//------------------------------// // Tension Lifted // Story: A Little Monster // by Shadowmane PX-41 //------------------------------// The next day, the Wondercolts were all gathered at the portal of Canterlot High with a large wicker basket. Pinkie Pie set it down and opened it up, pulling out a large towel with a red and white checkerboard pattern. She flicked it and set it down gently on the ground before plopping her butt down on it with her legs crossed. "I still can't believe you girls want a picnic after all that's happened." Sunset carried Twilight in her arms and put her down on the towel before sitting down as well. "It's like you've completely forgotten about the events of the Friendship Games." "Oh no, Sunset. We haven't forgotten." Rarity shook her head and put her hand by her side as she sat down as well. "How could we ever forget the day that an adorepulsive little monster was born?" She bent herself down and pinched Twilight's cheeks. "Isn't she just the cutest?" "Totally!" Pinkie Pie couldn't take her eyes off of Twilight as she fished out some plates and food from the basket. "I mean, I was gonna invite her anyway as a show of good faith between Canterlot High and Crystal Prep to show that there's no hard feelings, but now that she's super-duper itty-bitty and young, I thought that this'd be a great day for her to meet her aunties instead!" "You're still gonna find a way to fix her though, right?" Rainbow Dash tapped on Sunset's shoulder and pointed over to Twilight, who was now beginning to play with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "I'm really starting to miss my wings..." She slumped her shoulders and used her other finger on her back, rubbing it across where the wings would have been if she had been able to use her magic. "Rainbow Dash, I don't think you'll ever see those wings again unless Twilight just happens to learn all of her magic and use it to fix you and the others," Sunset's tone of voice sounded calming, but she too did miss having magic of her own. Now that she was just as mortal as the rest of the people in her world, she was now unable to handle Twilight as safely as she thought. "All we can do now is pray that Twilight's baby magic doesn't get too out of control." "Oh, I don't think it's all that bad." Fluttershy smiled as she patted Twilight's belly and tickled it, hearing laughter fall from her little lips. "She's got all of our magic, yes, but she's still a baby. As long as we take care of her properly and raise her up to control it better, we should all be fine." "Yes. Provided that you know how to deal with a baby demon's magical powers." The girls all turned to see Sugarcoat and the rest of her friends approaching the Rainbooms. Instead of wearing their Crystal Prep uniforms, the five of them wore bright and expressive clothes with similarly coloured shoes. They all looked down at the girls with smiles and all squatted down around them. "Sup, girls?" Indigo asked as she poked her head through Pinkie and Fluttershy's shoulders. "How's the kid doing?" "She's fine." Sunset nodded and turned towards Indigo. "What are you all doing here?" "Ah, c'mon, Sunset. We would never leave you and the other girls with a magical baby on your hands." Lemon Zest threw herself onto the ground and almost touched her nose against Sunset's with how close she was to her. "Besides, we're friends, aren't we? The Friendship Games are over. Crystal Prep and Canterlot High aren't on bad terms anymore." "I... suppose." Sunset backed off and saw Lemon's head retract back. "Plus, you haven't even had time to get to know us yet." Sunny Flare sat down beside Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "We're probably still total strangers from CPA until now. So let's start with the introductions, shall we?" "Ooh! Ooh! I love making new friends!" Pinkie squealed and beamed as the other Crystal Prep girls sat down to form a large circle of eleven girls. "I suppose I should start, since I brought up the idea. My name is Sunny Flare." She held out her arm and began shaking the other girls' arms. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, dears." "Very nice to meet you too, Sunny Flare." Rarity shook her hand, reaching over Twilight to do it. "My name is Rarity. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." "Uh, girls, I hate to interrupt, but I'm not gonna sit here and listen to us all saying our names for this long." Sour Sweet raised a finger and grabbed the attention of the whole group. "Besides. We've still got an adorable little baby to take care of and I want to start playing with her as soon as possible!" "What a way to kill the moment, huh?" Indigo shot a mini-glare at Sour before she turned to the girls and stretched out her hand. "Hi. Name's Indigo Zap." "Rainbow Dash." She began to bump fists with Indigo. "Sugarcoat." She adjusted her glasses. "Applejack." She tipped her hat and grinned at the girls. "Pinkie Pie!" She threw confetti into the air. "Lemon Zest!" She crossed her arms and laid her chin on them as she pointed her middle and index fingers out. "Sour Sweet," Her voice seemed to be both strong and tough, yet kindly and calm at the same time. "Fluttershy," she whispered just loud enough so that the others could hear them. "And I'm sure you all know me by now. My name is Sunset Shimmer." She smiled and picked Twilight up, giving her a gentle cuddle as she patted her diaper. "Or, if you like, you can call me Sunset Sparkle now." "Huh? Sunset Sparkle?" The group all spoke in perfect harmony as they cocked their brows at Sunset. "Yeah. Twilight's mom and dad took me in last night." Sunset's smile grew as she began to talk about her new family. "Actually, after the picnic, I was going to take all of my stuff from my old apartment and bring it all over to their house. If you'd all like to come, I could really use a helping hand." "I'm sure that we can work something out," Sugarcoat said with eagerness in her voice. "Crystal Prep's been closed until the board finds a new principal, so we've all got plenty of time on our hands." "Cinch was arrested on such short notice, that the head honchos are having to work overtime to find the right replacement." Lemon Zest nodded and shuffled forward slightly. "Really, anyone we get is going to be better than that old fart—even if they're a really dark and brooding or big-muscled and loud-mouthed guy, they're gonna be miles better than Cinch." "I just hope so." Sugarcoat's brows twitched as she looked around the courtyard. "Because at least our new principal won't be some someone who blackmails, pressurises, and makes the students feel miserable and compete in the Games just to try and save their winning streak." There was a brief silence from the group before Pinkie broke it by saying, "Wow. That's a lot to take in when you say it all at once." "I know. I get that a lot." Sugarcoat cracked a small smile and looked over at Pinkie Pie. "I hope that it doesn't bother you or your friends that I'm straight to the point." "Oh, it ain't no bother, Sugarcoat," said Applejack as her eyes met with that of the Crystal Prep girl. "If anything, I'd say you're like another me, minus the whole cowgirl attitude." "Really?" Sugarcoat leaned in towards Applejack. "Then in that case, I wouldn't mind getting to know you over some sandwiches and cheap juice from concentrate." "Speaking of food, who wants some?" Pinkie Pie pulled out almost the entire contents of the basket with both of her hands and laid them out in a circle around the girls. "Sorry I didn't make extra. I didn't account for our new Crystal Prep friends joining us today." "It's no trouble at all, Pinkie Pie." Sunny Flare gave Pinkie a small smile and took a single cheese sandwich from the centre of the towel and placed it in front of her. "You weren't to have known we were coming today, so we'll let you off of the hook." She tore the sandwich in half and handed out one of the halves to Rarity. "Come on, girls! Tuck in!" Indigo Zap pulled out a packet of potato chips and ripped it open, beginning to pick out the contents inside before handing the bag to Rainbow Dash. "Want some? Anything for a new friend." "Nah. I'm good." Rainbow Dash picked up a cupcake and bit into it. She wiped the mess off of her face and licked it off of the back of her hand as she looked at Indigo. "Thanks for the offer, though." The girls then began to eat the rest of the food, sharing stories with each other as Pinkie and Lemon Zest began to pour the drinks into cups and hand them out. They also took turns in taking care of Twilight, playing with her body and giving her little nibbles of the food as she was passed around the group. Eventually, the portal behind them all rippled and a full-grown version of Twilight came running through, grinding to a screeching halt in front of the girls. "I'm so sorry I didn't get her sooner! I didn't get your messages until just now because I was stuck in this crazy time-travel loop and honestly, it was the weirdest thing that ever happened to me!" Twilight then took a look at the girls, who all stared at her bug-eyed as she took deep breaths and brushed her dress down. "What happened? How has the girls' magic changed?" "Uh, hello?" Sugarcoat tilted her head at the grown-up Twilight. "Who are you?" "I'm Twilight Sparkle." She looked over at Sugarcoat briefly before her gaze turned towards Sunset and her friends. "I'm sorry to rush this, but I'm a friend of Sunset Shimmer and her friends. I'm sure that we'll have time to meet again once we're done." "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, Twilight. Everything's fine." Sunset put her hand on Princess Twilight's chest and looked up into her eyes. "No-one died at the Friendship Games, there wasn't any monsters to fight, and everything's just fine." She then heard baby Twilight's whines as she kicked around in Fluttershy's hold. "Except for one small thing..." "What the heck...?" Adult Twilight squinted her eyes and looked closely at the baby, making sure not to stab herself on the tip of her horn. "When did you get a kid, Sunset? Have I missed something big?" "Well, actually, I can explain everything." Sugarcoat stood up and walked over to Princess Twilight. "But I'm not even sure that you can explain how there are two of you." "Oh, I'm sure that I can—" Twilight stopped when she realised what Sugarcoat was saying "—wait, what? What do you mean there's two of me?" "OMG! She's totally clueless!" Lemon Zest gawked at the other Twilight. "She doesn't know about the other her that attended Crystal Prep Academy?" "Crystal Prep Academy? Other me? What in the world is going on here?" Pony Twilight was unable to comprehend everything that the girls had said. But before she could say anything else, baby Twilight let out a sneeze that fired a large blue beam of magic into the sky and pierced a whole in the clouds, causing them to break up and dissipate into nothingness. Pony Twilight jumped at the sight and almost fell back through the portal that she had come out of. "Sunset? Why does this baby have magic?!" Twilight was unable to maintain her composure any longer. "Twilight. This baby is the human you. I'm sure that you've managed to figure it out by now, right?" Sunset Shimmer held baby Twilight up close to her full-grown pony counterpart. "Anyway. At the Friendship Games, she sucked the Magic of Friendship out of us using some weird locket and was forced to use it to try and win it for Crystal Prep." "None of us could've guessed what was going to happen and then, boom!" Rainbow Dash clapped her hands together and threw them out wide, barely missing Pinkie Pie and Indigo Zap in the process. "Twilight of Crystal Prep went from being the shy egghead she used to be into that cute little demon baby in Sunset's hands." "I can see that!" Twilight had to rub her eyes just to make sure that she wasn't seeing things as she examined baby Twilight's mask and horn. "But how in the heck does using stolen magic equate to being turned into a baby and having that magic live inside of you? It makes no sense!" "I don't know either, but we can't use our magic to Pony-Up anymore, and now we're just as normal teenage girls as when you first met us back at the Fall Formal." Sunset tipped her hand and made sure not to drop the baby. "We can't fix this unless we get our magic back, and knowing what a baby's like, I'm not sure we'll ever get it back." Twilight could only watch as her baby doppelganger put her hand in her mouth and began to suck on it, cooing as the eyes of the two counterparts locked with each other. "Hmm... Well, there's nothing I can do in this world, considering that my magic doesn't come out like yours does. Without your magic to work in sync with mine, I can't use my own to restore my other self back to normal." "Ah, don't worry about it, Twilight. We've been pretty good handling the little baby you." Pinkie Pie bounced over to Pony Twilight and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "And besides, it's not like Equestria has any super-babies like this one." "Y-yeah. I suppose you're right, Pinkie," Twilight lied, remembering all too well the incident with her niece, Flurry Heart back in the Crystal Empire. I just hope that Sunset and the girls keep her magic in check. The last thing we need is another crisis like that in this world. It would be almost impossible to repeat what we did back in Equestria... "Pardon me for potentially forcing you to make a return home, other Twilight, but I don't think that having two of you in the same world is a good thing." Sunny Flare took Twilight and held her away from Pony Twilight. "Two of the same person meeting each other is a paradox, whether or not they're different ages. A paradox could cause the world to break apart, or cause this world's version of you to get even stronger. And either one of the outcomes might be too much for this world to handle." Sunset's eyes dilated to pinpricks when Sunny's words sunk in. "She's right, Twilight. I'm sorry to say this, but I think it's time for you to go. We can continue this conversation later through the book, alright?" "Oh. I see." Twilight hung her head and slid the tips of her toes across the ground. "I guess I'll be going then." She turned towards the portal and took one last look back at the girls. "Twilight, don't say it like that. You're gonna make us feel bad." Indigo Zap walked over to Twilight and slid her hand down the princess's cheeks. "No. No, you're all right. I don't want to be responsible for making the situation worse..." She stood through the portal, vanishing into the rippling glass. "Feel free to talk to me any time or pop over to Equestria if you want." And with that, she disappeared, leaving nothing behind her as she left. "Twilight. No... Please come back." Sunset reached out for the portal but pulled her hand down as she saw the ripples begin to stop. "We didn't want you to leave like this." "Sunset, I know that you wanted to see Equestria's Twilight again, but Sunny Flare does make a very valid point." Rarity massaged Sunset's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. "We've already got a magical baby version of her to deal with, so a paradox would just cause everything to get worse." "Don't worry, Sunset. The only thing you've got to worry about now is loud wailing at night, poop-ridden diapers, and some bruises and cuts from dealing with that little snot-nosed kid." Sour Sweet's expression switched on the fly during her sentence. "Aw, don't worry about it. I'm sure that you've got this all under control." "Not to mention, you've got the ten of us to help out." Lemon Zest nudged Sunset's arm with her elbow. "Trust me, Sunset. Together, we've got this." "Yeah, but I still kinda feel like we kicked the other Twilight out like that..." Sunset hung her head and looked back at the portal once again. "I didn't want her last trip to this world feel like a bad one. Now she's gonna have to think that we forced her out without letting her say goodbye." "If it's possible, I can make sure that we make a trip to Equestria and give her an apology." Sugarcoat walked over to the portal and pushed her finger through it, watching it disappear in the light. "If it's where this whole magic thing came from, then I'm sure that it could also warrant some answers on how to control it as well." "Yeah. We never meant to give Twilight the bum's rush, but we were just concerned about the fate of the world with both of them being here at once," Indigo added. "She'll get over this, right?" "Yeah! Y'know, I'm sure that Twilight'll be eager to talk once we make it up to her." Rainbow Dash walked over to Sunset. "In fact, do you have that book on you, Sunset? I wanna say sorry now." "I don't have the book on me right now, Rainbow Dash, but I'll be sure to let her know that we weren't being cruel to her when I write the note." Sunset looked up and pulled her head out of its' slump. "Still, I would say that we've all still got some things to learn about friendship—even if there's two Twilight Sparkles we've got to take into account." "Especially when one of them's a super-baby with magical powers that other babies would only dream of!" Pinkie Pie chimed and held Twilight high, looking like she was ready to score a touchdown in a football game. "Pinkie! Be careful with her! You don't know what she'll—" before Sunset could finish, she saw the diaper begin to turn brown at the bottom "—do." The infant Twilight felt the poop in her diaper and began to tear up. She whimpered and snuffled as she looked at the group of girls and let out a high-pitched whine that resonated across the school. The noise was so loud that all of the windows shattered like glass and even the glass dome at the school's roof broke into millions of glass shards and cascaded down onto the room inside. "Does anyone have a fresh diaper?" Sunset tried to shout over Twilight's loud cries but none of her words were audible over the noise. She could only watch as Pinkie Pie set her down and began to dig into her basket for one. "I'm just glad Equestria's Twilight doesn't have to deal with this kind of stuff..."