As per her custom, Twilight rolled out of bed, and went to the bathroom to do her morning ritual before breakfast.
As she brushed her teeth, Twilight vaguely felt that she was forgetting something, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.
Once she was out of the bathroom, she dressed in her "Kindergarten uniform", composed by the smock and diaper, once done Twilight went downstairs to the dining room where her breakfast was awaiting.
Her father walked into the dining room with a newspaper in his magical aura.
"Good day, father."
"Good day, Twilight, my dear," he said with an unusually content tone of voice. "Are you happy that this is the end of your punishment?"
Suddenly Twilight realized what that feeling was.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Yes, of course I’m happy my punishment is over," Twilight went to sit down on the table, while Sedula brought in the tray with the coffee and the brioches, "but, at the same time, I am a little bit sad that I will have to deal with saying goodbye to Lex Populi and the other foals I've grown fond of."
Night Light slightly cringed, as he sat down and took a brioche from the tray. "Uuummm... Okay. I can kind of understand you don't like leaving some ponies behind," he said "however, you must do it sometimes. I mean, look at me and Velvet. Once we loved each other and were on thought alike, but now, while we may still love each other, we couldn’t be any more distant."
Twilight took a cup of coffee, feeling a tangle in her throat at the comparison.
"That is very different, father. Velvet was objectively insane and a danger..."
"And she had to go. In this case, you like each other, but you have to leave now," he interrupted after taking a bite from his brioche "just get over this 're-discover foalhood' matter, and go back to your glorious present without any doubts. If you really want to keep in touch, write to her."
Twilight sighed as she took a sip of her coffee. He really could've said that less heartlessly. Sure, she had grown fond of the foals, but she’d never said she wanted to be a, like her friends called them, “Forever Foal” with them.
"Even after three months, you still can't wrap your head around it, can you?" she said, before taking one of the pastry creations. "But your suggestion of write to her sounds very good. I will keep that in mind."
Silence lingered as the family ate their respective breakfasts. Night Light kept his face towards the newspaper, an occasional crinkle of paper heard whenever a page was turned.
Twilight, on the other hand, simple ate her meal, trying to not think too much about the upcoming event of that day.
"Well, I think it's time for you to go now," Night Light said suddenly from behind the wall of words printed on paper.
Twilight got up, and walked into the kitchen, taking a quick gander at the clock, a mere quarter to eight.
"Bye father, bye Sedula, have a nice day!" Twilight called out as she headed out of the garden and down the familiar road leading to the Kindergarten. Ten minutes of walking later, she arrived in front of the Kindergarten's building, where a big group of foals was entering while waving goodbye to their parents. Twilight, like the usual, joined the crowd of little foals and fillies heading for class, where Lux, Nutriz and all of her classmates were waiting.
So far, Twilight found nothing unusual. However, once she got a look inside the room, she saw that the room was dressed up, with yellow and green garlands hanging on the ceiling, and a small table with red paper cloth sat in the middle of the room, its surface full of in bowls of snacks and juice boxes. Twilight couldn't help but smile a bit at the going away party of sorts.
“Surprise!” Lux Foal exclaimed before giggling, “Do you like it? I’ve organized it all after Lex Populi, Olive Oil and many others of your classmates asked for it.”
“Yes, I do like it!” Twilight exclaimed with a chuckle. “I must thank them; this lifted my spirit so much!”
Lex ran up and gave Twilight a hug on Twilight’s foreleg, causing the mare to recoil a little for the impact.
“Suwpwise, Twiligh!” The filly said, as she got hugged back by a giggling Twilight.
“A little bird told me that you thought this up because I’m leaving!”
“Had to say goodbye to big sis,” Lex said, before frowning a little “Would have be sad if not.”
“Aaaw, how sweet of you,” Twilight said cooing a little, before breaking the hug. “But let’s go on and enjoy our last day together here, shall we?”
Lex Populi nodded with a smile, before running off to the toy boxes.
Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she joined Lex, Olive, Pearly and several other foals in the party games arranged, inlucding pin the tail on the pony. Twilight had quickly glanced around upon seeing said game, to make sure she wasn’t going to receive a surprise pink party pony party crasher that had an slightly worrying eagerness for it.
However, upon seeing no sign of Pinkie Pie, Twilight had relaxed a bit more and joined in with the others.
The game ended with Olive being the winner, Twilight being second and Lex and Pearly tying for third, while Orvosti was last, somehow getting his tail pin pinned to the wall near the toilets.
Twilight looked around as all the foals played, having more fun than usual; ate the snacks and so on.
It made her wonder if, maybe, she would have liked being a Kindergarten teacher herself, before she remembered that it was more than simply teaching foals that would be required and shelved the idea away.
A small tug on her leg made her look down to see Lex looking up at her, a few tears in her eyes betraying the smile on her face.
The mare leaned down and hugged her honorary little sister.
“I promise, Lexy, I’ll write to you as often as I can. Your mommy can read them to you and she can write what you want to say to me in your own letters.” Twilight said.
Lex looked up, her eyes wide. “We can do dat?”
Twilgiht chuckled and ruffled the filly’s mane before nuzzling her. “Definitely. And I promise to come for visits when I can. I want to keep in touch with you, Lexy. Nothing will ever change that, little sister.”
Lex gave a small squeal as she tried to pat away Twilight’s playful noggie and gave a wide grin at being called “little sister”.
“Now, come on,” Twilight said, nodding to the table where many foals were enjoying the snacks provided. “If we don’t hurry all the snack will be gone and we won’t get any.”
Lex nodded and hurried towards the table, Twilight following behind, a small, sad smile on her face as she realized she wouldn’t get to see that happiness from the filly for a long while.
The school day soon ended, Twilight taking one last look at her “Goodbye Party” before leaving for the last time. As she walked out of the gate towards her home, she noticed that Lex and her mother, Fairy Floss were still there, talking to each other, or, more accurately, with Fairy stroking Lex’s back and Lex looking down at the ground.
Noticing the sadness of the little filly, Twilight, desiring to rectify Lex’s mood, walked up to the two.
“Good day, Ma’am Fariy Floss,” Twilight greeted, looking down at Lex with a curious eye. “What’s the matter with your daughter?”
Fairy Floss hushed her offspring, before turning her head to Twilight. “She’s just sad you have to go is all.”
“I kind of share the feeling too, to be honest,” Twilight said with an awkward smile.
“What can I do to make her feel better,” Twilight thought. “I already told her we’d talk via letters, but...” she blinked, before realizing something she’d forgotten about their communications arrangement .
An idea from earlier that day returned in Twilight’s mind.
“The address! I haven’t gotten her address. Well, now’s as good a time as any."
Thought that, Twilight smiled brightly, and ruffled Lex’s mane as she looked into Fairy Floss’ eyes.
“Could you please tell me your address? I’d like to become pen pals with your daughter.”
The mare gestured with her front hooves towards Twilight.
“Sure. It’s Burana Street n° 21. Yours, Twilight?”
Twilight thought for a moment and replied. “Romea Street n° 1, Ponyville.”
Lex’s frown suddenly turned upside-down at the mention of the two addresses, as she hugged Twilight’s leg once more.
“Can I send dwawings?”
“Sure, why not Lexy?” Twilight said “I’d love to receive them. Oh, and letters are welcome too!”
The filly giggled, as she detached herself from Twilight and started to prance away, waving bye-bye in the meanwhile.
Twilight felt happy as she turns her gaze towards the castle in the distance. Without delay she headed off to home.
Twilight reached her house’s gate, and rang the bell. As usual Sedula answered. However, as soon as Twilight started to walk on the stone path to the house, Sedula said something that gave her reason to pause.
“Miss Twilight, Her Majesty Princess Celestia is waiting in the house for you. She didn't tell us why. She says it’s a private affair between you and her.”
“Why does Celestia want to see me in my house?” she thought as she nodded to Sedula and stepped in the entrance hall. “To officialize that the end of my punishment is here, okay, but why is she being secretive about it?”
As she thought that, Twilight walked upstairs to the dining-living room and there she saw Princess Celestia sitting on one of the yellow couches and sipping a cup of a hot drink.
“Hello Twilight, did you enjoy your last day of Kindergarten?” Celestia asked with a motherly and yet unsettling tone.
Twilight, sensing something akin to Velvet’s madness, took the necessary cautions.
“Princess Celestia, my last day in the Kindergarten was very pleasurable. However, the implications you are making about it are most likely incorrect.”
Celestia looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, before turning to Twilight, and saying with a mellifluous tone, “Oh, and what would those be?”
“That I am interested in becoming your little and precious filly to take care of. As much you would like it to be reality, and as much it sounds tempting to my ears, I have a duty and a whole range of pleasures accessible only by begin an adult, and I don’t feel that those pleasures can be ignored so easily.”
“But Twilight, you will have more time to do the remaining pleasures, and you will get your innocence back! Would not that be wonderful?” Princess Celestia said, grinning widely to Twilight, her voice still mellow.
But Twilight did not feel the charm of the voice. If anything, it reminded her of all the horrible things she’d thought the princess could’ve have been involved into during the time of her punishment.
Twilight took a deep breath and faced her mentor.
“Princess, I am not a Forever Foal, nor do I wish to be a foal again. Indeed, my time spent with my new foal friends was enjoyable when I didn’t have to worry about my mother, and I even gained a sisterly relationship with one of the fillies, but I am not and never will be your little foal.
I have responsibilities, ones you gave me, I might add, to attend to and I will not throw them away to role play, or, worse, regress. I also have Spike to think about. He is like my son and a son cannot be cared for when his mother is acting like a child.
Even then, are you so sure that I would not grow bored of those activities, without any drive to wish to go back to them? Are you so sure I will not feel regrets in not doing anything? Begin completely free of workload, and thus responsibility, and, thus, without any of the benefits coming with it? Are you so sure I would sacrifice the friendships I’ve worked hard to forge to be more than a mere duty to the realm?
On top of that, you say I will get my innocence back? My innocence is still intact and with me, princess. It always will be, as it is with all ponies. Aging is a natural part of life and I am not going to go against the natural order just so you can spoil me like a foal.
Also, I have my concerns that you have decided, surely against better judgment, that the innocence and overall the life of a colt, his name Orvosti Ostoba, yet to be mature, was less worthy than the hopeless pursue of my acceptance of regression and return to a parody of innocence. So, that would make you the last pony able to speak on the subject." Twilight said, before adding with a little smirk
"But I am certain that you know nothing about it, and thusly discharging you form this accusation, right?"
Celestia’s smile cracked a bit as she replied. “But you would be taken care for, and if you accept, your mind will be free of every truly negative thought and any worry. It would be the best thing that a pony can experience! Also, how did that colt lose his innocence anyway?”
Twilight inflated her chest. “It would not be, for that inactivity of both intellectual and physical variety is dangerous and sign of foolishness. Also, to lose my independence, begin forced to be taken care of, is the worst thing that could happen to me. Also, if I am powerless, you will be weakened, ” Then Twilight leaned towards Celestia “after all, two Elements of Harmony do not accept to be controlled by the same master.”
The princess looked at her sides worriedly, and, with it, she rocked the teacup, thus spilling the hot liquid all over the place. “Aehm… the Elements were not exactly my first thought, when I proposed this... also because I was preparing myself to find a replacement for them anyway.”
“They should have,” Twilight said “after all, they are the first line of defense when it comes to most threats.”
There was no reply for few minutes, as Celestia blinked and stopped the rocking motion for remain standstill.
Then she closed her eyes and sighed.
“Are you certain, Twilight, that is what you want? To remain an adult with responsibilities, duties, and everything in-between?” Celestia said after sighing.
Twilight nodded. “Yes, princess. You told me when you made me your apprentice that I had a great future ahead of me, but I cannot reached said future by living in the past. We must move forward, both of us.”
Twilight sighed and shook her head.
“Besides, I must now watch over my mother and see that she does not deteriorate due to her new line of work, but gets better. Being back in Ponyville, I will be able to keep a closer eye on her and let my father know of her progress.”
“Not to mention keep my library doors locked whenever I go to sleep to prevent her from trying to pull me back into it,” she thought nervously.
Celestia sat for several moments, keeping her eyes closed. After a time, she finally spoke. “If that is your answer, Twilight, I suppose I have no other choice.”
Celestia got up, walked towards Twilight, leaned down and nuzzled her, like usual.
Twilight returned the gesture; sad to have dampened her mentor’s hopes, but glad they could put it behind them, all the same.
“And, I promise I did not know what Orvosti’s mother was doing to him until now. I promise she will be dealt with and he will not have to worry any further.”
Twilight was glad the young colt wouldn’t have to be put through that anymore and thanked her mentor for it, keeping to herself how glad she was to hearthe alicorn had known nothing of it til this morning and had played no part in it beforehoof.
Princess Celestia got up from her couch, and nodded, as she left the house with her head lowered, while Twilight went upstairs.
As Twilight went upstairs, and gave a quick look outside the window, she saw Celestia stopping at her house’s gate.
“I do look forward to your next letter. “ Princess Celestia shouted, before opening her wings wide and taking off towards the castle with her usual grace and style.
Twilight sighed and headed up to her room to begin packing for her trip home. As much as she was worried about whether she’d have to keep an eye out for her mother to stop her from being pulled into being treated as a foal again, she was glad to be heading home at long last, as she put off her “Kindergarten Uniform” for the last time, and put her few things she had brought from Ponyville at the start of her four months of punishment in the suitcase.
After the four-and-half-hour long train ride, courtesy of a delay, Twilight arrived at Ponyville’s station. Taking a quick look out the window she could already see some her friends awaiting on the platform. grabbing her luggage in her magic, Twilight jumped down on the platform while the announcer kept repeating “Please mind the gap. Please mind the gap…” like a broken record.
Twilight located her friends and walked towards them. Better yet, she attempted to, since Rainbow Dash and Rarity had rushed to Twilight while the others followed not too far behind.
“Welcome back, egghead!” Rainbow Dash cheerfully greeted.
“It’s good to be home with you again. I’m sure Spike missed me too.”
Rarity grinned “Actually, he didn’t. He kept trying to date me more and more, until he started to live in a trashcan with the rats. To be perfectly frank, it was disgusting, so I had to force him to stay with FLuttershy, since the substitute librarian was a saurophobe.”
Twilight at first blinked at hearing about Spike’s odd behaviou,r before chuckling a bit “Oh Spike is rather silly at times.”
She looked around for a second noting the absence of a certain pink party pony.
“Where’s Pinkie?”
Everybody started to grin awkwardly and look away, expressing that something was boiling in the pot.
Everybody, but Applejack, who, after looking around, said.
“Ah dunno. That girl has been actin’ weird since yer mother arrived. Ah mean, she started a shop for adults actin’ like young ones, and she started to work in more and more.”
Twilight nodded.
“Yes, I’m aware, but…”
Then the sense of the phrase came to Twilight’s mind.
“Wait you said she started to dedicate more and more time to that business? That means…” Twilight’s pupils shrunk to pinheads “Oh no.”
“Twiiiillllyyy….” a familiar voice echoed from the distance.
“It seems that, soon, my mother will see a squared Sun…”
Velvet, jumping from behind a bench ran up and gave her daughter a bear hug. “Welcome home.”
Twilight groaned “One more word, and you are off to a mental hospital. I will repeat and spell it: one… more…word.”
Velvet chuckled.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Twily..."
Twilight prepared herself to shout the banishment words, before Velvet could continue.
"My therapist says that, as long I keep going and take my pills, you are not at risk of motherly love."
Twilight smiled to Velvet, as her mind sang to itself a song of celebration. Song that also worked as statment of her new mentality.