A Glimmer of the Past: Daddy Issues

Chapters

Guilt
Origins
Firsts
Secret's Out
Time Travel
A Second Chance
Invitation

Guilt

Starlight Glimmer sunk deeper into her bed, exhaling as she suckled from the foal bottle of apple juice that was clutched in her left hoof. She gave her back legs a little wiggle, feeling the damp diaper fastened around her waist crinkle in response. It was a bright Saturday morning, and while it was nice to spend yesterday evening and overnight foaling out, she only had a few minutes left before she had to get cleaned up and ready for today's events.

She had just about sucked the bottle dry when there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come on in." Starlight replied, knowing who it was already, and a second later, the doorknob turned, and Princess Twilight Sparkle walked in.

"Just coming to make sure that my little foal was up on time to get ready for today," Twilight began, seeing the now-empty foal bottle leave from between Starlight's lips. "But I can see you've already been to the kitchen already."

"Yep, I'm up. Just taking a few more minutes before I get cleaned up." Starlight told her mentor, blushing lightly at the cheeks. Twilight had accidentally discovered this side of her a couple of months ago, and after confiding in Princess Luna, she, Sunburst, and inadvertently Trixie, all decided to embrace this side of their friend. But Starlight didn't think she'd ever get used to Twilight talking to her in a motherly tone whenever she decided to participate.

"Starlight, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but... I mean, ever since your dad sent you that letter telling you when he was coming into town for a visit... You haven't seemed like yourself. Neither in this headspace or your normal everyday self."

With a sigh, Starlight rolled out of bed, magically sanitizing her empty foal bottle, setting it on her dresser, next to a small folded stack of three clean disposable diapers.

"I know... I know after the first weekend you decided to play with me that I said that I didn't see much of my dad growing up. But that was because... I didn't want to. After Sunburst left, he got so clingy with me, and the way he started to treat me, I'm not exaggerating when I say it was only two or three pegs away from... this." Starlight said, motioning to the diapers and bottle on the dresser as she levitated them with her magic, putting everything away in the chest in the back of her closet.

Twilight listened intently.

"The reason I was dreading the map sending me to Sire's Hollow last month was because I was afraid of returning to that, and when I got back here, I wondered if that's where this comes from. If a part of me longed for something like that... What if that's what prompted this side of me to develop? What kind of excuse would I have for telling my dad to knock it off if in the back of my mind, I loved it? How is that fair to him? How would I even explain this side of myself?"

"Well," Twilight began, not wanting to take too much of Starlight's time so she could get cleaned up. "Life isn't fair. This is a very personal side of yourself that you've decided to share with your closest friends, Starlight. But even if he's the origin point of these desires, it's not unreasonable to ask him to treat you like an adult mare unless you say otherwise. And as for showing him this side of yourself, letting him know that he may be the origin point, that is completely up to you. You've got to sift through your thoughts and make that decision on your own, whether it's on this visit or a subsequent one."

Starlight took this advice to heart. Out of the handful of ponies she had revealed her inner foal to, accidentally or otherwise, reactions had varied from shock to surprise, and to heart-melting in Trixie's case. But it was never negative. No one was ever repulsed or grossed out; the closest anypony had come to that was Spike, and even he didn't take long to say, 'You do you, Starlight'.

Starlight took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Twilight. I think I'd better get ready for today, and a shower would probably be quickest." She said, hoping Twilight wouldn't be disappointed that there wouldn't be any morning bath time.

"No worries, there's always next time." Twilight said, turning to leave. Punctuality trounced squeezing every last ounce of playtime out of a role play.

Starlight headed over to her bathroom, where she magically tore the tapes of her wet diaper, rolled it up, and deposited it into the wastebasket by the door before she turned the tub faucets to start a hot shower. She looked at herself in the mirror, letting her hair out of the twin pigtails she always wore when she was younger.

'So Starlight,' she thought to herself, 'What's it going to be?'

She stuck her front left hoof through the curtain to test the temperature of the water; she wasn't the only one who was given a bubble bath last night. Spike also took one, and she had heard rumors of what his baths did to the town's hot water supply. But she found the water just right, and so stepped into the stream, immediately getting a cloth and a bottle of coat wash to get rid of the faint smell of urine that had clung to her overnight.

'So Starlight,' she repeated over in her head, 'What's it going to be?'

She wasn't sure what she was more afraid of; her dad being repulsed at these desires of hers, her dad becoming overcome with guilt that his smothering had planted the seed of this side of her, or worst of all, that he might dive in head first and spend this visit babying her.

'Stop stressing,' she told herself. One of the benefits of ageplay was how the stress of everyday life just melted away with a foal bottle in hoof and a diaper snug around her waist. She didn't want it building back up the moment she got ready to return to her vanilla side. Those were, of course, the extreme outcomes that her nervous mind jumped to. It could of course be much more reasonable. He could see it for himself, ask some questions, and come to a more reasonable conclusion. Maybe. Hopefully.

'So Starlight, what's it going to be?'

Origins

Fresh from her shower, Starlight stood in front of her mirror and ran a brush through her mane. If her dad was as punctual as Twilight, the train from Sire's Hollow would have arrived just five minutes ago, and it was a ten minute trot to the castle. She only had a few minutes to sort through the thoughts going through her head at the moment, currently it was her dad's reasoning for treating her the way he had.

'I just know how hard things were for you when you left home. I guess I wanted you to feel safe, like... when you were young.'

Those were the base desires that her ageplay paraphernalia fulfilled. The diapers, bottle, pacifier, pigtails... They made her feel safe and cared for. Her mind started to drift back to when she first got up the nerve to go looking for supplies after her awards / graduation ceremony...

As the afternoon sun made it's way across the western sky, Starlight found herself in Silly Filly, a foal care supply store in Ponyville's marketplace. She was currently standing in aisle three, which was lined from end to end with packages of foal diapers. They ranged from newborn sizes all the way to training pull-ups, some of which looked like they would fit fillies and colts who were well into school age.

'If only they came a little bigger...'

It had only been about an hour since the awards ceremony had wrapped up at the castle; her Equestrian Pink Heart of Courage still hung around her neck. Now that she was in here, browsing the items on offer, she wondered if this jeweled medal would help her summon the courage to-

"Ah, Miss Starlight Glimmer. Good afternoon." Soothing Care, the female half of the proprietor couple that ran the store, greeted the unicorn, slightly startling her as she turned from the packages to Silly Filly's co-owner.

"H-Hello, Soothing." Starlight replied, managing to keep her composure.

"Quite a surprise seeing you in here, Starlight. Are... You expecting?" Soothing asked.

"No, no. Nothing like that."

"Foalsitting?"

"No, well..." Starlight began to stammer, getting a little flustered.

"These are just our more common sizes, Starlight," Soothing began, motioning to stack after stack of foal diapers that lined the aisle. "Do we have what you need out here, or do you need something... Bigger?"

"Well, um..." Starlight began, swallowing as her nerves started to spike. But at the same time, the end of Soothing's question seemed very sincere. She stood there expectantly as the unicorn continued to fumble with her words.

"You're my only customer right now, Miss Starlight. Do you want to just tell me what size you need?" Soothing asked, just as sincerely as last time.

Starlight quietly drew in a deep breath, touched her right hoof to her Pink Heart of Courage, and slowly let it out.

"A-Adult?" Starlight stammered out, the deep breath not helping as much as she thought it might. She was sure that her entire face was now flushed crimson.

As ridiculous as she thought that answer sounded, Soothing Care simply smiled at her.

"Right this way, Starlight." She said, turning towards the back of the store. Not even two seconds passed before Starlight, stunned yet curious, willed her hooves to follow in her steps. The duo walked through two more aisles of bottles, pacifiers, baby food, and formula, before they came to the customer service counter, with Gentle Care, Soothing's husband, running things.

"Keep an eye on things, hun. New special customer to show around." Soothing told him. Gentle gave his wife a nod and Starlight a smile as they passed by, going through a set of double swinging doors to the warehouse.

Taking in the size of the storeroom, Starlight realized the shopping area proper was maybe a third of the entire building. Boxes upon boxes of supplies sat on pallets, waiting to be unloaded when the front needed restocking. They walked passed all of these, and came to what may as well have been a second shopping area. Disposable diapers, folded and sealed cloth diapers, changing supplies, bottles, toys, and pacifiers; shelves of unboxed supplies sat on display, mirroring the customer area up front, save for one difference.

Everything was bigger. Much bigger.

Starlight's gait slowed as she came to the packages of diapers, eyeing the waist measurements, confirming they were indeed for full grown ponies. Soothing noticed that Starlight hadn't kept pace with her, and had nearly stopped to stare at the disposable garments. She quietly turned and came back to her side.

"It's always fun getting a first timer in here." She told the stunned mare, smiling at her, making her as comfortable as possible in this situation.

Starlight swallowed again.

"This... This is all so new to me... And judging by these options, I'm guessing it's not just me."

"Hardly, Miss Starlight. We get adult foals from all over town, and also out of town; farther out than you might think. Ponyville, Appleloosa... Ponies even come down from Canterlot. I'm sure there's suppliers up there, but this is smaller and more out of the way."

Starlight's eyes went down the aisle, studying the packs of diapers, all of them varying shades of blue, pink, or plain white, some with babyish patterns on the front, or all over.

"I can't believe there's enough of a market for something like this." Starlight said, slowly going down the aisle alongside Soothing.

"It's always reassuring to know you're not alone." Soothing told her, letting her take her time browsing all the options available.

"I won't have to take anything back up front, will I?" Starlight asked nervously.

"Not at all," Soothing said, shaking her head, and pointing back to the rear wall. There was another, smaller counter with a register on top. "We pack everything up into plain boxes, and you can see yourself out the back. We can even discreetly ship larger orders." She told her newest customer, this information being well-rehearsed to her by now.

Starlight was finding herself slowly less overwhelmed by her nerves, and more overwhelmed by the amount of options that were available to her on the shelves. Slowly, she took another breath, and grabbed a single pack of ten white Silly Filly Overnights, patterned with purple stars and blue moons on the front. After that, a bottle of foal powder and a small pack of wipes joined the diapers in her magical grasp. Then, she came to the pacifiers and bottles. Various jars of mashed and process food lined the other side of the aisle, and by now, Starlight could see onesies, bibs, and footed fleece pajamas an aisle down. She opted for a light lavender pacifier and a plain clear plastic bottle. Together, the two mares walked down to the service counter in the back, and she was nearly shaking as Soothing began to ring her items up. When the total came up on the register, however, she dug out her bit bag and discovered that the one thing she hadn't paid attention to during her short shopping spree was the prices. She had only packed 30 bits, and she was short by 15. She didn't have enough for everything.

Soothing saw the look of disappointment on her face, but instead of asking her what she'd like to put back, she simply pressed a few buttons on the register, and the pack of diapers was removed from the total before it was slid down the counter to join Starlight's other purchases.

"But, Soothing, you don't have to-"

Starlight was cut off as Soothing held up a hoof.

"I won't hear it, Miss Starlight. Consider it a graduation gift. If you like them, I think it's fair to say that you'll be back for more." Soothing said as she neatly arranged everything in a plain box before taping it up and sliding it across the counter to her newest customer.

"I... I don't know what to say." Starlight stammered, gathering that Gentle and Soothing had been at the castle for the party earlier today.

"Most don't on their first trip." Soothing replied with another smile, leaving the counter and opening the back door for Starlight as she slid the box onto her back for carrying back to the castle.

"Have a great day, Starlight. I hope to see you again."

*knock knock*

Starlight's ruminations were interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door, and she found herself staring at her reflection in her bathroom mirror.

"Starlight, your dad's here! Breakfast is nearly ready too!" Spike announced from the hall on the other side of her bedroom door.

"Thanks, I'll be out in a second!" She replied back, making sure her mane was presentable, then set the brush on the counter. She walked out of the bathroom, and double checked that the chest in the back corner of her closet was securely locked before heading out into the hall. As she turned to head to the foyer, the early morning bottle of apple juice was beginning to wear off, and she was looking forward to whatever breakfast Twilight had planned. When she got to the stairs, she looked down and saw that Twilight had probably just finished introducing Spike to the purple-coated unicorn stallion standing in front of them, who was currently shaking the dragon's right claw. He then looked up to see Starlight approach the stairs, and waved to her.

"There's my girl!" He greeted, coming to the base of the stairs.

Starlight gave a smile as she came down the stairs, and the duo embraced.

"Hi, dad."

Firsts

It took a considerable amount of willpower for Starlight to not head back to the castle at a full gallop. For now, she managed to keep an inconspicuous trot down Ponyville's main road, box secure in her magical grasp just above her back. Her box of... Of...

'Just say it, Starlight. Your box of diapers, pacifier, and foal bottle.' The mare thought to herself as the castle began to come into view from behind the closer buildings. It was then that she was hoping that no one would be in the main foyer. Sure, she could go in through one of the side entrances, but if someone saw her there with a box, they might go 'Why is she coming in the side with that box? Must be something in there.' If she was spotted coming through the front, it would draw far less attention. Besides, if she was lucky, they'd still be in the dining room with Pinkie's Post Party Cupcake Platters.

As luck would have it, that was exactly the case as she opened the tall double doors, stepping into the open crystal foyer. Her hooves clacked against the hard floor as she quickly made her way up the stairs. She turned right at the top of the stairs and quickly trotted down the hall to her room, the third door on the left. She opened it with the softest of creaks, and slipped inside before quietly closing the door, locking it behind her.

She looked at her newly hung mirror, decorated with pictures of her time under Twilight's tutelage, before setting the box down in the middle of the room, and sliced through the tape with a letter opener from her desk. Opening the flaps, she peered inside, and lifted out the pack of diapers first, taking them over to her bed where she sat down next to it. Taking her letter opener once more, she slid the tip along the perforated line at the top, then set it aside on her nightstand. She looked at the ten tightly packed diapers inside, and magically tugged at the one just left of center. When it came up out of the package, it began to fluff up, as did the remaining nine, having a little more room to breathe. Not content to just look at it floating in front of her, her magical aura dissipated, and it dropped into her front hooves.

It was folded in thirds, and the front landing zone was patterned with blue moons and purple stars. She unfolded it, crinkling as it went, and found two tapes on each of the rear wings and another two tapes where the very top was split to wrap around the dock, serving as a tailhole. As she continued marveling at how large and poofy it was, she knew there was one more step to getting it on with all the proper steps. She pulled the box to the foot of the bed, and pulled out the bottle of foal powder. There was a plastic seal and sticker around and on top of the twist lid. When she got those broken, pulled off, and the cap twisted open, she discovered that in her nervousness, she was gripping the bottle just a little too hard, and a cloud powder poofed up from the lid. When she got a whiff of the powder, her mind instantly snapped back to her foalhood nursery.

Unwilling to wait any longer, Starlight laid back, lifted her hindquarters up, and slipped the rear of the diaper underneath her before setting herself down on it. Then, she turned the bottle of foal powder upside down and gently shook it, sprinkling her soon-to-be-diapered area with a dusting of powder.

Then, her heart positively pounding, she brought the front of the diaper up, smoothed it against her stomach and sides, then brought the rear wings up and with the bottom tapes first, snugly fastened the garment around her waist. She gave her legs a wiggle, and couldn't believe she had actually done it. She magically reached into the box, tore open the package that contained the pacifier, and popped the nipple into her mouth, her head sinking into the pillow. Time seemed to stand still, as much as it had seemed to rewind to when she was a foal. She gave her legs a wiggle, and the diaper crinkled in return. As she closed her thighs in a failed attempt to bring her legs together, her bladder alarmed her to the call of nature.

She had just put it on, but... Could she possibly...?

"So, Princess. How did Starlight come to be your first student?"

Firelight's question brought Starlight out her thoughts once again, and she found herself staring at her near-empty plate of pancakes in the castle dining room.

"Actually, Firelight, I think that would be better coming from Starlight, and I think breakfast has already taken up enough of our time. I'll let the two of you get on with your day." Twilight said, who was the last to finish her plate. Gulping back the last of her apple juice, she levitated everypony's dishes and moved back to the kitchen with Spike to begin cleanup.

"Well, sweetheart? Your old stallion certainly wants to know how all this came to be." Firelight pressed his daughter, beginning to lean over his place at the table.

Starlight shifted uneasily in her seat.

"Well, dad... It's not the easiest thing to explain. I've had a lot on my mind lately, and I think it's something I should get off of my chest before we get into all that." Starlight replied nervously.

Seeing his daughter's expression convinced him to return to sitting up in his chair.

"Sure, sugar plum. What's up?" He asked. In return, Starlight got up from her seat.

"It'll go a lot better if I just show you. Besides, I'm sure you'd like to see my room. It's... It's not like how I left it in Sire's Hollow."

Firelight got up from his seat, and followed Starlight out of the dining room. It was a short trip back to the foyer, up the stairs, and into the east wing of the castle. They passed two doors and came to the third one on the left. She turned the knob, and walked in, beckoning her dad in after her. He took the bedroom in as she slowly made her way over to the closet in the back right corner.

"Well well, your own bathroom, quite a view from the window... Princess Twilight sure knows how to put her students up. Hey look at that... Kites were the last thing you showed an interest in before you left home."

Starlight was only half listening as she used her magic to pull the chest out from the back corner of the closet, and slid it out into the room, where it then sat between her and her dad.

"Okay... I'm just hoping you don't freak."

Firelight saw how she was nearly shaking from nervousness.

"Starlight, honey. You are my daughter, and I love you. Whatever is in that chest is never going to change that, alright?"

Starlight offered him a weak smile.

"Thanks dad. This is something I would normally keep to myself, but with how I yelled at you over how you treated me growing up... There's part of me that just feels you deserve to know..."

Taking a deep breath, she held it, unlatched the chest, and let it out as she lifted the lid open to reveal the contents within.

Secret's Out

Starlight's heart pounded as her dad took two steps forward and peered into the opened chest. He seemed to stare down at the contents for an eternity, and the heliotrope mare silently yearned for a reaction as she was nearly shivering. A few seconds passed before he looked up at her, not with shock, surprise, or disgust, but with a look of genuine, quizzical curiosity.

"Well, judging by the way you look right now, sweetheart, I certainly don't want to jump to any conclusions. But I am a bit confused; I thought you didn't like the way I treated you when you came home." Firelight finally said. Starlight took a quick, deep breath before replying.

"I know. I've had this stuff for a lot longer than that. The reason why I wanted to show you is because when I came back from Sire's Hollow, I began to wonder if the way you used to treat me was the reason why I wanted these things. I thought if I didn't show you right away and kept dancing around the possibilities in my head, that I'd start stressing out about it, and I didn't want that to ruin your visit. So... I guess you could call this a... A coping mechanism. I think when I left home, part of me subconsciously longed for the way you treated me. I wanted to feel safe and cared for. Believe me, having fantasies in my head with these things is preferable, compared to what I tried first. It... It was downright evil, and it's how I came to be Twilight's student. You deserve to know the details..."

Starlight took another breath as she slowly closed the chest and took a seat on her bed, and her father listened intently.

"When Sunburst left for Celestia's school, it devastated me. I was never the same. I was so convinced that if I ever made another friend, another cutie mark would just take them away too. I think that whole goth phase was to get my mind off of my own cutie mark."

"Yeah, the kites were the only thing that got your mind off of it." Firelight said with a slight chuckle, lightening the mood a tad.

"At first I was only jealous that Sunburst got to go to Celestia's school. Then when I left home, I started to get angry. Angry that he never said goodbye. Then I let that turn into hate. I despised cutie marks for taking my friend away from me. I spent the next couple years in libraries researching what little studies had been done around the magic of the cutie marks, and how that magic might be changed and subverted. I started searching out forgotten places that held dark magic."

Starlight took another breath, trying to gather any kind of reaction from her father, but he just looked on intently, without any looks of judgement.

"I eventually set down stakes in the mountain valleys northwest of Manehattan. A cave had gotten my attention; the depths contained magical surfaces that could hold and contain cutie mark magic when properly augmented. Soon I got my first visitor. Then a second. Then a third. As the years passed, I had founded a village in my own little corner of Equestria. I stripped each villager of their cutie mark and stored them in my enchanted vault. I thought that without cutie marks, there wouldn't be any separation, any arguments, and they would never leave me."

Tears started to prick the corners of her eyelids as she reminisced the still-sensitive subject.

"Then Princess Twilight and her friends arrived."

Starlight took a few breaths as she wiped her eyes.

"I wish I could say that's where it ended. That Twilight had a nice, civil conversation with me, convincing me of the error of my ways. But it was a bit more violent than that. They caused a revolt in the village. I slipped away while the villagers shattered the vault. After that, I spent months figuring out how to get back at her; how to take from her what she took away from me. What resulted was... Let's just say it's pretty scary what someone with my sheer abilities can do when we're set on revenge. I almost wiped out existence as we all know it. She asked what had happened to me to cause all this, I told her what had happened with Sunburst, and at the very last moment, she convinced me to try things her way."

Starlight shifted on her bed, pausing for another moment.

"So the friendship lessons began. While they were enough to keep me distracted for the time being, part of me still longed for home; for that carefree safety. When I graduated and got a medal from Celestia for bravery, I figured I should prove it to myself and dive in. So I found a local store and..."

She motioned with her hoof to the chest that sat in front of her open closet.

"...And there you have it. I figured it was far more harmless than what I tried the first time."

Starlight realized that revealing her fetish to her dad had been far, far less nerve-racking than telling him where she had been since leaving home, and that she was now having trouble meeting his gaze. He magically pulled the chair from her desk over to the bed and sat down in front of her.

"Well, you're certainly right about that. Starlight... I frequently think about how differently things would have gone if your mom survived your birth. I handled my grief being dead-set on making sure your every need was provided for. I thanked Celestia every night that Sunburst's family helped out as much as they did. I supposed they sympathized with our situation... Maybe a little too much, because they never brought up how much I was taking you over to them. I pretty much missed your entire foalhood. There are some days I'd give anything to have those days back. By the time I realized how much I had missed, you were a filly, and my smothering affection was too much, too late."

Firelight paused for a moment. "I assume you've gone and made peace with your villagers?" He asked her. She immediately nodded.

"They even invited me to a festival celebrating the village's founding. None of them left after I disappeared."

Firelight smiled at her.

"We all have our ways of dealing with our demons, hun. You saw how I tried to keep half of Sire's Hollow frozen in time to get you to come visit. So if you think I'm going to judge you for how you're choosing to slip back into the comforts of the past... Never."

Starlight's lips trembled as she leaned forward and threw her front hooves around her dad.

"Wow... Well, that's a weight off my shoulders."

"Glad to hear it, sugar plum. Now what would you like to do today?" Firelight asked, releasing his daughter from the embrace.

Part of Starlight's mind wanted to skirt passed this now that she had spilled her secret to her dad, and yet, part of her wanted to go a bit deeper, especially now that she had heard what her dad had to say.

"Actually..." She began, taking another deep breath. Wow, she was actually going to say this... She let out her breath as she raised a hoof towards the chest again.

"You said you'd give anything to return to those days. What... What if I could give you one day?"

Author's Note

Alright, I'm going to be honest.

I have no idea where to take this story.

Time Travel

'Come on, Starlight. What can possibly be so hard about this?' Starlight wondered, as she laid on her bed, fresh diaper snugly taped around her waist. She was currently trying to relieve her full bladder, but so far all it was telling her was 'Go find a bathroom, you dummy.'

Years of toilet training was stopping her from going while relaxing on her bed. So now she wondered what the next step could be. It only took a few moments to realize what she could try next. She got up from her bed, and walked towards her bathroom. The padding between her legs kept them slightly apart, almost forcing her into a waddle. It crinkled with her every step, and it was a noise she relished, making her feel younger every time she heard it.

She walked into her private bathroom, and walked over to the toilet. She turned around, spread her legs, took a deep breath, and concentrated on her bladder. After a few seconds, her bladder began to release a trickle, which quickly turned into a full stream of urine, which was caught by the waiting diaper. Her cheeks burned hot as an equally hot warmth began to spread through her diaper. After fifteen seconds, the stream began to die down, and she took another deep breath when the deed was done, realizing how swollen the disposable garment had become.

'I... I just did that. I wet myself.'

Her bladder relieved, she reached a front hoof down to the front of her diaper and gave it a soft squeeze, getting a resounding squish in return. After another breath, she looked at herself in the mirror, then began walking back to her bed, soggy diaper warm against her backside.

Now she was definitely waddling.

She plopped down on her bed and let her head sink into the pillow again, grabbing the packaged pacifier from the box and tore open the packaging and ripping the foalish object from its containment. She slipped the rubber nipple into her mouth and began to gently suckle it. While she would like to go to the kitchen and fill up that new bottle of hers, she decidedly did things out of order in her excitement. There would be no trip to the kitchen while she was wearing this decidedly wet diaper, and she was nowhere near wanting to take it off yet.

Oh well. There was always the next night...

"Are you really, really sure, Sugar Plum? I mean, you're pretty grown now. It wouldn't really be the same." Firelight answered his daughter's question with another.

Through her nervousness, Starlight managed to smile at her dad. She never really did reveal how much her magical ability had evolved.

"You won't have to worry about that." Starlight said, her horn beginning to glow, getting up and standing next to the chest.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Firelight shielded his eyes. When he lowered his foreleg, there stood his daughter, nearly five times as small; she looked like she was two. It was like looking at a living photograph from twenty years ago; she even had the pigtails she always wore her mane in. She smiled up at him, and her horn glowed again, and several items were levitated out of the chest; a fresh diaper, a bottle of foal powder, and a foal bottle; all of which had been appropriately resized to a pony her age.

"Don't worry. It's size only. I learned my lesson the first time I put a temporary block on the adult side of my mind." Starlight told her stunned father. She sounded younger, but otherwise was articulate as an adult pony.

Firelight scanned around the room again, and saw that her bed was now a crib, and her desk was now a changing table. Clearly, she was serious about going through with this. After going over the room left to right, his gaze returned back to his daughter. His horn lit up, and she found herself levitated in his magical grasp, and carried over to the changing table, where she was laid down.

"Might as well see if I remember how to do this." Firelight said, taking the changing supplies from her grasp, and unfolded the diaper. He took the rear wings, momentarily lifted Starlight's legs up, and slid it under her before setting her down on it. He took the bottle of foal powder, twisted the cap open, and turned it over to sprinkle a small dusting over her nether regions. With that task complete, he closed the cap, set it to the side, and brought the front of the diaper up and taped it snugly around her waist. The task complete, he levitated her up off the table, and set her down on his back,, popping the pacifier in her mouth.

"Alright, my little filly. What did you want to do today?" Firelight asked his daughter.

"Kites!" She exclaimed excitedly, now eager to play the part of an energetic foal. Firelight smiled at the answer, and turned to the pair of kites next to the crib, one red and one yellow. He picked them up with his magic, then made his way towards the bedroom door.

"Well, that sounds like a fantastic idea, sweetheart. I think there's plenty of room behind the castle." He told her, heading out into the hallway at a trot. He didn't get far before he had to slow down for a moment.

"I think my little filly is going to have to tell me how to get to the back door. This is your daddy's first time in this castle." Firelight told her, his dialogue also starting to slip more into his role.

"Just keep going, daddy. It curves to the left, and you'll come to some stairs and double doors."

"Got it loud and clear, sugar plum." Firelight said, and with that, the father-daughter pair was on their way, kites floating just behind them. They passed a dozen more doors as the second floor east wing curved around to the rear of the castle. Just as Starlight had said, they came to a small staircase and a set of double doors, much smaller than the front doors. The castle's back lawn stretched out to the rolling hills north of Ponyville. Silhouettes off distant farms on the hills could be made out, and on a clear day such as today, you could see Canterlot up on the mountain.

"Alright, sweetheart. Let's fly some kites."

It was four hours before Twilight completed her morning routine, and had time to get herself some lunch. She and Spike walked through the dining room doors, and found Firelight there already, with his daughter aged down, sitting in a high chair.

"Here comes the magic spell..." He said, magically flying a spoonful of applesauce down to her mouth.

"Well, I can only guess that that conversation went smoothly enough." Spike commented on the display as they passed by on their way to the kitchen.

"Looks like it." Twilight replied, getting out Spike's stash of turquoise while she began preparing a hayburger.

"Can't believe she had the guts to tell her dad about that." The dragon added.

"She had good reasons, and I guess he understood them."

Her hayburger complete, Twilight and Spike went out and sat across from Starlight and Firelight at the round dining table.

"Firelight, would you like something to eat?" Twilight asked, noticing that he had only the bowl of applesauce he was feeding to Starlight.

"No thanks, Princess. I had a quick bite in the kitchen while I was getting the applesauce ready." Firelight replied, as he ran the tip of the spoon across Starlight's chin to scoop up what had dribbled out of Starlight's mouth.

After that, he scraped the bottom of the bowl to get one more bite, then levitated her out of the chair.

"Alright, let's get this washed, then I think my stinky little girl needs a change."

A Second Chance

Starlight awoke to a cold, clammy feeling wrapped around her nether region. As she began to recall the events of last night, she immediately fired up her horn and cast non nidore across her bedroom, negating any lingering scent of urine that may have started to waft overnight.

With that problem solved, her eyes fell to her sheets, where she found her pacifier resting next to her pillow. She had hoped that it would stay put between her lips as she slept, but that was probably hoping for too much. She also saw how the box she had come home with was still open and out in the middle of her bedroom floor. Apparently she had fallen asleep before getting up to put everything away. With her magic, she scooted the box over to her closet, and opened her chest that sat in the back corner. It was currently empty. Using her magic, she pulled out the rest of the diapers from the pack and stacked them neatly in the corner of the chest, setting the powder and wipes next to them; things she wouldn't be needing because she was planning on showering before getting started with her day.

Setting the pacifier and bottle in the chest last of all, her little stash was complete. She closed the chest, locked it, and slid it to the back left corner of the closet. Now it was time to get on with her day, and the first step for that was to get cleaned up. As she walked over to her bathroom, her bowels began to signal for release. It only surprised her for a moment, as this was usually part of her morning routine.

It only took a few moments more for her to consider the wet diaper taped around her waist.

Should... Should she find out what that felt like too?

It only took a few moments for her to come to the conclusion that there wouldn't be any harm in it. She'd be cleaned up in about ten minutes, regardless.

She stepped into her bathroom and shut the door. The pressure started to slowly increase. It was probably going to be easiest if she repeated last night's method, and went over the toilet. Just like last night, years of toilet training initially resisted her intent, but as she slowly bent over, her bowels ultimately decided to disregard the crinkling garment wrapped around her waist, and gave way as she pushed.

For the first split-second, Starlight was startled. It was hot, almost too hot at first. But it quickly spread across the seat of her already wet diaper, and subsided to merely 'warm' as her face began to burn hot at her deed. As she pushed a second time, the rug under her right hoof began to slide under her weight across the tile, she lost her footing, and her diaper was sandwiched between the front of the toilet seat and her flanks as she continued to fill it. In her brief scramble to regain her balance, she scooted herself forward a few inches, getting her diaper off of the toilet seat before flopping down on the tile floor.

Then the smell reached her nostrils.

She lit her horn up and performed two spells. Another casting of non nidore, this time for the bathroom, and then a simple iaculis for the shower faucet.

So as her shower began to warm up, for now she was content to lay on her bathroom floor in front of the toilet, like a helpless, stinky filly who didn't make it time...

'Doesn't look like you're ready for training just yet, Starlight...' The disembodied parental voice in her head scolded her...

As Luna's moon began to ascend over the night sky, Twilight made her way down the east wing of the castle to show Firelight to his guestroom for the night. She didn't have to look far, as she spotted him coming out of Starlight's room with a nearly empty bottle of milk in the grasp of his magic.

"So things went well today?" Twilight asked after Firelight had softly closed the door to Starlight's room.

"I won't pretend to completely understand what she gets out of it, but... I missed entirely too many of those days when she was growing up. To have another chance at it is... A gift beyond words, even if it is just for a day." Firelight replied.

Twilight smiled at the unicorn stallion as they made their way down to the closest guest bedroom.

"With everything she had in there, I'm surprised she didn't have a baby monitor set up." Firelight told her as they entered the bedroom.

"Her spells usually wear off overnight. Come morning, her and everything in her room will be back to normal, and normal size."

"So, does she always make herself smaller like that?" Firelight asked.

"Not always. It depends on if anypony is playing along with her. On the days she goes it alone, she usually keeps everything adult sized." Twilight answered as they made their way down to the closest guest bedroom.

Twilight was careful and selective with her answers. She wasn't sure what information Starlight had divulged to her dad, and she didn't want to accidentally reveal parts that she perhaps wanted to keep secret.

Like how a lot of the time she would purposefully be a brat to the point where she'd get a spanking and sent to the corner for timeout. Twilight sometimes found herself wondering who it happened more often with; herself or Trixie.

Twilight opened the door for Firelight to walk through. Everything seemed to be in order, so she turned to head back out to the hall, towards her own room.

"Princess?" He called, as he began to lift the sheets.

"Hm?" She asked, turning back to face him.

"For how little I understand it, nevertheless I'm very glad that she has you and her friends to help her accept and embrace this side of herself."

Invitation

Starlight awoke in her bed, pacifier once again on the sheets next to her pillow. Rubbing her eyes, she saw that her spell had successfully reverted, and everything was back to their regular sizes. Her crib had reverted to a full size bed, her changing table had returned to her desk and chair, and the diaper around her waist was much bigger and thicker... And quite wet.

She rolled out of bed and plopped her hooves on the floor, tearing the tapes of her diaper with her magic as she headed for her bathroom.

Quite accustomed to this routine by now, she peeled the wet diaper away from her waist, rolled it up, and dropped it into her enchanted, smell-neutralizing trash can next to the sink as she magically turned on her shower. As she stepped into the warm stream of water, her mind drifted back to the previous 24 hours.

It was as nostalgic for her as it must have been for him, of course. The kites, playing, feeding, changing... Things she remembered far more often with Sunburst and his family. Yesterday's spell didn't include mind regression, nor did she include the temporary memory block. She didn't want to risk being a badly behaved brat on his only day here. That mischievous side of her was reserved more for Trixie and Twilight, anyways.

Showering up didn't take long, and a few minutes later, she stepped out onto the bathroom rug, dripping wet, and grabbed a towel. Now that she was dry and her mane smelled of lavender shampoo, she was ready for breakfast. she began to put her things away in the chest, and went for the pacifier last of all, next to her pillow, and caught a glance at the clock on her nightstand, and saw that it was 7:45.

"Oh no, dad's train!" She exclaimed, realizing that she had overslept by a half hour.

Her coat and mane clean and smelling of lavender shampoo, she burst out into the hall and galloped out to the foyer and raced down the stairs towards the dining room. She came through the double doors to the dining room with a yawn, and saw the late stages of a pancake breakfast.

"Hey there, Sugar Plum. Sorry to say I fell back on instinct and didn't wake a sleeping baby. I really hate to eat and run, but the train to Sire's Hollow leaves in ten minutes." Firelight apologized.

"Don't worry about it, dad. I'm glad we had a day together. It's not your fault that I overslept. At the very least, I can walk you to the platform." Starlight replied, quickly rolling up a pancake, rolled it around in maple syrup, and quickly swallowed it, before walking out to the foyer and outside with her dad.

"So did you have a good time yesterday?" Firelight asked his daughter as they walked side by side.

"Oh, absolutely. It meant so much to me that you were so accepting of... This side of me."

"Like I said, we all have different coping mechanisms, yours is quite harmless when you think about it, and it seems your friends have accepted it, so lucky you."

"Speaking of coping mechanisms, how is the Sire's Hollow Preservation Society?" Starlight asked teasingly.

"I had it dissolved when it became obvious that no one was really interested in the upkeep. Same with Stellar Flare; shop owners are free to maintain or upgrade as they see fit. It didn't take her long to take down that greeting speaker." Firelight responded, getting a chuckle out of Starlight.

They heard the approaching train whistle before they were even at the platform, and upon arriving, it had come to a halt and the brakes steamed with a hiss.

"I hope you had a great time too." Starlight told her dad, coming in for a hug, which Firelight immediately returned.

"It obviously wasn't what I was expecting when I arrived, but yes. More than you know."

"All aboard!" The conductor called.

"See you soon, sweetheart." Firelight told her, coming in for one last hug, and then turned and boarded the train. They both waved goodbye to each other through the window as he found his seat.

As the train departed and Starlight left the platform heading back to the castle, she mentally kicked herself for not resetting her alarm when she got up yesterday morning; a pancake breakfast would have been a great way to say goodbye. Instead, the final note to her dad's visit felt entirely too familiar to her childhood; him leaving for a job with barely any time for a meal or conversation.

On her walk back, she flirted with the idea of grabbing a quick bite to eat, as the single pancake really wasn't enough of a meal; she decided against it, opting to either finish off what was left of the breakfast in the dining room, or make something fresh in the kitchen.

Arriving back in the dining room, she passed Twilight, who had just finished clearing the table.

"Hey Starlight. There's more pancake mix in the cupboard if you want to whip up your own pancakes. And, here. Your dad wasn't sure if you were going to get up in time to see him to the train, so he left me this to give to you." Twilight told her, magically floating a folded piece of parchment over to her student.

"Thanks, Twilight." Starlight responded, accepting the letter and headed back to the kitchen to start her own breakfast. Before she got started, she unfolded the letter, and read silently.

My dearest Starlight,

I wanted to thank you for sharing that side of yourself with your old stallion. It took me back in ways you can't imagine. I missed so many of those days, and it was amazing that I could get a second chance at one of them. I hope it was everything you were wanting as well.

In case you didn't quite have enough, or if you want a change of atmosphere from the castle, Twilight tells me the next extended holiday from school is the weekend after next. If you want to come down for a visit home again, please let me know, I'd love to have you. You don't have to worry about bringing anything from your chest, either.

Love,
Dad

Author's Note

Honestly, I'm not sure whether I want to end it here or not. The sliver of ideas I've got for Starlight in Sire's Hollow aren't really enough to warrant a third story (and that's coming from a guy who's been posting sub-10k word stories for awhile now), nor am I currently confident that events in Sire's Hollow wouldn't mirror events in Ponyville.

With the school year having begun, work has gotten busier, and sometimes writing isn't always the first thing I do to unwind some nights.

Regardless of what I eventually decide to do, thanks for reading!

-Miles