Author's Notes:

Before any of you are asking about the cover art, I got it from DeviantArt. And sure, it doesn't seem accurate, but it was the best thing that I could find that could make a good story. I could've gone to an artist to make a different rendition of this picture, but what you can find is what you can get in this world, as it would so turn out.

If you like this story then by all means, continue reading it. But if you don't, then feel free to leave. I'm not gonna stop you if this idea seems weird. But all in all, the mayhem will start up next chapter. Providing that I can actually get off of my fat arse and get to work. In recent weeks, I've been getting lazier and lazier as it would seem. Whether you consider it a blessing or a curse is down to you.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Inside Canterlot High's hall, students were all gathered around on bleachers while Celestia and Luna sat at a small table in front of them. It was a similar set-up to how the crowd and judges were during the Battle of the Bands, but this time, everyone else couldn't help but smile and chatter among each other as they waited for the next act to come on and please them.

Backstage, various acts had gathered their equipment and stood in line, waiting for their turn in the spotlights. Some were dressed in bright outfits while others were dressed in casual clothes. In front of the group was Trixie, who had a plain magician's wand in her hand. She was practicing flicking her wrists, smiling all the while.

"That last contest was a bit of a washout," she mumbled to herself. "All that nonsense about magical sirens completely threw off my mojo. But when it comes to a talent competition, my illusionist prowess is unmatched." She sandwiched her wand in her hands. "I'm especially glad that the Rainbooms aren't participating this time. Maybe for once, I'll be able to bask in the glory of victory."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Trixie." Fuchsia Blush stood next to Trixie, perched up against the wall with her friend, Lavender Lace. "Remember, you're going out there alone. You won't have either of us to back you up or help you out if something goes wrong."

"Yeah. Usually our acts are all together, Trix." Lavender Lace gently tugged on the curtains and poked out at the crowd. "And you're gonna be out there without us. There's no guarantee that everything will go your way today—especially considering everyone else we're up against."

"Lighten up, girls. Trixie has got this in the bag." She tossed her hair backwards and slipped on a bright purple witch's hat. "You're just expecting the worst is all. Think about the positives. Trixie always says to always look on the bright side of things, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but you've got some real competition out there." Fuchsia pointed to the competitors on the other side of the stage, who were putting their equipment away. "Sure. None of them are the Rainbooms, but they're still pretty good. That Tennis Match girl was able to perform some pretty sick tricks with her bat."

"Not to mention that Flash Sentry and his band completely rocked the socks off of everyone out there." Lavender watched him bump fists with his band-mates. "I know it's not a music competition anymore, but still, do you know anyone else here at Canterlot High that can perform rock and roll like that?"

"Not exactly." Both Trixie and Fuchsia shook their heads.

"Even so, I hope you've brought out your best tricks, Trixie. That crowd's already seen some good stuff today." Lavender watched Celestia reach for the microphone. "Ah, who am I kidding? You're the best magician I think we've ever seen! Not counting those pony-obsessed Rainbooms, of course."

"Thanks for the pep talk, girls." Trixie smiled. "Now then. Let's give these Canterlot High students a show they'll never forget!"

"And now. Performing some tricks that will bedazzle and wow the crowd, the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie," said Celestia. "But we know her better as Trixie Lulamoon! Come on to the stage!"

Trixie was met with a few cheers as she came on to the stage, wearing a heavily-layered purple dress with golden boots. She gazed out towards the crowd and took out her wand once she made it into the spotlight. The house lights dimmed, a smirk crossed her face, and she pulled out a bright red blanket from her sleeves.

"Now then. Some people say that magic comes from sheer willpower, or from the skill that you have alone," said Trixie, pulling out a microphone from the blanket. "But to me, true magic comes from imagination!"

With a powerful flick of a blanket, Trixie was able to create a rectangular podium with various props decorating it. She took a set of five rings and held them all in one hand. She let go of most of them, but instead of hitting the floor, the rings linked together and hung onto each other. A chorus of "Oooh"s escaped from the crowd as Trixie took the rings and slipped them back together, separating them as she slid them onto the rack again.

"I gotta say, she's actually pretty good." Rainbow Dash leaned in closer and watched Trixie pull her wand out and tap on a small box, causing it to open up and reveal an apple. She closed it up and gave the box another few taps, and when it opened again, the apple was gone. "Whoa! How did she do that?!"

"Trixie's really been upping her game." Pinkie Pie smiled as she watched the magician take off her hat and place it down on the table. With a few swishes of the wand, she pulled the hat up, revealing a single cupcake. "Ooh! How did she make that cupcake appear?! I want to know how!"

"I'm sure that you're all eager to know how I make all of these tricks possible, but a magician's one rule is that they never reveal their secrets; no matter how much their friends, family, or even the general crowd want to know." Trixie gave the students a wink as she dropped her blanket over the cupcake. With another quick yank, the food had disappeared. She bathed in the applause and moved the podium away. "But now, Trixie is in need of a few volunteers. She's been practicing this new trick of hers for over a month, and is hoping that with your help, that she'll finally be able to make it a success."

"Volunteers?" Celestia lifted a brow and turned back towards her students. "Well, I suppose that it couldn't really hurt now, could it?" She held her ear to the students, who all gave her big cheers. With a little grin of her own, she turned back to Trixie. "They seem fond of the idea, Trixie. Go ahead. Pick anyone you like."

"Hmm..." Trixie scanned the audience and watched as people put their hands and waved them around frantically. She scratched her chin and put her wand down on the floor. "Let Trixie think here..."

"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo tugged on Rainbow Dash's shirt. "Why aren't you putting your hands up?"

"As much as I've been enjoying this performance, I'm not really a fan of Trixie's volunteer acts. Remember that whole thing where everyone thought that Derpy really had vanished? It took us a whole week for us to find her. I thought she was gone forever!"

"Yeah. But we did find her in the end." Scootaloo nodded. "What could go wrong?"

"She does have a point, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy put her hand on Rainbow's shoulders. "Besides, we've had to stand up to the forces of evil magic four times now. I'm sure that Trixie's trick is gonna be a success. She can't possibly do anything worse than the stuff we've fought before."

"True, true." Rainbow Dash put her hands behind her head and kicked her feet up. "Besides, Trixie's doing magic. There's no way this could go wrong."

"Trixie has made her decision!" She jabbed a finger towards Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo. "You three! You are all Trixie's lucky chosen few! Come on up to the stage, and prepare to be part of a trick that will change your lives!"

"Oh, I'm not so sure about the whole changing lives part, but OK." Fluttershy stood up with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, and walked over towards the stage with them.

Once the three girls jumped onto the stage, Trixie led them to their proper places. She put Rainbow Dash in between Fluttershy and Scootaloo before retrieving her wand.

"Now then, you three. Trixie's fairly new to this sort of spell. So, if at any point, you feel something wrong, don't hesitate to let Trixie know." She brushed their bodies down and polished her wand. "I would never do anything to you if it made you feel uncomfortable."

She says, after the Battle of the Bands... Rainbow Dash thought. You know, we're only doing this because you chose us.

"Now then. Trixie's newest spell, designed to rejuvenate and revitalize a person is very new." She turned to the audience. "It's a complicated process and one far beyond anything you could think of, but I'm about to make these three girls look a year younger."

"You know, you don't need to use a spell to make us like th—"

"And now. Let's begin." Trixie slapped Fluttershy's mouth shut and readied her wand.

As Trixie slowly began moving her wand, a faint aura resonated from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. It glistened dimly in the light, almost invisible to the naked eye, before moving around Trixie's wand. The few twinkles and sparkles started to appear as Trixie raised her wand high and began to utter the magic words, "Mighty magic wand of truth, give these girls the gift of youth!" She snapped her wand down on the three teenagers.

A small, yet powerful beam of light struck the ground around the three girls, causing a magical rune to appear beneath their feet. Bright lights sprung up all around them before smoke began to rise from the seal, shrouding the girls within it. The crowd looked on with interest, they wanted to see whether or not Trixie's trick was going to be a success, or whether it was all smoke and mirrors.

Well. This is new. Trixie thought as she watched the gas continue to spiral around the girls. She promptly gave herself a slap to the face. No. Don't even assume that, Trixie. You know you're better than that. If this spell works, you'll win the contest. Stop being so nervous!

Eventually, the smoke began to clear and the lights began to stop. Once everything had calmed down, the crowd let out a large gasp as they saw the results of the spell.

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo all came out of the smoke gurgling as they tapped their hands to their faces. Their clothes had been transformed into tiny shirts with their logos stitched into them. Around their waists were three thick diapers, all taped up and properly secured. They took a look at the audience and put their hands into their mouths, sucking on them deftly as they stared bug-eyed at them all.

"Well, It's a bit of a stretch, but there you have it, ladies and gentlemen." Trixie began to sweat frantically as she forced a curved smile. She stretched her arms out towards the three babies and meekly said, "Ta-da..."

The crowd could only watch in awe as Trixie began to pace around the babies. None of them knew how to react at the sight. They were all very impressed that she had been able to turn Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo into infants, but now they were wondering if the effects were permanent.

"Dashie!" Pinkie Pie jumped up from the bleachers and ran as fast as she could towards the three babies. She gave them all a massive hug and carried Rainbow Dash gently in her arms. "Oh, don't you worry, little Dashie-washie... Pinkie Pie's here to make it all better."

Rainbow Dash simply reached up towards Pinkie's chin and grabbed onto it, spouting out gibberish and spit.

"Trixie. If we could borrow you for just a second?" Celestia waved her hand and attracted Trixie over towards the table. "Are you sure that this spell is going to be permanent?"

"Yes. We don't want these three to go back through their infant years this close to graduation." Luna reached over and gently plucked Scootaloo from the stage, tousling her hair as she brought her to the table. "Despite how cute they are, I don't think it would be fair to leave them like this."

"Well, uh..." Trixie rubbed the stage with the tips of her boots. "Like I said, it's a brand new spell. I've never really tried it out on a real show before." She let out a weak chuckle and saw Celestia write down notes about her performance. "W-wait! I can fix this, Principal Celestia! Just you leave it to me! Don't disqualify me just yet!"

"I never said that I was going to disqualify you, Trixie. I was just writing down some marks based on that last spell." Celestia tapped the paper with the tip of her pen. "Now, I know that the Rainbooms decided not to take part in this talent show, but it still doesn't mean that we can excuse some of their magic meddling in the affairs of the other students' business."

"Even if it is accidental, we still have to make sure that everything proceeds as normal." Luna nodded and put the lid of her pen back on. "Now, because we are merciful, we will allow you to make this right. If you can turn these girls back into normal by the end of the talent show, then we will let this whole thing slide and still mark your age-reduction spell down positively."

"If not, then we will simply have to mark it against you. And we don't want anything like that, now do we?" Celestia lifted her brows.

"No, Principal Celestia." Trixie picked up all three of the babies and struggled to keep hold of them all. "You have Trixie's word that she'll fix this whole thing."

"I hope so." Rarity waltzed down towards the babies. "I'm sure that you meant to put on a great show this time, Trixie, but this just doesn't seem right."

"Yeah. You can't make Dashie a baby again, or Fluttershy and Scootaloo for that matter!" Pinkie threw her arms down in front of her. "I know that being a baby's a super-duper fun time, but the principals are right. We don't want to leave them all like this when we're so close to graduating..."

"I know, I know! Do you think Trixie doesn't know this?!" Trixie hissed at Rarity and Pinkie. "I was only trying to make them one year younger, not eighteen years younger!"

"Don't panic, Trixie." Twilight Sparkle came up towards Trixie and gently patted her back. "Sunset Shimmer's got to have the answers to this little problem. I'm sure she'd be able to help you out."

"Well, whatever you're all planning on doing, do you think that you could do it outside of the hall?" Luna asked, pointing towards the students back on the stage. "We've still got some acts to get through before the end of the show. And your clock for fixing Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo just started. Better not waste any time, Lulamoon."

"Gah! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! We've gotta get going!" Trixie jumped and bolted out of the room with Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight following closely behind her. They charged through the doors head-first before skidding on their heels and darting down towards another room. It wasn't long before she came back, though. "Uh. Where is Sunset Shimmer again, Principal Celestia?"

"She's in room B105. Filling out some important extra credit for her chemistry classes." Celestia pointed upwards.

"Thank you!" Trixie ran off again.

"Well. That was certainly... something." Luna sheepishly turned back towards the stage and banged her papers together. "Anyway. Our next act is Derpy Whooves and her bubble-catching skills. Please welcome her on, everyone!"