Not long after the Dazzlings are defeated, things return to normal at Canterlot High. That is until Sunset Shimmer stumbles upon a five-year-old Trixie
Coverart, which is what this fic was inspired by, from HERE
Note that this is set during and after Friendship Games, which means obvious spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
With The Dazzlings' defeat, things have returned to normal at CHS.
However, that doesn't last long. Trixie is being punished for what she did to the Rainbooms, despite her actions leading to the Sirens defeat.
She decides to forget about it whilst enjoying some tasty peanut butter and crackers. However, after just a bite she notices and odd flavour. Also, why is the hallway getting taller? And why are her clothes so big suddenly?
Now a five-year-old and with her family living all the way on the other side of the of the country, what will happen to the now Small and Adorable Trixie?
If you can't tell what the romance tag is for, watch the second movie and Sunset in the scene when they first might Human Twilight in the third.
Never mind. Thanks to Timber, the original plan for the romance tag is null en void. Maybe I'll change it for Flash. What do you think?
Several days after Equestrian Magic was seen in the skies of Canterlot
“Ooh, peanut butter crackers,” Sonata smiled, putting a coin into the machine and watching the packaged crackers and peanut butter drop from the slot.
“Sonata!” the blue-skinned human-formed Siren looked up as she took her prize from the machine opening to see Aria stomping towards her down the hall.
“Oh, hi, Aria,” she cheered, waving her open hand.
Said hand was quickly grabbed by the light-purple skinned girl, who glared at the other. “What part of Adagio’s plan about staying low to scope this place out did you not understand?!” the Siren growled. “We’re meant to go straight to the Principal’s office to make her and the Vice Principal do what we want.”
Sonata blinked confusedly, before smiling again and humming, letting a little of her magic slip from her pendant into her voice. “Want some peanut butter crackers?” she asked, holding the packaging out.
Aria snarled, grabbing the food item from the younger Siren’s hand. “You five-year-old!” she tossed the item back at the machine, by pure dumb luck, getting it directly in the opening. “Don’t waste your magic like that! Now, quit fooling around already and come on, or Adagio will have our heads, though I’ll make sure I at least get to watch her have yours first!”
With that she dragged the pouting Sonata down the hall to meet with Adagio so they could use their powers to sway the principal and her sister to their will.
She failed to notice the fading shimmer of the magic Sonata had left on the peanut butter crackers, nor that her words altered the effect on the magic sinking into the food.
Trixie grumbled as she walked into Canterlot High at 6am.
She still couldn’t believe Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were punishing her with early detention and chores for making The Rainbooms fall down that trapdoor so that she could take their place in the final of the Battle of the Bands a few days ago.
If she hadn’t done that, then The Rainbooms would’ve been up against The Dazzles whilst their friendship was still a bit rocky due to the way they were handling their band. If that had happened, there was a good chance The Dazzlings’ dark magic would’ve been stronger and The Rainbooms would’ve lost and everyone would now be under The Dazzlings’ control.
And it wasn’t like she really had control over what she’d been doing. It was the spell The Dazzlings had placed upon her and all the other students. You’d think that would get her off the hook for it
But, because of what she did, despite having not been herself at the time, The Rainbooms had not only been able to make up, but the power of their magic had been so strong that it had completely finished off The Dazzlings, making it so they could never use their dark magic again.
If anything, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna should be thanking her. It was her actions that ensured The Rainbooms were able to defeat The Dazzlings.
Without Trixie, they would all be puppets for those Sirens.
But was she getting thanked for her actions inadvertently saving them all? Oh, no. She was being punished as if she was responsible for the opposite.
“There really is no justice for Trixie in this world,” she muttered as she walked towards the only vending machine in the school that had her favourite peanut butter crackers.
She reached for her wallet and opened it, before frowning. “Seriously? I’ve no coins?!” She groaned. Why couldn’t Celestia and Luna just upgrade the machines to those kinds that take notes too? It wouldn’t be that hard.
Annoyed that the world was denying her even a little bit of happiness during this stupid punishment, she kicked the machine, regretting it a second later as she hopped on one foot, muttering “Ow! Ow! Ow!”
However, as her toes’ pain lessened, she noticed something in the opening where the food drops after being ordered.
Her eyes lit up. A pack of peanut butter crackers.
“Maybe the world isn’t against Trixie today,” she declared, taking the free item, opening it, sticking a cracker into the peanut butter and taking a bite.
She gave a satisfied moan of delight as she tasted the peanut butter, before a slight frown played across her face.
Something tasted... odd about the peanut butter.
Checking the used by date, she saw it wasn’t off.
Trixie scratched her head. If it wasn’t the date, was did the peanut butter taste so odd?
She turned to look at the machine to see if maybe the colouring of something was different with the only ones... before she blinked.
Just moments ago, her eyesight was perfectly aligned with the row above the peanut crackers. Now, it was on par with the row with the peanut butter crackers.
“What in the world?” Trixie scratched her head. Something was up here.
Suddenly, Trixie felt her skirt slipping. Moving a hand down, she stopped it, frowning.
“This skirt fit Trixie just fine before. Why is it suddenly too big? Is Trixie losing weight?”
She blinked, noticing her jacket sleeves were longer than they had been a moment ago, each had slid down to almost covering her hands.
More confused, Trixie glanced around. Was someone playing a joke?
Suddenly, she noticed the hall seemed a lot bigger than it had before.
As she watched, it kept seeming to grow taller around her and her clothes seemed to be getting bigger.
Trixie knelled down so her skirt wouldn’t fall, slight panic starting to settle in.
Was she...? Was she shrinking?!
She felt a overwhelming urge to start crying.
What is wrong with me?! she thought angrily, shaking her head. The Great and Powerful Trixie is no child! She isn’t going to start crying when she doesn’t know what’s going on!
Once she had calmed her mind, though she still felt a tear well up in each eye, Trixie opened her eyes again and looked down at herself— only to cry out in shock!
She had gotten smaller! If she stood, she estimated that she would barely standing above the first row in the vending machine.
Her clothes were ridiculously big now; her hands only reached half way down the sleeves of her jacket.
“H-hey! What happened to me?” she cried, realizing her voice was a lot higher pitched now, similar to when she was younger. “What sort of trickery is this?!”
She looked around, suddenly feeling scared. It was understandable that she was scared— she’d just gone from a teenager to a child, for crying out loud! However, this was not just rational fear.
As she looked around, she noticed just how big everything was compared to her and had to fight the urge to start crying again.
She was scared... of the school. It was so big and she was now so small.
“I... I can’t let anyone see me like this!” I said to herself, trying to move, but realizing her clothes were now too big and tripped over them.
“Who’re there?!” a stern, unhappy voice called from down the corridor, one Trixie recognized as that of Ms. Harshwhiney.
Trixie eeped, deciding to get out of the clothes holding her down and wear whatever she could.
She stepped out of her dress, which slid to the floor the moment she wasn’t trying to hold it up anymore and ran, holding the bottom of her jacket, which now was so big it covered her whole body.
Her eyes frantically darting around for a place to hide, Trixie saw one of the music room doors was open.
Deciding to take a chance, she bolted inside and closed the door, then ran over to one of the small cupboards and hid inside.
“I’m glad Principal Celestia gave us permission to practice today,” Sunset Shimmer said as she and the rest of her friends walked down the halls over Canterlot High, dodging around the students milling around before next class started. “I could really use something to unwind, what with all this trying to figure out how magic’s working around here, not to mention the Friendship Games starting the day after tomorrow.”
“Well, we did save Canterlot High, again, from dark magic,” Rainbow Dash said, smirking as she held her guitar. “A little reward here and there isn’t too much to be expected.”
“Really, Rainbow?” Applejack asked, giving a displeased look. “Ya’ll better not try milkin’ that like ya did before, like when we beat Sunset.”
Dash rolled her eyes as they entered the music room. “Yeah, yeah, AJ. I was only joking around.”
“Uh-huh,” the farm girl answered, not convinced.
“Come on, girls!” Pinkie cheered, rushing towards her drums, and twirling the sticks in her hands. “Let’s rock it!”
Sunset nodded and they all got into position, waiting for Sunset to start them off. However, Sunset hesitated.
She frowned, glancing around the room. Ever since Twilight had first visited CHS and defeated her, she’d been able to sense magic, like that the girls possessed that let them Pony Up whenever they played their music, which she could now do when playing music, too, of course and that Dash had somehow done yesterday at the pep rally.
However, it had also been what made her feel off about The Dazzlings when she’d first met them. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but, being a unicorn from Equestria in this world and having been exposed to the Elements of Harmony, she had been sensing the magic within them, it being much stronger surface wise than that of the girls, because The Dazzlings had come from Equestria, like she did.
Her pause was because she could faintly sense magic and not from her or her friends, nor did it feel like Princess Twilight's magic either. It was very faint though.
“Uh, Sunset?” Applejack cocked an eye at the yellow-skinned girl. “Somethin’ up?”
“I don’t know,” Sunset shook her head, her eyes still scanning the room. “I... you’ll probably think I’m crazy, but... I think I’m sensing magic.”
“Well, since we are all getting ready to play, that isn’t much of a surprise, darling,” Rarity said, tapping a few of the keys on her keytar.
Sunset shook her head again. “No, it’s not any of our magic I’m sensing.”
The girls all glanced at each other. “Uh, what are you talking about?” Rainbow asked uncertainly.
“The only ones we know with magic are us and Twilight,” Fluttershy said, before hiding behind her long pink hair. “Unless you count the Sirens, expect that we sort of took away their magic, didn’t we?”
Sunset blinked, before her eyes narrowed. That’s why the magic felt off. It seemed vaguely like The Dazzlings’ magic.
Putting her guitar down slowly, her eyes fixed on one of the cupboards. That was where the magic was the strongest.
She nodded to the girls, then to the cupboard and their expressions firmed and they all started slowly playing their music. If The Dazzling were hiding, they didn’t want them knowing they’d figured out their location.
Sunset moved closer, until she was right in front of the cupboard door.
Carefully she reached out, grabbing the knobs, before yanking the cupboard open.
However, instead of seeing the three Sirens in human form crouching in wait within the cupboard, what she saw caused her mind to blank for a moment.
A little girl, maybe five-years-old, with blue-skin and white hair with wisps of blue through it. What was more odd, the little girl looked like she was wearing a jacket similar to Trixie’s, yet it was so much bigger than the girl that it covered her whole body and bunched where she’d pushed it up so her hands were free. In her hair she wore a pin that Sunset remembered Trixie always wore.
The little girl stared up at Sunset in terror.
Sunset blinked, not sure how to react.
Her hesitation seemed to be what the little girl had been waiting for, because she lunged out, tackling Sunset to the ground due to the older girl not having seen it coming.
“Sunset!” the other girls cried.
The little girl quickly squirmed off of Sunset's chest, before she bolted out of the room.
The girls all hurried over to help Sunset up, whom was still shaking her head, trying to process what had just happened.
“Who was that pipsqueak?” Dash asked as Sunset got back to her feet.
“She kinda looked like Trixie,” AJ said, scratching her head. “How would that work? Ya think she's a little cousin or sumthin'?”
“Oh, the poor dear,” Fluttershy said, glancing at the door. “She seemed so scared.”
“She’s where I felt the magic coming from,” Sunset said, turning and hurrying out the door, the girls quickly following after her.
“What do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked as they ran, dodging around students, following the path the little girl was heading in by watching the confused expressions of each student she’d passed and seeing from direction of faces growing confused where she was headed.
“I don’t know, Rarity,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “But after Vice Principal Luna asked me to try and figure out how to make sure the magic we have doesn’t show up during the Friendship Games, we can’t just ignore something odd happening, no matter how small.”
They followed the direction of the child until they reached the front, where several members of the soccer team were practicing, since they weren’t allowed on the fields due to them being prepared for the Friendship Games.
“Heads up!” Flash, who was practicing with the team, called, kicking the ball.
It missed Thunderlane, shooting passed him.
Unfortunately, the little girl had been right in the direction the ball was heading. Before she could react and everyone only had enough time to realize what was about to happen, the ball collided with the little girl’s face and she toppled backwards.
“Oh, crud!” several of the players cried, as Sunset and the others hurried over to where the girl was lying on the ground, Fluttershy and Sunset kneeling down.
The poor girl’s nose was bleeding from where the ball had impacted her face.
“Hey,” Sunset said, lifting the girl’s head and shaking her lightly. “Kid, are you okay?”
The girl’s eyes fluttered and she slowly opened them. She blinked up at Sunset for several moments, before her eyes widened and she looked down at her hands, which slid out from the long sleeves and they moved with gravity's pull.
The girl lifted a hand to her face, pulling it back to see the blood from her nose.
Tears welled in her eyes and she burst out crying, reaching forward and clutching onto Sunset. “Trixie doesn’t want to be a child!”
Everyone all stopped, their eyes widening at what they just heard.
“You know... she kinda does look like Trixie,” Soarin said, cocking an eyebrow.
“And just how could she be Trixie?” Rainbow asked, turning to him. “People don’t just randomly turn into kids overnight.”
“Says the girl who randomly Ponied Up right in front of everyone yesterday,” Thunderlane answered calmly.
Dash opened her mouth to retort, but stopped. He had her there.
“Rarity, get Principal Celestia or Vice Principal Luna and tell them to get to the infirmary,” Sunset said, standing up, holding the little girl who could very well be a somehow age regressed Trixie in her arms. “I’m taking... um, Trixie to Nurse Redheart so we can deal with these scraps and bloody nose.” When she’d fallen backward, the possibly-Trixie had scrapped herself a bit on the ground, so those would need attending to as well.
Rarity nodded and hurried inside towards Principal Celestia’s office. Meanwhile, Sunset and the other hurried towards the infirmary, wondering just what the heck was going on.
“You said you sensed magic in the room you found Trixie hiding in, Sunset Shimmer?” Vice Principal Luna asked.
They were all in the infirmary, gathered around the bed the little girl was sitting on.
Rarity had quickly found some clothes for her to wear that fit her, a simple blue shirt, yellow skirt and blue shoes, though she had grudgingly not made something fancier at Sunset's request.
Sunset sat next to the little girl, who held onto the older girl's arm, looking sacred as she glanced around at everyone and everything. She had several bandaids on her body, including her arms, knees, elbows and even one on her right cheek.
During her treatment, she had admitted that she was indeed Trixie, though she sobbed and sniffled throughout it all
Sunset nodded, looking down at the child clutching onto her arm.
“Ya think maybe The Dazzlings left a little surprise fer us and Trixie blundered into it by accident?” Applejack asked, looking around at those gathered.
Sunset shook her head. “The magic around... um, Trixie is faint. I think it was from before they got very far, probably before they even got to you and your sister, Vice Principal Luna.”
“Hmm,” the Vice Principal said, before looking to the quivering child. “Trixie, did anything odd happen before you turned into a child?”
Trixie shook her head. “T-Trixie just had some peanut butter crackers from the vending machine, then she shrank to a five-year-old.”
Luna frowned slightly. “Which one?”
Trixie pressed herself a little more against Sunset. “Um... the one closest to the entrance. Th-they were just sitting in the open slot at the bottom. I hadn’t had any since The Dazzlings first got all of us and...”
“Maybe one of The Dazzling, you know, that Sontata girl, got those crackers and started using her magic and another one of them told her she was like a five-year-old and, because magic was being used, it effected the peanut butter crackers, so when Trixie eat them it turned her into a five-year-old?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head.
Everyone else just looked at her.
“What I say?” she asked, shrugging.
“Well... that was pretty descriptive there, Pinkie...” Applejack said, scratching her neck. “Ya’ll were guessin’?”
“What else?” the pink girt cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Well, the last time you made a guess with that descriptive an answer, you guessed Twilight was a pony princess from Equestria,” Dash said, looking uncertain.
“So, you can understand our uncertainty with what you just guessed and how it pertains to little Trixie here, darling,” Rarity agreed.
“Huh,” Pinkie said, putting a finger to her mouth. “Next time I have a guess like that I gotta remember to enter the lottery.”
“Yes. Well, regardless,” Vice Principal Luna turned to Sunset and Trixie. “Sunset Shimmer. Whilst I know have already asked you to look into the magical goings on to ensure we don’t have to forfeit the Friendship Games to Crystal Prep, seeing as Trixie’s condition also seems to have been caused by magic, I’m afraid I must ask you to keep watch over her as well, until such a time as we can get Princess Twilight to assist in the matter. She might know had to revert Trixie back to her original age.”
“Well, Twilight has told me she has experience with Age Spells,” Sunset said, thinking, before looking around at the others, a thought occurring to her. “Won’t Trixie's parents notice something’s up?”
Luna shook her head, folding her arms. “Trixie lives in a flat paid for by her parents. They live on the other side of the planet, but sent Trixie to Canterlot because they wanted her to get a better education.”
Trixie sniffled. “Trixie has nowhere.”
Sunset looked down at the teary-eyed girl, then smiled, placing a hand over her shoulder. “I’ll look after her. Don’t worry.”
Luna nodded. “Very well, then. Now that that’s all settled, if you’ll excuse me, I must speak with my sister. The students of Crystal Prep will be arriving tommorow and we will both have to discus several matters with Principal Cinch and Dean Cadance, so we will have to get our affairs in order.”
As she left, Rainbow looked around at the girls. “So, how about we get back to practice, huh?”
Sunset glanced down at Trixie and nodded. She felt it better the rest of the school didn’t immediately learn about Trixie’s condition... though, technically, a fair few students had seen her running in the halls wearing her jacket. There wouldn't be any shortage of rumors.
Still, maybe once the Friendship Games were over, she could really focus on what happened to Trixie and how to get her back to normal. For now, she had to worry about the other magical problems facing her.
Trixie awoke to a warmth surrounding her body. She snuggled closer, sighing contentedly. What a weird dream. Turning into a five-year-old after eating some peanut butter crackers?
She giggled to herself for the silly notion, regardless of how odd her school had become since magic first arrived, the idea of someone regressing physically into a child was just too ridiculous.
She noted her voice sounded a bit higher than usual when she giggled.
She shrugged. The voice was weird when one first wakes up in the morning.
She moved to get up, before realizing someone had their arms around her.
At once her mind jumped to the worst case scenario, someone had come into her room in her sleep and was lying in bed with her...
She quickly dismissed this. She had locks on her home that could only be opened from the inside. The only way someone could have gotten in would be to break in and she had burglar alarms for just such a chance occasion, which would have woken her up.
So... who was holding her? Had she gotten a boy over last night and they’d fallen asleep after doing... certain things?
Now that she paused to think about it, she noted how much bigger the person was. And not simply a bit taller, she was the size of a child compared to them.
She cringed. The only person she knew of ridiculously large size was Bulk Biceps and she knew that big-muscled softy would never have the guts to sleep in a girl’s house, so that idea was muted.
As she shifted, she realized she wasn’t wearing her usual nightie. She opened her eyes, only to raise an eyebrow. She was pressed against someone’s chest... a girl’s chest.
Lifting her head a bit, Trixie made the sleeping face of a yellow-skinned girl.
Sunset Shimmer? she realized, before her eyes watered as her mind caught up.
Yesterday wasn’t a dream. She really had turned into a five-year-old. She really had been put in Sunset’s care and slept over at the former unicorn’s home.
Tears welled in her eyes and she clutched onto Sunset, her tears soaking into the other girl’s shirt.
The dampness seemed to rouse the Equestrian from her sleep. Sunset felt her shift, make a “Hum?” sound, before she felt arms tighten around her.
“Trixie, what’s wrong?”
“W-wasn’t a dream,” Trixie sniffled, her voice muffled by Sunset’s chest. “T-Trixie really is a child.”
Trixie felt Sunset shifting her position until the little girl was seated in the older one’s lap as Sunset gently rubbed her back and the back of her head, hushing her.
“It’s okay, Trixie. I’ll figure out how to turn you back. I promise I’m not going to give up unless I know this can’t be reversed, okay?”
She sniffled, nodding into Sunset’s chest.
After several minutes, at least, Trixie thought it was a several minutes, Sunset rubbed her back once, saying, “Come on. We’d better have breakfast and had off to school. Just cos you're a little kid now, doesn't mean you should be late.”
Trixie pouted up at Sunset, agreed and followed her out the loft bed.
Trixie's face was covered in a blush as she walked down the street, holding Sunset’s hand. The Equestrian had decided that they’d eat breakfast out.
When she’d asked Sunset why she’d allowed her to sleep in the same bed, Sunset told her that, seeing as it had been a long day and Trixie had fallen asleep on the way to the apartment where Sunset lives, she’d given the girl a quick bath, dressed her in some pajamas borrowed from a neighbor and thought Trixie would freak out if she woke up in a strangers house all on her own, so had let her sleep in her bed with her instead.
Trixie hated that she found herself agreeing, namely because she was humiliated by the idea that someone else had bathed her. Sleep or no, she had been a teenager two days ago, damn it!
She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a bell tingling. Looking up, she found she’d entered Sugar Cube Corner.
“Hi, Sunset!” Pinkie Pie waved from behind the counter. “Hi Cute and Adorable Trixie!”
Trixie’s blush turned into her whole face going beat red. Cute and adorable?! And did she have to cheer it so loud; several other patrons had turned and were looking in their direction?!
Sunset chuckled, walking up to the counter. “Two servings of breakfast muffins, Pinkie. Blueberry.”
The pink girl nodded, typing into the cash register that, if she weren’t still fuming at her, Trixie would have been alarmed.
Once Sunset had paid for their food, the two walked over to a booth and sat down. Not five seconds had passed, before the energetic girl was just suddenly there, tipping a pair of muffins in front of both girls, along with a mug of coffee in front of Sunset and a choc-peanut butter milkshake in front of Trixie.
It was as the girl turned to leave them, that an odd thought occurred to Trixie. “Uh, Sunset?”
The other girl made a noise of acknowledgement from behind her mug, before setting it down. “Yeah, Trixie?”
“If the pink one is working right now... how will she make it to school on time?” Trixie never did understand why some students took jobs that had morning shifts on a school day.
Sunset just shrugged. “If it were anyone else, I’d agree. But, it’s Pinkie Pie, so I’m not going to question it.”
Trixie was about to respond, before she realized it would indeed be pointless. After what happened in the infirmary yesterday, maybe not trying to figure out how Pinkie Pie worked was a better idea.
Putting that aside, she turned her eyes too her milkshake, putting the straw in her mouth and began eating her breakfast with gusto, not noticing the smile on Sunset’s face as the yellow girl watched her.
Trixie shook her head at Rainbow Dash’s words after The Rainbooms finished the song they’d been playing, inwardly nodding as Sunset remained her they were meant to keep magic out of the Friendship Games.
She’d sat down in the corner and half-listened to the six girls as they played, her mind focusing on other matters.
She couldn’t ignore the fact that she was a child now. What would happen when her parents found out?
She shuddered. They had never really supported her wishes to be a showgirl. In fact, they’d been heavily against it. If she hadn’t moved to Canterlot after convincing her parents Canterlot’s school would give her a better education and life experiences than the school back home, she’d have never been able to polish her skills, stuck with whatever unhappy life her parents had planned out for her since birth.
Trixie felt a few tears slid down her face as she wrapped her arms around her legs. Her parents had always been pushing her to achieve in life... yet had never done anything remotely fun with her; both insisting that life wasn’t about “having fun”, but making a name for yourself in the world.
Trixie had never even experienced a proper birthday until she came to Canterlot around the age of eight. Her host family had been so much nicer on her first day she’d thought they were playing some cruel prank.
However, as time went on, she came to understand life wasn’t all about success. Any mistakes she made, she was encouraged to do better next time, whereas, whenever she made a mistake at home, her parents had treated her like she was a disgrace to the human race itself.
Now, with the music ended, she was pulled from her inner musings as Rarity suddenly brought out a huge selection of clothing.
Trixie had to blink. Just where had all those clothing racks come from? Honestly, sometimes Rarity was as reality confusing as Pinkie Pie... and that was a scary thought.
“You really didn’t have to do that,” Rainbow Dash said, seeming embarrassed by what Trixie couldn’t see as anything but what looked like a soccer uniform.
“I know,” Rarity gave a pleased, lidded smile.
“No,” Applejack said, lifting too pink dresses that made Trixie cringe, both from how frilly and girly they look, and, strangely and worryingly enough, a small part of her saying she wanted to try them on, despite them being too big for her now five-year-old body, “you really didn’t have to.”
“I know!” Rarity said, her hands on her cheeks, and wearing an expression and giggling in a way that made Trixie want to hide in the closest again. “Ooh, and we can’t forget out little friend now, can we?” the white-skinned girl said, turning to Trixie, who froze in place as she fell under the fashionista’s gaze and gulp.
Trixie has a bad feeling about this.
Before Trixie knew what was happening, she’d been pulled forward, her clothes somehow simultaneously being whipped off and replaced with a big, frilly light-blue dress with sequins in the shape of the her Cutie Mark around the middle and shoulders.
Trixie eeped, her eyes wide as she looked down at the childish attire she was now wearing... before a small part of her mind told her she looked cute.
“Oh, isn’t she just fabulous?” Rarity declared, admiring her work. “It took a bit more effort, what with the short timing and all,” Trixie seriously questioned just “when” she’d done this, since she didn’t remember them stopping practice until just a few moments ago, thus having no clue when the girl could’ve made what she was now wearing, “but, I think it was well worth it, don’t you.”
“She does look very cute, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, giving the five-year-old a warm smile.
Trixie’s face was bright red, both out of embarrassment and anger. She might physically be a child, but she was still the same age as all these girls! How dare they make her feel nice by being so thoughtful as to dress her up like—
Trixie stopped her thoughts. Where the hell was that train of thought headed? Where had it even come from?
Her inner confusion was suddenly broken when the door opened and she heard a chorus of, “Twilight!”
Whipping around, Trixie’s eyes widened at the lavender girl who’d just walked in, before hope filled her heart.
The princess had already come! Maybe she would be freed from this form sooner than she—
Trixie blinked, before frowning. Something about Twilight was different. She wasn’t wearing the blouse and skirt she always had the last times she’d been to Canterlot High, but instead, some kind of uniform.
Trixie cocked an eyebrow. Wait. She knew that uniform. It was a Crystal Prep uniform.
Trixie scratched her head. Why was Twilight wearing a Crystal Prep uniform? And why was she wearing glasses? And how come her dog wasn’t talking?
“I’ll return her to check in with the rest of her classmates,” a voice Trixie didn’t recognize pulled her from her confused thoughts, to see Twilight was gone and Principal Celestia was standing in the doorway.
“I didn’t know Twilight had a twin sister,” she said, looking baffled.
“She doesn’t!” Pinkie, who was wearing some kind of western clothing, said excitedly. “That Twilight is obviously the Twilight from this world, since it couldn’t possibly be the Twilight from the pony world since the Twilight from the pony world doesn’t go to Crystal Prep or wear glasses.”
Trixie blinked, staring blankly for a few moments, before her expression saddened. If that was this world’s Twilight, there was no way she could help Trixie return to normal.
“I can’t believe our world’s Twilight goes to Crystal Prep!” Rarity said, holding her hands up, her elbows bent.
“You’re saying Twilight’s going to be playing against us?” Rainbow asked, sounding confused, before waving a hand. “She’d never do that.”
“Our Twilight wouldn’t,” Fluttershy remarked.
“Our Twilight is a princess in Equestria,” Sunset said in a tone Trixie recognized as one under a lot of stress, as Sunset stopped and turned to face the group, “and an expert in Friendship Magic. And if she was here we’d have already figured what magic is randomly popping in during pep rallies and costume changes and already figured out how to turn Trixie back to normal!”
The girl blinked, seeing the looks on her friends’ faces and Trixie backing away slightly.
Sunset sighed, her shoulders sagging. “Sorry. I’m just frustrated I haven’t heard back from her.”
Glancing from the others, Applejack said, “She’s a princess in Equestria. Probably got problems of her own to deal with.”
Trixie blinked, looking down at the floor. She’d never thought of that. She’d forgotten that the idea of being a princess meant more than just having a crown and others looking up to you.You had responsibilities to tend to and, considering what Twilight had dealt with both times she’d come to their world, it was probably more than just a few little things, like what polish to use.
“We certainly can’t expect her to drop everything and come through the portal whenever,” Rarity said, walking forwards. “Especially if it’s something as minor as a few random Pony Ups.”
“And what about Trixie?!” the little girl growled under her breath. “Trixie may be a minor now, but her situation is anything but!”
“But they aren’t minor!” Sunset’s pulled Trixie from her grumbling, causing confusion in the regressed girl’s mind. “Magic came into this world when I stole Twilight’s crown. It’s taken a lot for me to earn everyone’s trust.” She slumped again. “If we have to forfeit the games because I can’ think of a way to keep it under control...”
Sunset trailed of, resting her back against the lockers, holding herself.
Trixie blinked, before shaking her head, then frowning again. What Sunset just said caused a few thoughts to whirl through her young mind.
For a second, she’d felt what Sunset said meant she was to blame for Trixie’s predicament, but shook that thought off.
Sunset wasn’t responsible for the Sirens coming to CHS just because she brought magic. If what she’d learned about Equestria was right, the reason the other girls had reacted magically was because of their pony counterparts.
Even if their magic had not shown itself, there was still a good chance the Sirens might have found the school and tried what they had anyway. Worse, if Sunset hadn’t been here in the first place, their plan would have worked, with no one standing in their way.
If anything, Sunset bringing magic to their school was what saved it in the end. And while a small part of her, the prideful part that had made her an outcast during her first years of school, wanted to argue that it still then meant, because if the Sirens hadn’t been beaten, she’d still be her real age, the more logical part of her mind reminded her that, yeah, she’d be her normal age, but a mindless puppet to the Sirens.
In all honesty, this was the better scenario for Trixie compared to what would have happened had Sunset never brought magic with her and the Sirens come. All it had done was make the already present magic come to the surface, which was what had saved them all in the end.
Trixie was pulled from her thoughts when she saw the other girls moving off and Rainbow asking, “You coming, Sunset?”
Trixie looked to the girl.
“I’ll... catch up in a bit,” she told Dash, cuaisng Trixie to frown. Something was up.
Thankfully, no one questioned her going with Sunset, not even Sunset, seeing as Vice Principal Luna had put her in Sunset’s care in the first place.
She followed Sunset out to the front of the school, glancing up when Sunset sighed and said, “Still no reply.”
Seeing the book in Sunset’s hands, Trixie knew she was talking about the princess.
She followed her down towards the statue where she knew the portal to Princess Twilight’s world was. Why were they heading towards it?
“Maybe there’s another way I could reach her,” Sunset said as they stopped, reaching out a hand to the surface.
When Sunset’s hand made contact, however, a flame seemed to flare around the point of contact. “Hey!” she cried, suddenly pulling back, as if her hand was stuck. “Let go!”
She placed both her hands on the surface, trying to give herself more leverage to push back, but all that happened was her other hand became stuck.
Some kind of red energy, Sunset’s magic, Trixie guessed, was shining around her hands and disappearing into the stone as she kept pulling.
Able to tell something was very wrong, Trixie grabbed Sunset’s leg and started pulling too, trying to help the girl pull away.
Suddenly, Sunset was released from whatever was holding her against the portal and their cried out as they toppled backward, Trixie wincing as her knees strapped the ground again.
“What did you do?!” Trixie looked up at Sunset’s voice, before following her gaze to see the Twilight from their world lying on the ground on the opposite side of the statue.
The girl got up quickly, her expression one of fear.
“Twilight,” a pink woman, Crystal Prep’s Dean Cadance, if Trixie remembered correctly, said. “You need to check in with the others.”
The girl hurried off, despite Sunset calling after her.
Trixie frowned after her, before Sunset helped Trixie up and moved her hand to the portal— before her eyes widened and she started pressing her hands frantically against the stone, saying, “Where’s the portal?!”
Trixie’s eyes widened as she saw Sunset was clearly pressing her hands against the stone, yet it was solid as any ordinary rock. The portal was gone!
She quickly joined her, her heart clenching as her hands pressed against cold rock.
“Where the portal?!” Sunset cried, her voice frantic.
Trixie shared her fear. The portal couldn’t just suddenly close like that. From what she’d heard, Princess Twilight had made it so the portal would always be open.
Trixie glanced around, wondering where Sunset had gone.
She’d slipped away from the group shortly after they and several of the Crystal Prep girls had gotten into an argument, to put it lightly, after Sunset had gone up to Twilight to learn what the girl had done to the portal, and now, whilst everyone was partying, she couldn’t help feeling both better and still scared about being on her own.
She could tell this sudden livening up of the party was Pinkie Pie’s doing, but couldn’t see the girl.
“What is a child doing here?” a voice Trixie recognised said from behind her.
The little girl whirled around to see a tall woman with pale skin and brown hair with purplish-pink mixed through it. She was wearing a blue long-sleeve suit-like shirt, a long dark-blue skirt and an expression of... disapproval was the only polite word Trixie’s mind could come up with.
Despite knowing she used to be teenager and thus shouldn’t be scared, due to her younger mind, she was heavily intimidated by this woman.
Trixie trembled as the woman looked down at her, before her nerves cracked and she ran, calling out, “Sunset!”
Suddenly, the lights flashed back on and the music abruptly stopped, startling Trixie and causing her panic to rise as she searched for the group of girls she desperately wanted to see.
She found them moments later and hurried forward.
Sunset, despite having been distracted by the sudden lighting change, seeing the tears in Trixie’s eyes as she ran towards them, bent down, to which Trixie responded by latching onto her in a tight hug, quietly sobbing.
Sunset gently hushed Trixe as she held her close as the little girl shuddered in her grasped.
When school finally was out, Sunset couldn’t have been happier. Shortly after Trixie had grasped onto her, crying, Crystal Prep’s Principal, Abacus Cinch had given a speech that caused all the girls to frown along with the rest of the CHS students.
Miss Cinch was a nasty piece of work; she’d been able to tell. Her way of talking about CHS reminded Sunset of how she’d been before, which didn’t improve her opinion of the woman, especially after she found out she was the reason Trixie had been crying.
“So, Sunset,’ Applejack said as their group left the school, each sending a glare to the Crystal Prep students, save Twilight, who glared back, “is Trixie gonna be staying with you again t’night?”
Sunset nodded, bending down and picking up Trixie, causing the little girl to eep, clearly having not been expecting it. “Like I said yesterday, my apartment’s only about ten minutes from school, and since Vice Principal Luna put me in charge of looking after her until we can get her back to normal, it only makes sense she stay at my place.”
Rarity nodded, then frowned. “Darling, do you have anything for Trixie to wear to bed?”
Sunset blinked, before groaning, and would have face-palmed if she weren’t presently holding Trixie. She'd returned the borrowed pajamas this morning, so now Trixie had nothing to wear to bed.
Rarity just shook her head, then smiled. “I think you’ll need to make a small stop on your way home, darling.”
Sunset sighed, giving a smile of her own. “Yeah. Guess we didn’t think of that, did we?” she asked, looking to Trixie, who blinked, taken aback by being brought into the conversation instead of simply being talked about.
“Well, don’t keep her up, Trixie,” Dash smirked playfully, mussing up the girl’s hair. “We’ll need Sunset at her best if we’re gonna beat Crystal Prep tomorrow.”
Trixie pouted, puffing out her cheeks, which looked more cute than intimidating, as far as the gathered girls were concerned. “Trixie knows, Rainbow Dash. She doesn’t need you telling her.”
Dash snickered. “You know, that whole speaking in the third-person thing’s a lot cuter when she’s this age.”
Trixie’s cheeks flushed.
Sunset rolled her eyes, shaking her head, along with the rest of their friends, before bidding them all goodnight and heading towards the shopping district to pick up some things for Trixie.
Whilst Trixie’s personal belongings had been sent over to Sunset’s house by Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, several things Trixie didn’t have would need to be bought before they got to Sunset’s apartment.
About an hour later, Trixie and Sunset walked through the door of Sunset’s apartment. As she stood by the couch,, Sunset holding two bags, one with their recent shopping purchases and the other dinner, since there wasn’t going to be time for Sunset to cook anything with the time, Trixie glanced at the older girl.
“Um... Sunset?” Trixie asked, just as Sunset was setting down the bags on her small kitchen counter.
“Yes, Trixie?” the older girl replied as she started sifting through their purchases.
“How can you afford an apartment...?” Trixie stopped, looking around. She hadn't really seen much of it this morning, so looking at it now was leaving her in awe.
The apparent wasn’t too big, there was a small combo kitchen and dining area, with another area that was what Trixie assumed a living area, with a black couch the filed a whole side of the room and a flat-screen, sixty inch TV with what looked like a PS4 and PS3.
Sunset blinked, cocking an eyebrow, before moving over to the dining table and putting the food on it, whilst leaving the bag with Trixie’s clothing on the kitchen counter. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Trixie looked down, shuffling her feet and twiddling her fingers. “You came from Equestria... right?”
Sunset nodded, taking out the McDonalds she’d gotten for them: a double cheese burger for herself with a large fries, coke and sundae and a normal cheese burger, medium fries, coke and sundae for Trixie.
She had almost gotten a kid's meal for her, but Trixie had insisted on a normal meal.
Trixie moved up to the table, sitting down, frowning when she realized she was too short, her head barely reaching over the table top.
Sunset left the room, returning with a cushion for Trixie to sit on, allowing her to reach over the table.
“Well...” Trixie said as she looked down at her food. “Where did you get the money? I would’ve thought you’d not have much, since you weren’t born in this world.”
Sunset blinked, before chuckling, shaking her head. “Whilst Princess Celestia didn’t know it, when I went through the portal against her wishes, I’d returned a short while later and grabbed a ton of gems. Once I got back here, undetected by the so-called ever vigilant Royal Guard, mind you, I sold the gems and have been using the money from them ever since.”
Trixie blinked, her eyes widening. “B-but you first came to our school four years ago.”
Sunset nodded, opening her burger and taking a bite. “You’ll wanna eat your food before it gets cold, Trixie. Burgers and fries don’t taste that nice reheated.” She gave a sheepish smile. “Trust me, I learned through personal experience.”
Trixie shook her head. “But... to have been living off the money from those gems for so long, even in a small place like this... just how much did you get for them, and how many did you bring?!”
Sunset shrugged. “I honestly had no idea how much the gems were worth in this world until I tried to sell them. I’ve only used a little over half of them.”
Trixie’s mouth just hung open as she stared at the older girl.
After a few moments, Trixie seemed to remember what Sunset said about her food getting cold and started to eat.
Sunset couldn’t help smiling at the contented face Trixie wore as she ate her burger, the one only a little kid could wear when eating a burger.
They ate in relative silence, simply enjoying their food.
Sunset’s eyes glanced at the pickles Trixie had removed from her burger. She said in response to the look that, while she didn’t eat pickles, she liked the flavour they gave the burger, to which Sunset herself had to agree. She herself didn’t like pickles, hadn’t even as a pony, and much preferred having them in a burger temporarily, simply to add the flavour they do, before taking them out.
Once they’d finished (though Trixie could barely finish her medium meal, what with her smaller size), Sunset took the rubbish and tossed it away. Glancing up, she saw Trixie’s failed attempt to stifle a yawn behind a wide open hand.
She smiled, walking over and picking up the tired girl. “Come on, Trixie. Let’s get you washed and then t’ bed, huh?”
“But Trixie’s not t-tired,” Trixie said as another yawn came from her maw.
She brought Trixie to the bathroom and set her down whislt she filled the bath, putting in some bubble bath so a layer of bubbles covered the surface.
Once the bath was full, Sunset undressed Trixie, the girl clearly too tired to do it herself, lowered Trixie into the tub and began washing her, which included brushing Trixie’s teeth.
Trixie attempted to struggle against being washed, but she was too tired to stop Sunset, and stopped moments after, though brushed her teeth herself. With Trixie washed and clean, Sunset lifted her out of the tub and helped to dry her off.
With Trixie dry, Sunset lifted her up and carried her over to one of the two spare bedrooms in the apartment. It wasn’t much, the walls were pretty plain, the desk on the other side of the room was empty and the bed’s covers were a plain light-blue.
Setting Trixie down on the bed, Sunset went out to the bag of clothing, then came back and took out a pair of light-blue pajamas consisting of a long-sleeve, buttoned shirt and pants, helping the tired girl into them.
Sunset helped Trixie into bed, before stretching. She moved to the door and turned off the light, before heading off to have her own shower.
When she was finished several minutes later, she returned to her room to put on her long-sleeve purplish-red pajamas.
She paused, however, when she saw Trixie sitting on her bed at the top of the loft, looking down at her lap.
Sunset went and knelt down next to the bed, lifting Trixie’s chin so she was looking her in the eyes. “What is it, Trixie?”
The girl looked away, her face blushing red with embarrassment despite how tired she was. “Can Trixie... Can... Can I sleep with you?” the little girl murmured, rivaling Fluttershy in low audible talking.
Sunset blinked, then smiled and nodded. She could understand. Even though Trixie knew Sunset was a good person, sleeping in a place you weren’t used to, on your own would make anyone unable to sleep.
She got up, grabbing and putting on her pajamas (she and Trixie were both girls and Trixie had been the same age more than twelve hours ago, so it wasn’t like Trixie was seeing anything she shouldn’t), then got into bed, letting Trixie nestle in next to her under the covers.
Turning off her bedside lamp, Sunset settled down and couldn’t help smiling as Trixie snuggled closer to her for warmth.
She closed her eyes to let sleep take her, wondering what events she’d be facing in the Friendship Games tomorrow, and finding comfort in the warm body against her. She hadn't felt so warm inside since... since she had been Celestia's student as a filly.
Her eyes moistening a little at that thought, and wondering why she hadn't noticed it last night, she pulled Trixie a little closer, before drifting off to sleep.
“Is everybody alright?” Applejack asked as the group came together after the second round of the Friendship Games had finished, Trixie hurrying over to Sunset and hugging onto her tightly. Seeing her almost crushed by that plant her scared her in ways she couldn’t even explain.
“Better than alright,” Rainbow Dash said, landing, her Pony Up still in effect. “We won!”
The other girls all cheered.
Sunset pulled off her helmet, her expression strained. “Yeah, we won. But somebody could’ve been seriously hurt!” She put a hand on Trixie and the little girl blushed as she realized Sunset was thinking about her as well as the others.
Sunset threw her arms in the air. “The magic is going haywire and I’ve no clue how ta fix it!”
Trixie backed up a little, seeing Sunset was getting very tense. She remembered this from back when the girl hadn’t been kind, back before Twilight first came to Canterlot High.
“Um... excuse me,” a voice said, causing them all to turn as the Twilight from their world was standing nearby, holding some kind of circular purple pendant. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to learn about the strange energy coming from your school. I didn’t know it was magic or... how it works.”
Rainbow grinned, walking towards the girl. “That’s okay. Neither do we.”
As she said this Trixie noticed the pendant around Twilight’s neck glowing with a purple light and got a very bad feeling.
“Oh no!” Twilight cried as the pendant levitated and pulled her a bit closer towards Rainbow Dash. “No, no-no-no! Not again!”
As she spoke the pendant opened, revealing a glowing purple sphere within. Trixie’s eyes widened in horror as a blue energy started flowing from Rainbow Dash, her grunting in distress, and into the pendant.
She and Sunset rushed forward, grabbing Rainbow as she dropped to her knees, looking drained.
Trixie could hear Twilight talking, followed by an angry sounding Sunset, but she was focused on Rainbow Dash. Seeing her energy being drained was really scary.
Suddenly she heard a small sound, like a sparking, and looked up to see a hole opening in the sky, revealing a starry night sky through the hole. Seeing a circle of the night sky among the day time was eerie to say the least.
“It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear.” Trixie turned to look at Twilight, before she realized what was going on.
That hole in the sky was an opening between their world and Equestria. The only reason that would’ve happened is if Twilight’s pendant possessed magic that allowed one to pass between the worlds... like the portal that was now gone!
At once her rage flared, and she stood next to Sunset, who seemed equally as mad. “I don’t know how that works either!” Twilight said, her eyes on the open pendant.
“Is there anything you do know?!” Sunset demanded, taking a step forward, her anger causing Trixie’s to falter as she looked up and saw an expression Sunset hadn’t worn since her days as the cruel girl she’d been before Princess Twilight arrived... only it seemed justified somehow. “Like, how to get our magic back or fix the portal to Equestria?!”
“Equestria?” Twilight asked quietly.
“Because of you, the portal is closed and we have no way of contacting the one being who knows enough about magic that we can fix Trixie!” Sunset continued, her eyes boaring into the other girl, before pointing at her head, her teeth clenched. “You’re supposed to be so smart, but did you ever think you shouldn’t be messing with things you don’t understand?”
Sunset forced the pendant closed and the hole in the sky closed up, leaving the sky as empty and blue as before, as if no opening between the worlds had ever opened there.
“But I wanna understand—” Trixie could see tears welling in Twilight’s eyes.
“But you don’t!” Sunset cut the lavender girl off, pushing the pendant down. “Because of what you’ve done, Trixie is stuck as a child. And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!”
The tears were almost falling now as Trixie stepped back from Sunset, both happy and scared the girl was defending her and the others so strongly.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, taking a step back. “I didn’t mean to.”
With that she ran off, sobbing, Trixie hesitating for a moment when her dog called after her as she ran to follow.
Sunset stood, fuming, but when Rainbow Dash put a hand on her shoulder, her expression blanked for a moment, before she face-palmed.
Trixie took a tentative step forward and took Sunset’s hand, looking up at her with concern.
Sunset glanced down at her and sighed, looking tired.
That could’ve gone a lot better, Trixie thought, turning in the direction Twilight had run off to. I hope they can fix things, soon.
Trixie watched as Sunset and Twilight were enveloped in the light of Sunset’s magic, her heart pounding, Rainbow Dash standing right next to her.
When Twilight had transformed into... whatever she had turned into, she’d started attacking everywhere, causing more holes to open to show Equestria. She’d even made eye-contact with a pony on the other side of one of them, right before the very ground beneath her had broken away.
For a split-second, she’d been terrified as she saw it opened in Equestria’s sky, meaning she was going to fall through it. Thankfully, Rainbow grabbed her, shouting, “I got ya, Trixie!” before pulling her up and moving to help one of the other CHS students who was about to fall in.
Then, when Sunset transformed into what Trixie could only call an angel and fired white beams of magic at the openings, closing them, one had passed over Trixie and she’d felt something odd. She didn’t feel different, per say, but she felt as if something bad within her had been removed, washed away by the magic passing through her.
Now, Trixie held her hands together, waiting to see what would happen. Would Twilight be returned to normal, or were she and Sunset both gone?
That thought terrified her to no end. While it would mean she would have no one to care for her, the idea of Sunset being gone made her heart ache for reasons to couldn’t understand, bringing tears to her eyes as she watched the white light.
When the light faded a few moments later, both Twilight and Sunset were standing in the middle of where it had been, both looking ragged, but normal.
Trixie’s heart swelled and the tears started anew, though she wore a smile this time.
Before she could react further, though, Spike beat her to it, running forward and tackling Twilight, her glasses in his mouth.
“Sunset!” the named girl turned as Trixie rushed forward and clung onto her, sobbing both with joy and sadness. “I-I thought I’d never see you again!”
Sunset bent down and wrapped Trixie in her arms and simply held her. “Hey, everything’s okay,” she said, rubbing the back of Trixie’s head gently. “It’s all okay.”
Trixie didn’t understand why she’d been so scared, but she didn’t care now. Sunset’s words and warmth made her feel better, and she smiled into the embrace.
“Principal Celestia,” a firm voice Trixie didn’t want to hear said, causing her and Sunset, along with everyone else, to turn, seeing Principal Cinch walking up to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.
“This can’t end well,” Spike said from in Twilight’s arms behind them.
“On behalf of Crystal Prep,” Cinch said, her expression firm as she stared down Celestia, “I demand that you forfeit the Friendship Games!”
Trixie’s eyes narrowed. Seriously? Sunset just saved the world from being destroyed and all that woman cares about is the stupid games?
“Clearly, CHS has had unfair advantage for quite some time,” Cinch continued, folding her arms. “And it’s certainly obvious that your students have been using magic for their own benefit.”
To Trixie’s surprise, Principal Celestia gave a smile, a knowing smile Trixie saw her wear whenever someone was trying to pull the wool over her eyes.
“I’d like to think saving the world benefits us all,” Celestia replied, her smile becoming a coy smirk.
“At least they didn’t manipulate Twilight into unleashing the stolen magic, turning into a power-crazed magical creature that tried to rip the world apart just to win a game,” the girl Trixie remembered as Sugar Coat said at a speed that would rival Pinkie Pie.
There was silence for a moment as everyone stared at her.
“Wow,” Pinkie said, before smiling, “that’s a lot to take in when you say it all at once.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Cinch said, narrowing her eyes at the girl.
“Nope,” Spike said from Twilight’s arms. “That’s pretty much what happened.”
Cinch blinked, clearly not having realized Spike could talk... though Trixie still needed to ask how that happened.
“Actually, we’re all to blame,” the girl who’s name Trixie couldn’t remember, but could remember the girl for her rapid mood shifts, which the girl then demonstrated by her face souring as she said, “Mostly it was her!”
Cinch gritted her teeth, then whirled around to glare at Celestia. “Obviously, my students have been infected with your magic!”
“Or they actually have a sense of right and wrong, unlike you,” Trixie said, folding her arms and glaring up at the woman she no longer found intimidating.
Everyone blinked for a moment, taking in the fact that a five-year-old girl had just told off Cinch and been right.
However, Cinch shook off Trixie’s words and returned to glare at Celestia. “You think a little girl can tell me off and I’ll listen. You may have infected my students, but I plan on taking this all up with the school board!”
Celestia's smile just became more knowing, somehow. “Good. I’m sure they’d be very interested in hearing all about the magical students with wings,” her smirk returned as she finished.
“Oh, and the portals to different dimensions,” Luna said, her eyes squinting as she clearly tried not to laugh.
“And don’t forget to tell them about the talking dog,” Cadance said, managing to keep her expression from mirroring the other two’s, though since she worked with Cinch, Trixie reasoned that was wise, though she did chuckle a little.
“Because that would never ruin your reputation,” Spike grinned, while Sunset and Trixie smirked at Cinch in unison, their arms folded over their chests.
Cinch looked around, noticing all the CHS students were either smirking or giving her firm looks, and all the Crystal Prep students were doing so as well.
For a moment, she looked like she was going to explode, but then her expression became neutral and she walked off.
“Still no word from Princess Twilight?” Fluttershy asked Sunset, who was leaning against the stone the portal was connected to, Trixie standing next to her.
“Not yet,” the bacon-haired girl replied, “but I think I might have figured out how magic works in this world. We Pony Up when we’re showing the truest part of ourselves.”
She looked down at Trixie, held her book to her chest with one arm, whilst rubbing Trixie’s head with her free hand.
“I was so busy waiting for someone else to give me the answers, that I gave up looking for them myself. I’m sure there will be more magical problems that will pop up in this world,” she winked at Trixie, “but, like Applejack said, Princess Twilight has her own problems to worry about in Equestria. We can’t always expect her to be around to help us.”
“But... maybe I can be?” they all turned to see Twilight and Principal Celestia standing there.
Celestia smiled. “It seems we have a new Wondercolt at Canterlot High.”
Trixie ducked behind Sunset. Whilst she knew Twilight wasn’t a bad person, her younger mind still couldn’t forget how terrifying she’d been when she transformed.
Sunset, noticing this, leaned down and coaxed her out, though she remained close.
“I’m sure I can count on you girls to make her feel at home,” Celestia nodded.
“You sure can,” Sunset said, putting an arm around Twilight, pulling Trixie close too as they other girls joined them in a hug.
As Principal Celestia walked away to leave them be, they all hugged, before Applejack pulled away, an eyebrow raised.
“Ya know, Twi, Ah’m wonderin’, where’re ya gonna be staying? Ah doubt that Principal Cinch is gonna let you stay ina dorm at Crystal Prep anymore.”
Said girl sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, I called my parents a little while ago and they're ,more than happy for me to come back... but it’ll take a day or two for them to get my room ready again. Not sure where I’ll stay til then, but...”
“You could stay with Sunset.”
They all blinked, before turning to the little girl, who was smiling up Twilight, all her previous concerns forgotten, though Sunset could chalk that up to how a lot of kids handle things.
Trixie's words, however, made Sunset blinked. “Uh, what?”
Trixie looked to Sunset with the most innocent smile.
Sunset stared at her for a few moments, before smiling and nodding, before looking to Twilight. “Well, I don’t see why not. I don’t have any other rooms, but you could stay on the couch for the night, if that’s okay with you, I mean. And it is only a ten minute walk down from school.”
Twilight looked away. “Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to be any trouble...”
Sunset shook her head. “It’s no trouble at all. Besides,” she glanced at Trixie, giving her a playful frown, “I don’t think we’d hear the end of it from this one.”
Trixie giggled, whistling innocently, yet in that way that always said you weren’t innocent at all.
Sunset rolled her eyes, before lowering Trixie down. “Let’s go speak with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna about it right away.”
Twilight nodded, before Sunset bid their friends goodbye as they headed inside to discuss Twilight’s living arrangements.
Trixie hurried into the apartment, laughing, Spike right on her heels.
Sunset smiled as she walked in after the little girl, a few bags slung over her shoulder, each with Twilight’s Cutie Mark emblazoned on them.
“So... this is your apartment?” Twilight asked, stepping in after Sunset, also carrying a few bags with her Cutie Mark emblazoned on them.
Sunset nodded. “Yeah. It’s not big, but it’ll do.”
“Not big?” Twilight asked as they set her stuff by the couch. “This place is bigger than the dorm I had back at Crystal Prep!”
Sunset paused as she lowered one of the bags she’d been carrying, turning to glance at Twilight. “Wait, really? I’d have thought a school like Crystal Prep would have really fancy dorms.”
Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “Well... truthfully it only seemed small because of all the equipment I had set up there... especially after I started researching what I saw as unusual energies coming from Canterlot High..” She blushed, scratching behind her head. “When I get focused on a new project I kinda tend to stop thinking of much else.”
“So I’ve learned,” Sunset said, giving a knowing, understanding smirk, which just made Twilight blush harder.
“You don’t know the half of it,” they turned to see Spike walking up to them, with Trixie right behind him. “One time, she thought she’d discovered a new form of insect.”
“Spike!” Twilight whined, wearing an expression and renewed blush that told Sunset this was going to be juicy.
“At one point, Dean Cadance herself had to get Twilight’s parents to come over just to snap her out of “Examination Mode”,” the purple dog smirk. “She’d even lost several pounds because she’d forgotten to eat properly for almost four weeks.”
Twilight gave another whine and fiddled with her fingers.
Sunset blinked, before glancing at the lavender girl. “Is that true, Twilight?”
The girl just bowed her head, replying slowly, “Kinda. It... wasn’t quite how Spike worded it.”
The dog snorted. “Yeah. I was sugar-coating it. It was way worse.”
This just made Twilight’s face blush brighter.
Sunset chuckled, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “It’s been a long day for all of us. Trixie, what’s say I get dinner started whilst you help Twilight get settled in?”
Trixie nodded, walking over to the other girl whilst Sunset went out into the kitchen to get dinner started. Considering how long it took to bring in all of Twilight’s things, she was just going to make a pasta dish. It was a spinach, feta sauce with chicken dish.
Sunset hummed the song she and the girls had sung at the Battle of the Bands to herself as she sliced the chicken and the pasta cooked in the pot. Sunset had the Flavour Stone cookware set, because it really brought out the flavours of the food and she didn’t have to use oil like with regular cookware.
With the chicken sliced into stripes, she tossed them into the frying pan, adding some spices and salt and pepper, letting it fry, stirring the pot with the sauce every few moments and checking on the pasta to see if it was soft enough.
About twenty minutes later, Twilight, Spike and Trixie came back, moving over to the living room.
Trixie hopped onto the couch, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on, Spike hopping up onto her lap and letting her pat him and scratch behind his arms as Trixie watched an episode of EC Plays Lift-Off on the Youtube feature of Sunset's TV.
Twilight came into the kitchen, looking uncertain. “Um, Sunset?”
“MmHm?” she asked, not looking away from the pots as she used a strainer ladle to scoop some of the pasta (fettuccine) into a bowl, before setting it aside and starting on another.
‘Can I help with anything?’ Twilight asked meekly.
Sunset glanced back with a smile. “Sure. You can set the table. Cutlery is in the first draw over there,” she nodded her head to a set of draw built into the kitchen bar.
Twilight nodded and went to the draw, taking out cutlerly for them and Trixie, then went over to the table and set places for the three of them.
“Glasses?”
“First cupboard next to the draw the cutlery was in,” Sunset said, having finished scooping the pasta into three bowls and now adding the sauce, which she’d added the chicken to, on top of the pasta in each bowl, before turning down the stovetop so the sauce wouldn’t burn.
She then put the rest of the pasta into a large strainer which she held over the sink, so the pasta wouldn’t get soggy.
Twilight got the glasses and placed them on the table, then went into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Cottee’s raspberry cordial, setting that on the table too.
“Dinner!” Sunset called a few moments later, lifting hers and Trixie’s bowls, Twilight taking her own and heading to the table, placing their respective dishes in their places.
Trixie turned off the TV and she and Spike came over, Trixie sitting down in her spot.
“And we can’t forget about Spike,” Sunset grinned, placing a bowl with Spike’s name in front of him, filled with the chicken and sauce mix.
Twilight put a bowl of water, also with Spike’s name on it, next to the bowl with the food.
They all sat down and began eating.
Trixie’s eyes lit up as she tasted the sauce and eagerly ate more.
“Uh, Sunset?”
“Yeah, Twilight?” she replied, glancing to the girl as she slurped a bit of pasta through her lips.
Twilight looked down, scratching the back of her neck, fiddling with her food with her fork. “You said you used to be a pony, right?”
Sunset nodded.
“But... you’re eating an animal.”
Sunset glanced down at the chicken mixed in with her food and shrugged. “I know, but, after living as long in your world as I have, I just started doing it myself. Besides, technically speaking, ponies can eat certain meats too, like chicken and fish. Ponies in Equestria just don’t tend to do that is all, and, since I haven’t lived in Equestria for the last four years, I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t eat meat like every other human that does in this world.”
Trixie looked up, frowning, going over that in her mind, before she nodded and returned to her meal.
When dinner ended, they all decided to watch a movie. Trixie asked if Sunset had Basil, the Great Mouse Detective, which she did, so they watched that, whilst enjoying some chocolate swirl ice cream with golden Ice Magic topping for dessert.
Once it had finished, Sunset took Trixie to have a bath, the little girl insisting on bathing herself tonight. After her bath, Trixie brushed her teeth, then went to Sunset's room.
Twilight and Sunset didn’t really feel like talking much after such a long day, so, decided to have their showers, and go to bed as well.
Twilight followed Sunset to her room, intending to have a small chat at least before bed. However, when they entered Sunset’s room, they paused, a small, warm smile coming to Sunset’s face.
Trixie was lying on top of Sunset bed, her eyes closed, sound asleep.
Sunset shook her head, sat down on the bed and placed a hand on Trixie’s head and stroked through her hair. “Last night, she slept with me because she was nervous about sleeping in a different place than she was used to, especially now she’s a child. I’m glad she feels comfortable enough to fall asleep on her own, even if in my room.”
Twilight gave a warm smile. “Aww. Sunset, that was really sweet of you.”
Sunset nodded, chuckling a little as Trixie reached out in her sleep, gripping Sunset’s arm. “I guess she feels safe around me, is all.”
They stood in silence for a few moments, both of them just watching how cute Trixie looked as she slept.
“Well, goodnight, Sunset,” Twilight said after a few minutes, smiling as she turned to head for the living room to sleep on the couch. “And... thanks again, you know, for... letting me stay?”
Sunset looked to her and shook her head. “It’s no problem, Twilight. I’m glad I could help you.”
Twilight nodded, then headed off, Spike following after her.
Sunset cautiously got under the covers, bringing Trixie with her and turned out the light, before laying down.
Trixie, sensing the warm body next to her in her sleep, snuggled closer, curling up in Sunset’s arms.
Sunset couldn’t shake the smile from her face and closed her eyes, letting sleep take her.
Sunset awoke to feel tiny arms wrapped around her waist. Looking down and pulling the blankets up a bit, she saw Trixie sleeping soundly against her, her expression of calm, like any child that has had a good night’s rest.
Smiling softly, Sunset rubbed Trixie’s shoulder lightly. “Trixie, time to get up.”
After a few tries, Trixie stirred, before slowly opening her eyes and looking up, blinking a few times with a confused look on her face.
Once she’d woken up enough, she realized she was holding onto Sunset’s waist and pulled away, sitting up and bowing her head.
“Trixie’s sorry! She didn’t mean to grab your waist! She was sleeping and must’ve—”
Sunset put a hand on Trixie’s shoulder, causing the little girl to stiffen.
“Trixie, it’s alright,” she said reassuringly, then chuckled. “I’m not mad you hugged me in your sleep or anything.” She chuckled again. “If anything, I thought it was sweet and cute.”
There was silence for a few moments, before Trixie slowly looked up at Sunset with uncertain amazement. “R-really?”
Sunset nodded, moving her hand up and ruffling Trixie’s hair. “Hey, this is me we’re talking about, remember? The girl who came from a world full of little ponies? Sweet and cute is a common thing there.”
Trixie blushed, though Sunset wasn’t quite sure why.
Any further thoughts were put on hold as Sunset glanced at the clock and noticed the time.
“We’d better have some breakfast,” she said, sliding off the bed and stretching. “I need to go shopping before we meet up with the others for that picnic in the park.”
“Picnic?” Trixie asked with both excitement and curiosity.
“Oh, right,” Sunset bopped herself on the head. “We planned it before you were regressed. Well, after the Friendship Games, Pinkie had planned for us to have a picnic in front of the Wondercolts statue.” She frowned, putting a hand to her chin. “Though I guess that’s just the podium now, since the statue got destroyed.”
Trixie looked down, not certain how to respond to that.
Sunset moved to the door and opened it, allowing Trixie out first before following the small hall.
As she passed Twilight sleeping on the couch, she pondered about waking her up, but then decided against it. Princess Twilight had proven the morning after their sleepover during the Battle of the Bands that she was not a morning person (pony?), so chances were this world’s Twilight was similar.
Moving into the kitchen, Sunset couldn’t help but smile seeing Trixie sit down on the couch where she wouldn’t wake Twilight and turn on the TV. Currently showing was an old show called The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
Sunset had seen a few episodes of it online, but hadn’t really paid it much attention, as that had been back when she was a horrible person, so hadn’t been interested in what the humans found entertaining.
Shaking those thoughts away, she got out the sapphire stone frying pain and got to work cooking some bacon and eggs.
As she cooked, she heard a loud yawn from behind and glanced over her shoulder to see Twilight sitting up. Her hair was already tied up in a bun like before, though it looked a little ratter than it had before.
Hearing a yelp, she looked over to Trixie, who was laughing as Spike licked her good morning.
“Morning, sleepy head,” the bacon-haired teen said to her glasses-wearing friend. “How do you like your eggs?”
“Wait. You’re cooking breakfast?” Twilight asked, lifting her glasses with one hand again rubbing her eyes with the other.
Sunset smirked. “Eeyup. What? Don’t you normally have a cooked breakfast?”
Twilight yawned again, shaking her head. “Normally I’d just have soon toast and head off for school.”
“On a Saturday?” Sunset couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
Twilight nodded, sleepily moving over to the cupboard and taking out some glasses. “Principal Cinch always made it clear I needed to keep a firm study schedule, even on weekends.”
Sunset smirked. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. You’re a Canterlot High student now. Cinch has no hold on you.”
Inwardly though, she was scowling. Cinch even made Twilight go to school on weekends? Is her own reputation all that woman ever thought about when it came to Twilight?
Twilight paused for a moment, blinked, then smiled and laughed. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” then she frowned. “Huh. I’ve never had a Saturday where I didn’t have to go to school.” She looked to Sunset. “What do kids our age normally do on Saturday mornings?”
Sunset shook her head, moving the eggs and bacon onto a large plate, lifting it and taking it over to the table and putting it in the centre. “Well, I was going to do some shopping today. You and Spike wanna join or will you stay behind to watch over Trixie for me?”
“Trixie’s coming shopping too!” an annoyed voice said.
Glancing down as Twilight came over with the glasses and some apple juice, she saw a pouting Trixie. “So, you wanna come shopping with me?”
“Trixie just said that, didn’t she?” the little girl replied, stomping a foot.
Sunset rolled her eyes, chuckling. “All you had to do was ask, Trixie. So, Twilight, you wanna join us?” she asked the purple girl as they sat down at the table, Spike moving over to Twilight’s sit and nuzzling her leg.
Twilight smiled. “Well, it would be the first time I went shopping with someone other than my parents or my brother, so, I don’t see why not.”
“Mmhm! Good bacon. You sure can cook, Sunset.”
The voice of the only four-legged being in the room (well, always was and wasn’t currently a biped due to the portal’s magic, anyway), caused both girls to glance under the table.
Spike had moved away from Twilight and was now by Trixie, who was passing him some of her bacon and eggs.
Sunset felt a need to scold her, before she realized they’d not thought about Spike’s breakfast and since bacon and eggs wasn’t harmful to dogs, she decided to let it go. Besides, there was plenty of food regardless of what Trixie was feeding the dog.
“Well, that was an interesting experience,” Twilight said as they walked out of the grocery store, herself and Sunset carrying two bags full of produce each. Twilight was wearing her Crystal Prep uniform, as her clothes were in need of a wash, so it was all she had. “That teller seemed a little uncertain around you though, Sunset. Why is that?”
Sunset sighed. “Let’s just say, before I became the girl I am now, I wasn’t the kindest human out there and that clerk sometimes got the worst of it when I went shopping.”
“Thanks again, Sunset!”
The little voice caused her to look down and smile as Trixie walked next to her, her arms wrapped around the brown teddybear wearing a wizard’s hat and cap Sunset had gotten her.
Trixie had spotted it whilst she and Twilight had been getting some frozen goods and had refused to leave the store without it.
Sunset worried she might end up spoiling Trixie with how often she seemed to give in to the little girl’s demands.
It was hard for her not to, though. She still felt guilty about how, technically speaking, it was her fault Trixie was a child now thanks to the Sirens coming to Canterlot High in the first place, which they wouldn’t have had she not brought Equestrian Magic into this world with her.
“Twilight?!”
The shocked, angry sounding voice caused their group to halt and turn, to see a tall guy with white skin and blue hair, wearing a purple shirt with a an imprint of a shield with three stars above it and a purple six-pointed star in its centre, and long pants, walking towards them.
At once, Twilight moved to hide behind Sunset. “Oh no. shining Armour. He must have heard about what happened at the Friendship Games.”
“Twilight, what happened at the games?” the tall young man demanded, looking sternly at the girl hiding behind Sunset. “I just heard Principal Cinch has been called to a meeting with the school board about things revealed by other students.”
Sunset’s brow furrowed slightly. “And did you learn what those are?”
Shining Armour glanced at Sunset, looking her over, before answering. “Not that I see why it would be your problem, miss, but I heard accusations that Principal Cinch was involved in blackmailing.”
Trixie snorted. “Good. That meanie deserves whatever they give her.”
At once Shining Armour turned a glare on the little girl, who whimper and grabbed onto Sunset’s leg. “Is this girl related to you?” he asked, looking to Sunset, before returning a glare at the little girl.
Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “I’m looking after her for a while, but no, we’re not related. What does that matter?”
“Then, if she’s under your care, you should teach her some manners,” Shining snorted, returning to look at Sunset. “And not to talk badly about others when she doesn’t know what’s going on.”
This time Sunset snorted. “Doesn’t know? Trixie was there along with the rest of us when Cinch blackmailed Twilight, just so she could win the Friendship Games and improve her own reputation!”
Shining Armour stepped closer, but Sunset wasn’t intimidated by his taller height. “Principal Cinch is the best Principal Crystal Prep has ever had. It’s because of her Crystal Prep is the top school in the country.”
“She’s also a manipulative witch who’d do anything to anyone to get what she wants, even threatening to accuse my own Principal of cheating in the games, just so she wouldn’t have lost them!” Sunset shot back, her eyes glaring daggers into the taller man’s.
By now, others were taking notice, but Shining Armour didn’t seem to be noticing.
He gritted his teeth, his own eyes narrowing. “You’re from Canterlot High?”
“And so’s Twilight now!” Sunset growled back. “So, any insults you have for me because of my school, I’d suggest you think twice about, unless you don’t care if they’d be redirected at your own sister too!”
That caused Shining Armour to pause, before glancing to the girl cowering behind Sunset. “Wait. Twilight, you’re leaving Crystal Prep for Canterlot High?”
Twilight nodded, still not coming out from behind the former unicorn.
“We’d love to continue this little chat, but there’s a crowd gathering and, besides that, we’ve got some friends to meet up with,” Sunset said, turning and nudging Twilight so she’d get moving, Trixie hurrying after them.
“And that’s why we’re late,” Sunset finished telling about their trip to the stores to the girls as they all moved over to where the portal was.
“That dirty,” Dash muttered, punching her fist into her palm. “Talking to his own sister like that.”
“It ain’t right, that’s fer sure,” Applejack nodded, looking just as angry as Dash. “No brother should talk to his sister like that.”
“It would seem our world’s Shining Armour is nothing like the one from Princess Twilight’s world,” Rarity agreed as they reached the statue, or where it had been, anyway. “From what she told me of him during our sleepover back during the Battle of the Bands, he’s quite the gentleman. Our Twilight's brother, however...”
“It is pretty mean of him to treat Twilight that way,” Fluttershy agreed.
Twilight sighed, hugging herself lightly. “Shining Armour was one of the reasons I felt pressured into being in the games in the first place. Dean Cadance understood that I didn’t want to be in them, but Shining Armour insisted on it, even though I explained why I didn’t want to be in them.”
They all stood around, Dash and AJ bristling with anger at Twilight’s older brother, Sunset still feeling angry about it too.
Trixie herself wasn’t too impressed with Twilight’s older brother. From what Twilight had told them during breakfast and their shopping trip, he was a police officer. What kind of police officer confronts his little sister in public and belittles her from speaking up against someone as horrible and mean and Principal Cinch?
Trixie’s opinion of Shining Armour was that he was a big doody head.
She blinked, frowning at herself. Doody head? What was she, five?
...
Okay, physically, yes, she was, but it’s the principal of the thing.
As everyone was standing around, their spirits down because of Twilight’s brother’s behaviour, Pinkie cried suddenly out, “Hey, let’s put those frowns upside down! Welcome Picnic Party!” pulling out a basket from...
You know what? Trixie wasn’t even going to question it.
Before any of them could really answer, Pinkie had set up a red and white checked picnic blanket in front of the where the Wondercolts statue had been, pulling out several sandwiches, juice boxes and a few cupcakes.
Twilight and Spike were the only ones in the group who stared at Pinkie, before looking to the others with an expression that asked, “How?”
They all chuckled, Applejack putting an arm around Twilight and saying, “Trust me, sugarcube. Better not ta asked an’ just accept it as Pinkie being Pinkie.”
Twilight looked like she wanted to argue the matter, very much, but the chuckles and shaking of heads from the others made her stop.
So they all sat around the picnic blanket, just enjoying some time together, Trixie sitting next to Sunset as she herself dug into one of Pinkie’s cupcakes.
Suddenly there was a sound from beside herself and Sunset and the pony Twilight appeared through the stone.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” she said, glancing behind at the portal. “It’s just I didn’t get your messages until just now because I was caught in this time travel loop and, honestly, it was the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
She blinked, before her eyes went wide as she finally saw the Twilight from their world, who was staring back at her with an uncertain smile and waving, while was Spike staring, jaw agape.
All was silent for a few moments as they stared at each other, the only sound being Pinkie sipping her drink.
“Make that the second strangest,” Princess Twilight said, wearing an uncertain smile.
Their Twilight shook her head, her expression still uncertain as well. “Um... hi... Twilight?”
Sunset stood up and put a hand on pony Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight Sparkle, meet Twilight Sparkle. Twilight,” she said, looking to their Twilight, “meet Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.”
Their Twilight just smiled sheepishly, whilst Princess Twilight did this same.
Spike took a few hesitant steps forward and sniffed Princess Twilight’s feet.
He cocked his head, frowning. “Wow. She even smells just like you, Twi.”
Princess Twilight blinked, before her expression became uncertain. “Wait. How can this world’s Spike talk? Isn’t he just a dog here?”
Spike blinked, before frowning. “Just a dog, huh? So what’s your worlds’ Spike then?” He blinked again, cocking an eyebrow. “Wow. That’s gotta be the weirdest thing I’ve ever said, and I only just started talking yesterday.”
“He’s a dragon,” Twilight said, deadpan.
Spike’s expression went blank, before he backed up a bit. “Uh... okay. Never mind me.”
“Can you fix me now, please?!”
Twilight blinked, taken aback by the smaller voice and glanced down at where her arm was being pulled to see Trixie looking up at her.
She cocked an eyebrow, before they widened. “Oh! Right! One of your last messages was about Trixie being regressed.”
Trixie nodded. “Can you fix me?” Though, even as she finished speaking, a part of Trixie questioned why she wanted to return to her previous age, confusing her.
Twilight smiled, bending down and put a hand to Trixie’s forehead, before she started singing a simple tune, one Trixie remembered Fluttershy humming a few times.
As she did, she glowed with a purple light, Ponying Up like the others, gaining pony ears, longer hair like a tail and wings, like Fluttershy and Rainbow, only hers were bigger, since she was an Alicorn.
As she hummed, Trixie felt a tingling through her body. It felt nice, if she had to be honest, even tickled a little, causing her to giggle.
“Oh dear.”
Those words and tone from the princess caused Trixie’s mood to drop at once as she opened her eyes to see Twilight wearing a worried frown.
“Whatever is the matter, Twilight?” Rarity asked, glancing between her and Trixie.
Twilight stopped humming, her wings fading away and her ears and hair returning to what they were before as she folded her arms, sighing. “I can’t change her back.”
“What?” everyone but their Twilight cried, eyes wide, Trixie’s already starting to brim with tears.
Sunset stepped forward, her expression concerned. “Twilight, what do you mean? Why can’t you change Trixie back?”
Twilight shook her head. “You were right that this was the Siren’s magic. I can faintly trace it, something seems to have removed it from her before.”
“That was Sunset!” Pinkie said, bouncing down in front of the lavender girl from the other world, moving her body around. “She used all our magic together and began kinda like an Alicorn, or at least I guess an Alicorn, she had wings and horn and everything, though her wings were made of fire, whilst yours are always feathered.
Anyway, you see our world's Twilight accidentally turned into a power-crazed magical creature, so of like what Sunset turned into when she wore your crown, only Twilight's monster form that tried to rip the world apart when she was exposed to the magic she'd accidentally stolen from both us and the portal, so Sunset combined all our magic and became an Alicorny girl and when she used her magic to seal all the holes between our worlds Possessed Twilight opened some of it washed over Trixie.”
Twilight blinked, before glancing around as if to ask, “Is she exaggerating or...?”
Their Twilight shook her head, her expression sagging. “No. I really did turn into a monster and almost ripped our two worlds apart.” She hugged herself. “Sorry.”
Twilight shook her head, giving a warm smile. “Hey, you wouldn’t be the first being I know who’s done that, and I’m not talking about Sunset.”
Sunset chuckled, before her expression became serious. “So, do you think I did something to Trixie when my magic washed over her?”
“Trixie remembers that,” the little girl pipped up. “Trixie felt all warm and as if something that shouldn’t be in her was gone, but she didn’t know what.”
Twilight nodded. “I thought so. When Trixie got exposed to the Siren’s magic that regressed her age, it remained inside of her, meaning, if it had stayed inside her, she’d have been a five-year-old forever.”
Trixie eeped, clutching onto Sunset’s arm.
“And now?” Sunset asked, glancing down at Trixie for a moment before looking to Twilight.
The princess gave a warm smile. “I can tell you you cleansed her of the magic, so it won’t hold her at the age of five.”
“But then why isn’t Trixie back to her normal age?” Applejack asked, looking confused.
Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “I said it wouldn’t keep her at that age. I never said she’d change back.”
“What?” they all gasped.
Twilight shook her head again, looking to Trixie. “Regression magic is really advanced. Even Alicorns aren’t meant to use it unless in emergencies. And... sometimes... depending on how they're cast, the effects can’t be reversed.”
“So, what does that mean for Trixie?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight looked at the child clutching onto Sunset’s arm. “She’ll have to grow up again.”
“That’s not fair at all!” Rainbow stated, stomping a hoof. “Can’t you take her to Equestria and used the magic there. Your whole world’s filled with it. Maybe there you could do it?”
Twilight just shook her head. “I don’t even think Trixie can go through the portal. Whilst the magic that regressed her is gone, I don’t think, until she reaches the age she was before she was regressed, she’ll even be able to pass through it.”
“Can too!” Trixie cried, her expression firming. She let go of Sunset’s arm and charged at the portal.
“Trixie, wait—” Sunset tried to say as she whirled around, her hand outstretched, but too late.
Trixie hit the statue’s base, the portal rippling from her touch, but bounced right off, falling to the ground on her butt.
The others all gasped as Sunset hurried over and held the now sobbing Trixie as she realized she was stuck as a child.
Twilight sighed. “I’m really sorry, you guys. I wish I could do more, but the Age Spell used on Trixie is a bit beyond my abilities to override without studying it a bit more.”
“And, being the Element of Magic, that’s saying a lot,” Sunset sighed as she stood, holding Trixie in her arms as the child sobbed into her jacket.
Twilight nodded, looking down. “The only way for her to return to her original age is to grow up like any normal girl. Sorry.”
Sunset sighed, shaking her head, before putting on a smile. “Well, looks like I’ll be having a permanent house guest then.”
“Huh?” Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna put Sunset in charge of looking after Trixie whilst she’s little,” Fluttershy smiled, before it faded. “Though... I don’t know if they intended for it to be permanent.”
“It would make more sense if her parents looked after her,” Applejack said, folding her arms.
“No!”
They all started when the little voice shouted. Trixie was clinging onto Sunset much tighter. “T-Trixie doesn’t wanna leave Sunset.”
Both Twilights glanced at each other, not sure what to make of this.
Their Twilight sighed, rubbing her neck. “Well, Dean Cadance told called me to let me know she'd be speaking with Shining Armour, so we shouldn't have worry about him bugging us about a little girl hanging around.”
“Cadance?” Twilight asked, turning to face her double, an eyebrow raised. “My sister-in-law’s a dean in this world?”
Their Twilight blinked, staring in amazement. “How did you know Cadance is my sister-in-law?”
Twilight just blinked. “Uh... because the Cadance in my world married my brother.”
“You’ve a brother too?” their Twilight asked, her eyes wide. “Is his name Shining Armour.”
“Yep,” Twilight said with proud smile. “Captain of the Royal Guard and husband to the Crystal Princess.”
“Dean Cadance is a princess in your world?”
“Yo, Twilights?!” they both blinked, before turning to Rainbow Dash. “Kinda getting off topic here.”
“Sorry,” they both said in unison, before looking at each other and laughing.
“Ah hope this ain’t what happens when Sunset meets her other self,” Applejack, her arms folded.
That caused them all to pause, before Rainbow glanced at the farm girl. “Uh, AJ; what are you talking about?”
Applejack pointed a thumb and Sunset, then nodded to the two Twilights. “Well, Sunset’s fr’m Equestria, right? So, the her fr’m this world’s still around somewhere.”
All were silent as they absorbed that.
Sunset shuddered, scratching behind her head. “I hope she’s not like how I used to be.”
“Hold up!” Rainbow Dash cried, her hands in the air. “Again, off topic."
“Uh... right,” Princess Twilight said, scratching her head. “Well, if that’s all, then I guess I should be heading back to Equestria.”
This was met by awws of disappointment from everyone, especially their world’s Twilight. “I wouldn’t have minded talking with you and comparing the slight variances between the factors leading to the cause of relationships in our worlds.”
Everyone aside from Twilight and Sunset stared blankly at her once she’d finished.
“Uh, anybody understand a word of that?” Applejack asked, glancing around the group.
“Got me,” Dash shook her head. “I lost track after “slight”.”
“Really?” the princess asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Sounded perfectly simple to me.” She turned to her counterpart. “That would be fun,” she nodded, before sighing. “Maybe some other time? In truth, I really should make sure things are still okay with Starlight Glimmer.”
“You’ll have to tell us about it later,” Sunset smiled, nodding. “We understand, Twilight.”
The girl nodded, before holding out a hand to the other girl. “Well, it was nice meeting you... Twilight.”
“Yeah,” the other replied, returning the handshake. “Same here, um, Twilight.”
The princess nodded, before turning to the portal, bid everyone a final farewell, before vanishing through the stone.
“Well, what’ll we do now?” Sunset asked, looking around at the others.
They all shrugged.
A musical tune caused them all to look to Twilight, who reached into her pocket and pulled out an iPONE. Her expression became a little uncertain. “It’s a text, from Dean Cadance.”
“What does it say?” Rarity asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Twilight squirmed a little. “I’m expected to be present at a meeting with the school board tomorrow.”
“What?” the others all cried.
“How come?” Rainbow demanded, her brow furrowing. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“They want Sunset and Trixie to be there too,” Twilight went on, looking over the text. “Cadance will pick us up tomorrow at ten and take us there.”
“Wait, us too?” Sunset couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “Why would they want to speak with me or Trixie?”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. Cadance just told us to be ready for the meeting tomorrow.”
They all remained quiet, going over that.
It was Rarity who broke the silence. “Well, if you are going to see the school board, we’ll need to get you a new ensemble, Twilight, darling.”
She moved over and began directing Twilight in the direction of the store where Rarity worked part time.
“Wait, what?” Twilight stuttered as the fashionista continued pushing her onwards.
“Oh, indeed, darling,” Rarity said matter-of-factly. “You are not going to see the school board wearing that uniform. No longer being a student of Crystal Prep, you should start wearing things far less severe that shines the inner you.”
“Should... we help her?” Trixie glanced up to Sunset, not sure if Twilight was entering dangerous territory or not.
Sunset sighed, giving a small smile. “We couldn’t stop Rarity right now, even if we tried.”
“… of course I could always have it… denied. What do you think?”
Spoiled Rich looked coldly at Abacus Cinch as the audio finished, an eyebrow raised. “That last line was clearly blackmail. With this and all the other evidence presented against you, Principal Cinch, are you honestly going to say you’ve done no wrong, to your own students as well as those from Canterlot High?”
They were all sitting in a medium sized room in a building downtown. It was decorated with diplomas, awards and photos here and there of the woman behind the desk with her daughter and sister.
Principal Cinch glanced from the head of the school board to Shining Armour, expecting some help.
However, the man who’d started out defending her during this meeting was now staring at her in a mixture of horror and disgust, before he turned to look behind her.
Cinch looked back too, unable to suppress the scowl that formed when her eyes fell on the student who had ruined everything for her, and the two from Canterlot High sitting next to her, the latter of whom were glaring right back.
Twilight was wearing a blue and white striped shirt with a white collar, with a lavender ribbon tied into a small bow just above her chest and a purple skirt with a six-pointed star image scattered on it. Her hair was now tied back in a long ponytail, held in place by a hairclip shaped like the images on her skirt.
Sitting next Twilight on the other side were Twilight Sparkle’s parents, who were looking in her direction with the same look Shining Armour had given her, as was Dean Cadance, who was sitting next to them.
“Well, Abacus?” Spoiled asked, tapping a finger against her desk. “I’m waiting.”
“You knew that Canterlot High has been using magic all this time and never did anything about it!” Cinch replied, turning her attention to the woman. “How can you condemn any of the misdemeanours I have made, yet along such a blatant abuse of power there? I’ve no doubt they’ve been using their magic to improve their school’s reputation.”
“If I may, Miss Rich?” Sunset called out, raising a hand slightly.
Spoiled Rich nodded.
Sunset stood up, giving Cinch a firm look, before speaking. “It’s true, Canterlot High has used our magic, but, as you know, we have never used it to try making our school seem better than others. We’ve only used it to stop rogue magic that has entered this world through Equestria. Not once has it been used for the school’s personal gain. Especially during the Friendship Games.”
“You had trained attack plants interfere with my students and one of that blue one used her wings!” Cinch snapped back, almost at once.
“Enough with the lies, Cinch,” Spoiled interrupted, her tone saying she was done. “You claim that Canterlot High used magic against your school to cheat. However, from all the video evidence of both the events in which magic was involved, it was your former student who’s use of magic caused the issues.”
Twilight looked down, ashamed, but Trixie leaned over Sunset and put a hand on the lavender girl’s hand, causing a small smile.
“Due to your insistence she not interact with the students of CHS beyond trying to find ways to spy on them, which, by the way, in itself sounds similar to cheating, she had no idea what would happen when the magic she’d unintentionally taken from Canterlot High’s students got loose. It opened the portals that brought those dangerous plants onto the field. And when Rainbow Dash sprouted her wings, she stopped being in the race. As the video shows,” she opened a window on her computer screen, displaying the video to them, “she gave her bike to Sunset Shimmer, while Rainbow went and fought off the plants, saving your own students in the process. So, I fail to see how they were using magic to cheat.”
Trixie folded her arms, smirking. She couldn’t wait for the next part.
“And, as shown here, in footage filmed by one of your own students, I might add,” she closed the window and brought up another, from an angle looking down from just above Cinch and the Crystal Prep students who’d been competing in the games, “you clearly pressure Twilight that, since CHS had already cheated by using magic, when the previous video proves that completely false, that she use the magic she’d unintentionally stolen, with no idea what it would even do, to win the rest of the games, resulting in this.”
Twilight looked away as the footage showed her transforming into Midnight Sparkle and what followed.
“You claim Canterlot are in the wrong, even here, when it is Sunset Shimmer, one of their own students, who not only stops Twilight after the magic drove her mad, not to mentioned cured her and returned her to her normal state, but also stopped our world from being ripped apart as well,” Spoiled raised an eyebrow. “And you followed that up by acting as if you had done no wrong and even demanded Canterlot High forfeit. I fail to see, in any way possible, that CHS are in the wrong and you are in the right here, Abacus.”
“And you’re trusting Canterlot High’s delinquent student?” Cinch shot back, pointing to Sunset, who wilted slightly, before straightening up and glaring. “The last three years, she terrorised their school and made it difficult for all the students there. You’re saying you’ll trust her over myself in this?!”
Spoiled scowled. “Sunset Shimmer’s beginnings at CHS may have been rocky, to put it mildly, Abacus, but over the last year, she has done her best to right all her wrongs and become a model student in the process. And, as I just showed, is the one who saved our very world after your actions to make sure your school defeated Canterlot almost ended it! And, while I sadly cannot have you arrested for nearly destroying our world, the blackmail charges are more than enough. With all the testimonies from your own students and the audio and video proof of you blackmailing a student who clearly was uncomfortable with what you were forcing her to do against her will, I hereby relieve you of duty.”
Cinch blinked, before her eyes narrowed. “You’re sacking me?!”
Spoiled nodded. “I do not and will not stand for any of the students in my schools being taken advantage, especially blackmailed.”
Cinch snorted, pointing to Sunset again. “So, she was allowed to blackmail her fellow students from her school and gets a pass?”
Spoiled shook her head. “Sunset Shimmer already made up for her past transgressions. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna made sure of that. Besides which, she is a minor. You are an adult. The situations are very different, Abacus.”
The now former Principal Cinch, glared at Spoiled, turned her glare to Twilight, Sunset and Trixie and back to Spoiled, before straightening up. “Very well, Spoiled Rich. I’ll see you in court, then.”
Spoiled smirked slightly. “I look forward to it. I’m sure you’ll be able to excuse the blackmail charges with the magic defence.”
“We will see, won’t we?” with that, Cinch turned, gave a final scathing glare towards Twilight and left.
Spoiled Rich heaved a heavy sigh, putting a hand to her forehead. “As if dealing with my ex in court wasn’t aggravating enough.” Shaking her head, she looked to the rest of those gathered, namely Cadance. “Dean Cadance, until further notice and likely permanently, I am appointing you as the new principal of Crystal Preparatory Academy. Lead the students well.”
Principal Cadance smiled and nodded. “Of course. I promise to do my best.”
Spoiled nodded. “I will look into finding a new dean as soon as possible. Dismissed. Cadance? Stay behind so we can finalize some paperwork for Monday.”
With that, everyone save Cadance got up and left, Twilight staying next to Sunset and Trixie, the latter of whom was holding Sunset’s hand, her face red, but wasn’t complaining.
“About time that horrid woman was fired,” Twilight Velvet said firmly, before giving a concerned look towards her daughter. “I always knew something was worrying Twilight whenever she came home, even if she never told me.”
Night Light nodded. “I’m glad we can finally put all that past us and move on. Even if she’s transferring to CHS, Crystal Prep should be way better of Cadance in charge.”
“Twily!”
The group stopped and turned as Shining Armour hurried out of the office, stopping in front of the girl, who cowered slightly behind Sunset.
Shining looked from the worried expression of his sister, the glares from Sunset and Trixie and the disappointed looks from his parents and looked down, ashamed.
“Twily, I… I’m so sorry. I honestly thought entering the games was good to help you come out of your shell. I mean, you got represent the school.”
“For someone with Twilight’s, at the time, clear social anxiety being put in such a position can only make that worse, pal,” Sunset scolded him. “Despite not knowing Cinch was going to blackmail her, you emphasized to Twilight she should enter the games, even when she was making it clear as day that the idea made her highly uncomfortable. Siding with Cinch without getting all the facts, even after we told you when we met yesterday, only made it worse.”
Shining looked like he’d been stabbed in the heart by Sunset’s words, before looking to his sister. “Twily, seriously, I’m so sorry. I just…”
“I… I forgive you, Shining Armour,” Twilight said quietly, turning away from him. “But… but I… just give me some time. Okay?”
Sunset cocked an eyebrow at him.
Shining didn’t looked all that happy, but sighed and nodded. “Okay, Twily.”
With that, the group left, leaving Shining Armour to wait on his wife as well as the chewing out he was very likely going to get. A chewing out Sunset felt he truly deserved.
“So, things worked out fairly well?” Rarity asked, tipping a sip of her smoothie.
The group of nine were in the food court at the local mall. They’d gotten smoothies from Applejack’s Aunt Orange’s shop and sat down so Sunset, Twilight and occasionally Trixie could explain to them what happened at the meeting.
“Glad to know Cinch is out of the job,” Applejack nodded.
“Now that Ah think about it, Crystal Prep did become a pain not long after Cinch took charge,” Rainbow said, frowning in thought. “Then again, that’s only from what I know. Mom and dad made it clear the school was better, back in their day and Cinch became the Principal there long before I was born, so I’ve only known the Cinch Run Crystal Prep.”
“As have we all, darling,” Rarity agreed, looking to Sunset and Trixie, the latter of whom was enjoying a peanut butter and banana smoothie, a very contented smile on her lips. “I cannot believe she stooped so low as to try bringing your past up as part of her defence for her actions.”
“I can,” Twilight looked down into her grape and banana smoothie. “Now that I look back on my years there, she’d always turn any time a student called her out on something by bringing up something from their own past. We were all made to feel we had to succeed, even the smallest flaw was made to feel like it could ruin our education.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore!” Pinkie cheered, hugging Twilight from behind, a huge grin on her face.
“So, do you have any plans for today?” Fluttershy asked, looking to Sunset.
The girl in question smiled, ruffle Trixie’s hair, to which the little girl batter it away, but smiling. “Well, I thought we’d spend some time at the park. Some relaxation time, what with everything that’s been going on lately.”
The others nodded.
“The park sounds like a great idea,” Spike chirped from Twilight’s lap, before grinning. “I’ll bet there’ll be some squirrels that’ll be fun to chase too.”
The girls all laughed, agreeing some relaxing time at the park was a good idea.
