It was Friday afternoon, and the last classes of the day were nearly over. Gallus, Smolder, and some of the other students were staring at the clock. It was almost three o’clock.
“Come on,” Gallus groaned silently, “Just go get to three.” The clock’s hand seemed to be moving slower.
“Almost,” Smolder said. “You’re killing us.”
At last, the clock’s host hand struck at three. The school bell rang and the student raced out of their classes like a swarm of bees.
“Finally it’s over,” Gallus cheered. He looked towards Smolder. “So Smolder, what do you wanna do?”
“Dunno,” the dragoness shrugged. “Maybe we can check out and see what’s new in town.” Smolder looked behind her to see the rest of their friends.
“Oh, you’re going to look for something new?” Silverstream asked.
“The other creatures have been here for a while,” Sandbar commented. “It’ll be interesting with how the ponies accommodate them in their lives.”
“Ponies do some things fast,” Ocellus said, “But I’m not sure if they’re that fast.”
“Friends find out,” Yona said.
They first packed their supplies, and then they went back inside to their dorm rooms first before heading out. Afterwards, they met each other again and started to go out of school.
They headed into town and could see some ponies doing some things. Nothing seemed to be that new until something caught Silverstream’s eye. There appeared to be a magazine called “For the Mare’s Eye,” sitting on a stand. The cover had a stallion sitting on a bench winking.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I’m not sure if I’ve seen that magazine before,” Sandbar commented.
“It looks cool.”
“Whoa, kid!” cried the stand owner. “You look a little young to get this magazine.”
The hippogriff cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, how old are you?”
“I’m only sixteen,” Sandbar replied.
“Me too.”
“Right, then I’m keeping this as far away from you as I can.”
“Why?” she asked, feeling so clueless.
“Because this is for adults only. 18 years and above.”
“Oh, it’s one of those magazines,” Sandbar realized. “Come on Silver.”
“But... I wanna know what it’s about.”
“Sorry, not for two to four years,” the stand owner said.
“That long?” The hippogriff was dumbfounded as Sandbar grabbed her by her tail and pulled her away like a balloon.
The group carried on until they came across a stallion pulling a cart loaded with some barrels. He was doing fine until he hit a bump, causing the barrel to fall out of the back of his cart.
“Darn it,” he groaned.
“Are you okay sir?” Ocellus asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied back, and he turned to his cart. “Stupid cart.”
“Friends help pony,” Yona said.
She and her friends helped the stallion out by lifting the crates back into his cart. One of the crates, however, seemed to have a cork come loose but to its positioning, not too much of the liquid got out. The liquid appeared to have something sparkly in them.
“What’s this stuff?” Smolder questioned.
“Oh, it’s something Filthy Rich is trying out,” the stallion explained. “It’s basically beer for dragons. It’s got some gemstone grounded up into power and mixed in.”
“Did you say……gemstones?!” Smolder asked in excitement.
“Hold on, kid. You’ve got about four more years until you can have this stuff.”
“What? But I haven’t gotten any good gemstones in days.”
“Can’t you visit the Dragon Lands for more?” Ocellus asked.
“Another good alternative for something you’re too young for,” the stallion said. Yona helped load the last barrel into the back of the trailer and the stallion set off. “Anyways, thanks again for helping, kids,” he thanked them and went off.
“Now I’m kind of thirsty,” Ocellus admitted. “Are you guys thirsty?” Her friends all nodded.
“We could probably get to the cafe and get something to drink,” Sandbar said.
“Sure,” Smolder said, now feeling a little down. “I wish I could have some of that stuff soon,” she thought to herself.
The friends carried on until they got to Cafe Hay. There, several warm drinks were being served. While they were waiting for their drinks they could hear some giggling nearby.
“Where giggling coming from?” Yona asked. Sandbar and Gallus decided to investigate and found a building that had a bouncy castle inside.
Fillies and colts were jumping around inside of the castle with their parents not too far. “Pardon us madam. What’s this?” Gallus questioned.
“This? It’s for one of the filly’s birthday,” a mare answered.
Gallus looked at the bounce castle and was quite interested. “So, do they room for more?”
“It’s only for kids six and under.”
“...Oh.”
“Good to know,” Sandbar said. “We’re just asking. Thanks.” He then turned to his griffon friend. “Come on, Gallus. I think our drinks are ready.”
“...Right.”
The glum griffon followed his friend back to the cafe where their drinks were to be served. When they finally arrived back, Gallus and Sandbar saw that their drinks had already been served. While they’re having a nice cold drink, they start to have a conversation.
“We helped save the world like four times,” Smolder spoke, “Why can’t we get a few perks?”
“These rules probably exist for a reason,” Ocellus commented. “I mean, you don’t give a spear to a baby.”
“That’s true,” Sandbar said. “I know a couple of arcade games that some kids aren’t allowed to play until their older. It all started because of one game where the characters had blood with every attack.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, it’s very violent.”
“That doesn’t explain why I’m not allowed to have a drink with gem powder in it,” Smolder remarked.
“Beer is something that affects your body.”
“Come on, I’m pretty sure I could take it.”
“You don’t know something you’ve never tried before.”
“Well, I’m interested in that magazine that pony wouldn’t sell me,” Silverstream said.
“Did you even read what’s the title?” Ocellus asked. Silverstream thought for a moment before she shook her head.
Yona looked towards Gallus who looked to be down in the dumps. “Why Gallus upset?” the yak asked.
“Just missing out on something that I’m too old for,” the griffon replied.
“We found some kids playing in a bounce castle,” Sandbar explained.
“That sounds fun,” Silverstream commented.
“It’s only for foals that are younger than six.”
“Oh.” There was an awkward silence for a little bit until they finished their drinks.
“Wanna head to the treehouse?” Ocellus asked.
“Sure,” Gallus said. The six set off to the treehouse with half of them not really happy.
“Do professors have tests planned?” Yona asked. She was sitting next to Ocellus in their clubhouse.
“They did say they were going to change the schedule one day,” Ocellus replied.
“Joyous,” Smolder said sarcastically. She, Silverstream, and Gallus were still feeling upset about the age they were at.
“You feeling better?” Sandbar asked.
“Not quite,” Gallus replied quietly.
“Bounce castles should be for everyone,” Silverstream spoke. “Why wouldn’t they let you on?”
“Maybe there was a weight limit,” Sandbar guessed. “Plus, I kind of think that your talons would pop the castle.”
“Oh, that makes me feel so much better,” Gallus said sarcastically. He let out another sigh. “I wish I was a kid again.”
“And I kind of wish I was older,” Silverstream added.
“Same here,” Smolder said, overhearing their conversation.
“You know only time can make you older,” Ocellus said. “And there’s no way you could make someone actually younger.”
Smolder just groaned as Gallus and Silverstream sighed. Suddenly, something caught the hippogriff’s eye.
Something was sparkling in the old castle. Out of curiosity, Silverstream went to investigate. Flying around, she found a small statue of a unicorn that had two gemstones for its eyes, the left eye was a ruby, and the right was a sapphire. Silverstream’s friends found her and saw the statue.
“Was that there before?” Smolder questioned.
“I don’t remember seeing that until now,” Ocellus admitted.
Silverstream picked up the statue and could see something written on the platform it was standing on.
“Somnambula,” she read.
“Wasn’t she pillar pony?” Yona asked.
“I think she was a pegasus too,” Sandbar added.
“Maybe it’s a different Somnambula,” Silverstream said.
“I find it unlikely two ponies would have the same name,” Gallus admitted.
“Well, we know two different Shimmies.”
“That’s true. What is that statue even doing here?”
“Notta clue.”
“Part of the tail looks like it’s broken off,” Ocellus commented, looking at the statue.
“If it’s broken, can we try and salvage those gems?” Smolder asked. Her friends looked at her with lowbrows. “Hey, come on. You’ve known me for two years.”
“Yona going to try,” Yona announced.
After Silverstream set the statue down, Yona tried using one of her horns like a crowbar to pull the sapphire out. The yak appeared to be struggling, so Sandbar tried to give her some help. While they did that, Smolder went for the ruby, which was just as stuck as the sapphire.
“Maybe we could just get a hammer,” Gallus suggested.
“Heck nah,” Smolder replied, “I think I can feel this coming loose.” Then without warning, the gemstone eyes both started glowing. The students backed up in fright.
“That’s..…not good,” Ocellus commented.
“...This is part where we run,” Sandbar proclaimed.
Before they could do that, two beams shot out of the gems. The ruby’s hit Smolder, Sandbar, and Silverstream, while the sapphire’s hit Yona, Gallus, and Ocellus. Before they could move, they could hear some cracking sounds as red and blue eggshells started to surround the respective groups until they were completely encased. Things were quiet for a few seconds until the eggs cracked straight down the middle.
When the students were released, they all looked very different. “Why castle look different?” Yona asked. She gasped at the sound of her voice. It was higher in pitch and younger.
“Yona was that you?” Silverstream asked. She brought her paw to her beak. Her voice sounded a bit more mature.
“What just happened?” Sandbar questioned. He looked towards the three that got hit by the blue beam and was shocked at what he saw. Gallus, Ocellus, and Yona were now all younger. “Guys, what happened to you?”
“Us?” Gallus questioned. “Look at yourselves.” Sandbar looked around for a reflective surface until they found a broken mirror. Sandbar, Silverstream, and Smolder were now all older.
“Oh my gosh,” Silverstream gasped. “Look at us!”
“Yeah, this is...” Smolder paused when she then thought of something. “Kind of cool.”
“Seriously?” Gallus questioned.
“You have to admit,” Silverstream said, “You look so much cuter now.” The young griffon just pouted as he was picked up by the older hippogriff.
“Put me down.” Silverstream didn’t listen and just simply hugged Gallus like a teddy bear. Ocellus flew over the statue and examined it to see if she could find anything to fix their problem.
“There has to be something here,” the young changeling said. “Maybe, we twist the eyes.”
“Careful!” Sandbar cried. He swiped the statue away from his friend. “We don’t know how this works. We could end up making things worse. You could turn yourself into a baby.”
“What friends do?” Yona asked.
“Maybe Headmare Starlight can help.”
“Better than nothing,” Gallus said.
Due to their new sizes, their winter clothes were now too big or too small. Still, they managed to fit a couple of their clothes on and made their way back to the school taking the statue with them. They passed a couple of students, who were a little confused at their appearance.
“Just get to her office,” Ocellus mumbled. They got there and found Sunburst doing some filing.
“Sunburst,” Sandbar said.
“Sandbar is that you?” Sunburst questioned. He turned around and was shocked by the new look of the students. “What happened?”
“Friends find statue and change ages,” Yona explained. They handed the Somnambula statue over to the unicorn, who looked to be perplexed by it.
“We found it in the castle of the two sisters,” Ocellus said.
“Right,” Sunburst replied. “...This isn’t the Somnambula I know.”
“Same here,” Sandbar spoke. “We have no idea who this pony is.”
“Very well, I’m going to have to check with Twilight and/or Starlight. Until then, you might want to get comfy.”
“Seriously?” the students questioned.
“Look, Starlight isn’t here at the moment and Twilight’s dealt with strange magic before. I think I’ve seen Starlight do a spell like this before. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Sunburst raced out of the room, leaving the age flipped students by themselves.
“So, what now?” Sandbar asked.
“Let’s check out what we can do as adults now,” Silverstream said.
“Yeah,” Smolder agreed.
“No,” Ocellus said.
“Hey, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“Well, mostly for us...”
“Come on Smolder,” Silverstream said, “Let’s have some fun.” The dragoness and hippogriff got airborne, so Sandbar and Yona couldn’t get to them, and Gallus and Ocellus weren’t strong enough to stop them before they flew out of the room.
“Darn it,” Sandbar groaned. He and the three younglings gave chase. However, because of her size, Yona was starting to fall behind.
“Yak getting tired,” the young yak cried. Sandbar stopped to look back and could see Yona stopped to catch her breath. “Yona can’t keep up with friends.”
“Don’t worry Yona. Just hop on my back.” Yona did so and the colt turn stallion raced off. However, they didn’t just lose Smolder and Silverstream, but Ocellus and Gallus too. “Where did they go?” Yona just shrugged. “They wouldn’t just wander around like this.” The missing griffon and changeling then suddenly bumped into the stallion.
“Sorry Sandbar,” Ocellus apologized. “The school’s hallways look the same when we’re smaller.”
“And we lost the girls,” Gallus admitted.
“Perfect,” the stallion sighed. “We better find a place to hide.” This was a good idea as they could hear some students walking their way. They ran off before Grace and Gleaming Pearl could see them.
Meanwhile, Smolder and Silverstream were heading into town with the dragoness carrying a small box.
“This is going to be so much fun,” the hippogriff cooed. “Where should we go first?”
“I’ve got an idea,” Smolder said. She showed her friend the box she was carrying to reveal a collection of gemstones.
“Ooh. Where did you get those?”
“I snagged a couple of these while we were in the Dragon Lands. I’ve also heard of this place called Las Pegasus. Gallus and few other griffons told me about it. It’s a nice place where ponies party and get rich quick.”
“That sounds fun. Let’s go.” The two made their way to the station and hopped on board to get to Los Pegasus. Unbeknownst to them, Sunshine looking around for a story when he saw the dragoness and hippogriff getting on.
“Huh. That’s weird,” Sunshine commented. “They look like... It can’t be.”
Before he could ask them questions, the train left the station. Confused and unable to get information here, he flew back to the school.
Sandbar and the younglings were hiding in a broom closet to stay out of sight. “Couldn’t we hide in Starlight’s office?” Gallus questioned.
“Students would go in there to ask questions to the headmare,” Ocellus said, “Just stay quiet.”
“Stay in here isn’t going to get us to the girls.”
“Shh,” Sandbar hushed. “I hear someone coming.”
Peaking through the crack in the door, Sandbar could see Emerald walking with Sunshine.
“So, you’re saying they looked just like Smolder and Silverstream?” the dragoness questioned.
“Yeah,” the hippogriff confirmed. “They were practically identical. They got on the train before I could get a closer look though.”
“Maybe you just needed to clean your glasses.” Emerald was given Sunshine’s glasses to be clean. As the dragoness looked for a cloth, Sunshine heard some footsteps running in the opposite direction. Because of his lack of glasses, he couldn’t see anything other than just blobs. When he was given his glasses back, the blobs were gone.
Sandbar and the kids raced towards the station and looked at the schedule.
“Where did they go?” Sandbar questioned to himself. “Where did they go?”
He saw the direction they were heading in. Seeing this, Sandbar bought him and his friends some tickets and waited for the next train. This would take a while.
Smolder and Silverstream were just minding their own business. “I can’t believe that we’re going to Las Pegasus,” Silverstream cooed. “I can’t wait to get there.”
“It might be easier if we flew,” Smolder said, “But you know, snow.”
“Yeah. It’s a drag.” A stallion soon sat down next to Silverstream. He appeared to like the look of her.
“Hey, baby,” he said.
“Um... Hello.”
“Are you a little far from home?”
“...A little bit. I’m heading to Las Pegasus with my friend.” She pointed to Smolder, who looked to be counting the gems she had.
“First time?”
The hippogriff giggled, “Yeah.”
“Well, I’ve got a couple of bits to spare. How much do you have?” Smolder smirked when she showed him the gemstones in her box. “Whoa!”
“Yeah, we’re loaded,” Smolder remarked. “Any advice for being at Las Pegasus?”
“Just have fun,” the stallion chuckled.
“Thanks,” Silverstream replied.
Back with Sandbar and the kids, they were finally on their way to Las Pegasus. The trip was going to take a few hours and the kids were already getting bored.
“Yak want something to do,” Yona spoke.
“I didn’t pack any games,” Sandbar said. “We were in a hurry.”
“Yak bored.”
“I know that. Just stay calm and we’ll get there.” Yona wasn’t in a listening mood. Instead, she got up and started wandering around the coach. Ocellus would’ve said something, but she let out a yawn as she was feeling more tired than usual. The changeling struggled to keep her eyes open. She soon fainted and leaned against Sandbar.
The stallion was a little surprised by this. “Gallus do you feel... Tired?” Sandbar asked.
“I actually feel more annoyed,” the griffon said. Then they realized that Yona was missing.
“Where did she go?”
“You think I know?”
“Look, Gallus, just stay here with Ocellus and I’ll be back.” The stallion got up and looked around for the missing Yak. “Yona? Yona, where are you?” He carried on into the next coach as Gallus could see a mare walk in with a colt by her side. She looked surprised to see the changeling and griffon by themselves.
“Where are your parents?” she asked.
“He went to find our friend who wandered off,” Gallus explained. “He’ll be back.”
“Mommy, I’m bored,” the colt said.
“Okay, let me just get your puzzle.” The mare placed her bag down on a chair and pulled out a jigsaw puzzle for her son. Gallus flew up to get a look at the puzzle and the colt saw him.
“You wanna play?”
“...Sure,” Gallus replied. “I’ve got nothing to do.” He sat next to the colt as they started their puzzled. The colt had a hard time piecing the puzzle together. Gallus grabbed a corner piece and found an edge piece that managed to piece them together. “Try putting the edge pieces together first.”
The colt did so and found the puzzle was getting much easier.
“You’re doing great,” the mare said.
Gallus and the colt kept working on the puzzle until they got the outer edge completed. The inside of the puzzle was a little harder but still simple enough for Gallus to complete.
“That was fun,” the colt said.
“I’m getting concerned about where your parents are,” the mare said. Their attention was drawn to Sandbar, who was walking back with Yona on his back, covered in pastries. “What happened...?”
“Yona was wanting to explore,” Sandbar explained, sounding annoyed. “She was being careless and tripped into a cart that spilled all the pastries that were being sold and I had to pay for them.” The stallion glared at the yak, who was feeling a little guilty.
“Well, she’s a mess.”
“Yeah, now we have to get her cleaned up. None of this would happen if she just waited for the train to get to Las Pegasus.” Yona started whimpering as his voice was sounding a little scary to her.
“You should probably get her cleaned up.”
The stallion sighed. “You’re right.” The stallion walked to the restroom to clean the messy yak up. After that, they all sat back down.
“...Are you their babysitter?”
“Well... Yes. We’re trying to find our friends who just wandered off to Las Pegasus. And before you ask, they are adults.”
“Right. We’ve got quite a long way to go.”
“Yeah.” Sandbar’s frustration would be put to rest as the young creature let out a few yawns.
“Ah, I see they’re getting tired.”
“It’s not even night time,” Gallus groaned. While he didn’t want to admit it, he was feeling really tired and leaned against Sandbar. He and Yona eventually passed out.
“Well, this should help things stay quiet,” Sandbar said. He lied down as he waited for them to get to their destination.
Smolder and Silverstream stepped out of their train and looked at their surroundings. Las Pegasus was a very busy place. Ponies were all over the place.
“This is like Manehattan,” Silverstream commented.
“I can assure you,” the stallion said, “This place is far more fun.”
“Where do we start?” Smolder asked.
“Follow me.” The stallion led the two guests to one of the big buildings. Inside, there were a couple of ponies walking around. There were some playing at slot machines, some playing cards, and some that were just having a drink.
“This place is way bigger than I thought,” Silverstream gasped.
“Make yourselves at home,” the stallion said.
“If that’s the case, where’s the pool of lava and cliffs?” Smolder asked. She and Silverstream laughed at this, though the stallion didn’t. “The Dragon Lands are hot and rocky.”
“Right.… Anyways, let me show you around.” The new grown-ups were amazed at the casino.
“What should we do first?” Silverstream asked.
“May I recommend blackjack?”
“How do you play that?”
“I’ll show you.” While the stallion was showing the ladies around, Sandbar and the kids were just arriving at the station.
“Hey, guys, wake up,” Sandbar said. He gave his friends a nudge as they slowly woke up.
“Are we there yet?” Ocellus asked.
“Yeah. Come on.” The four walked out of the train and into Las Pegasus.
“Okay, if we couldn’t find them at the school, how are we suppose to find them here?” Gallus questioned.
“Maybe we just ask a couple of the ponies,” Ocellus suggested.
So, that’s what they did. Sandbar did most of the questioning to see if the ponies had seen any dragons or hippogriffs wandering around. They were given a few directions until they were brought to the casino.
“This right place?” Yona asked.
“It’s what the ponies said,” Sandbar said. “There isn’t that many dragons or hippogriffs around here.” They walked into the casino and looked around.
“Oh, not again,” Gallus moaned.
“Why mare dressed like bunny?” Yona asked looking at a passing waitress.
“Yona, focus,” Sandbar said. “We have to find the girls before they get into trouble.”
“We can’t split up,” Ocellus said. “Gallus and I simply got lost at the school. We’d never find our way out of here.”
“Let’s stick as a group then.” The four wandered around the casino searching for their friends.
Smolder looked at her cards before glancing up at the pony at the table. “Hit me,” she said. She was handed another card before she lied then down. “Twenty.”
“Bust,” the pony said. “Congratulations.”
Smolder was handed her reward of casino tokens that were worth about a hundred bits.
“Sweet.”
“Can we try something else?” Silverstream asked. She looked at the pony who was shuffling cards. “Do you know any other fun things here?”
“You could head over to the bar and grab a drink,” the pony said. “We’ve got a lot to chose from.”
“Thanks.” The two friends took their bits and walked off.
“You think they’ll have some of that dragon beer?” Smolder asked.
“I don’t think they will. It’ll still be nice to see what they have to drink.”
At the bar, some ponies were sitting and having a nice chat. Some waitresses carried drinks on trays and took them to different tables. The two friends sat at the bar where a stallion in a suit was waiting behind the counter.
“Afternoon ladies,” he said. “I must say, we don’t have many guests like you.”
“Well, there’s a first for anything,” Smolder responded. “You recommend anything.”
“A popular choice would be the Sparkling Firefly or the Maiden’s Kiss.”
“We’ll take those.” The bartender got to work making the girls their drinks. He handed the Sparkling Firefly to Smolder and Silverstream was given the Maiden’s Kiss. The two took a sip of their drinks and were surprised by the taste.
“Mhhh, now bad,” Silverstream said.
“Hello again,” said the stallion from the train.
“Swift,” the bartender said, “Good to see you again.”
“You know each other?” Smolder questioned.
“He comes here from time to time. Swift, you know what I said...”
“Yeah, I need to watch what I drink,” Swift interrupted. “I’ll just take my usual.”
“Be with you in a minute.” The bartender went to work making some drinks for other tables.
“So, you ladies enjoying yourselves?”
“We’ve only played blackjack,” Silverstream replied. “What else is there?”
“Roulette is an interesting choice.” The hippogriff was interested.
“You got ahead,” Smolder said. She handed her friend a couple of tokens to let her play.
“It’s like an arcade but for adults,” Silverstream said under her breath.
“Have them send my drink to the roulette table,” Swift said to Smolder. The dragoness nodded before the stallion and hippogriff walked off to play roulette.
“Hey, can I get another drink?” Smolder asked.
Sandbar was still looking around. “Where are they?” A couple of ponies there were a little confused about why Sandbar brought children. One of the waitresses eventually walked over to him.
“Sir, this isn’t a place appropriate for children,” the waitress said.
Sandbar felt a little guilty. “Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush... I kind of panicked.”
“Listen, there’s a more child-friendly build across the street. Just take them there and we won’t have any trouble.” The stallion nodded before he headed to the exit.
“Do we really have to do this?” Gallus questioned.
“Look, it’s just for a little while until I can find the girls.” They walked into the nearby building, which turned out to be like an indoor playground. Fillies and colts were running around having fun.
“Hello,” said a kind-looking mare. She walked over to the stallion and young creatures. “Ooh, we have an interesting trio today.”
“Please, can you watch them until I get back?” Sandbar begged. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Alright. I’ll need you to sign a form or two real quick.” The stallion sighed as he followed the mare, leaving the three children by themselves for a minute.
“Yona like to play,” Yona spoke.
“They’re staring at us,” Ocellus shivered. Many of the young foals were looking towards the three creatures. A filly pegasus walked over to them.
“Hi,” she said. “Who are you?”
“Gallus,” the griffon replied. He then pointed to the changeling and yak. “This is Ocellus and Yona.”
“What are they?”
“I’m a changeling,” Ocellus explained.
“Yona yak,” Yona added.
“Ooh,” the filly cooed. “I’m Snow Rose.” Her wings fluttered as she took flight. “Wanna play in the ball pit?”
“...Sure,” Gallus said. He and the girls follow Snow Rose, who dived into a ball pit. Yona wasn’t too far behind, though the griffon and changeling flew overhead.
“This could help pass the time,” Ocellus said. “We aren’t allowed in the casino.” She then noticed a slide that led into the pit. “I wonder.”
The changeling flew over the slide and slid down into the ball pit. Gallus seemed a bit curious and decided to try the slide out for himself.
He slid down at what felt like high speeds until he smashed into the balls. The griffon poked his head out and giggled. “This is actually kind of fun.”
“Wanna be pirates?” Snow Rose asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Gallus said.
“’Kay guys,” Sandbar said, “I’ll be back.” He ran out of the daycare and ran back to the casino.
At the bar, Smolder had gotten a little carried away with her drinks and was quite tipsy. She giggled to herself. “Miss, I think you might’ve had enough,” the bartender said. He felt a little considered.
“Listen,” Smolder said slurly, “...You don’t know how tough dragons are. Not just *hic* in derittaly but also... With these bad boys.” As Smolder gave a hiccup, a breath of fire escaped her mouth.
“You’re not the first one to say they know how to control their jin.” He took away the glasses Smolder drank from and walked away.
“I’m a paying customer. *hic* Get me more of this stuff.”
“Smolder?” questioned a familiar and concerned voice. The drunk dragoness turned her attention to a certain stallion.
“Sandbar! You made it.”
“Are you... Drunk?”
“Nah. It’s fine. I’m *hic* perfectly fine.”
“I think we should get you home. Where’s Silverstream.”
“Ruling.”
“What?”
“Something about... Ruling at a table?”
“Your friend means the roulette table,” the bartender explained. He pointed to where it was.
“Thanks.” Sandbar took his drunk friend towards the roulades the table. Silverstream was having a good time with Swift by her side. The ball rolled around the spinning wheel and stopped on the number that she had a token on the same number.
"Yeah, I win," the hippogriff cheered. Swift chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Silverstream, much to the hippogriff's surprise. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, nothing," Swift said. "How's your drink?"
"Well... It's making me feel a little tipsy."
"Which is why we should head home," Sandbar said. He walked over to his friend with Smolder riding on his back.
"Sandbar, you want to join?" Silverstream asked.
"No," the colt turned stallion replied. "We need to go now."
"Buddy, let her have her fun," Swift said. He gave the hippogriff a look that was making her feel a little uncomfortable. "Since you're feeling tipsy, how about we head to my room?"
"Um... I don't know," Silverstream said. "Smolder doesn't look to good."
"What are you talk... *hic* ...ing about?" the dragoness slurred. "I'm on top of the world." Smolder let out an unnecessary laugh as her sober friend just groaned.
"Let's go," Sandbar sighed. He began walking to the exit and Silverstream was about follow, but swift stopped her.
"Come on baby," he said, "Don't leave."
"...I should go," the hippogriff spoke. She flew over Swift now wanting to get away from him. The stallion sighed as he looked at a passing waitress.
"Hey, cutie." The waitress's response was a simple slap of her tail across Swift's face.
Sandbar took his friends back to the daycare. They could see Gallus was already in a sword fight with Snow Rose. Though, their sword were actually made of foam.
"I'm back," the stallion said.
"Already?" Gallus questioned.
"You make it sound that was a bad thing."
"Well, we had our fun," Silverstream said. "And we got a couple of bits out it."
"Cool is that a dragon?" Snow Rose asked. She flew up to Smolder, who leaned forward to lie on Sandbar's head.
"Yes, Smolder is a dragon," Sandbar said. "But she's very tired right now so we need to go home." Yona and Ocellus happily walked over to the adults, Gallus however wasn't so keen.
"No!" the griffon pouted.
"Gallus, we need to go home," Ocellus said.
"I don't wanna go!"
"Where is this coming from?" Sandbar questioned. Silverstream went to pick Gallus up. The little blue griffon failed around until he bit his friend's thumb. The hippogriff jumped back in pain as she let Gallus go. The little griffon flew off with his friends following behind.
The mare in charge of the daycare was just cleaning up some dishes from snack time when Gallus flew in. He found a loose floor board and managed to hide himself under it just as his friends ran in.
"Where'd friend go?" Yona questioned.
"In my secret cellar," the mare answered. The five creatures looked confused. "I usually store emergency items down there... Anyways, your friend is there. What happened?"
"We just said we needed to head home," Sandbar said. "Then he just threw a tantrum."
"I see." The mare moved the floor board and the secret compartment was a bit bigger then the guest suspected and Gallus was hidden in the darkness. "I can't see your friend."
"Well, we're too big to go down there." Then they heard some stomping, which was Yona trying to get their attention.
"Yak and changeling can fit," Yona spoke.
"Are you sure?" the mare asked.
"I don't see what else we can do," Sandbar admitted. Yona and Ocellus slipped down into the secret area. With a glow from the changeling's horn they looked around they found a small blue griffon sulking in the corner.
"There you are," Ocellus cried. Gallus only glanced at the girls before looking away. "Gallus, let's go."
"No," the griffon pouted.
"Friends want to go back to normal," Yona stated.
"Well I don't wanna grow up." Gallus crossed his arms as his friends got closer.
"Why don't you?" Ocellus asked.
"Because... How many griffons or any other creatures get to have another childhood?" Neither one of the girls could answer their friend spoke again. "None. I want to actually have a fun time before I hit my double digits."
"...You didn't have a real childhood, did you?"
"Shut up!" Just from that reply, they could see tears forming in Gallus's eyes. "You don't understand."
Yona rubbed the back of her head not knowing how to respond. Ocellus did. "I kind of have a feeling. You wonder how young changelings were raised before Thorax became king?"
"...Kind of."
"We were split into different groups. Drones, soldiers, and elite soldiers. I was born as one of the drones... We mostly did hunting, especially the young ones. The love we got were mostly just wild animals, but still, the love was tasty. Then, after Thoarx took the throne, we no longer needed to hunt. By then, I was a preteen, so there wasn't that many childhood activities I'd take place in."
"At least you had a home to go to that can keep you nice and warm."
"Listen, Gallus, I know this is hard. Think about it like this, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Smolder are launched ahead into adult without properly learning how to do things to get them through life. If they're teenagers again, they'll have more time to learn. You want them to have a proper life, right?"
Gallus thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. "You're right. We have to fix this." The three young creatures walked back to the exit and crawled out. After that, they headed back to the station to catch a ride home.
On the way back, Gallus looked at a drunk Smolder, who struggled to keep her head up. When he flew over to get a closer look, the dragoness spotted him. "Gallus," she cooed. "Hey, why are you blue?"
"...I don't know."
"But griffons are brown, white, black, gray, but you're blue. What's with that, and further more, why do all your names start with the letter G?"
"Okay, I'm going to let you calm down." The little griffon flew back to Sandbar.
"How are you feeling?" the stallion asked.
"Upset. This is a once in a live time opportunity and..."
"Ocellus told me what you're feeling. I'm sorry you can't stay like this. Think about what our parents would say if they saw us."
"That's true." The griffon sat down next to his friend. "You're good friend for looking after us."
"No problem buddy."
After getting back to Ponyville the student six were promptly met with Starlight, Sunburst, and Rockhoof waiting for them. "Look, hear us out," Sandbar said.
"It was our fault," Silverstream admitted. "Smolder and I wanted to see what it was like being adults for the day."
"And it *hic* was worth it," Smolder spoke.
"Is she drunk?" Rockhoof questioned.
"Yeah," Sandbar confirmed. "Did you find a way to change us back?"
"We did," Starlight confirmed. "Just get into groups of three."
The six did so, getting into the group where their ages matched. Starlight and Sunburst worked their magic with the statue and the six students were soon trapped in red and blue eggs. After they cracked and opened, revealing the student that had returned to their right ages.
"Ah, it's good to be back to normal," Ocellus sighed.
The mysterious statue was then placed in a saddlebag and handed to Rockhoof.
"Rockhoof, please make sure you get this somewhere safe," Sunburst said.
"Don't worry," the pillar pony said, "I'll take care of it." Rockhoof soon left, leaving had and vice principals with the six students.
"For the record," Gallus said, "We only left to find Smolder and Silverstream." The hippogriff blushed with embarrassment as the dragoness just rolled her eyes.
"Can we go back to school now?" Sandbar asked. The head ponies nodded and led the students back to the School of Friendship.
When they got back, the first thing the six creature made sure of was that Smolder got back to her room. "Ugh, guys I don't *hic* wanna go to bed," the dragoness groaned.
"Smolder, it's for your own good," Ocellus said. The dragoness was forced into bed as she fought her friends.
"Hold on, let me try something," Gallus said. He grabbed a book and started reading it. "Photosynthesis is the process where a plants and some organisms use sunlight..." He paused when he heard some snoring. Smolder was out cold. "Works like a charm."
"You've done this before?" Ocellus questioned.
"Oh, yeah," Sandbar said, "We've done it before."
"Well, she's asleep now," Silverstream said.
"I think it's best if we call it a night," Ocellus said.
"Agreed," Yona added. The student went off back to their rooms, with Silverstream staying behind as she and Smolder were roommates.
On their way to their room, Gallus and Sandbar came across Sunshine. "Evening guys," the hippogriff said.
"Sunny," Gallus said. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. Except for the fact I saw two creatures that looked like Smolder and Silverstream, but they looked older." The pony and griffon glanced at each other before looking back at their friend.
"Maybe it was... Something with your glasses," Sandbar guessed.
"I keep getting that answer."
"Maybe it was just some changelings playing a prank," Gallus said. "Listen, it's getting late. How about you just sleep on it."
"If you say so." Sunshine walked off to his room as the boys took a sigh of relief.
"Okay, we're in the clear."
"There's just one I'm still curious about," Sandbar admitted. "How did that statue get into the castle?" It was an interesting question, but the statue out of their claws and hooves. So, they just decided to sleep on it and go to bed.
