The sun shone through the window curtains. The light was briefly rendered unbearable through Mind’s gaping pupils. His diaper gave way to many crinkles underneath his hoofed sleeper in his post-waking loafing. His lips remained wrapped around a silicone nipple, which he rediscovered upon an instinctive suckle toward it. He was surprised the pacifier was consistently staying in his mouth at night. Beside him was his plush peacock, Polymo, which he made a grab for and hugged tightly. He then started to feel his diaper warm up drastically. It soaked and soaked, and soon his diaper was squishing in tandem with its crinkles.

Truly, all the warmth was welcome to help his heart stave off the teeth-chattering chills of guilt; guilt for things he couldn’t even remember. A stream of light graced the nursery as the door creaked open, but couldn’t grace his heart.

"Good morning, my darling~" Mantra said cheerfully. As she walked toward the crib, the pacifier clip on his sleeper was rendered helpless to her glowing horn as it detached from his pacifier and levitated away from her charge, the lowering drop side followed. "Today's a special day." His soaked soaked diaper underneath was revealed by a parting zipper. The sleeper lay like a husked chrysalis in the crib as its caterpillar was taken to the changing table. Mind wished Mantra good morning, then felt the guard of the pacifier gently press firmer on his lips. "Just focus on that, little one." And on her whim, Mind blessed her ears with garbled giggling and quiet suckling. The stallion watched his sodden diaper come undone before the mare, and then his hind legs raise as his hooves were shrouded in her magenta light.

Smack! Mind clenched his teeth on the silicone nippple to suppress the sting of the hairbrush savagely striking his plot.

"Good boys need spanking too." She said. The usual one hundred strikes was over rather quickly and without tears. No doubt, Mind's rear was probably severely reddened. A hoof reached down with a wet freezing touch before his cream-covered rear end was wrapped up into a fresh thick diaper, all in good faith that it would all make up for the pain.

Mantra originally had planned to have him try the new flavors she bought the other day, but she stuck with carrots for breakfast once more, given the surprise she had planned for him. The situation made taking steps take precedence over taking leaps. The doorbell rang promptly after his usual morning ritual.

"Oh goody~" Mantra brightly said. Mind watched himself be levitated out of the high chair and set to his hooves beside her. “Let’s go, sweetie.”

Mind followed his master obediently through the living room, then into the foyer. On the voyage, he found his crooked gait more bearable. The knob on the front door radiated a dark pink light as it slowly swung open. A white half-pouting pegasus stood at the doorstep. Beside him stood a unicorn with a cobalt coat, azure mane, and hot pink eyes. His flanks each borne a mark depicting a hollow tree. He wore a courteous smile as Mantra remarked that it was good to see both of them again.

"It’s good to see you too, Mantra." The cobalt-coated stallion replied. "Snowy, what would you like to say?" The pegasus’ lips parted to briefly reveal his gritting teeth. On his command, and with a prideful swallow, Snowy gave both Mantra and Mind an apology. No, it was more like a performance, like he was a kid who didn't know what he was saying sorry for.

Tension yanked and pulled at Mind with the clipping of hooves along the floor. Snowy’s eyebrows may as well be furled and his nostrils flaring, his act so poorly veiled. The cobalt-coated stallion’s horn glowed with an aura remarkably resemblant to Mantra’s, and lifted a thick fluffy diaper and a blue mat out of the blue bag slung around his side, then Snowy's name was called.

"Aw, really?" The pegasus whined.

"Yes, Snowy."

"But in front of-"

"You know Mantra's house rule: Little ones have to be padded always." On his whim and with a sigh, Snowy lay on his back on top of the freshly lay changing mat and spread his hind legs, preparing himself for his caregiver to inevitably diaper him. His front hooves were folded during the routine.

As much as curiosity piqued at Mind, giving him wonder as to what the diapering process looked like from the outside, the tension he felt urged him to give Snowy and his daddy due privacy, but his gaze was fighting a magnetic pull.

“Mind, diaper check~” Mantra sat on the couch smiling at him. Her command forced the red-maned stallion to waddle past Snowy’s preparations, failing to uphold the internal promise he made to himself. “Turn around~” And then Mind was left with no other choice of viewing pleasure, all while a hoof and magic played at his crinkling pant. “Nice and dry, just a little bunched, let me fix that~” Mind felt his diaper adjust and be rendered a tad fluffier. “Sit~”

A hairbrush danced through Mind’s mane almost as gentle as a breeze. He had a front row seat to Snowy’s daddy reciprocating Mantra’s diapering routine almost to the letter. His gentle hooves massaged foal powder into Snowy’s sensitive spots, then his magenta aura pulled the front of the pant over his charge’s groin and secured it in place with the loud ream of the tapes. The diaper complemented Snowy’s white coat with a light blue core and white snowflakes lining down the groin from front to back. The stallion leaning before him gave him a kiss on the forehead and proclaimed that he was ready for the day.

"Be a good boy for daddy. Make sure you're both down for a nap at noon, no going to the upper floor of the mansion, no going outside, and be nice to Mind."

"Yes, Daddy." Snowy replied. The blue diaper bag was slung off his side and lowered to the floor beside the pegasus, who rifled through it as Mantra gave Mind a kiss on his forehead and urged him to be good as well. "Hey, where's my 3DS?"

"Oh, you're still grounded." He said in a tone that could make one's hairs stand on end. Mantra's dominance was one thing, but Mind could tell this stallion was naturally introverted, apprehensive, and shy, all of which seemed to vanish from his personality in an instant. "If you do a good job babysitting, I'll shorten your grounding." Snowy huffed and acknowledged what he said, causing Mantra's eyes to turn scarlet very briefly, but a deep breath helped them to default back to their usual marigold. The two "grown-ups" then trotted out of the living room, and the closing front doors echoed through the foyer.

A blue-diapered butt crinkled as Snowy sat his padded self on the floor in front of the screen with a sippy cup full of apple juice cusped between his hooves. He was determined to binge watch something on the DVR to pass the time. He had to stick with shows for kids to avoid Mantra finding out he watched anything mature; luckily he didn't have a problem with that due to his preference to girly horse shows.

"When this is over, you're going to tell my daddy you had a fun day."

"Why are you mad at me?"

"’Mad’? ‘Mad’ is the mildest way you can put it."

"Snowy, I really don’t know why. I only know that you're mad at me for something I did, and I can't remember what it is." Light astonishment at having his thoughts directly answered, as opposed to what he said, showed faintly in Snowy’s eyes and in his hesitation.

"Horseshit!" Snowy said, shaking his head.

"I really don't remember, Snowy!" He knew Mind too well, as well as the tone of a pony that was practically begging to be believed. However, he couldn’t suspend his disbelief, despite his better judgment. A confliction the red-maned pony beside him felt; a confliction that spread like a wildfire to engulf common sense. Snowy had to collect himself with a few sips before responding. The apple juice rinsed his tongue and quenched his throat, then he gave a heavy sigh.

"You really don't remember?"

"I mean, I know I hurt others."

"Again, you’re putting it in the mildest way possible."

"What exactly happened, Snowy?” Mind’s voice grew firmer. “Why am I here?"

"Uhm… I'm not allowed to tell you. Daddy threatened to ground me forever if I did… And he said that talking about it will make you feel worse. So let's just watch some cartoons."

"But Snowy-" A pacifier was quickly plopped into Mind’s mouth, stifling him.

"No more talking. Cartoon time, little baby." Snowy snidely remarked.

"I just want us to be friends again." The pacifier held a good effort to keep Mind’s words lisped. Snowy opened his mouth, only for it to give in to a sigh in hesitation of finding the right words right away.

"I really don’t think I can; you did something completely unforgivable."

"But friends forgive each other."

"Not when one friend rapes the other!" His voice rattled the walls of the nearby foyer and the fire in his conscience spread into his pool blue eyes. "That's right! RAPE! And you want to know the worst part, Mind? You were one of my best friends! You were my best friend and you raped me! You committed a betrayal that hurt worse than anything I've ever felt before!" Mind couldn't even give him a response other than his incredulous stare. "And… There's no forgiving that… I mean, it wasn't sexual by any means, but it sure wasn't figurative." Snowy’s eyebrows remained furled even after breaking eye contact with Mind and sitting down next to him, hoping his favorite show would douse his blazing anguish.

Mind collapsed over onto his side, facing away from the pegasus. Trying to truly comprehend what Snowy was saying, he lay still with tears streaming across his face. All that broke the silence were tenor and falsetto voices holding enthusiastic conversations and heavy breaths that served to mask sniffling.

For two weeks, Mind was a baby under Mantra's watchful care. He was finally out of her sight for once, yet he missed her terribly. The last one who seemed to actually care for him. He didn't remember having many other friends besides Snowy, but they most certainly wouldn't forgive him if Snowy, of all ponies, didn't. Even with his best friend beside him, he was truly alone. Even if Mantra were to return in that instant, he’d be truly alone.

Confliction took its relentless grasp over Snowy. A grasp that forced him to question right from wrong; something the pegasus only faced in the vain of his pride.

"Damn you, Mantra! She did this all on purpose. Here I am alone with Mind, and I can't even do anything to him! But… Even if I could make him pay for it, would it be right? My head says 'yes', but my heart says 'no'… My stupid heart is right; he's not the same Mind who hurt me. I should give him another chance. I want to give him another chance… But I don't think I can even look at him without cringing; if I look at his face, I'll be reminded of everything he did."

“Friendship can’t be learned overnight. Enroll your colts and fillies in Friendship School today~ Take the reins on the well upbringing of your children, and make sure-” Snowy shook his head at himself, taking his hoof off the remote.

"Hey Mind, look,” the pegasus said, placing his hoof gently on his sulking playmate, “maybe I can give you a chance to set things right." Mind only lay stiff in response. "Hey, look at me, Mind. Sit up and look at me." Reluctantly, Mind obeyed and gazed up at Snowy with watery eyes, his bloodshot sclera contrasting with his red irises. Snowy found his face easier to look at with a pacifier in his mouth and his eyes beaming innocence. "A couple of ground rules first. One - The past few minutes never happened. From now on we're going to have fun." Mind looked downward still sniffling. "Two - You're going to tell Mantra and my daddy that we had fun every time we hang out- Mind, please listen to me." Snowy's hoof tilted Mind's chin up to match his gaze. "I want to be friends again, but it's not as easy as that. You have a lot to make up for."

Mind leapt in and embraced Snowy in a hug. Snowy grit his teeth and furled his brows, preparing to throw him off. His hooves and reactionary impulses were stayed by thought; thought that transcended common understanding and came from his icy heart, not his mind. A faint carpeted thud gave way to a clatter of plastic.

"I'm so sorry, Snowy! You know I'd never want to hurt you. I can't even imagine myself being driven to do that." Mind continued to cry, Snowy's hooves still up in the air. "I'll do anything to make it up to you. You don’t even have to talk to me the whole time and I’ll tell them we had a good day. You can even hit me if you want."

Snowy slowly closed his hooves around him.

"You'll make it up to me, but not in petty ways like that." Gently pushing him away, Snowy reached for the fallen pacifier and wiped it free of the couple of carpet fibers. "If you're willing to do anything for me, then listen carefully." Making certain his gaze grasped Mind’s full attention, he repeated his first two ground rules, then popped the pacifier back into Mind's mouth. "Three, only I’m allowed to take this pacifier out of your mouth.” The blue pacifier’s guard stuck to Mind’s lips as it weaved forward and back. “Four, you're going to listen to everything else I say and be a good little baby."

Mind nodded in response, firmly acknowledging every single one of Snowy’s rules. The pegasus lifted his crinkling rear and made his way out of the living room with an askew gait. The red-maned pony waited patiently for his babysitter’s return. Shadows were cast in his thoughts. They enthralled him to the point where he could only think of what he could have possibly done, saved for one glancing thought: The still image of the Friendship School commercial left a familiarly bitter taste in his mouth.

Snowy returned with a bottle filled with apple juice and helped it find a place between Mind’s hooves. The plop of the silicone nipple pierced the air and the pacifier was set aside.

"Go ahead." Snowy said with a faint nod. In unison, bottoms were titled up, and the sweet golden liquid commemorated a new beginning. "Drink up, you baby." Snowy said breaking out a smirk almost involuntarily.

Snowy, to his surprise, rebuilt their burned bridge rather easily and had a good time playing with Mind. It was as if their tiff never happened. The screen was now black and Snowy sought entertainment through feeding a bead along the bead maze tracks.

"Just so you know, I'm playing with this because I'm grounded and bored. Not because I'm a baby like you."

"Whatever you want to tell yourself, you soaked baby." Mind replied with thick lisping. The pegasus looked down at his own padding; the snowflakes were washed away completely and the pant wore a thin yellow tint. Despite wearing a flush that contrasted perfectly with his blue eyes and white coat, he smiled confidently.

"Hey, I'm not a baby, just a potty-pants."

"To-may-toe to-mah-toe." The snarky pony replied while rolling his eyes. Snowy closed the short distance between the two with a crawl and gently pushed Mind onto his back. His hoof pressed into the groin of a diaper as equally as tinted as his own. Mind’s face flushed a hot pink, not expecting Snowy to prod at such a tender area and feeling the warm pant press against him, hearing the squishy crinkle accompanying it.

"Tsk tsk~ Soaked~ Just like a baby~"

"Hey, you gave me two bottles of apple juice." Mind defensively replied.

"Bottles are for babies. Time for a change. Wait right here"

Mind's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed even brighter. The pegasus galloped away, leaving his red-maned friend with his soggy plot planted to the floor. With the notion of Snowy changing his diaper in his head, a warm stream started to soak his padding even more, as if his sensitive diaper-trained bladder itself was overwhelmed by the very idea.

Snowy returned before Mind could calm his inner thoughts. Mind wanted to believe this would be the first time he would have his diaper changed by Snowy, but was it really? Did it even matter?

"Lift your plot." Mind obeyed, allowing the pegasus to slide a freshly unfolded diaper underneath his rump, which was then rested upon it. With loud rips, tapes were unfastened and the soggy diaper was opened. "Lift." Upon further obedience, the heavy pant was slid out from underneath, and he settled into the fresh one once more with a bare plot. Slight hesitation struck Snowy, but the apprehension was quickly shaken and he started to apply foal powder to Mind's area, his plot still plastered pink from the thousands of spanks he received from Mantra. The pant hugged Mind’s groin and the tapes were reamed over the landing zones. Snowy’s hoof gave Mind’s fluffy rump a few pats. "All done. A fresh diaper for the little baby."

"Thanks, buddy." Mind replied while giggling. He was surprised at how amused he was by this. The pegasus gave a shrug.

"It's a babysitter's job. That's what my daddy told me."

"Are you trying to be a good boy for your daddy?" Mind said with a grin behind his pacifier.

"I will slap you." The two had a good laugh together before Mind continued.

"Did you need a change, too?" A genuine question from the red-maned pony; no condescending hint in his voice at all.

"Oh please, you’re too little for that," Snowy said, "you can't even change your own diapers." Snowy broke into a yawn nearing the end of his sentence. He then rubbed his eye and gave out a very heavy sigh.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Snowy said as he yawned once more, "I just got tired for some reason, what time is it?"

"Nap time?"

"No. I'm in charge; no naps." Snowy then took a look at the clock, both its hands reaching high. "I'm not tired, but noon is usually when Daddy puts me down for a nap. I guess I'm just so used to the sleep schedule."

"So… Nap time?" Mind said with a yawn trailing off his sentences as well. "Oh no, it's contagious~"

"You're tired because you're a baby." Snowy then lay himself down on the floor. "No nap today. I'm just going to rest for a bit." The pegasus lay on his side and felt his body relax itself, and as his eyes closed slowly, so too did his mind. His snores quickly filled the air. Mind lay himself down next to him in a parallel fashion and accepted the calling of nap time.

"This is so gross. Is this all you've been eating? I can't believe Mantra gets joy out of this." His hooves parted the jars and boxes in the pantry, finding only the Foal-At-Heart food pouches appropriate for his friend to eat. Appropriate only for Mantra’s preferences, that is.

"Yeah, I've been eating that stuff since I got here."

"Well, looks like it might be what you're getting now. I don't want to get in trouble trying to feed you something else." Snowy approached Mind, carrying a pouch of mushy Foal-At-Heart carrots with him. Mind completely understood his situation, and made himself comfortable in his highchair to endure yet another bowl of the mush while Snowy helped himself to a cold cup of chocolate pudding. The pegasus’ tongue stuck out as a bragging right to his friend.

Snowy spent the rest of the day encouraging Mind to play with his baby toys, which the pegasus took amusement out of watching, which was surprising to him. It wasn't until late afternoon the "adults" returned. Smiles spread cheek to cheek at the endearing sight of their two little ones playing together, having so quickly made up. The two were showered with affection and pets by their charges.

"Did you have a fun day with Mind, Snowy?" The cobalt-coated unicorn asked.

"Yes, Daddy~"

"Good! You may come play with him again." In response to that, Mind embraced Snowy in a hug and a cheer. "After you're ungrounded. Now, lay down so we can get you changed and head back home." Snowy’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a fierce pink.

"But Daddy, not in front of-"

"Do you really want diaper rash again? Changing time. Now." He said, his voice growing firmer as he continued to speak. On his command, Snowy lay back-flat on the floor and spread his hind legs; giving his daddy access to his diaper. "Oh geez, look at this. You've been playing around in this for a while, my little potty-pants."

Mind watched the ordeal the entire time: He started with the tapes, ripping them off loudly, then slid out the soaked garment from underneath Snowy's plot. Snowy was startled as a cold foal wipe ran around his area, but the assiduous touch from his daddy calmed him down. After the purifying strokes of the wipes cleansed his groin and rump, a fresh matching poofy garment slid underneath him and the scent of foal powder graced the air. The diaper was then closed; taped securely and snuggly at his waist, and the back tape was secured around his tail comfortably.

The crinkles from his new diaper made his ears twitch, and he seemed to feel so pleased to have a fresh diaper put on him. The feeling of having a reliable new pamper to wet in and the love his daddy put into it ebbed into his heart, helping him feel in his place as a little. His daddy gave him a kiss on his cheek, and Snowy returned it with a heartwarming smile.

Mind and Snowy exchanged one last hug before the caretaker and his charge started clipping their hooves along the path around the fountain and past the gate.

Author's Note

There's a lot I want to say about this chapter, but I need to save it for when I make my series of retrospective blog entries, which I will be doing once I've completed the story.

SnowBlitz belongs to Thunderchaser23