Tending Twilight

Chapters

Private Study
Upsy-Daisy!
One in the Oven
Reckless Engagement
A Helping Claw
Powerful Strange

Private Study

“Top right tape… aaand now the left one…”

Twilight was laying on her bed, although at the moment she was more sitting than laying, curving her spine so she was looking down at the diaper she was currently applying. Her magic glowed around the final tape as she moved to position it perfectly, smoothing it down against the plastic landing zone to make sure it adhered well.

“All done!” she said brightly to nobody, clopping her hooves together excitedly. The dutiful unicorn - make that /alicorn/ - student who adored checklists and routines in normal life liked them possibly even more when she was regressing. It made her feel secure when everything was done just so, when things happened the same time every time - the world was a little less scary when she could predict exactly what would happen, when. And so, as she settled deeper into her foal headspace, she was mentally checking off items on a list that was private, just for her.

Item number one, diaper.

Check!

Item number two, pacifier, floated across the room from its hiding place on her shelves, hidden behind two non-descript books. Well, non-descript to anypony else - the smaller book she knew was a compendium of advice for spells to eliminate and repel household pest. The larger one was a second edition of a book on herbal magick and medicine from East of Griffonstone, compiled by famed researcher Haychel Cartson.

While she was more famous for her work with the marine life of Equestria, in her later years Cartson had become quite the expert on the magic used by other species, most notably zebras and yaks. Twilight found her writing a fascinating read, and the beautiful illustrations certainly didn’t hurt…

Twilight blinked. She was distracting herself again! Her magic gently pushed the hefty tome back into place as she giggled at herself. Little fillies were easily distracted, after all.

Anyway, item number two!

Check!

Item number three, a warm bottle of milk, was waiting on her nightstand, next to her bust of Bucephalus. She’d heated it to just the right temperature that she could allow for 5 minutes of cooling time before it was cooled enough to drink. She calculated that about 1.75 minutes after that, it would be the perfect temperature. Which was good! She needed a little time before she really let go…

Bottle of milk! Check!

Which led her to item number four - a book on foal development, focusing on the early years. Twilight had all four issues of this series, but this was the first and most relevant to her…

Check!

“Okay, just a little study time before I let myself… relax,” she said to herself with a blush, glancing up at the clock to keep an eye on the time. Twilight reached out with her magic to open the book, but then stopped herself. Uncertainly, her hoof crept out instead, and she lifted the front cover with a minute shudder. Reading a book this way made her feel small again, just a baby filly who couldn’t control her own magic enough to even turn a page.

“S-so… newborn foals can generally walk within an hour of birth,” she read aloud to herself. “Speech generally takes longer, but the mothers of foals can expect their children to start talking by 9 months at the latest. Single words at first, like ‘Mama’ or ‘Dada’, but by the time they reach their second birthday most children can communicate using simple sentences such as ‘want go up’ or ‘give me ball’.”

Twilight skimmed the rest of the next few pages, which were all about a foal’s developing proficiency in language. She knew when she regressed she tended to retain most of her powers of speech, but dropped some more complicated words and occasionally lisped others. Based on what the book said, her language skills were at the older end of the age range of the book, perhaps a 4 to 6 year old - or a particularly advanced 3 year old...

Most of this chapter wasn’t of much interest to her, except for a small note at the end which mentioned that, while most foals learned to read by the age of 5, some particularly precocious little ones could manage it by 4 or even 3 years old.

Twilight glanced at the clock again. Four minutes…

She flicked the page, and her eyes opened slightly wider as she saw the next topic.

Toilet training.

Twilight’s eyes darted left and right as if checking for some intruder, or spy, who might be watching. Of course, she didn’t find anybody, since even her curtains were tightly drawn to prevent any passing pegasi (specifically her friend, Rainbow Dash) from noticing her, or worse, bursting in.

The alicorn couldn’t deny this was a particular topic of interest to her. After all, diapers were… well, she liked them, a lot. They made her feel… safe. Like accidents, of any kind, would be handled and dealt with by someone older, more experienced. Someone she could… look up to.

Twilight ruffled her wings, a pensive frown on her face. Now she was a Princess, even more people looked up to her instead, both figuratively and literally. Sometimes she felt like she was losing more and more of the childlike parts of herself, like there was a big gulf now between the big important Alicorn Princess she was supposed to be - and the padded, well-loved, carefree filly she longed to be.

She shook her head. Well, she was being that little filly now, right?

Yes she was, and little fillies didn’t waste their valuable studying time fretting over if they were little enough, did they?

‘Nuh huh’, Twilight scolded herself internally, her troubled mood dissipating as quickly as it had emerged. She kicked her back hooves with a giggle as she looked back to the book, floating her pacifier up to her pursed lips. She imagined it wasn’t her own magic that carried it, but someone else’s, some loving caretaker who’d shush her with it when she got too fussy.

In her mind’s eye, Twilight felt them reach out and stroke her mane gently, with a soft smile on their lips.

“A couple more minutes, Twiley, and then it’s time for your bottle, that’s my good girl,” the non-descript voice cooed, and ‘Twiley’ suckled her binky bashfully as she mumbled her assent.

“H-hem… anyway… mosht - most - fillies and colts gain control over their bowels long before their bladders, with the average age being just under two years old, forgiving some accidents, which are considered a natural part of development for most foals,” Twilight enunciated as clearly as she could around the pacifier, pushing it to the corner of her mouth so her lips could move.

She huffed frustratedly, wanting to suck, and then shrugged, letting it move back into the center of her palate. She’d just have to read in her head, then.

‘Or, since I’m not reading aloud anyway…’

Twilight’s cheeks glowed a little more as she imagined an extra weight on the mattress - but could it really be called ‘extra weight’ when she was so tiny, so light herself? Just a little baby, really, and she curled up against the adult she pictured besides her, who extended a hoof towards the book.

“Do you see what that says, sweetheart? It’s talking about foals who need diapers… Just like you, hm?” the fantasy adult said with a chuckle, as she patted Twilight’s poofy bottom.

“Uh huh,” murmured Twilight, her tail swishing slightly.

“Now it says here… the average age for potty training is around 3… Hm, but some foals aren’t ready until they’re four, or even older - what do you think, Twiley? How old is my padded princess?”

Twilight scrunched up her nose as if she was thinking hard - which she was! Was she four? Or was she three? She knew she wasn’t gonna be ready to give up her diapers for a long time yet…

“I’m… I’m… I’m fwee an’ a half!” she said with a big grin, the force of her statement sending her pacifier tumbling out of her mouth.

“Whoopsy!” said her fantasy caretaker as the retrieved her pacifier and floated it up towards her mouth. “Three and a half, what a big girl you are!”

Twilight shook her head violently, looking up at the space next to her with a pout.

“...Oh… but of course… you’re not too big, are you? You’re still a baby, really.”

Twilight nodded slowly, and closed the book in front of her with a hoof, sitting up. She looked at the clock. Study time was over.

“Jus’ a baby,” she mumbled, as she rearranged some of the pillows behind her before she lay bag, lounging comfortably, ready for her bottle, her diaper’s crinkling seeming even louder as she changed position, a reminder that she was tiny and helpless and being looked after…

Her magic reached out, clumsily, and then stronger, gripping the bottle and hovering it over towards her. The alicorn splashed a little on the crook of her elbow, and found it was just as she’d planned - the perfect temperature for a rather big foal to guzzle down, without burning her mouth or being too cold. She spat her pacifier out again, deliberately this time.

“Open wide, baby girl,” murmured the voice, and Twilight latched onto the nipple of the bottle as it floated near her lips, suckling hungrily.

“Mmm!” she managed, wriggling cutely on her bed, her eyes closed as she savored this moment.

The milk was thick, creamy, and soothing as it flowed into her mouth, and Twilight made shameless gulping noises as she drank, feeling completely unembarrassed and safe. She could feel herself relaxing as the warmth spread through her stomach, her wings unfurling a little and spreading out behind her. Her muscles had been tight, hooves pulled up close to her body - but now they relaxed and moved away.

With a big sigh, Twilight opened her eyes dreamily, steadying the bottle with a hoof as her sucking slowed. Moments like this… she felt tiny, in a good way. She hadn’t felt tiny like this in a long time. Too long.

Slowly, as time passed without her really noticing, she drained the bottle. As she finished the last drops she floated it away, back over to the bedside table. Her stomach felt round and full, almost uncomfortably so, so she sat up a little more, her diaper rustling softly as she moved.

“Urp! S’cuse me!” Twilight said with a giggle as she burped, wiping her chin with the back of her hoof. She squirmed, rubbing her back hooves all over the bedspread, feeling a deep sense of contentment that showed in her expression, just enjoying the sensations of, well… everything. Everything felt just… great.

Except for maybe one thing… Her tail flicked slightly as Twilight moved to reposition herself again, spreading her legs a little wider. She tensed… and then relaxed again, as she began to wet her diaper. The liquid flowed towards the back, being quickly absorbed by the padding, warming her rump and tickling her as it traveled downwards.

“Heehee,” she mumbled as she reached clumsily with a hoof towards her pacifier, dragging it over and placing it in her mouth as she finished emptying her bladder. Twilight hadn’t had to go too badly, but then, foals who wore diapers didn’t hold it until they were desperate, did they? They couldn’t hold it. They were… too little.

“M’too li’l!” she told herself, wriggling as she felt the slightly mushy wetness against her bottom. “Too… *yawn* li’l…”

Twilight found herself feeling sleepy, relaxed and soothed by her activities. She yawned again, carefully stopping her pacifier falling out with a hoof, as she turned onto her side, laying back down. Well, babies took naps, didn’t they?

“Mmhmm,” she whispered, to nobody in particular, her hind hooves stretching out until one just rested besides the foal development book she’d been reading. And then, she slept.

“Hey, Twilight!”

Twilight’s eyes shot open in terror. Spike?! Was Spike in here? She ripped the binky out of her mouth as she looked over towards her stairs…

Nothing. Except…

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

“C’mon Twilight, open up! Applejack’s here to see you!” Spike said, grumbling to Applejack behind the door. “Jeez, and she says baby dragons nap a lot!”

“Heh, well, I’ve known you to take naps at all hours of the day, Spike - ‘sides, ya know Twi works awful hard, she probably needed a rest,” Applejack paused.

“Sure would be nice t'see my marefriend today though, Twi!” she added, louder, to be sure that Twilight would hear her.

The alicorn rushed to get up, but only managed to get tangled up in her sheets.

“Ugh!” She kicked out, trying to dislodge the fabric that was wound around her legs. One hoof connected with something and sent it flying off the bed, but Twilight was too distracted by trying to escape to pay attention. She hurriedly stuffed the pacifier under her pillows, stumbling out of bed.

Twilight revved up her wings briefly, but didn’t manage to get the appropriate amount of lift in time, miss-stepping as she kicked her sheets away, and landing on her face.

“Okay, okay, calm down, I just need to make myself look presentable…”

Her magic reached out for the hairbrush in the bathroom, and carried it towards her, smoothing down her mane as her guest waited patiently. Twilight tossed the brush aside and then moved her magic down - she considered peeling off the tapes, but in her panic, she worried it might make an obvious noise and then they’d KNOW.

Instead she pulled at the sides, ripping them both away. The sodden diaper fell to the floor, but she just managed to catch it before it hit it.

“Twili-”

“J-just a second!” Twilight yelled, more shrilly than she intended, trotting towards the bathroom to dispose of the diaper that she was wearing just a few moments ago.

She wrapped it in one plastic bag, and then another, before stowing it in the cupboard under the bathroom sink, vowing to remove it later that day. The alicorn trotted back out and down the stairs, flicking and swishing her tail to try and dissipate any remaining wet-diaper scent: she didn’t have time to clean herself up right now, so she spritzed a little perfume that Rarity had given her, hoping it would cover anything.

Twilight reached the door, frantically unlocking it with her magic, giving the two figures behind an apologetic grin as she got it open.

“Sorry!”

“What were you doing in there?” Spike asked with a baby dragon scowl. He sniffed the air. “And what’s that smell? It’s like perfume…”

“Tsk, don’t pester the lady, Spike. She might’ve been up to, uh, grown-up business,” Applejack said with a blush. “Um, not that you aren’t grownup or nothin’, it’s just, uh-”

Twilight chuckled, feeling slightly calmer now she was sure she hadn’t been found out.

“Actually, Spike, I was doing a little studying and I decided to take a nap - and I happened to feel like wearing a little perfume before I came out to see my marefriend,” she leaned forwards, nuzzling her neck against Applejack, who rubbed against her in turn.

“I hope that’s not a problem for you, my number one assistant?”

“Um, no, I guess not… You guys are always pretty mushy,” Spike shrugged, turning to leave back down the main set of stairs, Twilight and Applejack following slowly behind him.

Twilight lagged behind for a moment, hesitating at her door long enough for Applejack to look back to see if she was coming.

“You okay, Twi?”

“Hm? Oh! Yep! Just fine!” Twilight gave a slightly-strained grin as she used her magic to pull the door shut. “Are we meeting up with Rainbow Dash? You know she’s been coaching me on some more advanced flying techniques…”

Twilight’s voice receded as she traveled down the stairs, leaving her closed door behind her.

Closed, but not locked - because Twilight was certain she hadn’t left anything incriminating out.

Author's Note

Okay so... after I finished this I realized I don't actually think Twilight lives in the library anymore. I'm not sure though so I'll leave it for now. :) Let me know what you think!

Upsy-Daisy!

“I won!” Dash crowed as her final horseshoe landed, hitting the sandy earth with a muffled ‘thunk’. “In your FACE, AJ!”

They’d been neck and neck for a while now. One of them would get a lucky shot in every once in a while, and think she was coming out on top, and then the other would catch up after a couple of throws. They’d had two more ‘tiebreaker’s before this, but it seemed like the game was finally over. Applejack’s horseshoe had been undershot, resting a little ways in front of the stake - while Rainbow’s had landed behind it.

“Uh, I think you’ll find AH won, actually!”

Applejack scowled back at her friend, and Twilight glanced awkwardly between the two of them, before looking over at the horseshoes.

“I, um, I think she’s right, Rainbow - it looks like AJ’s horseshoe is closer,” she squinted. “Maybe you’ll win next time?”

Applejack snorted in triumph, but Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah right! Of course you’d take her side, she’s your marefriend!” She flapped her wings and flew over to the stake in the ground to get a closer look. “See? Mine’s here, and Applejack’s is there!”

“By ‘there’, do ya mean ‘closest to th’stake’?”

“No! I mean further from it! I won!” Dash landed, stomping towards Applejack with her wings down.

“AH won!”

“I wo-”

“Girls! Stop! There’s an easy way to solve this!” Twilight chided them, once more feeling the weight of alicorn authority pushing down on her as both other ponies fell silent.

She trotted towards the stake, her horn glowing as she approached. After a moment, the glow travelled over towards it, giving it a fuchsia glow. Twilight bit her lip as she concentrated. Slowly, two lines of magic crept towards the horseshoes in question like thin pink tendrils, until the shoes too glowed that same color.

Twilight muttered under her breath for a moment, wrinkling her nose, before she suddenly looked up with a smile, dropping the enchantment.

“Sorry, Dash, but AJ’s right. Yours is further away by about a quarter of an inch,” she informed them both cheerily as she walked back over to Applejack’s side, nuzzling her cheek lovingly. Twilight never got tired of kissing AJ, or touching AJ, or staring lovingly at AJ and knowing she was allowed to stare lovingly at AJ, and didn’t have to calculate the appropriate moment to the second to look away so that she wouldn’t be caught staring at AJ...

“Pfft! Whatever,” Dash’s scratchy voice broke Twilight out of her reverie. “You got lucky this time, cowpony.”

Her eyebrows were lowered like she was scowling, but Twilight could see the hint of a grin at the edges of her lips.

“Yup. I reckon I got real lucky,” Applejack pressed herself against Twilight, giving her a peck on the cheek. “An’ I don’t just mean at horseshoes…”

Rainbow just rolled her eyes at that. For a pretty cool pony, AJ could be really mushy since she’d started dating Twilight.

But Twilight was a pretty cool pony too, come to think of it, especially now she was the only one of Dash’s Ponyville friends who could join her in one of her favourite activities - flying. Well, technically, Fluttershy could fly, but she’d have as much luck getting the shy pegasus in the air to practice tricks with her as she would convincing AJ to up and move to Cloudsdale. Speaking of which...

“Hey, Twilight, you wanna practice flying with me?” Dash asked after a few seconds. Her wings practically itched with the need to get in the air. “I have a couple more maneuvers I think you’re ready for now.”

“Is that okay with you, Applejack?” Twilight peeled herself away from her partner. “I don’t want to just abandon you…”

“Aw, that’s fine by me, sugarcube. It’ll give me a chance to get some work done, an’ then maybe we can have a nice picnic after,” Applejack rubbed her cheek against Twilight, before stepping away. “Y’know I love spending time with you, but time is bits…”

“You’re so boring, AJ,” Rainbow Dash teased, but she seemed pleased all the same. “C’mon Sparkle, let’s get up in the air. You remember how to take off, right?”

Applejack watched her marefriend and her best friend make their way high into the sky, Dash occasionally issuing commands for Twi to lift her neck higher or spread her wings further. And then they were too far away to really hear, just two muffled voices above the clouds, and AJ chuckled fondly as she strolled off to her work.

Applejack was surprised when she saw Rainbow and Twilight return to the ground. They usually spent a couple of hours up in the air, although Applejack was pretty sure Twi spent a lot of that time resting and watching Dash ‘perform’.

Slightly concerned, AJ walked briskly over to where the pair had touched down, almost forgetting to leave her hoe behind.

“Everythin’ alright?” she asked, anxiously. Rainbow Dash loved to perform dizzying stunts - what if she’d talked Twilight into doing one and she’d pulled some important wing muscle?

“We’re fine, everything’s fine, Twilight just got worn out,” Dash looked more irritated than concerned, and AJ frowned.

“Um, don’t be mad at Rainbow, Applejack?” Twilight gently pleaded. “To be honest, it’s my own fault… I guess I didn’t… *yaaawn*... get much sleep last night.”

Applejack looked hard at Twilight, and noticed there were dark circles under her eyes, hidden somewhat by her purple coat.

“She fell asleep on a cloud, Applejack!” Rainbow grumbled. “While I was in the middle of showing her an awesome routine…”

“I said I was sorry!”

Now she knew her marefriend wasn’t injured or in danger, Applejack relaxed, smirking at the pair of ponies in front of her.

“Well I reckon if anypony knows a thing or two about sleepin’ on clouds, it’d be Dash,” she said, brushing her slightly damp mane out of her face. She’d been working hard, even if it hadn’t been for long.

“Let’s get you back to the library, Twi. Y’can take a nice long nap.”

“But… your picnic… I can’t ask Rainbow to miss that, just because I’m a little sleepy…”

Applejack sighed.

“Well, me an’ Rainbow will have the picnic on our own, how’s that?”

“And Pinkie can come too,” Rainbow added, as if she’d just thought of it, although somepony paying attention would have caught the panicky edge in her voice. “I haven’t hung out with her in a while.”

“...Right, an’ Pinkie can come too.”

“But… I was looking forward to showing you what I’ve been learning, AJ,” Twilight pouted, looking at Applejack pleadingly, but the farmpony just shook her head firmly.

“Ya can show me tomorrow, when you’re well-rested, how’s that sound?”

“But Ap-”

“No buts!” said Applejack with a chuckle. “Sometimes Twi, Ah swear you’re worse ‘n Apple Bloom. Now c’mon, let’s get you to bed.”

Twilight closed her mouth, her cheeks flushed. Without intending to, Applejack had just pressed her deeper into littlespace, and she didn’t feel able to argue anymore. It felt nice, knowing she had a pony looking out for her and making sure she took care of herself.

“...’kay. Night, Rainbow Dash,” she said softly, as Applejack led her away.

“Night, Sparkle,” Rainbow lifted her head over Twilight’s shoulder to look at AJ. “Boss, I’ll wait here, okay?”

Applejack nodded in response, before she started walking again, leaning in to Twilight to offer her support, if she wanted it.

When they entered Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom, Applejack noticed the bottle first.

To be precise, she didn’t notice it until after she was inside the bedroom, near Twilight’s bed, and the sleepy mare was clambering into the mess of sheets, focused on trying to unravel them after leaving them in such a mess this morning.

“Huh,” said Applejack, peering at the empty foal’s bottle. “Twi… you had them Cake twins over here?”

“What?” Twilight jerked her head, looking more awake. Her eyes eventually landed where AJ’s were looking, and then they shrank to pinpricks as she saw she’d left her bottle out. She wondered frantically if Applejack being the element of honesty would mean she’d be able to tell when Twilight was lying.

“Uh, yeah! I was foalsitting, that’s who that bottle was for…”

“Huh,” said Applejack, a second time. “I didn’t see ‘em around. When I came over I mean. An’ Spike was alone downstairs.”

“Oh! Hah,” Twilight tried to keep her nerves under control. “Well, um, that’s right! Mr and Mrs Cake said they needed a foalsitter today, since they thought Pinkie Pie was going to be busy. But then it turned out she wasn’t! So, I didn’t need to foalsit anymore.”

Applejack squinted. She could tell Twi wasn’t telling her something, but she could also tell she was working herself up something fierce, and if she kept asking her questions the poor princess would probably be a shaking wreck in a few minutes. So she dropped it, for now, hoping Twilight would get some sleep.

“Alright, Twi’,” she sighed, giving her marefriend a loving smile that made Twilight’s pupils revert to almost their normal size, her muscles unclenching a little. Applejack wasn’t going to ask any more, which was for the best.

“I want you to get some rest, okay? Ah’ll see you tomorrow, when you come by the farm, an’ then you can show me every darn thing Dash’s been showing you.”

Applejack’s voice was soothing and, though Twilight blushed thinking it, very motherly. With gentleness born from years of putting Apple Bloom to bed, AJ grabbed the blanket between her teeth and slid it up over Twi’s prone body, using a hoof to smooth it out as she went. Twilight felt warm and snuggly and taken care of - and Applejack’s adoring gaze only made her feel that even more. She looked up into those green eyes with a fillyish gaze of her own, until AJ leaned down to kiss her, their lips meeting gently.

“Mm. Night, sugarcube. Ah’ll turn out the light as I’m leavin’,” Applejack said with a smile, as Twilight yawned and closed her eyes, settling down.

“Mm… good night, Applejack,” Twilight mumbled sleepily. A moment later and the room was bathed in darkness - and Applejack tried to creep quietly towards the stairs to not disturb Twilight.

“Oof!” AJ said under her breath as she stumbled. She’d tripped over something on Twilight’s floor and she bent down to pick it up. “A book? Heh, well, ain’t that jus’ like Twi…”

She carried the book downstairs and out of the room as quietly as she could without waking the sleeping Alicorn - who started snoring a moment later, putting a smile on Applejack’s face.

Once she was in the light, she got a good look at the book she was holding.

“Huh,” she said, for the third time that day. It was a book on foal development. Including the last stages of fetal development, judging from the page she was on. Applejack knew, of course, that if the cake twins had been coming over Twilight would probably have wanted to do some studying before they arrived to make sure she did everything ‘right’, even though AJ could have told her there’s no one ‘right’ way to take care of a foal, as long as they’re safe and happy.

But it hadn’t been a ‘foal care’ book - it had been foal development. Foal development with a section for before the foal was born, even.

Applejack furrowed her brow as she pushed the book into a nearby case that looked like it had space. She’d promised to meet Dash at the farm, and she didn’t like to keep ponies waiting. So with a final glance, she turned and left, trying not to think about the picture that was coming together in her mind.

Applejack had met Rainbow, and they’d traveled to Sugarcube Corner together. At first they’d walked - then they’d trotted - and then they’d been racing, laughing and bumping into each other as they went, until they finally reached the bakery where they knew they’d find Pinkie. AJ couldn’t remember the last time her and Dash had run like this, and it made her resolve to try and spend more time with her friend. Just because she was in a relationship now was no reason to close herself off from everypony else - she didn’t want to become one of those ponies who had no life outside of their partner.

They went through the door laughing and grinning, manes a mess - but it was hard to care. Applejack thought privately that this was what life was all about. She had a beautiful mare in her life, good friends by her side, and she was part of the greatest family in Equestria. Blessed was the only word for it, she thought.

“Whoa! Hi Rainbow Dash! Hi Applejack!” Pinkie Pie greeted them cheerily from behind the counter. “Have you guys been running? Where’s Twilight?”

“Yup. We raced here, Pinkie,” Applejack smiled. “An’ Twi’s gone home, poor thing, she was all worn out. Must’ve stayed up all night studyin’ - wouldn’t that be just like her?”

“Yepperoni! That would be just like Twilight! But then I guess anything Twilight does would be just like Twilight, huh? Because anything Twilight does would be the Twilight-iest thing ever, and-”

“Pinkie!”

The bouncing pink pony stood still for a moment and batted her eyelashes.

“Yes, Dashie?”

“We wanted to know if you wanted to join us for a picnic, at AJ’s?”

“Oh! Sure thing, Dashie!” Pinkie replied chirpily, hopping back from the counter. With impossible dexterity, she hooked the end of her tail under where her apron was tied. Her tail flicked frantically and in an instant the knot was undone. Finally, she pulled her head back in an unponylike fluid motion, out of the neckhole - the ponies watching could have sworn the apron hung in mid-air for a moment, before it fell in a heap onto the ground.

“I was due to finish soon anyway! Mr.Cake!” Pinkie called to her employer. “I’m going to hang out with my friends for a bit, okay?”

“That’s fine, Pinkie!” Mr.Cake replied from the kitchen, although it sounded like his mouth was full. “I’m just putting a batch of muffins in and then I can take right over.”

“Okiedokielokie!”

“Finally!” griped Rainbow Dash, but she seemed happy that Pinkie was joining them. “AJ promised she’d break out her private supply of cider if I beat her here.”

“First of all,” began Applejack as the three girls walked together towards her farm. “Ah never even said there was a private supply at all. I said IF’n there were, then ah MIGHT be convinced to part with some of it, IF ya managed t’get to Sugarcube Corner in front of me.”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something, but Applejack kept going.

“An’ second of all? Ya didn’t beat me there.”

The earth pony smirked as she trotted ahead, leaving Rainbow speechless for a moment.

Just a moment, though. Rainbow cantered past Pinkie, who was giggling at her friends’ silly banter, and snorted challengingly.

“I did so!”

“Y’need me to go get Twilight and prove I won again, sugarcube?” AJ teased.

“Oh, so you need your marefriend to help you cheat?”

“Dashie! Don’t say that! When does Twilight Sparkle ever cheat?” Pinkie scolded her. “She’s an alicorn princess now, remember, I don’t think she’s allowed to even for ittybitty little things like a race to Sugarcube Corner!”

Dash sagged a little at that.

“Alright, you got me. She doesn’t cheat, ever. And… I guess the element of honesty probably doesn’t, either,” she sighed. “I was just kidding.”

“Hmm... “ Pinkie narrowed her eyes, looking Dash over seriously for a moment, and then went back to bouncing along with a grin on her face. “Okie dokie! I believe you, Dashie!”

The three walked in relative silence for a few minutes - or rather, Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked in relative silence. Pinkie Pie hopped, skipped and jumped, while humming cheerfully. AJ and Rainbow shared a look and rolled their eyes in unison, before Rainbow cleared her throat.

“Heh… So… Since AJ here doesn’t think I won the last race… how about we have another one?”

“Oh, you’re on, pony girl!” Applejack said with a grin, already starting to pick up speed. “Y’joining us Pinkie?”

“Of course! A super fun race with some of my bestest best friends? I wouldn’t miss that for the world!”

“Awesome! Alright then… On your marks,” Rainbow said, and all three ponies slowed to a stop, although they trotted and bounced in place as they waited.

“Get set…” Applejack said as she grinned determinedly, crouching down, ready to run.

“Go go GO!” yelled Pinkie, and the two athletic ponies on either side of her took off with excited whinnies.

Pinkie herself whirled around and charged off in the opposite direction, leaving a pink blur behind her.

“See you girls at the finish line!” she called back in a singsong voice.

Dash and Applejack were both looking straight ahead as they hurtled full speed in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, a matching grin on each pony’s face.

“Where - *hff* where’s Pinkie goin’?” Applejack managed breathlessly, falling back a little as she spoke but soon making up the distance when she was finished.

“Pfftt.. Who… Who cares? She’s PINKIE Pie - she’ll… whoof…. She’ll meet us there, I’m sure of it,” Rainbow Dash shook her head briefly and blew air hard out of her nostrils before putting on a burst of speed. “Let’s GO, cowpony!”

“Oh it is ON now!” Applejack grinned as she reared, before rushing off herself. “Ah’m right behind you, ponygirl!”

Within a few moments, she had passed Rainbow, and stuck her tongue out even as she kept galloping.

“An’ I guess NOW ah’m right in front o’ you!”

Dash gasped in mock indignation, and then smirked terribly as she picked up speed to try and match the orange farmpony who was so often her rival in races like these.

The pair kept neck and neck for a while - Applejack got ahead, then Rainbow, then Applejack again. They kept going like that for several minutes, until AJ saw the fence posts of her family’s farm and lowered her head, trying to pull ahead.

“Oh no you don’t!” said Dash, laughing as she bumped Applejack with her shoulder, knocking her off-balance slightly.

“Hahah! Tryin’ to play dirty, huh?” AJ asked as she bumped her right back, the gate to Sweet Apple Acres getting closer and closer.

“You’d know *pant* all about dirt!”

“An’ in a moment I’ll know all about beatin’ arrogant pegasus ponies *huff* into the dus’!”

“Hah! In your dreams!”

Both ponies seemed to decide simultaneously that there was no time for banter, and that she was going to win. The finish line was so close!

Nearly there… almost… almost…!

“Hi guys! What took ya so long?” Pinkie Pie hopped out unexpectedly, from behind a bush that seemed too small to conceal a full-grown pony.

“AHHH!” Rainbow Dash and Applejack screamed in unison, both trying to skid to a halt. Inevitably their hooves skidded on the dusty ground as they tried to stop, and where one pony when left, the other pony went right, and they happened to head right towards each other. And suddenly earth pony crashed into pegasus, and in a cloud of dust they tumbled about down the path until finally coming to a stop in a heap in front of Pinkie Pie.

“Ohmigosh! Are you girls okay?” asked Pinkie. That had looked like a lot of fun, and funny too - but if Applejack or Rainbow Dash were hurt, it wasn’t funny at all!

Dash had landed on top of Applejack, and her stetson rested akimbo on the pegasus’ head. Dash looked down and to the left at AJ, and AJ looked up and to the right at Dash - and then they burst out laughing, and Pinkie sighed before she burst out laughing too.

“I guess PINKIE’s th’one who won that race!” Applejack said between laughs, and after she and Rainbow got up and dusted themselves off, they all walked off down the path to the farmhouse.

“I think that one looks like a fuzzy bunny!”

All three ponies were laying on their back, looking up at the sky. It wasn’t quite night, but it was getting close, the sky darkening gradually. They’d eaten the picnic and now they rested, watching clouds lazily drift across the sky.

“Nah, it looks more like a duck!” Rainbow argued, squinting up at the vague shape. “Or maybe a wolf… with big ears?”

Applejack didn’t say anything, closing her eyes and enjoying the peace of the evening. This was one of her favourite times of the day. Usually, by now she’d have finished all her chores and dinner, and she had a peaceful moment to herself to read, or just enjoy the night air.

She enjoyed this time even more than usual nowadays, because more often than not, she got to spend her evenings with Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight…

“Hey Pinkie?”

“Yeah, AJ?” Pinkie replied, rolling onto her side towards Applejack.

“How come y’weren’t busy today?”

“I was busy! Busy at work, which is my job, which is how I make bits! I was there when you came to get me, remember, you silly filly?” Pinkie gave her a confused look, and Rainbow snickered.

“No, ah mean… I thought Twilight supposed to look after the twins today, since you were busy ‘n all - but then you weren’t busy after all?”

“Nope! I mean, I don’t think so! I mean, Mrs. Cake was looking after the foals today, it was her turn!”

Applejack went quiet for a few seconds, and then:

“...Ya sure?”

“Yepperoni! What’s wrong, AJ?”

“Nothin’!” said Applejack hurriedly.

In truth, she was pretty sure something was wrong. She didn’t always find it easy to tell when somepony was lying, but now she was pretty much certain she’d caught Twilight in a fib. Worse, she couldn’t work out why she was lying. What could her marefriend possibly have to hide from her? Unless…

Applejack swallowed.

“Pinkie, when Mr an’ Mrs. Cake decided to have the twins… when did you find out about it? Like, were there any...clues? Before they told you officially they were plannin’ to have a foal?”

Dash’s ear quirked as if she was listening closely now, but she didn’t turn to look in Applejack’s direction. In fact, she seemed to be making a show of not looking at her, staring at the grass intently, playing with it, pressing down the blades with a hoof, before letting them spring up again.

“Um, gosh… I didn’t really notice, but… Well, Mrs.Cake started eating healthier, for a while before… and um, they had some kind of chart they wouldn’t explain to me! It looked like a sticker chart, but it only had stickers on 5 or 6 days a month! Isn’t that silly?” Pinkie Pie rambled, pausing to rub her chin in thought. “...Oh! And then of course there were the books!”

“Th’books?” Applejack asked, looking concerned.

“Yep! They bought all kinds of books about foals! I think Mr.Cake was worried about not being a good enough Daddy! Which is silly! He’s a great Dad!”

“Go back t’the books, Pinkie. Books with… stuff about foals in? Bein’ pregnant, maybe?” Applejack asked, an edge to her voice.

Rainbow’s ear flicked again, and her mouth was a straight line, but she still kept looking away.

“Yeah! Ooo, you’re smart! All kinds of things like that!”

Applejack fell silent again. Inside her, emotions warred with each other - uncertainty, disappointment, betrayal… even sympathy, for her dear, sweet marefriend who was apparently too nervous to bring up an awkward topic around her own partner.

“...Girls? I gotta talk to y’all about somethin’. But it’s gotta stay secret, okay? Promise me?”

“Ooo, do you mean-”

“Yeah Pinkie - Pinkie promise for me?” Applejack looked directly at Rainbow Dash, who was looking at her with a queasy expression. “Dash, you too? Please?”

Rainbow seemed to fight with herself, and then she sighed, nodding.

“Sure… I Pinkie promise,” she said weakly.

“Nope! You have to do the whole thing! Like this, remember!” Pinkie grinned as she sat up, gesturing with her hooves as she went through each part of the Pinkie promise in turn, Rainbow Dash copying her movements with far less enthusiasm. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

“-in my eye. Ugh! There,” Dash grumbled.

“Thanks,” Applejack sighed. “Girls… I think maybe Twi’s gettin’ to thinkin’ about foals, already. I think she wants us t’have one.”

“WHAT?” Rainbow yelled, looking irritated by the very suggestion.

“Ooooo! Another foal! How super exciting!” Pinkie Pie said genuinely, grinning.

“No, not super exciting! Super crazy!” Dash snorted angrily. “How long have you and Twilight even been dating?”

“Uh, comin’ up on about a year now? Ah know it seems soon…”

“It IS soon! Way too soon! You’re still way too young for a foal!” Rainbow Dash was standing now, her wings unfurled slightly. “What even makes you think Twilight would want something like that?”

“The books. The books Pinkie mentioned. Twilight’s got one of them, she was hidin’ it in her room, an’...” Applejack swallowed. “She had a foal’s bottle too, already.”

She saw Rainbow open her mouth to protest, and interrupted with the thing that made her sure this was what Twilight was feeling.

“An’ when I asked her? Dash, she lied. Right to my face,” Applejack frowned as she spoke. “She told me she had it for the cake twins, ‘cept the cake twins were never due to come over. So you tell me what other explanation makes sense, cuz I’m all ears.”

Rainbow Dash started to speak again, several times - but Applejack was right. She couldn’t think of another explanation. Everything seemed to point to that conclusion - that Twilight wanted to have Applejack’s foal, and make a perfect little family after just a year of dating her.

When Rainbow couldn’t think of anything else to say, Pinkie spoke up instead.

“What are you gonna do, AJ? Do you want a foal? Cuz they’re super cute and all but also a TONNE of work! You’d have to be super duper sure you wanted one!”

“I don’t rightly know, Pinkie. I keep thinkin’ an’ thinkin’... an’ I just go in circles. I wish this wasn’t so confusin’,” Applejack shook her head, her eyes closed. “If we’d been together longer, ah know I’d want to do it for sure. But hay, we’re not even married yet! I just don’t know what I want…”

“Awww,” Pinkie reached a hoof out and rested it on AJ’s reassuringly. “Don’t worry - this’ll all work itself out by the end of the story!”

Applejack blinked.

“Well I don’t reckon this here is a story, it’s real life!”

“That’s what you think!” Pinkie said with a grin, and she winked, right at you.

“...Right,” said Rainbow Dash, walking over to Applejack, although for some reason it seemed like it was taking all her effort to do so. “Look… AJ, whatever you decide to do… we’ll be here for you. And a pony that’s half you and half Twi is going to be pretty awesome, I have to admit.”

“Heh, as awesome as you?” Applejack teased, feeling a bit better.

“Pfft, don’t push it!” Rainbow said with a smirk. “But, seriously… you need to…”

Rainbow gulped.

“You need to go talk to her tomorrow, okay? And decide what’s going to happen… together. Because you are. Together. As a couple.”

“As a team!” interjected Pinkie, and Rainbow nodded.

“Right! Yeah! That.”

“Awww… thank you girls,” Applejack grabbed them both, pulling them into a strong earth pony hug with both forelimbs. “What what ah do without you two here?”

“Hehe,” replied Rainbow Dash weakly. “Wh-what are friends for?”

Unnoticed, a single bead of sweat ran down her forehead.

Author's Note

If that isn't how horseshoes is played in the real world... It's Equestria's version of horseshoes! Totally different! :rainbowlaugh:

One in the Oven

Applejack woke up early the next day, like always. With a grunt, she rolled out of bed and walked towards the peg her stetson hung on, setting it on her head.

Looking out the window across the acres and acres of apple trees, Applejack sighed. She wanted desperately to leave and go talk to Twilight, and see what was going on. But she had responsibilities that came first… Reluctantly, she turned away and trotted out of her room and down the stairs. Talking to Twilight would have to wait.

As she set up the first tree for bucking, Applejack wondered what a filly that was half her and half Twilight Sparkle would even be. Would it be an earth pony or an alicorn? Applejack shuddered at the thought - Apple Bloom had been hard enough to wrangle as a baby, she didn’t know how she’d cope with a foal that could fly and use magic.

Then again, she thought, maybe it would be neither. As Bucky and Kicks sailed into a tree with enough force for all the apples to fall from its boughs, Applejack considered the idea foal might be a pegasus or a unicorn… That would be a little easier to handle, but AJ had to admit she was inclined to hope for an earth pony. She knew how to help raise an earth pony foal, knew how to teach them to use their magic, how to help them value what made the earth pony way so special. Applejack had no clue where she’d even begin with a unicorn or pegasus - but she’d sure as sugar try her best, she supposed.

And, Applejack asked herself as she lined up with another tree, was she even ready for this? It seemed real, real soon to be thinking about children. She’d wanted to be married before she even considered it… And hay, she wasn’t even sure if she was ready to propose. Would Twilight leave her if she said she wasn’t ready? Maybe she’d say it was fine, but secretly hope AJ would change her mind, and the issue would hang over them like a rotten fruit dangling from a bough, ripening each day with hopes and expectations Applejack wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to meet.

Applejack made her way through the orchard automatically while her mind worked double-time. It was later than she would have liked when she finally got done with work. Her legs ached, but it was a good ache, the kind she’d usually take pride in as a sign of a job well done.

But she couldn’t focus on that right now. She still hadn’t decided what she would say to Twilight, but she knew she had to say /something/… And soon. Ignoring her strained muscles, she walked solemnly towards the library, turning things over and over in her head.

“Howdy Spike!” Applejack grinned at the dragon as he opened the door, but it was paper thin. “Is Twi’ about? Got t’talk to her.”

“Hey Applejack… are you alright? You look really nervous?” Spike replied, tilting his head uncertainly. Twilight and Applejack were probably among the most stable of his 6 pony friends, but he still worried - they’d both had their moments.

“Ah… I’m jus’ fine, Spike!” Applejack replied, her smile strained further as she had to outright lie, even if it was a small one. “Jus’ need to see - Twilight!”

Applejack rushed over to her marefriend as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her wings flapping with alarm at the franticness of AJ’s approach.

“Whoa! Applejack, I’m happy you’re so glad to see me, but maybe we should go upstairs and talk? You seem kind of agitated… Can I help?” Twilight smiled kindly. Maybe AJ was having some problem with her crops, or there was some issue with the everfree forest and she didn’t want to mention it around Spike.

“That’d be great, Twi’, thanks,” Applejack replied, her smile genuine this time - even when she was dealing with something like this, the alicorn’s calmness calmed her, too. She felt like a stronger pony with Twilight there. And they’d both need to be strong to talk about something as serious as this…

Upstairs, in Twilight’s bedroom, AJ swallowed. Her eyes darted around the room, but there was no more evidence left out. Twilight had carefully thrown away the used diaper earlier that day, and hidden her pacifier in its usual spot.

“Was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Applejack?” Twilight asked again, breaking AJ out of her reverie.

“Wha-? Oh, um, yeah, sorry Twi’. I guess… well, we’ve been together ‘bout a year now, right?”

“It’s actually closer to eleven months and eight days,” Twilight Sparkle corrected automatically, and then blushed, adding: “Of course, who’s counting?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow and then chuckled.

“Wul alrighty, Twi’... Anyway, we’re pretty… serious, ain’t we? I mean… Nothin’ wrong with a pony being interested in taking th’next step in a, a real serious relationship like this, huh?”

Applejack wasn’t sure if she was talking herself into believing what she was saying, or if she really did feel that way. Being honest to other ponies came easy to her - being honest with herself was more difficult.

“Um, I guess so?” Twilight said uncertainly. She didn’t know where Applejack was going with this, but something in her voice told her it was important. Maybe she wanted Twilight to move to Sweet Apple Acres? But her books…

“And, and, I think, maybe if ah haven’t been thinkin’ of it, you have been, an’ maybe you’ve been thinkin’ a lot more than me about one topic in particular, an’, well… Shucks, Twi’, I… I… I know you wanna have a foal!”

Applejack blurted her statement, like trying to spit a bad apple out of her mouth. She felt better instantly, but she frowned as she took in Twilight’s reaction.

The alicorn’s wings were spread slightly in shock at AJ’s outburst, but her expression wasn’t one of a mare who’d had her secret discovered. It was the expression of a mare who had no idea what the hay her partner was talking about.

“Guhh?” Twilight said, intelligently. “What? I mean…. What?!”

“Y’don’t have to pretend, Twilight. Ah saw the book. An’ the bottle,” Applejack said, frowning. She’d been open - why couldn’t Twilight?

As expected, Twilight blushed, looking rather like a filly with her hoof caught in the cookie jar. She scrambled for an excuse...

“Um, I told you Applejack, that was because the cake tw-”

“Ah know the cake twins were never here. Or s’posedta be here. I asked Pinkie Pie. Don’t lie t’me, Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack’s voice took on an edge now. She hated being lied to.

“Applejack, I…” Twilight stammered. She knew she was caught now. She had no interest at all in having a foal, and she wouldn’t, couldn’t let Applejack believe something that just wasn’t true. So she’d either have to make up another lie, or tell the truth…

Her eyes squeezed shut. Her heart thumped. And then she spoke.

“...Applejack… there’s something I have to tell you…”

“Ah know! You want t’ hav-”

AJ was cut off by a purple hoof, lifted in the universal sign of ‘wait, stop’.

“N-no, I don’t, I… I really, really don’t, haha. I mean, maybe this would be easier if I did, you know?” Twilight’s eyes were open now, but they glistened with tears. “I, I bet you’d be an amazing mother, AJ. But, but the truth is…”

She shifted, her voice dropping to a squeak.

“...The bottle was mine.”

Applejack wasn’t sure she’d heard the princess right. At first she didn’t understand the significance, either. Twilight obviously thought it was important, but why?

“Uh…”

“A-and the book… I was… studying,” Twilight sniffled now. “To… to get in touch with my inner foal?”

AJ blinked, still not caught up, but the gears were starting to turn in her head.

“Twi’... what’re you sayin’?”

“Applejack, I’m… I’m an adult foal. I was going to tell you one day, I, I just, it’s so scary, and I was so afraid of what you might think, and I was so scared!” Twilight’s voice shook with emotion, crying openly now.

Applejack was starting to catch up now. An adult foal… did that mean…

“...Twi… are ya tellin’ me y’like to… act like a baby?”

Twilight sobbed loudly, nodding through her tears.

“Y-yes Applejack! I’m so so so sorry! I, I, I’ve always been this way, as long as I can remember! I u-used to be so jealous of babies when I was a filly,” Twilight sniffed, wiping her eyes on the back of her hoof. “That b-bottle was mine… and I have a pacifier, too, and…”

Twilight swallowed again.

“...Diapers.”

Applejack’s eyelid twitched as she fought to keep several different emotions from showing on her face.

Fear was one, for her marefriend had just pulled back the veil on a strange world Applejack had never heard of - and not just as part of some fancy unicorn research she’d been doing, no, Twilight clearly expected Applejack to understand this was part of her, and had been since the day they’d met. AJ’s head span, and it felt as if it were a stranger standing in front of her, instead of her supportive, doting marefriend.

Disgust would be an awful strong word for another of Applejack’s swirling emotions. Distaste would be better, although it reminded her of elderly high society mares, and the time she spent in Canterlot as a foal. Thinking of her pretty marefriend, who she happened to think had a pretty darn hot flank, putting on diapers like a baby an’ then possibly even urinating in ‘em? Yeah, AJ had to admit she had an awful lot of ‘distaste’ for that idea.

The country pony managed to swallow, and though her lips twisted in an expression that could have been nausea or a prelude to a cough, she licked them and opened her mouth to speak.

“...Errggaahh?” Applejack managed, and she instantly regretted it, because Twilight’s lovely eyes were now huge, and rapidly filling with tears.

“I’m sorry!” she squealed, her wings flaring alarmingly. “I’m so sorry! I can tell you’re disgusted by me!”

“Naah! Oh Twilight, no, c’mere my darlin’, ain’t like that!” Applejack rushed forwards to enfold her crying marefriend in a hug, pressing those lovely wings down.

“I’m awful! You must h-hate me…”

“I could never hate you, sugarcube, ah just…” AJ gulped. “...It’s a lot t’take in. You musta known that, when you told me?”

“Uh huh,” Twilight sniffled. “B-but you came in talking about a foal, and you seemed like you were maybe happy about it and, and I thought… maybe you’d want a foal… who was a little biggerl?”

“But you ain’t a-”

Applejack stopped as she saw Twilight’s look, a flash of bitterness and hurt in amongst her self-pitying tears.

“...Anyway,” Twilight continued, shifting about in Applejack’s embrace. “I had to explain… You thought I wanted a baby! And I hope you understand now more than ever why … well, I don’t want that, not yet.”

Applejack stayed quiet for a moment. She really didn’t want Twilight to cry any more. She also really didn’t understand any of what Twilight was talking about.

Before they’d even started dating, she’d always fancied she understood Twilight the best out of all her friends. They were both practical mares, for one. Twi maybe went a bit overboard sometimes, but AJ appreciated someone who kept to a reliable schedule. She could trust that the princess wouldn’t let her down - that they’d be strong together, supporting one another, no matter what.

And that was it, really, when she got down to it. Applejack, the most dependable pony in Ponyville, had found somepony else to depend on. Somepony else who understood the struggles of being a pony everybody else looked up to, who appreciated her as an equal.

But… here was that same mare. Telling AJ she wanted to be treated like a foal - wanted to not have responsibility. Applejack set her jaw. Always somethin’, wasn’t it? More demands, more work, more duties laid at her feet.

And this time it wasn’t just the material things, making Twi’ feel like the little filly she apparently wanted to be, and whatever responsibilities she’d clearly hoped Applejack would take on. This time it was about Applejack pushing through to accept this bizarre interest of hers. Being okay, even embracing, the idea of her marefriend wearing diapers.

“Gosh, Twi,” Applejack said softly, stroking her back gently, hoof running over those soft feathers. “You sure don’t do things by halves, huh?”

Twilight just let out another helpless sob in response, and Applejack held her a little more firmly, trying to help her settle down. Maybe that was why Twilight saw her like that? Some kind of mother figure? Sure did seem to come natural to her, sometimes.

They were quiet together for a few minutes longer, Applejack thinking things over slowly, Twilight sniffling and pressing herself up against her marefriend, seeking sympathy - eventually Applejack sighed and cleared her throat.

“Sugarcube?”

Twilight lifted her head to look at Applejack.

“Yuh- I mean, yes, Applejack?”

There was something in Twilight’s voice that seemed stilted and forced, like she was holding a part of herself back.

“Twilight, I’ll be honest cos that’s all ah know how t’be - I don’t understand this,” Applejack raised a hoof as Twilight opened her mouth, looking ready to burst into tears all over again. “But I love you, darlin’. I love you with all of my heart and then some.”

Twi brightened at that, giving Applejack a little smile.

“But,” continued Applejack. “I need to think, alright? It’s been a real confusing day and I, I jus’ don’t know what to make of all this.”

Twilight’s ear flicked. Her own mind whirred.

“You don’t understand?... I… I could show you?” she asked, hopefully.

Applejack wanted to say ‘no’. She wanted to say she wasn’t ready to see that, or if she ever would be - but Twilight’s demeanour had changed so suddenly, and she didn’t want to be responsible for crushing her. Maybe… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad?

“...Sure, Twi’. Show me,” Applejack tried to hide the note of defeat in her voice. Twilight didn’t seem to notice it, anyway.

“Oh yay!” Twilight cheered, clopping her hooves together. “Applejack, I’ve waited so long to have someone else to do this with!” She stopped after a moment, suddenly hesitant. “Unless, of course… you don’t really want to?”

Her voice was small again. Applejack’s stomach lurched.

“I love you, Twi’... An’ I want to understand…”

Applejack wasn’t sure if she’d feel better or worse if Twilight told her she would wait. She seemed to want this so badly.

“Well, okay then! Let me just grab my, um, things!” Twilight blushed shyly, her telekinesis reaching out to several objects at once. Applejack tried to hide her expression as she noted the pacifier, baby’s bottle, and adult-sized diaper that floated into view.

“Hah! Um, well, I um… usually I start with this,” Twilight jabbered, holding up the pacifier.

‘This has gotta be the freakiest thing I ever saw,’ Applejack thought to herself.

“Um. Uh huh,” was all she said, nodding dumbly.

“As’h yoo can see, it kin’a makesh me tawk funny,” Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, spoke from around her pacifier, suckling on it cutely.

Applejack gulped. Her resolve was failing her… Where was that beautiful, strong mare she loved?

“Kin’a wike… *ptt!* … Kinda like a li’l baby, huh?”

“Yes’m… Ah, I mean, it sure does, Twi’,” Applejack’s response was uncertain, parroting what she thought her marefriend wanted to hear. It did make her sound like a baby. She didn’t like it.

“And, and, then I put on the diaper…”

Applejack’s face flushed as Twilight lay down on her bed, her legs spread wide. But instead of offering herself to her marefriend in the most intimate way, Twilight’s private parts were soon covered up by thick, white plastic.

“You have to be careful to get the tapes right,” she said brightly, easily securing one, before hesitating. “Um… sometimes it helps if some other pony.. Helps?”

Twilight looked up hesitantly at Applejack. Her heart thumped. She knew she was pushing, knew she was asking a lot - but AJ would have said something before now if she didn’t like this, right? And the excitement!! The idea of her marefriend being her own Mommy, and looking after her - she could barely control herself.

“I… I’m here for ya, Twi’,” Applejack said softly, as her hoof moved robotically towards the lower diaper tape. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. It seemed so bizarre, and Twilight was so strangely needy now, this strange obsession sucking her in like quicksand and bringing AJ with her. She fastened one tape. And then another…

Twilight sighed happily, her eyes fluttering closed. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Applejack… was finally sharing this with her. It felt so wonderful, so right, to give herself over to the strong earth pony, to be looked after by the perfect caretaker…

“Done,” Applejack said quietly, now she’d finished diapering Twilight. Hiding that sexy rump with a...diaper.

“Thank you… Mommy,” Twilight murmured, blushing as she looked up at Applejack, hoping she would accept the title.

AJ’s stomach lurched. She took a step back.

“D-don’t call me that, y’hear?” she muttered, and Twilight gulped. It was like the spell was broken now, and Applejack took another step back, as she watched.

“O-of course, I’m sorry, it’s just you’re so caring, and so good at this, and-”

Applejack stepped back again. She didn’t want to be good at this. She didn’t want Twilight to see her as just, just a mother.

“Applejack, please-”

“I- I’m sorry… I gotta go!” Applejack whirled, shoving the door open. She ran past Spike, she ran out the door. She let her hooves carry her home, and into her bedroom.

Far, far away from the diaper, the baby talk, and the desperate cries of the mare she loved.

Author's Note

Don't worry, something tells me AJ comes around eventually :3

This was a hard chapter to write... the idea of a partner rejecting you so thoroughly is upsetting, but I knew what I needed/wanted to happen, so here we are.

Reckless Engagement

Applejack didn’t come back to library that evening, or the next morning. She was supposed to work the stall that morning, but she hoped beyond hope she could get Mac to agree to take it over today. She also hoped Twilight wouldn’t try and come find her, dreading what it’d be like next time she saw the alicorn. As long as she didn’t see her, she didn’t have to say something that would hurt her feelings - or worse, lie to her.

“Ya sure, AJ?” Mac asked after she’d pleaded with him to trade places that day. Big Macintosh didn’t say much, but that didn’t mean he didn’t pay attention. He’d known Applejack long enough to notice the desperation in her voice and he had no reason to refuse a request, even if he wondered if maybe she was avoiding a problem that needed to be talked out. Talking was never his strong suit either, though, so he sympathized.

“Ah’m sure, Big Mac - I just, just don’t want t’be out there today, y’know?” Applejack sweated slightly as she skirted the truth - she hadn’t, wouldn’t lie, but she also didn’t want to talk about why she wasn’t out there.

“Eeeyup,” Macintosh replied, and AJ relaxed, knowing her brother wouldn’t ask questions.

Big Mac could have argued that he wasn’t as good with the customers as her, but there was no point. She knew it, he knew it, and if she was asking him to work the stall anyway she’d probably already thought of it.

“Can ya walk Apple Bloom t’school, too?”

“Eyup,” Mac responded again, although he raised an eyebrow. Applejack was avoiding leaving the farm, which meant she /did/ have a problem - or a pony - or both - she was avoiding, too. He knew better than to point that out to his stubborn little sister, though. She’d work it out by herself, eventually.

“Don’t you give me that look, Macintosh! Ah’m a big girl, it’s my own business why I don’t wanna work the stall today,” Applejack scowled, knowing what her brother was thinking, without him saying anything. “Ya think I can’t handle mahself?”

“Eenope,” Mac replied, shaking his head. “M’sure you’re gonna sort it out, AJ.” The farmhorse plodded towards the door to start packing the cart for market, not saying anything else, but offering AJ a small smile before he left. He believed in his sister - if he left her to it, she was sure to fix the whole thing without even needing to tell him what had gone on.

But if she wanted to, he would listen.

“...That makes one of us,” Applejack muttered after Macintosh had left. She still had no idea how she would fix this. Why’d Twilight have to go and spring something like this on her?

‘Probably ‘cuz she’s a unicorn,’ Applejack thought to herself. She didn’t think an earth pony would ever have such a freaky obsession.

The day dragged on. Applejack had tried to focus on her chores as much as possible, but her mind wandered. She felt guilty, for leaving Twi like that. She felt scared, of what Twi had showed her. Most of all, though, she felt angry at Twilight for springing this on her, for pushing her so hard - and for wanting something strange like this in the first place.

Since she was a teenager, Applejack had been depending on herself, first, letting everypony else rely on her for what they needed. And then Twilight had come, and she’d started to see her as maybe an equal, a pony she could rely on, too. They felt like a team…

And now… Now this. Was that all anypony wanted from her? Was she always going to have to be in charge? Did Twilight only love her because she only saw… that?

“Aw, shoot,” Applejack frowned as she realized she’d fed the pigs with chicken feed. It didn’t matter too much, cuz they’d eat anything, but it meant she’d have used double the amount of feed that day, and that would have to be accounted for when she was thinking about how much to order later. She grumbled, picking up the empty bucket with her teeth, ignoring the sounds of happy piglets squealing and eating messily.

“‘Least y’all’re happy,” she mused, allowing herself a smile, before she sighed. “But ah can’t go on this way. I need to get mah head on straight, an’ focus on work, work, work-”

“That sounds really, really boring,” a voice from above made AJ jump, and she looked up to see Rainbow Dash grinning and peering over the edge of a nearby cloud.

“Rainbow!” Applejack snorted to cover her embarrassment, her cheeks red. “...How long y’been up there?”

“Not long. Since just before you started talking to the livestock,” Rainbow smirked, flapping her way down to earth. “Does it make ‘em taste better?”

One of the pigs looked up and gave a squeal that sounded almost indignant, before burying its snout back in the slop. Applejack looked less than pleased, too.

“Don’t even joke about that, Dash!”

“Whoa, sorry! I don’t see what’s the big deal - Gilda ate meat, you know.”

Applejack said nothing, looking slightly aghast at what her friend had said. There was silence for a few moments, and then Dash cleared her throat.

“‘Hem! So, anyway… Twilight’s looking for you,” she said, trying to be nonchalant, but there was a strain in her voice.

Applejack’s heart sank and she looked at the floor, guiltily.

“Yeah, ah guess she would be,” she managed, frowning.

“What happened, AJ? Twilight was really upset - but she wouldn’t tell me anything!” Dash swallowed. “Are you guys… are you gonna be okay?”

“I really don’t know, Dash,” Applejack admitted, ignoring the first part of what Dash had said. She knew Twilight would be embarrassed if the pegasus was told, and frankly, she was embarrassed to be connected with it, her cheeks turning pink despite her not saying anything.

“AJ… I’m sorry. Maybe you should talk to her?” Dash suggested. “I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re dating somepony, right?”

“Maybe,” AJ agreed. She knew she should talk to Twilight, but right now she really, really didn’t want to, and it felt like if she stayed away maybe the problem would just… go away. “‘Sides, she knows where the farm is - if she wanted t’talk to me so bad, she coulda come down here first thing.”

Rainbow frowned.

“Maybe she knows if you wanted to talk, you probably wouldn’t be hiding here,” she said bluntly, and Applejack glared at her.

“I ain’t hidin’!” she insisted, but her burning cheeks told her that was a lie, even to herself. “Well… Ah mean… I don’t wanna see her right now, Dash.”

“Why not?” Rainbow pressed, frowning harder. “You guys are like, the perfect couple, and you never let anypony else forget it - what could she have done to upset you this much?”

“Ah don’t wanna talk about it!” Applejack said with alarm, backing away from Dash. “Look, Dash, please jus’ believe me… It was real bad, sugarcube, an’ I’m not ready to talk t’her again yet.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, fixing AJ with a hard stare - and then relaxed, nodding, seeming to accept what Applejack had told her. She’d been true to her element of loyalty, trying hard to get both her friends to work this out. Her conscience was clear…

“Fine. I won’t tell her to come down here. You can’t speak to her yourself, when you’re ready,” Dash lowered her wings, considering. “But… since you’re so stressed out, why not come out with me this evening? We can hit some clubs!”

“Pfft. I have work t’do, Dash.”

“So? The really good places don’t open ‘til way after dark anyway. C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

Applejack wasn’t sure. She’d never been the kind of pony to go out on the town, and she could already imagine the kind of places Dash would want to spend an evening. Wild, dimly lit clubs, with music blaring and searingly bright colours lighting up the ponies all around you. It didn’t seem like Applejack’s idea of fun.

On the other hoof, it would certainly distract her from thinking about her issues with Twilight.

“Well… alright. But only for an hour or so, y’hear? I gotta be up early in the mornin’ for my chores,” Applejack smirked - Rainbow’s response was instantaneous.

“Yes! I’ll come get you at eight!”

With that, Rainbow Dash took off again, soaring into the sky, not wanting to get roped into doing any chores.

“I promise you’re gonna have a great time, AJ!” Dash remarked over her shoulder as she flew.

It was 11pm, and AJ was definitely not having a ‘great time’.

For a start, it turned out that most of the ‘clubs’ Rainbow knew were for pegasi - she’d excitedly listed off names like ‘R.N.B.W’ and ‘Wingbeats’, before realizing Applejack wouldn’t be able to join her there. Embarrassed, she’d suggested another club on the outskirts of Canterlot, that she hadn’t visited often.

‘Nightshade’ had a more diverse clientele than Applejack expected from a Canterlot club, being on the edge of the city rather than the centre. True, it was mostly unicorns, but a fair number of earth ponies were drinking and laughing and dancing too. There were less pegasi - when AJ pointed that out, Rainbow Dash smirked and told her it was because Cloudsdale had the best club scene.

The music wasn’t as loud as she’d imagined, but there was a deep bass beat that rumbled through Applejack’s hooves in a way she found very unsettling, and the flashing lights were just as bright and flashy as she’d feared, but many of the lights seemed to be coming from unicorns themselves, beams of brilliant light cast from their horns and dancing around the room.

Ponies danced, too. Applejack sat on the edge of the room, watching and nursing a pint of alcoholic cider, as the crowd heaved and pulsed with music. Rainbow Dash had left her to go dancing after a couple of drinks, and AJ could see her brilliant rainbow mane and tail tossing, light bouncing off them in time to the music.

AJ sipped her drink. The taste was dull and bitter, not like the sharp, sweet flavour of products made with apples from Sweet Apple Acres. After a few moments she tipped her head back and guzzled it anyway, flicking an ear with annoyance.

“Hey AJ! Trying to get drunk without me?” Rainbow Dash’s voice was suddenly there, loud and boisterous at the end of the table. Her face was flushed red, and she had one of her forelegs slung around the shoulder of a copper-colored pegasus with a mane the color of green wheat.

“You’ll never guess who this is!”

“Well, he’s a pegasus, so usually Ah’d say he’s probably a Wonderbolt - but he don’t look like none of th’Wonderbolts AH’ve ever seen,” Applejack pushed her hat back to get a good look at the middle-aged stallion in front of her. Fatter than she would’ve expected from a Wonderbolt, too, but that’d be rude to say.

“I’m retired, actually,” the stallion said, with a grin. “My name i-”

“It’s BUCK BROWN!” Rainbow interrupted, grinning madly, while Applejack continued to give her a look of confusion. “You know, Buccaneer Brown? Perfected the Buccaneer Blaze?”

“Uh, well, howdy, Mister Brown,” Applejack said, offering her hoof to shake.

“Nice to meet you, Applejack… Please, just call me ‘Buck’.”

“Ya know my name?” Applejack blinked in surprise, then blushed. Of course he knew her name - most ponies in Equestria probably knew it now, since she was a national hero and all. Darn, there was another thing for her to live up to, huh?

“This is so awesome! Can I get you a drink? I can’t believe I’m buying BUCK BROWN a drink!” Rainbow gushed, turning to fly away before freezing, realising she hadn’t actually heard what the stallion wanted to drink.

“It’s been a long time since somepony bought me a drink. Get me some whiskey, on the rocks, thanks doll,” Buck smiled as Dash flapped away, settling into the stool beside Applejack.

“That girl sure is somethin’,” he remarked.

“She sure is,” Applejack replied, with a fond smile.

“So how long’ve you two been together?”

Applejack’s head snapped up.

“Um, uh, we ain’t together,” she stammered, her cheeks red again. “Ah mean, Rainbow’s a nice mare an’ all, but she’s just a good friend.”

“Seriously, come on,” Buck looked skeptical, and Applejack blushed all the more, not because what he was saying embarrassed her, but because she could tell he thought she was lying.

“Ah’m bein’ honest!”

“Huh…” Buck looked genuinely surprised, his expression softening. “Rainbow couldn’t stop talking about you and how, uh, ‘awesome’ you were. You asked how I knew your name - and honestly, even if you weren’t one of Equestria’s biggest heros, I don’t think after five minutes with that filly I could possibly forget it.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It was ‘Applejack this’, ‘n ‘Applejack that’,” Buck smirked. “Sure, she called you a ‘friend’ but I figured, you know, some ponies can be funny about fillyfoolin’.”

“Don’t ah know it,” Applejack said with a frown. “Yer not one of those sorts, are ya?”

“Nope. I’m a man of the world,” Buck winked. “And I can tell you that filly has one heck of a crus-”

“Ah have a marefriend,” Applejack said curtly, trying to ignore the part of her that was suddenly real interested in what Buck might say next.

“Oh. Got it,” Buck coughed awkwardly, smoothing down his mane with a hoof. “Sorry I said that.”

“Don’t worry yourself none,” Applejack replied, with an attempt at nonchalance.

The silence dragged on for a few moments. Neither pony knew what to say next, and Applejack was turning over and over what Buck had said in her head.

‘Rainbow Dash likes me? Like that? As more’n a friend?’ she thought, frowning. Did that make her happy? And if it did make her happy, was it because she liked knowing other ponies thought she was attractive or… something else.

‘That stallion doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about,’ she decided after a while, setting her jaw. She’d have noticed if Rainbow Dash felt that way about her, right?

“Here!” Dash was finally back at their table, and Applejack jerked herself out of her thoughts, looking at where the rainbow pegasus was grinning and holding a tray.

“I got your whiskey, Buck,” Rainbow slid the glass of brown liquid towards the former Wonderbolt, and then less-than-gently set the tray down between her and Applejack.

“Check it out, AJ!”

The tray was full of ten or so little shot glasses, each of them filled with some viscous-looking fluid. The fluid itself looked like a rainbow that had been shot through a toxic green filter, and Applejack turned her nose away from the chemical scent.

“What th’hay is that?”

“It’s ZAP!” Rainbow exclaimed, pushing a glass towards her friend. “There was a big picture of a zap apple on the front - do you guys sell them to here?”

Applejack sniffed the glass again.

“Sugarcube, ah don’t think there’s any kind’a actual apple in there.”

“It sure doesn’t look natural,” Buck agreed, through sips of his own drink.

Rainbow Dash deflated, frowning. “Are you sure? ‘Cuz there was definitely a ZAP apple on the front!”

“Ah’m sure, Dash. I don’t think we’ve ever supplied this bar, else the cider’d be a whole lot better,” she frowned. “Kinda burns my biscuits to hear that folks’re sellin’ things with zap apples on without askin’, though, since they only grow on Sweet Apple Acres.”

She poked the glass with a hoof. “An’ if anypony tries this, they might think this is what zap apples’re really like, an’ that could drive down business!”

Rainbow frowned, guiltily. She’d wanted to cheer AJ up, but she’d obviously done the opposite, and it was totally uncool that people were selling stuff that you were supposed to think had zap apples in but didn’t. She felt dumb for not realizing sooner.

“Sorry, AJ,” she said with a frown. “Do you want me to go complain? Because I’ll give those ponies a piece of my mind, right now!”

“Nah,” Applejack smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s jes’ enjoy the evenin’, sugarcube.”

Dash brightened instantly. “That’s the spirit, cowpony! C’mon, I bet I can outdrink ya!”

“You’re on!”

And a shot glass full of green liquid poured down two pony throats, in unison.

The night passed more quickly after that, or at least it was certainly more exciting. Four shots later, both Applejack and Rainbow were giggling and leaning on one another, the room spinning as they tried not to fall off their bar stools.

Buck Brown had gotten up and left after the second shot, that much Applejack remembered. She’d kept her farewell to a polite nod and a ‘be seein’ ya!’ - Dash, instead, had beckoned him closer with a hoof, and then planted a drunken kiss right on his cheek, before collapsing into laughter. Applejack thought it was lucky that Buck had laughed too.

“Y’see Applejack? Thissis… this is great, right?” Dash grinned at her friend, fumbling with her final glass of ZAP!

“It’s uh… s’been an experience,” Applejack agreed. She was trying to climb down off her stool, but the floor suddenly seemed much further away than usual. Her hindhoof reached out for it, and suddenly she slipped, landing on both back hooves with a ‘thunk!’

“Wooo-eee… Maybe we oughta be … uh… be gettin’ home,” Applejack murmured, her tongue feeling like it had a mind of its own, lazy in her mouth like an intoxicated slug.
“Awwwwww… c’mon, AJ…” Rainbow pouted, reluctant to leave her seat. “It’s not even three yet!”

“Y’can stay if you want,” Applejack said, willing her legs to let her walk towards the door. “AH’ve got t’work tomorrow.”

Rainbow Dash let her eyes watch the earth pony leave. Usually she’d turn away or try to hide how her gaze followed that orange rump with the silky blonde tail… But Applejack’s focus was on moving towards the door, and Rainbow was drunk and probably wouldn’t have noticed even if the object of her affections had looked back and caught her.

AJ reached the door, finally, and left. Dash hesitated, looking glumly at the remaining two glasses - and then, impulsively, threw one back, wrinkling her nose at the still less-than-palatable taste.

“Applejack, wait up!” she called, firing up her wings, finding they didn’t work quite as well as usual - but still, they propelled her up, out of her seat, and through the bar door, worried the earth pony would gallop away before she could reach her.

In reality AJ had only taken a couple of steps before the pegasus burst through the door next to her, wings flapping frantically.

“Whoa nelly!” Applejack reared in alarm, stepping back from the door.

“Sorry! I just… didn’t want to lose you,” Rainbow’s eyes flew open wide. “I mean, I didn’t want to lose track of you! When you were, y’know, walking so fast!”

“That’s alright, sugarcube. Truth be told ah’m glad you decided t’walk home with me. Comp’ny is nice.”

Rainbow smiled in a remarkably un-Rainbow-Dash-like fashion, before her face fell again.

“S-sorry if you didn’t have much fun tonight, AJ,” she murmured, surprisingly meekly.

“Aw, I had a fine time, ah jus’... got things on my mind,” Applejack responded, looking at the floor as they both walked along. Rainbow didn’t say anything else, and Applejack didn’t either. They kept walking along, drunkenly, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

What happened next, happened slowly…

At first.

The two ponies started out a fair distance apart, but as they drunkenly wobbled towards home, a tottering step here, a stumble there, until they were side by side. Closer than that, even. Rainbow’s blue flank pressed against Applejack’s as they wandered on. AJ could smell Rainbow’s mane, the scent of clouds and sweat and-

“Whooa!” Rainbow staggered slightly, laughing at herself. Her wing flared out, wrapping around Applejack’s shoulder to support herself…

And then stayed there, as they walked on.

Applejack felt primary feathers brushing against her side, her flank, not quite touching her dock, but…

“Dash!” AJ said breathlessly. “That’s my cutie mark!”

Dash instantly leapt away, lifting her wing high and clear of Applejack. “Sorry, sorry! I just… Never mind! I’m drunk! Just… forget it.”

Applejack felt the blood coursing through her veins, flushing her face, and… other places, besides. The mood felt electric. She watched Dash’s uncertain face, the same blush on her cheeks, the same tension in her lean, athletic body - only her wings were trembling too, held aloft in a curious arc that drew Applejack’s eye.

Applejack knew that if she shook off Rainbow’s affectionate behaviour, things would go back to normal. Just like Rainbow said, they’d both ‘forget it’, and AJ could go back to her marefriend, her strange, too-intelligent, marefriend, with the weird demands, and urges.

With barely a thought, Applejack leaned forwards, her lips meeting Dash’s.

Dash backed away a half step - but then she, too, was kissing, feeling Applejack’s forehooves draw her in deeper to a passionate embrace as their explored each other’s mouths. The electricity in the air had struck, and both mares pressed their bodies hard against one another, breathing heavily, panting, before they pulled apart.

“Oh… Dash,” Applejack said, dreamily.

“AJ…” Rainbow was breathless, and not just because of the pretty mare in front of her.

“That felt real good, Dash,” Applejack murmured, stepping forwards. She wasn’t sure if she wanted more kissing because Dash felt so good, or because Dash was so uncomplicated, so unlike Twilight Sparkle.

“Let’s do that again,” AJ interrupted her own thoughts, lunging for Rainbow, more enthusiastically than she meant to.

“Wait!” Dash flapped her wings in alarm, moving back a pace. “That was… this is… I… I have to go!”

“Dash, I-”

“Ihavetogo!” Rainbow repeated, and Applejack could only watch as she rocketed into the air on unsteady wings, not looking back behind her.

And leaving AJ alone, with only her wretched thoughts for company.

Author's Note

I've been sitting on this chapter for a while, truth be told. Don't worry - there's another, more ABDL-ey chapter after this.

A Helping Claw

Twilight was in bed again, but this time she wasn’t enjoying her secret hobby.

This time, she lay half under the rumpled covers, crying into her pillow, her face red and blotchy from sobbing and rubbing her eyes.

Yesterday she’d been frantically searching for Applejack - avoiding the one place she was certain to find her, afraid of what her marefriend might have said. She whimpered and burrowed further down into her bedsheets, thinking of that again - she was afraid of Applejack. Of her revealing her secret…

But then it had turned out she had a lot more to be afraid of, didn’t she?

Applejack had come to see her that very morning, and her heart leapt. She’d been about to launch into apologies, explanations - when she saw AJ’s face…

She’d KISSED Rainbow! Twilight still couldn’t believe it. Or rather, she could believe it all too well. Rainbow’s feats of athleticism were something she could never compete with, and maybe Applejack wasn’t happy with a nerdy, boring alicorn who cared more about facts and figures than sports and flying.

Twilight sobbed again, clinging to her pillow. It was a poor replacement for the marefriend she’d rather cling to - but apparently, much more faithful.

Rainbow Dash stayed in bed too, but instead of sobbing, she was still.

Her face was smushed slightly against the fluffy cloud pillow, lending a curious bulge to the straight line of her mouth. She flicked her tail, staring straight ahead.

“Some element of loyalty,” Dash muttered, glaring at nothing, since she couldn’t glare at herself. The empty room was completely quiet, offering no respite from the thoughts that nagged at her.

Obviously she couldn’t show her face around Applejack anymore.

Or Twilight.

Or the whole of Ponyville. They’d all know what she’d done. And hate her for it.

Without even a grunt, she turned onto her other side, wings twitching just a little as they came to rest in a new position. Bitterly, Rainbow wished she’d placed her bed against a wall, instead of in the middle of the room, where windows looked in. The midday sunlight streaming through them was an unwelcome warmth Dash didn’t feel she deserved - and there was nothing she wanted to look at right now, except the blank whiteness of a cloud wall.

Blank like she wished her mind was - but maybe remembering what she’d done was just part of her punishment.

Applejack wasn’t in bed. She’d gotten up promptly in the morning, made Applebloom breakfast, and then gone out to the fields to work… Well, after she’d made a detour to break her marefriend’s heart in two. It hadn’t felt good… but AJ’s conscience wouldn’t let her keep it hidden a moment longer than necessary.

Farm work couldn’t wait for a crisis. Almost every day was a working day. There was no time to sit around and focus on how awful you felt, and sometimes that was a mercy.

Sometimes, though, like today, the strain of working just made the hurt feelings hurt worse. And the repetitive work just helped you dwell on things over and over. But you couldn’t stop. That was hard.

Why, why had Rainbow let AJ kiss her? Why hadn’t she pulled away sooner?

...Why had she pulled away at all?

Applejack glowered at herself, giving the next tree an extra-firm kick. After what she did, those thoughts weren’t helpful. She needed to focus on work, and fixing things with her marefriend. Dash could wait.

If Twilight even was her marefriend still…

Making a sour face, Applejack thought back to last night - only instead of wondering why Rainbow had allowed herself to be kissed, she questioned herself. Yeah, Rainbow was an attractive pony, and she’d certainly imagined it once or twice. But if she was honest with herself, she’d only felt the urge to kiss Dash that night because of what Twilight had told her. In that moment, Dash had seemed so much simpler… so much easier to understand.

In the cold light of day, she was ashamed she’d thought that way - both about Dash, her friend, and about Twilight. This… baby… thing… it wasn’t something she liked to think about. But it was clear if she was gonna make it work with Twilight, she’d have to wrap her head around it.

Even if she had to go to somepony else for help with that…

The door creaked open.
“Twilight?”

Twilight sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her hoof. “G-go away, Spike. I don’t want to see anybody right now.”

The dragon rolled his eyes. “Okay, Twilight, I’m totally going to just walk out the door and leave the pony who’s practically my big sister sobbing into her pillow.”

Twilight said nothing, and didn’t move, but she heard the door close as Spike walked into the room, and then a second later the sound of draconic claws on the stairs leading up to her bed.

“So… what’s wrong?”

Silence. Spike shifted uncomfortably.

“...Is it about Applejack?” he asked in a lower voice. “I mean, she was here earlier, and it seemed like…”

As Spike trailed off, Twilight turned her head to look at him, fixing him with a vulnerable, red-eyed gaze.

“...It seemed like maybe she said something to upset you.”

Twilight made a noise that sounded like a harsh laugh - but maybe there was a sob in there, too.

“Uh huh,” she said in a voice that cracked with pain. Spike waited for her to go on, but she didn’t.

“Did you two… break up, or something?”

“O-or something,” Twilight muttered. “I… I don’t know Spike…” Taking a deep breath, Twilight slowly sat up, rubbing her wet eyes with a hoof.

“One moment, e-everything was fine. And then she… She did something,” Twilight Sparkle swallowed hard. She didn’t want Spike to think badly of Applejack - or spread gossip. “...Something that hurt me. An-and now, I don’t know how she feels about me. If, if she even wants to be my marefriend…”

“What?!” Spike frowned in confusion. “Why would Applejack ever do something to hurt you? And, if she’s the one who hurt YOU, shouldn’t you be the one who doesn’t want her around?”

“Spike, I-”

“Maybe, maybe she didn’t mean to do it?”

“Oh no, she meant it,” Twilight said, surprisingly clearly, a touch of anger in her voice.

“But why would she do something like that! Applejack’s a nice pony, Twilight…”

“I know! I know she is! I… I drove her to it,” the Princess looked down in shame, her muzzle wrinkling.

“What? How!” Spike could feel himself getting more and more confused. Adult relationships were always pretty weird - but today took the cake for weird.

“It’s complicated, Spike! I did something she didn’t like.”

“Something… mean? That hurt her feelings?”

“No! Just something she thought was weird! Gross!” her face turned red.

“Gross? I mean, Applejack’s not exactly Rarity, she hangs around Rainbow Dash all the time-” Twilight winced at the mention of Rainbow Dash, but Spike carried on. “She can handle a little grossness, I’m sure! What’d you do, fart in the bathtub?”

“No! No no no! Please Spike, believe me, it’s just this really weird thing I do, and…. Just, just forget about it, okay? She … just doesn’t like me anymore, I guess…”

“Weird thing you do…” Spike put a claw to his chin. “Weird- oh.”

Twilight was busy smoothing out her rumpled blankets. She didn’t see Spike casting his eye over to where her secret stash was. To her bathroom… To the bedside table where she’d left a bottle just a couple of days ago.

“Twilight, is this about your baby thing?”

Twilight’s ears shot up in alarm… and then slid back in embarrassment. She kept her face turned away from Spike, hiding her shamed expression.

“B-b-baby thing? Spike… I have no idea what you could possibly mean!”

“Oh come on, Twilight. The diapers? The pacifiers? I’ve seen them… Is that what bothered Applejack?”

Twilight’s blood went cold - but her heart was pounding more insistently than ever. She’d been so careful! … Hadn’t she? How did Spike know! What did he think of her! This was so, so embarrassing, she couldn’t believe it, how could she ever liv-

“Twilight?” Spike’s voice brought her back to reality.

“...How long have you known?” she whispered.

“Uh… pretty much forever? Since before we moved to Ponyville, anyway.”

“Bu, but how!”

“Twilight, you’re not exactly a master of keeping things hidden. I mean, I sleep in a basket at the end of your bed… I kinda noticed when you were sleeping in diapers at night.”

“Oh…”

“And then there were the times you left your bottle out… Or you got those weird parcels delivered and wouldn’t let me look at them…”

“Uh huh.”

“And of course, sometimes I’d just walk in and you’d be passed out. Dressed up like a foal with a pacifier in your mouth.”

“...Wh… what did you think, when you saw that?” Twilight asked quietly, still not looking to face him.

“Honestly? Yeah, I thought it was weird. But I also thought you looked really peaceful. Like you were finally letting yourself relax for once. You always have this smile on your face when you do it… it makes you look… happier. Younger. Like you’re not worrying about anything,” Spike put a claw on Twilight’s back, and she looked back at him with a tiny, teary smile.

“I was glad to see that.”

Twilight hesitated a moment, before she turned around and threw her forelegs around Spike, hugging him tightly. “Oh Spike! Thank you so much! I always thought… I… You don’t think I’m weird?”

“Oh no, it’s plenty weird,” Spike agreed, with a playful grin. “But so what! Ponies do weird stuff all the time. It seems to make you happy. And it’s kinda cute, too.”

Twilight snorted, but she was smiling still. “Cute! Hah… Don’t get any ideas, mister,” she grinned as she pulled away. “I’m still your BIG sister, after all.”

“Some big sister!”

They both laughed for a moment. Twilight felt herself relax. Yes, things weren’t perfect… but right now, knowing somebody else really accepted her? That made her feel a lot better. Made her feel like less of a weird freak. Like maybe it wasn’t her fault Applejack had…

Spike saw her swallow, and frowned.

“I guess I was right, huh? Applejack wasn’t keen on your baby time?”

“That’s putting it lightly Spike. She hated it. I could… I could tell. But I just kept pushing, and she… She left.”

“Wow… I guess it would be a pretty big shock learning that about somepony you love,” Spike said thoughtfully.

“I… I mean, I guess so. But I got the feeling she just. Couldn’t handle it. It was too gross for her.”

“I don’t know about that,” Spike replied. “I mean, maybe, but Applejack’s a pretty tough pony. Maybe she’d just never heard or even thought about something like this before.”

“...You think?”

“Maybe,” Spike shrugged. “I don’t know. But, I think… if you think you came on too strong… maybe you should apologize next time? And explain why you like it and what it means… so she can understand, too!”

Twilight bit her lip, considering this. “I… I guess that would make more sense, huh?”

“Yep!”

“You really think we can work it out?”

“I don’t know what Applejack did… and I have a feeling I don’t wanna know, anyway. But I think if you’re both honest with each other and work hard, you can make it work. That’s what grownup relationships are like, all about, right?”

“Right,” Twilight smiled again. She was glad Spike hadn’t left when she’d told him to. She still hurt inside… but now it felt like… maybe it wasn’t useless. Maybe she could work things out with Applejack. At the very least she felt confident they could still be good friends.
“Thanks Spike. You really helped me out,” she sighed, laying back on the bed. “I guess I should start thinking about what to say to Applejack.”

“Like, how to explain everything?”

“Yep.”

“Well, why don’t you try… explaining to me? I’ve always been curious. Why do you wear diapers and stuff like that?”

A part of Twilight protested at talking about that, but another part protested that Spike already knew about her secret, and he wasn’t judging her. His questioning was innocent. He wasn’t waiting for her to say something that he could say she was weird for, he was genuinely curious.

“Well it’s. It’s like a comfort thing, I guess?” Twilight started, scuffing a hoof on the floor. “I, um. It helps me feel… safe. Like, like nothing bad could happen, and I don’t have to be in charge of everything…”

Spike’s eyes drifted to Twilight’s back, coming to rest on the powerful purple wings she’d sprouted months ago.

“In charge of everything, huh?” he murmured, with a frown. “I guess that must be pretty hard. I mean, you’ve always had a lot of responsibility. I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to cope with that.”

Twilight nodded sadly.

“Is that it, then? It’s just, like, a way to cope with having to do so many things and having so many ponies look up to you?”

“Well, sort of. I mean, I’ve definitely had to take on more responsibilities lately, so that’s certainly a factor. But, I guess it’s just… I never really got to be just a little filly, you know? I was always Celestia’s student… and before that I was studying so hard… I never had time to be a kid. And I was all too happy to let people see me as more mature than I really was.”

“Right, yeah. I mean, when I was just hatched, you were practically like my Mom for a while there. And you were, what… ten?”

“Nine. When you first hatched,” Twilight corrected him with a smile. “It was a lot of responsibility, but Princess Celestia felt I could handle it.”

She was unable to keep the note of pride out of her voice, even when she was complaining about how much responsibility she felt she had to take on.

“I just always felt like, there were two ‘me’s?” Twilight continued, unprompted, which Spike assumed was a good sign. “The good student and scholar everypony looked up to… And the baby filly who needed looking after. And that feeling only got bigger when… You know.”

She gestured with a hoof to her wings.

“It’s a lot harder to see yourself as a little unicorn filly when you’re, uh. No longer a unicorn.”

Spike had to admit he didn’t really understand Twilight’s feelings. He was looking forward to the day he’d be a strong, powerful adult dragon - a brave knight who could sweep his lady Rarity off her feet. The idea of wishing you were smaller and weaker and people expected less of you was foreign to him. He couldn’t imagine wanting to go back to being a hatchling - so boring!

“I don’t really get it, I guess,” Spike said with a shrug. “I get not wanting so much responsibility and wanting to get away from it… But the other stuff? I’ve never felt that way.”

Twilight frowned. “Maybe it’s just something certain ponies feel? I know there are other ponies out there like me... I guess it’s hard to understand if you’ve never felt it.”

“Yeah! … But I’m still glad you shared, Twilight. It makes me feel closer to you,” the dragon grinned and reached out a claw, putting it on Twi’s shoulders.

“I’m really glad to hear that, Spike,” Twilight agreed, putting her hoof around him and hugging gently. She felt so glad to have friends like him. Family, really.

“And I’m also really glad to have you in my life. It means a lot,” she told him as she pulled away.

“Aw jeez Twilight,” Spike blushed with a bashful grin. “Don’t be so sappy! It’s embarrassing!”

“Well, what are big sisters for, if not embarrassing their little brothers?” Twilight grinned and rubbed Spike’s spines with a hoof. “C’mon. I’ve been in this stuffy bedroom all day…”

She hopped off of the bed, and began moving towards the stairs, but she was interrupted before she could reach it.

“Wait!” Spike called out. He looked awkward, embarrassed. A little uncomfortable.

“What is it?” Twilight asked, uncertainly. Maybe he really was creeped out by her… hobby? Maybe he wanted her to make sure she hid it better than she had done before...

Whatever the issue, Spike seemed to be forcing himself to speak through the awkwardness, like what he wanted to say was important.
“If this… If this is a comfort thing, and, and you’re upset about Applejack,” Spike swallowed, and Twilight’s ears lowered slightly.

“Do you want to maybe… uh… baby out, for a bit?”

The little bell that rang when you entered Carousel Boutique jingled its happy song, jangling Applejack’s nerves at the same time. But she’d come this far, and there was nopony else in the store.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, darling!” Rarity called from behind some mannequin or other. “I’ll be right with you, although I must be honest and say we’re just about to close, so if this is anything other than a dire couture emergency, I would ask that you retur- Oh, Applejack! It’s you!”

Rarity looked surprise momentarily, but she covered it with a smile - not the smile reserved for her customers, but the smile reserved for her friends unexpectedly stopping in during work hours. The smile that said ‘I’ll humor you, darling, but I am busy’.

“Uh. Howdy, Rarity,” Applejack said with an awkward smile. “How’re you doin’?”

“I’m doing just wonderfully, thank you, Applejack,” Rarity responded, with a raised eyebrow. “But I don’t believe you burst into my place of business just to ask that. What’s the matter, darling? Does Applebloom require a new dress for some school event? Your precious hat needs repairs?”

“Uh, no,” Applejack looked down, and Rarity’s smile thinned slightly.

“I mean… it ain’t about clothes Rarity. It’s about… relationships?”

Rarity’s expression changed again - her smile turned to a worried frown, and the terseness left her voice. If Applejack was coming to her for relationship advice, things were indeed dire.

“Let me just… close up the shop,” Rarity gave a wan smile and did just that, trotting over to the door and flipping the closed sign. After a moment’s thought, she locked the door.

“Now. What is the trouble, dear Applejack? Is it… Twilight?”

Applejack cringed, her ears laying back. She couldn’t lie, and the mere fact she was coming to Rarity about it… it didn’t take a genius to figure

“Ah don’t wanna say who it’s about, okay, Rarity?”
“But-”

“Please, Rarity? I don’t… I don’t wanna betray any confidences.”

“...Of course, darling. Go on.”

Silence reigned for several long seconds, as Applejack gathered her thoughts.

“Well… Ah hav’ this… friend. And she, uh, they, well…”

Red cheeks glowed under Applejack’s ochre fur. Seeing Twilight doing that had been embarrassing enough on its own, telling somebody else was a whole new level. And what if Rarity thought it was something Applejack was involved in? Was she going to be disgusted with her?

‘Disgusted like you were with Twi’?” a little voice hissed in her head, and she shrank back a little further.

‘Dang. Maybe I understand a little now how Twilight felt tellin’ me.’

“...They what, Applejack?”

“Huh?... Oh, uh. Sorry, Rarity, I lost my train o’ thought there. Anyway, I was, uh, just gonna ask. Have you ever known anypony who… liked to wear diapers?”

“Diapers?” Rarity repeated, and Applejack wasn’t sure if she was shocked or just asking for clarification.

“Uh, yes’m. Diapers. An’, an’ actin’ like a foal? In private-like?”

Rarity’s stare continued for three, two, one seconds, and Applejack bit her lip, feeling pinned by two sapphire eyes.

“...Yes, actually, Applejack, it happens I am aware of some people who enjoy that,” Rarity’s tone was even and cool, with none of the franticness present in Applejack’s own voice. “I happen to have made a number of custom outfits for o- for some of them, in this very town.”

“Really?” Applejack’s face showed relief mixed with disbelief. More people than Twilight were into this? It seemed so weird…

“Mmhmm. It’s actually not uncommon. It’s called being an ‘adult foal’, although the term ‘adult baby’ is also very popular because it has a less, hm, purely-pony focus. Apparently it’s quite popular in some griffin circles!”

Rarity continued confidently. It was clear she had some amount of expertise here.

“Now, in some cases it’s something of a fetish, but in others it’s more of a comfort thing. In either case nopony need have any worries about foalophilia. They are completely unrelated.”

“Uh. Good, I guess?” Applejack wrinkled her nose. She’d thought Twi’s hobby was really weird, but she’d never once imagined she was a foal fiddler. Should she have done? Apparently not, according to Rarity. “Y’say it’s a...comfort thing, sometimes?”

“Mm! Yes! For some ponies it’s just a way to feel safe, and small, and release the stresses of the day. Or some ponies went through some terrible things as a real foal, and now they want to have a ‘do-over’, so to speak,” Rarity smiled. “There are even ponies who had a childhood as one gender and would now like to experience the other side. Mostly stallions who want to be little fillies, but there are mares who want to be colts out there.”

“Ah… Ah see... “ Applejack was glad of the information, but this was all a lot to take in. At least Rarity wasn’t dragging out adult diapers and calling her ‘Mommy’... that would be a bit much. A second time.

“It’s especially common in ponies with high-ranking jobs, or who wield a lot of power or… responsibility,” Rarity paused, giving Applejack a meaningful glance before carrying on. “The majority of adult foals hold jobs and live life normally, other than their, ah, interests. They have normal, healthy relationships most of the time.”

Applejack felt another wave of relief. She hadn’t given much thought to how concerned she’d been about that aspect, but now she realized that she’d judged Twilight too soon. She’d been worried Twi just saw her as a mother-figure, as dependable Applejack, and that her own feelings weren’t really important to the Princess. She’d been afraid Twilight would end up going further and further, leaving her duties behind - or crawling out of her crib just long enough to wave a royal sceptre, before demanding diaper changes and a new bottle from her beleaguered marefriend.

“That’s… interestin’,” Applejack replied, with feigned indifference. She knew all too well that Rarity probably saw right through her, but neither pony acknowledged it.

Applejack’s mind ticked away in thought. If that was all true, then maybe she’d been too harsh with Twilight? She’d moved too fast for her, sure. But if she could slow down, maybe they could work things out. In fact…

“Rarity, ya say y’know some ponies who do this?”

“Well, yes I know of… some ponies,” Rarity replied, strangely cagey after her earlier openness.
“D’ya think I could maybe… meet one of ‘em?”

“Hah! Applejack I’m not certain that’s a good idea, darling. It might be… overwhelming for you!”

“B’lieve me, Rarity, it wouldn’t be more overwhelmin’ than… Well, ah don’t think I’d find it overwhelmin’, an’ that’s all I’m saying.”

“Well… still! It might not be appropriate! It, it might be a breach of, client confidentiality… They might not agree, darling! This is a very personal matter!”

“Then, ask ‘em? Could you, Rarity, f’r me?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Please? I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was important…”

“Ohh, Applejack!” Rarity sighed in frustration. The worst part was she knew Applejack was being totally honest with her. For whatever reason (and Rarity could guess the reason now, quite easily - while a few moments ago she’d been unsure which of the two enjoyed playing the little filly, now it was clear Applejack was trying to learn for her marefriend’s sake. Very sweet of her.) Applejack was desperate to meet her adult foal client, whatever complications there might be.

“I’ll tell you what I will do, Applejack. I will make no promises, first of all! But if you were to come by here at around… 8pm, tomorrow evening… I could ask my clients if they’d be interested in speaking with you,” Rarity offered.

“Thanks, Rarity,” Applejack smiled a weary smile as she took off her hat in gratitude. “Ah really hope I can… understand this. I hope things won’t be too awkward for ya, Rares.”

“Oh, no. Not for me, darling, aha… Anyway. I must be getting back to work, I hope it isn’t impolite to ask if you’re finished with this line of questioning for now?”

“Nope. I think ah got it,” AJ set her hat firmly back on her head. “See ya tomorrow, Rarity.”

“Ta-ta!” Rarity waved to Applejack as she left the store, a forced smile on her face.

“Oh, Applejack,” she said softly once the earth pony was out of earshot. “I only hope you’re as open-minded tomorrow as you seemed to be today...”

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea, Spike.”
A purple glow enveloped a folded adult diaper, as Twilight laid back on the bed awkwardly, her tail between her legs shyly.

“Aw, c’mon, Twilight. You agreed it would probably help you feel better, right?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not that weird. I’ve seen ponies do weirder things!”

“Oh really, Spike? Name some!”

“Uh, well. Just about everything Pinkie Pie does?”

Twilight fell silent, before agreeing. “Good point, but this isn’t really the same kind of ‘weird’.”

As she spoke she unfolded the diaper with her magic, teething at her lip anxiously.

“Ehh, it’s all the same to me,” Spike remarked with a claw wave. “Besides, I want to see you happy, Twilight. You looked after me all the time when I was little - for pony’s sake, you still do! Let me return the favor for once.”

“...Fine,” Twilight grumbled, but she had to admit, she was excited about sharing this with somepony for real. She never thought Spike would see her like this, and it was scary - but it also made her feel good. She hoped Spike could love the foal inside her, not just the big sister.

“Could you turn around for a moment?” Twi asked, gesturing with her hoof. “While I, uh, take care of this?”

Spike rolled his eyes but obliged, turning around. “Ponies don’t wear clothes, Twilight!”

“It’s the principle, Spike!” Twi shot back, her voice rising a little over the sound of tapes being done up tightly. Looking down at her landing zone, she could see it was less even than she’d like… But it would do. She was wearing a diaper.

“Okay. It’s done,” she said shyly, and Spike turned slowly back to see her.

“Aww!” he giggled. “That’s… actually really cute, Twilight.”

“Stop! It is not,” she protested, but there was no force behind it. To be honest, it had felt nice to hear…

“So… what do you do when you… do this?”

“Um, act like… a foal, I guess?”

“But, like… how?” Spike insisted, frowning. It was obvious he wanted some direct action to take, but Twilight wasn’t sure if she could bring herself to say, out loud, all the things she liked to do in fillyspace. Not to Spike, anyway.

“W-well… there’s a bottle in that drawer,” Twilight finally replied, hesitantly. “I sometimes drink warm milk out of it.”

“Okay, got it! Warm milk coming up!” Spike had opened the drawer while she was talking, and grabbed the bottle - he was halfway down the stairs before Twilight realised what was happening.

“Spike, wait! I, I can do it myself!”

“Pfft, nah,” Spike happily hopped off the bottom of the stairs. “I don’t think so. You’re just a little filly, remember? It wouldn’t be safe.” He winked at her, before he dashed out of the room.

Now alone in her room, Twilight could feel her face burning. Somebody taking care of her, insisting she was too little to do things for herself… That hit buttons for her, buttons that wrapped embarrassment in soft cotton and made it warm and inviting and okay to feel.

Still, Twi felt too nervous to really get into her role. She rubbed a hoof absent-mindedly along one of the cuffs of the diaper, making sure the seal was good. Sighing happily, she patted the poofy pillow between her legs, stretching them out and then pulling them back after a moment, enjoying how the plastic rustled without her even touching it directly.

The door flew open, and Twilight eeped softly, instinctively covering herself with her hooves and wings as she looked down over the side of her bed.

“Spike! You scared me! I… thought you might be somepony else.”

“Sorry, Twi,” Spike said apologetically as he clambered the stairs with ease. “I wasn’t really thinking.”

He hopped onto her bedpost, holding the bottle in one hand. As Twilight lay in bed, looking up at Spike, she felt small - it was a strange feeling, since he was so much shorter than her, but from this angle, it felt like she was the tiny one.

“I’m pretty sure I saw Mr. Cake do this once,” Spike murmured, splashing milk on his elbow to test the temperature. “Hmm… seems right to me!”

Spike walked across the bed towards Twilight quickly, smiling.

“Open up, li’l sis!”
He pointed the nipple of the bottle at Twilight, and she turned her chin upwards slightly, blushing. It was obvious what Spike intended, but that seemed like… too much, too far.

“Spike, I thi-”

Suddenly, Twilight found her mouth full of rubber, and then hot, sweet milk, instead of words. For a moment she just felt her eyes go wide, liquid flowing into her muzzle. And then she had to swallow, or choke. And then again, and again, until she realized she was suckling the bottle like an eager newborn foal. Her ears flattened against her skull and she felt her face might turn permanently red - but she didn’t want to stop, at the same time.

“Thaaaat’s right,” Spike cooed, smiling proudly. “No more grown-up thinking. Just focus on drinking this nice warm bottle like the good baby filly you are.”

Twilight nodded just slightly, feeling the mire of fillyspace pulling her in. Dimly, she was surprised about it - but of course, Spike had surprised her already. How could she resist in this situation? She’d had dreams about somepony bottle-feeding her… but now it was happening for real.

“Aww, somepony’s hungry!” Spike commented. He was laying beside her now, holding the bottle with one hand. The other stroked her mane carefully. This was weird, but it made him feel important. He knew Twilight was happy, but he could tell it was more than just ‘happy’. He didn’t have the words for it exactly but it was true what she said, it was like there were two Twilights - a foal and a grown mare.

Spike resolved then and there, to do everything he could to make the foal part of Twilight feel just as loved and special as the grown-up part. It was the least he could do.

The bottle was nearly empty now. Spike was right, Twilight had been really hungry - she hadn’t eaten all day. She knew she’d have to get up later and have some real food, but right now thinking of herself as a little foal who got all her nutrients from a bottle of milk brought a happy glow to her cheeks.

“All gone,” Spike murmured as he pulled the nipple from her lips. “Oh, wait, one more thing.”

“Bluh?” Twilight felt Spike straining to sit her up, and used her own muscles to help him without even thinking. A purple claw tapped her back firmly, and then.

“-Urp!”

“Alright! I did it!” Spike grinned, while Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof.

“Uh huh,” Twilight said softly, reaching out for Spike unconsciously. “Fan- um, thank you, Spike. Really.”
“It’s no big deal, Twilight. Hey, maybe if I get better at looking after babies, Rarity will notice me!” he grinned and flexed. “Mares are really into guys who’re good with kids!”

Twilight chuckled. “Maybe!”

“Alright, so what’s next?”

“Next? Um, well, I… usually I like to read?” Twilight smiled sheepishly - maybe that wasn’t a very ‘babyish’ activity, but it felt right for her.

“Huh. Well, okay, what do you usually read?”

Twilight reached out with her magic, and the thick book on foalhood development rose slowly into view.

“Whoa! Twilight, that’s… not really a kids’ book,” Spike eyed the volume skeptically.

Twi pouted.

“It’s… interesting.”

“Maybe we can read something else,” Spike suggested, as Twilight lowered the book once more. “Do you think you could reach something from the children’s section from here?”

“I, I think so, maybe?” Twilight closed her eyes, focusing her magic. She pictured the library in her mind… Children’s books were over there… She could pick one at random, but she knew the layout well enough to know where the yearling fiction was, the long novels, the picture books…

Her magic grasped a book, and she focused a little harder for a moment…

“Alright! Here we go!”

Twilight opened her eyes to see that the book she’d chosen was on her bed. It took her a moment to read the title, because Spike was reading it, meaning it was upside down to her.

“The Greedy Little Griffon… Good choice!” Spike grinned and then snuggled up against her, opening the book.

“D’ya want me to read it to you?”

“...Yes please,” Twilight admitted. She usually read to herself, but she couldn’t deny she’d fantasized about some other pony reading to her. Just the other day, in fact. But now it was really real, and Twilight tried to stop her brain working so hard to let herself just enjoy it.
“Okay… so. Once upon a time, there was a greedy, grabby, griffon…”

Spike began, and Twilight found herself wriggling down, closer to him. Almost unbidden her hoof snuggled around Spike’s waist - but he didn’t miss a beat, continuing to read as Twilight sighed deeply and happily.

She felt like she was drifting away on a cloud of words, floating without even having to beat her wings.

No… floating was the wrong word. She felt grounded. Safe and loved and small. Like she wanted. It was her worries, her adult concerns that felt distant, they were the ones floating away.

“Mmmmmmmm,” she murmured happily, listening to the story eagerly.

“And the greedy, grabby griffon found she’d lost all her scones! So she…”

Twilight flicked an ear… most of her was listening to the story. But a familiar pressure was building between her legs… She squirmed uncomfortably… How long could this book be, anyway?

“...and every other griffon could see that she’d taken all of the scones from Grenda Griffon, so they…”

Apparently longer than she thought. Twilight tried to hide her discomfort, but what had started as a small urge was rapidly growing. As she squirmed distractedly she briefly wondered if her body had adapted to wetting whenever she wore a diaper - that might explain why the need to go was so intense right now even though it had only been a few minutes…

Asking to go might break the spell, though. It would be one thing to hop up and go to the toilet after the story was over, but what if Spike was offended if she left now? They’d never laid out expectations with using the diaper either… he might assume she wasn’t really getting into it if she left. But she was also fairly sure that she couldn’t make herself go in front of Spike, and what if he thought it was a weird thing to do, anyway? He might not even realise she actually USED the diapers.

A bead of sweat ran down her head. How long had Spike been reading? Gritting her teeth, she glanced at the book. It didn’t seem like there were that many pages left. Maybe she could hold it until the end?

Her hooves kicked uncomfortably. How much trouble could this darn griffon get into?! Hurry UP, Spike!

“...she flew so far, that… that,” Spike slowly came to a stop in the story, giving Twilight a puzzled look. Twilight suddenly realized she was rocking the bed slightly with her squirming around.

“Uh…. you okay, Twi?”

“Mmhmm!” Twilight said, with a forced grin that quickly turned into grinding teeth. “I uh, just, well, to be honest… I could really use the bathroom.”

“Uh, you’re wearing a diaper?” Spike said with a bemused expression.

“But Spike! I’ve never… used one in front of somepony before,” Twilight fluffed her wings self-consciously.

“Pfft, well I’m not going to watch you, Twi. Just do whatever you’ve gotta do,” he grinned and looked back at the book. “Your number one assistant is busy reading.”

Twilight made a squeak that would have sounded more appropriate coming out of Fluttershy, but Spike pretended not to notice.

“Ahem! ...And she flew so far, and so fast, that all the other griffons…”

Twilight shifted her rear slightly… It was usually easy to wet, but right now, with Spike in the room and aware, it felt impossible. She knew he was reading - she could hear his voice droning softly in her ear - but she felt eyes on her anyway.

She sucked in a deep breath, trying to stop obsessing over it… What would she do if Spike wasn’t here?

… As subtly as possible, she rolled onto her back. She flicked her tail and spread her hooves, just slightly… Her body responded to the familiar position, with a wave of pressure that slowly ebbed away, but didn’t leave completely.

Spike’s scales against her side made it impossible to forget somebody else was there, and she almost thought she wouldn’t be able to let go. But then, the urge rose again and impulsively, she pushed a little harder.

“Ah!” she exclaimed, quietly. Spike’s eyes flickered away from the page for a moment, but then he continued reading, which Twi was thankful for.

Slowly, the diaper grew wetter and wetter. Twilight realised she’d been holding it for a long time, her whole rear was sodden in a matter of seconds. She worried the diaper wouldn’t hold, but it felt so nice to just completely relax that she didn’t care…

Finally, she finished wetting and sighed happily, nuzzling against Spike. She could feel wetness around the legband on one side, but there didn’t seem to be any leaks… and everything felt so nice and peaceful right now, she didn’t know if she’d have cared even if she did notice them.

Snuggled against one of her closest friends, in a wet diaper, she let her hoof drift up to her mouth, suckling it cutely like she were a real foal. Applejack might have rejected her, but Spike was right: she did feel a whole lot better now.

Author's Note

So who do you think Rarity's client is? ;)

Powerful Strange

Rainbow Dash was walking. Usually she’d have been flying, but she felt like garbage. And besides, she was walking to, walking to…

Twilight’s tree house suddenly appeared a few feet away, and Rainbow Dash realized she’d been walking to there all along. She opened the door to Twilight’s bedroom, finding her friend huddled over a desk, studying in lamplight that left most of her unilluminated.

“T-twilight?”

Her friend didn’t reply.

“Twilight, I’m sorry. I’m… I’m a huge jerk,” Rainbow said plaintively, reaching out to the alicorn.

“You’re sorry?” Twilight’s voice was flat. “Sorry doesn’t really make this better, Rainbow Dash.”

“I know, but I-”

“You should just leave, Dash. Nopony needs someone like you around,” Applejack added from behind her, and she walked past her to put her forelimb around Twilight.

“But you kissed me!”

“Did she really, Dash? We all knew about your little crush!” Twilight said with a frown. “You’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

“Frankly, ah think it’s kinda pathetic,” Applejack said, smirking.

“Yeah! Dashie, I never knew you were so desperate!” Pinkie bounced into view, giggling as always. “Making goo-goo eyes at another mare’s mare!”

“It’s not Rainbow’s fault,” Fluttershy said softly. “She knows nopony really likes her, especially not like that.”

“I completely agree, Fluttershy,” Rarity looked irate, brushing her mane back with a careful hoof. “Dash, why don’t you just leave? It’s obvious you’re not wanted here.”

“I, I’m not?” Dash asked tearfully, backing away from her friends, who suddenly seemed to be filling the whole room.

“No way, Rainbow,” Applejack’s voice sounded completely uninterested, like she was relaying the weather.

“Just go already!” Pinkie Pie yelled with uncharacteristic aggression, and Rainbow found herself turning around, her hooves slamming against the floor as she ran desperately away, her wings pinned to her sides.

She glanced behind her, and realised with horror that her friends had grown even larger, menacing giants on the horizon, thundering hooves following her, growing louder and louder, unable to escape the frantic banging….

***

“Rainbow Dash?”

There was no response. Fluttershy bit her lip hesitantly. Maybe she should just leave Rainbow alone? Perhaps she just didn’t want to be bothered right now…

But what if something terrible had happened to her? Fluttershy knew she’d feel just awful if she flew away and Rainbow Dash was sick, or hurt, or something worse… Maybe something had happened to Tank?

“R-rainbow Dash! Please open the door!” Fluttershy called as her hoof thumped softly against the door.

From inside the house, she could hear a groggy shuffling, and the sound of several things being knocked over as somepony moved.

The door creaked open.

“What is it, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy had to stifle a gasp when she saw Dash. Her mane was more disheveled than she’d ever seen it, and she had enormous bags under her eyes.

“Oh! Um, it’s just, I hope I’m not bothering you, but you, well,” Fluttershy stammered.

“Shy? Breathe.”

Fluttershy did just that, taking in a long, slow breath - and then relaxing, biting her lip. Confrontation was never easy for her - confrontation that might make another pony feel bad was even worse.

“Rainbow… Why weren’t you at my house yesterday?”

“What?”

“Well, um, it’s okay, I’m not mad or anything, but you promised you’d help me with the nesting birds, and I-”

Rainbow Dash groaned, thumping her head against her door frame.

“Great. One more way I’m a shitty friend,” she sighed. “Sorry, Fluttershy. But I guess you probably weren’t too disappointed. Not like it was probably a surprise that I’d let you down.”

“Um, well, actually I, um,” Fluttershy stammered, not sure how to respond. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Rainbow.”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t really look fine...”

Dash glared at Fluttershy, and she withered, backing away, before Dash felt mean, shaking her head to clear it.

“Whatever. Look, just don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Rainbow Dash…”

“Ugh!” Rainbow huffed, glaring at nothing. “Look, Fluttershy, you should know… I’m not a good pony! I did something really bad to our friends. I don’t deserve this - you shouldn’t waste your time caring about someone like me.”

Fluttershy reached out with a hoof, placing it on Rainbow’s shoulder with a frown. She hated to see a friend so upset, and Rainbow Dash had a tendency to overreact. She always thought she was either the best pony in the world… or the worst.

“Rainbow, I’m sure whatever you did, it wasn’t that bad,” Fluttershy offered.

“I kissed Applejack!”

Stunned, Fluttershy was silent for a few moments. Rainbow Dash could be impulsive and brash, but she wasn’t usually deliberately cruel, just thoughtless.

“Um. Are you, I mean. What happened, Dash?”

Rainbow Dash glared at the floor, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath before she spoke.

“It was… we were both drunk. And she kissed me. And I flew away but,” Rainbow swallowed. “I wanted her to kiss me, Fluttershy!”

“So you didn’t ask her to do that?” Fluttershy said, frowning, putting the pieces together.

“Of course not!” Dash said, looking offended. “I wouldn’t do that to Twilight, no matter how I feel… How I felt about Applejack. But I didn’t stop her, either!”

“Well, um, I don’t want to correct you, Rainbow Dash, but it sounds like you did stop it,” Fluttershy said carefully and slowly, nervous about Rainbow’s reaction. “I mean, you flew away. You could have gone… further.”

Rainbow Dash looked away, frowning hard. She knew Fluttershy was right, and she probably wasn’t actually the worst ever pony in Equestria. But she felt like the worst pony in Equestria.

“It’s not your fault if somepony tries to kiss you, Rainbow,” ‘Shy continued. “I, I don’t know why Applejack would do that, and if you think you behaved inappropriately as well, then, maybe you should apologize to Twilight? But you can’t put all the blame on yourself.”

“I… I guess you’re right,” Dash sighed, kicking the cloud floor. “It’s not like she forced herself on me or anything, though. I told you… I wanted her to kiss me. I kissed back, the first time.”

“Well, that sounds like you both made a mistake. But making a mistake doesn’t make you a bad pony,” Fluttershy smiled. “You don’t think Applejack is a bad pony, do you?”

“No… no, I don’t. But I… it was my fault…”

“Um, I’m sorry Rainbow, you’re a very nice-looking mare… but I don’t think you’re good-looking enough to, um, compel ponies to kiss you against their will,” Fluttershy said, patiently. “Do you?”

“... I guess not,” Rainbow said, with a tiny smirk. “Even the amazing Rainbow Dash isn’t that amazing”

“But you are pretty amazing,” Fluttershy added, leaning forwards for a friendly nuzzle. “Are you feeling a little better now?”

“Yeah. I guess. I still feel crummy for… other reasons, but I’m just going to head back to bed.”

Fluttershy’s frown returned. Her eyes drifted over Rainbow Dash’s messy mane, and the circles under her eyes. Finally they came to rest on her wings, those powerful blue wings that Rainbow so rarely left un-cared for.

‘Shy wasn’t much of a flyer, but she was a pegasus, and she could tell just from looking that Dash’s wings hadn’t been preened in a couple of days, let alone used for any real aerial activity. Dash’s thoughts always got moody and irritated when she was cooped up indoors for too long - but Fluttershy knew she couldn’t just tell her to get out and catch some air...

"Rainbow Dash, when is the last time you, um, went outside?"

"I don't know… I guess it's been awhile. Who cares anyway, not me," Rainbow Dash glared off into the distance, seemingly at nothing. "And not anypony else, I bet."

Fluttering frowned, thinking as fast as she could.

“You know, Rainbow… it really is a lovely day today. “

“I guess?”

“A lovely day for, flying, maybe?” Fluttershy hinted, leaning forwards hopefully.

“Yeah, or for plummeting straight into the ground because that’s all you deserve…”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy chided, shocked. “I thought we went over that…”

“Right. Sorry. I just. Haven’t felt like flying lately and I don’t know when I will.”

Fluttershy paused, considering her options.

“Well, okay,” Fluttershy said. “I mean, I personally think it’s a beautiful day outside, for a pegasus. To fly, I mean.”

She unfurled her own wings, uncertainly, not because she wasn’t sure about what she was doing (although she was never sure about what she was doing) but because she hardly ever used them. Flying to Rainbow’s house was about the longest trip she ever made, nowadays.

“I think I’m going to fly right now,” she said softly.

“Right. You do that,” Rainbow replied, trying to look disinterested.

“O-okay,” Fluttershy flapped her wings, taking to the air. “I, um, really hope I don’t fall and hurt myself, because I’m not a very strong flyer…”

Rainbow Dash frowned, watching as Fluttershy climbed a few feet into the air, her wings beating unsteadily. She was so obvious, Dash thought. She ought to just turn around and go back inside.

Fluttershy’s heart was in her throat as she climbed higher, looking down at Ponyville spread out below her. She could fall, she could really fall, and it scared her. But…

“Oh no,” she tried to yell, pretending her wings hadn’t caught the air. “I’m falling! Oh, dear, somepony help!”

Fluttershy let herself stop flapping, her slow ascent replaced by a slightly more rapid descent, her tail and mane ruffled as she glid down towards the ground, wings still spread fully. She twirled down, further and further, getting faster as she went.

Fluttershy felt a pang of anxiety, and then another. What if Rainbow Dash didn’t rescue her in time? What if she really did start falling uncontrollably, and then Dash couldn’t reach her? Maybe she-

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dash swooping down from above, catching her in her scrawny forelegs. Fluttershy eeped, instantly trying to make herself as light as possible, but she needn’t have bothered - Dash deposited her on a nearby cloud bank, and landed beside her with a smirk on her face.

“‘Shy, I can see right through you,” Rainbow said, fondly.

“Oh,” Fluttershy said with a blush. “Was it that obvious I wasn’t really falling? I thought it would make sense…”

“It was, yeah. I know you,” Dash sighed, running a hoof over her messy mane. “And I guess you know me too, huh? Gimme five minutes to preen, and then let’s get flying. I think I really need it.”

It didn’t take long at all for Fluttershy to be tired of flying, but she smiled cheerily through her burning pink cheeks as her friend enjoyed the open air, a casual, easy smile on her own face. Dash started out gliding gently, but she couldn’t resist showing off after a while, swooping around the clouds, performing daring dives and loop-de-loops.

Of course, she didn’t expect Fluttershy to do exactly what she did… But she didn’t seem to notice ‘Shy was having trouble keeping up.

Eventually though, Fluttershy had to call it quits. Disheveled and sweaty, she flopped onto a cloud for the 3rd time in a row, panting heavily. Her wings ached like she’d never used them so much in one day before - furrowing her brow, she considered that maybe she hadn’t used them so much in a day before. But at least Dash was happy…

“Fluttershy, are you taking another rest?” Rainbow called from afar, smirking as she flapped over.

“I’m sorry… I’m not a very strong flyer,” Fluttershy managed through heavy breaths. “Maybe we could stop, for a little while?”

Fluttershy could see Rainbow Dash's frown, and knew that any second now, she would want to charge off again, always to the next thing, finding something new to do. At the very least, Shy was glad that she seemed to be out of her funk for now.

Fluttershy’s ear flicked gently, a bouncing noise, like a ball, drifting up from the ground below. She hung her head over the edge of the cloud gingerly, some of her long mane dangling over it, and was unsurprised when she saw Pinkie Pie hopping down the path with a box of cupcakes on her back.

It was really amazing how she managed not to drop a single one, despite the fact that with every bounce the box was sent flying into the air, only to land neatly back exactly where it had started, balanced unsteadily on Pinkie’s back.

"Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy yelled – or tried to yell, her voice getting lost in the winds above, and never reaching the ground. Dash took notice, and flew over too, grinning as she saw her friend.

"Yo, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash yelled, her own voice easily reaching the earth pony below.

Pinkie looked around frantically, before she finally glanced upwards and gasped, her smile growing impossibly wide.

“OH HI RAINBOW DASH! HI FLUTTERSHY!”

The pegasi flew down to meet her, Dash zooming straight down, Fluttershy gently gliding, face still red from exertion.

“Is that a delivery for somepony?” Dash asked, gesturing with her head to Pinkie’s box of cupcakes.

“Nopity-nope-nope! This is my mid-afternoon pre-dinner after-lunchtime snack!” Pinkie replied, cheerily.

“That’s an awwwful lot of cupcakes for just one pony, Pinkie…”

“Well, usually I only have half a box of cupcakes, but today my hoof tingled and my lips wrinkled and my tail flippity-flippered, so I knew I’d have to bring extra!”

“What for?” Fluttershy asked softly, almost recovered now.

“For my FRIENDS, of course! Come on! Let’s have a picnic!”

Looking at each other helplessly and shrugging, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash followed along behind Pinkie, who was bouncing off in the other direction without even waiting for them to follow.

“And then, uh, she kissed me…”

Pinkie Pie gasped as she heard the end of Rainbow Dash’s story, eyes wide.

“Whoa! And then what happened!”

“And then I flew off. I haven’t seen her since,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m too ashamed to go see her or Twilight I’m sorry.”

“Hm. Hmm hmm hmm,” Pinkie Pie hummed, slurping the icing off of a cupcake. “You could throw an ‘I’m sorry I kissed your marefriend but I’ll never ever do it again except maybe in the second book!’ party.”

“What? Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash groaned, rolling her eyes. “That would be totally inappropriate. I don’t even understand how both of you are so cool with it. I feel like a monster.”

“You’re not a monster, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said softly, putting a hoof on Rainbow’s foreleg. “You’re our friend. And I’m sure Twilight will forgive you, with time.”

“Uh huh! Everypony makes mistakes! It doesn’t mean you have to stay away from everypony forever and ever! Just say sorry and everything is okie-dokey-lokie!”

Rainbow Dash frowned.

“I don’t think this is that kind of problem. Maybe some problems are the kind where you are supposed to stay away forever, did you ever think of that?”

“Nope! But I bet somepony else did…” Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin thoughtfully - and then gasped loudly, her eyes wide.

“Oooo! Bye guys!” she said cheerily, as she zipped away, leaving a cloud of Pinkie-shaped dust behind, making Fluttershy and Dash cough.

“Urgh!”

“Well that was. Strange,” Fluttershy said, softly.

“Pinkie Pie’s always strange,” Rainbow remarked, rolling her eyes. “At least this time she left cupcakes…”

Fluttershy giggled and agreed, biting into another cupcake with lemon yellow frosting. Neither of them were terribly surprised when Pinkie Pie didn’t return, and it wasn’t long before Fluttershy realised she had to leave for ‘um, an, um, appointment…’

Dash waved her off as she glided away, keeping the smile on her face… until she was well out of view, sagging onto the ground and sighing sadly as her friend disappeared.

It would take more than cupcakes to get over this...

Applejack trotted beside Rarity, her mouth a straight line. When she’d arrived at the carousel boutique, the stylish unicorn had told her only that they had to meet her client elsewhere, out of town.

“So, jes’ how far out of town are we talkin’, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, breaking the oppressive silence that had hung over them for the past few minutes. Ponyville was already some ways behind them, and Canterlot was still further in front.

“Not too far,” Rarity replied, distractedly, adjusting her saddlebags. “After that, the portal will take us the rest of the way.”

“Portal?!”

“Mm. That should take us… Well, that should take us all the way there, at any rate,” Rarity said vaguely.

“Ah don’t know about this, Rarity.”

“Oh, don’t be so worried, Applejack,” Rarity said with a smile. “Relax, I assure you it’s going to go swimmingly.”

“I’d find it easier not t’be worried if I knew where the ponyfeathers we’re goin’,” Applejack snapped, frowning.

“Ah, yes, well,” Rarity frowned as she walked. “I’m sorry, darling, I’d love to reveal the… specific location, and elaborate, but this secrecy is a condition of you being allowed to attend! Would you rather not go at all?”

“Attend? Attend what?”

“You shall see, Applejack! Now hurry up, I think that’s our porter,” Rarity’s trot turned into a leisurely canter, as a grey unicorn waved them both over to what appeared to be an unremarkable shack.

“How many bags,” he asked, expressionless.

“Two, thank you,” Rarity said with a ladylike smile. “And here’s the fare - 25 bits, altogether. Keep the change.”

She batted her long eyelashes demurely, as the stoic porter grasped the money in his own magic and deposited it into a coin purse tied to his waist.

Applejack swallowed, glancing around the room. The shack seemed run-down, but not dirty, and she could see pictures of the pony in front of her on the walls - in some places with what looked like friends and family, in others, alone. A porcelain cat sat opposite a concrete dog on the the hearth, a mixmatched decor that Rarity surely thought was ‘just ghastly’, but said nothing about.

Of course, it would have been strange to comment on that… and not on the twin metal spires in the centre of the room. They were set several feet apart, the color of tarnished copper and twisted with arcane runes.

Applejack’s knees trembled as the grey unicorn lit his horn, sending a streak of blue lightning to one of the spires. It bounced back and forth between them, leaving streaks that grew wider and wider, until, eventually, between the two poles was a glowing sheet of fluorescent magic, sparks fizzling off of it occasionally.

“First time?” the unicorn asked, watching Applejack, who was quaking like a little filly.

“Um, yessir. Is it gonna hurt?”

“Nah, not at all. You might feel a little nauseous, but that’s all,” the pony offered a small smile, the first Applejack had seen from him since they arrived.

“Try and step out of the range of the portal if you think you’re gonna hurl, though,” he added, frowning.

Reassured, Applejack swallowed, and took a deep breath to steady herself as she walked towards the portal. Hesitantly, she lifted a hoof towards it, looking to Rarity for encouragement. As the alabaster unicorn nodded, Applejack forged ahead, stepping through the portal without looking back.

With a lurching feeling in her stomach, she fell through the portal, feeling herself hang in mid-air for a moment before she felt her hooves on the floor again. It was as if the ground had come up to meet her in exactly the same place as the ground she’d left behind.

With a fizzling pop, Rarity appeared behind her, tossing her mane to rid it of residual magic.

“Come now, Applejack,” she said, offering a hoof. “Not far now!”

True to her word, they only spent a handful of minutes wandering the unfamiliar streets. As they did so, Applejack let her eyes wander, unsure where they were. It was a big city, with looming skyscrapers all around - Manehattan? Nah, in Manehattan they never turned the lights off, and here it seemed like everypony but her and Rarity was already going to bed.

They reached a red door, and Rarity knocked on it carefully, tapping out a pattern Applejack couldn’t quite keep up with.

The door opened, and a smiling yellow earth pony with a chubby face greeted Rarity with a big hug.

“Raaaarity! Sweetie! How have you been?!”

Rarity smiled despite the other pony’s boisterous behavior, patting her gingerly on the back.

“I’m very well, Sunny! And how are you and… the boys?”

Sunny beamed even wider, if that was possible.

“Ohh, you know them, always getting into trouble,” she said, with a chuckle. “Marble tried cooking pancakes yesterday and left the whole room covered in batter.”

Both ponies shared a small chuckle at that, and then Sunny seemed to finally notice Applejack was there.

“You must be AJ,” Sunny said, gently.

“That's me,” Applejack replied, smiling despite her nerves and the unfamiliar location.

“Well… thank you for being so open minded, sugar. Not every pony is… they're right in here…”

Applejack found herself being led to a door, and, at Rarity’s encouragement, they both walked in.

Applejack did a double take as she entered the room. Taking up most of the comfy looking couch opposite her, was none other than her own brother, Big Macintosh.

“Big Mac?” she said, incredulously, her ears back.

“Eeyup…” He replied, gently, a blush barely visible underneath his red coat.

“What’re you doin’ here?” Applejack demanded, taking a step forwards.

Macintosh opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a yellow blur crashed through the open door.

“I’msosorry!” Fluttershy panted, as she flapped over to the couch, disheveled and sweating from exertion.

“Fluttershy!?” Applejack asked, looking to Rarity as if hoping she might have an answer. Rarity just nodded, curtly.

“I *pant* I was with…. A friend,” Fluttershy said, breathlessly, smoothing out her wings with a hoof. “And I nearly lost track of time, I’m sorry, sweetie, I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

With her own wings straightened out, Fluttershy turned her attention to Big Macintosh, fussing with his yellow mane, brushing it out of his eyes.

“Are you okay, baby?”

“Eyup, Momma,” Big Mac replied, his voice deep and loving.

“MOMMA!?” Applejack blurted, and two sets of eyes from across the room span to look at her, both wide and surprised, as if they’d forgotten she was there.

“Sit down, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, slowly, firmly, but not un-kindly. “We have a lot to explain to you.”

Rarity left them alone after that, and the door was closed. Applejack sat on the chair opposite Mac and Fluttershy, her mouth hanging open. How had she never noticed Big Macintosh was an adult foal?

“I’m guessing you have a lot of questions,” Fluttershy said, softly.

Applejack frowned.

“Ah guess I do!” she said, looking at the floor as she gathered her thoughts. “But.... hay, I’d hate t’upset somepony else. Maybe it’d be best if y’all explained what the hay this is all about, in your own words? Ah didn’t even know you were together!”

Big Mac and Fluttershy shared a silent glance, and they both nodded.

“Okay, Applejack. We’ll tell you about, um, us,” Fluttershy said, a shy smile on her face. “We’re sorry we didn’t tell you. We were just… waiting for the right time.”

“It, um, all started a long time ago, after Big Mac and I were in the Ponytones together… We started spending a lot of time with each other. I think the other ponies thought we were cute together, and I guess maybe we flirted a little… It was, um, nice…”

Both shy ponies were blushing and looking away from each other, before Fluttershy pressed on.

“Anyway… I guess we really hit it off, but we were both too shy to say anything! At least I thought that was the problem… Until one day Mac told me he had something to show me in the barn, and it was important.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, visibly steeling herself. She gave a concerned glance to Big Mac, who nodded again, but even he looked more stiff and stoic than usual.

“...Well, when I got there, I definitely didn’t expect to see Mac in, um, diapers and booties, and um, a little pink dress…”

“Did ya laugh?” Applejack asked, leaning forwards in her seat.

“Oh no! Not at all! I was just… surprised,” Fluttershy said, gently, patting Mac’s hoof with her own. “I didn’t know to what say at first! But then I saw those big, green eyes looking at me, and I just knew he was about to cry… he reminded me of, of one of my animals. So I wrapped my wings around him and told him it was all going to be alright. And, um, he cried.”

Applejack lifted an eyebrow, looking over at her brother.

“That true?”

“Eeyup,” Mac said, with a sheepish smile. “Bawled like a li’l filly.”

“You’re my little filly,” Fluttershy said fondly, before she continued. “He was just so emotional, poor thing. He must have kept those feelings locked up for so long!”

Applejack frowned thoughtfully. Yep, she’d had no idea that Big Mac was interested in being treated like a baby and wearing diapers. But he’d always been a bit like a big colt, in his way. Deferring to his grandmother and sisters, even little Applebloom… and he slept with that woollen doll Twilight gave him near enough every night… There’d been signs, but she’d never have guessed that about Mac.

“And yer… okay, with this?”

Applejack was struggling to wrap her head around everything she’d heard recently. Her own fears about losing her capable, intelligent marefriend in a haze of babyhood and soggy diapers floated to the surface again.

“Oh yes!” Fluttershy nodded emphatically. “I’m, um, I really enjoy taking care of other ponies…”

“Huh. Ya know Fluttershy I always figured, if you liked somepony like Mac, or some other big guy… Well, it’d be cuz he could support you… Be th’big, strong stallion, make you feel like a, uh, del-ee-cat flower of marehood, like y’are?”

Big Macintosh snorted as if Applejack had said something offensive, but Fluttershy lifted a hoof in a ‘shush’ing motion.

“Well, Applejack, you’re half right. Mac does support me. He’s my shoulder to cry on when things go wrong, and he helps me calm down when I’m over-emotional myself. He’s everything you said, and more,” Fluttershy nuzzled Big Macintosh, who happily did the same back.

“But,” Fluttershy continued. “I also get to see another side of him not every pony knows. Sometimes I get a little tired of everypony talking over me, but I never have that problem with Mac. He listens. It feels nice, sometimes, to be the one in charge - to be assertive and know you’re not hurting anypony’s feelings.”

“Feels nice to give up control, too,” Mac agreed. “Everypony expects me t’be a big, strong stallion, like ya said, AJ. But ah don’t always want t’be that. Sometimes ah… ah wanna be cute.”

“When Mac is being Melly, I feel really important, and loved. It’s really special to me. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“Melly?” Applejack repeated.

“Melba. Red Melba. It’s mah filly name,” Mac said, unapologetically. “Chose it mahself, years ago.”

Despite the unusual situation, Applejack found herself nodding in approval. That was a good, apple name - a mutation of a cultivar from Vanhoover, produced by crossing a Macintosh with a Liveland Raspberry. Appropriate.

“Thought ya’d like it,” Macintosh, and he smiled, watching as Applejack smiled back, slowly.

“So… ya think… somepony can be uh, normal… An’ still get into this kinda thing?” Applejack asked, hopefully. “Like they could, uh, I dunno, have an important job like prin- I mean, mayor of all Equestria, an’ still be a

“Normal is a setting on a washing machine, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, smiling. “My friend Treehugger told me that. And it’s very true, in my opinion. Everypony has some weird quirks.”

“But-”

“I know what you meant, Applejack,” Fluttershy said, with a hint of a sigh. “I’m just saying you should try and keep an open mind… Anyway… You’ve known Mac for all of your life. And he’s a very hard worker, isn’t he? Almost as dependable as you.”

“That’s true. Ah couldn’t run the farm without him,” Applejack said, truthfully.

“Well the same pony who helps you run the entire farm, and raise Applebloom, is also my sweet little filly. Those things don’t have to cancel each other out. They can both be true.”

“They can both be true…” Applejack repeated to herself, her eyes widening with that thought.

She looked back at Macintosh, being cuddled and fussed over by Fluttershy. He was the same pony she’d always known. Yes, he wanted to be coddled and looked after like a baby foal, and that was a little odd… But he was also still her big brother, still the pony she depended on every day.

If he could do both, why couldn’t Twilight?

“...Ah think I understand a little better now, y’all,” Applejack replied, with a genuine smile. “Thank both of y’all for your help. Ah’ll be goin’ now…”

“Wait. AJ… Do ya want to… meet her?” Big Mac asked, uncertainly.

“Her? … Red Melba?” Applejack smiled back, nervous herself, but willing to see where this went. “Ah’d be honoured.”

While Fluttershy helped Mac change, Applejack had a nice conversation with Sunny Smiles and Rarity in another room, helping them set up for an event that was starting soon. Rarity’s bulging saddle bags turned out to be full of clothing, adult outfits made to look like foal’s clothes, which she laid out on a table to sell, carefully.

It turned out tonight was a regular gathering for adult foals and other ageplayers - that was what they called ponies who liked to play a different age, not just babies. Since Fluttershy and Mac attended regularly, it was easy enough to arrange for them to come early to talk to AJ.

Applejack expressed her gratitude to both of the ponies, smiling, before asking more about Sunny herself.

Sunny told Applejack she’d met Rarity through work - she worked with fabric too, but ‘mostly household stuff’, upholstering furniture, making curtains… At a Manehattan sewing convention she’d met Rarity, and when she’d seen the fashionista’s fabulous outfits, she’d just had to have some for her ‘little boys’, who Applejack quickly understood were adult stallions that saw Sunny as their ‘Big Sister’.

“Not ‘Mommy’?” Applejack asked, pinning up a banner to one side of the wall, genuinely curious. “Ah thought that was what people usually called their uh, you know…”

“Caregivers. The female ones, anyway. And, no, that title never really fit me, to be honest. I’m much more of a goofy big sister type than a Mom.”

Applejack was about to ask more about their relationship, but her attention was soon stolen by the sound of the door opening.

“Here we are, everypony,” Fluttershy said, unable to keep a note of pride from her voice as she stepped aside, revealing… Red Melba.

Applejack gasped. The pony in front of her sure looked like her big brother, but the resemblance ended there. Melba’s mane was brushed and lightly curled, soft, golden locks contrasting with her red coat. She’d done something to her eyelashes to make them more striking, but what was most noticeable was her outfit.

Big Mac usually wore a huge yoke around his neck, and nothing else. Melba had removed the yoke completely, replacing it with a pretty dress with poofy sleeves, most of it in a bright aquamarine that made her eyes pop, with complementary lime green accents. The dress ended in a frill, exposing the last few inches of Melba’s rump, which was covered in a thick white diaper… and her tail, which swished anxiously, held up in a ribbon the same shade of green as her dress’ accents.

Melba crossed her front hooves, shyly, waiting for approval from Applejack. She clearly wanted to run and hide - but with Fluttershy’s wing on her back, she held her ground, silently.

Applejack swallowed, trying to decide what to say - but when she did, the words came easier than she could have possibly imagined.

“Y’look real cute, Ma- Melly. It suits ya,” she smiled, craning her neck up to nuzzle Mel’s nose. “I’m glad ya told me. That both of ya… trusted me enough, t’open up.”

“Yer welcome,” Melba replied, visibly relaxing. “C’mon, Momma… I promised Marble Mark ah’d help put out the arts an’ crafts.”

Applejack watched them both leave, a sad smile on her face. Seeing it now, it looked… silly. But also harmless, and a little sweet. She couldn’t believe she’d been so afraid of Twilight doing this.

“Applejack, I’m finished setting up my stall now, darling,” Rarity said, looking a little frazzled. “I need to be back here before the event starts to sell my wares… but I have a little time to walk you back to the portal if you’d like. Or… you could stay here?”

Applejack considered it for a few moments, and then shook her head.

“Nah. Thanks Rarity, but I think ah’d feel wrong stayin’ here,” Applejack shifted uncomfortably. “This time, anyway.”

Her mind was filled with memories of leaving Twilight’s bedroom, running away as fast as her hooves could carry her… And then coming back, slowly and shame-faced, to admit she’d kissed Rainbow in her panic over Twilight’s hobby. It seemed so silly now, and Applejack was horribly embarrassed.

“You’re leaving, AJ?” Sunny Smiles asked, with a pout. “Well, come give me a hug, okay?”

Applejack readily agreed, and was quickly wrapped in one of the strongest hugs of her life, grinning as she pulled away.

“It’s been awesome getting to know ya, Sunny.”

“Likewise!... I really hope I can see you here again someday…”

Applejack chuckled.

“Oh don’t worry. Ah’m plannin’ on it…”