//------------------------------//
// Going Away 
// Story: A Little Monster 
// by Shadowmane PX-41 
//------------------------------//

The next day, Sunset and Twilight were playing together in the bedroom. Sunset herself was moving a stuffed animal and imitating a voice for it, causing Twilight to giggle and clap her hands, reaching out for the toy herself. Through the whole game, both Sunset and Twilight looked each other in the eyes and smiled. They both felt the bond between them getting deeper and stronger the more that they spent time with each other and they had a feeling that it wouldn't stop any time soon.

"Mama! Mama!" Twilight squealed and crawled over to Sunset, climbing up into her chest. She gave her a big hug, causing the side of the horn to dig into Sunset's chest.

"Yeah, Twilight. I'm your mama alright," Sunset lied as she pulled Twilight out of her chest and tousled her hair. "And no matter what, you won't have to face this thing alone."

All of a sudden, Sunset felt the phone in her pocket vibrate. She put Twilight down and picked the phone up out of her pocket and opened up an application. Once it had loaded up, she saw a list of messages that she had either sent or received. She saw that the most recent one was from Pinkie Pie, so she tapped on it and the phone enlarged what Pinkie had sent to her.



Hey, Sunset. Canterlot High's got enough money to go to Camp Everfree tomorrow thanks to the Friendship Games. Everyone's gonna be going away for the week so that they can get some fresh air and do some cool new stuff. You can choose whether you want to bring little baby Twily with you, but no matter what you do, I bet that we'll all have lots of fun together! See you soon!



"Hmm..." Sunset stared at the message for a brief moment and frowned before she closed the phone and put it away. Thing is, would Twilight cope well without me? She bounced the girl on her knees. I mean, ever since that whole outburst at the Friendship Games, she's seen me as her mother. If I just left her like this, she might start crying and won't stop until I come back. And a girl of her abilities, it would make mom's job as a parent much harder. What should I do?

Twilight wiggled her legs and cooed as she crawled up to Sunset again. She climbed up Sunset's body and used her hands to pull her cheeks and wiggle them around. She squished them together to make it look like Sunset was going to kiss someone and crawled up to press her face against hers. Once she felt Sunset do a real kiss, she giggled once more.

If cuteness was a weapon of mass destruction, Twilight would be wanted by every military force on the planet. Sunset smiled and wrapped her arms around Twilight's tiny body, giving her a small hug. Who knew that becoming an all-powerful demon baby at the hands of your peers at Crystal Prep could be such a good thing?

"Sunset? Are you decent?" Dean Cadence opened the door to Twilight's nursery and walked inside. "Don't worry. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to see how Twilight was doing."

"She's fine, Cadence." Sunset set Twilight down and let her crawl off. She brushed herself down and stood before Cadence. "What's up?"

"It's about Twilight's magic." Cadence walked over to Twilight and watched her begin to play with some blocks. She squatted down and patted the infant on the back as she picked the first one up. "Now, I'm not saying that it's getting out of control or that we're sick of it. I just wanted to know how long she's going to have it is all."

"Well, you see, Cadence, Twilight's magic works a lot differently than ours did back at the Friendship Games." Sunset walked over to Twilight and pointed down to her. "We used to Pony-Up out of random and expose our magic, but it didn't really allow us to do stuff like she does." She showed Dean Cadence Twilight's glowing horn, which she was using to take some blocks that were out of her reach. "Twilight can use whatever magic she comes to mind. She can make the things she sees on TV and in books a reality. She can use a rattle to open up portals to Equestria, and she can get everything that she wants without any real effort or concentration. To make it easier for you, her limits are her imagination."

"Is it... contagious?" Cadence was hesitant to reach her arm out as she said it.

"No. No. Partially." Sunset shook her head and brushed the parts of her body that would change if she did transform. "While others can get a taste of her magic, it doesn't allow them to do exactly what she does. The only changes that the others get are wings or horns, pony ears, a tail, and longer hair. That's all."

"So, what do you think I would get?" Cadence asked, leaning in closer to Twilight. "Y'know, when I was a kid myself, I always had dreams that I was a pegasus, flying through the air with such grace."

"Well, I guess what you would get depends on your counterpart in Equestria." Sunset turned to face Cadence and tipped her hand towards her. "So whatever pony-you looks like, then that's what you would get. You might even get both wings and a horn if you're lucky."

While Cadence and Sunset were talking to each other about her magic, Twilight stopped playing with her blocks and put her hands on the floor. She gave it a little poke and cooed again—this time at the bounciness of the padding. After a few more test pokes, she stood up and tried to jump. She wobbled both as she stood up and tried to land on her feet again. She tumbled to the floor and flopped onto her back, giggling lightly as she did so.

Twilight put her finger to her mouth and thought about how she could bounce higher. Once she got an idea, she cooed silently and chuckled, lighting up her hands and horn. With a squeal, she blasted a high concentration of her magic at the floor, causing a bright white light to shine from it.

"Hold on, Cadence. What's she doing?" Sunset broke off from the conversation and watched the floor light up. Before she could say anything, she began to sink into the ground. "Whoa!" She exclaimed as she fell down onto her butt and was launched upwards, as if she had fallen onto a giant trampoline.

Twilight giggled as she tumbled and rolled down to the middle of the floor. Her horn disappeared and reappeared repeatedly so that it didn't sink into the bouncy surface and rip. Once she made it, she bounced high into the air and laughed wildly as she kept on bouncing on the magical surface.

"How is she doing this?" Cadence asked as she threw out her arms to hold her balance. Despite being close to Twilight and Sunset, she was still able to stand firmly without falling over. "Is this what you meant by her limits being her imagination, Sunset?"

"Yeah. I suppose." Sunset bounced and tried to reach out for Twilight, but kept on missing her every single time. Whenever she thought that she got close, Twilight's wings flapped, giving her more height before she fell right back down and bounced again. "Whatever Twilight wants to do, she does it. And if she wants to turn her nursery into a giant trampoline then she can."

"Someone's gonna have to learn how to control her magic soon..." Cadence said as she stepped back towards the wall to avoid being launched into the air.

As Twilight fluttered in the air, she lit up her horn as she fell right back down to the ground. With a quick flash of light, everything else aside from her, Sunset, and Cadence had vanished from the room. With no other toys to keep them from getting hurt, Twilight continued to bounce around, laughing and giggling all the while as she evaded Sunset's hands.

"Bouncy! Bouncy!" Twilight said as she continued to play with her trampoline floor. She almost bounced to the roof of the room and banged her head, but her horn kept her from colliding with it every time. "Playtime!"

"Alright, Twilight. Just come to mama..." Sunset kept her feet planted on the trampoline floor as she waited for Twilight to fall back down. With a somersault, she grabbed Twilight and landed on her butt, sliding back down to the centre of the room. "Gotcha!"

Twilight shook all around in Sunset's hold, laughing like a maniac as her horn and hands lit up once again. As she shook her arms and legs, the floor straightened up and went back to normal, and all of her toys and baby furniture came back as well.

"There we go, Twilight. Wasn't that fun?" Sunset gently rubbed the top of Twilight's head and rubbed her belly as she cradled the girl in her arms. "Next time, give me a head's up if you're gonna use your magic, OK?"

Twilight was still laughing and shaking her limbs before she felt her diaper turn warm. She immediately stopped and felt the hot mush pressing against her skin. She looked up at Sunset and began to wimper, tears filling her eyes as her lips quivered.

"Oh boy... Did you use your diaper, Twilight?" Sunset could already smell the repugnant stench strike her nostrils. She scrambled to her feet and ran over to the changing table. "Don't worry about it. Mama's here. Mama's here..."

She laid Twilight down on the table, took off Twilight's tiny trousers and shoes, and ripped the diaper open. The fumes that had come from her poo sprung up and struck her nose. "Oh, sweet Celestia!" Sunset had to hold her nose to cope with the smell. "How are baby poops this smelly? Good grief!"

"You might need some help with that, Sunset." Cadence walked over to the changing table and saw Sunset begin to back off as the smell danced around her nose. She immediately took the soiled diaper and opened a bin, tossing the browned undergarment inside. "The stench is revolting the first few times. You'll get used to it eventually."

"Sweet goddess. Sweet goddess..." Sunset fanned her nose with her right hand as she tried to shake the smell off. Once it eventually left her, she went over to the door, opened it up, and took in some fresh air before walking back into the room. "How do parents put up with that? It's, like, the worst thing I think I've ever smelt!"

"Well, it's something that all mothers and fathers have to put up with." Cadence pulled out a new diaper and proceeded to pick up a bottle of baby powder. She applied it both to Twilight's tiny bottom and to the brand new diaper before she slid it underneath her body. "And it's something that I'm gonna deal with a lot once our new baby gets born."

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Sunset walked back over to Twilight and saw that Cadence had almost finished with the diapering procedure.

"I was thinking on Gleaming Shield if it's a boy and Flurry Heart if it's a girl." Cadence picked up the edges of the diaper and made them all meet in the centre. She tightened the waistband, applied the adhesive strap, and added a small pin so that it all held together before she picked Twilight up and gave her back to Sunset. "Hey! Maybe she and Twilight could be playmates together someday. Doesn't that sound great?"

"Yeah." Sunset smiled and nodded. "It'd be nice for Twilight to have some new babies to play with. Right now, she only has me. Well, that, and Pinkie Pie's trying to arrange a playdate for her and those two twins Mr. and Mrs. Cake have."

"Alright," Cadence smiled. "Is there anything else going on with you or Twilight?"

At that, Sunset froze up and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She turned it on and showed the text message she had got earlier to Cadence. As she let the dean read exactly what it said, her mind had a million different thoughts running through her head. She and Twilight had been inseparable since the end of the Friendship Games, and now there was something that was going to split them apart.

"Well... I'm gonna be going away for a while." Sunset swallowed heavily and put the phone away once again. "Starting tomorrow, to be exact."

"I can see. A school-organised field trip to Camp Everfree, is it?" Cadence put her hand on Sunset's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Hey. Why so down? You're gonna have a great time there. Everyone at Crystal Prep has great memories of that place—even me and Cinch."

"Really?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah. In fact, when Cinch was in her teen years, she used to love stretching her legs on one of Camp Everfree's nature hikes. She said that they worked wonders on her physique and core strength." Cadence slowly pushed out her arm as she looked Sunset in the eyes. "I'm sure that you and your friends at Canterlot High are gonna have fun."

"Yeah, but that's the problem." Sunset looked down at the ground and clasped Twilight harder. "See, if I'm gonna be going away, that just leaves you and the rest of the family to look after Twilight. And correct me if I'm wrong here, but I don't think that any of you have any experience in dealing with magical super-babies like her..."

"No, we don't, but that doesn't mean we're not gonna try." Cadence shook her head and patted Twilight's with the palm of her hand. "Don't you worry about it. We'll all take good care of the little one while she's away."

"Thank you for your help, but there's something else as well." Sunset turned her head back up at Cadence and held Twilight higher. "Twilight thinks that I'm her mama instead of mom. She might start worrying where I am and start crying if I'm not there. Her magic might go crazy if she starts to cry and I just don't want any of you getting hurt because I left her alone for the week."

"Well, I'm not going to stop you from taking her with you to Camp Everfree, but I'm not so sure that you'll have all of the supplies to last a week with her." Cadence patted Twilight's diaper, hearing a small crinkle resonate from it as she did so. "Diapers, baby food, and other stuff doesn't really last long for a whole week when you're out at a place like Camp Everfree, and you might run out before the week's up and need to improvise, so it's not really recommended. But still, like I said, I'm not going to say no and take her off of your hands."

"Now that leaves me with a real dilemma..." Sunset turned Twilight around and saw her use her magic. She levitated a pacifier from the ground and popped it into her mouth, starting to suck on it lightly. "Should I take Twilight with me to Camp Everfree, or should I leave her behind with you, mom, and dad?"

"I'll happily go with whatever decision you make, but you also need to remember that it's also yourself you need to take into account." Cadence began to walk towards the door. "I'll leave you alone to think about it. With a decision like this, it's best not for me to get involved. But no matter what decision you make, you and your friends are going to enjoy Camp Everfree."

"Yeah. Nothing but fun, fun, fun..." Sunset saw Cadence leave the room and close the door behind her.

Once silence fell in the nursery again, Sunset walked over towards the tiny bookcase and sat Twilight down on her laps. She went through the different books that she could read to her while she heard her bobbing the pacifier in and out of her mouth with every suckle. She found the book and opened it up, showing both the text and the pictures inside.

Oh, Twilight? What am I going to do? She asked herself mentally as she began to read the book to Twilight, spooling her hair around her fingers. Is it really worth spending a week away from you to have fun with my friends? Do I really want to go to Camp Everfree if it means leaving you behind? Help me out here, will you? Friends or family. Which one's more important?

Once Sunset came to another page, Twilight turned around and hugged Sunset, still sucking on the pacifier as she dug her head into her chest. The quiet and muffled coos that she made were still audible as she curled her fingers up and latched on to her mother. She did this for a while before Sunset pulled her out and turned her back to the book.