Dashie's Relaxation

Chapters

Getting Ready
Time To Relax
The Morning After

Getting Ready

"I really don't think I need this, Twilight. I'm perfectly fine."

Rainbow Dash didn't like to lie, especially to her marefriend. Even though Applejack was the one who held the Element of Honesty, Rainbow was also known as one to not mince words and try to be straight-up with other ponies. This time, though, she had to admit that she was not being entirely truthful. Worst of all, she knew that Twilight knew this too.

"Come on now, Rainbow," Twilight said, the gentleness of her tone betraying the irritation that arose from knowing she was being lied to. "You've been a nervous wreck for days now, and it's not healthy. Even Fluttershy noticed it, and for Fluttershy, of all ponies, to notice somepony being especially nervous and call them out on it..."

"...Means that they're really high-strung," Rainbow finished, rolling her eyes. "You're like a broken record."

"That's because you're always needling at me," Twilight responded. Rainbow stared at her in disbelief.

"Did you just...make a joke?" Rainbow asked, smirking.

"Did you like it?" Twilight asked in response, her wings fluttering with excitement. "I've been studying up on Snappy Retort's Compendium of Witty Comebacks! I could have also said you were making my head spin, or that it was because you'd irritated me for the vinyl time..."

"Alright, alright!" Rainbow groaned. "I don't think I can take any more of those puns!"

"Well, they'll stop once you agree to go," Twilight responded, one hoof patting the flyer she'd placed on the table.

"It sounds totally lame," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes and looking down at the thing. A "relaxation center" sounded dangerously like a spa, and while her last forced trip to the spa with Twilight and Rarity wasn't the worst thing in the world, she wasn't looking to go out of her way to make a return trip, let alone go by herself to a completely new one. She began to open her mouth in protest, but Twilight's hopeful look stopped her.

"Please, Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "For me?"

There it was. The most potent, volatile weapon in Twilight Sparkle's arsenal. Those big, pleading eyes, weapons of mass destruction against the normally-sturdy metaphorical walls of Rainbow Dash's resolve.

As little as she wanted to go through with this, Rainbow did want to make Twilight happy. There was nothing she wouldn't do for Twilight, and if that meant a trip to a boring spa...well, maybe it was a sacrifice she needed to make.

"Fiiiiine," Rainbow relented. "You're lucky I love ya."

"I know I am," Twilight responded, giving her a sweet little smile. "And maybe next time, I'll join you!"

"You should join me this time," Rainbow said with a pout. "It sounds boring. At least if you're there I'll have something nice to look at."

"I'll ignore the fact that you just referred to me as a thing," Twilight said with a bemused smirk. "And you know I would love to come with you, but I have a lot of studying to do. And before you ask, it can't wait for tomorrow."

"You could really stand to relax from the whole studying thing, Twi," Rainbow told her.

"I'll relax tomorrow," Twilight said, getting up and swinging around the table to nuzzle Rainbow's cheek. "You relax tonight. You've been stressing out way too much over Wonderbolts auditions. This should be good for you."

"Yeah, yeah..." Rainbow muttered, getting up from her seat. She picked the flyer up, reading its contents. "Sweet Dreams Relaxation Center. Sheesh, could it sound any more lame?"

"I'm sure it could," Twilight responded with a giggle. "What if it was called Sir Boredombottom's House of Yawns?"

"Lamey McLame's Snoozefest Stadium," Rainbow offered, joining in with Twilight's infectious laugh.

"Plebeian Pat's Palace of Prosaic Platitudes!" Twilight exclaimed, bursting out in peals of laughter.

"Pardon?" Rainbow asked, head tilted.

"Never mind," Twilight said, blushing lightly. "Now, go on. You have a relaxation center to go to."

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow responded, leaning in to give Twilight a kiss on the cheek. "Love ya, egghead."

"Heehee...love you too, Rainbow," Twilight said. The two gave each other a wave with their wings, and then Rainbow was off like a multicolored rocket.

Rainbow waited until she was out of sight of the library, then slowed down to a much more reasonable pace. She was going to go as she'd promised Twilight, and she was going to at least look a bit enthusiastic to make her happy, but there was no way that she could muster up any real excitement for it. She was not the type to be content relaxing, unless it was cloud-napping. Nothing could beat cloud-napping, especially not a boring old relaxation center.

She didn't even need a relaxation center, she told herself. She was perfectly fine. Calm, cool, and collected. A silly thing like a Wonderbolts tryout wasn't enough to shake her. Even if her most recent speed test had her clocking in a few miles per hour slower than she had been, it couldn't ruin her cool. Even the knowledge that she'd messed up the Filly Flash three times yesterday wasn't enough to cause her to panic. So what if all the Wonderbolts would be at the tryouts, judging her every move? Who cared that they would be paying close attention to everything she did, from her tricks to her poise and straight down to her appearance, all to decide whether or not she was worthy to be chosen for the only thing she'd ever wanted to do with herself ever since she was a filly, where every single tiny, minuscule mistake she might make would potentially be a knife thrust into the back of her hopes and aspirations, enough of them leaving them bleeding on the ground, desperately gasping for air, rapidly inhaling to try and stop the life from up fading from their eyes. Gasping, panting, sharp inhalations...

Rainbow found herself falling suddenly, her muscles seemingly refusing to cooperate. She yelped in panic, managing to shoot her wings out and catch the air before she could take a nosedive into the ground. She brought herself to a soft landing on the soil, gasping desperately for air,

"...M-maybe I do need to relax," Rainbow admitted to herself once she was safe in the knowledge that she was the only one around to hear her admit that she might have been wrong earlier. She began to spread her wings, but upon further consideration of the events of the past minute, she decided that perhaps it was better to walk the rest of the way.

Rainbow winced as she approached what had to be the center. The outside looked lame and boring, with its muted pastels and yawn-inducing decor. Even the typeface on the sign looked wholly uninteresting. Just because. She was able to admit to herself that she needed it didn't mean that she would suddenly find it interesting, after all.

"Sweet Dreams Relaxation Center," Rainbow read as she touched down in front of the sign. She couldn't even sound interested as she read it.

"Very good!" a voice called out. "You're quite the reader!"

Rainbow jumped. Not because she was surprised, she told herself. It was more because she felt like getting the exercise at that exact moment. She quickly turned to the direction the voice came from, her eyes settling on a smiling powder-blue unicorn mare poking her head out of the window.

"My apologies, sweetheart," the unicorn said sweetly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Startle? Naaah," Rainbow responded, sending mental signals to the goosebumps on her forelegs that they needed to evacuate the premises. "I'm totally cool."

"Of course you are," the unicorn replied with a little wink. "Were you looking for this place? Or do you just make a habit of reading all the signs you pass?"

Rainbow furrowed her brow. She did not like being spoken down to. There was something about the unicorn's tone, though, that was inexplicably making it hard for Rainbow to get upset with her for this indiscretion. Something about the way she spoke was too gentle for Rainbow's anger to let itself out on her.

"Yeah, I was looking for this place," Rainbow answered. "My marefriend thinks I need to relax a bit, and she saw one of your flyers."

"Oh, so they're working!" the unicorn said with a giddy little smile. "Excellent! Come on in, then." Her horn lit up and opened the front door for Rainbow.

"Thanks," Rainbow said, trotting inside. As soon as she stepped into the building, her senses of sight and smell were completely overcome. Everything was brightly-lit and colored; a far cry from the muted outer appearance. There was also a lingering, almost cloyingly sweet scent throughout the place. Rainbow was not quite prepared for this sensory overload, and found herself standing, dumbfounded, in the doorway, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

"C'mon in, silly," the unicorn called to Rainbow as her magic shut the door behind her. Rainbow felt the door gently bump against her rump, and took a few steps forward.

"Uh...nice place," Rainbow said, still trying to come to her senses.

"Thank you!" the unicorn responded. "I'm Sweet Dreams, as you might have guessed by now."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow asked. "I thought it was just a name."

"It is!" Sweet responded. "It's my name! Anyway, come on and have a seat, and we'll get you signed in and everything."

Rainbow nodded and headed over to the chair indicated by Sweet. She couldn't shake the calming feeling that seemed to come from every word Sweet said. She felt it trying to tickle at something in the back of her mind, but she couldn't place exactly what it was.

"Sorry again for startling you," Sweet said, placing a neatly-stapled couple of papers into Rainbow's hooves. "Today's opening day, and I've been waiting all day for my first customer! To be honest, I was starting to worry that maybe Ponyville wasn't the right place for this kind of establishment, but even one customer is encouraging! I mean I know it's early to get discouraged, but..."

Rainbow found her attention drifting in and out as Sweet spoke. As soothing as her tone was, that didn't make her speech terribly interesting, and that plus her somewhat-short attention span was a lethal combination. Rainbow spent the next ten or fifteen seconds thinking about how great clouds were. Clouds just like the little cloud on Sweet's flank. Maybe Sweet's talent was something to do with clouds, which was kind of weird considering that she was a unicorn. Though she supposed that Rarity had been doing her best at trying to manipulate clouds back when the whole cutie mark mixup fiasco had occurred. Maybe Sweet did that kind of thing when she wasn't running this place, and she was actually good at it.

"So does that sound good?" Sweet asked, knocking Rainbow out of her reverie. Rainbow tilted her head, feeling like a schoolfilly again as she found herself trying to recall what had been said to her while her mind was wandering. Not willing to admit that she'd stopped paying attention, she gave a quick nod.

"Yeah, sure," Rainbow said. She watched Sweet smile, and felt rather proud of herself. Smooth as always.

"Alright!" Sweet said with a smile. "I'll go prepare the tea. When you're done reading over that form, just sign on the last page and come meet me in the living room. It's the second door on the right in the hallway through this door. See you in a few minutes! Make sure to read thoroughly!" With that, Sweet gave Rainbow's mane a little rub and headed through the door she'd just indicated, closing it behind her.

Rainbow frowned. Nopony rubbed her mane except Twilight and...well, nopony except Twilight anymore. After a moment, she decided to let it go for now and only raise a protest if she did it again. Sweet seemed rather nice, after all. It would be a jerk move to get angry at her just for that.

Rainbow stared down at the papers she'd been given. It sure looked like an awful lot to read, and she could already feel the apathy setting in. She took a deep breath, then began reading.

"The signer of this document hereby acknowledges and agrees to the terms listed in the proceeding document," Rainbow read in a fine monotone. "By signing this, the signer releases Sweet Dreams Relaxation Center and all employees of Sweet Dreams Relaxation Center from responsibility for..."

Rainbow yawned. A big, deep, pronounced yawn.

"Bored," she said aloud, as she was wont to do when things bored her so. She'd seen things like this before. They were always full of big, boring words that meant pretty much nothing. She flipped quickly to the last page and signed her name on the dotted line, then spent the next few minutes playing a sweet drumbeat on her thighs. Once she figured enough time had passed for it to be believable that she had read the whole thing, she got up from her seat and entered the hallway that Sweet had entered.

The sweet scent was even stronger in the hallway, so much so that Rainbow could practically taste it. She still couldn't quite place the scent, but she had the feeling that she'd have plenty of time to try and identify it. She had no idea how long she was meant to relax here, now that she thought about it. She figured she'd ask Sweet over tea.

Rainbow poked her head into the second door on the right. The living room was a rather cozy-looking place, and Rainbow decided to get herself comfy on the big, soft sofa while waiting for Sweet to arrive with the tea. She flopped onto the cushions, resting her head back and making herself at home.

"I see you're getting comfy already!" Sweet sang as she entered the living room, tea tray floating alongside her.

"Yeah, I guess this couch is a'ight," Rainbow replied, wondering just how Sweet managed to surprise her so easily. Rainbow watched the form she'd signed float out of her hooves and in front of Sweet's face. Sweet nodded with a smile upon seeing Rainbow's signature, then stashed the form away.

"Oh, the couch is nothing," Sweet said with a smile, setting the tray down on the endtable. "If you think that's comfy, just wait until what's coming up." She then nudged one teacup a bit closer to Rainbow. Rainbow looked down at it with a little smirk. She was never a big fan of tea. Twilight tried to push it on her a lot, but it just never appealed to her. She preferred the coffee Twilight would make every morning, but Twilight had made sure to keep it from her after the water tower incident.

"Drink up!" Sweet encouraged. Rainbow gave her a little smile. She seemed so nice, and Rainbow didn't want to turn down something such a nice pony had offered her. She picked the teacup up and took a nice, healthy sip. She hummed in approval as she swished the hot beverage around in her mouth. It had a wonderful taste to it, a flavor she couldn't place but wished she could, so as to be able to find and experience it on her own time.

"You still haven't given me your name, sweetie," Sweet said, watching Rainbow enjoy her beverage.

"Oh, right," Rainbow replied between sips. "Name's Rainbow Dash."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Dash," Sweet said, giving her a little smile. "So before we start, why don't you tell me a little something about why you're here?"

"It was my marefriend's idea," Rainbow answered, taking a quick sip before continuing. "I've been training hardcore for Wonderbolts tryouts, and she thinks I'm a little too stressed over 'em." As soon as the words left her mouth, the teacup returned to it. This stuff was amazing.

"Oh my," Sweet said, sipping her own. "That's a lot of pressure for a young lady like yourself."

Rainbow raised a brow. She knew she looked youthful and awesome, but Sweet looked to be about the same age she was. What was with this "young lady" business?

"Uh, right," Rainbow said. "I mean I know I can make it, but I guess Twilight was kinda right. It has been affecting me a bit."

"And how did Twilight find out about this establishment?" Sweet asked, watching with a smile as Rainbow continued to enjoy her tea.

"No clue," Rainbow answered after swallowing. "She found the flyer somewhere and thought I should go."

"Wow," Sweet said with a grin. "And she knew you would be interested in this kind of thing?"

"To be honest, I'm really not," Rainbow said, now nearly done with her tea. "But she really wanted me to try it, and I guess it's good to have new experiences and stuff, right?"

"Right!" Sweet said, positively beaming. "Oh, I wish more ponies thought like you. Business would boom!"

"Heh, yeah, I'm pretty awesome," Rainbow responded with a smirk, finishing off the last of her tea.

"Oh my, you drank that all so fast!" Sweet exclaimed as Rainbow set the cup down. "What a good girl!"

Rainbow gave the mare a cock-eyed look. Perhaps talking to customers like they were children was one of Sweet's quirks, and she knew plenty about quirks with her group of friends, but she wasn't sure if she liked this particular quirk. It had been a long time since she'd been spoken to in such a manner, and it wasn't exactly in a situation that was at all similar to this one.

"Quickly now!" Sweet suddenly said, getting up. "Follow me!" Before Rainbow could say a word, Sweet had bolted out the door she'd entered through. Rainbow was starting to get a little weirded out, but that was hastily forgotten as she leapt to her hooves. If anypony could do something quickly, it was Rainbow Dash. Besides, she was sure there was nothing to worry about. Sweet seemed way too nice and fun to be concerned about.

Quick as a flash, Rainbow bolted out of the room. She caught sight of Sweet out of the corner of her eye, waving her towards a room further down. Rainbow smirked and felt a little childish giggle escape her lips as she ran towards Sweet. She could hardly see what was stress-relieving about being told to quickly follow somepony, but she didn't really care. It seemed fun!

Rainbow briefly considered zooming past Sweet. She wasn't exactly moving super-fast, and Rainbow was feeling the need to show off to her for some reason. Logic swiftly took over, though, as she realized that she had no clue where she was going without following Sweet. She settled for simply running up behind her and keeping pace. Without warning, Sweet ducked into a door on her right, and Rainbow zoomed right in after her. She took a breath, ready to make some comment about how fast she was, when the sight of the room made her stop short.

Time To Relax

The room Rainbow found herself in was like nothing she'd expected to see. The pastels were far less muted here than the outside of the building, the walls and furniture bathed in soft pink hues, and the entire room looked like it was meant for a foal. There was one notable exception, though: the things in this room certainly looked far too big for a foal. The changing table looked big enough for three or four foals, as did the crib. The toy chest was ponderous in scale, enough to make any foal envious. The scent from earlier, which she was now beginning to recognize, was overwhelming. Rainbow turned her attention to Sweet, who was giving her the biggest smile.

"...Sweet?" Rainbow asked, confused. She had no clue what to make of all of this.

"C'mon now, silly filly," Sweet said, nodding eagerly and motioning to the changing table. "Hop on up while you can! Or did you want me to pick you up?"

Rainbow stared, dumbfounded, at the grinning pony. It took her a moment or two to process what she'd been told to do.

"...You're kidding, right?" Rainbow finally asked. Sweet didn't seem to hear her as she began retrieving supplies from the nearby closet. Rainbow watched as a bottle of foal powder was placed on the table, followed by a pink pacifier. It wasn't until she set eyes on the big, thick diaper that she found her voice again.

"Hold on now!" Rainbow exclaimed. "What in the hay do you think you're doing with that stuff?" Sweet finally acknowledged Rainbow's protests, her eager smile fading slightly.

"Getting the supplies for your relaxation?" Sweet said, head tilted. Rainbow gawked at her, unbelieving of what she expected her to be doing.

"No way!" Rainbow shouted. "I am not letting you do that!"

"But you agreed to it!" Sweet said. Her insistence on this only served to raise Rainbow's ire.

"I would never agree to something like that!" Rainbow shot back. Sweet opened her mouth to reply, then stopped. A look of realization crossed her face, and she slapped a hoof to her forehead.

"You didn't even read the form you signed, did you?" Sweet asked, beginning to look a bit worried.

"I..." Rainbow began. Then she stopped. Try as she might, she was simply unable to give a satisfactory answer to that question. Nor would she have to; the look of disappointment and uncertainty on Sweet's face made it evident enough that she already knew the answer.

"Oh geez..." Sweet said, pacing a bit and shaking her head. "This is why I told you to read the whole form thoroughly, sweetie! So if you didn't know what you were getting yourself into, you could just tell me before any of this started!" The frustrated mare let out a deep sigh. "Okay, look, your session today is on the house."

"Session?!" Rainbow shouted. "You think I'm gonna stick around for this? Heck no! I'm outta here!"

"But you can't leave!" Sweet said.

"Yeah right!" Rainbow shot back. "Watch me!" She turned around and spread her wings, but as she tried to take off, she found that they wouldn't quite cooperate with her. She managed to get about six inches off the ground before she lost control and fell back onto her hooves. Scared but undaunted, she tried to make a run for it, but this too proved to be difficult, and a loud thud accompanied her fall onto her belly.

"No, I really mean it," Sweet said with a sigh, trotting over. "You can't leave."

"Wh...what did you do to me?" Rainbow asked, staring up at Sweet with fear in her eyes. Sweet sat down next to Rainbow and tried to give her belly a pat. Rainbow feebly attempted to push her away, but she couldn't quite muster up the strength to overpower her.

"Shh, calm down," Sweet said, in he best motherly tone she could manage through her worry. "There was a potion in your tea. Every detail about it was in the form. You know, the one you didn't read. Huh, I'm kinda regretting calling you a good reader when I first saw you."

"Potion...?" Rainbow asked, her eyes wide with fright.

"Potion," Sweet repeated. "It's meant to relax your muscles and regress your mind to a simpler state. It's meant to help all your worries and cares drift away while it's in effect, and it's rather potent. It'll last till about mid-morning tomorrow." She chuckled wryly. "So you're kinda stuck with me till then, unless you want others seeing you like you're gonna be in a few minutes. Don't worry, though. I'll make it as fun and enjoyable as possible. You'll love it. And you might even still like it once the potion wears off! New experiences and stuff, right?"

Rainbow couldn't believe her ears. If Twilight were here right now, she'd certainly be admonishing Rainbow for not reading and getting herself into this mess.

"So I'm gonna be thinking like a foal?" Rainbow asked. She feared the answer to the question for a bit, but then she felt the beginnings of a strange calmness start to overtake her mind.

"Thinking and acting," Sweet said, gently rubbing Rainbow's belly with a hoof. "You'll still be able to talk a bit, but other than that, you'll need me for everything. I'm sorry for the mixup, but just relax and enjoy it. Let your worries fade. None of them matter here. If you're upset again when it wears off tomorrow morning, we'll see what we can do, okay?"

Rainbow had been thinking up an objection, but she could no longer find it. Whatever it was, it had dissolved away completely. Sweet's tender rubbing of her belly was becoming less objectionable and more soothing with each gentle circle of her hoof. She found herself having difficulty concentrating on anything but the soothing motions of Sweet's hoof and the big, warm smile she was giving her.

"Buh," Rainbow said, although it was less of a proclamation and more of a random, involuntary syllable. She wasn't even sure what she intended to say with that, and the thought of this random sound combined with the happiness from the belly rubs she was getting made her smile. It was a big, genuine smile, and it made Sweet's smile grow, so it was definitely okay to Rainbow.

All of a sudden, the rubbing stopped. Rainbow felt a sudden pang of loneliness; had Sweet abandoned her? She sat up slightly, looking for where Sweet had gone. She was relieved to see Sweet still there, but when she saw her bringing the diaper over, a tiny bit of resistance found its way to the surface, and she moved a hind hoof to attempt to nudge it away.

"Shh, it's okay," Sweet cooed, effortlessly moving Rainbow's hoof away. "I know it might feel weird, but you have to wear this, okay? We don't want to make a mess." Something about Sweet's tone seemed to remove Rainbow's trepidations about the garment. If Sweet thought it was that important, then she was probably right.

"C'mon now, sweetie," Sweet said, giving one of Rainbow's cutie marks a gentle tap. "Bottoms up!" Rainbow giggled lightly at the playfulness in Sweet's tone and did as was asked of her, lifting her rump slightly off of the ground. She watched Sweet slide the fluffy diaper under her, any resistance to the idea having faded away.

"Bottoms back to bottom!" Sweet said, giving her cutie mark a tap once more. Rainbow smiled and lowered herself back down, her rump making contact with the pillow-soft garment. She couldn't help letting out another little giggle as she felt the soft padding under her rump. She looked up to the smiling face of Sweet, watching as she sprinkled a generous bit of foal powder between her hind legs. A little puff of powder drifted up towards Rainbow's nose, and she scrunched it up before letting out a sneeze.

"Bless you, cutie!" Sweet said. She took one of Rainbow's hind hooves and gently tickled the bottom of it. Rainbow vaguely remembered something about not liking it when ponies touched her hooves, but the concept seemed ridiculous to her as she burst into laughter from the ticklish sensations. Sweet beamed down at her, giving the underside of her hoof a little kiss and causing her to squeal again.

Rainbow couldn't remember why she'd had any problems with this treatment at all. She stared up appreciatively at Sweet as the diaper was folded up between her hind legs, the top of it falling just under her belly. The sides were taped closed, and Rainbow found herself having been expertly diapered.

"There we go, Dashie," Sweet cooed, taking a moment to be proud of the nickname that she figured she'd come up with. "That's not so bad, right?"

Rainbow rolled over onto her side, then onto her hooves. Her stance was a little wobbly, and she quickly found that the thickness of the diaper prevented her from closing her hind legs fully. These two factors led to her normal, even trot being reduced to a silly little waddle. She giggled lightly as she tried to take a few steps.

"What a good walker you are!" Sweet sang out. "Come on, walk to Mama Sweet."

Rainbow stopped in her tracks. She looked to Sweet with a little pout.

"Not mama," she said, as sternly as a grown pony with the mindset of a foal might have been capable of. Sweet tilted her head, then smiled again and nodded.

"Right," she said. "How about Nanny Sweet? Though that does make me feel a little old..."

"Nana Sweet!" Rainbow exclaimed, her big smile returning as she began to waddle over to her.

"Well then, Nana Sweet it is!" Sweet giggled, holding her forelegs out just in time to catch Rainbow as she stumbled forward. She pulled Rainbow into a tender hug, one that Rainbow was more than happy to return.

"What a sweet little filly you are," Sweet cooed into Rainbow's ear, stroking her mane with a hoof as she let go of the hug. "How does my little Dashie feel about some dinner? Your belly must be all rumbly!"

"Hungry!" Dashie replied, clapping her front hooves together. Sweet grinned and lit her horn up.

"You just stay right here and play then," Sweet said, floating a play mat and a bunch of toys over. "I'll be right in the next room preparing some num-nums for your tum-tum, okay?"

"Kay Nana Sweet," Dashie replied. She closed her eyes and smiled as Sweet gave her a little peck on the forehead. Sweet then headed into the next room, making sure that Dashie was still in sight as she began taking vegetables out of the fridge.

Dashie eyed the toys that had been left for her. She took a few wobbly steps towards them, but stopped once one hoof touched the mat. She found herself instantly enamored with the feeling of the soft mat under her hoof, and spent a few moments just picking her hoof up and putting it down again. She seemed to forget all about the toys that had been left for her, the mat now taking all of her attention. She walked the rest of the way onto the mat, marching in place to feel this new, fun sensation. She eventually flopped her padded rump down onto the mat, kneading away at the softness with her front hooves. The building blocks and dolls that Sweet had set on the mat for Dashie might as well have not even been there; the joy on Dashie's face from the simple feeling of soft, springy fabric under her hooves was enough for her.

"Dashie!" Sweet called out from the kitchen. "Come to Nana!"

Dashie looked up. She had no idea how much time had passed since she'd started playing with the mat. If she, in her regular state of mind, had seen just how much time she'd spent playing with it, she likely would have found it ridiculous, but that didn't even occur to her right now. Much as she wanted to continue playing; she felt compelled to obey Nana Sweet, and began the long wobbly trek to the kitchen.

Sweet watched and giggled as Dashie waddled her way into the kitchen. The sight of her was simply too adorable for words.

"Do you wanna be a big girl and help Nana Sweet?" she asked. Dashie nodded eagerly, and Sweet lit her horn up. Dashie giggled happily as Sweet's magic lifted her up, then set her down on the counter. She was probably still a bit big to sit on the counter and make it look normal, but again, she wasn't concerned with that.

"Okay, Dashie," Sweet said, holding up a single pea. "The ones like this go over here." She placed the pea on one side of the counter, then showed Dashie a carrot slice. "And the ones like this go in here." The carrot slice was pushed to the other side. "Can you help Nana Sweet with that?"

"Yep!" Dashie replied cheerfully. As Sweet passed her more and more veggies, she pushed the really little ones to one side and the bigger ones to the other. Sweet had to help her a few times, but she managed the majority of it without a problem.

"What a smart little filly I have here!" Sweet cooed, giving Dashie a nuzzle. "Now let's eat!"

Dashie beamed at the praise, and she was soon magically lifted up again. She was set down in a big high chair, and obediently lifted her forelegs so Sweet could lower the tray and secure her in her seat. Dashie wiggled in her high chair, finding quickly that she could make fun sounds with it if she shifted hard enough in one direction, then the other. She kept doing this until Sweet gently held her still with a hoof.

"Such a noisy little lady," Sweet giggled. She deftly tied a pink bib with the words "Lil' Stinker" on it around Dashie's neck. Dashie looked down at the bib, then back up to Sweet with an adorable little frown.

"Aw, it's just a joke, cutie," Sweet said, tickling underneath her chin. "Now open wide! Here comes the Num-Num Express! Next stop: Tastytown!" She held a spoon up to Dashie's mouth, and Dashie obediently opened her mouth. Her obedience was rewarded with a tasty spoonful of little veggies. Dashie made a happy little "mmm" as she chewed her veggies thoroughly. As soon as she finished them, another full spoon was held out for her, and she was more than happy to open up again. It wasn't long until she'd finished her entire portion.

"Is the silly filly's tummy full?" Sweet asked.

Dashie nodded in response, giving a little "mmm." She tried to pat her full belly, but her foreleg hit into the tray. She bit her lip as the pain caused tears to start forming in her eyes, but before she could so much as sniffle, Sweet had already wrapped her in a warm hug.

"Oh nooooo," Sweet said, inspecting Dashie's foreleg. "Did Dashie get a boo-boo?"

Dashie nodded in response, a single sniffle escaping her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was sure she'd felt pain greater than this, and it had never left her a teary mess before. She leaned into the hug, letting Sweet inspect her boo-boo.

"I know what will fix that right up," Sweet said with a smile. She lifted Dashie's foreleg up to her face and gave the area she'd banged a little kiss. "All better?"

Dashie looked at her foreleg. Somehow, it seemed as if the pain she'd felt had all just melted away with that kiss. She sniffled once more and gave Sweet a smile. "Better."

"Nana's kisses always do the trick!" Sweet said, releasing the hug. "Now c'mon. I've got a nice, warm bottle waiting for a cute little filly. Does that sound good?"

"Mm-hmm!" Dashie replied, bouncing on her rump as much as the high chair would allow. Sweet gave her a warm smile as she floated a full bottle of milk over from across the room. The tray on Dashie's high chair was lifted, and she son found herself once again being lifted by Sweet's magic. She was placed carefully on Sweet's back, and she immediately wrapped her forelegs around Sweet's neck.

"Aww, what an affectionate little filly you are!" Sweet exclaimed. "Such a good girl." Sweet then made her way through the playroom and back into the hallway, Dashie giggling as she bounced lightly on her back

Dashie found herself staring in wonder at her surroundings as she was brought through the hallway. She hadn't noticed all the colorful animal murals along the tops of the walls when she was racing through the hall earlier, but now they commanded her full attention. Every single animal wore a pleasant smile, and she smiled in return. Any worries she had, about this place or otherwise, were long forgotten. It was such a happy place, and Nana Sweet was so nice and loving. There was no possible way she could think badly about any of this.

The animal parade came to an end as Sweet and her passenger re-entered the living room. Dashie was gently placed onto the couch, and Sweet plopped herself right down next to her.

"Now you rest yourself down right here, okay?" Sweet said, patting her lap. Dashie did just as she was told, lying on her side and curling up next to Sweet, her upper half resting on her lap. The bottle was brought in front of her face by Sweet's hoof, and she opened her mouth, ready to accept it. The amber nipple was placed in her mouth, and she pursed her lips around it. She gave it a little suckle, and was rewarded with a trickle of delicious milk. No more prompting was needed as Dashie continued to suckle on the bottle, her suckling soon becoming autonomous. She felt Sweet begin to stroke her mane as she drank, and she gazed up into Sweet's eyes as she suckled, feeling utterly content. Sweet gazed back lovingly, giving her that warm smile that told her that everything was going to be alright. Dashie never broke eye contact with Sweet, that caring gaze serving to help her relax as she plowed through the contents of the bottle. Drinking was a fairly slow process, considering how little milk was able to make it through the nipple, but it wasn't terribly long before she'd managed to finish the whole bottle.

"Mm-mmm!" Sweet said quietly, pulling the bottle away and rubbing her nose against Dashie's. "Nummy-nummy?"

Dashie responded by burping loudly in Sweet's face, causing her to burst out laughing. Dashie's lips were still pursed, and Sweet deftly slipped a pacifier between them. Dashie took to the pacifier immediately, happily suckling on it.

"Does Dashie like her dummy?" Sweet asked, giving her mane a ruffle. Dashie nodded, unwilling to answer verbally, lest she drop the comforting pacifier. Sweet giggled and lifted her onto her back once more. "You've got a little more time to play, but then it's time for beddy-byes, alright?" Dashie nodded once more, wrapping her forelegs around Sweet's neck, and the two were off.

Dashie soon found herself back in the playroom and back on the playmat she'd marveled over earlier. While Sweet sat down in a chair within eyesight and opened a book, Dashie once again set her thickly-padded rump down and began patting the mat. This time, though, the colorful blocks set on the mat managed to catch her attention. She considered getting up to waddle over to the blocks, but found it easier and more convenient to scoot on her rump. She clumsily grabbed one block and set it on top of another. Once all the blocks were stacked, she smacked them with a hoof, scattering them everywhere. This delighted her immensely, and she immediately began gathering the blocks back up to do it again.

The blocks managed to keep Dashie's interest for a good while, until a new feeling distracted her. It was a telltale pressure in her lower belly. All the tea and milk that she'd drank was finally taking its toll, and before Dashie knew it, she was soaking her diaper. For a few moments, she just sat there, staring forward as she felt the flow continue, the thick padding thirstily absorbing it all and swelling between her hind legs.

Dashie had no idea what to do as she sat there, the sodden garment warm against her crotch. After a few moments of the most in-depth thinking she could muster through her current mindset, she came up with what she was sure was the absolute best course of action. She sniffled once, then immediately burst into tears.

Within moments, Sweet was up from her chair and by Dashie's side, rubbing her back with one front hoof and checking her diaper with the other.

"It's okay, little Dashie," Sweet whispered. "You're just wet. It's nothing to be ashamed of. That's why I'm here." It took a lot of hugging and cooing, but Dashie eventually managed to calm down. The sniffling continued, but the tears had stopped.

Dashie felt herself lifted up by Sweet's magic and placed on the changing table. She let a few more sniffles out, but they were quickly silenced when Sweet placed her pacifier back in her mouth. The return of the suckling action soothed her as Sweet undid the tapes on the sides of her diaper. Dashie shivered a bit as the warmth of the soaked padding left her, flopping onto the table with a sodden thump, but a little ruffling of her mane soon calmed her down again. Sweet balled the wet diaper up and disposed of it, then produced some foal wipes, using her magic to gently wipe Dashie down. Whatever remaining bits of Dashie's worries faded away with each cool wipe, and by the time Sweet was done, she was once again staring up at her with a calm, trusting gaze.

Once Dashie was wiped down, Sweet presented a clean diaper. Dashie stared at this new diaper. It was noticeably thicker than the one she'd been wearing until just recently. If she was in her right mind, she likely would have thought it to be a nighttime diaper. As it was, though, the type of diaper it was didn't matter to her. All that mattered was that it looked soft and warm, and that Sweet was the best nana ever for doing all of these nice things for her.

"Bottoms up!" Sweet sang, tapping her cutie mark just like before. Dashie did just that, eagerly watching the thick diaper slide under her. As soon as she felt the second tap, she lowered her rump onto the garment. She found herself entranced by just how thick this diaper was, and sat up a bit in an effort I reach down and touch it.

"Ah-ah," Sweet cooed to her, placing a hoof gently on Dashie's chest. Dashie instantly submitted to Sweet's hoof, letting herself be eased back into a lying down position. Her grabby hooves chose instead to lightly take hold of the hoof on her chest, and Sweet smiled down at her, using her magic to powder Dashie so she could let her continue to hold her hoof. Sweet's magic then folded the diaper up between Dashie's hind legs and secured the tape on both sides.

"Now you can touch," Sweet told her, removing her hoof. Dashie sat up and patted her new padding with a hoof, looking pleased at the feeling. She looked up to Sweet with a look of childish approval as she patted away at it.

"Nana Sweet knew you'd like it," Sweet said, hooping her nose with a hoof. "Now come on. One more bottle and then it's off to beddy-bye, okay?" Dashie nodded obediently, and giggled and squirmed as she was lifted off of the table and once again deposited on Sweet's back. It was only a short trip this time, as Sweet had thought to bring another bottle in with her and had chosen to use the couch in the nursery this time, rather than bringing her all the way to the living room. Dashie let out a little pout as her pacifier was taken away, but it quickly faded as the nipple of the bottle replaced it, and she curled up happily against Sweet again as she drank her fill.

"I cannot get over how fast you drink!" Sweet laughed, patting Dashie's tummy. This time she was ready for the oncoming burp, and ducked out of the way just in time. The two looked at each other for a moment, then both started laughing.

"'Scuse me," Dashie giggled. Then she let out a big yawn.

"Uh-oh, looks like somepony's sleepy!" Sweet said. Dashie did her best to shake her head and vehemently deny this claim, but another yawn and a set of droopy eyelids solidly disproved the case she was trying to make.

"All good little fillies need their sleep," Sweet told her. "And if you're a good little filly and let me put you to sleep, I'll let you wear this!"

Dashie's eyes went wide as she caught sight of the prize that Sweet had presented for her. The footed sleeper had been designed to look just like a Wonderbolts uniform, right down to the lightning bolt designs on the legs and little goggles attached to the hood. Dashie could barely contain her excitement, and let out a delighted squeal.

"I kinda thought you'd like that!" Sweet said with a grin. "But only sleepy fillies who let their Nana Sweet are allowed to wear it. So I'll ask again: are you a sleepy little filly?"

"I'm a sleepy lil' filly," Dashie said quickly, adding a yawn for emphasis.

"Mhm," Sweet said with a wink. "C'mon then, sleepy filly." She held the sleeper open for Dashie, who waddled over as quickly as she could with the bulk between her legs. It took a bit of effort, what with Dashie being as squirmy and energetic as she was, but Dashie soon found herself nice and cozy in the soft sleeper.

"My my," Sweet said. "Who's the prettiest little Wonderbolt in the world?" Dashie tilted her head, unsure.

"... Me?" she asked.

"You!" Sweet exclaimed, wrapping her in a big hug. Dashie squealed and hugged back as excitedly as her sleepiness would allow.

"You just wait," Sweet said. "Once you're all grown-up, you'll get right into the Wonderbolts, no problem!"

Dashie nodded in response. Then she felt herself lifted off of her hooves by Sweet's magic as one side of the crib was lowered. She smiled up at Sweet as she was deposited into the crib, her fatigue and the comfort of her diaper and sleeper already causing her eyelids to droop.

"You've been such a good filly, Dashie," Sweet whispered to her. "I know this was all a mixup, but I'm really glad it happened, and I hope you are too."

Dashie wasn't entirely aware of what Nana Sweet meant. Some little thought in the very back of her mind recognized it, but it wasn't enough to form a clear memory. She decided to smile and nod anyway, because her smile usually made Nana Sweet happy. She then turned her gaze up to the mobile hanging above her. The sparkly little clouds danced and spun above her head, and she reached one hoof up to touch them, only to find that she couldn't reach. Her efforts were slowed further when she heard Sweet begin to sing her a gentle lullaby. The combination of her tiredness, the level of comfort she was feeling, and the enchanting melody was too much for her, and she soon drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Sweet whispered, leaning over to give her forehead a kiss. She rose the side of the crib and secured it, made sure the walkie-talkie by the crib was on, then headed to the door, giving a look back at the sleeping pony before shutting the lights and exiting.

The Morning After

The light of the morning sun shone through the nursery window, casting a bright light down on the crib where Dashie slept. The radiance caused her to stir, and she cracked one eye open, letting out a quiet yawn. She could feel a slightly-chilly dampness between her legs, and a hoof drifted down to touch the massive diaper that hugged her hips, finding that she'd soaked it thoroughly overnight. Thankfully for her, the potion's effects had not worn off yet.

Dashie spent a few moments idly patting the bulging diaper, as if she couldn't believe that it was she who had filled it up to this point. Unlike when she'd wet herself yesterday, she wasn't quite as concerned this time. After all, Nana Sweet had said that it was okay, and that's "what she was there for."

Then Dashie realized something. Nana Sweet wasn't there. Despite the knowledge in the recesses of her mind that she had been alone without issue plenty of times before, the missing caretaker still shook her. She felt tears spring to her eyes as she worried if she would be left alone forever. Even though part of her knew it was irrational to think that, emotion overtook logic, and loud sobs soon filled the room. It took less than a minute for Sweet to gallop from her bedroom to the nursery.

"It's okay, Dashie!" she called out, sprinting to the crib. "Nana Sweet's here. It's okay!" The side of the crib was hastily lowered, and Sweet wrapped her forelegs around the crying pony, nuzzling and cooing and whispering soothing words to her. Even though she was still under the effects of the potion, tiny little bits of regular thought were beginning to creep into Dashie's conscious. She realized how silly it was that she was getting so upset over being in the room alone, and that Sweet was here now even if it wasn't silly, but she couldn't stop the flow of tears for a good while, and she clung desperately to Nana Sweet.

Sweet held the crying pony in her forelegs and sat down next to the crib, easing her out of it and into her lap. Despite the fact that the two ponies were about the same size, she did the best she could to cradle her, and gently rocked her back and forth once she had done so to the best of her ability. Her eyes darted around the room, finally locating a clean pacifier on the shelf. She floated it over and brushed the end of it against Dashie's cheek. Dashie turned to look at it, and once she recognized it, parted her lips for it to be inserted. Her sniffles still lasted for a few seconds once she was suckling, but those soon faded as well.

"There you go, sweetie," Sweet said, giving her forehead a kiss. "I'm so sorry you got so upset. Nana Sweet should have known better than to leave you in here alone. But I'm here now, okay? Do you forgive Nana Sweet?"

Dashie cast a big-eyed gaze on Sweet and nodded slightly, still coming down from her panic. Once she realized that everything was okay, her breathing slowed to a normal rate, and she gave Sweet a little smile around her pacifier.

"Thank you, honey," Sweet said, beaming. Then she patted at the heavy diaper between Dashie's legs. "Oh wow! Did all of this come from little ol' you?"

Dashie blushed and gave a little nod of acknowledgement, though the majority of her focus was now on the pacifier between her lips.

"I'm impressed!" Sweet told her, nuzzling her cheek. "Well, let's get you out of that and all cleaned up, alright? The potion's going to be wearing off soon, and I wouldn't want you to still be in this when it did." She reached forward and unzipped the front of the sleeper, moving Dashie around as she peeled it off of her. Soon, Dashie was left in just her sodden diaper.

"Up goes the filly!" Sweet said cheerfully as she picked Dashie up in her magic, her diaper sagging as if it were trying to pull her back down to the ground. Dashie soon found herself back on the changing table, watching as the heavy diaper was removed from her body, balled up, and thrown into the bin. She then found herself lifted once more and brought through an entirely new door.

Dashie looked around the bathroom, soon catching sight of herself in the mirror. This sight was enough to distract her while Sweet ran the warm water in the tub. Once the tub was full enough, Dashie was brought over to it, and she was delighted by all the suds that came from the bubble bath solution Sweet had used. She was gently placed into the water, and splashed around happily while Sweet used a magic-assisted washcloth to scrub her down from her head to her hind hooves. Special attention was also paid to her mane and tail, which were both washed with a sweet-smelling shampoo. Once the scrubbing was done, Sweet allowed Dashie a few minutes to play with a variety of bath toys that she'd left for her, even joining in on the fun when Dashie handed her a rubber duckie.

Once the bath was done, Sweet lifted Dashie from the tub and wrapped her up in a towel, making sure to dry off every inch of her, as well as any parts of herself that had been caught by one of Dashie's splashes.

"Okay, honey," Sweet said once she had Dashie dry and sitting on a mat back in the nursery. "I'm gonna let you stay without a diaper for now, because the potion will be wearing off any minute now. But just try and stay on that mat in case there's a last-minute accident, okay?"

"Kay Nana Sweet," Dashie replied. Then she tilted her head. "I hungry, Nana Sweet."

"We'll have a nice breakfast when the potion wears off, okay?" Sweet answered. Dashie pouted and hit a hoof against the mat in protest, and Sweet took that hoof in hers and rubbed it gently, trying to calm her down.

Dashie was not happy about being told she had to wait to eat. She couldn't believe that Nana Sweet would...

Then she hesitated, looking at Sweet with a cock-eyed stare. Something about the thought she just had seemed a bit off. She rubbed her head with a hoof, feeling a rush of abandoned thoughts and feelings returning to her. She felt as if a haze was being lifted from her mind, and she stared blankly at Sweet for a few moments before finally speaking.

"...Whoa," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

"Time for breakfast!" Sweet said quickly.

Breakfast was a very silent affair, possibly the quietest that Rainbow had ever shared with somepony. Every time she would consider trying to speak, her mind just seemed to lock up, unsure of exactly what to say. Despite the tremendous change in personality that the potion instilled in her and the feeling of a haze being lifted when its effects wore off, there was nothing hazy about her memories. Every single thing that had happened in the time that she was under the potion's effects was clear in her head.

"So!" Sweet suddenly said, breaking the silence. "How's breakfast?" Rainbow blinked a few times, distracted from her thoughts.

"Good," she replied simply.

"You haven't touched your juice," Sweet said.

Rainbow eyed the untouched glass of apple juice, not saying a word.

"I promise I didn't put anything in it," Sweet offered with a weak chuckle.

Awkward silence.

"Again," Sweet said after clearing her throat, "I'm really terribly sorry about the mixup. I thought you'd read the form and knew what was gonna be going on."

"Yeah..." Rainbow said, looking down. "I probably shouldn't have lied about that, huh?"

"Yeah..." Sweet agreed.

Awkward silence.

"I hope I at least made it nice and easy for you to deal with," Sweet said.

Rainbow said nothing.

"It did help you relax and stop worrying about your problems with Wonderbolts tryouts though, right?" Sweet asked, a hopeful smile on her face.

"Yeah..." Rainbow responded.

"Good!" Sweet said.

There was another period of awkward silence, broken only by a Rainbow chewing her cereal. Finally, Sweet could take no more.

"Dashie, could you at least tell me what you're thinking?" Sweet asked. "I already feel awful about you having to deal with all that when you didn't want to, and I don't want any hard feelings here. Please, just let me know what's going on in there. I think you could afford me that much."

Rainbow sighed. A deep, heavy sigh.

"I think," Rainbow began. "That was one of the weirdest experiences of my entire life."

Sweet's ears fell slightly, but she kept up her little smile. "Understandable."

"But," Rainbow continued. "I guess it wasn't the worst thing in the world."

"It wasn't?" Sweet asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"To be honest?" Rainbow said, her cheeks coloring. "I...think I actually kind of enjoyed it. I mean I know I did when it was happening cause of the magic and junk. But even looking back on it now, it was sorta nice, just sitting around and being taken care of with nothing to worry about."

"I'm no psychologist, sweetie," Sweet said with a grin. "But I'm hazarding a guess that you're not usually the type to sit back and let others take care of things for you?"

"Not at all!" Rainbow responded, managing her first chuckle since the potion had worn off. "I mean, you're the first pony I've let coddle me like that since..." Then she fell silent. The two sat there quietly for a moment.

"I'm guessing there's a good reason you wouldn't call me Mama Sweet," Sweet said. Rainbow's silence spoke more words than anything she could have said. Without questioning further, Sweet walked around the table and hugged Rainbow. Rainbow was a bit hesitant, but returned the hug in kind.

"Well," Sweet said once she'd released the hug. "You probably shouldn't keep your marefriend waiting. I'm sure she'll want to hear all about how things went. Speaking of which, what are you gonna tell her? Since I'm assuming she also didn't know what kind of business I run here."

Rainbow hummed to herself. She hadn't even thought about that. It took a little bit of quiet contemplation before she finally decided on it.

"I think I've got it under control," Rainbow said with a smile.

"Great," Sweet replied. "And again, this session is free because of the mixup. Though I will have to charge if you decide to come back for another in the future." She gave Rainbow a little nudge and a wink.

"Don't worry about that," Rainbow said with a grin. "I'll make sure to have plenty of bits on hand." With that, she got up from her seat, gave Sweet a quick salute, and zipped out the door.

Twilight Sparkle was studying. This came as no surprise to anypony, especially not her or Spike, her study buddy. She had finished all of the studying she absolutely needed to do last night, but as she always said, one never needs a reason to study.

It also came as little surprise when Rainbow interrupted her studying with a spectacular landing on her balcony.

"Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed, her tone a mixture of happiness at seeing her marefriend and irritation from all the rearranging of notes she would have to do now that her papers had been blown about.

"Hey egghead!" Rainbow said cheerfully, leaning in for a smooch that Twilight was more than happy to provide. "Hey Spike!"

"Ew," Spike muttered as he watched the two kiss. "Do you really have to do that in front of me?"

"Sorry, buddy," Rainbow said, patting him on the head. "I forgot how much you hate lame mushy junk. Trust me, that'll change someday."

"Yeah right," Spike replied. "The only mushy thing I like is mashed potatoes. Which actually sound pretty good right now! I'm gonna go make lunch. You two can keep being gross." The two mares laughed as they watched him enter the house.

"You certainly look a lot more relaxed than you did yesterday," Twilight said with a smile once she and Rainbow were alone. "I take it the relaxation center worked?"

"More than you'd imagine!" Rainbow replied.

"Wonderful!" Twilight exclaimed. "You know, maybe I'll have to go there with you some time."

Rainbow grinned a devious little grin.

"Yeah, maybe you will."