There was the sound of gravel crunching in the driveway, and then the sound of the front door opening. Kat and Danielle's mother was home. Before Kat could say anything, Danielle raced downstairs, reaching her mother just as she was putting her coat away. "Mom!" she yelped. "It's me, Dan! Kat went crazy with power and turned me into this! And she said you wouldn't change me back! Please, Mom, fix this! Please!"
Her mom sighed. "I half-expected this," she muttered. "Still, it's terribly disappointing. Just wait a minute, dear."
Kat appeared at the top of the stairs, racing down in hot pursuit; Danielle hadn't noticed it at first, but she really was faster as a bunnygirl. As Kat reached the bottom of the stairs, their mother whirled and pointed; Kat was immobilized on the spot. "I'm disappointed in you, Kat," she said. "I taught you that our power was a gift and was not to be abused, certainly not for something as petty as a brother-sister feud. On top of that, your actions were uncalled for; minor annoyances on Dan's part don't even come close to justifying what you did to him."
Danielle could tell from the look on Kat's face that she knew she was in big trouble. "I just-" she started. "That's enough out of you," her mother interrupted. "I think it's only fair that you share in Dan's fate." With a simple gesture on her mother's part, Kat was also a bunnygirl in a leotard. Their mother turned to Danielle. "I'm sorry, dear," she said, "but Kat was right about one thing; interaction between different casters' spells is a very tricky thing. I could try to change you back, but the odds of success would be very low, and the consequences of failure could be as severe as leaving you stuck in this form forever."
"Does that mean I can't be changed back?" Danielle asked, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach.
"Of course not," her mother said. "Kat just has to do it. Kat?"
Kat scowled defiantly. "No. Not doing it."
Her mother cocked an eyebrow. "No?"
"No." She was scowling intensely at Danielle, nearly snarling.
Their mother sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. Let's see if this motivates you." She gestured again. Kat shrunk down to a couple inches below Danielle's height as she became younger, chest flattening, figure straightening. When it was over, she was entirely flat-chested, with no figure at all: even less developed than Danielle. "My boobs!" she gasped. "My boobs are gone!"
"Indeed," their mother said. "I know how you've enjoyed being the center of attention at school, so I figure a good start towards making you pay attention to me is to take that away. You're now the same age as Danielle; in fact, you're identical twins. You, Kat, are just the late bloomer of the two. And if you insist on dragging this out to the point where you start to develop again, rest assured that yours will always be smaller than Danielle's; I don't want you thinking you can wait your way back into the spotlight." Danielle looked uncomfortable with the last statement, but said nothing.
"Of course," their mother continued, "being thirteen again robs you of your powers, and we'll see how long you last without those. If there were nothing else at stake here, believe me, it'd be a good long while before you got them back, but since Dan's involved, I'll consider willingness to change her back a sign that you've matured enough to have them again. Until then, you'll be facing the same middle-school trials and tribulations as Dan, so she'll have someone to relate to. Any time you feel like changing your mind, just come and see me."
She gestured, letting Kat move again, and turned to Danielle. "Danielle, dear," she said, "I'm sorry about this. I really should have kept a closer eye on Kat when she got her powers, and I wish you hadn't gotten caught up into this. But we need to move on; school starts tomorrow, and you have to attend. You're just going to have to accept life as a girl until Kat changes her mind. And if you need help with that, or you just want to talk about it, I'll always be here for you." Fighting back tears, Danielle nodded, and her mother embraced her.