Deep... deep breaths. Mint still wasn't sure where this was going to end up going but he was on the level of eager to get the answer to that question. He adjusted his saddlebags on his back and turned the knob of the door. He was allowed to come and go as he pleased... starting to think maybe this weekend he would talk about moving in. It was all dependent on how this was going to go, what was going to happen. Given what had brought this on, it could be... well, it could be any number of things. Even more than though, he was going to actually be spending the night with the mare that he loved and there wasn't a lot that could diminish how nice that was going to be.

He wasn't alone when he trotted into her apartment, the mare herself peeking around one corner and smiling brightly at his appearance “Minty! Goody, goody.” She stifled a little giggle, ducking back into the kitchen “Set down on the couch, be right with you... wanna talk first. Clear up a couple of things... and I have cocoa!” Cocoa was one of Mint's weaknesses. Or he would call it one of his weaknesses anyway, it was just amazing stuff. A simple little treat that was really proper for any time of the year. Lightning making it suggested she was trying to butter him up for something... or she was just that great. Really though, he was just going to sit on the couch and wait for her. How did that saying go... something about don't look a cocoa pony in the mouth? That sounded close enough. He gently drummed his hooves on the cushion as he waited.

He really didn't have too long to wait at all, the pegasus trotting back out with a pair of mugs she sat down onto the coffee table, a wholly necessary endeavor for her to pounce onto the zony on the couch without spilling any of the stuff, the pair entwining in a tender little snuggle there. Expected as it was, it was still quite a lovely thing, certainly an ice-breaker for the conversation that they supposedly had to have. It ended with the pair of them lounged back, Lightning cradling Mint along her hooves, lazily stroking down his body.

“Now... just lemme talk a moment, okay? Drink your cocoa.” She smiled at him, hoof still lazily petting along as he floated his mug towards himself, taking a long sip off of it. “I think that you know that I'm very satisfied with how our relationship is. And I think that you've been pretty happy yourself. We do... well, we do damn well by each other, don't we?” That got an agreeable nod and a lean, Mint nuzzling at her. “And well.... now that I've been clued in to one of your little... secrets.” Her hoof stole to his rear, giving his flank a soft massaging rub. “I'm curious if you want to delve into some of... well, they're not so much secrets, but... indulge me in a little bit of kink? More than a little really... thinking a lot.”

Mint simply looked at her for a moment. He knew what kink was, he wasn't... well, COMPLETELY a dork after all. But what exactly she was talking about here, especially when it was following on discovering his troublesome nighttime problems? “You mind... telling me a little more about that? I mean, I think I-” He was silenced by the pegasus gently prodding some rubber object into his maw, her hoof gently braced onto the front of it. She wasn't cruel about it, very gentle in fact. Why should she hurt a cute little stallion like that? Wouldn't be a good thing at all!

“Ah... hang on there love.” Mint went cross-eyed looking at her hoof and what she was holding, tongue exploring the surface of the... was that a pacifier? He looked back to her face as she continued “And I mean a number of things. The first thing I want to say though... none of this happens if you're not okay with it. You want it to stop, you let me know and it stops, okay? You're a sweetheart and I don't want to hurt you. I think that you'll have your own fun with this, you'll end up enjoying yourself. But if I'm wrong, you don't... no hard feelings, right?” She let her hoof down, allowing him to empty his mouth if he so chose. It took a long moment before he replied, simply bobbing his head. It was... well, this might be getting weird, but he was just going to try to trust her now.

“Hee” She gave his belly a little prod before continuing “But for this weekend... well, I maybe got a bit inspired by that adorable foal-look that you were sporting this morning.” Her hooves squeezed around him “So how about you lay back for me, huh?” She started to pull away, watching him. He looked honestly a little conflicted, not exactly sure of himself... and then her hooves were on him again “Just... deep breaths, Minty. Listen to me, okay?” She booped his snout playfully, then his muzzle, wiggling that pacifier inside his maw “Suckle and relax. Just let Miss Bolt take care of everything~” Her tone had gradually shifted. Soft and warm... motherly, almost. Her let himself acquiesce to it, settle peacefully into things. His mare wanted to see him in diapers again... with her digging through his bags she wanted to be the one to put them onto him. Was that weird? Well, yes... that was actually kinda weird. Was he going to back out of it? The thought barely even came to his mind before it was dismissed. He was going to do as she suggested and suck on that pacifier... at least a few times. He still had that feeling of ridiculousness hanging over his head and he couldn't just shake it just like that and something that foalish wasn't helping. It was entirely possible he was overthinking it, but that was just the way of him.

“Raise your hips?” Lightning asked with that tone that suggested it wasn't a request. He had been through this routine enough along to get it, hoisting himself up to allow her to slide a thick stack below his bottom, heavily applying powder over it before setting him back down. He let out a little huffy sound when he felt just how thick it was, the pacifier finally falling out of his mouth.

“T-There's a thing called overkill y'know Lightning.” He stated half-jokingly. It wasn't like it wasn't comfortable after all and again: It was what she wanted, clearly. A hoof patted him on the head as the mare continued to powder him up, just as heavy along his groin and then trailing the substance upwards, splattering it on his belly.

“Miss Bolt for now, Minty. Little fillies are expected to be courteous.” She kept her gaze on his face, just seeing how he was reacting. Overwhelming the stallion would be a bad thing, she knew that much. But settling things like that, coinciding it with her reinforcement of the roles, she figured that should help matters. And with him nicely powdered she was free to fold the diapers upwards and pin them snugly onto his waist, giving them a little tug to make sure they were secured.

“...uh, colt?” He managed to reply, fumbling with the words. He was still a fish out of water and eager to please, but knowing all of the rules would certainly help him out quite a bit, make sure he knew how all of this was going to go. Give him an idea of what, besides her diapering him now, he could expect from this weekend. Something told him that this wouldn't be the first time she would be pinning him up all the same.

“Minty... long as we're playing pretend... just pretend, okay? You're soft and cute and I love that and you're my stud and I'll tell anypony that. But... I could tell ponies that you're my mare and they would believe it. So... how about you try and be my filly, okay?” She unfolded his plastic pants, slowly pulling them up along his hindlegs. “It's just gonna be us anyway and... well, it's something else I wanna explore with you. I think that you'll like something you get out of it.” She held a hoof up to her lips “Spoilers.”

And she was playing THAT game again. Mint stared at her open mouthed, giving his rear a shake as she pulled that crinkly garment along him, getting that oversized bulk of padding nestled inside. Another puff of his cheeks... and then a faint blush when he really thought about it. It wasn't like the mistake was never made, it wasn't like he hadn't considered the thought before. It was one of the reasons he considered himself to be so lucky to be with Lightning, his looks. He had never been with a stallion, he didn't think it would be so appealing to him. He briefly wondered if she would go that far, thought harder about how he would actually feel about that. When the time came... IF the time came, he would render a judgment then.

And during his thinking Lightning was simply settled close to him, lazily petting at his body again, trying to just comfort him while he coped. “...I'll try it, I suppose. But I'm holding you to that statement uh... Miss Bolt.” His head leaned back against her, tilting along back and forth to nuzzle into that sweet mare. Really, she was just too good for him.

“Cheekiness? Careful now Minty or I'll have to make you REALLY earn your treat.” She gently booped him on the nose and helped him to roll over onto his barrel and then up to his hooves, admiring the bow in his stance, but there was something yet missing. The mare smirked to herself and playfulled swatted against his backside, hoof brushing into the crinkly material. The impact was dulled but the strike still got him to hop forward a step or two, his trotting an awkward sashay forward that only amused Lightning even more.

“Have to hit harder than that, huh?” He teased out at her, trying to just take it easy and enjoy things better. Mint waggled his flank back towards her, adjusting for the newfound bulk that was hanging off of his rump. He wasn't sure if it was actually thicker or if her presence just made it seem thicker, made him more conscious over it. Whatever the case it wasn't anything he couldn't handle, her hoof hitting again in response to his moment of insolence.

“You want me to hit harder than that? Cheekier and cheekier, little filly.” Her hoof set down and she trotted ahead to wrap it around him instead, pulling the little stallion close to herself “But if you want to find out what a real spanking feels like, I guess we'll do that as well.” She squeezed once “whenever mommy has to change you.”

“Probably a dumb question...” Mint ventured, only to end up being cut off.

“No dumb questions right now, Minty. There's rules and nuance and I don't wanna overwhelm my poor filly too much, but I don't wanna have to punish you because of stuff you didn't know. So ask away~”

“Well the big question that comes to mind is...” Why, the question why she would do this, who would do this came to mind. But just as the question came to mind? He realized that he was actually comfortable, that she was promising this went as far as he liked. It was something that his mare was interested in and wanted to show him. She wasn't diminishing him as a stallion, she was just enjoying him as a filly. Why was an easy one and it almost felt like it would be accusatory. “Not important. Uh, the thing I WAS gonna ask. But these are more than just for nighttime, aren't they?”

“I wondered if I was going to have to tell you or not.” Her hooves dug into him again as she turned herself along to flop back-first onto the couch, Mint resting against her frontside. “And I think the answer is in the question, isn't it? Filly Minty can't go without her diapers, what if she ends up making puddles all over?” Lightning shook her head “I would have to paddle her cute little bottom red and put her in timeout.” The look on her face? Well, the word that came to Mint's mind was something like 'brat' or 'devious tease' or 'kinda hot actually.' How she was talking to him? The way that her hooves rubbed down his back again, brushed against his hips and back around towards his tail?

“I... I wouldn't leave any puddles” He huffed out at her, trying his hoof at putting on a pretty pouty face. “But I guess that we shouldn't be taking any chances if you would have to do that.” He didn't question at this point if she would actually do that, there might be a lot of things to question but her willingness to punish him like the foal he appeared to be wasn't one of them. “Do I need to know... anything else, Miss... mommy?” She had asked for the one, but then herself used another. 'Mommy' felt weird in his mouth, especially calling his girlfriend that. But then maybe he was over-analyzing? Her face looked like it brightened a little when she was called mommy at least, maybe that had been the right call.

“Nothing that you need to super-worry about right now, sweetie. Right now? Give mommy some snuggles, then we can get nestled into our pjs and get some rest. I think we're gonna make tomorrow a big day for my special little filly and she's gotta be nice and rested for it!” She buried her muzzle forward towards him to vigorously nuzzle, the zony taking but a moment before he met her efforts with his own. Snuggles? Snuggles weren't a tall order at all, he was a snuggling fiend even in his worst moods! The headspace that Lightning was trying to cultivate and the physical comfort that she had already provided, the mental comfort that this entire day had put onto him? Mint's mood didn't really get a lot better than it was right now, his pint-sized form dragged closer to hers to let his hooves knead and brushing affectionately up against her body to mirror the affections that she was lavishing onto him.

“I love you, Lightning~” He cooed out to her, just audible. “And you too, mommy.” His head tilted back down to tuck and gently lay up against her chest.

“Little stud and littler filly~” She hummed in reply. “Best thing thats happened to me by far.” She started to rub against his neck while holding him up against herself, letting the steady beating of her heart comfort the little pony. It wasn't the first time they had even been in a position like this, Mint always having some excuse to pull away. But the excuses were pulled away now to leave just this golden moment, a pretty picture perfect moment of love, albeit it with a fair amount more diapers than might be found in the usual kind of romance.

“Could get used to this” Mint mumbled quietly, steadily drifting off while basking in her soft body and tender touch.

“And this is just the start... and just one thing. Don't get too used to it, I AM gonna want my stud back~” She teased out. “No rush on it, you've got the weekend at least. Maybe a couple of nights after that if you wanna finally talk about moving in.”

“Do we need to talk about it besides that?” Mint started to raise his head to look at her with that question, but her hoof held firm. It was a welcome relief, he was comfy damnit!

“No? I don't have any reservations about it. Actually I have less than none after this. If you feel the same way? Well, we'll worry about moving stuff after the weekend is over. Thats future pony problems. Current pony problems include finishing getting you dressed for bed and getting there.” She laughed “Getting there is the big one, I really don't wanna get up.”

“Mmm” Mint simply hummed in agreement, that sound turning to a huff of displeasure as her hoof started to raise him alongside herself.

“But the bed is more comfortable for all night. Don't fuss with me too much, okay?” She smooched him on the forehead and gently nudged him ahead. His bags were scooped by a wing as they trotted by. Anything contained inside needed to be in the bedroom where it would be closer at hoof, after all. “This is really all... its all okay, right Minty? I don't want you to do this just because I want you to. I want you to want it.”

“I... its a little out there.” She had to ask that? It took him from the moment for just a moment but she was just caring for him, wasn't she? Things seemed to have moved so swiftly. “But I would say something if I didn't...” He tapped a hoof, then sucked in a breath “Stop being so silly, mommy.” Best hoof forward and caution to the wind. He scrambled onto the edge of the bed at her insistence, a hoof pressed into his cushy backside to help him up. But he was down just a moment later, the bed providing elevation to let his hindlegs drop straight into the now awaiting pair of pajama pants. It was a completeness thing for Lightning, but Mint couldn't complain about the comfort of it any more than he usually did.

“Hooves up!” She chirped out. His reply to her question? It was one of the best she could have hoped for. She would keep an eye out on him but for now it was all smooth sailing forward, as smooth sailing as the shirt that she pulled down over his upraised hooves and settled over his barrel. The cute sight in front of her? It was just too much for Lightning to bear, limbs curling around to take him for a twirl up and around and finally back onto the bed, letting him bounce once on the top of it. He watched her with a fresh huffing sound, why wasn't she following after? Her angling for her closet told him that he was being presumptuous. Obviously, he wasn't the only pony who liked a bit of nightwear to compliment their sleeping hours.

She faced away while she was getting dressed, leaving the specifics of it a mystery. And even the specifics of it? It wasn't like ponies normally wore clothes, what was it about some garments that could prove so enticing? Mint didn't always understand it but he DID enjoy it! And what Lightning actually was wearing? It was something that he liked quite a lot. For being normally bare, ponies could be so hot when parts of them were hidden, even when other parts were still shown. Shimmery see through fabric and lacy solid material hung over the mare's body, a dressing gown that was obviously meant to show and tease and entice all manner of activity. Activity that wasn't going to be happening, so why would she be dressed like that?
Lightning didn't offer any answers as she finally clambered into bed, pulling him over to resume that lounged position that they had been holding. Was it just about making a point? Showing him what he couldn't have right now? 'Devious tease' rang in his head again, settled with the anticipation that look she was sporting was already developing. She reached a hoof to the bedside table to turn off the lamp. The expected darkness of the room didn't come, a soft blue light bathing over the both of them. Mint blinked once in surprise, hooves petting down his back again. The light was enough to see, soft enough to sleep. The darkness was being kept at bay as sleep crept in on the pair of ponies basking in each others' embrace.

Author's Note

I'm not dead!
I really meant to have a chapter two up a lot earlier than its coming up. I can't promise anything, but I am hoping that I'll have yet another up sooner than nine months from now. I'm always taking critique and feedback so please do feel free and if you've bothered to wait: Thank you, thank you very much.