Blackmail's For Babies

Twilight Sparkle almost broke down the door as she rushed inside her home, only skidding to a stop and spinning to face the doorway after she had tossed her school bag in the corner. The door was half ajar, and Twilight knew she couldn’t let that be - It had to be closed. Focusing for a second and shutting her eyes in concentration, she pointed her horn, dug her hooves in a bit on the carpet floor, and, with considerable effort, pushed shut the old wooden door.

“Hi, honey, how was school?” Twilight Velvet asked from two rooms away, working in the kitchen. It was just about the time she always started making dinner - Around five thirty - but Twilight Sparkle had stayed late after classes were over to read in the school Library and had only left when the trove of books shut down for the evening.

This wasn’t unusual. Twilight loved the school library, it contained all kinds of books with incredible facts in them - Even stuff for big fillies, though Twilight had no trouble reading those ones, even the ones for sixth or seventh graders, two whole grades above Twilight’s assigned reading. She would probably spend the whole day at the library if she could, unless of course she had too much homework to get to; homework was almost as much fun as the library. She’d been cuddled up with Smarty Pants reading a new novel by somepony called “A.K. Yearling” that afternoon, and it had been all she could do to put down the book and go home when the librarian reminded her that they were closing up.

Beaming and hopping up and down, Twilight Sparkle nearly shouted with excitement. “I did it, mom! I closed the door, all by myself!”

There was a moment of silence, and then Velvet looked out from the kitchen with a proud smile on her face, beaming at her daughter. “Really?” She asked, trotting over quickly. “Do you think you can do it again, so your ol’ mom can see?”

Nodding enthusiastically, Twilight ran over to the door and pulled it open manually before backing up to shut it again magically. It was actually even easier the second time around, and the door swung shut.

This process - Twilight shutting the door with her magic - had been the result of two weeks effort and practice. Ever since getting into the best private magic academy in Canterlot, her magic had been improving rapidly, but the door was old and heavy and the hinges were a little stiff, and it had taken a lot of practice to get to the point of being able to swing it shut. But she had finally made it, and once the door’s handle clicked shut a second time, Twilight Sparkle really did shout in excitement as she jumped for joy in circles around her mother.

Her mom smiled good naturedly, quietly admonishing, “Inside voices, Twilight.” Then, though, she smiled and laughed loudly herself, adding, “That was very good! Forget making oats for dinner, I think you deserve a little treat. How about daisy pizza?”

Freezing mid jump, Twilight nearly fell to the ground in a heap and only caught herself in the last second, eyes going wide. “Really?” she asked. Pizza was a rare treat, and something as especially unhealthy or delicious as daisy pizza - Twilight’s favorite - was all but unheard of.

“You’ve earned it,” Velvet said, nodding. “Your father will be home soon, the three of us can all go out then.”

“What about Shining Armor?” Twilight asked, a little disappointed that he wasn’t there already to share in her small but significant victory.

“He’s out to see a film with Cadence,” her mom explained, frowning with just a hint of disapproval.

Twilight Sparkle frowned as well, a little confused. Cadence was a wonderful babysitter and friend, but she and her brother had been spending a lot of time together lately as “Special friends”, and Twilight couldn’t yet figure out what was so special about watching bad movies about mushy kissy stuff. Mom had gotten real quiet when Twilight had asked, and her dad had just laughed a little.

“Well… I can still show him myself when he gets back, right?” Twilight asked, perking up a bit. “And Smarty Pants can come, right?”

“Of course,” Velvet replied, though she paused. “Though, don’t you think you’re a little old to be taking a doll out to a restaurant? Maybe Smarty Pants should stay here and watch your books for you.”

Twilight frowned for a second, but then nodded. “You’re right,” she admitted, sighing. “She can still study with me when I get home, though, right? I’m not too old for that?” She didn’t want to lose her favorite study partner, after all.

Twilight Velvet laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “She can help you study all you’d like. Now go change out of your school uniform, we don’t want you getting pizza sauce all over it.”

Twilight Sparkle beamed.

…

Twilight Sparkle groaned.

She’d eaten more than half a pizza all on her own, which had seemed like a good idea at the time. The walk home, though, had proven that maybe it wasn’t. She was incredibly full, and even the quarter mile from their little home to the nearby pizza place had been a very uncomfortable walk.

“I said that you didn’t need that fifth slice,” Night Light admonished, though it was a mild reproof. Twilight already knew she had eaten too much, she didn’t need any reminding.

“I know,” Twilight pouted, but in spite of the discomfort, it had been really yummy, and everypony who knew her knew that she’d probably do the same next time they went and got some.

Coming in through the back door, though, Twilight found a new spring in her step as she galloped inside excitedly, eager to get to studying. She set the pizza box on the table - She had insisted on being the one to carry the leftovers home home with her magic, to show off her ever improving levitation skills, and she’d only needed her mom to take the weight for a little bit of the walk - and then all but ran to the living room to grab her school bag. They were studying the Water Cycle in school, and it was fascinating to read about how the Pegasi managed the weather to keep Equestria running properly.

“Thanks for dinner, mom!” She called, grabbing her bag with a hoof and hurtling up the stairs to her bedroom. She and Smarty Pants had all kinds of exciting homework to get to, and nothing was going to keep her from it.

Closing the door to her room, she dumped out her book bag, grabbed the appropriate books along with a stack of homework paper and a quill, and then reached for Smarty Pants.

She wasn’t there.

Frowning, Twilight Sparkle checked under a couple books, and then stuck her foreleg in the bag to feel around, but no doll presented itself. She tried upturning the bag again, but that too provided unhelpful results.

Thinking that maybe he had fallen out of her bag, Twilight set her books aside and headed back down the stairs, looking around the living room. “Mom? Have you seen Smarty Pants?” She asked, when that search turned up nothing as well.

Velvet was coming back in through the front door, holding a yellow package and looking at it with curiosity. “No, sweetie, I haven’t…” she said, before turning over the package and reading something there. “Oh! It looks like you got a little letter from one of your friends at school!”

Twilight Sparkle was a little surprised by that, but accepted the package and read the note on the outside when her mom handed it to her.

FOR: Twilight Sparkle

TOP SECRET

(Nopony read this but Twilight!)

“Who’s it from?” Velvet asked, curiously.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said, flipping over the package. There was no writing on the other side, just a bunch of scotch tape keeping the package together. Whatever was in it, it felt rectangular, thick, and a little flexible. It might have been a paperback book, but it felt too soft for that, and if it was a folded up shirt it was too small. “I guess I’ll go open it?”

Her mom nodded, knowingly. “I won’t pry, if it’s supposed to be ‘A secret’,” she promised, smiling.

Twilight Sparkle, still a little concerned about Smarty Pants but now distracted by the package, trotted back upstairs and shut her door behind her, popping off all the tape and dumping out the package’s contents. A couple things slid out, but the first thing that Twilight noticed was a polaroid photograph with writing on the backside.

She picked it up, and then gasped and nearly dropped the photo when she realized it was a picture of Smarty Pants, lying on a table next to a pair of sewing scissors. Anxiously flipping the picture over, she read the careful and neat printed hoofwriting on the back, done in some kind of black marker that smelled like licorice.

We have your doll!

If you ever want to get it back, you’ll come to School tomorrow wearing this. Don’t even think about telling your parents. If we find out that you tattled on us to anypony, the doll is toast.

Twilight gulped and set down the photo, confused. Wear what? Did they want her to pin the photograph to her school uniform or something?

Then, the second object in the package caught her eye, and she picked it up and turned it over in her hooves. It was soft and white, felt plasticy and smooth to the touch, and after turning it over and partially unfolding the material, Twilight finally realized what it was.

“A… Diaper?”