//------------------------------// // Chapter One: The Old Yet New Problem // Story: Sunny’s Day Off // by Badguy400 //------------------------------// Sunny is basically just sitting on the ground, babbling to herself, and swiping her hooves in the air for no reason while laughing. Meanwhile, her pals in the background are currently debating as to what they should do with her… . Since Sunny’s a baby again, yet also with the fact that she’s still the same age now, it’s gonna be difficult to take care of her while she’s that size. Izzy would’ve definitely been helpful in this situation, but couldn’t since, in her own words… , “unicorns aren’t able to do spells like that ever since we’ve got our magic back… . And even if we tried… , we might risk making things worse if we did… .” Izzy then perked up, and said; “but no worries! Sunny’s still the same when she’s a baby… . Only a little bit bigger now!” Izzy then finished with a nervous chuckle since she’s starting to feel nervous. Sensing that Izzy’s not in a good mood, Sunny looked at Izzy, and began to crawl to her whilst babbling to herself again. Seeing this, Hitch went; “aww, that’s sweet. Is wittwe Sunny making Izzy happy again?” Sunny just laughed at the way Hitch baby talked like that, and then began to reach towards Izzy for a hug. Seeing the cute site before her, Zipp dawwed, and then went to look back at her sister Pipp before explaining; “okay… look. Since Sunny’s like this again, do you think maybe we could use anymore of that cure you’ve made?” Pipp whined in response, and replied; “but all of those ingredients were used up! And so is the mask itself… .” Pipp sighs before continuing. “It’s gonna take about a week to get all of those ingredients again… .” Hitch looked towards Pipp in shock from afar, and said; “a week?! Are you serious?! How can we watch over Sunny for about a week?! I gotta do my sheriff job, and parenting Sparky! How am I suppose to handle all this?!” Zipp just chuckled in response, and replied; “who said that you’re watching over her? I am! And so is Pipp!” Sunny cheered in the background whilst being held by Izzy, but then sneezed. Thinking what could go wrong, Hitch sighs, and says; “I guess so… “ and began to leave. “But if you three need anything, then let me know!” Izzy stopped Hitch, and then said; “but wait! I gotta do something too… .” “Like what?” was Hitch’s response. “I gotta go back to Bridlewood, and make more magic crystals… . After all… , you wouldn’t want magic to run rampant again, do you… ?” Sunny sneezed again in the background, and sniffles with a bit of a whine since she’s not enjoying that feeling of what happened after she sneezed. Hitch sighs, then says; “okay… recap. If you two need anything, then let us know.” Izzy smiled, placed Sunny back on the ground, and then bounced to the door. Turning back to look at her three pals one last time for now, Izzy said; “I’ll be back guys! See y’all later… !” Izzy then began to giggle as she and Hitch were leaving. Sunny then whined a bit, and slumped to the floor before saying; “fwiend went away… .” Zipp and Pipp then got nervous as it seems that Sunny might start crying anytime now. Zipp and Pipp were both suggesting activities for Sunny to do, but then Pipp said; “but we can’t have her do anything in the salon… . I just cleaned it.” “And we can’t have her make messes again in the salon either! That’s a lot of shampoo and conditioner that we both had to replace… .” Zipp added. Sunny whined some more in the background, and then laid down on the floor and starts crying a bit due to missing Izzy. Growling since her idea might involve something messy, Pipp suggested; “okay… . How about we have her do some hoof paintings on the walls, huh? What do ya say.. ?” “I say no way!” Zipp interjected. “That’s gonna leave a huge mark on the walls… . Let alone on all of them.” Pipp smirked, and then replied in a bit of a singsong; “Not if we use white paper to cover them… !” Zipp gasped as it was a good idea, and then replied; “Pipp, you’re a genius! Oh how I wish I can hug you!” Sunny replied to that statement by hugging both of them. Albeit a little too tight. “I’ll get the paper… .” Pipp said while being hugged too tight. Sunny is now sitting on the floor, hoof painting on the walls. And what’s more is that Zipp and Pipp managed to somehow find a diaper for Sunny to wear for just in case! How and where did they find it… ? That’s another story for another time. “Wow… . That could’ve been bad… .” Zipp said whilst looking exhausted. “Eeyup! Same here… .” Pipp added while slumping to the ground from exhaustion. Sunny just giggled in response and continues hoof painting while babbling to herself. What happened to Zipp and Pipp is anyone’s guess. Maybe Sunny started crying and then made a mess with the shampoos and conditioners because she threw a tantrum from missing Izzy and Hitch. Maybe Sunny decided to run around, forcing the two to chase her around the salon. Getting Sunny to calm down because suddenly she became energetic and wanted to play… . Or… as Pipp wasn’t so happy about… , Sunny made a mess by flooding the salon with all the water from the salon sinks, and from using the hoof paint to create more of a mess. Again, who knows… ? It’s a mystery… . Few hours later… “What’s taking them so long… ?” Pipp questioned as she’s looking at her phone’s clock on the screen. “It’s been two or three hours… and we still haven’t gotten our food yet… . What’s taking them so long?!” Zipp sighs in response, having been exhausted to deal with the situation, and responded with; “I don’t know… . But I also don’t think Sunny likes the wait either… . Don’t you Sunny?” Sunny replied in the background by whining, and slumping to the floor while clutching her belly because she’s hungry. “I have no idea what’s taking him so long… “ Zipp began again. “Hitch should’ve been back by now… . Where could he… ?” But before Zipp could finish that sentence, Hitch bursted through the doors of the salon breathing heavily. “I’m here… “ Hitch said through heavy panting. “I’m here… . I’m sorry.” Seeing that her best friend Hitch is back, Sunny gasped with joy, and then stood up and waddled to him whilst spreading her forehooves out for a hug. Seeing how cute the sight of his friend trying to hug him is, Hitch held out a hoof, which Sunny nodded to and sat down since he was trying to get her to wait while he puts away the stuff he was carrying, and then gestured for Sunny to continue. With that, Sunny waddled to Hitch, and gave him a hug while nuzzling him. “Hehe, awww. Did ya miss me?” Sunny paused to nod at Hitch before going back to nuzzling him while hugging him. Smiling too, Zipp asked; “did you get what we ordered?” Hitch nodded and pointed to the food bags that he placed beside him for just in case he were to drop them for when Sunny was approaching him for a hug. Seeing what Hitch was pointing to, Sunny got a bit curious, and began to approach the food bags. But before she could even reach for them, Izzy stopped her with an hoof, and said; “uh uh uh… . That’s not for you Sunny! That’s for your friends.” Sunny whined a bit, but nodded in understanding and backed off. Despite having the mind of an infant again, her grown up lessons and manners are still intact. Meaning, even though she has the mind of an infant filly again, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything grown up about her was gone… . Like for example, her manners and instincts… . Plus the lessons she was taught by her dad while he was around about what not to do, what’s good to do, and also what to do if a friend is feeling down. Unfortunately though… not all of her grown up instincts were intact… . Like for instance, potty training. Hence why the diaper. Now back to the story… ! Sunny is currently looking at her pals all jealous while laying down on the ground, and suckling on a makeshift baby bottle her friends made for her for just in case she got hungry in this state that she’s in. Seeing her friend not looking too good, Zipp got up, and went to sit next to Sunny; which caused her to whine and scoot away from her, but also looking at her while having a bottle to her mouth. Smiling slightly, Zipp chuckled a bit, and said; “so… . You’re sitting her all alone now huh??? Heh… . How come?” Sunny responded by scooting a bit while looking all pouty and cranky. Seeing this, Zipp asked; “you wanted to eat some grown up food?” Sunny responded by whining, and slamming her bottle to the ground, but not too hard, just only out of reflex. Sighing, Zipp said; “well how about this. If you manage to drink only milk bottles for the day, how about I give you not just only grown up food, but also some grown up snacks as well! But only if you do what I said, and also if you behave of course… . What do ya say???” Not liking where this is going, since she’s already not feeling like drinking bottles of milk anymore, but also not wanting this chance to slip, Sunny reluctantly nodded and looked to her with some raised fore hooves. Chuckling to this, Zipp smiled, and then said; “that’s what I figured… . Now cmon! Let’s sit with the grownups!” And with that, Sunny was lifted off the floor, given her baby bottle back even though it was empty, and then she was carried by Zipp to where the other grown up ponies are… cuz why not? Sitting all alone isn’t good for that long… . So sitting with friends is a must! Most of the time… . Back at the Friendship Lighthouse… “Whew that was tough… .” Zipp said as she’s feeling exhausted from carrying Sunny too much. Meanwhile Sunny is just giggling and having fun by playing with some baby blocks. Where’d they get the blocks is a mystery… . Or they probably got it from Hitch, or Sprout. Whichever sounds reasonable… . “How so?” Hitch said with a chuckle. Zipp replied with; “having to carry Sunny since she’s been not in a good mood sometimes… .” Hitch chuckled again and replied; “you know you don’t always have to carry her you know… ? You could’ve just gotten her to walk with you, or try to… you know, make Sunny fly by putting her on your back?” Zipp sighs out of exhaustion, and replies; “I guess so… . But then again, I don’t want Sunny to have a tantrum. Remember that story you told me where you accidentally stepped on one of Sunny’s dolls, and she just got mad at you because she thought you broke them?” “Oh, right. I remember now.” Both Hitch and Zipp began to laugh, when suddenly a block was thrown at Hitch’s head. “Ow!” was his response. Looking at who threw that block, Sunny was just staring at them with a glare since she didn’t want to have to relive that all over again… . Even as a baby. Not liking what Sunny did, Zipp said; “no! We do not throw things at ponies! That’s bad. Bad Sunny!” This just made Sunny babble in anger, and then she threw another block at Zipp this time, which thankfully missed. Running low on patience, Zipp demanded; “that’s it! If you throw one more block at me, or any pony else, then you are going to get a timeout, with no sweets after your meals… . Is that understood?!” Hearing her friend’s threat, Sunny grew a little calm, and slowly lowered her hoof that had a block in it. Soon though… she began to look sad, thinking that what she did was wrong. And thinking that her punishment was gonna happen anyways, Sunny began to have tears in her eyes, and then slowly started crying. Realizing what she just did, Zipp soon looked apologetic, and then said; “I’m so sorry Sunny… . I-i-i don’t know what came over me… . I-I’m sorry!” Sunny just looked at her friend while babbling with tear filled eyes, and then continued crying. Now at a loss, Zipp contemplated; “what am I gonna do?! Aww I’m so dead… .” Pipp approached her sibling with a small giggle while mixing her tea in a cup, and then said; “why would you think that? You’re not entirely responsible for her… . I am!” Zipp then replied; “I know, but it’s just… .” Zipp then just growled in frustration and slammed her hooves to the ground. But eventually soon regretted that and began rubbing her hooves together since they hurt now. Sunny stopped crying to see that her friend is now looking sad, and hurt. At first she’s still thinking about staying mad at her for yelling and threatening her like that. But now Sunny is thinking of a way to make her friend feel happy again, and not so sad anymore… . At first she couldn’t think of a way how… . Until she decided that whatever she had in mind will suffice for now, and started to crawl towards Zipp, without her noticing of course. Zipp began to sigh, and then says; “why am I feeling like this… ? I just… .” Zipp sighed again, and then continued with; “I feel like mom when she gets mad at us, you know??? And I don’t like that!” Zipp then crossed her hooves and had small tears in her eyes from having all of these emotions in her. Mostly regret for yelling at Sunny like that, but emotions regardless… . Pipp then knelt down to her sibling’s level, and then said; “hey hey… it’s not your fault. You’re acting like a parent should have… . Even though we’re not parents, except Hitch.” Pipp then began to giggle. Zipp chuckled as well, but then sighs some more before saying; “but it isn’t just that.. . It’s just… well… .” But before Zipp could finish her sentence, Sunny then reached for Zipp, and whined a bit to get her attention. Zipp then looked at Sunny, smiled, and then said; “it’s okay Sunny… . I’m not sad or anything. I promise… .” Sunny whined some more and held out both of her hooves this time. With that, Zipp rolled her eyes with a smile, picks up Sunny, and began to cradle her before saying; “what huh? You thought I was sad, and so you’re trying to make me feel better?” Sunny smiled, and babbles in response. Pipp chuckles at the sight, and then says to Zipp; “you know… , if mom does get harsh with her punishments for you, then it’s probably because she knew that you were trying to either blame me, or that whatever you did was so bad, that even she couldn’t think of anything to punish you with, you know???” Pipp then chuckled, and continued with; “I mean… , it’s kinda like that one time when you blamed me for stealing cookies from the cookie jar when we were little.” Zipp then got that look of remembering something, and then started to laugh before saying; “oh yeah… hehe. Mom was pretty steamed about that.” Zipp then continued to laugh, causing Sunny to whine, and flail her hooves as if to get Zipp to quit laughing at Pipp. Zipp stops laughing, and says; “relax Sunny… . It’s all in good fun, I promise. Now… . Before I go to do some flying stunts, what do you wanna do now?” However, before Sunny could think of an answer, she just yawned and stretched while rubbing one of her eyes as a sign that she’s feeling tired. With that, Zipp replied; “awww… . Is wittle Sunny feewing sweepy?” Sunny whined and flailed her hooves a bit, but then yawned some more as confirmation, and a bit out of reflex too. Smiling and chuckling slightly, Zipp said; “okay Sunny… . I’ll put you to bed, but you gotta do something for me first, is that okay?” Sunny didn’t know what she was saying, but eventually nodded at Zipp’s request regardless. Zipp then nodded back, and pointed to the blocks lying scattered across the floor. “Do you think maybe you can help me put those away? Wouldn’t want our buddies getting hurt and all… . You know?” Sunny gasped, and attempted to get off Zipp’s lap to do her task. But before she could, Zipp held onto her, and said; “woah they’re little one, I’ll help you. Relax… . It’s okay… .” Sunny whined, but then sighs and then stopped in her tracks. Zipp nods, and then says; “let’s get down from here… . Is that okay?” Sunny nodded and then raised her hooves up, wanting to be carried again. Zipp groans and rolls her eyes, but then chuckles, and says; “you think I’m your personal assistant, do you Sunny?” “Goo?” was Sunny’s response due to confusion before being picked up. “You’re silly…” Zipp said before going down to get the blocks cleaned up. Thinking about what Zipp was saying, Sunny just giggled and enjoyed the ride from the second floor to the first floor to clean up after herself. Zipp and the others are all getting ready to go to sleep. But before she could get to her own bed, she heard what sounded like shuffling, and a bit of whining. Thinking that Sunny is up, Zipp sighs heavily; assuming that maybe she still has some energy left, and went to go investigate. To her surprise, Sunny was in her covers fast asleep. Zipp was confused by this, until she realized something, and whispered to herself; “aww… it’s Izzy!” and then went to her bed to investigate. As it turns out, she was right. And Izzy is just sitting up, looking a little cranky, and sad. Sighing, Zipp sat down close to Izzy, and then said; “hey there buddy. Couldn’t get comfy… ?” Izzy nodded and kicked her covers off a bit. Zipp chuckled, and replied; “how about this… . If I tell you a bedtime story, will that make you feel better?” Izzy nodded and got her teddy bear plushie to hug it close to her so she’ll be able to listen to the story more better. Dawwing at the sight, Zipp then began the storytelling. “Once upon a time, there lived a brilliant unicorn named Sparkle Shine.” Thinking that the story’s about her, Izzy gasped in intrigue, and started to lean in closer to hear it better. Zipp chuckled, before clearing her throat and continuing. “Sparkle Shine was a nice little unicorn who knows a thing or two about unicorn cycling. Just like some pony I know… .” Izzy gasped; thinking that this indeed is a story about her, and then squealed in delight, but stopped soon after so Sunny wouldn’t be awoken by that. Smiling and chuckling some more, Zipp then continued on. “Sparkle Shine was a unicorn cycler that knew a thing or two on how to turn ordinary junk, into magnificent works of art, or into amazing inventions… and so on!” Zipp then got out Sunny’s lantern and turned it on, much to Izzy’s amusement, and glee that this story’s indeed about her. In the background, Sunny woke up slightly and started whining; having been woken up somehow… . But before she could make a fuss, or even get out of bed, she saw something that peeked her interest, and began looking at what it was… . She then figured out that it was Zipp, telling a bedtime story to Izzy. Wanting to become a part of it, but also not wanting to get caught, Sunny covertly got out of bed, and began to sneak her way to Izzy’s bed for story time. Right at end of Zipp’s story… “And with that, Sparkle Shine and her friends lived happily ever after… . The end… .” When Zipp finished the story she then went to look again as to whether Izzy was asleep or not. To her surprise, and shock, not only was Izzy asleep, but Sunny too, in Izzy’s bed. At first Zipp was disappointed and began to approach Sunny, but Sunny can sense that she was gonna be moved, and soon started to whine since she’s comfortable where she is. Not wanting her to make a fuss, Zipp sighs out of defeat, chuckles, and then says softly; “you little troublemaker… .” and then leaned in to kiss both Izzy and Sunny goodnight on their cheeks, prompting a cute little giggle and wiggle from both of them. Smiling, Zipp then went to her own bed, and started to fall asleep; awaiting the news on whether Sunny will be able to get back to normal tomorrow or not because of the ingredients delivery… . “Oh how it’s gonna be a very interesting day tomorrow… . Can’t wait!“ Zipp whispered to herself before falling asleep.