Cheating the Cycle of Life- A Padded Pony Collab

They weren't there.

Apple Bloom's belly was pressed against the cold wooden floor of the bathroom, a sensation that only made the churning she felt within more uncomfortable.  She dug deeper into the cabinet under the sink, pulling out bottles and rolls of toilet paper, and throwing them carelessly behind her. Surely they were just hiding behind something else. She paused her search to rub her gurgling belly. “Hang in there,” she told it. “I’m tryin to find em, I swear.”

But her diapers just weren’t there.

“Applejack?” she shouted, her voice muffled by the enclosure of the cabinet. No response. She was probably out working. No problem, she thought. She just had to find someone in her family and ask if they knew what had happened to her diapers. They’d probably just been misplaced. She went downstairs, leaving the bathroom a mess. She could clean it up later, after she took care of her own business.

She found Big Macintosh first, in the kitchen making cream from the milk they’d gathered. “Hey, Big Mac!” she called out. “Have you seen my diapers?”

He didn’t even lift his gaze from his work. “Eenope.”

“What are you hootin about in there?” called Granny Smith from the patio rocking chair.

Apple Bloom went out and rubbed up against her grandmother’s legs. “I can’t find my diapers,” she said. “I always keep em in the bathroom upstairs, but they’re not there.”

Granny Smith patted her lap, and Apple Bloom hopped into it. “And what does a growin filly like you need diapers for, anyway?” she asked.

“Cuz I really have to go right now,” she whined. Why did she keep having to explain to her that she wore diapers?

Granny Smith smiled slyly. “If you know you have to go, then you don’t need diapers, do you?”

“Come on, Granny. I don’t have time for this. Where’s Applejack?”

Granny Smith pointed somewhere out among the cornstalks, and then drifted back into her afternoon nap. Apple Bloom groaned and hopped off her, heading into the corn fields until she heard the telltale sounds of harvesting.

“Applejack!” She started to run to her sister, but running taxed her energy and her grip on her bowels, forcing her to slow down. She hobbled the rest of the way, flexing her rear muscles to keep them sharp.

“Aw, what is it, sugarcube?” Applejack yanked a stalk of corn out of the ground with her teeth and smiled at her younger sister. “What’s got yer goat?”

“I can’t find my diapers!” Apple Bloom fell to the earth, trembling. She wrapped her legs around Applejack. “Please help me find them! I can’t hold it in much longer!”

She felt Applejack rub the back of her neck. “Aww, you sweet thing. You didn’t lose yer diapers. I threw them out.”

Those words chilled her, like she’d just been the victim of a bad joke or a nightmare. “But they’re reusable! You don’t need to throw them away!”

“This ain’t out of the blue, sugarcube. Anypony old enough to go looking for her diapers is old enough to start using the potty like a big girl.”

“No!” Apple Bloom’s shriek was louder than she had intended. Applejack recoiled at first, but she quickly took on the deadpan look Bloom knew was reserved for when she’d taken things one step too far. “Please, Applejack. I like my diapers.”

Applejack groaned. “What is it? You gotta drop a deuce?” Apple Bloom nodded.

Applejack grabbed her ear and began dragging her back toward the house. “Then you ain’t doin it out here. This ain’t up for discussion,” she said. “You should have been trained by Ma and Pa. When they passed, everypony was too busy grieving so we just kinda let it slide. But you’re too old now, Bloom! And I’m sick of changing your poopy diapers.”

Bloom’s hooves scrabbled against the ground, but she was no match for her sister’s strength. “Come on, sis! I’ll clean em myself. I’ll even change myself.” Until now, she’d always gone to one of her family members for a change, but it didn’t look that hard.

“The answer’s no, Apple Bloom.” Applejack pulled her through the kitchen into the bathroom and closed the door between them. “You ain’t comin out until you use the toilet,” she ordered through the door.

Apple Bloom felt caged. Why would they do this to her? She sat on the floor, using all her strength to not release her bowels onto the floor. She looked up at the toilet, which she was used to completely ignoring. It looked hideous and hard to use. There had to be a better way.

The minutes passed, and the pressure inside her settled down into a manageable level. She no longer felt like she was going to explode at any second. She peered down into the toilet bowl, contemplating. Then she struck the surface of the water with her hoof, making an audible splash. She did it a couple more times, then she tore off a couple squares of toilet paper and rubbed them between her legs, dumped them in the bowl, and pulled the handle to flush.

“Okay, sis! I’m done!” She shouted back through the door. Applejack entered in time to see the toilet paper disappear down the drain.

“Good job,” she said, scratching her little sister behind the ear.

“You were right,” said Apple Bloom. “That was easy. Can I go play with Sweetie Belle now?”

“I was gonna have you do some chores,” said Applejack, and she watched her sister frown. “But right now I’m proud of you, so you can take the rest of the day off. So long as you keep using the potty like you’re supposed to.”

They nuzzled, and then Apple Bloom ran out of the house toward Ponyville. She still had to poop, and she knew it was going to come out eventually. But there were also diapers out there. She just had to find out how to get them.