A Glimmer of the Past

Chapters

Prologue
To Find A Foal
To Teach A Teacher
A Comforting Confrontation
Starlight's Ruminations
Turning Back The Clock
Playing Favorites
One Mare and A Baby
Trix of the Trade
Coming Around

Prologue

"Ahhh, the end of another hectic week." Starlight Glimmer said to herself as she entered her bedroom in Twilight's castle. She unfastened her saddlebags currently full of scrolls and completed assignments and set it down next to her desk before going to the center of her room and slumping down in her beanbag chair. Looking forward to the weekend ahead, she glanced over at the clock on her nightstand, and judged by the time, that Twilight and Spike had to have gone to bed by now. Twilight had already been yawning when she returned this past week's assignments before Starlight had retired to her room for the night.

She stole a glance at her closet, then back to her closed bedroom door. Her horn lit up, the lock on her door clicked, and she leaned up and got up from the beanbag chair. There was no reason she'd be bothered tonight. Walking over to her closet, she opened it, and on the ground below the few hanging dresses was a chest. She released the latches and opened it up, and lit up her horn again, lifting the inobservatus enchantment on the inside of the chest, and items of a rather unexpected nature faded into view.

'Time to play,' she thought to herself.

Princess Twilight Sparkle yawned for the twelfth time as she walked down the hall to her personal quarters, two dozen unrolled pieces of parchment in her magical grasp, as she struggled to review each one before filing them before bed. She would have liked to turn in at the same time as her student, but the duties of a Princess beckoned, and she didn't get the last of her paperwork done until twenty minutes later. The alicorn's triple checking paid off once again, as scroll number seventeen was an assignment she had forgotten to return to Starlight.

"Whoops. Well, that's why I check repeatedly. Her room's right here, I'll just give this to her before she gets to bed." She said to herself.

Twilight walked down three more doors to Starlight's room, and softly knocked.

"Starlight?" She asked.

What she got in return was a startled scream, followed by what sounded like a lamp being knocked over, a thud on the ground, and then nothing. Twilight tried to push the door open, but it had been locked.

"Starlight? Are you alright?"

After not getting a response for a second, Twilight fired up her horn, magically unlocked the door, shoved it open, and nothing in Equestria could have prepared her for what met her eyes. For there was her student Starlight, who was dazed after apparently tripping over her beanbag chair that her back half was slumped over. She appeared unhurt, but what had Twilight frozen where she was standing was the heliotrope unicorn's current apparel. Her mane was up in two pigtails, she had a pacifier between her clenched teeth, which was attached to a lanyard around her neck, and around her waist and between her legs, propped up on the beanbag chair, was a white disposable diaper.

When Starlight's eyes met her teacher's, her pupils became pinpricks.

"T-T-Twilight! It's not what it looks like! I-I c-c-c-can explain...! I... I..."

Her eyes slammed shut and her horn crackled to life, magical motes of light flowing out of it. The magical aura quickly went from sparkling to sizzling, and in a flash of light, Starlight Glimmer vanished.

Double Diamond was enjoying the cool breeze as he was finishing up his late night walk through Our Town, when all of a sudden the air in front of him became hot, bringing his walk to a pause.

In a flash, a pony he recognized all too well appeared in front of him. Her chest was heaving, her eyes looked panicked, and her mane looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days. Either that or she had just taken it out of pigtails or something.

"S...Starlight?" He asked.

Starlight's heavy breathing got even more pronounced when she realized she had just teleported directly in front of another pony.

"D-Double Diamond!" She exclaimed, looking as if she was seconds away from bursting into tears. She looked back at her rear half, and put a hoof to her chest as if she was expecting a necklace to be there.

"Hey, are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost... Or like, a whole lot of ghosts."

After realizing she had arrived here with nothing on her, she finally took a few deep breaths.

"I'm so sorry for appearing out of nowhere like this. I really wish I could explain, but do you have a place I could sleep for the night?" She asked, almost pleadingly.

Though he was still processing everything that had just happened in the last twenty seconds, Double Diamond wasn't about to leave a friend out in the cold.

"Of course, sure," he began, trying to set her mind at ease, "And a shower, if you'd like one." He finished, after his nose detected the faint scent of urine. Her face burned red, and he decided to keep his mouth shut, and showed her inside his cottage.

Twilight was currently pacing back and forth in her study, wondering what she could have done differently in the situation that had just unfolded. Not ten seconds after she had opened Starlight's bedroom door, her student had panic-fired a teleportation spell, so unfocused that it nearly knocked the Princess of Friendship off of her hooves. In vanishing to Celestia-knows-where, the unicorn had left behind a pair of mane ties, a pacifier on a lanyard, and a disposable diaper, in her size, that had clearly been used, given away by the smell and yellow hue. She wasn't sure if leaving the items in question behind had been done on purpose, or because of how hastily Starlight had used the spell, transporting herself and only herself away from the castle. She had disposed of the undergarment she had only ever seen on foals, and left everything else where it was, and came here to try and sort through the situation in her head.

There had to be an explanation, of this, Twilight was nearly certain, and Starlight was so panicked and mortified by being discovered that an explanation was likely going to have to wait. Right now, she just had to know that she was alright, and due to what time it was, only one pony was going to be able to help.

She walked over to her desk, got fresh parchment, inked her quill, and began her letter.

Dear Princess Luna...

To Find A Foal

Princess Luna, the watcher of the dream realm, looked out at the countless orbs that floated, fell, or rose all around her. Most nights, ponies slept peacefully, or just needed a calming spell here or there; Luna only needed to directly intervene with a few severe nightmares, usually repeating ones throughout the night.

And tonight, a special task was asked of her.

Closing her eyes, the Princess of the Night whispered out "Starlight Glimmer", and one of the orbs in the distance became brighter. Her horn glowed, she fired a beam at it, then found herself in Starlight's dreamscape. But something was off. Normally, she'd appear next to the pony dreaming, but there was no one out here on this empty neighborhood street. It looked like a small, ordinary town. The reason she wouldn't have been able to find Starlight immediately, would be because the pony in question put mental barriers up. The only way forward would be to work through them.

The house she appeared closest to; the door was open. She stepped up to the patio, and walked inside. Looking around, she noticed that what was likely a den originally, was now decorated like a foal's nursery. A crib, changing table, playpen, and rocking chair were set around the room, all of which were unoccupied. There was a door frame in the right wall that went out to the hall. She heard the whispers of whimpering and weeping coming from the last door at the end of the hall. She cautiously walked down the dark hall, and pushed the door open.

What was here originally, she had to assume would be a stairway to a cellar. But now, it was something entirely foreign. There were hundreds of stairs winding down to a mammoth-size cavern. There was a volcano in the center, the throat of which was glowing orange. That would explain the numerous rivers of lava flowing out from it. But what was strangest about this monstrous cavern was the different colored paths, passing over the flows up to the volcano; yellow, blue, purple, and green.

Was this a... game board?

Luna made her way down the stairs and set foot on the yellow path. Suddenly, she saw them; three dragons on the other paths gave out roars, spread their wings and took to the air; all closing in on her.

"Volaan!" The one coming up the middle yelled before a fireball erupted out of it's mouth. Luna leaped up, spreading her wings and joined the dragons in the air. The fireball passed under her and impacted the tile she was standing on, causing it to fall into the abyss below. This dreamscape was all in Starlight's head, and there were dragons that knew their own ancient tongue; a language even ponies used several millennia ago before the old ponish and modern equestrian language was developed. The Thu'um was more than mere words; it was your emotion and spirit on a deeper level. Luna didn't have time to be impressed with the mare's insanely extensive knowledge. This trio had to be dealt with, and not in a particularly violent manner, lest Starlight be affected.

She turned as the trio of dragons tightened their formation, and came around for another pass. She drew in a breath, concentrated, and prepared to use what was far less formally known as her "Royal Canterlot Voice."

"Gol hah dov!!!" She yelled, a shockwave rushing forward from her throat. The dragons collided with the wave, and they arced their wings up and went into a hover, their attack halted, though they still eyed Luna with suspicion.

"Faas ni. Fin gein hi dein; Zu'u lost bo wah aak ek."

Luna's Thu'um echoed off the cave walls, and the dragons glanced at each other for a few moments. Roughly translated into modern equestrian, the Princess had just stated 'Don't be afraid, I am here to help the one you guard.'

"Rek qah." The center dragon replied, before all three of them ascended up into the black expanse of nothingness.

"'She is hiding'? Hiding where?" Luna said to herself, looking back down at the volcano which served as the cave's only light source.

"Laas yah nir." She said, below a whisper, soft enough where it didn't even reverberate off the cave walls this time.

Slowly, the glowing outline of a pony appeared, through the mountain; she was on the other side of the volcano.

Luna flew around the crater, and descended, to the end of the purple path, where a much younger version of Starlight was curled up against the wall of the mountain. She wore a white diaper, her hair was in pigtails, and she wore a pacifier around her neck.

"Starlight..."

The filly's eyes widened, and she tried, unsuccessfully, to run up the volcano, only to slide back down to the end of the purple tiles.

"Go away! Twilight told you what she saw! That's why you're here! She told you! She told everyone!" Starlight screamed, cowering between the mountain and Luna as she began to hyperventilate.

"Drem ov." Luna spoke softly. The soothing, calming words of the Thu'um washed over the traumatized filly, and her breathing started to ease. Luna took a couple steps forward, and sat down on the path, several feet from Starlight.

"Starlight, Twilight didn't tell me anything. She merely said that you panicked, teleported away from the castle, and she wanted to make sure you were alright. She's worried about you, that's all."

"No, I highly doubt that 'that's all'. Once I go back, she'll obviously want to know about what she saw me doing in my room!" Starlight argued back.

"No doubt it has to do with your current apparel. Do you really think you're the only adult who fantasizes about returning to the carefree innocence of foalhood?"

The filly looked up at the towering Princess.

"And with how long she has been your teacher, mentor, and friend, do you believe Twilight will judge you for something so innocent?"

Starlight looked the Princess in the eyes.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I believe that's your fear speaking, Starlight. Trust me. You're not the first pony with desires like these. I can make her understand."

"R... Really?"

Luna nodded. "I will try my very best. Now..." Luna said, picking the teary-eyed filly up, lighting up her horn, and teleported both of them back up to the den with the nursery furniture, setting her in the playpen. "Get some rest."

Starlight looked up at the princess and gave her a smile. Luna winked out leaving the unicorn in her dreamscape.

She had another princess to talk to.

To Teach A Teacher

"Starlight, wait! Please!"

Twilight called after her student, who was whimpering and crying as she galloped away from her through the hallways of her castle. Every single time she caught a glimpse of her, she would dart around the next corner, or wink out and take off from behind her. She felt like this had been going on for hours. Once again, the unicorn winked out, and Twilight whipped around, and came face to face with the Princess of the Night.

"P-Princess Luna!"

"It's alright, Princess Twilight. You're dreaming."

Twilight took a breath and looked around.

"Well, that explains why these hallways are more like a maze than anything else. Oh, oh! Did you find her?" Twilight asked. Luna nodded.

"Yes. She is alright. She's mainly worried about who you told and what you think of her."

"Well I haven't told anyone. And as for what I think... I'm still trying to piece it all together," Twilight immediately told her.

"How did you find out about this?"

"I forgot to return an assignment to her. I knocked on her bedroom door, and from the sounds of it, I startled her. She had knocked a lamp over, and I heard her hit the ground. The door was locked, but I thought she had hurt herself. She was dressed like a... a...

"A foal." Luna finished. Twilight nodded.

"She looked at me for a second, said it wasn't what it looked like, and vanished."

"So, you said you were trying to piece it together. What have you come up with?" Luna asked.

Twilight paused for a moment to consider her words.

"So far... That it was exactly what it looked like." Twilight finished.

"I see. Well, I told her that I'd try my best to make you understand. Can you come with me, please?"

Twilight nodded, and Luna took her across the field of dreams. They two of them passed into another dream orb, and found themselves standing in a neighborhood streets.

"Do you recognize this place?" Luna asked. Twilight looked around, and did indeed recognize the location from her time traveling escapades.

"This is her hometown. Hoofington, if I recall correctly."

"Then that's one more piece in place for me. Has she ever told you anything about her past?"

"No, not really. The only thing I know is that this is where she grew up with Sunburst." Twilight told Luna.

"Mmm. Perhaps he can shed more light on this." Luna said. Her horn lit up, and a strand of light extended and opened a portal. One the other side, was Sunburst, who was casting all manner of powerful spells into the night sky. He looked behind him, and noticed the portal.

"Oh, uh, Princesses! I guess this means I'm dreaming... Uh... What can I do for you?" He asked.

"We'd like your help with something, Sunburst." Luna replied.

"In that case," the Crystaller began, stepping through the portal. "How can I help?"

He then looked at their surroundings.

"Hoofington?" He asked, Twilight and Luna nodding.

"It's Starlight's dream." Twilight said.

"Sunburst," Luna said, walking over to him. "You may discover a side of Starlight here that you did not know about before now. If it's something you're not comfortable with, I can make it so you will not remember this dream when you wake up. As her oldest friend, we thought you could offer some insight."

"I'll offer whatever I can."

Luna nodded, and the three of them approached the patio of Starlight's childhood home. Luna opened the front door, and the three of them stepped inside, Luna casting a soundproofing spell to not disturb anyone inside.

"This... Is not how I remember the den..." Sunburst said.

Starting with the left wall, there was a playpen, a crib, and changing table making up the left corner. Next to the playpen was a rocking chair. A sleeping filly version of Starlight was being cradled by a silhouetted stallion, with a similarly silhouetted mare standing next to the chair. Every feature of these two ponies was jet black and indiscernible.

"What...?" Twilight wondered.

"Starlight's psyche is a complicated one," Luna began. "This is a part of it, a part of her, that has never grown. It froze, probably years ago."

"Years ago... I wonder if it was when I left for Celestia's school." Sunburst guessed.

"She said you and her did everything together." Twilight told the Crystaller.

"I'd say that's fairly accurate. She spent more time with me and my family than she did her own. Her dad did what he could, but he was just so busy working to keep a roof over their heads. Her mom was never really in the picture. I don't even remember her."

"This part of her psyche takes comfort in items and activities of a foalish nature. Notice how colorful and vibrant everything is, save for the two caregivers." Luna continued.

Twilight and Sunburst looked around, and indeed, it was a lively, popping room.

"So, why are the two... Parents... Blacked out?" Twilight asked.

"It is likely something she is still longing for. Ponies to perhaps share this side of her with. To fulfill the role of parents who were never there." Luna said.

Twilight looked on, noticing how peaceful Starlight was sleeping.

"Thoughts, Twilight?" Luna asked, as she noticed how Twilight had fixated on the sleeping Glimmer.

"Just... How I'm sorry that I barged in on her like that. I was just afraid she had gotten hurt by tripping over something."

"Sunburst?" Luna glanced at the Royal Crystaller.

"Me leaving... Did this to her?" He asked.

"We can't be certain of that. Many ponies are 'ageplayers' for a variety of reasons. Some can pinpoint it to an event in their childhood, and some wonder their whole lives where it originated from. It's not likely that you are the entire reason."

"I mean, just last weekend, she had made a spell that turned the throne room into, well, this, except it didn't have any of the foal furniture. And it also made us foals again."

"She said you were quite uncomfortable with it." Twilight said.

"With myself being a foal, but if she likes it... I mean, what's the harm?"

"I agree. She's kept it behind closed doors, I've never noticed anything unsanitary about her room... So if she wants to do this, it's harmless. But... At the same time..."

Luna and Sunburst looked at the Princess of Friendship, waiting for her to continue.

"If she doesn't want to keep it to herself... If she's been wanting to share this side of her... I mean... Sunburst, you and I have experience with Flurry Heart. Do you think... Maybe..."

"Maybe we could be her caretakers, or... Well, parents?" Sunburst said, his cheeks tinting slightly.

"Do... Do you really think we could fulfill those roles?" Twilight asked, both to Sunburst and Luna.

"Well... If you're asking me what I think... Yeah. I think so. I think you and I would be the most comfortable with letting her explore this side of herself." Sunburst told her.

"Yeah, no offense to Trixie, but this may be a little too far out there for her." Twilight added.

"I don't believe you two would be having this conversation if either of you thought you couldn't. But there is one more thing; you still have to talk to Starlight herself to see how she feels about it." Luna advised them.

Twilight looked over to the sleeping filly, knowing she had been disturbed enough for one night.

"Well, I'll be waiting for her when she gets back in the morning, hopefully." Twilight stated, knowing that this was likely going to be one of the most awkward conversations of her life.

A Comforting Confrontation

The next morning, Starlight Glimmer had awoken much, much more relaxed than she had been when she had winked into Our Town. She had taken Double Diamond up on that shower, of course, but it wasn't until Luna found her in her dream that she began to calm down. Luna promised her that she would talk to Twilight, and Starlight was betting that the Princess of the Night would be able to make her mentor understand far better than she could.

So after thanking Our Town's second citizen profusely for the bed for the night, Starlight visited Sugar Belle's bakery for breakfast, when the town baker insisted she have something to eat before returning home, even though she didn't have a single bit on her at the time. She nibbled at the delicious muffin and sipped at the orange juice, because she wasn't quite ready to put 100% faith in the words of Princess Luna. She had set her mind at ease in her sleep, but now that she was wide awake, she was nervous about returning to Twilight. When she reached the halfway point of her muffin 10 minutes later, however, she realized that the longer she put it off, the worse she was going to feel, and she couldn't stay here all day. She believed Luna wholeheartedly when she said how worried Twilight had been after she vanished, and it wouldn't be fair to keep her wondering and worrying.

Starlight finished her muffin, promised to return with a generous tip on her next visit, stepped out into the middle of the road, and lit her horn up, moments before vanishing. After a moment, Twilight's castle loomed in front of her as she reappeared in front of the steps to the main entrance. It was nearly 10:00 in the morning. Twilight was no doubt up and about by now. She took another deep breath, and trotted up the stairs, and went through the main doors, immediately going up to the second story and down the right corridor towards her room. She rounded the last corner... And saw Twilight sitting outside her open bedroom door and she stopped in her tracks. The Princess looked up at her with a smile, and Starlight's cheeks immediately went red.

"Good morning Starlight. Wasn't sure if you'd walk in or just teleport in."

The unicorn tried her best to smile back as she closed in on her mentor.

"Listen Twilight, I'm really sor—"

Starlight held her tongue when Twilight held up her hoof.

"No, Starlight. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. The only reason I unlocked your door last night was because I was afraid you had hurt yourself when I heard the startled scream and the lamp knock over. I was only trying to return an assignment I had forgotten to give to you."

"Oh... Um, well, alright then."

Starlight walked past Twilight into her room, and the alicorn followed her in. Starlight noticed that save for the wet diaper she had left here after teleporting, that everything else was where she had left it.

"Luna did her best to explain what this side of you is, but I couldn't get very specific with her. Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?" Twilight asked as Starlight slumped down into her beanbag chair.

"Twilight, I'm living in your home. I can't promise it won't feel super awkward, but you can ask me whatever you'd like." Starlight immediately told her, cheeks flushing again .

"First off, I want to immediately say that I don't have a problem with it. Luna was very clear in explaining that it was a part of who you are, and I certainly want to give you the space and privacy to nurture that part of yourself."

"Th-thank you, Twilight. That means a lot." Starlight replied with a smile. She wasn't expecting that to be the first thing out of Twilight's mouth, and was honestly too petrified to dare ask herself.

"So... How long have you had that stuff?"

"A... A couple months."

"That's all? That's how long you've had these desires? Luna suggested it was much longer and deeper." Twilight asked her, a bit perplexed.

"No, no. I started getting these urges back a year ago when you first offered to take me under your wing. I guess there was a part of me that held on to my foalhood after Sunburst left all those years ago. I've only started indulging in it for the past two months or so."

Twilight nodded in understanding.

"Lastly... Luna said that there were likely some pieces of these fantasies that you're still longing for. I want to make myself as clear as I possibly can; if you want to keep this to yourself, say the word, and I will never mention it again. But..."

Now it was Twilight's turn to tint her cheeks red.

"I just want you to know... Sunburst and I are willing to try our hooves at being your... Caretakers... If you decide that's something you want to try. Luna asked him to provide a little more insight into what it was like for you growing up, and was ready to make him completely forget his time spent in your dreamscape, but it wasn't necessary. He's perfectly alright with this side of you too."

Starlight gave her an absolutely dumbfounded stare, finding her next few breaths hard to come by. Now her oldest friend knew?

"R-Really?" She said, barely loud enough for Twilight to hear her.

The Princess of Friendship nodded.

"If you decide that's something you'd like to try, just let us know. Weekends would probably work out best. And if not, like I said, you'll never hear a word about it from either of us. I just wanted you to know that we're up for it if you are. I don't want you to hide this part of yourself if you don't want to."

Twilight's horn lit up, she grabbed Starlight's pacifier lanyard from the floor next to the beanbag chair, and fastened it around the unicorn's neck.

"Take the rest of the day for yourself. I promise I won't open the door if you lock it, and I'll wait more than two seconds to open the door if I hear you knock anything over." Twilight said with a wink, then walked off back into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

Starlight wasn't sure whether she should have chuckled or fainted.

Starlight's Ruminations

By the time the noon sun had passed over the castle, Starlight had found herself in a fresh diaper, with her mane back up in pigtails, and was now laying in her bed, trying to relax and sort through the events of last night, as well as the conversation with Twilight barely two hours ago.

'So, Sunburst knows now... Great.' Starlight thought to herself, unsure of what to make of that. Granted, she believed Twilight when Luna said she was ready to make it so Sunburst wouldn't recall the dream, but he seemed okay with it. She wasn't expecting that with the way he had reacted to her age spell last weekend. But it probably only went one way; he wasn't interested in being a foal, but he had no issues if she wanted to.

She knew why she clung to her early childhood with Sunburst; they were the only good memories she had growing up. But as to everything before that... That was harder to pinpoint. The farther back she went, the foggier everything became. All she could remember was her parents were so busy that they were hardly ever around; she wasn't even sure who took care of her more, her own mother and father, or Sunburst's parents, who frequently babysat her in those years.

As Starlight shifted her head on her pillow, she felt a pressure on her bladder, as this morning's orange juice had completed it's route through her body. She took a breath, and relaxed it, and felt the stream of urine hit the absorbent padding wrapped around and between her legs. As it absorbed, the warmth against her crotch spread and the diaper swelled. As the last drops fell into the diaper, Starlight sunk deeper into the pillow and let out a sigh of relief, popping the pacifier around her neck into her mouth. She wasn't sure what it was, but when she did this, life seemed less complicated. She felt an immense sense of relief when Twilight said she didn't have any objections to it. The only piece she was missing was...

...Was other ponies to watch her, play with her, check her, change her, and feed her.

She could lay here in her now-wet diaper, dancing around this all day, but at the end of it, the question ultimately was, even if they were willing to do it, could she bring herself to actually ask Twilight and Sunburst to play her parents?

Her train of thought was brought to a halt with a knock at her door.

"Starlight?" The voice of Twilight asked from the other side.

Starlight made a mental check not to leap up out of her bed this time.

"Yeah, it's unlocked, come on in." She said, trying to mentally prepare herself for Twilight seeing her like this.

The door glowed with the orchid aura of Twilight's magic moments before it opened to reveal the Princess of Friendship.

"Oh! Starlight, you should've told me you were..."

"It's alright, Twilight. I've been thinking it over for the past two hours, and I don't want to shut myself in here every time I feel like foaling out." Starlight told her, cheeks lightly blushing.

"Ah, so you've decided that you'd like us to be your caretakers?" Twilight asked, trying her absolute hardest to ignore the yellow tint in the middle of Starlight's diaper.

"I didn't say that." Starlight said, then immediately regretted putting it that way, almost sounding like she was snapping at Twilight. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just... I don't know. I've been going over and over it in my head, and I can't..." The unicorn continued to fumble with her words as she hopped off the bed.

Twilight's horn lit up, and a small grayish doll popped in with a flash next to her head.

"This is Smarty Pants. She was my favorite toy growing up, so I know what it's like to hang on to a younger part of yourself."

"Twilight... There's keeping foalhood toys and dolls, and then there's this. I mean, asking my mentor and oldest friend to... To... Baby me... It's not the easiest thing to bring to your lips, you know?"

Twilight nodded in understanding.

"Well, if you're having so much trouble asking, then don't worry about it. I will. Starlight, would you like to be babysat this weekend?"

"Yes."

Starlight's eyes widened, stunned at her almost instantaneous answer.

"Wow, that came out of my mouth a lot faster than I thought it would." Starlight said. Twilight simply smiled at her.

"There, now that that's out of the way. I'll let you write to Sunburst, and figure out what you'd like to do. You have a few days to think about it. In the meantime, would you like anything for lunch?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." Starlight replied, her light breakfast in Our Town having worn off a bit ago.

"Anything in mind?" The Princess asked.

"Whatever you have in mind will be fine," Starlight replied, starting to sort through some scrolls. She didn't notice Twilight leave as she picked out one of her most recently used ones.

"This is going to need some tweaking..." She began, also getting out a blank roll of parchment, and sat down with an inkwell and quill.

Dear Sunburst,

So I heard about what you and Twilight saw with Princess Luna last night. I know you didn't have any interest in being a foal with that spell last weekend, and you don't know what it means to me that you not only accept this side of me, but that you and Twilight also want to try and become involved in it too.

Twilight and I have decided on this weekend, and while I'm still figuring things out, I just wanted to make sure you would be available.

Again, thank you so much, and hope to see you in a few days.

-Starlight

As soon as Starlight fired off a spell to send the scroll on it's way to the Crystal Empire, she sensed an incoming transportation spell, and with a flash, a platter appeared on her side desk.

On it, was a cluster of baby carrots, a bowl of applesauce, and a foal bottle of milk.

There was so much blood flowing to Starlight's face she was beginning to be concerned for the circulation in her hooves. Twilight was embracing this side of her like, ten times more than she thought she would be.

Twilight was up bright and early on Saturday morning. She had spent all of her spare time over the past two days reading up on the basics of foal care, and she believed she was ready for whatever Starlight had in mind. She assumed it would be basically the same, just with the foal sized up.

She finished breakfast and made her way out to the foyer, and she heard a knock on the main door, before Sunburst came in. He had saddlebags on underneath his mage's cloak.

"Morning, Sunburst. Glad you could make it. What do you have there?" She asked, motioning to the saddlebags, which looked quite full.

"Oh, well, I didn't know what she had, and... I learned real fast to have backups of all of Flurry's toys..." He said, opening the left flap, taking out a rattle, bottle, some alphabet blocks, a stuffed bear, among other things.

"Same. I noticed just diapers and foal powder in her room. I've been reading up on foal nutrition and psychology. I just have to imagine it's Flurry, except bigger, right?"

"That's probably the easiest way to approach this for both of us. Should we... Go up and see if she's ready?"

Twilight nodded. Together, the two of them went up the stairs and to the right. Three doors down was Starlight's room, but before they could knock, they heard a magical fizzle and pop, along with light flashing through the door frame, followed by nothing. After a moment, she knocked on the door.

"Starlight?" She asked. Instead of getting any answer back, all she heard was muffled babbling. Raising an eyebrow, she opened the unlocked door, and both of them peered inside, and their eyes widened at what they saw.

There in the middle of the room, on her beanbag chair, sat a foal version of Starlight, next to a trio of scrolls, one unfurled, and a few diaper changing supplies. She saw them, and stared at them cautiously as she began to suck on her hoof.

"Well," Sunburst began. "Looks like this is going to be more authentic than either of us thought."

Author's Note

Hope you're all enjoying this story so far. Believe it or not, I've been winging it.

So, if any of you have ideas for what Twilight and Sunburst can do with their new foal, believe me, I am all ears.

Turning Back The Clock

As the much younger version of Starlight looked up at them Twilight turned her attention to the items surrounding her, namely the trio of scrolls, one of which was unrolled. She picked them up, and inspected the open one first, showing it to Sunburst.

"This... Is the regression spell she used last weekend. Looks like it's been modified; the locus mutatio has been removed, that transformed the throne room into her childhood home. When it comes to how far back it goes... Looks like she turned back the clock a bit more. She doesn't look a whole lot older than Flurry." Sunburst said, peeking over the scroll at Starlight. The yearling on the floor in front of them was already diapered, and the supplies next to her seemed to be in her size, probably another effect of the spell.

Twilight unrolled the other two scrolls; one was another spell, and the second was a letter, to the two of them. She read aloud.

Dear Twilight and Sunburst,

Once again, thank you for trying this. I thought it would be a tad less awkward if I put myself into a form that the two of you have become familiar with in taking care of Flurry Heart. This spell will last for approximately 48 hours. During that period, there will be a memory block; I won't have any of my adulthood memories, so I can't promise that I'll have absolutely perfect behavior, you know, for authenticity. I will transform back very early Monday morning, at which point the block will be lifted, and I will retain any memories of what happened over the weekend as well.

Of course I'm aware that something could come up over the weekend. If there's something with the map, or if there is an emergency of any kind, I have provided 'Exponentia Ruptor'; Spell Breaker. Cast it, and I will immediately revert back with no ill aftereffects.

I'm hoping this weekend is enjoyable for everyone involved.

-Starlight

As Twilight looked over Spell Breaker, Sunburst walked up to Starlight, who was now reaching up to him with her stubby little hooves. He lifted her up with his magic and cradled him with his right leg, and she began to fiddle with his glasses. Then once she was secure in his grasp, he suddenly realized what had happened to the rest of the room.

"Hey Twilight, look." He told the alicorn, using a hoof to motion around the room.

Except for the beanbag chair on which Starlight had sat, everything else had transformed. Her desk was now a changing table; the shelves next to it had even more diapers, powder, and changing supplies. Her bed was now a crib fit for a yearling, complete with a mobile with all different styles of kites, along with the curie marks of Twilight, Sunburst, Trixie, and Maud.

"So... What first?" Sunburst asked, now that Starlight had gone from inspecting his glasses to the brooch on his cloak.

"Well, I don't remember seeing her this morning before now, so let's get her some food. How about you, did you eat?" Twilight asked.

"No, I had to catch the very first train here. I'll take whatever you have available."

With that, the trio went to the dining room, where Sunburst saw a high chair that looked like it was for a fully grown pony.

"You got prepared, I'll give you that." Sunburst said.

"Not prepared enough. I need to resize this thing now." Twilight said, firing up her horn. She cast minor mole until it was just the right size for Starlight, and Sunburst plopped her down between the chair and tray before safely buckling her in.

"I'll keep her company while you get the food." Sunburst said, beginning to coo at Starlight, who giggled in response. She was well-behaved enough for the three minutes that it took Twilight to return with a small bowl of oatmeal, and a bigger one, with added fruit, for Sunburst.

"Smells delicious, thank you!" Sunburst said in gratitude. He took a bite, then offered a spoonful to Starlight from her bowl.

"Here comes the wizard on the broomstick!" He playfully said to her, arcing and twisting a path towards her mouth with the spoon. Starlight opened her mouth and happily took the bite. A little came out, but Sunburst skillfully scooped it back up with the rubber-coated utensil. He set the bowl down to take another bite from his blueberry-and-strawberry filled oatmeal, and Twilight took this opportunity, and grabbed the spoon herself.

"Alright, here it comes..." Twilight told her, doing a similar path and made whooshing sounds as the spoon closed in.

But Starlight's demeanor changed, and she turned her mouth away. The Princess of Friendship tried again from another angle, and Starlight turned away again. A third time, the foal turned towards the spoon as it came, and her horn lit up, overriding Twilight's aura and grasped the spoon herself, flinging it back towards Twilight.

"Yah!" She let out as the bite of breakfast splashed against her forehead.

Sunburst successfully suppressed a snicker as a glob of oatmeal dripped from the tip of her horn, as he knew laughing would only encourage the behavior further.

"Starlight, no." He said as sternly as he could, magically taking a washcloth and quickly wiping Twilight's forehead down.

Twilight thought at first that she had done that on purpose, and maybe she had, but it wasn't the student she had come to know; and wouldn't be until approximately Monday morning. Still, she felt a pang of annoyance when Sunburst took the spoon from Starlight's grasp, got another spoonful of oatmeal, and she ate it without fussing.

"Well, I guess I'll leave breakfast to you." Twilight said, taking the washcloth and finishing cleaning her face. She remembered Flurry being just as difficult, but if Sunburst could pull it off with far less mess, then more power to him. Alternating between taking bites from his bowl, and feeding Starlight spoonfuls from hers, breakfast took about fifteen minutes. After that, the tray was removed and Sunburst wiped her face down, and plopped her down on his back.

"Where to? I'm sure you've got the entire day planned out." Sunburst asked her.

"I've turned the library into something of a play room, yeah." Twilight said, gathering the two empty bowls and quickly deposited them in the kitchen sink, before the two of them took Starlight down to the library. Upon entering, Sunburst was once again impressed. In the center of the room, Twilight had set up a playpen, once again, for an adult pony, but didn't bother resizing it this time, because it would give her more room to play. Inside, she had gathered a couple plushies, a rubber ball, and an abacus. Before setting Starlight inside, Sunburst added what he had brought; the teddy bear, rattle, and alphabet blocks, and gently set her in the center of everything.

She went for the blocks first, magically picking up and inspecting the first few individually. Then, seemingly satisfied, she began constructing a tower, block by block, trying her best to make sure the next one was perfectly aligned with the one below it. Over the course of five minutes, she constructed a tower that was over twice as tall as she was. Then, when her creation was complete, her telekinesis went over to the plush bear, and she magically made it walk over and with a leap and a roar, made it demolish the tower. It reminded Twilight of how Rainbow knocked down the rock tower at Applejack's farm. Sunburst applauded Starlight's deconstruction, getting a giggle out of her. He then climbed into the playpen with her, magically took hold of the rubber ball, and started playing with her, rolling the ball back and forth, while the princess smiled and watched.

Twilight couldn't help but be a bit perplexed. For all the reading and preparing she had done for the past few days, Starlight actually regressing herself back to a yearling state wasn't something she had prepared for, and it had thrown her for a loop. It was becoming apparent to her that this infant version of Starlight was favoring Sunburst more than her, and in the back of her mind, she was currently trying to figure out why. It probably had a great deal to do with whatever her spell had done to her mind. If the 'adult' side of her really was locked away until Monday morning, pending any roleplay-ending emergencies, perhaps Sunburst was the only pony she was familiar with and comfortable around.

If that was the case, just how much was she going to be able to participate this weekend...?

Playing Favorites

After about forty-five minutes of watching Starlight play with the blocks and plushies in her oversized playpen, Sunburst noticed that her diaper had gotten quite wet, with just a visual check.

"I think a certain little filly needs a change." Sunburst said, picking up the foal with his magic, and they took her back into her room.

While Twilight had been looking forward to this weekend as well, Starlight really didn't seem to be taking to her too well in her current mindset. Since this was her weekend above all else, the Princess of Friendship had largely resigned to a support role for Sunburst; which so far had been food preparation, then giving it to him to feed her, and cleaning up whatever messes their temporary foal had left behind.

The Princess was trying her very best not to take it personally. That would be blowing it a bit out of proportion; of course Starlight wouldn't purposefully be giving her the cold shoulder; her adult side was locked away until Monday morning, so there was really no telling what she would be like. The only taste that Twilight had ever gotten of Starlight's past was when she used the map to send them back to Hoofington. The brief glimpse she got of Starlight and Sunburst in their younger years, combined with the dream Luna had showed them, suggested that her parents being involved in her upbringing was something of a rarity, so if she spent most of her time with Sunburst, it was no wonder she was fussy whenever Twilight tried something.

Twilight shrugged it off. It wasn't like this was an absolute one-time deal. Maybe when she wanted to do this again, Sunburst wouldn't be available, and she'd get to try again. For now, she was pushing herself to be content with being backup babysitter. So Sunburst took charge throughout the day, with her blessing. Besides, when she wasn't fussing, Starlight was, quite simply, adorable. The day passed rather quickly; after a quick change, Starlight was returned to her playpen for another half-hour before lunch. Afterward, Sunburst gave her a coloring book, and she seemed to enjoy coloring even more than the blocks. She had a quarter of the book finished by the time dinner rolled around, which was accompanied by a warm bottle of milk, which made her sleepy in no time at all. They returned her to her bedroom and got her tucked into her crib, setting a monitoring spell next to her crib before leaving.

"I wish I knew why she's not taking to you, Twilight," Sunburst began as they exited the bedroom and softly closed the door. "If it's any consolation, you've been an absolute great help today. I wish I had that kind of support from the guards when I'm looking after Flurry."

"It's not a big deal," Twilight replied as they headed down the hall to the guest bedroom, where Sunburst would be staying. "As long as she's enjoying herself, that's all that matters, right? It's her weekend after all."

"Well, I don't know about that," Sunburst countered. "We're half of the equation, and I don't think it'd be fair if you don't get any satisfaction or enjoyment out of it."

"Maybe..." Twilight replied as they reached the guest bedroom.

"If you really want to, we can do the same thing tomorrow, or if you want to take a more active role, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to help you the way you've helped me out today."

"Thanks Sunburst. Let's both sleep on it. That is, if she lets us get a good night's sleep." Twilight said, the two of them chuckling afterward. Bidding each other goodnight, Sunburst retired into the guest bedroom, and Twilight headed further down to the opposite wing, to her bedroom. Spike, who had spent the day with Rarity, was already out like a light. Silently checking the monitoring spell in Starlight's room, Twilight climbed into bed, and was dreaming barely before she got the covers over her.

To her complete astonishment, the next time she opened her eyes was to the sunrise peeking through her window. Yawning, she got up and quickly ran a comb through her mane before heading down the hall. Checking the monitoring spell en route, she saw that Starlight hadn't begun to stir just yet, so she had time to go see if Sunburst had gotten up to greet the morning yet. He had to be used to this by now, what with being Flurry's crystaller for this long and what not. Or maybe not; if Starlight slept through the night, maybe this was the first full night of sleep Sunburst had gotten in quite some time.

Crossing over into the east wing, she went around the bend to see a scroll had been magically adhered to the front of the guest bedroom door. She took hold of it, and read the hoofwriting.

Dear Twilight,

You'll find I'm not present this morning. I didn't want to wake you. Unfortunately, something came up with Flurry Heart's magic overnight. Cadance sent a royal chariot with the news, and now I've got to watch her while our repair team works on fixing the nursery wall... And the adjacent ten walls. So I don't believe you should expect me back. Besides, this will give you the chance to get some one-on-one time with her that you didn't really get yesterday. If it becomes too overwhelming, you can always use the Spell Breaker scroll, which you'll find on my bed. I'm sure Starlight will understand if you have to use it.

Best of luck, and I hope you have fun with her for the second half of your weekend.

Sincerely,
Sunburst

Twilight rolled up the note and opened the door, and indeed found that Sunburst was nowhere to be found, yet he had taken the time to make the bed and place the Spell Breaker scroll in the center of the bed where it could easily be spotted. She picked it up, and headed back out into the hall and headed towards Starlight's room.

It looked like she was getting that one-on-one time after all, whether she was ready for it or not...

One Mare and A Baby

As she walked over to Starlight's room, Twilight tried to piece together in her head just how today was going to go without Sunburst. Flurry could get fussy at times, but the foal loved spending time with her aunt, and she had to admit, Twilight spoiled her to no end. Twilight was beginning to wonder if Starlight's regression spell was complex enough to include stranger anxiety, or if it was something else altogether.

She quietly opened Starlight's bedroom door, where the infant foal was just beginning to yawn as she woke up. She rubbed her eyes, and looked up at Twilight.

"Well, good morning, little one. Have a good night's rest?" She asked as she levitated her out of the crib, and was overcome the the unmistakable smell of a dirty diaper. She carried her over to the changing table, and had wipes, powder, and a fresh diaper ready and waiting. By the time she was clean, Starlight was fully awake and alert, and was looking around the room for Sunburst.

"Sorry, sweetie. He had to leave, foal emergency up in the Crystal Empire." Twilight told her, as she placed her on her back and started to walk to the dinging room for breakfast. Starlight seemed content on the way to the dining room, but when they arrived, and Twilight got her fastened into her high chair, she noticed that Sunburst wasn't in here either, and started to get fussy as Twilight quickly prepared a bowl of oatmeal. Hoping to not get a repeat of yesterday morning, Twilight got a spoonful and levitated it over to Starlight, who proceeded to repeat yesterday morning's ordeal, and turn her tightly closed lips away from the offered spoonful.

"Come on now, Starlight. You're not going to do this again, are you? Growing foals need their breakfast. Open up." The Princess told her, but Starlight wasn't having it.

Rather than get frustrated, or get another glob of oatmeal thrown at her, she remembered the foal rearing books she read up on in preparation for looking after Flurry Heart, and decided to try a certain approach. She placed the spoon back in the bowl, took a step back, and turned her back. She remember that sometimes foals wanted to prove they could do something themselves, and once they realized they couldn't were then more receptive to getting the helping hooves they needed.

But instead of hearing whining or crying after a few moments of silence from Starlight, what she heard instead was the all too familiar sound of magic resonating from a unicorn horn, and turned to see that the foal Starlight had the feeding spoon in her magical grasp, and was now, quite successfully, feeding herself. She took a bite, swallowed, and smirked at the deadpan Princess.

"I get it, you don't need me at all..." Twilight groaned. But then, she thought of an answer. She fired up her own horn, and fired off a nullifying spell, which floated towards Starlight's forehead and dissipated. It only took a moment to take effect, and once it did, Starlight's magical aura faded, and the spoon dropped back into the bowl with a plopping sound.

"There. Now you can let me feed you, or go hungry." Twilight said, once again picking up the spoon with oatmeal and offering it to Starlight, who crossed her front legs, but nonetheless opened her mouth in defeat.

The nullification spell would be effective for around thirty to forty-five minutes, after which she would have to recast it, but for the time being, Starlight was half-content to be fed by Twilight. Afterward, her face was wiped clean, and she was lifted up from the high chair and placed on Twilight's back as they headed for the library, where the playpen had been set up. Setting Starlight among the plushies and blocks once again, Twilight recalled another passage from her book, and decided that she wasn't going to be content to just sit there and watch like yesterday. Instead, she got in the playpen along with Starlight sat across from her between the pile of blocks in the center, and split them evenly among them.

When she saw Starlight place one with her hooves, then place another one on top, then another, each more carefully, she realized she was trying to build a tower as high as she could. Also using her hooves to promote fair play, Twilight also began a tower of her own. Their movements became slower and more carefully planned the higher they got, and once Starlight's got to nearly above her head, she paused her efforts to go get a wooden stool to continue as her reserve blocks slowly ran dry. When Starlight was finally out of blocks, her tower proudly stood at twenty blocks tall, and so did Twilight's, who had one left in reserve.

Looking down at the block in her hoof, Twilight took it in her magic, and levitated it over to Starlight who was standing on the stool. The foal took it in her hoof, reached up, and nudged it into place, making her tower 21 tall. Twilight playfully clapped with her hooves, and then saw Starlight's horn flicker back to life. The foal quickly realized this, and before Twilight could conjure up another nullification spell, Starlight fired off a simple 'dis' or push spell, and it was aimed directly at Twilight's tower.

A magical bolt of dis would have done very little to a full grown pony, but the alicorn's tower was another story. It wobbled momentarily, then came toppling down, raining wooden blocks all around Twilight, and the foal giggled and enthusiastically clapped. Twilight looked at her annoyingly.

"I think somepony needs a timeout." Twilight said, firing up her horn. But before she could cast her nullification spell, Starlight winked out of the library, and Twilight heard giggling echo out in the hallway. Immediately, she was reminded of how Flurry Heart led Shining Armor on a chase throughout the library. The Princess gave chase, following the giggling out into the foyer, where Starlight was having the time of her life sliding down the left banister. But as she reached the bottom with Twilight hot on the steps behind her, she winked out again before she landed on the tile floor.

As Twilight listened for where her laughs would come from this time, what she heard instead was a knock at the front doors.

"For Celestia's sake, this could not come at a worse time..." She groaned, walking towards the main entrance to the castle. Her horn lit up, and the doors glowed and opened to reveal one of the last ponies she wanted to deal with right now.

"T-Trixie??? Listen, this really isn't a good time."

Author's Note

Apologies for how long it took me to get this chapter out. Life has been busy this week.

Trix of the Trade

"T-Trixie??? Listen, this really isn't a good time." Twilight stammered, trying to comprehend Trixie's sense of timing. Starlight's friendship with the stage magician helped her be much more civil with her, but still, she had a magical foal loose somewhere in this castle. Trixie, in her signature hat and cape, simply scoffed at the not-so-regal greeting upon her arrival at Twilight's front door.

"I'm not here for you, Princess, I'm here to see-"

Trixie was interrupted by a flash of light, and popping into view, floating directly in front of her, was Starlight Glimmer.

Or rather, Starlight Glimmer as she appeared about twenty years ago.

Twilight was petrified, unable to move. Any moment now, Trixie was going to flip out, and Starlight's secret would be exposed to another one of her friends. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she waited for the inevitable.

But instead of screaming, or pointing and laughing, she merely stared.

"S-Starlight?"

The foal floated down to the floor in front of her and smiled up at her. Trixie's eyes told the whole story.

Her heart melted as she mouthed 'awww'.

"So, I assume there's a story behind this, Princess." The entertainer said as she knelt down in front of the adorable Starlight, softly booping her on the nose, receiving a giggle in return.

"Yes, but I'm not sure it's one she would want you to know about."

"With all due respect, Princess, I'm her best friend."

"I'm not arguing that. I'm saying that this is a side of her that she's kept to herself, that I only accidentally discovered last week. This spell of hers has blocked her 'adult' memory for the weekend, but at the end, it'll be restored, along with everything that's happened yesterday and today. She agreed to Sunburst and myself, but she never said if she'd be okay with her other friends knowing." Twilight explained.

Trixie nodded in understanding, as Starlight now took interest in the magician's star-pattern cape.

"If you or she is afraid that this would change my perspective of her, well... Yes, it does, but not in any negative way. After all, part of friendship is accepting all of your friend's little quirks, isn't it? I wanted to see if she was available to hang out for a few hours before my show tonight, and while I wasn't expecting that it would be on this... Scale... She certainly seems to be in the mood to play. Wouldn't you say?"

Twilight looked down at Starlight, who was currently playing peekaboo behind Trixie's cape, and did have to admit that this was the happiest she had been all day.

"Well, alright. You can keep her occupied while I get lunch ready." Twilight told her, looking over at Starlight again before going to the kitchen to prepare Starlight's meal. Not wanting to be thought of as a bad host even by Trixie, Twilight also prepared a fruit platter for her as well.

By the time she had come out of the kitchen, she saw that Trixie had the foresight to move her parlor tricks to the dining room, where Starlight was being thoroughly entertained by otherwise simple tricks like Trixie taking her nose, revealing a five-bit coin behind her ear, and the long scarf. It didn't take long for it to make sense to Twilight; those kind of tricks were supposed to wow ponies of that age.

When Trixie saw Twilight come forward with the bowls of food and fruit for Starlight and herself, the magician had the foresight to levitate Starlight over to the high chair, setting her down and buckling her in.

"May I?" Trixie asked Twilight, as she graciously accepted her own plate of fruit.

"Sure." Twilight replied, levitating Starlight's bowl and spoon over to Trixie. She took a bite of an apple, and then got a spoonful of applesauce ready and levitated it around.

"Okay, here comes the magic spell..." Trixie said, weaving it around towards Starlight, who happily opened her mouth and accepted her first bite of applesauce.

There was a part of Twilight that wanted to see Trixie taken down a peg and struggle with feeding Starlight just as she had, so she merely sat silently when she noticed how agreeable Starlight was being with her best friend. Telling herself that all that mattered this weekend was Starlight's experience and happiness wasn't quite cutting it now, and she felt a pang of heartache come alongside the frustration she felt as Starlight didn't put up any fuss whatsoever as Trixie fed her lunch.

After that was done, she was taken to the makeshift play room in the library, and when she saw once again how enthusiastic and agreeable Starlight was to being helped playing with blocks, Twilight resigned and took a back seat to Trixie. After their construction efforts, the two of them magically played with the various plushies as they moved about the playpen, followed by a private magic act just for her. Before they knew it, two more hours had passed.

"Alright Starlight, isn't that enough fun for now? I'm pretty sure Trixie has a magic show tonight to get ready for." Twilight announced, coming into the playpen after taking a short break away to get some food for herself.

"I'm afraid that Princess Twilight is right, little Starlight. I've got setup and props to double check before tonight, and I don't think you'll want to attend the show; unless you want half of Ponyville to know about this side of you." Trixie told her. Starlight began to pout a bit when she realized on the way out to the foyer, that she wasn't going to be going wherever Trixie was headed.

"Have a good show. She should be back to normal sometime tomorrow morning." Twilight told her. Now, more than anything, she was ready for this weekend of rejection to be over with.

"Thank you for giving me the time to play with her. I hope she doesn't flip out when she gets her adult side back. Have a good evening, Princess." Trixie said, departing with a curt bow.

Not a moment after the doors closed, Twilight felt Starlight levitate off of her back, and she immediately turned to fire another nullification spell off, but the filly vanished before it could connect. With a groan of frustration, Twilight gave chase back up the stairs and off to the left. Her fears of Starlight teleporting out of the castle were eased as she heard giggling down the hallway. When she caught a glimpse of her, she'd simply wink out of view again, and the Princess began to have dejavu of her dream the night she accidentally discovered this side of Starlight. Deciding not to exhaust herself in what would undoubtedly be a fruitless chase, she came to a stop, took a deep breath, then began a room-by-room search, starting with her room, then the library, then the dining room. As she completed her search of the west wing and came back to the foyer, she heard muffled giggling coming from the throne room. She approached the double doors to the throne room, and opened them with her magic, and her eyes widened at the scene before her.

Sitting there in front of the table, was Starlight, her horn glowing, with six crayons currently drawing all sorts of shapes and squiggles on the pillars of the throne room walls. Biting her lip in anger, Twilight fired up her horn and shot another nullification spell at Starlight, whose horn then fizzled out, causing all six crayons to drop to the floor.

"I don't know what it is with you, or why you're acting like this, but it's going to stop, right now." Twilight began, a small wooden chair teleporting in next to her, which she set down next to the surprised Starlight.

"You're going to sit in timeout, and afterwards, you're going to start cleaning these walls until every single mark on them is gone." Twilight told her angrily, magically levitating her onto the chair. From the angry look on Starlight's face, Twilight knew that it wasn't going to be that easy. Even without her magic, the foal still threw a tantrum, getting off of the stool and kicked the chair over with her back right hoof, screaming "No!" defiantly.

The frustration that had been building up in Twilight finally reached the boiling point, and she took Starlight by the tail, elevating her backside slightly, brought her hoof back, and gave her three firm smacks across the backside.

Starlight stopped struggling immediately. She turned to Twilight with watery eyes and trembling lips. Twilight's offending hoof quivered when she suddenly realized what she had just done, and when Starlight burst into wailing cries there in the middle of the throne room, the Princess' frustrations melted away as her heart broke.

Coming Around

"S-Starlight... I..." Twilight stammered as her legs began to quiver. She stumbled her way over to the nearest throne, Applejacks, and barely sat down before she lowered her head into her hooves and began to weep.

She had never had this much trouble with Flurry Heart, and what made it worse was she had opened up with both Sunburst and Trixie. What was she doing wrong? Were... Were these feelings that Starlight had been burying down deep inside?

In crying herself, she didn't notice Starlight quiet down, nor notice that she had moved before she felt a light tugging on her tail. She glanced to her left, and there sat Starlight, looking up at her with teary eyes.

"M...Ma-ma..." She whimpered.

Her eyes said it all. The insolence and attitude had vanished. Was... Was that all she had needed? A little discipline? Twilight wiped her eyes as Starlight reached up for her, and the Princess picked her up with her magic.

"Now, are you gonna behave for me?" Twilight said, sniffling, hoping that she wouldn't have to use the Spellbreaker scroll and that they could actually complete their evening together. Starlight nodded, and Twilight got up and placed her on her back. For now, she decided the mess on the walls could wait while she got Starlight some dinner. She took her down to the dining hall and set her down in her high chair, tying a bib around her neck. Her eyes had finally dried, and she sat and waited eagerly for her dinner.

Twilight spent a few moments in the kitchen preparing, and found that upon returning, Starlight hadn't fussed or acted up at all. She had two small servings this time; mashed carrots for the main course, and applesauce for dessert. Although it was apparent Starlight didn't like the texture of the mashed carrots, she didn't fuss or turn her head away once. If Twilight hadn't been there, she would have sworn that this wasn't the same foal from twenty minutes ago. Of course, after the carrots, she eagerly devoured the sweet applesauce. Five minutes later, her face was wiped down, the bib removed, and they were on their way to the play room, where they played together, building the same block tower. It got to an impressive forty blocks high before it toppled, and Starlight giggled happily before letting out a great yawn.

"Alright, let's get you changed and into bed." Twilight said, glancing at the clock on the wall. Starlight was picked up and taken to her bedroom. After being changed without incident, Twilight tucked her into her crib, and she was out almost instantly. The Princess wondered if it would all revert at the same time; she didn't want Starlight to snap back to her adult size when she was still in a foal-sized crib. After a few moments, she shrugged it off; Starlight had written the spell, so she was confident her student knew what she was doing.

Though it was only 8:30, the day had taken its toll on Twilight as well, so she decided to turn in early as well. Heading down the hall to her own room, she took a quick bath before climbing into bed herself. Sliding underneath the covers, she was grateful that the last part of their evening together went off without a hitch. As the dream realm began to take her, she wondered what tomorrow would bring...

She wasn't sure of what she had been dreaming of before, but she was now aware of her lucid state as Luna pulled her into Starlight's dreamscape again; Hoofington under a clear starry night. Sunburst was standing there with the Princess of the Night, as was Trixie, to Twilight's surprise.

"I understand she had a helping hoof today as well." Luna stated, with Twilight immediately nodding.

"Trixie... I want to thank you. I... I was jealous of how easily Starlight was getting along with you once you got there, and I never realized how much easier you made most of my day. So... Thanks." Twilight told her, the magician bowing with a smile.

"It was my pleasure, Twilight. It was fun, if a bit unexpected."

Together, the four ponies quietly made their way into Starlight's childhood home, where they saw the den set up like the nursery once more, but it had changed once again, and Twilight's heart skipped a beat.

There, in place of the shadowy figures from before, were herself and Sunburst. The foal Starlight was sound asleep in the hooves of the Twilight that sat in the rocking chair, with Sunburst standing beside them. On the wall above the playpen, now hung a magic kit and a paddle.

"So... I'm guessing this means it worked? We did a good job?" Sunburst asked. Luna nodded.

"Good enough to be remembered, at least in her mind." The Princess of the Night told him.

This was the most interesting Monday morning that Starlight could remember in the history of ever.

After waking up in her bed, in her adult form, with an appropriately sized diaper taped around her waist, her mind began to process what had transpired over the weekend, and it was a roller coaster of emotions that she was currently riding out. Getting up and grabbing a cup of coffee before anyone else had gotten up, she got a bucket of soapy water and made her way to the throne room; she felt she could more easily navigate these thoughts if she got to work immediately.

And so she began, gripping the scrub brush in the magic of her horn, she began cleaning off the crayon markings from the crystal pillars of the throne room.

Emotions clashed inside her. Euphoria from recalling her weekend as a foal... Joy from her interactions with Sunburst and apparently Trixie as well... And then gut-wrenching guilt from how she had treated Twilight, before the Princess had figured out how to solve her attitude problem.

Starlight wasn't sure what she was going to say to Twilight just yet, but she was fairly confident that it was a spell she wasn't going to use again; this weekend she had discovered that it was more fun role playing a foal than actually re-living those days. She began to wonder if Twilight would ever agree to something like this again, with a fully grown mare. She felt the heat build up in her face as she shuddered with... With anticipation as she imagined Twilight spanking her again for misbehaving.

As her morning coffee worked its way through her digestive tract, her bowels sent off the need to void. Figuring she could sneak off to change before Twilight or Spike got up, she leaned forward, and pushed, as she continued her work on scrubbing. She didn't have time to enjoy the sensation as she heard the throne room doors open behind her.

"You know, magic could get that off in a flash." Twilight said, coming in to the room with her own cup of coffee.

"I know, but that would defeat the purpose. I believe you told me to scrub it all off last night." Starlight responded. She wouldn't be surprised if her cheeks were on fire and hoped to Celestia that her diaper could contain the stench for a precious few moments while she could figure out how to slip away for a change.

"Starlight... Look, I'm sorry for... For hitting you last night. I didn't know what else to-"

"Twilight... Sweet Celestia this is so awkward..." Starlight began, pausing in her scrubbing efforts. "If anything, I'm sorry. I thought that making myself an infant not only in size, but also in state of mind would be more enjoyable but... It wasn't. With all the ways you were treating me in small ways leading up to this weekend, I know you were looking forward to your role just as much as I was looking forward to mine. And the way I treated you... I... I didn't really see a whole lot of my dad growing up, and my mom even less so. I was a latchkey filly. Even before I was out of diapers, I remember Sunburst's parents taking care of me a whole lot more than my actual mom or dad did. I guess in that infant state of mind this weekend, I viewed Sunburst as his parents, and you as mine, and if they were hardly ever there, why should they get any attention from me? And that wasn't fair to you, not at all. And as to how you... Disciplined me..." Starlight paused, blushing heavily at the cheeks. "You don't have to apologize for that either. I'm surprised you didn't resort to that earlier. When we do this again, I think I'll just stick to pigtails and diapers in my size, or maybe regress my physical size but not my mind. That way I can be more in control of my behavior when it gets seriously out of hand," She said, motioning to the throne room's worth of scribbles. "And when I'm purposefully being a brat, please feel free to... Resort to that again..." She paused again, her face going red again. "So if you... Or Sunburst... Or even Trixie, want to play again, all you need to do is ask."

Twilight smiled.

"Starlight, you're right. This is probably the most awkward conversation I've ever had with anypony. And whether it was some deep, subconscious desire to fill in a void of your past, or just a weekend of fantasy role play... I'm honored that you believe I'm worthy of that role."

Starlight smiled bashfully.

"Well, I'll consider today's lesson postponed. It looks like you've got quite a lot of work ahead of you, but first..." Twilight paused, and Starlight felt herself go weightless as she was grabbed and levitated by Twilight's magic.

"I think a stinky little filly needs a change."