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Prologue1,099 words
To Find A Foal1,103 words
To Teach A Teacher1,285 words
A Comforting Confrontation1,079 words
Starlight's Ruminations1,434 words
Turning Back The Clock1,448 words
Playing Favorites1,038 words
One Mare and A Baby1,123 words
Trix of the Trade1,474 words
Coming Around1,650 words

One Mare and A Baby

As she walked over to Starlight's room, Twilight tried to piece together in her head just how today was going to go without Sunburst. Flurry could get fussy at times, but the foal loved spending time with her aunt, and she had to admit, Twilight spoiled her to no end. Twilight was beginning to wonder if Starlight's regression spell was complex enough to include stranger anxiety, or if it was something else altogether.

She quietly opened Starlight's bedroom door, where the infant foal was just beginning to yawn as she woke up. She rubbed her eyes, and looked up at Twilight.

"Well, good morning, little one. Have a good night's rest?" She asked as she levitated her out of the crib, and was overcome the the unmistakable smell of a dirty diaper. She carried her over to the changing table, and had wipes, powder, and a fresh diaper ready and waiting. By the time she was clean, Starlight was fully awake and alert, and was looking around the room for Sunburst.

"Sorry, sweetie. He had to leave, foal emergency up in the Crystal Empire." Twilight told her, as she placed her on her back and started to walk to the dinging room for breakfast. Starlight seemed content on the way to the dining room, but when they arrived, and Twilight got her fastened into her high chair, she noticed that Sunburst wasn't in here either, and started to get fussy as Twilight quickly prepared a bowl of oatmeal. Hoping to not get a repeat of yesterday morning, Twilight got a spoonful and levitated it over to Starlight, who proceeded to repeat yesterday morning's ordeal, and turn her tightly closed lips away from the offered spoonful.

"Come on now, Starlight. You're not going to do this again, are you? Growing foals need their breakfast. Open up." The Princess told her, but Starlight wasn't having it.

Rather than get frustrated, or get another glob of oatmeal thrown at her, she remembered the foal rearing books she read up on in preparation for looking after Flurry Heart, and decided to try a certain approach. She placed the spoon back in the bowl, took a step back, and turned her back. She remember that sometimes foals wanted to prove they could do something themselves, and once they realized they couldn't were then more receptive to getting the helping hooves they needed.

But instead of hearing whining or crying after a few moments of silence from Starlight, what she heard instead was the all too familiar sound of magic resonating from a unicorn horn, and turned to see that the foal Starlight had the feeding spoon in her magical grasp, and was now, quite successfully, feeding herself. She took a bite, swallowed, and smirked at the deadpan Princess.

"I get it, you don't need me at all..." Twilight groaned. But then, she thought of an answer. She fired up her own horn, and fired off a nullifying spell, which floated towards Starlight's forehead and dissipated. It only took a moment to take effect, and once it did, Starlight's magical aura faded, and the spoon dropped back into the bowl with a plopping sound.

"There. Now you can let me feed you, or go hungry." Twilight said, once again picking up the spoon with oatmeal and offering it to Starlight, who crossed her front legs, but nonetheless opened her mouth in defeat.

The nullification spell would be effective for around thirty to forty-five minutes, after which she would have to recast it, but for the time being, Starlight was half-content to be fed by Twilight. Afterward, her face was wiped clean, and she was lifted up from the high chair and placed on Twilight's back as they headed for the library, where the playpen had been set up. Setting Starlight among the plushies and blocks once again, Twilight recalled another passage from her book, and decided that she wasn't going to be content to just sit there and watch like yesterday. Instead, she got in the playpen along with Starlight sat across from her between the pile of blocks in the center, and split them evenly among them.

When she saw Starlight place one with her hooves, then place another one on top, then another, each more carefully, she realized she was trying to build a tower as high as she could. Also using her hooves to promote fair play, Twilight also began a tower of her own. Their movements became slower and more carefully planned the higher they got, and once Starlight's got to nearly above her head, she paused her efforts to go get a wooden stool to continue as her reserve blocks slowly ran dry. When Starlight was finally out of blocks, her tower proudly stood at twenty blocks tall, and so did Twilight's, who had one left in reserve.

Looking down at the block in her hoof, Twilight took it in her magic, and levitated it over to Starlight who was standing on the stool. The foal took it in her hoof, reached up, and nudged it into place, making her tower 21 tall. Twilight playfully clapped with her hooves, and then saw Starlight's horn flicker back to life. The foal quickly realized this, and before Twilight could conjure up another nullification spell, Starlight fired off a simple 'dis' or push spell, and it was aimed directly at Twilight's tower.

A magical bolt of dis would have done very little to a full grown pony, but the alicorn's tower was another story. It wobbled momentarily, then came toppling down, raining wooden blocks all around Twilight, and the foal giggled and enthusiastically clapped. Twilight looked at her annoyingly.

"I think somepony needs a timeout." Twilight said, firing up her horn. But before she could cast her nullification spell, Starlight winked out of the library, and Twilight heard giggling echo out in the hallway. Immediately, she was reminded of how Flurry Heart led Shining Armor on a chase throughout the library. The Princess gave chase, following the giggling out into the foyer, where Starlight was having the time of her life sliding down the left banister. But as she reached the bottom with Twilight hot on the steps behind her, she winked out again before she landed on the tile floor.

As Twilight listened for where her laughs would come from this time, what she heard instead was a knock at the front doors.

"For Celestia's sake, this could not come at a worse time..." She groaned, walking towards the main entrance to the castle. Her horn lit up, and the doors glowed and opened to reveal one of the last ponies she wanted to deal with right now.

"T-Trixie??? Listen, this really isn't a good time."

Author's Note:

Apologies for how long it took me to get this chapter out. Life has been busy this week.

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