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A Little Monster

by Shadowmane PX-41

Chapter 21: New Playmates

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Sunset lead the Shadowbolts up to the nursery and walked inside with Twilight in her arms. The whole group was met with a welcoming shade of bright baby pink as they all walked in. The toys were fairly scattered, with very clear paths leading to the changing table and crib. Sunset went over towards the blocks and set Twilight down by them, watching as she immediately reached out for them and began to play.

"So, Sunset? Can I ask you a question?" Sour Sweet raised a hand once Twilight was lost in her playtime.

"Sure. Ask away." Sunset Shimmer shrugged.

"Has Twilight ever been a" —She leaned in close to Sunset and whispered in her ears— "problem at times?"

"Well..." Sunset looked down at Twilight, who drooled and babbled as she plucked blocks from the ground and began to spell something out with them. "If I said no, then it'd be a bit too obvious that I was lying. Yes, I'm afraid that Twilight has been a bit wacky at times."

"And judging by the wings and horn, it wasn't about what food she liked, if she'd soiled her diapers, or if she didn't want to go to sleep." Indigo squatted down and put her hands on her knees as she watched Twilight's block words come to fruition. "Knowing Twilight and all that magic stuff at the Friendship Games, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a bit hard to deal with at times."

"A bit hard? That's the understatement of the century." Sunset crossed her arms. "Let's just say this. If you have a magic-filled baby with massive wings like this, then be prepared for inter-dimensional travel, crazy outburts of energy that could prove dangerous if you touch it, and even your house being turned into some weird set from a kid's TV show." She watched Twilight finish off the words, smiling and giggling once she put the last block down. "If anything, the regular baby stuff isn't that hard to deal with for me."

"I wish that we could study Twilight in this state, but given that she is a baby, it wouldn't be right to take her from you." Sugarcoat walked over to Twilight and brushed her hair through the baby's long and lustrous locks of purple and black. "Which is a shame, because I have a feeling that this magic, used in the right way, would be able to revolutionize the world in so many ways."

"Yeah. We could use magic to make houses and buildings in days, rather than years. We'd be able to learn how to fly without airplanes, teleport, create things with our imaginations! The possibilities are endless!" Sunny Flare grinned and put both of her hands to her cheeks. She let out a girly chuckle before taking a few deep breaths. "Excuse me for that. I sometimes act like a giddy toddler when I think about what Twilight's magic could do to help the world out."

"Get real, Sunny Flare." Lemon Zest nudged her shoulder and gave her a coy glance. "You want to learn how you can use Twilight's magic to have fun. I can't really blame ya for that. Sunset and her friends can grow wings, pony ears, and bigger hair. The stuff I could do with longer hair..." Lemon grinned and drifted away into her own thoughts.

"Oh. She's such a little sweetheart isn't she?" Sour Sweet picked Twilight up and rubbed her tiny belly. "Shame the rest of the world isn't cuddles and hugs for her."

"So. What else is new?" Sunset asked as Twilight opened her wings and flapped out of Sour's hold and landed in the playpen. "Any social events coming up at Crystal Prep or something like that?"

"Well... come to think of it, there is something going on that we've got our eyes on." Sunny Flare pulled out her phone, opened up the internet app, and scrolled down to show an advert. "Seems like what you girls did is really sparking interest."

"What? What is it, Sunny?" Sunset came up to her and gazed down at the phone.

"There's going to be a music video competition in a couple of weeks with prize money on the line. The proceeds for entry all go towards helping Camp Everfree stay afloat." Sunny Flare began. "Bring as many friends as you want and shoot the best music video you possibly can. The best entry will receive a prize of ten-thousand dollars. You can use any formatting and editing tools you want when making the video."

"Sounds like fun. Plus, we'd be able to help your friend Timber out." Lemon Zest put her arm around Sunset's neck and gave her a smile. "Crystal Prep's got some of the best gear for editing stuff. We'll provide editing, while you and your friends could come up with the song, set, and other important stuff."

"Well. Timber does need some help, given that he's gotta deal with Filthy Rich and Gloriosa. I'll let the other girls know once you all head home." Sunset nodded and zoomed in on the application forms. "This contest could be just what he needs to save the camp from the debt he's in."

"Ah, yes. I heard everything from the Rainbooms. Didn't they say that along the way, Gloriosa got consumed by magic as well and turned into a little baby like Twilight?" Sugarcoat lifted a brow at Sunset.

"Yeah. But it's kind of a long story and I wouldn't want to bore you with that kinda stuff." Sunset recoiled and ran her fingers through her hair. "Plus, it's kinda the reason why I'm spending the week away from the girls. Things got out of hand and I don't think I'm ready to face them again after I brought Twilight with me and ended up turning Gloriosa into a baby because of it." She snapped her head backwards and grunted. "Look. I don't want to stay on this subject for too long. Can we talk about the contest some more instead?"

"Sunset. You're avoiding the question because it hurts you, doesn't it?" Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses and stared deep into Sunset's eyes. "Listen to me. There will always be moments like this where people get hurt. But you have to remember that you're not at fault here. You had no idea that it would go down that route."

"I know, but don't you think that I deserve at least some slap on the wrist for my stupidity?" Sunset tilted her head to the side. "I brought Twilight, a magical baby, to a non-magical area to try and let her have some fun and quality time with me and the others. And all that got me was more problems than leisure time."

"I know that, but don't you think that you should tell us exactly what happened?" Sugarcoat folded her arms in front of her chest. "There's no point in us helping you out if we don't even know what the problem is."

"Look, Sugarcoat. You and your friends are still young. You've still got a lot to learn about magic." Sunset Shimmer hung her head, took a deep breath, and looked up at the girls again. "What happened at Camp Everfree goes beyond the boundaries of what we've come to understand..."

Twilight watched Sunset Shimmer explain everything to the Shadowbolts. She cooed and tilted her head as she heard everything her mother said to the girls. But Twilight was a restless little girl. She wanted to play. She tried to fidget her arms and legs around and play with the toys in the playpen, but she quickly came to realize that she was alone in the pen. She took a look down at her tiny hands and whimpered like a dog. As she took one more glance out, she saw the bright hairs and bodies of the Crystal Preppers, and her eyes lit up on the spot.

Twilight crawled over towards the playpen bars and grabbed onto them as tightly as she could. She pointed her horn at the five Shadowbolts and began to charge a spell. Instead of magical energy being drawn from thin air, she instead created magical auras around the teenagers and absorbed them into her horn, laughing and speaking in baby talk all the while. Finally, once she had charged everything up, she turned around at the empty playpen and fired five bright beams down onto it, causing small pillars of light to erupt from where she had shot her magic.

"So anyway, that's it. The magic that I brought to Camp Everfree not only landed Timber Spruce with a potential courtroom case, but also another dent in his budget," said Sunset Shimmer. "Doing this competition is going to help Timber not only save the camp, but also give him a good head start when caring for baby Gloriosa Daisy. Now then, I hope that sinks in and that you'll all help me out with this."

"Sunset. After the Friendship Games, you can consider us friends for life." Indigo Zap put her hand on Sunset's shoulder and gave her a smile. "Sure, we might not be as good as the Rainbooms, and that we might be a bit rough around the edges, but once you get to know us, we're all goo—"

Before Indigo could even finish her sentence, a cavalcade of baby talk erupted from the playpen. Instead of Twilight's voice, there were more voices coming from it as well. There were some whines, giggles, and other noises as well, but there was mostly chatter inside the pen.

"Uh, Sunset? What happened in there?" Sour Sweet turned her head towards the playpen.

"I don't know..." Sunset also turned her eyes towards the pen and walked over towards it. She poked her head over the bars and looked down at the sight. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What do you mean, uh oh?" Lemon Zest ran over with the other Shadowbolts towards the playpen. "Sunset, you're scaring us. What's going on in—" she looked inside "—there?"

Inside the playpen, Twilight was now playing with five brand new babies, all of whom shared the same hair, skin, and eye colours as the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts. They all wore Twilight's purple and pink outfit, but were lacking in any wings, horns, or glowing neon masks. Instead, they were all just playing with stuffed animals, suckling on pacifiers, and crawling around with smiles on their faces.

"Whoa!" Sunset jumped backwards and tripped over some building blocks. She landed hard on her rear end and felt a surge of pain shoot up her body. "What happened in there? How did Twilight create more babies?!"

"Why are you so surprised by this?" Lemon Zest turned towards Sunset. "I think it's kinda cute. The little baby us-es are so super-duper adorable." She shook her fists with a massive grin plastered on her face and turned back to the pen. "Aw... Look at little me playing with those balls. I just wanna take her home and play with her all day!"

"I must admit, this is rather heartwarming." Sugarcoat reached down towards her little clone and picked her up. She pulled her infant duplicate out of the pen and held it close to her chest. "It even has a heartbeat and everything. Twilight Sparkle has the power to clone us and make baby versions of ourselves so that she doesn't get lonely... How clever—especially considering that babies are incapable of thought and just play instead."

"Indeed." Sunny Flare watched her baby self suckle on a bright pink pacifier. She picked her copy up and held her up to her chest. "Most babies can't talk, remember things, or even count or spell. So for an infant to have the power to create life like this is a miracle in itself. Like I'e said. I'm always easily impressed by Twilight's feats and what she could do when she grows up again."

"Hey, little girl. It's me, you. No, not me as in me, I mean me as in you." Indigo Zap was holding her baby copy in her hands, looking into her eyes with a delicate smile. "Man. Am I talking to myself or is a grown-up version of me speaking to a baby me? It's kinda confusing, y'know?"

"Ga ba boo baa li wa Lemon Zest. Ooo ga wa ma pabada?" Lemon Zest babbled down at her baby double. She heard her giggle, clap her hands together, and reach up for her nose. "Alright. I'll be honest here, everyone. I've got no idea what I just said and I don't think I understand exactly what she's saying either."

Indigo and her baby self couldn't help but snicker at Lemon. "Maybe Pinkie Pie should teach you some baby talk," said the older version. "Given that you're here speaking to a smaller and cuter version of yourself, I think some lessons wouldn't hurt."

"It'd also help when trying to deal with Twilight." Sour Sweet bounced her infant copy on her legs. "Though I don't know how I'd be able to learn all of it and speak in baby talk while trying to keep happy. This damn bipolar syndrome of mine is gonna make it REAL HARD to deal with kids."

"Wait. Now that I think about it, both us and these babies are the same people." Sunny Flare looked down and watched her baby self giggle, still sucking deftly on the pacifier as she looked around. "Now, I might be diving a bit out of reality here, but doesn't this technically mean that we're causing paradoxes by taking care of ourselves?"

"It might be possible." Sugarcoat watched her baby copy reach down and pick up a rattle, which she began to shake vigorously. "Normally, it's highly impossible for you to speak with yourself, as it would cause a rupture in the timeline. Even speaking one word to your other half could end up changing the future massively." Sugarcoat let the whole room fall silent for a few moments while they watched their baby duplicates play and cuddle in their embraces. Nothing out of the ordinary happened—even when the Shadowbolts were hugging themselves. "How odd. Nothing's happening. I thought that we would be plagued by paradoxes by now."

"It's completely impossible for paradoxes to happen here." Sunset Shimmer brushed some hair out of her face. "Twilight Sparkle created the baby copies of yourselves. They didn't just appear out of some alternate universe and say that the fate of the world was in balance in some weird baby talk-language that everyone understands." Sunset reached down to baby Lemon Zest and brushed her hair. "They were created from Twilight's magic, so it might be possible that they're just illusions that'll vanish once she has a nap. Believe me. It's happened before. Once it's naptime for Twily, everything just goes poof. Magic gone."

"So, as long as Twilight stays awake, the baby us-es are still here?" Indigo Zap asked.

"Yes. I would believe so." Sunset nodded and picked Twilight up out of the playpen. "Because she used her magic, there's no risk of a paradox whatsoever. You five can all touch, cuddle, dress, and play with your baby selves as much as you want and there'd be absolutely no chance that the world ends. At least, that's what I think." Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. "It's the first time that Twilight's created new babies to play with, so I can't be sure that they'll vanish once she naps. Like I've said; it's possible, but it's not guaranteed."

"Then, in that case, we should start playing with them." Sugarcoat set baby Sugarcoat down into a small baby bouncer and watched as she began to bounce in it. "It's the first and probably only time that we'll get to play with ourselves and it won't be seen as weird or awkward when someone comes barging in."

"Was that a sex joke, Sugarcoat?" Sour Sweet's eyes shot wide open at Sugarcoat's remark. "If it was, then you've got guts. Speaking about sex in the presence of babies isn't something that I'd do—even with my disorder."

"Oh, lighten up, Sour Sweet. They're babies. They won't understand." Sugarcoat smiled and tousled the hair of her little copy. "I could teach them about all three of Newton's Laws and they'd just drool, suck their thumbs, or crawl away. I highly think that a mere sex joke will stick in their brains at this young an age."

"Aaaand, moving swiftly on from that, this is great!" Lemon Zest got down on her hands and knees and let her baby copy crawl off, soon following her towards the stuffed animals. "Now that Twilight did this spell, we can complete the group."

"What group?" Sunset asked.

"The Crystal Prep Littlebolts!" Lemon Zest threw her arms into the air. "They're the smallest, youngest, most playful, and the cutiest little Crystal Prep babies you've ever seen! Baby Twily, Baby Sunny, Baby Indy, Baby Sweet, Baby Sugar, and Baby Lemon—that being me, of course. No. not me me, I mean her me. Man. Indy was right. It is confusing—are the Crystal Prep Littlebolts!"

Sunset couldn't help but let a hearty laugh as the other babies began to play. Her heart melted at the sight and she set Twilight down to play along with the other babies. "Alright. We've got an hour or so before naptime, so why not live it up? Go, Twilight. Go and play with your newest best friends; the Crystal Prep Littlebolts!"

Next Chapter: The Road Ahead Estimated time remaining: 53 Minutes
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