could finish. “Shining! You came to visit! I've missed you sooo much. How is my brave lieutenant doing?” The pink alicorn smirked at how the brave and strong officer of the Royal Guard had been so easily disarmed by his mother. “I’m-I’m doing great, mom. I just heard that Twilight was coming for a visit so I thought we could have a family reunion.” “Such a thoughtful idea, Shining.” Velvet beamed as she freed her son, letting him stand, only to focus her attention on the pink alicorn standing to the side. “And who is your adorable companion,” Velvet asked as she grabbed the pink alicorn with her two forelegs, holding the princess in the air in front of her just like she held Spike only moments ago. “Awwww...she’s so cute and adorable! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!” she cooed, before her eyebrows raised in shock and she turned to look sternly at Shining. “Oh Shiny, don’t tell me you’ve married some poor mare already and have been hiding your first little foal from your own parents.” An audible silence descended on the party, though Overwatch and Twilight both appeared to be stifling laughter as they snuck a few treats from the kitchen. Velvet stared at everypony in confusion. “Did I say something wrong? Oohhhh. Oh my,” Velvet said, blushing from embarrassment as she slowly put the pink alicorn filly back on the ground. Twilight recovered from her laughter, joining the group at the door as they entered the house, moving straight to Cadence and resisting the urge to embrace her as well. “It’s so nice of you to come, Cadence! I’ve waited for the day I could introduce you to my family.” Cadence smiled back. “It was Shiny’s idea, but there is something important we would like to talk to your parents about.” Twilight nodded, before she walked closer and took up a special position Cadence immediately recognized. “Sunshine, sunshine...” Cadence ducked and put her hooves on her eyes while Twilight did the same. “Ladybugs awake...” Twilight and Cadence sat with their two forelegs above the ground. “Clap your hooves...” The first two of the claps sounded with a small tap, but the second clap pushed Twilight a meter away, as planned. Twilight flew through the air, landing with a backflip and shaking her tiny tail. “And do a little shake!” Both Cadence and Twilight fell on the floor laughing as Velvet hurried over to Twilight worriedly. “T-twilight, are you alright? Did she hurt you? What was this all about?” Twilight managed to stem her laughing enough to open her eyes again and sit up. “It was just our welcome dance. Did you liked it? We practiced it for weeks.” Velvet shook her head. “Twilight, it’s nice you found a young filly to play with you, but I cannot allow you to spend time with somepony who can convince you to do such reckless actions. What if she hit you harder or if she steps on you? I don’t want to you see hurt and in the hospital again.” Twilight’s smile vanished and her expression became serious, the same expression, Cadence realized, she wore whenever she felt that someone was too overprotective of her. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but she was quickly cut off by her foalsitter. “No, Twilight. Please. Just don’t.” Cadence said, afraid that Twilight will pull some sort of thoughtless stunt to prove to her parents that she wasn’t fragile. Twilight turned to Cadence to argue further, but this time, she was interrupted by a rapping from the front door. Night Light groaned in exasperation, turning back to open the door again. “Who could it be this time?” A white stallion stood at the door, his blonde mane slicked and his suit impeccable. Night Light looked at him blankly. “And who are you, if I may ask?” he asked firmly, before the stallion in question sidled past him into the house, his head held high. “Me? How could you not recognize Blueblood, Duke of Canterlot and Prince of Equestria. When I found out that your powerful daughter and my close friend were both on their way here, I decided this would be the best time to meet the parents of such a powerful mare.” Night Light was about to say something, but Twilight beat him to the punch. “The more, the merrier! Hello Prince Blueblood, and welcome to our humble home,” Twilight said, making a polite bow and pointing her hoof towards the couch where the guards had settled. “I know it’s not as grand as your estates, but make yourself comfortable.” Blueblood nodded as he walked towards the couch in a refined gait, giving Shining Armor a triumphant grin as he passed. After all, something good had come out of the whole time when the officer had mercilessly assaulted him with snowballs during the war. Though it was hardly noticeable, Shining Armor still lost a little respect for abandoning his team’s flags just to pelt him with snowballs while Blueblood’s reputation among the guards improved ever so slightly thanks to Twilight’s praises of his self-sacrifice. Still didn’t stop them from looking at him in disgust, but every little bit certainly helped. Twilight Velvet looked from the prince back to Twilight, confusion all over her face, “Twilight, why didn’t you tell us you’ve become friends with the princess’s nephew and an alicorn filly?” Twilight turned to her mother, smiling. “My mentor asked me to get along with her nephew, and Blueblood has been nothing but kind to me during his occasional visits. As for my alicorn friend, her name is Cadence, first of all—no wait, her full title is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but she doesn’t really like being called that—and she’s been my foal-sitter for a few years now.” Velvet and Night Light blinked, before they spoke in unison. “Princess? Foal-sitter?” Night Light looked over at the pink filly standing beside him. “But she’s just a filly.” “Actually,” Cadence cut in, clearly expecting such a reaction, “I’m just under an age-changing spell. I was afraid my normal appearance may make my visit a bit awkward, so I changed my appearance.” Night Light frowned. “You say that, but I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes,” he challenged, a stern expression on his face. Cadence sighed. “As you wish, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, closing her eyes. Her horn lit, and her body began to age, surrounded by the shimmering blue aurora of her magic. She finished the spell, flaring her wings as she opened her eyes. “P-p-princesses... mentor... foal-sitter,” Twilight Velvet muttered, before toppling over in a faint. Night Light kept his posture, watching her carefully. Cadence smiled. “Well, at least you didn’t faint, but I am sure you have a lot of questions,” she said. Night Light remained stock still for a moment. Long enough for Cadence to raise an eyebrow and ask, “Are you okay?” Shining Armor approached his father and waved a hoof in front of Night Light’s eyes. When there was no reaction, he turned to Cadence. “You broke him.” Cadence looked between Shining Armor and Night Light, her eyebrows raised in surprise, before she grinned, remembering her first encounter with the young officer. “Like father, like son.” “Uggghhh,” Twilight Velvet groaned, opening her eyes to find her husband poking her in the cheek. She tried to figure out why she was sitting at the dinner table or why she had fallen asleep there, but soon gave up when the answer did not come to her. “Dear,” she began, looking blearily at Night Light, who was seated right beside her, “I just had a weirdest dream ever. Our little Twilight and her friends were visiting us, and then our colt came home with an alicorn princess who turned out to be Twilight’s foalsitter, and then—” Night Light raised an eyebrow. “Uuuhhh, dear?” he said, before motioning to the rest of the group seated around the table. “I said—” Twilight Velvet blinked, her vision sharpening as she noticed guests smiling in front of her. “Nevermind then...” Another loud knocking sounded at the door, and Night Light smashed his head into the table in annoyance. “First there’s the alicorn princess, then it was Duke Blueblood…” he muttered, walking to admit the new guest, “I swear, if there’s another celebrity or noble behind that door, I’m gonna—” He blinked. The suit and monocle should have tipped him off, but he was unable to process what he was seeing until his new guest spoke. “Greetings, you must be Twilight’s father!” the stallion noble said mirthfully. “My deepest apologies for coming here unannounced, but when I informed my son that Twilight was planning to visit her family, he just begged me to come along.” “H-how... who... why...” Night Light stuttered as his wife joined him at the door, now gaping at her new arrivals. “Oh dear, how impolite of me. I have not yet introduced myself or my family, have I? My name is Fancy Pants. To my left is my dear wife, Fleur de Lis...” he motioned to the mare in question, who made a small curtsy, “and on my right is—” “White Path! Nice to meet you! So if you’re both Twilight parents, could I come in and play with her? Pleeeaase?” The young white colt plead as both Velvet and Night Light looked at him curiously. There was something strange about seeing a plush figure of their daughter being worn as a hat. Twilight Velvet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned to the group at the table, an odd smile on her face. “Twilight, dear, are there any other nobles or important government figures who are going to happen to knock on our doors tonight?” Blueblood coughed. “After the party that I, Prince Blueblood, organized in your daughter’s name to spread her name amongst the nobility, there are more than a few who would jump at the opportunity to visit her family,” Blueblood said proudly. Velvet’s eye twitched. Night Light looked concernedly at his wife, before placing a hoof on Velvet’s shoulder comfortingly. “Come on honey, they’re just nobles. They always like attention. It’s not like we’re going to have Shining’s superiors paying us a visit.” “Actually,” Overwatch cut in enthusiastically as she took another portion of food. “Besides the fact that your son is probably next in line to succeed Brave Blade as Captain of the Guard, Steelie here,” she elbowed the pony in question before swallowing a chunk of fruit, “happens to be the son of Captain Brave Blade himself. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if that old stallion came over to see both his lieutenant aaand his adorable son at the—” Steel Blade cut her off with a hoof, shaking his head in embarrassment and averting his eyes from the stares he was getting. Now Night Light’s eye had developed a twitch. “Come on, honey, it’s not the end of the world. Their hard work just happened to make them very well known among the upper crust. It’s not like they’ll be called upon to save the world against a terrible thousands of years old forces of evil.” Night Light could feel a small hoof poking his hind leg. He looked down and was surprised to find White Path there. “Well, Twilight doesn’t have to yet. She’s still learning, but once her ancient training under the princesses is complete, she’ll become like a… a… a super pony and go fight crime and evil and stuff!” Night Light and Twilight Velvet looked at him blankly before turning to each other. “I need some aspirin,” Velvet stated, very matter-of-factly. Night Light raised an eyebrow. “How many?” “Just—just get me the bottle.” He shrugged. “Just leave some for me when you’re done,” Night Light said, before turning to the three still outside, waiting patiently for an invitation. “C-come in and make yourselves feel at home. Do whatever you want. My wife and I need to... gather our thoughts.” Night Light and Twilight Velvet quickly ascended the stairs as Fancy Pant’s family sat down at the table, the entire party looking up at the couple in curiousity. Overwatch looked from her plate to the group around her and back to her plate. “Hey, could someone pass me the potatoes?”