Growing Pains
Ten – Growing Pains
Fluttershy smiled down at Twilight as the little filly—no, the growing filly—slept. Just three birthdays in and already she was out of diapers. Her friend was still small enough to fit in Rarity’s pajamas, which were excellent for staying warm during winter.
Spike was curled up next to Twilight on the bed, snoring loudly. His tail flicked up and down. Probably a sign that he was dreaming. Fluttershy didn’t like to imagine what a dragon would dream about—she was scared by the thought of giant, fire-breathing dragons, sleeping or awake—but she guessed in Spike’s case it had to do with Rarity.
When she heard the bedroom door creak open, Fluttershy turned around and spotted Pinkie Pie creeping inside. The pink pony was balancing a stack of party hats on one hoof and a birthday cake on the other. She tossed back her head as she sang.
Happy, happy birthday
To you! To you!
Happy, happy birthday
To you! Yes, it’s true!
Little fillies jump and cheer
Because their birthday cake is here
So happy, happy birthday
To you! To you!
With a groan, Twilight stirred and opened her eyes. Fluttershy gasped when she saw how bloodshot they were. “Oh, dear…”
“Mm, what?” Twilight sat up and rubbed her face. “What time is it?”
“Um…” Fluttershy glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. “Eight-oh-six—”
“In the morning?”
“Y-yes?”
“No thanks,” Twilight grumbled and sank back into bed. She reached out and pulled Spike close for a hug. The dragon didn’t react except to wag his tail again.
“B-but…” Pinkie Pie dropped onto her rear, somehow not dropping the cake and party hats as she did. “But what foal doesn’t want to get up for a b-birthday party?”
“There, there,” said Fluttershy. Sensing that her friend was about to burst into tears, she raced over to her side and patted her on the back. “I’m sure she’ll love it once she’s ready to get up. She’s still a growing pony.”
Pinkie Pie sighed and dropped face-first into the cake. When she lifted her head, her muzzle was coated in chocolate frosting. Fluttershy thought that might raise her spirits a little, but when her pink friend licked the frosting off with her tongue, there was no joy in it.
Hours later, Spike was gently nudging Twilight’s shoulder. “Come on, Twilight. Get up. It’s almost brunch time.”
“Mm-mm,” the filly mumbled and pulled herself deeper under the covers.
Fluttershy anxiously flew around the bed, trying to decide what to do. She knew how to rouse an animal out of hibernation, but had no experience with a growing filly. She remembered what it was like at that age, always tired and growing… and the more she thought about those years, the more painful memories of school at Cloudsdale came back. Fluttershy winced and shook those thoughts away.
Meanwhile, somepony knocked at the door. When Pinkie Pie went to answer it, Time Turner came rushing in with his circadian hourglass, followed closely by Nightlight and Velvet.
“We’re making great progress, Twilight Sparkle!” the timekeeper pony announced. “Why aren’t you up yet?”
“Oh, I remember this,” said Nightlight. He shared a quiet smile with his wife. “Guess she’s making up for all those late-night study sessions.”
“Don’t remind me,” Velvet replied with a chuckle. “Remember when I found those anti-sleeping potions under her bed?” She trotted over to the bed and smiled down at her daughter. “Still my precious little pony…”
“So how do we get her up?” asked Spike.
“I’m surprised you haven’t thought of it already.” Drawing a deep breath, Velvet leaned down and shouted into Twilight’s ear, “You’re going to be late for school!”
“Aaah!” Twilight Sparkle leapt out of bed and scrambled for purchase on empty air. When she crashed onto the floor, she looked up at her parents with an embarrassed grin. “Oh. What a terrible dream…”
Pinkie Pie bounced over to her with a smaller cake—one she’d cobbled together from her previous confection. “Awesome! Blow out the candles, quick!”
All it took was a tired snort from Twilight to extinguish all ten candles. Then she was covered in a radiant pink glow. Her limbs stretched out another inch, her mane grew longer, and her wings were a bit stronger. Fluttershy was terrified whenever she saw the transformation—terrified for her friend’s safety. She wanted it to work, to see her friend and princess back to normal.
When the light faded, Twilight unsteadily got up onto her hooves. Her legs were wobbly and long; when she took a step forward, she nearly crashed into her mother, saved only by the unicorn’s magic.
“Ugh, I forgot how bad my teens were,” said Twilight. She smiled when her mother and father nuzzled her, only to stop when she noticed the state of her pajamas. “Hey, Fluttershy? Don’t tell Rarity, but I think I might have ruined her clothes…”
One second later, the shirt on her back split wide open, as did her pants from the tail down. Twilight blushed and tried to cover herself up with her hooves and her wings.
“I’m sure we can leave that out in our letter home,” Fluttershy said quickly. She anxiously looked at Time Turner. “What does the hourglass say now?”
Time Turner frowned at his device, then gave the other ponies a quick smile. “Not to worry! Our dear princess is doing just fine. She’ll just need to relearn flying and a few social graces and she’ll be right in no time!”
“Social graces?” asked Nightlight.
“Well… you know!” Time Turner looked around the room nervously. “All these messy things that teenagers go through. Romance, peer pressure, figuring out their path in life. That sort of thing!”
“I had all that figured out at age eleven,” Twilight said with a deadpan expression. “Learn magic, become a scholar, serve the Princess.”
“And… make friends?” Fluttershy offered.
When Twilight looked at her, the pegasus shrank back under her mane for shelter. But the teenage pony smiled and patted her shoulder. “I guess I put that off, but you’re right. That’s just as important as my studies.”
Her smile made Fluttershy’s heart glow. She nuzzled her friend back as Time Turner and Pinkie Pie led everypony into the living room for another day of cake and presents.
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'Fluttershy didn’t like to imagine what a dragon would dream about—she never liked dragons, sleeping or awake' ...
You Dragon Racist! 
= 
Sorry not to be mean, but the way you wrote it made Fluttershy racist. If you had explained that she was afraid of dragons then it would be different...
MOAR!
2515063 It's okay, one of her friends is a dragon!
...Yeah, that defense won't fly.
But at least, Spike is one of the nicest dragons she's ever met?
Edit: fixed the line to what I wanted it to say
I would just add on that she is afraid of dragons. We all know she is but the sentence, to me is just really, really funny. 2515073
2515087 Better?
Much
2515102
A second Teenage Time
? The Horror! The HORROR (shudder)
I think this story could be improved if we had more of each stage of development. I'd love to actually see Twilight deal with each stage for some time.
"Ugh, what time is it?"
"Eight-oh-six--"
"In the morning??"
"Um... yes?"
"No thanks..." grumble, grumble, snoooooooooooooooooooooore.
Oh no now we have teenage Twilight.
Don't you know how emotionally unstable teenagers are? 
2516297 I do...
2516973 Celestia help us all.
That is the greatest way to wake Twilight.
Great
So, assuming Twilight's original regressed age was 1 year old, then she was continent by 4 years, and a teenager by 5 years? Or maybe her original regressed age was more like 3 years, and she was out of diapers by 6 years? I'm having trouble with the math here...
or, more likely, I'm over thinking this, and all that matters is adorkable Twilight goodness. 
Should this be subtitled as From diapers to dating: two weeks of fictional yay? 
3628600 The math wasn't always clear in my head, to be perfectly honest, but I always figured that Twilight had regressed as far as either a toddler (2-3 yrs.) or a little kid (5-6 yrs.) who still needed diapers. Sorry for the confusion!
Filly's gone
But, I suppose teen twi will b interesting