The sun rises over the vast expanse of the ocean. The morning sky is clear, and the ocean air has a crisp, cool chill to it. The crew of the cruise ship is checking the vessel to make sure that everything is ready for the passengers for the second day of the cruise. The activity directors are making sure that all the activities have all the proper equipment and safety instruction signs, the kitchen staff are hard at work preparing breakfast for the passengers, and the other crew members are working hard making sure that everything on the ship is working normally and conducting routine maintenance.
All the Rainbooms are still in their cabins. Sunset and Twilight, in particular, are still sleeping. The sun starts to poke through the windows and lands on Sunset's still-closed eye. This, along with the motion of the ship is enough to rouse Sunset from her slumber. Sunset shifts the covers of her, noticing that they felt heavier than before. She stretched out, yawning as she did so. She then noticed that the room seemed much larger than it was last night. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, only to find that they couldn't reach the floor. This made Sunset feel confused and a bit worried. She looked over into a mirror on the other side of the room and noticed that she was now the size of a toddler.
"Twilight, Twilight, wake up!" exclaimed Sunset. Twilight is roused from her slumber and looks at Sunset, then looks into the mirror and noticed that she was also the size of a toddler.
The two toddlers gasped! "What's happened to us?" asked Twilight.
"I don't know, Twilight," Sunset replied.
Sunset and Twilight were both still trying to process the change that they'd undergone, whilst trying to figure out how this could have happened. Sunset then has an epiphany.
"Hey Twilight, remember that feeling we had when we were relaxing by the pool yesterday? When we felt something seep into our bodies?" asked Sunset.
"Yeah, I remember. We assumed it was just our geodes releasing and reabsorbing some of their magic," said Twilight.
"Obviously we were wrong. It must have been Equestrian Magic from another source," said Sunset.
"But should the magic has taken effect straight away?" asked Twilight.
"Yes, it should have. But it could've been a rare form of magic I read about back in Equestria. Its called Long-Delay Magic." said Sunset.
"How does that magic even work?" asked Twilight.
"Basically it's a form of magic that takes effect after a certain amount of time, usually while the affected pony is sleeping. Its quite difficult to conjure, but it does exist," explained Sunset.
Twilight found Sunset's explanation plausible, considering that Sunset has more experience with Equestrian magic than anyone else in the Rainbooms. But Twilight and Sunset then realized that they needed to find a way to reverse the effects of the magic as soon as possible.
As Twilight and Sunset try to think of a way to turn themselves back to normal, they hear a knock at the door.
"Twilight, Sunset, time to get up," said Rainbow.
" Oh no, how are we going to explain this to the girls?" asked Twilight.
"I don't see any other way than to be upfront with them," Sunset replied.
" I suppose that's the best option rather than trying to come up with a convoluted reason as to why we're like this," Twilight responded.
"Rainbow, can you please get the others and bring them in here?" asked Sunset.
"Yeah, I can do that, but why?" asked Rainbow.
"We'll explain when you're all here with us. Please just go get them quickly," asked Sunset.
"Alright, I'll get the girl and be back here ASAP.," said Rainbow, as she went off to get the rest of the Rainbooms.
Sunset and Twilight are still trying to think of a way to get back to normal when Twilight asks Sunset a question.
" Hey Sunset, do you think we should write to Princess Twilight to see if she can figure out a way to turn us back to our normal selves?"
"That's just what I was thinking we should do. I kept the journal on the bedside table, just in case we needed it. But I think I'll need your help to move it since with how small we are, I think our strength will be significantly lower." said Sunset.
"OK, Let's try and get the journal onto the bed, so we can write to Princess Twilight, and see if she can figure out a way to change us back to normal," Twilight responded.
Sunset and Twilight managed to get the journal onto the bed after about a minute of struggling. With the transformation came the negative effects of being a toddler like reduced strength and balance, but they hadn't suffered diminished intelligence and motor skills. Apparently, the magic only affected them physically, and not mentally. Sunset had a bit of trouble gripping the pen and needed to use both hands to stay steady on the page. Sunset then started writing.
"Dear Princess Twilight,
Apologies if I've caught you at a bad time, but I need you to look up some information about log-delay magic. Me and this world's Twilight have been turned into toddlers. From what we can tell, it only affected us physically and not mentally.
We suspected that we absorbed some Equestrian Magic yesterday and it took effect while we were sleeping. Can you please find out any information about long-delay magic and tell us if it will eventually wear off or if we need to do something to change back?
Regards, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset then closed the journal. She knew Princess Twilight would get the message. All Twilight and her had to do were waiting for the reply. Just then, they heard a knock at the door.
"Hey Sunset, Twilight, I've got the girls, can we come in?" asked Rainbow.
"Come on in, we've got a lot of explaining to do," replied Sunset.
When the rest of the girls got inside the cabin, the got quite a shock! The other five members of the Rainbooms can't believe what they're seeing.
"Twilight, Sunset, what happened to you both? You're both the size of toddlers! " Rainbow said loudly.
"Long story short, we both absorbed some Equestrian Magic yesterday by the pool and it physically changed us into toddlers," explained Sunset.
"But we saw you two were completely normal for all of yesterday. Wouldn't the magic have taken effect straight away?" asked Fluttershy.
"We asked ourselves that very question, and Sunset said that it might've been Long-Delay Magic. Basically, it takes effect after a certain amount of time, and it must've taken effect on us while we were sleeping." Twilight responded.
"Is there any way we can help to try and undo the effects?" asked Applejack.
"Sunset has sent a message to Princess Twilight, asking her to look up any information she can. All we can really do right now is wait for her reply," said Twilight.
Just then, the journal started to glow brighter than before.
"That must be her response. Rarity, can you please bring the journal over to me?" asked Sunset.
"Of course darling. Let's hope she's found a solution to this strange happening," said Rarity.
And with that, Rarity grabbed the journal as Sunset asked.
Sunset opened the journal to the page where Princess Twilight's response was written.
Dear Sunset,
I got your message while I was in the castle library, so I was able to quickly lookup any possible information about long-delay magic. From what I found, it does eventually wear off after a certain amount of time, but I couldn't find any specific amount. It seems like it chooses when to wear off and no external influence can change it. Apart from that, I, unfortunately, can provide very little assistance to your situation. I would suggest that you try and make the best of this unusual situation until the magic wears off.
Kind regards, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
"Well, its good to know that the magic will eventually wear off, but still this could be a problem while we're on board," said Twilight.
"Yeah. We may have to either keep you guys here until the magic goes away, which I don't believe is a good idea or put you two in the ship's daycare center with all the other young kids," said Rainbow.
"I agree. Keeping us cooped up in here means that Twilight and I will be bored out of our minds, but people who saw us as teenagers yesterday may start to ask questions about what's happened to us. But then again, Princess Twilight did tell us to try and make the best of the situation." said Sunset.
"Yeah. We should find things for all of us to do together so that we can more effectively explain the situation in case people start to ask questions. Plus, if we're all together, we'll be able to keep watch over you two better." said Rainbow.
"You're right, Even if our options are now much more limited. We can still make this cruise memorable for the right reasons. I just hope we aren't stuck like after we leave the cruise at its conclusion. But enough moping, let's have some fun." said Sunset.
The other members of the Rainbooms helped Twilight and Sunset off the bed and went to see if they could find anyplace on the ship which would have clothes that could fit Twilight and Sunset. After a while, they found a store that had what they needed. With Sunset and Twilight now clothed more appropriately for the situation, they set out to have some fun and make what they could of the weird situation they're now in.