Author's Note

CHAPTER. Yay. Tension was killer in this one. I enjoyed it.

The end surprised me. I wasn't expecting that. But it happened. I'm just rolling with it.

Enjoy!

Decisions

A hush fell over the room. Especially from the three big sisters in the room. Rarity’s eyes widened to the side of platters as she saw her sister. Applejack looked incredibly calm for what had just transpired. And Rainbow Dash… Well… Her heart sank into her stomach. The fears that she had about being judged came back tenfold, only this time it was worse. This was her little sister, the one who looked up to her, and now she might not ever see her the same again.

Rarity spoke up. “Sweetie Belle, darling, whatever are you doing here?”

“Mom sent a scroll, and I invited the other Crusaders.” She said.

“YOU DID WHAT?!?!” Rarity and Rainbow exclaimed together.

Cookie had the decency look a little ashamed. “I thought you might like to play with your sister.”

“Mother you promised that no pony else would see this but the girls and their mothers!”

“Your sister is a part of this family. And you know that we don’t keep secrets in this family.” Cookie said firmly.

“But-“

“The only butt I want to see is yours turned around and being respectful to me and your sister.”

Rarity scowled, but the way she was dressed just made her look like a three year old foal having a good pout over ice cream.

Scootaloo went over to her “big” sister and asked the question on each of the Crusaders’ minds. “So Rainbow Dash… What’s um, what’s with the diaper?”

Rainbow looked down at her, and blinked twice. She tried to fight off her little headspace and be big again, but trying to do so was just giving her a headache. She glanced up to her mother, who seemed to appear next to her out of nowhere. Communication passed between them, and Windy nodded. She explained what had happened between her husband, herself, and her daughter all those months ago. When it was done, Scootaloo looked to Rainbow Dash.

“So… You like acting like a baby?” It wasn’t accusatory or judgmental, just curious.

More uncertain than ever, she nodded. A few seconds of tension passed. Then: “That’s kind of cool.”

Rainbow blinked. “Huh?”

“You don’t care about what other ponies think and are just being yourself. That’s pretty awesome if you ask me.”

For a second, Rainbow paused her big side took over. “Really?”

“Mhm!” Scootaloo nodded. Rainbow hugged Scootaloo happily.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked up at their older sisters.

“So if this all started with Rainbow Dash, why’re y’all here?” Asked Apple Bloom.

“Well sugarcube, we all found out about this on accident, and after a bit of thinkin’, we decided to join in.” Applejack said.

“So, how are you liking it?” That was Sweetie Belle.

“Er… Well… It’s… Interesting.” Rarity said. Even though she said that, she knew it was a lie. Although she didn’t want to admit it, she was enjoying this. To let go like this in some place other than a spa was, for her, nearly impossible. But she could never admit it aloud, despite herself.

Sweetie Belle seemed to accept the answer. Apple Bloom looked to her sister for an answer to the same answer.

“I admit, Apple Bloom, this was somethin’ I never thought I’d try, but it turned out to be not half bad. It was kinda nice to bond with Ma.” She said.

The Crusaders took a moment to group together. They whispered to one another. Then, with a simultaneous nod, they all broke apart. They went up to their three older siblings, and then took turns speaking.

“So,” Began Apple Bloom, “We know you weren’t expectin’ us.”

“But we were wondering, if you didn’t mind, of course,” Continued Sweetie Belle.

“Could we join in?” Scootaloo asked.

The three older siblings looked at each other, then two heads turned to Rainbow Dash. Really, it was all up to her. This playdate had been intended to be for her, after all. Rainbow Dash barely needed a second to consider. She knew what she wanted. She looked over to Applejack and Rarity. Applejack nodded, and Rarity shrugged. Rainbow nodded. Then she looked at the Crusaders.

“Come pway!” She cheered.

The Crusaders cheered. Their mothers, and Scootaloo’s honorary mother for the day, were quick to get them diapered.

When everything was done, The three jumped at the chance to play with their siblings. Applejack and Apple Bloom began a playful Romp, not unlike the one Pinkie Pie she had been in earlier. Then, Rarity and Sweetie Belle began to play a board game. That left Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. And for a few minutes, neither one did a thing. Then, Rainbow picked Scootaloo up and made her fly on her own hooves. Scootaloo giggled. It was a little infantile, but hey, she was wearing a diaper. It couldn’t get much more infantile than that.

Meanwhile, Rarity was deep in thought as she played Sweetie Belle. Although she knew her sister and mother were expecting her to enjoy the game, she couldn't help thinking about what she had just seen. When she had first happened upon this secret she couldn't process what she was seeing. There wasn't any way to rationalize or explain it away. So her mind had stayed in shock the entire time. After getting into it more herself, and seeing Sweetie Belle accept it, she was able to think about things a little more easily. Seeing Sweetie accept it, when she was much closer to the size of a normal baby, made it much easier to accept. Finally she had been able to really understand the situation and move past it. Now, doing this made her wonder something completely unexpected: was she missing out on something? She thought about the peaceful look on Dashie’s face as she fell asleep and how much more joyful she had been in the months leading up to this experience. Maybe there was something to this idea.

The rest of the game went by at a snails pace after that for Rarity. She was anxiously awaiting its end so that she could go and talk to her mother about these strange feelings and ideas. Finally, after an hour or so the game started to break up. Rarity jumped at the chance to lose. It took an agonizingly long time to convince her sister not to go for round two. She thought that maybe she would have to distract her sister with some complicated task, but thankfully it didn't come to that. Sweetie simply went to play with Apple Bloom, leaving Rarity and her mother to talk. She was about to speak when her mother piped up first.

"Are you going to make me ask what's bothering you?"

Rarity's brow furrowed. “How did you know?"

"A mother knows."

Rarity sat adjacent to her at the table, wondering how to start this conversation.

"I saw Dashie yesterday while she was getting ready for a nap."

"Okay. What happened?"

"Nothing. I was just watching her and her parents. They seemed really happy."

"Ah." She said, understanding suddenly.

"Ah what?"

"You're jealous of what she has."

"Maybe." She admitted. She wasn't sure if that was quite the emotion that she felt, but it was close. Her mother frowned.

"What is it?"

"I suppose I'm just curious about it. Living like that more, I mean.”

"I would be too if I were in your position. But now you have to ask yourself one important question."

"What's that?"

"Is this what you really want?"

That was the million dollar question. Was it? She took a game piece in hoof, twirling it around and thinking on it. Her mother put a hoof over hers.

"Honey, if this is something you really want then I'll help you with it, but you need to tell me if you do, otherwise I can't do anything."

Rarity was quiet for a long time, unable to find the right words for how she felt. She kept teetering between yes and no. She thought about Dashie and the bond between her and her mother, she thought about her own years without her mother and how much she'd missed her, and the sacrifices she’d made for the sake of business. she thought about what it might mean to take this step with her, and how it might change them. But one look into her mother's caring face told her all she needed to know. She smiled and put her hoof over hers.

"Okay. Let's try it when this is done."

Her mother smiled. “Okay.”