Two and a Half Fillies

The clubhouse was bathed in a spectral green glow when Scootaloo entered, noticing Sweetie Belle's horn as the source of the light, her face scrunched up, straining over a large book sat in front of her. Scootaloo walked over to Applebloom who was stood nearby, staring on eagerly.

“what's going on?” Scootaloo asked, staring at Sweetie Belle.

“We borrowed a book from Twilight, she's trying ta get her cutie mark!” Applebloom replied. “come on. Ya'll can do it!” She cried, cheering her on.

The little unicorn sat still on the floor, sweat beading down her forehead, her horn glowing more and more vibrantly with each passing second. She groaned aloud as she strained to maintain the magic.

“what's she trying to do anyway? It doesn't look like it's working!” Scootaloo joked.

“Ah Dunno, we borrowed the book, something about experimental magic and she just began trying ta do this!” Applebloom replied as she watched Sweetie Belle strain harder and harder to make it work. As she sat focusing, the room grew a brighter shade of green, until there was a sudden, bright flash, obscuring their view of Sweetie Belle, and everything around them. When the light faded, Scootaloo and Applebloom stood dazed, rubbing their eyes.

“What was that!?” Scootaloo asked, turning towards Applebloom.

“Ah have no idea, I can't see a thing!” She replied, rubbing her eyes with her hooves, trying to see again. Scootaloo turned to where Sweetie Belle had been sitting, letting out a gasp.

“What, what's happened? Has she got her cutie mark!?” Applebloom asked excitedly, finally able to see again. She looked over to where Sweetie Belle had been sitting, and let out an equally loud gasp.

There, sat on the floor in front of the large book, was a little, baby Sweetie Belle. She looked up at them and tilted her head sideways, unaware what was going on. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the room, before she began to cry loudly, tears streaming from her eyes.

“What the? Whadda we do now?” Applebloom said, yelling over the sound of Sweetie Belle crying.

“How should I know?” Scootaloo replied, clasping her hooves over her ears, trying to block out the sound of Sweetie Belle screaming loudly. The pair clasped their hooves tightly over their ears as Sweetie Belle continued to wail loudly, banging her hooves on the floor around her in protest. Scootaloo ran over to her and grabbed her hooves, stopping her from banging them on the floor. Sweetie Belle looked up at Scootaloo, and stopped crying, her mouth turning to a frown as the big pony ruined her fun.

“There, problem solved.” Scootaloo said, letting go of her hooves. “Maybe if we wait long enough, she'll turn back to normal?” Scootaloo turned to face Applebloom, only to see her laughing to herself. Scootaloo turned back around, to find Sweetie Belle chewing on her violet coloured tail, drooling over it. “Eww, gross!” She quickly whipped her tail out of Sweetie Belle's mouth, and wrung the drool out of it.

Sweetie Belle frowned again and began to whimper, tears appearing in her eyes. Before she could start crying, Applebloom ran over and draped her Cutie Mark Crusader cape over the top of her. Sweetie Belle looked at Applebloom, then sat down, placing a corner of the cape in her mouth, she began to chew on it contentedly.

“There, that should keep her quiet till she changes back.” Applebloom said, walking slowly away from the filly.

“But what are we meant to do in the meantime? She might not change back for days!” Scootaloo said, watching the little unicorn chewing her cape, drool escaping from around her mouth.

“Ah dunno! I guess we just look after her like a normal filly, it can't be that hard, right?”

“You tell me! I've seen how much trouble the Cakes have with their foals! Why can't we go ask Twilight for help? She should know what to do, she's an expert on magic after all!” Applebloom blushed and looked down at the floor, tracing the knots of the wood with her hoof.

“Cause we took it without asking.” She said timidly. “We thought we'd try out a few spells, and return it before she noticed it was missing.”

“Well, what did the book say, maybe it says how long it lasts?” Scootaloo walked over to Sweetie Belle and took the book out from underneath her, the little filly looking up at her with a smile on her face as she munched on the cape. Scootaloo dragged it to Applebloom, and looked down at it, only to find the book was covered in tears and drool.

“Which one was she doing then?” she asked, as she squinted her eyes at the book, trying to make out the words.

“Ah have no idea! She just opened it and started reading! I think it mighta been this one.” Applebloom pointed to a section in the bottom right corner, the page was crumpled and torn from Sweetie Belle's earlier tantrum.

Scootaloo sighed. “Well, that's no help. I guess we'll have to wait, or go ask Twilight.” She flipped the pages over to see if there was a clue on the next page. There wasn't. She let out a groan and turned back to face their fellow Crusader, hoping she might know. “Hey Sweetie Belle, which one were you doing?” She pointed at the book on the floor, hoping she might know.

Sweetie Belle looked up at them blankly, and kept chewing the corner of the cape. She rolled onto her back, and waved her hooves in the air.

“Does she even remember who we are?” Scootaloo suggested. She walked over to Sweetie Belle and bent down next to her. “Hey Sweetie Belle, do you know who Applebloom is?” She asked. The filly rolled back onto her front, looked up at her and blinked. “Do you know who I am?” She continued. Sweetie Belle just kept chewing the cape, not making a sound beyond the occasional slurp as she drooled onto the floor. Applebloom walked over and bent down next to her as well.

“Hey Sweetie Belle. I'm Applebloom, and this is Scootaloo. We're gonna look after you fer the day, okay?” She said. Sweetie Belle looked up at her and giggled, waving her hooves at them.

“So she doesn't remember who we are? That's weird!” Scootaloo said, trying to understand what had happened. “Do you think she'll remember us when she changes back?”

Applebloom nodded in response. “Ah hope so, or else this will be even harder to explain!” She reached down and held her hoof out to Sweetie Belle, who looked at it, tilting her head. She looked up to Applebloom, and saw a smile on her face, Applebloom nodded at her. She reached out and grabbed Applebloom's hoof with her own, shaking it up and down. She giggled loudly as Scootaloo did the same.

“Well at least she trusts us, huh?” Scootaloo said. As she turned to leave, she felt a tug on her tail. She turned back to see Sweetie Belle had grabbed hold of her tail again and begun to chew on it. Scootaloo pulled it out and handed her the crusaders cape again.  Sweetie Belle put the corner back in her mouth before sitting up, spitting the cape out of her mouth. She lifted her hoof to her mouth and pointed at it, making a groaning noise.

“What's the matter, you hungry?” Scootaloo said, to which Sweetie Belle nodded and smiled. Scootaloo turned to her saddle bag, and fetched out her lunch box, placing it on the floor in front of the little filly. Sweetie Belle sniffed at the food, and reached in, munching away at the food, her short, curly mane rubbing the food in the box, bits of carrot and apple stuck in it when she withdrew her head.

After a few minutes of eating, she burped and curled up again on the floor under her cape, letting out a small sigh.

“Awww!” Applebloom and Scootaloo both said in unison. Despite the bizarreness of their friend reverting to a filly, they couldn't help but find the situation adorable. Unfortunately the situation didn't remain cute for long. As Sweetie Belle lay under her blanket, she rolled over, let out a loud 'prrrrrt' and then smiled widely. The odour soon reached the pairs nostrils, and they recoiled at the smell. They both stood dumbstruck at the prospect of what had to be done next.

“I'm not doing it, it's your fault we're in this mess!” Scootaloo blurted out, as she covered her nose and ran to open a window, trying to escape the foul odour in the air. Applebloom ran to the window and began fighting to stick her head out first, the smell grew nauseating.

“Whadya mean my fault? I didn't pick the spell, she did! You should do it, she likes you more!” Applebloom replied, as she breathed in the fresh air from outside the window.

“No way am I going near that, you should do it!”

“Nope, you are!”

As the pair argued, Sweetie Belle rolled over, and opened her eyes suddenly, a frown upon her face. She started to cry out from behind them, they both pulled their heads inside the window, turned around and saw her writhing uncomfortably under the cape. Scootaloo stood there and sighed.

“Fine, I'll do it. But you need to go get some diapers from the Cakes.” Applebloom nodded in response, and ran out of the club house as fast as her hooves would allow. Scootaloo turned back to face Sweetie Belle, only to see her sat under the cape, waving her arms at Scootaloo, wanting to be picked up. She kept on crying aloud, her face stained with tears, as she let out whimpers between breaths.

Scootaloo reluctantly walked over to her, holding her breath, and patted her quickly on the head. She sat there, looking up at the orange pony, a bemused expression on her face. She reached her fore hooves up again and prodded Scootaloo's chest. Scootaloo took a deep breath, and picked her up by her mane, carrying her outside the clubhouse.

Once outside in the fresh air, she felt slightly better about the situation. She carried Sweetie Belle over to the nearby lake to wash her off, when she started kicking and squirming, trying to get free. Scootaloo hurried to the water, dropping her in the shallow end before she could run away. As soon as the little filly hit the water, she began wailing loudly and began to shiver. Scootaloo grabbed her mane, and shook her about in the water to get her clean, before lifting her out again. The little unicorn sat on the grass, soaking wet, water dripping off of her head. She shivered as the water rolled down her back, tears and water combining on her cheeks.

“Ahh come on, you never used to mind cold water!” She said, as she fanned Sweetie Belle dry with her wings, blowing the excess water away. She stopped crying for a moment, and began to giggle quietly, clapping her hooves as the wind blew through her mane, enjoying the sensation.

“There, better now?” Scootaloo asked, and Sweetie Belle nodded her head. She got up, and began crawling away, happy to explore outside the clubhouse. “Hey, wait a minute!” Scootaloo cried, running after her, she grabbed her tail and lifted her up by it, the little foal letting out a whine as she was carried inside. “You can't run off, we've got to stay here and wait for Applebloom to come back.

They went back inside the clubhouse, and Scootaloo placed Sweetie Belle down in a new corner of the club house, giving her a new cape to wrap up in. She then began the awkward task of cleaning up the mess. She swallowed deeply, held her breath, and flapped her wings throughout to try and mask the smell.

By the time Applebloom got back, the mess had been cleaned up, and Sweetie Belle was fast asleep again. She walked in, saddle bags full to the brim, and dropped them on the floor. Scootaloo stepped over and rummaged around inside for the diapers, pulling one out with her mouth.

“You're gonna do it now? While she's still asleep?” Applebloom commented, her face frowning in disapproval.  Scootaloo dropped the diaper on the floor and rolled her eyes.

“Hey, you didn't have to clean up the mess, and I don't want to do that again. I'm waking her up now.” Scootaloo said. She picked up the diaper and walked over  to Sweetie Belle, who was sleeping gently, breathing quietly and smiling in her sleep. Every so often she let out a contented murmur and rolled onto her side, gripping the cape tightly in her front hooves, her tail poking out the back adorably.

Scootaloo looked down at her, dropped the diaper on the floor, and nudged the sleeping foal with her foot. “Hey, wake up Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie Belle woke up with a start, and looked up at her rude awakener. She began to whimper, her eyes slowly watering, when Scootaloo bent down and looked her in the eyes. “I've got something for you!”

Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up, a smile appearing upon her face. She crawled forwards and sat down by Scootaloo, crossing her legs, gazing up excitedly at her. Scootaloo picked her up, dropping her onto the open diaper on the floor, and quickly fitted it over her rear legs.

“Uhh, how do you do these things up?” She said, struggling to hold the diaper in place while Sweetie Belle began kicking her legs in the air in protest of hew new attire. Applebloom walked over and grabbed the strap with her mouth, pulling it tightly into place, while holding Sweetie Belle's hooves down.

“There, that oughta do it!” Applebloom said, letting go of Sweetie Belle's hooves. The foal sat up and looked at her diaper, frowning. Applebloom rested a hoof on her head and fussed up her mane. Sweetie Belle let out a giggle and clapped her hooves happily. She then looked at what she was wearing, and began trying to take it off, struggling to reach. Applebloom picked her up and sat her down on her cape. Sweetie Belle nudged at it with her hooves, laying down with a sigh.

“How did you do that?” Scootaloo asked, amazed at how easily she had cheered her up.

“Ahh dunno, ah guess I'm just a natural when it comes to cheering up kids!” Applebloom replied, smiling at the thought. She then walked back to her saddle bags, and began unpacking several blankets and cushions.

“hey, what's with all the sheets? Are we making new capes?” Scootaloo said excitedly, jumping up and down.

“Nope, this is for us to spend the night!”

“Whaddya mean, spend the night?” Scootaloo responded, confused at the suggestion.

“Well, after ah got the diapers and stuff from the Cakes, ah ran into Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and they were asking me if ah'd seen Sweetie Belle, so ah said we were having a sleep over in our club house. Ah didn't want em to know that Sweetie Belle was suddenly a baby, or we'd get into trouble!” She explained as she lay out pillows and blankets in a row, all next to each other.

“Ohh, I see! Nice thinking! Hopefully by morning, this will all be over, and then we won't have to explain either!” Scootaloo replied. She then ran over to the bed in the middle of the three and leapt onto the pillow, rolling back and forth to check it was comfortable. “Nice, I'll take this bed!”

“Nope, that one's for Sweetie Belle.” She responded, as she walked over to the sleeping pony. She bit hold of the cape that she was laying upon, and slowly dragged it over to the bed, trying not to wake her up.

“Why does she need the best bed? She's happy on her cape!” Scootaloo argued, watching as she slept soundly while being dragged across the floor by Applebloom. Scootaloo got up and walked away from the bed, unpacking the rest of Applebloom's bag.

“Cause she's just a little filly, and if she don't sleep well, then we'll be up all night, listening to her crying!” Applebloom placed Sweetie Belle on the pillow, and lifted the large blanket, draping it over the top of her, who sighed contentedly, squirming under the covers to get comfortable. She then carried on preparing her bed next to Sweetie Belle's, moving a book from under the sheets, placing it next to her pillow.

At the sight of the book, Sweetie Belle rolled onto her belly and stuck her hooves out from under the covers, grasping for the book out of her reach, groaning as she stretched for it.

“What'sa matter? You want ta hear a bedtime story?” Applebloom asked, looking at the book she had brought for herself to read, seeing Sweetie Belle's attempt to grab hold of it, while staying warm under the covers. Sweetie Belle looked up at her and nodded, still stretching her arms out for the book.

Applebloom sat down next to her, picking the book up. Sweetie Belle immediately crawled out from under the covers and sat on Applebloom's lap, an eager smile spread on her face.

“Okay then, but we're only reading it fer a short while, then you're going ta bed!” She said, the little Filly sitting in her lap, sucking her hoof. Applebloom turned the front cover of the book and began reading aloud to her, when Sweetie Belle placed her hooves on the pages and turned her head to face Applebloom, frowning.

“What's the matter, ah thought you wanted ta hear a story?” She said, when Sweetie Belle turned to face Scootaloo, pointing one of her hooves in her direction, murmuring unintelligibly. “Ohh I see.” Applebloom continued. “Scootaloo, Ah think she wants you to sit with us as well!” She then patted her hoof on the bed the other side of Sweetie Belle, and smiled at her. Scootaloo stood still, unsure of what to do.

“Hey, I'm not one for bedtime stories, so I'll just stay over here, you know?” She replied. Sweetie Belle sat smiling, and began banging her hooves on the bed next to her, giggling loudly.

“Ah don't think ya have a choice!” Applebloom said, smiling as Scootaloo walked over and got into the bed next to Sweetie Belle. As soon as she was in, Sweetie Belle looked back up at Applebloom and began tapping the pages of the book again, whining slightly.  “Okay, I'm reading it!” She said, as Sweetie Belle grabbed Scootaloo's tail again, chewing it in her mouth. Scootaloo went to pull it out, only to see a happy Sweetie Belle and Applebloom frowning at her. She put her hooves back by her side, and let the filly have her fun.

After half an hour of reading with Sweetie Belle giggling all the way, her stomach began to grumble loudly. She looked down at her belly, wide eyed at the noise she heard.

“That means your hungry Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom said, patting her head. “Hey Scootaloo, I took a bottle of milk from the Cakes, can you get it fer me?” She said, turned to face Scootaloo, only to see she was asleep. She gently hit her over the back of the head when Sweetie Belle wasn't looking.

“Hey! What'cha do that for?” She cried, before seeing Sweetie Belle looking up at her, confused. Scootaloo realised her mistake, and smiled at the filly, gently patting her mane.

“Can you get the milk out of my bag?” Applebloom repeated, Scootaloo nodded, removed her tail from Sweetie Belle's mouth with difficulty, then went and got the milk, sitting back down next to them. As she did so, Sweetie Belle turned to face her, stretching her arms up for her bottle.

“Here ya go kid!” She said as she handed the bottle to her. Sweetie Belle tried to hold it in her tiny hooves, but only dropped the bottle and watched it roll away, letting out a little whimper, she banged her hooves on Scootaloo's leg. “Oww! Hey, watch it!” Scootaloo cried out, but Sweetie Belle just laughed at her reaction, and hit her again. Applebloom couldn't help but giggle at the scene, which only served to spur Sweetie Belle on. She reached out to hit Scootaloo for the third time, when Applebloom grabbed her hooves and put them down gently in front of her.

“That's not nice Sweetie Belle. We don't hit other ponies, remember?” She said, stern faced, only to be met with a dumb found look in return. She then turned back to face her bottle of milk that escaped, and began to whimper. Scootaloo reached over and picked it back up. She held the bottle out to Sweetie Belle so she could drink it.

Sweetie Belle wrapped her teeth around the bottle and began drinking, smiling happily while she sat in Applebloom's lap. Applebloom resumed reading the story, as Sweetie Belle slowly fell asleep, comfortable with her two friends.