Two and a Half Fillies

The next morning the crusaders awoke, the sound of birds chirping through the clubhouse. Applebloom opened her eyes, blinking before the bright sun that shone in through the windows. She lifted the covers off her body and looked under the bed, looking for the filly that had been asleep in her arms.

“Sweetie Belle? Where are ya?” She called out, checking underneath the entire blanket. Scootaloo woke up with a start at the noise, and went to roll over, stopping suddenly, she lifted the sheet up and looked down, sighing heavily.

“She's over here.” She replied, her voice sounding exasperated. “Looks like she isn't changing back any time soon.” Scootaloo flicked back the covers, revealing Sweetie Belle, sleeping on her legs. She gently nudged the sleeping filly onto the bed, covering her back up. Sweetie Belle rolled onto her back, let out a little yawn, and clutched at the crusader cape between her hooves.

“Well ah guess we better take her to Twilight then.” Applebloom sighed, and put her saddle bag on, strapping it in place. She picked up the worn book they had borrowed from Twilight, and put it in one side of her bag. She then looked over to where Scootaloo was standing, as she stretched her wings out. “Err Scootaloo, if you'd be so kind?” She said, nodding to Sweetie Belle, who was still sleeping peacefully under the blanket.

“Alright. Come on Sweetie Belle, time to get up” Scootaloo stuck her head under the covers, emerging a few seconds later, the filly hanging from her mouth. She looked around weary eyed, blinking as she tried to work out what was going on.

“Come on Sweetie Belle, we're gonna go fer a walk!” Applebloom said softly, smiling at her friend. Scootaloo walked over to Applebloom and dumped her into the saddlebag. Sweetie Belle sat dumbstruck for a moment, rubbing her eyes with her hooves.

“Hang on a minute” She said, and ran back to the bed, returning with a crusaders cape in her mouth. She dropped it in the saddle bag on top of Sweetie Belle, who was now looking up at Scootaloo, smiling, arms stretched upwards, wanting to be held again. “Can't have her getting cold, now can we?” She said, her face turning a shade of red. Applebloom nodded and smiled back as Scootaloo closed the bag.

The trio left the clubhouse, a cold breeze blew through the trees, as winter slowly began to approach. They trotted off in the direction of Ponyville town centre, hoping Twilight would be up this early. As they went past Sweet Apple Acres, Sweetie Belle stuck her head out of the bag and began trying to grab Applebloom's tail as it jiggled about with each step she took. Scootaloo turned to see her reaching for it, and managed to grab her by the mane, right before she fell out of the bag. She placed her on the ground, and sighed.

“You gotta be careful Sweetie Belle, or you'll get hurt!” She said, gently scolding the filly. Sweetie Belle ignored her and began crawling off towards a nearby apple tree. Scootaloo walked after her, picking her back up before she got lost. Sweetie Belle frowned and crossed her front hooves as she was placed back into Applebloom's bag.

After a few more minutes walking, with Sweetie Belle repeatedly sticking her head out of the bag, and Scootaloo having to quickly hide her from the eyes of passing ponies, the trio arrived at Twilight's home. The giant tree's branches swaying gently in the morning breeze, the birds nestled on the branches, singing songs of the morning. Applebloom stood still, looking up at the balcony.

“Well, ain't we going in?” Scootaloo asked, nudging Applebloom's side gently.

Applebloom sighed, and lowered her head. She felt Sweetie Belle stirring in the saddle bag as she began to shiver from the cold morning air, letting out a low whimper.

“Yeah, let's go in.” She said, as the pair trotted to the door. Scootaloo knocked gently, while Applebloom stood awkwardly behind her, unsure how Twilight would react. Twilight opened the door with a cheery smile.

“Oh, hi girls! What can I do for you today?”

“Hey Twilight. Can we come in, we need your help with something.” Applebloom said from behind Scootaloo, a sullen tone to her voice. Twilight nodded and stood aside, waving them in. Spike was hard at work inside the library as usual, dusting every shelf and rotating the books following Twilight's weekly schedule.

“What's the matter girls?” Twilight asked as she used her magic to levitate a pitcher of lemonade, pouring drinks for her guests. She placed them safely on the ground in front of them. Scootaloo placed the straw in her mouth and began gulping it down eagerly, while Applebloom shifted uncomfortably. She stood up and took off her saddlebag, placing it on the floor. She reached in and removed the  book they'd borrowed, handing it to Twilight.

Twilight used her magic to flick the pages of the book, inspecting it for damage, frowning when she came to the torn, damp pages, coated with drool.

“I was wondering where this book had gotten to!”

“I told you I didn't misplace it!” Spike piped up from behind Twilight as he descended the ladder and began moving to the next section of the book shelf. Twilight rolled her eyes, and put her focus back onto Applebloom and Scootaloo.

“Why did you girls have my book though? And what happened to these pages?” She inquired, examining the book diligently, trying to work out what had been there. Before Twilight could realise what spell had been marked down on the page, the answer revealed itself as Sweetie Belle crawled out of the saddlebag and smiled broadly at Twilight. Twilight stared blankly, mouth agape at the sight. Before she could say anything, Sweetie Belle had begun running around the library, exploring her new surroundings, namely the small green dragon that was dusting a book shelf.

“Woah, hey what the!?” Spike cried as Sweetie Belle began running around his feet. She grabbed the apron around Spike's waist, and began tugging at it, chewing the corner. “Hey! Give that back, I need it!”

“Is that Sweetie Belle? What on earth happened to her?” Twilight asked as she walked over to her and bent down, looking her in the face. Sweetie Belle stopped chewing the apron and sat down, staring back at Twilight. She clapped her hooves together and spat out the apron, giggling loudly. She ran straight between Twilight's legs, heading over to Scootaloo, trying to bite her tail again. Scootaloo anticipated this, and quickly moved before she had a chance to grab hold. Sweetie Belle lunged for it again, Scootaloo quickly jumping back another step. She kept on jumping backwards, trying to get away, before bumping into Twilight, who stood stern faced, watching the entire ordeal.

“Oh, uhh sorry Twilight!” Scootaloo said, and walked away slowly. Sweetie Belle took the chance and latched onto her tail, sat down, and began to chew it vigorously, being dragged across the floor, a smile upon her face. Applebloom bent down and took hold of Sweetie Belle by the mane and pulled her away from Scootaloo, the filly only letting go when the hair slipped from between her teeth. Applebloom placed her onto the floor and removed the crusaders cape from the bag, wrapping it around her small body, as she curled up in a ball and began to fall asleep.

“So can ya change her back, Twilight? Please?” Applebloom pleaded. Twilight walked over and watched the filly sleeping, and let out a smile. Spike walked over and bent down next to her, watching as she snored peacefully.

“I dunno about you guys, but I like her like this!” Spike joked, only to look up and find three ponies frowning at him. “Or change her back, you know, whatever you think is best!” He blushed, and quickly darted back to dusting.

“Did she do this to herself?” Twilight asked, suddenly realising what had happened. She ran back to the worn spell book and levitated it back over to the trio, and opened it to the drool covered page, reading the few legible words, mumbling to herself as she did so. “Of course, this was my experimental age spell!” She cried. “I never expected it to work, or to work so well for such an inexperienced unicorn! Did she really do this to herself?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.

Applebloom swallowed and nodded her head. “Yep, she opened the book and just started trying to do it.”

“Then there was this bright green flash of light, and when we could see again, she was like this!” Scootaloo chimed in, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Wow, I mean, I had only written it down as an idea, but I never expected it to work, or to work so well! Especially for a filly with no magical experience! How long ago did she do this?” Twilight asked, her voice growing frantic and high pitched.

“Yesterday afternoon.” Scootaloo said. “What's that got to do with anything?” Twilight scrunched up her face and began counting quietly to herself.

“Hmm. It was only supposed to be temporary. It should have worn off by now. Strange.” She picked up her book again and turned several pages until stopping suddenly. “Ah ha! Here it is!” She read the page quickly, before stopping. “I'm going to need you girls to stand back while I do this. If you wouldn't mind standing over by Spike?”

Scootaloo and Applebloom nodded, and began to trot away, when Sweetie Belle woke up, and lifted her head up to see them leaving. She sat upright and began crying, stretching her arms out to them. The pair stopped and looked back at Sweetie Belle, who now had tears running down her face, a low whimper began to fill the air. They walked back over to her and sat down next to her. Sweetie Belle smiled and wrapped her hooves around Scootaloo in a tight embrace, before she quickly grabbed her tail and began chewing on it, then turning to Applebloom, hugging her tightly.

Twilight and Spike stood nearby, looking on as the filly refused to let her friends leave her alone. Twilight walked over and bent down next to her, gently stroking her mane. Sweetie Belle looked up at her and frowned.

“Hey, don't worry Sweetie Belle, you can trust me!” Twilight began to pull funny faces to cheer her up, only for Sweetie Belle to turn and bury her head against Scootaloo's side. Twilight got up and walked back to stand with spike. “Can you believe that? I'm usually great with kids!” She sighed.

“Oh don't beat yourself up about it Twilight, she's probably just better with them as they've been looking after her all night. That, and they are her best friends after all!” Spike said, before realising the absurdity of it all. “Here, watch, I bet she does the same when I go over there!”

Spike took off his apron and walked over to Sweetie Belle, sitting down in front of her. She turned to face him, as Spike reached forward and gently tickled her ribs. Sweetie Belle starting to giggle loudly and began clapping her hooves together happily.

“Haha, you like that, don't ya? Who's just a silly little filly then?” Spike laughed as Sweetie Belle enjoyed the attention. “Hey Twlight, it looks like I'm a natural with kids as well!” He said, before turning back to face Twilight, who was now looking angrier than before. “Oh. Right.” He said, sighing. “Sorry little girl, but I've gotta go now. Don't worry about Twilight, she won't hurt you!” He smiled and stroked her mane, before he was levitated away by Twilight, who dropped him next to her. He shrugged his shoulders, an apologetic look crossed his face.

Scootaloo and Applebloom continued to sit with Sweetie Belle for a minute, gently patting her mane, before Applebloom spoke up.

“Now Sweetie Belle, we're gonna go stand over there while Twilight turns you back to normal, okay?” She smiled down at the little filly, who just sat there, chewing Scootaloo's tail, unaware what was going on. Sweetie Belle reached out to Applebloom again, the pair hugging tightly. She turned to face Scootaloo and did the same, until she noticed Applebloom standing up. She quickly turned around and grabbed her long, red tail with her hooves, all the while continuing to chew on Scootaloo's violet tail.

Scootaloo stood up and pulled her tail out of Sweetie Belle's mouth, and reached for her little hooves to free Applebloom, when she starting crying loudly. Applebloom tried to walk away, only for Sweetie Belle to tug tighter on her tail, digging her hooves into the floor. The pair felt their hearts ache as their friend cried out, afraid of being alone. They wanted to bend down and hug her again, when Twilight stepped between the two, levitating Sweetie Belle away from Applebloom's tail, placing her on the floor.

“Don't worry, she'll be safe. Go stand with Spike, while I turn her back to normal.” Twilight said, smiling towards them. Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each other, both knowing it was the right thing to do, despite how much it hurt them. They went and stood next to Spike, who held out a plate of cookies he had baked earlier in the day.

Twilight walked closer to Sweetie Belle, and stood smiling at the little filly. Sweetie Belle lay down on the floor, and cowered up in a small ball, avoiding Twilight's gaze. She felt uneasy as Twilight approached her, horn glowing again, so much so that she began to shake and quiver, her teeth chattering. Having seen this, Twilight levitated her into the air and wrapped her tightly in her crusaders cape, so tightly that she couldn't move. She squirmed uncomfortably in it, beginning to cry.

Twilight looked at the filly levitated in the air, and began to focus her mind. As she did so, a bright purple glow began to bathe the room and envelop Sweetie Belle within. Loose sheets of paper blew around the room, Scootaloo's and Applebloom's manes blowing violently back and forth. The two crusaders held their manes out of their eyes with their hooves, not wanting to miss what was about the happen. As they stood watching, the small filly, wrapped tightly in the cape floated higher into the air, before being blocked from view entirely by the bright, purple light. Soon all they could hear was the sound of her crying, screaming loudly as she was affected by the magic.

“Spike, you gotta stop Twilight, it sounds like she's hurting her!” Scootaloo pleaded, yelling over the hum of the magic that coursed throughout the room.

“Yeah Spike, this ain't right! There has ta be another way ta do it!” Applebloom shouted as her eyes began to fill with tears at the sound of Sweetie Belle's plight. Spike looked on uneasily, the wind blowing him about on his feet, all he could hear were the sounds of Twilight's spell, the two fillies shouting for him to help, and the third screaming in what he hoped was only fright and not pain. He knew he had to do something. Spike leant into the wind and began to stride forwards as quickly as possible, trying to reach Twilight.

“Hey! Hey Twilight! Stop! This isn't working!” He shouted, trying to be heard.

“What?” Twilight shouted back in confusion. “I can't hear you Spike, what's wrong?” Twilight said, her horn still glowing bright purple, eyes clenched shut.

“You need to stop Twilight! It sounds like she's in pain!” He yelled again, before getting blown backwards. Scootaloo jumped forwards just in time to catch him before he slammed into a bookcase. Spike tried to stand up, only to be blown back again. “Twilight, please stop! Can't you hear her? She's suffering!”

Twilight continued with her magic, and in a split second, there was an almighty purple flash, and the sound of crying, the ear piercing wails stopped, an eerie silence taking over the room. Twilight sat down on her haunches, and hung her head, panting heavily. In front of her, laying on the floor was Sweetie Belle, back to her normal size. At the sight of her, Applebloom and Scootaloo breathed a heavy sigh of relief. They helped Spike to his feet, and then ran over to Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie Belle! Hey Sweetie Belle! Are ya'll okay?” Applebloom shouted, shaking her back and forth. As the pair stood by her side, she slowly opened her eyes, blinking in the bright light. She lifted her head up to see her fellow crusaders stood over her, looking down and smiling brightly.

“Wha..what's going on?” She murmured, rubbing her head with her hoof.  “Where am I?” she stood up shakily and looked around, her fellow crusaders jumping on her and hugging her tightly as soon as she was up.

“Sweetie Belle, It's good to have ya back!” Scootaloo said, as she held her tightly.

“Yeah, we missed you!” Applebloom joined in, wrapping her hooves around her friend. Sweetie Belle smiled and hugged the pair back, before letting out a small frown, her face flushing red.

“Why am I wearing a diaper?” She said, looking back at her flank. She quickly squirmed out of it and threw it in the bin, shuddering uncomfortably after doing so. Spike stood in the corner, holding his hands over his mouth, stifling a laugh.

“Don't you remember? You turned into a baby, and we had to look after you!” Scootaloo said, smiling uncomfortably as she realised what she was suggesting. “You turned yourself into a little filly, and we had to get Twilight to turn you back again.”

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow and looked around her, as Scootaloo stared on, face beaming. She turned to look at Applebloom, getting the same response.

“No! I don't remember any of that!” She said her voice squeaking as she spoke. The trio looked over to Twilight, who was still sat on the ground, hunched over. She raised her head and looked at them, a lone tear running down her cheek.

“You okay Twilight?” Applebloom asked. Looking concerned for her.

“Yeah, I'm fine. It was just more tiring than I anticipated!” She said, wiping the tears away from her cheeks.

“But why can't she remember what happened Twilight?” Applebloom asked her.

“I guess my magic needs refining, she should have been able to remember It.” She said, her voice sounding hoarse, cracking ever so slightly. The trio looked at each other, confused, before deciding to leave.

“Well, thanks Twilight, you really saved us from some trouble!” Scootaloo said, as she ran over and gave Twilight a hug.

“Yeah, thanks Twilight. Sorry we took your book, we won't do it ever again, we promise.” Applebloom spoke apologetically.

“Err, Thanks for changing me back, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle said aloud, unsure of what to really say. Scootaloo then released her grip on Twilight, and the trio walked out of Twilight's house, waving goodbye, giggling softly to each other. As they stepped out the door, Sweetie Belle pulled a violet coloured hair from between her teeth. She looked at it, and smiled widely. “Hey! Wait up!” She yelled, running after her friends, playfully nudging them as she ran between the two.

Spike stood watching them leave, before shutting the door and turning to face Twilight, who was sat solemnly, her head hung low.

“Are you okay Twilight? what really happened?” Spike asked, an air of concern in his voice. Twilight lifted her head up and looked at her assistant, tears in her eyes. He leant in and gave her a hug. “Twilight, what's wrong?”

She took a deep breath and swallowed deeply. “Spike, when she was crying, she was in pain. I didn't expect it to happen, but it did. I couldn't stop it, or she'd suffer even more. But it hurt me so much, to hear her in pain, pain that I was causing.” She said, holding back the tears as best she could. Spike looked down solemnly, before chirping up again.

“But she doesn't remember it now, and she's not in pain any more! so it's fine, right?”

Twilight sunk her head down again. “Yes Spike, she won't remember, but I still feel terrible about it. I shouldn't have to brainwash a small filly, ever.” Spike put a claw under Twilight's chin and raised her head so she was looking him in the eyes.

“You know what will cheer you up?” He asked, his tone more playful than before. “A big bowl of chocolate ice cream, that's what!” Spike jumped up and ran to the kitchen to make Twilight an extra large sundae. She chuckled to herself and got up, following Spike into the kitchen.

“Don't eat it all, or you'll be the one in pain!” She joked.