//------------------------------// // Celebration // Story: Tears of a Foal // by Rocinante //------------------------------// - - - ch 28 - - - “Please hold still,” Rarity said looming over me with fabric and needle floating in all directions. “I’m almost done.” “You said that an hour ago...” “More like fifteen minutes, and it’s taking longer because you’re squirming.” Locking up all four legs, I did my very best to hold still, but it’s a battle of will against this energetic body. “This body,” I say that like I remember what was before it; like any other form wouldn’t be alien to me. Closing my eyes, I focus on the memories. There’s so few now, only a sense of time. I clung to them so hard, yet they still slipped away. Somethings remain. Walking, I mostly remember walking. Tending the sick, and playing my flute. There’s smiles and tears too. Echos of war, and the crying of babies occasionally haunt me. It’s what I don’t remember that really bothers me. Mom says it’s okay to forget, as long as you know they touched your life. “Remember the feeling after you forget the face,” she tells me. Metal shoes on marble tell me Mom or one of my aunts just walked into the room. “Wool gathering?” Aunt Luna asked. “Baaa,” I bleat out in my best sheep impersonation. Luna laughed. “That suit is going to look very nice for the ceremony.” “Thank you,” Rarity said. With a flash of her magic, all the formal clothing hanging on me pulled away, and was deposited on a nearby ponyquin. “I just need to take up a hem, and it’s ready.” “Can I go now?” All my friends were at the castle today. Court started at three, and the noon bell had struck a little while ago. I wanted to go play with them before I had to dress for court. It would be all formal clothing and strange food after that. “I’m finished with you, but ask your aunt Luna if she needs you for anything,” Rarity said, shooing me towards the door. It was funny. Everypony knew my story; that I was older than all but a few ponies, but still they treated me like the foal I looked like. Not as some insult, but rather a loving gesture to honor the start of my new life here. Stopping in front of Luna, I looked up to her for direction, but she just stepped aside, motioning for me to run along. Taking the permission, I trotted into the hallway, then looked out one of the massive windows that overlooked the courtyard. It was a nice day. The snow was deep and the sun bright. It had been fun watching the Hearth's Warming decorations go up. After dinner tonight, we were going to go out caroling. Trotting down the hall, I peeked into one of the many offices. Seeing it empty, I snuck in, and found a quill and paper. “Where is everyone?” I wrote. My script still looked horrible. Getting smooth letters with my magic was far harder than Mom made it look. I’d tried writing by mouth, but that was completely illegible. Note in hoof, I rolled it up, then focused on my magic. Moving things with magic as nothing more than thought, but spells were something completely different. I only had a few mastered so far; and by a few, I mean two. One was for drying my fur, and the other let me send letters to Spike. My mind twisted into the spell’s shape, then emerald magic consumed the note. Once that was gone, I looked around the office a bit more, till I found the inevitable stash of candy on one of the drawers. Taking a salt taffy as my prize, I wandered back into the hall, and waited for Spike to answer. It was a very convenient spell, though Spike kinda hated it. He described it as a hiccup, but twenty times worse. Still, he insisted I use it when I needed. Said one wasn’t really bad, it only hurt if he had to receive more than one in an hour. A moment later, and I felt that strange tingle of Spike’s return letter. A flash of magic, and my note was back in front of me, now with Spike’s answer of “We’re in the South Courtyard,” added to it. Speaking of script writing, Spike’s script was always perfect. If he were a pony, I bet he'd get his mark in it. Looking at my own flank, I scowled. I’m pretty sure I should have one of my own by now. Mom says not to worry about it. That it’ll come when I’m ready. I want to go back to medicine, but Mom wants my reading and math to get better before I try. Spike said I should just spend a week with Twilight, and hang out with some friends of his. Apparently I’d get all the chances I would ever want to practice my first aid. A shortcut through the kitchen put me near the Castle’s front yard. I heard Vellum’s laughter as soon as I stepped outside, followed by Tiger’s voice. Moving as fast as I dared over the icy cobblestone, I rushed to join them in whatever they had gotten into. In a few hours, I would officially become Princess Celestia’s first son; Prince Clover. Till then, I was just a foal, playing with his friends. Not that anything was going to change after today, but it was fun to pretend I had a reason to play all the harder. Maybe I’d steal a kiss from Primrose too.