Back in Canterlot, the Cakes’ babies had fallen asleep in each of the girls arms. Smallfoot held onto Pumpkin Cake, while Pinkie Pie held onto Pound Cake.

“So how many times a day do babies need naps?” Smallfoot asked, peering down into Pumpkin’s shut eyelids.

“I dunno.” Pinkie shrugged. “Usually, when I was a baby, mom and dad put me to bed whenever I got sleepy.”

“But these two have already fallen asleep. And I’m no expert, but shouldn’t we find them something more, comfy to sleep in?” Smallfoot asked.

“Well, that’s why there’s a crib here, silly!” Pinkie carried Pound over to the crib and set him down gently, tucking him under the covers. “Go on, Smallfoot. Pumpkin needs some of that comfy crib on her body too.”

Smallfoot just chuckled lightly and she moved over to the other crib, and gently set Pumpkin down into the bed. Once she was set, she grabbed the covers of the blanket and pulled it over the sleeping baby.

“Now remember, Smallfoot. Gentle motions.” Pinkie began to rock the crib back and forth towards her. The slow motions caused Pound Cake to snore quietly, cooing as he exhaled. “If you go too fast, you risk waking them up again. And that’s no fun at all; especially when they just got to bed…”

“Understood.” Smallfoot replied, slowly moving away from the crib so her body wasn’t leaning over it. With one red hand grabbing onto the side, she slowly moved it back and forth, rocking the baby to sleep. “How long should they sleep for, exactly? A nap isn’t like a whole recharge session, is it?”

“Nope. Naps don’t usually last long, which is good, because usually, babies are restless, bouncy, and fun-loving balls of chaos if they don’t sleep properly.” Pinkie smiled. “But don’t get naptime confused with bedtime. They’re TOTALLY different things. I can’t imagine the number of times I’ve made that mistake and gave them a nap late at night when really, they should’ve been asleep instead. Let’s just say Mr. and Mrs. Cake had horrible bed hair that day…”

Smallfoot had a bit of a shocked look on her face. “Um… okay?” Smallfoot took a glance down and she took a look at Pumpkin Cake who yawned for a moment before quietly snoring.

“Aw…” Smallfoot smiled. “Okay, that’s adorable.”

“That’s the same for all babies,” said Pinkie. “But when they don’t get naps, they get pretty kooky. In fact, I feel really sorry for anyone who’s trying to deal with a baby who doesn’t get naps…”

Which was EXACTLY the case for the Shadowbolts and Sunset. The TV was off, but they still sweated frantically, trying to keep control of one Sour Sweet. The room was close to being a pigsty. Tables had been turned, stuff had been fallen off the floor, and Sour Sweet was still evading capture by crawling around, under, and on top of the Shadowbolts’s heads. And whenever one of them got close, she grabbed onto them and continued to slip and wiggle around them.

“Okay… I’ll admit… this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.” Sunset said, head leaning back against the cushion of the couch in defeat.

“This would be easier if SOMEONE didn’t cower in the closet!” Sugarcoat snapped.

“Hey! Screw you, Sugarcoat!” Indigo shouted. “I’m blocking you from Mystable, tearing up our photos together, and gonna start bullying you if you don’t shut up about it!”

“You don’t have the guts, you like me.” Sugarcoat replied.

No reply came from the closet. Until a few seconds later.

“Okay, you got me there, but I’m not dealing with that little monster!”

Groaning, Sunny Flare walked out of the room and activated the Pip-Boy around her waist. She moved to the list of contacts and scrolled the knob down until she found Wheeljack’s name. She pressed it, and a video feed opened up, allowing her to see Wheeljack.

“Wheeljack. PLEASE. FOR THE LOVE OF ULTRA MAGNUS tell me that you’ve fixed the device.” Sunny moaned. “Sour Sweet’s IMPOSSIBLE to deal with. Indy’s in the closet, Sugarcoat’s showing emotion, and Lemon Zest is crying in the corner!”

“Don’t push me, Sunny!” Wheeljack yelled as he looked into the monitor. “These things can’t be done with just a push of a button!”

“Then can’t you just, oh, I don’t know, clone yourself?!” Sunny’s eye twitched as she formed a fist with her right hand. “Two Wheeljacks could be better than one, y’know!”

“I tried that cloning experiment years ago, it went nowhere! Scared the living daylights out of Pathfinder, though. That was funny.” He let a miniscule chuckle slip from his mask.

“That wasn’t funny, Wheeljack!” A voice yelled.

“Oh cool it, lady! That was hilarious!” Wheeljack snapped his head towards the voice, then turned back to the screen. “Anyways. We’re really behind schedule on this. I’ve had to rework the algorithm ten times already to just get the right energy flowing from the device. I only JUST got started on repairs to the frame.” His welder lit up again. “How is it that fixing stuff is always harder than breaking it?”

Sunny scrunched her face. “Look, just do what you can and do it fast! I don’t know where Smallfoot is, but if she or anyone else finds out what happened, we’re all going to be in serious trouble. I don’t even want to know what Optimus might say.”

“Look. Optimus is an empathetic bot.” Wheeljack folded his arms. “One of the reasons he would rather imprison Megatron over killing him is because he’s not a cold-hearted killer like the Decepticons. You need to show some control and respect, missy.”

“How can I possibly do that?” Sunny waved her arms up in anger.

“First of all, with this,” Wheeljack pushed a button, and mist sprayed out of Sunny Flare’s Pip-Boy and right into her nostrils, making her cough and stumble backwards. “While you were asleep, I programmed, updated, and modernised your wrist communicator with a lot of different features. This one should help you calm down. It only activates during times of extreme anxiety, or when I push this button.”

“Wheeljack, I’m just trying to get her to stop moving, I’m not trying to catch an escaped criminal. How is any of this stuff going to work?”

“I have a feature for that. It’s called Cyber Net.” Wheeljack smiled. “Go into the Apps button on your wrist communicator, and you’ll get a little chrome disc. You can customise the size and power of the net, as well as choose whether or not you want to knock the target into stasis, and whether or not it’ll be lethal.”

Sunny looked down at her wrist communicator, and followed what Wheeljack said, looking for the controls. “You know, I think you have WAY too much freetime on your hands.”

“What can I say? I love surprising people. Even Optimus was surprised when he saw the upgrades I made to his stuff.” His mask disappeared, revealing the grin.

“Did any of them blow up?” Sunny asked, raising a brow.

“No. I would never use any lethal upgrades on Optimus Prime!” He waved his hands in front of his face. “That’d make me seem like a Decepticon!”

Sunny just shook her head and continued to look on her wrist device. “Okay, I think I’ve found it. How do I get Sour to go towards it?”

“Just set something down on top of the trap, then activate it by pushing the screen,” Wheeljack said. “Set some food, a toy, or even those little bulb things that babies like. Then, when Sour Sweet puts her hand down on it, push the button, and she’ll be trapped.”

Sunny sighed. “Its at times like this I wish we had Steeljaw right now. But… I suppose this is worth a try. I’ll try it out.”

“Alright. Oh, and, I’ve re-optimised the calming gas to your new stress levels. The gas’ll now spray more often when you’re angry, sad, confused, or just really, really crazy. Now, I need to get back to work on the machine. Wheeljack out.” His mask came back on before the video link was cut, taking Sunny back to her upgraded Pip-Boy.

“Okay… let's hope this works.” Sunny sighed.

She turned herself around and came back into the room, now with all of her collective thoughts. “Girls. I have an idea on how we can get her to stop moving.”

“If your plan is to let the Dinobots in so they scare the living daylights out of her, that’s a bad idea on EVERY account.” Sugarcoat gruffly crossed her arms.” “I’m not even sure what she’ll think of dinosaurs.”

“No, that’s not my suggestion, and that’s a terrible idea. Wheeljack gave me something in my Pip-Boy that should help keep Sour in one place. We just need to set some bait to get her to go for it.”

“Bait? Like the Crocodile Hunter?” Lemon Zest came out of the corner, wiping her eyes clean.

“I believe so. We just need to get some of her favorite things down to the one spot, and then the minute she’s in, we close it! She’ll basically be in a little cage. I hope.”

“I would say that’s also terrible, but at this point, we’re out of ideas.” Indigo came out of the closet. “We’ve tried being silly, serious, and even caring, and that’s not working out for ANY of us.”

“But what could we set the trap with?” Sugarcoat lifted a brow. “And how will we know what she likes and whether or not she’ll go for it?”

The girls took a look over at the corner, hearing the happy cooing from Sour. She was too occupied with her toys to even pay attention to what they were doing. She just kept playing with her little toy truck that she rolled back and forth.

“Heh, at least the little truck makes her happy. Didn’t know she would like that.” Lemon said.

“Then let’s let that be our trap.” Sunny tiptoed over to Sour Sweet and slinked around her back, taking another of the toy cars. “I just hope she doesn’t know what we’re doing.”

“Won’t taking it from her make her mad? I don’t think anyone wants to deal with another crying baby again.” Sugarcoat asked.

“She’s a baby. They don’t get mad.” Sunny Flare set the trap down and put the toy on top of it. “They get fussy, messy, smelly, and upset. They don’t learn how to be angry until they’re at least five years old, according to Mr. Svengallop at Crystal Prep.”

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Sunset said, trying to stand up on her feet. “Should we hide so she doesn’t get distracted?”

“No. We should stand around and act like we’re on a set for a movie.” Sugarcoat said with a deadpan look. “Of course we should hide, you idiots!”

Sunset scowled at Sugarcoat. “Okay, I really don’t need that attitude from you.”

“Oh, grow up, Sunset.” Sugarcoat flipped her hair.

“Can we focus!? Please?” Sunny interrupted with a huff, grabbing both of their attention.

Sugarcoat blinked for a moment. “Sorry. We better hide before she wants to play with us instead.”

They all ducked behind the couch and looked out at the trap, leaving Sour Sweet alone. Poking their heads under, around, and over the upholstery, they all watched as Sour stopped playing with the toy truck and crawled off to another part of the room.

“Come on… take the bait…” Sunny whispered to herself.

The girls waited for a sign. Anything that would let them know that the trap had gone off. But in the few seconds they waited… the trap didn’t go off.

Instead, Sour Sweet looked around the room, at the isolation she was in. She had never been alone as a baby; even if it was only for today, and now, no-one was here for her to be her punching bag, or even try to control her. Tilting her head, she looked around and babbled, as if she was asking where they were.

“Um… shouldn’t something be happening?” Lemon whispered.

“I think this may have been a mistake.” Sugarcoat replied.

In the end, Sour moaned as she crawled faster, looking around for someone to play with or make chaos, but she could find nothing. Nothing but toys and loneliness. In the end, she let a small tear fall from her eyes as she started to sob, cry, and then wail, getting louder and louder each second.

“Oh no…” Lemon groaned. “Wish we had someone as a mom to calm her down.”

Sugarcoat scrunched the top of her eyebrows, just taking in the failure of their situation. “Okay… let's just be glad Smallfoot can’t see any of this.”

“Oh, for goddess’s sake…” Sunset burst from the couch and walked out into view. “Sour! Come here, girl!” She sing-songed in a sweet voice, instantly silencing the baby.

Sour stopped, and she looked at Sunset. A small smile came to her face as she started to crawl towards her.

“Yes. That’s it, Sour. Come to nana Sunset…” She slowly side-stepped and lead Sour towards the trap, making sure not to go too fast. “You don’t have to be alone. I’m here for you.

Sour kept on crawling towards Sunset, trying to chase after her.

“She’s taking the bait… come on... “ Sunny whispered, holding her finger over the button to close the trap shut.

“Do you wanna play, Sour?” Sunset pointed down to the car on the trap. “Look! Toys! We know how much you love toys…”

As Sour kept on crawling towards the trap, Indigo finally decided to poke her head out from the closet and take a close look to see the situation. But what she didn’t see was that one of the toys she was playing with earlier was right near the door. Instead, she looked back and moved towards the little toy truck and began playing with it instead, giggling.

“Wait, you wanna play with that?” Sunset lifted a brow at Sour playing with the red truck. “But it’s so… bulky and bright on the eyes. Don’t you wanna try something else?”

But Sour giggled and shook her head, rolling the toy around on the ground once more, making mouth farts like it had a motor.

“You know… it’s scary how much that red truck reminds me of a certain, you know who…” Sugarcoat said. “Why did we even buy her that toy?”

“We have all the tools, but we’re still struggling.” Lemon Zest groaned and slapped her face. “I feel like I’m on an episode of Hell’s Kitchen right now.”

“Just be happy there isn’t an angry British guy yelling at you and calling you a donkey.” Sunny muttered.

“Alright, that’s it. No more Mrs. Nice Indigo Zap!” She snarled and ran out, taking the trap out from underneath the toy. Very hastily, she put it on Sour’s back. “NOW, SUNNY!”

Sunny, with a quick response, pressed the button. Microscopic chrome balls extended out and formed a grid around Sour Sweet, generating a light blue hard-light field that sealed her in. Sour tried to break out, but she couldn’t push her fingers through the light.

“Whew… finally. We caught her.” Lemon sighed.

“Yeah, but I think it could’ve been handled a little better.” Sunset crossed her arms as she watched Indigo Zap lift the closed trap up. “Don’t you have a daycare at Crystal Prep where you can learn how to do this sort of thing?”

“Pfft. Please. Do you honestly think there’d be something about being a nice caretaker at CPA?” Indigo asked.

“That’s what Principal Cinch wants you to believe, but she’s doing twenty years in Tartarus Penitentiary for blackmailing poor Twilight.” Sunset’s face tightened up. “Shouldn’t that be a wake-up call for you girls to clean up your act, be nice, and don’t follow the rules of a self-absorbed hag who only wants to win at things?”

“There’s one thing you forgot Sunset. Cinch blackmailed us too. Remember our little second redo? Autobots posing as humans? Huh?” Indigo muttered under her breath.

Sunset just glared at Indigo. “What’s wrong with you? Seriously. What. Is. Wrong. With. All. Of. You? Are you born evil or something?”

Indigo just took a moment to breathe in and out. “Okay… maybe we could try and loosen up a bit on this. And maybe we can be nicer.”

“No. I need to get this off my chest, because I know you’re not gonna listen.” Sunset crossed her arms and stamped her feet. “You don’t care about others, Sugarcoat, Indigo’s a Rainbow Dash clone, Sunny Flare’s just doing nothing most of the time, and Sour Sweet is bipolar! Can’t you all just be like the Rainbooms for once?!”

The Shadowbolts all stared at Sunset with their mouths agape for a short while.

“That’s cold, you know.” Lemon said.

“But… she does have a point. We could try and be a little nicer here. Why are we even getting bent out of shape?” Sunny finally closed her mouth. “I thought Wheeljack was to blame for Sour being in this state, but really, it’s all of us, because we’re not good friends at all.”

“We all just want Sour to be back the way she is, ” Sugarcoat said. “I don’t want her to be stuck like this forever.” Out of the corner of her eye, there was a small visible tear that could be seen rolling down her cheeks.

Lemon looked at Sugarcoat with a frown. “Sugarcoat? You okay?”

“I… I have to get some air!” She struggled with swallowing her breath as she ran out of the lounge, opened a mini-Groundbridge, and warped out of the base.

Sunset sighed. “Okay. Look… I understand you girls want Sour back, so do I. But right now… we need to work on being better friends. Fighting with each other and getting angry isn’t helping us. Can we at least try to be better friends?”

“We can try, but I don’t know if we’ll be any good at it…” Indigo Zap walked over to the crib and put the trap—which was still open—down onto the mattress.

“You don’t know that unless you try. It's not hard.” Sunset said with a warm voice.

“Is there any classes we should take on friendship, or do we just have to get zapped by some magical rainbow-beam from you and your friends?” Sunny asked.

Sunset let out a small giggle. “It’s nothing like that. It's really simple. You girls just need to start on grounds where you can get to know each other better, that’s all.”

Everybody starts as strangers.
Cold, distant, and alone
But sure enough, you find someone like you
And all your pain will be gone.

I started out like all the others
I was hard, shallow, and scared
But then Princess Twilight came along
And I was soon more than prepared!

All the Bolts just stared at her as she sang.

It’s Not That Hard To Make A Friend
You just need to stick by them to the end
And through your love and devotion
You’ll be filled with emotion

It’s Not That Hard To Make A Friend
Just care about it, and you’ll see
That everyone can be filled with friendship
Including you and me!

As Sunset sang, Lemon Zest soon ended up tapping her feet to the beat of the song and lightly nodded her head.

I watched them all at CPA
And it seemed like they were miles away
But as the time passed on, and I played all my songs
I saw a little something change

That day the Friendship Games
Which I admit, we are to blame
When magic joined the fight
Something changed in me
And we all ran hurriedly
To save the students ‘cause we knew it was riiiiiiiight

Lemon soon leaped over to Sunset, standing by her side.

It’s Not That Hard To Make A Friend
Just fight for them until the very end
Even if the odds are against you
A friend can always help you see it through

It’s Not That Hard To Make A Friend
And ‘til the end of time
You’ll find that friendship isn’t a lesson
But it’s been something passed down the line

Even if things are going right for you
Tests, bills, fights or your face is askew
You just have to remember
That your friends are always gonna be there for you

And even when we have our falling outs
And when are heads are filled with many doubts
We always make it up in the end
And that’s one of the joys of being a friend!

It’s Not That Hard To Make A Friend
Even when we drive ourselves down the bend
And when we fight and forgive
We’re glad our friendship can live

It’s Not That Hard To Make a Friend
And when you really try
You’ll know that friendship is the greatest joy
For both you and I.

You’ll know that friendship is the greatest joy
For both you… and I

“So you see, girls?” Sunset grinned. “Friendship can be done. All you need to do is care and it’ll work out.”

“I suppose we could try.” Indigo smiled.

“Only one problem… where did Sugarcoat go?” Sunny asked. “Teletraan-1! Sugarcoat took a Groundbridge portal, right?”

“Affirmative.”

“Okay, and… do you know where she went?” Sunny asked nervously. “We need to talk to her. And, I’ve got to apologize to her for how I’ve been acting. And for the insults.”

“Sugarcoat took a Groundbridge to the Sweet Shoppe in Canterlot.” Teletraan-1 showed the girls the co-ordinates. “There are two registered life-forms there. Named Pinkie Pie and Smallfoot. At the moment, they are dealing with two individuals, with similar vitals to Sour Sweet.”

The Shadowbolts all widened their eyes in shock.

“That’s… not… good.” Indigo said.

“Maybe she won’t be able to find ‘em.” Lemon popped up from the background. “She doesn’t know about Pound and Pumpkin living in the Swee Shoppe, so we should be good for now.”

“Or maybe they’ll find her. I’ve got to get over there and stop her… and apologize. Can you girls keep watch for a bit?”

“I can. Just go. I think it's time I stood up to my fears and took some initiative here.” Indigo said with pride. “While I’m gone, I hope you can get Sour Sweet to sleep. Maybe rock that trap or something until she closes her eyes?”

“I suppose it’s worth a shot.” Lemon replied.

Indigo said her goodbyes, and she rushed out of the lounge, leaving the three girls behind. Opening up her own mini-Groundbridge, she leapt through the portal, leaving nothing behind.

“Alright, Sour. Auntie Zesty’s here, and she’s gonna make sure you have a good nap.” Lemon Zest walked up to the trap, picked it up, and rocked Sour back and forth in the trap as gently as she could. “There’s a good girl. Go to sleep now. You’ll wanna have a happy nap now, won’t you?”

Sour Sweet just spoke in more baby-talk, giggling as she looked up at Lemon.

“Let me help you with that, Lemon Zest.” Sunset smiled and looked Sour in the eyes like a mother would. “She’ll need the comfort of someone she likes to go to sleep better.”

“Hehe, what if she thought that Smallfoot was her mother?” Lemon snickered.

Sunset and Indigo just stared at her, not even laughing.

“Eh… too soon?”

“Definitely too soon,” said Sunset.

Author's Note

Oooh, drama!