Under other circumstances, Twilight Sparkle would have reflected on which parts of the anti-wrinkling re-vitalizing de-aging spell needed a few tweaks or adjustments. For example, the injection of an additional ten Mega Starswirls into the normal magic dose in order to increase longevity was rather excessive. Perhaps she had made a slight over-estimation of her abilities by trying to cast three spells in tandem to increase efficiency. Utilizing a crystal's natural magic focusing attributes without first stress-testing its capacity may have been an understandable oversight. It might have been prudent to use a general incantation in the spell nexus as opposed to her rather specific word choice.
Such was not the case, though. Rarity had begged her ascended friend to help smooth out a stray laugh line that had made its unwelcome home on her otherwise immaculate face. From there, the studious alicorn had enthusiastically dedicated herself to perfecting a spell that would ease the passage of time's blemishes on the user. Even while visiting her brother and sister-in-law at their crystal castle (which was now one spire short on account of the aforementioned focusing crystal) her experiments had continued with little pause. As such, she had increased the magic quotient by ten times, had overlooked the inherent difficulty in balancing a multi-layered spell, had caused a crystal filled to the brim with raw power to explode, and had used the term “soft as a baby's bottom” in her casting.
Under other circumstances, Twilight Sparkle would have spent a considerable amount of time examining just what had went wrong. Right now, though, the tiny filly was only concerned with two things:
I want my baba.
Why is there no baba in front of me?
Upon the entrance of a rather surprised-looking Brother Shiny and Sorta-Sister Candy, a third item was added to her itinerary.
Why have you not brought me my baba?
Unsatisfied with the current situation, Twilight initiated deployment of the single-greatest weapon in baba-acquirement.
Shining Armor and Cadence could only watch in abject horror as the foal swallowed as much air as her lungs could hold, opened her mouth, and—
—began suckling from the proffered bottle in content as she settled into the high chair. Twilight's victory had come at the cost of a constant ringing noise in Cadence's ears, something which Shining informed her was called 'shell-shock' and assured her shattered eardrums would pass.
Perhaps the ringing would, but the memory of a screeching alicorn filly using the Royal Canterlot Voice was to be burned into her memory for millennia to come.
“Was Twilight always that loud?” Cadence asked as she levitated broken shards of crystal-crafted furniture and deposited them into a wastebasket. The coffee table, vanity and a chair had all fallen prey to the resonance frequency of Twilight's tantrum. She shuddered to think about what could have happened had the filly let loose in the presence of crystal ponies, a worry not alleviated in the least by a guard stationed nearby complaining of a 'splitting headache'. To say it would be an embarrassment to send her rule's first casualty home in a dustpan would be a sore understatement.
“What?!” Shining Armor replied. With more bravery than his wife could ask for, he had fought through the sonic storm to deliver the bottle of milk Twilight was currently consuming. This had come at the cost of some (hopefully) temporary hearing loss, though. Cadence repeated her question, this time making sure he could see her mouth move and enunciating every syllable. “Oh! Err, I mean, oh. Naw, Twilight was never really loud and, when she did get cranky, all we had to do was read her a book.” Rubbing his forehead, Shining added, “If I'd been able to hear myself think I would've done that in the first place.”
A dainty kiss was delivered to the castle's saviour. “Neither of us expected that. Besides, all things considered, I think you did a wonderful job.”
“Thanks, honey.” He nuzzled her neck before glancing back at the feeding foal. “Still, I think we've got a bigger problem ahead of us. Or perhaps a smaller one.”
As if sensing the shift in attention to her, Twilight burped and banged the bottle on her tray. “Baba done, want more!”
Once she was back to blissful suckling on a full bottle, husband and wife let out a collective breath. “Okay, crisis averted again,” Shining said. “Were you able to figure out just what happened to her?”
Cadence's horn lit up as she felt her way through the murky web of ley lines and nebula-like mana floating in the room, unseen and unfelt. “Well, I think it's safe to say she was casting that de-aging spell she was talking about last night at dinner.”
“And lunch and breakfast...” Shining added.
“Yes, but it was only at dinner that she had her epiphany. I've seen similar magic used by some of the unicorns that work at the spas. It's fairly short-lived, though, usually only used by the nobles when they go to a ball or something and want to look their best.”
Her husband smirked. “You seem to know a lot about it. You wouldn't happen to have— ”
Wiping the look off of Shining's face with a wing, his wife replied, “I hope you weren't intending to finish that sentence with what I think you were.” Adopting the expression she'd taken from him, Cadence finished with, “I'm al naturel. Comes with being a mighty alicorn.”
“Oh, mighty alicorn,” Shining intoned as he bowed in deference, “can your powers deduce the solution to mine sibling's plight?” Another playful wing slap straightened him out. “Okay, okay, if you insist on being serious.”
“Your sister has turned herself into a foal, dear. I think that's reason enough for us to be serious.”
“Really? Because you weren't being very serious just a few seconds ago, going on about how you don't need touch-up spells like us plebs.” He ducked the third wing. “Anyways, if those spells only last a bit, then all we have to do is wait it out, right? We were talking about having a foal anyways, so Twilight is just a sort of practice run.”
Cadence shook her head. “It's not that simple. Remember, this is Twilight we're talking about. There's types of mana I've never even seen before in what's left of the magic, not to mention a lot of it. She could be like that for a few hours or a few weeks, maybe more. And besides—” She tapped her twitching ears. “—do you really want to run the risk of needing hearing aids fifty years early?”
“Good point,” he replied with a grimace. “So, what do we do then? Try to make a counter-spell?”
“Too dangerous. Celestia and Luna are both busy at the gryphon clan summit for the next few days. I would only trust them to know as much about magic as Twilight did. We'll have to wait until they return and take care of Twilight in the meantime.”
Ears falling, Shining said, “Hmph, I hate feeling so powerless. As much as I'm going to tease Twilight about this when she's back to normal, I still want to help her sooner rather than later.”
Cadence rubbed necks with him. “Don't worry, we'll take care of her and, if you really need something to do, you can help me analyze the parts of her spell I was able to recover. I helped her study and share similar alicorn magic, but you're her brother and can understand parts of her magic through your connection that I never could.” She pecked him on the cheek. “We'll get through this together, don't you worry.”
“Have I ever said I don't deserve you? You're a great enough mare for five stallions.” Shining ran his hoof through her mane.
She laughed and held his face close for a proper kiss. When they parted, she quipped, “Good thing you're worth ten stallions.”
Twilight, meanwhile, stuck her tongue out. “Yuck!” The pair laughed as she averted her sight from the theatre of affection.
“So, since you're good for five stallions, and I'm worth ten, does that mean I get two of you?” Shining whispered. He saw the wing come up but let it swat his flank all the same.
“In your dreams, lover-colt.”
“I'm sure Luna will oblige.”
Cadence snorted as she bit back a laugh. “You're impossible! Come on, Twily, let's find you something to play with.”
“Yay!” the filly squealed as she was lifted out of the chair and onto her fellow alicorn's back.
Long hallways hewn from crystal and royal guards snapping off salutes greeted them, to which Twilight returned by bonking her forehead with a hoof and giggling madly. Cadence mentally marked any stress lines that had appeared post-tantrum for later repair.
In a few minutes the trio had made their way to the castle's nursery. Rose-hued quartz formed the walls while a thin layer of silica acted as a window, letting the sun's soft rays filter into the room. It was empty of any other ponies, leaving all manners of building blocks and colourful plastic toys open for Twilight to claim as her own. She, of course, trotted right past them and instead went to the bookshelf, pulling down the heavy Grinn's Fairie Tails tome before tugging it over to a little table. Flipping it open with her snout, she plunked herself onto one of the tiny chairs, squinted her eyes, and began to read Cinderluna.
“Well, I suppose it's good to see the only change is her being a foal,” Shining commented as he watched his sister mouth the words in silence.
Cadence sighed as she felt her heart melt at the sight. “It really is adorable, isn't it? If I didn't know better I wouldn't even imagine she’s one of the most powerful magicians in the history of Equestria.”
Time passed as the couple watched their little-r sister flip through the pages. An occasional gasp or giggle would escape her as she read about Cinderluna's plights while trying to enjoy life as she cleaned the great castle her evil step-sister lived in. “Hmmm, about that...” Shining whispered as his thoughts wandered back to what Cadence had said earlier.
“Yes?”
“Well, so far Twilight seems to be a foal in every way, and she drank two full bottles of milk some time ago, so—”
The sound of something dripping interrupted him, soon followed by, “Oopsie.”
Tail swishing as Cadence made her way over to Twilight, Cadence muttered, “You jinxed it.”
“Sorry,” Shining answered sheepishly. “I can clean up the puddle.”
His wife nodded. “Thank you, honey. I'll give her a bath in the meantime, then we can decide on what to do next.” She picked up Twilight. “Come on, Twily, let's get you cleaned up before you—”
“—splash me...” a sopping wet Cadence grumbled as another wave of water washed over her.
“Candy have bath time, too!” Twilight squealed as she clapped her hooves together.
It was difficult to stay mad when a foal was having fun. “Well, I suppose it'll make little difference now,” Cadence said as she stepped into the lukewarm water that filled the tub, suds of soap floating in her wake. The filly cheered and slapped some more waves into existence as her hair had water poured over it and combed.
Ten minutes and several splash wars later, the two stepped out from the tub. Cadence dried herself off with a towel while Twilight did her best to puff out her coat by shaking vigorously, the net effect being Cadence having to wipe the second layer of water off afterwards. When the pair left the bathroom they found Shining Armor waiting in the hallway for them. “Enjoy your bath?” he asked. Filly and mare nodded, the former more enthusiastically than the latter.
“Candy all clean now!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Your sister decided I should join her,” Cadence explained before motioning towards the pair of saddlebags slung over Shining's back. “What do you have there?”
Kneeling to let the straps slide down his neck and onto the floor, he replied, “Well, considering Twilight's little... accident, I decided it would be best to find some supplies for her.”
“Soup flies for me?” Twilight chirped. “What're those? Can I play with them?”
Shining chuckled. “No, Twilight. Sup-lies. You'll find out what they're for in a minute. Anyway,” he said, turning his attention back to Cadence, “one of the castle's maids lent me them.”
His wife nodded in understanding. “Good idea. Let's go to your room and get you all dressed up, Twily.”
The filly cocked her head. “Dressed for what, Candy?”
Picking up his sister and putting her onto his back while carrying the saddlebags with magic, Shining said, “Bedtime. It's getting late and you've had a... well, let's say interesting day.”
“Hmph, not tired,” Twilight grunted as she crossed her forelegs, although she didn't attempt to scamper off.
“You may not feel tired, but you're being grumpy and that means you are tired. Besides, if you come to bed without making a fuss, I'll read you a story before sleep time.”
Twilight's brow furrowed, clearly in deep thought while weighing her options. In the end, books once again proved to be the greater force. “Okay, but it gotta be a long one!”
“How does The Little Mermare sound?” The cheer from Shining's back was answer enough as the trio started the short walk to the palace's nursery.
Upon entering the room, though, it didn't take long for Twilight to realize that, instead of heading to the bed heralding storytime, she was being put onto a cushioned table. “Story up here?”
The saddlebags Shining had been carrying were placed down. “In just a moment. We have to get you dressed for bed first.”
The flaps opened to reveal a set of purple onesies speckled with stars. Twilight approved of this. What she did not approve of was the pack of diapers that followed them. “I'mma big filly. Big fillies don't need diapees!” she groused as a pout formed.
“Now, Twily,” Cadence began, “you've already had one accident today. I don't think you want to wake up in a wet bed, do you? Look, it even has a star pattern!”
“I won't 'cause I'mma big filly!” she postulated. She pushed away the undergarment when it started to float towards her.
“Well, I'm sure you'll show how big you are when you wake up dry. But for now, let's just be safe.” The second attempt was once again intercepted.
Shining held up the copy of The Little Mermare he had taken from the shelf. “Remember, Twily, there won't be any books if you're not good.”
“No.”
Husband and wife shared an exasperated look. “Okay, how about when you wake up I'll read you another story as well, Twily,” Cadence said.
“Hmm...” Twilight tapped her chin. “Two book and waffle for breakkies!”
Shining booped his sister on the nose. “Deal. Now, will you let Candy put on your diaper?”
She grimaced, but nodded all the same. The twice-foalsitter first puffed some foal powder onto Twilight's bottom, causing the filly to sneeze, followed by her tail being threaded through the hole in the back of the diaper. After that the front was brought up and held snug against her stomach by the side tapes. “There, now let's just put your sleeper on and Shiny can read you your bedtime story.” The onesie was opened up and put underneath Twilight, letting her slid her hooves into the sleeves. Once they were in, Cadence did up the zipper on the front. “There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?”
The diaper's muffled crinkles filtered out from the cloth as Twilight kicked her legs around to feel the cloth. “Still don’t like.” She pointed at the floating book. “Story time now!”
Shining smiled as he brought Twilight over to the bed and tucked her into the blankets before taking a seat on a pillow at her bedside. “You don’t waste any time, do you, Twily?” He turned to look at Cadence. “Mind helping me read this story to our little sister, honey? I think it could use a mare’s touch when it comes to Hairiel.”
Cadence sashayed over and, with delicate deliberation, forced Shining off his pillow. “Of course, dearest.”
“Hey, I was using that!” he said, mustering a hurt expression.
“I have claimed it in the name of the Crystal Empire. A princess could hardly sit on her tushy without a cushy, after all,” she proudly declared as Twilight broke into a fit of laughter at ‘tushy’.
“Really? I would have thought all those royal puddings you’ve been enjoying would have provided ample seating arrangements that travel with you.” Not even the playful bite on his ear stopped Shining’s chortling.
More verbal hoofticuffs were thrown, Twilight’s amusement weakening with each playful jab until she finally shouted, “Book time!” The two warring marital factions looked at the filly’s crossed hooves, puffed cheeks, and pucking pout.
“Well, I don’t think we can keep something that adorable waiting, now can we?” Cadence said as she cooed at the pouting purple pony.
“Heh, yeah. Almost wish she hadn’t grow—”
Shining was interrupted by a brilliant burst of light and sound that flowed forth from Twilight. After his eardrums had recovered from the second beating of the day and the spots in front of his eyes faded away, he looked at the bed to find his goddess sister in her all her splendor. Or at least, as much splendor as one could achieve whilst wearing tattered pieces of a sleeper and a diaper stretched to its breaking limit.
“Ah, err, Twilight...”
The alicorn sighed. “Yes, I’m fine.”
Cadence, now having recovered herself, asked, “Do you.. do you remember...”
“Yes, I do. Thanks for taking care of me.”
Shining raised his hoof, then slowly lowered it. Finally, he said, “Well, now—”
“Just read me the damn book.”
Author's Note
Well, after a year of nothing, I'm finally back in the saddle. I hope you've enjoyed this piece of fluffy writing as much as I enjoy the mental image of adult Twilight pouting as she waits for story time. Please like and favourite the story on your way out, the concession stand is still open and can be found right of the exit, and remember that comments are always appreciated and replied to!
