The Dragon's Prince: The Tiny TDP Problem
The laboratory of Princess Dr. Jade Smartest was never quiet.
Even at midnight, when the rest of the castle slept beneath the glowing skies of Sciemagicoxe, Jade's tower hummed with the sounds of invention. Crystal engines pulsed softly beneath glass tables. Floating screens displayed endless streams of magical formulas. Tiny mechanical helpers zipped around carrying tools much too large for their little metal hands.
The room smelled like a strange combination of fresh bread, electricity, and ancient magic.
To most people, the laboratory looked like a beautiful disaster. Books were stacked into towers. Strange plants grew beside machines. Magical crystals floated inside glass containers, each one glowing with a different color.
To Jade, it was organized.
"Okay," Jade said, adjusting her glasses as she stared at the glowing sphere in the center of the room. "Temporary biological replication. Controlled growth. Stable magic pattern. Limited lifespan of exactly one hundred hours."
She tapped a button on her tablet.
The sphere floated higher.
A small warning symbol appeared.
She waved the warning away.
The Codexin princess had learned many things throughout her life. She had learned magical theory. She had learned science. She had learned how to bake the perfect cake.
But one thing Jade had not mastered was knowing when an idea was too ridiculous to attempt.
"This is simply research," she said.
The empty room stared back.
The idea had started earlier that day.
Jade had been watching Tray, Wanda, Lai, and Mercya argue over something completely meaningless.
Tray wanted everyone to stop fighting.
Wanda wanted everyone to admit she was right.
Lai wanted to prove she was stronger than everyone.
Mercya wanted to sell something she probably shouldn't have been selling.
Jade had watched the chaos and wondered:
What would happen if I could see their personalities at a younger stage?
Not their actual childhoods.
That would be impossible.
A scientific observation.
She had even made sure they wouldn't grow.
Because Jade had one very important rule.
She did not want to raise baby versions of her friends.
"Babies are adorable," Jade explained to herself. "But actual babies require constant attention, emotional support, and supervision."
She pointed at the machine.
"These babies will simply exist, be observed, and disappear after one hundred hours."
"That was not part of the plan."
The crystal sphere cracked.
A wave of golden and blue magic exploded through the laboratory.
Jade jumped backward as smoke filled the room.
When the smoke cleared, five tiny figures sat on the floor.
They looked like miniature versions of her friends.
Baby Tray had tiny green dreadlocks and a little version of his usual determined expression. He looked around the room with curiosity.
Baby Wanda sat with her arms crossed, already looking like she was judging everyone.
Baby Lai immediately crawled toward the nearest object like she was ready to challenge it.
Baby Mercya looked around the room suspiciously, as if she was calculating the value of everything she saw.
Baby Jade adjusted tiny glasses that somehow appeared with her.
The baby version of herself stared back.
"This is unexpected," Baby Jade said.
Baby Jade looked offended.
A long silence filled the laboratory.
Jade slowly wrote something down.
Baby Jade looked at her notes.
"You forgot to record the possibility of independent consciousness."
Jade lowered the notebook.
Within three hours, the situation had become much worse.
The babies had formed a group.
Jade found them sitting around a tiny table she had no memory of creating.
Baby Wanda stood at the front.
Behind her was a banner made from laboratory curtains.
"Not a gang," Baby Wanda corrected. "A leadership organization."
Mercya raised a tiny hand.
"We prefer the term business empire."
Lai pointed dramatically.
"We are taking over the playroom."
"They made a very convincing presentation."
Jade looked at Baby Jade.
Baby Jade adjusted her glasses.
"I improved their presentation."
"Because their original plan was inefficient."
Of all the possible outcomes, she should have expected this one.
She had accidentally created a group of tiny versions of her friends.
And somehow, they were exactly as troublesome as the originals.
The next ninety-seven hours became known throughout the castle as the Great Baby Incident.
The Tiny Tyrants demanded snacks.
They created a tiny government.
They attempted to negotiate with the royal kitchen.
They tried to convince the guards that they were actually the "real adults" and everyone else was pretending.
Wanda discovered that people gave babies extra kindness.
Mercya discovered that kindness could be monetized.
Jade discovered that her own personality was extremely annoying when reduced to a two-foot-tall genius.
But slowly, something unexpected happened.
Jade started enjoying their company.
She watched Baby Tray help the others when they argued.
She watched Baby Wanda secretly make sure everyone was included.
She watched Baby Lai protect everyone despite pretending she didn't care.
She watched Baby Mercya share her snacks when nobody was looking.
And she watched Baby Jade constantly question everything, just like she did.
On the final hour, Jade sat with them in the laboratory.
The glowing timer above the machine counted down.
"Ten minutes," Jade said quietly.
The babies looked at the timer.
For the first time, nobody joked.
Nobody planned a takeover.
But she knew the experiment was never supposed to last forever.
"You created us because you wanted to understand something."
"I wanted to understand childhood."
Baby Jade shook her head.
"You wanted to understand yourself."
"You're exactly like me."
When the timer reached zero, the laboratory filled with warm golden light.
One by one, the Tiny Tyrants disappeared.
Wanda gave Jade a proud smile.
Lai shouted that she would have won the takeover.
Mercya asked if Jade wanted to invest in her future business.
And Baby Jade simply said:
"Next time, include more safety precautions."
The laboratory became quiet again.
Jade looked at the empty space where the babies had been.
Her experiment had failed.
Jade looked at her notes.
At the top of the page, she crossed out:
Temporary Replication Experiment
The Importance of Understanding Life
Then underneath, she added:
Also: Never create tiny versions of friends without permission.
