Author's Note

This was a tough chapter. And not for the reason you think. I wasn't sure how to write Spits here because I've written her as a Mama in two other fics, so I wasn't sure I could be objective with her. But thanks to advice from my Mom and Pip, I managed.

I hope you guys enjoy all the nervous Thunderlane feels, along with a bit of fluff for good measure!

To Tell The Truth

Thunderlane was beyond nervous. He was bordering on terrified. It was the next morning, and he was approaching Spitfire’s office. His heart was beating out of his chest, his body was sweating, and it definitely wasn’t because of the summer heat. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He had to do this. Had to. It was now or never, and if things were going to get worse as they had been, it had better be now. He knocked on the door, trembling. A muffled “Enter.” Was the response he got. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Spitfire was sorting through papers when he came in.

“What is it Thunderlane?” She asked.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “C-Can we talk?”

Spitfire glanced up at him, and saw the expression on his face. Thunderlane never got nervous like that. Never. Not even before a show for royalty. She set down her pen. “Sure. Take a seat.” She said.

Thunderlane sat down, nervous. He could have sworn that the crinkling from his diaper, despite being covered by the onesie and his uniform, was audible enough for her to hear. But she gave no sign of hearing anything. His anxiety shot up. He tried to form words, but nothing would come out. Spitfire waited patiently for him to begin.

“I have to t-tell you something. I haven’t told anypony, because I’ve been too s-scared.”

“Alright.”

“Something has been happening to me. I don’t know why, or how, or who did it. But I can’t stop it. And I don’t know what to do, but I thought I should tell you in case it affects me, on the job.”

“Tell me.”

He took a deep breath in. Then, he started explaining in what could only be described as word vomit. It just kept coming out, for the most part in one seemingly large breath. Every single thing that had happened. He told her the stories of his accidents, the foalish behavior, the change in his thought process. All of it. When he was done, he had to suck in a breath to replace his air supply.

The entire time, Spitfire listened. Being a sort of drill instructor at the Academy gave her the advantage of being able to stay stone faced, no matter what she was listening to or what her emotions were about it. There were a few moments in the story, like when he mentioned the diaper changes in the bathrooms on the grounds or his occasional change in word choice, where she almost widened her eyes in surprise, but she didn’t. When he was done, she looked at him.

His eyes were wide and obviously scared. He was sweating bullets. He kept fidgeting in his seat and when she met his eye contact he looked away with a blush.

Looking back later, it was the blush that sold it for her. Thunderlane was a lot of things, but easily embarrassed was not one of them. It took a lot to make him sweat. If she had at all considered this a prank or a stunt, which in the beginning she very well might have because of his joking personality, she didn’t now. For a few seconds, maybe more, she mused on what to do. Then, she removed her sunglasses.

“I believe you.” She said. He looked at her, and for a second, the most faint spark of hope lit his eyes.

“Y-You do?”

“Even you, Thunderlane, would not joke about something like this.”

“Are you-“ He had to swallow hard to ask his question. “Are you gonna kick me out?”

“Kick you out?” She repeated. He nodded nervously. “Why would I do that?”

“Because of this.”

“Why would I kick out a member of our team for something they cannot control? I wouldn’t.”

“Because I’m a liability.” He answered for her.

“Man, you’re thicker than cement. I just said I wouldn’t do that.”

“But I’m-“

“What you are is a member of this team. And this team is like a family. You don’t abandon family, especially when things are hard.”

“Are you- Are you sure?”

“Does this look like the face of some pony who isn’t sure?”

He hesitated for half a second. “No…”

“Then stop worrying about it. You have enough to deal with right now, anyways.”

He laughed a little. “Would you be able to stop worrying if you were in my horseshoes?”

She conceded. “Fair point.”

For a moment, there was comfortable silence between them.

“So what happens now?” He asked her.

“I think first we need to make a few rule exceptions for you, under the circumstances.”

“Okay. What?”

“If you need to change, you can go. No questions asked.”

“Alright.”

“Second, if you feel like you won’t be able to control your emotions or other things like that-“ He knew she was indirectly referencing his foalish behavior. “You can also leave. If you need to, you can come into my office until it passes.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s the closest place besides the hospital and restrooms.” She said, “And given what you told me, I think the restrooms are out.”

He blushed again. “Yeah. I really hate it in there.”

“I can tell.”

“Any other rules?”

“Not that I can think of. But we can add them as we go.”

“I really hope whatever this is doesn’t last long enough that we need to.”

“I hope so too, for your sake.”

He nodded. “If that’s everything, I think I should-“

“There’s one last thing.” She interrupted.

“What?”

“I think the rest of the team needs to know.”

“WHAT?! Are you serious?!”

“As I’ve ever been.”

“Do you know how hard it was for me to tell just you?! How will I ever face them again if they laugh me down?!”

She looked him right in the eye. “Do you think they’d laugh if I didn’t? If I was there?”

“Well…” He hesitated.

“Let me answer that: No.”

“But I can’t tell them! It’s so… embarrassing.”

“We don’t keep secrets on this team.” She said, resolutely.

“I- I can’t-“

She put a hoof up and he went quiet. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can do it with you, or even for you if you need.”

“You what?”

“You heard me.”

“But why?”

“Because, being a team leader means taking care of ponies and being just that- a leader. You lead by example. If I don’t make a big deal out of it, they won’t either.”

“But-“

“And if they do, they’ll be the ones in diapers.” She said pointedly.

Thunderlane couldn’t help but giggle at that. Spitfire actually lost control of her stone face for half a second, and worried that maybe she had just witnessed a bit of his foalish side come out, and that he was already slipping, but a look into his eyes said that he was still there.

“So, are you ready?” She asked after giving him a second to recover.

He nodded, and they walked out of her office together.