Twilight Sparkle the Foalsitter

by Hawk Noctis

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Original Character, Spike, Comedy, Shining Armor
Length: 8301

Twilight foalsits the son of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence come to Ponyville to visit Twilight and her friends. They bring their son, Blazing Star with them and Twilight agrees to foalsit for the couple while they spend some time together exploring Ponyville. Twilight believes she can handle foalsitting for a few hours, but what will she do when Blazing Star suddenly disappears from the library?

Published 2012-06-03 10:24:03 UTC
Last updated 2012-06-10 21:52:02 UTC

Chapter 1: Arrival of the Guests

Twilight Sparkle the Foalsitter
By Hawk Noctis

Chapter 1: Arrival of the Guests

“Did you clean the shelves?!” Exclaimed Twilight frantically as she ran back and forth, making sure everything was in place. Spike sighed and rolled his eyes as he swept the dust off of the table.

“For the seventh time, yes. I took care of the shelves half an hour ago,” said Spike. He hopped off the chair and approached his adoptive sister. “Twilight, you really need to relax. It's just...” Spike was cut off as Twilight teleported directly in front of him, her eyes wide with panic.

“Relax? RELAX?! How can I relax when my brother and Cadence are going to be here soon?! Neither of them have ever been here before and I want this to be a good first impression!” Cried Twilight.

“Ah, right. We visited them in Canterlot three years ago when Blazing Star was born, and then of course his birthday party and the Hearth's Warming Eve party last year.” It hadn't been long after the wedding that they received the news that Cadence was expecting. A little less than a year later, the entire gang had gone up to visit the couple when their son was born. The young dragon glanced toward Twilight Sparkle and raised an eyebrow. “It's not like this is the first time we are meeting them. There really is no need to clean the place till it shines.”

“I don't want Cadence to stay in a dusty place! She is still royalty you know!”

Spike rolled his eyes again and put away the dust mop. “Twilight, I really don't think that Cadence will think less of you if she spots a spec of dust on your copy of Advanced Unicorn Spells Volume 7.”

“Well what about Blazing Star?! I don't want him thinking his Aunt is messy!”

“Yeah, somehow I doubt he will care for much beyond his next meal and playtime.” There was a knock on the door. Twilight's tail straightened out and went rigid. She then began to run back and forth, checking shelves and looking under chairs to make sure it was clean.

“Oh no oh no oh no oh no! Oh no!” Exclaimed Twilight in a tone of panic. “We're not ready yet!”

“Oh quit it would ya? Everything will be fine Twilight, you really don't need to make a big deal out of this,” said Spike as he walked toward the door. He opened the door and smiled as he saw who was on the other side. “Hey you guys! It's great to see you two.” Twilight looked over and rushed to the door as she saw Shining Armor and Princess Cadence standing there. Standing next to Cadence was a small light purple unicorn colt. He had dark blue hair with streaks of violet that went down the back of the young pony's neck. His big steel blue eyes starred up at Spike with awe.

“Mommy, is that a dragon?” He asked as he continued to stare at Spike.

“Yes it is. That's Spike, Twilight's Number One Assistant from what she has told me,” said Cadence as she smiled warmly at her son.

“You've met Spike before, I guess you were too young to remember it though,” added Shining Armor. Twilight grabbed Shining Armor and Cadence into a big hug.

“How are you two? It's been awhile!” She exclaimed happily, forgetting all the anxiety she had felt less than a minute prior to their arrival.

“It sure has Twilie! How have you been sis?” Asked Shining Armor.

“Same as ever. Studying, hangout out with my friends, you know... the usual. How about you and Cadence?”

“Well there has been some unsettling reports coming from the northern border of Equestria, but aside from that things are going well in Canterlot. I have to deal with the usual royal duties that come with being a Princess and all,” said Cadence.

“...Unsettling reports?”

“Yeah, for the past six months we have been getting more and more reports that...” Started Shining Armor.

“I'd rather we not go into detail about this in front of our son. He's too young to know about them,” interjected Cadence in a quiet tone. “We can talk about this later tonight.”

“Aw come on Cadence, he's old enough to...” One death glare from his wife was enough to silence Shining Armor. “Uh... I think I'll tell you later sis,” finished Shining Armor as he chuckled nervously.

A chill went up Twilight's spine at the mention of the northern border of Equestria. It was now common knowledge to ponies everywhere that the Changelings had come from the north miles away from Equestria. Pegasus scouts had confirmed the existence of massive hives in those lands, but no pony dared get too close to the hellish structures to do any further reconnaissance. Shortly after the incident at the Royal Wedding, Princess Luna and Celestia approved a new law that forbid passing beyond the border without royal permission. It was not strictly enforced however, there was no need. Few ponies or other creatures that ventured too far beyond the northern border returned home to tell the tale. Twilight shrugged off the grim subject and smiled at her guests.

“Well the party won't start for at least four or five hours. What are you two going to do until then?” Asked Twilight.

“We were thinking of walking around Ponyville for a bit, maybe grab a small meal at one of the restaurants,” said Cadence.

“Sounds like fun! I'm sure Blazing Star will enjoy himself!”

“Actually... if it's alright we were hoping you and Spike could look after Blaze for a little bit while we explore Ponyville for while. It's been awhile since we had time to ourselves,” said Shining Armor as he and Cadence gently rubbed their horns together. He then nudged Blazing Star playfully. “That and I'm sure Blaze doesn't want to hang around with Mom and Dad all day when he could spend time with his Aunt.”

“Yay! Auntie Twilight!” Exclaimed Blazing Star as he began to hop around in circles. Twilight hadn't expected to spend some quality time with her young nephew. She hadn't planned on it, but it would certainly be a great break from the intense studying she had done the previous day.

“Sure I don't mind. I haven't seen Blaze since the Hearth's Warming Eve party last year,” said Twilight as she watched the young colt continue his happy hop around the library.

“Great! Thanks Twilie,” said Shining Armor.

“You sure you can handle being a temporary foalsitter?” Asked Cadence. “Blaze can be a bit of a live wire at times.”

“Don't worry, it's only a few hours,” said Twilight. Twilight gazed down as she saw her young nephew starring up at her with his big eyes. “Besides, it'll be nice to spend some time with my first nephew,” she said as she gave the young colt a hug.

“Alright, then we will see you and your friends later today,” said Cadence.

“Okay, have fun you two!” With that, Cadence and Shining Armor left the library to see what Ponyville had to offer for tourists. As soon as the door closed, Twilight used her magic to pull out a series of books from one of the nearby shelves and hovered them just above Blazing Star. “You are in luck today Blazing Star! I've got plenty of books written just for young colts like you.” The colt's eyes shifted toward each book as he read the covers. He frowned after he had read all the covers. “Err... what's wrong? Don't see anything you want to read?”

“Reading is boring! I wanna do something else,” said Blazing Star.

“What? Reading? Boring? Reading a book is so much fun!” Exclaimed Twilight, completely baffled that there was a pony out there that didn't like reading. She placed the pile of books down onto the nearby table.

“Mommy says that all the time too. But I still think it's boring.” His eyes shifted toward Twilight's cutie mark and then he looked back up toward his aunt. “Could you teach me magic? I really really really REALLY want to learn how to use magic!” Exclaimed the little unicorn gleefully. Twilight was afraid that he was going to ask that. Cadence had told her in a letter from a year ago that Blaze was fascinated by magic and kept bugging his parents to teach him. Since her former foalsitter never exactly specified if her son had been taught anything yet, Twilight sided against the idea.

“I don't know if that's a good idea...” She said. Blaze lowered his head sadly and let out a disappointed sigh. Before Twilight could say anything else there was a knock on the door. “Hey Spike, see who is at the door.”

“On it,” said Spike as he approached the door. He opened it up, and there stood a young colt with white fur and large patches of brown fur on various parts of his body. He had a brown mane and big eyes of the same color. The colt had an ocean wave for a cutie mark. He wore a small saddle back with a big hardcover book sticking out. “It's Pip,” said Spike.

“Oh hey Pip. Are you here to return that book you borrowed?” Asked Twilight as she walked over toward the door.

“Yes I am!” Declared the young earth pony. He opened his saddle bag with his mouth and pulled out the copy of The Sea Pony: Fact or Fiction? that he had borrowed. Twilight enveloped the book with her magic and placed it on a tray to be sorted back in with the other books later. By now, the new visitor had drawn Blazing Star's curiosity. The young unicorn walked over to see the visitor up close.

“Wow you are an earth pony, right? I don't see many of them back home in Canterlot,” said Blazing Star.

“Yep, my name is Pipsqueak! But everyone calls me Pip for short.”

“I'm Blazing Star! Everyone calls me Blaze though.”

“Blaze is my nephew. My brother and his wife brought him along for a party we are having later today,” said Twilight. Suddenly, a loud growl came from Blaze's stomach. Twilight seemed startled at first by how loud it was, but then she started to giggle. “Hungry?”

“Yeah, we didn't get a chance to eat lunch before we came here. Mommy and Daddy were too busy with stuff.”

“Well there is a solution to that. I'll make you a daisy sandwich. Would you like one too, Pip?” Asked Twilight.

“I haven't eaten lunch yet either... but I only came here to return that book. I don't wanna intrude or anything.”

“Oh don't be silly, I'm sure Blaze would love to have some company closer to his age. It would be no trouble to make you a sandwich at all. Come on in, Pip.”

“Gee, thanks Twilight!” Exclaimed Pip as he walked in to the library and closed the door behind him.

“You are just saying that to keep Blaze from pestering you for lessons or reading through the books on m...” Spike was cut off as Twilight used her magic to pull a large book off the shelf, open it, and then close it shut on Spike.

“Come on in to the kitchen you two. Your sandwiches will be ready shortly!” The two colts followed Twilight into the kitchen and sat down at the small table.

“You are so lucky to have Twilight for an Aunt. She's really nice!” Said Pip as he looked over at Blazing Star.

“Mommy and Daddy always talked fondly about her. They say she's super smart and knows lots of stuff!” Declared Blaze. “Speaking of which, what do dragons eat Auntie Twilight? Will you be making a sandwich for Spike as well?”

“Well dragons can eat the same things that ponies do, but it's not their preferred choice of food. They mostly eat gemstones like rubies and sapphires.”

“And they are delicious!” Said Spike as he walked into the kitchen, eating an emerald. “Hay fries aren't too bad though. They make a fairly close second.” As Spike finished off his emerald he looked back toward the stairs that lead to the second level. “I'm still kinda hungry, I think I still have a sapphire in my collection somewhere.”

Before Spike could leave the kitchen, he suddenly belched out a scroll from Princess Celestia. He opened it and quickly skimmed the contents before handing it to Twilight. “Looks like Celestia sent feedback on your paper about theoretical spellcrafting.” Twilight took the document and began to read it for herself. Less than a minute later a wide grin appeared across the mare's face.

“She agrees with me! Not just with the advantage of safety but also the idea of preparing and researching before actually attempting to use the new spell!” Exclaimed Twilight happily. She then began to jump around happily and then took the document up to her room where she kept all her papers. She placed it down on her desk and was about to go down to the first floor when she saw Spike walking up the stairs.

“I'm surprised you can maintain that enthusiasm Twilight,” said Spike as he opened his small storage box of gems, looking for the last sapphire. “You get an A+ all the time on basically every single assignment. Wouldn't that become not as exciting after awhile?”

“Of course not Spike. This isn't praise from just anypony. It's from Princess Celestia herself!” Said Twilight cheerfully. “Now let's see if Blazing Star will find Daring Do boring! One little read aloud session and he'll be hooked on reading for sure!” She took her copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone and brought it downstairs. “Hey Blaze, I think I found something you would want to...” Twilight stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that Blaze was no longer in the kitchen. His plate had been placed in the sink but there was no trace of him. “Blaze?”

Twilight looked around the kitchen, but could not find the young colt. She searched the side rooms and all of the first floor, and still there was no sign of Blaze. Twilight's ear started to twitch in panic. “He must have gone upstairs to follow Spike. I just... didn't see him. He's probably up there!” Exclaimed Twilight frantically. In her panic, Twilight didn't notice Pip trying to get her attention.

“Um... Twilight. Blaze said...” Before Pip could finish, Twilight had already ran upstairs to look for the lost colt. Using her magic, Twilight began to throw various objects around the room as she searched for Blaze.

“Where could he have gotten to?! He can't have left the library!” Exclaimed Twilight. Blaze wouldn't possibly leave the library, right? There was no way he could have left without Twilight knowing about it. Then Twilight's eyes shifted over toward the balcony on the second level. As she got closer to the door she realized it was ajar. An alarm went off in Twilight's head as she began to panic even more. “Oh no! Spike!” Yelled Twilight at the top of her lungs. Several seconds later the young dragon came walking up the stairs.

“What is it Twilight? Pip was trying to tell me something before you...”

“It's Blaze! He's managed to get out of the library while we weren't looking!” Exclaimed Twilight fearfully.

Author's Note: Well that's the first chapter. I'll have the second chapter finished as soon as possible when I get the chance to work on it some more.

Chapter 2: The Search

Twilight ran around the library frantically as she tried to figure out how she could have possibly missed Blazing Star leaving the library. She had only left the young colt alone with Pip for less than a minute and he had somehow found a way out without her knowing it. Celestia only knew where the little pony could have gone by now.

“No no no no no no! How could this have happened? I turned my back for less than a minute and he's gone!” Exclaimed Twilight. She turned toward Spike, hoping her number one assistant would have a solution to the problem. “Did you hear or see anything?”

“Of course not. I'm just as confused as you are Twilight!” Said Spike. Twilight let out a loud groan of despair. “Let's just go outside and look for him. He couldn't have gone too far in such a short amount of time.”

“Of course! I'm sure he's still outside the library!” Exclaimed Twilight. She quickly ran down the stairs and opened the front door of the library. Twilight took several steps outside and looked around. There was no sign of the little colt anywhere. Using her magic, Twilight teleported to the other side behind the library. Still she saw no sign of Blaze. Even when she looked down the streets of Ponyville she saw nothing.

“Do you see him?” Asked Spike as he walked outside the library.

“No... he's nowhere in sight...” said Twilight as she slumped to the ground in a sitting position. “I've really messed up this time. I just lost track of my own nephew! Ohhhh Shining Armor and Cadence will be furious when they find out!” Twilight gasped in horror. “Oh Celestia! They will banish me from Equestria for sure! Or have Princess Celestia send me to the moon! Or...” Twilight was silenced as her young adopted dragon placed one of his small hands in front of her.

“They aren't going to come back here for a few more hours Twilight. We have plenty of time to search Ponyville,” said Spike.

“But Shining Armor and Cadence are somewhere in town! What if they see us? What if they see us without their son?!”

“Okay so we just have to be careful not to run into them. That's easy enough. Let's go ask around to see if anypony has seen Blaze.” With that, Spike and Twilight began to run off to find Blaze. Unaware of Pip standing at the doorway of the library.

“But Blaze was...” The colt sighed, realizing his attempts were futile. He walked back in to the library to grab his saddlebag when suddenly Blazing Star jumped down from one of the higher up book shelves nearby the door. Pip jumped back in surprise, having thought that the younger colt had left already. “I saw you go through the door! How did you get back in?”

“I did leave. I hid under a bush and then quickly rushed back in after the door was opened again. Then I climbed up the book shelves as quietly as I could and then jumped back down!” Exclaimed Blaze proudly.

“Wow! That's amazing! How were you able to do all that without being noticed?” Asked Pip, fascinated by the remarkable skill that the little colt possessed.

“My Daddy is Captain of the Royal Guard. He recently taught me all about stealth!” When Pip had moved to Ponyville from Trotingham, he never thought he would meet so many interesting ponies. First Princess Luna and then the son of a Captain from the military.

“That's so cool!” Blazing Star looked around the library as if he thought that they were being watched. He then motioned for Pip to come closer. With a growing sense of curiosity, the older colt walked over to find out what the issue was.

“Listen, I've got a super dangerous yet really important mission I have to go on. But I don't know the town very well. Will you come with me?” Asked Blaze in a very serious tone.

“Oh uh... sure. I've lived here for a few years so I know plenty about this town.”

“Good! Follow my lead!” Pip followed Blaze as he left the library, heading toward an unknown location in town. Pip was confident that whatever Blaze's mission was it couldn't be all that dangerous. Ponyville was a safe place, even after the incident that had happened at Canterlot several years ago.

* * * * *

“Maybe he went over to Sugarcube Corner?” Suggested Spike. “The Cakes are always making something irresistibly delicious that you can smell from several blocks away.”

“Yeah, I'm sure he just wanted desert and didn't tell us!” Said Twilight through clenched teeth. She was doing her best to not panic again but was having a hard time with it.

“Well if we are lucky, either the Cakes or Pinkie Pie will have...”

“Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!” Exclaimed Pinkie Pie as her head suddenly popped out of a flower pot on the ground near the entrance of Sugarcube Corner. Her head sunk back into the pot and then the crazy pink pony opened the front door and walked outside of the bakery. “What brings you two here on this fine afternoon? There are chocolate chip muffins on the sample tray and they are really good! You should try them!”

“Thanks Pinkie... but we aren't here to buy anything. We are looking for Blazing Star,” said Twilight.

“He somehow managed to get out of the library. We are trying to find him before his parents come back,” added Spike.

“Please tell me you've seen him, Pinkie! Cadence would be furious if she found out that I lost her son!” Cried Twilight.

“Nope, I haven't seen him yet. But I'm sure he'll turn up!” Said Pinkie Pie happily.

“But what if he doesn't?! What if he wanders into the Everfree Forest?!” The wild and frightened look in Twilight's eyes made Pinkie Pie step back nervously.

“You are going to drive yourself crazy with your wild 'what-ifs' you know,” said Pinkie Pie. “Well I'm not doing anything until the party later tonight, I'll help you two out!”

“R-really?” Asked Twilight, eager for any help she could get.

“Of course.” Pinkie Pie then frowned slightly. “That and I'd really rather not see you go all Lesson Zero on us... again.”

“Lesson Zero? Again? What are you talking about Pinkie?” Asked Twilight in confusion. She turned toward Spike whom shrugged.

“Never mind, it's not important right now. Let's go find us a lost colt!” Out of nowhere Pinkie Pie pulled out a magnifying glass and began to examine the ground with it. “If we put our noggins together I'm sure we can figure this out! We'll find that little colt in a flash!” Pinkie Pie looked up toward the sky and saw a low hanging cloud less than a few feet above the nearest house. Hanging off the side of the cloud was a rainbow tail. “We could ask Rainbow Dash, she might have seen him.”

Before Pinkie Pie could say another word, Twilight used her magic to bring the cloud down to the ground. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash was sleeping on the cloud. It was likely one of her 'power naps' as she liked to call it. A fancy way of saying she was sleeping on the job as usual. As the pegasus turned on her side, her eyes slowly opened. She closed them again only for a moment, but then she was wide awake and was looking around.

“Huh, don't remember this cloud being on the ground when I laid down on it...” Said Rainbow Dash in a bemused tone. She then noticed Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Spike standing there. Rainbow Dash swiftly kicked the cloud back up into the sky and hovered in the air above her friends. “Oh hey you three! What's up?”

“Oh nothing. Twilight lost track of her nephew and we are trying to find him,” explained Pinkie Pie cheerfully.

“Ah right, the happy couple were coming in to Ponyville today and...” The cyan pegasus stopped in mid sentence as the first part registered. “Wait, Blazing Star has gone missing? Ooooh boy, Cadence will have steam coming from her ears if she finds out.”

“Oh don't worry. We'll find him long before Cadence and Shining Armor come back to the library! Ponyville isn't that big a town he can't have gone too far, right?” Said Twilight, as her confidence was betrayed by her twitching eye.

“How about this? I'll fly around Ponyville to see if I can find him.” Rainbow Dash proudly showed off her wings and flapped them several times. “This will go way faster if you have some wing power on your side.”

“Oooh! Oooh! Good idea Dashie! With three ponies on the job we'll find him in no time at all!” Said Pinkie Pie.

“I'll go east, you three go west. If I see the little colt somewhere I'll let you know.” In the blink of an eye Rainbow Dash went zooming off into the distance.

“We'll go along this street for awhile. Hopefully Blaze will show up sooner or later,” said Twilight. She levitated Spike off the ground and onto her back. “Let's get moving!” Twilight Sparkle started galloping as fast as she could while Pinkie Pie somehow managed to keep up with her simply by hopping. A few minutes later, the two ponies found themselves standing in the middle of the market district. Shops in this particular area of Ponyville consisted mostly of tents and wagons that had been turned into displays of various products being sold.

“Come get yer delicious apples here! Grown in Sweet Apple Acres with only the finest tender love and care. Ya won't believe how delicious our apples are!” Exclaimed a familiar voice. Twilight and Pinkie Pie approached the large wagon of apples. Sure enough, Applejack was there behind the counter. “Well well, looks like some of my best friends came to visit. Come to buy some of our delicious apples?” Asked Applejack.

“Not today Applejack. We're looking for Blazing Star,” said Spike.

“Blazing Star? Ya just missed 'im a few minutes ago. He and Pipsqueak stopped by here and bought a few apples,” said Applejack.

“What?! A few minutes?! How did he get all the way out here so quickly?!” Exclaimed Twilight in a panic.

“More importantly, where are his parents? Little Blaze is too young to be wanderin' around without an older family member nearby. Sure Pipsqueak was with him, but even Pip is still a bit too young if ya ask me. Heck I had no idea that those two colts knew each other, small world I guess.”

“I knew we should have asked Pip if he had seen Blaze...” Muttered Spike.

“Which way did they go?!” Asked Twilight.

“Oh uhh, looked like they were headin' off that way. Ya might want to ask Rarity since her boutique is in that direction,” answered Applejack.

“Of course! With Rarity's attention to detail she surely saw those two little colts running by at some point!” Exclaimed Twilight as her right ear began to twitch repeatedly. “Onward we go!” Twilight and Pinkie Pie left and started to head toward Rarity's boutique.

It wasn't long before the boutique finally came into view. As they drew closer, Pinkie Pie suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and her tail suddenly shot right up and stayed that way for several seconds. This sudden spasm of movement was ignored by Twilight whom continued to approach the boutique.

“Almost there! Let's go and...” Before Twilight could finish, Pinkie Pie reached over and pulled her back behind the corner of a nearby building. “What are you doing?!”

“Look around the corner toward the tables at that restaurant,” said Pinkie Pie. Twilight peeked her head from behind the corner to see what Pinkie Pie was talking about. Almost instantly, the lavender unicorn gasped and hid back behind the building.

“Of all the restaurants that those two had to pick, they chose that one!” Exclaimed Twilight. Sure enough, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were sitting at one of the nearby tables. They were eating sandwiches and seemed too lost in their conversation to notice anything around them. “How are we going to get past them?! They'll surely notice me and Spike if we try to sneak past them!”

“Calm down Twilight, I'm sure there is a way around them,” said Spike. Twilight looked around, trying to find another way to get to Rarity's boutique. Maybe they could go around the long way. Or maybe they could climb up onto the roof and get past the restaurant that way. Twilight's eyes then fixed on a large wood crate that didn't have a top. That was when she came up with an idea.

“That's it!” Said Twilight. She used her magic to bring the crate over and placed it over herself, Spike, and Pinkie Pie. She then fired a small beam of energy at the front of the crate to create small holes that could be seen through. “We'll just go across the street with this!”

“I'm not sure if this is the best idea I've heard of or the worst,” said Spike.

“Oooh! This reminds me of that one human who uses a cardboard box to sneak past bad guys! What was his name? Sold Sake? Solid Shake?” Asked Pinkie Pie.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Pinkie Pie, what are in the hay are you talking about? You do know that humans are just a mythical creature, right?” Asked Twilight.

“It's Pinkie Pie, just roll with it,” said Spike.

“Yeah you're right. Let's just get this over with.” Both Pinkie Pie and Twilight began to push the box across the street. Fortunately not many ponies were walking along that particular road, so the sight of a moving box didn't draw as much attention as it would on a busier street of Ponyville. It was difficult to hear all of it, but Twilight was able to listen in on some of the conversation her brother and Cadence were having.

“This is such a nice town, I can see why Twilight speaks so fondly of it,” said Princess Cadence.

“Yeah, it's nice to get away from Canterlot for a little while,” added Shining Armor.

“Hellloooooo?! You in there Twilight?” Asked Pinkie Pie as she knocked her hoof against Twilight's head.

“W-what? Yeah I was just... distracted,” said Twilight.

“Okey dokey lokey!” They continued to push the box, trying to avoid any unwanted attention as best they could given their unusual method of getting past their current obstacle. As they got near the boutique, Twilight turned around with the box to see how far they were from the restaurant. By now they were at a safe enough distance that they could leave the box.

“I wasn't sure if that would work, but I guess it did,” said Twilight cheerfully.

“Sometimes you just gotta think inside a box!” Added Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie, the phrase is 'think outside of the box',” corrected Twilight.

“Oh Twilight, you are silly. How can we think outside of the box if we were in the box? That's simply not possible.”

“But...” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Nevermind, let's just go and talk to Rarity.” As they approached the door, it opened up and Fluttershy walked out.

“Oh,” said Fluttershy softly, surprised to see some of her friends standing there. “Hey you three, are you here to see Rarity?”

“Ah fair Lady Rarity, how could we possibly resist the opportunity to be in the presence of such a lovely mare,” said Spike as he went into some sort of day dream about his big crush.

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes and looked back over at the yellow pegasus. “Yeah, we were hoping to ask Rarity if she's seen somepony. Is she available?” She asked.

“Oh yes, we just got back from the spa about twenty minutes ago. I lost track of the time and I really need to get back and take care of my animals before the party tonight,” said Fluttershy.

“Okay, see you later tonight Fluttershy.”

“Bye,” said Fluttershy. She waved goodbye and left, heading back to her cottage. Twilight enveloped the door handle with her magic and opened it. As the door opened the little bell next to it rang. Rarity came walking out of one of the side rooms of the boutique, her glasses hung on her horn and her measuring tape was around the back of her neck.

“Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and of course my little Spikey Wikey. What brings you three here?” Asked Rarity.

“We were hoping you've seen Blazing Star!” Said Pinkie Pie.

“Blazing... Star? You mean Twilight's nephew? I'm afraid I haven't seen him since the party in Canterlot last year, darling. Why?”

“Long story short, he somehow left the library without me knowing it and now we are trying to find him before my brother and Cadence come back to check on him,” said Twilight.

“Oh that makes sense I supp.... wait what?!” Shouted Rarity as her voice fluctuated. “That little colt is practically royalty, forged from Canterlot's finest...” Rarity's eye started to twitch. “And you say... you... lost... him?”

“Hehehehe that's funny Rarity. Are you working on your Princess Cadence impression? Because I'm sure those are going to be her exact words and tone when she finds out,” said Pinkie Pie as she started giggling profusely.

“Oh Celestia! Cadence will never speak to me again if she learns of this!” Cried Twilight hysterically as she dropped to the floor and covered her face with her front legs. “She entrusted me with this task and I really blew it!”

“Calm down darling. I'm sure he'll show up,” said Rarity as she lightly patted Twilight's back.

“Yeah! Rainbow Dash can see lots of stuff from the sky. She will surely spot him!” Said Pinkie Pie reassuringly.

“I hope you are right, it's almost been an hour since we began our search and he still hasn't shown up yet,” said Twilight. She slowly got back up and began to walk toward the door. “Well I guess we'll just have to keep searching then.”

“Best of luck! And I'll see you all at the party tonight,” said Rarity. “I'd help you search for Blaze if I could but I really need to get this one dress finished for an order as soon as possible.”

“It's okay Rarity. We can handle this!” Said Spike confidently. Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike left Rarity's boutique and went outside. Before they could go much further they saw Rainbow Dash flying toward them.

“Okay, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Asked Rainbow Dash as she landed on the ground.

“Did you find him?!” Exclaimed Twilight frantically. “Tell me that's the good news!”

“Yup, the good news is that I found Blaze. Looks like the little colt is heading back toward the library.”

“Great! What's the bad news?” Asked Spike.

“It looks like Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are on their way back to the library as well.” Twilight's pupils became smaller than a bread crumb and she began to babble incomprehensibly as her eye started to twitch... again.

Chapter 3: The Party

Twilight struggled to find an appropriate response for the current situation. While Blazing Star going back to the library on his own accord solved Twilight's first problem, it did nothing for the second one. How would she ever explain why her nephew was seemingly all by himself in the library?

“They have a head start on us, there is no way I'd be able to get back there in time!” Exclaimed Twilight as she attempted to come up with some sort of plan given the small amount of time that was left. As a light bulb went off in Twilight's head, she felt a little easier about her dilemma. Good thing she was so talented with magic, there was a solution after all. “Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, you two try and catch up with Princess Cadence and my brother. Stall them for a minute.”

“Okey dokey lokey!” Exclaimed Pinkie Pie happily. She then paused for a moment and blinked. “How are we supposed to stall them exactly?”

“I don't know. Ask them how their day has been, talk about life in Ponyville, whatever comes to mind. Just delay them for a few minutes, that's all the time I need!”

“You got it!” Said Rainbow Dash as she shot off, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake. Pinkie Pie hopped along the road toward the library, humming a song to herself.

“Don't move a muscle spike,” warned Twilight.

“Wait, what are...” Before Spike could finish, Twilight's horn began to glow radiantly. In a burst of magical energy, Twilight and Spike vanished and reappeared inside the library with a loud crack. “Warn me when you are about to do that next time! Do you realize how disorienting that is if you aren't expecting it?”

“Sorry, we are just so short on time that...” Twilight paused as she looked over to her left and saw both Blaze and Pip sitting at the table. They were both eating apples as they silently watched the new arrivals.

“That was an awesome entrance Auntie Twilight!” Said Blaze. “Do it again!” Twilight's first impulse was to scold Blaze harshly, but she held back on that. There wasn't much time before his parents arrived and the last thing she wanted them to walk in on was their son crying. She just needed to get some answers, that was all.

“There you are Blaze, why did you leave the library without telling me? If you were still hungry you should have told me that, silly,” said Twilight.

“I wasn't gonna leave originally. I just was in the mood for a prank,” said Blaze.

“Oh well that's...” Twilight paused for a moment as what the little colt said registered. “A prank?! Your prank nearly scared me to death! Imagine the panic you could have caused your parents if they had found out about this!”

“Found out about what?” Asked a familiar voice. Twilight let out a squeak of terror and froze in place. She knew she had to turn around but she feared to do so. How did she not hear them come inside? Shaking, Twilight slowly turned around and saw both Cadence and Shining Armor giving her a confused glance. She gave a wide smile and peeked around the two guests to see Pinkie Pie shrugging apologetically.

“Rainbow Dash almost made it, but then there was an unfortunate collision with Derpy just outside of the library,” said Pinkie Pie.

“My bad.....” Echoed the voice of the clumsy, gray pegasus. Oh how Twilight loathed Murphy's Law. She swore that if she ever met that pony whom came up with the theory, she would kick them into next century.

“Is... everything okay Twilie? You're shaking,” said Shining Armor, concerned for his sister's health. This lead to Twilight's second stage of panic, hysterics. She jumped down to the floor and grabbed Cadence's front right leg with both hooves.

“I was upstairs for less than a minute, I swear!” Cried Twilight hysterically, tears welling up in her eyes. Cadence had a mix of surprise and confusion on her face as she starred down at the lavender colored unicorn.

“Twilight... what in all of Equestria are you talking about?” She asked.

“I... I had to go upstairs to check a message I had gotten. T-t-then I came back and... and... he just vanished. Out of thin air! I didn't hear a door open, I heard nothing!” Twilight lowered her head to the ground. “I'm sorry! I was supposed to take care of him and I let you both down. I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!” Cadence seemed surprised for a moment but then that shifted to annoyance and her eyes shifted up toward where her son was sitting.

“Ugh... he did it again, didn't he?” Asked Cadence as she covered her face with her front left hoof. Twilight's eyes shot upward in silent confusion, tears still threatening to fall.

“W-what?” Stammered Twilight.

“I warned you that Blaze has been known to be a bit of a live wire. I guess I didn't explain it as well as I should have in the first place.” Cadence then turned toward her husband and glared at him. “Somepony over here decided it would be a great idea to teach our son some of the things they have learned from being Captain of the Royal Guard.” Shining Armor smiled sheepishly and backed a step away as he was subjected to the icy wrath of his quite irritated wife.

“But he's a public figure, he needs to know how to...” Started Shining Armor.

“Not at this point in life he doesn't! He's only three years old, Shining Armor! He's too young to understand how he is and is not supposed to apply the lessons he's learned.”

“I still don't understand... what do you mean by 'again'?” Asked Twilight.

“This is not the first time Blaze has used stealth to pull a prank. He did that to me a few weeks ago and nearly gave me a heart attack. But we found him hiding in the closet a few minutes later.” Twilight slowly stood up and gazed directly into her old foalsitter's eyes.

“So... you aren't mad at me?”

“Of course not you silly filly. It was my fault for not giving you enough warning about Blaze's slightly more playful side,” said Cadence as she gave Twilight a hug. After letting Twilight go, Cadence looked up toward her son and gave him a disapproving look. She walked past Twilight and stood only a few inches away from Blaze. Blaze flinched and looked up at his mother apologetically. “I swear, I don't know what's worse sometimes. Your mischievous pranks, or your father's insistence on having you follow in his hoof steps. I thought I told you never to do that again.”

“But...” Started the young colt.

“No buts, Blazing Star. You are not supposed to play that prank on anypony, and you know it.”

“But I needed to find supplies...” Said Blaze as he lowered his head.

“Supplies for what?” Blaze nudged a large piece of paper forward on the table. Princess Cadence walked over to the table to examine whatever was on the paper. After looking at it for a few seconds, her frown vanished and then she sighed and smiled at the young colt. Both Twilight and Shining Armor approached and glanced over at the paper themselves.

Blazing Star had begun drawing a picture on the paper. It was clearly unfinished, but it gave a clear idea of what the little colt had been intending to draw. The picture had five outlines of ponies drawn on it. Even though they were not colored, the ponies were recognizable. Blaze was drawing a picture of Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight, Pipsqueak, and himself. At the top of the drawing Blaze had written 'Friends and Family'.

“I wanted to draw something. And this was the first thing I thought of!” Said Blaze. Twilight looked to the left and saw a small box of crayons sitting on the table. Obviously they didn't belong to her, and it didn't take long to figure out where they had come from.

“You know Blaze, if you really needed to go out and get some crayons you should have told me. I'd have gone with you,” said Twilight. “There really was no need to go out on your own.”

“But I didn't go alone,” said Blaze. “I went with Pip.”

“He told me he wanted to get crayons and a snack. So I decided to go with him,” added Pip. Blaze looked over at his mother and then looked back at Twilight.

“I'm sorry. I should have come back in sooner and asked for your permission Auntie Twilight,” said Blaze sadly as he lowered his head.

“It's okay Blaze.”

“Just make sure not to pull that prank on anypony ever again,” said Princess Cadence as she hugged Blaze. She then glanced down toward the little colt and glared. “Cause if you do, you will be grounded for a very long time.”

* * * * *

The next few hours flew by as Twilight, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence got everything ready for the upcoming party at the library. They had just placed food and drinks onto the buffet table when the guests arrived. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy had all arrived around the same time. Even Pip had come to the party as well after he had been invited to join in the festivities. Pinkie Pie had brought in a wide variety of deserts from Sugarcube Corner to add to the wide variety of food. Applejack added a large apple pie to the menu as well, which was gone within the first hour of the party.

There was music, dancing, and several of Pinkie Pie's favorite party games. The party lasted well into the night and finally began to wrap up around midnight. At the end of the party, Shining Armor and Princess Cadence stayed to help Twilight clean up the library a bit. As they put away the spare table, the three ponies noticed Blaze snoozing away on a small rug.

“Somepony must be tired,” said Twilight.

“Well it sounds like he had a pretty big day today. I can't blame the little colt,” said Shining Armor.

“I'm just happy that he met a new friend at the very least,” added Princess Cadence. Pip and Blaze had certainly become good friends in a small amount of time. While Blaze certainly did enjoy the company of his family and family friends, having a friend there whom was his age made it even better. When Pip had left to go back home, Blaze asked his parents when they were going to visit Ponyville again.

“He hasn't really found many friends back in Canterlot,” commented Shining Armor. Seeing Blaze reminded Twilight of the time she spent in Canterlot. Like Blaze she didn't really have any friends beyond Spike, her brother, and Princess Cadence. Coming to Ponyville and meeting Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had been one of the best things that had ever happened in her life. Twilight hoped that her young little nephew would eventually have many friends just like she did.

“I know you two are busy back in Canterlot, but you are always welcome to come by and visit. Same goes for Blaze,” said Twilight.

“Yeah, I wish I knew when we will be able to come back here again. But with the way things are right now it's hard to say,” said Shining Armor grimly.

“Is this related to that news you had referred to earlier?”

“Yes it is. Now that Blaze is asleep, I think it's time we told you more,” added Cadence. She and Shining Armor looked at one another for a moment and then nodded in unison.

“We've been getting reports from the northern border. Ponies are starting to disappear from the nearby villages. Stallions, mares, foals, they are vanishing off the grid without a trace,” said Shining Armor. “We don't have any solid evidence to support it yet, but we believe the changelings are responsible for this.”

“I figured as much. Any bad news from the north is bound to be their doing,” said Twilight.

“It gets worse,” said Cadence grimly.

“Afraid so. Several of our scouts have reported that some of the nearby hives are showing signs of increased activity. They are literally crawling with countless drones.”

“Increased activity?” Twilight thought about the troubling news and in that moment, Twilight theorized what that could possibly mean in the near future. “Does this mean they are going to try a second invasion?”

“It's certainly possible,” answered Shining Armor. “So Princess Celestia is not taking any chances. A full evacuation is occurring in the towns and villages on the northern border.” Shining Armor could tell the news was troubling his little sister. He knew he had to say or do something to try and ease her concerns. “But don't worry, we'll be ready for them if they should choose to attack.”

“I hope so. Most of Equestria would never be ready for that kind of full scale invasion,” said Twilight as she looked over at Blaze. “So many generations of ponies that have known peace for a thousand years.”

“If they do try and invade we will find a way to stop them. I don't want Blaze to live through a repeat of what happened in Canterlot several years ago,” said Princess Cadence. Twilight knew very little about the changelings beyond what intel they had gathered back during the royal wedding. Even after years had passed they still knew so little about the creatures.

“Any sightings of the Queen?” Asked Twilight. “If she's showing her face again, then we certainly need to be worried.” Indeed, Queen Chrysalis was far more dangerous than any evil that Equestria had ever encountered. She made Discord seem like a harmless school prankster.

“Nothing so far. But I don't see Chrysalis being the type to give up so easily. If she is still alive and in charge of the swarm, she will certainly not be shy in letting us know,” said Shining Armor.

The End

Author's Note: Hmm... well that went sort of well I suppose. So many ideas for stories, no idea which one to do next. Those Human in Equestria stories seem to get mixed feelings amongst readers and I can't blame them. I might eventually try writing one of those to see if I can make a half decent one. There's also the 'sequel' short story of sorts that I've left hints about in this story. I dunno, we'll see which one I write first. I still have a bunch of other ideas floating in my head as well.