The Bubbly Mare

3, 1
"Exposure"

It wasn't quite dark, but Derpy still couldn't see. If anything, she was happy just as she was. Every so often Derpy felt a bit of cold waft over her, but it wasn't as bad as other places she'd been. At worst it reminded her of a particular stallion she didn't want to have anything to do with... but images of his home went away as quickly as they came.

When exactly everything had faded away she couldn't say, but it came back in waves. Derpy felt the cold and could sense the moonlight, much like she would the sun sometimes before she got up in the morning. She opened her eyes once or twice to look around only to find herself sitting in an empty field in the dark. She was okay with that. She was content to just relax... deeper and deeper. Maybe everything would go away again, at least for a little while.

For what felt like a few seconds she felt pressure on her chest, then weightlessness... though that wasn't exactly true, as she hung loosely. The air around her made her think she was flying.

A voice rang out, with some quaver and authority to it, "Careful, now. Don't want to hurt her none."

A deeper voice followed. "Ee-yup."

Derpy thought about the pony she'd come to see, only for a moment. She could rest if she just knew for sure.

"APPLEJACK!"

She found herself relaxing again, as if nestled along some narrow, warm bed. It shifted naturally, rocking and soothing as she drifted further and further away. Something was telling the mare that it was okay to let go. She was safe.

"Applejack."

All was quiet for what seemed like a long time. This was fine by Derpy.

"Go on, Apple Bloom," said the Southern accent, with quaver. "If you wanna help, go get her fer us. Trust me, ya don't wanna see this."

"O- ... okay."

She heard a slow patter of hooves, tiny ones. A bit of a crescendo with no definite beginning, fading away into the distance. The entire earth seemed to rock as the mare heard a warm sigh, basking in the warmth of wherever she was.

Derpy suddenly felt herself sliding, or maybe it was gravity pulling her down. She couldn't be sure from the state she was in, not that she was able to be sure of anything to begin with.

Suddenly there was a hard impact on her body, followed by pain, then cold covering her face and side. If anything she felt jostled, but by heading deeper into that warm place she would be okay. The mare was only slightly aware she had let out a breath, along with a moan... but only because it made her feel better.

"Hey! What'd I just say?"

"Granny, she just-"

There was a second sigh, echoing loudly... almost right above Derpy. The voice spoke again, "Ah know, Ah know... Ah see it. Think the poor thing's drunker than she's ever been."

"Applejack..." The voice wasn't right for the farm pony, but the rhythm and dialect took her to someplace she knew she wanted to be. At the very least it felt familiar. Derpy struggled to open her eyes and see clearly, but saw only dirt. "Applejack...," she said again, this time much clearer. She felt herself rising and barely saw the silhouette of the pony speaking to her, stroking her mane.

"Don't you worry none," the voice echoed. "You'll be fine. We're gunna get Applejack for ya and clean ya up."

Derpy trusted this voice to be right, because why shouldn't she? She always trusted things that were familiar.

Derpy found herself feeling weightless again, being snuggled back again into this warm, fuzzy snake-like bed. She knew she couldn't trust this happy place, though, not again, and it proved her right as she felt the harsh cold, only much more deeply this time. So much for trusting the familiar... she let it know exactly how angry she was with it for doing that, though she couldn't exactly say in what way. She thought about everything that had made her angry, too, and could have sworn she was just shouting it all away, but she wasn't sure and found herself fading away again, this time fast. She was fine with that, but... what was in her head and what was actually being said?

At least she didn't hurt anymore. That made it all worthwhile.

* * *

Each day Derpy woke up it always took her a moment to figure out exactly where she was. It was warm and bright, and everything smelled comforting. She attempted to rock to one side before opening her eyes, but found for some reason she couldn't.

Derpy opened her eyes to find she was on her back, heavy covers piled on her body. The room felt warm and was dimly lit, as her eyes focused she noticed a darker ceiling than she was used to. If it wasn't for the green and golden hue, she would've thought she was in her own bed, with the winter quilt she'd gotten in foalhood. It was too hot for that, though, and quickly she realized this wasn't even her own house. Derpy realized she was in Sweet Apple Acres. It took her a moment to remember why, and, not helping matters, she still felt a bit light and dizzy laying there.

The pegasus stretched, attempting to push the covers from her body and immediately two things happened. First, she realized that her head was aching and stuffed up worse than she could remember, like somepony tried to relieve her symptoms by sticking a lit firecracker up her nose. As long as she didn't move she felt okay. The second thing she heard (and felt) were her diapers... they crinkled loudly under the covers, and Derpy could tell they were not only sweaty but no longer clean.

Still, looking around she pulled herself up so she was on her rump. Derpy felt weak, her hooves strangely uncoordinated. She couldn't exactly say why, but it made sense she would feel better if she wasn't held down by blankets. She was right.

By the time her body was uncovered she had figured out she was in the Apple's guestroom. Above it all and a bit cold, she noticed for some reason she felt best with her forehooves close to her body... she couldn't help them making little circles back and forth, grinding against each other. Then the head pain came back, full force, and she felt dizzy. Then Derpy felt a deep, sharp pain in her gut, rising fast.

She was closest to the right side of the bed, so that's where her head went. She barely saw the small wastepaper basket set right beside her as she vomited up mostly liquid, which tasted pretty acidic coming up. She grabbed the can as it came out in force, her gut contracting and her body slumping forward. She would've cried, but the retching overpowered her. At least once it finally stopped she felt better... sort of.

Derpy looked down between her legs and momentarily grimaced. She knew she was wet and she knew she felt very sticky, but she'd figured that was just sweaty, old diaper pulp. Her eyes contradicted that. She could tell just by looking, even though she'd had this particular problem maybe only one other time in her life, that she'd had the trots while she slept. Quite badly. She still smelled the air to be sure, only to find herself slightly congested... but after a few inhales her nose confirmed what she already knew.

Derpy sat there in silence for a moment, drunk and in a soiled diaper. Her hooves continued to make these little, uncomfortable circles, almost pushing against each other. She sighed, taking her head in her hooves. It hurt to even be sitting upright.

Despite being sick and mostly out of it, there was one thing that puzzled Derpy over everything else... these weren't her diapers. Sure, they had four blue tapes and were mostly white, but aside from that they didn't look anything like hers. If anything, they looked like... foal diapers, a bit too big for her to wear properly. It made no sense. Plus they had no wetness indicator that could tell her their size, and along the zone where the top tapes were perfectly sealed, they were decorated with huge, colorful numbers and letters. In a better frame of mind Derpy would've been weirded out, or at least laughing uncomfortably, but as it was she was just happy to no longer be throwing up and not woken up in a bed full of liquid horse apples.

Ready to lay back down she glanced about the room and saw, sitting by the wardrobe next to the door, a familiar enough-looking white package, torn open. It rested on a chair, with it were two other supplies that also looked familiar: powder and wipes. As much as she wanted to, Derpy knew it wasn't a good idea to go back to sleep without first changing herself. She knew already this wasn't going to be easy.

She flopped to her stomach, preparing to push herself up, getting ready to take a step off the bed... but found she could barely hold herself up. Her face hit the mattress, hard. She gently bounced, twice, her head pounding well after it had stopped. She found herself staring at the wall, and suddenly the floor seemed rather intimidating.

Derpy knew if she tried to stand on the floor she was liable to hit her face against the hard boards. Given her already aching skull, and the potential for missing teeth, that didn't seem like a very good idea. Her hooves, still busy by her sides, drifted upwards towards her head. She took in some air.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay... She sniffled. "No... It's not okay."

Derpy drifted to her side, taking in another breath. Her eyes felt damp, yet it wasn't just for her situation. The entire day's events flooded in... this usually didn't happen, but every little face ponies had made to her earlier seemed so much more unfriendly than it had before. With no where to go and nothing to do, Derpy couldn't help thinking about that, over and over. She didn't know why she did that when she got upset, that's always what she did. But it was okay... she was at the Acres, a familiar place, and with the Apples, her favorite ponies. Though why was she so dizzy, and why did her hooves want to rub up against each other like they had a mind of their own? She just wanted this all to stop again, even for a little while, so she rocked were she lay. Sometimes that made her feel better... even if it only did for a little bit.

She couldn't help thinking of better times. Better times, at least, how she remembered them... not that that really mattered anymore. She just swayed, staring at the wall, feeling herself fade again... back into that comfortable spot.