The Ordinary Adventures of an Extraordinary Unicorn

Chapters

Twily Wants to Help
Twily Isn't Sick!
Twily Wants To Play
Twily is Scared
No Cookies For Twilight
Twily and the Best Foalsitter in the History of Foalsitters
Twily is a Pretty Princess
Twily and the Temple of Terror
Twily and the Den of the Dirt Monsters
Twily and the Dragon's Bath
Twily and the No Good, Very Bad Grade

Twily Wants to Help

Celestia's sun had just risen over the high ridges of the Unicorn Mountains, rays of the sun glittering over the golden spires of Canterlot. Within the homes of the ponies that lived in the royal city all was still. Only a few were awake at that early hour. In the Sparkle household Twilight Velvet yawned, stretched, snuggled up to her husband Night Light who wrapped an arm around her and then they promptly went back to sleep. Shining Armor, their son, was still deep in dreamland where he was leading an expedition of royal guards against an army of goblins. In the stillness of these early hours only Twilight Sparkle was awake. She didn't always wake up so early, but she had set her alarm. The pierce of the alarm broke the silence of the dawn. Twilight quickly silenced it and quietly tiptoed from her bed. She was five years old now and her mother had spent the last month helping her study for a big test she had coming up in magic kindergarten (she was nearly ready to start magic first grade). It was very nice of her and Twilight had gotten it into her head that since Mommy had done something so nice for her she ought to do something nice for Mommy. Helping out around the house and being a generally well-behaved filly wasn't enough. After all, she was supposed to do that. It had to be something special. Twilight had found the perfect solution.

She was going to make breakfast for the whole Sparkle family. All. By. Herself. The little purple unicorn hopped from her bed and hummed a happy tune to herself as she cantered to the kitchen. Nopony was awake yet so nopony was there to ask her what she was up to and why she was up so early on a Saturday. Twilight walked into the kitchen and looked around. Everything was so big! And the cabinets were so high up! How was she supposed to reach anything?

Of course! She could use her magic. The first thing she'd have to do was get some plates. She lit up her horn and opened the cabinet door. That wasn't so hard. The hard part came as she tried to pull down a plate. She strained as she tried to wrap her magic around the plate. It came down, though slowly and wavered in her grasp. Twilight bit her lip as she placed the plate on the counter. She needed three more plates. Her horn began to ache as she used her magic to levitate another plate. The magic began to flicker out as she drew the plate towards the counter, but Twilight quickly laid it down next to the other one. By this point, she was panting.

'Just two more. Then the glasses for everypony! You can do this, Twilight!' She mentally cheered herself on as she lit her horn again. Guided by her magic, another plate began to float in the air. Twilight winced as pain ripped through her horn. Losing control of her magic, the plate hit the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Twilight stared at it, tears welling up in her eyes. She could hear ominous hoofstps coming down the hall.

'Well. This is how it all ends.' Twilight thought to herself. Mommy wasn't going to just put her in the corner for this. That was Mommy's favorite plate, the one with the roses on it. She was going to kick her out of the house then Twilight would have to go live in a dark, scary cave and she'd never see her BBBFF again and-she began to hyperventilate as her eyes started to water.

"What was that-TWILIGHT AURORA SPARKLE!"

Twilight Velvet, alerted by the noise, had marched into the kitchen. Twilight drew back as her mother took in the scene. She looked at Twilight in confusion.

"What were you trying to do?" She asked.

Twilight sniffled. "I-I wanted to make breakfast."

Velvet shook her head. "If you wanted breakfast you should have just asked." She said.

"No, I wanted to make YOU breakfast." Twilight whimpered then burst into tears. "C-cause you were so nice and helped me study s-so I wanted to do s-something nice for you and-and-p-please don't kick me out and make me live in a cave!"

Twilight suddenly found herself in her mother's embrace, which she returned.

"Twily, I would never kick you out of the house. You're my little filly and I love you. So, you were trying to do something nice for me?" Velvet asked.

Twilight nodded and burrowed into her mother's chest. Velvet stroked her mane and levitated the broken shards of the plate into the trash can.

"A-are you mad at me, Mommy?" Twilight wondered.

"Well, I don't want you trying to cook anything by yourself. If you tried to use the stove you could have burned yourself or started a fire. Or, you could have gotten a shard of glass in your little hoofie from breaking a plate."

Twilight's ears folded back as she realized all the things that could have gone wrong. They perked back up when Velvet kissed her forhead.

"But, it was really sweet that you tried to make me breakfast. So, I can forgive you."

"Thanks, Mommy." Twilight said, smiling.

"When we make a mistake, we should try to learn from it." Velvet continued. "What did you learn from this?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Um...I'm not that good at levitation?"

"And?"

"I shouldn't try to make breakfast by myself?"

"Right, but if you really feel like it you can help me anytime." Velvet said, releasing the filly from the embrace. "Why don't I show you how to break an egg?"

Twilight bounced up. "Yay!"

Velvet opened the refrigerator door and levitated out a carton of eggs that she set on the counter, then took out a bowl.

"We're going to mix the eggs. First we need to break'em." She said. She got a chair for Twilight to hop up on. "Why don't you levitate one? It's great practice."

Twilight nodded and focused her horn. It sputtered out. She frowned, closed her eyes and lit it again. An egg was caught up in her magic.

"Good filly." Velvet praised. "Now gently tap it against the edge of the bowl."

Twilight tapped it. It exploded, splattering egg yolk everywhere.

"Oops." Twilight said.

Velvet took a towel, wiped herself off, wiped Twilight off and smiled sweetly. "You know what I really want this morning? Cereal. Why don't you pour me a bowl of cereal?"

Twilight nodded and went to the refigerator. Velvet levitated a bowl and a box of celestia-o's, placing both on the counter. Twilight hopped back on her chair and used her hooves to pour the cereal (her horn was all fizzled out for the day.) Velvet patted her head. "There's a good filly. Thank you."

Twilight beamed and Velvet's heart melted. "Now while I make the eggs why don't you wake up your brother and tell him breakfast is almost ready?"

Twilight nodded, hopped off the chair and ran to get her big brother. Velvet smiled after her.

Twily Isn't Sick!

Twilight Sparkle, age nine, had just moved into the castle of her mentor the Sun Princess Celestia. Her accommodations were lavish. She had a large bedroom with space for three book cases (and yes, she needed three book cases.) Her Smarty Pants doll, given to her by her BBBFF, sat upon her pillow. And the bed! Such luxury had never been seen by the young student. It was a canopy bed with silken sheets and several comfortable pillows stuffed with pegasus down. When she sank into the mattress, it perfectly conformed to her body. The ceiling was gorgeous, showing a lovely mural of the day and night sky. In addition, her big brother was a royal guard and, thus, was always around. That way she never got lonely for home.

And if she did get lonely for home she could visit her family any time she wanted and her family visited her frequently. Her baby dragon Spike had his own basket at the foot of her bed which he was currently curled up in. Her teacher, Celestia, was kind and saw to her every need. She gave her toys and read her bedtime stories and was always patient with her even when she made mistakes. Given all this, Twilight was very happy and content. There was only one problem this fine morning. Twilight sat up and sneezed. Her covers blew away from the force of the sneeze. Her eyes narrowed. She had nearly finished her unit on Starswirl the Bearded. There was no way she was going to get sick and miss it. Besides, she wasn't sick. She just had a little sneeze that was all. She hopped from the bed and a second sneeze sent her sprawling on her tummy. She growled and stood back up. Some early morning exercises would surely make her feel better. Like Celestia had taught her, she began to stretch. Then she breathed, drawing up energy from her root chakra and leading it towards the crown chakra, which jutted out into her horn. As the magic within her stirred and harmonized with the sun she felt her normal burst of early morning energy.

She stretched back her hind legs and released the energy as a breath. As she breathed she noticed a tickle in her throat. She acknowledged it, chose to ignore it, and lifted up her hooves in salutation to the sun. She chanted, allowing energy to come up from her throat chakra and infuse the words of the chant with power. Her unusually dry and slightly sore throat chakra. It was a prayer, one sung by her ancestors as they journeyed across the plains of the young world. It was a chant that filled her whole soul, put her in touch with her roots, with the Divine.

The meditation was interrupted as she sneezed again. This sneeze sent her sprawling on her back and she kicked her hooves into the air. This woke up Spike who stood up from his crib and stretched. He toddled out of the crib, gurgled and put his hands on Twilight's face, concern visible on his babyish face. Twilight sat up and patted his spines. "I'm okay, Spike. Just a sneeze."

Spike cooed in delight at the spine rubs. Shining Armor, looking powerful in his golden armor, walked in and gave a strange look at his younger sister. "You look sick."

Twilight stood and used a napkin to blow her nose. "I am not."

Shining put a hoof on her forehead. "Kiddo, you have a fever."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I've been in my ridiculously warm bed all night. Of course I'm a little warm."

"Hey, didn't Moondancer get a cold last week?" Spike asked.

"Yes and she was out all week too. No way did I get a cold from her."

"There was a cold going around the barracks last week too." Shining said. "Look, I'll tell the cooks to make you some tomato soup like you like and you can stay in bed till you get better."

Twilight pouted. "I don't wanna stay in bed. Staying in bed is boring."

"It'll be better than making yourself worse."

"But I don't want to miss today's lesson!" Twilight said, stomping her hoof.

Shining sighed. Twilight was the only filly he knew that would go to class even when she had a perfect excuse not to. "I'm sure Celestia will let you have a sick day."

"But I don't wanna sick day. And I'm not sick!" She stomped her hooves again.

"Alright, alright. You're not sick. You're still sick though."

Twilight swatted him in the face with a pillow. Shining caught it in his magic and swatted her back with it. "Fine, fine. Goodness, you're cranky before you have your orange juice."

Twilight gasped. "Orange juice! Shiny, you're a genius!" She gave him a big hug which Shining returned before she ran off. Then she ran back and ushered Spike onto her back. Shining rolled his eyes, affectionately ruffled her mane and followed her to the cafeteria.

Since today was the day she had her private lessons she was eating in the castle cafeteria with several servants, dignitaries, nobles and other guests. Like always she had chosen a seat away from the others. Spike crawled off of her back. Twilight had gotten a glass of orange juice and a bowl of strawberries, tangerines, apples and oranges. She'd also gotten a sapphire for Spike (they catered to Dragons.) Spike began to gobble up the sapphire. Twilight gobbled up her fruit bowl.

"This healthy meal should be enough to make me feel better." Twilight said.

Shining sat down next to her with his own tray. "I thought you weren't sick."

"I won't be after this."

After breakfast, she hurried to Celestia's personal chambers to begin her lesson. Shining took Spike to his caretaker, the old stallion that also cared for Philomena. Celestia was sitting before a fire on her cushion.

"Good morning, my faithful student." The solar monarch greeted.

"Good morning, Princess." Twilight said, then another violent sneeze sent her sprawling backwards.

"Twilight!" Celestia jumped up and helped Twilight to her feet. Twilight wiped at her nose. Celestia levitated over a napkin that Twilight blew her nose with.

"Are you feeling alright, Twilight?" Celestia asked.

"Never better Princess!" Twilight shouted, plastering a grin on her face. The grin came apart when she started coughing. Lighting up her horn, Celestia scanned her student.

"I'm afraid you have unicorn flu, Twilight." Celestia told her. "Cough, sore throat and violent sneezes. It should clear up in a few days, but you shouldn't be around other unicorns for a while."

"Oh, darn it!" Twilight sighed. She looked at her teacher with wide, pleading eyes. "You're not a unicorn so you can't get it right?"

"I'm an alicorn. I don't get ordinary illnesses."

"So, we can still have lessons?" Twilight asked, hope in her voice.

"You really should be resting and somewhere warm."

"Your chambers are warm."

"Well, that is true." Celestia conceded. "But are you sure you don't want to take a sick day?"

Twilight shook her head. "I want to finish up on the Starswirl unit."

"Very well." Celestia said, smiling. She laid back down on her cushion and lifted up a wing. Twilight hesitated for a few minutes before snuggling under her. Celestia wrapped her up in the wing and held her close.

"You don't have to take notes for this lesson."

"No notes?"

"Nope. I'm just going to tell you some stories."

Celestia's wing was warm and soft as it settled over Twilight. Twilight couldn't resist snuggling closer to the sun goddess. Celestia began to tell her stories of the great wizard. Not only his accomplishments, but also amusing tales from his life that weren't in the history books. How he had a collection of socks he had gathered from his ex-wives that he vindictively held onto. How two young sisters who were his students enjoyed pranking him. How he turned the tables on them and pranked them back. Once he put a bucket of ice water above their door timed to fall when they walked in the room. The ensuing prank war was ended by Princess Platinum herself. Twilight listened, enraptured by her teacher's tales. Lunchtime came and Celestia ordered some tomato soup for Twilight and sandwiches for herself. Twilight settled back beneath Celestia's wing, soup held in her magic. By dinnertime she was getting sleepy again. Her lesson had long ended and now they were just talking. Soon, Twilight fell asleep against her. Celestia called for the guard outside her door. Shining Armor walked in.

"Plan worked." Celestia said. "She got her rest and her lesson."

Shining nodded. "How is she feeling?"

"Still a bit sick. Highly contagious, but you already got unicorn flu so you can't get it again. She's all yours, Private."

Shining walked over and scooped Twilight up, giving her a little kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and they walked from the room.

Twily Wants To Play

The day was warm, the weather was perfect. A pleasant breeze blew through the gilded streets of Canterlot. Normally, on a day like this Shining Armor would be out taking on a stroll at the park. Unfortunately, he had been drafted with the task of foalsitting his seven-year old sister. Her ordinary foalsitter, Cadence, was at home sick with alicorn flu.

Shining loved his sister. She was playful, sweet, adorable, gifted with magic and his little sister best friend forever. They never fought. He had taught her how to fly a kite and helped her with her homework and sometimes she helped him with his homework. Her skill with trigonometry came in handy any time he had an exam. The problem was that since he had to take care of her she would expect him to play with her. This wouldn't usually be a problem. However, today he had to practice. This year, at the age of thirteen, he was going to join the Junior Guard Academy. To do this, he had to show some proficiency at combat magic. He had spent two years learning basic hand-to-hand combat, the spear, the sword, the bow and various magical martial arts. Last month, he had gotten beaten up by two bullies that were older than him and shown him the weaknesses of his combat forms. He had spent the last month training two hours a day.

He stood listening and inwardly sighing as his parents stood at the door and lectured him on how to look after his younger sister. Twilight was sitting on a couch looking through a large encyclopedia. Shining thought it possible that she would remain distracted by the book. It wasn't likely though.

"And remember, don't let her forget to eat! Take away her books if you have to!" Twilight Velvet said. "I've prepared a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, strawberry her favorite, oh you know that."

"Yes, I do."

"And don't let her do any dangerous spells. If you see her doing any spellwork, ask her what it is before you let her cast."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Seriously. I don't want another house fire."

"Absolutely. Should I just slip an inhibitor on her horn?"

Velvet bit her lip and for a minute looked like she was seriously considering it. "Nah. Just watch her."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I love you, bye."

"Love you, too."

She kissed Shining then she and Night Light trotted over to kiss Twilight goodbye. Twilight seemed startled by the display of affection, but put down the book and kissed back. Then the couple said good-bye again and left.

"So, Twily."

"Uh-huh?"

He sat next to her. "Are you going to cast any fires?"

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Summon any demons?"

"Not that good at evocation."

It alarmed Shining that that was her only objection to that. Then he saw her grin and realized she was joking. He tousled her mane eliciting a giggle.

"You little rascal, you. So what are you planning to do?"

She levitated some scissors and a piece of paper as she set the encyclopedia aside. "I'm going to make a get well card for Cadence!"

"Aww." Shining cooed. "Mom would kill me dead if I left you alone with scissors and you hurt yourself so want me to help?"

"Sure!"

She set the paper on the table then her horn lit as she levitated the scissors. Under Shining's watchful eye she cut out a heart from the red construction paper. Shining put some glue on the paper and Twilight sprinkled glitter all over it. She shook and shook the can, trying to make the heart as sparkly as she could.

"Twilight, I think that's enough." Shining said, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"I want it to look like her cutie mark!" Twilight announced.

"We need to write on it though."

"Oh, yeah." Twilight said. She picked up a pen and wrote in her exquisite horn-writing "get well soon, Princess Cadence."

Twilight and Shining both signed it.

"Can we take it to her?" Twilight asked.

"Sure." Shining said. "Then, I can come back and do my practice."

They left, locking the door behind them. The siblings made their way through Canterlot, Twilight hopping ahead. The castle rose up before them and two guards gave them weary looks as they walked up to them.

"Hi!" Twilight bounded up to the guard, the card held in her magic. "Can we see Princess Cadence?"

"Princess Cadence is not to be disturbed, but Princess Celestia is available."

"We want to give her this get well card." Twilight explained.

"I'm afraid her illness is quite contagious."

"I thought it was alicorn flu." Shining said.

The guard shrugged. "I don't get it either, but that's what the Princess told us. However, we will deliver the card." He took the card in his own magic and turned to walk away. Twilight's ears dropped.

"I wanted to see Cadence." She mumbled.

Shining patted her head. He had too. "Come on. We can see her later."

The two made their way back home. When they passed a bookstore, Twilight stopped.

Shining sighed and shook his head. "Alright. Five minutes. One book."

She zoomed in and returned ten minutes later with a new Daring Do book. Shining didn't mention how long it took her. He really was unable to say no to her. There was no further interruptions on their way home. Twilight went inside to curl up with her new book, Shining staying outside. He breathed in the scent of the grass and found his center of calm that every warrior needed. He then began to move through the forms, punching, kicking and jabbing at imaginary foes. Every now and then he thrusted outward with his horn. Then he would draw back as if evading an enemy.

"BBBFF!"

He stopped and turned. Twilight pranced over to him. "Can we go back to the bookstore? I picked up the wrong book in the series!"

Shining inwardly groaned. He didn't want to feel like a jerk and tell her no. But he really, really had to practice. Avoiding looking into her pleading eyes he told her no.

"Why not, BBBFF?"

"I have to practice to get into the academy. Don't you have to study for your entrance exam?"

"I already have."

"The exam is in three months."

"And I already studied everything!" Twilight said, sounding exasperated. "Now I don't have anything to study or read!" She laid out on her tummy and looked up at him. "I'm bored. Can we go to the park? I can study insects!"

Shining looked straight ahead. If he looked into those eyes he was lost.

"I'm sorry, Twily."

She pushed out her lip. "Can't you do it later?"

"I really wish I could, but I can't put this off. We can play as soon as I'm done. Please don't cry, Twily."

"I'm not. I know how important practice is. I'll go...practice levitation or something..." Sighing heavily, she dramatically rose up. Her ears drooped and her tail dragged along as she trudged back to the house. Shining felt his own ears droop. He wanted more than anything to run after her and play, but he wasn't kidding about needing to practice. He had to develop the iron will of a guard so he returned to his forms. He focused on his horn and summoned a shield. The shield didn't extend around his back. That was something he was trying to correct. An enemy could sneak up on him from behind.

Suddenly he felt something leap on his back and wrap its forelegs around his neck.

"Twily? Did you just jump on my back?"

"Yep!" She giddily announced into his ear.

"Twily. Why did you jump on my back?"

"Because I want you to play with me!"

"I already told you that I would play with you as soon as I was done practicing."

"But you always practice a really long time! I wanna play now!"

It was moments like these he wished his sister had more friends. No, he loved his sister. He enjoyed spending time with his sister. He needed to have a talk about boundaries with his sister.

"Twilight, I'm going to count till three. If you aren't off my back till then there'll be consequences."

From atop her perch, Twilight rolled her eyes. There wouldn't be any consequences, not from his hoof anyway. He wouldn't even tell their parents.

"1."

Twilight kept her forelegs around his neck.

"2."

She blew a raspberry.

"2 and a half."

She nibbled his mane. It tasted funny so she spat it out.

"3. That's it."

Twilight found herself swept up in her brother's aura. She didn't feel a bit afraid until he sat her down on her back, still in his magic so she couldn't move.

"Um, what'cha doin'?" Her eyes widened as he loomed over. "No, no, no! C'mon!"

His hooves descended and dug into all her most ticklish spots. The little filly helplessly squirmed and giggled as the older stallion tickled her senseless.

"Shiny! Come on! Please!"

Deaf to her pleas, he continued his tickle assault, running his hooves all over her tummy.

"Are you going to be a good filly?"

"No!"

The tickling intensified and she laughed and kicked her hooves.

"Why aren't you going to be a good filly?"

"Cause you weren't playing with me when I was being a good filly!"

Shining stopped. He didn't like the idea of his sister thinking that the best way of getting attention was by misbehaving. That seemed like the kind of thinking that would be problematic later on. He had a sudden image of Twilight standing in the smoldering ruins of Canterlot, her eye twitching with madness.

"Now will you play with me, BBBFF?! NOW WILL YOU PLAY WITH ME?!" Vision Twilight demanded. Shining shook his head.

"Uh, you know what? We can play some as long as you promise to be a good filly."

"I promise!"

Twilight lept up.

"So, what'd you wanna do?" She asked.

"You're the one that wanted to play, silly." Shining answered, booping her lightly on the nose with his hoof.

"Hey, maybe you could show me some of that fighting stuff. That way you could play with me and practice at the same time!"

Shining felt his heart warm at the suggestion. His little sister was so considerate.

"Alright. I was working on my shield. Try to blast it."

He brought his shield up. She scrunched up her muzzle in an expression of utmost concentration. Her horn lit up and she sent out a burst of energy and struck the shield. Shining didn't even feel it as it struck the shield. She sent out a second blast. This one rocked the shield lightly. Shining grinned.

"Give it your best shot, LSBFF!"

A beam of energy erupted from her horn. Shining yelped as it hit his shield, shattered it and sent him sprawling.

"Oh my Celestia! Shiny! Are you alright?!" Twilight asked as she rushed up to him. Shining stood.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I need to make my shield stronger. Let's work on some forms. I'll show you the basics."

He trotted to the center of the yard. Twilight pranced next to him.

"Close your eyes and breathe Twilight."

Twilight obeyed and took in a deep breath like her brother.

"Now jerk your horn forward, like this."

They jerked their horns forward. He took her through the full form, showing her each evasion, strike and horn thrust. By the third time they did it, she seemed to have memorized it. Together they went through the rhythm of the form. It was like a dance. Every now and then, Shining would gently correct her form. After each correction, Twilight did it nearly flawlessly. Shining found himself just a little jealous. It'd taken him weeks to get them perfect. They moved through the form again and again, then Shining decided to show her a more advanced form. Shining demonstrated it. Twilight had a bit more trouble with this one, but Shining helped her with it.

Shining realized as he taught it to Twilight that he was developing a better understanding of the forms himself.

"This is kind of fun!" Twilight said as Shining showed her how to throw a right hook. "I never knew exercise could be this fun!"

"Oh, it is." Shining said. Suddenly he felt his stomach growling. He ignored it as he and Twilight finished the form. He still had a lot more to do and he could ignore his hunger...then Twilight's stomach started to growl. She imitated her brother and started the new form. A grin tugged at his lips.

Like brother, like sister.

"Say Twiliy, wanna take a lunch break?"

"But I'm not-" A growl interrupted her and she looked sheepish.

Shining tousled her mane. "Let's split one of Mom's pb&j sandwiches."

The pair walked back inside.

Author's Note

Because Shiny and Twily are adorable together.
This will be updated on an "as I feel like it" basis.

Twily is Scared

The velvet cloak of night had descended upon the spires of the great city of Canterlot. The stars and the moon, which normally shone down upon the city, were obscured by grey and threatening clouds. A spring storm had been planned. Only a few unicorns were out as the clock got closer and closer to midnight. Most were hurrying home to avoid the downpour that was on its way. A few, drunken ponies were staggering home, leaning on one another and singing bawdy drinking songs. Their laughter and singing rang through the streets of the city.

In one house, just outside the city limits, all was still. After a hearty dinner, the inhabitants had gone on to bed. Shining Armor had attempted to stay up to read a graphic novel under his covers. He had fallen asleep just before eleven. Twilight Velvet was resting in the forelegs of her husband Night Light. Night Light was snoring, a trail of drool coming down his face. His wife's tail curled against his own. Velvet was in the state between sleep and wakefulness. Having had two children had made her hypervigilant to the least little noise. She knew that her youngest was scared of thunderstorms. She had offered to let the filly sleep with them, but a few months ago Twilight had decided that being a big filly meant that she should be sleeping in her own bed.

Velvet was actually a little proud and a little sad that her daughter was growing up. She had just now turned five and was always asking Velvet to read to her. Velvet had to help her sound out the big words, but Twilight had become a voracious reader. They had gotten her a library card a few weeks ago and every weekend Twilight would insist her parents take her there. Velvet had never met another filly who loved reading so much or was so good at it. Night Light had caught her in his personal den reading over his military history book. He had been amazed because Twilight had understood enough of the words to be horrified by what she was reading. Still, she had sat in Night Light's lap and continued reading until he had taken the book away from her.

They had decided to go get her tested after that. Their little daughter, who liked to steal cookies when she thought nopony was looking and liked to tackle hug her big brother, was a genius. Her magical potential was off the charts as was her intellect. The revelation had made Velvet both proud and afraid. Was that why Twilight was unable to relate to fillies her own age? Was that the reason she preferred doing her homework and studying to even attempting to play with other foals?

Velvet turned in her bed. They had taken her to the park, but all Twilight had done was spend an hour following a ladybug around. They had told her foalsitter about it. She had only giggled and nicknamed Twilight Ladybug. She had studied foal psychology and assured them that Twilight was perfectly normal.

Still, a hobbyist foal psychologist's word did little to assure Velvet. Most of the other foals ignored Twilight and Twilight ignored them in turn. Velvet wished her daughter could make at least one friend.

Meanwhile, a little purple, unicorn filly huddled beneath her sheets. She knew a thunderstorm was coming and that she shouldn't be afraid. Sure, the thunder sounded like a horrible monster come to eat her. But that was silly. Thunder was just...just...actually, Twilight hadn't gotten that far in her natural science book yet. She had gotten distracted by the chapter on insects.

Besides, the alchemy book was so much more interesting. If she wasn't so sure it'd end with another lecture from the head of the firefighter's brigade she'd try one of the experiments.

Above all, she couldn't get scared. She was a big filly, not a foal. Only foals were scared of thunderstorms.

A distant rumble began. Twilight whimpered and grasped her Smarty Pants doll, closer, nuzzling it. She burrowed into her pink covers, drawing the blanket over her head.

No, she wasn't going to be scared. She was determined to not be frightened by what was most certainly not an evil dragon come to gobble her up in a single bite.

The very thought was ridiculous. She was also glad that she had listened to her mommy and gone to the potty before bedding down for the night. It wouldn't bolster her case that she was a big filly if she wet the bed and had to go back to diapers.

Not that she was sure her mommy would put her back in diapers and Shining had sounded like he'd been joking, but one could never be too sure about such matters.

Suddenly, a clash of thunder roared through the city. Twilight's eyes shot open. A second clash rolled and the sky was alight with streaks of lightning.

That was definitely a dragon! She had read all about dragons! A great blue dragon was coming to gobble her up! A third clash of lightning shook the sky and Twilight could not hold back the scream that she let out. She dived beneath the blankets and shivered, waiting for the big, scary dragon to swoop down and gobble her up.

No such dragon came, but its roars and growls still swept through the city. She clutched Smarty Pants and promised Mother Epona that if the dragon didn't get her she'd be a good filly and eat her vegetables and stop stealing cookies and not do any more dangerous experiments.

The dragon was getting closer, she could hear its roaring.

Shining, in the next room, felt his big brother instincts activate at hearing his little sister's scream. He darted from the bed just as Velvet and Night Light raced down the hall. They met outside Twilight's door.

Shining scratched his head. "So, uh..."

"You have school in the morning, you have work, I'll handle it." Velvet told her husband and son, taking charge of the situation. Night Light and Shining nodded, yawned and returned to their bedrooms.

Twilight continued huddling beneath the blankets, expecting the terrifying dragon to come gobble her up any second. The door opened a crack and Twilight heard hooves trotting on fabric. The next thing she felt was the blankets being drawn away and a comforting hoof running through her mane.

"Twilight? Twilight, Sweetie?" Velvet slid on the bed and drew her daughter close. Twilight buried her face into her side. Velvet held her, stroking her mane.

"It's just thunder, Twiliy. It's going to be alright." She continued stroking her mane.

Twilight nuzzled against her mother's chest. "I...I thought it was a big, scary dragon." A blush spread across her face as she admitted the silly idea. She couldn't believe she had thought something like that!

Velvet hugged her. "It's alright, Sweetie. Everypony gets scared sometimes."

Twilight eyed her dubiously. "Even you?"

"Yes, Sweetie. Even me. Even Daddy and Shiny. Everypony gets scared sometimes." A thought came to her. "You know what thunder and lightning are, don't you?"

"No." Twilight shyly admitted, wishing she had looked it up. "I know there are 4,300 types of ladybugs though!"

Velvet bit her lip before the giggle came out. "That's..." Adorable. "Nice, sweetie."

"And they smell with their feet and antennae!"

A peal of thunder crashed. Twilight yelped and buried her face in her mother's chest. Velvet continued stroking her mane and nickered to her. She struggled to remember her science lessons in high school. That had been a long time ago. She used her magic to flip on a light and levitated over a natural science book that was on Twilight's overcrowded bookshelf. She held the book in her magic and flipped through the pages while she sat up against the pillow. Twilight settled into her favorite reading spot, her mommy's lap.

Velvet searched for the chapter labeled atmospheric science. Looking over it, she realized her daughter might have to help her read it.

"Thunder," Velvet began, "is a sound caused by lightning."

Twilight read along. Velvet continued. The thunder continued outside, but Twilight was absorbed in the book as Velvet explained about sonic shockwaves and atmospheric pressure. Lightning, the book explained, was what happened when negatively charged particles and positively charged particles met.

Velvet wasn't sure how much Twilight understood, but she used her hoof to read along and sounded out the bigger words. Velvet realized she was getting sleepy. The thunder had slowly come to an end. Twilight yawned.

"So, you see pegasii are in charge of all this. They try their best to not let it get out of control." Velvet ended. Twilight closed her eyes and curled up against her chest. Velvet set aside the book.

Twilight stirred. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"Stay with me? Please?"

Velvet kissed Twilight's forehead, just below Twilight's horn. "Your bed's a bit small for me, but you can sleep with me tonight."

"...Okay." Twilight said, letting Velvet pick her up in her field and lay her on her back. Twilight spent the rest of that night in her parent's embrace.

Years later, Twilight decided, that was where it had all began. Watching Celestia raise the sun had sparked her love for magic. Her second love, her love for science, had been sparked on a long ago, stormy night when her mother had comforted her with knowledge. The comfort of rationality, the assurance of a world that was well-ordered by both natural and mystic forces, as well as her life-long quest to combine the two.

It was there, in her mother's lap, that it had all began.

No Cookies For Twilight

Four year old Twilight trotted into the kitchen and looked around. The kitchen was empty. Her hooves clip-clopped on the checkered linoleum floor as she trotted further into what usually her mommy's domain. The blue lace curtains were spread wide, letting in the afternoon sun that sparkled on the immaculately white counter tops. The nearly shining floor and empty sink hinted that her mommy had cleaned up in here very recently.

Twilight nervously looked over her shoulder. The coast was clear. Mommy was cleaning up the bathroom and shouldn't be coming back inside. Daddy was outside in the garden. Last time Twilight had seen him he had been sitting on a garden chair and munching on a carrot. Shining had gone off with his friends a while ago and they were off doing whatever it was colts did with their friends. (Twilight had no interest in the subject. There were more interesting things in life. Like alchemy and ladybugs and chocolate chip cookies.)

She had fooled them all. They all thought she was in her room, playing with her doll and reading passages from the Encyclopedia Equestriannica. She had been, in fact, until she'd gotten an insatiable urge for cookies. She had tried to suppress the urge. Oh, yes, she had tried. It was a monumental struggle, but in the end the desire for cookies had over ridden everything else. Nopony would ever suspect her daring plan.

The four legs of the wooden, mahogany table rose up before her at an impressive height. Twilight gulped as she looked up at the impressively high table. Atop the blue tablecloth was a ceramic jar, decorated with pictures of flowers. Roses and yellow daffodils popped up in a verdant green field where pink and blue bunnies frolicked. Twilight stared at the jar, wondering if such multicolored bunnies really existed. She had never seen any of them in her books. Still, the bunnies were pretty. Twilight could stare at them for hours.

She shook her head. The bunnies, as cute and cuddly looking as they were, were not the most interesting thing about the jar. The most interesting thing about the jar was the sweet, gooey goodness of moist, chocolate chip cookies. Twilight licked her lips at the thought and spent a few seconds calculating how far she'd have to leap to get on the table. Both jumping on the table and cookie theft were punishable by a spanking, but Twilight didn't care. There were cookies that needed liberating from their cruel imprisonment in the cookie jar!

The cookies, after all, had done nothing to deserve their cruel imprisonment except for being delicious. They would be much happier in her tummy. Not sure if jumping on the table was the best idea, Twilight lit up her horn in an attempt to telekinetically lift up the lid of the cookie jar. It wouldn't budge. Twilight frowned and took several steps back. Any miscalculation would result in a serious boo-boo. (Which, no doubt, was the reason she wasn't allowed to jump on the table.)

She concentrated on the distance between herself and the table, a distance she sough to close with one mighty leap. She concentrated on it so hard, she stuck out her tongue. The vast table seemed to rise up before her like a mountain she could never hope to scale. She had scaled it in the past, even if that had occasionally ended in a trip across Mommy's knee or, far worse, landing on the hard, unforgiving ground.

At least, Mommy's knee was soft and comfortable. The ground was very hard and very uncomfortable. Still, there was no length to which Twilight would not go to gain her treasure-sweet, chocolate chip cookies.

She took one last step and then a mighty bound. She nearly missed, but at the last second scrambled onto the table. She did a little victory prance and nearly fell off the table. She steadied herself and lifted the lid from the jar, placing both hooves on the jar and nearly turning over in order to peer inside. There were only a few cookies left. She could just barely reach them. She plunged a hoof into the darkness of the jar, reaching for one of the treats.

In the bathroom Twilight Velvet put down the brush she had been scrubbing the toilet with and looked around at her hoofiwork. The white tiled bathroom, alabaster sink and ivory-colored bathtub sparkled in the light streaming in from the window. Satisfied, she walked out of the bathroom and put her toilet brush back beneath the sink.

A light grumble came from her stomach. Lately she had been on a diet and trying to avoid sweets, despite the temptation. She allowed herself one cookie a day after supper as she couldn't completely give up sweets. Her self-will just wasn't strong enough for that. She trotted in the hallway and towards the kitchen where she hoped to find a healthy snack like a carrot or an apple. The sight that greeted her almost made her laugh against her will. Twilight was bent over with her head in the cookie jar, her tail swaying nearly hypnotically as she squirmed.

Her daughter was too cute for her own good sometimes. Velvet shook her head and sighed. She didn't want to, but she had made a rule and intended to keep it. She lit up her horn and Twilight found herself floating in air. She desperately hung on to the chocolate chip cookie in her hooves. Velvet sat down on a chair and bent the filly across her knee. Raising her hoof she landed several firm swats on Twilight's rump and then several more on the other side of her rump. Twilight yelped and jumped. "That's for stealing cookies and for jumping on the table." She sat the little rascal down. "Now what do you have to say for yourself?"

Twilight hung her head. "Sorry."

Velvet knelt down to her level. "It's okay. I just don't want you to hurt yourself or make your tummy sick eating too many sweets. Understand?"

Twilight nodded. Velvet wrapped her hooves around her, drawing her daughter into an embrace as well as floating the cookie back into the jar with her magic. Twilight returned the hug and nuzzled her.

"Now why don't you go outside and play? Or stay inside and read if you want?"

Twilight stayed in the embrace for a while, Velvet stroking her mane. Finally, she decided to go out and play with ladybugs. She happily pranced out the door as if the spanking had never happened. Velvet looked back to the open cookie jar. Suddenly, the sweet scent of the baked goods rose up, casting a spell over her. She felt a twinge of sympathy for her daughter.

But she was an adult mare, not a weak-willed four year old. Velvet lifted up the lid to place atop the jar, hoping to close it and break the cookie's power over her. The cookies beckoned her. She looked around so no one would see her shameful deed. Then, she floated up a cookie.

Suddenly, she felt hot breath on her neck and heard her husband's voice. "Stealing cookies before dinner? You know what that means."

With a tug of his magic, Night Light took his wife across his knees and landed several spanks across her backside. "Sorry Darling," he gently, lovingly rubbed where he had smacked. "It's your rule."

Twily and the Best Foalsitter in the History of Foalsitters

Twilight frowned as she sat on the couch. The five year old didn't frown often, but this was a situation that definitely required frowning. Her mommy and daddy stood in the spacious living room, Daddy wearing a nice tuxedo and Mommy wearing a sparkling red dress. Beams of the late morning sun sparkled on her jewels and illuminated the living room. Twilight scooted into a sunspot on the brown upholstery. The sunlight felt warm and comfortable against her fur. She smiled as she nestled into it and then remembered she was supposed to be frowning. Maybe frowning wasn't enough. It clearly wasn't getting the desired effect. Just for a change she jutted her lips out in a sulk. She widened her eyes as if she were about to cry.

Then she remembered why she was pouting. Real tears came to her eyes. Mommy looked over, sighed, and trotted over. She leaned down and softly nuzzled Twilight. Twilight gave in and nuzzled her back. "Twily, it's not going to be so bad."

Twilight said nothing. Daddy joined Mommy, affectionately ruffling Twilight's mane. "C'mon, Sweetie. You know Shining can't foalsit you."

Twilight's lower lip began to tremble.

Daddy and Mommy sat on opposite sides of her. Mommy nuzzled her again. "Don't cry, please. We hired a very nice foalsitter."

Twilight sniffled. "She won't be Shiny."

Velvet stroked her mane. "Shining wanted to go to junior guard camp. He wants to get into the guard and he's preparing early. You want your brother to follow his dreams don't you?" She sighed. "I know it's hard, but he'll be back this evening. Then you two can play."

Twilight looked up at her mommy. "Can't I go with you two?"

Night Light shrugged. "Depends. Do you want to go to your mother's boss's birthday party?"

Twilight's ears perked up. "There'll be cake won't there!"

Velvet shook her head. "No, because my boss is on a diet."

Twilight's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds. "A birthday party...without cake?" The two ideas simply refused to compute in her admittedly brilliant mind. Birthday parties meant cake. Birthday parties always meant cake.

Night Light leaned back into the couch. "There won't be many other foals either. Mommy's boss doesn't like foals. No fun party games. Just lots and lots of adults trying to impress each other with useless trivia." He blinked. "Why am I going again?"

Velvet tweaked his ear with her magic. "Because I couldn't find a foalsitter for you."

"Ah. Wait, I don't need a foalsitter."

She gave him a flat look. "Last time I left you home alone you sprained your leg falling off a ladder."

He puffed his chest out. "I've been in wars, Mare. I can handle fixing a light bulb."

"The medical bill says you can't. Anyway, all the other teachers will have their spouses with them."

He lifted. "Ah, fine, I'll go with you."

Twilight frowned again, getting the distinct feeling that she'd been forgotten. She sniffled, bringing her parents' attention back to her. They both nuzzled her. Twilight couldn't help but enjoy the attention, a slight smile crossing her lips.

There was a knock on the door. Velvet rose to get it. "That should be her. Remember, Twily, she's a very good foalsitter. Only the best for you, Sweetie."

She crossed the living room and opened the door. A pink unicorn with a mane and tail in shades of pink, yellow and purple entered the room. Twilight's eyes widened when she saw the foalsitter's wings. They were magnificent even when resting at her sides. They were pink, the tips highlighted in purple.

Twilight bounced off the couch. "You're an alicorn!"

The foalsitter gave her a confused look, then glanced up at her horn. She gave another look to her wings. "My goodness, so I am!"

Twilight stared at her. She'd forgotten she was an alicorn? How?

A grin spread across the alicorn's face. "I'm just messing with you, Kiddo."

Twilight giggled. Velvet and Night Light smiled, Night Light walking from the couch to join his wife. "I knew you two would get along."

Cadence lowered herself so she was eye level with Twilight. "I'm Cadence. You're Twilight, right?"

Twilight nodded, her mind scrambling for something to say. She was terrible at talking to ponies, especially big ponies! "I like ladybugs!"

Cadence blinked, then put a hoof to her mouth while her sides shook. Twilight looked up at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

The fit passed. "Yes, Sweetie, I'm fine. So, you like ladybugs?"

Twilight enthusiastically nodded her head, sending her mane flying back and forth. "They're my third favorite insect right past centipedes and cicadas! And I only like cicadas because their wings make pretty music in the summer!"

Velvet and Night Light watched the scene, their faces showing their satisfaction that the foalsitter and their daughter had hit it off. Velvet cleared her throat. "We have to go. Twilight, be good for Cadence. Cadence, she likes peanut butter and jelly, give her a book if she gets bored, if she's finished all her books take her by the library or the park."

Cadence produced a pencil and notebook from her saddlebag, jotting everything Velvet said down. "Got it. Does she have any allergies? Anything I should know about?"

Velvet thought for a moment. "Hmm...look out for any magic surges. She bed surges sometimes."

Twilight's face turned crimson under her violet fur. "Mommy!"

"Oh, Sweetie, I have to tell her. ."

Cadence shrugged. "I used to bed surge when I first got the horn. Had to sleep with an inhibitor for the first few months."

Twilight's jaw dropped. Today was just full of surprises! "But you're a big pony!"

"I know, but I used to be a Pegasus. I didn't know how to control my magic and if I got slack about doing my meditations before bed whoosh, I'd wake up to everything in my bedroom flying around me." A despondent expression crossed her face. "Broke my favorite lamp that way."

Night Light gave Twilight a kiss. "See, you already have something to talk about. We have to go now. Love ya."

Velvet gave her a kiss too. "Okay. We love you, Twilight."

Twilight said goodbye as they trotted away.

Cadence glanced around the living room. "So, what do you want to do, Twilight?"

"Can you tell me how you became an Alicorn?"

Cadence sat down on the couch, motioning for Twilight to sit down next to her. "I come from a really far away place. That place went away a long time ago, but I was raised by Princess Celestia. One day when I was around thirteen-last year, in fact-me and Auntie Celestia went to investigate a mysterious incident. An entire village had started fighting. Ponies were attacking and hurting each other. Celestia realized it was a spell being cast by an evil witch. Well, we went to confront the witch. As we fought her, I felt some mysterious magic I had never felt before. It filled my heart. I couldn't explain it. As I drew on my Pegasus magic to defeat the witch I felt that magic rushing through me. It was the magic of love. Somehow, I knew the spell to release the power of love. Not only did my love spell break the witch's hate spell and return peace to the village, it also turned the witch's heart. She became a good pony, one full of kindness and joy. After that I grew a horn and Earth Pony strength, becoming an Alicorn."

Twilight was spellbound herself as she listened to the story. "How'd you do it?"

"When a Pony reaches the highest level of their tribal magic, they can become an Alicorn. I had managed to take my Pegasus magic to its highest level and I used it to create a love spell, something no Pegasus before me had ever done. There are many Alicorns Twilight, but only two currently live in Equestria."

Twilight bounced up and down. "Cool! Could I become an Alicorn too?"

Cadence stroked her mane. "You can become anything you want to be, including an Alicorn."

Twilight hopped off the couch. "I'm going to go see of any of my books have anything about Alicorns!" She rushed up the stairs, heading towards her bedroom. She rushed back down, carrying a book on her back that was nearly bigger than she was. Cadence flew over and scooped her up in one foreleg, taking the book in the other. "We wouldn't want you to fall now would we?"

Twilight shook her head. "So, about the bedsurging..." She trailed off, nervously pawing at the carpet. "It stopped eventually, right?"

"It sure did. Like your mommy said, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. As you get older, you will get more control over your magic and it'll stop. In fact, bed surging means you have more magic than your little body can handle. When you grow up, you're going to be a very strong Unicorn."

Twilight blushed, her ears folding back. "Really? You think so?"

"I do." She laid the book on the coffee table. It was a heavy, faux leather bound volume that must have run above one thousand pages. Imprinted in golden letters was its title, The Encyclopedia Equestriananica. Cadence blinked. "Wow! That's a big pony book! Do you need my help to sound out any of the words?"

Twilight, with a practiced motion, scooped the book onto the cushion next to her. "No, thanks, I'm good."

Cadence sat down on the far cushion and watched as the first grade filly flipped through articles that many college graduates found confusing. Her parents said she was smart, but there's no way she can be understanding all of that! Maybe she just likes the pictures.

She laid a hoof on the page Twilight was flipping through, deciding to test her. "So, Twilight, what do you think of Existentialism?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "The pro-pro-the thought that the universe is entirely meaningless is contradicted by the fact that the universe is orderly. Clearly, order points to a higher intelligence or intelligences ordering the Cosmos. Whether that is a literal god or not is entirely up to conjecture, but life clearly has meaning."

Cadence's jaw dropped. While Twilight had oversimplified existentialism to an extreme degree, she clearly had a basic grasp of it. "How old are you again?"

"I'm five."

Cadence decided to give her another test, flipping through the encyclopedia again, ignoring the annoyed huff from her charge. She went to mathematics. "Give me an example of a Fibonacci number."

"Eight! You get that by adding three and five, the two numbers that come before it in the sequence!" Her tail started wagging. "Ooh, are we playing school? I love that game!"

"Sure." Cadence quizzed her on the math articles, the science articles, the history articles. While she faltered just a bit on history, her grasp on math and science were solid with only a few blind spots in her knowledge. Finally, Twilight tired of the game when Cadence reminded her that she had wanted to look up Alicorns.

The filly practically devoured the article, reading about the legends of the first Alicorns, their relationships with other mystical beings, significant Alicorns who had gone onto the Spirit Plains and other tidbits about Alicorn lore. An hour had gone by and Twilight still had her muzzle in the book.

Cadence had decided to make herself a sandwich as she watched her charge quietly read. She wished all of her little charges could be so quiet.

Twilight looked up from her book. "Cadence?"

Cadence swallowed a piece of her sandwich. "Yes?"

Twilight set the book back on the coffee table. "Can we go to the park? I wanna see if I can find any ladybugs!"

Cadence set aside the plate. "Of course! Let me just wash this plate."

...
It was a sunny day with bright, puffy white clouds filling the sky. The long grass of the park felt good against Cadence's hooves. She stretched her back, spreading her wings so that they caught the relaxing feel of the air currents. For a few seconds she closed her eyes, relishing in the feel of the breeze tickling each feather. She opened her eyes. Twilight was still staring intently at a ladybug crawling up the rough bark of a hickory tree.

Every time she found a ladybug-or any other insect for that matter-her face would break out into the most adorable grin. Her enthusiasm, her sheer joy for life was infectious. Cadence found herself looking around at the park, watching as stallions and mares walked or jogged, foals laughed and played, orange and yellow butterflies floated on the breeze.

The grass of the park was littered with fallen leaves in Autumn shades of yellows, and oranges and reds. The brilliant, fiery colors of the leaves still on the trees this October Saturday stood out against the azure sky. Cadence glanced to the grass beneath her hooves. As she watched, a world unfolded. Worms wriggled in the dirt. Grasshoppers and crickets leapt from one blade of grass to another. And there were some of Twilight's favorite insects, ladybugs.

The world really was beautiful. It was a small wonder Twilight took such joy in it. To her, the entire world was fresh and new. Cadence was shocked from her musings by a bright flash of light. She spun around.

Twilight was gone. Cadence looked around, but the filly was nowhere to be seen. She ran though she wasn't sure where she was running. "Twilight! Twilight, where are you! Twilight!"

Her heart was pounding. Her breath was coming out in shorter and shorter bursts. "Damn it! Why did I take my eyes off of her? What is wrong with me! Twilight, please answer! I'll take you to get ice cream if you answer me right now!"

She pricked up her ears, focusing. Finally, she heard the most plaintive wailing. She launched into the air, wings spread to their fullest extent. She soared past the park and stopped at a restaurant just outside of it. Twilight was curled up in a ball, crying her eyes out. Cadence gave thanks to her Pegasus ancestors for her sharp hearing and landed on the roof. Twilight threw herself into Cadence's chest, embracing her. "I didn't mean to! I-I wanted t-to follow the l-ladybug and-"

Cadence wrapped a wing around her, softly cooing. "It's okay. You had a magic surge and teleported right?"

Twilight sniffled. "I just thought about it and...suddenly I was here!"

Cadence kept her wrapped tightly in her wing. "Okay. It's okay. I'll just fly you back to the park."

Twilight's eyes widened in panic. She stepped back a few paces. "F-fly me?"

Cadence nodded. "Right." She lowered her back. "Just hop on."

Twilight shook her head. "Can you carry me in your magic?"

Cadence bit her lip. "Twilight, I'm not that comfortable with my magic. The last thing I want to do is drop you."

"But what if I fall off your back?"

Cadence lowered herself, looked into Twilight's frightened eyes. "Twilight. I won't let you fall."

Twilight gulped.

"Twilight, you're going to have to trust me if you won't to get off this roof."

Twilight sniffled. Cadence softly nuzzled her. "C'mon, Twily. Just hop on."

Slowly, Twilight climbed onto her back and wrapped both forelegs around Cadence's neck.

Cadence winced. "Not so hard, please."

Twilight loosened her grip, but continued holding on. "After this, I'm going to teach you how to use levitation."

Cadence giggled. "I'll look forward to it."

She spread her wings and soared from the rooftop. Twilight screamed and buried her face in Cadence's mane.

Cadence landed on the cobblestone street and Twilight hopped off her back. Cadence reassured her with a hug. Twilight returned the hug, burying herself in Cadence's chest. Cadence rubbed her back until she calmed down. She wanted to make the still shook up filly smile again. An errant thought entered her mind. "You know, this little adventure made me think of a song."

Twilight looked up, her eyes still red from crying. "A song?"

"And a dance. Look, I'll show you."

She crouched down low. "Sunshine, sunshine..." She uncovered her eyes and hopped up. "Ladybugs awake!" She clapped her hooves. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

She wiggled her rump, eliciting laughter from Twilight. Twilight joined her in the chant and the dance and they did it several more times before Cadence took her for ice cream.

It was a happy day after all.

Twily is a Pretty Princess

Twilight softly scampered through the alabaster halls of Canterlot Castle. She had finished her studies for the day. The orange light of the setting sun cast a warm glow upon the walls. Soon, Princess Celestia would have to set the sun. Twilight was bored. She thought about visiting her big brother who was probably in the barracks. Or he might be out with his buddies in the Guard. Still, hanging out with the Guard was always fun. She liked to watch them practice and some of them would slip her candy if she asked lots of questions. She guessed it was to reward her for being so curious. It was the sticky kind of candy that made it sort of hard to open her mouth.

Just as she was about to make her way to the barracks she paused at the Princess's door. Two guards were posted there. One nodded and smiled to her kindly. Twilight had assumed that the Princess was holding court. If the guards were at her room that meant she was in her room, probably reading or doing Princess things. While the guards were nice, nothing was more fun than talking to her mentor! She could ask her some questions about the homework she'd just finished. She had been just a little confused about the relationship of thaumaturgical sigils to runes as used in the Northern system of magic. She looked up at the guard. "Um, Mister Guard, sir? Can I see the Princess?"

The guard, who was new, looked to his comrade who answered. "Twilight Sparkle is authorized to enter the Princess's chambers at any time."

The guards stood back. "Go on. The Princess is reading, I believe." The guards opened the door and Twilight scampered inside before the guards closed the door once more. The chambers of her mentor were comforting with soft blue colored walls and a plush, violet carpet that Twilight's hooves nearly sank into. A bookshelf to the far wall held countless tomes packed together. Some were so recent that Twilight recognized them. There were even a few novels. Others were ancient and dusty, their bindings flaking. They were written in ancient languages Twilight only vaguely recognized and others were so ancient Twilight didn't recognize them at all. A blue wall hanging was decorated with a starburst and moons.

There was a fire merrily crackling away in the hearth, casting a warm glow over a red cushion where an alicorn slept, a book resting beside her. Her cosmic, rainbow mane and tail still floated in an eternal breeze, but it did so slowly. Her soft, white coat rose up and down with her breath. Her forelegs were tucked up under her and her wings were spread out. A light sound came from her slightly parted lips that could not have been snoring because the Goddess of the Sun, She Who Calls Forth Light From Darkness, High Queen of All Ponydom, did not snore.

For a few stunned seconds Twilight stared at the slumbering princess. The most shocking thing about it was that the princess was naked. Her golden shoes were gone, her hooves so bare that Twilight could have gone up and tickled them the same way the Princess did to her as a prank. For a moment she thought about it, but the idea was immediately dismissed. Her royal torc was gone, leaving her chest bare to any assassins. Seized by panic, Twilight looked around. There were no assassins in sight. Most shockingly of all, her crown was gone.

She looked like a regular pony that just happened to have both wings and a horn. Twilight took a few hesitant steps forward, gazing more closely at her mentor. Then, she looked around for the missing regalia. She located it on a dresser. Twilight stared at the crown, the torc and the shoes. Sacred symbols of Equestrian royalty, the unity of the Pony empire. That's what one of Twilight's books called them. All Twilight knew was that the Princess looked beautiful in them.

She wondered if she would look beautiful in them too. The moment the thought entered her mind she valiantly resisted the temptation. She should run out of the room now, to flee from the temptation. Still, she did wonder how she'd look in them. Would she be as pretty as the princess?

Putting on the shoes shouldn't be so bad. The Princess would surely forgive such an infraction. She lit up her horn, carefully guiding the shoes off the dresser. Then she stopped, put them back and hopped up on the dresser so she could look at herself in the mirror. She slid her hooves into the shoes. The golden shoes swallowed up both her front and back hooves, but they did make her hooves look pretty.

Next came the torc which she laid over her back and neck. A few moments of fiddling with it let her put it on. She stared at herself. While the torc hung off of her, the amethyst matched her eyes! Unfortunately, it was too heavy so she reluctantly slid it off. Next came the crown which hung onto her horn.

She looked to the mirror. She looked just like a princess! She excitedly reared up and the weight of the crown nearly knocked her off the dresser. She caught herself at the last minute and noticed a strange, pink vial. Investigation revealed that it was a tube of eyeliner. She used her magic to lift it up and drew two lines beneath her eyes, just like the Princess did. Now she really looked like a princess! She couldn't help but rear up again, though this time she was a lot more careful about it. Her front hooves came down with a large crack.

Celestia stirred, opening her bleary eyes. "Wha...who's there?"

Twilight gasped and for a second the apprentice and the teacher stared at each other. Celestia's lips twitched as she rose up. Twilight's lip trembled. She lifted her hooves from the shoes and laid the crown back where it was. Then she hopped off the dresser, hung her head, walked to the wall and pressed her muzzle to the corner.

It was all too much for Celestia. Little giggles and snorts escaped her lips. Soon, she was rolling around on her back, laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face, her legs doing hoofy kicks as she guffawed. From her spot in her self-imposed time-out Twilight's ear and tail flicked in annoyance.

Finally, the laughing fit stopped. Celestia spread her wing. "Twilight, come here. You're not in trouble."

Twilight hopped out of the corner and was soon covered in the safety of Celestia's wing. She snuggled into the Princess's side. "I just wanted to be pretty like you."

Celestia nuzzled her. "Twilight, you don't need my regalia to be pretty."

Twilight returned the nuzzle. "I don't?"

"No, Twilight. Besides, it's not what you wear that makes you pretty. While you are a very pretty filly, it's not just being pretty outside that counts."

Twilight said nothing, waiting for her to continue. "It's on the inside. Your kindness. Your eagerness to learn. Your goodness. That's what makes you pretty."

Twilight smiled shyly. "Really?"

Celestia placed a kiss below her horn. "Really. Though if you want to be a princess, you could try it out for a while." She levitated the crown over and laid it on Twilight's head.

...
The guards stared as Celestia galloped down the hall and towards the throne room. Twilight had her hooves around Celestia's neck and was wearing her crown.

Celestia giggled. "All hail Princess Twilight!"

Twilight lifted up her forelegs. "Free ice cream for everypony!"

Author's Note

Something short, sweet and silly.

I think I gave myself diabetes.

Twily and the Temple of Terror

"Daring Do tread carefully into the darkened temple. Strange, arcane carvings covered the floors and walls. In the center of the ruined place was a desk that was no doubt some altar to a fallen king or long forgotten god. The altar was exquisitely decorated, rose vines and other flowers swirling all over its surface. The walls of this temple were carved from the living, white bark of a giant birch tree, into which the temple had been built. The Tree Ponies of Zagros were truly a brilliant race.

Daring paused as she regarded the massive altar that towered up above her, dwarfing her entirely. She gulped as she tried to decide how best to go over it. Going around it was an impossibility. After all, a friendly guide had informed her that the floor was lava. Vast, glowing rivers of the substance bubbled up from cracks in the ground, shooting out steam. The heat singed her tail, so she moved her tail away. The lava rivers coursed around the altar, as the temple-tree was also built below a volcano.

Truly, an imaginative and brilliant race. Daring knew she had no time to spend to long wondering about her predicament. Ahuizotl would be here soon. Just beyond the altar was the Vase of Anahita, whose blue mystical energy would certainly fetch a handsome price on the black market. It had to be kept out of the paws of Ahuizotl who coveted it for its great power. It was said that the relic had the ability to bring the dead back to life, but under the control of the owner of the vase.

Daring shuddered at the thought of a horde of zombie ponies overrunning the land. She hesitated as she took a step forward. Suddenly, a jet of lava shot up. She yelped and jumped back just as the spout of lava struck the ceiling. Whirling steam wrapped all around her. Daring took several steps back, pawing at the ground. She lowered her head, narrowing her eyes at the altar. With a running leap, she jumped atop it, nearly tripping as the altar rocked unsteadily.

She bounced up on her forelegs and caught a glimpse of the magnificent blue vase."

Twilight stuck out her tongue in concentration as she perched on a couch cushion. She scrambled up so she was on top of the couch. The floor was still lava, so she had to be careful. She crouched down low. Her target was the low table upon which the vase rested. A beam of light coming from the window reflected on the vase. The sunbeam mesmerized her. She traced it, watching as patterns of light played and danced on the carpet.

"A golden light came down from the roof of the temple, illuminating the vase. Daring watched as the light shifted and turned into all the colors of the rainbow. It was the Rainbow of Light! Could it be? Was the weapon of Megan the Destroyer here? Did Megan Herself once wander these halls in her mission to destroy and cleanse the world of evil?

But, if Megan was here, what was she doing here? Could some evil monster still lurk here? She heard growling coming from somewhere up ahead. The corridor led off into darkness which was a perfect spot for demons to lurk. Her ears flattened back at the thought. The Vase of Anahita was laying on a mahogany table.

It was now or never. She had no time for hesitation. Yet, hesitate she did as she looked down at the floor. The streams of lava blocked her from the table. Jumping on the table itself was the only option. Her tongue stuck out as she calculated how far she would have to leap. If only her wings hadn't been sprained fighting that giant anaconda! Well, at least she had gotten a cool, anaconda tooth sword out of it. She drew the blade now, swinging it back and forth to ward away any possible demons.

No demons emerged from the tunnel. She was almost disappointed as she put her sword away."

Twilight swung her sword back and forth and almost lost her balance. Very quickly, she regained it and steadied herself on top of the couch. If Shining were here, he could play as a monster. Unfortunately, her big brother was stuck in his room doing algebra homework. So, there were no demons for Daring to fight.

She still swung her sword around a few times just because of how fun it was. A particularly wild swing toppled her and she fell into a pile of pillows.

"Daring cried out in terror as some mysterious force knocked her off of the altar. She got back to her hooves and jumped back on. Her cursory examination of the room revealed there were no enemies for her to fight. Without any hesitation this time, she leaped and soared over the river of lava. "

She landed just short of her goal and banged into the table. The Vase of Anahita trembled and then it fell, shattering into one-million pieces.

Twilight stared at the vase. Or rather, the remains of the vase. Her own boo-boo had faded as she hadn't been going all that fast or that far. Turning to make sure nopony had seen her she scampered out of the living room and nearly ran into a blue leg.

Night Light looked to Twilight then at the empty spot on the table. He trotted around the couch and looked down at the shattered remains of the vase. "Twily, did you knock over the vase?"

Twilight looked down at the floor. "Maybe."

"Were you jumping off the couch?"

Her ears lay against her head. "I don't know."

Night Light gave his daughter the look. "You don't know if you jumped off the couch?"

If she answered yes, that'd be money out of her book fund. "Daring Do did it, Daddy, honest!"

Night Light gestured with his forehoof. "Corner. Now."

Twilight gaped. "You can't put me in time-out! You're not Mommy!"

Night Light rolled his eyes. "This is why I need masculism. Twily, I'm going to give you to the count of three. 1...1 and a half...2..."

Twilight darted to the corner, pressing her muzzle against it.

"Daring appraised the bars of her cell, even pressing a hoof against one to examine the material. It appeared to be made entirely out of phlebotium, the strongest material known to Ponykind!

Her jailer, the Guardian of the Vase of Anahita, had not been pleased by the destruction of the relic. Daring wondered how long she would be imprisoned for. She didn't know how much time had gone by or if time even had meaning in this place."

Twilight suddenly remembered that she had turned eight recently. She pouted. How could she possibly endure eight whole minutes of standing still? Her right forehoof twitched and she turned to look at her daddy, giving her the best sulk she could do. Her eyes widened and her lips jutted out. "Daddy, I'm sorry I broke the vase. Can I come out of the corner now?"

Night Light sighed and deliberately avoided his daughter's tear filled gaze. "Two more minutes, Twily."

"TWO WHOLE MINUTES?"

"Put your muzzle back in that corner."

Twilight, surprisingly, obeyed.

"The seconds crawled by turning into minutes. The bars of the cell nearly closed in on her. She whimpered."

"Oh, come on, Twily. Don't make those sad little noises. You're not being tortured. It's just a timeout. And...it's over. Come on out."

"Daring bounced around in sheer joy, dancing around the room, reveling in her freedom. And to think, her jailer had been the one to set her free! She looked up at the giant stallion. She wondered if he would like to join her on her quest."

Night Light hugged his daughter, who returned the embrace. "Are you going to be good?"

"Yes Daddy."

He ruffled her mane. "Okay."

Twilight paused as Night Light walked away. She took a running start, jumped and landed on his back, wrapping both her forelegs around his neck. He paused and looked behind him. His daughter smiled at him and his heart melted. There were things he had to do, but suddenly there was nothing more important than the little filly on top of his back.

He galloped all around the room, lightly bucking as she held on tight. He had swept up the glass while she had been in the corner so he had no fear of getting glass in his hooves. Twilight giggled in delight as he galloped around the couch, into the kitchen and down the hallway again. He reared up and she shrieked in laughter.

He headed back towards the living room and caught sight of the time on the grandfather clock. There were about twenty minutes until he needed to be at the guard academy to teach a seminar on sword techniques.

Reluctantly, he stopped. "I'm sorry, Twily. I have to go."

He levitated her down to the ground.

She looked down. "It's okay. I understand."

They hugged again and he was off. Before he left, he grinned at her. "Y'know what? I bet Shiny's about done with his math homework."

Twilight beamed and shot off like a rocket up the stairs. She paused and ran back down, collecting her toy sword. Then she ran back up and cracked the door open. Shining was hunched over his desk. She skulked into the room, positioned her sword in her magical aura (much better than using her hooves) and charged.

Shining didn't even look up as his horn lit. Twilight found herself hanging upside down in midair.

Shining rose and smirked down at her. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Twilight kicked her legs. "Let me go!"

Shining loomed over her.

"Daring giggled and writhed helplessly in the grips of the Tickle Monster. There was no escaping the magical surges of energy dusting over her hooves. She was ashamed to admit that she sort of liked it."

"Shining! Let me go!"

Shining let her plop down onto his bed. "Fine."

Twilight jumped off the bed and pounced onto his back, digging her hooves into his sides. It was Shining's turn to giggle and helplessly squirm. Fillyish peals of laughter escaped his parted lips. His horn sparked with magic and he gently placed her on the floor.

She pranced. "Wanna play with me, BBBFF?"

He glanced at his math homework and then at his sister. I'll finish it tomorrow. He picked up his toy spear, holding it in his magic. "Un guarde!"

Twilight charged him with the sword and Shining batted it away. They danced around the room, keeping time with each other. Shining was on the defensive, continuing to knock away the plastic sword Twilight charged with. Twilight swung the sword and it lightly whacked Shining's side. Shining, in retaliation, lightly tapped her nose with the spear point. She jumped up and tapped his chest.

Shining lunged and Twilight found herself up against the bed. She scampered away as Shining lunged again, just barely knocking away his spear with her sword.

Twilight ran out the room and Shining followed. They both ran down the stairs, shouting in wild glee and then bolted out the door into the sunlight. Twilight hopped up and down, her hooves sinking into the cool grass. Shining booped her nose and tossed aside his spear. "Tag, you're it!"

Twilight took off after him.

"Daring chased the Tickle Monster as they ran from the temple and onto the jungle floor. Vines crawled among the carpet of ferns, wrapped around high trees. Daring reached out her hoof and grabbed the demon's leg."

"Tag, you're it!"

Shining spun around and took off after Twilight. They ran around the house until they both collapsed into a pile. Shining reached out a foreleg as he reclined beneath the oak tree and drew his sister close. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes as she fell into a nap.

Twily and the Den of the Dirt Monsters

Velvet entered the kitchen, put down a white pail of soapy water and blue-handled mop and sighed. The formerly white tiles of the kitchen were grey with hoof traffic. Was it really all that difficult for her husband and children to wipe their hooves? Some black soil was scattered around the brown mat that helpfully reminded everypony coming inside to wipe their hooves. The mat was cheerfully ignored by her gardening-mad husband who no doubt found the whole idea of wiping his hooves tedious as he came back and forth through the house to get gardening supplies.

She might as well just set up a tent outside for him. Her son and daughter tried to be more careful, but in the vigor of their play they too often rushed through her kitchen tracking in mud, dirt and grass. Shining was the worst offender, constantly marching back and forth as he pretended to be a guard. She loved him so she didn't strangle him. That went for his father too.

Twilight was not the outside type, but the poor darling was often so distracted with her muzzle in a book that the concept of the world around her vanished in a haze. Velvet didn't want to do anything to discourage her occasional outdoor ventures, but she had to think of a way to remind her to wipe her hooves before bouncing into the kitchen.

Velvet cast a disdainful eye towards the pile of plates in the sink. That one was entirely her fault. The dirty mess was a result of her neuroticism. She didn't forbid her children from doing the dishes-that'd just be silly-but she didn't encourage it either. For some reason, the dishes were never as clean when they did it as when she did it. And they were thorough, she knew they were thorough, but the dishes never looked clean enough when Shining or Twilight did it. It also didn't look clean enough when they mopped the kitchen floor. Which was why she did it herself.

Sometimes, nothing ever looked clean enough. Her eye slightly twitched. Night Light just stayed out of the kitchen except when he needed to use the back door to prune his petunias or whatever he was doing in the garden.

Probably staying away from his crazy wife, crazy daughter and hyper son. Velvet couldn't blame him. She glanced out a window and smiled as she saw Shining and Night Light playing with toy swords. Twilight was outside as well, scampering around in a pith helmet. The day was warm, pleasant. She'd finish this up and go outside.

She picked up the mop, dipped it in the water which swirled around the cloth tendrils and lifted it. Water droplets splashed on the floor, golden as they caught the sunlight. She whistled a happy spring tune as she drew the mop across the floor, leaving streaks of water amid the dirt and dust.

It was at that moment that a purple blur darted into the kitchen and jumped over the mat.

Daring Do carefully observed her surroundings. She seemed to be in a mausu-mausu-tomb. She appeared to be in ancient grey tomb. The only light that filtered through the darkness were torches that glowed with an unearthly fire. Surely, she was in the Tomb of Grogar and the heart of accursed Tambelon.

Carefully, so as to not awaken the sleeping goat demon, she made her way forward. After escaping the clutches of the Tickle Monsters she had trekked through endless jungles that never saw the light of the sun, weird shapes and forms of life crawling and creeping upon the floor which was carpeted with mushrooms and yellowed moss.

Daring shot forward, lifting into the air and soaring over the grey stone. Patterns were carved into the walls. She paused and examined them. An ancient guardian stood, holding a spear and staring at her with a look between mad and amused.

Velvet nearly yelled when Twilight had trailed dirt on the tile she had been about to clean. She had nearly banished her to the corner or given her a firm smack across her bottom.

She couldn't. The little purple unicorn filly was bouncing in circles as she made whooshing sounds and mumbled things about Grogar. Velvet felt a strong urge to take the little bundle of joy in her lap and give her a nice, long cuddle. Twilight probably wouldn't appreciate her playtime being interrupted though.

Twilight bounced again, hopping into the air and Velvet felt her heart melt into a little puddle.

Daring's pith helmet clattered to the ground and she quickly picked it back up. Who knew what terrible dangers lurked in the darkness and shadows? The guardian stood, continuing to watch her. She soared in circles, rushing up to the ceiling where there were yet more inscribed symbols!

Daring finally recognized the language of her distant ancestors, the accomplished Ponies of the Dream Valley Civilization. She traced her hoof over the script of a wilder age, wondering what it said. Did it tell where some ancient treasure was? Was it not said that Heart Throb, Megan's faithful companion, had left her necklace in the shadows of the dead city of Tambelon? Or perhaps she could find the Spear of Firefly the Bold who had plunged his blade into Grogar's heart? Such relics would fetch a handsome price.

Velvet returned to mopping, though an idea was forming in her mind. A grin spread across her face. "Oh Twi...I mean, Daring?"

Daring paused in her inspection of the tomb as the guardian addressed her. She lifted up her strange spear, as if offering it to her. Cautiously, Daring approached. Turning behind her, she saw what the guardian was trying to warn her about. Giant dirt monsters rose up from the muck and mire of the tomb like giant, wiggly worms. Dust was kicked up as they charged towards her.

With the skill one would expect an adventurer to have, Daring quickly sidestepped the savage beasts as they crashed to the hard granite. With a warcry worthy of the warrior-pegasii of old she charged. The dirt monsters returned to whatever hell they had come through as she mowed through them. She stepped to her right and watched as two dirt monsters crashed into each other, leaving a spray of dirt scattering everywhere.

She spun her spear in a wide arc driving back the beasts and beating up the dust that had lain for untold millenia. The dust began to merge together, eldi-elidi-elidi-strange magic causing dust monsters to form. Daring ran straight ahead, dragging the point of the blade against the stone. Jets of fire licked upwards and devoured the dust monsters.

Daring's eyes widened as she realized the magical properties of the spear! It could shoot out fire! She ran and lost her balance. A dust monster pulled out a bow, strung an arrow and sent it right through her knee.

Velvet winced as Twilight tripped. The mop was thrown from her magical grasp, falling with a clatter. Twilight ended up with her horn stuck in the wall and her front right knee banging hard on the floor. She rushed over, helped pull her daughter's horn from the wall and gently kissed Twilight's knee (her horn was fine as a unicorn horn was pretty much designed to impale things). "Better?"

Twilight sniffled and her lips turned upwards. "Better. Thank you, Mommy." She wrapped her hooves around Velvet's barrel. Velvet returned the embrace.

Twilight fixed her pith helmet back on her head with her magic and picked the mop back up, even though most of the floor was now sparkling. Only one part still needed to be mopped.

Daring narrowed her eyes as she came face to face with the dust monster that had nearly put an end to her days as an adventurer. Using her powerful magics the guardian had healed her knee. With a shout Daring spun the spear and barreled towards the demon. It crumbled away.

Velvet handed her a towel after using a burst of magic to repair the horn shaped hole in the wall. Twilight pounced on the towel and shouted in glee as she ran it over the floor. In only a few seconds the floor was completely dry.

In the eyes of a child all things are wondrous. A poet Velvet had read had penned those words two centuries before. How true it was. She poured herself a glass of lemonade and took a sip, wondering if it was wrong to trick Twilight into doing housework then looked back at Twilight who seemed to be having the time of her life as she pranced around the towel.

She went and fetched another towel from the linen closet. It was time to start on the dishes. Then, she glanced back at Twilight who was staring at a sunspot, either contemplating a nap or planning an experiment.

Daring stood upon the platform staring at the ruins of the sunken city of Atlantis. According to her guide a great treasure was buried at the bottom of the ruins. Daring dived into the warm water, sliding down a river of heated liquid. Bubbles popped up and floated all around her. She swam down farther and farther. Formerly proud, broken spires rose up all around her as she explored the submerged metropolis.

The warm water seeped into the fur of her forelegs. A friendly sea serpent floated by. Daring raced to the bottom. Pearls and golden coins glittered around the hull of a ship that had found its end at the bottom of Atlantis. Her partner collected the treasures she brought up, storing them for later categorization.

At last she came to the bottom. There was no treasure. Her lips jutted out in a pout. The pout vanished, transforming into a grin as her partner held up the Golden Apple of Eternal Youth.

Velvet handed the fig newton to Twilight who quickly gobbled it all up. "Daring, I think there are some more dust monsters in the living room."

Twilight didn't need to be told twice, taking the offered rag and racing out of the kitchen.

It was just as her partner had told her! The Temple of Rakan was infested with dust monsters! Wielding the magic banner, she waved it over the altar, making sure to chase the dust monsters out of the old, hallowed space.

Her partner handed her a spear while she held a shield. Quickly, Daring cut through the dust monsters until none were left. She found herself growing out of breath. Today had been just full of adventures!

Velvet took the dustpan and threw the dirt Twilight had swept up into the garbage. Twilight yawned and stretched. Velvet opened the door and Twilight scampered out into the bright, sunny day. Shining and Night Light were digging, Night Light occasionally laying down seed. Twilight hopped over to go see what they were doing and Night Light handed her a packet of seed. Velvet lay down in the grass, smiling as she watched her family.

Twily and the Dragon's Bath

Twilight relaxed back in her chair, leaning it and then holding the back legs steady in her magenta field. Her desk was scattered in books and papers. Outside, the moon had risen. A single candle flickered on her desk though magilight still cast light over the room. Even though, Twilight liked her candle. It made the ten year old feel like a real scholar. She let the chair snap back and nearly stumbled into the desk. Sighing, she began to collect the papers, stacking them into piles. A purple hatchling dragon with purple scales and green spines pulled himself up on the desk and watched what she was doing with wide, green eyes.

Eventually, he began to quickly snatch up the books and put them in a pile that he hopped onto before curling up for a nap. Twilight rolled her eyes, smiled and levitated him off leading to him mewling in protest. She placed him back down and he curled up once more on his nest. Twilight scratched her chin. "You did an awfully good job of stacking those books...maybe you could be my assistant one day."

Spike gurgled happily at this news. Twilight stood and slid the chair back under her desk. It was bath time. Humming happily to herself, she stepped over to her closet and floated down a white, fluffy towel. Spike opened one eye and, upon seeing what she was doing, hopped off the stack of books and waddled over to her.

She lifted down and he hopped onto her back after she floated down a second towel. Spike settled himself in the middle of her back, which had become his usual seat. The pre-teen continued to hum her happy tune, a lullaby her mother had once sang to her. It calmed Spike and when she hummed it, he had learned it mean to follow her for either meal time or bath time.

Normally, the young drake would have a small army of caretakers. Dragon experts (the few there were) would have handled feeding and bathing him. However, Spike had strongly imprinted on her, more so than other young Unicorn students and their dragons. Twilight had no idea why.

His basket was right next to her bed, but he rarely slept in it, preferring a spot by her side. Twilight laid both towels on her back and pranced towards the spacious bathroom, opening the mahogany door with a flick of her magic. Her mom and herself (when she was home on the weekends) kept the bathrooms clean, but her bathroom at home wasn't this clean. A veritable legion of maids washed and kept this bathroom downright immaculate. It felt strangely wrong to Twilight to not have responsibility for keeping her own rooms clean and yet...it also felt sort of liberating.

Her humming moved into the second verse of the lullaby. The bathroom shone, the tiles the purest alabaster. The toilet was regular porcelain, but Twilight had never seen such shiny porcelain. The walls were the same nearly glowing white as the tiles.

The bathroom was large enough for two fully grown Ponies, more than enough for a filly and her baby dragon. Twilight set the towels onto the sink and wondered if those handles were actual silver. They probably were. She turned the crystal knob and warm water slid down into the basin. The water filled the basin at a slow gradual pace. Spike stared at it from atop his perch. Sometimes the water was cool to his sensitive belly. It had to be hot enough to meet his strict criteria.

Twilight paddled her hoof through the bathwater which was now almost a quarter full. No steam curled from its surface which meant that Spike would throw a fit if she tried to put him in it. She nudged him down from her back and he scrambled onto the side of the tub. "The water's nice, isn't it?"

Spike flipped out his tongue and released an unsatisfied hiss that roughly translated to "hotter!"

"Alright, alright."

She twisted the knob a little closer to the hot section and then drew back her hoof in pain when she tested the water. The knob was quickly turned back to the cool section. Strangely, she'd noticed if the water cooled down, it put Spike in a dormant state. This wasn't something she wanted to experiment with too much.

Still, dripping little cool droplets on his scales when he wouldn't sleep seemed to calm him before bedtime and he actually happily gurgled when she did it.

So why in the world did he need the bathwater to be so scaldingly hot?

Why didn't babies-regardless of species-make sense?

Spike frowned at the water and poked it. Any annoyance Twilight felt melted away at that expression. "The water's not so bad, Spikey. See?"

She dipped her left hoof into the liquid. The warm water encircled her foreleg. Spike glanced at her curiously when she dipped in her right foreleg. Then, she stepped in her back legs. Spike blinked again, tilting his head. If Twi said it was okay...

Very hesitantly, he poked in a claw. The water was warm. Not quite warm enough, but still warm. Twilight relaxed into the water, laying her belly down on the floor. Wisps of steam lifted up from the waves displaced by her body's weight. Spike poked the water again and Twilight sighed in contentment. "You can join me if you want. Or maybe I'll just keep all this nice, warm water all to myself." Her voice took on a singsong quality.

Spike bit his lip. Twilight's magic cut off the flow of water. It did look warm. Inviting. Instinct told him it should be warmer. But she did look awfully happy.

But something else was missing. What was it? What could it possibly be?

Oh! He knew!

"Bubbas!" He demanded, jumping up and down.

Twilight opened one eye. "Bubbas?"

"Bubbas! Bubbas! Bubbas!" He pounded his legs from side to side.

Twilight grinned. "Then bubbles we shall have!"

She opened the door under the bathroom sink and pulled out a bottle of bubble bath, floating it over to herself and holding it aloft in the air, unscrewing the cap. Spike and Twilight stared at it expectantly. Nothing came out.

Spike's lower lip trembled.

Twilight's lower lip also trembled. How in the world could they be out of bubble bath?

Tears filled Spike's eyes until Twilight embraced him in her magic and brought him into her waiting forelegs. Spike nuzzled her.

"Okay, so there's no bubbas-bubbles."

"Want bubbas!"

He struck the water with his little fist.

"Hey!" Twilight shouted as a wave slapped her face. A giggle broke from her lips. This only encouraged the little dragon who started enthusiastically smacking the water with more and more waves striking Twilight's face, soaking her fur and her mane. Spike giggled and cackled like a mad drake.

Twilight wanted to stop him, she truly did. But the bursts of water against her face felt really good. Spike at this point had forgotten the original reason for his tantrum, only delighting in the laughter his antics were eliciting from his caretaker.

"Oh, you are going to get it!" Twilight giggled in a not-at-all intimidating tone of voice as she splashed the water herself. Spike was thrown into the air and landed in the water. Immediately, he bounded back up, whacking the water with all his might (which wasn't too terribly much).

Twilight's giggles filled the bathroom as the droplets sprayed onto her face. She focused with her magic and collected a bubble of water. Spike's eyes widened when he saw the giant bubble form over his head. It fell with a mighty splash and he laugh.

Retaliating, he pounced upon Twilight, attacking her ticklish spots. Twilight squirmed and let another bubble, this one cleverly covered in soap, fall onto her draconic charge. Spike squealed in delight and Twilight covered her eyes against a liquid assault, Spike scooping up the water and flinging it against her.

Twilight scooped up water in her aura and beat back the ferocious tickle dragon who was pulled into the current. The now soapy water splashed and spilled over the tub, running over onto the floor. Twilight barely noticed, being preoccupied with the fierce dragon baby that was clawing at the water.

He barely even noticed when she slid a bar of soap and quickly lathered him up before pouring water over him. She floated the soap over and scrubbed the fur of her back, neck, tummy and her hooves, grinning to herself while Spike rinsed her, completely unaware of what he was doing.

"Thanks." She sent a wave of water into him, knocking him onto his back. He paddled in the water, doing a backstroke and kicking his legs. More water spilled over the side of the little tub.

Spike dived and jumped back into the tub. Twilight didn't have time to block the wave of water that covered her. Spike fell back and kicked up his legs in glee. Twilight snorted before picking him up by his feet and scrubbing the appendages clean before gently depositing him in the tub.

The floor was now soaked, the water having flown over the tub. Twilight gave it a wary look, but then Spike tackled her with another splash. Twilight held up her hooves, trying to block the continuous splashing as Spike slapped at the water again. Twilight squeezed out a dollop of shampoo which she scrubbed into her mane and tail. She dipped her tail in the water and poured water over her mane before getting the special dragon shampoo, pulling Spike over to herself with her magic. He mostly stayed still while she scrubbed the shampoo into his spines and dipped him into the water.

The minute he broke free he returned to his previous game. Twilight relaxed into the tub, letting the droplets of water rain over her. She occasionally sent a splash of water herself, eliciting more splashes from Spike. Eventually, Spike tired. He swam up to her and yawned.

"Getting tired, my little dragon?"

Spike nodded against her shoulder. Twilight stretched. The water had begun to cool. She could put in more hot water, of course, but...she yawned. Bedtime wasn't far off. Levitating up Spike, she stepped onto the floor and yelped as she lost her hoofing. Only a quick application of magic prevented her from completely skidding all over the floor. Spike woke up and hopped off her back and did lose his footing, rolling over into a ball and bouncing onto his claws.

Seemingly delighted by this, he rolled over again. Twilight wrapped a towel around herself and scrubbed down. Spike got the same treatment, though the little whine he gave showed he was not fond of being toweled off. He skittered away the minute she withdrew the towel.

She lit up her horn and focused on a heating spell, jumping back when the water evaporated in a hiss of steam. A thin trail of ash was left. A gust of wind dealt with that. She was going to hate having to report herself for that in the morning. Celestia said she didn't need to report magical "oopsies" anymore so long as nopony was hurt or anything was broken, but she hated keeping things from her!

Spike curled up and sucked on his tail, a sure sign that sleep was about to claim him. Twilight lifted him and set him onto her back, closing the door behind her and depositing him onto his basket, pulling up the blanket and planting a kiss on his forehead before pulling the covers up over herself.

Twily and the No Good, Very Bad Grade

Twilight reclined back in her desk while the rest of her classmates leaned over their desks, staring in anticipation at their old, grey-coated and grey maned history teacher, Mr. Firm Hoof. Everypony called him mister, including other teachers. He had a perpetual frown upon his face and the frown deepened as he looked over the pop quizzes that had just been handed in by his students. Beads of sweat nearly dripped down some of the student's faces. Legend had it that nopony had ever passed Mr. Firm Hoof's class with any grade higher than a C.

Which was perfectly ridiculous as Twilight knew that her brother had gotten a B- in his class. It was Twilight's first week in the third grade and she felt very confident. There hadn't been a class yet that she hadn't made an effortless A in. Sure, every now and then she'd slip and make an A-, but she always finished strong with an A+. She'd be terribly disappointed if she only made a regular A. An A- was nearly enough to drive her to tears. Above all, she prided herself on being the smartest filly in every class with the possible exception of her perennial rival/study buddy Moondancer.

And there had been this annoying blue unicorn filly whose name Twilight could never remember despite the annoying filly speaking in first person. The amazing Glixie. Yeah, that sounded right. That filly had moved away leaving Twilight and Moondancer as the smartest fillies in their classes. It was true Twilight had only given a cursory glance at the history textbook, but she knew she'd do well. History wasn't magic after all and everything that wasn't magic just wasn't interesting. Except ladybugs. Ladybugs were interesting.

Mr. Firm Hoof gave one last, great harumph, a burst of air snorting from his nostrils, and laid the pop quizzes on the cherry wood desk. He surveyed the class of young unicorns, all of whom were looking up at him with big, wide eyes. He looked down at the pop quizzes. "I recommend that each and every one of you spend more time studying your history textbook. Books are to be studied. Your parents would not have bought the books if they were not meant to be studied."

All of the students shoulders' slumped. Even Twilight shrank down. The teacher's tone was harsh, even downright mean. Twilight's ears folded back. Teachers didn't generally speak so harshly. They might dish out the occasional scolding, but Twilight had always gotten the feeling that there was some love behind it.

Mr. Firm Hoof stood, his bones creaking and slowly shuffled to each desk. The wait was agonizing. He moved slowly, ever so slowly, from desk to desk, looking down like a judge delivering a lengthy prison sentence to a particularly vile criminal as he laid each quiz down on the wooden desks. The faces on each student told the story. Horror, disappointment, even a few tears.

He did not pause to offer words of encouragement as other teachers had done in Twilight's past. There were no "better luck next times" or "you tried your bests." Only that terrible frown and that terrifying, judgmental glare.

Twilight gulped as Mr. Firm Hoof got to her row. He shuffled from desk to desk. Twilight glanced over at Moondancer who was staring at her test paper in a mixture of shock and disbelief. Twilight tried to glance over, but when Moondancer saw what Twilight was doing she quickly crumpled the paper up.

Mr. Firm Hoof came closer to her desk, laying a paper on Comet Tail's desk, then Mint Swirl. Both ponies picked up their papers, blinked and tried to hold back tears. Mr. Firm Hoof paused before her desk, looking down his muzzle at her. Twilight shrank back.

Mr. Firm Hoof laid down the paper. Twilight sent up a prayer to Rhiannon, closed her eyes, breathed, closed her eyes again, decided she was being a complete coward and snatched up the test paper. Her eyes widened as her mind attempted to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. Tears immediately filled the eight year old's eyes. Her lip trembled, but she bit it hard before the tears could fall.

Mr. Firm Hoof returned to his desk, sitting down and looking imperiously over the young unicorns. "Class dismissed. Please read chapters five-though ten. Answer the questions at the end of each chapter."

The other students stood and slowly trudged out the door. Not Twilight. She just stood there at her desk, staring at the grade. Finally, she stood and approached the teacher.

He glanced at her as he stood. "Yes, Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight shuffled a hoof, staring down at the ground. "Th-there's something wrong with my grade. I think you made a mistake. It's not an A."

He stared at her. "Do you really believe you can not make a grade lower than an A? What exactly makes you so special, Miss Sparkle?"

He stood, towering over her. Twilight took several steps back. He sighed and sat down. "I've been teaching for too long...you made the best grade in the class. That should make you proud."

Twilight continued trying to hold back the tears. Without a word she darted out the room and down the halls, her little hooves slamming on the linoleum floor. She knew she had to get out. Her pop quiz was carried behind her in her magic. Nopony could know about it. She quickly crumpled it up and hid it away in her saddlebag.

Nopony could ever find out about this shameful grade. That is what she decided as she rushed past the open doors of the school, weaving around several schoolmates and sailing over the concrete steps. If somepony found out, her academic career would be ruined. She landed on the street and kept running through the gilded streets of Canterlot, past stone houses with manicured lawns and beautiful tulips and marogolds dancing in the breeze.

She could forget about going to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She'd have to go and find work as a chimney sweep! Twilight paused, that stray thought catching even her off guard. She resolved to stop reading Dockens before bed. She took out the quiz from her saddlebag. Simply tossing it in the garbage or ripping it up wasn't an option. Somepony might find it, put it back together and link her name with the shameful grade! She could burn it, but she was forbidden from using fire spells. Royal edict.

And Cadence would know. She'd just know. She wouldn't punish Twilight, oh no. She'd just be disappointed in her. That was worse. Twilight shivered at the thought of how disappointed Cadence, Shining and her parents would be if they knew about this terrible grade. They simply couldn't find out!

She continued her panicked gallop towards home. She'd have to bury the test paper. Her parents would expect her home at around this time. Being late would arouse their suspicion if not their ire. Twilight wasn't sure what ire was, but it never seemed like a good thing to rouse it. If she was just outside in the backyard she could claim she was playing. Or studying ladybugs. Coming within sight of the humble, white frame house she called home she slowed her gallop into a trot.

She walked behind the house and into the sprawling garden that was their back yard. She sidestepped a patch of purple petunias and walked up to a shed where there were plenty of gardening supplies. There was no specific rule against Twilight trying her hoof at gardening. At worse, she'd get a bit dirty and Mommy would make her take a bath. That was one-thousand times preferable to them finding out about the grade. Besides, Twilight liked baths as long as they didn't interfere with her reading time.

She located a spade hanging from a nail and used her telekinesis to pull it down. Then she tiptoed to an empty patch beneath an oak tree. She hurriedly began pulling up the earth, dirt spraying everywhere as she violently stabbed at the ground. So intent was she on digging a hole large enough to bury her disgrace she didn't hear the approaching, heavy hoofsteps of a grown stallion.

"Trying gardening, Twilight?"

Twilight looked up and turned her head. Night Light stood behind her. Twilight gulped. "Y-yes. Gardening! Gardening is exactly what I am doing! You should have no further questions!" She returned to digging.

Night Light stretched out on the cool grass. "What are you planting?"

Twilight began digging at a more hurried pace. "Nothing! Stop accusing me! WHY DON'T YOU TRUST ME, DADDY?!"

Night Light raised an eyebrow. She hadn't wet her bed that morning so she wasn't trying to hide any wet sheets (six full months without a single accident was something to be proud of). She had just come home from school. "Twilight, you didn't have any tests today did you?"

Twilight froze.

Bullseye. Night Light thought. With practiced ease he stood and moved closer to his daughter. "Twilight, you'll feel better if you tell me the truth."

Her lips trembled and her big wide, lavender eyes filled with tears. A sharp pain went through Night Light's heart. He sighed. "You know you won't be in trouble for bad grades."

She stomped a hoof. "I didn't make a bad grade!" She looked to the left and her left ear flicked. She was lying.

"Let me guess. Considering the trouble you're going through to hide it, you flunked?"

Twilight shook her head.

"D?"

Another head shake.

"D+?"

Yet another head shake.

"C?"

"N-no."

He reached out and stroked her mane. "Sweetie, B is not a bad grade."

"I-it wasn't a B."

He lit up his horn and opened her saddlebag. She didn't move to stop him, accepting her fate with the stoic grace of her warrior-mage ancestors. Night Light looked over the pop quiz. "Hey...it's not that bad."

She sniffled. "Yes it is."

"It's a B-. That's not a bad grade."

Her lip jutted out. "It's not a good grade."

Night Light picked her up, sat down on a garden chair and placed her in his lap. She reached out and hugged his chest, burying her face in his fur. He cuddled her close to him in his strong, protective embrace, stroking her mane as she sobbed. After crying for at least a minute she stopped then burrowed into his hug. He continued stroking her mane, rubbing soothing circles into her back. "Twilight, sometimes you try your best and everything still falls apart." Memories of battles lost when he had been a guard played in his head.

She looked up at him. "I-I did try to try my best, but it wasn't my best best."

"Well, that can happen too sometimes. Pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes and keep on going, little mage.That's all your mother and I ask from you." He wiped away what remained of her tears. "You're not completely off the hook though. Since I'm basically a living history book I'll help you study. And you will be studying history, every night. How's that sound?"

Twilight beamed up at him. "Really? You'll help me study?"

He patted her head. "Yes, I sure will."

...
Night Light kept his word. Every night without fail he would help her study, reading over the chapters with her, making her flash cards, giving her impromptu pop quizzes. At the end of the month she never wanted to see another history flash card as long as she lived.

Then one day, she hopped through the door and into her living room, practically bouncing past the sofa. Velvet smiled softly at her from where she sat on her couch. "My, you're happy today."

"I PASSED!" Twilight bounced around in a complete circle. "I PASSED! I PASSED! I PASSED!" She pulled her quiz from her saddlebag, showing off the A. "MR. FIRM HOOF TOLD ME I WAS THE ONLY STUDENT IN THE CLASS TO MAKE AN A ON THIS TEST!"

"Twily that is great!" Shining Armor, who'd heard the news from the kitchen came into the living room and swept his sister up in a hug which she returned. "I'm so proud of you!"

Velvet also gave her a hug. "We'll go out to ice cream just to celebrate."

Night Light came in from the garden a few minutes later and Twilight propelled herself into his embrace. He quickly caught her in a hug. "Well, somepony's in a good mood."

She threw her arms around his neck. "I made an A on my history test!"

He kissed her forehead. "I knew you could do it."