Chapter 16
Cadance flipped through the magazine while Midnight talked, only half-listening. She paused at an ad for a new perfume. It promised to get the wearer the kind of attention a Princess deserved, and the model was a passable copy of Cadance herself, though without a horn.
"I hope my flank doesn't look that big," Cadance muttered. She looked back to her cutie mark. It didn't look as round from this angle.
"So what should I do?" Midnight asked, finally. Cadance winced and wished she'd been listening to what Midnight had been talking about. Midnight and Sunset could both talk for hours about problems that were either so simple they just needed to stop worrying and do what they already planned to do, or complex and impossible to understand unless you were a scholar of some obscure part of magical trivia. And there was often no way to know which until after you'd already agreed to help and then somepony drags out a blackboard and math and you're doomed.
"I think," Cadance said, carefully. "You should talk to your mom, and spend some time considering all the options before you make a decision on anything important."
"You weren't listening," Midnight said, flatly.
"Does my flank really look this big?" Cadance asked, turning the magazine around.
"No, but big flanks are the 'in' thing this season, according to the cover," Midnight noted.
"Feathers!" Cadance muttered. "I lose either way."
"And don't change the subject. I just want to know what you did to get through puberty," Midnight groaned. "This is awful! I'm sore every morning, boys keep looking at me like I've got something on my face, and my fetlocks are growing so quickly I have to trim them every day!"
"Your mother is having growth spurts too," Cadance noted. "I suppose she was a little short for a unicorn."
"I tried asking her for help and she said she just drank a lot of strong herbal tea and never left her room."
"Midnight, when I went through puberty it included growing a new body part and having to figure out how to use magic," Cadance smiled. "Trust me, my advice is even less useful than anything Sunset would tell you."
"That's what I was afraid of," Midnight sighed. "I guess that means my best bet is to use my backup plan."
"If you're going to ask Celestia, I doubt she even remembers what puberty was like," Cadance pointed out. "I can't imagine her as a little filly. She's just so big and white and big!"
"She is big and white," Midnight agreed. "But my backup plan is sort of a workaround to the whole issue. Puberty only lasts a few years, so all I really have to do is wait for it to end."
"That's a very mature way to look at things," Cadance smiled.
"Right. So then you agree that using an age spell is the next logical step," Midnight nodded. "I can just skip ahead five years or so and problem solved."
"Midnight-"
"No, no, I know what you're going to say." Midnight held up a hood. "That should logically also reduce my expected future lifespan. However, what I can do is wait a further five years, then just use a second age spell to put me back to my 'proper' age. It will make birthday parties a little awkward for a while, but it's basically foalproof."
"Midnight..."
"Get it? Foalproof? It's a joke about age spells."
"Midnight, puberty isn't some scary thing that you have to run away from or avoid," Cadance smiled. "You know, someday you're going to look back on when you were this age and you're going to wonder what you were ever worried about."
Midnight frowned. "Cadance, you went to Canterlot High. I want you to tell me that being a teenager and having to deal with all of that wasn't absolutely the worst thing that has ever happened to you."
"Actually, the worst thing that ever happened to me was this one time I was sitting on the stairs in the east gallery and I put my head through the posts so I could get a better look at something through the railing. I got stuck for hours!" Cadance rubbed her neck. "Most of the guards were too afraid to touch a princess and Celestia was away helping with aid to Burrexico."
"..." Midnight tilted her head. "And that was the worst thing?"
"I had to go to the bathroom the whole time! Eventually one of the maids found a bucket of grease and managed to get me free. Learn from my mistakes, Midnight. Never stick anything in a place that's too small for it, and carry plenty of lubrication just in case."
"You know, I am old enough to know you're teasing me when you say that," Midnight said, flatly.
"Teasing you?" Cadance asked, innocently.
"Cadance, come on," Midnight groaned. "All I'm asking for is a little official royal support to check out a few books from the black section of the restricted wing."
"I don't know enough about magic to give you permission for something like that," Cadance said. "But I do know it sounds dangerous. Books in that section are restricted for a reason."
"They're only dangerous to ponies that don't know what they're doing," Midnight shrugged. "Princess Celestia says I'm one of the smartest ponies she's ever met. Plus if I can get this to work I'll be able to skip puberty while Twilight suffers and I'll be the oldest!" She laughed. Lightning should have crashed down dramatically, if there was any sense of drama. Cadance looked past Midnight to the window. It was a bright, sunshiny day.
"Midnight, you can't just skip through the parts of your life you don't want to deal with," Cadance said. She stood up and walked over to Midnight, walking with her out to the balcony. "Puberty isn't just about physical growth, it's the time in your life when you're learning the most, especially about yourself. You need to go through it, or else it's like skipping classes in school and thinking you'll still be ready to graduate at the end. Do you get what I mean?"
"I guess," Midnight sighed. "But I still won't enjoy it."
"You might be surprised." Cadance smiled. "I mean, just think - soon you'll be getting interested in boys, and dating, and then I can start giving you some tips!"
"Cadance, no," Midnight said, backing away. "Please no. I'm still scarred after you tried to give me the 'sex talk'."
"It was better that you learned what all those terms really meant," Cadance said. "I mean, when I was your age, I thought horn-jobs were a real thing! I mean, technically they are, but they're just sort of stupid foreplay since there's really no feeling along the surface of your horn-"
"I'm not listening!" Midnight yelled, blocking her ears and closing her eyes.
"And let me tell you, it's worse when you're an alicorn," Cadance continued. "I thought I was going to have to deal with normal problems, but no, I had to find out that being the alicorn of love and going through puberty meant that everypony around me found me irresistible-"
Cadance's words cut off as the world plunged into silence. She looked back at Midnight. The unicorn's horn was glowing, and she stuck her tongue out at Cadance.
When Cadance tried to continue with hoof motions, Midnight lost her composure and fled the room, her cheeks as bright red as a candy apple.
"You shouldn't do that to her," Sunset said, later, as she walked with Cadance back to their room after a very long day of dealing with the nobility and not being allowed to set anything on fire. "She'll start to think that you're normal. I don't want her growing up to be a pervert like you."
"Celestia is worse," Cadance said. "She just hides it better. I caught her giving the ambassador from Saddle Arabia the look."
"The look?" Sunset asked.
"You know," Cadance said. "The look." She wiggled her eyebrows and gave Sunset a sultry smile.
"She does not give anypony that look," Sunset said. "That's your look when you want to fluster somepony."
"When I want to fluster you," Cadance corrected.
They felt magic wash over them, and their steps slowed. Sunset looked confused for a moment, then groaned.
"You know, maybe I should have learned that saying no to a filly when I'm the one who raised them just means they'll do exactly what I did when I was her age," Sunset said.
"We've got to stop her before she turns herself into an old lady!" Cadance gasped.
"Even I don't mess with age spells!" Sunset huffed, breaking into a run as she made for her quarters. She wasn't going to risk teleporting in and disrupting what felt like very unstable magic. She reached the door and knocked. "Midnight, open up!"
"In a minute!" Midnight yelled from inside.
"I'm coming in!" Sunset said, the lock springing open for a moment before a pink aura secured it again. "Hey!"
"Just a minute!" Midnight repeated.
"You listen here, young lady, I am coming in right now and you are not going to be allowed near any banned spellbooks for a week!" Sunset tried unlocking it again and, frustrated, blasted the lock right out of the door.
"Mom!" Midnight gasped, as Sunset stormed in. A magical array hung over her head, half of the runes flickering in and out of sight. "I'm in the middle of something!"
"I'm pretty sure you didn't get permission for this," Sunset said. She glanced up at the spell, then back to Midnight. "Cancel the spell before somepony gets hurt. It's already falling apart at the edges."
"No! I can handle this!" Midnight said. "Watch!" She mumbled something, running her hoof down the page in the ancient book in front of her, and the array shone with a bright white light for a moment before turning a sickly purple-green.
"That's not good," Cadance said. The color shifted to something that wasn't really a color at all, and hurt her eyes to look at. "That's worse!"
"Okay, that's it," Sunset said. "I'm putting an end to this." She started casting a disrupting spell, and the array hanging in the air came apart for all of a half second before part of it collapsed into the remaining runes, and a bolt of energy followed the path Sunset had unintentionally created from the spell to herself.
There was a flash as the spell discharged. Cadance covered her eyes, and when the light had faded, Sunset was gone.
"S-Sunset?" Cadance asked. "Sunset?! Where did you go?!" She started looking around. Had she teleported away? A small noise, like a gurgling coo, caught her attention, and Cadance looked down.
An infant filly with a red and yellow mane looked up at her, confused and burbling.
Cadance looked at Midnight, who smiled sheepishly. "I-it's not my fault?" Midnight suggested.
"She's banned from the library for a month," Celestia said, as she sat with Cadance in her quarters. "Midnight should have known better than to try spells that were very specifically marked as too dangerous for anypony to use."
"At least Sunset makes for a cute little foal," Cadance said, poking the filly's nose. Sunset gurgled and tried to grab her hoof.
"I can't think of anypony better to care for her until I've sorted this out," Celestia smiled. "I'm sure it shouldn't be more than a few days. I have the book Midnight used to try and cast the spell." She picked up the black tome, flipping through it for a moment. "I'm not terribly familiar with how age spells work, and I don't want to do anything that would hurt Sunset, so perhaps a week at most. I'm canceling all my non-essential meetings until this is resolved."
"Thank you, Auntie," Cadance said. "I'm sure Sunset would thank you too, if she could talk. Or had real motor control."
"Remember you can ask for anything," Celestia said, standing up. "I'm not really sure what Sunset was like at that age, but she seems like a good filly. Just try to keep her out of trouble."
"How hard could that be?" Cadance smiled. "I'm an expert at foalsitting, and she's too young to really have access to her magic."
Sunset's horn lit up and the tip of Cadance's tail caught on fire.
"No, Sunset! Stop setting things on fire!" Cadance admonished, casting Elm's Expedient Extinguisher for the fifth time in less than an hour. "Fire bad! Fire bad!"
Sunset laughed and clapped her hooves.
"I'm sure I wasn't this bad as a filly," Cadance huffed. "I never set anything on fire. Not that I could. But it's the principle of the matter." She leaned in close to Sunset and looked her in the eyes very seriously. "If we ever have a foal together, you have to be the one to deal with teaching her magic. I won't have anything to do with it unless she has wings."
Sunset tilted her head.
"You'll understand when you're older," Cadance assured her. "Which hopefully won't take that much longer. Princess Celestia is working on a counterspell for this, and she probably knows more magical secrets than anypony else alive! I bet she's already got some great ideas and she just wants to make sure it'll work."
Cadance nodded and sat back. From what she could tell, Sunset was old enough that she needed solid food. Sure, she could probably manage just on formula for the few days until Celestia actually got this fixed, but an all-formula diet could tend to get messy in the end.
She giggled at her own pun.
"Okay, Sunset," Cadance said. "Now, here comes the train! Choo choo!" She picked up a snap pea. Sunset kept her mouth shut firmly. Cadance pushed it against her lips and Sunset turned away. When she tried a second time, the snap pea was abruptly on fire.
Cadance threw the pea into a glass of water, extinguishing it.
"No peas. Loud and clear," Cadance said. She blew on her hoof where Sunset had burned it. "I don't know why. I always loved those when I was a foal." She considered the plate. Maybe celery? That was relatively harmless. No strong taste and an appealing smell. Maybe Sunset just wanted something that smelled good. Snap peas didn't have much of a scent.
The stalk of celery was thrown out the window in a cyan aura before Cadance had even gotten to the point of taking a bite herself to show Sunset how good it was.
"There has to be something you like," Cadance said. "I know you've got teeth in there because you bit me when I tried burping you." She picked up a carrot. Sunset's eyes fixed on the bright orange, following it as Cadance moved it around.
"Oh, you like this, huh?" Cadance asked. She smiled. "Everypony likes carrots." She gave it to Sunset. The filly crunched down on it, chewing it happily. "Thank harmony. At least you won't starve to death while we figure this out."
She grabbed for something else. A slice of red bell pepper. Sunset dropped the carrot and reached for it.
"You just like really brightly colored food, don't you?" Cadance asked. Sunset took the bell pepper and ate it with even more gusto than the carrot. "Well, that's perfect. I'm sure there are all sorts of pretty food I can get for you." She smiled. What else was there to try?
Sunset made the decision for her, grabbing a small, rounded pepper from the tray. Cadance's eyes went wide.
"Sunset, you don't want to eat that. Put it down."
Sunset glared at her for a moment, then stuffed it in her mouth with what seemed like righteous indignation. There was a pleased look on her face for about two seconds, and then the spice from the habanero pepper hit her like a ton of bricks.
The plate was set on fire, thrown across the room, scattering flaming vegetables everywhere, and then Sunset started wailing.
"Why would they even put that pepper on there?!" Cadance asked, as she tried to put out the spreading flames.
"Thank you for help with the mending spells, Twilight," Cadance said. "I was really worried that I'd have to have the entire carpet replaced."
"It's nothing. I've optimized my version for dealing with burns," Twilight said. "Spike is going through his first flame. It's a lot like teething, but for dragons, and as the name implies there's a lot of fire involved." She frowned and leaned in. "I don't think Celestia expected him to start breathing fire yet. Does she really know anything about draconic growth patterns? I can't find any reliable research."
"I think she only knows what the dragons have told her," Cadance considered.
"That explains it," Twilight mumbled. "Anyway, I have something else that might help you. It's a little side project I was working on to make reading through Canterlot's archives more bearable." She took a scroll from her saddlebags. "I've been developing a translation spell that uses a more generalized methodology and translates concepts instead of just referring to a dictionary."
"How will that help?" Cadance asked.
"Well, if Sunset is still an adult up here," Twilight tapped her own head. "She might just be having problems controlling her magic and body. Maybe she can't form words because her mouth and vocal chords haven't grown enough! But my universal translator spell should work based on her intent, and enable her to communicate normally."
"That does sound helpful," Cadance agreed. She looked to where Sunset was sulking in her high chair, sucking on a bottle of milk. "It's safe, right?"
"Perfectly safe. it's actually cast on you, not her, so you can understand what she's saying. Let me know when you're ready."
"Go ahead," Cadance said, smiling.
Twilight nodded and cast the spell she had been tinkering with. Cadance felt something cover her ears for a moment like a pair of earmuffs. But instead of blocking out sound, they just changed it, slightly. She could almost understand the birds singing outside the window.
"And you're all set!" Twilight said. "It lasts almost ten minutes right now, which is really impressive considering the variables involved."
"Sunset?" Cadance asked, taking the bottle away from Sunset. "How are you doing?"
"I'm upset," Sunset's voice, pitched higher than Cadance remembered, said.
"I think it's working!" Cadance said, excited.
"I'm upset," the voice repeated.
"Sunset, I can understand you now. Is there something I can do to help? Do you remember anything about the spell that hit you that Celestia might be able to use to reverse this?"
"I'm upset!" Sunset said, louder. The filly started to cry. "Upset! Upset! Upset! Upset!"
"I don't think it's helping," Cadance sighed.
"It seems like it's just translating general concepts. I'm sure with a few tweaks, it'll be working perfectly," Twilight said.
"How long will it take?" Cadance asked.
"Oh, a decade, maybe two," Twilight shrugged. "It's sort of still at a proof of concept level. But it definitely works! I also checked it against Horse Latin, and it has almost a seventy-two percent translation accuracy there, which is really great considering the number of words available..." Twilight talked in one ear. Sunset yelled about being upset in the other. Cadance put her head down and groaned.
"Good news," Celestia said. "I've almost got the age spell working. I've been trying to narrow down the constraints to use, and they're going splendidly."
"That's good," Cadance sighed, happy. "I was worried it would take a decade like Twilight's spell. By the time she finishes, I won't need a translator, because Sunset will be old enough to talk on her own."
"The main difficulty is that I have to use a lot of power," Celestia said. "Sunset has exceptional magical strength, and it's only grown over time. If she was an adult, she would be able to understand what was going on and lower her unconscious defenses against enchantments."
"But you're strong enough, right?" Cadance asked.
"That's not the issue," Celestia said. "It's like..." She paused. "It's like trying to build a house when the only tool you can use is a twenty-pound sledge."
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Well, I've been testing the spell out on standard reference pears at the power level I'll have to use to overcome Sunset's spell resistance," Celestia said. "The first few aged until they turned into dust and blew away."
Cadance's eyes went wide and she grabbed Sunset, squeezing the foal protectively.
"The last few have been much more successful. They're still aging far more than I want, but it is at least a reasonable last resort."
"How is that a last resort?" Cadance asked.
"If we age her into an adult, even if it's older than we wanted, she'll be able to understand what's going on and I can use a lighter touch to reduce her to her true age," Celestia explained. "But I am worried about the kind of strain that might put on her body. Repeated transformations are not good for one's health."
"I don't want her to get hurt," Cadance said. "Even if we have to wait a little longer."
"There is... another option," Celestia sighed. "Not one I want to take, but it should at least be considered, for her safety if nothing else."
"What option?" Cadance asked.
"As you said, it will only take two decades for Sunset Shimmer to return to her adult self, taking the long route of simply growing up normally." Celestia looked away, unable to meet Cadance's gaze. "While it isn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination, it would be perfectly safe."
"But- she'd never want that!" Cadance gasped. "She wouldn't be able to see Midnight grow up, and she'd miss out on so much, and she and I..." Cadance looked down.
"I know," Celestia said. "And I'm not going to give up on finding a solution that will reverse the effects of the spell. I just want you to be prepared for the worst. Consider that Sunset never had a happy foalhood. As awful as this is, even in the worst outcome, something good could still come from it."
"But would she even still be the same pony?" Cadance asked. "I can't tell how much she remembers. What if she grows up and she's not... not like how Sunset should be?"
"There's no answer for that," Celestia said. "But I know that no matter what, we'll both be there for her."
Cadance nodded weakly.
It was the middle of the night. Cadance could tell because Sunset was crying, and Sunset had cried in the middle of the night for the last two nights in a row. It wasn't even about anything. She'd tried feeding her, and burping her, and swaddling her, and everything else she could think of.
Cadance stood over the crib. She just felt so tired. If it wasn't for the crying, she'd be in danger of just falling asleep on her hooves.
"I don't know how to make you happy," Cadance whispered. "What do you want? Is it the dark? You don't sleep at all when the lights are off. You just wake up at the same time every night and cry until you pass out from crying too much."
Sunset wasn't listening. She was too busy wailing in her crib. At least nothing was on fire.
"I don't know how parents do it," Cadance said. She sat down heavily, looking through the bars at Sunset. "You know, for a long time now all I've wanted was to make you happy. You saved my life, and you turned your own life around, and I've never met a pony who changed as much as you did."
She was quiet for a moment.
"A lot of ponies, they stay with partners that aren't quite right for them," Cadance said. "I see it all the time. They fall in love and they think 'if I can just get him to change those bad habits' or 'she'll learn to appreciate me'. But it doesn't happen. Ponies don't change like that. Not usually."
She stood up and walked over to her dresser. She had two photos on it. One from the first day she was in the castle, with Sunset glaring at her from Celestia's right side while she stood awkwardly to her left, the gap between her and the Princess showing how uncomfortable she had been with the idea of being part of the royal family.
The other photo was from only a few weeks ago. Sunset had taken Cadance out to a dinner in Prance. She'd spent days building a teleportation circle in secret just so they could sneak overseas in a heartbeat without anypony noticing. They'd gotten their picture taken in a little cafe, the sort of place that didn't even have a sign because the locals all knew where it was already.
Cadance couldn't see it clearly through the sudden tears that blurred her vision, but she knew that they were both smiling, that she'd wrapped her wing around Sunset, and that about five minutes after the picture was taken, the Royal Guard had finally figured out where they'd gotten to.
She sniffled and walked back to the crib.
"Everything was finally going right," Cadance said. "Why is it that I keep almost losing you? Are we just not supposed to be together at all?" She leaned in, halfway in the crib with Sunset, hoping just being there would help quiet her somehow.
Cadance couldn't stop the tears. She was just too tired. She hadn't slept, not really slept, in days. Every moment of those days, she'd been so wound up with worry about Sunset that she'd been constantly on the edge of having a panic attack, and now all that composure Celestia had taught her was finally breaking down.
Sunset's wailing slowly died down. Cadance didn't even notice until she felt tiny hooves wrap around her muzzle. Sunset was hugging her face.
"Are you worried about me?" Cadance asked, her voice breaking. "I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you, not the other way around."
Sunset gurgled something, giving Cadance a very determined look. Cadance smiled and picked her up, rocking her back and forth.
"It's okay, Sunset," she whispered. "I'm not hurt. I'm just sad. I'll feel better soon." She sat down on her bed, still holding Sunset. "My parents... the ponies who raised me, I mean, they used to hold me just like this and sing to me."
She fluttered her wings for a moment, trying to get comfortable, then cleared her throat.
Cadance had a beautiful singing voice. She'd never been classically trained, and it was a little lower than one might expect, more like an opera singer than a pop star. Her parents had always sung to her in Prench, and she held Sunset and sang to her softly, the foal's eyes slowly drooping until she fell asleep again, her face buried in Cadance's coat.
"Celestia is right," Cadance whispered, as she finished the song. "Even if I do have to wait another twenty years, I'll do it. I don't know if things would change, or if you'd ever remember what we had, but I'd still want to see the kind of mare you'd grow into."
She smiled and brushed Sunset's mane.
"And if I don't have to wait that long, at least I know you don't like peas or celery." She leaned down and kissed Sunset's forehead. "I love you."
"Good news!" Celestia said, as she burst into Cadance's room, more excited than Cadance could remember having seen the monarch in years. "I've found a way to break the spell without harming Sunset at all. Star Swirl wrote a spell that would return Grogar to his proper age and return the stolen youth he'd taken from his victims, and the basic principles are the same here."
Cadance looked up, blinking, a carrot halfway between her and Sunset. "You want to blast Sunset with one of Star Swirl's attack spells?"
"It's not precisely like that," Celestia assured her. "This is a spell that was very specifically designed to undo age-changing effects. It's a far neater solution than trying to age her the correct amount using the general age spell Midnight had been working with."
"And it's safe?" Cadance asked. "I know Sunset mentioned Star Swirl before. She said he was a hack who was only famous because he had a hat with bells on."
"Star Swirl dealt with a lot of unique magical problems," Celestia assured her. "And this spell has been tested in combat against an unwilling foe, and it worked perfectly."
"What's the worst that could happen?" Cadance said. "And I don't mean that as a rhetorical question. I really want to know, what's the worst thing that could happen?"
"Well, it could do nothing," Celestia said. "That would probably be the worst thing. Of course, Sunset Shimmer isn't a half-immortal goat, so it's possible that she could..." Celestia hesitated. "Well, I'm sure she'll be fine."
"What happened to Grogar when Star Swirl used the spell on him?" Cadance asked.
"Ah, that is, hm. He turned into a withered husk," Celestia said. Cadance's eyes widened in horror. "But it won't happen with Sunset! Grogar had stolen centuries from ponies across the land, and when it was all gone, he was left as an unliving creature of hate and dark magic. But, as I said, that almost certainly won't happen with Sunset."
"I'm not too sure about this..." Cadance mumbled.
"It'll be fine," Celestia assured her. "Now, get her out in the open, just in case she explodes."
"Explodes?!"
"It's a very technical magical term," Celestia explained. "It doesn't mean the same thing as the laypony term. To a laypony, an explosion is just all fire and things going boom!" She scoffed. "Of course, to a spellcaster, it means something completely different and technical."
Cadance slowly put Sunset in the middle of the floor. "And what does it mean, exactly?"
"It means that something very energetically becomes a gas, typically with a release of heat and pressure."
"Celestia!" Cadance gasped.
"I'm joking, Cadance. Of course she won't explode." She muttered 'probably' under her breath. "Now, step aside."
Cadance dutifully stepped to the side. Celestia's horn lit up. Sunset turned to Cadance, her little eyes wide with fear. Before Cadance could react, Sunset was enveloped by a sphere of golden light.
What Celestia had actually meant, when she said that Sunset might explode, was that it was entirely possible the age spell that she was trying to counter would not take well to being disabled. A well-constructed spell had failsafes and points where the magic would ground itself if the entire thing started to fail, fizzling out instead of turning into a disaster. Sunset had not been affected by a well-constructed spell.
There was a snap like static being discharged. A spark of energy shot out and slammed into a houseplant, the small fern shrinking down further and further until it was just a shoot, barely poking above the surface of the soil.
Celestia sighed in relief. The sphere of light twisted and inverted in a complex motion that would have been impossible for a real object, then popped out of existence. Standing on all four hooves, wobbling dizzily, Sunset Shimmer shook her head and tried to focus.
"Did anyone get the page number of the book that hit me?" She asked, before her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.
"You really don't remember anything?" Cadance asked, as she picked over dinner with Sunset.
Sunset shrugged and ate one of the croutons in her salad, pushing lettuce to the side and nibbling on a red onion. "Maybe some vague stuff, but I mean, how much do you remember from when you were that age? I don't think it's possible to really form memories."
"That's too bad," Cadance sighed. "You were really cute as a filly."
"I'm not cute now?" Sunset asked.
"Not as cute as when your head was the size of your entire body," Cadance replied smoothly. "But I think I prefer you this way. You're much better at holding up your end of a conversation."
"Remind me to punish Midnight more," Sunset said. "I can't believe I lost half a week to this."
"It's not like you never caused trouble as a filly. I remember this one time, you ended up with a foal you didn't expect. Things did work out for the best in the end, though."
Sunset blushed. "That's totally different."
"Oh, I didn't realize," Cadance said. "I'll keep that in mind."
Sunset huffed and picked at her food. Cadance couldn't help but note that she ate the brightest food first.
Cadance's ears twitched. Between chews, Sunset was humming to herself.
"What's that song?" Cadance asked.
"I donno," Sunset shrugged. "Just something that's stuck in my head." She paused. "Do you know the tune?"
"I've heard it somewhere before," Cadance said. "The words go something like this..."
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A very cute chapter, also display a prodigy side of both Twilights. By the time they became adult, it would be a list showed who cause more damage than another.
"Aside from that one time with the thunderhead, and it was raining anyway, so that hardly counts."
Hilarious chapter. Hopefully Midnight learned that "Nopony should cast this" doesn't include an invisible "except you."
Anyone else thinks that restricting age spells into the "too dangerous for anypony to use" category instead of figuring out how to cast them safely (if a kindergarten filly could do it well enough, just too far, there's no reason a more experienced caster, like Sunset or even Celestia herself) is essentially the same as sentencing everyone to death because you're too lazy? Or letting everyone die through inaction, at best.
This is especially weird given Celestia's previous angst about having her students and friends die on her and that's why Sunset becoming an alicorn was so crucial.
Good stuff as always sir well done!
Sorry I didn't comment anything more insightful but if I had something like that to say I would say it.
Just saying.
This story makes me wish I could upvote individual chapters. This is very amusing and filled with showy character development moments while entertaining a silly premise of age regression.
Canon Sunset really missed out on great magical stuff.
Oh my God THAT WAS SO CUTE!!! Specially the ending
It's rather amazing how this manages to show how Midnight Stormageddon and Twilight are different, yet the same. But why did Stormageddon stop calling Cadence pink momma? Is she waiting for the marriage?
Taking your date to Prance for a date is romantic as fuck, specially when it involves transcontinental teleports.
8984933
I'm going to see if I can get that implemented.
Then I'm going to ask for both of them to cooperate on a certain extremely difficult spell and accidentally level all of Canterlot.
all of it.
Ok, how old is Sunset? Because if she is going through a growth spurt at the same time Twilight and Midnight are she might be a tad bit closer to Celestia's dream for her than anyone thinks.
Unless its normal for ponies to grow again in their 20's?
Very fun chapter that showed us Sunset as a filly with better times and good development for her and Cadance. Midnight and Twilight continue to show their prodigious skills, even if they don't turn out as intended. It;ll be interesting to see how Midnight grows from this experience after turning her mother into a filly and getting banned from the library for a month.
Aw, I kind of hoped that we'd see Midnight spend some time with baby Sunset.
8984968
Even if there were safer age spells, they still would have books with the old imperfect ones around, either specifically to keep track of the roots of the magic or simply because they're part of a larger collection of spells.
It's a fair question though. They're apparently possible without any cost beyond having to use lots of magic. Maybe they were locked away before anyone could use them to develop a better version.
Standard Reference Pear really gets around.
8985044
Don't forget the back pain immediately after absorbing the Twilight-Midnight joint surge. Sunset is extremely close.
8985137
It seems like the most obvious conslusion that they were locked up before anyone could develop anything, for reasons that I cannot fathom
There is another logical explanation, now that I think of it: perhaps a pony's normal lifespan isn't all that long, say, 50 years on average, and anti-aging spells ARE used, but put strain on the body or don't work perfectly so that at some point (probably after well over 200 years, judging by Granny Smith) they can no longer be used
cadence the demons want you to be with shining armor to sell toys but you must fight for what your heart desires
... ... ... ... ?!
Ok, either she is slowly becoming an Alicorn due to too much straight up power (versus the old school method of injecting extra magic and transform isn't all at once...) orrrr she's even... younger than my mind had put her before? Maybe she is aging slower cause of the crazy amount of magic?
Like she's biologically still 15 or something?
PS - this makes it (Cadence/sunset) even more weird for me as she's older, and now Sunset is apparently still growing?!
8985182 I'd expect the former, but with a lot of harm from the failed attempts. I can seriously see Celestia or (somewhat less likely) Luna putting a blanket ban on age magic experiments after one too many tragedies, and the ban not getting lifted even after the advent of new developments that could be applied to make it safer.
Why does it feel like over half of the newer content is about a romance... in a story not tagged as romance.... I mean it's interesting and has a more unique way of inserting Cadence into the same scene with Sunset without animosity but....I was hoping for more antics between the Twinlights and the delving into who the "copy" is - mutual hatred there was an interesting take too
Frankenmom say fire BAAAAD!!!
May i suggest?:
For this concept, I salute you.
8985738
It may not be in Prench either, but another beautiful one which makes a good lullaby is the original Japanese version of Hiru no Tsuki (Daytime Moon) by Akino Arai (Melfina's Song from Outlaw Star).
I specify the Japanese version because they really changed the lyrics for the English dub.
Here's a copy with subtitles but without accompaniment from the in-story moment when Melfina sang it, and here's a copy with accompaniment but without subtitles from when it's used as the first ending credits theme for the series.
AnimeLyrics.com also has a copy with side-by-side transliterated and translated lyrics below it.
...and, because I have perfectionist tendencies, I decided to go look up some "Prench" lullabies:
Au clair de la lune (translated lyrics) is the best candidate I could find. It's a classic from the 18th century, well-known because it's also used in music lessons, and has a night-time theme to the lyrics, similar to how so many English-speaking mothers use Morningtown Ride as their lullaby of choice.
I also tracked down the closest recording I could find to how I imagine it would sound when Cadance sings it.
That said, if it's not suitable for some reason, La petite poule grise (The little grey chicken) is another one that's apparently used as a lullaby.
8986156
That brings to mind...
8986251
Thanks. Not only had I not yet discovered that beautiful cover, I never saw the Sesame Street original.
(The original 1978 airing was before my time and, by the time they used the song again in a new segment in 1994, I'd moved on to other entertainment.)
That said, a few years ago, I did discover another Henson song I missed and also love:
8986353
Nice. Ah, the nostalgic and retro memories.
Speaking of, what oddly sprang to mind hearing/seeing that was this.
Er, spoilers for a PS1 game.
Awww man, I wanted to see more fire & destruction by baby Sunset!
On the bright side, surely Sunset was given full medical and magical physical examination so there will be no surprises.
Surely.
8988685
I do not know - and don't call me Shirley.
Does that happen often?
8985044
8985248
Some humans don't get their growth spurts until late teens/ early twenties. It's not inconceivable that the same holds true for ponies.
Or she could be slowly turning into an alicorn.
Midnight really should get more supervision.