//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 - Heartfelt Returns // Story: The Princess and the Foals // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 18 Heartfelt Returns _____________________________________________________________________ Twilight thanked the mare at the front desk and headed towards room 322 in the recovery wing, Diamond Tiara following beside her, looking a little uncertain whether she should be here or not. Twilight could sense the unease from the filly, as well as the unease from Sunset and the worry from Scootaloo. These were the two only friends she’d ever had in the orphanage and for all they knew, they might be horrified by what had happened to the two of them. As Twilight walked into the shared room, she extended her wings, preventing the younger of her company from seeing. The sight hurt her heart. Two small ponies were lying in the beds, looking like they’d been trhough worst than Sombra. The first bed held a pink unicorn filly. Her mane was a bright blue, like the ocean. Her mane was gone in several places, as if it had been torn out. Her right forelimb was in a cast and sling. Twilight shivered as she saw a large chuck of the poor thing’s horn tip was gone, looking as if it had been ripped off. In the other bed was a small Pegasus colt with a light-blue coat and a white mane. He also had a foreleg in a cast and sling, only the other foreleg. His mane was okay, but his wings... Twilight shuddered. His right wing was gone, only a small bandaged stump showing where it had been left and the other looked badly damaged, wrapped in bandages and gaws. Along with these other injuries, both young ponies had many cuts and bruises. Twilight had to stop herself from sobbing as she took in the poor state the two were in. “Mama!” Scootaloo’s voice pulled Twilight back to reality as the little Pegasus tried to push the lavender wing obstructing her view away. “Let me see!” Twilight grimaced and slowly lowered her wings, letting all three younger ponies see what she had. Diamond and Sunset gasped in horror. Scootaloo just stared, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh! Your Highness?” Twilight turned to see Nurse Red Heart standing behind them, some gaws on a tray she was carrying on her back. She was staring at the alicorn with great surprise. “Wh-what are you doing here?” Twilight sighed and pointed at hoof at the two unconscious foals in the beds. “They were my daughter, Scootaloo’s best friends, back the orphanage. When we heard they were here...” she trailed off, letting Red Heart fill in the blanks. “I understand, Princess,” she nodded, gently pushing passed Twilight, trotting up to the bed. She set the tray down and started removing the bandages around Gentle Skies’ remaining wing, to replace the bandages. The young colt stirred and slowly opened his eyes. “Good afternoon, Gentles Skies,” Red Heart said, her voice gentle and calm. “How are you doing today?” “Better,” he said quietly, wincing as he moved the stump once the bandages were off. Another stirring came from the other bed and filly opened her eyes, then sat up slowly. “And how about you, Sweet Dreams?” Red Heart asked, quickly turning to her before returning to her work on Gentle Skies’ stump. “Been worse,” she said in a slightly hoarse voice. She tried to use her magic, but her horn just fizzled a little. “Good thing I wasn’t planning on being a magic user my whole life.” A sniffling sound drew both young ponies attention to the four standing in the doorway. Most importantly... “Princess Twilight Sparkle?!” they both cried, their eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. Twilight chuckled a little. She’d had a feeling that would be their response. “Hello, my little ponies,” she said, stepping up to beds, Diamond following behind. “You are Sweet Dreams and Gentle Skies, correct? My daughter has been wanting to see you.” They both blinked, confused. “Your daughter?” Twilight chuckled and turned a little to her right, revealing to the two foals in the carrier. Both young ponies frowned confused. They didn’t know the foal with the yellow coat, but the one with an orange caot and purple mane looked familiar. “Hey, guys,” Scootaloo said, foicing a smile as her tears ran down her face. “I know you from somewhere,” Sweet Dreams said, putting her good hoof to her chin, frowning. “But I don’t remember ever seeing a foal like you at the orphanage. But you still seem familiar.” “Well, she is a lot smaller than when the three of you were last together,” Twilight said, giving a warm smile. “Back then, she was about your age.” The two ponies glanced at each other, confused by the princess’s comment. Then their eyes grew wide again and they both turned to the small orange foal, their mouths hanging open. “Scootaloo?” Scootaloo blushed. “Yeah. Hey guys.” Both seemed at a loss for words. “But— What— Huh?” was all they could manage. Twilight had to hold back her chuckles. Even Nurse Red Heart was doing her best not to snicker. Twilight explained the events after they’d last seen Scootaloo. It took a while, since they kept interrupting every few minutes, but about a quarter of an hour later, she’d told them everything. “Wow, Scoots,” Sweet Dreams said, smiling. “You really got the best mom possible.” “We’re happy for you, Scoots,” Gentle Skies said, grinning. “Out of all us orphans, you deserve the princess as your mother the most.” Scootaloo looked down, tears in her eyes as she sat on Twilight’s lap alongside her little sister. “I’m sowwy.” “What for, getting a family before we could?” Dreams asked, shaking her head. “No need, Scoots. We’ll find our family when we find them. You just got yours sooner.” “Plus, you get to grow up with your family,” Skies added, winking. “You're starting from a foal. It’s almost like you never needed adopting in the first place.” Scootaloo still looked upset. “B-but Fiwm Hoof huwt you becawse o’ me,” she sniffled, letting her tears fall. “If you han’a hewped me, you wou’n be hewe.” “Don’t, Scoots!” Skies said firmly, sahking his head. “If this is about my wing, it was a lost cause long ago. They just didn’t care enough about us. you’re not to blame for any of this. Yeah, Firm Hoof beat us worse than usual after we helped you escape, but that just meant we got more of the beating we would’ve gotten later anyway. He was a jerk.” “You’re not to blame for how we got like this, Scoots,” Dreams said, smiling. “This was all Firm Hoof and those heartless caretakers at the orphanage. It not for the few nice ones, none of us would’ve survived this long.” Scootaloo calmed down and smiled. “Well, you won’t have to worry about that any longer,” Twilight said proudly. “Firm Hoof and all his cruel associates have been fired and much kinder ponies are now running the orphanage.” They both nodded, grinning. After that, Scootaloo told her friends all about her new life as Twilight’s daughter. They both laughed and cooed, mainly because she was so cute and it was hard for them not to D’aaaaw at Scootaloo’s foal talk slurs. At one point the sound of triplicate hissing came and Twilight knew it was time for two foals and a young filly to be changed. Diamond had blushed immensely as Twilight changed her along with the foals, but said nothing. Twilight saw no reason for her to be embarrassed. She couldn’t help it. This was out of her control, meaning it was nothing to be ashamed of. After an hour it was time the four ponies to leave and Twilight, after letting Scootaloo hug her friends, levitated both her daughters back into the carrier. “Hey, Princess?” Sweet Dreams asked, sounding anxious. “Yes?” Twilight turned her neck to look back at the small unicorn. “When we get better, can we foalsit Sunset and Scootaloo sometimes?” she asked, the look of wanting something badly strong in her features. Twilight chuckled. “As long as you get permission from the caretakers first, you’re more than welcome to foalsit, both of you.” They both punched the air with their good hoof shouting, “Yes!” Twilight, her daughters and Diamond chuckled and headed out. When they got back to the library it was close to dinner time. Luckily, Spike had already prepared dinner. Gem-filled dishes for himself, including ruby and hay sandwiches and a few opals for desert, while the pony dishes were several salads and a few dandelion sandwiches. As they sat down, Sunset and Scootaloo sitting in their seat, looking annoyed that they still couldn’t eat the things all those around them were eating, Twilight noticed Tiara was looking at her sandwich with a little hesitancy. “Is everything okay, Diamond?’ she asked and all looked to Diamond, who winced at the attention she’d attracted. She nodded, too her sandwich in her hooves and took a bite. Several chews later, she suddenly stopped and started crying. “Diamond?” Twilight moved a wing over her, while Diamond continued to sob. “Is something wrong?” “Hey, I didn’t make it taste bad, did I?” Spike asked, genuanly worried if he’d done something accidently, to cause Tiara to start crying after only a few bites. Tiara turned and buried her muzzle into Twilight’s fur. “It— It’s not that,” she whimpered, shaking her head. “Den wha is it?” Sunset asked, rasing an eyebrow. “This is the first time,” Tiara sobbed, sniffling to stop her nose running, “I ever knew... food could taste so good.” Confusion went throughout the kitchen as all present let out a loud, “Huh?” Scootaloo scratched her head. “But, down’t you haw aww dose pewsonal chefs? I tought dey were da bes’ coowks in Equestwia?” “I think I understand,” Twilight said softly, stroking Tiara’s mane. “You and your father don’t often get to eat meals together, do you, Diamond?” The filly shook her head. “After all that happened back at the hospital, you felt like you’d finally gotten to feel what a family’s like again, didn’t you?” Twilight’s voice was soft and gentle. Being a mother for so long now had helped her learn how to deal with young ponies in a she never had known before. Tiara nodded. After Tiara had calmed down they finished dinner, Twilight fed Sunset and Scootaloo, bathed her daughters and took them up to bed while Diamond bathed herself in the shower. Her foals had barely touched the mattress of their crib before they were both sound asleep. Twilight levitated a blanket onto them and went back downstairs. Tiara was slipping on her new diaper, tapping it the sides down. Twilight was impressed she was doing this on her own. Maybe it was her way of trying to keep her independence strong. “Ready for bed?” the alicorn asked as she walked in. Tiara nodded and got into bed, letting Twilight levitated the covers to her chin. “Um... Your Highness?” Diamond asked, a little hesitantly. “Twilight, Diamond,” the lavender mare corrected her. “There’s no need to use my title. Twilight will do just fine.” “Okay... um, Twilight,” she said, looking down. “Taking care of me til my dad gets back isn’t a burden on you, is it?” Twilight blinked, then shook her head, smiling. “No, Diamond. It’s not a burden. I’m happy to look after you while your dad’s away. Stop worry and enjoy the things you can, okay? If you do that, life will be a whole better than you could ever imagine.” Tiara looked unsure, but then sighed and nodded. “Okay, Your High— I mean, Twilight. I’ll try.” Twilight nodded and turned to leave. “That’s all I ask. Good night, Diamond Tiara.” Tiara yawned. “Good night... Twi... light.” Twilight gently closed the door, so as not to wake the sleeping filly. She returned to her room, glanced at her sleeping daughters, then got into bed herself. As she turned out the light, Spike’s snoring told her he’d already fallen asleep. Chuckling, she laid down, closed her eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.