Another night, and still no progress made on Sunset Shimmer’s secret project. The girl let out a sigh as she stashed her notes away into the safe in the corner of her room and she moved over towards her bed. “I’m running out of ideas… Well, not really ideas, but I don’t exactly have the equipment I need to carry out most of them.”
After climbing into her bed and making sure that she was comfortable, Sunset reached over towards the light switch above her head and flicked the lights off. “Why does it have to be so hard to get my hands on some proper scientific equipment and materials? I can’t even find a decent lab to work in…”
The phone on Sunset’s bedside table vibrated and the screen lit up, alerting her to an incoming text. She reached over towards it and opened the message coming form an unknown sender. A smile crept across her face. “Well well… That’s one problem solved at least… Oh.” Sunset’s smile fell as quickly as it had formed, and with a sorrowful sigh she placed the phone back down. “Great… I knew there’d be a catch. Without money, I guess there’s not much chance of me continuing this research much longer.”
Sunset Shimmer rolled onto her side and yawned. “I’ll deal with this problem tomorrow. For now, I need to make sure I’m ready for tomorrow…”
The following morning, Sunset Shimmer arrived at full of energy and ready to take control of the preparations for Vice-Principle Luna’s surprise party later that evening. In honour of her twentieth year working at the school, Principle Celestia had given the students the day off to work on the party in secret whilst she kept her sister busy by taking her on a shopping trip… two towns over.
Sunset Shimmer naturally took charge of the whole operation, and was met with very few objections. The students admitted that her abilities to lead and organise large-scale events such as this was unrivalled within school, and some voiced their support for her on just this alone.
Many others, however… “WHAT COLOUR STREAMERS DID I SAY?!” Sunset shouted as she closed in on the three boys carrying streamers with them.
“B-Blue, ma’am?”
“And what colour do you have with you right now?!”
“G-Green?”
“Oh, so you aren’t colour-blind. Just stupid?”
“T-The store was out of blue streamers, so we-”
“Then in that case, GO TO A DIFFERENT STORE!” Sunset roared. “And while you’re at it, return these for a FULL REFUND! Our funds are very limited, you know?!”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!” The three boys took off. None of them dared to talk back to Sunset Shimmer when she was angry, nor did any of them feel brave enough to flat-out refuse her orders.
“And you three!” Sunset shouted towards the four boys standing in the middle of the gym and simply talking to each other. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“We’re just talkin’,” one of the boys said. “Chill out, man.”
“Chill out? I gave you a job to do, and we don’t exactly have all day, now do we?”
“And we’ll get it done. Just not now.”
Sunset approached the boys, her eyebrows creasing and her eyes flaming as she drew near. “Or, perhaps you were thinking you could just pretend you’re working whilst really just leaving your job for others to take care of?”
The boys all gulped and backed away. “W-What? No! Of course not!”
“Then explain why there is currently a freshman pinning up the banner that I told you to pin up.” None of the boys had any answer to that. “That’s what I thought. Now the way I see it, you have to choices: do the tasks you were assigned to, and I mean now, or find your club funds suspended for the next three months!”
The boys gasped. “Y-You can’t do that!” one of them protested.
Sunset closed in on him, their faces mere inches apart. “Try me.”
After a moment of silence, the boys turned and left to their assigned duties. Sunset Shimmer watched them for a few moments to ensure that they were actually getting back to work, and then gave a nod as she looked down at her checklist. Behind her, Applejack and Golden Harvest couldn’t help but giggle at the way the boys were so easily scared into submission by her.
“Say what ya want ‘bout her,” Applejack said to Golden Harvest, “But she knows how ta get things done ‘round here, that’s for sure.”
Golden Harvest nodded. “I’ll bet nobody else in this school can get those lazy boys to work.”
“You two!” Sunset yelled to the two girls. “Did I give you permission to start chatting amongst yourselves? Those chairs need to set out within fifteen minutes! Now get to it!”
As Sunset walked away, Golden Harvest leaned over to Applejack and whispered, “I still say she’s a slave-driver, though.”
Applejack chuckled and picked up two folding chairs. “Well, ‘least she ain’t cracked out the whips yet.”
Sunset Shimmer looked over her checklist and marked off ‘ice sculpture’ as Big Macintosh wheeled the sculpture of howling wolf past her. “Don’t drop that thing on the way to the freezer!” Sunset shouted to Big Macintosh. “That thing cost us a lot of money!”
“Eeyup!” Big Macintosh shouted back as he continued his task.
Sunset lowered her checklist and sighed. “Speaking of money, I still haven’t found a solution to my problem yet…”
“What problem?”
Sunset jumped back and spun around with a start. She found Pinkie Pie standing directly in front of her, smiling and tilting her head to the side. “Y-You! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?!”
Pinkie Pie pulled a notepad out of her hair and flipped through a few pages. “People ask that a lot of me! Good thing I keep a record here of all times they’ve told me that! Let’s see here… Thirty-two times! Second only to Vice-Principle Luna!”
“… Well then stop it!” Sunset shouted before slamming her hand into her face. “Look who I’m talking to. She won’t learn.”
“So what’s the problem?” Pinkie Pie asked. “You said you had a problem. Is it something I can help with? I love to help my friends out with their problems!”
“I know,” Sunset deadpanned. “It’s nothing, though. Anyway, shouldn’t you be doing something right now?”
“Oh, I’m done with that!” Pinkie Pie said.
“You’re done watching that quarter I placed on the ground?” Sunset asked in a sceptical tone. “The one I asked you to watch indefinitely until I came back?”
“Well, here’s the thing. Rainbow Dash came by and asked what I was doing, and I told her you gave me a super-important job for the preparations for Luna’s party but then she picked up the quarter and told me you were pulling my leg, which I said was impossible because you were inside and I was all the way out in the courtyard! Then she hid the quarter from me so now I can’t find it, and if I can’t find it I can’t watch it, so I came here for my next assignment!”
Sunset groaned. ‘So much for that plan.’
“Hey, about that problem-”
“I told you it’s-” Sunset stopped herself and tapped a finger against her chin. ‘Actually… It’s a long shot, but it should at least keep her distracted, if nothing else.’
“Yes?” Pinkie asked expectantly.
“… Okay, so here’s the deal,” Sunset said, wrapping an arm around Pinkie Pie and walking her away from the other pupils. “You see, I’m running a little short on pocket money lately, which is bad because there are a lot of things I want to buy.”
“Like what?”
“Just… things,” Sunset said. “Anyway, I was thinking of getting a part-time job, but the only offers I found lately are in the evening, and that cuts into my personal time that I’d can’t afford to lose. I’m really busy at the moment.”
“What with?”
“Just… stuff. So, what I want you to do, Pinkie Pie, is go to the library, access one of its computers, and don’t come back until you’ve found me a part-time job nearby that does afternoon shifts on the weekend only.”
“Oh, I got one of those!” Pinkie Pie said.
Sunset froze for a moment. “… You what?”
“Yeah. I got a job like that. Afternoons on the weekend, and sometimes on weekdays, too.”
“Y-You do?” Sunset asked.
“Yuh-huh. It’s a babysitting job for Cakes’ twins. Heeey, maybe I could ask them if you can sit for them sometimes!”
Sunset’s mouth hung open, but no words came out. ‘I-Is she serious? I mean, that’s great if she is! With a job I can earn money, and with money I can create my own Elements to overthrow Celestia!’
“Actually,” Pinkie Pie said, “Maybe that isn’t such a good idea. I mean, you gotta be verrrrry responsible when it comes to sitting kids, y’know?”
Sunset scoffed. “I’ll have you know I’m very responsible! Take a look around! Could any other student lead a group like- YOU TWO!” Sunset looked past Pinkie Pie at two boys sitting down on a table and chatting. “Did I say you could rest?! GET THAT TABLE OVER TO THAT WALL NOW!”
“Y-Yes, ma’am!” the two boys shouted as they jumped up quickly and moved the table together.
“That’s not the quite the same thing,” Pinkie Pie said. “That’s leadership, not responsibility.”
“Whatever,” Sunset said. “Children are easy to deal with.”
“Oh? You’ve sat for kids before?”
“Of course not. They’re loud and needy and ruin my good reading material… but they’re easy to understand and to figure out. And I did read a book on foal psychology one time. It was very informative.”
“First off, these aren’t foals,” Pinkie said. “Second, stiiiiill doesn’t inspire much confidence.”
“Pony, human, whatever! I’m sure there’s not much difference. Nothing a quick Google search won’t fix, anyway.”
“Tell you what,” Pinkie said. “I’ll convince the Cakes to give you a chance. You sit the kids with me, and we’ll see how you do! That sound good?”
Sunset huffed at the allegation that she alone was not enough to sit a couple of kids. Regardless, though, this was the chance she had been searching for. A chance to earn more money so that she could buy more materials and equipment, and a way into a more advanced laboratory than her bedroom with a basic chemistry kit on her table. “Fine. Deal.”
“Great!” Pinkie Pie cheered, grabbing Sunset’s hand and shaking it.
Sunset turned around and walked towards the stage, reading over her checklist again and comparing it to the progress made on the stage. She stopped and frowned. Turning around, she found Pinkie Pie right behind her, still smiling as she remained silent. “What now?”
“Well, I need another task!”
Sunset grumbled and had to restrain herself from tearing her checklist in half. “… J-Just go watch the clouds outside and let me know if you find one shaped like an astronaut.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Pinkie Pie said as she saluted, before bolting off in a cloud of dust and a stream of confetti.
“That girl is just one big nuisance,” Sunset sighed as she plucked the confetti from her jacket. “Now let’s just hope the other one hasn’t seen through-”
“HEY!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she stormed towards Sunset Shimmer. “There’s no such thing as ‘headlight fluid’!”
At the beginning of that weekend, in the early morning of Saturday, Sunset Shimmer left her house shortly after breakfast and boarded the bus to Sugarcube Corner, the café that her employers worked at. Whilst she rested her eyes in the back corner of the bus, Sunset Shimmer brooded over the utter failure of the party she had spent so much time and energy preparing. “Would it have killed even to say, even once, “Oh, by the way, my sister is allergic to carrot cake”? Out of all the times Luna has come over, she couldn’t mention that once?”
Sunset wasn’t sure what she was annoyed more by – the fact that Celestia never supplied with that bit of vital information, or the fact that she just happened to pick the one cake that the cake-loving vice-principle could not eat.
The bus skidded to a halt. As its doors opened, Sunset gave a curious look to find Pinkie Pie climbing on and paying the driver. She sighed as the pink girl turned her way and ran excitedly down towards her. “Gooood morning, Sunset Shimmer!”
“Morning,” Sunset replied as she scooted as far into the corner as she could when Pinkie Pie took the seat beside her. “What kind of babysitting job starts at ten in the morning?”
“The kind where the parents have a really long journey and they can’t take their kids for reasons I didn’t hear because I was distracted by the kid breaking my Pac-Man record!”
“Unbelievable,” Sunset said as she rolled her eyes.
“I know, right?!” Pinkie shouted as she slammed her hands onto her lap. “I worked hard setting that high score, and not only does he just completely own it, he even uses those vulgar initials! What if one of the babies saw it?!”
“They’d slobber and drool and be utterly clueless. Just like babies always are,” Sunset replied flatly.
“Hey now, I hope you brought your kind face today! You know that children are easily influenced by negative behaviour.”
“They’re not even a year old yet,” Sunset pointed out. “And I swear, if they start grabbing my hair, I’m out of there.”
Pinkie frowned. “Y’know, this might just be what you need. If that’s how you feel about kids, then you’ll never make a good mum after you meet ‘Mr. Right’.”
“Like I care about any of that. Even as a pony, stallions never caught my fancy.”
A moment of silence fell between the two. “So you’re into girls then?” A blush across Sunset’s face caused Pinkie to assume her conclusion was correct. “‘Cause I’m totally fine if you are!”
“I’m not!” Sunset shouted. “I just… Look, it’s none of your business anyway, but I don’t care about stuff like dating or raising children! It’s stupid, it’s pointless, and frankly I have better things to do with my time!”
As Sunset turned away to look outside the window beside her, Pinkie lowered her head and stared at her feet. “… You think Rainbow Dash is cute? ‘Cause I think she’s into girls too, and you two would make such a cute couple.”
Sunset Shimmer slammed a hand into her face. “I swear, this job had better pay well.”
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie Pie entered Sugarcube Corner with Sunset Shimmer following behind. The store was closed for the day, and the two owners were feeding their children at the counter, both wearing formal attire that caught Pinkie’s eye. “Ooh, fancy duds! Where ya going?”
“Were you not paying attention yesterday?” Mr. Cake asked, though Sunset noted his tone didn’t show much annoyance or disbelief, but sounded very casual. As though he wasn’t the least bit surprised to have to explain things to Pinkie Pie more than once. She made a mental note of the similarity they seemed to share.
“Sorry, my mind was distracted,” Pinkie apologised with a slight giggle.
“We’re going to the funeral of Cup’s aunt,” Mr. Cake reminded, casting an awkward silence through the air.
“Oh… I’m sorry, Mrs. Cake,” Pinkie Pie said.
“My condolences,” Sunset added.
“It’s quite alright, darlings,” Cup Cake said. “She was a distant relative, so I didn’t really know her all that well. The trip is long, though, and Pound’s going through his first teething, so I didn’t feel comfortable with bringing them along.”
“You must be Sunset Shimmer.” Mr. Cake extended his hand towards the girl, who shook it with a nod. “My name is Carrot Cake, and that’s my wife Cup Cake.”
“‘Carrot Cake’?” Sunset asked, followed by a gag that gave Carrot a strange look on his face.
“Ah, sorry,” Pinkie Pie said for her friend. “She’s had a bad experience with a carrot cake recently. Y’know, the desert, not a person.”
“Yes, well, I’ve heard certain things about this girl,” Carrot said as he looked down at Sunset Shimmer, “But Pinkie Pie asked me to give you a chance, so I’m sure you can’t be a bad girl.”
“She’s alright once you get to know her!” Pinkie assured her employers, pulling Sunset Shimmer close into her personal space.
“Do you have experience with children?” Cup Cake asked.
“Well of course,” Sunset replied, earning a confused look from Pinkie Pie. “Before I started High School I used to watch my little cousin all the time.”
“But have you ever sat for babies?” Carrot Cake asked. “There’s a world of difference there.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Sunset responded confidently as she approached one of the giggling babies on the counter and leaned down to smile at them. “Hello, kids. We’re going to get along well today, aren’t we?”
“Let me introduce you,” Pinkie Pie said. “This one’s Pound Cake.” She pointed to the one with short brown hair wearing a light-brown top. “And this one’s Pumpkin Cake.” She then pointed to the baby with short orange hair wearing a blue top with flowers on it, who in response reached out and grabbed Sunset’s nose.
Sunset yelped and quickly backed away, glaring at the two giggling infants sitting before you. “Yes… A pleasure to meet you,” she said as she rubbed her nose.
“Well, if you need any help, just ask Pinkie.” Carrot Cake stepped around the counter and whispered to Pinkie, “And if any problems arise-”
“Don’t you worry, Mr. Cake!” Pinkie Pie picked up the two twins, who laughed and cheered in her arms. “We’ll be juuuuust fine, right guys?” The twins responded by reaching up to Pinkie Pie’s hair and making two very high-pitched sounds that would have made Sunset cringe if she wasn’t attempting to keep up appearances.
“Alright then, we’ll leave it to the two of you then.” Carrot Cake opened the door for his wife to walk through.
“Please keep an eye on Pound,” Cup Cake said before she left. “Since his teething began he’s picked up Pumpkin’s old habit of chewing on whatever he can find lying around.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave my sight!”
“He’s on the counter,” Sunset said, alerting Pinkie to the fact that the child had somehow worked his way out of her arm and onto the counter.
Pinkie Pie quickly scooped him up and shot one final smile at the Cakes, who exchanged a worrying glance before leaving the store. “… Why did you say that?” she asked as soon as the door had closed. “You said you’ve never sat for kids before, so why-”
“It’s not like they’re going to look into it,” Sunset said. “It’s just easier to say that I have.”
“You shouldn’t lie in front of the babies.”
“They don’t even understand us.”
“That’s not true. They understand us completely!” Pinkie held up the two babies and moved her face closer to them, causing both of them to start laughing again. “Isn’t that right? You two are smarter than you look! I see it in your eyes.”
“So how does this work then?” Sunset asked as she looked around, taking note of the nice layout of the furniture and the soothing aroma in the air. She wondered if she should visit this shop more often. “Is there a checklist or a timetable we need to follow?”
“Nope!” Pinkie Pie said. “Well, there’s a list of allergies and emergency numbers on the fridge, but other than that we just play with the kids and make sure to feed them when they’re hungry.” A familiar scent entered Pinkie’s nose, causing her to gag and quickly hold the babies at a distance. “And… one other important duty, too.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, but when the same scent reached her nose too, she caught on to what Pinkie Pie was saying and quickly covered her mouth and nose with her shirt. “You can’t be serious!”
“It’s our job! Don’t worry, I’ll show you how with Pumpkin first, then let you try with Pound.”
“Why don’t you just do both if you’re so good?!”
“You want this job, don’t you?”
Sunset considered how desperate she really was for this job… and decided that she was very desperate. “Fine,” she conceded with a sigh. “Go ahead. Share your wisdom.”
‘I need the money. I need the money. I need the money.’ Sunset Shimmer repeated this inside her head as she rubbed the soap against her hands under the hot water of the bathroom sink. Even though she had not touched the ‘business’, after getting so close to it she couldn’t help but feel… contaminated? Diseased? Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to risk eating anything until she was sure her hands were clean.
Satisfied finally after five minutes, Sunset put the soap down and shut the water off. “Maybe instead of banishing Celestia, I’ll have her spend the rest of her life foalsitting all the babies of Equestria…”
Sunset rolled down her sleeves and left the bathroom, finding Pinkie Pie waiting on the other side. She stopped and prayed that she didn’t hear her in there. “You all done?” Pinkie asked, receiving a nod from Sunset. “Great! The kids are watching cartoons right now. Wanna help me fix some lunch?”
“I brought my own,” Sunset said.
“Oh… Well, why don’t you go watch TV with the kids then? I think you’ll like it. It’s really funny!”
As Pinkie Pie walked down the hallway with a hum, Sunset followed after her with a scoff. “Cartoons? I grew out of those when I was five.”
As the cartoon mouse dropped the anvil on top of the cartoon cat’s head, the children laughed and waved their hands in the air, whilst Sunset Shimmer simply remained frowning. “Not only is this an insult to the laws of physics, but is this really something that kids should be watching?” The cat picked up a dynamite stick, apparently believing it to be a cigarette, and lit it. As expected, it exploded in his face, leaving him surprised as he coughed out rings of smoke. Sunset fought the grin trying to force itself on her face. “Stupid…”
Pinkie Pie walked into the room to join the three, carrying a tray of cupcakes and a glass of hot chocolate. “Ooh, this is a good episode!”
“I was wondering what was taking you so long,” Sunset said as she lifted up one of her sandwiches. “Is that really your lunch?”
“Yup! I’m a growing girl, and I need lots of energy in my diet!” Before Pinkie Pie could take the first bite out of her ‘meal’, Pound Cake suddenly began to wail, startling the two girls. Pumpkin Cake soon joined in, causing Pinkie to sigh and place her tray down. “Right on time…”
“What’s wrong with them?” Sunset asked as she put her own lunch down and stood up to approach the children.
“Don’t worry,” Pinkie said as she walked towards the kitchen, soon returning with a bag of flour. “I got this.”
“What are you-” Sunset quickly backed away as Pinkie Pie held the flour above her head and… let it loose. “… What, pray tell, was that supposed to accomplish?”
Pinkie Pie stared in disbelief as the two babies continued to scream. “I don’t get it! That always works!”
“Well, it didn’t this time,” Sunset deadpanned. “Now if you’re quite done trying to make yourself a delicious treat, perhaps we could try to feed them?”
“Yes! Of course!” Pinkie Pie raced into the kitchen and this time returned with two bottles of milk. She offered them to the babies, but both of them simply knocked the bottles away. “I guess they’re not hungry then… And we just changed them, so what could it be?”
Sunset tapped a finger against her chin, her eye twitching as the piercing sounds of the babies’ crying continued to go through her mind. She thought back to what the Cakes had told them that morning, wondering if there was anything relevant. “Maybe… Maybe Pound Cake is teething…”
“But what about Pumpkin?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“She could be crying because Pound is.”
“Teething… Teething…” Pinkie groaned as she held her head in her hands. “I don’t know what to do! The Cakes didn’t tell me how to handle that!”
“Where’s his pacifier?” Sunset asked. Pinkie motioned for her to follow her into the kitchen and led Sunset to the two pacifiers lying on the counter. She picked up the one of the right.
“This one, but what are you-”
“I read this in a book,” Sunset said. “Go back to the babies and see what you can do.”
Pinkie Pie was curious as to what Sunset had planned, but agreed that at least one of them should be with the twins at that time. She left the kitchen and entered the living room, where the babies’ crying seemed to have gotten even louder. “H-Hey, guys! How about a song?!” Pinkie took in a deep breath of air. “Olllllllld McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!” The crying got louder still. “AND ON THAT FARM HE HAD A-” Hands started to slam on Pound Cake’s table as the crying continued to grow in volume.
“Are you quite done making it worse?!” Sunset shouted as she re-entered the room, carrying Pound Cake’s pacifier in her hand.
“Sorry!” Pinkie apologised. “What were you doing in there?!”
Sunset made her way to Pound Cake. “I read in a book that this helps with teething! ‘Draw water into a pacifier and freeze it’!” Sunset offered the pacifier to Pound, placing it into his mouth. His screaming grew to a steady silence as he seemed to accept the pacifier and happily began to chew on it.
“It worked!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “But… Pumpkin’s still crying…”
Sunset turned to Pumpkin Cake, who was indeed still crying and screaming and reaching her hands out. Sunset considered what to do in this situation.
“Mama! The doll Aunty got me is broke! It won’t stop making this noise!”
“Sunset, dear, it’s not broke. It’s crying. Just like a real baby.”
“Well it’s loud and distracting! How do I shut it off?!”
“You do what you would to calm down any crying infant. You hold it gently, bring it close to your chest, and gently rock it back-and-forth.”
“Like this? … Hey, it worked!”
“Now you know for next time!”
“Wait, it’s going to do it again?! UGH! Why couldn’t Aunty have got me a quieter doll?!”
Sunset sighed as she reached towards Pumpkin Cake and lifted her out of her seat, surprising the young girl but not halting her crying just yet. “Gently hold her… close to my chest.” Sunset held the baby just as she had her doll in the past, and brought her closer towards herself. Already the effects were obvious as Pumpkin’s screaming quieted to sobs and hiccups. “Now rock her back-and-forth.” Sunset began to rock the child, slowly at first but then building up her speed a little as it not only seemed to calm her down, but also bring some form of enjoyment that made Pumpkin Cake laugh.
“Wow! You did it!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she clapped her hands. “I knew you’d be a good babysitter! I can’t wait to tell the others about this!”
“How about you don’t?” Sunset asked as she looked over her shoulder and glared at the pink girl. “Unless you want to be the janitor’s assistant for the next six months.”
“But you’re so good at it,” Pinkie said with a deflated look. “Why wouldn’t you want others to know how good you are with children?”
“Heed my words, Pinkamena Dianne Pie,” Sunset Shimmer said, her rocking becoming a little faster and Pumpkin’s laughter dying down as she gagged on something in her throat and her face turned green. “If you tell anyone about this, I will-”
“BLECH!”
Sunset’s arms stopped their swinging as she felt something heavy on the front of her, and smelled something awful coming from the same direction. Slowly, she turned her head towards the girl in her arms, who seemingly found something quite amusing about the present she had given her sitter.
“We’re home!” Carrot Cake announced as he entered the store. He received no answer as his wife followed in and he removed her coat for her, so he made his way towards the living room to make sure that everything was fine. On his way, he noticed that the washing machine had apparently been turned on at some point, and took a curious look inside to find the clothes that Sunset Shimmer had worn that day.
Cup Cake entered the living room and gasped at what she saw. Besides a few toys scattered about the floor, the room was very tidy and, in fact, looked cleaner than how she left it that morning. The crib by the couch was occupied by two sleeping toddlers wrapped up snugly in their blankets, and the couch itself was occupied by Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer, who seemed to be wearing Pinkie Pie’s pink-over-blue overall dress.
The TV that they were apparently watching was simply showing static, whilst the VCR showed that the tape inside was wound all the way to the beginning and was ready to be played. The two girl were sleeping side-by-side, with Pinkie’s head rested on Sunset’s shoulder whilst Sunset Shimmer seemed to have been trying to pry the other girl away in her sleep. Quite fruitlessly.
Cup Cake made her way over towards the two sleeping girls and gave the two a little nudge, stirring them out of their sleep. “We’re home,” she said quietly to avoid waking up the babies. “I take it everything went okay?”
The two girls yawned and rubbed their eyes as they sat up on the couch. “It went fine,” Pinkie Pie said as she stretched her arms. “Sunset here was a really big help, especially when Pound started teething.”
“I see.” Cup Cake turned to Sunset and smiled. “Thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Sunset said in a drowsy voice. “I knew that taking care of kids would be easy.”
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Carrot Cake offered as he walked into the room. “It’s getting pretty late. I can call your house and let your parents know where you are.”
Sunset’s mind immediately woke up at the invitation to spend dinner with Pinkie Pie. “No thanks,” she quickly said. “I should really get going.”
“Are you sure? It’s no trouble.”
“Really, I’m fine,” Sunset said as she rose to her feet.
“Well then, I guess I’ll just pay you then.” Carrot Cake reached into his wallet and pulled out a few notes. “And I’d be more than happy to hire you again,” he said as he handed some money to both girls.
“You totally should,” Pinkie Pie said. “She needs the money more than me, anyway. For, uh… stuff.”
Sunset picked up her bag and put the money away into her purse, making sure to count it as she did so. ‘That should be enough to rent out a lab for a few days, but I still need more for the equipment I need.’ “Well then, I’ll be going now. It was a pleasure.”
As Sunset began to leave, Cup Cake made her way over towards her children with Pinkie Pie, whilst Carrot Cake followed after Sunset to see her out. “Oh, Miss Shimmer?” Sunset turned to face him. “Do come by tomorrow. Your clothes will be clean by then.”
Sunset looked down at the clothes that she was wearing and blushed. She turned away and grumbled as she made her way towards the door. ‘And this is why I am never going to have children. Ever!’