Mark Atlas: Future Explorer!

by The Real Mark Atlas

Chapter 9: One Belle of a day

It had been another week since Mark's playdate with his friends last Saturday. While another one wasn't scheduled yet, Mark was anticipating another one soon.

Earlier this week, Mark had taken Fluttershy to Sweet Apple Acres for the first time to meet the Apple Family. Being, well, shy, she didn't have much to offer in the way of conversation, but her face lit up when she saw baby Applebloom for the first time, and Mark and Fluttershy played with her for a good while.

Spending time with Applebloom was the thing Mark most enjoyed about coming over to Applejack's house, and now, being a Saturday, Mark had many more hours in the day to do so.

After playing in the clubhouse with Fluttershy that Saturday, he said his goodbyes and made his way to Sweet Apple Acres. He was originally planning to go exploring today, but he figured that he'll have his whole life to explore, while Applebloom is only going to be a baby for a short time, so it was an easy decision to make.

---

"Granny Smith! Come quick! You've gotta see this! Applebloom has a diaper on her head!" Mark's voice echoed through the Apple family home as he ran into the kitchen.

Granny Smith followed as quickly as she could (which isn't that fast, but she's doing her best), grabbing the camera that was set down on the table.

There, sitting on the floor was her granddaughter, Applebloom, and just as Mark said, over her head and around her bow was a white cloth diaper identical to the one she was wearing.

Getting the infant foal into focus, Granny Smith pressed the button on her camera, a bright flash capturing the image in but an instant.

"Awwww, this un's goin' right in the album," Said Granny Smith, watching the photograph fade in and placing it right into a large scrapbook, the page it was on containing many other photos of Applebloom.

"Oh, wow! Look at how many photographs you've accumulated!" Exclaimed Mark, perusing Granny Smith's vast collection.

"All a' these are gonna remind me of little Bloom. Mah memory ain't gonna last, but these sure as sugar will," Replied Granny Smith, showing off page after page of photographs that she's taken of all her grandchildren.

After getting a good look at them, Granny Smith went back into the kitchen, and Mark had sat on the floor with Applebloom, who still had the white garment affixed to her head, and proceeded to play a game of pattycake with her.

"Mark still playin with our baby sis'?" Asked Big Mac as he stepped into the room, looking over onto the floor, which confirmed his question himself.

"PPBBTT! PPBBTT!" Mark was now sticking his tongue out, pressing his hooves against his puffed up cheeks, young Applebloom amused by this and laughing.

"Ah ain't seen nothin' quite like it," Big Mac said to himself as he watched them. "This Mark kid sure has a way with foals. Ah can never get Applebloom ta stop cryin', let alone get 'er this happy."

At that moment, a firm knocking could be heard at the door, catching everypony's attention.

"Ah'll get it," Offered Big Mac, seeing as how he was the closest to the door.

Answering it revealed it to be Gemini Dream, panting heavily seemingly from exhaustion.

"Do ah know you?" Big Mac asked, the colt not looking familiar to him.

"Is... Is Mark here?" Gemini could barely manage to get out.

"Oh! Hey, Gem! What brings you here?" Mark asked, noticing his friend by the door and waving hello.

"Good... I... I heard you were... here..." Said Gemini, still sounding weary.

"Yeah, I am. From the looks of things, you came here in a hurry," Mark noted, seeing his friend's current state. "So what's up?"

"Rarity... Rarity's baby sister was just born!"

Mark's mouth quickly went agape. "You're kidding!"

"Rarity wanted me to find you! Come on!" Invited Gemini.

"Count me in!" Exclaimed Mark, springing up onto all fours. "Hey, Big Mac. I hate to leave so suddenly, but this is a big deal."

"Hey, ain't no problem, kid. Go ahead," Big Mac said nonchalantly.

"Sorry, little Bloomy. Guess I have to go right now. I'll be seeing you," Mark told Applebloom, giving her a hug before leaving with Gemini.

As soon as the door closed, Applebloom immediately went into a crying fit from missing Mark, to which Big Mac rolled his eyes, picking the foal up to see if somepony could get her to calm down.

---

Arriving at Rarity's house, Mark and Gemini took a look inside the nursery to see Rarity's new sister. After getting a glass of water, of course.

She was currently sleeping in her crib, so they could only take a little peek from the hallway, but they could see that she was a white unicorn, much like her older sister and father, and having a purple and pink mane, although the shade of purple was lighter than that of Rarity. The newborn filly gave a little yawn and stretched under her covers.

"She's so cute... and so tiny," Mark whispered.

"Her name is Sweetie Belle," Rarity whispered back, smiling fondly at the crib. "My baby sister, Sweetie Belle."

"I bet you're going to have a lot of stuff to teach her when she gets older, aren't you, Rare?" Gemini asked Rarity.

"I can't even imagine. I have a sister now. A sister..." Rarity had tears forming in her eyes, the joy she was feeling nearly too much to handle.

Satisfied with their peek, the three left the nursery to let Sweetie Belle have her sleep and returned to the living room, where they got up on the couch to talk about Sweetie Belle, her father in the room and joining them.

"Thanks for allowing us to see Rarity's new sister, Mr. Flanks. Hard to believe she's finally here," Said Mark.

"You're tellin' me, kiddo," Hondo said with elation. "We've been wantin' another foal for as long as I can remember."

"Wait... Where's Rarity's mom?" Gemini asked, looking around and noticing she wasn't here.

"Hold on, I'm here!" Cookie Crumbles's voice was heard from the hall as she came into the living room with a towel over her head and sat down on her chair. "Sorry. I was just freshening up. Today was a real adventure and a half, lemme tell ya."

"Hi, Mrs. Crumbles," Mark greeted with a wave. "Congratulations on Sweetie Belle."

"Aw, thanks, Mark," Said Cookie, giving a warm, friendly smile. "So nice of you to come by and see her. You too, Gemini."

"Hey, I wouldn't want to miss the chance to see the look on Rarity's face when she first sees her sister, would I?" Gemini replied, giving a devious little smirk.

"Oh, you!" Rarity playfully hit Gemini on the shoulder.

This just made Gemini chuckle smugly. That reaction was worth it!

"Mrs. Crumbles, may I please come over and play with Sweetie Belle sometime?" Asked Mark.

"Well, aren't you just a dear for asking so politely? Of course you can, pumpkin!" Cookie happily answered.

"Well, she won't be doing much besides sleeping for a while, just bein' born and all that, but when we get some time, it sounds like a great idea to me, kiddo," Hondo agreed.

"I guess I can help you guys with her when I come over. More time with Rarity and her sister is good in my book," Gemini offered.

"Awww! I promise I'm going to be the best big sister ever, and you two can be like her brothers!" Delcared Rarity, hugging the two with a foreleg each.

"Ah, gee. Thanks, Rare," Mark said bashfully as he was hugged.

"So Mark, between Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity, now you've got three friends with siblings to borrow," Gemini joked, also still wrapped in Rarity's hoof.

"Heh, yeah. How am I going to have time for it all?" Mark joked back, well, sort of. Now that he thought about it, with how many friends he has now, he's had a difficult time juggling between all of them, and he's spent much less time exploring than he did before. He might have to make a schedule at this rate.

Just at that moment, there was a knock at the door, which Hondo got up to answer, revealing an earth pony mare with a pink coat and a red mane, her cutie mark being a red flower with several petals.

"Oh, Azalea. Try and keep it down, okay? Our new daughter was just born today and she's gotta have her shut-eye, you see."

Hondo noticed that she appeared to be tense, her legs quivering.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm happy for you and your wife, by the way, but I really, really could use your help."

"Oh? What's got you so worked up?"

"It's my daughter's pet hamster. He died today, and I need to find a new hamster that looks just like him before she gets back from her friend's house!" Azalea explained while pacing around, too nervous to sit still.

"Oh, shoot. Well, I really think you should tell her the truth about this. You can't keep your daughter away from this kinda thing forever, you know?" Imparted Hondo.

"Roseluck is just too delicate. She freaks out about everything and I can't stand to see her that way. I don't know who else to turn to. It shouldn't be long at all. Please, will you help me?" Azalea pleaded, now kneeling at Hondo's hooves.

Hondo took a deep breath. "You know what? Alright. I'm still thinkin' you should tell her the truth, but I'll lend you a hoof this once."

"Oh, thank you, Hondo! Thank you so much!" She said gratefully as she nodded and bowed.

"Honey, you're going to find one that looks nothing like him without my help. You always miss things when you're in a rush," Said Cookie, stepping up to the door with her towel now removed.

"But you just got out of the hospital, dear," Hondo reminded her. "You should rest."

"Oh, trust me. After everything I've gone through today, this doesn't even hold a candle," Cookie asserted, seeming confident in herself.

"Well that still leaves the problem of who will watch Sweetie Belle while we're away," Said Hondo, not at all content with leaving a foal just born today being left unattended.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Mother, Father! Can I look after Sweetie Belle? Please?" Rarity asked with sparkling eyes.

"Now now, Rarity. Babysitting's a tough job, you're too young, and you've never done it before," Hondo regretfully declined, making his daughter's smile turn completely upside down.

"Well, Honey, Sweetie Belle is probably going to be asleep the whole time we're gone. She's just been fed before being put down for a nap, and it'll only be for a little while. It shouldn't be too hard for them," Cookie noted.

"Well, true. I guess that changes a thing or two, doesn't it?" Hondo pondered it for a bit. It seemed like a simple enough task, given the circumstances. He still had a bad feelikg about it, but was willing to take a chance from a lack of options. "Okay, Rarity. We'll let you watch your sister while we're gone."

"Really? Oh, thank you, Father!" Rarity hugged her dad by the leg.

"On one condition," Hondo suddenly added. "Your two friends here have to stay and help with you. They're good kids, and I trust 'em to give you a hoof. That good with you two?"

"Oh, of course, Mr. Flanks. I'll offer Rarity the best assistance that I can," Mark assured.

"Yeah. I'll stick around, too. If anything goes wrong, I'm good under pressure," Gemini also agreed.

"Alright. You three are in charge for the next hour. Just make sure Sweetie Belle stays in her crib while we're gone, and no takin' her out to play around with her, okay?" Said Hondo, now sounding unusually serious for him as he pointed for emphasis.

Meanwhile, Cookie quickly jotted down a few notes and gave them to Mark.

"Now, here's a list of things for you in case she wakes up. Rarity, Mark, Gemini, please take care of our Sweetie Belle. If something happens to her, I don't know if I can take it. Please, be good and keep her safe, okay," Cookie pleaded, a sharp sense of worry and vulnerability in her expression and tone.

"We promise," The three each said simultaneously, giving Rarity's parents reassuring nods.

"Thank you. And Rarity, if Sweetie Belle is alright when we get back, I'll bake a cake when we get home. Be good, sweetheart," Cookie said before she and her husband departed in the direction of the pet store.

"Farewell for now, Mother. I promise we don't disappoint you," Rarity said at the door as her parents left.

When they were finally gone, she closed the door, leaving Rarity, Mark, Gemini all alone in the room, and Rarity smiled at the two more excitedly than the two have ever seen her before.

"Oh my goodness... We're babysitting!" Rarity squealed, just barely managing to keep her voice down and screaming from excitement, and she hugged her two friends again. "I can't thank you two enough for this. If this goes well, I can show Mother and Father that I can be responsible."

Mark, took a glance at the list of instructions, holding it over Rarity's shoulder during the hug. "Heh, no problem, Rare. Sure, this is kind of sudden, but it's great that your parents trusted us enough for this. This list looks sufficiently detailed, too. We should be able to deal with any situation that could arise."

"Not that it's likely we're going to need them, seeing as she's probably going to be asleep, anyway. This job'll be easy peasy," Gemini figured.

"My parents are afraid to trust me with much of anything. They say I worry, panic, and overreact to things, but if I can do this, I can show them, and maybe they'll let me babysit Sweetie Belle again. You two have no idea how much this means to me," Rarity expressed gratefully, tightening her hug, letting go only after getting all of that out of her system.

"So, do we just... wait around?" Gemini asked, not sure how to go about their job.

"I suppose since she's asleep, we take turns checking up on her every few minutes, but other than that, we just need to make sure not to make too much noise," Suggested Mark.

"Brilliant idea, Mark. I'll gladly take first shift. With the three of us, this should be simple," Stated Rarity.

And then... the filly and colts heard the one sound they were not hoping to hear.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!"

Sweetie Belle's crying could be heard clear across the house, all the way from her bedroom.

Rarity immediately grew uneasy. "She's awake?! But how?! Mother fed her enough to put her to bed for hours!"

"C'mon, Rarity, don't panic! We've got those instructions your mom gave us, so we're fine," Said Gemini. "Mark, what does it say?"

Mark opened up the instructions as quickly as he could, starting up at the top. "Okay, it says that the first thing we do is go over to her and make sure that she's not hurt or sick."

"Let's go, then! My sister needs us!" Ordered Rarity, the three ponies all making a beeline for Sweetie Belle's nursery.

The Atlas Files: Entry ♤☆♡A

My adventures within the land of many apples were brought to a halt when I received the news. A new child was born into a famous and noble family line... relatively speaking, and the entire kingdom had gathered to see her. Well... some of us, anyway. Those details are largely irrelevant. Regardless, we now find ourselves in the midst of protecting this child from all manner of threats. As if to alert us of an incoming attack, she fired off an emergency distress beacon, a rather advanced maneuver for her young age. Not knowing what danger we will soon face, we carefully enter her dwelling chambers, prepared to fight the assassin targeting her.

Opening up the door, the three find Sweetie Belle, right in her crib where she was left, in the midst of a crying fit.

"Agh! She's so loud!" Gemini yelled, his voice barely audible. He had to cover his ears with his wings to drown out the noise.

"I'll handle this!" Rarity declared, bravely running up to the crib to examine her sister. Sweetie Belle's crying gave her a headache, but she fought through it and slid down the crib's mesh wall (Cribs with barred walls that slide down are just accidents waiting to happen. Seriously, do NOT get those for your baby!).

Undoing the covers, Rarity examined her newborn sister. "She doesn't look like she's hurt!" Rarity announced to the others, having to speak up to be heard over Sweetie Belle's crying.

"The instructions say that if she's not hurt or sick, then she's probably crying because she just misses her mom!" Mark continued to read out to them.

"Well, what are we meant to do?! We can't simply wait until Mother and Father get home!" Rarity had both of her hooves to her ears, yet the noise still came through.

"It says to get a pacifer from her bag, just by the crib!" Mark read.

"On it!" Gemini quickly grapped the bag with his other wing, pulling out a pacifier and carefully placing it into the filly's mouth.

Sweetie Belle let out some muffled screams through the pacifier at first, but then her crying started to subside as she softly suckled on it.

All three ponies had to give sigh of relief, the crying finally over.

"Oh, Sweet Celestia... That was dreadful," Said Rarity, rubbing her forehead greatly in an effort to ease her headache.

"Well... at least we got her to stop," Said Mark, rubbing his forehead as well and groaning from the pain.

"Yeah, but my head's probably going to hurt for days," Said Gemini, gritting his teeth.

Then, just as they were in the midst of recovering from Sweetie Belle's crying, her horn began to glow. Still suckling away on her pacifier, she seemed to be just as unaware as the other three.

While they weren't looking, a magical wave shot out of Sweetie Belle's horn, and Rarity, Mark, and Gemini were all lauched towards the ceiling, as if they were falling upward, all three of them hitting their heads.

"Nnnnnnngggghhh! Did I say my head would probably hurt for days? I meant weeks..." Gemini corrected himself ex post facto while his eyes spun in circles.

Mark shook his head and went to open his eyes and gather his bearings again, but he found that his vision was blurry.

"My glasses! I lost my glasses! Where are they?!" Mark wandered around in random directions to look for them while blind as a bat.

"Don't worry, Mark. We'll... find them," Said Rarity, recovering from the pain (slightly) and opening her eyes. Now that she could offer some level of focus, she looked around the room and saw Mark's glasses way off in the distance. "There they are! Over there!"

Rarity tried to go and grab them, but she couldn't. Her senses gradually returning to her, she noticed that the glasses couldn't be reached, because they were too high up. They seemed to be all the way on the ceiling.

Upon closer inspection, she saw that the "ceiling" had Sweetie Belle's crib, dresser, and everything else that was once on the floor. The dots finally connected in her mind that that was the floor, which meant that they were on the ceiling.

"What's happening?! Why are we on the ceiling?!" Rarity yelled in astonishment and panic.

Hearing this, Gemini shook his head, snapping out of his daze and looking upward (well, upward for him anyway) to the floor. "Whoa, you're right! Mark, you're not going to believe this! It's like... gravity is reversed or something!" Gemini jumped, rising towards the floor for a second, before falling backward to the ceiling.

"What?! How is something like that even physically possible?" Mark asked, still not able to see.

"I don't know, but I'm sorry, Mark. Your glasses landed on the floor. I can't reach them," Rarity regretfully informed Mark.

"I can reach 'em," Said Gemini, as he flew towards the floor. Retrieving Mark's glasses, Gemini flew back up and placed them into his muzzle.

His sight returning to him, Mark snapped into reality, almost losing his glasses again when they fell to the floor, but he grabbed a hold of them just in time.

"Hmmm... How peculiar. Gravity is reversed for us, but everything else in the room is affected normally," Mark observed, getting a feel for this new perspective.

"Well, how are we meant to get down from here?" Asked Rarity, looking for some possible way to deal with their situation, but nothing coming to mind.

Gemini pondered the situation as well. He could fly, but Rarity and Mark would still be stuck on the ceiling.

Then, a thought occurred to Gemini. "Hey, wait! If we're on the ceiling, then where's Sweetie Belle?!"

In a panic, they all looked down at the crib to see if Sweetie Belle was still safely there. Thankfully, she was.

"Hold up. I'll go down there and close the crib," Said Gemini as he flew down again.

As he was making his descent, however, Sweetie Belle's horn was once more beginning to glow.

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle let out a massive burp, a wave of magic shooting out of her as she did, the force of this magically charged belch launching the pagasus back upward towards the ceiling.

Expecting to hit his head again, Gemini was surprised when, upon impact, the ceiling was bouncy, springing up and down.

"Gemini! Are you alright?!" Rarity rushed over to see if he was alright, but found that she couldn't move, as her hooves were stuck to the ceiling as if they were glued.

Gemini tried to move as well, but found just as little luck. Worse still, he was on his back, so his wings were attached to the ceiling and couldn't even flap. "Aaagh! Why can't we move?!"

"It's Sweetie Belle! Her unicorn magic is doing this somehow!" Mark deduced, finding that his hooves are stuck in place as well. "She reversed the gravity, and now it appears as if the ceiling has been turned into some type of adhesive, reminiscent of a spider web."

"Why is Sweeite Belle even doing this? And how?" Gemini asked, wriggling to try and break free, unfortunately to no avial. "Aaagh! Stupid sticky ceiling!"

"She's probably not meaning to. Baby unicorns sometimes have these magical surges that they can't control," Rarity explained.

"Did your parents know this could happen?! Why didn't they warn us about this?!" Gemini shouted, the stress of the situation getting to him.

"It's never happened with any unicorn in my family, so we all assumed it was something that just wouldn't happen," Rarity answered.

"Well how do you stop it?! I need out of this crazy thing!" Gemini shouted as he struggled relentlessly on his back.

"Calm down, Gemini. We need to keep it together," Instructed Mark.

"I AM CALM!" Gemini insisted at the top of his lungs.

Rarity was on the verge of a full on panic attack, when she noticed that Sweetie Belle's horn was starting to glow again, as if trying to seal the deal, and she screamed. "What is she doing now?! What is she doing now?! Somepony, make her stop!"

Sweetie Belle giggled in her crib, unaware of the magic surge she was letting loose. Releasing another one, the ceiling the three were attached to flipped around like it was a revolving panel. Their movements restricted, they could only watch as they were taken to the other side, wherever that was.

---

The trio then found themselves someplace dark. The entire area pitch black. All that could be seen were three pairs of eyes that belonged to each of them.

"Uh... Question. Where exactly are we?" Asked Mark.

"Well, the ceiling flipped us around, so that that mean we're in the attic?" Guessed Gemini.

"But we don't have an attic," Said Rarity as she wandered through the darkness. "Oh! I can move again!"

"Me too!" Gemini declared with relief. "Wherever we are, at least we can move."

Mark found that he could walk as well, the stickiness of the ceiling, which was now their floor, gone without a trace. "If you don't have an attic, Rarity, then this must be some sort of magic-induced spatial phenomenon! Astounding! In any case, we need to locate a way back to the room. We can't leave Sweetie Belle unattended."

"How? I can't see a thing!" Rarity whined, her eyes whimpering in the dark.

"Don't worry, Rare. I got you," Gemini assured, holding her close.

Then, a bright light illuminated the area around them through unknown means, and what they saw left them bewildered beyond their imaginations.

The room they were now in looked like some sort of castle, straight out of a children's fairytale book. It spread out widely, far beyond the size of Rarity's entire house, and the walls were made of a white, grainy looking substance.

"What in the world..." Rarity could only gawk at just how wild all of this was.

Meanwhile, Mark examined the material that the castle was made of. Getting a few grains of it on his hoof, he gave them a little lick, and found that it was delightfully sweet. "Mmmm! Guys! The walls! They're pure refined sugar!"

"Dude! Don't just lick stuff!" Shouted Gemini.

"I have a natural curiosity," Mark said in his defense, before licking the sugary sweet wall a little bit more.

The Atlas Files: Entry ♤☆♡B

After answering the distress signal, our world was turned completely upside down, literally. My crew and I got into quite the sticky situation, but then our predicament took a turn. And now, while we are separated from our base, we have manifested in a massive structure, where we are met with what I would definitely consider some sweet relief. One question remains... How do we get home from here. Actually, make that two questions. How big a piece of this place can I take home with me?

"Um... Boys?" Rarity, a look of terror now on her face, got the attention of her two friends, giving Gemini a little poke.

"What's up, Rare?" Gemini asked curiously, looking where she had directed, which made his jaw drop.

There, flying into the room, was, of all things, a gigantic herd of flying, winged sheep. Each bearing an expansive coat of wool and having large, white wings, the fluffy formation flew closer towards the trio at great speed.

"Ewe've gotta be kidding me," Mark said as he stared ahead in disbelief.

Gemini and Rarity both gave him a disappointed stare.

"Sorry," Mark said as the three jumped out of the way in order to avoid the aerial stampede of fluff, running down another hallway and seeing the line of sheep all soaring past them.

"Whew! Let's get out of this crazy place!" Gemini proposed as he took the lead.

"Gemini, do you even know where you're going?" Asked Mark.

"We're sure to find something eventually if we keep looking," Gemini theorized.

"Good point. I doubt we'll make progress towards returning to the house if we stay here," Mark said reluctantly.

"A way back has to be somewhere, right? Tell me it does, Gemmy!" Rarity begged her friend for comfort in this stressful circumstance as her eyes were starting to water.

"I'm pretty sure it does, and we can find it if we keep--" Gemini was saying before a large crash came from the floor of the castle.

Right in front of them, the long, stretching neck of a giant, green apatosaurus came rising out of the floor, and it looked down at the three foals with a mischievous grin.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs while the two colts beside her gasped and stumbled backward.

"Hi, kids! Going somewhere?" The devious looking dinosaur asked while focusing its glare at them.

"Uh... Do you know the way out of here, Mister... whatever you are?" Gemini asked the mysterious creature, trying to process everything being thrown at him.

"Get out? But you just got here! Stay a while, why don't you?" The dinosaur said, licking his lips with his long, gecko-like tongue.

Mark got up and backed away slowly. "I... I need an adult."

"Oh, you wish!" The beast taunted with a heavy laugh. Opening its mouth and stretching out its tongue, it quickly wrapped around the three ponies, pulling them into its mouth and gulping them down, sending the trio down its throat screaming.

---

Next thing they knew, Mark, Rarity, and Gemini were now falling down what seemed to be a sky filled with clouds.

Still screaming as they plummeted, their descent was only halted when each of them landed on giant, floating bubbles. Each of them on top of a separate bubble, they floated around in random directions.

"What... is... happening?!" Rarity cried out as she looked down and saw the infinite void below her.

"Didn't we get eaten by that creepy dinosaur?" Gemini wondered, clueless how they ended up here.

"We did... but now we're... not?" Mark guessed while lying on the bubble on his belly, such that he could hold onto his glasses. "This magic is so erratic and spontaneous. It doesn't follow any coherent logic or reason."

A great number of giant bubbles all blew around, and Mark and company drifted every which way on their separate bubbles. Mark had to put in extra effort to both hold secure his glasses as well as not fall off himself, but the others didn't fare much better, struggling to keep a steady grip on the slippery surfaces.

To their surprise, Sweetie Belle came into their view, riding around not on top of a giant bubble, but floating around on the inside of it as it drifted right past them all.

"Sweetie Belle! There she is! We have to get her!" Shouted Rarity, though being confined to the bubble keeping her from falling, she wasn't exactly in a position to do anything about the matter herself. Not to mention she felt like she could faint from emotional overload.

"Indeed. Her magic is the only feasible method of reversing this," Mark concurred, but could barely hold on and stay afloat, much less chase after her. Scared out of his mind, he took deep breath to keep himself calm.

"Wait a minute! I can fly!" Gemini just realized. Flapping his wings open, he took off from the bubble he was on, and flying after the one Sweetie Belle was in.

"Be careful, darling!" Rarity warned while she watched, Mark barely being able to see ahead with his efforts divided.

Just as Gemini got close to Sweetie Belle's bubble, however, her horn began glowing yet again, and Gemini's wings instantly disappeared, sending him down plummeting and screaming.

Rarity screamed as well seeing him fall before he was saved by landing on another floating bubble.

"My wings are gone! I can't fly! Somepony get me out of this crazy place!!!" Gemini shouted, hanging on for dear life.

"Please stop yelling! You're not the only one who's scared here, and I'm trying to keep it together!" Mark ordered.

"I'M NOT YELLING! YOU'RE YELLING!" Gemini insisted, while of course yelling.

"You're yelling right now!" Mark snapped back.

The bubbles they were each floating on spun around wildly out of control, making holding on to them all the more difficult.

"DON'T PANIC, EVERYPONY! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!" Gemini screamed as loud as he could, Rarity shrieking in terror as he said that.

"Stop it, Gemini! We're not gonna die!" Mark gulped nervously, hoping that he was right. Truth be told, he wasn't sure how to escape this predicament.

"CARE TO PROVE ME WRONG?!" Gemini yelled aggressively as his bubble spun around in circles.

"Look, we need to focus so we can think of something quick before we plunge to our deaths!" Mark insisted.

"Yes yes yes, BEFORE our deaths!" Gemini commented sarcastically.

"Please, no more! I can't take any more fighting! All of this magic is just too much! I want my mother and father! I just want to go home!" Rarity whined before she quickly started bawling her eyes out.

Gemini's ears went down seeing Rarity cry. Realizing she even more scared than he was, and that his panic only added to her anxiety, he started to tear up himself from the guilt.

"Sorry, Rarity! I didn't mean to make you more upset! W-We'll be fine! I... I promise!" Gemini gave the best assurance he could, even though he wasn't sure himself.

"O-Okay..." Rarity sniffled, holding back her tears. Gemini's promise, uncertain as it was, made her a bit calmer. Maybe they really could get through this after all.

Sadly, any hope they each had left diminished when all of the bubbles, including the ones they were on, suddenly popped, leaving them with nothing left to stay afloat, and they all fell down through the sky screaming again.

"What do we do now, Gemini?!" Rarity asked in a desperate cry.

"I... I don't know! But we can make it!" Gemini told her, grabbing a hold of her hoof while still free falling. "I'm not gonna let go!"

Mark tried to hold hooves as well, but needed to hold on to his glasses, lest they get blown away by the wind.

"We need to think! What is there around us that we can use to our advantage?" Mark pondered as he fell.

"I don't see anything besides sky!" Gemini unfortunately reported.

"It's going to be impossible to stop us from crashing into the ground now!" Said Rarity as the winds blew her mane during her descent.

Then, just like that, the three ponies landed in a gigantic mold of orange gelatin, bringing their fall to a soft, cushiony, delicious halt.

"Actually, it was super easy, barely an inconvenience," Mark said with surprise before he and the others took a much needed sigh of relief.

"Is this... gelatin?" Gemini asked himself. Swimming through it, a little bit getting into his mouth. "Hey! It is!"

Wanting to make the most of the situation, Mark took a huge mouthful of gelatin before swimming out of it with the others.

Reaching the outside, Mark then swallowed the gelatin and licked his lips. "Is... um... everypony okay?"

Rarity tried to shake off the orange, sugary slime covering her, but so much of it was stuck in her coat and mane. "I'm fine, but... eeew! It's all sticky! How horrid!"

"Not how I'd wish for a fall to be broken, but beggars can't be choosers," Said Gemini, shaking off the gelatin from himself as well. "But hey, at least we made it to the ground."

The Atlas Files: Entry ♤☆♡C

Our so-called "sweet relief" was cut short when we were nearly sent into unconsciousness, not by counting sheep, but by being bombarded by them. Irony is a cruel mistress sometimes. After eluding their assault, we came face-to-face with a terrible lizard, emphasis on terrible. Not only is irony cruel, but she showed that she also really loves to burst my bubble. I took a drop from the sky which seemed to go on forever. The good news is that my fall was broken. The bad news is my fall was broken by a treasure much too massive to take back with me, so I must depart without it. Having landed safely, however, we continue our journey through--

"Oh... my..." Mark and the others were was so distracted, none of them even noticed their surroundings. At the same time, they all looked to see what looked like Ponyville, but their jaws all hit the floor when they saw what had become of it.

While there was not a pony in sight, all across the town, giant 90 foot tall dinosaurs like the one in the castle were stomping around, thousands of flying sheep were soaring through the sky, and a giant teddy bear was floating through the sky as well, shooting lasers from its eyes that made explosions of popcorn wherever they landed.

MUSIC: https://youtu.be/ggSAHi50MXU

The trio screamed in terror, running frantically for their lives.

"We gotta get outta here!" Mark shouted as he sprinted.

"Where do we even run to?!" Gemini wondered aloud, as they were all surrounded by danger in all directions.

Then, Sweetie Belle, still inside a bubble, floated right in front of them, giggling inside and drifting away in the breeze.

"My sister! After her!" Ordered Rarity, the three all chasing the bubble down, but it just kept blowing further away the closer they got.

A herd of low flying sheep were soaring left and right, making a huge wall of moving obstacles. They couldn't stop, as the giant teddy bear in the sky was right on their tails, its laser beams growing ever closer and the sound of exploding popcorn growing louder behind them.

"DODGE THE SHEEEEEEP!" Gemini cried out.

Having no time to slow down, the three all swerved left and right, avoiding the sheep as they passed, keeping their pursuit of Sweeite Belle, who whisked past all the hazards as well, seemingly blown by the wind.

Several dinosaurs then surrounded them, each bending down their decks to grab them in their mouths, but the young ponies swerved and avoided every single one.

"Under the dinosaurs, quick!" Mark instructed, him and company going under their bellies.

The beast's necks stretched far, but not far enough, so Mark, Rarity, and Gemini ran as fast as they could underneath.

"AAAAAHHH! HELP!" Rarity shrieked, the two turning back and quickly noticing that a dinosaur stretched out its tongue and wrapped around her leg, now pulling her in.

Mark and Gemini tried to pull Rarity back, but they didn't have nearly enough force to do the job, and they were being dragged along with her.

"Oh no you don't!" Gemini, realizing that he couldn't overpower the massive creature, leapt forward and stomped on its tongue, making it retract its tongue from Rarity as it recoiled in pain.

The trio then got back on track, running after Sweetie Belle, when she approached a house and the bubble flew right in the open front door.

"Hey! That's our house!" Rarity exclaimed in realization.

"Hurry! Let's get inside!" Gemini shouted, feeling short of breath, but not daring to stop.

Then, just as the trio were in front of the house, about to enter, a giant hippopotamus appeared in front of it, right out of thin air!

"Heya! Come on and dance with me!" The hippo said in a silly voice while hula dancing in a grass skirt, blocking the way inside the house.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Gemini snapped in annoyance and frustration.

"Um, I believe we have other problems at the moment," Said Mark, patting Gemini on the shoulder and directing them to the floating teddy bear, eyes glowing red and ready to shoot at them.

"Noooo!" Gemini yelled, pulling Rarity and leaping back with her just before they were hit, Mark leaping the opposite direction as the laser shot right past them and hitting the hippo, turning it into popcorn and exploding on the spot.

"Hippo's gone! Advance, advance!" Commanded Mark, Gemini and Rarity heeding his orders and rushing inside the house, then getting the door shut with a firm lock.

Inside the house, Sweeite Belle's bubble drifted down the hall and floated all the way towards the nursery.

"There she is! To Sweetie Belle's room!" Rarity pointed to her and chased her down.

Then, the three finally made it back to the very room from whence they started, panting and gasping as they sat down to catch their breath.

[END OF MUSIC]

The three foals, so shaken by everything that happened to them, had to regain their composure after finally being able to breathe again, being so close to what could have been their doom with barely any time to process any of it.

"Oh, Gemini! You saved me! I was so scared!" Rarity sniffled and sobbed, leaning into Gemini for comfort.

"Ah, it was nothing, Rare," Said Gemini, holding her in his hooves.

"It wasn't nothing! It was everything! Without you... I would have..." She said while nuzzling into him and crying.

"Well, I thought it was really brave of you back there, Gem," Praised Mark, patting him on the back.

"I wasn't going to let Rarity get hurt after I promised her we'd be okay," Gemini replied.

"I... I'm so sorry, you two. I never would have let you agree to help me babysit my sister if I knew it was going to be this dangerous," Rarity said as she sobbed.

"It's not a problem, Rare. I would have agreed to help you anyway," Gemini said, wrapping his hoof around her for a hug.

"And hey, we all made it back safe and sound, so it's all good," Mark added.

"Wait... We all did?" Rarity looked up for a second, her focus brought to the crib. "Wh-What about Sweetie Belle?"

Mark, Rarity, and Gemini quickly rushed over to the crib to see if Sweetie Belle was back inside, but to their regret, it was completely empty. Their gaze covered every inch of the room for any sign of her, but she was nowhere to be found, and save for the three, the entire nursery was silent.

"My... My baby sister... She's gone!" Just as soon as Rarity had thought she had gotten all the tears out of her system, they came right back, the grief of losing Sweetie Belle to who knows what kind of magical mishap stirring her up all over again.

Mark and Gemini couldn't help but shed tears as well. With how much chaos had ensued, she could be anywhere by now, if she was even... still around.

"I'm so, so sorry, Rarity," Said Gemini, hugging Rarity tightly with his hoof again.

"She... She had her whole life ahead of her!" Lamented Rarity, her eyes pouring out tears like waterfalls. "I... I never g-got to t-teach her anything or... or spend any time with her at all! What am I supposed to tell Mother and Father?! I failed as a big sister! Poor Sweetie Belle is g-o-ooooooone!"

Mark didn't even know what to say. He couldn't even begin to fathom the sense of loss Rarity must be suffering. He could only think to hug her tightly and let her mourn as she needed to.

Just when they had all abandoned hope, after Rarity cried her eyes out for about a minute, a bubble floated into the room. In their emotional states, they didn't notice it arriving, much less that Sweetie Belle was inside, until the bubble drifted towards them, popping on contact and leaving Sweetie Belle on the floor.

Upon feeling the pop, they each turned around, their grieving frowns turning around slowly as they took in what they were seeing. There she was, Rarity's one and only baby sister, completely unharmed.

MUSIC: https://youtu.be/-2GESYkK2ZQ

"Sweetie Belle!" Exclaimed Rarity as she scooped up her sister into her hooves.

"She's alive! She's really alive!" Gemini elated with a hop in the air.

"And she's not hurt a bit!" Mark cheered with relief, wiping the tears off of his eyes and glasses.

Rarity's face a bright red from crying so much, her expression turned bitter. "Don't you scare us like that, Sweetie Belle! I was afriad you were dead! You've caused us nothing but trouble today! Your magic almost got all of us seriously hurt or worse! You've been a bad baby sister! Bad!" Rarity scolded angrily.

In response to her sister's outburst, Sweeite Belle was so confused and afriad that she started crying.

"Rarity... Sweeite Belle didn't mean to do all of this," Explained Mark, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "She was just born. She probably doesn't even know why you're yelling at her to begin with."

Rarity gave an ashamed frown, ears folded downward and she cradled Sweetie Belle softly to calm her down. "You're... You're right. I'm so sorry, Sweetie Belle. I didn't mean to lose my temper. Shh shh shh... It's okay. I'm not angry anymore."

Sweetie Belle's crying slowed down as she was soothed until it came to a stop, and then Rarity placed her ever so gently into the crib.

Seeing that her sister was growing tired, Rarity placed a pacifer into Sweetie Belle's mouth, which she gladly accepted.

"You know, even after all the trouble she's caused us, I can't be mad at her, either," Admitted Gemini, wiping off the sweat from his forehead. "I'm just glad we're all safe."

Just like that, Sweeite Belle's horn started to light up with a magical glow.

"Take cover!" Mark ordered, the three all ducking before the magic surge went off.

As soon as it did, a fairly strong wind blew through the room, and Gemini's wings reappeared on his back.

Feeling them flap up and down, he turned around and saw them. "My wings! My wings! Sweetie Belle's magic brought them back!" He hugged his own wings tightly in his hooves, hoping they'd never be gone again.

Sweetie Belle giggled as she suckled her pacifer with her eyes closed, and her horn shot off one more time. Then, bright light began to shine in the air throughout the room.

When the magic settled, the three ponies looked up to see a magical projection of lights. In the center was an image that looked like Sweetie Belle's head. Identical ones that looked like Rarity, Mark, and Gemini's heads all appeared around the image of Sweetie Belle, and they all circled around her inside of a giant heart.

"How beautiful! It's... It's simply divine!" Rarity said, her eyes sparkling at this beautifully stunning array of lights.

"Cool! What do you think it means?" Asked Gemini as he marveled, never seeing anything like it before.

"I think Sweetie Belle is saying... she loves us," Mark figured, an adoring smile coming to him at the thought.

"Awww! Sweetie Belle! We love you, too!" Rarity squealed delightedly, giving her sister a little kiss on the forehead.

Soon enough, the lights all faded, and Sweeite Belle didn't make so much as a peep as sleep claimed her once again.

"Let's... let her sleep," Mark quietly proposed, lifting up the side of the crib.

"Good idea," Rarity whispered in agreement. "After all of this, I think I need some rest, too."

"Yeah... I need some time to stretch my wings again," Gemini whispered as well, and the three ponies left the nursery with silent steps.

Before they all went down the hallway, Rarity turned back to see her sleeping sister one more time.

"I promise... I'll love and protect you forever..."

[END OF MUSIC]

---

Meanwhile, elsewhere in town...

"Wait a minute... You're not Bubbles! Bubbles was brown! This one's tan! Help! My hamster's been replaced by an evil clone! The horror! The horror!"

The young filly named Roseluck ran out of the house screaming.

---

Mark, Gemini, and Rarity were relieved to see the effects of Sweetie Belle's magic had worn off. The town was no longer wrought with havoc, and ponies were going about business as usual, as if nothing had ever happened.

The three had to take turns in the bathtub cleaning themselves up after getting covered in gelatin (Mark and Gemini let Rarity go first because they knew it bothered her the most). After that, they sat around and waited for Rarity's parents to get home.

Just as Cookie Crumbles promised, they were baking a cake as a reward for looking after Sweetie Belle. As it was in the oven, she was holding her infant daughter in her hooves in the living room, discussing with Rarity and her friends what happened while they were gone.

"So, Sweetie Belle had a magic surge that did all of that? Good heavens!" Cookie looked at Sweetie Belle with shock and a little bit of fear. Raising a new foal just became a lot tougher of a job than anticipated.

"It was totally insane! You wouldn't believe all the crazy stuff that went on while you were gone! I can hardly believe it myself, and I lived it!" Gemini recalled the events that transpired, the memory of being eaten alive, losing his wings, and subsequently free falling miles into a dessert sending chills down his spine.

"Oh, but Gemmy here saved me! I would have been a goner if it weren't for him! He was so brave and heroic!" Praised Rarity, hugging Gemini tightly.

"Well, I guess we owe ya big time, kiddo. Thanks for lookin' out for our daughter. Knew you were a good kid," Said Hondo, patting Gemini on the back.

"You're a real peach, Gemmy. You know that?" Cookie joined in praising Gemini.

"I'm glad we're in agreement. Gemini was... what's the technical word for it? Oh yeah. Awesome," Said Mark.

Gemini smiled and chuckled bashfully from being showered with attention and compliments left and right. He didn't know what to say.

"Sorry about all the trouble, kids. Baby unicorns having problems with magic never ran in either of our families," Hondo apologized.

"You caused a weawwy big wuckus, didn't you, Sweetie Weetie Bewwe?" Cookie lisped cutely to Sweetie Belle, bouncing her up and down in her hooves and nuzzling her softly.

"Well, we're all unharmed, so no worries, right?" Mark said with a shrug, his friends nodding in agreement.

"Now Rarity, this sure has convinced me you're responsible enough to be home alone, but with Sweetie Belle and her magic being able to go crazy again, we'll probably need to get a special babysitter to watch her," Said Hondo, not entertaining the idea of endangering his daughter like this again.

"Oh, I cannot agree more!" Rarity exclaimed, earlier today hoping to be trusted to look after her baby sister, but now glad she won't have to anytime soon. "Babysitting Sweeite Belle is a job for a trained professional. Just... be prepared to give hazard pay."

Rarity, her friends, and her parents all laughed, knowing it was probably true.

Mark and Gemini stayed over for dinner and had the cake when it was finished. Cookie held Sweetie Belle and kept her calm for the afternoon until she was tucked into her crib. No more magical shenanigans happened, but they kept their guard up. They knew they would have to for a while until she was older.

The Atlas Files: Entry ♤☆♡D

One could say that this mission was more than I bargained for. The young one my companions and I were entrusted with looking after was capable of more than we ever could have conceived, and we narrowly avoided our demise on multiple occasions. Still, it was an experience that I ultimately believe was worth having, as it taught me a valuable lesson. You never really know what you have to prepare for until you're up against a dancing hippopotamus obstructing your path, or a plush toy capable of turning you into a salty snack. The life of an explorer must be filled with numerous unforseen circumstances, and this adventure has given me a taste of that. Now I know I must always be prepared for any eventuality.

---

One day, many, many years later, when she was a grown mare, Rarity heard a knock on the door to her childhood house, which had since been remodeled into Carousel Boutique.

Answering it, she saw that it was Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who were desperate to find someone to watch their one month old twins, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, for the day while they worked for a complicated catering order that was due soon.

The fact that Pumpkin was a unicorn coming to mind, Rarity was filled with traumatic flashbacks to what happened on that one fateful day, long, long ago.

"Moi? Babysit? Uh... Oh, no no no no no no no no no no!" Rarity declined while sweating profusely and shaking her head.

Disappointed, Mr. and Mrs. Cake departed, now unsure of what they were going to do, having exhausted all the options they had considered.

"I'm flattered that you would think about me though," Said Rarity as the two left.

Author's Note:

Wow. Just wow. I originally planned this chapter to be a "crack" chapter, filled with random chaos, and while to its credit, it had quite a bit of random chaos, I didn't think it would get so emotional towards the end and have such character development.

It always sort of struck me as odd that Rarity, who represents generosity, not only declined to babysit the twins in the Cake's hour of need, but also was the only one they asked that declined without a reason. Well, this explains it quite nicely, and I'm looking for great ways to tie my story in with the official canon.

Since I was in the process of makikg tie-ins, I figured while I was at it, I would explain why the flower ponies were always freaking out and inciting panic. In Roseluck's case at least, she was a product of snowplow parenting. Makes sense, right?

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was more fun to make than you can imagine.