Fluttershy trotted across the wooden boards of the backstage.
She wasn't entirely sure why she was here, and honestly it was all a blur – something about a play, but she often had a bit of trouble following what was going on when her friends were caught up in doing what needed to be doing that week.
Deciding to see if she could help, Fluttershy trotted softly over to the nearest pile of props and began looking through it.
The first few things she dug out were a large set of very impressive looking armour – plastic, of course – and a spear with a foam tip, which were probably for when they needed to dress somepony up as a guard. But the next objects in the pile were a large bedsheet with a pair of holes cut in it, and a pile of slack rubbery material with creases.
After looking at it for several seconds, Fluttershy realized what it had to be – there were stripes on it, black on orange, and what looked like a paw. It must be some kind of inflatable animal, probably a tiger.
Thinking about what it would look like, Fluttershy shivered slightly – even though she knew it was an inflatable, the idea of a tiger twice as big as she was was a bit scary. But she knew tigers were big softies usually, so she calmed herself down a bit.
What kind of play was this supposed to be, anyway? She could hear the faint sound of a crowd – very faint – and what sounded like somepony speaking, but nothing to jog her memory.
Maybe she'd missed Pinkie explaining something?
As she thought about it, the sound of hooves made her look up – seeing an earth pony with a tragi-comedy cutie mark and a very distracted expression.
“Um, hello?” Fluttershy tried. “Are you-”
“There you are!” the pony said. “Come on, it's only a few minutes!”
The pony began to shove Fluttershy rather roughly towards the stage, grumbling a bit. “Goodness sake, we told everypony to be here at least thirty minutes early for makeup and costumes! You’re just lucky you don’t need anything for this first scene.”
“Wait, what do you mean first scene?” Fluttershy asked, trying to stop her progress towards the center of the stage.
The other pony gave an exasperated sigh, shaking her head and waving over a unicorn. “The first scene of the show! The living room scene! The scene in which the entirety of the play is set up? Seriously, the ditzy actress act is not funny at this point!”
The unicorn hurried over towards a door in the set, standing on the side that resembled a porch while Fluttershy was pushed down into a plush armchair inside the house. “B-but, I’m not-” Fluttershy began, but was cut off by the pony shouting.
“PLACES! NOW! SHOW STARTS IN 1 MINUTE!” She hurried back off stage, Fluttershy unsure if she should follow, when the curtains suddenly pulled open and she was temporarily blinded by the stage lights turning on.
As the lights faded a little, Fluttershy looked out at the seats.
There was a crowd.
There was a lot of crowd, actually. More crowd than Fluttershy was at all comfortable with.
“um-” she began, very softly, but then there was a loud click and the door on the side of the stage opened.
“It's terrible out there!” said a unicorn stallion wearing a thick coat, the same one she'd seen before. “They scheduled snow again!”
He put his coat to the side of the room, and trotted out towards the middle of the stage before turning to face Fluttershy. “Can't you ask them to make sure they pay attention to what ponies are doing before they schedule snow like that?”
Fluttershy froze, put on the spot, and one of the spotlights swung to focus on her specifically.
“Um, well,” she squeaked, trying to think of something – anything – she could do to get out of this situation. “I'd...”
“You'd love to,” the stallion whispered.
“I'd love to,” Fluttershy repeated desperately, then dried up again. “I'd… love… to...”
“You'd love to, but it's not your department,” the stallion whispered to her.
“But it's not my department!” Fluttershy finished, already panicking at the thought of doing this for several more minutes.
“Not your department? Not your department!” the stallion roared, making Fluttershy jump. “What good is that to any of this? We're setting off tomorrow, and the roads are withers-deep in snow!”
“Sorry!” Fluttershy trembled, taking a nervous step back. “But I wouldn't even know where to begin – I'm not a weather pony – I only help animals!”
The unicorn gave a look of deer caught in a carriage’s headlamps, glancing to the audience and to the earth pony sitting backstage before coughing and doing his best improvisation. “Er… well, eh, yes, I did hear about that new animal initiative to get them working in the weather factory! After all, what good are birds if all they do is chirp all day? Hehe… heh…” The unicorn scrunched his muzzle, thinking for a moment. “…aaaaanyway, um… d-don’t you want to know where we’re going?” He asked, trying to direct Fluttershy to the right conversation topic.
Fluttershy just looked more confused, the heat of the spotlights making her sweat a bit. “Um… w-well…”
The unicorn gave the tiniest of nods.
“Yes, I would! Are you planning some… vacation?” Fluttershy asked, hoping beyond hope the scene would end and that her part was one that would never appear in the story again.
“Yes, exactly!” The actor gave a sigh of relief upon hearing lines that were actually in the script. “We’re going to Las Pegasus! It’s all the rage, with the shows, and the restaurants, the casinos! And I know you’ve been wanting to go for a long time!”
Fluttershy nodded slowly, trying her best to play along. “Uh… yes, I have! I’m very excited, when do we leave?”
The stallion looked worried again, and Fluttershy instantly knew she had missed some line. “What about your, y’know, boss? Isn’t he planning some… big vacation himself? How will you manage to get off of work and still go on the trip? It’s quite a… dilemma?”
“A dilemma?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean – yes, a dilemma! It's a very… lemma… dilemma...”
Seeing from the unicorn's expression that she was going completely off-piste, Fluttershy swallowed and tried to guess what her line actually was. “Well, it is going to be hard to get him to agree… to let me go to Las Pegasus! We'll… have to show him that the weather factory is ahead of schedule… and can work for a week or two without us...”
Desperately freewheeling, Fluttershy turned a trapped look on the other actor, who whispered again. “Can I help you?”
“Can I help you – I mean, can you help me?” Fluttershy said. “With that. Can you help me… with that.”
Her cheeks heated, and she felt like she wanted to vanish into the floor – knowing she was doing an awful job, and that all the ponies in the great big audience were probably laughing at her as she tried to string words together into a single simple sentence.
“I'll be glad to help out so long as it stops them dropping all this snow on us,” the unicorn declared, apparently deciding that what Fluttershy had said was good enough for him to move to his next cue. “I know you're going to be busy – when should we work out what to do?”
“As soon as possible,” Fluttershy tried, trying to get a hint. “Which will be in a few… hours… after my next shift… meaning tomorrow… afternoon?”
“I'll meet you then, then,” the actor said.
The scene hung for a moment longer, and, lacking any other clue as to what she was meant to do, Fluttershy asked, “May I get you some t- oh, um, never mind then.” The curtains had begun to close on the scene, the audience clapping politely as Fluttershy stood up and followed the other pony off stage.
She trotted up to the stage manager, her ears flopping down as she began to spout off apologies. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, I think there’s been a horrible mistake and-“
The stage manager simply began to push her towards a pair of ponies standing next to a rack of clothes. “Forget about that, we don’t have time for chit-chat, we need to get you into your costume!” The pony abandoned Fluttershy to go help move some of the set.
Fluttershy watched as the other two ponies began to work hurriedly, one slipping what looked like a weather pony’s lab coat over Fluttershy while the other mussed up her mane a bit. “Eep! H-hey! I don’t need to be so rough looking, do I?” She asked sheepishly, not really putting up a fight as the ponies plonked a safety helmet on her.
“You’ve been working for several hours at the factory, remember? I’d cry witchcraft if my mane stayed that perfect!” One of the costumers said, tying Fluttershy’s mane into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. The two looked her over, each going over a mental checklist of her costume. Jacket, helmet, mane…
“Blush, you forgot the pants!” The pony said, the other’s eyes going wide as she realized her mistake. She hurriedly grabbed another piece of costume before throwing back Fluttershy’s coat to grant her access to the pegasus’s rump.
Fluttershy gave a squeak of surprise, trying to look back and see what the pony was wrapping around her hips.
“Stay still!” the stagehoof scolded sharply, and Fluttershy stopped wiggling – though she still tried to get a better look. “This won't fit right if you keep messing around like that!”
“But – um – what is it?” Fluttershy asked Blush.
“They're a pair of weather pony long work pants,” Blush replied, taping the thick, soft clothes around Fluttershy's hips with a faint crinkle. “Surely you remember?”
“Well, that's what I was trying to-” Fluttershy began, then finally got a good look. “– um – well, they're quite… aren't they-”
“Okay, that's done!” said the other pony. “Good work, Blush!”
“Thanks, Greasepaint,” the costumer said with a sharp nod.
“Why do they look like diapers?” Fluttershy asked quickly, before she lost her nerve.
“They're weather pony long work pants,” Grease reiterated. “Why, did we get them wrong?”
Fluttershy blushed, realizing she was arguing with a pair of experts and that she had no clue what weather ponies actually wore in the factory, and shook her head. “N-no, I'm sure they're fine. Only-”
“Thirty seconds!” the organizer called, cantering back over to them. “What's kept you? Come on, you need to be ready for your next scene!”
He began to usher Fluttershy back on-stage. “And try to remember your lines this time!”
“But I don't-” Fluttershy began, but by then the curtain was rising again.
As the lights came on, Fluttershy found herself standing in front of a rather cheap backdrop of a weather factory. Nearly all of it was cloud walls, and the parts that weren’t only gave vague hints as to what the machinery in the background was meant to be. Next to Fluttershy was a large glass tank, with something glowing faintly inside. Another Pegasus trotted by, this one also decked out in lab attire and a hard hat. Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice that they hadn’t been given any work pants under the coat. Was she the only one? Why wouldn’t somepony else need it?
“So, how’s work coming along on this week’s sunshine, Sunshine?” The pony asked. It took Fluttershy a moment, but she quickly realized the pony was talking to her.
“Oh, it’s coming along, great! Really… brightens up my day, working with the stuff!” Fluttershy ad-libbed. The crowd gave a combination groan and chuckle at the pun, the other weather pony looking up at the machine.
“You don’t suppose Hurricane’ll let you off, do you? Not even sure why he’d want you around, considering all the storms he keeps scheduling.”
“Um… yes, things…” Fluttershy stammered. She looked over her shoulder to the stage manager, who simply placed her head in her hooves. Shaking her head and recomposing herself, the pony pointed towards a watering can backstage, as if to try and help Fluttershy along. “…things certainly wet… have been wet lately!”
“Well, that's how Hurricane likes it,” the other pegasus said, chuckling.
She leaned in a little closer to Fluttershy, and stage-whispered – loudly enough for the whole audience to hear. “Between you and me, I think he enjoys getting unicorns and earth ponies wet a bit too much.”
“Well… he's getting pegasi wet too,” Fluttershy said, flexing her wings slightly on reflex. That earned her a puzzled look from the actress, and she realized she'd missed the conversation thread. “I mean, yes, you could be right.”
The actress looked only slightly less worried.
“Which… means he might… not want to improve the weather for my holiday?” she tried. “I'll be okay… but… my friend is a unicorn?”
“Oh, if you're asking for a unicorn, don't even bother,” the other pegasus said, seeming to treat that as good enough to move on to the next line.
There was a pause, which stretched out awkwardly, and Fluttershy fidgeted a little – feeling her 'work pants' crinkle and shift as she moved.
“Did you have something else to ask me?” the pegasus said eventually, eyebrows raised to try and give Fluttershy a hint.
“Oh! Yes, I – um – I wanted your advice?” Fluttershy tried. “On how to make sure he… doesn't make the weather too bad while he's on holiday… and lets me go as well. I think?”
“If you want to talk old Hurricane around, you need to get on his good side first,” the pegasus said firmly. “You know what he's like. Ask for help just for the sake of it and he'll definitely say no.”
Fluttershy thought for a moment, trying to figure out the most logical next step of the conversation. “Well… do you have any idea how to get him to help?” She asked. The other Pegasus just looked more confused, and a little annoyed.
“I just said you’ll have to get on his good side. Try talking to him about what he likes… you know, storms and things.” She said.
Fluttershy gulped, nodding quickly. “Well… I guess I’ll go… do that, now?” Fluttershy asked. The other Pegasus turned to leave, the box of sunlight being wheeled off stage as several ponies in costume rushed by, each carrying a box of clouds, rainbows, and other weather related props.
Fluttershy looked about, a little confused, until she suddenly found another pony being pushed up to her at a secretary desk.
The secretary looked up, her hooves clacking away at a typewriter slowly. “May I help you?” She asked in a nasally voice.
“I’m… here to see Hurricane? About… um…. Help?” Fluttershy asked.
The secretary hit a buzzer and a prop door opened to allow Fluttershy through into an office where a black Pegasus sat. He leaned forward in his chair as Fluttershy trotted in, not looking terribly happy. “What’s all this about, Sunshine? I’ve already told you we’re not scheduling more sun! I’ve got three downpours and six scattered showers already on the docket, and we might be getting in a tornado soon too!”
Now totally lost for how to go on, Fluttershy nodded meekly – then spotted the organizer facehoofing offstage, and realized she should probably be trying to persuade Hurricane. “Well, I – I was wondering if… you see...”
Internally, Fluttershy quailed. She was no good at situations like this when they were real, and at least then she wasn't being watched by hundreds of ponies!
“Come on, Sunshine, what is it?” Hurricane demanded. “If it's not weather, then what do you want?”
“Well… I've got a holiday I'd like to take to Las Pegasus?” Fluttershy tried.
“Holiday?” Hurricane repeated. “A holiday? You must be joking. I need you on the team to handle things when I go on holiday! You should be grateful there's no sun scheduled, or you'd have to handle that as well!”
His hoof banged the table, making Fluttershy jump and let out a frightened squeak. “I know just what's going on. You've decided you can slack off just because there's no sunshine scheduled! Well, there are no hurricanes scheduled either, and I'm working as hard as ever!”
By now he was leaning over the table, glaring at Fluttershy, and the pegasus had shrunk down to try and avoid being looked at too closely.
“Um-” she tried.
“I don't want to hear it, Sunshine!” Hurricane declared. “Now get out before I schedule more rain!”
The curtain came down, and Fluttershy sighed with relief – only to notice that her weather pony uniform's work pants were a little bit damp.
Fluttershy blushed as she headed offstage again, the costumers quickly getting to work removing her helmet and lab coat. As they were about to remove her work pants, however, the curtain began to rise again as the scene had shifted instead to an outdoor café. The ponies quickly straightened Fluttershy’s mane and shoved her back onstage, oblivious to her “Wait, my costume!”
Fluttershy’s face turned a bright red as she was stuck standing in front of the audience in the damp pants. She took a tentative step forward, the pants crinkling as she did. Her face turned a brighter red as she tried to make her way to the table of the café as quietly as she could. She sat down at the table, picking up a menu placed on it and trying to bury her face in it. The unicorn from before had returned, and was trotting over to Fluttershy.
“So, how’d the meeting with Hurricane go? Any good news?” He asked, either oblivious to, or not wanting to mention the padding around Fluttershy’s rear. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to think of something to say. The spotlights were awfully hot, and all those ponies looking up at her only made her gulp and sweat nervously.
“Sunshine?” the unicorn said. “Sunshine!”
“Oh – sorry,” Fluttershy blushed, then realized she still had no idea what she was supposed to answer and blushed more.
“N-not very well?” she tried, her padding making a faint squish noise. “He-he didn't want to listen...”
“Well, you've got to work something out,” the unicorn said, making Fluttershy blush as she still had no idea what to say or do.
She kept trying to focus, to think of what the script would say, but every time she began to think of what it would make sense to say her attention was drawn back to the audience and she lost her train of thought.
The spotlights continued to shine down on her, and she tried closing her eyes for a moment to pretend the crowd wasn't there. When she did, it helped a bit – she couldn't feel the wetness in her padded pants as much, and they even felt more comfy.
It helped her think of something new to say, as well, and she began to speak. “I could...”
When she opened her eyes, however, the words fled from her mind – gone completely – and she sat there for a long moment, feeling comfortable physically but utterly embarrassed to be on stage, obviously unable to perform properly, with what was clearly a thick diaper wrapped around her hips.
“You could…?” The unicorn prompted, hoping Fluttershy would remember her next lines. Fluttershy didn’t respond, however, simply glancing down at the diaper as her face burned brightly. This was horrible, she was making a complete fool of herself and everypony was laughing at her! Well, they would be if they weren’t being so polite and quiet. She whined softly, shifting again in her diaper as she tried to look back to the unicorn. She gave a look of desperation and he put his head in his menu before whispering just loud enough for her to hear. “You could try making things wet.”
“I could try making things wet, I suppose…” Fluttershy said without really thinking through what her line was. A waiter came over, levitating a notepad to take their orders. He looked at Fluttershy expectantly. “Oh… I’ll have the…” She looked down at the prop menu, but it was blank in the middle. Did it really matter what she got?
“Cider.” The waiter hissed.
“Cider.” Fluttershy responded.
The unicorn ordered as well, and the waiter left to retrieve their drinks. Fluttershy tried to concentrate again, closing her eyes and searching for something to say. The thought of everypony staring at her, the heat of the spotlights… it was doing little to calm her down. All she could think about was the softness of the diaper around her flanks, trying to relax by focusing on that.
“Sunshine? Will you be helping Hurricane with his weather plans, then?” The unicorn asked.
Fluttershy’s eyes opened and she looked back at the unicorn. Was the table quite this low before? “Oh… I suppose I’ll have to, if we want the vacation to go through.” She said.
The unicorn didn't say anything, just looking at her.
Shifting in her diaper, Fluttershy tried to work out what the next line might be. “Do… do you think it's worth it?” she suggested.
“Uh, of course,” the unicorn replied, his uncertainty making Fluttershy blush as she realized she'd messed up her lines again – a realization made worse when the waiter put her cider in front of her a moment later.
So they'd just been waiting until the drinks arrived… Fluttershy picked up her glass, and frowned for a moment.
They weren't actually going to drink it, were they? But then the unicorn took a sip of his, then spoke up.
“Sunshine, aren't you going to have a drink?” he asked. “You know work always makes you thirsty.”
“I – um, I suppose it does,” Fluttershy blushed, and took a gulp of the cider.
It was real cider, which nearly made her cough – she'd heard that drinks used in plays were fake ones – but when she made to put it down, the unicorn just asked again if she'd had enough yet.
Following what she assumed were his hints, she eventually drained the entire glass before finally putting it down.
“You'll be working on rainclouds, right?” the unicorn asked.
“...yes?” Fluttershy agreed, not knowing what else to say.
“Well, just try not to put too many over my house, ok?” The unicorn joked, taking a sip from his own drink. Fluttershy just nodded and shifted in her seat again.
“Um… I’m sure looking forward to the vacation!” Fluttershy said, her polite nature of wanting to break awkward pauses overcoming the knowledge she was in a play. The unicorn gave an approving nod as he sipped again, glancing backstage. He gave a quick motion of his hoof coming across his neck, and the pony backstage nodded, beginning to work the curtains.
The scene quickly came to an end and Fluttershy was hurried offstage to be stuffed back into her weatherpony jacket and helmet. In addition to these, though, she found the costumers also slipping rubber galoshes over her hooves. She stumbled a bit from the extra bounce in her step, but refrained from speaking up. The costumers must know what they were doing, and she was supposed to be working with rainclouds in the next scene. With several squeaky steps, Fluttershy waddled her way back onstage.
The curtains parted to reveal Fluttershy and Hurricane standing next to a large bin of puffy clouds, each one being filled with more water. “Good to see you’ve finally come around to pitching in around here, Sunshine. Might as well get your hooves dirty if there’s no sun scheduled soon.” Fluttershy nodded, unsure of what to say. “Well, get moving, then!” Hurricane said, giving Fluttershy a light push.
As he did, Fluttershy suddenly felt a jerk up on the back of her costume as she was hoisted into the air.
She yelped slightly, then realized it was just a harness – the kind of thing they used to make it so non-pegasi could fly during a play.
Fluttershy hadn't realized before that they would have pegasi using them as well, but on second thought she decided it must be so that they wouldn't get tired, or fly into the wrong place or something, during a scene. So she tried to act like she was flying normally, wings flapping a little bit, but not nearly enough to actually lift her.
The flapping motion did make her bounce up and down a little in the harness, though, and the way it was designed seemed to be supporting her whole body – specifically, by resting all her weight on her diaper and then supporting that. It felt quite odd, and Fluttershy tried to resist the urge to squirm.
“Come on, you can fly around on your own time!” Hurricane called up at her. “Now, get to bucking those clouds!”
The first cloud was moved into position under Fluttershy's bouncy harness, and she wobbled upwards before coming down on top of it. There was a definite wet sound, like a squish, as her rubber galoshes pressed into the cloud before bouncing back out again, and Fluttershy was suddenly and uncomfortably aware of how much cider she'd drunk in the previous scene.
Fluttershy bounced up again, gulping as she squeezed her legs together a bit before being dropped back down onto the cloud. Each time she landed, there was the same loud squish, and water came pouring out of the cloud. She was tugged upwards again, the harness squeezing noticeably between her legs on the diaper, making her blush. “Uh-u-umm… is this r-really the best w-way to make it r-r-rain?” Fluttershy asked as she bounced up and down on the clouds as a new one was pushed into position.
Hurricane didn’t answer, instead checking off a list as more clouds were moved in place, Fluttershy bouncing higher and higher each time she landed. Trying to distract from the pressure building in her pampers, Fluttershy looked out over the audience, but that only made things worse. Watching the crowd follow her movements, a few noticeably giggling at how she looked only made her blush deepen and the pressure grow faster.
Squish
Squish
Squish
Fluttershy bounced, starting to squirm in her harness as she tried to keep herself from wetting her diapers. Her hooves wrapped around the two cords holding her up… wait, had it always been two? Weren’t harnesses supposed to only use one? And why were they so obvious, everypony could see she wasn’t really flying! Whining, a hiss began to join in the squishes as Fluttershy’s diaper bulged outwards, swelling as she wet it.
The wet diaper just made the sensations of bouncing more distracting, and Fluttershy tried to hide her face behind her legs and wings – totally ruining whatever illusion was left that she was an actual weatherpony at work, and making the crowd giggle or laugh a bit more than before.
For several long minutes, Fluttershy's embarrassment and the crowd's amusement reinforced one another – the more blushy she looked, the more they stared and laughed, and the attention only made her feel more timid and exposed.
Making matters worse, a pair of spotlights had turned on and were pointing at her, following her up and down as she bounced, and making it impossible for anypony to miss what had happened.
“This is what we want to see, Sunshine!” Hurricane boomed, as another cloud was moved into place and Fluttershy began to squish that one. “As much water as possible! The damper the better!”
Fluttershy blushed crimson when she heard that. Was that really in the script? With her in this diaper?
She squirmed even more, her face almost as red as Big Mac’s as she bounced more and more. The spotlights blinded her, making the only things visible being her costume and puffy diaper, and the audience laughing, chuckling, and ‘awww’ing at how she looked. The heat of the spotlights wasn’t helping either, only making her already warm diaper even warmer. She squeezed her legs again, but soon she was beginning to flood her pampers once more, feeling them swell outwards. The squishing of the clouds echoed in her ears, and soon she realized she was no longer landing on her hooves, but her already wet diaper.
Each bounce made her whimper and gasp at the sensation of the cloud squeezing into her diaper, both puffing up as she feebly kicked and wriggled. Her legs were spread further by her diaper, the cloud continuing to leak. “Keep this up, Sunshine, and we’ll have to start calling you Cloudburst!” Hurricane laughed, Fluttershy only wiggling about as she bounced in the spotlights, the audience continuing to laugh at how adorable and silly she looked.
After what seemed like an eternity, the last cloud had been bucked and the bouncy harness lowered Fluttershy back to the stage.
She stumbled as the support left her, nearly rocking backwards from the sheer mass of her soaked and cloud-soaked diaper, and her galoshes clomped on the wooden floor of the stage.
“Um-” she began, but before she could say anything more Hurricane gave her a pat on the back.
“Great work there, Cloudburst,” he told her, to more giggles from the audience. “You've done so much better than last time, I think we'll want you to give a speech at the end of today's work!”
“A s-speech?” Fluttershy asked, but Hurricane was already leaving. “Wait, um-”
The stage began to change, this time so smoothly Fluttershy couldn't even spot the stagehoofs working the mechanisms. The cloud-holding bins vanished into the floor with a faint whirr of gears, replaced by a podium, and a few of the other cast members turned up to form the 'front row' of a large audience.
After a few seconds looking at the changes, Fluttershy remembered what she'd wanted to ask. “Shouldn't I be, um, not wearing my weather working clothes?” she asked meekly, and almost as soon as she said it Greasepaint and Blush emerged from behind a prop shrub.
They took off her raincoat and galoshes with smooth efficiency, then put her in a formal-looking dress, and it was all done so smoothly that Fluttershy found herself approaching the podium before she was quite clear what was going on – that her diaper was unchanged and certainly still snug (if squishy) around her waist.
Fluttershy stood at the podium, gulping as she looked at the small audience in front of her (and trying not to think about the large audience to her side). “L-ladies and Gentlecolts… It’s my, um, honor, to speak to you… today about…” She gulped again, her mind racing on what she was supposed to be talking about. She glanced down to one of the cast audience, who faintly worded ‘workplace efficiency’ to her. “Workplace efficiency!” Fluttershy responded. “It, v-very important to be… efficient… in the workplace… And the best way we can do that is… uh…” Again her voice failed her as she lowered herself behind the podium slightly. Her diaper squished under her dress, making her cheeks burn brightly.
‘removing unnecessary breaks’ Another pony mouthed. Fluttershy repeated the phrase, still stumbling through her lines. “The b-best way I’ve found to do that is…”
‘Diapers’
“Diapers!” Fluttershy said, no longer thinking about what she was saying in an attempt to get through the speech as quickly as possible.
‘They’re very comfy’
“They’re very comfy… and cushy!” Fluttershy began to relax a little. At least the other ponies had remembered her speech. She just hoped it wasn’t a long one…
“D-diapers are one of the m-most useful workplace items of clothing,” Fluttershy recited, in the slightly unfocused tone of someone paying far more attention to repeating instructions than what she was actually saying. “They have great growth potential-”
As she spoke, the diapers around her waist began to swell up – slowly at first, almost imperceptibly, but still definitely getting larger and puffier.
“-in fact, I would say that they are a-almost indispensable,” she went on. “In addition to being soft and f-fluffy enough to make any pony comfortable in any situation, they don't get less comfortable no matter the environment!”
Oddly enough, as she continued to speak Fluttershy was actually starting to feel more confident – despite all the ponies looking at her, and even the occasional giggle. She felt safe in her diapers, cushioned from the situation, and she shifted slightly to sit on them – not noticing that they had become a lot larger to let her do that.
“While d-diapers are usually connected with foals, after wearing mine on the job for so long I have learned something,” Fluttershy continued, snuggling down a little into her cozy, warm diaper. “It's that if being a foal feels this good, it's better to be one!”
Fluttershy bounced on her diaper a bit more, leaning back into it rather than supporting herself with the podium. Her padding puffed up slightly as she sank into it, still oblivious to the scene beyond a faint feeling of safety and comfort. “That’s why I propose we get more, thicker, fluffier, cuter diapers in as soon as we can! After all, a happy, cozy coworker, is a productive coworker!” Fluttershy finished her speech, practically beaming at the audience. They all began to stomp the floor in applause, a few cheering and whistling as well.
She rolled herself forward, her legs spread wide by her over-inflated diaper. With plenty of squishes and crinkles, she waddled her way off the podium and to the awaiting crowd. Her face was still a bright red, but now it was due to the steam of compliments (and the occasional pat on her puffy rump) she was receiving. Even if it was a play, the coworkers all sounded so genuine! Waddling through the crowd, she wasn’t even aware as the scene changed once again. The set of the weather factory disappeared into the floor and was quickly replaced by an elaborate bar, where several of her coworkers were sitting as a barpony tended their glasses.
Fluttershy attempted to lift herself up onto one of the stools, her padded rear shaking and swaying about for the audience as she struggled. Eventually the stool sank lower into the floor, allowing her to sit atop it with her padding keeping her at the same height as her companions. “To Sunshine!” One of them called, lifting up a glass of some bubbly drink.
Blushing as she was feted by the other ponies – even forgetting that it was a play for a moment, as they all sounded so enthusiastic – Fluttershy wiggled her padded tush a little on the seat as they toasted her. Then she was given a drink, and hesitated.
“...um, should I-” she began, then saw Hurricane down his drink in one go, and decided to take that as her answer. She took a sip, feeling the drink smooth and warm on her tongue, and then another and another.
After her second glass, Fluttershy was quite sure she had no idea what her lines were or could be, but she also didn't think she minded much. It wasn't hard to play along, anyway, as they were all just standing around and talking and drinking – which did taste very nice.
Then dancing started as well, and Fluttershy took part for a bit. Her swollen padding made her by far the clumsiest pony on the dance floor, but the laughter from the audience didn't make her feel small – it just made her blush, then get up and decide to try again.
Fluttershy stumbled about, shaking her padded rear left and right, her tail swishing across the puffy surface as she did. She couldn’t help but giggle as she did her best to imitate the other dancers, finding herself being playfully bounced towards a unicorn. The stallion took a hold of her, starting to spin and twirl Fluttershy around as some upbeat jazz music played in the background. Her dress flared up as she spun, revealing her thick diaper before she was dipped backwards, the pony leaning into her puffy padding as he tried his best to keep a grip on her.
Lifting and spinning her up once again, she was sent pirouetting towards another mare, who offered her a glass of the bubbly drink. She eagerly drank it up before the mare bounced her butt into Fluttershy, sending her toddling towards another pony. The dance continued, Fluttershy’s movements steadily resembling the uneasy steps of a foal more and more. The lights on the stage began to shift color, dipping from a warm bar lighting to vibrant purples and blues, occasionally switching to other colors.
Fluttershy leaned against one of the dancers for support, both of them tangoing to the music. She barely registered her partner now seemed to be wearing a diaper too…
It was hard for Fluttershy to remember the last time she'd felt this good – and she didn't try very hard anyway, because it didn't seem nearly as important as just enjoying the moment.
Some of the ponies in the room were in bouncy harnesses, now, bouncing up and down with their diapers coming down to head height at the bottom of the bounce, and the continually changing lighting shone spotlights on them as they came down only to bounce back up again. Others were waddling about and shaking their padded rears, forming a dance chorus line, and everywhere she looked Fluttershy could see other padded ponies.
It must have been really hard to set all this up, but Fluttershy was much more interested in the results – crinkly diapers all around her, crinkling away and bumping into her own, and another glass of the fizzy drink, and her own diaper swelling up so it was impossible to even pretend her dress was hiding it… even the music had changed, becoming sillier and more ponderous.
Fluttershy giggled as she felt yet another pony bump their padded rear into hers, causing her to waddle forward and receive a face full of fluff as a pony in a bouncer fell down onto her before springing back up into the air. The laughter of the audience just blended into the bubbly feeling in her pampers, making Fluttershy grin widely as she bounced her rump on the stage in time with the music. Other ponies were beginning to waddle around as well, their own diapers starting to swell up as they danced and leapt about across the stage.
Suddenly the ground bucked beneath Fluttershy, sending her stumbling to one side and back again. Somehow the stage was much fluffier than it had been before, each step making more crinkles fill the air as she tried to keep her hoofing. Several ponies twirled around her, their diapers puffing up until they all flopped onto their bellies, squishing Fluttershy between their crinkly rumps. She blushed and giggled, completely forgetting any sort of worry about being made to look so silly in front of so many ponies, instead lost in the love of the fluff all around her.
She flopped onto her rump, sinking into the diaper as the other ponies danced and bounced around, some even starting to look like they were wearing thick diaper suit costumes!
A half-dozen of the ponies had assembled into a line when she wasn't looking, and they wiggled their crinkly butts in the air – seemingly showing off to Fluttershy more than to the crowd, though the butterscotch pegasus was having trouble remembering there was an audience at all by this point.
She giggled a little, feeling light-headed, then gasped when they all began to sing at once.
“Oh, she used to be timid, and not very tough, but now she's got confidence from all her fluff!”
Fluttershy's ears pricked up as she realized – they were talking about her!
Snuggling into the nearest other pony, feeling the comforting softness of her thick crinkle-costume, Fluttershy listened with rapt attention as the chorus line moved on to the next stanza.
“A diaper, you must know, is what you should wear, whether walking on land or bouncing in the air!”
The ponies took a step backwards, moving their padded rears closer to Fluttershy as she squeezed the crinkly pony. They swayed their rears left and right together, the colors of the lights blending into their diapers so it looked like the pampers themselves were shifting and swirling with hues.
“They’re so thick and cozy, and warm when wet too! A waterlogged diaper is perfect for you!”
Fluttershy found herself nodded in agreement, letting out a sigh as she relaxed in her padding, wetting them as they grew warm and thicker once again. She wiggled her rear, loving how her diaper hugged her rear comfortably as she watched the ponies continue their number.
They began to march around Fluttershy, their diapers still shifting colors as they did, and hisses filled the air as their padding bloated and grew as each pony wet theirs. A few ponies bounced down from the ceiling again, their padding bumping against Fluttershy, causing her to look up and receive another face full of fluffy rump.
“You’ll sink in the diaper as it balloons, lost in its crinkle-and-squishy warm tunes…”
Every colour of the rainbow was swirling around the entranced pegasus, making it so that she couldn't concentrate on any one thing – and so that the only things to focus on were diapers, diapers of all types, diapers in all directions, diapers moving everywhere, even the diaper on her own rump.
“For there's nothing better than a diaper to see, when you're just a silly big diaper pony!”
It sounded like there were hundreds of voices singing now, or thousands – the music fully joining in, making Fluttershy feel more comfortable by the second as she yawned and snuggled and shook her rump, squishing as she kept soaking her diaper.
Suddenly, all the ponies around her pressed their crinkly rumps into her at once, squeezing her from all directions – even from above as one of the biggest ceiling-bouncing ponies came down especially to add to the fun.
Then they backed off, releasing her for just a moment – before squeezing again, harder this time, and for longer.
“The puff and the poof and the diapers all shake, and you soon come to realize there is no escape~”
Fluttershy let out a bashful whine, pushing against the diapers as they all squished around her, but only to feel every bit of their warm, puffy, crinkly surface. She was pressed deeper into her own diaper, her hooves pinned to it as the floof surrounded her. The ponies pulled back once again, allowing Fluttershy to take a breath of relief. A moment later, though, she found herself wriggling and whimpering, yearning for that feeling to return. And it soon did, the ponies pressing in on her even harder as they sang and swayed their padded butts left and right.
“You’re trapped in the puff as the diapers all creak. They’re thick, fit to burst, and the fluff makes you weak!”
Fluttershy’s struggles lessened, her ears filled with the echoes of crinkles and squishes and the creak of straining puffy plastic. The ponies seemed infinite, the colors a complete blur as they continued their song, Fluttershy’s eyes beginning to reflect the whirl of colors. She sank further into her diaper, loving the feeling of the fluff encompassing her, despite the warnings of being unable to escape…
“You’re sinking so deep, and your grin is so wide, you’ll love your new cushy thick cage once inside…”
The ponies began to laugh and giggle, rushes of air joining in the other sounds as diapers above and around her began to bulge even further, inflating in quick, squeezy spurts!
Fluttershy's diaper felt heavenly – getting thicker and tighter with every squeeze from outside, every gasp, every puff. It was as though it was getting bigger at the same time as her own excitement, making her snuggled closely and poofily by the diaper's soft material.
“It's thicker and better than ever before, your diaper's a prison but one you adore!”
What had been struggles had grown weaker and weaker, until now she shifted and moved purely for the sensations – the squeezes, the crinkles, the pressure and the safety.
It was hard to tell what was her diaper and what wasn't – and it was harder still now that Fluttershy was so thoroughly distracted – but it felt as though the material was not just thickening but spreading out as well.
“You'll look just like before, from far enough away – but in a thick diapersuit you'll for ever stay!”
Fluttershy bounced in place, squeezing the diapers squishing down around her as she moaned and squeed with delight. She flopped back, nuzzling the diapers as she felt the material spread further and further up her.
“You’re stuck here within your heavenly poof, enraptured, enslaved by your warm crinkly floof!”
It was as if the ponies themselves were gone and Fluttershy was simply lost in a sea of shifting, bucking, bouncing, swelling crinkly material. She rolled around in her diaper, embracing the fluff as it creeped up her neck and over her hooves. Unable to resist the wonderful sensations, she wrapped her hooves around herself, giving her puffy belly a tight hug as she giggled and blushed, the diaper creeping over her face…
“The diapers inflate, they’ll swell, they’ll bloat up so thick!
But you just can’t resist as you’re swallowed so quick!
And soon they’ll grow tight, they’ll pop and go boom
And you’ll be forever in a cushy soft doom~”
Fluttershy whimpered, feeling the diapers around her grow ever bigger, the material covering her as she could wriggle less and less, her legs spread wide by her own thick diaper butt…
The pressure built up around Fluttershy, more and more, until finally it seemed impossible to get any greater-
-and then there was an enormous POP!-
-and Fluttershy was snug, warm and comfortable, surrounded in wonderfully cushy floofy puffiness.
She shifted a little, sitting up, and the covers of a blanket fell sliding off her to the floor – revealing her to the world, and revealing where she was to her.
There were ranks of ponies watching her as she sat on stage, in a bed, and with a puffed-up pillow with a dent where she'd been lying a moment before.
Fluttershy looked around, a little confused, but then remembered that she hadn't seen the script. It would probably have been obvious if she'd had that to read.
And, looking down at herself, she was dressed in something incredibly comfortable – so comfy it was hard to think about anything else either.
It was made of thick, crinkly diaper material, held together by tapes every few inches along all the seams and so snug that she could barely feel them shift as she moved. They formed a complete shell around her, from tail to nose-tip, and the shape of the shell was… her.
Fluttershy gave her belly a tentative poke, and a crinkle was just barely audible through the audience as she did. She looked over her shoulder, grinning as she looked at her rump, which was thicker than it really should have been. Fluttershy didn’t mind as she gave it a wiggle, though, more crinkles filling the air. She giggled, hugging herself as she fell back in bed, absolutely thrilled with the comfiness of her new self.
The curtains began to close, and the audience applauded as the play came to an end…
Author's Note
And that's the first pony of the Dream Cycle.
If you've looked closely at the cover art, you'll probably see hints of who else is going to show up...
