A Foalish Mistake

By the time Applejack and Rarity got back from their shopping expedition, the library was filled with the sound of giggling. It wasn’t the first sound anypony would associate with the place, but it seemed fitting now. Fluttershy was quite content to watch her little one having fun, as long as she didn’t damage anything. But she couldn’t help wondering whether these feelings were her own, or were coming from the curse. Not that it mattered, as the other two ponies chased each other around the room she found the urge to smile and watch was too strong to fight in any case.

Shortly after the others had headed off on their shopping expedition, she’d started wondering if she was doing the right thing. Nothing seemed strange to her, and that was precisely what made her uneasy, because she knew that the situation was probably one of the weirdest things she’d seen happen to her friends. It might even be on the same level of bizarreness as getting turned into a tree by Discord, but on that occasion at least she’d known that something had changed.

Here, it just felt so natural to follow Twilight Sparkle around, to do everything she could think of to keep  her entertained, and to treat her as if she was her own little foal. And, some rational part of her mind objected, that meant that if something went even stranger, she might not act responsibly because she didn’t even notice how much she was playing along with this game.

She couldn’t help wondering if this was in some way her fault, as well. Maybe dark magic was influenced by the mind of the unicorn who cast it, but when she’d reversed the spell back at Twilight, could it have picked up some influence from her own desires? She’d only recently explained to Rainbow Dash that the thought of being a mother some day was a big part of who she was, something she couldn’t easily give up on. If those thoughts had still been in her mind, then maybe the spell had made Twilight try to fulfil her wish, rather than just the obedience that the old books mentioned.

Well, whatever had happened, Twilight was behaving like a real foal now. And Fluttershy found that it felt so good to treat her like one, and the difference in size really didn’t matter. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so hung up on the idea of having a real foal; if she hadn’t been so critical she could have played like this without having to worry so much. All of Fluttershy’s concerns slipped to the back of her mind as she bathed Twilight, giving her a crown of bubbles and doing her best to wash herself off as well. It was all too easy to not notice that the little one was as big as her for a moment.

After the bath she tried talking to the little foal, to see how well she understood what was happening. Twilight was happy to talk, but very easily distracted. She also found quite quickly that she couldn’t remember all the words she needed to express her thoughts, and quickly grew frustrated as she couldn’t stop mumbling enough to be intelligible for more than a minute at a time.

“Well then,” Fluttershy said brightly, “We don’t want you to be a little miss cranky-pants, so why don’t we just play for a bit?”

“‘Es,” Twilight muttered quietly, and then just nodded. She was struggling to restrain the well of emotions that seemed to overwhelm her at the slightest provocation, but she was still smart enough to realise that she’d feel less frustrated if she stopped trying to think and just played like her mommy wanted. They played peekaboo and hide and seek, dashing around the library in a carefree way that would probably have driven Twilight to distraction at any other time.

The games stopped when Twilight almost stepped on a book that she’d carelessly left on the floor. She stopped, and looked at the manacled mare in the illustration with every sign of confusion rather than the shame she’d displayed on finding the same book earlier. Her horn glowed a faint pink, but flickering slightly as she turned the page. She did her best to be careful, proving that her love of books was entrenched too deep in her psyche for a mere dark spell to change it. In this state, though, turning a page without damaging it took all her concentration.  She didn’t even notice her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated, though Fluttershy found it adorable.

“Oh, you’re reading a book? You are a clever filly!” the praise came naturally, shortly followed by the realisation that she’d thought of Twilight as a bookworm for all the time they’d known each other, and that could have sounded awfully condescending. Then she noticed a tear slowly forming in the corner of the foal’s eye as she stared down at the page.

“What’s wrong, dear?” she asked, moving closer and reaching over Twilight’s shoulders to pull her into a hug.

“Can’t read,” the response was so quiet that it surprised even Fluttershy. “Pwetty pictures but… I can’t weed the words.”

“Well then, shall I read to you?” Fluttershy asked, carefully reaching for the book with both hooves, “What kind of stories would you like today?” It was good that Twilight was nodding so vigorously, because it meant she didn’t quite catch the expression of distaste that crossed Fluttershy’s face when she noticed some of the words in the text. This was certainly not the kind of book that she would  consider sharing with a foal. Almost every paragraph included mention of ‘dominance’ or ‘obedience’, and there was a whole section headed ‘On the matter of forced breeding’.

“I think this might be a bit too hard for me,” she said, still not quite sure how much Twilight’s mind might have changed. “How about you pick an easier book? Would you like to hear about Fairy Glen? Or the Story of the Two Sisters?”

“Wanna read Star Swirl!” Twilight pouted. There was a faint shimmer of magic around her, and then she looked down at her hooves, blushing, and added: “Pwease mommy?”

“If you really want to,” Fluttershy answered, hoping that the magical effect had just been in her imagination. If Twilight really had to do what she said, then that might be another hurdle to getting this spell lifted. And as much as she was enjoying the feelings of motherhood, she didn’t want to see her friend cursed for any longer than was necessary. But whether the curse enforced obedience, that would surely be an important detail. Something that they would need to know if they were looking for a counterspell. In that case, it might be worth testing it out.

“Okay Twily,” she said uncertainly, “I’ll try reading one of Star Swirl’s books for you later. But first I want you to pick something that’s more fun for a little foal, and we can read it together, and I want you to enjoy it as if you never heard the story before!” She was going to ask if she understood, but she knew she didn’t have to when she saw that telltale shimmer again. It was only the slightest suggestion, but she knew without a doubt that Twilight would happily do exactly what she’d said. And it felt good, in fact it felt incredible to know that she was the one with both control and responsibility. Fluttershy felt a flush of excitement, and knew that now she’d felt it she would often be tempted to take charge of the situation.

Her thoughts completely changed direction and her heart nearly stopped when she saw purple flanks running excitedly (but unsteadily) in the direction of wherever the picture books were shelved. Twilight was still an adult pony, the same size and build she’d always been. It was only her behaviour that was foalish, and Fluttershy finding herself thinking of her friend as a foal unless she tried to stop herself. They had all been sure that the curse hadn’t caused any physical change, and that made Fluttershy worry more than anything. She didn’t know if they’d just failed to notice, or if that was why her first direct ‘command’ to Twilight had been accompanied by the pale lavender flicker of magic in the air.

Twilight Sparkle had no cutie mark.