//------------------------------//
// Osservazione/Observation 
// Story: Ab Initio-From the Start-Al Principio. 
// by Daxn 
//------------------------------//

After the awkward moment that happened during the changing time, Lux, Nutriz, Twilight and the foals came back in the classroom to start their routine again. The rest of the two hours weren't really notable for Twilight, since she remained in the corner doing the same thing she had done for the first three hours.


But finally, after two hours among the foals and the chaos, Twilight Sparkle was free to go home, and pass the rest of the day as an adult, since her father was in charge during the afternoon.


After she said goodbye to both the teacher and the foals, Twilight ran out of the building and walked towards her home. Strangely, the streets were as deserted as she found them when she went to Kindergarten.


Arrived at the gate of her house after few minutes, Twilight rang the bell, and waited for Sedula to open the gate .


As Sedula walked along with Twilight, the formed asked to the latter.

"So, Twilight, do you want some help with getting rid of the attire which your mother forced you to wear?"


The two entered in the house, and Twilight climbed the stairs.


"I'd wish to be alone for a couple of minutes, Sedula," said Twilight while walking the stairs "So, no thanks. If I need help, I'm going to ask for it directly."


The old valet nodded, and went to the kitchen.


"As you wish, Twilight."


Done with that, Twilight went to her defiled bedroom. There, she started her undressing: she loosened the string that kept the smock on her body, delicately got it off, then folded it, and put it in the wardrobe. As for getting off her unused diaper, Twilight placed herself back down on the bed, lifted her legs, untaped the garment with magic, slid off the diaper, and threw it in the paper bin in the room, even though it was clean.


Looking decent once again, Twilight went downstairs into the dining room, where the lunch was waiting for her.


The table was set with three seats with a white place mat with laces at the rims if front of each and a small bronze bell at the end of the table.

Twilight's one had a white soup dish with blue stripes, a light blue dinner plate under it. The cutlery was made of steel and had ivory handles, and transparent glass shaped like a stem.

The other seats also were set with that kind of dishes and cutlery, the only difference being the glass for Night Light, an Oktoberfest-sized jug, and Twilight Velvet's porcelain lacking the soup dish.


Twilight sat down on the red padded chair, followed by Night Light and Twilight Velvet. When everyone was settled down, Night Light lifted the bronze bell, then shook it, and proclaimed.


"Sedula, let's start with the First Course!"


The valet answered with a shout.

"Right away sir!" She came in the room with a big steaming bowl a moment later.

Sedula put the bowl in the middle of the table, and served Twilight a ration of peas and cream noodles. Twilight immediately started to eat up her ration in a pretty coarse manner, while Night Light ate his ration more slowly, puffing his chest like a pigeon.


As they ate, Twilight Velvet asked her daughter.


"So, what did you do at the Kindergarten, Twily?"


Twilight literally inhaled some noodles.


"What do you expect? I drew various things. After all, I could not really interact with the foals, since they have other interests, they likely don't understand a good part of my words, and they seem afraid of me."


Twilight asked Sedula to give her some more noodles.


"Somehow, I can understand them. If an adult had come in my Kindergarten class dressed like me, but acting and talking differently, I would have been unsure and afraid too."


Twilight Velvet stretched herself towards her namesake offspring to give her an unexplained kiss.


"Oh, my lovely daughter. Always so grumpy."


Twilight rolled her eyes.


"Mother... morning's over. Now it's the time I act like an adult."


Twilight Velvet tightly hugged her daughter, to the latter's dismay and annoyance.


"But you are still my little foal."


"That would sound a lot less creepy and annoying, if I wasn't forced to act like one during the morning."


Night Light deflated his chest, and after gently placing the fork on the plate, he called Sedula to take away the soup dishes, and bring in the salad. Done that, he entered in the discussion.


"About morning and afternoon cycles. The Rotary Society has called. They want me at Romea for a meeting, and I've decided that, since I'm already there, I will pay a visit to all my relatives, and spend some time with them. I am going tomorrow morning."


Twilight's heart stopped for a second. If her father was at Romea, then it meant that Velvet had basically the total control over the day, and, since Night Light was the president of the Rotary at Canterlot, this meant that he could not avoid going, and thus, leaving home was inevitable for at least a day. Twilight still asked, as to know for how long she was going to be treated like a little filly full-time.


"So, how long is this… journey going to take?"


Night Light took some salad.


"Around a week. After the meeting, I'd wish to visit my mother, my father, aunt Lucky, aunt Eraclina, uncle Lionheart, uncle Italiota, uncle Benson..."


Twilight had a void at most of the names mentioned by her father, because she never had heard of them, let alone saw them. But the fact she had not seen a good chunk of the family from her fahter's side was not her concern right there, right now. She was mostly concerned of the pact done just the day before.


"And... about the 'Kid during the morning, Adult during the afternoon' rules?"


Velvet looked at her husband with puppy dog eyes, and started to whimper like a beaten dog. Sighing, Night Light fulfilled his wife's unspoken request.


"As much as it will annoy you, that rule is lifted until I come back."


From nowhere, an orchestra of brass played, and driven by a mysterious force Twilight went in the middle of the salon, and dramatically fell flat on her stomach.


Sedula ran towards Twilight, and asked if she was alright. Night Light scolded Twilight, saying that such reaction was uncalled for. Twilight Velvet kept eating her salad and her helping of tofu as if nothing was happening.


After that moment of commotion, Twilight said that she was no longer hungry, and that she had some important things to do. Before Sedula or Night Light could even ask what she was talking about, Twilight had already ran away into the library of the house.


Twilight opened the cedar wood door with a slam, and started to tear the books away from the shelves.


"'Pedagogy' no. 'Psychosis' no. 'How not to be a good Mother' no. '101 Things to tell a foal from a teenager' no. No, no, no, no"


Those were the only words that Twilight muttered, while looking for a book to do... something. Something to get out of that situation. Something that could tell her what to do. Alas, she did not find any books titled "How to Survive in the Magic Kindergarten as an Adult with an Insane Mother."


Even so, the frantic research served a purpose. It calmed Twilight down, and made her a bit more reflexive.


"Alright, Twilight. Think. You are going to be in the house with your mother. Now, this mother wants you to act like a foal, despite the eclatant clues that you are not, only because you are going to Kindergarten. What do you do?"


Twilight sat on the oak chair near the poplar desk of the library. Done that, she let her gaze wander, so to "catch" an idea


"Maybe I should run away, if this situation is so uncomfortable."


Self-satisfied, Twilight was starting to reorganized the books that she threw on the floor. As she reorganized, however, she spotted a problem in her solution.


"I don't have much money, and I cannot camp out in a tent for four months."


Sighing, Twilight muttered while rearranging the shelves. "If only I could enjoy the same activities that my classmates do... maybe I would bear my mother's behavior more easily."


An idea flashed in Twilight's head, and she jumped in front of the enlightenment. "Of course! I need to learn to act fully like a three-years old, if I want to get rid of this annoyance! After all, my mother seems to have a pretty idealized idea of the foalhood, and the problems that a parent faces with a three-years old foal with lacking control! The tantrums, the constant 'hurting', the constant need to ask her to go to the bathroom every ten minutes, the pickiness in the eating! After a week, she is going to give up, and finally let me live like the adult I am."


Twilight finished ordering of the highest row of books.


"Yeah... but how I can do that? I've burned down all the memoirs that I had of my foalhood, after I turned 13, and it's a miracle that I could not burn down Cadance, how I am gonna do that, if I have only a bare outline of how a foal acts and talks?"


Twilight remained in silent thought, as she ended reordering the shelves. After twenty minutes of thinking and rearranging, Twilight found the solution.


"But of course, my Kindergarten classmates. Just try to befriend them, and look at them. If you do it correctly, you should be able to copy them in times of need with your mother."


Satisfied with herself, Twilight went in her room, and passed the rest of the afternoon and the evening there, waiting for the Sun to set, and the dinner to be ready.









A dinner and seven hours of sleep later, Twilight woke up in her rather small bed. Looking outside the window, she realized two things: that the Sun was rising, and that Velvet was going to break in, and start the madness once again. And, this time, it was going to last for an entire day. Since she wanted to keep the dialogues with her mother at the bare minimum, until she figured out a way to wear down her mother's madness, Twilight decided to take the initiative, and diaper herself.


Twilight jumped out of bed and, while walking with a silent step, she reached the bathroom to complete the morning ritual, and free herself of the secretions that could try to exit at the worst possible moment.


Done that, she came back to the wardrobe in her room. Twilight opened it, and extracted the diaper box from the right corner of the piece of furniture. Done that, she walked back to the bed, put the box nearby, lied down, so to make the process easier, extracted one of the purple absorbent garments from the box, slid it under her back and taped it to her waist.


Now diapered and almost ready to go, Twilight levitated the pink smock that she had thrown in the middle of the room the day before, and put it on, fastening the rope and pulling the wrinkled parts of the smock. When she was finally dressed up and ready to start the day, Twilight went downstairs, and, while she waited for Sedula to arrive, she set the table with the usual choice of porcelains and cutlery.


After a while, Sedula Serva entered silently in the house. After greeting, and not receiving response from Twilight, the valet mechanically cooked the breakfast for every member of the family.


When finally everything was done, Night Light, half-shaved and with a dangling tie around his neck, arrived levitating a luggage from upstairs.


"Good morning, Twilight. Did Sedula or you prepare anything special for my departure?"


"No, father, nothing at all."


Sighing, Night Light started to gobble up cookies, and drank the coffee in the cup in one gulp, all while standing.


"That's a pity, but it's okay, since I am in a hurry. Take care of yourself, my daughter, and behave yourself." then Twilight's father ran towards the main door, breaking it.


After greeting her father, Twilight sat down, and quietly started to have her own breakfast, composed of coffee, eggs and bread, all while Sedula tried to fix up the busted door with the best of her abilities.


The peace of Twilight's breakfast was, not surprisingly, broken by a chirp, and hooves tip-tapping on the marble.


"Twiiilllyyy, where are you?"


Twilight grunted at the sing-song of her insane mother, and to avoid troubles. She also drank the coffee in one go, despite the hotness of the beverage, and the feeling of scorched wasteland it left in her throat.


"How is my precious filly doing?" Twilight Velvet sat on the chair with a whirl.


Twilight replied with an acidic tone.


"Very good. At least, until you came in."


Velvet started to eat the remaining biscuits.


"Oooh, we are grumpy today, aren't we?" Velvet, to Twilight's extreme annoyance, pinched her cheeks.


"But I think you are going to be happier, once at the Kindergarten."


Twilight nodded, and said with a sigh:


"Of course, mother."


It was only a half lie: while she wasn't happy to go to the Kindergarten and stay with the foals per se, she was content that, at least, she could study their behaviour, and learn how to mimic it when needed.


Twilight Velvet and Twilight Sparkle terminated their breakfast at the same time. Velvet immediately took away the dishes and the cups, and carried them to the kitchen, where Sedula slowly started to wash them.


Done that, Velvet started to skip towards the door.


"It's time to go, Twily."


Without questions, Twilight followed Velvet outside.


The streets were crowded, but, apart from the curious gazes of few ponies, no comments about Twilight's outfit and destination were made by anypony.


Once again in front of the decorated building, Velvet kissed her daughter.


"See you later," she said with her usual cheerful-and-yet-creepy voice. Twilight, after a moment of confusion and blushing caused by the kiss, united herself with horde of colts and fillies that were entering in the building, heading to their respective classes. Twilight, quite obviously, followed the stream that headed for the class of the "Chicks."


When Twilight entered in the class, followed by the few classmates left behind, Lux closed the door, while Nutriz did a quick name call of the foals that were there. Twilight used the name call as a way to identify each foal, and so track down the ones that could be suitable for her purposes.


At the end of the name call, Nutriz gave the explicit authorization to break loose to the foals. And they complied.


Now Twilight, the only one that remained in the center of the room, proceeded to look at the foals, and see their way of act.



Twilight chose the same corner she had used the day before for draw as an observation spot. This time, she took the black marker and three sheets of blank paper, in order to start to list up the foals that could help in her quest for examples of foals’ misbehaving and tantrums.


In the confusion of the class, Twilight saw a scene that got her attention. A light blue colt with a straight red mane was bickering with a pink filly with white curly mane, presumably about the possession of a box of construction blocks, since the colt was keeping tightly a small brown plastic box a colorful block fell from everytime it was shaken. Their movements were visible and clear, allowing Twilight to note easily some possible gestures of an angry 2-years old, but they did not transmitte what the foals were actually saying between each other.


Twilight got nearer, so to be at hearing distance from the bickering between the foals.


The colt said with a strangely familiar voice, one that Twilight had heard some time before, but less raspy, “This box is mine. Hooves off!”


The filly answered with a high-pitched voice.

“No, it is mine and all mine!” She grabbed it, in the desperate attempt to either get it back, or appropriate herself of the blocks in the box.


The colt pulled the box towards himself.

“No! Mine!”


The filly answered with the same reaction.

“It. Is. Mine.”


The response of the colt was unsurprising. Pulling of the box towards his chest he yelled:

“Mine!”


And they kept going for a while, before the filly had a burst of magic, one that caused the box to be pulled out of the colt’s little hooves, causing him to cry in annoyance/fake pain, and the blocks contained in the box got scattered around the landing zone of the aforementioned box.


At that point, Lux Foal intervened.


“What’s going on here?” she asked with a stern tone, one that basically made the legitimate question into purely rhetoric one.


The colt immediately jumped up on his hooves, and, with tears still  going down his cheeks, he pointed at the filly and said:


“She stole my box!” 


The teacher raised an eyebrow.


“Your box?”


The filly bursted in.

“It was mine!”

The teacher looked at the filly.


“If the box was his, then it cannot be yours.”


The filly ignored the phrase of the teacher, and tried to defend her position with her lackluster oratory abilities alone.


“But it was really of me!”


The colt answered back.

“No, it was mine!”


The two foals stepped forward, as to start physical contact, when the teacher separated them with magic.


“So, you say it is yours.” The teacher looked at the colt, and he nodded affirmatively “And it is yours.” She looked at the filly, and she also nodded. “How about… it’s of both?”


The two foals, with the same stubbornness they shared with the drunken and the students hated by every teacher in a school, answered with the most simple of the phrases.


“NO!”


The teacher, after hearing that response, looked at both the foals with a stern glance.


“If you don’t want to share it, then no one gets it.” The teacher levitated the box away from the reach of the little hooves of the foals. The colt concentrated himself and tried to pull the box out of the control of Lux , while the filly whined.


“And, if you keep trying to get it back, you will receive a time-out!”


The colt gave up, and sighed. The filly, on other hoof, had no sense of when it was time to surrender, and thus launched herself on the leg of Lux Foal, attempting to cause physical harm to the teacher, and, naturally, failing to accomplish her goal.


Lux levitated the filly and, without any other words, she carried her to the room at the opposite side of the classroom. Intrigued by this, Twilight tried to follow the teacher in her carrying, and see where she was going. Twilight stopped herself nearby the door to avoid getting in trouble.


Lux went through the hallway with the filly still firmly in her magic grasp. Even from that distance, Twilight could tell she had a smug face.


The teacher opened the door with one of her hooves, revealing the darkness behind the door. Lux entered with the filly, then she closed the door.


For a few minutes, nothing happened, leaving Twilight holding her breath from the suspense. She could breath once again when Lux came back from the room with the filly hanging her head low walking behind the teacher. The expression of the filly got Twilight’s attention, because she had passed from a smug look to a shame-filled gaze, leaving Twilight wondering what could have caused that reaction.


Twilight returned back to the center of the room, and waited for Lux to come back with the filly.


When both were finally back in the room, Twilight decided to get an answer to her question, by asking directly the involved filly. 


“Hello there, little one. What’s your name?”


The filly answered with slightly broken voice.


“My name is Lecs Populli. What’s your name?”


Like she was used to do, Twilight slightly bowed, and tended her hoof towards the filly.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. Can I ask you a question?”


Giggling, the filly asked back:

“Yes?”


“I saw you getting in trouble, and dragged by the teacher to the room at the opposite of this classroom.  I saw you entering there with a sure defiant look, and you exited with a beaten one. Care to tell me what happened?” 


The filly raised her smock, revealing a white diaper, with a red arrow pointing at the bottom of the filly, and the phrase “Spank me” over the arrow. Then, the filly sat down, revealing the front of the diaper, who had the phrase “I am a bad filly” over it.


Twilight somehow felt sympathy for the filly, despite the sheer lightness and absurdity of the punishment given to the filly.


“It’s ok” Twilight revealed her purple diaper “I, an adult, also wear them. It’s nothing that should make you feel embarrassed.” Twilight knew that she had just told a lie to Lex, but since she was trying to win her, being honest on everything wouldn’t be really useful.


The filly giggled at the sight, and, for some reason, started to poke the diaper, before asking

if Twilight wanted to play a game.


Twilight felt a sense of embarrassment and insecurity, similar to the one she had felt when she had come in Ponyville to recruit the Bearers of the Elements. However, at the same time, she felt it different. she scolded herself


“Come on, Twilight, it should not be that hard. You managed to defeat the Chaos made flesh, you cannot be afraid of a filly! If you don’t know how to act, just imagine it’s Pinkie Pie, but without the reality-bending powers!”


Smiling awkwardly, Twilight asked Lex Populi for a second. Done that, Twilight started to write up her annotations about foals’ behaviour and speech patterns.


“They tend to use the Argumentum ad Nauseam to get what they want. They tend to exaggerate the gestures. They may not be aware of the incoming punishments. They tend to change their mind often.”


Once she wrote that, Twilight followed Lex Populi’s request of playing.