Phoenix Flu

by Foal Star

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Royal Guard
Length: 13714

The Royal Guard doing a night shift one evening are suddenly regressed into foals and Princess Celestia and Luna both have to team up caring for them and administering a cure

This story takes place mid-season two.

Cannon Feather is a new royal guard doing his best to keep the castle safe, but one evening, he and all of his brothers and sisters on duty suddenly, without warning, regressed into foals. It doesn't take long for the princesses to discover this and put a plan in action to find out what caused them to regress and find a cure. The Princesses learn it's an ancient disease called "phoenix flu," and they now have to quarantine the castle to keep it from spreading and care for the foals as they administer the cure. Meanwhile, Cannon Feather and his fellow royal guards get up to some fun shenanigans to keep the princesses busy.

Published 2024-08-03 23:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2024-12-30 03:16:31 UTC

Chapter one: Back to Basics

It was another dull day as a royal guard. Cannon Feather was the standard pegasus guard, with a blue mane and eyes. His cutie mark was a safety cone with two wings sprouting from it. The only thing that made him stand out was that his left wing was shorter than the right one and was a bit deformed. He just started as a royal guard watching them, dealing with the nonstop boredom of staring down a wall and wondering if anything interesting would happen. But at the same time, he was glad that nothing crazy was happening as he wanted to make a good impression. The stallion sneezed and wiped his face with his hoof as he continued his watch.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks.”

He turned to his wing pony, an older grey-coated unicorn with a greying silver mane, green eyes, and a subtle beard growing around his face, and said, “I apologize, but I think I’m catching a cold. It kind of came out of nowhere.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. Maybe you should take some sick leave? You’ve been running yourself ragged since joining the guard.”

“Just trying to show that I’m useful. Make a good first impression, you know?”

“You can’t make a good first impression being sick and getting others sick too. I’ll talk to Captain Shining Armor into getting you some sick leave; he’s more reasonable than you think.”

“Okay, you’re probably right,” the stallion mumbled as he sniffled. He didn’t want to be treated like a foal the first month on the job, but Bucket had a point: He felt under the weather and could rest.

The stallion was led down, then sneezed, and without warning, he was staring upward, seeing everything seemed to be much larger than him. At first, the stallion was confused, seeing that he was now looking upward and his partner was the same size. He was petite, chubby, and looked a lot like a foal. Bucket looked around and asked, “Wh…what’s happening!?”

He looked around as their armor and spears were scattered on the ground. Cannon rose up on his chubby legs and waddled to Bucket Bridle, “Hey Bucket! I think we got turned into babies.”

“Ya think!?” the former stallion shouted, getting up and looking around his own chubby body. He looked at himself in the reflection of his helmet and grumbled, “Yeah, we got turned into babies, alright?”

Cannon blinked, surprised that his wing pony was taking this so casually, and asked, “Uh, ya not surprised?”

The colt shrugged, “Eh, crazy stuff like tis happens often here. We should go find Captain Shiny and warn him, though. But first, we need foal supplies. My wife dropped some off in the barracks while I cared for my son today.”

Cannon Stepped back and waved a hoof in front of him, “Seriously, no way!? Ya not saying we need diapers?”

“Hopefully not, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Come on!”

“Fine.”

Cannon Feather waddled after he followed Bucket Bridle to the barracks, and it was quite a trot as their smaller bodies made the trip much longer than if they were adults. However, as they approached the barracks, they looked around, seeing some soldiers fast asleep. Still, to their dismay, the former adult all were babies now nestled in their blankets, some sucking on them or their hooves.

Cannon then whispered to Bucket, “Should we wake them?”

Bucket shook his head. " In my experience, babies fast asleep should stay asleep; they’ll just cry or get cranky. Besides, we work together faster to figure out what’s going on ta better.”

They then slowly trotted through the dark room, doing their best not to make any noise. They eventually came to Bucket’s cot. He took out a diaper bag, and they dragged it out of the room. Once they were out of the barracks, the slightly older colt pulled out the supplies and two diapers.

Cannon blushed and whined, “Do we seriously gots to wear them?”

“Sorry, I'm not going to risk you making a mess. We babies, I don't know how much control we have.”

They then took turns powdering each other's flanks and then strapping themselves in fresh diapers. Cannon admired the cute blueprints of swords and shields. It was still embarrassing, though.

“We also should fill up before heading to find Shiny.” He pulled out some bottles, made some formula, and shook them using the little scoop. Cannon watched it bubble and froth and saw it steam a little. “What is that?”

“Magic formula my wife gets for our baby automatically warms up. No bottle heater is required.”

The two then took their bottles and started to suckle down the contents with Cannon, loving the smooth, slightly sweet flavor. After finishing Bucket, they put the empty bottles in the bag before going on their way.

The two colts made their way up the stairs as they both struggled quite abit in their new pudgy bodies and eventually made it to Captain Shining Armor’s office. The two guards posted there were now foals, too! Both were fast asleep around their armor and suckling on their hooves. Bucket groaned, “Hopefully, Captain Shiny didn’t get turned into a foal, too! Hurry!”

The two colts burst through the door and found it empty until a bubble shield went around them, and a tiny white-coated foal came out, “Got ya!”

Cannon fell into it and plopped back down on his padded rear as Bucekt snapped, “Come on, Shiny, it’s me, Bucket Bridle!”
“Bucket Bridel? Ya got turned into a baby, too?”

“Yeah, not just us, but a lot of royal guards are babies now.”

Shining dissipated the bubble as they turned to see him in the light. The former Captain of the guard was now a chubby little colt with little whisps of his blue mane and tail. He also still had his cutie mark, though, which Cannon checked his flank to see if he still had it. The colt then rolled his eyes, “Ugh!? So it’s just you two!?”

“Yeah, we saw your guards posted outside, and they're now babies, too. Whatever is going on, it’s spreading.”

Cannon then asked, “Do you know what’s going on?”

Shining shrugged. “I don’t have a clue. I was busy doing paperwork, then I found myself shrinking, and now I’m like this!”

He threw a hoof over his body, “We gotta find out who's doing this and stop them before they turn princesses into babies! Or worse, my marefriend finds me like this!”

Bucket nodded and said, “That would be bad. We should prioritize ensuring their safety; it’s our first priority as royal guards, babies or not.”

“Yeah, just because I am a baby doesn’t mean I am not gonna help the princesses!” Shining Armor declared.

Cannon scratched his mane and replied, “Um, you guys are forgetting something. We’re foals!? We can’t do anything, even if we get to them!”

Shining shrugged, “They’ll underestimate us, or at the very least, we can check and make sure they're okay. Ten find other guards who aren’t babies and make sure they are on alert. We can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“So…we should go to ta princesses quickly!”

“Right! I thought I saw Princess Luna heading to the kitchen.… I was too embarrassed to go to her, but we should go check on her or try to communicate with her.”

“Alright, captain Shining, you lead the way,” Bucket replied.

He then got in front of the trio and pointed a hoof forward, “Move out!” as the three ran across the hall and headed down the stairs.

The trek down the stairs took abit longer than anticipated, but the three eventually made it to the kitchen. There, they saw Princess Luna munching on some cookies. As Bucket Bridle was going to say something, Shining Armor ran to her, shouting, “Hey, Princess Lulu! We guards who got turned into babies—you need to warn your sister and help us turn back to adults!”
She looked downwards and said, “Well, look, do we have a foal here?”

Shining started to get angry, stomping his little hooves, and snapped, “What? Don’t act like you can’t understand me!”

Luna levitated him up with her magic until he was eye-level with her, chuckling, “My goodness, it’s way past your bedtime, little one, and also, you look way too young to be without what do they call them now…diapers?”

The colt kicked and cried, but she nestled him onto her back. " Do not worry, little one. I will find some foal supplies and tuck you to sleep. In the morning, I’ll go find your parents. I’ll bet one of the staff brought their foals to work and left them here. Whoever did will get quite the scolding for being so neglectful. You could get lost or hurt.”

As Luna trotted to her bedroom, Cannon whispered, “From what we saw, it seems like they can’t understand us.”

Bucket just sighed, shaking his head. “I was going to tell the captain to wait in case Princess Luna can’t understand us, but he just ran off!”

“Guess he’s gonna get babied for a while, huh?”

Bucket couldn’t help but snicker, then said, “He’s never going to live that down, but luckily, Princess Luna isn’t a baby herself, which is a good thing. Hopefully, the same is true for Princess Tia.”

Cannon blushed, seeing the captain continuing to kick and cry as he said, “We can’t do anything for him now; let’s go to Princess Tia!”

The two then came to the stairs, and at the foot, the two peered upwards as Bucket groaned with a pouty expression, " Stairs again, it was a pain crawling down them; it’s gonna be harder getting back up.”

Cannon maneuvered his body, grasping the ledge of the first step, and wiggled about until he got up, then lent a hoof. Bucket grasped his and groaned being yanked up, and then Cannon nudged his wing pony. “See, you got nothing to worry about. We're going to help each other.”

“Ok,”

The two little colts then started to climb together, coordinating their efforts, taking turns pulling each other up each step and eventually reaching the top as they ran down the halls towards Princess Celestia’s chambers.

The two colts were getting pretty exhausted, having made their way up the stairs as Bucekt whispered, “Being a foal is hard. No wonder my son sleeps after going up and down the steps back home. This is so hard for a baby.”

“Yeah, it takes so much effort to do something so simple. I can’t wait to be back to normal.”

The two colts continued their way to Princess Celestia’s chamber; the guards posted were also babies and fast asleep. Bucket sighed, “This isn’t good at all.”

Cannon was starting to get worried and asked, “Ya think we can turn back to normal?”

“The princesses know lots of strong magic, and I'm sure they’ll turn us back to normal when they realize we’re adults. We have to wake Tia, and I hope she realizes that we are her guards!”

They then went into the princess’ chamber. Lucky for them, the door was slightly ajar, so they pushed it open, revealing to their relief that Princess Celestia was fast asleep in her bed. They then heard horrible gurgling sounds. Not from the princess, they turned to see Philomena coughing and sneezing, making horrible gurgling sounds as it slept.

“It sounds like Philomeinia is sick. Can we help?”

Bucket shook his head, “No,” and added, “First of all, we babies, and even if we were adults—I don’t know anything about Phoenixes, it's best we try to wake Tia!”

The colts ran over to the bed, and then they both looked up to see the foot of the bed was a few feet higher than them. Bucket tried using his magic, but it fizzled and sparked, “Ugh, my magic is useless…any way we can get up there?”

Cannon smirked as he threw out his wings, stepped back, and said, “Can ya give me a boost?”

“Maybe abit, but I won’t be able to levitate ya up there. My horn isn't working.”

“No need, just give me abit of a lift, and I’ll fly to her.”

Cannon then ran forward as quickly as his chubby little baby legs could carry him. He then jumped and flapped as hard as he could, with Bucket grunting. He used whatever stamina he had to boost Cannon onto the bed with a little plop and crinkles from the diaper. Cannon shook himself a little, then waddled over to Celestia’s nose. His eyes were wide, seeing how big the princess was up close, her muzzle being as big as him, and her long, light rainbow mane now swirling around her. He gently came up and tapped a hoof to the mare’s face and whispered, “Tia, wake up, please.”

The princess’ eyes went wide awake as she cried, “Huh, what was that!?”

Cannon fell backward as Celestia looked somewhat confused about seeing a baby near her. She levitated him up to her face, rubbing the sleep from her eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, and then said, "Oh my, what are you doing here?”

“Hey, what about me!”

She then turned to see the little grey-coated unicorn colt and picked him up as well. " Two babies!? Did somepony leave either child here?”

Princess Celestia then lifted the foals onto her back, went to Philomena, and gave her a painful expression: “Oh, Philomena, it pains me to see you like this. I do hope you get better.”

She then headed outside and saw the two other foals on the ground. Princess Celestia blinked and turned the two foals on her back, and it didn’t take long to realize she knew where they came from. “Are you all royal guards?”

The other two nodded and cried, “Yes, you're royal guards!”

Seeing she couldn't understand them, she didn’t acknowledge what they were saying and sighed, “Okay, let’s try to stay calm! First, I needed to find my sister and have her help me find every pony in the castle that had been turned into a foal. Just hold onto my mane, ok?”

The two foals did as they were asked, grasping onto the mare's long strands of hair as the mare threw out her wings and zoomed down the halls to her sister’s chambers.

“Where’s the baby? There he is!” Luna squealed, throwing out her wings from her eyes and making silly faces as the cute baby unicorn colt she found kicked and giggled. The baby was now in a plain white diaper, making his little kicks more adorable.

Luna then tucked the foal around her waist, took out a bottle of formula, and plucked it into his mouth. The colt didn’t take long to suckle down the contents as she cooed, “Such a good baby, yes, you are. After this, you’ll go right to sleep, I guarantee it.”

She then heard her sister shout, “Luna! Are you ok? Answer me!”

Luna blinked as she saw her sister suddenly burst into her chambers with two baby colts on her back. Celestia turned to her and sighed in relief. “Oh, thank, Faust. You’re not a foal.”

The alicorn let out a laugh and scoffed, “Sister, of course, I’m not a foal. Did you have a nightmare?”

She then turned to see the baby angrily bouncing up and down, pointing at the foals on Celesita’s back. " Odd, where are these foals coming from? I swear if one of the castle staff let their foals run loose, they will get more than just a scolding for being so neglectful.”

The princess gulped and said, “Sister, these foals ARE royal guards; something or somepony is turning ponies back into babies! We need to gather everyone affected immediately and ensure they’re saftey.”

Luna blinked and turned to the one she was taking care of. He nodded in agreement, pointed a hoof to his chest, and gasped, “Oh, Faust, I think you’re right.”

She then got up, placed the colt onto her back, and said, “Let’s go; there’s no time to waste!”

It took an hour of the two princesses scouring the halls of the castle and placing all of the regressed royal guards in the throne room; they found some foal supplies and set up a playpen along with some toys to keep the colts and some fillies currently awake busy. Also, about a dozen of them were cranky, and some were crying. But Luna took it upon herself to care for them and was doing her best to hush them gently, ricking them in her wings and plopping bottles or pacifiers into their mouths. After that, the two princesses created a magical barrier around the castle, and then Celestia took out a scroll with a complete listing of who was on shift or using the barracks as sleeping quarters that night. Luckily, the foals’ surprisingly still had their cutie marks. Hence, it was the best way to identify who they were before they were regressed. After ensuring they were all safe, she sighed in relief, “The good news is that we have a full accounting of every guard, and they all are safe,” she then put the scroll away then looked about among the dozen foals some fast asleep while those awake sucking down bottles of milk and added, “the bad news is that every soldier on duty has been turned into a baby.”

Luna slowly got up and gingerly stepped around the little ones and said, “Well, at least they’re safe, and that’s what matters, but how could this happen? If there was a culprit using age spells, which, from what I remember, only a pony who is well-versed in magic can perform, and to do this many would be nearly impossible unless they were an alicorn.”

“Quite right. The first suspect I had in mind was Discord. He would turn all of my guards into helpless foals for his own amusement. But Twilight and her friends just turned him into stone a month ago. It couldn't be him.”

“Then, that leaves that something caused this, some sort of magical curse or ailment.”

Celestia nodded as she tapped a hoof to her chin, thinking of anything she could remember from her studies and experience. The only thing she could think of was a poison joke, but they wouldn’t all be foals if that was the case. She stopped thinking about what caused this for now and said, “Right, can you do me a favor and watch them while I do some research? You seem to be doing well with them.”

Luna put a hoof to her chest and said with pride, “Of course, as you know, I’ve put my fair share of cranky babies back to sleep being the guardian of the night. Do not worry; they will all be sleeping soundly in no time.”

Celestia couldn’t help but smirk and teased, “Well, Nanny Luna, don’t forget you’re also in charge of diaper duty.” She lifted a diaper bag to her sister, who scoffed, showing it off. “Please, the princess of the night does not fear a few soggy diapers. Now quit stalling; go do your research. I will watch over the foals as if they were my own.”

The princess of the sun left for the royal library while Luna lay down with the babies, gingerly tucking them under spare sheets. Celestia then turned off the lights with her magic as the tip of Luna’s horn glowed, using it as a nightlight, and she continued to watch over the dozen foals seeping around her. The princess of the sun was touched by how maternal her sister was and considered that maybe she should set up ways for her to show this side to the populace. It would help ease the tensions of her being used to being Nightmare Moon and would help her sister be more gentle and not just be seen as some pony to be scared of. That was a topic to bring up another time. She’ll focus on finding a cure for her poor royal guards.

Princess Celestia spent the rest of the evening burning the midnight oil, scouring through dozens of books, from hexes to curses to strange magical plants to even superstition and unexplained phenomena. But she couldn’t find anything related to a “regression” epidemic. After raising the sun, Celestia decided to take a break to check on Philomenia. Her pet phoenix was still sick, coughing and crying sorrowfully as it seemed too weak to stand on her perch. After giving her phoenix some food, water, and medicine, it dawned on her…this all started last night when Philomena suddenly got sick. She was reaching, but could Philmoenia’s illness be the cause? She went to her bedside table and picked up a book on phoenixes she was reading before going to bed that night. She then flipped through it to a page she bookmarked and read about the disease known as “phoenix flu” and saw that if a phoenix gets sick, its rebirthing effects could cause mortal ponies to regress into foals and that alicorns are not affected; it even stated that the ponies affected luckily did not lose their memories and they did keep some faculties. She then skimmed through the book, flipping through the pages, looking for a cure, finally seeing that there was a case of it being reported as an epidemic thousands of years ago. The only cure was the princess in the tale gave her milk to the foals, and they returned back to normal.

She paused and dropped the book. Alicorn milk!? Her cheeks were red. Seeing that either she or her sister would have to….would have to… Princess Celestia shook her head, thinking she’d find a way to make it work without it being too weird. The alicorn princess then went to the throne room to check on her sister and the foals. She found Princess Luna looking somewhat exhausted but overall contemptuous of her job. She looked up and whispered, “So, did you learn anything?”

Celestia nodded and explained to her sister what she had read and the rather embarrassing cure she had discovered. Her sister’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushed red, and she squeaked, “Alicorn milk!? Are you serious!?”

The princess of the sun held up a hoof to calm her sister down and whispered, “Listen, we can find a way to make it less weird, but I know a spell that can help us lactate. I had to use it a few times. But it will take a few hours for it to take effect; until then, I’ll just care for the foals throughout the day while you get some sleep.”

Princess Luna begrudgingly nodded and said, “Okay, sister. I trust your judgment; just make it quick.”

Celestia lit her horn and sent a warm glow over them both as it finished. Luna looked back and lifted a leg to check her underside. It wasn’t much different. "It doesn’t seem it worked,” she said.

“As I said, it will take time to take effect; I also recommend drinking a glass of milk before bed to restore the calcium loss from the spell’s effect.”

Luna grumbled as she put her leg down and said, “I don’t look forward to being swollen with milk, but if it’s to help these poor guards, then it’s a small sacrifice to make.”

“Indeed, I do need to send letters to the rest of the castle staff stating that the castle will be closed today and that my assistant Quill Feather will run the kingdom as my proxy… I’ll explain that a magical disease is on the loose, and everyone currently inside has to be quarantined for a day. I’ll purposefully be vague on the details as I do not wish for anypony to know what has occurred for both us and the ponies affected. This will also give us time to administer the cure to our guards, turn them back to normal, and create a cover story as well.”

“Good idea. The fewer ponies know the truth, the better I can imagine the press ridiculing these poor guards even though none of this is their fault.”

Celestia looked downward and said, “Admittedly, this is all my fault. I should have been aware that something like this could happen with Philomena. She never gets sick other than the times she rebirths herself, but I should have read up on this story and taken precautions.”

Luna trotted over, nuzzled her sister, and said, “You did nothing wrong, dear sister, nor did Philomena. It’s just a small, silly curse that we can easily cure. Trust me, we can do this.”

Celestia couldn't help but smile at her sister, and her reassurance did help her not dwell on things. “Well, I better get to work then, and I’ll whip the babies and us some breakfast…would you mind keeping an eye on them for just abit longer?”

Princess Luna waved a hoof with a laugh, “Of course not! They’ve been wonderful and are so much easier to care for than actual foals. They barely cry, and I've only had to change a diaper here and there. I’ll keep them occupied as they wake up.”

“Thank you, sister,” Celestia said, walking towards her room to begin writing the letters. However, at the top of the stairs, she looked back at Luna lying back down with the foals, her horn aglow, and saw how she shook some baby keys and played with some of the ones waking up, keeping them engaged. The princess of the sun couldn’t help but smile and think that Luna should explore this maternal side more as she went to her room to try to mitigate any chaos quarantining the castle would create.

Chapter Two: Princess Daycare

Princess Celestia went to the kitchens and then went to make breakfast for the foals, mixing up a hearty form of baby food with mashed banana and some baby oatmeal. It was rather tedious, but she enjoyed the time it took to cook the food, and the smells that wafted from it were amazing. The mare didn’t realize how long she had been cooking and getting into a rhythm. She heard cries and turned to see her sister coming over with a bunch of foals on her back she then let out an annoyed sigh, “Sister, I need assistance.”

“Right, I can see that they need to be fed.”

They then got out a bunch of high chairs that were stowed away for the off chance of ponies bringing foals along with them, and they set them down each of the squirming foals into one of the highchairs and went about spoon-feeding them, and then they worked together wiping mouths and making cooing noises. Princess Celestia was finding it rather tricky, with many not wanting to be treated like foals as they put up their hooves or pulled their heads away.

“Hey, come on, you need to eat your food!” Celestia snapped, getting rather annoyed with her guards. You have to eat something.”

Luna was also having difficulty feeding the foals and seething, “You are foals! Eat your food!”

They just started to bawl and cry, making them both plug their ears as Luna cried, “We need to do something!”

“I know! How do we get them to stop!” Celestia shouted back.

“Try using a spell or something!”

Princess Celestia then lit her horn, thinking of a time-freezing spell, but then stopped and instead started to sing a lullaby and cooing softly, and the foals all started to relax as they all turned towards her cooing softly. As the foals quieted down Princess Celestia then asked her sister, “So, how were things while I was making breakfast.”

“Oh, things were going fine; though the foals can be quite rambunctious.”

As soon as she said that, a piece of oatmeal slammed into Celestia’s face. She cried out in surprise, wiped the goop off her face, and said, “Well, they are foals, after all.”

“Yes, they clearly are,” Luna laughed and then cried as foal food was thrown at her face. Celestia helped clean up herself and her sister’s mouth, and they then went back to feeding them. This time, the foals were much easier to handle, as they were able to actually feed them now. The rest of the morning went along relatively smoothly as the foals greedily ate their food. After breakfast, the princesses took the foals to the playpen. As they set them down, many started playing with the various toys around them, waddling about in their diapers without a care in the world. Her sister placed a hoof over her chest and whispered, “My goodness, they are adorable.”

“Yes, it's a shame you’ll be asleep for most of the day.”

The princess of the night scoffed, “Oh, they’re cute, but I think it’s only fair that since your pet is the reason why our royal guards are babies, you get to perform diaper duty for the rest of the day, Princess Daycare.” She then levitated the diaper bag to her sister, the princess then placed the bag around her waist and scoffed, “oh how generous of you, dear sister.”

Princess Luna trotted over and whispered, “But do please tell me how things went when I get up?”

“Oh, I will be sure to,” Princess Celestia snickered as she settled down with the foals in the playpen and laid down with them. Despite how embarrassing things were with her former guards being foals, she had to admit watching them being foals gave her a feeling she longed for, that of being a mother. Maybe this day will be when she finally embrace these inner maternal feelings she’s felt for her soldiers for so long.

After breakfast, the foals were milling about, chewing on various baby toys, and stacking blocks together. The foals were still apprehensive, but most were trying to just kill time and entertain themselves. Shining Armor, however, was really pissed off and grumbled, “Why haven’t the princesses cured us yet!? Do they want us to stay like this!?”

Cannon Feather was unsure and said, “Well, maybe, but it could take time.”

“I don’t want it taking time! I dun wana be like this anymore!” Shining cried as he kicked and whined.

“No, that's just making things worse!” Cannon cried. He threw his hooves over his face, wondering how he would get his captain to stop his temper tantrum, and then asked, “Why don't we play a game to pass the time?”

His captain crossed his hooves over his chest and asked, “Like what?”

“We can play something like we can build towers, then we can try knocking them over, and whoever knocks the other tower wins.”

Shining Armor was looking more annoyed and snapped, “Tha-”

“That sounds like fun!” the other regressed soldiers cried together. They turned to the other foals, all gathering around them, eagerly awaiting for more details. Cannon Feather cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, so we split into two teams, and we each gotta build a tower. Then, when we are ready, we have to try knocking each other’s tower over.”

“Oh, that sounds like lots of fun!”

“Yeah, please, let’s play!”

“Alright, um, guess we gotta split into teams. Shining Armor will lead one, and the second highest in command is Bucket Bridle.”

They then split into two teams, with Bucket Bridle leading one team and Shining Armor the other as they split off onto either side of the playpen. Then they started to build their towers out of the small building blocks, and once completed, they took sides on the playpen, and then it began. Without warning, the foals all started to gather the toys around them and started to whack each other or try to hit one of their towers. The foals tumbled about, but nopony was getting hurt. Cannon scurried across the playpen excitedly as he slammed his hooves onto the tower and knocked some of them over, and then Shining shouted, “Stop him! He’s taking some of our blocks.”

A couple of foals noticed him, and he instantly took out a little foam sword whacking at them, but the others whacked back; one pegasus could start tickling him with the tips of his wings, making him giggle and squirm uncontrollably. But as the soldiers were busy dealing with him, they didn’t notice a couple of his soldiers rushing into the tower, knocking it over, and Shining cried, “No! Cannon Feather distracted us!”

The little colt laughed, “Yeah! Let’s play again!”

“Yeah!” the foals cried. Regardless of who won or lost, they were having fun, and even Shining Armor was letting go and just enjoying a foal. “Ok! Let’s give Shining Armor’s team time to build their tower.”

“Ok!”

Bucket Bridle waddled over and nudged him, “Crazy, all these soldiers are taking orders from a private.”

“Yeah, guess I'm more like a foal than most of them.”

“Hey, maybe what’s what we need right now? I also never seen the Captain so happy before.”

Cannon smiled, seeing his fellow soldiers just enjoying being foals. Realizing that most of them probably hadn’t taken time off for themselves in a while, he had to admit that, despite the embarrassing nature of their predicament, this clearly was a blessing in disguise, even if most here wouldn’t admit it.

Princess Celestia was surprised to see the little battle break out, and she just watched them fighting each other with foam weapons and little stuffed animals; she stood by and couldn’t help but laugh and enjoy the adorable scene playing out. “Oh my goodness!”

She then got up and continued to watch them play together; however, some of the more annoying instincts were kicking in, and she started to pick some of the foals who were getting fussy and crying, shhhing them and changing diapers on the spot when needed. With the babies getting more rambunctious, it was more difficult to keep an eye on them, and time passed rather quickly. She looked out one of the windows, seeing the sun had climbed quite high, and she recognized it was about noon. The mare was already feeling exhausted, and it wasn’t even lunchtime, but looking around, most of the foals had tuckered themselves out from all the running around they were doing.

The princess decided it was the perfect opportunity to get them fed and put them to bed. So, one by one, she levitated the foals back into the royal dining room and strapped them back into their highchairs. She then went into the kitchen, quickly mashed up some yams and carrots, and stirred them together.

Then, she went to work feeding them their food, gently spoon-feeding them baby food into their mouths. This time, it was much easier than trying to feed them breakfast earlier this morning, but as the princess was wrapping up lunch, she felt her teats started to ache. “No, not now,” she muttered to herself.

Princess Celestia did her best to ignore her bloated teats and continued to pull the squirming foals out of their highchairs and plopped them back down into the playpen. Once she had her squadron of foals all in the playpen, the princess lifted a leg and looked downwards to see they were now somewhat bloated with milk.

Princess Celestia was trying to forget about the “cure” to the Phoenix flu all morning, but it was clear what she would have to do. She scoured the dining room, found a container of baby bottles, and started to fill them with her milk. It took quite abit of time, but eventually, she had a bottle full of her milk for each foal, and she then laid them down around her as she plucked each hungry mouth with a bottle. It wasn’t long until the sound of suckling reverberated across the marble halls.

Despite the embarrassing nature of the situation, she had to admit there was a comfort in seeing the foals enjoying her milk and how happy and satisfied they were gulping down their bottles without a care in the world. She wiped their mouths and nuzzled them as the foals gently closed their eyes and started to fall asleep.

It wasn’t long until the room was now silent, minus the ruffle of a diaper or an adorable yawn. The princess then gathered the empty bottles and replaced each one with a pacifier. She then took the empty bottles into the kitchen to be cleaned and reused for later. She wondered how long it would take for the foals to turn back to adults? The book didn’t say specifically how long it would take.

She then resumed her position, lying down in the middle of the playpen, monitoring the foals as they slept peacefully and watching over them. Seeing the foals sleeping soundly, she couldn’t help but blush, thinking about the nickname her sister gave her, and whispered, “I'm not a bad foal sitter; maybe I should have an alter ego, Princess Daycare.”

Chapter Three: Auntie Lulu

Cannon Feather slowly woke up from a long nap, being somewhat exhausted from running around quite a bit. He then raised his head and, to his surprise, saw he was one of the first foals to have woken up, seeing most of his fellow soldiers were still fast asleep, snuggling into each other. Then, on closer inspection, he noticed that the foals had grown, some of them having teeth now chewing on the pacifiers, others with clean diapers, seeing they had regained control of their bladders. The effects of the “Phoenix Flu” seemed to be wearing off. The colt then laid his head back down, wanting to try to go back to sleep. But he just tossed and turned, unable to, then he heard his stomach growl. He tried to ignore the rumblings, but he just couldn’t. He looked over to see that Princess Celestia was lying with them but was sound asleep. The little colt wanted to eat ask her for some food at the same time. He didn’t want to disturb her. He then turned to see Sergent Bucket Bridle waking up, stretching his tiny limbs and yawning, “Morning.”

Cannon turned to see the sun descending across the sky and snickered, “It’s more like afternoon.”

“Yeah, forgot we had a nap…how long did we sleep for?”

“Probably for like a few hours, anyways I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, me too, but Princess Tia is sound asleep. It’ll be a while before she’s free.”

Cannon blushed, thinking about how embarrassing it was that the princesses of Equestria cared for them as babies. The way she had a wing around them and curled up with the other foals, some in her mane, others pressing their heads into her chest, she clearly was enjoying babying them more than she let on earlier, even though they were running her ragged. The little colt then wondered how Princess Luna was, seeing she was all alone in her room, then said, “Well, um…why do we go to Princess Luna? She might be awake still.”

“Yeah, but that means we gotta get to her room, and that’s gonna take a long time. Also, we might get in trouble. The princesses dun want us babies running around the castle unsupervised.”

“I know, but we're both hungry, and she’s all alone. We can at least see if she will let us have some milk.” He then crawled across the playpen, carefully not stepping on other foals and avoiding hitting any blocks or toys. They both then went up onto the plastic fence surrounding them, and the two babies worked together, climbing over it and plopping their padded flanks onto the ground. Then they heard.

“Hey, where are you two going!?”

They turned to see a little pegasus filly shad with a sea green coat and a tiny curly swirl of soft yellow and light blue for her mane. She had two bright yellow eyes. She was standing on her back legs, her forelegs going over the playpen's side, pouting. She snapped, “Princess Tia ordered us to stay in the playpen! We may be babies, but we still gotta listen to ta princess!”

Bucket held a hoof to his tummy and said, “Yeah, but we hungry, and we're just going to see if Princess Luna can feed us.”

“Yeah, please don’t tell on us.”

Then they heard a growl, and the filly blushed and said, “Fine, only if you let me join you!”

“Ok,” the other foals grumbled as they both went to help the filly. She quickly snapped, “Dun needs your help!” She then flapped her tiny wings and got over the playpen. “See, I didn’t need your help!”

“Ok,” the two colts grumbled as she came over, and the three trotted off. Cannon Feather looked at the filly and said, “So, my name is Cannon Feather. What’s your name?”

The filly threw her mane and said, “My name is Sea Breeze.”

“I’m Bucket Bridle.” The other colt replied.

“Well, Cannon Feather and Bucket Bridle, it's nice to meet you.”

She then waddled with them as Cannon asked, “So, Sea Breeze, how old do you think we are?”

The filly tapped a hoof to her chin and said, “I would say about two right now. I think tat the princess’ milk is restoring us to our original ages.”

They both blinked as they looked each other over, seeing that they had grown a bit, with Cannon feeling teeth again and the diaper feeling tighter around his waist. “Guess ya right. We are growing but super slowly. We're going to turn to adults soon, I guess.”

“Yeah, guess we are,” Bucket grumbled.

“Well, actually, Bucket, you older,” she pointed to his face, “you can tell less baby fat, and you're taller. I would guess you’re probably closer to three.”

Bucket took a moment to look himself over. " Yeah, I feel older. I guess I don't need this anymore.” He then ripped off his diaper, waddled over to them, and said, “So since I’m the oldest and the highest ranking, you two gotta do as I say!”
“Guess so,” Sea Breeze chirped. “But since we're breaking the rules, we can just blame you!”

This got a laugh out of Cannon Feather as Bucket Bridle pouted, seeming unable to come up with
a good comeback as they continued walking. Sea Breeze chirped, “The crazy part is we still have our memories. Ya, think if we regressed to foals. We would literally lose all our past experiences. I tink it would be cool to kind of start over ya know?”

Bucket Bridle was surprised, then said, “Huh, you thought a lot about this?”

Sea Breeze quickly replied, “Sorry, I rambled on.”

“It's otay! Tat’s cool to know…so, um, do you like being a baby again?”

The filly blushed, “Well, it's not like I remember much as a baby before, but I do say it’s quite relaxing.”

Cannon Feather laughed, then said, “Yeah, I mean, when was the last time you got to have a nap?”

Bucket then said, “Hmmm, probably not since preschool.”

“Exactly! We adults work so hard and do a lot we forget to have fun; maybe being a baby can teach ya to have some fun once in a while,” Cannon added.

Sea Breeze shrugged, then said, “I guess so…” She peered upwards at the massive stairs and asked, “Hey, ya two wana race up the stairs!?”

“Yeah, otay!”

The three foals then started their climb. They clambered up step by step, slowly and methodically, and both ran as fast as they could. Then they turned to see Bucket Bridle heaving, “You two are lucky you got wings.”

They both helped him up, and Cannon hugged him: “Yeah, but you're super strong! You can kick down an entire tower of blocks by yourself!”

Bucket blushed, then replied, “Thanks. Guess we should get going.”

They continued to trot through the halls, and then they came to Luna's bedroom. As they opened it, they saw the princess of the night waking up. She yawned, looked over at the three, and groaned, “What are you doing here? My sister should be watching you, foals!”

“We, hungry,” Bucket cried. Upon hearing the colt speak, Luna let out a surprise gasp and asked, “My goodness, you can talk now?”

“Yeah, guess so,” Bucket replied with a foal lisp and continued, “I tink my words are weird I sound like a toddler.”

“Yes, but at least we can communicate. My goodness, trying to find out what your babies want is quite difficult when all you do is babble and cry.”

She turned to the others and said, “So, how about you two? Can you try talking?”

Cannon and Sea Breeze tried with a mix of babbles. They got “Lulu” and “hungry” out as Luna let out a disappointed sigh and said, “Seems you two have some growing to do, but did you two say, Lulu?”

The two other foals shook their head and then tried saying her name, but once again what came out was a string of babbles and “Lulu.”

Princess Luna laughed, “Aww, you two are adorable. Come on, say it one more time.”

The two just pouted and crossed their hooves over their chests. Bucket Bridle then said, “Sorry for waking you up, Princess Luna, but these two are hungry. Can we have a snack?”

The other two foals nod and Luna put a hoof over her heart, “Of course, you can! Come, let’s go to the royal kitchen. I’m sure I can whip up something!”

She gathered the foals onto her back and trotted downstairs, taking a trip that took the foals about half an hour and a couple of minutes. She then spotted her sister shaking her head, “Sleeping on the job, but she was up rather early this morning and has been watching all these foals as well. I will let my sister rest.”

The princess then plopped the foals into their highchairs and started to make the two mashed carrots and yams while giving some boiled carrots and celery with some dressing. The foals ate their baby food rather greedily. She then got out some baby bottles filled with milk for the younger ones and gave Bucket Bridle. Despite being older, the older colt felt a bit embarrassed, seeing how his food still had to be cut up into bite-sized pieces and had a sippy cup. He took a few sips from his sippy cup and then asked, “So, um, Princess Luna? What’s happened? The other foals and I are still confused about what’s going on.”

“So, from what I learned, my sister’s phoenix, Philomenia, has a rare illness that has caused you and your fellow guards to regress into foals. My sister researched a cure, which was her milk, and she fed it to you earlier, seeing how you all are aging back. But I was hoping it would turn you all into adults instantly. It seems to be growing you back to your original ages, but slower than we anticipated.”

Bucket nodded, seemed to agree with Princess Luna’s logic, and said, “Guess so, but I’m a bit older than Cannon and Sea Breeze, so it’s why I’m aging faster than them.

“Well, you were older than them before you regressed, so maybe that’s why? Or you drank more milk than them?” She shrugged as she gave the colt a helping of steamed yams and said, “Who knows? All that matters is your growth, and you should eat your food.”

Bucket sighed, picked up a carrot stick, and grumbled, “I guess now I know how my son feels when he’s forced to eat his food.”

The others giggled as he said, " Well, at least I can eat solid food, unlike you babies!”

“Now, Bucket, don’t be rude.” Luna scolded. Then she went to feeding the younger foals, making faces to make them open up. She was able to spoon-feed them. This time was easier, as they seemed to have more control over their bodies and got most of it down. Then she heard a chorus of cries coming behind her.

“I hungry!”

“Me too!”

“Can I have a snack, Princess Luna?”

She then turned towards the kitchen entrance to see dozens of toddlers already starting to come towards her, all crying for food. She then went to work, giving them each a seat as she grumbled to herself, “Sister, you are going to owe me for this.”

An hour passed, and most of the foals that had woken up were happily snacking away, many now toddlers or slightly younger, but as Luna fed them, she saw that some were growing in front of her with teeth coming back and some literally growing taller before her very eyes. But after the foals finished their meal, they started to become more energetic, running around the kitchen and making quite the racket. The princess realized she had to think of something to get the foals to calm down. But at the same time, make sure the activity is quiet enough so that they didn’t wake up any foals still napping. Then an idea popped into her head, “Hey, everypony, quiet down!”

They continued to run around, arguing, and then Princess Luna cleared her throat and, in her Royal Canterlot Voice, shouted, “EVERYPONY PLEASE QUIET DOWN!” but it came out as a harsh whisper. This got the attention of the foals, and they turned to her as she said, “Some of your fellow soldiers are still napping, so while they nap, why don’t we do something quiet?”

She then gathered a bunch of scrolls and jars of ink and, with a quick spell, turned them into different colors. She then hoofed out and said, “Why don’t you paint me pictures?”

It didn’t take long for the foals to start smashing their hooves into the makeshift foal paint, splattering it all over the table, and making cute pictures of all kinds. Princess Luna was relieved that the foals were all actively engaged, and seeing the foals smearing the paint into cute pictures of all kinds, from their cutie marks to rainbows, others did ones with the princesses. The princess of the night took a moment to scrounge around the castle, finding a cabinet filled with arts and crafts supplies from the “sleepover with the princesses” they have with foals. She then gave them actual hoofpaint and some crayons, and others started making macaroni art. But she was still quite busy cleaning up messes, stopping fights and horseplay. Despite the amount of work, it was watching so many foals. She had to admit the regressed guards were quite cute, and seeing them make such adorable arts and crafts projects warmed her heart. She knew they would want to destroy them out of embarrassment when they turned back into adults. But she secretly was hoping they could store them away for the memories.

Princess Celestia woke up and saw that all the foals around her were gone; only Shining Armor lay snoring with a pacifier bobbing up and down. She saw his diaper was clean and removed it, seeing he probably didn’t need it anymore, then tucked him under some blankets before hearing some noises coming from the kitchen. As the princess entered, her mouth went agape upon seeing that many of the foals were clearly grown up now clearly, being around three or four years old and busy making art projects with hoof paint splattering it all over the massive dining table while some doodled with crayons, and some smashing macaroni into pools of glue. She then turned to see her sister wearing a heavy denim blue apron covered in food splatter and hoof paint. Her coat wasn’t safe either, with splotches of color splattered over her coat, and she looked rather frantic as she had to stop two foals fighting over some crayons. Upon seeing Princess Celestia, the mare snorted and stomped over towards her as she snapped, “Good morning, sister. Did you have a nice nap?”

The princess of the sun felt rather embarrassed for sleeping while she was supposed to be watching the foals, and she replied, “Luna, I apologize. I must have been quite exhausted and fell asleep without realizing it.”

“Obviously," the princess of the night scoffed, then threw out a wing and said, "As you can see, the foals are doing quite well; they’re busy doing arts & crafts; despite the mess, they're not running around, and getting themselves in trouble.”

Princess Celestia looked about, still somewhat amazed at what she saw, and said, “I see that, and I have to admit, sister, you are doing very well keeping the foals occupied, and it’s surprising to see my milk is already taking effect.”

“Yes, sister, but I was hoping they would have grown up instantly. Will we have to care for them until they are fully grown?”

Princess Celestia wasn’t sure, but seeing the foals around her, she would have to assume her sister answered her own question and said, “Well, the spell book I found didn’t exactly explain this part, but it’s been only several hours since they were given my milk, and the foals are already a few years older. I’m sure at the rate they’re growing, they will all be adults again by tomorrow morning.”

Princess Luna, still rather peeved, took off her apron, draped it over her sister, and said, “Well, since I’ve been caring for them while you napped, I think it’s only fair you watch them while I take a nap.”

“Fair enough, I imagine that they’ll tire with arts & crafts soon; I think having them play in the garden will help alleviate any excess energy as they get older.”

“The spell we casted should cover the garden, just keep an eye on them and don’t fall asleep this time,” Luna ordered as she left with a huff. Still agitated, Princess Celestia gently tied the apron around her, and she set to work filling in her sister’s horseshoes and watching the foals do their arts and crafts.

Chapter Four: Growing Pains

In the palace gardens, dozens of foals running around playing their "war games" again. But this time, the "battlefield" was much bigger, with the entire garden being set up with toys and other craft material to make two massive fortresses made of cardboard. Still, this time, they were much more rambunctious as they were running around slapping each other with wooden swords and shooting bows and arrows with plungers on the tips at each other. Cannon was doing his best to get across and capture the flag, but one foal slammed him, sending him across the dirt, "Stay down, Cannon!"

"Yeah, stay down!" another laughed, and some of his comrades just shook their heads and continued towards the fortress. Then, he turned to see Sea Breeze fly over and held out a hoof. He reluctantly grabbed it, sighing, "This is the one part of being a foal; I don't miss the bullying."

"Guess ya got bullied a lot as a foal?" Sea Breeze replied.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm not good at these kinds of games." The stallion mumbled as he brushed the dirt from his coat. Sea Breeze held out a hoof, "It's okay. You're not alone being a filly trying to do stuff; only Colts do it."

"Don't say that; yeah, there are more colts in the royal guard than mares."

"Right, sorry. We both didn't have it easy as foals; why don't we try to have fun?"

"Ok, let's try to have fun!" They then both worked together, running across the garden and going to work fighting off other foals. Sea Foam got rather aggressive and started smacking colts left and right. Meanwhile, Cannon Feather was beginning to feel somewhat nervous, but Sea Breeze was able to see an opportunity going up through the fort made of cardboard and was able to snatch the flag, holding it over him and shouting, "I did it!"

The foals were around, and many were angry, but his team cheered, chanting his name as they came over, carried up Cannon, and threw it in the air. He got annoyed and cried," Wait, Sea Breeze did this, not me!"

They also carry her, and they both get carried away. Then they fix things up and start playing again, with Sea Breeze and Cannon leading the charge.

Princess Celestia was looking over the foals and trying to keep them from hurting each other too much. And was trying to keep them from getting hurt and running back and forth, patching scraped knees and scolding foals getting too rowdy. By the time the sun was setting, she saw most were tuckered out from their game, wrapping up and herding the foals inside the castle. Then, she decided to make a pizza for all the hungry foals and got them together, and soon everypony chipped in to gather the ingredients. She got out some premade pizza dough, and they all joined in, pouring sauce and cheese on it, throwing all kinds of topics that made her grimace a little with things like mustard, hay fries, and pickles being tossed on there, but she let them be creative, and the cooking kept the now pre-teens and teenagers engaged. By the time they finished, she saw most foals start arguing with others, bullying, and some getting rowdy and picking fights with each other. She put a swift end to their conflicts by coming over, putting on an "angry mother" tone, scolding them like they were her own kids, and keeping all the rowdy teens in line. The worst part is that some the teen actually replied with, "Yes, Mom,"

"Don't call me mom!" Celestia snapped, feeling somewhat awkward, making some guards wince and others look downward, embarrassed at their remarks. She had to put a hoof over her face as she didn't mean to come out so rude, but it was really offputting to be called "mom." Then she said, "Listen, I didn't mean to snap. This ordeal is mostly my fault, but please do not call me mom. I just cared for you all because it's my duty as a princess to care for the subjects of Equestria. Thank you."

They all nodded in agreement and tried their best not to call the princess "mom" anymore as they went and started to eat and enjoy their meal, and things seemed to calm down afterward. But as they grew, they began to smell more, with their body odor being pungent. That alone put her over her limit, and she slammed a hoof and ordered, "When you finish your food, please go to the barracks and take showers."

Many paused, grumbling about not wanting to take a shower, but the princess was having none of it and snapped, "It's not a request!" The soldiers then quickly got in line and marched away as fast as they could.

After finishing, Princess Celestia had to clear the baby's stuff. She set up a place for some quiet activities, such as setting up several board games and books. Some then went to work preparing sleeping mats with spare blankets and pillows. At least they were all exhausted from playing all day and mostly just relaxed. As the teens started to fall asleep, Princess Celestia started to feel her eyes droop and realized how exhausted she was. She then spotted her sister coming back downstairs, looking around. She was surprised at what she saw and commented, "Wow, they grow up fast, and I mean that quite literally. Just a few hours ago, they were picking their noses and eating glue."

Princess Celestia yawned and said, "Yes, but the older they got, the more rowdy they became. These foals were running me ragged. Luckily, it seems them playing outside all day, and their sudden growth spurts are taking a toll, and they are all quite exhausted. Just let them sleep in tomorrow and ensure they get a proper breakfast. I'm sure everypony will return to their appropriate ages by then."

"That's good to hear; I won't have to change diapers, I hope."

Princess Celestia blushed and looked around momentarily, then said, "Hopefully not; they all are way beyond "potty training years," so tonight should be easy. Just make sure nopony sneaks out. "She yawned again as Princess Luna whispered, "Well, I'll keep a good eye on them; I think it's about time to get some sleep, dear sister."

"Yes, thank you. Please take care of yourself," Princess Celestia yawned again and started to trot upstairs to her bedroom to get a good night's sleep, not wishing to be a mother anytime soon.

Early the following day, Sea Breeze nudges Cannon to wake, groaning, seeing she was older, and looking down at her with a smile, then said, "Well, it seems we've been turned back to normal."

Cannon got up and looked around. He saw his fellow soldiers wrapping up the bedrolls and tidying up the place, with Princess Luna fast asleep nearby. He sighed, "Yeah, I guess the Phoenix flu is finally over."

He looked around, seeing ponies all around him, and then they started to all look themselves over, seeing they didn't have anything missing. Princess Celestia briefed them on how to deal with the media and what to say, and things went relatively fast afterward. The soldiers were all given the day off after dealing with the press outside, pressing for questions, and they all followed a script about how the strange "phoenix flu" just made them all have cold-like symptoms and nothing more and that they were cured.

After their dealings with the press, Cannon Feather, Sea Breeze, and Bucket Bridle all decided to go to a bar, all just talking and laughing about their experiences as being foals again. Cannon took a swig of a beer and joked, "Well, we're old enough to drink again huh?"

This got a laugh from the table as Bucket Bridle drank and then said, "Yeah, well, back to the old grind for me, and I guess we all have to go back to the responsibilities of adulthood." They all nodded begrudgingly as Bucket's comment put a damper on things, and three finished their drinks, then paid their tab, and Cannon was going to start trotting back to his place. Sea Breeze then flew over and asked, "So, um, Cannon hold up!"

The stallion turned around with a smile and asked, "Yeah?"

The mare started to twist a hoof, then said, "I, um, just wanted to say I had a lot of fun and was wondering if you would want to hang out sometime?"

Cannon perked up and said, "Of course! So what did you have in mind?"

She looked around, then took out some dust in a vial and a baby bottle filled with milk. "I stole some of Celestia's milk and the phoenix dust; we can be babies again for abit and play as school foals as well."

Cannon's face lit up, and he started clapping on the ground and squealing, "That sounds like fun! But we'll need a caretaker, and Princess Celestia was pretty strict with that gag order."

Then, they both heard a loud cough and cried out. They turned around to see the older earth pony stallion Bucket Bridle looking back at them with a smirk and asking, "So you were going to do that without me?"

Sea Breeze's cheeks flushed red, and she replied, "Well, I didn't know if you wanted to, and you have a family, so I thought it would kind of awkward to ask to have you regress yourself on purpose."

"So? I liked being a foal too," he rolled his eyes and said, "but as you said, Princess Celestia wants to keep this whole incident hush-hush." He then pointed a hoof to his chest and suggested, "Then why not let me be your caretaker?"

"You would!?" the two pegasi asked in surprise.

"I already have a lot of experience with my son, and it sounds alright as long as we're in a controlled environment and you don't go spreading that stuff to others. We can set up a time and date and have some precautions set up."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sea Breeze cheered in excitement as Cannon nodded, "Yeah, my birthday is coming up; how about we do it then?"

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Sea Breeze cried once again.

Bucket nodded and said, "Alright, it's settled. We hold a foal-style birthday party for Cannon Feather."

They then went their separate ways as Cannon skipped to his home as he anticipated the best birthday ever!

Chapter Five: One Last Playdate

Princess Celestia was smiling as she was taping a diaper onto the baby pegasus colt, cooing and nuzzling his belly, making him gurgle and squirm. She was in a massive nursery with the walls painted with tiny suns and rainbows. The room was filled with toy chests and a playpen filled with toys and plush animals. The room was serene, and it felt so good to just be in there, but the only thing the princess was focusing on was her son. She could smell him with his sweet scent wafting from him. The mare then took her colt into the playpen, where they played for hours, and just placed him in a crib for a nap. Then, the princess suddenly woke up from the dream rather suddenly and rubbed her eyes. She lay in her bed for a minute, thinking about the dream. The mare eventually had to get up, then let out an annoyed sigh, getting up and going about her day. Then, as she passed two guards, they both stood at attention and gave her a sharp salute as they chimed in unison, “Good morning, Mom.”

“Morning,” the princess replied with a blush on her face. This time, she didn’t say anything, loving their expressions as she went and got herself some light breakfast. She went and got some cereal and gently poured herself a bowl. Then, she made herself a cup of coffee, sat down, and tried to forget her wonderful dream. As she ate her sister, Princess Luna came over and eyed her, “Sister, do you seem glum?”

“Hmmm, yes, I just had an odd dream.”

The younger princess then trotted over and nuzzled her sister and said, “Yes, I saw?”

Princess Celestia eyed her sister and asked, “Were you spying on my dreams?”

The princess of the night blushed and replied, “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. I never saw your dream bubble so vibrant, and my curiosity got the best of me, and I had to take a peek.”

“Well, if you want to know, I…” she paused and then threw a hoof over her mouth. Princess Luna finished her sentence, “Do you want a baby?”

Princess Celestia choked up a little and asked, “After caring for the royal guards, that's all I could think about. Is that crazy?”

“No, it’s normal; we have needs just like anypony else.”

The two sisters hugged each other as Luna brushed some of her sister’s mane and then whispered, “It's alright. I heard a rumor that one of our guards snuck some phoenix dust.”

“Who?”

“Cannon Feather.”

“Cannon Feather?” Princess Celestia blushed, remembering the little colt and how cute he was, his pudgy cheeks and his adorable smile. “I have to admit that little colt was adorable. But stealing Phoenix Dust can have serious consequences.”

“Well, instead of punishing him, why don’t we set up something for you to be able to baby him and some of his friends? I'm sure he isn’t the only one involved.”

The princess of the sun threw her hooves over her face out of embarrassment, then replied, “Don’t you think they’ll think that’s weird?”

“Actually, I’ve been visiting the dreams, and a lot of guards enjoyed their time being foals,” Luna replied.

“Well, I guess as long as they don’t mind…” Princess Celestia whispered as she got up and then trotted off to the throne room to begin court as she pondered what she and her sister discussed.

The next day came, and it was finally time for the big regression party. Cannon was worried, but his house was ready with foal supplies assembled, playpen changing tables, and his living room was a glorified nursery. Then he heard a knock at the door and rushed over to open It, hoping to see Bucket Bridle as he went shopping to grab some last-minute foal supplies and was surprised to see Princess Celestia standing over him with a smile on her face.

The alicorn just gently smiled at him as he looked up with a confused expression on his face and asked, “What are you doing here!?”

The princess’ cheeks were bright red as she explained, “Well, um…uh…could I come in?”

“Could I come in?” Cannon thought she was the princess of Equestria, and of course, she was welcome to come into his home. The nervous soldier was completely astounded by the fact that Princess Celestia was looking around his “foalified” room. She smiled, looked over, and said, “I know about you stealing Phoenix Dust.”

“Wait, hold on! I um…”

“And I wanted to ask, are you going to turn yourself into a foal?”

“What!? Well, maybe…”

The princess flashed him a smile and asked, “Well, I hope it’s not asking too much, but could I care for you?”

“Huh?” Cannon asked with a confused look as he rubbed his eyes and then asked, “So um…what did you just say?”

“I wanted to ask, would it be ok to care for you as a foal?”

Cannon was still flabbergasted about what he was hearing. “Uh yeah, that’s fine., but I mean, are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to put all the responsibility on you.”

Princess Celestia gave a curt nod and said, “Yes, I have to admit I did rather enjoy my time caring for you. I know that there might be better ways. But…if I see an opportunity to care for foals, I just can’t help but take it.”

“Well, um….”

“Why not!?” Sea Breeze chirped. The sea-green pegasus flew right over and hopped right next to Cannon, snuggling him as she held out a hoof. “Morning, princess!”

Princess Celestia was surprised by the mare’s bravado and, with a smile, replied, “Good Morning to you as well, Private Sea Breeze.”

“So, you really are ok with us turning into foals?”

Princess Celestia raised her head and replied, “Well, the truth is I was rather angry you stole some Phoenix Dust. But I can understand the desire to relive your childhoods. So as long as we do this in a controlled environment, I am okay with this.”

Sea Breeze flew over with a smile. “I apologize; we didn’t mean to cause any problems.”

“It’s no problem at all, Sea Breeze. I just want to make sure the dust doesn’t leave this area and that everyone is safe while you are babies.”

Just then, Bucket Bridle came into the room with two massive saddlebags filled to the brim with foal supplies. “Okay, I think I have just about everything.”

The stallion then looked up, and his mouth dropped upon seeing Princess Celestia just sitting there with a cup of tea in her hooves and smiling at him. “Good Morning, Sergeant Bucket Bridle.”

“Morning, princess," the sergent croaked being abit bewildered by the fact the princess was here.

“So, Sergeant Bucket, do you wish to be turned into a baby as well?”

“What, no! I mean, we……agreed I was going to be the caretaker.” The stallion was rather taken aback by the princess’ request and looked downward, a blush forming on his cheeks.

Princess Celestia looked over at the older stallion with a smile. She said, “Bucket Bridle, if you wish to be regressed, it's ok. We already talked things over with Cannon and Sea Breeze."

Bucket blushed as he twisted his hoof over the other and mumbled, “Well, um, I have to admit being a foal was fun, bu-”

“Then it’s settled. I will be your caretaker today.”

Cannon put a hoof over his face as he couldn’t believe what just came out of the princess’s mouth. Still, he had to admit he was excited to be babysat by Princess Celestia.

After a few hours of preparing Cannon’s home, it was time to regress the three royal guards. Princess Celestia gently took out the vial and spread it all over the ponies, and it didn’t take long for the three to regress back into adorable little foals, all rolling around and babbling happily. The princess then got to work powdering their flanks and strapping them up in fresh diapers, humming a tune as she did her work. She then placed them into a playpen and watched the three foals bounce about and coo excitedly, already going about playing with the various toys in the playpen.

The three chased each other for some time, squealing and giggling, bouncing around happily. Cannon Feather continued running around in his pampers and pouncing onto her as she laughed, hugging him, nuzzling his belly with her muzzle, and blowing raspberries into his belly, making him kick and coo. The Princess couldn’t help but continue playing tag with the little ones.

Once they were tuckered out, Princess Celestia just turned into their nanny, allowing the little ones to play, and she mainly just kept an eye on them and, of course, changed their diapers and fed them, making sure to keep them happy and safe. The day went by pretty fast with the foals getting rather rambunctious. But eventually they started to tucker themselves out and Princess Celestia put them down for a nap and then gave each foal a bottle filled with her milk. They were then placed down onto some soft sleeping mats, and they fed slowly, sucking down the contents and drifting off to sleep.

Later that afternoon, as the little ones began to wake up from the nap, Cannon and the others were growing up again, being toddlers again. Checking his mouth, he felt his teeth growing back. Now, as he got up and went over to Sea Breeze, gently napping, the little colt trotted over and nuzzled and whispered, “Hey, Sea Breeze…Sea Breeze.”

The little filly stirred, yawning as she stretched her tiny hooves and looked over, yawning, “Oh, hello, Cannon.”

The colt blushed as he asked, “I um…I want to draw a picture with you and Bucket.”

“Oh, otay?” She turned to see that Princess Celestia was resting on the big chair in the room. Then she whispered, “let's not wake up princess tia otay? Let’s make it a surprise.”

“Yeah, that's a great idea,” Cannon whispered as he crawled over to Bucket and nuzzled him awake. They then both got to work drawing a picture together with their hooves. They smeared the colors onto the construction paper and made cute pictures. They just got so engaged in their artwork that they barely noticed that time went by. Princess Celestia slowly got up and showed her the messy artwork of the three playing in a field with the sun shining overhead. Seeing the picture, the princess put a hoof on her chest, seeing them playing with her on a field with a rainbow overhead. “Aww, you guys, this so adorable, thank you.”

“Yeah! ya a Gweat Mommy Tia!” Cannon cried as he flew over and hugged her as the others did. She bent down and hugged them close with her wings and nuzzled them.

Bucket then started to squirm, doing a bit of a potty dance, and asked, “Um Tia, can ya escort me to ta potty?”
“Of course! Cannon, Sea Breeze, do you need to go?”

“No, we're good!” they both chimed as she nodded and escorted Bucket down the hall. Meanwhile, Sea Breeze turned her attention to the colt, slowly trotted over, and asked, “So, um, Cannon?”

The colt looked up and asked, “Yeah.”

The filly’s cheeks started to grow red as she asked, “Um, I wanna ask ya something but was kinda scared ta do it as an adult…d…do…do you like me?”

“Um, of course! Ya, super cool!” Cannon cried he bounced over and hugged her then added, “Ya, my bestest fwiend!”

Sea Breeze pouted, got rather angry, and snapped, “No, I mean ya like me wike a special somepony!”

Cannon was a bit surprised by the response as in truth the colt did have a bit of a crush on her, but he didn’t expect to be asked this right now as a toddler!? He gulped, not really knowing what to say, and replied, “Well, um…” He crossed his hooves and whispered, “Yeah, I think you're cute and fun I uh tink I uh have a cwush on you.”

He closed his eyes feeling so stupid saying that out loud as Sea Breeze squealed and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush. “Now dun tell Bucket or Tia otay!”

“Of course I won’t!” Cannon chimed back as they sat down and started to color together.

Later that evening, they were taken to the room, where Princess Luna took over and gave them more of her milk and some pizza as they found a place to sleep. The princess of the night read to them gently brushed their teeth and settled them onto their little sleeping mats. She watched as they slept soundly, with Celestia coming over and hugging her sister, “Thank you for all the help this was so much fun.”

“It was no problem, sister. I admit it gets lonely at the castle, and I think that you needed this.”

Princess Celestia looked over the sleeping foal and whispered, “I agree, and they are so well-behaved, and it was so much fun we need to do this more often.”

“I also agree; maybe we can make it something we do every once in a while. I assure you there are dozens of other guards who are more than willing to be regressed.”

Luna then gently laid her sister down among them and tucked her in, pushing the foals around her making sure they had a place to rest their heads and then gently kissed her sister on the cheek and spoke. “Now you all get some sleep you still have to be a princess tomorrow.”

“Yes, thank you, I owe you one,” Princess Celestia yawned as she curled up with the foals surrounding her. Luna watched until her sister was sound asleep, and then she spread her wings and flew off into the night.

Early the next day, the guards woke up as adults once again, and every pony went to work to get the room cleaned up. Bucket Bridle loaded everything onto a wagon outside. Sea Breeze trotted over, kissed Cannon on the cheek, and hugged him,” that was so much fun.”

Cannon was still slightly embarrassed and asked, “Wasn’t? I mean, you don’t mind being in diapers?”

She blushed and nuzzled into the stallion, “My whole life, I feel like I was treated like an adult. This was the first time I felt like I had fun as a foal so thank you.”

Princess Celestia came over and let out a tired yawn then said, “Well, despite how fun that was, I had to admit caring for the three of you was a lot of work. I don't think I am ready to be a full-time parent just yet.”

"How long are you going to wait? aren't you already over a thousand years old?" Sea Breeze asked as Cannon playfully nudged her a little then added, “Hopefully, we didn’t wear you out too much.”

“No, it was fun. We should do this more often, I will check my schedule and maybe we can plan for another regression date. I can possibly renovate a room in the castle, and we can invite more guards as well,” Princess Celestia chimed.

Cannon couldn't believe his ears seeing that this didn't have to be a one-time thing and cried out excitedly, "that would be a lot of fun! please keep me posted if you're going to do it again."

Princess Celestia let out a laugh as she came down to Cannon Feather and whispered, "of course I will, and don't tell anyone else but you're the cutest foal I've ever met."

This just made the stallion cheeks flush red as she threw out her wings and flew off into the sky heading back to the castle to raise the sun. As soon as the princess left Bucket hitched himself to the wagon full of foal supplies. "Well, my wife will be thrilled to see we won’t need to buy diapers ever again.”

Cannon blushed seeing the way overstocked for their playdate and waved a hoof. “Well thanks again! Hopefully, we can do this soon and put those excess diapers to good use!”

"Sure, sounds like a plan," Bucket chirped as he waved a hoof and continued to trot away, leaving just Sea Breeze and Cannon. She then slowly came over and kissed him. “So, we still have today off, right?”

“Yeah, and?” Cannon asked as he looked over at Sea Breeze still feeling squeamish about what she said to him yesterday.

Sea Breeze nuzzled him back and whispered, “I think I want to try a playdate as an adult.”

The colt’s ears perked up, and his face turned a bright pink, and he whispered, “Um…like a real date?”

“Mhhm,” the mare chimed as she booped him on the nose.

“Uh…um…like where do you want to get dinner reservations or may-” Before he could finish, Sea Breeze gave him another kiss on his lips as she slowly escorted the bashful stallion into his home and closed the door.